Learning Glory Homeschool - Homeschool Blogger

Another Fresh Start

Tue, 4 Aug 2009 04:47:00 -0500

Glen has officially begun working days again, after working second shift for the last couple years. I now have to readjust to early mornings! But I have to admit, having to get up at 4:30 or 5:00 does have its benefits. I can be sure to get my devotions and quiet time in once Glen walks out the door as well as get a jump on the days chores and activities before anyone else is moving. I think God knew I needed this for the coming year. Today we will close out the 08-09 school year with our portfolio reviews. I am always a bit amazed when putting together the portfolios just how much we actually DID accomplish during the school year. I just need to continually remind myself of this when the day flies by and I do not think we have covered an adequate amount of 'school'. I have attempted to begin a written journal and that is just not working. I am hoping with my mornings to also get back to my blog as a way of documenting our life. Now... off for a cup of coffee:-)

Milestones

Mon, 5 Mar 2007 14:06:00 -0600

2007 is a year of milestones so far. Glen turned 40 in January, we celebrated our 20th anniversary in February and this month I will turn 40.... and I find I am looking forward to it! Life just keeps getting better. Not easier, but better.

Glen is my best friend and I find myself more in love with him as each year passes. He is not the the romantic type but I see his love for me on a daily basis and we are closer than ever. Our walk with Christ has grown and strengthened both individually and as a couple. During our lowest times, we try to find the blessings in our circumstances and give thanks for the daily gifts.

I also wanted to post some updated pics. We are 99% complete. We are waiting on electricity downstairs, but for now we make do with extension cords.

This is Austin's room. Daddy still has to make a loft bed and put up shelves.

Going down into the basement.

Left side of family room. The cubby under the stairs is Tedy's hideaway. There is a hidden door below the cubby for storing all my Christmas decorations.

Right Side of family room. Daddy's new tv makes a great movie theater for the kids.

Looking into the classroom. They each have a small folding table that can be used close to the ground with beanbags or higher up with folding chairs that are just the right size for the kids. All the green and black walls are magnetic chalkboards. The built in box to the left is filled with scrap wood that the kids can spend hours playing with.

Looking out from the classroom. We have used every spare inch of space for storage (and could still use more) but now all our "educational" resources and supplies are in one space!

My washroom. I now look forward to laundry!

Glen's hide-away game-fridge. This is at the bottom of the stairs going left. Behind Glen are the storage shelves at the end of the hallway with the entrance to the laundry room to the left of the shelves.

And to think my DH has never done construction work! God is good.

Locks of Love

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 13:44:00 -0600

On February 6, Libby and 2 of her friends went to have their hair cut to donate the hair to Locks of Love. Here are some pics of before and after. SM gave 17", Libby gave 10", and CM gave 15"!

Hand surgery

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 09:04:00 -0600

Glen had his hand surgery on Tuesday and it appears to be a big success. He has had nearly zero pain or discomfort and his hand feels better than it has in years. Thanks for all the prayers out there.

Because he was unable to complete the basement before surgery and will not have much use of his hand for several weeks, he showed me what he has done so far. Remember, it started out just finishing off a family room. When I went down I was nearly brought to tears. Our unfinished basement now has a rough-finished furnace room, finished laundry room, hallway, family room AND a school room for the kids!

We still have shelving and flooring to put down and I will post the finished product once done. The walls are covered with magnetic chalk-board paint so the kids can play directly on the walls! I just was so proud of what he has done I had to share it.

I will also post pics of the family room once done. That still needs staining and finished flooring put down. I am just so excited over the whole project!

I am blessed.

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 18:46:00 -0600

Well, I have been wading through piles and boxes, resorting and packing, thinning out and tossing everything that was brought out of the basement. For such a small house, I bet we have hauled off a tractor trailer load of 'stuff'. The Christmas tree has come down and boxes now stand in its place; floor to ceiling! Other than the folded up total-gym, my kitchen has pretty much been returned to normal.

Glen is still dilligently plugging away at the basement and will not so much as give a hint as to where the project stands. All I hear is, "It's getting closer." I know he would like to be complete with furniture moved by this Sunday's football game!

Libby is catching on to her Bible copywork. We had another disagreement this morning on a personal issue and when she began her copywork of the assigned verses she commented that it had to do with our "debate" this morning. I told her if she would not take my word for it, maybe she would listen to God's word. She did not say anything but I know she has been mulling this one over.

I had a long discussion with my sister yesterday where she is struggling with family, friends, and even her husband who is second guessing her homeschooling their children. The sad thing is that all their reasoning & logic revolve around worldly thinking. They have a 14 dau (the oldest of 9 children) that is smart and articulate, yet they worry that she is not like other teenagers! I pray our daughters turn out as well as she is and not like other teens.

I have been keeping a notebook of homeschooling information, motivations, scriptures, etc which is currently on loan to a friend. I pulled some of the articles and scriptures from my computer and sent them to her in the hopes that the information would help with the dilema before they put her in public school. All we can do is pray and trust that God's will be done. I just feel all the more blessed that I have a husband so firmly behind me now, though it may not have always been so.

Happy New Year!

Sun, 14 Jan 2007 20:23:00 -0600

Here is how the holidays went.

