FINDING JOY IN THE LITTLE THINGS

It's so funny to me how often I hear the words, "I could never do that". It's usually mentioned when talking about being a stay at home mom or especially homeschooling my kids. I never thought I could do it either, but God doesn't call the qualified. He calls those who will listen to Him and then He equips them with everything they need. This has been an 8 year journey for us and it's never really been easy. But God never promised easy. He did promise that He would never leave or forsake me and that He'll never give me more than I can bare. Some days I question Him on that. I wonder, "Do you really think I can handle all of this God?". This week has been a perfect example. We have no extra money right now. We have a leak in our roof and our heat and air completely stopped working. Our 6 year old has been having major behavior issues and I can't figure out exactly what's going on with him. The baby wants no one but me. On one hand I really love that, but on the other hand, my back hurts and sometimes I just need a break. I could go on and on about other issues going on right now, but I'll spare you the details. It's just been rough!

I've tried to make things better. I've added more games to my 6 year old's school work and I tried helping our teenager with his science project. The only thing that got me was a blister on my finger from the glue gun.

Here he is working on a glider:

Today was the worst day of all. It's almost 4 in the evening and I haven't really done any school with the 6 year old. I had such a stressful morning that I decided to just get us all ready and head to Chick-fil-a. I just had to get out of the house. I think the kids needed it too.

Here's a couple of pictures I took of the youngest two in the playroom:

And so here I am, back at the house feeling so unaccomplished. I feel like I'm barely surviving. So when you think that you can't do it, just remember, it's not all rose petals and daisies. Some days I think that I can't do it either. I'm sure no matter what your life consists of, you too have days where you think that you just can't go on.

Oh look! While I was busy creating this post, something did get accomplished. My son finished his glider!

It's things like this that helps me get through these tough days! It's these little things that are so huge to me and bring me so much joy. Thank you to my oldest son for working hard on your own to accomplish what needs to be done. 

Be blessed my friends!

JUST WALK AWAY

I've decided to start blogging more about my homeschool journey. Too often, I see other mothers who are ready to throw in the towel after having a bad day (or many bad days). 

I want these moms to know:

A. They are not alone.

B. There will be bad days, but it happens to all of us.

C. It doesn't have to stay bad.

This is our 8th year of homeschooling. That's so hard to believe. In no way do I consider myself an expert, but I do hope that I can help and encourage newer homeschoolers by sharing my journey with them.

Most of the moms who are having a difficult time are mothers with small children in the house. As you can see by this picture, I too have a small child and he is into EVERYTHING! He's very demanding and he's very much a momma's boy. One thing I do have working in my advantage though, is a teenage son who helps me out a lot.
(I will share with you in a later post just how we manage our homeschool.)

Even though I have my oldest son's help, I still have MANY days where I feel swallowed up by homeschool. I forget about the positive reasons for homeschooling and I just want to run away. The picture above was taken yesterday. It was one of those days where I felt very overwhelmed. So I got my youngest two dressed and went for a walk. The walk was mostly for me, but it was really good for them too. By the time I made it around the block, the baby was asleep. Thank God he stayed asleep when we got home! I put him in his crib and he took a 2 hour nap. 

Sometimes we just need to step away from the situation and get a change of scenery. This goes for many situations in life, not just homeschool. So the next time you feel like you just can't take anymore, get out of the house. Take in some fresh air. Talk to God. Love on your kids and thank God for them. Until next time...

Be blessed my friends!

A LESSON FROM THE ANT, PROVERBS CHAPTER 6

Looking at the lessons from an ant (vs. 6-11) makes me realize what I need to do to make my homeschool run more effectively. It's not going to be an easy task because I'm not a morning person. 

So far homeschool has been mostly easy, but I think that will change tomorrow. You see, I started with my 1st grader on Monday and had my oldest son watch the baby while we did our work. The same happened on Tuesday. Today was my husband's day off, and my teen's 1st day of ninth grade. So, today I had my husband home to watch the baby. Tomorrow will be my 1st day where I will be teaching both of my older boys AND have the baby to take care of. This just isn't going to work out if I try to do it all at once, but I really want my kids to have their school work finished before the public school kids get home.

