Sometimes, a litle wisdom goes a long way...

The greatest achievements were at first, and for a time, dreams.

The oak sleeps in the acorn.

(James Allen 1864-1912)

Hey friends,

Ok, so I'm officially excited. I could bounce even higher than my kids on a trampoline, I could even run to the nearest mountaintop and shout my lungs out.

 Why? Well today marks the launch of the Living Heritage blog. This is the official blog of the newest and freshest homeschooling organisation in the UK, launched this autumn. Do you love diving into classic literature with your kids? Interested in British architecture? Art? Historical greats? Enjoy some fun along the way? Check out our new blog www.homeschoolblogger.com/LivingHeritageUK.

It's going to be updated regularly, put it on your friends list today!

Jane

(Living Heritage managing editor)

Today we stuffed our lunches in bags, braved the M1 and went to the John Bunyan Museum in Bedford.

Not just any old museum, no siree. This is the museum dedicated to the life and writings of John Bunyan and his world famous book 'Pilgrims Progress'. The museum is on the site of where he spent 12 years in Jail for preaching back in the seveteenth century. It houses Johns old anvil (he was a tinker) a huge key to his cottage, The actual wicket gate that the story begins with, his old violin and even the platter that his blind daughter mary used to bring him food on while in prison. Oh yes, not forgetting his handwritten will!

The kids and I were blown away. What a rich heritage.What an inspiration to proclaim Jesus as Lord. What a total privilege to have the opportunity to raise my kids in what is good and true.

Next term (Sep) we're going to be working on the Pilgrims Progress Homeschool curriculum by Answers in Genesis(currently one of Gena's picks) It's absolutely amazing and I can't wait to start!

Jane

Coming soon 'Living Heritage' organisation, magazine and blog created  to equip, resource and inspire  UK Homeschoolers. I'm so excited about this, we've been working on it for a long time, TOS have been a wonderful support. Check out http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/homeschooluk It's going to be good!

Now I love a good romp through the forest with my kids like any homeschooler. I love it when they initiate their own learning and adventure and discovery are round every corner. We have spent many an afternoon knee deep in mud exploring and debating the world around us. One of the definite advantages of homeschooling is indeed the 'white space' time for a child to create and explore their own way.

However, I'm feeling more and more uncomfortable with the style of home education in this country where ANYTHING goes, and education just supposedly happens regardless of what you're doing.  Here's my issue with it...

Surely, we are called to 'raise' our kids. This, to me, means not only giving them whitespace time to explore, but ALSO giving them opportunitiues to learn self discipline and getting to grips with some decent work. I want to be sure what they are well tooled up for the working world AND well tooled up in Godly character. This stuff doesn't just happen as they meander through life with barely any goals or direction!  Sure , autonomous learning has a place in a homeschoolers kit bag - but surely many more tools, and dazzling gems of learning we can also offer our kids.

Jane

Alas, I'm just not great at gardening.

It's not that I don't like a fragrant garden of blooms and vegetables, I just some how can't do it. Each year I look at our square garden spilling over with climbing frames and plastic tea sets and I think 'This year I'll do it...'.

As I started to feel guilty that the kids were missing out on the wonderful joys of gardening that I have yet to discover, I took them to talk to a local gentleman who has been gardening his allotment practically since the dawn of  time. The kids were mesemerised as he talked of giant marrows and beans growing to the sky. I asked him, nonchanently, what his secret was (hoping for the key to my gardening va va voom) The answer from this gardening master?

"Water, wait, prune and water some more. Then just wait and trust."

It got me thinking...homeschooling is much the same.  Sure it involves the active business of teaching, traing and pruning. But it also involves waiting and trusting. Giving our kids the space to root in the well nourished ground, giving them opportunity to reach for the sun themselves...

Maybe this blossoming thing is for me after all!

Jane

There's a great entry on Gena's blog (TOS Publisher) about the 10 reasons why they homeschool. Well, here's the Bullivant family version...

1 We tried school. It sucked the spark out of my kids. It narrowed their social development. It cramped their creativity. It generated a 'whatever' attitude in the kids.

2 Homeschooling is a jungle track adventure. the family is interacting in the real world. There is no gulf between us all. It feels alive.

3. Unlike the schedule of school,The kids get opportunirty to persue interests. This afternoon my 7 year old has spent hours researching habits and care of squirrels (to his delight the squirrel in our tree has had kittens!)

4. They are confident to mix with all ages boys and girls, they're not interested in 'anti girl/boy gripes'. They are close with each other.

5 they are not sucked in by the shallow kid culture that is rampant in school. There imagination is not swamped by TV characters.

