I just had to share this story. It is TOO cute! As some of you may gather from our posts and comments, another author Tracy and myself are close friends. So are our families. Our families are very similar and her 2 boys and my 2 boys all interact well and get along famously. Her 2 boys (I will refer to them as Q and Z) are 9 (Q) and 6(Z) and my boys are 8 (Bailey) and 3 (Braeden). The three older boys are in cub scouts together.

Well this weekend we got together to let the boys work on some things that they needed to work on. We did several activities over the course of the weekend. The boys all did really well. In one particular activity, they were working with tools and building some bookends. They were very encouraging to one another. At one point, while Q was working with his bookends, Z said “Good Job.” A few moments later Z, again being very encouraging, said to Q “perfect!” Q looked at him and said “you are being time4learning.” My son Bailey laughed and I looked at the boys with what I’m sure was a goofy expression on my face. I said “Huh? He’s being time4learning? What does that mean?” Q answered back with “well, those are things that time4learning tells us. You know, when we are working. So…he’s being time4learning.” Z and Bailey both nodded and looked at me like …well, like…”DUH!” :o)

So Tracy and I learned something this weekend. Not only has Time4Learning changed and improved on both of our families’ homeschooling experiences, but it has also taught our kids to be encouraging and uplifting to others. Way to go T4L!!! :o)

Today we were on the way to a friends soccer game and it was a long ride…(well, not long but when you have a 6 yr old and a 9 year old in the back seat yelling “mom, he’s touching me”… it is long)….   In an effort to “calm” down the natives I asked them a couple of things about states…  How many states are there?  I was met with a blank stare….  “Okay.. There are 50 states, How many can you name….”  Again, the stare… “Common you guys, you have been in at least 15 of them, can’t you just name a few?”  A resounding “No…” from the back seat. 

It was then that my youngest said, “where are we going? Asia?”  My eldest chimmed in, “Asia is a different country and is across the ocean!”….. So, I tried another approach…  “Asia is a continent…  How many Continents are there?”  From the back seat I hear my 6 year old say “7!”  And my 9yr old about fell out of the car with a “How do you know that?”  Very proudly my Ds2 sat up straight and said, “I learned it last week in Time4Learning!”…..

It was then that they started naming places that they wanted to travel to.  I just looked at my husband and smiled…..   I whispered to him, “Time4Learning is doing what we wanted!”

You know, there are things that cross your path sometimes and you just know that it is right…  A new friend, a new group, a new Curriculum!  I had to share that little Tid-Bit because I was so pleased….   I can not tell you one time that either boy discussed school last year.  Once the books were closed, that was it, discussion over…  It is nice to hear them actually discussing things, topics, and ideas that they learned….

Today the boys had to “make up” work. They are now up and doing their work. Although I am sitting across our office, I can see and hear what my youngest child is doing. He was doing his math to get it out of the way. His most favorite expression is “I can’t.”… The whining begins. He HATES math, but he is fine doing it. He is learning how to carry this morning. I was surprised when he clicked off the page by mistake and had to begin the lesson again. He was frustrated but I told him maybe it was best that he go through it again to grasp it better. He whipped through it, remembering the correct answers. I was shocked. Just before that he was aggravated at even doing it. This only reinforces the fact that he remembers most everything he does and does not need to do a million problems to learn the lesson.

I then watched him move on to science. I was shocked when they asked him to click on Africa and he knew it. I was surprised because when we were going over continents he would not pay attention to me and wanted me to speed up and get on with it. Each day that goes by I am happier and happier with them being able to go at their own speed and how much they are really learning.

I enjoy watching when they get done with a quiz or test and they let out a happy yell saying; “I got a 100%”! I know that they have struggled here and there with different things, especially when they are only half heartedly paying attention but they notice right away that maybe they have done well or not done well.

This morning has gone well. They both are doing very well doing their “make up” work and there has been very little complaining about doing schooling at all. It is nice to sit and hear quiet as they complete their lessons and tests.

I also know that they are retaining what they learned and using it during the day. The other night I was tucking them in and we were discussing a situation that was going on. When I asked them how they felt my 6 year old said “I am 1/4 sad”. The older son said, “Yea, I agree and I’m 3/4 okay with it”! I can’t tell you how I struggled this past summer with fractions with them both. I was shocked and gave them each a big (imaginary) star! As I was heading out the door I turned and asked, “Where did you learn your fractions? Has grandpa been working with you both again?” My youngest told me honestly, “I learned from Time4Learning….” YAY…. it is worth every penny!

So my 3rd grader did his first lessons in Science and Social Studies today. We were both shocked (in a good way) at how incredibly different the science and social studies programs are this year as opposed to the 2nd grade levels. We were so used to the small, animated lessons that when he first logged in and we saw the first lesson on Vikings…our jaws dropped, lol. I had seen the lesson plans, but honestly only briefly.

We were able to sit and read together and even involved daddy, who enjoyed being able to help. As my son read through all the information in the activities, my hubby and I just kept looking at one another going “wow! this is great!” Even though these lessons were not even remotely similar to the 2nd grade lessons he remembered, my son was totally enthralled in what he was doing. When he printed out the little Viking cards and got out his first “notebook,” I think it finally hit him that 3rd grade is not the “little kid’s school” (his words) anymore. :o)

By the time he moved on to Science, got his next notebook started and did all the measurements that the first lesson asked him to get, he truly felt like he accomplished something today. What a proud moment for us all. And we are totally looking forward to what the next lessons hold!! :o)

My life as a home school mom has always been met with complaining from my boys. They really enjoy learning as long as it is not sitting for hours doing mundane work. Neither child enjoys writing and since moving into the T4L program we have been enjoying a calm through the house like never before.

This morning I had a list that we needed to do after they finished T4L. Both boys knew that a couple of the projects included writing and in order to stall they used T4L to their benefit. I was getting some stuff together to work on after lunch and both boys kept putting off getting through their lessons for the day. Finally I had enough and said “Common guys, you need to finish up.” For the first time ever I heard the words, “Is it okay if we go back and do one more in each lesson?” Of course I said yes and let them and as I continued to set up for the project that the needed to do; smiled at myself because they were actually enjoying lessons!

Every day is met with such a nice pleasant mood and it is not until I bring up that we need to do our writing projects that I am met with a little resistance. The writing goes so much better now though, because they have not spent all day working on problems in a work book that gives no satisfaction or interaction!