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We started back to our school work this week. I thought it would be hard to concentrate but I actually found it to be very refreshing to get back to work on something normal. We continued with MOH on Monday; reading the lesson and then following up with Drive Thru History. I love the way you can read about Paul's missionary journeys and then watch DTH and see the modern day cities and ancient ruins on DVD. The kids love these dvd's. My 9 year old begged me to change his core curriculum back to Alpha Omega's Lifepacs, which he used last year. So I ordered him the new grade level and pulled out some of his lifepacs from last year that had a few pages left undone. He's been working in those this week and has done so well. I think this curriculum really fits him. He's able to move from subject to subject with minimal help at each transition. I'm always amazed at the differences in what appeals to each child. That's the beauty of homeschooling, I guess. I have downloaded the new lapbook from HOAC for The Presidential Election of 2008. I think we'll begin this at the beginning of November and work on the lapbook and read some coresponding books on the government and presidents. Well, that's that for now. I'm off to my cooking class at the Main Dish to fill up my freezer with tasty meals for this month. Until next time.....j Blessings! |
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I wanted to add two cool things that have happened in these last crazy weeks. My youngest son has now become a Brown Sr. belt in Tae Kwon Do. He is now about 2 belts (4 months) away from becoming a Black Belt. He'll be 10 when he gets his black belt. We're very proud! This seems to be a natural sport for both of my boys. Then, my 15 year old son, had a great experience last week at church. He told me about a month or 2 ago, that he feels God calling him to be a worship leader, but he has been faithfully praying about it, asking God if he was truly called to lead worship or just play guitar for a living (definitely a different path). A friend of his called him up a few weeks ago and said she felt God leading her to tell him that God was going to use him one day to lead worship. That was the first incident. Then, last week he went to church with some friends, because our church activities were cancelled due to storm damage. While at this other church, they had a call to anyone who needed prayer, to come down front and be prayed for. My son went down there and a man came and prayed over him and told him that he could see that God was calling my son to lead worship!! AWESOME! We were so thrilled to see this evidence of God in his life. A shining moment. Thank you Lord! |
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Well, I haven't had much to say lately. My mind has been in a fog since the storm. For 2 weeks now that's all anyone can think about or talk about (and dream about). This area has been hit worse than anyone has ever seen. Many people are homeless and having to start all over. In Bridge City, every house had water - up to 5 feet or more - and everything they own is out on the front lawn. The national news is not even covering it and when they do say anything about IKE, they only talk about Galveston. Oh well. Texans are strong. I guess if we want coverage we need to scream and cry about how this is Bush's fault and then start shooting at the people who are coming in to help us. That would get Geraldo down here! Enough said about that. If I hear the word KATRINA one more time, I'm going to scream. On the school front - haven't done any book work since the storm, but lots of life. My older son has spent some days volunteering around town, helping a friend clean up after her roof blew off and ruined all of their belongings. He also worked for a day cleaning out Operation Blessing's big semi-truck that had stored food in it. Apparently they had stored food from a school, so the school didn't have alot of clean up when they got back, and the food rotted in the truck. The volunteers had to clean that out! My son said that was the nastiest job he's ever done. We'll be getting back to book work tomorrow. My mind has really been scattered lately, so I hope we are productive this week. It's hard to guide the kids into their work in times like these. Don't you ever feel like you're just opening the books because "it's school time"? One of Barb Shelton's computer ladies once said in an email: "School is what you do when life is not happening." That is so true. Until next time..... Blessings. |
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I'm writing this in response to a post about taking the family back from the big church. We, too, are in a huge church with all the bells and whistles: classes for all ages, classes for all problems and potential problems. We have youth group, 5th and 6th grade group, and plenty of activities to keep them all busy. I love this church because I feel God there. I love this church because our Pastor speaks God's truth to us, even when it's not a feel-good topic. He's not there to sugarcoat sin. But, to address this topic - taking the family back - I want to add a positive twist to this very popular topic amongst homeschoolers. I, too, have friends who homeschool, who have pulled their kids out of everything. They have left our church, in search of that "perfect " family church, where they can have their kids with them at all times. This search