• Aug. 13, 2007 - Preparing for a new school year
This will be the first school year ever, where we honestly will be stable with a stable lifestyle now that we are civilians. Glory to God for all things! Unfortunately, my husband's new job is requiring him to work out of state and this will likely continue to at least November. Then I do pray he will be more local.
But we are now a part of a local church community, something I have not enjoyed since converting to Orthodoxy 10+ years ago. Our children will be able to associate with other Orthodox Christian homeschoolers. So this too, is a great blessing. And I will co-op some with a friend which should help hold me accountable and make the year more enjoyable.
We are working more towards a Charlotte Mason style of homeschool. I really want to develop an 'atmosphere' that both promotes an ongoing 'organic' style of education as well as a stronger spiritual life attracting God's grace (as Sr. Magdalen in her "Conversations with Children" discusses). And we want to work on developing good habits, which is also very consistent with Orthodoxy and CM ideas. We have a lot of work to do in this area, but now that we are finally settled in our life, we no longer have any excuses.
We do hope to get our two oldest into Jr. College classes asap, either this fall or next spring. Right now, though, because of the amount of things going on in our life, it appears it won't be until the spring (my oldest needs to get his driver's license too). The 5 hour placement test is a major ordeal and I will need my husband to help the boys with that as well. But our big boys (almost 18 and 15 1/2) are getting a vision for their future which is wonderful to see. And I am glad we are in an area with so many college choices. We won't be able to afford to send them away for school anytime soon, so I am glad there is so much here in the local area that can meet their particular needs and desires.
Construction on our acreage has come to a complete standstill. But by the mercy of God, a major financial burden has been lifted from our shoulders and my husband is employed again. So hopefully in the fall, we will be able to resume. My husband's job will allow a more flexible schedule, so it should be able to accommodate regular work on our land. For now, because of the heavy rain, the poison oak has completely taken over anyway and I would prefer to wait until after the first frost to begin working there again anyway. Then, it would be nice if we can put up some new fencing and get some goats to help manage the underbrush/poison oak problem.
We did get some chickens in my mother-in-law's backyard across the street and they are a lot of fun. They are good for composting too, which I didn't realize. We should have some nice soil to work with for gardening next spring.
Anyway, I have much to be grateful for. There is a lot of work to be done, both with our family/homeschool life and with me personally. But it seems we are in a very good place to do it. I am so glad we are living where we are now. |
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• Aug. 14, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Thanks for commenting on my blog.