It's an attitude that can take over and grow. One needs to be careful and watch for this and put it under foot!
There is a Cherokee proverb that says "Don't let yesterday use up too much of today."
I like that very much!
It's easy, if we have one bad day, or a couple of bad days in a row, to say, "Why am I even doing this? My homeschool is a failure! We never get anything done."
That, my friend, is letting yesterday take up too much of today! Each day is a day unto itself. It is a clean slate. You may be in a "season" of busy-ness (or craziness in some sense of the word), but there are still little things getting taught and being accomplished that are stepping stones on the way to the big picture.
Enjoy the journey. You will get there, even if by baby steps. Your children will learn just as much from your spirit today as they will ever learn from any textbook.
Lynn
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While surfing today I came across an article in a North Carolina paper about unschooling. It is an interesting article with almost all the information in it coming first-hand from the parents.
http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-823674.cfm
Lynn
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Sighing here, waiting for spring! Then I remembered my hellebores! I went outside to peek under the gardenias and, yes, the hellebores are blooming. They bloom in late winter/early spring. It was so nice to see a flower in bloom. Now I await the others--all colors and kinds, that will follow.
Lynn
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Is this a good thing, or no?
Seems Portland Community College in Oregon wants people to have the "facts," so a veteran mom and public school teacher will be offering a class to talk about the pros and cons of homeschooling. Interesting. She's a mom and a public school teacher, but has she homeschooled??? "It's tough enough..." she said. I wonder if her class will truly be "balanced" as the article says.
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/argus/index.ssf?/base/news/1171997464262270.xml&coll=6
It'll be a class worth its salt only if it truly offers the real pros--all of them, and the real cons.
It is indeed moving to witness the fruits of a well-oiled homeschooling family: children unaffected by peer pressure, socially adept and academically disciplined to make it in life. It's fruit that does not grow without a good measure of hard work and daily commitment. I wonder if this teacher has ever seen a real, committed homeschooling family?
I wonder about homeschool attrition rates. Attrition literally means a wearing away or a gradual wearing down. Attrition can happen to new homeschooling families and old alike. I ran into a homeschooling friend of mine the other day and, honestly, she was tired. She has seven children covering everything from toddlerhood to 10th grade, all homeschooled since birth. Still, I believe her commitment is strong and she would be unlikely to give up over being tired.
The real worry when it comes to attrition, no matter how hard this is to say, is families who look merely on the surface, see the fruits of someone's long, intensive, relentless labor and decide that they, too, want to homeschool but without really developing their own personal commitment or their own real "why." It would be nice for these newer families to develop a strong sense of commitment so that they may make it through the bumpy times without jumping into (or back into) the public schools.
I fear that the only "homeschooled" children many public school teachers see are the ones who were homeschooled just long enough to become out of sync with a public school setting and then put back into the public school. It does not paint a clear picture of real homeschooling over time.
Over time, I want the numbers to continue to show that homeschooling works--because it DOES. This class in Oregon may help or it may hurt. It may be balanced. It may not be.
If any of you in Oregon attend this class or know anything about it, I would love to hear from you!
Lynn
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"...where homeschooling has been illegal since Adolph Hitler decided he wanted to control the educating of all children..."
Let the above quotation sink in for a moment.
The above quote is from a current article at WorldNetDaily:
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54425
The article concerns the Busekros family of Germany who had their 15-year-old daughter removed from their custody when officials learned that she was being taught at home. Officials now are wanting the Busekroses to give up the custody of their five other children in order to "resolve" the situation!!
Beware! There are large and powerful groups in this nation that do NOT agree with our right to homeschool in America. I rest in knowing we have on our side the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)--"tens of thousands of American families..." BUT the National Education Association boasts 3.2 million members! Perhaps we cannot presume that every single member of the NEA is anti-homeschooling, but there is no doubt about the potential power of an organization as big as the NEA, and they are not the only organization of their type!
My husband and I are members of HSLDA and I would like to encourage you, if you can, to join as well. The membership fee was something we felt we could easily work into our budget and we felt it was worth it, if only for the regular publication we received from them! Let's support those who protect our rights to homeschool!!
