Isaiah 28: 9-10 “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”

We're probably going to have a realtor come through our house on Saturday to help us put it on the market.  I've been busting by bottom trying to get it ready for her to see, and I feel like I'm just burying myself in my own clutter.  I de-junked the garage and laundryroom pretty thouroughly, but now that I'm in more of a hurry, I'm kinda just throwing whatever into the boxes that isn't obvious trash.  I had an idea my clutter problem was this bad, but man!  It's looking better all the time, but I feel like there's just so much left to do, and I only have a couple of days before she sees it. 

I know I still have a little time after she see it to pack and stuff, but honestly, I want it almost done by then.  I think it's important that she get a really good first impression of this place so that she can sell it well.  Anyway, just be praying.  I'm busy, busy, busy right now!!

Isaiah 28: 9-10 “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”

It's been a real mess around here, trying to de-junk and box up all the non-essentials.  I'm trying to be orderly about it, but with children dragging stuff from one room to another, it's not easy.  I've just accepted that some things will just have to wait until the new house to get in order. 

I'm keeping out the books and workbooks we are on currently, but I have been so busy I have yet to do any real teaching the past week and a half.  But I hold out hope that I will sneak a couple of weeks of school in there somewhere between houses, so I keep our books unpacked and bagged in their home. 

As for finding a house, we found one we really love, but we have to wait and see if we're preapproved and if they accept our offer, etc.  So, we would love to get it if everything works out, but it still up for grabs.  Please be praying for us!  We would really love this home if we got it.  It's the size I want--cozy one story--and has a huge yard with a fence, it's got a big driveway and get this, it backs up to a ranch where horses come up to the fence!!  Oh, I might just cry if we don't get it.  But I know that God is in control, and that if we're meant to have it, we will. 

But I am very motivated right now to get all this packing and cleaning done, so as not to miss out on the opportunity if possible.  If not, I know God will have something else that's just perfect for us. 

Another thing to be praying for us about is for our house to sell quickly.  We're not very worried about that, but it's still something to pray about.  Every townhome where we live has sold in less than 3 months of being on the market.  However, not many people are doing contingencies right now because of the economy.  And even though the house market is in our favor, that still makes it difficult to move.  We might be stuck with two house payments at the same time until ours sells, or have to bunk with someone if ours sells faster than we can get into something else.  I would hope it would work out where it was a smooth transition, so please be praying a lot for us. 

I'll be keeping you updated as we know anything knew! 

Isaiah 28: 9-10 “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”

Well, we may be moving soon!  We're not 100% that it will happen, but there's a way better chance of it now since the market is so low.  That really works to our advantage.  Most houses are extremely hard to sell right now, but not so with ours.  In these years where so many are being forclosed upon, they are looking for an inexpensive place to live--and you can't really find much lower than ours unless you want to live in a bad neighborhood.  Even making a profit on our home would put it under the normal apartment rent around here, and that's what people are looking for. 

So...project move begins.  I'm really excited about the possibility!  We've never really been in a place financially to get a house with a backyard, which is my dream.  I would love to have a backyard, where Abby and Abram could go out and play more often.  (Right now they have a great place to play, but no way for me to watch them without being out there with them.  So it's only possible to go out once during the day for a little play.)  But they would love to be outside way more often.  I would also like to have a one story house instead of two.  That would be a major plus for me. 

It's kindof made me a nervous wreck lately, though.  I don't like to put things off until the last minute, and there's lots to be done.  But then there's the chance that we won't be moving at all.  Not that the work would be totally in vain, since I would get a decluttered, spotless house out of it...but still.  I guess I just don't like the unknown!  Will we??  Won't we??  God's trying to give me peace about it.  But I'm not doing a very good job at accepting it, I guess.  I don't feel that huge worry over finances like I have in the past.  It would still make things tight for a while, but it wouldn't break our backs financially this time either. 

Please be praying for me lately.  I would truly love to finally be settled!!  I don't think I've ever felt quite settled before.  One move after another after another, always looking forward to another move.  I hate that.  I like our little townhome, I just hate this unsettledness.  I know that this is not the house that God has for our family.  But, on the other hand, I know God is preparing a home for us.  Last year God called me downstairs (on March 10, 2007) after beginning a search for a house.  I was stressed out and desperately lonely for community.  My bible literally fell open to a page in Psalms and my eyes fell upon this verse:

"God makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity, Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land." --Psalm 68: 6

I knew that this was God's word to me.  At that time I believed that it was a word for that time, but then it would have led us into huge financial stress, and it wasn't the right timing.  I know God is preparing a home for our family, somewhere we can settle in and minister through our home.  But is that time now?  Is there a house out on the market for us right now?  or is it still a ways off?  I'm not sure, but I hope for it to be soon.  I want Abby and Abram to have a place to look back to as being there home and to come back to for Thanksgiving and visits with the grandkids.  I believe that this is the plan God has for me.  I have been unsettled far too long, and I believe God's preparing a Settlement for me!

