Today I woke up feeling great!  Dare I say, NORMAL??!!  Since the onset of the morning sickness, this has been my best "working day" so far.  So, I jumped into my trial schedule just to see what would happen.  I thought I'd take a moment to share.

Most of us got up at that not-so-magic hour (still not tellin' ).  I'm not up to doing full-blown breakfasts yet (much to my oldest son's dismay), so he made toaster waffles for himself and I had a bowl of cereal.  Morning chores were completed and we were on to the Daily Chores.  For the first time in months, I actually got them put up on the dry erase board!  My oh-so-scheduled first-born was absolutely THRILLED!

We worked through all the chores in good time...I think it was 10:30 when the last one was erased!  Time for school with Child #3! 

At first, she was a bit confused because up until now, "school" has meant grabbing a coloring book and crayons and pretending it is important work.  When I pulled out actual materials, she said things like, "Can I color now?"  and "When can I do my coloring book?"  Part of me is wondering if she is still too young and I misjudged her readiness...but I'm not going to let one day make up my mind for me.  Besides, by this afternoon (when her school was long-over), she was asking over and over to do school and kept getting her book out and telling me which pages she wanted to do next ("Sorry kiddo...you don't get to pick and choose at random," says my brain as I nod and smile at her utter cuteness)

That went fairly well, but this is about the point I stopped taking my own good advice...meaning I tried to implement EVERYTHING all in one day.  Will I ever learn???

Remember, I was going to have my bigs take turns making lunch?  Well, I realized nearly too late that not only was it quickly approaching lunch time (and this pregnant mama DOES NOT like to miss lunch!), but I really had not informed them of this fact.  Thankfully, I was finished working w/ Child #3, so I could ramrod the operation, but it literally took all 3 of us working like crazy to get lunch on the table.  This is one of those areas that is going to have to wait I am afraid.  I think for now, I will just enlist them to help ME with lunch until I feel confidant they can actually handle it on their own.

Now onto Not-Taking-My-Own-Advice Chapter 2...

Two gigantic boxes arrived on my doorstep today from Rainbow Resource.  This is the thrill of every homeschooling mother's life...new stuff!  Well, I decided TODAY was the perfect time to start all those new subjects.  Prep time?  Who needs prep time?  I can wing just about anything!  HELLO?!  (All of you who have been reading my "advice" so neatly laid out for you on this blog, here is your proof positive that I am a real, live, occasionally insane, perfectly normal, homeschooling mom who does ridiculously foolish things more often than she would like to admit!)

So, I wing it through the schedule of subjects I had listed for today using brand-new materials I saw for the first time TODAY.  Amazingly enough, it went rather well.  Which is actually a BAD thing, because it means come tomorrow, I will try to do this all over again and the law of averages says there is NO WAY I can make this work for more than a couple of days in a row at which time, I will fall flat on my face and feel like a failure.  Yes, I will say it again...Will I ever learn???

So, how exactly do you get it all done when there just doesn't seem to be the hours in the day?

Well, after much deliberation and looking for how others were making it work, I arrived upon a decision.  I'll walk you through this piece by piece because each part has its own set of challenges and fleshing this out may prove to be much more difficult than I am imagining in my little head.

First off, I intend to have a set wake-up time.  Or at the very least, a wake-up-by time.  Meaning, everyone, myself included, should be awake by such-and-such time.  No, there is no magic hour (at least not that I am aware of), so I won't bother telling you what time that will be for us, but I am beginning to see the merits of having everyone awake and ready for the day at a set time.  This is not something I have been readily convinced of in the past, so this, in and of itself, is a huge step for me.

Prior to breakfast are Room Chores.  This is something that USED to be intact for us, but has been allowed to slide.  No more! 

After breakfast will be morning chores.  If you'll remember my post on how we clean, this is where I intend to plug in our Daily Chores List.  So, if it is Monday, we will dust, do laundry, and water plants during this time.  It is my hope that all of this will be accomplished by 10:30 am.  This IS a magic hour, because HERE is where I am going to try to grab my precious teaching hour for Child #3.

And here is what I hope it will look like...

Bible with all the children.  Then, the bigs split off to do subjects that are independent for them while I take Child #3 and spend an hour doing her school.  Much of her "work" is fun stuff and art projects, so it is quite possible that she will continue to be occupied by a project well into the afternoon while I school the olders.

