Dec. 2, 2009 - Encouragement

Two weeks ago I was out of town and last week I was out of it. Driving almost 1600 miles does take a toll on the body. We went to Virginia for a wedding. My children who love the changing colors of the leaves really enjoyed it. I, however, am by no means a fan of the cold. It wasn’t terribly cold, but a nor’easter blew in with us and the weather was rainy and windy for a day and a half. Fortunately the weather cleared before the wedding and everything was lovely. The whole visit was wonderful. We were able to see so many relatives that we haven’t seen or even talked to in years. We were even able to witness the engagement of one of our nephews. I don’t think we could have asked for a better vacation.

That brings to mind the question of what makes a great vacation, or great visit, or even a great day of homeschooling. Is it the weather? Is it the entertainment? Is it the accomplishments? For most people it’s one of these or a combination of all of them. If I were to assess my trip by these criteria I would be miserable. The yacht club where we were to enjoy the rehearsal dinner was flooded under three feet of water from the storm. I got drenched (which made my hair frizz terribly) while walking three blocks in high heels to the new restaurant in the pouring rain. I was not entertained when the relative made an inappropriate comment about me in front of my children, nor was I entertained when the drunken hockey player dropped the mother of the bride on her rear end in the middle of the reception. We spent most of our time at my mother-in-laws house waiting for various relatives to come visit. We spent little time at the beach and no time at any of the local amusement parks. The one thing we “accomplished” was to take the children to our favorite park, Mt. Trashmore (a landfill turned into acres of outdoor family fun). Just the same, we considered it a great vacation. Our whole intention in going there was to spend time with my husband’s entire family. It was so much more important that the children get to know their family, not their parents’ old stompin’ grounds. What made it a success was the people. We loved our time with the family. We loved our days hanging out at Mammaw’s house. This most important accomplishment we could have achieved was to encourage and bless the people we were there to see.

I was reading this morning in various sources and was reminded about God’s admonitions to encourage one another. In 1 Thessalonians 5:11 it says, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” In Hebrews 10:25 you can read, “…but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” And again we read in 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” The Lord encourages us, if we will only listen to Him. But He doesn’t stop there. He asks us to encourage one another. Many people in my family are Christians. Many others say they are Christians because they were raised in the church or because they attend regularly, but their lives don’t appear to support that claim. These scriptures are talking about Christians and Jesus encouraging Christians, but the truth is that one way to reach the unsaved is by encouraging them. Everybody needs encouragement. Jesus loves us all. Those who are Christians need me and my children to come to them and remind them of a few things. The race is being run for a reason. Prayer and reading scripture are beneficial. Living a pure and sinless life is a worthy goal. Jesus is coming back. Those who aren’t Christians need us to show them that they have another option. There is no real encouragement in this world. There is no hope, no reason, and no answers. People are lost, in every sense of the word. They don’t know where they are, where they are going, or why any of this is happening. A little encouragement from us shows them that the love of Christ isn’t a special privilege for just a select few. They see Christians who exclude nobody from the gifts of Christ. The gift of salvation is available to them all. I’m no theologian so I can’t tell you with any certainty what is going on with a person who claims to be a Christian but doesn’t live like it. I do know that Paul told the Corinthians (in 1 Corinthians 5) to cut off fellowship the man living in sin proudly committing sins of sexual immorality. I also know in Matthew 7, scripture says that you will know them by their fruit. When I see someone proudly committing sins of sexual immorality or doing other things which the Lord expresses distaste for I’m pretty confident they are not Christians. It becomes dicey for me when they still think of themselves as Christians and every Christian around them seems to be OK with their behavior. I don’t fellowship with them, meaning I don’t spend tons of time with them discussing the deeper issues in my life or taking counsel from them about how to live my life. I do ask the question, “How do I encourage them when I know that much of their discouragement come from their sinning?” Jesus would have simply told them that he knows they are sinning (in the world’s most encouraging tone of voice) and that He offers salvation, they need only repent and follow Him. I, as you may have noticed, am not Jesus. I also have not mastered the world’s most encouraging tone of voice, so I must find a way to follow His example with my own weaknesses and lean on Him for His strengths. I can greet them with love. I can show interest and acceptance of them, without showing acceptance of their sin. I can pray constantly for chances to share the truth of the gospel with them. While I wait for those opportunities I am constantly witnessing, telling them about what the Lord has done in my life. I tell them about what our church is doing or learning about the Lord. I take every possible opportunity to talk about the Lord. When they ask a question or make an observation which opens the discussion of sin and repentance, I can carefully address whatever has been put “on the table.” It’s a constant balancing act, but they’re worth it.

