Homeschool_Living

Feb. 1, 2010 - Our Impromptu Painting Session

Needing some relaxation to calm my nerves today, I picked up my 2 year olds paints and began painting. My son and daughter joined me. We had such a great time listening to classical music and unwinding with our imaginations.

Ruby creating

Gibson in deep concentration.

Ramon watching from a safe place.

Gibson's artwork

Ruby's masterpiece

My painting

Finally, the CD we listened to. It is very relaxing.

Jan. 29, 2010 - Friday Field Trip- Wal Mart Bakery

Today, we went to our local Wal Mart and recieved a wonderful tour. The employees that gave the tour, April and Carlitta, were very friendly and informative.

They showed us the different types of bread they bake there.

The racks they bake them on.

The oven they bake the bread in. They were baking a pizza for free samples. Yummy!

The pot holders they use. We thought they looked like alligators. :)

The giant sink where they clean everything up.

Overall, I would recommend contacting your local Wal Mart and asking to receive a tour of their bakery.

Jan. 24, 2010 - Choosing Books

As always, this time of year gets me to thinking about next year's curriculum. My major concern for next year is history for my 8th grader. After some research, I am thinking I will use Story fo the World volume 4 with activity and test books supplementing with relevant living books.

Curriculum we will continue to use for 8th grade will be Apologia for science and Math U See for math. I will be looking into what to use next for grammar and English lessons. For our 3rd grader, we will continue to use Singapore Math and Pathway Readers introducing science concepts and history as interest arises.

Both of them will continue in music lessons, guitar and piano. I am currently seeking out art instruction for our 8th grader and hope to involve our 3rd grader more in theater.

Jan. 19, 2010 - Feeling free, being me

Today has been a refreshing new awakening. I was able to spend an hour and a half at a quiet coffee shop with a dollar thirty-eight decaf and my netbook. I had a wonderful time sinking back into myself. As long forgotten desires showed their familiar faces, I breathed in a deep satisfaction.

As I searched the internet, read blogs, and sent email at my leisure, I felt so free. More free than I have let myself feel in a long time. What? You may ask, why would you not let yourself feel free? You see, I’m a mother, and not just a mother, a stay at home mother, and not just a stay at home mother, a stay at home, home schooling mother. The tasks of mother, homemaker, and home schooler, though necessary and worthy of the time invested, are just that, tasks. My identity has been caught up in these tasks alone. All hobbies and interests have been put away in order to meet the demands of my employment.

Yet, what I have found is this: Meeting demands without any time for enjoyment has robbed me of any enjoyment at all.

Jan. 14, 2010 - Know Your Child

We are in our 7th year of home schooling, and though we have yet to graduate one of our children, we have been home schooling long enough to have learned some things. One of these things is "know your child". This has been the key to choosing curriculum and diffusing many conflicts between parent and child. I am not simply talking of recognizing your child, 4ft 2in, blonde hair, brown eyes...I am encouraging every parent to make the effort to know their children. Listen to them, observe them, take extra time and make an extra effort to learn what makes them who they are.

I stumbled onto this idea at a bookstore one day as I was browsing with my husband. I came across The Way They Learn by Cynthia Ulrich Tobias and decided to purchase it. I needed all the help I could get understanding my children, as well as my husband and even myself. As we drove home from the bookstore, I began flipping through the pages and was instantly engaged in the subject matter. I read aloud to my husband during the whole 40 minute drive. I was astounded to learn there where more people on earth who thought like he did! And even more amazing, there were others out there as strange as myself! Right then, I was completely sold on the idea of understanding others by learning how they think about things.

Recently, I borrowed a copy of How Am I Smart? by Dr. Kathy Koch. This book has stretched my understanding of "being smart". Since I grew up attending public school and did well with that design of school to a degree, I have always had a certain view of what makes someone smart. This book has opened my eyes to all the ways people are smart and given me a fresh perspective on intelligence. I hope our family life and homeschool life will be forever altered by the information found in Dr. Koch's book. This information has helped me understand our 8 year old son. He has struggled with reading and math in ways I have not understood until now! Knowledge of the 8 intelligences has freed him from feeling like a failure and brought new encouragement to him in his studies.

Another great read along these lines is Your Natural Gifts by Margaret E. Broadley. This book is based on the research of Johnson O'Connor. It goes much more in depth on the topics of natural abilities and career choices focusing on adults, not children. Fantastic read for those interested in learning even more about themselves or wanting to help their children to grow into well adjusted, confident adults.

