Homeschool Tip #3 - Avoid Addictions

How do you know if you are addicted to something (or some habit)?
Technically, there are several signs:
1 - Withdrawal symptoms - the patient has physical and mood-related symptoms. There are cravings, bouts of moodiness, bad temper, poor focus, a feeling of being depressed and empty, frustration, anger, bitterness and resentment.
2 - Social and/or recreational sacrifices - some activities are given up because of an addiction to something.

3 - Obsession - an addicted person may spend more and more time and energy focusing on ways of getting hold of their substance, and in some cases how to use it.

4 - Denial - a significant number of people who are addicted are in denial. They are not aware (or refuse to acknowledge) that they have a problem.

5 - Excess consumption - in some addictions, the individual consumes it to excess. 

Now why in the world do I bring up addictions related to homeschooling?  Do I think the pressures cause some to revert to drugs or alcohol?  Well, possibly, although I have yet to come across anyone yet.  But I do know of a significant number of homeschooling Moms with an addiction problem - addicted to electronic communications, that is.  They absolutely cannot go more than 15-30 minutes without checking their phone (see point 5 above - some cannot go more than 5 minutes).  Many cannot plan or implement a lesson without hours and hours on Pinterest.  Many are so tied to facebook that they constantly change their minds about what they are supposed to be doing based on what others have (or have not) posted.  More time is spent on perfecting an Instagram photo than was spent on the art project itself.  

Yes, addiction.  Addiction to data.  Addiction to electronics.  Addiction to wanting the "perfect life".  I've been there, done that.  And as a recovering addict, I can easily see the symptoms in others who have yet to realize that they are either addicted to social media, pinterest, electronic "communication" (I use that word in quotes purposefully), or just the need for instantaneous gratification by posting every move they make to try to get validation of their work.  or worth.  or acceptance.  Believe me when I tell you - it's a sad life with lots of wasted time.  

Why do we blog, post, instagram, tweet?  To get attention.  or validation.  Forgetting all the while that we are never worthy.  But the Creator and Master of the universe loves us anyway.  So much better than 500 "friends" hitting the "Like" button or 2,000 people retweeting our comment.  Enough said.  I have to get back to my recovery meeting.  With my Mentor.  HE is also my role model.  Let's help each other to recover by pointing each other to the One who wrote the code of our lives.  He's always ready to help us over our addictions.  

Homeschool "Tip" #2 - The Comparison Game

“How much time he gains who does not 

look to see what his neighbour 

says or does or thinks,
but only at what he does himself,
to make it just and holy.”
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations


Once upon a time there were two homeschooling Moms. One was organized, detailed and precise. The other was creative, innovative, and gracious. Organized Mom felt quite superior, "Look how much better my home and yard look than hers." Creative Mom glanced across at her neighbor and thought "Oh, she is so pitiful - her children do not even play with playdough!" Outwardly they smiled and waved, inwardly they both grew in self-righteousness.

But over the days and weeks Creative Mom had one - then two - then three-in-a-row of "those" days. She sighed as she struggled to color code her paints and date order her children's math pages so that she would be more like Organized Mom and spend less time hunting for things. She still smiled and waved across the fence, but inwardly she steamed, "She has it so easy because she is naturally organized and doesn't have to deal with the chaos I have with three little boys!"

On the other side of the fence, Organized Mom was facing her fourth day-in-a-row of "those" days. Baby had spilled not only his own food, but big sister's drink and used the markers to draw on the walls, while oldest sister, almost a teen, whined constantly about being bored. She sighed heavily and said "Oh, my neighbor has it so easy because she always has creative ideas and doesn't freak out with spills like I do."

And every day they smiled and waved across the fence amidst their frustration of comparison.


“Peter must have thought, "Who am I compared to Mr. Faithfulness (John)?" But Jesus clarified the issue. John was responsible for John. Peter was responsible for Peter. And each had only one command to heed: "Follow Me." (John 21:20-22)”
― Charles R. Swindoll

Homeschool "Tip" #1 - "Scheduling"

A fairly new homeschooler (getting ready to start her 3rd year) asked me to try to put down on paper (aka blog) an explanation of what I have shown her that works for us for scheduling subjects for the year.  Note:  This is NOT a formula that works for many, maybe not even for a few, but since three different Moms have said they have implemented this (or their version of it) and benefited, I thought I would try to describe how it works for anyone that might find it useful.

