Walking Therein

Scrap It and Start Over

1:02 AM, Friday, June 15, 2007 .. Posted in Homeschooling- Lessons, Ideas and Tips .. 9 comments .. Link

Do you ever feel like you just need to scrap what you are doing and just start over?

I opened my Home School folder on my Desktop today, and I thought I would pass out. Or hyperventilate. Just how am I going to find what I need in the midst of the hundreds of "helps sheets" I have saved??? Some 'help', huh?

I felt like that about 5 years ago, when we scrapped the textbooks and started on this new eclectic homeschooling approach we have been living. I had felt for about a year inside that the textbooks were no longer working. It was fine when we had 3 girls and they were little, but now that they were older it was time for a new method that would free us all up to experience life and education. Besides that, we had two more children, and I was looking to teach a 12yo, an 11yo, and an 8yo with a 5yo and a 2yo tagging along in the learning. It was not going to work with 3+ different "grades" of textbooks. I would be crazy or mad or both by the end of the day. No way. and no fun, either. We would much rather have been outside exploring God's great earth than sitting inside in any season!

Of course, we grow in this and change as our lives change and we learn more and more about God and his plan for our family and our lives. We have since then started following a Heart of Wisdom Approach of a Bible-first education. This is by far the best plan, as it is from the teachings of the Bible incorporated with what we were already doing. Imagine that... A family of Believers using the Bible in their daily home educating. Sounds like the way God planned, doesn't it?

It was the same thing when Matt and I decided that we were no longer deciding how many children we would have. There were no Associations or books that we were a part of or reading. We didn't even have a computer then. I was reading my Bible and praying, and I knew in my 'gut' that I longed for more children. I wanted to know why. i asked Matt what he thought of that. We had many talks about what the Word said and why god would say something in light of what our churches and society says today.

I had long read the verse "He will give you the desires of your heart" as God 'giving' me the desires I have in my heart. I never read it as Him 'placing those desires there'. He 'gives' them to me. I have them, because they are what He desires for my life. Anyway, as I was asking and searching, I wondered exactly WHY I thought we "shouldn't" have more children. And... WHY did God tell us to be fruitful and multiply if we weren't supposed to have as many children as He gave us? Well, needless to say, you know what God spoke to me and that it was from His Word, because LucyLillie is our 8th Little Babe that God put into our hearts to desire!!

All of these are memories of other times I have had the feeling to just scrap all the thoughts, beliefs and practices I had and to get all of the clutter out of our lives. By clutter, I mean the popular idea, the same old idea or 'stuff' that I have been hanging onto.

During Quiet Time (YAY! for QT!) today, I was looking through the "school records sheets" I have saved on my pc. Some I saved from other sites, some are from the MasterPlanner CD, and some are those I made up on documents. I am a packrat, you see. Anything that looks like I might need later gets saved.

This is the scrapping I am talking about: scrapping all the record sheets I am not using or may never use! I have made up enough to use that I can scrap all those I won't. I know I keep saying this, but we do not have to keep records in Indiana, except for attendance, but I think it is imperative for your family and your sanity if you start out home educating by keeping records and some type of grading system. We never know what our future holds, and in this mobile society, God may take us to another state with other laws, and before you know it, we will be having to produce papers we don't have. God placed that idea in my heart a couple of years ago when I longed to "go home" to NM, where my Mom and Mom- and Dad-In-Law live. Matt wasn't ready then, but it looks like he may be in the near future.

Besides, Amanda hates where we live, and she will be getting married in the near future. I told Matt at the time my heart ached to go "home" that we want our children living and marrying where we are going to be so we aren't spread all over (I know that they can move anywhere and marry anyone from anywhere, but I heard Chris Davis say he prayed that his children would stay close, and so have I). I think it's important for children to know their grandparents and their great-grandparents. I want to know my grandchildren, and I want them to know me!

Of course, I don't think that keeping records makes the quality of your teaching better in itself. I do think you will better be able to see what you are doing in your homeschool, though, if you are keeping some sort of record. If I only keep attendance records, then I only know *that* we did school that day, not what or how we did. I also think it is a great thing to have these records, because as your younger children get to be their siblings' ages, you can refer to what you did before and lessons or ideas so you don't have to find that lesson all over again. Saves time down the road!

When I was in grade school, they gave us pluses and minuses. That's what we are going to do. I don't know what the do today. I think giving + - through the 7th or 8th grade is fine.

Now, don't get me wrong, we are not going to start testing and having grade requirements and such. If the child does grade A work, s/he gets and A. If they don't apply themselves, they get an F. I don;t think that will happen, though, because we study what they are interested in learning, so it is unlikely they won't apply themselves to something they want to learn.

Anyway, I have files and files of saved paperwork on my pc. Time start deleting. The only problem I have with this is the time it takes. Of course, in the end, I will be happy with only a few resources to deal with to keep records with. Since I keep a hard copy in a 3-ring binder, I can go through that first and just keep what I am keeping and go from there.

I feel so much better about the daunting task of record-keeping now. I hate feeling bogged down because of all the clutter in my mind to get through before I can even start or continue on a task. especially one so important.

