Here is how the holidays went.

We all went north to spend Christmas with my family but due to and incoming storm, Glen had to return home Christmas night.  The plan was to return for New Years then we would all come home together. BUT...  Glen had started finishing the basement and got on a roll and did not want us coming back until it was finished!  When I left at Christmas he had just began the framing.  He finally came back to pick us up this past Friday.  I do believe that if Libby did not have a basketball game on Saturday, we would still be there!

However, the basement is nearly done but I am not to see it until it is 100%.  In the meantime, everything from the basement has been moved to our first floor so when I walked into the house there is just a narrow path to the opposite end of the house!  I have spent the last day and a half just sorting and organizing piles.  God grant me patience to put up with this for just a few more days.

We also have brought back a cat which Glen agreed to in a weak moment when dealing with mice in the house during our absence.  My sister had a stray (one of several) that needed a home.  Penny is a grey and white kitten of aound 7-8 months old.  Glen resolved the mice problem before we returned home but he had already given the okay.

Yesterday, I took a close look at Penny and find that Penny is not a she but a HE.  After a good laugh with the kids this morning and a call to my sister on anatomy (she too, is a homeschooler), we have now renamed Penny to Teddy in honor of Teddy Bruschi of the New England Patriots.

So... tomorrow we will try to find a semi-clean corner and get caught up on our History and maybe some reading. 

  We are back on track after loosing sight of what we are doing.  I seem to need constant reminders that homeschooling does not mean bringing school home and getting wrapped up in what the government and the world seeks for our children.  I lost my way for a time by not asking God each day what he seeks for my children and our family and began doing it my way.

Training our children and teaching them to 'follow me' as Christ said to those he taught to "Follow ME".  We are enjoying each other and remembering and focusing on this holy time of year.

We have had our tree up for several weeks now and the only gifts under it are pretend gifts that the kids have wrapped in their home-made wrapping paper.  Not once have they asked where their gifts are.  They have no idea the gifts have been sent to their grandparent's home ahead of time.  I am just so pleased they have not gotten into the 'I want, I want' thing this year.  They just talk about what they want to do when they get to see Nana & Papa and all their cousins next week.

I need to stop and give thanks for the mess our home is in.  My DH has decided to finish off our basement and rearrange the rooms in the house.  He has just finished the office (formerly our dining area off the kitchen) and I can sit here looking out our new window and see the birds and squirrels have their breakfast as the sun comes up.  Yes, there is dust and wood and boxes everywhere and other than the Christmas Tree the decorations remain in storage, but God is providing the ability and the finances to do this and I am thankful.

I just want to thank everyone for their posts, emails and phone calls!  It is such a blessing to know you are willing to lend an ear, advise & moral support.

I have been working and praying about getting my heart right towards Libby and we are taking a couple of days to reconnect.  Then we are going to come up with a plan that we can both live with in regard to her studies.  We have discussed her accountability and reponsibilities as a member of this family and child of God as to how she is expected to handle her responsibilities and studies.  I need to remember she is still jus a child, no matter how grown up she can appear and not expect more than she is capable. I will continue to ask for God's grace to adjust how I respond to her and her actions.

I will post how things go.

My husband suggesting asking blogger friends about our problem since we cannot be the only one with this problem!

I have reached a stale-mate with our older daughter.  She has just turned 10, is very capable of doing her 4th grade work which I do my best to make easy, fun and interesting.  We have dropped the workbooks, tend to do more narration/copywork.  Her Rod & Staff Math, I will copy out the problems, she only needs to write the answers.

The problem is she is very rebellious when it comes to doing her work.  She evens dislikes ANY activity or game where she might have to work or put effort into.

This morning was our first snowfall, so I let all the kids go outside to play and did not bring them in until nearly 11:00 to do studies.  It is now 1:45 and she still has completed less than 1/2 of her math (the only thing she was assigned right now) and has pointedly pushed her books away and sits at the table sulking!  The amount of work she had should have taken no more than 20 - 30 minutes with only the least bit of effort.

Short of sending her back to "school" what can you recommend??  I welcome all your suggestions.  I have come to the point where I have told her she must get up in the morning, complete her chores & breakfast and sit at the table until her studies are done.  

We do co-op  one day a week which encompasses History, Art & Science and another day where we get together with 1 family to do daily studies and Latin.

Along with your suggestions, I covet prayers for patience.

(Jen: if you are reading this, remember, I told you there would be days like this!)

We are off to a great start this year.  I have to admit that homeschool tracker is a big reason we are keeping our days in focus.  Not to mention I have really taken to heart all the Ruth Beechick methods I have been reading this summer.

Instead of the readers we were using, which are all biblical stories, we are going straight to the source: The Bible.  Instead of all the workbooks the girls are copying, taking dictation, narrating, and getting grammar & spelling lessons from great writings including the Bible.  Right now, Libby is doing some copywork out of Tolkein's 'Return of the King' which is full of beautifully written passages.  We are using an English text book only for reference when we stumble or question a specific grammar problem.  Math, unfortunately is a text book but we do a great deal of real-life usage like helping dad build, helping mom cook, grocery shopping, and budgeting.

This is making our study time so much more relaxed and enjoyable.  Now, I have a bunch of curriculum to list on ebay!