The way I do scheduling makes it really easy to not stress over missed days, half days, days when we got only two subjects done because Grandma was in the hospital - you know - life happens and our philosophy is that school should not dictate life.  You know exactly when your 180 days are done - every subject is done.  It might actually be 207 days where some of those are 1/2 or 1/3 days, but you have done not only the equivalent of 180 days, but you will finish every subject (contrary to counting hours on the clock, this counts work done - sort of like the real world?!).

Before each year begins, I determine a "Daily Schedule" for each child.  I determine at that time which subjects they will cover, decide how often each week we will do that subject, and for how long each day (estimated).  Now part of it is from teacher's books (recommendation), part of it is from what I have learned works best for our family (taking into account extracurricular, social and farm activities), and part is just what we prefer to do (we work longer M-Th and only do half-day Fridays).  So, Step 1 is to make a "Daily Schedule" (see picture example).  You can find samples online for how long each subject should take your child each day to count as a "credit hour" (for High School).  This Daily Schedule is more like "Suggested Schedule" for us, since some days Math might only take 15 minutes and another day might be a test that takes an hour and a half.



[For older students I do a "High School Plan" when the student is 7th or 8th to try to determine what I think they will cover each year to be ready for any major college (yes, that's in bold because it is a working plan and what I think versus what I end up doing is pretty fluid, allowing me to plug into coops, free classes, free/cheap curriculum, different or more extracurricular as they develop special interests, etc. as the opportunity arises).  If they can do Biology in 8th instead of 10th (they are ready and it is available), mark that subject off your list as "done" and that will allow them more time for other things in 10th!]

After you determine which subjects your student will take that year, the next steps are easy.  Assuming you do a 180-day school year (doesn't matter if it's traditional or year-round or some other form such as "Farm-Comes-First-School-Comes-After" ) you then just need to determine how many days of the 180 you will do each subject.  For instance, we do a full year of Math in 144 days (giving us one "Math Free" day per week, which we chose to be on Fridays).    I look at the book(s) and determine how many Lessons/Tests, etc. there are to finish that subject (be sure to include in your count days for tests, quizzes, labs, etc.).  Then schedule that number of days (e.g. Days 1- 144 then you're done for Math).  If for some reason your child is sick, or you have to take an emergency day off and they all fall on Tuesdays, then yes, you might have more Math to finish at the end of the year than say Science, if the latter is only done on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.  No sweat.  "School" or "This Year" is only "done" when all the days for all the subjects are done.  Is it as clear as muddy water yet? (My Dad used to love to say that - - !)

So, for example, you do Science (the whole book including labs, quizzes and tests) for 108 days a year (I like to use multiples of 36 to keep the subjects somewhat easier to schedule), which is three days a week, you just take the whole of your year, and divide it into 108 days.  Yes, some days your student will do Science for 30 minutes and some days it will be 2 hours, even though your "Daily Schedule" plans for 1 hour each of the three days, but it's amazing how it so often evens out overall for the day (one subject longer than usual, two others a bit shorter, etc.).  And our focus again is not on hours in school but actual work accomplished (guess by now you've figured out that I am a big proponent for people earning what they accomplish, not in putting in hours - how great we can teach our children this lesson from an early age!)  Just take each subject, schedule it out into the number of days you want.

One other note - be sure to include a realistic time for non-academic things (chores, extracurricular, travel time, etc.) and of course take into account practical aspects such as subjects that require more attention from Mom being done during baby's nap time, middle school son being at his best during mid-morning to tackle his least-liked subjects, Dad working night shift and needing to sleep on Thursday and Friday mornings, etc. when scheduling specific subjects and times.  The key is - do what is best for YOUR family.  Your schedule will look different than anyone else's and the only time you need to be strict about exactly when something is scheduled and done is when it involves other families, coops, outside classes, etc.
It's a tricky balancing act to level out flexibility and discipline, academics and spiritual growth, social activities and family time, but it is worth every effort to read, revise, rework and reward what works best for your family situation.  Don't compare or compete with others, just enjoy this special blessing of the time spent with your children.  In other words, just find what works for you.

Lastly, never forget that character is more important than academics.  If you teach them diligence, stewardship, honesty and respect they will learn academically whatever they need to when they need it (i.e. it doesn't matter if you spent "too much" time on Ancient History and "too little" time on American History), and more importantly they will carry that character with them throughout every aspect of their lives, as well as through the years.  I always remind others that Character trumps Academics because I need to hear the reminder myself.  Constantly. Continually. Carefully.  Most of all, prayerfully.

