Posted in School Time

I love it when a plan comes together.

I also love that quote from huge 80's hit 'The A-Team'.

But, I do love it when a plan comes together. It's great when everything you planned on doing for the week is accomplished and you're at the point where you envisioned you would be.

That happened this week.

We started out Monday with a regular work load but began tapering off during the week to get ready for Christmas and a week off of formal studies.

Here's how it brokedown...

Kaitlynn is beginning to read and I didn't want to let off. I put off a lot of math work and we worked together with her phonics lessons, edhelper.com worksheets, and the book we're using that I found at Old Fashioned Education, Word Master. When we started this reading thing during the summer, she really didn't want to do it. It was a struggle just to get her to sound out any letters of the alphabet. But, now it's a different story. I can't keep her from wanting to read something.

We also worked on handwriting this week. I'm not using any type of handwriting curriculum right now. We're sticking with copywork. I will write down a quote from a book and she copies it a few times. I then go over it and show her any mistakes and how to form the letters correctly. This is working great.

This wasn't planned, but she wanted to do it anyway... this week she began learning how to type on the computer. I am working with Matthew right now and using a great website, BBC Schools Dance Mat Typing, and Kaitlynn thought it was pretty cool. She wanted to learn. So, this week she went on the site and worked with her home row keys. They also have a place where you can actually print out the exercises and do them offline. This was great. Kaitlynn, and Matthew, both typed them into a Word document as practice. Then I could time them.

That was Kaitlynn's week pretty much. We did do a little social studies and science, music (she's playing the piano and learing it by herself), and bible studies.

Matthew is the one that I worry about the most. Here's why. He is 7 years old and if following the public school system he should be in 2nd grade. However, everything we do for him is between third and fifth grade. I worry that I push him too hard. But, everything I give him to do, he can do easily.

For example, we started division this week and he picked it up pretty fast.  We begin dividing with remainders and multiplying with two digits after vacation.

Also, we went to the library and got the Usborne Internet linked book "World of Plants". If you've never used one of these types of books... they're awesome. They have links to a bunch of different places on the internet with videos, slideshows, worksheets, diagrams, etc. It's great.  Anyway, this week he's studying how plants eat and breathe. I mean the inner workings of it all. He wrote out the definition of vocabulary words (using a dictionary), filled in four diagrams showing how roots draw in water from the soil, learned about photsynthesis from a video at this site.

He did some reading in Literature, wrote out vocabulary words, did some latin translations, studied about Elijah and Elisha, and past and present tense verbs. He also studied Alaska and Hawaii. I don't think I left anything out.

Kimberly had a pretty easy week. Her math lesson this week was on using angles and triangles to help with orienteering. It was a great lesson and she picked up pretty fast. I really like this CIMT math program. It's free (that's always great) and pretty thorough. After vacation we start with angles in circles though. I have to really do a refresher on that one. I didn't do well with geomerty in school and it's coming back to haunt me!

Her bible study and history were all pretty straightforward. Reading, discussion questions and essays. She did do an online study of Thomas Becket this past week and did ok with it. In English we are studing how to write a play and in Literature it's a Hunchback of Notre Dame study. She has a test tomorrow and I hope she does pretty good as she is slacking a lot these past couple of weeks. It seems that she doesn't think she has to put as much effort into her work at home as she had to in public school. I hope it's just a phase.

My goal with her is by the end of June we start seriously looking at colleges and preparing for what she wants to do. I have to begin working on her study habits and focus. I am also going to start introducing her to books like "The 7 Habit of Highly Effective People", by Covey. I believe that high school should be approached like a full time career and that it's not too early to begin learning how to succeed.

That was our week. I think. I probably left something out, I'm sure but it all went rather smoothly and as planned. We accomplished a lot and I know that the kids are pretty much on track with where I would like them to be.

Sorry again for the lapse in posts. I couldn't figure out the new update to the homeschoolblogger system. Each time I wanted to post a new entry I couldn't get a text box. Finally, after posting on the support forum, I downloaded new java plugins and an updated version of firefox.

Now it's working again. And that's good because I have a lot to catch up on.

But, for this post I'll just leave it as I didn't go anywhere and now I'm back.  (Does that make sense?)

Today was a good day, but I wasn't here for the schooling part. I was actually substituting at the high school.

However, when I got home I did get to spend time with the kids and their lessons. Kaitlynn was doing some addition and phonics work. It took awhile for the whole reading thing to catch on, but now it's coming really fast. We are using an online book that I downloaded and printed out. The book is 'Word Mastery - A Course in Phonics for the First Three Grades' (clicking on this link will open a .pdf file) and I like the way it works Kaitlynn through the words. She is picking it up pretty fast.  I also used some sheets from Edhelper.com. This site isn't free but it's cheap enough so that it's worth it.

Matthew did some reading in History. We studied a little about Ancient Persia and Cyrus the Great. He loves this time period and eats up every bit of information I can find for him. This site has a lot of lesson plans for ancient history study.

Kimberly took a history test over Thomas Aquinas and Saint Anselm. We are now using the Beacon Lights of History Series for her history study and it's working out pretty good. It was a little bit of an adjustment as it's more reading and in depth discussion, including a lot of narrative writing and essay type "tests". But, I am seeing a greater like (she used to very strongly dislike history) for this subject.

We are also using a completely free math program for her this year and the other two kids next year. It's from the UK, but besides being in metric, I love the program. It's called the Center for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching, or CIMT, (this link is for the year we are using). She tried to work out the lesson on finding symmetry in three dimensional polygons, but needed to wait until I got home to understand it. Geometry was my worse subject in school and now I remember why. Yuck.

Today was a good day.  How was yours?

Wouldn't you know it. My last post was on Nov. 3rd and the next one is a month later. I thought I had the time, but as with everything else, if you wait for the best "time" you'll never get there.

