Chronicles of a Blessed Heritage - Homeschool Blogger

Weekly Homeschool Report--November 15, 2009

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:25:00 -0600

The oldest wasn’t feeling well this morning and I so stayed home from with her, hence the early weekend wrap-up. I hated to miss church as this is our one Sunday with no other responsibilities at church than to enjoy time with the Lord. However, with http://www.streamingfaith.com, staying home from church isn’t what it once was. I “attended” a wonderful service and was greatly ministered to at the point of my need. If you want to participate in this meme, please visit Carol at ThreeLittleLadies, and be sure to link your post to her Mr. Linky so that we can all see what life has in store for you.

From where I sat this past week,

As an individual, I…

... know in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28, NIV).

…am more than a conqueror through Him who loved me (Romans 8:37, NIV).

These are the words that I clung to after a week of battling depression. It started when I visited LadyPoet33’s blog all too late—at least in my mind. She reached out for some encouragement right before losing her home, and by the time I made it to her blog, I’m sure she was gone. As I read through the other comments, I set up decorations and cranked up the music for my own pity party. This wouldn’t have been abnormal, and I was even willing to dismiss it as hormonal until my husband shared that he, too, was struggling with being depressed. Then I knew something was going on. As I’ve shared with him before, it’s so difficult to pull someone else up when you’re feeling low, so I just focused in on me, and what I needed to do to maintain. The oldest had her 3^rd science test, which I wasn’t feeling good about. I’ve documented before my angst about the decision to enroll her in this course, so I won’t risk being repetitive. Then my husband called to say that NTB thought he needed 4 tires instead of 2, and possible suspension work. Thankfully, they reneged and said that 2 tires were all that was necessary. The dryer started this eerie squeak. Our youngest was upset that the older two were going to a lock-in at the dance center and she couldn’t go, so all week long she whined about what special thing she’d get to do—not what a parent wants to hear amidst all of life’s other annoyances. However, at the end of the week, my hope was restored with two events:

1) The oldest made an “A” on her science test

2) Our son’s gecko, ”Spot,” after not eating for several days, attacked a batch of live crickets mightily (we have since found out that geckos have the nerve to be finicky and will stop eating if their diets lack variety)

It is amazing to me that, as a parent, so much of your happiness can stem from the smallest things that go well with your kids. Is that healthy? I meet moms all the time who are very into themselves—their time, their indulgences, what they like and don’t like, etc., etc., etc. I keep wondering if, in the name of my family, I’ve let myself go. Speaking of which, I worked out twice this week! Not where I want or need to be, but from where I was, it’s a great place.

As a wife and homemaker, I…

enjoy immensely all of the special things that are happening in our kitchen. First, I can remember a season on last year when our youngest daughter got really into seeds and planting. It was right after her grandfather came and dug a garden for us—a garden that continues to yield many good vegetables. She wanted to plant every seed from every fruit or vegetable that we ate. So when we finished a batch of bell peppers, we put the seeds into an indoor pot, not expecting much because of the indirect sunlight. It’s taken a while, but this is our first fruit from the plant most unlikely to.

This very plain-looking bowl is another of my heart’s joys. My father went home to be with the Lord in 1997. While here on earth, he and my mother were lovers of a routine, so I suppose that I came by this trait honestly. He was so into his routine until he even ate the same breakfast every morning—instant grits followed by a bowl of Crispix cereal—in this bowl. During one of his last visits from Georgia to our home, he actually packed his bowl such that he’d not have to make an adjustment to what we had here. One day on this past week, I was enjoying a bowl of instant grits—in his bowl—and reminiscing about some of our last days together. I had to wonder, what seemingly insignificant trinkets will trigger lasting memories for our children? If I were a fly on the walls of their minds, what (prayerfully) delightful anecdotes would I be a part of?

I enjoy the treasures of our kitchen. I enjoy preparing meals, although I wish I was better at it. Karen brought me a batch of Amish friendship bread when she visited, and I get so excited each baking day. With the variations she later sent, each loaf of bread is a treat. I was finally able to share a cup of starter with my MIL, and we now have a good time calling one another on baking day with “What type of bread are you making?” Last week, mine was banana bread with walnuts, but I was one banana short of the recipe requirement. This turned out to be a blessing because the bread actually tasted better without the strong banana taste. This week, I’ll go back to lemon poppyseed, another personal favorite.

As much as I enjoy the kitchen, it is also my source of greatest frustration. There is always artwork, some project, or a book or two from our school days. Unopened mail stacks up quickly. With four of the five of us always in the house, the sink always has dishes in it. Moreover, our house has a very open design, and so from the kitchen, I can see our family room, a very used (and sometimes abused) living space. I can see our “middle/ high school,” the dining room, with a never-ending stack of books that the older two have left out. So, it is in the midst of this hodgepodge of hits and misses that I do most of my complaining about the house and the gap between what I want it to be versus what it is. When I saw KeriMae’s post on scripture wall words, I knew it was a word in season for me. Here are my humble beginnings, posted with our U.S. and world maps.

I thought about what the maps are really for, and why we should take interest in where people are and what they look like. With our commitment to missions work, these seemed like appropriate words:

Send Your ambassadors into all the nations. Jeremiah 49:14

…that the gospel of the kingdom may be preached in all the world. Matthew 24:14

Shake the nations, so they will come to the Desire of All Nations(Jesus). Haggai 2:7

I still have far more to do with this project, but I am excited about an increasingly peaceful spirit that flows throughout this room as I remind myself of what is truly important.

As a mom and homeschooling parent, I…

am still relishing an overall great school year, and feeling especially energized after the oldest finished so successfully with her science test. As she went through it, she said, “This is easy,” but I dared not get too excited too early. Honestly, I felt as if the Lord had heard my questioning about this class and that whole plea about agenda, and simply said, “Rest. I’m in control.” As a part of my depressive state, I suggested to her a game plan for completing the lion’s share of what he gave them to do, but I couldn’t bring myself to follow up as to whether or not it was happening. I didn’t necessarily fault myself for this: I’m trying to teach her to look out at where she needs to be by a certain date and then work backwards regarding what that deadline means on a daily basis. So, this week she had to go it alone.

