Here's a Mini Update For Our School Year

We are currently on our fifth week in the new school year. This year is keeping me jumping with three children and an on-the-move baby. Things can get interesting real quick. It is becoming a lesson for me and the children to be more flexible and not to expect everything to be perfect. There's that word again - perfect. When it comes to my children I set the bar high in my ideals of how I envisioned our homeschooling journey to be. I tend to be an overwhelmed perfectionist, meaning that sometimes I will give up or give in because no matter how much I try it still will not be perfect. Everyday I have to ask God for the wisdom to teach my children and His love to pour out of me onto them. Homeschooling for us is more than just academic. It is just as much if not more about showing and introducing my children to my Savior.

Our character trait that we are currently working on is DILIGENCE. The definitions that we are using comes from two homeschooling moms. The first one is from Marilyn Boyer at The Learning Parent, and the second one is from Heather McMillan at We Choose Virtues. We have been using the Character Studies from The Learning Parent since the first year that we started homeschooling. I absolutely love her character trait curriculum. The other one from We Choose Virtues is new to us this year. I actually won a set of her character trait cards in a contest hosted by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. So now for the definitions.... The first one defines diligence as "doing my very best at very task given to me". The second one defines being diligent as "I start fast, work hard and finish strong". Each one also has a memory verse to help your child to learn. We have focused on the character trait of OBEDIENCE for awhile and from time to time review it. 

If you would like to learn more about either of the above mentioned companies, then I have included links for you.
The Learning Parent - Marilyn Boyer
http://www.characterconcepts.com/store/
Ok. So apparently they have changed their name to Character Concepts. The reference made to their character curriculum can be found in their store. It should be apart of their Preschool Package.

We Choose Virtues - Heather McMillan
http://wechoosevirtues.com/

And of course here is the link to one of my favorite homeschooling magazines. You can also read the current issue for FREE.
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
http://www.theoldschoolhouse.com/

Here is a picture from our first day of school.

Just FYI, I am not being compensated from either of the above companies. I am just sharing what we are learning. However, I love talking to other homeschool moms about what they are using in their homeschools. Have a blessed week!

It's Almost That Wonderful Time of the Year!

One of my favorite times of the year is "Back to School". Fall is definitely my favorite season of the year!!! But I am also in love with the cooler weather, the changing color of the leaves, the game of football, and of course school supplies! I still get excited to buy school supplies even if it is for my children. There is a wonderful feeling of getting to start over and the challenges of getting to learn new things that excite me.

So we are in count down mode for our first day back to school. This year I will have a 2nd grader, 1st grader/finishing up some Kindergarten work, a Pre-K5, and a 14 month-old baby. This is going to be an interesting year because the older children are getting older and having a baby in the mix. I will be praying for extra patience and wisdom to know how we need to schedule our school times and "mommy and me" times. I love all my children, and I want them to know that I love each of them individually. My biggest goal or area of growth that I would like to see is that the children and I memorize several scriptures from the Bible. It is my prayer that the children desire a relationship with Jesus and become a follower of Him.

I need to get started with some more lesson plans and finish organizing the children's binders. Oh my! So much to do and so little time!!!

Are You Considering Homeschooling?

I remember when I decided that one day I was going to homeschool my child(ren). I wasn't even married or had any children of my own, but I remember what impressed me so much that I started praying about it.

 As a teenager I worked in the children's department of my local library. I loved working there. When I was in high school I would get to work around 1:30 to 2:00 in the afternoon. Because I was there before 3:00 pm, I had the privilege of getting to know some of the homeschooling families in my area. I was intrigued by the family dynamics and the strong family ties, even amongst the children. The moms and older children would collect the books for the topics being studied while the smaller children played together with the puzzles and blocks available. I just remember being so impressed with what I saw every time one of the families would visit the library. They were planting seeds of homeschooling in my life without ever knowing it. I actually ended up homeschooling my last two years of high school and loved it.

Once I started college I was torn between a few different majors. I couldn't decide if I wanted to be a librarian, a teacher or a profession in the medical field. First I went to a local two-year college while continuing to work at the library and continuing to be around those wonderful homeschooling families. After those two years I transferred to a four year college to finish my studies. Eventually I decided to pursue a teaching degree because I thought that was what I needed to be a successful homeschool mama one day and because I liked knowing that teachers had the summer off. : )

Fast forward few years. I was now married, expecting my first child, just graduated from college with a Bachelors of Science in Childhood Education, moving from one city to another, and starting my first teaching job. I was stressed and excited all at the same time with all the new beginnings my husband and I were embarking on together. And still all I could think about was all the grand learning adventures I was going to have with my soon to be born baby, a.k.a "homeschooling".