Take care,
Lynn
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Will you make a choice today, or do something today, that will change your personal destiny?
I made a choice about whether or not I will work part-time outside of my home. It's not like I have not done it before. I have.
I look back on it with a sense of loss on one hand because I missed hours with my children that can never be gotten back. On the other hand, I did what I had to do. One can be proud of that.
Still, every precious minute that can possibly be mine within these walls that I call home--I WANT IT!
The part time work offered would include Sunday afternoons. I feel led to not do that. I also know that being here in my home for my family brings me joy, which in turn brings my family joy. I feel led to hang onto that.
I am trusting that saying "yes" to the convictions of my heart right now will bring a measure of blessing to our family. It's a choice that will affect my personal destiny. Will I be clipping even more coupons? Yes. Will I be looking for ways to be even MORE frugal than I am now? YES! Will I take joy in doing so? YES!!
How can there be regret in being home?
Lynn
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It would pay you dearly to find out and get involved!
I was surfing around this morning, as I often do, and I found this bill on the Minnesota House of Representatives website:
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/bs/85/hf0302.html
Apparently the goal is to "increase children's school readiness." It seems that low-income, disadvantaged families are to be "voluntarily" involved in this at this point in time, but I myself question the underlying motive of this type of government action.
Grant recipients are required to "administer a developmental assessment." They are also to "help parents obtain culturally appropriate information." Excuse me for a moment, but what is "culturally appropriate information?" Does it mean that someone accustomed to MY way of life will be the assessor? Or does it mean that a participant must learn to model their family after what is deemed "culturally appropriate" by the program?
It's too broad a statement for me!
Look at the bottom of the page that I linked to. It seems that, altogether, $10,000,000 is being appropriated for two educational programs that would benefit mostly low-income families. The bill "Directs the education commissioner to expand the developmental assessment that school districts voluntarily administer to entering kindergartners..." I don't like the word "expand" when it comes to government!
I want low-income families to have food and education. I don't want to see any child go without medical care. But where is individual responsibility in all this??? And what about families in these districts who are low-income by choice?--Perhaps one-income families who do not believe in immunizations? Or one-income families who want to homeschool and stay away from the "it takes a village" mentality? What if programs like this "expand" into something mandatory??
And where is all this money coming from? Tax payers? From other school programs?
I am reminded of a conversation I had with a local high school English teacher whose ninth grade students were reading Holes, a book we read in our homeschool for fourth grade! I asked why he was not doing something more challenging? He admitted that the students were so out of control and inattentive, and that there was so little parental support, that he could in no way teach a book like that. Wow!
So, are we fostering parental involvement by throwing $10,000,000 into a pot to allow government to analyze the development of children from low-income families and provide an "all day kindergarten?" I think not!
The school in which the above-mentioned high school English teacher taught was a public, government-run high school in a median- to high-income school district. Money, or the lack thereof, is not the problem, folks.
Do families who enter into these programs give up individual freedoms? What if, as a parent, you are found substandard? What if your child is found to have "problems" that these community-based programs determine you, as the parent, are unable to handle alone? Are you then forced to enter into programs or monitoring that you might not agree with?
Thomas Jefferson said, "I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive."
I agree!
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One little, two little, three little chickens...
I made a felt set for someone and included a few chickens for the theme.
Is it just me, or are they CUTE??
Lynn
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I added a new page to our site.
http://www.thehealthyhomeschool.com/highschoolschedule.html
I also moved a link from the home page to the site map
http://www.thehealthyhomeschool.com/thefallensoldier.html
Lynn 
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Three of my children and I are all sick this morning. It could be worse, but it's bad enough to keep us in, mostly because of the low-grade fever and cough.
My house is cozy and warm this morning. I am thankful for that. It feels good to have a quiet morning, just puttering around the house with my tea cup.
Lyn
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I am so thankful for a new day! We have so much to be thankful for in this country!
That said, I am planning to do some thrift store shopping this morning!!! I just LOVE hunting for old treasures! Love it!!