6. They are not rating themselves against other kids all the time. This has given them confidence to stretch themselves academically. They enjoy learning!

7 My youngest is not being 'dumbed down' by the label of 'preschool'. She joins in with the boys experiments and explorations. 

8. Alongside the wealth of 'academic' stuff we explore, they are becoming well tooled up as responsible people. They learn to cook, manage plan and evaluate the stuff of real life.

9. They are growing in their faith of the living God every day. They think nothing of getting together for a quick pray. Our local school is headed by a very sweet lady, who also happens to be an atheist. A kind teacher, popular with the kids, also happens to be a gay rights activist. Sure that's their choice but It's so not right to submit my kids to damaging philosophies.

10 Homeschooling is fun!!!!

Life roars on in so often, I barely have time to think. But occasionally, between hoovering the hamster and attempting to bake, think is what I do.

I was just thinking what the deep longings of my heart are. If I was asked by God "Jane, what are the longings of your heart?" What would I say? Sure I have the mum -standard ones that our kids grow strong and true, that I be an honourable and beautiful wife.

I also have one other deep longing that is a real big deal to me...

Our middle boy, turbo charged Sam, has severe allergies. He's spent half his life wrapped head to toe in bandages because of eczema and now he's allergic to so many foods that he can't have 80% of stuff people usually have. His skin is cracked so bad sometimes. So, as a family we have such a limited diet it's untrue.

 ANYWAY....the longing of my heart is that God would totally heal Sam. No holds barred, the full deal. I believe he can. Last summer God laid it on my heart to go and put Sam's creams on him and pray over him every night when he was asleep. So I did..... And I waited ....and I waited. I was waiting for God to do...something!

Then I finally clicked on. It's not about waiting FOR God. I'm to sit with Sam and wait ON God. Just give the Lord  my heart, my life my little Sam. Rest in him.

My little guy  has just come down from bed now, itchy. So I'm going to go cream him up and wait on the Lord now.

 Be encouraged friends, and wait on Him. He knows the deepest longing of your heart.

Goodnight!

Jane :)

 Sharks, apparently, grow to the size of their environment. So Jaws in the pacific ocean grows to be... a big mama. Put some species of shark in a smaller environment (like a fish tank) , and they grow to be...tiddlers!

I was just thinking...a crucial part of parenting surely has to be an expander of our child's horizons, not a limiter. It's easy to get focussed on boundaries and plans and schedules. I know I do because I want to tool my kids up with a generous hunk of self discipline.

I'm now learning to also cheer them on as explorers of life's great adventure. Encourage new interest, fresh expression.On the days it feels as if we're all banging around in a fish tank together I try and throw a curved ball of something we've just not done before. A glistening drop of the big wide beautiful ocean...

Ok so today I'm a happy cookie. Why?..

Finally (FINALLY) my second book 'Juggling with Hamsters.Raising amazing kids without chasing your tail' is done and we just emailed it to the publishers in Oxford. The kids and I all hovered around the computer and pressed 'SEND' and off it went zipping through the air waves, and we all did a jig!

I don't who was relieved, me or my husband. You see, ahem, how I've written this book is as follows:

Spend all day homeschooling/chasing our snail/becoming a master at stuffing things in closets.Put the kids in bed - read story/check for monsters under bed/double check under bed.Touch base with dear, exhausted husband.

THEN...get a frappucino (starbucks is round the corner) and unearth laptop from piles of kid junk. Panic when find one of kids has downloaded sonic the hedgehog games. If book manuscript doesn't have runs of sonic all over it, it will either be a miracle or my editor has had his finger oon the delete key for a LONG time.

Then write whatever I can squeeze out (kids used upall my imagination juice at story time).

Then, I press 'save'.

Thats' how the last 5 months have gone.

So now we're back to last week and finally my 50,000 words was done and I asked my dh to format it all for me.  'Sure' he said 'which file is it in?' . ummmmm. Y'see, I've just been pressing  'save'. Files and all that I've not quite stretched to (there's only so much a girl can do!) Luckily he unravelled it all from 'sonic the hedgehog' files and spruced it up. Kind, kind dh.

I MUST get better at this IT stuff!

Near our home is the local cattery had a revamp and was named ‘pet hotel’. These lucky moggies get meals delivered to their ‘quarters’, regular gentle walks, and optional extras such as shampoo, extra blankets and catty chews before bed. I speed past this resort about four times a day on route to my kids various activities, usually with  kids praise music on full blast and the kids welding raisons to the upholstery to pass the time.