has led them to several different churches over the past year and landed them nowhere. Everytime I would talk to her, she would inform me of the latest reason that she found each church unsatisfactory. She, therefore, was taking her family nowhere. So, they have gone from an alive, vibrant, church to nothing. While her oldest daughter is crying out that she has no friends. She has attended churches where the women have begun to wear headcoverings. She thought that was godly. Why? And if God hasn't called her to wear one, what value is that to God? And is isolating her kids, and introducing them to customs that set them apart, really more Godly than just being a godly family and not drawing all that attention to yourself? (This is a subject within itself). So let me give the complete opposite testimony to this senario: We have always homeschooled. We have always taught our kids that family comes first. We've always taught our kids that our ultimate goal in this earthly life is to glorify God in all we say and do. We worship Him, first and foremost. God is our all in all. We've always protected our kids, as much as possible, from worldly influence (ps being number 1, then ungodly tv shows, books, movies, etc.). In essence, I have 2 very normal, godly young men. But here's where the church fits in: Because of the opportunities in this big church, my 15 year old started playing the guitar in the 5th grade department band, when he was 12 years old. At that time, they also put him through a training program in that same department, where he learned to run a camera, a sound board, and run powerpoint. He did this for 2 years, before he moved into the Youth department where he auditioned for the youth band. He made the lead guitarist position and played in that for a year. When he was 14, he was picked by the Music minister to accompany him to our newest venue (in a neighboring town) to play lead guitar in the Sunday morning praise and worship band. He's been at that venue for a year now. This summer he was asked by our Youth pastor to take up the position of Worship Leader for this school year, in the youth department. We prayed about it as a family and said "yes" and he has been doing that since June. This is a big job in which he has the responsibility of creating a "set list", which is choosing all the songs for the Jr. High and Sr. High worship times. He arranges the songs, plays guitar and sings lead. It takes him a few hours a week to work on the arrangments and the organization of it all. He then goes to the church around 3:00 on Wed.s and is there until 8:30pm. He works hard! This is in addition to his Sunday morning position. He has decided that he wants to be a Worship Leader for his future. I give credit to my big church for these opportunities! Ultimately it was God who led us there and God who blessed my son with talent. But if we would have taken it upon ourselves to isolate our son and not let him grow with guidance and protection, he would not be doing what he's doing now. I'm a huge advocate for insulating but not isolating. We need to protect and guard these precious kids. It is our job! But really pray about whether your ways are God's prompting or just your way of being in control. Alot of homeschoolers are acting out of fear. Fear of the world tainting our kids. Fear that our kids will be pulled away from everything we've taught. Dedicate them to the Lord and let Him be the guide. If you really have your kid's heart, they will follow what you've taught them and find their own path according to God's plan for them. This doesn't mean you can't decide to have your kids in church with you, but do they really need to be taken out of Sunday school and activities? My 4th grader comes and tells me (every Sunday) how bad someone was behaving in the class. I use this as an opportunity to explain to him what good behavior is. I explain to him what manners are and why it's important to keep still and quiet while the teacher teaches. I use it to benefit him. My older son has complained about the middle school kids being disrespectful to the teacher. He's had the opportunity to share with the kids the importance of respecting the teacher. Thankfully, my kids are leaders and not followers. You have to use your good and wise judgement from the Lord. If your child is a follower, then keep him by your side until he becomes the leader that God wants him to be. If he's strong in his faith, then let him spread his wings in a place that (for the most part) has a watchful eye on him. Each child blooms at different times. Use your discerment. We're not talking public school here, where they have an un-godly agenda that they WANT to shove down your kid's throat. We're talking about a body of believers and that SHOULD make a difference. In conclusion, just continue to train them up in the lessons of the Lord and pray that God will raise them up to be leaders amongst their peers. Isolation is a ploy to keep believers apart from one another. Satan uses isolation to whisper lies into our minds. He can use this to break the cords of fellowship, and therefore, make your family more easily swayed. There is strength in believers being together. Don't cheat yourself or your kids out of being with other believers. I pray God's blessings over all of our families as we are set apart from the "world" and yet, used to spread His word. Keep going! P.S. to those of you who think this is just foolish ramblings - sorry. I'm facing my 2nd evacuation in 8 days and my brain is a little fuzzy. |