So, here I am with less time on my hands and blogging. I love blogging. I maintain several of them for my business (and I'm starting one for youth minsistry) and it helps to clear my head.

Anyway, this school year is going fantastic. I have almost weaned us off of textbooks altogether. Right now the only text book we use is a math text for Matthew that I bought at the discount book store here in town. Other than that it's exclusively library and internet resources.

I always knew that there is a ton of stuff on the internet to enable the person with a lot of time to put together a great curriculum. However I now feel that's a great misconception. The time issue isn't really a factor for us.

Especially when there are great sites like AmblesideOnline.org and An Old Fashioned Education. I love these two sites. My kids have literally jumped grade levels, become more self-directed, think through problems much better, and like doing their work.

Then there are mailing lists that abound to show the best places, that I never would have found on my own, to get worksheets, free books, unit studies, online videos, and other things that make learning at home much more productive and fun.

I even feel more energized when preparing the kids weeks out. I actually enjoy getting things together for their lessons, planning them out and having a goal at the end of the study. It really is a lot better than just giving them a workbook or text and telling them to do excercises 1-20, correct them and then put it in a folder somewhere.

What we do know is actually talk about the study, read about it, go more in-depth with internet resources and learn more intensely. 

I like this approach much better.

One thing that I think made the biggest impact was a piece of software I downloaded for record keeping. I'm horrible at keeping records and organizing the kids attendance, grades, papers and the like. In one of the email lists I'm on someone sent a link to HomeschoolTracker.com. What an immediate blessing this thing is.

It has two versions. A Basic free version and a paid version. I haven't upgraded to the paid version yet, but am very happy with the free one. I can put in all the lesson plans, attendance, grades, hours put in for each class, books read, and other things and then if I want, it spits out printouts of everything! It even calculates grades and averages them out in a nice neat report card.

If you're struggling with organization maybe HomeschoolTracker will help you. It did for my family.

Until next time....

... but it has been a productive time.

I apologize for my immediate halt of postings. Things just got... well..... crazy.

Many things have happened during the summer that I had to make some decisions about priority wise. Unfortunately, my blogging pursuits (both personal and business wise) had to take a back seat for awhile.

But, everything has gotten back to normal (or at least I can manage it a lot better) and I can finally start keyboarding my thoughts, happenings, and hopefully words of wisdom.

God has been stretching me a lot this summer in several new leadership roles, keynote speaking, teaching as a substitute and more coaching. I love it all.

The kids are progressing much better than I would have imagined through the summer and now the new school year. I'll make sure to give a detailed rundown of what is going on with each of them shortly.

Anyway, this is just a quick post to let all of you know (the two or three that actually read this) that I'm back and very excited about what's around the corner.

Summer for us has always been just another day.

What I mean is that even when the kids were in public school, summer vacation was no big deal. We did the same things we always did. The kids were just home a lot more.

Which was good because we could spend more time playing outside, going on walks, riding bikes, having cookouts, working on projects together, reading, and visiting family.
Pretty much the same thing we did while school was in.

So, summer isn't that much different and the question of to school or not to school isn't an issue. Of course! We will continue our "school" during the summer. Reading, writing, english, math, history, and science will all be part of our summer school time. It will be different though.

Reading will be classical and history books. Science will be in the form of nature studies, hikes, camping, and experiments. I don't feel it's right to stop math during the summer. When fall comes around again you have to reteach it all again. English will be mostly creative writing. Plus we will all be working on life skills as a group during the summer. Things like cooking, woodworking, yard and house projects, sewing (my wife will be doing pretty much all of that), and a little mechanics.

Yeah, we're going to do school during the summer. We're going to take a week long family vacation plus some little two day excursions, but we'll still be learning.

With everything going on the last couple of weeks I haven't been keeping up with what we're doing for school curriculum.

For those of you just joining our little adventure, we use primarily a Classical approach by loosely following the suggestions in "The Well Trained Mind." I am also really liking the Ambleside Online free curriculum and in the fall will make a more concerted effort to use it as a foundation for the school year.

So with that said, here's what we do for science.

Starting with the oldest, Kimberly, we started by going to the library and hitting the books on energy. We would pick it apart, write out definitions, do some experiments, report on the findings, and write narrations on the reading. It was going pretty good, until I started to get a little worried that we weren't moving fast enough. I also had a bad feeling we were missing "stuff" that she needed to learn.

So, we went to our awesome used book store and looked for a physical science text. Now, we do the same thing but we have a guideline to follow in the textbook. I know now that my worries were just a slight attack of the enemy getting me to second guess what we were doing and will not be falling into that trap again.

Matthew is strictly classical. We started the year by picking a new animal each week and finding books on that animal. He would read it, do a narration, and do some coloring. We the subscribed to zoobooks and he now sits and reads them as soon as they come in.

Now we are in the human body. Again, we go to the library and pick out human anatomy books. He will sit and read them, look at the pictures and can pick out all the major organs and bones. During the summer we will be strictly nature study.

Kaitlynn, while she's just four right now, started with a basic study of animals. She would just following along with the readings with Matthew. She sits and looks at the zoobooks herself and will pick out picture books on animals.

Right now we are also learning about the human body with her, but we are using the A Beka K-5 science book with her.

This summer all the kids will be starting a nature study notebook and will basically follow the Charlotte Mason method. We will be taking walks and they will be spending time drawing and illustrating what they saw. I'm excited about this summer and can't wait to get started.

There it is. Our science class. It's not earth shattering, but it works. I'm comfortable with it now and as we start doing a lot more Ambleside Online stuff our science will be a lot more involved.

It was probably the scariest point of my life.

And I can't figure out why. It's not like this surgery was my first. I had a back surgery eight years ago and wasn't anywhere near as scared as I was for this gallbladder operation.

