There's Just Something About Puzzles!

Our Schoolroom This Year

I took these photos at the beginning of the school year this year and never got to show them. I always love seeing others' school rooms and enjoy soaking up new and different ideas, gleaning from others' creativity. Although ours is  nothing fancy, I thought we'd share.

This bookcase got moved to the living room awhile ago. It's much easier to use as it's in a more usable location. On the left-hand side, I have text books, some Bingo games, puzzles at the bottom (we love Melissa and Doug's...solar system, alphabet train, human body, preschool objectives, etc.). There's also supplies like staples, paper clips, envelopes, etc. One the right side are my books and binders, our Scope and Sequence binder and lots of books. I got the black boxes (not sure if you can see them) at Target for a few dollars a piece and they've worked out nicely for categorizing the books...math, science, Spanish, history, Bible, geography, etc.). I put art supplies at the top (paints, glitter and glue). Our printer is also at the top right as well as a pencil sharpener on the way right-hand side of the bookshelf.

Lincoln's desk is blue and Norah's is purple. I have Lincoln and Norah's workboxes on the same shelf for now, but I'm going to have to get another shoe rack for Norah as she's starting to do more work now herself an needing a shelf of her own (not all the workboxes are present). Daily, we sing a continent song, a 50 states song, we say our Bible verse on love, say phonics charts (above Norah's desk), geography terms and there's more on the other walls. I don't just like hanging posters on the walls for fun. I like utilizing them in every way possible as we sing and say things for our circle time. Our art bin is by Norah's desk so that when she finishes her workboxes, she's free to do art while I finish with the others. She seems to do pretty well with this although she does get bored and we result to some other things in a separate preschool box for her.

 

For more on The Workbox System by Sue Patrick, click HERE.

 

It's a lifesaver for families with multiple children.

Here's Avonlea's desk and workbox shelf (again, not all workboxes present). We have an obedience poster that we started this year, her number chart, addition facts and a writing tablet that flips with cues and helps for writing. (There was a bunch of junk I was sorting through on her desk so never mind that.) I keep flannel board items, our character/Bible box and some sewing odds and ends in the corner.

There's a bed on the very right-hand side (for guests and Norah takes a nap in the school room everyday...I keep all the kids completely separate for naps and quiet time). Our calendar is front and center. I wish it could be lower so Norah could reach it, but so far I don't have another place to put the boys' clothing storage shelf. We have a list of homophones we keep as an ongoing list and a small season's chart as well as the fruits of the Spirit that we sing. I keep supplies for the kids to reach on the shelf there and odds and ends like our ironing board and wrapping paper to the right.

 

If you have a post on your own school room, please send it to me in the comment box and I'd love to share it with other readers...I'll do a link. :)

First Day of Learning!

We started our learning adventure (I'm starting to really resent the word "school" for some reason) this week and the kids were pumped. We started our day off like everyday with breakfast, prayer, our character cards and verses and then we continued our reading in Matthew. I needed to read some Biblical passages that were short to keep everyone's attention span and so after Rob and I discussed it, we thought the Gospels would be best. Hence, I started reading in Matthew. I love breaking down the character of Jesus especially since the character we try to instill in our kids is of Him.

 

The kids love the shorter readings and we have Bible folders in which they annotate (tell back and draw) what they've just heard. Avonlea loves narration and her comprehension is fabulous. Lincoln can tell you back what he's heard, but every morning likes to draw this one particular tree that he likes to draw. (?) Norah loves anything about art...watercolor, drawing, pasting and she loves having her own Bible folder where she can annotate what we learned as well.

Avonlea started "second grade". I hesitate to place a grade with any of our children. They are each excelling in certain areas and needing more work in other areas. Avonlea is at a second grade level for math, spelling and grammar (all A Beka), but is reading and comprehending at a fifth grade level as well as doing Apologia Science. She's writing at a third grade level and her vocabulary always astounds me (We don't do any formal vocabulary as those old, vocabulary matching and fill-in-the-blank vocab. books still haunt me to this day. Vocabulary needs to be used and exercised through daily usage and the reading of good, twaddle-free literature that isn't watered down.).

 

 

Lincoln started "Kindergarten". Again, I hesitate to label, but he's doing his math and phonics through A Beka as well as Apologia Science with his big sister. He's really acquired a love of books this past year (even though he can't read but simple sentences), and learns so much just looking at them, asking questions and listening to us read to him. This boy is all about science, let me just say!

 



Norah, preschool.