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To my friends who actually stop by on a regular basis - THANKS! You bless me with your compassion and caring words. Your prayers mean so much and I look forward to each and every comment. Thank you! |
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Good morning! Well, it's Monday of week 3 and I can't wait to see what's in store this week. We have another storm heading for us - Ike. Did I mention that I don't want to live here anymore? We just got home and now we're anticipating leaving again. This time I don't plan on taking anything but clothes and kids. I'm at the point where material things just don't matter when you're running for your life! Did I mention I don't want to live here anymore? I'm really having to fight discontent right now. I know there's no perfect place to live, but I don't like living on the coast. I'm thinking somewhere in the middle. Not too hot, not too cold. No floods, no tornados, no hurricanes, not mudslides or fires, no avalanches, and definitely no earthquakes. Hummm. Not sure where I'd go. I'll have to research this a little more. Anyway, I just want a normal week of school! I want to sit with my kids and enjoy learning with them. I want to count on our routine and enjoy the days with them. I'm tired of being at the mercy of the weather. I'm longing for normalcy (ha ha). Well, I'm off to get ready for the day and wake the kids. This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it! Blessings! |
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If you read my blog you know that we've had a rough beginning to this school year between hurricane evacuations and curriculum changes at the last minute. But I've discovered this week that several of my friends have had an interesting 2 weeks as well. One friend of mine has started homeschooling about 6 other children (plus 2 of her own) in her home. About 2 days before the first day of school, an electrician who was working in her attic, fell through the roof - in the schoolroom - and put a HUGE hole in the ceiling. Because he was actually injured during this little fiasco, she had no electricity in the schoolroom for a few days. Let me throw in that this was just a few days before evacuating too. Another friend has been bombarded with family problems this whole 2 weeks and doesn't even have her curriculum yet. Evacuation victim as well. Life is strange sometimes. I would love to hear about your strange happenings so far. Feel free to share. |
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Here's our homeschooling testimony: I first heard of homeschooling when my oldest son was about 3 years old (about 12 years ago). I was listening to Focus on the Family on the radio and Dr. Raymond Moore was the guest. He, of course, was talking about the benefits of keeping your children at home for as long as you can, because the longer they are at home during those early years, the more confident they will be. This really appealed to me. I wasn't ready to think of sending my child off to kindergarten. He went on to discuss homeschooling and I was hooked. I only knew two homeschoolers at the time so I bombarded them with questions, borrowed all their books on how to homeschool, and attended a homeschooling conference. I spent my son's 4 year old year researching, reading and praying. By the summer before kindergarten, I knew I would not have to send my little boy off to the big, bad, school. Since then we've had good years and bad days. I've struggled with curriculum choices, schedules, support groups and co-ops. I've worried that I wasn't doing enough - and sometimes I wasn't. I've agonized over whether or not my kids have enough friends. I've compared my family to other families, my skills to other mom's skills, and always come up short. Looking back, after 11 years of teaching my own kids, the only thing I would do differently would be to not cheat my kids out of their own potential. I think I've held my kids back by not challenging them enough academically. I've babied them and pampered them academically and I can now see some weak spots. Unfortunately, when they go to church and attend sunday school, their academic skills will be tested and sometimes they fall short. The positive side to this is that my kids are probably some of the most spiritually minded kids in the class. They know their bible, they know how to behave, and they have manners. What I wouldn't change is the time I've had with my boys. It's the most awesome feeling to be standing in the kitchen at 10:00am on a "school" day, talking heart to heart with my teenager, knowing that most teens are walking the halls of the local schools, confiding in their peers and excluding their parents. Also, calling the kids to the couch for devotionals and having them want more of the bible than we have time for. These are the moments I'll cherish. I've definitely made mistakes in this journey but God has rewarded me with 2 very awesome boys who know Jesus and love Him and desire to please Him with all they do. If this is what I get for my efforts, it's all worth it. Thank you Lord for this awesome privilege. Thank you for trusting me with your children. |