After her "official" school time is over, we will eat lunch.  Now, here is where I ran into yet another snag.  HOW do I do school AND cook???  Well, my solution is to assign simple weekday lunches to my 10 and 7 year olds.  This is the one thing I am still not sure about mainly because I grow rather weary of the same thing over and over, but I think once we consistantly do it, it will work well.  So, the idea is that whoever has lunch that day will break off from their studies around 11:30 or 11:45 and start their particular easy lunch.  And since I will be doing school with my little one at the dining room table, I can supervise the cooking as well without having to do it myself.

Next, we put the youngest down for his nap, do table chores, and start in on afternoon schooling.  It will be during this time that I will do the teacher-intensive subjects.  Once those are finished, there will more than likely be a bit more independent work to finish up.  I am cautiously optimistic that all will be accomplished somewhere around the 3:00 hour.

So, what do you think?  Sound doable???  I sure hope so!  This is a big step for us.  Never have we taken morning AND afternoon hours to do school.  Any thoughts?

I realized a couple of months ago that I would be adding a 3rd child this year to our homeschooling schedule.  Although, I do not find myself freaking out quite as much as I did when I added number 2, I am finding that it will throw a wrench in the works.  Couple that with the fact that I now have a 5th grader and something about having a 5th grader makes me feel as though I need to step up his standards, I am finding that I must rework much of our school day to accomodate all I wish to accomplish. 

I will not even attempt to lead you to believe that I know everything there is to know about creating a school schedule, but I did think it might be helpful to give you a tiny taste of what sorts of questions and planning is going into the creation of our new school schedule.

The first thing I did was write out every subject I wished to cover w/ every child.  My youngest will be doing an all-inclusive curriculum called Home Education Curriculum (which is out of print).  The main challenge here will be finding the one-on-one time to do this w/ her.  It will only take about an hour, but we all know how elusive an entire in-tact hour can be in a homeschool mom's day.

With my 5th grader, I intend to do Bible, Math, Grammar, History, Science, Rosetta Stone, Spelling, Art, & Music Appreciation.  Up to this point, we have only been consistant with Bible, Math, History, & Science, so adding 2 new and rather rigorous subjects (Spelling & Grammar) is going to be the biggest challenge here.

With my 2nd grader, I intend to do Bible, Math, Handwriting, Grammar, History, Science, Art, & Music Appreciation.  The challenge here will be to add the Grammar and to make a more concerted effort to really help her to understand math...not just tolerate it.  (Actually, we would be leaps and bounds ahead if she would just learn to tolerate it!)

From here, I wrote out how many days per week each of these sujects required.

Bible ~ 5

Math ~ 5

Handwriting ~ 5

Grammar ~ 5

Spelling ~ 5

History ~ 3

Science ~ 2

Rosetta Stone ~ 3

Art ~ 1

Music appreciation ~ 1

Next, I wrote the days of the week on a sheet of paper and plugged the subjects in...

The 5 day-per-week subjects were no-brainers.  Next I put in the 3 day per week ones, then the 2 days, and lastly plugged in the 1 day per week subjects on the days I felt I was willing to have more to do.

However, when I looked at this schedule, I truly wondered how I would ever accomplish it all in the afternoon (traditionally, the time frame we work within), as well as find that much-needed hour to school Child #3.

I'll explain how I worked through this issue in Part 2...

Well, since my original entry "magically" disappeared, let's try this again!

The question of schooling year round plagues not only public schools, but homeschools as well.  As a youngster, the thought of year-round school was detestable, but as a teaching mother, I see with clarity the benefits of this concept.  So, rather than debate the topic, I thought I would give you our family's top reasons for homeschooling year round...

1.  Life throws curveballs.  Homeschooling year round offers the flexibility to dodge those curve balls without totally losing our footing.  Newly pregnant with horrific morning sickness?  Take a break!  Needing to visit a sick relative?  Take a break!  A natural disaster occurs that affects your family?  Take a break!  There is no guilt involved because you will be picking up right where you left off when the time comes.

2.  You are not beholden to a calendar.  So, junior finishes his math a month early.  What do you do?  Move on!  Little Susie just isn't getting her grammar?  Keep going over it until she does!  Of course, these concepts hold true no matter whether you homeschool year round or not, but if you are less dependent on a calendar to tell you when to finish and when to start, you feel more at ease with allowing the children to go at their own pace.

3.  No need to take a refresher.  There is a reason most books have about 30 lessons of review...summer steals brain cells!  We are actually able to skip about 30 lessons in some of our books because we are homeschooling year round.  Delightful news for both mom and children!