 

Isaac just toddles around and soaks up the fun. :)

(...when he's not napping, of coarse!)

 

 

I love when this happens. Avonlea clearly has a gift for knowledge and teaching. I can see it so clearly already. She really enjoys teaching the littles and is quite patient with them as well. Sometimes, when they don't want to work with me, Avy jumps in and their attitudes do a 180 degree turn. It's really precious to watch.

 



 

I got Norah one little A Beka workbook for basic letter formation and recognition, but everything else is just hands-on fun while we learn the letters of the alphabet and their phonetic sounds, shapes, numbers, counting, etc. She loves having our craft bin next to her desk in the schoolroom so she can whip out crafts as I'm finishing with the other two. She's so into imaginative play and loves dressing up, dancing, playing with playdough, listening to ballet music (hey, gotta plug in the Bach, Rutter, Mozart, etc. where I can, right?), playing with her pet bunny "Oreo" and just being a girly, 3-year-old girl.

 

After our morning of learning, we stopped for lunch and enjoyed a picnic in the shade. We had French bread slices, cucumbers, apple slices and some water.  We made cookies later on in the afternoon after history.

 

Thanking the Lord for another fun year of learning ahead.

 

Do you have pictures of your first day of homeschool?

I'd love to see what you're doing with your "little disciples"!

Staying One Step Ahead

...and just as we were getting into a good groove with our workboxes for school. {sigh}
We're gonna have to find a new spot. Any suggestions? :)

Make Your Own Child Training Bible

Saw this floating around today and thought I'd bless all of my fabulous readers with this great find. All you need is any 9 by 6 Bible, 7 colors of Post It flags and coordinating colored highlighters (they suggest Sharpie's Accent Highlighters) to highlight with.

For $9.00, you get:
1 Child Training Bible Key (laminated cardstock to fit in the front of your Bible)
3 Easy Tabbers (these help you determine where the scriptures are in your Bible)
1 Set of Instructions to make the Bible

I'm looking forward to putting our own together and if any of you decide to attempt this fabulous find, please let me know and give me a link to your blog so we can all share together! :)

Socialization, Parents and "The Experts"

I'm so thankful for Sherri's blog post today and how my day was such a mirror image of what she had to talk about. We worry so much about what society says we need to do. Where society says we need to place our children so that the "experts" can teach them. What society says is socialization or not. Guess what? God didn't give our children to society. He gave them to US and we are so thankful for the blessing that they are in our lives and the joy they bring us, even when they don't immediately obey, forget to have good manners or leave flubber on the bedroom carpet (ah-hem!). They are ours and ours to shape, mold, influence, pray for, live with, teach, pray with,nurture and love.

I love one of Sherri's quotes...

"No matter. When youngsters realize their need for some guidance and wisdom, society will provide it for them in the form of teachers, counselors and youth group leaders. Never, never parents--in order to achieve the utopian dreams of the progressive secularists, traditional families must continually be discredited and undermined so that individuals become increasingly dependent upon the government, or whatever social machine is deemed necessary to achieve their desired end (they keep insisting that "it takes a village"--since when?)."

Just thanking the Lord today for time with my kids. Time that will quickly pass by and I won't ever get back again. Today, I enjoyed eating a hot breakfast of French Toast with my little guys. We read from the Bible (Proverbs) and talked about the importance of listening to our parents; the importance of immediate obedience. I loved snuggling with my two-year-old. I loved nursing and cuddling with my infant. I loved watching my kids' eyes light up as we made "flubber" and did Science experiments (on density and matter) with other homeschool friends. I loved eating lunch with another family, fellowshipping and playing. I loved that we had time to pray in the car as we went to the Dollar Store today. I loved that we had a moment in the store where my son and I discussed telling the truth and its importance (he broke a toy and had to tell the store clerk, suggesting that we pay for it). I loved reading books to and tucking in my two-year-old for her nap. I loved quietly observing how my daughter offered to pay for a special toy for her brother and sister at the store, sacrificing her money for the kite she desperately wanted. I loved how my children didn't share these moments with a stranger or teacher in a classroom, but that we shared them and learned lessons together.

Indoctrination

(Part 1)

I've posted this trailer before, but after ordering and watching the DVD my thoughts are churning and I just so happened to take some notes on the actual documentary itself. I'd love to hear some of your thoughts and opinions. I know this is a rather long post, but stick with me.

IndoctriNation Trailer from IndoctriNation on Vimeo.

(My notes)

The big yellow school bus represents where our nation came from and where it is going. We shuffle them in and shuffle them out like a processing plant.