I will also be looking for some old wool, dry-clean-only sweaters to felt.
Here's a good page, with some more good links, about doing this:
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art34743.asp
I, of course, buy new felt for my Learning by Felt playsets, but this other felt will be used to make felt dolls and toys. I have a new product in the works and hopefully can post pictures soon!
Lynn
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if it were not for the internet??? What would you be doing with your time? Would your life be better or worse?
Something to think about...
Feel free to comment!
Lynn
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I am just so happy with my newest felt creation! I made a nighttime backdrop. I found myself wanting to see an owl in the tree (we are big Owl Moon fans, thanks to Five In A Row), so I made an owl and put him (her) in the tree.
What fun!!
Lynn
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I am so excited to finally have on-line a part of my cottage industry! I design, make, and sell felt playsets. You can take a look at them, if you like.
http://www.thehealthyhomeschool.com/learningbyfelt.html
I really enjoy making these. I also make mosaic birdbaths and crafts. I am really thinking of making a potting bench for sale. I have designed one for myself and now that I see its strengths and weaknesses, I think I can make more, better!
Nothing like being home, working on what you love, right?!!
Lynn
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Holy, holy day.
Thank you for the sun, and life,
and an empty tomb.
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We have been getting multiple annoying phone calls from the above number. I did a seach on Google, and it would appear that we are not alone. When you dial back this number after hanging up, you get a recording that the number has been disconnected. They CLAIM to be from the Visa rewards center and they want to send us a bunch of FREE stuff. Yeah right. They do happen to have some personal information of ours--just enough to probably scam some people. It appears to be VERY fraudulent. Give NO information if they call you.
I plan to call my credit card company today and ask if they feel we should cancel the old card and start with a new number.
Lynn
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I have been asking myself this lately. Recently we have been hit with financial difficulties that MIGHT send me out into the work force. I have been there before, and I DON'T want to go again. I want my cottage industry here to be enough!
I have been looking for ways to cut corners. The LESS we spend, the LESS I need to make. Drinking water came into view!
We used to have the big 5-gallon containers of spring water delivered to the door. It was convenient, but it was also expensive!! At about 8 dollars for each container, that was running us around 32 dollars a month. (We go through at least four a month.) So, I called and told them to stop delivery.
I have several 5-gallon containers that I own, so every trip to the grocery store, I started picking up 5 individual gallons of spring water at a cost of about 67 cents a gallon. That came to 3.50 per 5 gallons, or about 14 dollars a month. That saved us about 18 dollars a month. BUT WAIT...
I was listening to a talk radio show on SAVING MONEY and there was a water expert on there. He said that drinking water from the tap is generally safe, but if you are afraid of the chlorine, you can let tap water sit for 24 hours and the chlorine is gone.
I now fill up our 5-gallon containers with tap water, cover the tops with a cloth that can breathe, and after 24-48 hours they are ready to use. I only do one at a time, just in time to replace the empty one.
Our savings now is close to 32 dollars a month. I realize we pay for city water, but I think the cost is nominal compared to the fuel effort and monetary cost of even bringing home 5 gallons each trip to the grocery store.
I am trying to apply this thinking to everything around this house that I call home. I wonder how many other things are costing me unnecessarily??
Lynn
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There is just no shortage of troubles and crises that could keep a home from being what it should be. We are struggling. Just about everyone I talk to is struggling. There are so many things to struggle with these days.
The cost of living comes to mind first. Even for those who would homestead, there's the need to find land and pay taxes and sustain life. Most of us are urban dwellers, the family farm having been sold off generations ago. It's all we can do to set up a little place in a decent neighborhood and pay all the bills.
I guess my second thing would actually be the tail-end of the first thing, which was cost of living. Anyone else have steeply rising utility bills? We can hardly pay our city water bill. Not sure what we can do about usage either. It takes water to live. I am preaching to my children--conserve, conserve, conserve! Not to mention gas and electricity.
