This always seems simpler than it is. At least for me. At the end of the first semester, I had thought about all the things I want to do better. Refreshed my vision. We have had time away. I SHOULD jump in with enthusiasm, like in fall. But it never seems to happen that way. Instead, the kids and I drag through our first few weeks, finding our rhythm again. Learning how to manage the workload and schedule. Finding the energy and motivation to do so with a good attitude.
And so, this year we decided to take this first week as an ease in time. (This decision was made after a few meltdowns.) This week we are simply doing Tapestry of Grace and each child is doing the one subject that they are in most dangerous of not completing on time. For son, this is the dreaded grammar. For daughter, Chemistry. Next week, we return to the needed full course load.
Next week we return to the routine.
Hmmm, maybe I should have titled this blog post Not Retuning to the Routine
This clip talks about our role as women and mothers.. and was shared with me by a friend on the Homeschool Encouragement Center.. and has blessed me. We do our work as moms building for the future.
I hope that as you watch, you are blessed.. and are reminded in the value of what we do each day, whether visible or invisible, when we work for our family and ultimately our God. "Let's pray that our work will stand as a monument to an even greater God."
Well, here we are, right in the midst of the Holiday Season. We want this to be a time of great joy, of peace, love, laughter, and song. And a time of looking to the Lord. We also want our house clean, our cooking and baking done, service and volunteering, gifts bought and wrapped, house decorated just so, and somewhere in all that, to still do homeschooling.
Holidays are stressful for everyone, but perhaps even more so for homeschoolers who somehow among the high expectations, extra activities, and holiday fun, expect to continue to do schooling. What are we thinking? LOL. Seriously though, this is a time where finding the balance and maintaining our vision is more important than ever.
This week, we will share our struggles and joys, and our ideas for finding our balance and His peace amid the chaos and craziness. Come join us, this Thursday at 9pm EST at the Homeschool Encouragement Center.
On last night's Homeschool Foundations' chat, we covered various family holiday traditions. Starting with a discussion of our childhood Christmases, we realized that many of our families celebrated largely secular Christmases. Even so we had many warm memories of time with family and fun times. One recalled fondly the first time she attended a Candlelight Service and how it reminded her of the meaning of Christmas. Another chatter talked about the special tradition she shared with her sister home from university on the day before the day before Christmas each year.
Many of our childhood Christmas traditions have been carried on.. but each of us also strive to create new traditions to focus our eyes upon Christ. Many of us do giving to the less fortunate or acts of service. Samaritan's Purse Christmas shoe box program is done by many, or giving gifts to the poor through programs like the giving tree. One thing we have done in the past is send gifts to our troops overseas.
We spend time together with our families, and enjoy the time together. We bake together, enjoy these baked goods and share them with neighbors or the elderly or those who are alone. We do fun things together as a family from doing a candlelight walk, or caroling, or looking at Christmas lights.
One of the things our family has done is to put out our nativity scene, with just the stable in its final place. The rest of the pieces move their way towards the stable throughout the advent season. Baby Jesus arrives on Christmas. He is nestled in the first gift we open for Christmas, with a copy of the Christmas story from scriptures to read together. We lovingly place the baby Jesus in the manger. This reminds our family that He is our greatest gift.
This year I am going to be adding a new tradition I found in the book by Sharon Jaymes, Celebrating a Christ Centered Christmas. We will each be giving a gift to the baby Jesus, laying it at the manger. Each of us will write down a gift on a piece of paper, folded and given just to the Lord. It could be the gift of spending more time with Him, or reading His Word, or being loving to a sibling, forgiving an old grudge, etc. My children are already excited about this. I hope that it will be a meaningful new tradition.
Other ideas people shared included the wonderful book series, Jotham's Journey. It is a delightful way to keep our eyes on Jesus. Others read Christmas books each day of the holiday season. Some give only 3 gifts, based on the gifts of the wise men.
One family shared an idea being talked about by Glenn Beck this year, the Christmas Jar. Starting in Jan. you collect change into the jar. Then for Christmas you leave it on the steps of someone in need, that they would be blessed in some way by this gifting. What a sweet idea!
There are so many ways to make the holidays meaningful.. but also so many ways that all the good intentions and the business of the season can add up to huge stress. We all seek to have a joy-filled Christ-centered Christmas full of love and building good memories for our families. Sharing all the ideas motivated me to create some beautiful memories this Christmas and to not sweat the small stuff. I hope you find some ideas that work for your family.
If I decorate my house perfectly with lovely plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights, and shiny glass balls, but do not show love to my family - I’m just another decorator.