We all went north to spend Christmas with my family but due to and incoming storm, Glen had to return home Christmas night. The plan was to return for New Years then we would all come home together. BUT... Glen had started finishing the basement and got on a roll and did not want us coming back until it was finished! When I left at Christmas he had just began the framing. He finally came back to pick us up this past Friday. I do believe that if Libby did not have a basketball game on Saturday, we would still be there!

However, the basement is nearly done but I am not to see it until it is 100%. In the meantime, everything from the basement has been moved to our first floor so when I walked into the house there is just a narrow path to the opposite end of the house! I have spent the last day and a half just sorting and organizing piles. God grant me patience to put up with this for just a few more days.

This is Austin's room. As you can see, you cannot even get into his room!

We also have brought back a cat which Glen agreed to in a weak moment when dealing with mice in the house during our absence. My sister had a stray (one of several) that needed a home. Penny is a grey and white kitten of aound 7-8 months old. Glen resolved the mice problem before we returned home but he had already given the okay.

Yesterday, I took a close look at Penny and find that Penny is not a she but a HE. After a good laugh with the kids this morning and a call to my sister on anatomy (she too, is a homeschooler), we have now renamed Penny to Teddy in honor of Teddy Bruschi of the New England Patriots.

So... tomorrow we will try to find a semi-clean corner and get caught up on our History and maybe some reading.

Back on track

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 06:33:00 -0600

We are back on track after loosing sight of what we are doing. I seem to need constant reminders that homeschooling does not mean bringing school home and getting wrapped up in what the government and the world seeks for our children. I lost my way for a time by not asking God each day what he seeks for my children and our family and began doing it my way.

Training our children and teaching them to 'follow me' as Christ said to those he taught to "Follow ME". We are enjoying each other and remembering and focusing on this holy time of year.

We have had our tree up for several weeks now and the only gifts under it are pretend gifts that the kids have wrapped in their home-made wrapping paper. Not once have they asked where their gifts are. They have no idea the gifts have been sent to their grandparent's home ahead of time. I am just so pleased they have not gotten into the 'I want, I want' thing this year. They just talk about what they want to do when they get to see Nana & Papa and all their cousins next week.

I need to stop and give thanks for the mess our home is in. My DH has decided to finish off our basement and rearrange the rooms in the house. He has just finished the office (formerly our dining area off the kitchen) and I can sit here looking out our new window and see the birds and squirrels have their breakfast as the sun comes up. Yes, there is dust and wood and boxes everywhere and other than the Christmas Tree the decorations remain in storage, but God is providing the ability and the finances to do this and I am thankful.

Cyber-friends

Wed, 6 Dec 2006 16:32:00 -0600

I just want to thank everyone for their posts, emails and phone calls! It is such a blessing to know you are willing to lend an ear, advise & moral support.

I have been working and praying about getting my heart right towards Libby and we are taking a couple of days to reconnect. Then we are going to come up with a plan that we can both live with in regard to her studies. We have discussed her accountability and reponsibilities as a member of this family and child of God as to how she is expected to handle her responsibilities and studies. I need to remember she is still jus a child, no matter how grown up she can appear and not expect more than she is capable. I will continue to ask for God's grace to adjust how I respond to her and her actions.

I will post how things go.

Urgent Help Needed! Dealing with a rebellious child.

Mon, 4 Dec 2006 12:36:00 -0600

My husband suggesting asking blogger friends about our problem since we cannot be the only one with this problem!

I have reached a stale-mate with our older daughter. She has just turned 10, is very capable of doing her 4th grade work which I do my best to make easy, fun and interesting. We have dropped the workbooks, tend to do more narration/copywork. Her Rod & Staff Math, I will copy out the problems, she only needs to write the answers.

The problem is she is very rebellious when it comes to doing her work. She evens dislikes ANY activity or game where she might have to work or put effort into.

This morning was our first snowfall, so I let all the kids go outside to play and did not bring them in until nearly 11:00 to do studies. It is now 1:45 and she still has completed less than 1/2 of her math (the only thing she was assigned right now) and has pointedly pushed her books away and sits at the table sulking! The amount of work she had should have taken no more than 20 - 30 minutes with only the least bit of effort.

Short of sending her back to "school" what can you recommend?? I welcome all your suggestions. I have come to the point where I have told her she must get up in the morning, complete her chores & breakfast and sit at the table until her studies are done.

We do co-op one day a week which encompasses History, Art & Science and another day where we get together with 1 family to do daily studies and Latin.

Along with your suggestions, I covet prayers for patience.

(Jen: if you are reading this, remember, I told you there would be days like this!)

A new year under way!

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 10:32:00 -0500

We are off to a great start this year. I have to admit that homeschool tracker is a big reason we are keeping our days in focus. Not to mention I have really taken to heart all the Ruth Beechick methods I have been reading this summer.

Instead of the readers we were using, which are all biblical stories, we are going straight to the source: The Bible. Instead of all the workbooks the girls are copying, taking dictation, narrating, and getting grammar & spelling lessons from great writings including the Bible. Right now, Libby is doing some copywork out of Tolkein's 'Return of the King' which is full of beautifully written passages. We are using an English text book only for reference when we stumble or question a specific grammar problem. Math, unfortunately is a text book but we do a great deal of real-life usage like helping dad build, helping mom cook, grocery shopping, and budgeting.

This is making our study time so much more relaxed and enjoyable. Now, I have a bunch of curriculum to list on ebay!