Let’s bring this back around to homeschooling. My children know the Lord. Most days they even show fruit of that. This allows me concentrate on other things than their salvation, like their walk with the Lord and their integrity. I must ask myself, “How can I help them to, as Paul the Apostle told the Philippians, ‘continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,’?” I highly value academics in my home so it’s so easy to look at a homeschool day as a success or a failure based on how much schoolwork was accomplished. But at the end of the day I remind myself that the most important thing in my homeschool day is my homeschool students. I ask, “Did I spend the day helping them to do their best?” Their best does include finishing all their assignments for the day. Doing their best includes focusing and paying attention. Doing their best also includes treating their siblings and me with respect. Another question I ask myself is, “Did I spend the day encouraging them?” When I encourage them, they finish the day believing that they are worthy, they are loved, and they can do their best another day. The more we continue to encourage, the more they will excel in their work.

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Nov. 15, 2009 - Homeschooling Personalities

Personalities affect homeschooling.  Interested in how personalities affect homeschooling?  Here are four articles that explain how personalities affect our teaching, our children's learning, and what happens when personalities collide.  Enjoy!

What Homeschooling Personality are You? Part I (Sanguines and Melancholies)
http://www.takerootandwrite.com/2009/10/what-homeschooling-personality-are-you.html#more

What Homeschooling Personality are You?  Part II (Cholerics and Plegmatics)
http://www.takerootandwrite.com/2009/10/what-homeschooling-personality-are-you-ii.html#more

What Personalities are You Teaching at Home? Part I (Sanguines and Cholerics)
http://www.takerootandwrite.com/2009/11/what-personalities-are-you-teaching-at-home.html#more

What Personalities are You Teaching at Home? Part II (Melancholies and Phlegamatics)
http://www.takerootandwrite.com/2009/11/what-are-the-personalities-of-the-kids-you-are-teaching-part-2.html#more

As you grow in understanding yourself and your children, you will find your teaching becoming more effective.  And whatever personality you are, remember to become all God called you to be!  You are the perfect mother for each of your children!  Enjoy His GRACE!

Love and hugs to everyone!
Meredith

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Oct. 27, 2009 - Flexibility

I have these great drinking cups that I got each time I purchased a large soda at the deli in my local grocery store (Publix). They are plastic with a lid which locks on so that they don’t spill. It’s great because on any given day I can have my three pet birds, my four children AND my neighbors’ five children in my living room (all at the same time). The chances of my cup being knocked over are VERY high! They are shaped, and colored like an old fashioned coca-cola glass. They say Coke or Coca-Cola all over them, just like the old glasses. They have an opening for a straw like a fast food disposable lid. Although the cup in imprinted with a notice that they are for one time use only, they are good for months, if not years of reuse with proper cleaning, care, and plenty of fresh straws.

I tell you about these cups because I drink water ALL THE TIME! I’m always thirsty. I even keep a cup of water next to my bed all night because I often wake up in the middle of the night choking on my own dry throat. It was during one of these late night coughing sessions that I noticed that I had bought the wrong straws. They didn’t flex. With a flexible straw I don’t have to get up to drink water and relieve my throat. I had a straight straw and now this whole process is just a little more difficult. And that got me thinking. How many times in my life does lack of flexibility make thinks just a little or even SOOOOO much more difficult?

With homeschooling that’s true more than almost anywhere else in life. We have ways that we like to do things. It’s true. We all find them and work comfortably with them. They problem is that when we homeschool, our students must dictate what we do, or at least how we do what we determine must be done. What I mean is that we must decide what our students need to learn, based on our goals as teachers and parents, but then their individual personalities and learning styles will dictate how we achieve those goals. There are some many ways that this flexibility shows up.

