Learning Adventures.... - Homeschool Blogger

High school?

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:49:00 -0500

It is finally here. 9th grade is upon us. I thought I was calm, but suddenly fear has gripped my heart. Funny thing is, the fear has nothing to do with doubting my ability to provide a good education, connection to pursuing her interests, or even continuing to share with her about God.

Nope, it is all because of the transcript. I am reading some books about them-formulating layouts, counting hours, Carnegie units. ARRGHHH! I am not interested in what the school districts tell me she should learn.

Are the sweet days of relaxed learning already gone forever? I have been near obsessed with the desire to create my own English plan, based on my knowledge of what she needs- while still counting as credit.

I just want to go with the flow, enjoying each day and looking for what God has planned for her.

Matthew 11:28-30 in the Message invites us to rest and learn the unforced rythms of grace. I am taking that to heart, and trusting God for the future year. He has never let us down before, He won't now.

Check out my new blog sharing thoughts on my writing life and free book giveaways!

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:54:00 -0600

I still love my homeschool blog...the new one is for work purposes. It has links to published articles, helpful tools for those of you who want to write, and just thoughts on life in general. Oh, and free book giveaways? Come check me out at www.christasterken.wordpress.com

It's been awhile...

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:20:00 -0500

We are slowly ramping up for another great year. Yep, I said great. That is what I am happily anticipating with my girls. The future is uncertain for our family right now. A potential job change, perhaps a cross country move, who knows?

No matter what happens though, I am still planning on great. Why not? It is disheartening to hear parents planning for another school year, with hesitation and defeat already in their minds. Homeschooling and public school parents alike sometimes feel overwhelmed by committments but the good news is that Deuteronomy 30:11 promises, "Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult". I like that, the verse even has "too" in it. I am grabbing on to that promise and ready to hit the road running. After all, he has already prepared a way for me today...for all of us. Whoo Hoo!

Language arts anyone?

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 22:47:00 -0500

I would consider myself artistic. I even enjoy writing and language. After homeschooling for 5 years I am yet to appreciate any curriculum as "art". I know, I know...some people do. Apparantly my children could not be counted among them. When i have time to make games out of parts of speech, art activities out of grammar, speed races to find specific examples in books, my girls are filled with laughter and joy.

Pull out any curriculum thus far and their eyes glaze over. I have one highly distractable child (and hates writing) and one who loves creative writing but dreads being committed to "boring" language arts. I don't have time or desire to think through this subject. So I dream, peruse the internet in search of the perfect, already laid out plans. I hope I find them soon...Any ideas?

Whaaaa...

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 16:39:00 -0600

Today is one of those days. You know what I mean. Days upon weeks of smooth and joyful homeschooling and then....POW! Chaos seems to erupt. The kids don't listen the first, second, fourteenth time so I get frustrated. Nothing is anyone's "fault", including using their new scissors on my tablecloth with a mysterious cut right beneather their projects. A sister's placemat is (and I quote) waving around everywhere in the air so she can't clean up her own glue stick etc. Yep, not much fun. I actually sent the kids off to write "Honor your mother" ten times, perhaps not my most shining moment this week :)

It is a good lesson in life though. We are going through a transition with me working part time outside the home. Adjusting to new seasons can shake things up a bit. Although that is uncomfortable I believe it can be a good thing as well. If we get too comfortable in our routine we might miss the opportunity for growth. I will be honest, my growing today is that perhaps I haven't been diligent enough in teaching listening skills if I have to repeat myself so many times. My frustrations might be directly related to my own lack of follow through.

I used to beat myself up for this kind of day, wondering what I did wrong. Not today. I am having a time out, In a few minutes we will discuss the situation, our choice of reactions and better ways to handle the future. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Cyber friends...give yourselves a break. We are doing an incredible work here. Our God who called us to this ministry will also equip us. We are human so we all make mistakes. How awesome is it that we don't have to learn this all without God's help? He Rocks! So does homeschooling, I wouldn't trade in a single day, even this one

THe LIttle Dipper

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:23:00 -0500

So the other night I was shutting off the lights for bed and surprise! THere was my 9 year old behind me as perky as she was 2 HOURS previosly when she went to bed I might add...Befofe I could say anything she gleefully told me she had finally spotted the little dipper. Now, I faced a choice here. Bedtimes have been a huge issue with this child the past year. Should I stop and enjoy the moment or discipline her? I am so thankful that I realized that this moment was a chance to create a memory.