No Child Left Behind Act isn’t working! We may be trying to help lower students, but our bright students are slipping into the role of “teacher” for these lower ones, therefore, lowering the bar for our bright minds.

“Stupid in America” book

14 countries rank higher in reading ability than the US:
Finland
Canada
New Zealand
Australia
Ireland
South Korea
UK
Japan
Sweden
Iceland
Belgium
Austria
France
Norway

Obama himself has claimed that 1/3 of our students are dropping out.

$10 Billion dollars in emergency government funding isn’t working!

With the illiteracy in America, 27 million kids can’t complete a job application (source: national Institute for Literacy) and 30 million can’t read a simple sentence!

Can this problem be fixed or do we abandon the public schools altogether? Even the church is divided over the issue.

Al Mohler is the leader of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and says that parents are in charge of their child’s education. We are to teach character and Biblical principles to them because they’re not going to get it by osmosis. Mr. Hohler who wrote the book Culture Shift and says, “I am convinced that the time has come for Christians to develop an EXIT STRATEGY from the public schools.”

While on the other side, Franklin Graham of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association says that he wants “to see at least one child in every class in every school in America who is trained as a witness for Jesus Christ.” “Let’s don’t surrender public schools, let’s take ‘em back.”

“This is a debate we need to settle. Should we protect our children from withdrawing them from the public school system, or should we leave them in the system to try to influence the schools for the better?” Colin Gunn
Colin (from Scotland), his wife Emily (native Texan) and their 6 children load into a big, yellow schoolbus and tour America in search of answers to their questions.

When you have a system that isn’t rooted on the fear of the Lord, then the system is failing from the get-go. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” says Proverbs 1:7.

But what about the good schools? Surely they weren’t all bad.

Interview with Luci who went to a top-ranked public school from Kindergarten to 12th grade. She looked good on paper but was dying spiritually inside. She wouldn’t dare profess her Christianity for the fear of what others would do or say and she even denounced her faith in Christ.

Luci’s parents had always been very involved in her education and upbringing. She was one of 2 students (out of 60) who were pulled out of the classroom for a talk on homosexuality, but admits that she learned everything that was discussed later on at recess. Abstinence was supposed to be taught in her school, but they were “realistic” and taught about what “everyone else does” anyway. Pregnancies in schools are on the up-rise and even more-so because we provide free, government funded daycare so that students can attend school! Planned Parenthood is now reaching out to children via condom lollipops…yes, that’s right, condom lollipops! Sex in schools has become so common that even educators themselves struggle with prying on our children.



WHAT’S HAPPENING IN OUR SCHOOLS? Sexual Sin

Everyone thinks their school is different! Even when the principal of a local school who claims to be a Christian and also a deacon of their church was caught soliciting young boys for sex at a nearby playground. Parents are in denial!

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN OUR SCHOOLS? DRUGS
According to a recent study, nearly ½ of American high school students smoke, drink alcohol or use illicit drugs. If you doubt that there are drugs in your local schools, just visit your local police station!

It’s not just the legal drugs that are a problem in schools today, it’s the drugs that are being pushed on our young boys. Everyone expects young boys to sit still for long periods of time when it’s just not possible for most. (Kelli-side-note: Dr. James Dobson even encourages moms and dads NOT to put boys specifically in school until they are past the age of SEVEN! They’re simply not ready for it. Finland, the top-rated country for education also does not start children in school until the age of 7.) “Nobody really knows what the long term effects are on young, developing boys.” Bruce Shortt, J.D., Ph.D. and author of The Harsh Truth About Public Schools. Essentially what you have is the world’s largest drug experiment in the history of the world.

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN OUR SCHOOLS? Violence
School buses are a popular place to find weapons and violence because there’s essentially no one in charge. The bus driver is too busy driving! There’s no discipline.

77% of American parents rate that their school is an A or a B school. However, 79% of American rate other schools as a C rating. They’re oblivious.

“Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.’ “
I Corinthians

“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this…to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” James 1:26-27

61% of graduates who were once actively involved in church are now non-active.

We don’t lose our children…we give them away!

If we send out evangelists and they come back non-believers, we’re not following a Biblical strategy.

Mentioning the name JESUS in a public school will get you thrown out whether you’re a teacher, administrator or a child.