I'm talking white knuckled, stare into space, colorless fear. I looked whiter than the sheet I was laying on. I tried. I fought it. I prayed. Others prayed. Man, I was scared. Until I woke up anyway. Then I wasn't scared anymore. Just a little apprehensive about the pain and recovery process.

But, all is well now. The surgery was Thursday and I have been following, to the letter, the Dr.'s orders.

I am glad that I went through with it, because the pain is gone. But, I have told my wife that under absolutely no circumstance will she bring me to the hospital again.

Anyway, that's all done. I can now move ahead with some big projects I"ve been working on and look at the future.

Summer is going to be full this year. I am planning on continuing with school until the middle of August when we will take a few weeks off and do some vacationing. My family hasn't taken a vacation, of any substance, for quite some time and I'm itching to get away for a few weeks. Where? Don't know yet, but the kids really want to see Niagara Falls and I'd love to see some Civil War battlefields.

Hopefully we can work that in this summer.

My worst fears have come true.

Well, other than the New England Patriots winning the SuperBowl.

I have to undergo surgery on Thursday to remove my gallbladder. I'm not too happy about it, but at this point... I guess I'll concede. The pain is rather intense.

People have been telling me to look at it like God is providing a way for me to slow down. I don't think that's true. But.....after Thursday I have to spend at least three days doing nothing.

Anyway, Thursday is D-day.

I probably won't sleep until then.

On another note, Kaitlynn is doing some intense rehearsal for her first ballet recital this Thursday and Friday. I know, I know... the same day I have surgery. I'm hoping that by Friday night I can go to it.  I really don't want to miss it. It's not the same watching it on video afterwards.

She has been practicing so hard and is doing so great that it is so essential that I go on Friday. I pray that I will be able to.

School had been put on hold also for a few days. Since we are planning to go most of the summer that's not a big deal. Kimberly says she wants to double up on her work this summer and during the fall to get through two grades this year. I really don't mind it, if she does the work to the best of her ability. It's one thing to do the work to get it done and another thing to actually learn it. So, we'll see how far that goes.

I think I have really decided to use more of the Ambleside Online curriculum. I really like it and the kids have loved what we've done so far.

Well, I'm rambling... nerves I guess. I think I'll try to get some sleep.

I've had a long week to think and pray.

Ideally that would sound like the perfect time to spend the day. Unfortunately, it's not because I had nothing else to do.  I've been waiting for doctors to figure out what's wrong with me. I feel it's gallbladder. They think it's gallbladder. Everyone else around me, especially those who have gone through this before, know it's gallbladder. But, nothing has been done yet.

Well, except for "medical tests" (we know that's just another term for twenty first century torture techniques) that seem to find nothing. Then you wait for results that never seem to come.

Anyway, back to my original train of thought with this post. I've been doing a lot of thinking and praying.

Why does homeschooling mean to my family?

In a simple one word phrase... change.

A few weeks back I received an email from Homeschool.com with the heading, "Are Your Kids Ready for the World?" I thought it was interesting, until I read the email. Now I know that most of these emails from Homeschool.com are ads for one thing or another. But, I thought this time it might be something useful to my family. And to be fair, it was. But, I've done a lot of thinking about it.

Here's how it began;


A big red flag jumped out at me. Why would that carry a red flag for me? Because of the words "you" and "your". That sounds fine at first and in "theory" it's fine. But, is that homeschooling is? About my kids. About our tiny little family. I hope it's about more than "your". 

Then it goes on to list some readiness factors for meeting the world.

Again, a big red flag popped up at me. And, again, there is nothing wrong with this list. It's just not all that my family wants from homeschooling. Another problem I have with this type of list. Now, please remember that I'm talking generally, and not all inclusive. Just because I say something does not mean it's targeted at you personally.

But, I just don't see the items listed in this "readiness list" happening in some homeschools. What I mean by that is there are a lot of "outward" things in there that a lot of homeschoolers don't want.

I have to ask myself this question.... "Is homeschool suppose to be inward or outward focused?"

For my family it's both. A balanced homeschool should be, shouldn't it? I mean is it enough to make sure our kids are well trained and forget the rest of the world? Here's why I say that. If we just worry about our kids; make sure they get a great education, have a strong biblical worldview, and are lights of this world (can't happen if only inward focused); it can't happen if our kids are the only ones we are concerned about.

We are spending a lot as a family learning about worldview and how it is changing from bad to much worse. And it's only going to get worse. The Bible says so, but we don't have to sit back and let everyone around die with it. I want to be able to teach as many kids as possible a few things.

1. To love Jesus. The way I do it is a lot different than most people are comfortable with. Why? Because I won't do it the way man does it. I follow Jesus. I see Him as the model for life and ministry. Why not follow Him? A lot of times it because it's too hard and people are too concerned with their own lives to bother with other people. Harsh, but true. I want kids, all kids and their families, to know Jesus and love Him.

2. To learn how to live. The biggest thing my family is learning, and adjusting too, is a biblical lifestyle. We never lived that way before and the last few years have been a huge learning experience. But, it's wonderful. So much better than the worldly way of living. With that said, I don't just want my family to live that way. I want everyone else to learn to live that way.  It's a travesty to focus on teaching our own kids and neglecting others.

There are authors, actors, sports figures, and even fictional characters that don't have a problem with sacrificing their times, money, and talents to teach kids their views. And they're achieving their goals. At an alarming rate. But, Christian homeschoolers, simply won't put in the extra effort to do the same. Sad.

My family isn't just concerned about us. Jesus wasn't concerned at all for himself. He wanted to teach others. And did whatever he needed to. Even die.

3. To be better educated. I do have a problem with public schools. It's not the peer pressure. I've seen much worse behavior and peer pressure at the local christian school. It's not the socialization. It's not the "mixing of churched and unchurched kids".