The more effort we put into knowing our children, knowing exactly what kind of blessings God has given us to raise up for his kingdom, the greater the rewards will be. As I have said, we have not gotten very far down this road of home schooling, but I am confident that as the Lord leads, we will have a better understanding of our children, and deeper understanding is what opens the door to greater love and compassion.

Jan. 3, 2010 - Learning Something New

I have started a new hobby...again. I just purchased a Canon PowerShot SX120 IS. I have been snapping away happily making adjustments ( I have so many choices now!) and using my family as my models.

It has been a lot of fun, but now reality is creeping back in as we start up school again. I have the rest of our term planned out fairly well, so I am planning on keeping this hobby and balancing my life a little more than I have in the past. Avoiding burnout is the name of the game! I want to enjoy my family and for myself to be an enjoyable person as well. With the addition of Ramon to our growing family last year, I was stressing big time! Whoever thought four children could take over your life? I mean, I am the adult here, right?

Now, with the addition of little miss number 5 this coming June, I am prepared for battle. Don't get me wrong, I love my family and home schooling! Yet, I still enjoy having adult conversation and being alone. I enjoy having something to say to people who 1) don't have children, 2) don't home school, or 3) aren't even followers of Christ. Instead of giving a blank to stare to anyone who might ask, "What do you enjoy?" or "What are your personal interests?".

If I want my children to love learning, then I better be setting the example. Showing them how important it is to make the time to learn something new. How to stretch yourself and embrace new oppourtunities. It doesn't mean you despise the things you have already learned; it means you can't get enough of learning!

May. 28, 2009 - My almost 2 year old

Today, my daughter was driving me up the wall! Every time I turned around she was into something she was not supposed to be into. So I decided to involve her in what I was doing, and this is what we did.

We put our make up on.

Took a picture of ourselves when we were finished!

Did the dishes..

Worked on colors...

Ate lunch...

Finally! Book and naptime!

Apr. 17, 2008 - Cake Decorating

My grandmother and mother have decorated cakes for years. So I am starting to follow in their footsteps. I purchased some basic materials and decided to bake and decorate my own birthday cake.

After baking the cake and letting it cool, I turned it out onto my cake board, which was barely big enough, and placed it in the refrigerator overnight. The next day I coated it with icing to trap those crumby crumbs!

My mother's tip was to dip the spreader in hot water to smooth the icing.

The next morning after the crumb coat had dried, I did my next layer(s) of icing. Since it was a chocolate cake, it took more layers than I would have liked, but turned out nicely just the same. Who doesn't want more icing?

After I smoothed the final layer, I let it dry then began decorating. I really didn't have much to go on. I just started with what I could think of first. My colors are pale, but I didn't want it to be too bold on my first try just in case I really messed it up!

This is how it turned out:

I enjoyed it, and I am looking forward to decorating more. : )

Apr. 10, 2008 - Instead of Laundry

The above photo is obviously a picture of a pile of unfolded laundry. I should be folding it right now and getting ready for bed, but I just couldn't pass up this uninterrupted moment to post. Everyone else is asleep.

We had a nice day. The weather was very warm and windy. The children and I went out for some nature study in the yard. I thought I would draw with them, but somebody had to keep their eyes on our littlest one. She was doing her own form of nature study primarily by taste! Alexa did several leaf rubbings and labeled them nicely. Gibson drew the neighbors' house and their front yard with a car out front. I'm trying to explain to him that we are drawing objects only of nature, but, bless his heart, he would rather draw exactly what he sees regardless of it's origin. At least he had a tree with a couple of cute little birdies in it.

Apr. 9, 2008 - Recent Pics

This is my niece, Emery, she was born April 2nd. She weighed in at 6.5 lbs and is 20 in long. : ) She has been the smallest so far! Isn't she adorable?

Our little cutie!

Big brother with his precious little sister.

All 3 of my beautiful children.

Alexa turned 11 last month!

Here is a bouquet she picked for me.

Apr. 7, 2008 - Being Objective

objective [uhb-jek-tiv] ,adjective- not influenced by personal feelings, interpretations, or prejudice; based on facts; unbiased: an objective opinion.

subjective [sub-jek-tiv], adjective- existing in the mind; belonging to the thinking subject rather than to the object of thought (opposed to objective).

God has been speaking to me about these two words. He is showing me more about myself which is good because I have been asking Him to show me my fallow ground.

This morning I had an encounter with one of my children. The type of encounter that occurred happens often, more often than I care to admit. It ended in hurt feelings on both parts. I was asking God about it, and because I was actually listening this time, I heard Him tell me these two words. (I do not audibly hear God, He speaks to my heart.)