So, there you have it!  Our family's favorite reasons for homeschooling year round!

My friend, Brandi, sent this my way...

Pentel Arts is giving away a free 12 color oil pastel
set per household!

Enter promotional code SA2008

http://www.pentelarts.com/offer.php

I recently blogged about making a workable Homeschooling Schedule, but as homeschooling moms, we have the added responsibility of keeping up with a daily to-do list that can often be overwhelming.  We have a home to run and no amount of positive thinking will make the house keep itself clean.  So, in addition to finding a workable homeschooling schedule, we must also find a workable Homekeeping Schedule.

The first place to begin is with assessing what kind of family you have.  There are basically 2 types when it comes to how things get done:  scheduled and routine. 

Now, before you tell me that you are neither one because you are a free spirit and prefer not to commit to anything even remotely resembling something that might tie you down, let me entreat you to consider the God you serve and His attributes in this respect (remember, we are created in HIS image).  God set forth timing and order to nearly everything.  Our day is 24 hours, with a sunrise and a sunset.  We have a 7 day week, with a day set aside for worship.  The tides, the seasons, the revolutions and rotations of the planets are all in a set order.  Even God's plan for mankind's salvation and reconciliation to Himself was set forth in a certain order.  God is not a God of chaos.  So, Fly By the Seat of your Pants is not an option.

How do you determine if you are a family who prefers schedules or a family who prefers routines?  First of all, there are merits to both.  One is not right and the other wrong.  They both lead to order, just in a slightly different way. 

The Scheduled Family tends to like alarm clocks.  They feel their best when they rise at the same time every day with no variation.  Most of the members of the family work best within time limits.  They are often encouraged by accomplishing tasks on time.  There is very little deviation in life from day to day, and very few outside or spur-of-the-moment trips throughout the week.  Everyone enjoys knowing exactly when and what will happen next.  And Daddy often has a set schedule, so there is no question as to when meal times are and when Daddy's days off are.

The Routine Family rises at approximately the same time every day, but if they have been out later the evening before, they tend to sleep in later.  Things in the home do not necessarily have a designated place.  To this family, time constraints only serve to create foul moods and frustration.  The joy of finishing a task often supersedes the amount of time it took to complete that task.  Daily life includes many spur of the moment happenings:  people dropping by, quick trips to the store, an impromptu outing with Daddy, to name a few.  Daddy's schedule is not set in stone.  He is on call, or works random weekends, or later nights here and there, or possibly, Daddy works from home or has the option to be home at will.  Meal times change from day to day as do Daddy's days off.

So, now that you have a better idea of which type of family you are, you can now move forward with putting a Homekeeping Plan in place.  There is a myriad of options out there for each type of family, so I couldn't possibly touch on each one, but I will try to have several future posts that give you a place to start. 

I'd also like some input from you!  What type of family are you and have you found something that works well for your family dynamic?  I can't guarantee I'll be able to research and post about every one, but if you leave it in the comment section, others will be able to benefit from learning about what has worked for you!

I don't generally like parodies, but this one caught my eye because of the truth that lies within...

I am so very pleased to announce my children's blog...

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/littlearrows

Where Little Arrows Hone Their Skills

You will see posts by Camoboy (age 10), Nutmeg (age 7), Sunshine (age 3), and Laddy (age 2).  They will be writing on everything from family happenings, to Bible studies, to their homeschooling day.  You will be able to enjoy poetry and stories, science tidbits, and original works of art.

So, please take a moment to visit them and encourage their new venture!

This was the first year I had a real, live, doable homeschooling schedule.  In the past, I have tried many different schedules from the rigorous to the lax.  None of them seemed to stick and always eventually led to chaos. 

The rigorous schedule only worked for a short time because, truth be told, it was just too much.  Too much to get done in too little of a time frame, too much work for my children at the ages they were, too much to be expected of them and me.  Because of this, it eventually fell by the wayside and what took its place was often the exact opposite...the lax schedule.

My lax schedule tended to look like nothing.  I jumped around in subjects willy nilly, never truly completing any one of them.  I was never prepared and school rarely got finished.  This, by its very nature, brought on chaos.  No one ever knew when school would be nor what was expected of them once they were "in school."  I could only take so much of this before my head was cluttered and I revamped and ended up back on a rigorous schedule...oh, the vicious homeschooling schedule cycle.