I mentioned that the oldest is faring well with the study of great books. We are spending about 1-1/2 hour reading to one another on 4 days, and on Fridays, she is left to create in her commonplace book. I came across a passage that I’d underlined, but forgotten, from Susan Wise Bauer’s The Well-Trained Mind. Quite frankly, the student in me was intrigued by Bauer’s suggestions, but I found even the thought of implementing all that she recommends completely overwhelming. In my mind, only a child who did nothing except school could possibly navigate his/her way through the many recommended hours of study. As an aside, I understand she has a more realistic perspective on education in The Well-Educated Mind. Nevertheless, I found this a refreshing dose of realism among all of the “headiness” of her thoughts of an ideal classical education:

Especially in the early years of high school, you should supervise this process, rather than allowing the student to disappear into the family room alone with her books. Great-books study is demanding. It requires the student to work hard, to abandon simple question-and-answer learning in favor of a struggle with ideas. Often, the material isn’t immediately appealing. The philosophies may be unfamiliar; the opinions are complex; the vocabulary is challenging. Put the student at the kitchen table (or wherever you’re planning to be) so that you can encourage her to keep working. (Bauer, p. 481)

So leave it to my quirky child to actually enjoy the things that she should be struggling with, and to struggle with what should be the “slam dunks” of academia. We are working on getting past that question-and-answer mentality, though; right now, her commonplace book is full of written narrations—years of training, no doubt. I find myself having to remind her that maps, timelines and other creative starts are acceptable for capturing history as well. I thought I'd shared this before, but if not, these bookmarks, shared by Jimmie at Heart of the Matter online, are a neat tool that I printed for each kid to get them thinking about being creative in their writing.

Our son is wrapping up his land animal study, and will begin General Science after the Christmas break. I am thinking to use Live and Learn Press’s Apologia lapbooks to help him with his studies. This might lessen the shock that the oldest got going from the elementary series to Dr. Wile’s texts. He will also begin a one-on-one study with me of Charlotte Mason’s Ourselves. The oldest will wrap up this same study this year.

The youngest is performing well, and we will probably add a grammar study via English for the Thoughtful Child to her work in the spring. Right now, she’s not challenged enough. She even told a dance center parent that her favorite subject was phonics because it was easy. I bought this book to begin with her in the fall, but I was concerned that she wasn’t ready for the parts that required writing. Now I’m again realizing that my preoccupation with high school preparation was at the expense of the younger two, who have more time on their hands than I think they should.

As a business owner, I…

am very far behind in my plans, but this week I am regaining strength.

Wow! This was long. I must have had more go on this week than I thought! May the Lord bless your week as well.

Why Read Classics?

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:37:00 -0600

From Charlotte’s Web:

(Wilbur asks:) “Why did you do all this for me? I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.”

“You have been my friend,” replied Charlotte. “That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all what’s a life, anyway? We’re born, we live a little while, we die A spider’s life can’t help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.”

Isn’t that beautiful? I’m often puzzled by what makes a classic a classic. Who decides what is a great book? And though they’ve not asked me, I’ve read a number of the great works that left me longing—for a nap, that is.

At any rate, as I read this passage to our youngest, it hit me why some books are irreplaceable. I recently read or heard somewhere that so many of today’s books for older children are consumed with helping kids deal with divorce, abuse, neglect, premarital sex, drugs, and a long list of social ills. Though they are very real issues and I don’t deny anyone’s right to speak to them through literature, I find myself drawn back to a time when books were less politically correct, even if it means educating the kids on terms and events that I wish weren’t a part of their history. I feel the same way about a number of newer authors who publish books that are “for our (meaning African-American) children.” As I preview them, I often find that the illustrations are rich and effective at depicting our beauty, but the storylines and the interplay of characters are a constant reminder of why Charlotte Mason felt the need to discuss the perils of feasting on “twaddle.”

Why do we read classics? Because even in an age where literacy and moral standards are declining, there is still a body of knowledge that shapes our language and our culture. One of my educational goals is for the children to be aware of what shapes our thinking, past the memorization of dates and names. As we’ve moved through these books, I make sure I complete enough homework to have a conversation about what the book means in the larger scheme of life. That’s the academic, more “heady” side of why we read classics. The more important piece to me is what these books do for the heart and mind aside from giving the kids a fighting chance at appearing intelligent (smile). The characters in these books challenge us to be more, to do more. You cannot read The Iliad—no matter how long-- without examining your own courage, your sense of romance and relationship, and your general sense of self. Secondly, these books increase our sense of compassion for our fellow man. Isn’t that what God commands of us—to love Him with all our hearts, souls, and minds, and to love our neighbors as ourselves? Incidentally, there is a great article that I “tweeted” a while back regarding evaluating classics according to God’s will for our lives. I can’t find the original article now, but it asks a thought provoking question that helps me in determining what is suitable for our studies: ‘does this literary work teach my child a Biblical perspective of the theme elevating Jesus Christ, imparting the correct principles, and teaching my child to know and love God?’

As a final thought on why classics, the oldest and I are continuing to share Mortimer Adler’s How to Read a Book together. This is our second year working through it, and we’ll probably take a third. Reading it at a rate of about 3-5 pages a week, with written narrations, allows us to digest it more thoroughly than if we tried to rush and read it in one school year. This excerpt was from a recent notebook entry of mine:

‘When you read the “great books,” there are reasons why they seem overwhelming. First, we have not been taught to read books well (analytically, that is). The other problem is that we fail to recognize the relationship between the books. They should be read in a certain order such that you can understand previous authors’ effect on the current author. ‘Related books provide an even larger context that helps you interpret the book you are reading.’ (Adler, pg. 173) The great authors were great readers, and we must view their books in relation to one another.