How did this happen? Colin visits the Texas teacher of the Year Awards and interviews Christian teachers who say to lead by example. This is good, but didn’t Jesus command…

“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.” Romans 1:16

Colin travels to Pennsylvania and interviews a principal by the name of Mike Metarko, Principal of Hanover Elementary School, a national blue ribbon school in the top 10% in the state. Colin asks Metarko how he is able to be salt and light to his students. He says that it’s hard. He finds subtle ways to try and show his love for the Lord (getting involved with the Good News Club, bowing for moments of silence, etc.), but he struggles between God’s law and man’s law. He’s limited. The foundation isn’t built upon God and His truth and it’s only a matter of time before all the blocks crumble.

Colin then travels to Raleigh, North Carolina to interview a Bugg Elementary School teacher by the name of Sarah LaVerdiere. Sarah says some powerful words and she comes from a long line of public school teachers in her family. She’s heard teachers say things to students which are directly anti-Christian. Many things just happening on the playground. For example, a student calling another gay and the teacher addressing the situation saying, “You don’t know that you yourself aren’t gay. Many people find out when they’re older.” Sarah says that public schools stress that morals are “the plate” on which all other subjects are based off of. However, when you’ve taken Christ out of the morals, you’ve taken the foundation. Sarah struggles with the fact that she can’t give God the glory for anything as she teaches. A few weeks prior to the interview, Sarah had an open house for the parents to come to. She says she never felt so ashamed to be a Christian for the fact that she felt deceptive in telling the parents the plan for the school year and making them feel good about sending their children to school there.

Interview with Robert Ziegler of LaVista High School who was fired for talking about Jesus in his high school math class.



Acts 4…example that teachers should teach what is honoring to God.

"Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." Acts 4:18-19

Not only are teachers being censored, the students are as well. Here is Brittany who is the Valedictorian of her high school unable to finish her speech due to the name of Jesus Christ.

“Maybe if we had a little more respect for our creator we would have less problems in the world today. I for one find our creator more useful than 95% of the math being taught today.”


Interview with John Taylor Gatto, Former Teacher of the Year at Booker T. Washington Junior High School in New York. Author of “Dumbing Us Down”.

For teaching 26 years, he disdains tests, grades and conventional ways of teaching. He’s rather not teach in the classroom, but the school requires him to do so 4 days a week.

“Education is not bad. Schooling is bad.” John Taylor Gatto

We spend so much time studying the great people in American History, but so many of them didn’t have “schooling”. They had an education. George Washington only had 2 years of schooling and Thomas Jefferson had zero years of schooling. Jefferson was in charge of a 2500 acre plantation and hundreds of employees by the time he was TWELVE years old. “You’re stealing these kids and confining them for 12 years and are encouraged not to cooperate with each other.”

I haven't had the time to finish my notes from the documentary (I may someday), but I'll finish with this...

My thoughts have stirred with watching this movie. Many thoughts. So many Christians are divided with "Do we pull our kids" (aka: rescue mission) OR "Do we continue to train our children to be lights for Jesus, sharing Him with the unsaved in the public school system"?

Here is what Kelli thinks...

Our job as parents is to raise our children the very BEST we can and to constantly be talking with our children about Jesus (Deuteronomy 6), sharing His love and goodness and teaching them to share His love and goodness to others so that they too may spend eternity with Christ. That's the goal right?

MAKING DISCIPLES.

Some questions I have are? Can a parent have as much influence over a child if that child is in school 6-7 hours a day and spends less time with his/her parents in the evenings (amongst getting showers, finishing up homework, eating dinner, etc.)?

To make a disciple, a few things need to happen. Our children need to:

1. Submit to Jesus

2. Memorize Jesus' words (true memorization, not just memorize a verse for a week of AWANA...will they remember it for years to come and learn how to successfully APPLY it?)

3. Learns Jesus' way of ministry (time reading the Bible, taking notes and being able to recite back to you the ways Jesus ministered)

4. Imitating Jesus' life...DO YOU SEE FRUIT? Do you see your child showing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control? Do you see them striving to be like Christ? OR when your child gets home from school, are you battling sibling fights, rolling eyes, laziness of lack of chores/hard work and lack of opportunities for siblings to show this fruit to each member of the family?

5. Finding others to be Jesus' disciples. Are your children regularly sharing Jesus with others? Are you finding opportunities to invite other children in his/her class to church? Is there growth?

Acts 1:8 says this...

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

God commands us to share Him!

I can understand the pleas from both sides of Christians. Some wanting us to rescue our kids from the public school sector and some wanting to remain. But how ready is a Kindergartner ready to be a disciple and make disciples? They're in the process of still being trained themselves.