So...I've decided that I need to wake up early and get started on school work with my 1st grader and then have the rest of the time to focus on my high schooler while also taking care of the baby. *sigh* I just dread the thought of waking up earlier. But, here's a part of Proverbs 6:6-11 (MSG), 

A LESSON FROM THE ANT

"You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two. Nobody has to tell it what to do. All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions. So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing? How long before you get out of bed? A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy - do you know what comes next? Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, poverty your permanent house guest!"

I may have to revisit this scripture often to help me remember the lessons learned from an ant.

Be blessed my friends!

9th Grade Curriculum

As promised, here are the things we will be using this upcoming school year for our ninth grade son:

BIBLE
Most important to our family is Bible study. Last year we really enjoyed Wise Up, Wisdom in Proverbs by Positive Action Bible Curriculum. This curriculum goes deeper than just reading scripture and memorizing it. It really gets to your child's heart issues and takes their relationship with Jesus to a higher level. Since my son is entering high school, I asked for more of his input when picking out his curriculum. He obviously enjoyed Wise Up, Wisdom in Proverbs because he wanted to check out Positive Action Bible Curriculum again. I was very happy with his choice, The Life of Christ, Explore the life of our Savior through the Gospel of John.

This book takes your child on a journey through the Gospel of John. My hopes is that this book will not only teach my son more about the life of Christ, but take his relationship with the Lord even deeper. The Life of Christ features maps, photographs, and re-creations of biblical landmarks, and examines the ministry and work of God’s Son within Israel’s historical and geographical context.

GRAMMAR AND WRITING

Grammar and writing will be combined this year in a DVD program called Essentials in Writing.

What I like most about this is that it is not parent intensive. I love being involved in my children's school work but since I will have 2 boys doing school work and 1 baby to take care of, my teenager and I picked out curriculum that is very independent for him. Here is a video that highlights some of the benefits of this program:

MATH

Next is a curriculum that we have used for the past few years and decided to stick with it. It's a great CD program for math called Teaching Textbooks. This year we will be doing Pre-Algebra and if we have enough time we will move on to Algebra I.

Here are some of the features that I think makes Teaching Textbooks so awesome:

Automated grading

A digital gradebook that can manage multiple student accounts and be easily
edited by a parent

Over a dozen more lessons and hundreds of new problems and solutions

Interactive lectures

Hints and second chance options for many problems

Animated buddies to cheer the student on

HISTORY

History was a tough one to find. My son wanted a simplified version. He didn't want anything that had added fluff like timelines, cut out cards, or several different activities needed for each chapter. For the sake of simplicity and keeping his work independent, we chose ACE's 10th grade World History.

I like that ACE is a Christian based curriculum that my son can work through at his own pace. He will be learning about ancient civilizations, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, Colonialism, the Age of Revolution, and the history of Europe between 1850-1990s. 

SCIENCE

We are both really excited about science this year for a couple of reasons. For starters, we haven't truly done science in a few years. It's not required in our state so unfortunately, it was the first thing to go when life got really busy with babies and moving. The 2nd reason we are so excited is because we found an awesome curriculum that provides everything you need (except for liquids). It's a very hands-on kit and is taught by an instructor on DVD. Our 9th grade science curriculum is Exploration Education Science.

Click HERE to watch a great video that explains the

advanced course that my son will be taking.

ELECTIVE

My son was so excited when I purchased his elective, that he has already started on next year's school work.  He is taking a course on Mod Design 1 through Youth Digital Online. He is learning Java programming by modifying Minecraft and creating his own Mod from start to finish. 

My son will also be reading a lot of great books this year and writing a few book reports. We will frequent the library often! I'm always on the lookout for fun things to do during our school year. We love taking field trips and exploring new places and things. Check back after August to follow us on our high school journey!

Be blessed my friends!