Have fun scheduling!  I wish I enjoyed grading assignments as much as I enjoy planning them!

What's Your Mission?

“If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.”

Lewis Carroll

Now, I am not a big fan of Lewis Carroll (that's for another post on another day), but he certainly said the above correctly.  I'm afraid that too often I have lost the forest for the trees in both parenting and homeschooling.  At the beginning of the year, I have grand plans, can clearly see the long-term goals we have for our children (namely, to become God-glorifying adults), and think that all the planning will lead us to the ultimate victory.  But this year I am again reminded of how very, very easily I get sidetracked, distracted, off-the-track, --- what was I saying?  Oh, yes, sticking with goals.

Since the first year we began homeschooling (back in the Dark Ages), I have kept our "Mission Statement" in the front of my teacher's notebook.  Coming from the business world into homeschooling, I knew that we would never reach the ultimate vision we set unless we clearly stated our "Mission" in writing.  It is amazing to me how many parents have no idea what their "Mission" for homeschooling might be.  As I talk with them, I am sometimes discouraged to find out that the real reason they are homeschooling is a fear of public schools, a fear of what their children will be exposed to, a fear of how they will be bullied, what they will be taught, how long they might be away from a doting mother.  Now, realistic fear is healthy, but 2 Timothy tells us "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."   If the only reason you are homeschooling is out of fear, you should pray about whether or not you have truly been called to do this!

Even more amazing is how much of life we use up, waste away, let slip by, or just forget our own goals or mission in life.  We fill up the hours, even the minutes, with busy-ness sometimes not even realizing that we are running from that all-important question - "Why am I here on this earth?"

There are a lot of things wrong with businesses today, and there were many poor or bad habits I learned being in the business world for so many years.  But as with all things, we can learn from the positive elements (and the negative, but again, that's another post!).  One of these is the fact - yes, fact - that if you want to see your vision become reality, you need a clear understanding of your Mission and Goals.  As I look back over the past 15 years, I realize that although we started some school years with a clear mission and goals, most years I just got lost in the trees of curriculum, activities and life pressures; not a great model for my children and not working diligently to make sure they understood how very important it was to us that they knew Christ in a real and all-consuming way.

As we go about each day and get overwhelmed with the details of life, we are constantly drawn away from the real, meaningful actions.  We get lost in words and activities, and miss those precious points of true connection with friends and family.  We hurry and scurry about to get "it" all done and ignore the quiet tug in our souls to get alone and quiet with the One who is sweetly calling our new name.

What is my "Mission"?  Sure, I could say "To raise Godly children" and that might be very true.  But that is a vision - a "big picture idea", not a mission - and it will never help me to achieve the vision.  "To use XYZ curriculum" might be the thing on my heart and mind right now - but that is an action to support the mission and goals, not the mission.  Totally confused yet?  Stick with my rambling, please - I hope you will be glad you did.

God through His Word tells us: "The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord." The Message says it this way: "Mortals make elaborate plans, but God has the last word.  Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good; God probes for what is good.  Put God in charge of your work, then what you’ve planned will take place".

Too much of what I have done and continue to do is based on "whatever looks good".  Too little is based on what IS good - deep down, cleansing, healing, changing, molding that only the Holy Spirit through the Word of God can do.  My "Mission" in life and in our school is to allow the Savior to be LORD of all - for HIM to rule and reign in every nook and cranny, cleaning out the cobwebs under the laziness of my heart, shining His light into the damp, stinking corners in the basement of my soul to bring fresh life, and to cleanse the layers of grimy selfishness away until they are sparkling clean.  My mission is to be a follower, a disciple, a servant.  And then if I can just let GOD be in charge, it will be pleasing to Him, which is all any of us can ever desire as our mission.  

Joel meets Cinderella

Some (OK, most) of my friends would call me a "hopeless romantic". And yes, I love books and movies like "Pride and Prejudice" and "Love Comes Softly" . Get out the tissues and cry along with me, OK? But there is a problem in our media/entertainment saturated culture that is very disturbing even to an old romantic woman like me. Somewhere along the way many women (and men too, probably) have lost the sense of what is fiction and reality. We have plunged into the pool of feel-good entertainment and forgotten that it does not mirror real, meaningful, precious and eternal life. It is simply a two-dimensional still portrait (and usually as fake as a touched-up portrait of a supermodel) of a living, breathing, changing, bought-with-a-price pearl of great price real life. Somewhere we have mixed up Cinderella's story with modern day teaching of "God will make you happy if you have enough faith". We have forgotten what the reality of life actually needs us to do. This is most evident in "Christian" marriages around me.