I Timothy 4:12 says this...

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."

Many would argue that a child is definitely capable of sharing Jesus. I absolutely agree. They can plant a seed. BUT, are they truly able to set an example "in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity" yet?

I know that this post is all about the public school system and I haven't touched on the private school system. I'm still pondering on that one. I struggle. My husband and I both were brought up in fine, amazing Christian schools (I also taught middle school in an amazing Christian school) where teachers who loved us, poured life into us and taught us great things. The Bible and Jesus were not names to silence. They were taught. BUT, I still struggle with even that. As I taught in school, I saw the teachers in the lounge that bashed parents, that degraded grading papers, that complained and whined and that lowered the bar through curriculum and objectives to meet all the students' needs. I saw advanced students struggle with boredom. I don't mean "advanced" as in could sit still and read a grade or two above level. I'm talking REAL "advanced" as in they were teaching themselves Greek and Hebrew on the side after they finished their English work. I saw the real strugglers who could not sit still for a lesson to save their lives. They were kinesthetic learners! They needed to be standing, tapping their pencils, moving in some way. These children in a typical classroom would be labeled "ADHD" or "ADD" and after a long, drawn-out parent/teacher conference, thoughts would go to what medication should we put "Jr." on to make the boy sit still? Ug.

There were days when my students would walk into my classroom, all desks were pushed to the sides of the classroom and we'd have class with no desks, running around as we labeled parts of speech. I even (shh, don't tell) had a student injure his finger while in English class. They loved it. They thrived on it. They learned.

One of the things I most enjoyed was having one group of students two years in a row. I can't tell you how amazing it was to know what objectives my students had met the year prior as I was their teacher. There were no questions. I knew them. I knew what they had learned, what their struggles were as an individual learner and where I needed to take them. But this is uncommon. Every year, it's a gamble as to what teacher a student will receive and you start right at the beginning, finally figuring out where they really are academically around February or so (typically, I had between 100-130 students each year).

This all to say that even though some of our Christian schools do a great job, we still struggle to meet ALL of our students' needs. I think there are some amazing parents out there who if they just got creative and sacrificed a little, would come to see that there is some amazing fruit in their children and they would see more of it if they spent more time with them throughout the day, talking about Jesus, educating them and having fun while learning hands-on.

Do I think everyone should homeschool? It's a tough question. My answer to this is no. I think some devoted, intelligent, God-fearing parents do miss out on making the best disciples possible (as well as miss out on the fun learning you can have while teaching your children), but there are also some parents out there who may be struggling with a certain sin (and we ALL have sins we struggle with...I have many myself!!) to where the home isn't the best learning environment.

The exception here is when I think of some AMAZING teachers that I have come across in life. They are few and far between, but they genuinely care about their students. They use visual, audible and kinesthetic approaches to learning with all of their students. They love the Lord and use Him to teach their subjects. They are great role models. I have had some great colleagues as well as family who have been teachers. Amazing teachers. BUT, as I said, it's a gamble each year as to what teacher a child will receive AND do we really believe that a stranger is the very best educator for our children. Aren't parents the best teachers as they know their children better than anyone else on earth, can be the most consistent as they move from year to year and the most important of all, they are teaching their children about the Lord throughout the day?

**PLEASE know that this post has nothing to do with a single person reading it. I know there are many who know me personally. There are many readers who have never met me. There are many readers who support all different kinds of education. This blog is an outlet for me as a mother, wife and educator. It's an outlet for thinking, researching and learning. I post what I research and learn. Sometimes, I change my opinions as I grow. Sometimes I feel the Holy Spirit's lead in posting about certain things. This is one of them. Education. It's my passion. It's my spiritual gift. Again, I'm not singling any ONE person/family out here. Just doin' some research. :) **

Part 2 will be posted later this week as I finish up my thoughts on where we've come from in education referencing David Barton, John Taylor Gatto and others as well as the research I've been doing on Finland's education system and why they are ranked #1 in the nation for education. I hope you stay tuned!

Avonlea's Creation Story

As we've started using a new History curriculum (Mystery of History), I've been very pleased and we've been having so much fun! The Story of the World curriculum was wonderful, but it wasn't Biblically-based, only beginning with the archeology and the Ancients. We know that the world began with creation and hence, we decided to switch. I say "we" because as Rob and I were talking about the possible switch, Rob said it was basicaly a no-brainer starting with creation.