He told me to post about this. I immediately consented, but found that it was so easy to be distracted. After attempting to do several things first, out of habit, which unfortunately is a habit of disobedience, I obeyed and began.

Why did God want me to post? I can only believe that because He knows all about me and my learning styles He wanted me to really get the point!

Objectivity is something I struggle with, or more honestly, have not possessed and have not pursued. Most of what I think, say, and do has been subjective. God has brought me far in my journey with Him over the last 9 years, but not that far.

The encounter with my child this morning could have turned out a lot differently if I only would have been objective and had not spoken according to my own feelings. It is diificult and certainly inconvenient to remain objective. If I had only seen the big picture, I could have saved my child and myself from unnesessary harm.

The simple fact is this: I get caught up. I am too often swept away by my own desires. They take me far, far from the Solid Foundation of my life, and those around me are injured in the process.

Lord, please help me to be objective in every relationship to bring you honor and glory. In Jesus name, let it be so.

Mar. 27, 2008 - A note to a friend

Hi Barb,

How are you? We are all well. Did you tell me you own a copy of The Burgess Seashore Book for Children? Could I borrow it? We are studying day 5 in our creation study, and I thought this book might make it even more interesting.

We have been enjoying the nicer weather. Yesterday we spread out a blanket in the back yard and sat Ruby down. She was so cute. We gave her different flowers we could find in bloom. She looked so sweet holding them. It was quite the picture, her holding dandelions while the rest of us gathered around and gooed and gaa-gaaed at her. : )

Then Alexa asked to bust open a rock. She had found a few rocks that looked as if they might be geodes, and she wanted to discover if she was right. She was right! They had beautiful white crystals inside. She then began to bust apart other rocks to discover what was hidden inside of them. She spent hours and had a delightful time. She found some fossils also. I think I will have her take pictures and post and label them on her blog.

Well, I better go. I finally got my dishes caught up, and now I am working on the laundry.

Love,

Jen

ps The reason I posted this on my blog:

I have been enjoying a book entitled A Pocketful of Pinecones by Karen Andreola. It is written in such a warm conversational style. My note that I sent to a friend recently reminded me of her writing, and I thought I would pass it on.

Jan. 29, 2008 - Washing

As the keepers of our homes, we do a lot of washing! We wash dishes, clothes, floors, faces, and bottoms! The chore of washing is never finished because all that we wash will become soiled again and again.

It was during the daily washing of my dishes that I was thinking on this. Every time I wash something is an opportunity to remember all Jesus did to wash away our sin. He suffered much to bring permanent cleansing to our souls. Even when we choose unwisely to follow our own desires and sin, we can always come back to Him. His work of washing us white as snow will always stand. His washing is complete.

I am thankful to Him for this. I am reminded every day, all day long that this life is temporary. The washing I do is temporary. But the washing Christ performed is everlasting. Praise be to God!

For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Titus 3:3-7

Jan. 24, 2008 - The Honor God has Given

You know, sometimes I get tired of answering questions. Some days I'm so worn out that I start wandering down that winding road of self pity, and I think, "Why can't some one else answer these questions? I'm tired and worn out, and I need a nap!"

But, today, God opened my eyes a little more. Just enough to see and have mercy on my children for their endless questioning. My husband and I are their main source of information. For what ever reasons, God saw fit to bless us with the trememdous responsibility of helping Him form and shape these young characters and minds, hearts and souls. And if we take it seriously enough, and know how and when to lighten up, we are raising a generation to love Him. To praise and honor Him their whole lives through, and by His grace, they will pass it on. And on and on it will go. Glory be to God for this honor, and shame on me when I fail to see it.

Dec. 28, 2007 - December 28th

I'm sitting here in the midst of a mess. My house is completely in disarray. My parents and brothers were here for 2 days. We had a wonderful visit, but my house is evidence of their stay. But I'm not going to stress out about it. I'm just too tired and too thankful to freak out about it right now. God is so good. He brings such healing into our hearts if we allow Him to have His way. Now I was a little stressed while they were here, I have to admit, but He has a way of working all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. So it all worked out. It was a special treat to see my brothers. I don't see one hardly at all and the younger one is stationed in Germany. It had been almost a year since I had seen him. They are really great guys. They are good brothers and wonderful uncles. The kids loved playing with them, and it was really cool to see these big burly guys love all over our littlest one.