It's the education. Kids are simply not learning that much. My own daughter, Kimberly, went to public school and then a private christian school (the one mentioned above) for two years. And she can't write a book report. She doesn't know much about history or geography. But, the last year has seen her jump leaps and bounds.

I want all kids to be that way. I think it should be the goal for every homeschool family to educate other kids as well. I see a lot of homeschool co-op's. And that's great. But I don't see a lot of initiative to start new "schools" with a homeschool philosophy.

Think of a place where kids can come, sit in small classrooms, have personal one on one teaching, learn the classics, and become healthy, mature christian leaders. Awesome isn't it?

How does change it into all this rambling? Because homeschooling needs a change. More and more families are taking their kids out of public school and keeping them home. Great news!

But, they are doing it with only their kids in mind. Bad philosophy.

I pray that my family will be able to help other families and break out of the routine of it's all about us.

What do you think? I know that some people are going to be upset. That's ok. But, I can't sit back and watch the divison between Christians and "those other people" get any bigger. If it does, we grieve the heart of Jesus.

I have adopted a new viewpoint of what I'm doing for Jesus. It's not a ministry, it's a movement.  A movement means that things are to change. Not stay the same.
What's your movement?

Yup, it's raining again.

This has been one of the strangest weather years I can remember. The winter was snowless and not really all that cold. The spring was quick and unseasonably warm. And now the rain.

Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, and even more rain. I'd say that it's a lot of rain, but there are places that are getting a lot more and are in serious trouble. We don't have the flooding that southern Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusettes are getting right now, but we're still getting rain.

With all this rain, I'm reminded of a Nooma DVD I have watched a few times. Pastor Rob Bell does the teaching on these and they are incredible. The DVD I'm talking about in particular is titled, "Rain."

In this DVD Pastor Bell tells of a time when he and his son are taking a walk around a lake when it starts to rain. They are half way around the lake and the only way back is to all the way around. It pours on Bell's baby's head and he is terrified.

Bell then segways this story of how it rains in our lives as well and we are terrified. We don't know what to do. Problems seem to overwhelm us and we can't see any farther than the problem. When all the while, God is helping us, talking to us, and holding us... we just have to see it, and listen.

The reason I bring this up is because, while it's not a dire medical emergency, I am now facing a problem. This past Sunday, during the morning worship service, I had to leave and make a trip to the emergency room. Now, if you know me... I Do Not Go To The Hospital. In fact, I'm downright terrified of them. I close right up, shake and tremble at the thought.

But, I had to. I had a gall bladder attack and was in intense pain. I was scared that it might be my appendix, but thankfully just another non-essential organ.

I spent 8 hours in a place I am deathly afraid of. The only other thing that terrifies me more is needles. And I had to have several of them coming at me. (I eventually had to tell them that they would not be giving me any more pain meds unless it was by pill).

Alas, I still need more tests. More needles. More time at the hospital. I know that there are worse things that can happen. That this is a relatively routine thing that people go through every day. No big deal.

But, to me it's huge. I really need to look deep inside myself and cling to the promise of Scripture. I know Jesus is with me and I know that all things are worked out for good. This rain in my life, that couldn't have come at a worse time, is just a little trimming of the vine.

If I do need to have surgery, which is probably likely, I will be facing my biggest fear. That's what rain does I think. It faces us to face fears.

When rain comes, no matter what form it takes, we have to do something we would never do otherwise and for that we need God's strength. I need it now and I am doing some serious praying and fasting. I can't imagine doing this by myself.

It's so easy to just see the problem, or fear. That's what happened Sunday. I just couldn't function or make rational decisions because all I could think about was the hospital. I kept putting it off, until I couldn't even walk. Then I had to.

Fear is crippling. It's irrational. It's not of God. To get past it, and the rain, in our lives, we need to see God in all things. I'm thankful that I have a Savior whose promises never fail.

Rain.

It brings life, but it also brings trouble. How do you face the rain? With joy, exuberance, and confidence? Or pain, anguish, and fear?

For the rest of this storm I, hopefully, will be turning my eyes upon Jesus. Because His face is a lot more pleasant than the fear that grips me.

Time for my weekly brain dump... or off the wall ramblings.

This week has been good, ableit busy. I like busy though. It forces me to get things done. I can be a teensy bit on the procrasitnator side. Well, ok.... maybe a lot on that side. Probably more like I make my home on the farthest side of procrastinatorville.

So, being extremely busy forces my hand into doing things at the moment they need to be done... not five seconds beforehand. Anyway, amidst the business... here's what's going on in my thoughts.

1. Homeschooling my kids has taken a change this week. I know that it might go against the grain of what homeschooling is about, but I really "loaded" the learning on the kids this week.... and it was more effective than trying to get done before 10 am.

When the kids woke up on Monday morning, saw an entire daily schedule (complete with time limits) that contained a literal ton of work, they didn't complain. Instead, they jumped right in and got it all done. Everyday.

I'm not trying to be a taskmaster or overbearing dictator with the education of the kids, but I do feel that constantly changing should be a non-negotaible constant. If the kids get comfortable they become apathetic to learning. I think this jogged their learning "juices" and pumped them up about what they're doing.

For instance, Matthew had every subject, every day and really thrived in it. He was actually looking forward to each day's schedule. Will I do this every week? Of course not, but at least for this last week it worked.

2. I love it when teens pray. Something about the disregard for what is "supposed" to be said and replaced by what is in their heart really appeals to me. This is where they can really connect with God in a big way. This past weekend we held an incredible event for teenagers, "The Prayer Path", put out by Group Publishing that was, in my opinion, a tremendous success. (Thank you 8isnotenough for helping out!) Kimberly has been more aware of God in everything she does and you can see the results of a deeper prayer life. This event was entirely self-led. Meaning the teens themselves took the initiative to walk through the path, pray, commune, and seek God, all by themselves. All the adults did was be there in case they needed help. And we prayed. Awesome night. Praise God for what He is doing.