So with this thought in mind, I am reading these books and making the connections between the authors—who were their teachers, what the thinking of the times was, and why they wrote what they wrote. We don’t skip to the table and birds aren’t singing as we read, but the oldest is actually having fun in a way that I never anticipated, and I am enjoying the fruits of this year’s labors enough to stay with what’s working.

The reading for next year is pretty well-defined by our curriculum. We stick to these as a foundation, but I also take out and add in others. I am convinced that many of the great classics, and perhaps even the definition of them as THE classics, stems from a Eurocentric perspective. One of the challenges in our home has been trying to fit a number of these great works in with stories that tell the histories of others in the world. So I’ve made a conscious decision that we might veer away from those listed as “classics” for the sake of also learning more about Asia and Africa, specifically.

In her Well Trained Mind, Susan Wise Bauer suggests that high schoolers read 8 books per year. We may or may not get there—both my daughter and I tend to read slowly (as in taking in each word rather than being skilled at skimming—I’m trying to train her differently, but it’s dreadfully hard to lead where you’ve not gone). Also, many of these work s need bigger print and more pictures! The “free” reading, i.e., those books that will not be a part of any other assignment except to ensure that they are completed, is still being mulled over. And over. And over. I’ll be there by next summer. Here are my thoughts--today:

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The Samurai by Shusaku Endo

The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

Several works of Shakespeare

The list isn’t totally inclusive—yet—but it’s a solid start from which I can build.

Removing Personal Agenda from God's Plans

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 18:12:00 -0600

On last week, I spoke of being stuck in Psalm 27. My heart and mind has been in so many places that it was, and will still be, hard to articulate. Though I know the value of writing things down, I haven’t slowed down with my thoughts as school—both with my “big kids” and my own kids—has had me tied down most of the week. So for today, I don’t think that my thoughts would fit neatly into the usual weekly homeschool wrap-up forum, but for the sake of writing them and later sorting through my self-created visual aid. I promise no eloquence or tidy conclusions on this one; in fact, I predict that what will be obvious quickly is that I’ve had entirely too much time with my thoughts, which can sometimes be a bad thing.

With almost half a school year behind us, it’s not too early for me to begin assessing where we are, and where we might go next year. I’ll have another year with a high schooler, a middle schooler, and an elementary school student, so I don’t see much changing in terms of my own time commitments. We’ve had perhaps one of our best years since we began homeschooling seven years ago, and I know this has everything to do with me being humbled enough by last year’s dreadful results to submit myself to much prayer time with the Father. He’s answered almost all of our plans with a resounding YES!—history/literature, as we teach it here, is seemingly leaping off the page (in spite of the fact that Mom’s ready to check the Iliad off our reading list—only 300 more pages to go!! LOL), everybody is using the math resources effectively, and we’re in that sweet spot where everyone is learning from everyone else and everything. As one example, our son has hit a point in his land animal studies that he’s supposedly focusing on spiders. I say “supposedly” because spiders repulse him. So I struggle getting him to look at the pages and grasp the concepts. Almost as if God-sent, his little sister is reading Charlotte’s Web, so guess where he’s learning about the strength of drag lines, the process of egg sac production, etc.? The coordination of these units was not my planning at all, but everyone is benefiting from keeping their ears glued to what’s happening around them. Even the oldest is a step ahead in biology as she covers reptiles after interacting—from a safe distance—with Spot, our leopard gecko.

I’ve not been one to try and fix what’s not broken, so we’ll continue the same path on next year, for the most part. I’ll add grammar via English for the Thoughtful Child, to the youngest’s plate. I wanted to begin this year, but didn’t feel that she was ready for a larger amount of lessons than I remember requiring her to write. I may place our son on a local homeschool debate group to help him use his propensity to argue effectively. Because my understanding is that debate requires a lot of research and writing, it would probably replace studying history. I’m still thinking about reading lists for both he and the oldest, which is, in part, food for thought regarding my current dilemma.

I am convinced that as homeschooling parents, we teach according to who we are. Our passions become the areas that we teach best, and the place where we bring the most to the classroom experience. The corollary is that there are other areas that we either don’t like or don’t understand (like poetry for me) that become hits and misses—perhaps less hits and more misses—in our school. Incidentally, I think that traditional school teachers do the same thing, but at older ages, they don’t cover the full gamut of subjects the way that many of us do, so the results might not be as recognizable. Because of this factor, we have to stay before the Lord regarding agenda. What do I mean by agenda? I mean those plans that have more to do with you, or other factors not germane to academic wisdom. One example might be when you’re determined to prove to the in-laws that homeschooling is a valid alternative to a traditional school, and so you overwhelm a small one to create a “genius” who can parrot information, but has limited knowledge and understanding. It might not be where you are, but I have had two years—this year and last year—of revelations. This is after a whole-hearted desire to subjugate academic wisdom to spiritual wisdom. How humble do I need to be, Lord? I could detail all the places where my own borderline obsession with producing intellectuals got in the way, as well as all the consequential moments that I could have spent gingerly teaching and encouraging instead of panicking and frowning. But I won’t. I’ll speak instead about where we are now. In the midst of a great year, as I mentioned before, is a high school science class that I don’t think is working. I mentioned that she didn’t perform well on the first test. The second was better, and her score was actually above the class average. Her third test is this week, and she claims to be ready for it. But for a number of reasons that aren’t entirely her fault, this class has become her life. The pursuit of a good grade means that she is having to study every day for several hours a day and doesn’t get to do hardly anything else. That was not the plan. I placed her in a virtual class in part to nurture a budding interest in a science career, and the amount of material thrown at her each week has all but squelched any affection for this subject area. As I contemplated options over this past week, I had to come face-to-face, yet again, with agenda. In the midst of our horrendous year last year, I bought into this class in order to give the oldest a peek into how a teacher would treat her that didn’t love her enough to put up with all the crap I did. I thought it’d be one less thing on my plate. Instead, I’m having to spend as much time with her on this, if not more, than I did before, and now we’re both dancing to the beat of someone else’s drum. Spanking received, Lord. I’ve considered just cutting our losses and going back to our Apologia studies, and I’ve still not shut the door totally on that option. Yet, my husband, yin to my yang, verbalized the same concern regarding wasting money, which, with the year we’ve had, is almost unthinkable. I’m more concerned at this point about what messages we’d teach regarding quitting every time something isn’t as we desire. I’m also sorting through whether there’s another issue with me and agenda: Do I struggle with releasing some control? The high school years, at least if your kid plans to leave home, require that you begin to let go. Am I ready for that? I talked ad nauseum to her on last year about the calendar spinning on how many days she’d be “safe at home with Mommy” (inclusive of being able to push Mommy’s buttons, knowing just how much or how little to accomplish for Mommy not to fuss). Maybe she’s not the only one who’s struggling with someone else in the driver’s seat? Anyway, as I said, the reason this class has had mixed results as far as I’m concerned are multi-faceted. So as I wait on answers that are beyond yes or no—answers that reveal God’s greater truths and more perfect plans for all of us—I am meditating on these words:

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;

be gracious to me and answer me!
8 You have said, “Seek [4] my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.” [5]
9 Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!
10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will take me in.

11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me on a level path…

13 I believe [6] that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living!
14 Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!

Weekly Homeschool Report--November 1, 2009

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 09:15:00 -0600

If you want to participate in this meme, please visit Carol at ThreeLittleLadies, and be sure to link your post to her Mr. Linky so that we can all see what life has in store for you.

From where I sat this past week,

As an individual, I…

would be able to better describe where my head’s been by writing about what’s happening in the other areas of life. I am stuck on the 27^th Psalm; more on that later.

As a wife and homemaker, I…

am thinking about ways to stay mindful, at a “grass roots” level, so to speak, of who I am, what I’m about, and what this family should be. Like everyone else, our lives get so hectic, and amidst all the busy-ness, it gets hard to stay focused on the basics. I was so inspired by Keri Mae and her blog post regarding scripture wall words until I spent Saturday morning “decorating” the walls with God’s Word. Keri writes so beautifully about the loves of her life until I continue to try and give her a bigger audience that she doesn’t want. At any rate, now I’m embarrassed that I actually didn’t think of this on my own for all my enjoyment of interior decorating. Then again, I don’t guess that you see these ideas much from my HGTV-watching days. That’s a whole different post on what we find our minds. In the meantime, I’m always one to say that the Word works if you work it, and so I’m putting it to work. I’ll post pictures later of my initial efforts.

As a mom and homeschooling parent, I…

am feeling my hand to the plow lighten as we grow nearer our Christmas break. The weather is just cool enough in the mornings to warrant a little extra snuggle time. This has actually worked well for me as I am now up before the kids, with my internal clock still set to daylight savings time. That will change I’m sure, but I hope to ride this wave right into December.

Our youngest is an amazing study in child development. We wrapped up Leading Little Ones to God, and with the oldest reading so well, I thought she was ready for her own “real” Bible and a seat at the table with the big kids. So armed with her own God’s Word for Girls (in pink, of course), she now joins the table. Fro where I sit, we’ve gotten mixed results. On one hand, she’s very proud of sitting among them, reading with little assistance, and using her own Bible. On the other hand, even she admits that she’s not understanding as well, and she hasn’t yet learned to remain at the table and mentally engaged while the others are reading and sharing. So, we’re having to train as we go, and I think the quality of our overall lessons is suffering. Perhaps other lessons are more important right now, like having patience with someone who’s not where you are. It’s in God’s hands, and we’ll wait on Him before I change anything.

Another thing the youngest does is to emulate her older sister in a quiet activity during read-alouds. Though I struggled with this in the beginning, the oldest often whips out her sketchbook and creates new designs while I’m reading. She says it helps her concentrate, and though I’d prefer that her eyes are on me, I have to admit that her narrations haven’t slipped one bit. So now, we see that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The youngest gets her paper and is scratching out her designs as well.

I so appreciate friends with teenage girls. Though I know that any parent of a teen in general needs a special grace, I also think that, because moms have been there and have such a passion to see our girls not make the mistakes we made, every ounce of passion and energy we have tends to be spent on them, and sometimes with no appreciation or thankfulness. Earlier this past week, I was able to pull such a mother’s ear and heart about how to have the tougher conversations with the oldest that even we as adults don’t always look forward to. How do you give “constructive feedback,” as the corporate world calls it, to someone who’s still trying to figure out who they are? How do you speak honestly to your teen’s skills (or lack thereof), and work ethic without crushing their spirits and dreams? So after the reassurance from another mom that I was not going crazy (thanks, Marci!), I waited for the right moment. It’s amazing how a less-than-positive word said at the right moment can have a totally different impact than when it’s said in frustration at an inopportune time. I think that’s why the Lord calls it a word in season.

As a business owner, I…

am working on the elementary series and struggling with finding kids’ versions of certain stories. UGH! I’ll get there. In the meantime, the revised version is coming together. I’m also in prayer about making this easier for some. The curriculum itself is priced lower than comparable works, in part so that parents can buy the books and enjoy the story with their children. I also select books that can easily be found through a public library or, at most, via a used online book store. I feel bad when parents write me and say that they liked the curriculum but didn’t get to use it because they couldn’t afford any books. Yet, I know the reality of homeschooling is that people buy things all the time that, for one reason or another, don’t work for them. There is a value to what I’ve done; it relieves the problem that most of us have when we try to find history that is told from something other than a Western European perspective--the stories aren’t all in one place. I have no plans to give away my intellectual property. Yet, how to get it into more people’s hands without compromising such that I’m losing money is an issue that continues to evade me.

May the Lord bless your week as well.