I love Math, Computers, and Science! They are my strengths. I know exactly where their place is in the importance of my children’s education… right after reading and writing! If you love the sciences you may be up in arms already with a great argument about why I’m wrong, but the truth is that if the student can’t read well, there is a definite limit to what he can learn in those subjects. If the student can’t write well, it doesn’t matter how much they know about math and science they may never get the opportunity to shine in them because they appear illiterate based on the few things they submit in writing to people. Jobs, colleges, and even friends on the internet (Everybody has so many these days!) all find out about people based on what they write in resumes, applications, admissions essays, notes, and posts. Based on this hierarchy of education, I needed to be flexible with my plans to do extra science experiments, computer programming courses, and nature walk type field trips when I realized that my students needed extra help and encouragement in writing.

I know many homeschool moms who outlaw headphone during school hours. I think this is such a good idea. The music they are listening to can be distracting. In my household, however, not using the headphones has turned out to be more distracting. Most of my children (like their mother) are challenged to stay focused on one thing for too long. We all get bored so easily. Even though we realize the need to focus and finish a subject, project, article, or blog post we find that spending more than 20 minutes on a task seems incredibly tedious. Tedium is terrible!! Because of this tendency of my children’s minds to wonder I must physically watch them while they do school. If I do not, their bodies will wonder farther than their minds. Fortunately our tiny house has a great room instead of separate dining and living rooms. The beauty of this is that we have two sofas, a coffee table, an arm chair, and one dining room table with six chairs all together in one room. There is plenty of room for everybody to have all their books, laptops, calculators, and various school supplies ready at their fingertips. The problem with this is that every time somebody asks mom for help, everybody listens to the problem and the explanation. This is where flexibility comes in. I let them use headphones. They listen to music (which I have approved) and they focus on what they are doing even while I’m explaining lessons to someone else. I frequently watch their hands and peak over their shoulders at their work and we all get our studies done.

I have graduated one homeschool student. He’s going to Stetson University now and is doing well. He was such as easy student to homeschool. Most of the time he not only didn’t need my help, he didn’t want it. He thinks it’s funny that I get so tickled when he discusses his computer science projects with me, but I have had so few opportunities over the years to help him with his studies that I’m am still greatly enjoying every chance I get. My other two sons are not quite the same way. One needs my help but will never ask for it so I must always be on the lookout for signs of trouble where I can “poke my nose in his business.” He doesn’t get upset with me for doing it, like the older one would have. He actually appreciates it. He’s just so introverted, even with me at times, that he always tries to plug through on his own. It doesn’t even seem to occur to him to ask for help. My youngest son always asks for help. He often asks for even when he doesn’t really need it. I love spending time with him so it’s a challenge for me to restrain myself from giving him all the answers. I am mastering the phrase, “Now think about that for a minute,” to encourage him to think things through instead of always asking me. This is flexibility.

We all need it. We all want others to exhibit it when they are dealing with us. Now it’s time to really exercise that flexibility!

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Oct. 6, 2009 - Maintenance Pt. 4

Maintaining Our Homeschool Program

Now that we’re back on track with our relationships, let’s look at our homeschool program. Are we maintaining it as we should? How do we maintain it? Where do we begin? A wise veteran homeschool mom once told me that we begin at the end. The first thing we must do is decide what is the end goal in homeschooling. Why are we doing this? How do we want our students to look in the end? If you have never asked this question, now is a good time to start.

The following categories are not mutually exclusive, nor is it exhaustive. It will, however, give you a good idea where to begin with maintaining your homeschool program.

The Academic Program:

If your goals for your students are academic, the next step in maintaining you homeschool program is to make sure you have the current graduation requirements for your state. Because you are the one who will bestow the diploma upon your student this is just for reference. What knowledge is possessed by the college bound graduates in your state? If your student is going to be competing with them for seats in universities and scholarship dollars, they need to know at least as much as they do.

Contact some of the colleges you think your student may one day wish to attend and ask them what they are looking for in their future students. Sometimes they actually provide guidelines for homeschool students to become qualified for admission. When my son talked about going to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, we went to their website and found that they provided a list of academic requirements as well as a list of suggested extra-curricular activities to make a homeschool student competitive in the admissions process.

If you know already while your students are in elementary school that they will be pursuing an academically rigorous education, you can help them develop good study habits. You must teach them to research, in a dictionary, in a thesaurus, in a library and on the internet. Look at your homeschool resources, books and curriculum. Do they offer ample guidance in research for your student’s level? If they don’t you must add that in. A simple place to start is to have your student look up spelling words in the dictionary and use the pronunciation guides to tell you exactly how the word is pronounced.