3. Out of all the things that has happened this week I am the most disappointed in the level of concern some towns have for children. It boggles me that some town councils and managers care more about their prestige as leader in their town than for the well being of the kids. This comes about from a few meetings of the Little League Board of Directors that I am serving on. Some of the board members feel that "attitude" of the coach doesn't matter. And these are town leaders who are saying this. 

After much discussion (by the way, out of all the boards I am on, this is the only one where there is arguing), and loud dissention, nothing had changed. I love coaching because it gives me another outlet to spread the love of Christ to the community. And it is absolutely essential that these kids playing baseball not only learn how to play... but how to live. Unfortunately, a few can spoil the lives of many.

What does it say for a town where the kids tease players on another team, put them down when they make a mistake, and talk back to coaches? They are the reflection of what's important to that town.

Anyway, that's been sticking with me a little. I need to let it go and let God handle it. If I don't I will dwell on it and be driven crazy by it.

4. Mother's Day supper tonight at the church. I like these gatherings. No matter what they're for. It's nice seeing the body connect and form stronger relationships. Contrary to popular belief spiritual growth doesn't happen in the Sunday morning service. It happens at gatherings where people can connect and be held accountable.
I wish our church had more opportunities for this. We are working on it. We've done away with the insitutional type of Sunday School and have made a move to a small group format. I believe this is the Biblical method and will foster spiritual growth.

5. I have some posts that I am working on that I am praying will challenge people. Not to cause hard feelings or to offend anyone. Just to challenge. One of the things I stand firm to is a commitment to constant change. If people are allowed to stay content with how things are, they become detached to how things should be.

This concept can be seen in the example of the Pharisees. They were comfortable with what they did, they didn't want to be challenged, or stretched. Therefore, they became detached.

Homeschooling, as with a lot of things in our lives, needs to be evolving, changing, and growing.

6. Big God Sized Dream just got a lot clearer to me over the last couple of days. I have been trying to figure this thing out on my own. You know, where to start first. Then I broke down. I gave it all to God. And he showed me how to start.

Again, it has to do with change. And I'm fired up about it. I can't wait for the shot of God that is going to be unleased in the youth ministry. I'm going to present it tomorrow with flyers, posters, and a talk with my student leaders. When I do that I'll also clue you in. Don't you love suspense?

I guess that's enough for today. Have a great weekend!

So, it's been a long couple of weeks.

But, when you see God move in very powerful ways it makes it all worth it.

The weekend ROCKED in a major way. Our church held a "Friend Day" celebration we jumped from one service with barely hitting 100 consistently to three services with almost 300! Praise God!

Anyway, that is why I've been a little quiet in the blogosphere lately. I have a lot to talk about and things I want to say, but just didn't have the time. However, get your feedreaders ready because I'm going to start empyting my brain.

Just a few things before the big posts start...

1. The Big God Sized Dream is a big time go! I've been talking to several people in the community, and some of the denomination leaders and they are behind the idea.

2. Homeschool is going great. And I have another dream, but it's only a quick glimpse. I think the bigger picture will come into play once the Big God Sized Dream starts to roll big time and when my leadership skills improve.

3. The kids are loving spring. They really aren't cold weather kids. They'd rather stay inside during the winter, but when the sun comes out, the snow goes away, and they don't have to wear 40 pounds of clothes... they want to be out all day. It's great!

4. I taught my son to fish yesterday! We tried several times, but the weather just wasn't great. High winds made it hard for him to learn. But, yesterday was picture perfect. Beautiful lake. Low wind gusts, and sun. It took him a few lost fish to figure out how to keep your line taught so you can "jerk" the rod to set the hook.

But, once he picked it up he caught more fish than I did! The tally is three for Matthew and a BIG Zero for me.

5. Kaitlynn has a big ballet recital coming up... her very first! She's very excited and my wife and I can't wait. She is a little ham anyway.

6. Controversy. Is it a good thing? I believe so. I believe Jesus was controversial. He was solid in what He wanted to see changed in the hearts and minds of man. Instead of doing what man wanted, He did want God wanted. So, with that said, and wanting to follow in the footsteps of Christ, you can expect to see a little more controversial tone. There are a lot of things that "Christians" are saying that just don't make sense. They don't add up. I think it's time to stop tiptoeing around and start making footprints.

What do you think? (more on this later.)

That's it for now and I'll be back with some of the things that are on my mind.

Well it's Saturday again. Funny how they come around every week.

Anyway, it's been two weeks since I've had a chance to put my thoughts down on "paper" so here we go...

1. I'm very excited about what God is doing at the church. We are going to do a Friend Day next week and the enthusiasm is definitely spreading. At first it was met with a little bit of resistance, but now that stories are coming in from the hundreds (yes, I said HUNDREDS) of people who are going to be coming... just about everyone is pumped!
I'm especially excited because we're living out what Jesus commanded us to do in the Great Commission. And with the new results of the most recent poll of American church goers, it's time more churches started following Jesus' footsteps.

2. Which leads me to the other topic which is really on my mind. I received the newest issue of "Outreach" magazine earlier in the week and I haven't been able to think of anything since. The feature article was a full report on the results of the latest poll taken about American church-goers.

People something has to happen very soon. We should be completely ashamed of ourselves that we call ourselves Christians or a part of the body of Christ. We carry the name of the Saviour of the World and we are content that people are going to hell. The latest results are that only 17.7% of Americans go to church on Sunday morning. God should take the "church" and wipe it out and start over.

This is very unacceptable. How people can be so complacent to sit in their "little" church and don't care if anyone else comes in is beyond me. I don't get it. No Where Does Jesus Say Sit On Your Rear And Take Care Of Yourself!