We'll hang onto our Story of the World curriculum for now as there are some fun activities we can apply as we get into Ancients and so on (and the maps are a great resource as well), but we're officially a Mystery of History family and lovin' it! It's still classical (timeline approach to learning instead of skipping around like a typical history program). It's still hands-on (I have a very kinesthetic boy and am excited to read some of the exciting lessons for the future). BUT, it's Biblically-based and that's necessary. Anyway, have fun with this video as I'm sure it'll be one of many to come. Avonlea really enjoyed putting together this play after we created our timeline figures for creation. (*Please excuse the halarious laughter as we were quite giddy after FOUR takes!)

Homeschooling With "Littles"

I get this all the time, "How in the world do you do it?" (schooling so many little ones)

Well, let's just start with the fact that organization is KEY. Schedules are KEY. Hard work is KEY. HOWEVER, flexibility is also KEY. AND, we're not perfect (that's a big one!) Not everyday goes smoothly or how I like it. We have little guys, therefore we have distractions. We have spilled water, a two-year-old who likes to travel from room to room making messes. We have a rambunctious four-year-old who is "all boy" and very kinesthetic. We have a four-month-old who needs his mommy a lot. Once you come to realize these things and that everyday won't go perfectly, you're starting on the right track.

***{Just as a side note, when I was teaching in a traditional school, it was rare when everyday went exactly according to schedule also.}

We have a daily schedule that we follow (in 30 minute increments). We have morning and afternoon chore charts. We have certain times in the day when we do certain subjects. We have certain days when we do electives (Mondays-Art, Wednesdays-Polished Cornerstones, Thursdays-History, Fridays-Science). We also schedule out our electives according to our larger chores (got this nifty idea from the amazing book Large Family Logistics...a must have for every mommy, even if you don't have a large family!): Mondays-Laundry Day, Tuesdays-Office Day, Wednesday-Baking Day, Thursdays-Errand Day, Fridays-Cleaning Day.

This helps keep things in perspective. Now, on to homeschooling with "littles"...

First, I try to make sure that Isaac (our 4-month-old) is down for his morning nap. This automatically eliminates one child's attention for Mommy. Then, I get Norah busy with something whether it be painting, stamp art, playing at the sink with bubbles, playing in a small tub of rice with toys on the porch where I can see her, placing her on a blanket with dollies and books, bringing out her dollhouse to play with nearby the table, playing with homemade play dough, coloring, gluing things to paper, etc. Sometimes, I let her sit on my lap and observe if she's behaving and quiet, but this is rare.

I actually keep a box for just Norah to play with for just this time. Sometimes, she likes to join us at the table and do "her school". I make extra copies of what we do (especially for Bible time at breakfast) for her because she likes to participate and she knows when it's the same thing/sheet her brother and sister are working versus when she has something different. Bottom line, she likes the same thing so even if I'm working on something totally irrelevant to a two-year-old, I make a copy for her to feel included (My Father's World homeschool curriculum...from what I've heard...is great at catering to this exact need with multiple children of different ages).

Many times, Lincoln (4-yrs.) will join her if I can see both of them, making sure no quarreling breaks out and if it does, I can discipline accordingly. For the most part, they get along because they don't want to be sitting along the wall missing out on the fun. I don't let the kids stamp, play at the sink, play with rice, etc. at any other part of the day. It's what keeps these activities exciting and keeps them busy while I school Avy.

Most of the time, as I have Isaac sleeping, Norah busy with an activity, I can school Lincoln and Avonlea together at the table. I give Lincoln his independent work while Avonlea needs instruction. Then I switch with Avonlea doing her independent work and Lincoln getting instruction. Sometimes, when Norah doesn't keep busy with an activity and I have a longer lesson with Avonlea, we'll put on an educational movie. I like movies because it's something I've previewed and it has an ending (sort of like a timer).

To sum things up, we pretty much have it down to a science now, but it took practice and time. It took a GOOD ATTITUDE on my part, patience and CONSISTENCY. Now, we move like clockwork. We have our days though, don't get me wrong. On days where things aren't running smoothly, we take a break and plop a blanket on the floor for some serious book reading. Funny, sometimes those days are what spark their learning the most. We'll read a book about tadpoles, then get an idea to go out to the pond and catch some, put them in a jar, draw pictures of their life stages, name it, try to find things to feed it, write a narrative story about it...endless learning. Real life learning. Life really is just one, big classroom! I only get one shot at this and I love learning alongside my children. What a precious gift.

