A beginning that's in the middle; an introduction

Hmm, a blog. What do I do with a blog? I already keep my personal journal, a journal for my son, and my son dictates to me what he wants in his personal journal.

My son. That reminds me; I should introduce myself. My name is VJ, and I am a 30-something mother living in the Upper Midwest with my husband Angelo of almost eight years; my nearly-five-year-old son, Anthony; a dog, and two birds. I am an elementary teacher by profession, but I am currently a stay-at-home mom, much to the chagrin of our pocketbook.

The description of this blog states that we are a home schooling family. And so we are. Anthony will tell you that he's in preschool this year, but really he's more advanced then that. He started reading Dick and Jane in October; recently finished up an old Kindergarten math book and is slowly venturing into a first grade Target-bought one; is getting into a first grade Costco-bought vocabulary book, and is about half way through a learning store-bought phonics book. Anthony and I have been attending a local Christian home school coop that he thoroughly enjoys.

So, does that bring me any closer to ideas on what to put into this blog? Not really. Stick with me as I search, muse, explore, wonder, ask, explain, answer, and figure out life.

For today, I spent some time graphing Amtrak departures as Anthony and I are preparing for an upcoming trip on the train. Anthony and I will use the graphs to compare the five trains on the route we are taking. Today, he worked on reading the chart, what the colors meant, what the numbers meant, and how to explain it to someone else. We also worked on reading, math and vocabulary a little bit. I also am working on creating an ocean unit for Anthony, for part of our vacation will be at the ocean. Since we live where there is no ocean nearby, I want him to get the most of this, and will provide coloring pages and simple worksheets for him to do while we are there.

Unfortunately, Angelo will not be able to make the trip with us. This trip came up quickly, and he was not able to arrange vacation time to come with us.

Until next time.