If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals, and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family - I’m just another cook.
If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home, and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family - It profits me nothing.
If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties, and sing in the choir’s contada but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.
Love stops the cooking to hug the child.
Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband.
Love is kind, though harried and tired.
Love doesn’t envy another home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.
Love doesn’t yell at the kids to get out of your way.
Love doesn’t give, only to those who are able to give in return, but rejoices in giving to those who can’t.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.
Love never fails. Video games will break; pearl necklaces will be lost; golf clubs will rust. But giving the gift of love will endure.
Well, the Holiday Season is now underway.. and sooooo this week's Homeschool Foundations Chat, Thursday, 9pm EST, will be on creating Holiday Family Traditions. During the chat we will share ideas for how we celebrate the Holidays. How we build family memories. How we remember what the Holiday Season is all about. Come join us and join in the fun. Simply click the Homeschool Encouragement Center link in the right sidebar.
This week's topic for the chat will be the 5 Love Languages of Children. I am making this a two session series. This first week, I will discuss the 5 love languages of children. Then we will discuss how to identify them... what our own love languages are.. and our spouse's.
Then.... I think it would be awesome if each participant then worked throughout the next 2 weeks to consciously show love to our children in their love languages.. and came back and discussed it in the next chat. (2 weeks because the middle chat falls directly on Thanksgiving. Not a good day to try and schedule a chat.)
I know that this has been a blessing to me .. to be aware of the love languages in our household. And... I also think that it is good for our children (if they are old enough) to also be aware of this... so that they can be unselfish and thoughtful in their care of family and friends.
Our Homeschool Foundation Chat is tonight, as it is every Thursday at 9pm EST at the Homeschool Encouragement Center. Tonight we will discuss our homeschool vision.
As I was browsing the internet I found a blog which challenged us all to write a homeschool vision statement. I loved the idea. The graphic above is from that blog, Trinity Prep School. You can go there and read hers. And if you are inspired to write one.. I would love to hear it. I will post mine when I figure it out. lol.
My homeschool vision statement will include learning to put Christ first, to follow His leading for my children in their lives and education, to prepare them for all He has for them. I also want to build a strong family and strong values. I want to teach my children to think and reason, more than just learning facts. And I want to instill in them a love of learning. One quote that inspired me when I first began homeschooling and that is part of of my vision is “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” by William Butler Yeats.
As I go forward this week, I will be prayerfully crafting my homeschool vision statement.... and then, looking for ways to make it a focus of my day. Much of what we do DOES work toward these goals.. but some may not. And now is a good time to re-evaluate, in light of this vision... God's vision for my children and our family.
Come join us and discuss your vision for your family.. and how you can make it a reality in your life.
This coming Thursday, the topic of chat is defining your homeschool vision.. and perhaps in parallel your vision for your family. And having defined it.. to focus your eyes upon it.. and living life intentionally in pursuit of that vision. Come join us in the discussion and discover with us the vision that lights our way, this Thursday at the Homeschool Encouragement Center at 9pm EST
I was particularly moved by an article at the Homeschool Encourager.. and so I am sharing it here.
A vision-driven Homeschool….
”He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
(Hebrews 12:2 AMP)
Jesus lived a life of vision. His knowledge of the future and why He was on earth gave Him strength, purpose, and determination. Consider today’s verse. Vision is much more than a list of objectives and goals. In a nutshell, it’s what you “see” for the future. It’s what comes into your brain when you allow yourself to think about the years ahead. Having a clear vision is a powerful thing in any pursuit for it carries with it the power necessary to finish the job.
Once we have defined what our vision for homeschooling is, we must determine to become vision-minded. This means we must align our thoughts, words, and actions in the direction of your vision. We’ve all heard the phrase, looking through “rose-colored” glassed; well, we need to look through vision-colored glasses.
What we see in the natural on a day-to-day basis, can be stressful at times. We think we aren’t making any progress, that things will never change, or that our children will never mature. However, if we step back and look through our vision-colored glasses, we will see our children as healthy, happy, productive adults, as men and women who know their passions and how to pursue them. We will see strong family relationships developed over years of working, learning, and just spending time together. We will see the fruit of our labor…
Remembering this, however, involves disciplining our minds (or perhaps training our minds) not to dwell on the challenges of today. It requires us to be serious about controlling our thoughts and our words. It leads us to practice discernment that we might recognize the voice of the enemy telling us “You will never succeed. What you see today is all there will ever be. Who do you think you are?…blah…blah…blah!” A strong sense of vision will protect our minds by empowering us to ignore what our senses or other sources try to tell us.