For some reason recently I have been intimately involved with five - yes five - marriages that are or were "troubled". These are dear friends, some almost lifelong, and all very dear to my heart. As I have walked beside, prayed with, cried on, opened my home, shared burdens and joys with each of these wives, I have seen firsthand the devastating effect of the "Health, Wealth and Happiness" myth that has been intertwined with the Cinderella "Happily Ever After" myth. And I have also seen the miraculous restoration of marriages based solely on the wife's willingness to "do things God's way", often at great turmoil and cost to herself and yes, even to her children.

What is marriage, anyway? Is it the joining of a man and woman until the "better" part is not evident, and the "worse" has risen its ugly head (you remember - "for better or worse"?). Is it a pact or agreement for short-term happiness? I think the idea of marriage being lifelong, for better or worse, richer or poorer, and most of all as a symbol of Christ's love for his "bride" has been totally lost in our culture. For sure, when I stood at the altar almost 33 years ago I had no idea that I was to represent believers and my husband was to represent Christ. I also had no idea of the joys and trials, ugliness and beauty, sorrow, death and growing love that would all become part of my being through my marriage. But I did know one thing - marriage was lifelong - a covenant - not to be thrown away but to be worked at no matter what. At one point I had forgotten this, and was literally in the car with a packed suitcase. There was no "love" left, no seeming chance of a "happily ever after" anymore. What stopped me? Why did I not back down that driveway? Why didn't my husband get on a plane and leave? I think part of the reason is that deep down we knew marriage was more than about the two of us, or even about the five of us (three children at the time). Somewhere we had been taught that our actions could affect lots of people, maybe in ways we didn't even think about. And most of all, I think it was by the grace and mercy of God that we did not walk away. Maybe because we had parents praying for us, maybe because Christ knew that someday, many years later I could look another discouraged woman in the eye and tell her to not seek divorce and she would know that I meant it.

One of these friends had eight years of suffering and pleading with the Lord, begging the husband not to get a divorce when what she really, really wanted was to get rid of the problems and move on with her life. After he insisted on divorce against her will, now two years later God has changed his heart through a men's Bible study, and he is now asking his wife for another chance! What if she had given up, remarried, "moved on"? For "His ways are not our ways" and we must be very, very careful who and what we listen to that guides our hearts, for our minds and bodies will follow our hearts every time.

So why do I write this post and share it with you? Because we all need a reminder that the culture is a strong tide and it is hard work, tiring and often discouraging to swim against the tide. Sometimes a rip tide will surprise you and pull you into a drowning marital strife where you feel completely lost and hopeless. It is at these hard - really hard - times that we need to remember that marriage is not all about "our happiness". Marriage should be a picture to each other, our children, extended family and the world around us that we have a hope and a joy that is outside of our own desires.

They should see us react in ways that are not "natural", for they are literally supernatural, spiritual and holy by the strength of the Lord living in us. Of course wives should never, ever stay in situations where they are abused, downtrodden or their children are in danger. But there is a great gulf of a difference between protecting yourself and escaping hard times. There is also a vast ocean of a difference between leaving a dangerous situation and immediately throwing the marriage to the wind. The past few weeks I have been blessed beyond words to watch two dear friends on their knees begging that the Lord would continue to give them love and patience for very selfish, difficult husbands. It is a testimony to me, who is blessed with a wonderful husband, and to others who are in various situations with believing husbands, addicts, husbands who spit at the name of Christ, husbands who run from responsibilities of caring for their wife or children. These women have shown me firsthand that we all seek "happily ever after". It's just that they have the wisdom and love of the Lord to know that the "ever after" is not in this world but the next. They desire to hear those precious words "Well done, my good and faithful servant" rather than running around leaving their shoes behind for some "Prince Charming" to "rescue" them.

May we each strive every moment of every day to make our marriages a picture of love, patience and everlasting forgiveness.

Books (of course!)

Well, it has been some time since I posted about my third favorite topic - books. (Want to know the first and second favorites? Try to guess!). The summer generally means more reading for most folks, but since we spend so much time on the farm, in the yard, outside, etc. it actually means less reading for me, at least. Emma Kate did get quite a bit of reading, carrying a book with her when we went to the dentist, grocery, or pool. Every spare minute was a minute for her to read (wonder where she got that desire from ??!!). If you are interested, her books included The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, Perelandra, Out of the Silent Planet, Adventures of Northwoods (series), Viking Quest series (books 1-3),

Ethan has not jumped into individual reading very enthusiastically yet. He spent lots of hours reading/browsing nonfiction books, mostly about Motorcycles and Dirt Bikes, Star Wars, Legos and the history of guns and airplanes, but hopefully by next summer he will be into reading more on his own. He did read some Three Cousin Detective books, Frog and Toad series (for the umpteenth time), and some Matt Christopher fiction (that had motorcycles or dirt bikes in the action!).

