|
Hi ya'll!
Well, I'm finally blogging
This school year is definitely a learning adventure for myself and our children. When we first began home schooling, 5 years ago, I thought I would always buy a packaged curriculum from a well respected publisher and we would have "school" at home. We tried that for a few years. Oh, my children did learn, but it wasn't very much fun...and I was completely worn out! Last year we tried a computer based curriculum for some subjects and some workbooks for others. A lot of material was covered last year, and it was very good material, but we all found ourselves stressed out even more than the previous years. I knew by the end of the year that there had to be another alternative, and no matter what I had to do I was going to make a change for the new school year. Oohhhhh friends, let me tell you....God is so good! Just when I was at the point of exhausting all of my resources I asked Him for help, and He began little by little to pour into my heart and mind just what our family needed. You see He had to pour it in "little by little" because that was the only way I could process it at the time. Don't you just love those little light bulb moments when you finally get what God has been showing you all along!
I must tell you that God used some people that I didn't even know to bring me to His plan for our home school. I'll tell you about one of those people now...probably the one person who made the biggest impact on me. She is an author, home school mom, and a very well known home school speaker. I first encountered her at a small home school conference that a friend and I attended a few years back. She was talking about things I had never heard of before, and honestly couldn't comprehend. At that time I had no idea that home schooling was anything other than text books, work books, and field trips. That was what all of the home schoolers that I knew were doing. I didn't know there was any other approach out there...much less anything that worked! I sat through her workshop at the conference that day in total confusion. I left there thinking I had wasted my time in her workshop because I didn't see any way that kind of stuff would work with our curriculum. Well, I was right about that. What she was talking about wasn't going to fit my idea of home schooling at that time. I took home the handouts she had given during the workshop, and filed them away for future reference. Honestly I was thinking I would never find a use for them, but I didn't know the plans that God had for our future.
Over this past summer I came across this dear lady's web-site (by accident I thought), and began to read. Her articles were so refreshing! I just couldn't believe that for so long I had not seen that there was another way to approach educating our children...a way that they would enjoy! Her articles were a balm to my soul....then....I found out that she had (something I had never heard of before) podcasts! I know by now you are thinking that I must live 2 centuries behind the times, and maybe I do. I like computers, I have e-mail, I surf the net when I need info on something, I even sell and buy used school materials online. But, podcasts, now that was something I hadn't come across...sort of like the blog thing! Anyway, I digress. I began to listen to these wonderful podcasts and the more I listened, the more I hungered to know God's plan for our home school, and the more He filled me up through this special lady. Anyone out there figured out who she is yet? Well, I won't keep you in suspense any longer. Her name is Cindy Rushton. If you have never heard of Cindy or read any of her artcles I encourage you to do so immediately. The greatest thing about God using Cindy to show me His direction for our home school is that she, like me, started her home school adventure with some of the same issues that I had. I really needed to hear that I could be free from the bondage of all that I had done before, and have a new approach, and a new attitude about school. I wanted our home school to be a joyful learning experience, and we are well on our way.
I haven't incorporated all of Cindy's ideas into our school year, but many of them I have. I must say that we are having much more fun than before, and we are learning some great things. Here is the run down on our choices for this year...
"Creation to the Greeks" unit study by My Father's World Easy Grammar Saxon Math lots of books! hands on projects notebooking/lapbooking The Lambs Book of Art
I'll hopefully be posting more about what we are learning, and some fun things we are doing as we move along in the school year. I hope that you have been encouraged by my story. If I could impress a couple of things on your mind before you go it would be....
1. Give God your home school...He will guide you to the perfect approach for your family if you will trust Him with it.
2. Find what is right for your family and use it regardless of what others in your circle of influence may be doing (or saying).
I hope you have a blessed year, and come back to see us soon!
|
. Not so long ago I couldn't even imagine what a blog was, and now here I am in the middle of one. I just love that life is a learning adventure (if you let it be one)! 
Before you go leave your comments...I would love to hear from you!Comments
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by