When God births a vision you can believe it. You can trust that He will bring it to pass. One of my favorite scriptures when my kids were younger was Psalms 138:8: “The LORD will accomplish what concerns me…” (NASB). I stood on that promise during the hard times, when they turned away from the Lord…or struggled with health problems…when medication made him crazy…when strife was infecting our home…when I was tired and discouraged. I held on to this verse believing that the vision God had given me about homeschooling and the results we would some day reap would come true. And that’s what happened…
Prayer: Lord, we thank You that Your thoughts are higher than ours, and that Your vision for our family is not some elusive mystery. Reveal to us Your plan and purpose for our children and help us to get a real picture and a strong vision of what homeschooling can and will mean to our family today and in the future, in Jesus’ name, amen.
Reasons to Homeschool and to Keep On Homeschooling
Tonight's chat topic was the reasons we chose to homeschool.. and why we continue on, even when the times get rough. And.. we all know.. they do.
There were lots of reasons discussed.. from faith, to family, to social and moral, and of course academic. We also discussed how our reasons have changed and evolved over time. At the end of the chat I felt renewed in my desire to homeschool my children and felt blessed for the opportunity to do so.
While researching the topic I found several sites of interest and quotes.... so I will share them here.
From HSLDA's article on Biblical Reasons to Homeschool: Chris Klicka, "God has delegated the authority and responsibility to teach and raise children to the parents first. Parents can delegate their authority to teach and raise children to someone else, but they can never delegate their responsibility to teach their children to anyone else. God will hold parents responsible for what education their children receive (whether from teachers, books, projects, or peers). To whom much is given, much is required. We have a free choice in this country to not send our children to an ungodly public school—we will, all the more, be responsible. Remember, our children are dying souls entrusted to our care!"
That wonderful article laid out in a beautiful and thorough way many Biblical reasons to homeschool. Here are a few of them, but make sure you stop by and read the full article, and be blessed.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
"We are commanded to diligently teach our children God’s commandments and principles all the time. Sunday school is not enough—children in public school are taught to think as non-christians thirty or more hours a week."
Psalm 78:
4 We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
his power, and the wonders he has done.
5 He decreed statutes for Jacob
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our forefathers
to teach their children,
6 so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.
7 Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands.
Come join me!!! Starting this Thursday, and continuing EVERY THURSDAY, I will be leading a homeschool chat, Homeschool Foundations. It will cover all sorts of topics for homeschoolers.. and it is not just for newbies.
So why should you come to my chat?? Certainly NOT because I am especially equipped to lead a chat. I am not a homeschool author, curriculum developer, nor some great wise woman to whom you long to talk with. I am just another homeschool mom, who is passionate about homeschooling.
And, for a bonus, I am not the only one who will be there. Lots of homeschoolers will. And it is nice to know you are not alone. That the struggles you have are not only your struggles. To have others to share the successes with. To talk curriculum, approaches, and schedules.
This first week we will cover the reasons to homeschool. For newbies, this can be a time to sort through if homeschooling is right for you.. something you want to consider. But for those of us who have been doing this a while.. perhaps it is all the more important. We need to keep hold of our vision of homeschooling, and our passion for it, even on the hard days. One of the ways to refocus our energies is to remind ourselves of why we do this.
Come join us.. Thursdays at 9pm EST!
SO.. now you are all ready to chat, right? Well don't wait til my scheduled chat. There are chatters at the chat throughout every day. Lots of great people. For christian homeschool chat just click the Homeschool Encouragement Center button. We would love to have you!
Well, deciding where to begin with a new homeschool blog is a bit overwhelming. I have a lot of stuff floating around in my head.. and no particular order. So... perhaps I will do the answer to.... so why do you homeschool? and its variation... why did you start homeschooling?
(Bear with me here..) Once upon a time, a long time ago, I was an art student, who decided to go a route that might actually make a living for myself. I became an art education major... with a specialty in art history.. and a minor in psychology... and a lot of history too. And then in my last semester, I did my student teaching. I was good at it. At least according to the glowing reviews I received. But it was then that I realized... my future children will NEVER attend public school.
