First Homeschool Group Meeting

I got to the library a half an hour early to get ready. I really expected my co-leader SM to be there, but it ended up being a good thing she was running late. I had to ask her to get plates and napkins! eek

The meeting was set to start at 1:00 and at 1:05 we were the only ones there. I was about to get really depressed when two ladies came in with their children.  SM said she recognized both the moms from a walk she had done, and the one mom recognized me from VBS at the other Baptist church in town.

We all hit it off right away; SM apologized for talking so much, but I said, "Isn't that what we're here for?" She took the kids to the other table and did a craft with them while I talked to the moms. The one mom didn't bring her special needs child; she was home with her dad with an ear infection. Both families are homeschooling due to bullying situations. I find that so sad, but our kids sat at the table after the craft was done talking like they had known each other for years.

Both moms left encouraged and that's what SM and I were hoping for. And WE were encouraged, too.

They bought bookbags and want tshirts like ours, so I think it's safe to say they'll be back! Our next meeting will be at my church since the library is spoken for on that day. I think it will work well for what we want to do.

My son said he wished we could meet every Friday. I'm glad he feels that way, but for now, I think twice a month will be good.

New Project + Local Lady = Drama

So it seems that I cannot do "drama-free".

I'm starting my seventh year of homeschooling my kids. I report to a homeschool umbrella group that is over 45 minutes away. Because of the distance we haven't been very involved in their activities. But the way they process the work and the minimal cost is what we like. We pay $50 per year per family and think that's very fair.

I had mentioned to the head of the group that I was thinking of starting a support group at this little corner of the county and she was all for it. She said she'd mention it to people so that if they live closer to me they'd have a group to do activities with. That's very gracious of her! Another mom who also sends her girls to the same dance class Little Girl goes to is going to be my co-leader.

So the drama is coming from a lady who started a group last year in our little town. She joined forces/resources with the church that split off our church. There's no way I'd take my kids to that group. It's ridiculous to think that there aren't enough people in our area to sustain two small groups, but apparently "they" don't like it. The difficult part is that my co-leader works with this lady in the local girl scouts groups.

Over the summer the group organized as an umbrella group and came up with monthly fees for their members based on how many kids they have and their household income. If that's what they want to do, that's fine.

The lady who has caused problems online is not happy that we are starting a new group. She has posted snotty things on my posts, has started posting all over our local Facebook pages, has said very rude things to the lady who is helping me and accused me of stealing "her" name for our group.

I sent her a FB message explaining that I didn't know her group had HAD a name, but that I know their current (new?) name is the name of the church + "academy" (pretentious?). But whatever. I have already had tshirts and bookbags made up, so I told her I'm not changing the name. I also told her to quit posting negative things on my posts. If she keeps it up, I'll report her to FB. I've already blocked her. That helps me not see what she's posting, and it keeps her from seeing what I've posted. Win-Win.

I do not want her to steal my joy in this, so I need to not worry about her or her psycho pastor and his ego.

Here's our logo. :)

I really am excited. The other mom is going to teach an art class and I'm going to teach a music class. This is the book I'm going to use. I'm working on some visuals to go along with the lessons. :) So cool.

I think we'll have some refreshments at our first meeting, so I need to think about that. I've put together a little bio sheet and a sheet with our mission statement on it to hand out at the first meeting. My kids are excited, too. That is a big help.

No more drama!

Echoes and Cobwebs!

Wow. Excuse the dust! It's been awhile!

So. Baby isn't a baby anymore. I think she's going to have to graduate to Little Girl, at least. ;) I don't know how happy she'll be with that new moniker, but I just can't jump any higher right now.

She's very excited about Halloween coming up. Not because of the candy or carving pumpkins. It's all about the costume for her. I tried to get her to find something in her dress-up stuff that would make her happy, but that wasn't working.

She had several ideas that all revolved around sparkly princesses, and on our way to and from ballet class, we whittled them down to one - Elsa. Not my first choice, but what we came up with was an awesome compromise.  I seriously wasn't going to spend $50 on a costume, even if she wore it every day. But I came across a picture in Pinterest that interested both of us.

The Anna t-shirt was what caught my eye. She asked me a bit dubiously if I could paint the front of the shirt like that. I tried to not act offended, and reminded her that I CAN draw AND paint fairly well. Remember this? 

That little stinker looked me in the eye and told me, "I'm not convinced, Mom."

So we decided to go with Elsa (the light blue t-shirt). I told her I could sew a simple, separate skirt and a sparkly, sheer train onto the shirt, but I'm thinking I may use pins so it can be removed for wearing every day. But it looks like we'll be making a trip to the fabric store for paint, glitter, sequins and some fabric. I'll have to locate a long-sleeve white shirt at Walmart. This also covers the problem of staying warm in a princess costume!

And then she mentioned that she does not have long, blond hair. :/ So we ordered this. I think she's almost more excited about the wig than the dress.

She was all excited about the project, and asked her brother what HE wanted to dress up as. No one should be shocked that he said he doesn't CARE about costumes, and in the same breath asked if he could play Minecraft. sigh