 On one particularly frantic excursion when I’d had to make a detour to recover a shoe "dropped" out of the window (yeh like I was born yesterday) I paused by the traffic lights and gazed longingly at the pet hotel. If only I could check myself in, order shampoo and extra blankets with nothing to disturb me for a couple of weeks other than a spot of gentle exercise and delivery of a few well earned treats. So mesmerised was I, by my pet hotel fantasy, that I failed to notice that all the kids were shrieking with delight lobbing their shoes out of the window.

Sheesh....

Ok you might have guessed by now I'm a  author....don't be fooled. I'm no neatly tweaked homeschooler on a hammock sipping chilled lemonade as the kids methodically do their studies....

I'm more likely to be on my knees in the kitchen chasing our snail, Virgil 2, (this sucker moves fast). Or you'll find me stuffing more in the freezer than is humanely possible. Or.....Ok I'll tell you.

I had a book signing out of town the other day. So I got changed from my mom gear (you know...paint/baby juice splattered, flour flecked, baggy jeans) into my one and only outfit of 'author gear'.  Appearing out of the bedroom like superwoman I hurtled round the house before leaving dishing out instructions to everyone....and superJane was off!

It wasn't until I was on the fast lane of the motorway that I realised in my flurry of reminding my dh not to forget to brush kids teeth/load dishwasher/take snail for a walk (joke) that I realised that I had my shirt on inside out with a huge great label sticking out the back. So I pulled in to the side of the road and had to crouch under the steering wheel so I didn't give unsuspecting drivers a flash of my 36 DDD's as I changed (OK so I'm not 36 DDD). So arrived looking flushed, hair messy, and shirt tucked in kinda twisted... and you can only guess what went through their minds.

Byeeeeeeeeee

Jane

ps if you want a real laugh - the sidesplitting, tears rolling down your face  kind - you've got to check out 'Rusty's great adventures part 2 'at 'Service for Seven' blog.

Can I just say a HUGE Thankyou and well done to all who entered the Juggling with Hamsters contest. I laughed and cried my way through all the entries (and all the blogs while I was at it!). I will blog you all individually to say a real thank you. it'll just take a bit of time. It is a real honour to be able to include all the winners in my next book - 'Juggling with Hamsters. Raising Amazing kids without chasing your tail' (Kregel -out next year)

I know people always say when judging contests how hard it is to pick winners - well it really was. Those chosen had to fit the target audience of the book (ie not necessarily christian homeschoolers). This meant some really top entries didn't get chosen also, this was hard as the quality of all entries was SO high.

I'm currently knee deep in hamsters Well...not the real type. The full 50,000 word manuscript has to be on my publishers desk by Nov 14th Yikes!!!!!. And I have to allow time for dh to format it because he's the  whizz on all things technical in our house !

OK OK so the barbecues are not even cool and the last rays of summer aren't that long gone..... but am i the only one who gets really excited about the magic of winter this time of year? ! Can I just recommend this book for any snowaholics out there...its called 'The Snowflake. Winter's secret beauty' and the photos in it are phenomenal. I bought it as a homeschool resource and well... lets just say the kids didn't get a look in!

I'm thrilled that lots of entries are rolling in for the 'juggling with hamsters blog contest'. The deadline is soon - Can't WAIT to read them!! I'm working till all hours every night on the last couple of chapters of 'Juggling with Hamsters'. It means so much that you guys are also in there with me! 

Gotta go - my shephers pie is bubbling!

Sometimes having a great homeschool can feel like that slippery bar of soap - just keeps slipping out of my grasp. OK, so a toddler posting her Barbie down the toilet CAN be a distraction, as can boys intent on eradicating english comprehension from the universe! But rather than just 'getting through' each day, I'm really trying to nail down the things that make homeschool great. Any ideas?,

One nugget of wisdom I have stumbled upon recently, is to share doing 'school' with other families.  There are two families we 'do school' with sometimes - it's so great utilising the skills of different moms, AND the kids get a a great day while they're at it. Maybe you guys already do this in the USA, but it really seems to make sense to share our inspiration, resources and skills and homes with each other. The hospitality  is nice too!

Better go coz my 7 yr old is oiking me off the computer so he can do his blog!!!

I have a new book coming out next year called 'JUGGLING WITH HAMSTERS' RAISING AMAZING KIDS WITHOUT CHASING YOUR TAIL (Lion Hudson). The final chapter is going to be entirely blogs from TOS HomeschoolBlogger! The winners of the blog contest will have their blog entry in print and receive a free copy of 'Juggling with Hamsters' before it hits the bookstores. The first 5 to submit entires will receive a copy of my current book ‘Dear Lord, I feel like Whale!’ along with a FREE one year subscription to The Old Schoolhouse for your or a friend.