After my first sweet baby was born I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was going to homeschool her. It was such a strong desire that it became my conviction. But looking back I think that part of it was because I was scared to let anyone else influence her or raise her. I wanted more than anything to be the one to teach her everything about God, the Bible and the world that He created. I started pouring over homeschool curriculum catalogs because I was fascinated by the choices available "to give your child the very best start". I lived, dreamed and breathed homeschooling. Scary, right? Yup!!! If I could go back in time to have a heart-to-heart conversation with my 23 year old self, I would tell myself to let it go and give it to God. I was so wrapped up in planning and finding all these cute ideas that I let some of the most precious time with my baby slip through my hands. I love planning things and finding ways to organize my planning, but I have had to learn (and still learning) to just enjoy my children and having the privilege to getting to know each of them.

So here is a list that I would have given myself if I could have that conversation:

    1. Pray!!! Surrender your desires and ideas about homeschooling to God. Let Him lead and guide you on the path that He has planned for you and your family. Pray with your spouse too!!
    2. Find a mentor homeschool mom. Just like my time around other homeschooling families at the library, spending time with a homeschooling mom is giving you an opportunity to see it in "real-life".
    3. Read a few books about starting homeschooling. Your local library should have a wealth of information about homeschooling and things to consider.
    4. Include your spouse. Do NOT however bombard him or her with everything that you are learning about homeschooling. Have open discussions. Listen to each other's concerns and then pray some more. This also includes looking at your financial situation.
    5. Enjoy each moment with your child(ren). Make memories. Go places. Do things. Take plenty of pictures. Read books and more books and more books.
    6. Having a degree is education is NOT necessary to be a successful homeschool parent. God equips those He calls.

Deciding on the best educational approach for your family is a very personal choice. Homeschooling is the path that God is leading my family on currently. I officially started homeschooling my oldest child when she was a little older than 3 years old and now homeschooling three of my children. Do I worry if I'm doing everything perfectly? Some days but I have learned to trust God on this journey. If you are considering homeschooling and would like to chat about it just leave me a comment.

Busy As Bees

When I was younger I could not wait until I was grown up and could do my own thing. I had all these big dreams and high ideals. I was going to travel all over the world, discover new things and learn all that I could. I am all grown up (well at least I think I am) and I do my own thing. I still have big dreams, and I am working on some of them now. I still have high ideals of what I would like to see happen, but I am also learning to accept that sometimes life just doesn't happen the way I had planned. I am learning that sometimes I have to just roll with the punches so to speak. I take one step at a time, one day at a time, and sometimes just one minute at a time.

Slowly, slowly we are making progress on our house. I will be so glad to just have it to the point to move in. It has been difficult to live in one house and have most of our stuff in the other house. If we could just stop finding leaks that would be great! It has been a long adventure that I will be glad to see finished! I need some peace and a place to call my own.

Schooling has been different, again, this year for us. We alternate working on a different subject each week. Sometimes we are all about math, all day, every day for a week. I am still learning how to organize my time so that I can offer individualized teaching to my two children who are on different levels for math and phonics instruction. It has been a learning curve for me to see just how different my children are when it comes to learning styles and preferences. What worked in the classroom of 15 students does not work at home with my two who are currently the only ones old enough to "do school". I have just started reading one of Diana Waring's book on homeschooling. I am excited to see what gems of wisdom I can learn from her.

And then spring has brought more than green grass, flowers blooming and birds singing. It has brought allergies and yucky colds. My little ones have been sick for at least a week and a half. I have been up most nights, and then had to turn around and be up early the next with either a sick kid or a teething baby. I am busy, but I am right where I need to be. I use to think that if I wasn't doing great and big things then I wasn't living my life to the fullest. I am living my life to the fullest! I am taking care of my family, homeschooling, working part-time, working on my house, cooking, cleaning, and the list keeps going on. Is this what I dreamed life would be like when I grew up? No. But it is what it is. I can't and don't want to waste my time on the what-ifs, could-have-been or any other distraction from what is before me. I want to run the race set before me! I am living my life everyday so that God gets the glory and recognition because without Him this life is not worth living.