But, he does say, over and over and over again, to reach the lost! I am ashamed of Christians. But not of Christ. I will hold His name high as I go into the world, away from my little holy huddle, and preach Christ crucified. Unbelievable that anyone wouldn't do the same.

3. Which brings me to my Big God Sized Dream. I am definitely going forward and have even started to make plans. First, why don't I let you know what it is. Now, this is just a snap shot, but I think you'll get the idea. (I'll present a fully developed post on it later, short of time right now.)

God has placed a tremendous burden in my heart for the teenagers and young adults in this area. It seems to me that the area churches and "christians" just don't care abou them and are ok with them leaving the church. I'm not. According to Josh McDowell we have already lost a generation (mine) and are quite possibly looking at the last Christian generation. Unless we do something.

I'm going to do my part. I have a dream of a place where teenagers and young adults can go, be a part of a Christ like family, fellowship, grow in their relationships, and have fun while doing it. I envision a cafe type place where teens and young adults can go, have a lunch or dinner (subs), coffee, juice, or whatever (remember this is just the preliminary plan) and do it in a Christian atmosphere. Christian music playing. Scripture on the walls. The workers proclaiming the love of Jesus in servanthood. And a worship time a few times a week (three maybe?).

I see small groups getting together through the week. I see relationships forming that will last a lifetime with Jesus at the center. I see teens starting their faith journey knowing that Jesus loves them and will be with them in their life. I see relevancy instead of tradition. I see love instead of contempt.

Like I said, this is just a snap shot of what is in my head. I will post about it later in more detail. Again, I ask for your continued prayers. This is going to take much more knowledge than I have now and a lot of money. It's going to take the cooperation of a lot of different entities that we will have to work with in order to get this off the ground. Most notably the town council.

Nevertheless, I will not be detered. Jesus came to save the lost. I want to walk with Him on that journey... where ever that may lead.

4. Now for some lighter stuff.  Little League is in full swing with the practices and coaches meetings. Our little town has 36 kids coming out to play this year and we are ecstatic! I know that might sound small compared to larger towns and cities. But for us... that's amazing! And God is working there too. I am having so many opportunities to connect with area kids and start to form relationships and bonds. Yeah it takes time, but anything for God does. He gave His life... I can give my time.

5. Homeschool is still going strong. We've been talking with the kids about summer and have come to the conclusion that we are going to continue through the summer. Why not? It's not like they're going to do anything different. Of course, it won't be as intensive as now, but we're done by 11 or 12 everyday anyway.

6. I saw a post on RugbyHS that really inspired me with a great way to keep track of our schedule and assignments. Take a look. I'm going to be starting it this next week.

7. I've come to the conclusion that I am hopeless. I just can't say no. I want to. I try to. It just doesn't happen. I actually volunteered today to be a part of my denominations leadership for youth training in the state. We have a great program called Youth Leadership Core where churches can nominate youth they feel have great leadership potential and send them five times a year to a specialized leadership training. And I volunteered to be a leader for each training. Aaaaaah!

8. Kaitlynn has a ballet recital coming up in a few weeks and I can't wait. She dances around here all day long and keeps saying, "Are you going to see me on stage, Daddy?" I love seeing my kids excited about what they are doing.

Which is why homeschooling appeals to me. We don't do it to keep our kids away from other kids. We don't do it because we want a better education (although that is a minor reason). We do it because it brings out incredible joy in the kids to be able to work with us during the day in their learning.

For instance, last week Kaitlynn was writing her numbers from 1 to 20. Once she got one column completed she came running to me and with great enthusiasm showed me what she did and then immediately showed me how my writing them all again. These moments are why I homeschool. Priceless gems that will forever by in mine, and their, memories.

9. Of course there is also fishing. I love fishing. And I love it even more now that all three of my kids can come and we can make a day out of it. There is a big difference between loving something and being good at it. I definitely love it. But, I don't always do very good. Even though we haven't caught anything yet, and I have broke my line every time we've gone, we still talk about each time like it was the greatest event of the week.

10. I love my family. They are my inspiration and my life's love. I know that I am involved in the lives of many kids and, with God's help, a lot more. But, I am making a commitment to pour my life into my wife and kids and show them the truth of Jesus and how to walk in His steps everyday of their lives.

Being a husband and father is the toughest job I can imagine and I'm so glad that I am both.

I hope you enjoy these little ramblings. It does help me release some of the tension, aggression, frustrations, and happiness in brain so I can make room for more.

Oh yeah I almost forgot! I am finished with my Old Testament Survey I class and will be taking my final soon! Well, not excited about the final. But am thankful that I can put that study behind me. Phew!

Have a blessed Sunday and I pray that the Lord will reveal mightly things to you and your family.

You would think that since we speak this language that it would be a breeze to teach.

Ya right... Not!

Come to think of it, I never really like english class all that much either. I actually had to take it in summer school in the 9th grade. At least the kids do better than I did. Pretty scary thought being I make my living writing.

Anyway...

Our English curriculum isn't really all that earth-shattering. Pretty basic with a reliance on Literature.

With Kimberly we are using the Learning Lanuage Arts Through Literature curriculum and we really like it. I like it because it is set up for mostly independant work. She is in the eighth grade book now and we will probably be sticking with it through the high school years. The book studies are very good and the lessons are very informative.

One of the things I do have to do extra work with her is in her writing. She is not very good at report writing. Or any other except for stories. Her last three years in school, including two in a private christian school, were void of writing. So, we are starting at the beginning and going from there.

Matthew, again, is ahead of his age. We tried using First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind, but found it to be extremely slow. Matthew was very bored, and even though there isn't much writing, didn't want to do it.

So, again we went off to the used books store where I found an English textbook, I think fourth grade. We have been using it for a few months and while it's a stretch for him, he has only slowed down a little.