Everybody must write well. We’ve all heard it, “publish or perish.” This is a mantra among the scholarly. It doesn’t matter what your specialty is, you must write well. It’s obvious that reporters, authors, and English teachers must write well. The fact is even scientists, mathematicians and artists must write well if they want to do well in the higher levels of academics. Does your homeschool program build strong writing skills? Do your students know how to craft vivid sentences? Your homeschool program needs to include weekly writing assignments as well as regular re-writing assignments. Get those students used to the idea of rewriting everything at least twice. No matter how good their rough draft may be, it can always be better. It always amazes me the way my children can ace year after year of spelling tests and grammar quizzes, then hand me a paragraph without a single capital letter or punctuation mark. Every time it happens I am reminded why we teach writing as well as using those workbooks. Keep them writing. Keep them using those dictionaries. Keep that thesaurus handy. Never stop rewriting!!

Everybody must have strong math skills. Is your math program strong? Does your student understand the concepts? Is your student ready for each successive math lesson as they come up? The answer to all these questions needs to be, “Yes!” Math and Science oriented students are not the only ones who need a strong foundation in mathematics. All students do. Math is logical. Higher math is abstract. Advancing in math will help your student to develop many areas of the brain. If your younger students master the steps involved in long division, it actually will help them with the steps involved in writing a research paper and many other skills.

Everybody must read well. Look at the reading opportunities you have given your student. Are they reading? Are they reading a lot? Are they being challenged by their reading? Do they ever read for enjoyment? Again the answer to these questions should be, “Yes!” The best way to teach a student to be a good writer is to have them read good writing. The best way to teach a student about history is to have them read about history, in historical fiction, in textbooks, and in documents written back in history. The first step in learning about science is to read about it, then read about the people who did the experimenting before today. Only after all the reading do you want to try to do the experiments. Even math can be made more interesting and real to a student by reading about how mathematicians in history have helped us to get to where we are today.

Reading challenging material will help their vocabulary. Keep a dictionary nearby when reading to look up new words. Encourage them to press through books which seem too hard. When they have finished the book, they will have a big boost to their confidence. It will also train them to read “above their skill level” so they have the confidence to research even in materials which seem “too difficult.”

The Trade Program:

If your student has no interest is higher academics and you see an aptitude for a trade then your homeschool program will afford many opportunities for them to grow in this skill. This doesn’t mean that you should exclude academic studies altogether. A love of learning is a gift from God. If your students haven’t taken possession of this gift yet, don’t give up on them. I didn’t acquire a love of reading until after I turned 30. Reading the classics at that point made a huge difference in the homeschooling I did with my own children. I don’t educate my children so that they can get a job. I don’t educate them to fulfill some sort of government regulation. I choose to educate my children so that they are educated. In ancient times it was the nobility who were allowed an education. My children are the children of the King of kings and therefore they deserve the education of a Prince. Even if my son is going to become a carpenter and my daughter a soccer playing actress and singer, they will do it with a well rounded education.

If you skipped over the section about an academic program because you already know your student isn’t going to college, please go back and read the sections on writing, mathematics, and reading. If your child is to run a shop or his own business one day, he/she must be a confident writer, comfortable with basic mathematics and able to read all about his/her field. Once they are in high school you can select as electives woodworking class with Grandpa, or faceting class at the local jewelry maker’s shop.

Apprenticeships still work today as well as they did 200 years ago. Students can learn the family business by making a class of helping Mom or Dad in the shop. Most communities have an amateur theater company where aspiring actors or stage crew members can hone their craft. In today’s economy small business owners can use all the help they can get. Talk to some in your area about volunteering in their business in return for an opportunity to learn about the business. Check at local recreation departments about clubs and activities that can teach a trade.

The Godly Character Program:

I believe that this portion of your homeschool program is essential to ANY course of study. Whether your students will go on to college, a trade school or drop right into the work force after graduation, their character is the most important factor in determining their future success. Does your homeschool program reflect this important fact? Does it teach manners? Does your homeschool program teach ethics? Does it teach the love of God’s Word?