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We're finally home and home never looked so good! It's amazing the new light that is shed on your un-mowed lawn, your un-done projects, your pile of laundry, etc., etc., when you've had to leave it all behind. I was so glad to pull up to my little farmhouse after 11 hours on the road. For some reason evacuating is very traumatic for me. I've been trying to put my finger on why and I'm not sure. I think it's something deep and I haven't figured it out yet. However, I have been asking God to show me what He wants me to learn from this latest experience and so far, here's what he's shown me: Never get too attached to your own plans! Yes - I still believe that He wants us to be organized and orderly, yet ultimately, remember that God is in control. I have spent the last several weeks pouring over my plans; making sure everything was in order. Then we had the coup on the first day and then a few days later - evacuating. Now this week has started off by just trying to get home and get life back to a working order. But that's ok. I really think God just wants me to relax and trust Him. School is good and necessary - but God is reliable and trustworthy. What's a few days lost? Nothing in eternity. Thank you, friends, for all your prayers and comments. I am truly blessed by each one of you. |
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I'm writing from the west tonight - West Texas- that is. We had to evacuate this morning to get away from Gustav. We made it through Houston, (a major ordeal - always is) and made it to the beautiful hill country. There is something about travelling that makes you tired! Of course, I brought the school books. Last time we evacuated (3 years ago) we never cracked a book. I don't know what will happen this time; guess it depends on how long we're away from home. This is certainly an exciting beginning! I may be awhile getting back to blogging, so to all of you who read these silly things, I'll talk to you soon. Blessings! |
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This has been a busy week. We've done some school work, but not nearly what I had planned. Now we're getting ready to evacuate due to hurricane Gustav. My husband will stay and board up windows and secure everything, but the kids and I will head out tomorrow. The evacuation 3 years ago for hurricane Rita was a nightmare. A trip that would normally take us 7 hours took 17 hours! It was horrible. As the title says - life happens - and it doesn't always fit into our planbooks. I always tell new homeschool moms that when it comes to schedules and plans, be flexible because something will always come up that will change your plans. That reminds me of the poor children that took refuge in our city when hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. We housed many families in our church, and within a day of the families getting settled in the gym, they were ready to enroll their kids in the local schools! I was shocked! Those poor children were just uprooted from their homes and needed the security of being with their parents and instead all the parents could think of was putting them right back in school. It floored me. Would it have stunted their education to miss a few weeks, traded for the security of being with their parents in a strange place? Absolutely not! Ladies - evacuations, family problems, illness, etc. - we are blessed to hold our kids in our arms and give them the security they need. Thank you Lord Jesus for providing for our families and allowing us this awesome privilege. Many blessings to all of you as you enter the school year with your kids by your side. |
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Well, where do I start? Our first day of school was interesting - to say the least. I was so excited. I was feeling great - ready to take on my two boys - with a smile on my face. I started out the day with great creativity - I took them to Sonic for breakfast! That's right! I thought it would be fun to be out on that first morning of hustle and bustle, dodging school buses and teenage drivers. We had the advantage, though. The majority of the kids were already in school by the time we headed down Main Street to Sonic. Needless to say - the kids were happy about our first little outing. When we got back is when the real fun began. We started off with our devotional time consisting of me reading from Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends. Then I pulled out our first read-aloud from Sonlight. This year we're doing World History, so we are (were) using Sonlight 6 - World History. I began our history time by telling the boys that we would be studying about Romans, Greeks, and other cultures. I showed them the first book and proceeded to get started, when my 15 year old said "Mom, is this curriculum from a Christian perspective?" UHHHHHHHHHH I said, as I stared blankly at my son. "Well, it's a Christian company, but the novels they use are not Christian." My 9 year old chimed in and said "Mom, I don't want to read about a bunch of other gods." 15 yr. old says "Yeah, mom. It's too much when they go on and on about all the different gods. It's too much." Then he proceeds to remind me (I hate when they do that) of the time I got very heated over the fact that the Christian Academy he played guitar in last year, doesn't use a Christian curriculum for Science or History. I made a big deal out of that because the teachers were choosing secular books and throwing a scripture in now and then. As he's speaking these words to me, God's conviction is coming all over me! I just stared at my kids and realized what I had done. I had picked a curriculum