Isaiah 28: 9-10 “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”

Clutter Clutter Clutter

I am so sick of Clutter!  I'm trying to get motivated, yet again, to tackle it in a big way.  I always make some progress, but honestly, it's never enough.  I am bad about keeping stuff for sentiment or because I just know I'll use it someday.  But the thought hit me, that if there were ever a fire, or another hurricane, or whatever, I could not just grab a box of my most dear keepsakes and run.  It would ALL be lost.  And isn't keeping something that you think you may use someday really a statement of untrust toward God's provision?  I mean, if you get rid of it, and say two years from now need another, wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that God would take care of it?  We are so untrusting sometimes.  There's a difference between being wasteful and being a hoarder.  And one sometimes masks the other, doesn't it.  But isn't it true, that like giving your money to God, that letting go is the ultimate testimony to your trust in a Provider?  Well, I have a lot to prepare for.  Just wanted to stop in and think out loud.

Isaiah 28: 9-10 “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”

Isn't it good to know God is all about fresh beginnings.  New every morning-s!  That is my life story.  I would love to be one of those people who get up every morning at the same time, go through a happy routine, and at the end of the day they have accomplished a whole lot.  But then again, that is too dull for me.  As much as I would like to be the happy-homemaker type, meaning to me an always clean and tidy abode, I'm far from it.  I have always got some new project going.  Either I'm cleaning out the garage for the upteenth time or making the closet into a schoolroom or painting and decorating my room, or I'm making yet another plan of how to keep on track.  Sometimes it's a new budget, which amazingly enough I manage to stick reasonably close to, or it's a new list that's going to work, this time, in helping me keep my house clean.  Or maybe it's the new notebook I bought to keep up with prayer request that two pages later is abandoned for the other notebook starting a study of John the Baptist.  I don't think I ever realized how bad I was until my husband brought it to my attention, after which he reasured me that it doesn't bother him in the least.  (After all, he was raised by a homeschool Mom!) 

As I try to cut back, yet again, prune away the things in my life that don't matter, I have to think about what's been consistant.  It always comes back to that.  My God.  My Family.  My Bible Reading.  My Writing.  My Homeschooling.  Is that really it?  Is that all I have been consistant with?  Okay, so there's also the constant de-cluttering projects in an attempt to keep my house from going up in flames!  But is that consistancy, or just mere projects.  I don't know. 

Honestly, I am guilt-ridden over the way my home consistantly looks.  I do great for a month or so, until something comes up (a holiday, retreat, or other things), and then it gets messy and stays that way.  How does a person like me, who thinks it's important to have a tidy home but hates doing the work to keep it there, change?  It's not really a question of how to make a better list!  It's really, How do I get my butt in gear?!!  How do I motivate myself to keep my house clean when it goes past the project stage and into the mundane?  I love the projects, but I hate the mundane (except when it comes to paperwork, which is probably why my budget works--go figure!)  I love to work at something, but I don't like that something to be the same every day!  So how do I keep my house clean--consistantly--when I'm LIKE THAT??

Or do I succumb to the way I am, and just make everything a project?  Project Clean off my Desk, Project Do the Dishes, Project Tackle the mass of Laundry, Project Clean out My Closet...etc.  Puh!!  I'm so frustrated.  Is this about me being lazy or is this a problem of not accepting myself the way God made me and working with it?  I really can't tell.  I always think of myself as lazy, but then complain that I never get to sit down without having to get up a billion times for some 'emergency'.  Am I really that lazy, when I can't sit down long enough to eat??  Probably not. 

I just feel their must be a better way than the way I'm doing things now!  But how????

Isaiah 28: 9-10 “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”

Books Completed:

Abram

Dr. Suess's ABC

My Big Golden Counting Book by Lilian Moore

Harper Collins Treasury of Picture Book Classics: A Child's First Collection

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson

The First Christmas by Carol Heyer

The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack and Kurk Wiese

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Swimmy by Leo Lionni

Abigail

The Year at Maple Hill Farm by Alice and Martin Provensen (Science)

Harper Collins Treasury of Picture Book Classics: A Child's First Collection (Literature)

Boxcar Children: Surprise Island (bk #2) by Gertrude C. Warner (Novel)

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina (Literature)

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson (Literature)

Spring Things by Maxine W. Kumin (Science)

The First Christmas by Carol Heyer (Bible/Holiday)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (Science/Art)

Swimmy by Leo Lionni (Literature)