Reformation Day...An Alternative to Halloween

I was visiting on Doorposts http://www.doorposts.com/blog/

and Mustard Seeds http://www.mustardseeds.typepad.com/

blogs for some great ideas for Reformation Day ideas and activities. What a great way to give such a pagan holiday back to Jesus Christ! I wish I would have been more prepared this year to celebrate in our own family to go "full-fledge" with the celebration of Martin Luther and what he did, however next year, I'll be ready. {smile} Be sure to visit their sites for some great ideas. Copy, paste them, print them out and put them in a folder so that you can collect great ideas and wonderful children's books about this historical, God-lead event to celebrate for years to come. Get together with other families who are also looking for alternatives to Halloween and have a Reformation party with costumes and everything. What fun!!!

Mystery of History Anyone?
So, we've been using The Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise this year for our History lessons, but what I'm most disappointed about is the fact that it's not Biblically-based. There's some Bible events included, but many are skipped. Bummer. Didn't know that upon ordering last year. We do have a Bible Time in the morning when we work on character traits, Bible verses, read Scripture, etc. but as far as Bible History, I feel let down by TSOTW. Anyone ever used Mystery of History? I've been jumping around on their website and really like what I see so far. I know Veritas uses it as their curriculum and I've only heard good things. It is so important for us as a family that the kids learn the truth about HIS-STORY and the true chronological order in which the world was set. The more I learn about classical education and timeline learning, the more I wonder why in the world would traditional schools not do the same? How confused students must feel as they jump around from country to country, different era to different era and graduate clueless as to what happened and when! (I know I was confused as a traditionally-schooled graduate.) Just sayin' is all. {smile}
Love this timeline that another fellow homeschooler created with their family. What a treasure to hold on to and keep as reference for the future. I do love reading nursery rhymes, Playdough and all the fun Early Childhood Education we do (don't get me wrong...love this stage of my kids' lives and I know I'll miss it when it's gone), but I'm very much looking forward to when they're all able to create things like this! Too fun!!!

On another note...Rob and I got to go on a middle-of-the-week date to see Todd Wilson speak last night at a local church. He was hilarious. I have some things I want to share about that in a future post so don't let me forget, okay?

Blessings and enjoy this beautiful weather on this beautiful weekend!

America's Public Schools

Homeschool Time Management and Attitude

One thing I've come to realize with having four littles is that time management is key. When it comes to us (Rob and I) schooing our children, gardening, raising chickens, selling eggs/produce/vegetable seedlings on the side, participating in homeschool co-op, field trips, baking/cooking, keeping a house clean (or attempting to anyway...not my strong point in this particular season of life [smile]), finding alone time with my incredible husband of 10 years and keeping our marriage alive, kissing boo-boos, training children how to do chores and be diligent workers, cloth diapering (b/c is saves us A LOT of money not having to buy diapers, especially with two in them!), making runs for fresh, outta-this-world milk, time with Jesus, time training our children how to talk to and have a relationship with Jesus, family time and just time to kick back {whew!}...

BALANCE IS KEY.

I don't have much time to blog. I don't have much time to garden (I have a lot of catching up to do this weekend!). I have to prioritize and time manage more than I ever have before in my life (even when I was teaching in a traditional school, full time). I still find time for me though. (I'll be working more on my quilt tonight...so excited about that.) I have to schedule it. I also have to remember that ATTITUDE is so important.

I wake up thankful for the day, thankful that my husband has a good job, my kids are healthy and happy. I wake up thankful that I have the best job in the world, parenting, training and guiding my children in the Lord. I wake up expecting some spilled milk, a few sibling quarrells, a missing bunny, some boo-boos, some time-outs/discipline, a to-do list that may not get done, etc. and if I expect that, then when those things happen, we roll with it. If these things don't happen and our day runs a bit more smoothly (as all days are different just like any other job in the world), I thank God for the blessing of it.

If I'm being raw and honest, there are days. There are days when I've thought, "That's it! I'm shipping everyone off to a school building and day care centers tomorrow morning {knowing that I really won't}". There are days when I wonder if God will truly grant me enough patience for the day to be consistent in discipline with a toddler who is in love with the word "no!". There are days when I wonder if other families go through the same feelings and emotions that I do {knowing that they surely do}. Truth is, I know that every other homeschooling family goes through these feelings and emotions. Some more than others. It's a journey. It's growing our children the very BEST way we know how. It's not having the "mommy guilt" of wondering if I made the right choice. It's knowing that I'll never look back and regret taking the time to instill these values and character into our kiddos. It's hard work! It's praying with them throughout the day. It's the nature walks, the fun art, the snuggle time reading books {WE heart BOOKS!}. It's the baking {oh, the math you can learn through making a loaf of bread or some yummy cookies!}