However, this year I was introduced to the concept of MODERATION.  Not every subject had to be done every day.  (Have I ever mentioned that quite often I need the obvious stated to me?)  So, I took this concept and developed a block schedule.  I have been amazed at how well this works and how easy it is to accomplish.

So, without further ado, here is the block schedule we use for our 1st grader and 4th grader.

Every day, I start w/ the 2 children together.  I read a Bible story from Hurlbut's Story of the Bible.  You can read this online, but I was blessed to find a copy at a thrift store for $.50!  This book teaches even the most obscure of Bible stories in a solid Biblical-worldview way.  And the children LOVE it!

On Monday, we also add Window on the World to teach the children to think outside themselves and their country.  This has been a real turning point for our 4th grade son.  He prays for missionaries and their work on a regular basis now.

Then, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday we do History.  For us, history is incredibly important to our homeschool.  It is part of the vision my husband and I have for homeschooling; therefore, it gets 3 days a week.  Currently, we are at the threshhold of the War between the States, so we are reading Uncle Tom's Cabin: Young Folks' Edition.  We downloaded it to our computer and read it off of there.

After our time together, the children seperate off and my 4th grader independently does his math and grammar while the 1st grader does her math and handwriting.  During this time, I grade papers and go between the two helping them as needed.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the schedule looks much the same except that Science replaces History and my 4th grader does Rosetta Stone online instead of his grammar.  Before this, he did typing on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but he is a fairly good typist now and practices his skills during his computer time (also on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday).  My 1st grader also gets her Home Ec in on Tuesday and Thursday (but really, this takes place nearly every day as she spends time following me around and helping wherever she can).

So, there you have it.  An easy, doable schedule.  I am so pleased that I have finally found something that works for our homeschool.  I would encourage anyone who sees problems in their homeschooling schedule to take a step back and really asess the problem areas and revamp and rework until they find what works.  Once you do, you will feel so much more relaxed about your school day!

The other thing I would highly encourage is thinking outside the box.  Don't think school must start at 8am every day.  I thought this was the only way to school for years before I realized that there was no way that was going to work for our family that consisted of more littles than bigs.  So, I shut my eyes and took the plunge into afternoon schooling while the littles napped.  (Once again, sometimes I need the obvious stated...or else I just need to be reassured that doing something "differently" is okay.)

So, what are some things you can do to beat the homeschooling scheduling blues?

1) Pinpoint the problem areas.

2) Brainstorm ways you can overcome these problems.  Don't be afraid to list even seemingly outrageous solutions.

3) Try each suggestion on for size (preferably one at a time).  Give each one at least a week before deciding whether it works or not.

4) Discard those that do not work.  Do not worry about the fact that Susie-so-and-so made it work for her family.  You are not Susie-so-and-so, and your family may have different needs than hers.

5) Keep those that do work for you.  Write them down, implement then, enlist the kids to hold you accountable to the schedule.

6) In a few weeks, reevaluate.  Is it still working for you?  Did it end up being as great as you had thought it would be?  Do you need to try something else from your brainstorming session?  Has the new schedule created a new problem area somewhere else?  If so, is the new problem worth keeping the new schedule?  Do you need to brainstorm a solution to the new problem?

7) Don't be discouraged.  The process may be long and involved, or you may find a workable schedule only to realize that a new baby or a new move or something else puts a kink in it and you have to rework it again.  If you stay calm and just methodically work through finding a new solution, you'll make a lot more headway in a lot less time than if you fly into a frenzy and end up burned out.  Remember the adage, "Slow & steady wins the race."

and

8)  My very favorite reminder...Pray for the Lord to fill in the gaps.  You WILL have gaps.  There is absolutely no way around it.  Remind yourself, if you must, that your own schooling had gaps and yet, here you are, following the Lord's will.

Homeschooling is one of the few things that remained the same after Emily died.  It was something that I had some control over, and since it had never directly involved Emmy, it was something I could do w/o having to relive too many painful memories.  So, within a couple of weeks of Emmy's death, I began teaching again.

When I left here about a month ago, I said that I intended to keep the site w/ the hopes that someday I could return to talk homeschooling here.  When I left, I could not fathom talking about anything other than my precious Emily, so the thought of running 2 blogs did not appeal to me at all.  I had already started moving to Blogger when Emily died, so that site was the one I chose to keep up with.  However, I still felt I had found a "home" here and I hated the thought of leaving permanantly.  In the back of my head, I hoped that some day I could return and make this strictly a homeschool site~telling all of you what was going on in our little homeschooling world. 