that was not from a Christian perspective, although a Christian company. I felt sickened at the thought that I had a shelf full of novels that were full of stories and details of other gods. I was going to be forcing my son to read these all year! I've never thought about this before when choosing Sonlight, and I'm sure I'll get some negative feedback, but this is just my experience with conviction about this particular subject matter. So.......that was the coup - of sorts - my sons over threw my reign and refused to study about other Gods all year long. Here's the crazy part......right then, after apologizing to my boys.....I got a big bag and started bagging up all the sonlight books. I called the homeschool store in Houston and packed up the kids, ate lunch, got gas, and headed an hour and a half up the highway to the Homeschool Store (which is great - I love it there!) and sold my books - just like that. With all the credit from my sale, I was able to buy the Mystery of History Vol II, and Progeny press for Literature, and several other things we needed. Mystery of History is told completely from a Christian perspective. Yes, it introduces other cultures, gods, people, etc. but all in light of God's word. Progeny press is filled with scripture and done from a Christian perspective. I am so glad I did this for many different reasons. But here is what thrills me about what happened: My kids held me accountable for the importance of learning everything from God's perspective. MY KIDS did this!!! That means they've been listening to us all these years! That means they believe what we say about the importance of having a Christian worldview. I'm so pleased and blessed! This throws a kink in my planning though. Now I'll be spending this week getting my history act together as I try to organize my plans for the MOH. Then this morning as we started to do Science (Sonlight) my son asks "Is is from a Christian perspective?" I kind of shake my head yes as I leave his room and head for the book shelf. "Oh Lord, please let it be ok" I say to myself and I begin to quickly begin to flip through the first book Evolution; The Grand Experiment. Tune in later for the verdict.
Thanks for listening (or reading), Blessings! |
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Today is our first day of school. I'm excited about it because I've been praying for creativity and I think God is blessing! Last night we did something special. I made a cake and we gathered around the table. I had a folder for each boy that contained a copy of our daily schedule and their individual weekly school checklist. We talked about the schedule and the checklists and what the expectations were. I talked about how important their responsibility is, to do well in school, not complain, and work at it "as working for the Lord" ( Colossians 3:23). I always use this scripture because I want them to be accountable to Jesus, not only their parents. So then I read them this scripture out of Luke (1:66b) that says "What then is this child going to be? For the Lord's hand was with him." I pointed out to them that God has known since He created them what His plans were (are) for each of them. Therefore, they need to learn all they can and truly apply themselves, even in areas they don't like, because God may use them in that area to glorify Himself. I wanted them to realize that God has intentions for them, most we know nothing about, so far. The point being - apply yoursef to learning all you can and see what God does with you! My husband then asked each boy to pray for what they wanted to get out of this year of learning, then he prayed for our school year, asking God to bless me and anoint me. It was very special and yes - I needed a tissue! Then we had cake! |
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This is a little tiny update to my very long entry (earlier today) about my homemade budgeting envelope system. I went to the grocery store today and my little file came in very handy. I had all my coupons right there and whenever I saw something on sale, even though it wasn't on my list, I was able to pull my coupon right out and use it. Usually what happens is - I only take the coupons that go along with my list - and then, I get to the store and all the other coupons are at home. This means I miss out on getting a good deal. So there. If you're interested in a handy little system to budgeting - read my previous blog. |
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I forgot to mention in my last post about my food planning. To make my menu planning and my grocery budget planning a little easier, I have opted to participate in a monthly food prep kitchen. There is one in town and it is a great way to have all your dinner entrees at your fingertips. You make 12 meals at the kitchen and you bring them home and stick them in the freezer. Each Sunday I will pull out 3 meals for the week, put them in the fridge to thaw, and then make sure I have the sides to go with them when I do my weekly shopping. I have a list of all the meals (that are in the freezer) on my fridge and I just check them off once they are eaten. That way I know what I have left. The way this helps my budget is that it costs the same amount every month. That way I know exactly how much I'm spending on dinners and I can budget accordingly. The rest of my grocery money is for breakfast, lunches, snacks, and non-food items. The kitchen is called Your Main Dish and it works