The next thing is medical costs. Congratulations to you men who have jobs that give you good benefits and your wife can stay home without the worry of medical care. I am in the camp of women who married men who work at a trade where minimal or no benefits exist. The pay may be good, but even a good hourly wage won't offset a huge medical bill. It can be a cloud of fear over one's head all the time. That's probably more so in a home where there have been big medical problems--like here. I try not to worry.
The next thing is trying to maintain on one income. It is a mindset--day after day after day after day. I like to play a game: I see how little I can spend every single day. If I go through a day and spend nothing, that is great!!! Of course we have utilities running in the background, but I mean going out and spending cash. This is a biggie for me and my four children!!
My focus these days is remembering that we will be provided for and that I am NEEDED at home right now--not out in the work force! I certainly do my share to bring income in. I make a specialty item that sells locally, but I think perhaps even bigger than that is my part in spending wisely every cent that comes into my hands. A man can make a million a year, but it does little good if the home is run in such a way that it is not dealt with wisely. Even people making huge salaries can be in debt to the point of ruin!
The last thing is the very harsh influence in the world today. I see young people with nothing to stand for, so they fall for everything, as the saying goes. I see more and more depression and anger. Again, my children NEED me here right now!
That's my thought for the day. Dig your heels in! Stay home if you can! Don't incur debt unless absolutely necessary! Live frugally. Live faithfully.
Lynn
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I just love mornings! I love the clean slate that a new day is. I am feeling good about my rough schedule. I think after all these years I have figured out that ONLY a rough schedule will work for me. I don't do strict! LOL. I like being spontaneous, but I know we must be diligent in getting our lessons done. We are working on high school, after all.
That said, I don't want to be too hard on myself or encourage anyone else to be too hard on themselves for not being able to do a strict schedule. We have had a lot of external pressure around here over the last five years. The death of one of each of our parents, serious illness in my husband and some employment changes. It's not easy sometimes. I am just glad we have been able to stay on course in our goals.
Enjoy your day!! A fresh new day is such a great gift!
Lynn
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Sometimes I feel like my days are shrouded in chaos. I run from one thing to the next, picking up little pieces of a project started at 8 a.m., gasping as I realize it is 12 noon and nothing is ready for lunch, screaming in my head that lessons are not done at 2 p.m., wondering if it is safe to take a break because I am exhausted, and collapsing at 9 p.m., vowing to do better the next day.
Life can feel like that for a homeschooling mom. We are everything to some people in the family--mom, teacher, principal, playmate, and something to each one in the family--wife, helpmeet, friend. Ummm, it gets busy!
My entire life I have been drawn to order but I have attracted chaos. Does that make any sense at all? Let me explain. I long for results! Results that could only come from progress, and it seems to me that progress comes in a step-wise, orderly fashion. Yes, I might be lucky enough to get a miracle without any effort on my part, but how often does that happen!!! LOL. That said, when *I* set out to do things in a step-wise fashion, it seems I always get sidetracked. My emotions, or fragmented thoughts, will land me in a spot that I am NOT supposed to be in and I end up looking back with sadness knowing we should have been on lesson 100 today but are only on lesson 35!!!! (Or whatever! Fill in the blanks.)
I feel that part of my problem is due to a lack of being able to stick to something routinely (a schedule). By schedule, I mean even a rough draft sort of sketchy piece of paper that tells me I have exhausted the amount of time I should be on the computer and now it's time to do some work, etc. I think if I want to play with my younger children each day, I am going to have to put that on my "schedule" and realize that it will only get done if I make it something that SHOULD get done each day. Also, if I am do get 100 lessons of math done in 100 days, then math must be done every day without fail.
I know that a rigid strict schedule--English at 8, math at 9, science at 10, etc.--does not work for everyone, but my goal in this New Year is to give myself windows of time to work within. Between the hours of 10 and 1 each day, I must spend "X" amount of time with my 10th grader doing math. That gives me some flexibility, but it also will hopefully help me to be accountable. I have windows of time for starting on dinner, for working on my website/business, and so on.
I made my schedule up this morning. It is very loose, I must say, but I am certainly expecting great things from having it posted where I can see it and from training my thinking to say to me, "That schedule means something, so you better stick to it!!!"
Lynn
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