Amazingly enough, I am finding that in recent days I have had the desire to talk about other things, to make plans, to learn something new, to expound on other topics.  Part of my heart wants me to believe this is wrong...like I am somehow leaving my precious little one behind.  But, this just isn't the truth.

The truth is that the Lord did not want my life to end on February 10, 2008.  He chose my Emmy.  And He expects me to continue moving forward...toward Him AND her.  He expects me to train my remaining children in His ways so that they may too see their sister again. 

It is not dishonoring her memory for me to be able to talk of other things.  It shows that I am getting to a place where I am able to reach beyond myself and my grief.  It shows that I am healing.

We FINALLY made it to the church listed on the Vision Forum site!  It was WONDERFUL!!!  I won't go into details, but it was so refreshing to be in a church that believes Christians should worship as families, not as seperate age/station categories that suggests different ages and stages can't possibly gain anything spiritually from being in the same room listening to the same Bible teaching.  In fact, some people are seriously annoyed by children in an worship service!

I love my children.  I love being around them.  They are not a chore or a burden.  I am stupified when I hear someone comment that they could NEVER homeschool b/c they couldn't spend that much time w/ their children!?!  It makes me wonder WHY they had them?  Is it b/c that is what proper married couples are supposed to do?  Is it b/c they were under the assumption that having children would be a fun hobby--one they could put on a shelf when they became tired of it? 

I wonder if these people who can't stand to be around their children have failed to train their wee little ones in the way they should go?  Have they taught their babies the true sense of the word family?  Do their children enjoy being a part of their household?  Do they have a sense of being a part of something bigger then themselves?

I have a 9 year son who could probably run the entire household if need be.  It wouldn't be done to perfection, but it would definitely suffice.  He knows how to cook a few simple meals, change diapers, wash laundry, dust, vacumn, and mop to name a few of the life skills he has learned.  He's not a burden, he is a HUGE blessing!!!  When there are chores to be done, he pitches in cheerfully and quickly.  He has a ton of energy and a head full of ideas and experiments he wants to try someday.  He is funny and fun-loving, with the gift of gab and the vocabulary to go w/ it! 

I have a 6 year old daughter who takes her job as a mommy-in-training very seriously.  She dotes on her younger siblings and helps her older brother whenever she gets the chance.  She is working on being more cheerful throughout the day and not getting discouraged when things don't go her way.  She is incredibly creative, loves animals and babies, and reads on a 7th grade level!  She loves to help in the kitchen, and I am sure she will soon be as indispensible to me as my right arm!

I have a 3 year old who is a ray of sunshine.  This long-awaited child was well worth the wait as she is the funniest little critter ever to walk this earth I am sure.  Her bouncy curls match her bouncy personality, and those big flannel-grey eyes melt my heart.

My 20 month old is my little laddy.  The child named in honor of my father who's strawberry blond hair and chin dimple match his Irish name perfectly.  His eagerness to be "big", and his varying inflections of the word "uh" to tell me all about his little world, endear me to him. 

And then there is our precious little bitty one.  Her beauty is surpassed only by her happiness.  She'll *talk* to anyone who will listen.  Our little 4th of July baby is a sparkler, a dazzler, a joy.

I am eager and anxious to watch my children grow into themselves.  It is so exciting to see sparks of who they will become!  I WANT to spend ALL DAY w/ them so I don't miss any of these moments!  My days aren't dreary and bleary and boring.  I haven't been reduced to a single-syllable vocabulary.  And I am not overworked and under paid.

I am MOM--

Hear me ROAR!

I am so thrilled!  Today as part of her home ec project, she made brownies!  This time we walked through it step by step together, but in a couple of days, she will do it again w/o my help (of course, I'll be standing nearby to supervise and step in if she needs me, but judging from how she did today, I doubt that will be necessary!

She is becoming quite the little homemaker, and I am so proud of her efforts to learn her cooking fractions and baking skills.  You should see the confidance and pleasure it gives her to make something ALL BY HERSELF.

Now that the new  homeschooling year is upon us, I thought I would share the type of lesson plans we are going to.

First, a bit of history (of my quest for the perfect lesson plan, that is)...

When we first started homeschooling, I used a print out (I believe it was from abcteach), that had boxes you filled in by subject by week.  I was thorough...and ambitious...a little too ambitious.  I NEVER seemed to accomplish what I set out to do each week and often finished the week frustrated w/ myself.