Weekly Homeschool Wrap-up--October 25, 2009

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:19:00 -0500

If you want to participate in this meme, please visit Carol at ThreeLittleLadies, and be sure to link your post to her Mr. Linky so that we can all see what life has in store for you.

From where I sat this past week,

As an individual, I…

am intrigued, for lack of a better word, at how various communities use social media networks. Five years ago, I didn’t know anyone who blogged, or who used Facebook or Linked In or Twitter, etc. Now, from my reading for my “big kid” classes, I’m learning that employers will actually Google potential employee candidates to get a better look and feel for who they are. This means that any blog, “tweet,” or Facebook/ MySpace/ LinkedIn, etc. post that someone deems inappropriate, for any reason, might cost you a job. On one hand, I can appreciate that managers might want to know who is coming into the organization. On the other hand, is this fair, or is it intrusive? Does this practice cut into a person’s right to his/her individuality, and the right to be a person with a life away from the job? Who else is qualified to decide for me what my sense of humor can be, or what is acceptable content? Such was my thinking on this past Sunday when our Children’s Director talked in a meeting about the need for each of us to be consistent no matter where we are. Though not particularly computer savvy, she used her granddaughter’s skills to find another church worker on My Space who had something deemed as inappropriate on her “space.” A part of me is thinking that this is a good thing; unless you live as a “double-minded” man, why would you be concerned that someone else might see the content of your site, wherever it may be? Yet, another part of me is feeling rebellious, daring anyone to challenge me about what I choose to write or not write. I think that what truly incensed me is that, right after she gave her presentation, our co-teacher stood up, giving her credentials (again) and talking about how to get kids excited about coming to class. The fruit of all this wisdom, thus far, has been that she takes copious notes the whole time that we’re teaching, and then uses them to basically re-teach our lessons, via a review, during her Sundays to work with the kids. I’d be fine with this—imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, isn’t it?--if she hadn’t had the nerve to constructively criticize what we do (or don’t do, as was the case) and if she didn’t keep throwing her educational credentials around. Of course, she’s endorsed by the Director, and, I’m guessing from her age, she doesn’t use the social media networks, so she’s safe, right? Then I laughingly told my husband that one or both of them probably read the blog. He thought it’s probably a remote possibility, but it wouldn’t be a concern either way for me. I’ve written nothing that I wouldn’t say in a face-to-face environment, given the chance. That was a problem for me in the corporate world--I never wore my feelings on my sleeves; I aired them right out of my mouth! (LOL) When a cooler head prevails, I can appreciate what is happening. In truth, God has a standard, and wrong is wrong, whether it’s an electronic mishap or a failure to practice as you preach, but the double standard just feels wrong. For as many doors as technology opens, one of the keys must be to Pandora’s mythological box. Much prayer and fasting needed.

One workout while on vacation. So sad, is it not? I’ve continued to maintain my weight through pushing away from the proverbial table.

As a wife and homemaker, I…

am in the process of writing an article/ blog entry, wherever the Lord sees fit to place it, on what winning looks like. We have discussed, during most of our vacation, why the Lord allows events to occur in our lives for what seems to be no apparent reason. When I say “no apparent reason,” I don’t mean that things turn out badly; I mean that you move through something only to be right where you began, with nothing positive or negative to show for it. Of course, we know Romans 8:28 and Jeremiah 29:9-11, but what happens when you can’t see the good? What happens when the plans don’t harm you, but don’t seem to help, either? I’m sure this all reads like muddle now, but as I’m said, the words are coming…

As a mom and homeschooling parent, I…

took a very restful week off from all my homeschooling responsibilities and allowed us all to simply have fun. I learned quickly that our kids are entirely too plugged in, especially our son. Yet, as the slideshow below depicts, we did get some outdoor time, and it was tremendous fun for all of us.

I’ve gotten a few questions about Glen Rose. This region of Texas is known largely for dinosaur tracks and fossils, and the town has a number of hotels, non-chain restaurants, etc. If you’re like our family and, for various reasons, feel more comfortable in a bigger city with more options, Fort Worth is just shy of an hour away. As I said, for the money, this was perhaps one of the most unique trips the family has ever made. My only disappointment was that we didn’t actually get to see any tracks at the Dinosaur Valley State Park (day two of the trip). The Paluxy River, normally at a height of 1 foot in the area where the tracks run alongside it, was a staggering 10 feet high after steady rains that fell on the night before. So, we’re already thinking about how we could schedule ourselves in Dallas/ Ft. Worth for early summer (the best time to see the tracks, according to the park guide) and take a side trip back to this area.

The things we as parents do for our kids, especially as the heads of these homes/ learning environments, never cease to amaze me. Guess what our son got excited about after we finished our science unit on reptiles?

We welcome “Spot,” our new leopard gecko. I keep looking at his tank and shaking my head. I’m sure that my parents are doing the same from an overlook in heaven. I guess that, for the money we spent, I keep thinking that if I stand there long enough, he’ll come out from under that fake log and sell me some insurance. As if this weren’t enough, our son, who traded in any potential bug/ spider affections for ballet slippers, actually handles the mealworms—mealworms that must be refrigerated, mind you (yes, you know where!)—with his bare hands. The world has gone mad.

As a business owner, I…

am excited that the elementary school series (so far) hasn’t needed as much correction as I anticipated, and I can truly focus on enhancements. One bit of constructive feedback I received was that the curriculum does not have as many kinesthetic activities for young hands, so I am looking forward to adding in more hands-on learning opportunities. See? I can take constructive criticism!

I also have an opportunity to perhaps cross promote with another business that promotes history products, and I’ll submit the Harlem Renaissance unit study (see here) for review to the Old Schoolhouse Magazine later this week.

May the Lord bless your week as well.

