I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2

In this article, we hope to do two things: 1) demonstrate that parents (or some responsible adult) should bring little children to the Sunday morning worship service rather than send them to a "children's church"; 2) give some practical advice about how to do it.

Went to Legacy Village to get the $20 voucher for $10. I took the kids to Joseph Beth bookstore to spend their birthday money.  Chase got an anthill, sheriff’s handcuffs, some small animals and I picked out for him a paperback “Farmer Boy” and a book from the Caroline Years series. (I will probably read that one first!)  Alyssa got a paint pony puppet that she spotted when we first walked into the door.  She clung to it the whole time we were there.  Most of her time she spent playing with the Groovy girls.  She ended up talking me into a bed and a doll from that line.  They are cute and we definitely spent all of our vouchers.  So much for using them at the grocery store!  We will have a lite Christmas this year. I also got her the nursery rhyme book that she likes from the library and some Golden Book classics (3 Bears, 3 Little Bears). We met Lisa and Logan at the bookstore so the cousins got to spend some time together too.  We came home and began homeschooling but it was hard for Chase to focus and get going.  I did have Chase do 2 math lessons today to try to catch up a little before our Christmas break.

God continues to bless our homeschool.  Despite the fact that Alyssa was sick for almost a  whole week, Chase did not lose too much ground with his homeschooling.  His homeschooling would have completely neglected if this had happened last year when I was not using the BJU HomeSat.

It has been challenging for me to maintain the proper attitude toward our homeschooling.  I realize that this year is different not only becase of the new curriculum (BJU HomeSat) but because my expectations and goals of homeschooling have become more clear.  Our main focus during the day during the week is now homeschooling, only homeschooling.

In the past, I would still run errands, have playdates, etc. during the week which would seriously derail my homeschooling efforts.  I was not diligent to the task (homeschooling my children) that the Lord appointed me for.  I was easily distracted and not having a schedule definitely hurt me and Chase's education.

I continue to be impressed however, by  the professional knowledge and Christian worldview exhibited by Chase's first grade HomeSat teachers.  And the fact that both he and Alyssa love their "TV teachers" makes my job as the co-ordinator and manager of our homeschool so much easier.

In fact, after having had the desire for a few years, this is the first year that I created and am able to find the time to teach an art appreciation/art history curriculum for my children.  Art history was a major area of interest for me in high school and college and Sam works in the visual arts so it seemed natural that my children would particularly enjoy the arts as well.  It has been very interesting and fun to see how much they can learn so quickly!

I am also teaching music and history myself as well.  DS loves history so much though we also do the HomeSat Heritage studies although we do not complete every single project in that subject.

I have appreciated all the kind support from other moms who realize that traditional Christian textbook based learning is not all bad (stifling growth, not fun, discourages learning etc.)  I am only sorry that it took me so long to stop listening to other voices in the homeschool community who are anti-textbook and anti-"school at home" and listen to God and my husband as we decide what is best for our family.