like this: Each month they have a new menu. You book your appt. online (I always go on Sat. morning so the kids are at home with dad) and you pick your entrees online. There are always 13 choices and you pick 12. You can pick up to 2 of each dish. I usually double the entrees that I think would make good dishes for having company over or taking a meal to a friend. Each meal has 6 servings. This is perfect for a family of 4 or 5. We usually have leftovers. Some of the dishes I will put in 2 smaller containers for the kids and I to have for lunches. When you go to the studio kitchen you have the option of putting your meal in one big container or 2 smaller ones. Some of them (like the crockpot meals or grill meals) will already be in a container so you don't have to do any prep. Anyway, I won't go into all the details of how it works, but I will say, it makes budgeting for food alot easier. For those of you who are curious about the price - it costs $259 for 12 meals, which comes out to a little over $3 a serving. How do 12 meals last all month? Most of us will have 3 fixed meals per week, then eat something quick and easy on some nights and maybe eat out once or twice. It really turns out to be enough and stretches throughout the month with leftovers for lunch many times. If you're interested in finding one near you the website address is YourMainDish.com |
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Well, this was my "planning week" where I was going to really focus on getting all the small details worked out on our school subjects. I did that for most of the day on Monday. The rest of the week I've worked on the budget. Where did that come from? I don't know. I think I had a panic attack suddenly and realized that in 3 years we'll be paying for college, and one thing (or thought) led to another and the next thing I knew, I was knee deep in budget planning! Last summer I had bought Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover Kit, that had the 2 books (Financial Peace and TMM), 2 DVD's, and the very nice Envelope system. I read the books last summer and tried to implement the different steps, but didn't really suceed and finally resorted back to old habits. BUT.....this time it feels different. So I went crazy this week planning the budget, creating my own envelope container that includes a place for restaurant coupons and grocery coupons. I even created our 3 year Debt Snowball Plan (named by Dave Ramsey) that will have us debt free in the summer after my son's senior year. It was so much fun, if you like that sort of thing. In fact, I have one friend who thrives on organizing as much as I do. So...I called her and very excitedly told her what I was working on and even got her excited about the envelope system. For those of you not familiar with the envelope system I'll explain: once you make out your budget you take the categories that can be paid by cash and you place that cash in designated envelopes. You pay with cash only and when the envelope is empty - no more spending. The kit envelope wallet is very nice - black leather case with about 10 paper envelopes that have lines on the outside for you to document how the money in that envelope was spent. This is ok except this: I don't want to pull it out at the store and have everyone see my money figures written on the envelopes. Call me crazy but I'm private and I don't want to flash this to everyone! Also, you have the problem of having to buy new envelopes once those are written on. SO.....this is what I did instead....I bought a $2.50, envelope-sized plastic accordian file. It's the size of a regular, letter-sized envelope and has a flap that snaps shut. Inside it has about 10 pockets with tabs. I labeled each tab according to my "cash" categories which are: Groceries, gas, entertainment, hair, meds, allowance, misc. I then added a tab for restaurant coupons, and about 3 pockets for my grocery coupons. This is a great system! That way my store coupons are always with me. I can't tell you how many times I've run into the store for something, knowing that I had a coupon for that at home. This way, I'll just keep my coupons with me at all times. I put an index card in each cash pocket, to record how the money is spent. Each month I can compare this with the budget and then just throw it away. The next month - just stick another index card in there! The file is perfect size for your purse and it's discreet. So....that's what I've been doing all week and it feels great! I'm excited to be faced with this challenge and excited about what the results could be. At TotalMoneyMakeover.com you can get on a trial membership for 7 days and create your budget and enter your debt and track your spending. It's easy and you might be inspired to challenge yourself in this area. By the way....we will be using this course (the books and dvd's) as Consumer Math for my son's senior year. This is more important than algebra or geometry will ever be! Have a blessed day and happy planning! |