Good manners never go out of style: I have heard young people claim, “Manners are dated. There from another time and don’t apply anymore.” The people who make these claims are failing to grasp the basic concept of good manners. Good manners show other people that they are more important to you than yourself and your image. In Philippians 2:3-4 Paul said, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

By learning the difference between good manners and bad manners our students and children can learn how to not offend guests and friends and how to honor those deserving it. When our children wait to eat until the preparer of the meal is seated and ready to begin, they are saying that she is worthy of the first bite because she is worthy of honor. When our students take off their baseball hats at church they are saying that God is more important than a hairstyle. When our young people give up their seats in a crowded meeting to the adults they are saying that age has earned the adult the privilege of a comfortable seat. The list of examples is endless. The best way to gauge how to behave is to always ask, “I know how valuable I am, now how may I show you how valuable you are?”

Good ethics are not only valuable in courtrooms and boardrooms: Some would argue that it’s hard to find good ethics in the courtroom and the boardroom. Never-the-less college students continue to study Business Ethics and Legal Ethics across the Earth. Ethics are the moral standards by which people guide behavior. The best legal systems and monetary systems are based on a very simple set of ethics. It contains just two rules: 1. Do everything you say you will do. 2. Do not encroach on another’s property.

Simply explained rule #1 just means keep your word. If your son says he’ll do math at 9:00am. He should do it at 9:00am. Then when the math is finished you both can move on to the next thing. When you tell your daughter that dinner will be ready at 6:00pm, you serve dinner at 6:00pm and she has time to do what she needs to do and get well fed before the evening. If you cannot fulfill an obligation, do not say you will. Many disputes and disagreements can be avoided if people would commit to what they will do and do what they commit to.

Rule #2 is a little more difficult to explain. Encroaching on another’s property can be defined in many different ways. Property is anything you own or legally possess. If I have a lease and rent my home, it’s my property to the extent that the owner has granted me. It’s mine to live in. It’s mine to secure my belongings in. It is not mine to significantly altar with the permission of the true owner. Because my children are not legally responsible yet, whatever they think they own, I own. But relation to their siblings, what is theirs is theirs. For example, I can take phone privileges away from my son and it would not be stealing but if my daughter tried to take the phone it would be stealing. I am going into a great deal of explanation about the rights and duties of parents here because as we are raising our children, it is our responsibility to teach them to take care of the things the Lord has blessed them with. Because everything they “own” legally belongs to me, I have every right to demand that they care for their belongings in a manner which I find appropriate. By requiring a certain level of care for their belongings, I can teach them the concept of stewardship of God’s gifts.

When our homeschool students grow up viewing things as belonging to God first, then entrusted to us, they can easily move into respecting other’s property. This respect keeps the sin of covetousness at a distance. Coveting is on the top ten no-no’s list. Coveting leads to all kinds of unethical behavior. People are constantly trying to redefine good ethics. Open the Word of God and teach your children good ethics according the Jesus’ standards.

 We have literally come full circle now. Your personal maintenance began with getting into the Word of God. Now your homeschool program must end with the same. You and your students need to be in the Word of God daily. You classes must compliment what the Bible says. The subjects you teach must reflect God’s priorities. Your students must read the Word of God everyday because it’s powerful and life changing. They must study the Word of God to fully understand it and take hold of what God offers them.

The Word of God is the Beginning and the End:

Find an age appropriate Bible based study program and use it every school day. Kay Arthur has a fantastic series, The Discover 4 Yourself Series for elementary age students. Meredith Curtis has some great Bible study guides, The God’s Girls Series and The Homeschooling High School to the Glory of God Series. This year I’m taking my 7th grader through The Family Discipleship Manual by Susan Gaddis, and my high schoolers have started Meredith Curtis’ two year Old Testament Survey Class. There are so many out there, just look around your local Christian book store and dive right in.

I hope this series has pointed you in the right direction. Anything worthwhile takes work. You, God, your husband, and your children are all worth the work you will be putting into maintaining relationships!

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Sep. 1, 2009 - Top 10 Homeschool Supplies

Meredith wrote a wonder article on school supplies. Check it out at www.TakeRootandWrite.com. As fabulous and thorough as her article is, I thought I could add a few items to the list.