For the beginning of school, Emma is reading Eagle of the Ninth, Ethan has read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and this week we have read Beowulf together (abridged version of course!). Next week we will be reading Augustine Came to Kent together aloud at lunch, and Emma will begin Otto of the Silver Hand.

But the most exciting news for me personally is that I am reading several wonderful books. I have another copy of Bertha Smith's Our Lost World (from Amazon for 99c and it was signed by her - very precious to me!) which I am rereading along with the book Back to Jerusalem by Paul Hattaway. I will definitely be writing a blog soon about how these two books, written 30 years apart, show that God's plan and timing are so perfect and so beyond our limited understanding, and yet He allows us to glimpse His compassion and love for each and every person in every nation if we will just open our heart to His. For devotional thought I am reading Ruth Bell Graham's book about Prodigals. Very heartening! We are still reading together through the Bible using the McCheyne Reading Plan

May the Lord bless the words we read to open our minds to His amazing glory and wisdom!

Ashamed, just ashamed!!!

I am really ashamed to have gone so long and not posted here. Between keeping up with "regular" stuff, posting on facebook on both my wall and the one for our trip to Asia, I have neglected blogging. OK, enough excuses!! Since a picture's worth a thousand words, here's my updates (mostly) pictorially:

October -

This is Joanna and me with four new sweet Chinese friends, as we entered Long Sha Park, a beautiful park across the road from the University. I can't begin to tell you how wonderful the trip was, how we saw God move in amazing ways and how our lives are changed forever because of this trip. Praise - while we were there Joanna realized she had never surrendered her life to the LORD fully and made that decision to trust Him for her salvation and her future! Thanks to all who helped make it possible!!

Also in October (after we returned) we continued our Friday afternoon "Fun Days" with our homeschool friends and one afternoon had a cookout afterward, followed by a small fire with roasted marshmallows. Fall Fun!

NOVEMBER:
Emma and Ethan worked on several art and history projects, and we did our annual "Thankful tree" from construction paper leaves where each day they write at least one thing for which they are thankful and then on Thanksgiving Day the leaves "fall down" (aka get taken off the door :)!) and are used to decorate each plate at Gran's for the big turkey meal!

DECEMBER:
We have had a busy month (like everyone else) but lots of fun! This past weekend we took most of the older children from our "Friday" homeschool group to visit the Nursing Home to hand out cards, after playing in the afternoon and then eating homemade pizza. Saturday we watched Katy dance in competition at NCSU (pics to folow from Russ) and then went to see the lights at Lake Myra . Yesterday we celebrated Joanna's BDay with family, and now you are up to date ! I'll try to do better keeping up with blogging...maybe it'll be one of my New Year's "Revolutions" !

Ready or not, here comes summer!

Most years we try to finish our school year by Memorial Day or at least the last day of May. Well, this isn't "most years" :) ! I'm still trying to decide how to finish things off with Ethan, but Emma will be finished with all her subjects within two weeks. Since Ethan wasn't really ready for phonics at the beginning of the year, we took our time because the last thing I wanted was to turn him off from reading. Since at this very minute he is sitting at the barstool reading "Fox and His Friends" by himself with only occasionally spelling a word he needs help with, I think it was worth the effort! Years ago I read "Better Late than Early" by Raymond and Dorothy Moore and it has been such a blessing to remember their wisdom and advice with this youngest child, especially.

The farm has taken many, many hours of our time but so far the trees are not just surviving but thriving - God is good!! In addition to the demands of 400 new "babies" we have had friends who've had human babies, several relatives pass away, my MIL taking chemo again, a wedding, and numerous family issues to deal with so I'm (sort of!!) OK with not being finished yet.

Today we spotted the hummingbirds at the feeder and after several questions about their migration, size/type of nest, etc., we sidetracked from usual routine and spent some time on the internet looking at pictures of and reading about hummingbirds. Natural Science!!! We love it!! Nothing better than good old curiosity and observation!