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This morning I was going through one of my notebooks that I write in, and I found this reflection from the end (almost) of last school year. That was my son's freshman year; our first year to count credits for high school. Here it is - just as I wrote it last March: This year I've felt myself go down a path I didn't like. Everything became about counting credits. I tried to start the year off with a more creative approach - with a non-textbook curriculum - but by the mid-term I had tossed that idea and settled for a traditional approach. The creative way of teaching was too hard to put down on paper, too hard to keep track of credits. However, after several months of hearing "I hate school" I began to feel that tug at my heart about my choice to allow credits to dictate the curriculum. Sure, a canned curriculum fits nicely into the little grade boxes on a transcript - finish a course - get a credit. But test your child on the knowledge gleaned from those courses and the results are disturbing. On the other hand - watch a history video, read some articles from the history magazine, and follow up with some informal discussions about the subject and be amazed at what your child can recall. As the end of this freshman year approaches I"ve been hit with the realization that I only have 3 more years to share in this homeschool journey of his. How do I want to teach for the next 3 years? What knowledge do I want to place in his mind and heart? Will it be worldly knowledge or godly knowledge? Will it be what the Scope and Sequence says is valuable or what God says is valuable? Lord, you gave me this scripture one day as I called out for your guidance: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and it's righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33) As I apply this scripture to teaching my children I have interpreted your guidance to mean this: I have to quit working from the transcript back. I can no longer make my choices of curriculum based on how nicely it fits into the transcript. I can no longer teach my children random facts that have no value. I have to approach their education from a valuable perspective - putting valuable information before them that will shape thier minds and hearts and help them to be godly young men, able to defend their faith and beliefs. If they learn random facts and read worthless novels, what good is that? If they can quote Shakespear but not God's word, what value is that? No! I will not fill their minds with what the world considers important. But instead, I will do my best to teach them history in light of God's word, literature that draws them closer to God, grammar that isn't useless, and science that reflects God's creativity. In the end , I will trust God to make it work on the transcript. He's in charge anyway. (copyright) I'm so glad, as the new year begins, that I came across this entry. As I once again start a new school year, I am glad to be reminded that it's not about worldly knowledge. It's about raising disciples of Christ. It's about giving them knowledge that they can use in their journey with God. Anything else is worldly gain. Blessings in your journey |
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Well, it's raining again in S.E. Texas. Not a shock really. We are akin to the rainforest at times. This is actually nice. Coffee, computer, and dark rainy afternoon. Kids are occupied and I'm comfortable. I've got one more week to perfect my school plans. I think I'll take one subject per day next week and make sure I know exactly how the first week will be worked. I realized today that it's not enough to just have lesson plans in place for the kids. But I need to have my part all worked out so that I'm not wasting any time (therefore losing their interest) when we actually start. I'm really excited about Science this year - which is very strange because I don't really care about that subject. But, I am using sonlight science this year and it comes with everything I need for experiments (in a box) and some very user-friendly books. The book Evolution: The Grand Experiment looks very good and I'm really excited about using it. |
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I think I have a tiny glimpse of the meaning of "carry one another's burdens". When we love others the way God loves them, and they are burdened, we feel a heaviness in our hearts for them. I'm so burdened right now for a friend of mine who has just been surprised by her husband's decision to "not come home". She has a 6 year old boy who's daddy has just basically spoken the unspoken words of "you're not enough to keep me at home" and who's heart is broken. She is shutting herself off right now and doesn't want to talk. I'm so burdened for her that I have to fight the urge to just go to her anyway. I'm praying for her and I know I have to wait on her to talk to me, but in the meantime I feel like I want to do something for her. I'll just keep praying. |
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As I just commented on a friends blog - I've come up with a soloution to my scheduling problem. My problem was trying to figure out how to have a permanent, daily schedule and still incorporate the times that we had to leave the house. Well, I've decided to make a daily schedule to put on the fridge that will have the times of the day and what subject they should be working on at that time. Each child will also have a daily planner (lesson plan book) with their assignments written in and they can use this as a checklist on the days when we have to leave the house and come back and jump back in to school work. As long as their subjects get done on that day, that's what counts. Some are easily done on the road or easy enough to finish when we get back. Maybe this will help them think ahead on those days that we have to go somewhere.
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