God's Wisdom for Little Girls by Elizabeth George (Bible)

Books Currently Reading:

Abram

Dr. Suess's ABC

My Big Golden Counting Book

NASB Bible (my bible)

Egermeier's Bible Storybook by Elsie E. Egermeier

Focus on the Family Bedtime Bible by Rick Osborn and others

DK The Children's Illustrated Bible by Selina Hastings

The 20th Century Children's Book Treasury by Janet Schulman

Hero Tales by Dave and Neta Jackson

Berenstain Bears Big Book of Science and Nature by Stan and Jan Berenstain

Poems and Prayers for the Very Young by Martha Alexander

Eric Carle's Animals Animals by Eric Carle

Abigail:

NASB Bible (my Bible)

Egermeier's Bible Story Book by Elsie E. Egermeier

DK The Children's Illustrated Bible by Selina Hastings

Focus on the Family Bedtime Bible by Rick Osborn and others

The Llama Who Had No Pajama by Mary Ann Hoberman (Poetry)

Hero Tales by Dave and Neta Jackson (History)

Eric Carle's Animals Animals by Eric Carle (Art/Poetry)

The 20th Century Children's Book Treasury by Janet Schulman

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (History/Literature)

Fun Tales, Sonlight Curr. (Early Readers)

An Acorn in My Hand by Ethel Bouldin (what I use to teach reading)

Draw Write Now-Bk #1 by Marie Hablitzel and Kim Stitzer (Art/Drawing/Handwriting)

A Reason for Handwriting-Manuscript A (Handwriting)

McGuffey's Eclectic Primer by John Wiley and Sons (Reading)

McGuffey's Eclectic Spelling Book by John Wiley and Sons (Spelling/Handwriting)

Ray's New Primary Arithmetic (Math)

Horizons Math K (Math)

(It seems like a lot of books, I know, but I do not do every one every day, and I spread their school out throughout the day.  And their's no science for Abby right now, cause even though she's already done Berenstein Bears Big Book of Science, she loves it, and that's enough for me.)

Isaiah 28: 9-10 “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”

Well...there it is in a nutshell.  Why I school the way I do.  Oh, I know, I know, you probably want to know more about the way I set that in motion.  But the way I set that in motion could change from year to year, but that verse as my guide will probably never change.  It is my very favorite verse on teaching.  My second favorite is the one about putting away the elementary principles of the world. 

I'm writing this blog for two purposes--to think out loud and figure out some blurry-ness in my day to day reasons why I do what I do, and secondly to have an open house into what our homeschooling is like to anyone curious, and to family who care.

I have listed my blog under Charlotte Mason because it comes the closest to what I look for, but I'm not a full blown Charlotte Masoner.  I just like her approach.  I actually like and dislike bits and peices of every approach I have read.  I'm sure most of you out there are like this.  I'm actually pretty Eclectic in my approach, but when I read that on other's blogs, it doesn't tell me much about what their homeschool is like, so I just picked the closest one. 

I'll break my 'views' down into catagories to make it simpler:

• Public/Private Schools vs. Homeschooling
• The School room (or where to do schooling)/Environment
• What Curriculum/books
• What to Teach/How to Teach/Priorities

Public/Private Schools vs. Homeschooling:

Simply put, I think that there are some awsome teachers in a very flawed system.  But there is no way that one teacher to twenty-something students under the pressures of regulations from our government can do anywhere near as great a job as a parent with one to eight students in a home environment with near unlimited choices for what and how they teach their children. 

Another big issue, that could partly be taken care of with private schools, is the philosophies that seep in with each teacher (whether that teacher be a person, book or actor).  How many teachers will your child have in his/her life?  What books will they learn from?  What will influence the life your child chooses?  And how many different philosophies of the world are being taught to your child?  Are all of them Christian?  What do they believe?  Do you really think what they believe will be hidden from your child?  Why do you think there are Godly parents out there questioning why their children go astray.  It's because there are other philosophies seeping into their lives from the outside world.  Can I totally prevent that by homeschooling?  Absolutely not!!  Otherwise, I would be also instilling a philosophy of fear within my child.  But I also don't have to wander about the people that are influencing my children's lives while I am unaware.  (Don't want to get on a soap box here, but homeschoolers have to be extra careful of the influence coming though the tube).  I do not chose to protect my child from everything out there, I just chose to protect them from the influence they have.  If they see a child hitting another child on tv, I will not turn off tv forever, I will just make sure that they understand why that is wrong--and if it starts to influence farther (I see them hitting, etc.), than I do turn it off.  I want my child to be sheltered but not imprisoned.  