All this to say I think it's OK to not be on the "master schedule" (ahem.. actually MY master schedule is the one that I stress over!) because they are learning, growing, sharing, laughing and loving, whether "school" is out for the summer or not!

Next week.....

School: We studied George Washington on Monday (his BDay was Sunday and we study each on his birthday, not on "President's Day") and did some games about "Truth versus Fiction" concerning that great man. We also celebrated Handel's BDay by listening to the "Hallelejuh Chorus" on youtube while we were eating lunch. Tuesday we admired the works of one of my most favorite artists, Winslow Homer (I have two prints in my living room by him which tells you how much I like his artwork!). We've also done the "normal" reading, phonics, math, etc. Social Studies has moved us over to The Netherlands and my daughter is longing to wear wooden shoes and grow tulips :) ! Science has included a new unit about diseases and health and we are planning a trip to both a Health Clinic and a Dairy Farm (to see how they sanitize the containers, etc.) ... Maybe we will get a chance to go next week....

Books: I am almost finished with "In God's Underground" by Richard Wurmbrand. It never ceases to amaze me how a book about one subject can truly challenge you in a totally different area of your life. Here is a wonderfully amazing story of how one man stayed true to Christ in unthinkable conditions, and it really challenged me to do more to stand up for my faith and my Savior. I'm really ashamed of the fact that my life is so easy compared to his and that I spend so little of it in true fellowship with the One who Loves me most. I'll try to do better next week....

Farm: We have struggled to keep the remaining trees healthy with temps below freezing, a gas heater that sputters out on us in the middle of the night (it's like having a baby in the house, except you have to go outside in freezing temps to check on it in the middle of the night :) !) and we are certainly ready to finish getting them in the ground. Unfortunately rainy weather on Friday and Saturday will keep us from doing so this weekend. Maybe next week....

Work: D's company had another series of layoffs, and although he still has a job he now has about 7 people's responsibilities to do, which is causing him to work many long, long hours and weekends. We're thankful for the job but personally I'm worried that all the stress is going to wear on his health. Maybe next week will be better :) !

I'll let you know how things go - "next week" always looks better!

In School This Week

We have had several "field days" so far this week. My children have learned:
1 - Horticulture - how to properly plant and water in pecan trees; differences in varieties of trees; proper depth for planting; how to mulch, etc....
2 - Ornithology - found a killdeer nest, marked the location so as not to disturb it, and watching daily for any signs of eggs! Also saw two geese fly over flanking a wounded one - very amazing to see first hand!
3 - Agronomy - the study of soil composition and water tables; decomposition - "Wet clay from down in the hole stinks really bad, Mom! Why??"
4 - Team Teaching - working together to be more efficient and enjoyable
5 - Perseverance - (planting 400+ trees one at a time will do that!!)
6 - Meteorology - they have learned to listen to weather forecasts, study the local conditions and make decisions about how percentages really work (10-20% chance of rain means go ahead and do what you have planned :) !)
7 - Entomology - found several interesting live millipedes and exoskeletons from other "critters" from last summer; chased some grasshoppers; discovered that it only takes 36 warm hours before the local gnats have emerged!
8 - Being neighborly and friendly - a relative and a neighbor both have spent part of the week helping us plant (without any pay) just because they are good friends/neighbors!
9 - Perseverance - did I mention this already??
10 - Hard work is really, really hard work, but is lots more fun when doing it with people you love!

Fun in School This Week

Monday we took a few minutes to read "The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac", discussed Chinese New Year, found China on the maps and globe, talked about oxen and had Chinese stir-fry for dinner. Tuesday was Mozart's birthday but with other pressing matters we actually listened to his music while we did school on Wednesday. The children also drew pictures of him and we talked about what life was like in Europe during the late 1700s when he was alive and talked about what it would be like to be composing music by the age of five. This worked very well with the fact that this week we "left" Australia behind in Social Studies and traveled over to Europe, beginning with Switzerland. Since my oldest son and daughter went through a tip of Switzerland this summer we looked at some of their pictures online. Thursday night's meal is fondue with homemade Zopf (with wheat flour instead of white - we will see ;)!) and a meat stew (not pork neck as recommended, but beef stew - I'm not very advernturous with food) and anise cookies for dessert. We have really traveled the world and through time this week )!