When Rob and I started out on this crazy adventure, we had no one that we personally knew who did this. I felt very alone, but KNEW this was right. This was how God wanted us to raise our children. As months went by and I researched local groups, we found SO much {too much} to do and so many families we could connect with. People often wonder if our children are "social". {lol} There are times we have to restrain our children from continuing a conversation with an adult or friend. (That's one thing I've noticed about the difference between homeschooled children and traditionally schooled children. A homeschooler can have a comfortable, respectful conversation with an adult.) Although I didn't have a lot of personal friends who homeschooled, we soon found some. I also found comfort in some awesome websites and blogger friends who helped me organize our day, carefully choose curriculums, point us in the right direction as far as electives were concerned, show us how to implement character and consistent discipline into our children (not that we're perfect at it, by all means, still learning!!) and how to BALANCE and TIME MANAGE.

The reason for this post isn't to say that if you don't homeschool, you're "wrong". I simply wanted to share some of our joys, struggles and thankfulness for the help along the way. The Lord is our constant source of encouragement for everyday. At times of frustration, I merely remember that these are not truly our children. They are God's "on loan" to us to raise until the day we are all called home. There is a reason He specifically gave us Avonlea, Lincoln, Norah and Isaac. He knew that Rob and Kelli would be the best at raising these four specific children.
So, for all the homeschooling mamas (and daddys) out there, I wanted to be an encouragement to you today. I can only hope that as others have been there for us, we want to be there for others. We're still learning. We're still growing. We're making mistakes and learning from them. We struggle just like the rest of you and WE ARE BLESSED.

Galations 6:7..."Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

Character Breakfasts
I've been working hard this summer to put together a great character program. As I've shopped around, I couldn't find anything that I really liked and was BIBLICALLY based, which was of utmost importance. I wouldn't teach character without basing it on God's Word. Any child can learn how to share a toy because it's the "nice" thing to do, but I want it to be so much deeper than that. We share toys because God tells us "Blessed are the peacemakers" in His Word. Anyway, I've enjoyed making this curriculum and matching reading books, coloring pages, fun activities, Bible verses, etc. to our character traits. We have our Bible time in the morning at breakfast, hence why my kids are in PJs. :) Enjoy!

Homeschool Art
This year, I really went back and forth on if we should be doing any "formal" art or not. I browsed the two (no, there aren't very many out there) art booths at the homeschool convention and although I fell in love with the Atelier video-based program specifically for home educated children, I left it empty-handed due to the fact that it was a bit costly. I enjoyed the next day's classes and activities and found myself (yet, again) at the same art booth for Atelier talking with the representative about the fact that I have three small children and is this program really necessary. Well, after calling my husband and talking it over with him, we decided that we should go for it and give it a try. After all, it is the only homeschool art program that I found that I really liked and since I stink at art, I wanted a video-based series with an actual experienced teacher and this one had it. Can I just tell you that IT IS FABULOUS!

Every child of any age can watch the teacher and participate at their own level.

Here's the caterpillar (a lesson on different types of lines) on TV that the art teacher did.

My favorite thing to do is sit down on Monday afternoons and do art with the kids. We've had three successful Mondays (we do art on Mondays) of art class with the program and Avonlea especially never wants to put it away. They beg to move ahead to the next lesson.

The first lesson talked about lines and we drew caterpillars with all different kinds of lines. The second lesson was based off of Picaso's picture with the hands holding flowers, which we drew our own version of. The third lesson is using potatos (cut in half) to make faces (you mix the paint to your skin color) for a family portrait. The lessons are for preschool-aged children who can follow simple directions (which is what we started with) up to high school-aged kids for more in-depth lessons.
I just love how our house looks after "Art Day" as we've got paints, brushes, oil pastels, and colored papers everywhere. We usually do it at around 3:00 when the oldest two are up from Quiet Time and the younger two are sleeping, but for this video, we got a late start and everyone was up. Norah loves participating though and Isaac just sort of hangs out.

We also used this program for our mom's group homeschool room today and painted Picaso. The kids couldn't get enough and were still painting as parents came to pick them up. We also started a neat lesson on "The Family Portrait" by painting with potato prints for the faces and learning how to draw the features. If anyone local wants to visit our house on Monday afternoons to join in on some fun art, let us know. :) Hopefully, we'll post more videos in the future on the various lessons.