Reading is, again, classic literature and I have stopped trying to find books "on his level". Mostly because I don't know that his level is. We use the Ambleside Online suggestions right now, but I have to do a lot of looking around to find one that won't bore him. He does like the Parables of Faith stories though.

Kaitlynn is mostly practicing phonics. And I'm taking it at her pace. I've learned that when it's time for kids to read, they will with very little difficulty. Instead of trying to force Kaitlynn to recite her blends perfectly we go over them a couple of times and put them away. We do this for a few days until she wants to do them and then it takes no time for her to start doing it on her own.

A Beka K curriculum is our choice for her right now and it's working out great. We sit and read to her, some books she chooses (I've read The Little Mermaid 8 million times!) but most we pick out for her reading time.

We did try to use the Before Five in a Row, but since our library is so small we just couldn't find most of the books. The ones we could get we used, but I think she is making great progress with what we're doing now so I probably won't go back to it later. Again, AO is a  big help choosing books for her.

Well that's it. Nothing mind blowing but workable. I'm pretty satisfied with it right now. The only concern I have is what to do with Matthew after we finish this english book. Put him in 12th grade composition?

I think I've been pretty lucky.

The kids are really very good with math. They catch on very quick and it doesn't take them long, once they start doing it, to complete their math for the day. I don't have to sit down and actually explain it out. We go over some of the problems and then they seem to "get" it.

Kimberly is doing Algebra this year and the book we picked up has been very good for both of us. It's been a long time since I've done algebra and a lot of it has sort of leaked out into the vast abyss of forgotteness.

The text we're using is actually an old school text book. I picked it up at the local used book store (they have a ton of homeschool and school textbooks). The text contains step-by-step details on each of the problems, and the variations, so 'teaching' is actually done by going over the example problems.  Once we sit down and do that (sometimes she just picks it up and does it herself), she is able to do the problems.

Matthew is an anomoly. The first half of the year was trying to figure out where he is so I can structure his studies around that. First grade math was too easy. Second grade was boring. Third grade was a little challenging for a little while. Then I went to the used book store, bought a math book (fourth grade I think) and that slowed him down a little. He still goes through his studies very fast. I even thought of dropping some algebra on him!

He takes a while to get started, because math is boring for him, but once he gets going it doesn't take too long.

Kaitlynn loves her math book. With her I'm starting with A Beka. The math book that comes with the K-5 is just on her level and she is, like the other two, picking it up very fast. She will sit there and want to do five to six pages at a time without taking the time to explain it. Her number writing is excellent (8 gave her a hard time for a few days, but now they are perfect) and she loves adding.

That's our math program. If you can call it that. I do very little teaching and a lot of scratching my head to keep up with them. Yes, we have been blessed in math. Thankfully. 

I usually have a million things running through my head at any given time.

So instead of writing down a million posts in one day, or waiting a few days in between, I thought I would just jot down the highlights of what is running around in my head. (That's a scary thing.)

Anyway, here we go...

1. Good Friday service ROCKED! We had a teen led service where several teenagers read paraphrases of some of the darker psalms, Scripture in Luke of the crucifixion, and some sad letters from people in some very tough circumstances. It was very moving, and several people were impacted. The whole goal of the evening was that "No One Leaves The Same Way They Came In." I don't like rituals for the sake of keeping traditions alive. I believe that any time a church body meets in a corporate setting there should be a God experience. And there was.

I have to Give A HUGE Thanks to 8isnotenough for a great job at singing "It is will with my soul" during the service. Phenomenal! And in A Capella no less! Great Job!

2. Getting ready for Easter and am very excited about God showing up BIG during the children's worship service. We have some great things planned for them and the worship is always off the hook! I love it when kids gather and can freely worship God and meet Him together.

3. I finished up one coaching job this morning (Pee Wee Basketball) and started another in the afternoon (Little League Baseball). I love coaching. It is a passion I've had for a long time but never acted upon it until last year. I can't believe I was too scared. But, I was.

God has a way of "pushing" us sometimes, doesn't he? I would never have acted upon it, but I ran into one of the guys who runs the rec. dept in the town and the topic of needing coaches just "popped" up. Coincidence huh? 

I'm so glad because now my witness among the kids in this community has skyrocketed and I am meeting so many kids and teenagers now because of it. God is awesome... we just have to follow.

4. College is getting a lot harder. I am currently studying at home for a Seminary degree. The writing is tedious, the reading is long (and sometimes pretty boring), and I'm scared about my final. Two hours, all essay questions, no Bible or any other type of books allowed. Oh my!

5. AWANA is shutting down for the year. It was a good year, but now we are thinking about transitioning into something else for the summer, but I don't have a clue what yet.

6. I read a very good post at The Upside Down World dealing with Christian Homeschoolers. I can't add anything to what Rebecca has already said except for an Amen.

7. Commitment is becoming a big issue with me. I don't want to be nitpicky about it because I know that people run into things from time to time that keeps them away from the commitments they have made. However, when people say they will do something, sign up for it... and don't do it... that's a problem. Or when they just blatantly blow their commitment off to go do something else they want to do. That's one of my hot buttons right now. I'm praying for patience in this area and to be quick to listen and slow to speak.

8. My Big God Sized Dream is a Big Go! I have made the final commitment to move forward no matter what happens. Unless God closes every door, I will see this dream through. I still don't know how yet... but I know God does.

9. I was at a conference last week led by Dan Southerland who wrote the book "Transitioning". Now, it's about leading a church through change to be more Purpose Driven and intentional about reaching the lost. At the very beginning of the conference he asked each of us if we have ever wept for our community like Jesus did. I was ashamed of myself. For I had never really seen it in Jesus' eyes before.

This week I took a ride. I drove around the surrounding communities and by the schools. I asked God all week if I could see what He sees. Yesterday, I wept.