Top 10 Homeschool Supplies not needed at “regular” schools

A thankful heart – everybody should have one, but for homeschooling it’s a necessity

Patience – to get through each day of homeschool with all your brothers and sisters fighting for Mom’s help at the same time

A sense of humor – every class needs a clown – even if you are the only student in the class

An extra fluffy pillow – to make reading possible anywhere in the house

A beach towel – for sit-ups on the lawn in PE, sunbathing at the beach while reading good literature, and sitting on during nature walks

A selectively disconnect-able brain – to be able to ignore your brother’s math lesson at the table while still focusing on your history lesson on the couch

An understanding prayer chain – to help you when your sister at the pencil sharpener has chewed up your last pencil AND your last nerve

An easily accessible large trash-can – to hold all the discarded papers, dead pens, chewed up pencils, full doodle pads, random items picked up on nature walks, broken headphones, food wrappers, empty water bottles, extra printed pages, etc…

A list of local attractions – to help Mom find “good” fieldtrips

And sing with me…

5 golden fish, 4 fancy birds, 3 turtle tanks, 2 hamsters & a big dog with a small pup – to study all kinds of things…Honest Dad! It’s necessary!

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Jul. 21, 2009 - July is prep month in the Nolette house

I have a confession to make... I am a disorganized, undisciplined homeschool mom. Strike that. Make it, I WAS a disorganized, undisciplined homeschool mom. That was my natural bent. To put it bluntly, I am scatter-brained. I get great ideas then I get board and move on to another great idea. I love, not like, LOVE, homeschooling, computers, painting, drawing, photography, listening to music, playing music, cooking, baking, creating recipes, cross-stitch, crochet, embroidery, sewing, reading, writing, science AND math! There are probably even more things that I love to do that I'm leaving out at the moment.

I have told you all this to point out how difficult it is to stay focused. You will notice that cleaning, laundry, shopping and planning were not on my list of most loved activities. I also don't care for correcting schoolwork, filling out records for documentation of homeschooling, paying bills or filling out tax returns. These all MUST be done. Some of these things are more important than the things I love to do. To some people in my life they all are.

All this to say I need to find motivation to do the right thing. Early in my homeschooling experience I realized that not only was my child not completing his work on schedule, I didn't even KNOW what it would take for him to be on schedule. We would do what seemed like a days worth of work then move on to something we enjoyed. That's when I gave birth to "July is Prep Month."

Each year I keep a record of what is taught in a computer file. The file is modified yearly. This has made it easier to plan for each successive student. Some time in the month of July, I pull out the class file; a calendar of the entire school year with dates marked for beginning to school, end of school, vacation days and holidays; book being used; and class schedules for outside classes. I begin by counting days or weeks in the available school schedule. Then I count assignments or subjects in each book. Then I divide everything up and write it down.

My younger students have enjoyed a calendar with a bright cover and daily assignments. I have a Daytimer software package which has done a tremendous job of tracking school assignments for years. Remember I love computers...so this was another great excuse for using one. My students like to open their calendar in the morning and turn to the current month and be able to see exactly what is expected of them on that particular day. They can check off their work when completed and we have a complete record of work finished for the day, week or even school year.

By the time my children are in High School I use a different method. We make assignments based on months not days. They can be more responsible now and it also prepares them for the college years when nobody is making sure that they keep on schedule; but High School planning is another blog.

I'm not here to tell you how to prepare for the coming year, although if anybody needs help with that I would happy to do what I can. I am trying to encourage you. If you get anything from this post, please be encouraged. It doesn't matter how disorganized you feel. It doesn't matter how flaky or scatter-brained you think you are. You can do this.

I call July "Prep Month" so that I have August to finish the prep work. I need both months because I get bored or distracted and move on to something else OFTEN before the project is finished. (By often I mean it happens frequently each year not just most years.)

Today is a prime example. I need to modify my science class schedules to allow for a trip I forgot about; I need to finish a set of assignments for a computer class we're doing this year; I need to type up my Middle Schoolers math and bible study schedules; and I need to finish rewriting a section of a text book we are trying to publish; I also need to wash laundry and cook dinner at some point. So far I have gone swimming (1 hour of laps); made and eaten a gourmet salad with "Slobber Chicken" on top (recipe follows); written this blog and promised to take my four children +some to the pool to swim (where I might read). When I get home I will work on all of the above listed projects (or maybe just some of them). What I do know is that my family will have clean clothes to wear, dinner to eat and eventually, before September, the assignments will be scheduled and I won't have to worry about plans any more, for another year.

SLOBBER CHICKEN

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Apr. 19, 2009 - Educating the Children of the Kings of Kings: Jesus!

In centuries past, there was a special kind of education reserved for the nobility. These future dukes, lords, and kings were set apart because they had a special call on their life. The education and character training would make a difference to a nation, possibly even the world.