After discussing this w/ a veteran homeschool mom, she led me to journaling.  It eased the pressure I was feeling to live up to The Schedule.  At the end of the homeschool day (or as we were working through the lessons), I would journal what each child was doing.  This worked really well for a couple of years, but by the end of last year, I noticed I was not keeping track as well as I should (my own fault, not the journal's), and decided I needed a little more accountability.  I did not want to go back to the days of a full-blown schedule that I could never live up to, but I needed the structure that type of schedule provided.

I ran across an idea from another veteran homeschool mom online that I believe will be the right fit for us.  I've heard it called a dateless planner, but what I am doing really looks more like a dateless assignment sheet.  It is simple and easy, gives the child ownership of their assigmenhts, and provides the record I need and a structure that will keep us running smoothly.

Here is a sample of what it looks like:

Math

Son-Saxon 65-07/08

DATE     LESSON #     COMPLETE     CHECKED     REDO     NOTES

______    Lesson 1          _______        _______      ____       _____

______    Lesson 2          _______        _______      ____       _____

______    Lesson 3         _______        _______      ____       _____

Only the lesson # is plugged in ahead of time.  The date the lesson is first done is written in under date w/ a checkmark under complete.  When I check the lesson, I mark the checked line.  When the child re-works the missed problems, he/she checks the redo line.  If I have any comments to add, I put it in the notes section--this helps me to track just how well they are doing in the area covered by the lesson.  The subjects we have that do not require a reworking of problems don't have the redo line, and there will be some lessons in some subjects that will still require more of a journaling approach.

This year our school schedule involves Bible (using the one and only true Living Word of God--the Holy Scriptures), Prayer/Geography (using Window on the World), History (using Tapestry of Grace  as well as books suggested by All Through the Ages--we are currently at the Constitution of the U.S.), Science (using the God's Design series), Typing for my oldest (using Typing Instructor for Kids), Home Ec for my oldest daughter (using a series from the Pearables), Grammar for my oldest (using Primary Language Lessons), Foreign Language for my oldest using a free Rosetta Stone online introduction from the Kansas City library, Handwriting for my oldest daughter (using A Reason for Handwriting), and Math for both (my son is using Saxon and my daughter is using Horizons)

We are officially starting school on Monday, Aug 27th.  I am excited for what this new year and new schedule will bring!

I'm plodding away at learning HTML and MooseBerryMountain, who is also in the group, is getting her degree in web graphics and did all the graphics for the site.  It's not fancy, but I am very pleased with the outcome so far!

So, here it is...

Montgomery County Homeschoolers Association

Today we started a new unit in KONOS--

SELF-CONTROL

Suffice it to say, it was crystal clear that this was definitely the section God had in mind for us at this juncture!

Here is how the first lesson went...I can't even begin to really put into words the atmosphere, but I hope you can imagine the whole thing just from what I have written here!

ME: Today we are starting a new unit on self-control.  B please be quiet for just a moment.  M sit up.  OK, here is the definition of self-control...

DD: (shouting) I don't know the definition!

ME: That's b/c I haven't told you yet...now sit up and don't yell!  Self-control is making myself do what is right.

DS:  Oh yeah...doing what's right...yeah, that's right...I knew that.  Hey, I know a song about self-control...(starts singing).

ME:  (trying to talk over DS)  It's not easy to do what is right all the time is it?  So, we have to practice self-control and do what is right even when...B stop singing!...M, sit up!..even when it isn't easy.  OK, here's what we're going to..

DD:  I'm tired.  Can I get a drink? (mind you, we JUST sat down for school)

ME:  No.  OK, here's what we're going to learn during this section...

DS:  SELF-CONTROL!

ME:  Um, yes, but here are some of the things we'll learn about self-control...1. To control my body and appetites...

DS: Yeah, like eating too much!

ME:  yes...2.  To control emotions and expressions...and 3.  to control my tongue...

DS:  Yeah, like overtalking (remember this is my jabberwocky kid!)

ME:  Yes, like talking too much and saying mean things to others.  Now, self-control is one of the fruits of the Spirit...

DS:  Hey, that's the song I was singing (begins to sing again).

ME:  Hang on!  Let's read the verse first and then...

DS:  Can I read it?!

DD:  I don't want to read!

ME:  It's Galatians 5:22-23 and I'LL read it!

DD:  I can't find it.  ARGH! 

DS:  I found it!  Can I read it!!!