• Humor
• Inspirational
• Encouragement
• Best parenting moment so far
• Challenging
• Kids’ wisdom (Winner will receive a prize but NOT be in the book.)
• Organized living 

Judges will be Spunky, TOS publisher and Jane Bullivant. There will also be a Bloggers Choice Award where you can vote for the best entry (details to come. Stay tuned)!

• Your entry should be your original work
• You must be over 18 to win. (Except in Kid's Wisdom category)
• Your entry must be posted at your HSB blog
• PLEASE!  Send the URL link to your post in the email (You do not have to put the full post in the email.  Just the URL)
• Please put in the subject line of your email "Contest Entry" and then the category you are submitting it for.          EXAMPLE: Contest Entry: Humor
• You will receive a confirmation email within 24 hours. 
• Limit 2 entries, per person, in DIFFERENT categories

                                                                           spunkyhomeschool@thehomeschoolmagazine.com

All submission will be posted as a contest post at Spunky's site on October 15.  So others will see be able to read the entries and vote for the Bloggers Choice Award from all categories)

PLEASE HELP US PROMOTE THIS ON YOUR BLOG!!! 

Here's how i see it. Invitations/ requests/favours from people in our world should be responded to  with a 'Yes, I can' or 'Sorry, I'm not able to right now'. So, WHY do I find myself fumbling for an excuse to justify my refusal...

It takes a brain like a speeding bullett to come up with an instant excuse to 'Will you mastermind the Sunday school's easter production?' when you're asked in September.  It's so easy to  whip out an excuse 'Sorry, we're off to papua New guinea then...' or 'The hamster is suicidal' 'I'm SURE we have guests then'. Maybe because people think homeschoolers are hands on gals that  will take on anything (which of course we are!) they think anything vaguely crafty or to do with children is something we're desperate to gleefully say 'YES' to.

Well I'm finally learning to keep it real and not feel duty bound to any favour request flying my way. It's OK to say no sometimes. Because I'm such a wuss at this the 'leave it with me, I'll get back to you' line works well. I'm realising more and more that for everything there is a time and season and to push in and find what God would have me give my energy to. Also fake Excuses count as lies! (eeek!)And,  if I take on too much, I can't give 100% of myself to anything...and that sucks!

According to my nature pumped kids, I SHOULD be a whizz at identifying trees. Sure I can spot the usual English ones -oak,sycamore, horse chestnut but any more .....well I'm 'stumped'. It's not that I'm not interested, I LOVE a stomp  through the woods. But the names just don't stick.

Yesterday we went for a great walk through charnwood forest  (Leicester), much of it is centuries old with a huge variety of trees. Again, as the kids scampered through the trees, i was frustrated at myself for not knowing the ALL the names. Then we stumbled upon a 1000 yr oak tree which was so awesome. Awesome in it's size, the history it must have seen, the luminous green of the leaves. Then, I had a 'doh' moment (Homer Simpson). I realised that while tree identification IS important, it is not AS important in me recognising and being inspired by nature's rich heritage. So often i get distracted by insignificant detailsd insted of revelling in the majesty before my eyes.

 OK, I confess I have yet to regain my pre- kids mermaid figure but this blog has nothing to do with weight, size or deep sea fishing.

There are 2 whale things in my life, however, that DO float my boat...

After a crazy busy homeschooling day i can sometimes be found crashed on the sofa with a latte and a rerun of desparate housewives. Burned out as a very crispy pretzel. Sometimes i forget the awesome thing it is to be homeschooling my three awesome kids. It's so easy to  forget that life is for living, not existing. That God has created me for a great future. I see my kids as these wonderful human beings (which of course they are) and i sometimes just write myself off just as the day by day cocoon for these amazing kids. Hence being the 'Whale' for the amazing Jonah.

 However, God has really been showing me that, actually, he is our 'Whale' our sustainer, survivor, our journeyer our protection. I don't have to 'be' everthing for our kids - only he can be everthing they need - my role is grow in love and give in HIS strength. Sure, the burnt out pretzel days still pop up occasionally....but when i don't try to be everthing for everyone... journey is fun Yippeee!

My second whale passion is I'm the author of 'Dear Lord, I feel like a Whale! Knowing God's touch throughout pregnancy and beyond' (Kregel). This is a hilarious journey through the rollercoaster of starting a family - a Bridget Jones style, warmhearted trip through the time of your life. This book was written, mostly, in the middle of the night feeding my little ones and I am SO thrilled it's selling worldwide