Happy Book Reading Day

Lately I have been in the mode of "get it done, we have to finish these textbooks, don't skip a subject" etc. Every September and January I do this. Hit hard the "master plan" for S-C-H-O-O-L!!! Then the kids and I start to dread each day, things get frustrating, and I dig in my heals even harder that we must STICK TO THE SCHEDULE! My son jolted me back into reality last Sunday when I overheard him telling his SS teacher, "Yes, we homeschool but I don't like school". Ouch. Big fat Ouch. So I have taken a breath, stepped back and rethought the week. I know how to do this - Im the one who tells new homeschoolers all the time to make sure their children learn to love learning, not just learn to go through the motions of school. So Monday we did the "basics" of reading and math early in the morning before our friends came to play. Then the children just played. Knights, spies, kings and queens, race car drivers, mothers and fathers, Bible heroes and astronauts were all play-acted. Lessons were learned in getting along with others, being courteous of babies, sharing, listening. Who has to have textbooks?

Tuesday I dubbed "Happy Book Reading Day". Since the time to read all the books I want to share with my children never seems to appear out of thin air like I wish, I decided to make this day a day when the children could share their reading skills with each other, as well as being read to by me. We made a library run (checked out 42 books!!!), and began to have a book celebration. I checked out numerous old picture book favorites like "Blueberries for Sal", "Moon Bear", "Joseph Had a Little Overcoat", "Harry the Dirty Dog", "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters", "Lyle the Crocodile", "The Story about Ping", and numerous others. We checked out small chapter books like three of the Trailblazer books by Dave & Netta Jackson and "Treasures of the Snow" by Patricia St. John. My favorite poem collection "Who Has Seen the Wind" as well as non-fiction books about robotics, jets, and Italian art are resting among the mound of books. Of course we won't get to read them all this week, but we will share many of them. And hopefully we will, in the process, get past the "I don't like school" phase and back to "This is MY favorite book". Happy Book Reading Day (Week/Month/Year/Lifetime)!!

Advent

We technically don't "do Advent" because we don't have the Advent wreath or fast or even follow a specific agenda each day. However, we do read (almost daily :) !) from "Jotham's Journey" and discuss it. Today after we read our daily story we discussed light and darkness, how it gets darker earlier in the winter, how Christ is THE Light in our lives, and how easy it is to let darkness creep into our hearts. Just after we finished reading, we began to get down our Christmas decorations and it was neat the way the children were counting the candles and begged to light several of them. They also got out some electric lights (for the tree which we don't have yet!) and strung them around. It was really a blessing to see how they carried on talking and thinking about light and darkness long after the "lesson" ended. May your December be filled with lots of warm lights in your soul.

Field Trip

Earlier this week we went with some friends to the "Country Doctor Museum". I had taken my second and third children years ago (when I was pregnant with #4 I think?) and it was interesting then but they have added a lot of things and our tour guide was great! The herb garden was still in nice shape (it hasn't frosted yet) so the children got to grind their own herbal mixture and see the "pill shaper" demonstrated. One of the most interesting things to us was the iron lung machine (my mother had polio and although she wasn't put into an iron lung because there weren't any in her part of the country in the late 1920s it really helped my children relate to the trauma and severity of the disease). The children loved seeing the amputation kits from the Civil War and we even saw someone with our last name on the old docto's ledger from the Depression Era. Unfortunately (actually I think fortunately!) their leeches had recently died and the new ones hadn't yet arrived! If you're ever in the area, it's well worth stopping by to see.

Sept. 11th Lesson

Yesterday we had some running around to do and while in the van we had a "lesson" about September 11th and its meaning and history. EK was just a baby and EO wasn't born yet when this tragedy struck our nation. But I felt like they are now old enough to be told the basics of the significance of this day. We bought two small flags for each of them to place wherever they wanted and we got out a larger flag that we fly on special occasions. A friend had emailed me earlier with a reminder for how we all flew flags for weeks or months after 9/11/01 and how we need to remember that patriotism again on this anniversary. I wholeheartedly agree. Today it's raining again and my children were a little disappointed when I told them we would fly the larger flag inside the porch and not outside but that led to a "lesson" in caring for a flag, which I am sorry to say is mostly neglected these days. The children may not understand the full impact of 9/11 or the reasons behind the hatred for our country but they do fully understand that we love and appreciate our country and its freedoms. That's a big enough lesson for any of us.

"Deesijons"

In case your 2yo never said this, "deesijons" is their way of saying "decisions". We also like to say "yummy, yummy dippin sauce" (aka ketchup), "schlock-let" (chocolate) and "purkle" (purple). Somehow it helps keep memories of younger days alive by using words like they did at that "mind ahead of tongue" stage. Now that I no longer have one that young anymore (insert great big sigh here) I think on all those funny, new, fresh ways of looking at things and saying things and forget about the temper tantrums, potty training and other not so great things.