I took the opportunity and said, "Lets get our shoes and go see" She was ecstatic and we held hands and looked for any other shapes we might be able to look up later. I asked her why she saw the stars in the sky this particular night. We had recently oved her bed under her window.She said when she can't sleep she looks at the strs out of the window. It was really a beautiful moment. THanks Lord!

Nothing like a schedule, to make you "re"schedule

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 17:55:00 -0500

I have realized that although I really enjoy making the school plans every year, they are consistently needing to be readjusted. LIfe happens and it rarely stops to check my schedule first! The best intentions can get sidetracked easily when a child gets sick, a friend is in need, or other daily things pop up.

Do we give up and wing it each day? Here is an idea I was struck with today...I was a bit frustrated and thought I had tried every which way to solve a problem. Suddenly I realized I had not stopped to pray over this area each day, but instead was trying to fix everything with my own power. What a waste of time and energy. God is so sweet to send his reminders to us that He never intended for us to carry our loads alone. We are called into a unique and wonderful ministry in homeschooling our kids. Of course we have moments of discouragement, but don't let those times rob you of this journey's blessings.

We are surrounded by incredible moments each day. I pray that I will be ever reminded to stop and notice each one before they pass away. Enjoy the moments, even (and especially) when they aren't on our schedule

Homeschooling through pain...

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 12:06:00 -0500

LIving with chronic pain can make homeschooling a challenge. I do and want to encourage others to stick with it. Every second spent training our kids will be fruitful, maybe not right away but in its due time.

Today i woke up in tremendous discomfort. These kids went into blessing Mommy mode. They were able to get my pain meds and water to help me. They opened my windows to let in light and fresh air and then started and actually almost completed it all without my help. One daughter even brought her books into my bed and we did math there while i waited for the pain to ease up to become functional

Of course everyday is not perfect, but today when I needed them, they were there for me. I was humbled and blessed by the kindness of children. Some people feel they can not homeschool because of challenges in their live; be it illness, single parenting, etc. Please be encouraged...if God called you to homeschool you WILL be able. Joyce Meyers said on Tv this morning, "We do what we can and God does the rest" That stuck with me and made me smile.

Some days might be a little slower to start, or earlier to finish but every day we follow His leading is a day worth celebrating.

So we begin again...

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 11:34:00 -0500

So far so GREAT! Can I just say that this year is starting off surprisingly smooth? I went to a homeschool conference where a speaker was discussing learning styles. Something clicked and her comments seemed to bring peace to my soul. She was describing God's plans and how they differ for each of us. It is no surprise to God that our children are wired with their unique personality traits.

I realized that when we step back and just BE with them amazing things can happen. Allow them to BE. While we can and should embrace and recoznige their strongest learning styles, we can help develop their weaker areas through small amounts of practice time. We have tools available to quickly learn the Meyer Briggs (?) types. I am not saying that we should put our trust in human studies but they can help us to understand that our kids are not trying to make us crazy when they learn in a way that is natural to them...such as bouncing through your studies.

What an amazing gift i came away with. By watching our kids and paying attention to how they learn we can help them feel confident in the people God created them to be without condemnation for doing things a "different" way from the norm

And we're off.......

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 19:24:00 -0500

We are starting school monday, with or without concrete curriculum plans. The kids are itching to get going and I know we all do better when there is a basic structure in our days. Funny how we can be so ready for a break, yet can't wait to start again almost as soon as we stop. Monday will mark the beginning of year round school. We learn all the time anyway, I think that long breaks seem more artificial than including a pursual of knowledge into our days. I will let you know how things come along...