Fossil Rim Wildlife Center

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:38:00 -0500

I will hopefully post my weekly wrap-up on tomorrow, but in the meantime, I wanted to share the amazing trip we had to Fossil Rim in Glen Rose, Texas. For a little over $50 for the five of us (including a bag of animal food), this was the closest to Africa we might ever get, and it was a memory for a lifetime. Keep in mind as you view the pictures that these were taken with our daughter's digital camera, with limited zoom abilities. In short, you're looking at the animals as we saw them--next to the car and dangerously in our faces. In several pics, you see the rain on the car windows as a couple of these animals got a little too close for me. By the way, can you tell how excited we were to feed giraffes?

Weekly Homeschool Report--October 18, 2009

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:58:00 -0500

If you want to participate in this meme, please visit Carol at ThreeLittleLadies, and be sure to link your post to her Mr. Linky so that we can all see what life has in store for you.

From where I sat this past week,

As an individual, I…

am feeling good about this week after coming to a grueling slow down on last week. We are, as of this morning, on fall break. My primary agenda item today? To sleep a bit later. By Thursday, the kids were barely speaking to one another—a rarity in our home, but a true indication of how much we all needed a break—and I’m resisting the urge to make the kids reading during our time off. I realize that I probably need the break as much, if not more, than they do. I don’t want another item to do amidst my own plans, which include reading and—dare I think it(?)—scrapbooking, after a two-year absence. We leave on tomorrow for a brief vacation, and I’m determined to enjoy some time to myself, even though I still have my adult classes.

Still no workouts, but a very active day in the garden preparing for fall, with more planned for today. I don’t care what anyone says, gardening is a strength workout unlike no other. I didn’t get out at all during the summer—it was too hot and mosquitoes seemed to be thicker than usual. One of our neighbors, a pastor, always laughs at us for having any landscaping in the first place. His comment is that he ‘lets the Lord cut his yard in the winter and grow it in the summer.’ Of course, I see his yard and think the Lord’s looking for some shoe leather to show who He is. Okay, that was mean, but I am sure others must have thought the same of us this year. Thankfully, we’ve finally gotten the mulch high enough such that weeds are not a major problem, but the ginger plants I put down in the front needed more shade than they get in our yard, and so there was much dead undergrowth to clear out. All the dwarf holly bushes needed trimming to be the same size, and one had to be relocated after a juniper tree grew over and into it. Two of our three lantana bushes never returned to their former glory after last winter, and the superhero helped me pull these out of the ground, inclusive of the roots that grew an amazing four feet long—who knew? I’ve not done anything to the back yet. If the Lord says the same, this weekend we’ll put down mulch for the winter (such that it is here) and fertilize the trees for the fall/winter season. Maybe then I’ll get the back weeded. In short, can you say, “Whew?!”

As a wife and homemaker, I…

am increasingly aware of how much marriage requires that you die to self. I have had the opportunity to minister to a couple of Christian women whose marriages are younger than ours, and the common element has been consistently an unwillingness to prefer others over ourselves. This has to be one of the harder lessons of Christ, and we are sometimes even encouraged in churches that the Christian life is about us—a better life, a sweeter life, a happier life. While that is, in part, true, I am convinced that we miss out on one of the fundamentals of the Christian life: giving sacrificially. The Lord gave His only son. The Word implores us to give. Even Job saw his life turnaround at the point that he put his friends’ needs before his own—friends who, by the way, had talked about him like a dog in the midst of his valley experience. Enough on that sermon; send your love offering to Paypal (smile).

I am back at the sewing table. Our son’s legs have outgrown his old bathrobe, and apparently, according to retail stores, boys over a size 10 must have little or no need for robes or pajamas, for that matter. Everyone has picked up that pattern shopping is a quicker to increase the wardrobe, so the oldest jumped in on the deal with a request for shirts, and the youngest looked at robes for herself, too. Hopefully I can finish the son’s robe before mid-November. I penned a second Hawaiian shirt for him (the first was too small before he even got to wear it), but never cut or stitched it, and now the season is coming to an end. Plus, the shirt was a nice-to-have; the robe is a necessity.

As a mom and homeschooling parent, I…

am getting more and more in touch with my “story voice.” I knew, somewhat instinctively, that stories come alive with different voices, instilling of personality, and even animation (though I’m not that great at it) when reading stories, especially to smaller children. Seven years into homeschooling, it’s finally clicking that my ability to incorporate my story voice increases retention for both the young and the…Linda Fay speaks more about the power of our voices here.

Anyway, when I’m preoccupied with the day’s responsibilities, I find myself rushing through the reading, and this year, I’m doing a lot of it! I didn’t realize it until the youngest and I had a conversation after she didn’t do so well with a narration. She stated, with all the sincerity of a small child who’s sad that she didn’t perform well but knowing that she could do better with some help, “You read too fast.” I took her words to heart and told her to slow me down whenever I do it again. Now I’m annoyed when she does it too often, but I stand corrected when I hear her narrations. Lesson learned…

As I mentioned, we’ll hit the open road on tomorrow. We’re off to Glen Rose, TX to see where dinosaurs once strolled in the Lone Star State. I wanted to take this trip this past spring when the youngest worked on her dinosaur lapbook, but our purse strings said otherwise. Our son is wrapping up Apologia’s Zoology 3, focusing on land animals. Guess what he would have studied this week? Dinosaurs! Don’t you love it when a plan comes together?

I talked about the story voice helping each child. The Iliad is coming together for the oldest. This week, in putting together her commonplace book, she asked me how the war began in the first place. I found out that I didn’t know; I always assumed it started because Paris stole Helen from Menelaus. In truth, that’s the middle of the story. The beginning was a “celebrity” wedding, and the jealousy of the goddesses Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena (if I’m remembering correctly) over who Paris would think was loveliest between them. Anyway, we chose to skip past each Trojan and/or Achaean who “was caught quickly, run down…and speared in the [name your body part]…and then dropped to the earth, and red death came plunging down his eyes, screaming, death swirling round him…” (Homer really needed to get out more; also, he couldn’t possibly have been married—LOL). With some attention to my story voice, we’re making our way.