ME:  Hang on!  M, Galatians is BEFORE Ephesians, now I'LL read it!  (I read--trying ever so hard to exemplify the fruits--especially the "longsuffering" one!)

DD:  Hey!  That's not what my Bible says!

ME:  OK< what does yours say?

DD:  I don't want to read it!!!

ME:  Just read it, please.  (DD starts to read)  Wait!  That's Ephesians, not Galatians...here is Galatians 5:22.  NOW read it.  (DD reads.  Then I let DS read his--we all have the same version, but I couldn't let DD read and not let him read too.)

DS: (starts singing again)  Hey, wait a second...these words aren't right!  What happened to patience?

ME:  Longsuffering is patience.

DS:  Longsuffering??  I thought that was being sick a long time!

ME:  Well, it means that even when you must suffer through something for a long time, you are patient and you don't complain...

DD:  I'm complaining!  I don't want B to sing that song anymore! (makes a really grouchy face)

ME:  OK, B stop singing for a while, please.  Let's draw some pictures about the fruit of the Spirit.  B, STOP SINGING!  M, SIT UP and STOP MAKING GRUMPY FACES!!!  ARGH!!!!!

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I'm sure I didn't sound nearly as patient as it appears, so I am sure I need this unit too!  I just pray we all survive it!

Well, I am a little behind, but here are some of my thoughts on Chapter 2 of Teri Maxwell's book:

I definitely want to start a prayer journal and not rely on my not-so-great memory.  

I also need to jump back into my Bible reading w/ a friend...we were reading a chapter in Matthew each day and then conversing via email about it. It was so refreshing and nice to have someone to discuss God's Word with.

One thing that I struggle with (and seems to be popping up everywhere I look) is the aspect of "rising early."

Today I got up at 6 after putting Baby back down (he's teething and sleep is often fitful for him). However, 15 mins into reading, I was out like a light! This seems to be my problem every time I try to get up early.

I've asked the question before, but I will ask it again...is it the Biblical thing to do to rise early?

The new year's list of Keeper's At Home sessions came out today.  I am down for April 16th to teach Poetry.  As I was thinking about this today I began to wonder how in the world I was going to teach this.  I purposely taught sewing for my first session b/c I had to teach myself to sew and it wasn't a natural thing.  I had no problem knowing how to teach that.

But poetry?  Now that is an entirely different matter.

From the time I could read, I have written.  It is like breathing to me.  When trying to decide between whether I wanted to study science or literature in college, I opted for the one that came more naturally to me--literature.  Sure, I sat through hours of creative writing and literature classes and wrote reams of research papers, but none of that would have truly mattered had I not already naturally known that certain words sound delightful together and certain phrases were a joy to read.  I had a solid grasp of the English vocabulary and knew how mold and tweak sentences in order to get my point across while they danced across the tongue. 

I love words...I love how they look on paper and screen.  I love how they feel in my mouth.  I love learning a new word and savor the moment when I get the chance to use it correctly in a sentence.  I am fascinated with the etymology of words and am delighted when I recognize in another language the same origins as English words.

HOWEVER...I'm not sure I can teach something like this.  Can I teach a girl to love the written language as much as I do?  Can I teach her grasp her dictionary with both hands and conquer it, make it her own, and then use it as often as possible?  Can I teach her to always be on the hunt for new ways to say the same old thing?  Can I train her ear to hear and her eye to see when a sentence or phrase has reached the pennacle of clarity and beauty?

Oh sure, I can tell her about alliteration and all that fancy stuff, but if she doesn't truly enjoy the words she is writing down, it won't matter a lick.  I know not every little girl in Keepers is going to grow up to write poetry, but I need to find a way to show these impressionable young ladies that the written word has merit.  However, when something comes naturally to you and you are passionate about it, I'm not sure you can truly teach it to an audience who just doesn't "get it." 

Your natural aptitude may be piano, or history, or science, or even (horror of horrors) math!  If you don't know where or how you learned these things, can you truly teach them?  I'm sure you can...I am just having a difficult time finding a way to present poetry in a broken-down, easily digestible, little girl manner.  Thankfully, I have until April to either come up with a workable plan or take up a new hobby that I can teach!

They are in there bickering like an old married couple! lol

DS is WAY too good at playing Monopoly (thus the reason I don't play him anymore--same reason I no longer play chess with him!   )

My mother (Gma) says, "I don't know any 3rd graders who can multiply like he can!" 