So how have things been your way? I hope wonderful. I hope you find the good and the beautiful that this life has to offer and hold on to it. Hold on to Jesus. He is my hope and my anchor.

Hebrews 6:19a "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."



Spring Time And Other Happenings

Well we have been so busy lately. Spring has arrived. The flowers and trees have bloomed in all their glory. The sun is shinning a lot more. (Praise the Lord!) And living in the South means more rain. There are some days were it doesn't bother me, but if you have children you know that a week with rain can make things tense with all the bound-up energy. (Can I get an Amen?)

This is an up-date of where I have been which is why I have not been here. (sad face) We are slowly, very slowly, still working on our little place called "Home Sweet Home". The saying that home projects take longer than expected and cost more than expected really does not do justice until you have lived it. My hubby and I have since learned that we would NOT make good carpenters or construction workers or plumbers (at least not me). Now painting interior, I can do that and actually don't mind. It is just the other stuff. The stuff that is needed to actually live in a house. I just have to keep trusting God that we will be able to get it done soon. It has been tough to say the least, especially with little children and two of whom I am homeschooling.

 I am trying to view this as a lesson that I can teach them such as patience, determination and perseverance. I hope and pray that one day my children will have good work ethics and remember to whom they are actually working for. Life is a lot like working on my house. Everyday I am working on my relationship with God and my family. I don't do everything right, but I know how to find out if I am and make it right. My Bible is my "blueprint" for how I should be living everyday so that I can bring Him glory and so that I can point my children to the Savior. It is my hope and prayer that I live a life that engages my children to want to be a Christian. I remember one of the first times that I heard a seasoned, well-know homeschool mom say that homeschooling won't save your children. I sat in shock with my mouth open until I let the words sink in. The Holy Spirit draws man unto Himself, not the task of educating my children at home. Yeah! It was a kick in the gut, but it was a good thing. I don't view the very task of teaching the ABC's higher than building a relationship with my children. Even as a homeschool mama I had to have my priorities in order and let Him lead our homeschool. If He is not in the middle of what I am doing then I am laboring in vain. I don't want to do that. I want my life to count for something. I want to be used of God even in the little everyday things, especially when it comes to my children.

This is just an example of when I ask God to do that very thing, and He directs to path of my post. I believe in a living God that wants a personal relationship with me and you. We just have to be willing to yield to His voice, plan and purpose of our lives.

And in closing I want to says, "Thanks!" to my loyal readers. Please forgive me for being absent. I will try to do better about posting more regularly. I have so much that I want to share and so little time. I will be squeezing in every available minute to be writing more.

Math, Oh My!

Well now it's been awhile!!! I can not believe that I didn't get this one posted when I finished it. My life has been crazy since the last time I was here. The first month of 2015 has come and gone.

Well here it is. My thoughts on math and our current curriculum.

This school year I decided to give Math-U-See a try. In previous school years I have used math workbooks from Wal-Mart and Dollar Tree. We have played different printable math games that I found online for free or board games with a math focus. The goal was more about giving them a basic foundation in early math. I spent time debating between the Singapore Math verses Horizons math verses Math-U-See.

Math-U-See is a hands-on math program using manipulatives. In the levels that we are using it is all about building it, saying it, and writing it. The lessons seem to flow quickly from one topic to the next. There are lesson on the current topic as well as review pages with mixed problems from the current topic and previous topic(s).

My 1st grader is using Alpha, and my kindergartener is using Primer. They both approach and learn math is completely differently ways. My daughter (at the tender age of 7) claims to not like math. My son is pretty much middle-of-the-road about the subject. He does not love it or hate it. My daughter had rather build with the manipulative blocks than build the answer for the problems. My son builds with the blocks too but the tens bars end up being swords for his toy men. My daughter is a very creative girl who gets bored easily with too much repetition. She is not a fan of review, but she has learned to slow down and focus better this year. My son usually is eager to complete his lessons as long as it does not take a long time. But I have a confession, I am not a fan of math myself. I had rather be curled up with a good book ANY DAY, but I understand the importance of learning math. So I try to always have and keep a good attitude about math.

Now that it is December I am in the process of mid-year evaluations. The kind where I think back to August and really evaluate rather something is working for us or not. Math-U-See is passing the grade for us this year.

I would love to hear from you! Which math curriculum do you use or don't use? Do you use a boxed kit or create your own lessons?