So, does that mean that parents who chose to send their children to public school are doomed to have bad, worldly kids?  No.  My parents did a very good job of weeding the world out of me.  The lines of communication were always open, they asked us about our day, God blessed me with some very wise Christian teachers, and my role models were Christian.  But I am not brave enough to take that kind of chance!  If your children are deep in the world 3/4 of their days and at home with Godly parents the other 1/4 of the time, you better be on your toes to instill God's word and ways into your child's heart. 

School room/Environment:

This is a big one for me, actually.  Why, if schools are trying to be more homey, should we try to be more schooly?  That seems rediculous to me.  My home is HOME, not school--I just do school here, if you could even call it that.  I think my children need desks, just like I need a desk.  But just like a Mom would not choose a cubical for her home office, I would not choose an old public school desk for my children.  My children have their own mini-office for things like crafts and handwriting, or whatever they want to do in there.  The home is their classroom, though, not that little room.  We read on the living room couch, we do math at the kitchen table, we do science in the bathroom or kitchen or outside, etc.  Learning should be part of life, forever--so we make it as natural and comfortable as possible.  (Do you as an adult still learn?  Do you go to your office to do it every time, or do you sit on the couch and read an informative book?)  When someone comes into my home, the only way they can tell I homeschool, are the massive amounts of books I love to acumulate on different subjects and the homeschooling record books that are on my desk nearly every day. 

Another part of the environment is the lack of grade level.  I learned pretty quickly that this would either be a sense of control over us, or we would have to get rid of it.  So, out the window it flew!  My children will only vaugely know where they are in comparison to other children.  I want them to challenge themselves, not compete with the kids around them.  It's also just too hard to keep track of.  My 5 year old little girl already ranges vastly in where she is, from being in preK material in once book to being in second grade material in another.  But fortunately, her math is the only book that has a grade attached to it. 

Curriculum/books:

Oh, how I LOVE books!!!  I would love to have wall to wall bookshelves filling my house.  On the other extreme, I hate textbooks.  The only thing I use them for is a big, detailed list.  Math is about the only subject where I might succumb to using a textbook.  I love living, real books with one author on one subject.  Even science can be half way taught this way, with just a simple activity book on the side.  Pick any topic in the world, and you can find a living book on it.  (I know there are probably exceptions--learning a launguage, maybe).  But if I can find a real, well written, twaddle-free book on it, I would take that over a textbook or workbook any day. 

Worksheets are busywork most of the time, and only make good tests to see what they may have missed.  Even in math, I rarely do worksheets.  I teach a topic until I feel it is well understood, and then give her some worksheets to see if I forgot to teach her anything.  Most the time, she will do absolutely no worksheets for two or three weeks straight, and than, Bam, she does nighteen math worksheets one after another, until she wants to stop.  I jot down things I see are missing in her understanding, and fix it. 

What to teach/How to teach/Priorities:

Essential--Bible, Reading, Writing and Basic Math

The essentials I teach everyday, with few exceptions.  I really believe in teaching precept upon precept, and so until they thouroughly understand one level, they don't go onto another.  Sometimes I even back up a bit if I didn't think of something I missed.  These are more controlled, in that I require them to sit down and write something or practice reading or go through a math drill with me, etc.  Even though these are not an option for them, they rarely complain because of the habit they are in of doing these things. 

(Life Skills and Physical education are also essential, but like any other parent, these are taught through every day exposure.  Day after day, we brush our teeth, not read a book on it.  We cook, we clean, we go outside and play.  They will do the same thing we do, whether or not we intend on teaching them these things.  So, in these, I more work on training myself than in training them.)

Important--History, Geography, Civility, Science, Literature, Poetry, Music and Art, etc.

I believe it is vital that they have heavy exposure to these subjects but not that they memorize a large portion of facts.  These are where heavy doses of living books come in.  I would rather they read several biographies of the Presidents, for example, than to know by memory a list of the names and dates of Presidents.  They can always find that information out in about 5 minutes on the internet.  I want the depth of the ocean to inspire their curiousity of how life can live under that pressure, not be able to tell me the deepest point of each ocean.  If they have a real interest in any topic within these subjects, that is when we will dig deeper and longer, until their curiousity is satisfied.  These are subjects of exposure in my opinion, and not subjects of memorization and expertese.  

Maybe your views are vastly different from mine, or maybe they are similar.  But one thing I know--God chose which family children were raised in!  I think the final responsibility as to what is best for each child belongs to the parents God gave them, not to the government or anyone elses opinion.  If you know God wants your children to be in private or public school, and you are homeschooling them, than you are just as wrong as I would be for putting my children in public school when I know for certain that God has called me to this ministry of teaching my own children.

Thanks for listening to my babbling!  And keep praying for me and other homeschool families out there.  And pray for those families who have children in public school, that they may have the kind of Godly teachers I had in my life.