To which DS replies, "That's b/c I do multiplication all the time!"

Gma says, "They start multiplication in 3rd grade?!"

To which I say, "Ummm...no...but there is no sense in him doing the same boring thing over and over."

I refrained from telling her he has been doing multiplication since 2nd grade!  "They" might not approve!

My mom has been generally supportive of our choice to homeschool; although, she does not understand it.  She thinks it should be "school at home."  She laments the fact that I don't have any "me time" throughout the day as other public school moms have.  She wonders how my children will ever learn to follow rules if they aren't required to sit in neat little desks in neat little rows in neat little classrooms. 

But just to give you a glimpse into what makes mom tick...her first comment when I said we were going to homeschool was this,

"But you won't be able to greet him at the door with milk and cookies!"

This blog stems from a rainy-day conversation I had w/ another homeschool mom. 

I would be a rich woman if I had a dime for every time someone asked me why we homeschool. 

Just the other day, my family had the opportunity to reconnect with a childhood friend of mine and in the midst of the conversation she asked me why we decided to homeschool.  I gave her my mindless answer that goes something like this..."Where we lived before, Kindergarten was all day and I knew I didn't want my son going from all day with me to all day at school, so I approached my husband about sending him to preschool which was only a half day.  During this time; however, DH was deployed to Cuba and we decided that our son was suffering enough trauma from losing his daddy without having us send him away from his mommy as well.  So, he stayed home and I began teaching him at home b/c he was so eager to learn.  By the time he was Kindergarten age he would have been bored in school and I would have spent all my time in the principal's office, so we decided to homeschool.  Somewhere along the line we became convicted that this was God's will."

Later, I began to think about my "story" and the almost afterthought I tacked on at the end that has now become the ONLY reason we homeschool.  We did the right thing for all the wrong reasons, but yet here we are still doing the right thing and now for the right reason as well.

I talk to many misguided homeschool moms who are often looking for "school at home" or some unattainable standard of perfection for themselves and their children and their curriculum.  There are even times when I am the misguided homeschool mom!  I get caught up in the HOW and forget the WHY.

In view of the recent rash of school shootings, there have been the usual number of reactionaries saying, "We're going to pull our kids out of school and homeschool!"  I find myself putting on my skeptical spectacles and  saying things like, "That's not a good reason to homeschool!  They'll never last!"  But wait a second...was my reason a "good" reason?  Wasn't my reason reactionary as well?

So, what do you do with someone who has decided to homeschool for all the wrong reasons?  Us "seasoned" homeschoolers could stand in judgement--almost like a little clique of mamas who have all the answers because we homeschool for the right reason. OR...

We can openly welcome all the newbies, draw them aside and earnestly listen to their reasons, and then PRAYERFULLY and GENTLY guide those who are homeschooling for the wrong reasons.  Send them notes of encouragement, answer their seemingly endless questions, and ALWAYS keep Christ at the forefront of your conversations.  When they decide to make their homeschool look "just like yours," encourage them to seek the Lord's will.  But if they continue to insist on being your carbon-copy, then let them.  We all started somewhere.  We all came to this with preconceived notions of what homeschooling looked like.  And for those of us who only knew one or two homeschooling families at the time we took this leap, more than likely, we just followed their lead.  Sooner or later, they will find their own groove.

You may be saying, "But wait a second...I have this friend who has been homeschooling for all the wrong reasons for YEARS!  Is she EVER going to "get it?"

Just remember this, she may be doing the right thing for the wrong reason, but she is still doing the right thing.  Pray for her and her children.  Be there for her when she falls down and doesn't know why.  Continually wash her in the Word. Encourage, encourage, encourage.

I still need to be reminded of my convictions.  The world begins to creep in on my little homeschooling corner and I start wondering if I am doing enough by the world's standards, I forgo the devotions in order to squeeze in that missing math lesson, and I look at Suzie Homeschool Mom down the street who does everything right and start reworking my oh-so-mundane curriculum.  Next thing I know I am flat on my face before the Lord being reminded of the REAL reason I homeschool--the RIGHT reason--the ONLY reason.

Life has been busy here and we've been away from the house for the better part of the month!  We recently got back from a nice long and much needed vacation to Colorado--pictures coming soon!

We will start school tomorrow! 

All I really wanted to do was pop in here and let everyone who is faithful to read this blog know that I hadn't fallen off the face of the earth!

Hope to find time soon to get back to my usual blogging routine!

Blessings,

Amy