Dec. 11, 2007 - Resting in His Peace

I am so blessed to be able to home school our children. Thankfulness is a key to unlocking contentment in even the most stressful situations. Sometimes the stress gets to be too much for me and I start to have a melt down. I let all the little things pile up and turn on me. I start to feel a slave to all my worries and doubts, and I can barely make it through the day. But only if I would be thankful! If only I would remember all the LORD has done is going to do even yet! Then I would know peace that passes understanding. Peace that will guard my heart and mind through Christ Jesus. Today I want to carry His peace instead of my anxiety.

Our children with my grandmother. :)

Dec. 2, 2007 - God can change anything!

We went to IN for a week over Thanksgiving. Although it was wonderful to see family and old friends, I am grateful to be home again!

My husband had the oppourtunity to speak at the church where he grew up. Our family did the music for the service, then he gave a testimony to what God has been doing in his life this past year. You see, my husband is a musician. He has pursued music as hard as he could for most of his life. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it was interfering with our family life. In the past, there were times when I tried to confront him about it. He didn't know what I was talking about and would soon be defensive. Finally, I gave up the frontal assault. I started praying.

That was about 4 years ago. This past year God has done awesome things. He has changed my husband's heart, turned it away from the pursuit of musical recognition and towards our family, our children. Two Sundays ago, my husband was allowed to share this testimony. I had tears in my eyes as he stood before his home church family and told them he had been wrong and that God had shown him His plan for a husband and father. My husband encouraged other men, whether fathers or grandfathers, to take up the responsibility of teaching their children. God is so good!

www.heatherhazard.blogspot.com

Nov. 11, 2007 - Be Strong and Courageous!

This devotion was written by a good friend of mine. Thought I would share! :)

Be Strong and Courageous!

by Heather Davis

“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 2:8, 9

Some days, home schooling just doesn’t make any sense to me. Some days the preschoolers are whiny and demanding, my school-aged child is stubborn and argumentative, the house is a mess, the dinner is unplanned, the groceries need getting, and my head pounds. On days like this, I imagine what it would be like if I sent my son to public school. I have quaint, rosy visions of taking the girls outside for a morning stroll before heading off to the grocery store, a quick lunch, and then tucking them in for a nap while I fold laundry and clean a couple of bathrooms. The peace! The time! Perhaps I could even sit down and read a book! There are times public school has its appeal.

Then I think of Nathan’s day in school. Perhaps a bully would intimidate him into surrendering his lunch money. Certainly, he would hear cursing in the hallways. Maybe even offered drugs at this tender age, something an aunt who formerly taught public school told me happens all the time. And learning! Learning that the world came from a great explosion and all of us can trace our family lines back to certain bacteria. That God is part of a "creation myth” that most people groups hold onto in various forms in order to explain the universe. That there is one way to think and that way is sterile, pre-packaged, and in convenient, single-serving sizes. No thinking outside the box, please, and absolutely no discussion of morality. We don’t need creative, virtuous minds; we need intellectual eunuchs who would not dream about changing the world, much less saving it. Ugh! No thank you. My rosy little dream is suddenly a nightmare.

I know God has called me to home school my children, but sometimes the task seems overwhelming! However, our Lord tells us, “Be strong and courageous!” He knows the difficulty, and He promises to be with us the whole way. We may not have to battle a bunch of pagan men to gain a patch of land on which to raise our crops, but we do have to battle a spiritual war against our enemy who desperately wants us to fail (see Ephesians 6:12). A battle like that for a mere mommy sounds impossible! But God promises us that with Him, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). So be strong and courageous, sister! When life feels like a battleground, remember Who is fighting at your side!

http://www.marilynmoll.com/

Nov. 6, 2007 - Seeing our work as our ministry

My mother has been watching children in her home for the last 23 years. Just the other day we were having a conversation about one of the children she watches. It is a sad situation. The thing is that several of these children's lives are sad situations. Divorce, abadonment by one parent or both, abuse,... and these are just a few.

My mother is getting older, and keeping an eye on several little ones is exhuasting even to the youngest and strongest of us! She wonders if she should continue to provide a place for these little ones in her home Monday through Friday. I have to admit there have been several times I have wanted her to quit. It is so hard on her. Then yesterday, God spoke to my heart about it.

He brought to my attention how desperate these children must be to hear the gospel. Even at this young age. They have no other source of truth other than my mom. This one child in particular. She needs to hear that God is real and He loves her. She needs the security she finds in my mother's arms.

So, Mom, keep on going! God wants to use you in these children's lives! They need to know Him and His unfailing love. Impress His word on their hearts, and know that you are doing service to the Lord with each cheek you kiss and nose you wipe.

Check out what Marilyn Moll had to say about the difference between a job and a ministry.