Anyway, that's the side issue - the real reason for this post is to ask you what "deesijons" for next fall you might be considering. I am praying about and talking with several Moms about what to participate in and what not to. My friend Beth has a great way to look at things - write out not only "I Do" lists but also "I Don't Do" lists. This helps me to recognize that some things that I used to do may need to be laid aside for a season; some things I want to do may not get done; some things that I've never done may need to be picked up now; and some things just aren't worth going on the list at all (usually things I try to justify for my "personal enjoyment"!) I'm really bad to over commit and this idea has helped me a lot. Before I say "yes" to anything, including things I am already doing, I need to seriously consider what I will not do (at least for now). For now I am praying about and working on my lists (you know how I love lists!!!)
and will share them with you sometime in the future. But until I finish my "deesijons" I'm gonna go take a break and eat some "shock-let"!!

Police, Puppies, Parties and... the "Crud"

We've been beside the toilet "under the weather" for the past few days so I will try to catch up with all our happenings (well, the ones you want to hear about!). Last Friday we went with our homeschool group to a local police station and got a tour including getting up close and personal with the K-9 puppy. The kids loved her and from the licks some of them received I think it was mutual!



On Saturday we had Ethan's birthday party at a Chick-Fil-A in a nearby town. We were blessed with lots of his friends being able to come and celebrate with us, and he loved his Star Wars cake and all of the wonderful gifts. What a blessing to have so many great friends and relatives! Here's the two birthday "boys" blowing out the candles! And of course here is our "knight" (don't tell him he's not the good guy!!) with suit and laser sword. Just gotta love this age!! And a very special gift from Dad to be used "only on special occasions with Dad" - his first pump BB gun. They have set up a pie-pan target in the backyard and he can only use it with Dad or his two big brothers. I'm very proud of the fact that he told me yesterday "Mom, I know you're a grown-up but Dad said only when he or my brothers were here so you'll have to wait until Dad gets home if you want to try it out!"

A laugh a day....

This year I have been trying to incorporate a little exposure to classical artists and composers. We "celebrate" their birthdays by looking at and discussing their art or listening to their music and talking about the time period in which they lived. Today is one of my favorites - Vivaldi. We talked a little about when he lived, I showed them a picture of the composer and then we listened to the "Four Seasons" on CD while they did their art, penmanship, spelling and ate lunch. After the CD had finished I asked the youngest, "Do you remember the name of the man who wrote that music?" He hesitated then said "It's the "Four Seasons" music I know but I can't remember his name. Was it "Old Baldy"?" Well, I don't think we will forget his name for a long time!! May you have a good laugh today, too!

Photo Journal from School

I haven't posted pics from our homeschool lately - here's a hodgepodge of them:

Ethan testing the difference in strength of boosters for his rocket (boosters for this type are simply plastic disks - the thicker the plastic the more pumps required and the higher the trajectory of the rocket) BTW - this is one of the "absolutest bestest" gifts for a young boy not yet ready for the model rockets that require matches and combustibles!


Learning about
(and practicing!)
good posture:














One of EK's art lessons:













The food pyramid:

President's "Week"

We are doing something special about Presidents all week instead of just on Monday and I thought some of you might enjoy hearing about it. We started off on Monday watching a short video about George Washington, then doing a few worksheets and games about him. We made finger puppets of George and Honest Abe from HERE and as the week goes on each of my youngest two are finding facts about "their" President to be ready to give a "report" with their puppet on Friday. We have also done coin rubbings, made some silhouettes from cut outs I already had and my 9 yo is memorizing the first 16 Presidents, the 5yo memorizing the first 6 ones. Math has included things like the difference between years of each of the 2 (Washington and Lincoln), converted to weeks and then days, etc. Geography has included finding and learning about Philadelphia, Trenton, New York and Washington, DC as well as finding out how many states have cities named Washington and/or Lincoln and tracing the Delaware and Potomac Rivers.

On a different subject we are all planning to stay up late after Awanas tonight and view the Lunar Eclipse. We just finished a unit about the moon last week (when I had no idea the eclipse was coming up :) !) so we are looking forward to that. Just wish we had a telescope but it will be lots of fun - we are all planning on climbing out onto the back porch roof (almost flat), wrapped in blankets to watch it. It's great to live in the country with no street lights around!!

Enjoy Presidents, Lunar Eclipses and most of all your family this week!!