My student teaching was half in the junior high and half in a magnet elementary school.. both in central IL. And really, the programs were fine and my mentoring teachers were wonderful. And I loved the kids. And I felt I could make a difference in their lives. And someday I might go back to teaching. BUT... BUT... there were things there that shocked me daily. Behavior. OH MY... the behavior!!! And the total lack of knowledge!!! In Junior High, while teaching a short lesson on art history, I asked what was happening during that time in America. The time was the late 18th Century. I thought that was a gimme for the 7th graders... but no. So I asked it differently, "What was happening in the late 1700s in America?" And I was faced with the same blank stares. Finally... desperately.. I asked, "What happened in 1776? You know, July 4th, 1776?" One lone student raised their hand and said.. "um... Independence Day?" At which point another went, "Oh OH!!! We declared our Independence!!!""
I went home shocked that day. This was a nice school.. in a nice town... one of the better area schools, actually. And these 7th graders did not know something that basic. They did however know all sorts of vocabulary that I did NOT think they should know. That night I decided, though I was not yet even married, that my future children would not be educated in such a mediocre way. At the time, homeschooling wasn't on my radar. I don't think at that point I had even heard of such a thing. At that point, I was not a believer. There were not many other reasons in my mind.. just.. not that for my kids.
Years went on. I was married... I came to the Lord. I worked in day care and decided no child of mine would go to daycare.. especially full time. lol. Then, down the road I had 2 wonderful children. My daughter was precocious. She was so curious and so verbal and so fun! By the time she was 3 she was definitely ahead and I began researching options. Around me, in Arlington Virginia moms were putting their kids in the best pre-schools.. so that they could make it into the best grade schools. I kept my daughter home. She thrived.
At the playgrounds, moms would ask about preschool and I would say we are doing it at home. They would ask me incredulously how my kids would be ready for school. I would laugh. Sometimes I would be nice and tell them that just as I could help her learn to walk and talk and eat and dress, I would teach her how to do all the things needed for kindergarten. Other times I would call my 3 year old over and let her tell them letters and numbers and colors. By the time she was 4 I would sometimes let her read to them and watch their jaws drop. (Now, I take little credit for all this... she was a bright and curious child who thrived on learning, but it was sure fun.) As my son hit toddler age, it became increasingly difficult for me to read to Kiera the types of longer books she wanted read... and so she wanted to learn to read. And she did. Easily. Almost with no teaching from me. And with each new thing she learned.. the more I thought to myself that I might be able to homeschool.
When she hit school age, I went to check out a private school. They were advanced... supposedly.. but I could see that Kiera would not get what she needed there. And so, instead of just thinking about homeschooling.. we decided to do it. At the time, my primary reason was academics. Social problems played a part... remembering back to my teaching days...and loving to be with my kids. But my faith was not yet core to my reasoning.
That became an obvious benefit as I watched my children grow in their walk with the Lord. How could that happen if they were so little with me? I marvelled at their love of Christ. I had not grown up with it and the sweet and earnest prayers of a child touched me greatly. I loved sharing my faith with them formally, and even more importantly in the little daily things.
I loved every part of homeschooling. Even so in the early years I never knew that I would go all the way through. But I loved it. When I started my reasons were primarily academic. Now when someone asks why... I have so many reasons that they make me dizzy. I hope I haven't made you dizzy along with me.
Once upon a time... a lamb began a blog. A blog on blogspot. The lamb fully intended for the blog to be largely about homeschooling... about being a mom... about faith. Well... that blog was about those things, but it ended up being even more about politics and the musing of a lamb on all sorts of things that have nothing to do with being a homeschooling mom.
And so.. a new blog is born. One that I will try to keep on track. The goal of this blog is to talk about homeschooling and homemaking. If you want to read about the other stuff you can visit my other blog at lambofHisflock. Or you can visit my weight loss journey blog at leanerlamb.
This blog will talk about our homeschooling journey as it takes an uptick this year as my children, ages 13 and 11, enter high school and middle school. I expect that this will take much time and energy.... but also bring many new adventures and joys. I look forward to sharing about our days, our curriculum, and our ups and downs, here with you.
This blog will also talk about my attempt to become more frugal... to run a cleaner and more organized home.... and a home which is healthier and more natural. I will share my scheduling successes and failures. Recipes for healthy food and cleaners. It is my goal to make my home a haven for our family... and I will write about that journey.
I will also hope to write about the funny moments in my life... and the poignant ones... and about how God is working in our homeschooling and in our lives.
Well, the Holiday Season is now underway.. and sooooo this week's Homeschool Foundations Chat, Thursday, 9pm EST, will be on creating Holiday Family Traditions. During the chat we will share ideas for how we celebrate the Holidays. How we build family memories. How we remember what the Holiday Season is all about. Come join us and join in the fun. Simply click the Homeschool Encouragement Center link in the right sidebar.