Midweek this week, my MIL, a public school teacher, called with an invite for the oldest to attend a college fair—on the same day that she called. When the Lord gave out spontaneity, someone else got my portion. So I found myself somewhere between elated that this was another opportunity to attend one of the larger college fairs in the city, and overly sensitive as the last-minute invite felt to me like the teacher who felt that she had to rush in and save the poor, poor homeschooler. With the superhero’s help in the transportation department, I decided to get rid of my oversensitivity and take the hand as it came. It truly was a blessing, and as my MIL teaches at one of the wealthiest schools in the city (and therefore the school draws a lot of attention from colleges everywhere), a number of colleges were there that the oldest would probably not have looked at otherwise. Now we have a wealth of information to sift through and my head is again swimming. Wisdom, guidance, and discernment, Lord, wisdom, guidance and discernment.

I finally published my second Squidoo lens on Ancient China. We’ve had fun this past week playing matching games with Chinese pictographs, completing word searches, and watching silkworms make silk. I’ll put the pictures on the lens hopefully later this week. Now if I could just figure out how/ where to get enough wind to make a kite fly.

As a business owner, I…

am still working on the elementary series edits, and looking forward to getting the cover graphics redone. I also need to complete an article for a Christian women’s magazine, but so far, the thoughts have yet to leave my notebook and assemble themselves eloquently in Word. This may not have been the opportunity for me—yet more to pray about. Rick Warren says in his Purpose-Driven Life that there are a number of opportunities that are good, but we must be wary of those that distract us from our purpose.

May the Lord bless your week as well.

So Like Us

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:41:00 -0500

Leftovers for breakfast today—whole wheat biscuits, with a peach-banana smoothie to compliment. It felt good not to cook, and I’m really trying to save all my energy to pull the weeds that summer and several weeks of rain have wrought. Perhaps towards the month’s end, we’ll put down winter mulch and get the trees fertilized, but today it will be enough of a task to just get overgrown bushes back in shape. I’m dreading the mosquitoes even more than the heat after amount of rain we’ve had. The superhero’s flying off to get the oil changed in the car before our mini-vacation, and the kids will begin chores soon—assuming they wake up before the crack of noon (smile).

Is there an article in your home that says everything that needs to be said about your family? For us, it’s our paper towel holder. I thought about this the other day as I reattached the holder to the base with the single screw that keeps it functional.

The holder is a green marble, bought to blend in with our faux granite countertops, but yet it’s still decorative to stand out on its own. The solid marble base gives it a sturdy foundation. With the Lord as our family’s foundation, we, too, have a strong base. And like the holder, we, too, tend to stand out whether we want to or not. A complete family amongst many broken homes, a loving family amongst much dysfunction, others stare at us for being what some consider unconventional, although we think of ourselves in very simple, practical terms, serving a very simple, practical purpose.

We bought this particular style because neither of us is handy enough with a drill to feel comfortable purchasing one of those under-the-kitchen cabinet varieties. In life, we have shied away from riskier opportunities that might have better served God and ourselves, but we’re still effective and fruitful at what we do.

The holder, on its best days, looks just like it looks in this picture. But because of the sheer volume of paper towels that go through these five hands, it often leans like that tower in Pisa rather than standing up straight. This is, too often, where we are, moving through life and feeling as if we are barely functioning, tired and overwhelmed with responsibilities. We get the job done, but we could definitely be more effective with a little more rest, a little more money, a little more time, a little more…

Sometimes the holder falls completely apart and has to be reassembled by the one nail that holds everything together. Six nails hold this family together…two at His sides, two at His hands, and two at His feet…

Whatever is your own family’s uniqueness, may you always cherish the nails that hold you together.

The how, where, what, when and who tag

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:41:00 -0500

It's been a while since I've been tagged for anything; it seems as if that season of tags and awards came and left, and I write that with mixed emotions. Yes, the tags could be cumbersome at times, and the awards felt almost like a chain letter, but I like to believe that each was passed with some level of genuine affection and admiration, and that's never wrong or inconvenient to share.

Our son and his dance duet partner from last year began a joint blog not too long ago, and I’m very late in completing a tag he sent. It's been interesting, in a word--as in engaging, gratifying, and nerve-wrecking all at once--to watch him sort through all of his emotions. I believe wholeheartedly that the two are experiencing their first taste of puppy love. Yet, with his partner now gone to a new studio and both of them finding new interests and new friends, I think he’ll grow out of his first crush gracefully and land on his feet. In the meantime, I’ve had two different moms approach me regarding the possibility that their daughters might be his new duet partner. Should be another interesting dance season. In the meantime, here’s the tag. Typical of his personality, his tag is short and sweet. However, I also thought of it as a quick look into some parts of the quirkiness that is me that I’d otherwise not consider sharing.

How old is your blog? Almost 3-1/2 years old

Where is your favorite place to go on vacation? Of the places I’ve been, probably Hawaii

What is your favorite color(s)? blue

When did you start this tag? 9:03 a.m.

Who are you going to tag? I won’t list anyone specifically, but if you read it and find it fun, consider yourself tagged!

Weekly Homeschool Report--October 11, 2009

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 19:15:00 -0500

If you want to participate in this meme, please visit Carol at ThreeLittleLadies, and be sure to link your post to her Mr. Linky so that we can all see what life has in store for you.

From where I sat this past week,

As an individual, I…

am exhausted. I had several deadlines late in the week—classes ending, classes beginning, homeschool plans, Sunday school plans—you name it. Then there was a birthday party for the youngest at Build-A-Bear. It all seemed to come crashing down on Saturday when I had just begun working at 9 p.m. I finally finished around 4 a.m. this morning. It’s gotten quite comical now, but I’m a decent enough typist until I can fall asleep typing and still form complete words—they just make absolutely no sense. So, last night’s commentary to my students was, in a word, interesting. This is not the first time that has happened, and I suspect that I’ve probably not caught all of my “typed-up dreams,” shall we say, but so far, no one has come back to me with something that sounds like “Huh?” Today I don’t have as much to do, and I’m looking forward to seeing bedtime before the sun starts to rise.