There are so many children and teenagers out there who need God. They are searching but there are so few people willing to help them. They have already given up on them.  God hasn't. But we have. That's why I wept. I wept openly and very hard. Along with my commitment to move forward with the Big God Sized Dream (which I will spell out in a few days) I have made the commitment "to the weak, I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings." (1 Cor. 9:22-23) 

It is going to take all things to meet these children and teens and win them to Christ.

10. We had a very good week in school and the kids are doing very well. I'm looking into some new curriculum, but will probably stay with what we're doing. Although I want to start adding in some computer time (research, online studies) for each child during the summer. That means I have to get a new computer. Good excuse, right?

I think that's it for now. I have to go and help my wife get ready for Easter dinner tomorrow.

Have a Blessed Easter. 

Geography is very much liked in our little homeschool.

All of the kids enjoy learning about our country and the rest of the world. Maps are actually a favorite form of 'reading'. Matthew will sit down with an Atlas and just read through it.

Anyway we use several different resources, books, and tools in our geography studies so I hope I can remember them all.

Kimberly uses an Atlas we found at a used book store. It's a little bit outdated (Russia is still U.S.S.R.) but other than that it is very complete and contains a ton of information.  The workbook we use is "Challenging World Geography" the Second Edition. It's a pretty good study where she is learning the countries, major landmarks, mountains, rivers, oceans, seas, language, population, national products, national animals and is pretty thorough.

We also use a lot of the National Geographic website and have a magazine subscription. A fun thing that we did in our study of Australia was we got a travel guide and Kimberly planned a month long trip of the country as well as writing a day to day journal of what she saw and where she went. It was great.

Matthew is just beginning with maps and is using "The Complete Book of Maps and Geography". He will actually sit down and just go through the book. I don't really have to tell him what to do. He's learning about the U.S. right now and having fun donig it. 

Kaitlynn is basically following along with us as we talk about the different countries and looks at the atlas when Matthew sits down to look at it.

One thing we have just started using is the Ambleside Online curriculum and do work in some of the reading suggested for geography when we can find the book. Our library is quite small and has a very limited selection of books.

That's our geography study. It's not the best, but it's always evolving.

Who says time flies when you're having fun?

It's more like when you're busy. 

The last few weeks have been crazy! Everytime I sit down to post about our curriculum, how we're doing, or some other thought of mine... I have to go do something.

I'm one of those bloggers that does everything online. I don't sit down and start writing several posts at once in notepad and save them until they're done. I log in to the control panel and start typing. If I don't get it finished... I start all over. Yes, very inefficient.

Anyway, I wish I could capture time and make it do what I want for a change. Wouldn't that be nice? Tell the clock, "Why don't you back up about three hours today. That would really help. Thanks!"

But, we can't. Bummer.

And God has been doing some talking. Actually shouting at me to get my duff off the ground and start work on a Big God Sized Dream I've had for a long time. The reason I've had it for a long time is because I don't know where to even get started.

The thing is... I can't wait anymore. It has become all consuming. I dream about it during the night. I think about it all day long. My daily Scripture reading has had to do with God leading and preparing the way.

How's this for coincidence... I was given a new small group study to look over before the church buys it to see if it would be something that we could use. The name of it is "Burning Daylight" based on the book of the same name by Erwin McManus.  Guess what the topic of the study is?

Stop wasting time and start doing what God is calling us to.

I love the study. It's amazing. But, I also hate it. It's talking directly to me at a time when I'm still scared.

Now, I know that God will clear the way. I know that He is always with us. I know that His strength will carry me and His grace is all sufficient. I can't help at times to feel just like the ten spies returning from the promiseland. Scared.

But, I'm going to go for it. I'm going to do what God wants me to do. I'm going to join Him where He is right now in our community and be His instrument in reaching as many teenagers as I can for Christ.

Would you do me a favor? When you think of it, would you please ask God to give me strength and wisdom?

Thank you. I promise I'll let you in on the Big God Sized Dream in a few days once I get some more info on a direction. And I won't stay away so long.

I love history. I could read history books, watch History channel, and talk about history stuff all day long. Probably the only person with me would be Matthew. Kimberly utterly loathes all things history and Kaitlynn, at 4, has a today outlook. (A trait I wish I could learn to have more)

But, we do study history.

Kimberly is using the suggestion of The Well Trained Mind and using the Kingisher History Encyclopedia as our main text. While it provides a great timeline there is very little 'meat' so we supplement quite a bit. For example, we are beginning to study World War I. So we went to the library and they have a great series on World War I contained in several Time Life books. This is our main text for this study. Right now we are talking about the causes of the war and who the major players are. She is doing some research into these people and adding them to her history notebook.

Kimberly likes discussion. (She's a teenager and really likes to talk!) She learns best this way and gives me an opportunity to talk about history also.

We also add in a biographical study of a person involved in the events we are studying at the time.

Matthew likes history. He loves the Story of the World book and the activities suggested in the workbook. This is our main guide for history. I like the way there is little prep and the book reads like a story instead of a text. The lack of pictures is ok as we do the extra reading suggested also. We also subscribe to Kids Discover magazine which he devours as soon as it comes each month.

We are still studying Ancient Egypt and will spend a lot of time reading extra library books on this subject.

Also we just started following the Ambleside Online curriculum a little and he loves the reading suggestions there.

With Kaitlynn we're using the A Beka Social Studies work text. She also listens to the stories as we read out of the SOTW book and other library books.

One thing I am starting to follow thanks to ClassicalEduction4me is he Learning Through History Magazine. I love this magazine and the website is full of great mini units and lesson plans.

I do get a little overbearing with history as it's my favorite topic and I pray that God will help me not push too hard in this area. It would be great if my kids developed the same love as I have for history, but I know that we are all unique and have our own passions.

But, that's what we do and will probably continue with it all year. (We don't really break during the summer. Just a slightly lighter school day.)