This education involved one-on-one tutoring and mentoring. A future king had his own tutor whose only job was to impart knowledge to his charge. He read, explained, displayed, and challenged his future ruler with all the knowledge a great leader would need. Sons of nobleman learned to read, write and speak in several languages. They were taught to recite poetry, play musical instruments, draw, paint, and perform in dramatic productions. Future kings diligently studied history and current events. They not only were taught the who, what, when and where; but they learned the why and how. These future history-makers needed a wealth of knowledge to govern diligently when they reached maturity.

Not only did the nobility need knowledge to rule, they would need wisdom and integrity. Character is caught, not taught. It is learned in the presence of someone older and more self-controlled. When a son reached a certain age, he began to spend time with his father, or another adult in a position of authority and responsibility. Here was the hands-on training necessary for the future. Gracious manners, response to conflict and the art of diplomacy are discovered in the moments where they are required. No workshop or book could impart the wisdom that the future leader was equipped with through mentoring.

Homeschooling gives us the opportunity to mentor and tutor one-on-one. We can give our children the education that was formerly reserved for only the nobility. And our children are of royal birth if they are born again members of the Kingdom of God. Jesus is the King of Kings! We are the children of God: royal princes and princesses. What an amazing privilege to give a noble education to our children who will one day rule and reign with Christ!

Blessings to all you royal tutors!

Love,

Meredith

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Nov. 5, 2008 - I Knew He Was Brilliant

When my son, Cody, was two years old, he spoke with a speech impediment. He could not pronounce Ls. He admired “wions” and “wightbulbs” and he “woved” me very much. I’m glad he called me “Mommy” because he couldn’t say my name. If he attempted to say it, he would have called me “Waura.” This condition continued for years. Suddenly one day he walked up to me and said, “I love you.”

I said, “I love you too.”

Then I said, “Oh, oh, oh, say lion.” He said, “Lion.”

Say, “Light bulb.” He said, “Light bulb.”

Then I called my husband at work and made the poor child say every L word I could think of until finally my husband started cheering, because he finally realized why I was torturing the boy with this crazy list of words to recite. We couldn’t believe that his speech problem was just gone.

When Cody was four he suddenly walked up to me one day and said, “I can count to 100.” Then he started doing it. The next day he walked up to me, randomly, and said, “I can add one to anything.” Again, he started doing it. “One plus five is six. One plus 10 is 11.” The day after that brought another surprise announcement. He had figured out how to add two to anything. I just knew that I had a mathematical prodigy on my hands.

We began homeschooling with very high hopes. We picked curriculum that had worked well with my older son for two years. We planned classes. We started with great enthusiasm. Then life changed everything. My family went through some really painful months that first year of homeschooling Cody. There came a point, by Christmas, that I actually did what most homeschool moms think about doing. I quit. I enrolled by children in the local public school. It was a highly rated elementary school. My older son had gone there for kindergarten and it wasn’t disastrous. I felt like I had lost it. I felt that the boys could get absolutely no education from me in my current state of mind. I felt that the school was the best place for them to go. I felt completely defeated. My dear sweet prodigy would have to be molded by somebody else.

That summer my husband decided to take a job in Florida, so we all moved. I still didn’t think I was ready to homeschool so we enrolled them in a local magnet school. At the magnet school, Cody started first grade with a brand new teacher. She was not just new to him, she was new to teaching. He spent an hour on the bus, eight hours with this young and inexperienced teacher, then another hour on the school bus. Very shortly after the start of the school year, I started receiving notes from the teacher saying that I needed to read at home with him more because he was not keeping up with the class. When I talked with Cody about the class, he complained of the students who wasted the class’s time. He complained about the teacher yelling at the class. He did like, however, the lady who came to class once in a while and read with him. I spoke to the teacher. I spoke to the guidance counselor. I spoke to the school nurse at the least once a week because one of my two boys developed a mystery illness that frequently. I spoke often to both of my sons about their classes. I found out that my boys had not learned anything since I stopped homeschooling them. I decided it was time to quit again. I needed to quit believing that somebody else, especially a government agency, could fix my problems. I needed to quit allowing somebody else to control their education. I was finally committed to homeschooling, no matter how I felt.