Given the lateness (or the earliness, dependent upon how you look at it) of my rest, I missed church today. I didn’t even hear everyone leave, although I remember when they woke up. The superhero taught alone, and did a tremendous job, according to himself (smile) and our daughter. I called him right after the class would have ended to find out how things went with our new co-teacher; I felt bad about leaving him alone. He said that she sat quietly through class, asked after me to be sure I was okay, and then left. I’ve been wondering, is it bad to be happy that people don’t slow down to speak with you? I could look at it as prayer changing things. Then again, maybe she reads my blog. Uh-oh.

Still no workouts, sadly enough. Looks like our Wii is needing a repair, and thankfully, before the warranty is up. As we’ve come into a season of more, I’ve been constantly praying against unexpected repairs that have a tendency to eat away our increases.

Editorial comment several hours later: Wii fixed w/ a cleaning of months of accumulated dust. Thanks, God.

As a wife and homemaker, I…

Need desperately to engage our children more in taking a part in the housework. When I get really busy, this house begins to look crazy, and I know that some part of that is that the kids don’t clean much outside of their own selfishness unless they are told to. The six-year-old is a one-woman wrecking crew that I need to fine tune my training with, teaching her to clean up messes as she makes them. She loves to write, and leaves lists everywhere—to-do lists, lists of songs, lists of imaginary doll ailments that she’ll have to play doctor and repair. The homeschooling, adoring side of me thinks, “Aaaaawwww, a planner just like Mommie. I should collect these and store them somewhere. They’ll be fun memories for later.” The part of me that wants to sit without a lot of clutter surrounding me is just plain annoyed. When I’m tired, this side takes over, and with an unbridled tongue, I have a clean house, but hurt feelings. This leads me to one of my favorite points of reflection, what type of mom I want to be. I have friends who make their kids pick up every single thing immediately after they use it. Their homes are always immaculate, and for that, I envy them. Yet, I don’t desire the means to get to that end—too much yelling, too much tiptoeing around, and, I think, not enough focus on fun and frolic. Our home is just that—a home, not a museum, right? Yet, there are realities to the home life as opposed to the museum life. Our home always looks like we are in the middle of something (and we usually are). It’s never ready for surprise guests, and, as I mentioned when I started all of this, I get sick of being inspector #5 all the time, with the “unsatisfactory” stamp being the key that gets people moving. Right now, I sit in the family room with NFL games in the background, while the six-year-old’s tennis shoes lay in the middle of the floor, 2-3 writing projects are between the floor and the coffee table (along with crayons and pens), and on the chaise lounge is a small hourglass (what’s that about?) Of course, a good night’s sleep could change my whole outlook on this situation.

As a mom and homeschooling parent, I…

am still in our now 9-week long honeymoon, although we’ve had momentary dips into the day-to-day reality of life and learning. I often ask my adult students about character/ personality traits for success, and whether they are innate or the function of training. I am convinced that there are innate personality traits that can break us in spite of how much good, right, and otherwise we try to nurture. If I use myself as an example, for all the many gifts and talents God has placed in me, I have a tendency toward “analysis paralysis.” If I’m unfamiliar with a task, it can take me forever too do it. Even when the Lord says do it very clearly and sends his angels as the confirmed witnesses, I will drag and drag. A huge part of this is because the act of sitting quietly, thinking it through, and then moving forward often doesn’t happen amidst the ever-urgent “Mooooom!” and “Honey, would you…?” So with this revelation, I worked with the kids this week to battle a demon I see cropping up here: procrastination. I stated at the beginning of this year that much of our work would be dedicated toward the intangibles to the older two, and that is the harder work than completing x pages in said book/ notebook, for sure. This past Friday, all the kids wanted to accompany me to Wal-Mart, etc., although I knew I would have moved much faster alone, and they needed to complete school and enjoy the busy weekend. I gave in, and we slushed through the store and torrential rains, ran a couple of other errands, and waited for pizza in the middle of flash flooding. By the time we got home, we were in a time crunch to finish the work that I told them had to get done before dance team practices. That didn’t happen. Into Saturday we go. The oldest wanted to tag along for the birthday party, and she was a tremendous help. Our son claimed he couldn’t find his book. So now, everyone’s working on Saturday evening to complete Friday’s work. The problem (outside of me being too nice in letting them go to the store in the first place)? HBO’s new movie was Marley and Me, and we all got interested enough to watch it twice. (The movie, by the way, has a few bad words and a couple of adult content moments, but it portrayed, with a decently realistic eye, the seasons in a marriage as a nice backdrop to the main story of a dog who went from incorrigible to invaluable. The adult content is the couple's efforts to be intimate, with the dog's ever-constant eye on them each time. My husband laughs that he first saw this movie on an airline while traveling for work, and amidst his own tears, he was tickled at the other “manly men” wiping their eyes and trying not to wrinkle suit shirts with their tears). The kids still managed somehow to finish. When I saw the oldest go to Sparknotes.com today to get an overview of The Iliad for herself and line out her confusion of who’s on what side of the fight, I thought, perhaps some good came out of all my prayer and preaching.

Jimmie posted a great article on Heart of the Matter online on reading journals. I think it will help me with some of my own projects, and I think our son would make good use of it. He’s been keeping up with us on Homer and reading D’aulaire’s Greek Mythology on the side. His love for mythology has been a huge help to us when we get stuck on the interaction of the various gods and goddesses (there’s so much more of this going on than when I watched Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom tell the Hollywood version--smile) I smile as I see our son read through D’aulaire; I, too, once loved Greek mythology, but dust has settled on my remembrance of many of the lesser gods.

As a business owner, I…

have begun edits on the elementary series. I’m also proceeding with a unit study on scientists and inventors. Articles are showing up on other sites, and I continue to be blessed by so many encouragers. Thanks to you all.

May the Lord bless your week as well.