We, as parents, are going to continue to learn and find new books, ideas and methods for teaching our children. It is proven daily in the public school system that having a state body govern education has little if any positive bearing on the quality of that education. I do not think we need to keep records for the state. I think it is their way of being in control of something they have no rights to. I think we should keep records for our own benefit, though. It alleviates having to re-work lessons and gives us an idea of where we are. It holds us accountable to God's plan for us to educate our children for Him.

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2:22 AM, Friday, June 15, 2007 .. Posted by nancysnook
Oh Jacque! You have written about me too, haven't you? I have so much paperwork and research. It's everywhere I look in my office. I also have it on the computer. I'm much like you in that I am a packrat when it comes to school plans and lessons. We already teach the eclectic style and lifestyle of learning...it's so much easier on me and the girls. My daughter Kelsey has Tourette's and it's been very hard in the past to try to use a standard curriculum, now however, we do what makes us comfortable and is best for her. GRRRREAT post! Nancy

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7:47 AM, Friday, June 15, 2007 .. Posted by tnmomtomanyblessings
This was a great post!
I too need to keep records.

Have a great day!
Maria

Thanks!!

9:34 AM, Friday, June 15, 2007 .. Posted by Sawickis
I had never read the scripture that way before about God giving us the desires of our hearts. I can be such a self centered human. Of course it isn't God giving us whatever we want at this moment (lightbulb just went on). It makes so much more sense to me now. God gives us the desires of our hearts which he placed in our hearts in the first place. It is never about us, its all about Him.

*Kristie*

Thanks for sharing these two posts

10:55 AM, Friday, June 15, 2007 .. Posted by ThreeLittleLadies
They are encouraging as I try to figure out my new path of educating my children using the HOW approach. I've got a lot more of the book to read, and a lot of changing to do...

I do hope you move to NM. I don't live too far from the border, and we actually make ministry trips and have connections with people who minister to the Navajo down there. Someday I'd love to come meet your family and see how God has you homeschooling in a face to face encounter.

Carol

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1:11 PM, Friday, June 15, 2007 .. Posted by Blessedmommy
Jacque, I could relate to just about everything you wrote! I couldn't agree more with the passage about the Lord giving us the desires of our hearts. That passage puzzled me for a while. Interestingly enough, the more trials I seemed to go through, the more the Lord revealed to me that when I delight myself in Him, His desires become mine!

As far as wanting to move before your girls marry. I'm there too! Dh and I want to relocate to TN and our oldest is 17 as well and we'd sure like to get there before she marries. I too have been praying that all our children stay close.

BTW, Jenna loved talking to Amanda and Jocelyn the other day!

Blessings,

Diane

Amen!

5:32 PM, Friday, June 15, 2007 .. Posted by ChristineRead
Hey Jacque!

Wow! You so wonderfully put into words in this post exactly the whole essence of homeschooling - "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." It is so precious to me that our Lord desires that we know Him, that we seek Him, and that He then accomplish what concerns us. He is a God of increase - everywhere in the Bible that people have sought Him and obeyed Him, they were blessed and He was glorified. So it is today. I think it is interesting that in the Old Testament, families did many times have several generations living in the same vicinity or even household, and that is our desire, too.
And your comments on record keeping are good, too. Records don't have to be fancy, just simple and straightforward. This helps us be good stewards, and keep track of what we are doing, but it doesn't have to be stressful. Like my daughters keeping up with how many eggs the hens lay each day. No big deal, but good information.

Thanks, by the way, for the award! I am touched and encouraged. I enjoyed reading your thoughts on the other recipients, as well. And I like that Heart of Wisdom approach, too.
Take care!

Chris

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10:39 PM, Friday, June 15, 2007 .. Posted by DarthYxpu
LOL!
Yes, I'm very excited about the baby!
I thought it was so rare/weird to be almost 18 years older the youngest sibling.

But I'm finding more and more that with home-schooled family's, it's actually quite common.

Changing Raspberry's nappies? Umm, I don't think so.
Thanks for offering the chance for good practice. But, ...no thanks.

:D!

Thanks for your comment. The more the better. :D

I can't wait to see you guys again!

hello

1:00 AM, Saturday, June 16, 2007 .. Posted by nancysnook
Thanks for the comment...I always feel so honored when I get a comment from you or Jocelyn, it's like you're the queens of blog around HSB...that's a good thing! Just wondering, have you ever considered buying a flash drive to save all your school stuff on? They're around $30-40 at WalMart. It would also be helpful to have all the records in one place and you could take them with you to the Library or to the school board if ever necessary. This would cut down on your computer space too. Nancy

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1:06 AM, Saturday, June 16, 2007 .. Posted by BlogBoy
I try my best on the graphics, some turn out good, others - well they don't =D

And actually thats part of my shameless blog promotion, I get a link back for every banner I make *Evil Laugh*

My mom always makes a point of telling us, that it's God who decides how many children you have. As you said the bible did say be fruitful and multiple. It makes me sick with some of these couples who are saying "we don't want to have any kids!" God is in control of that.

Eric

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Scrap It and Start Over

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Thanks!!

Thanks for sharing these two posts

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Amen!

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hello

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