That January, I started homeschooling Cody all over again. This time we were not quite as enthusiastic. This time we were determined. This time we had a mission. This time we had to find out why he was having trouble instead of how to mold the prodigy. We read, wrote, did math, and played, of course. He was a wreck. I was a wreck. “How can we possibly move forward?” was often the question of the day. Amazingly the first answer came at the doctor’s office. He needed glasses. He wasn’t reading well because he wasn’t seeing well. The next answer was that being told he was a poor reader had killed his confidence so he did not want to read. I needed to build his confidence. We camped out many afternoons on my bed reading together. He picked the books. He read for 20 minutes with all the help he needed. I read for 40 minutes to help the story move along. This kept him interested in the stories and in time his confidence improved. We were starting to roll.

FUN OBSERVATIONS THAT CODY HAS HELPED ME MAKE:

• Erasers have texture.
• Wood grains, real or fake, have great varieties.
• Strange tiny threads float in the air, especially through sunlight.
• When the battery is running low on the clock, it’s always half past the hour.
• The leaves on the tree in my back yard never blow the same way twice.
• The color of the carpet changes slightly when you vacuum.
• When you drip milk on paper it bubbles. (The paper, not the milk.)

This is really just the beginning. I can’t remember everything. I don’t think you would like to read it anyway. The point is that Cody stares. He stares a lot. He stares when he should be reading. He stares when he should be writing. He stares when he should be calculating. Basically, he stares instead of doing his work. I am no education expert, but I do think I can recognize an attention problem when I see one. This was an attention problem. I needed help. My brilliant son couldn’t pay attention long enough to be brilliant.

I was suddenly faced with a new challenge. Not only was Cody not the perfect, self motivated homeschool student you read about. He was a challenged student. I didn’t want to label him. I just wanted to educate him. I wanted him to read. I wanted him to write well and I wanted him to understand mathematics. I knew that I expected a lot from my children, but I didn’t think I was unreasonable. Often I have been advised to just accept that Cody is not as smart as the other children and give him a break. The problem with that advice was that I knew he was brilliant. When he wants, he can learn anything….fast. When he gets a new video game he masters it in a day. He remembers actions with his hands. He remembers locations on a map. He even knows how to do research to help find answers he can’t figure out on his own. I thought that if I could turn every one of his school subjects into video games he would do so well. There were a couple of problems with that approach. One problem was that I didn’t program that well. The next problem was that I didn’t know how to make fractions as exciting as WWII battle fields. We did try available video game style education programs. They didn’t help. They actually provided more distractions than opportunities to learn. It was time to get help.

I asked my homeschooling friends for advice. I asked my “real teacher” friends for help. I was advised to keep his lessons short. I was advised to provide him a piece of carpet or textured fabric to rub. I was advised to never leave his side when he is doing school. The lessons were already short. The texture rubbing brought his attention back to his work, but he never remembered to do it on his own so I had to never leave his side when he was doing school. This is particularly difficult because I was homeschooling up to three other children while working with him. These friends and “real teachers” even offered to work with him personally, either at my home or theirs. These sessions usually ended with the same comment, “I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t know how to get him to stay on task. It’s amazing how he manages to NOT get work done. Maybe you should expect less of him.” I always smiled as graciously as I could through my great disappointment. In my head I was screaming, “BUT I KNOW HE’S BRILLIANT!!”

I’m not here to tell you that I have the answers for attention challenged students. I am here to encourage any of you who are facing the same challenge. I have spent years staying by his side as he does every lesson and repeatedly saying, “Get back to your work.” He started last year to read well. This past summer, since he was in high school and it couldn’t be avoided any longer, I asked a young grad student friend of mine to help him learn how to write essays. We have been making great strides and I’m really beginning to see the fruit of my efforts.

The good news is that attention challenged students thrive with one on one attention from their “teacher.” The best news is that we are homeschooling and that gives them their best, and maybe only, chance for success. Cody is 15 years old at this writing and a sophomore in high school. He is taking Geometry, Communications: Oral and Written, Latin, American Literature, New Testament Survey, Courtship and Marriage, Introductory Web Design, Marine Biology and American Government. If I hadn’t homeschooled him, I am confident that he would be working a minimum wage job and preparing to drop out when he turns 16 next month. I don’t know where he’ll go when he graduates, but I’m glad he will have a chance to choose. Your homeschool students will also.

----Laura Nolette

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