Trying To Look Like Jesus

                  How does time keep getting away from me? Not sure how it happened but I lost sight of the calendar or something.  We're just taking it easy this week and finishing up some lessons. It's hard to concentrate with the holidays upon us and with Brooke coming back home soon:)   The first marking period was pretty good. Now that there are no more practices and games to run to we can get some more work done. Kick it up to high gear! Well, at least until Christmas break that is. Happy Thanksgiving!

I know, I know! I should be more excited to teach about our world's history, but I'm not.  And because of that it's hard for my kids to get excited too! So, here is another chance to get creative with school.  I'm talking about things like the History Channel and period films.  Sometimes reading about history from a book is ok like when they are in secondary school (my kids prefer it) but, when my kids were younger we watched a lot of videos about America and the world's history. Something else fun to do are museums. They are full of old stuff:) Also U.S. and World geography is another part of Social Studies as is anytime the kids are learning "social skills" Remember Social Studies is the study of human society so anytime they are interacting with other humans in a social setting, (think grocery stores, church, the park), they are learning social studies. It doesn't have to be complicated. Homeschooling lends itself to various...

Sometimes with Bible class I have to be creative. When the kids were younger it was about trying to hold their attention so I had to make it kind of fun!  Lapbooks were the answer for us.   Once we did a lapbook on the seven days of Creation. Another one was the armor of God.  Lapbooks were a great way to take a huge subject and make it bite sized so the kids could really glean something from God's Word. Now that they are older, I prayed a lot about what God would have me to teach and the answer was discipleship! This struck me soon after I finished a discipleship class and realized I should be actively teaching to my kids'  hearts!  (I learned that lesson the hard way but nevertheless, I'm learning:) ) Lessons like why we need to be saved, what is sin, how to keep a prayer journal, how to pray and have devotions were some of the things I want to have become second nature to them. Like it's not even up for debate this is what needs to be done to st...

Now we come to science. My kids love  science.  General science, nature study,  forensics, computer science, it doesn't matter, they love to learn about how the world around them works.  But their favorite is doing science experiments and truly this is the best way to learn hands down! (Or should I say "hands on".)  Yeah, I know that was lame:) Anyway, a great way for young ones to learn about God's creation is through various experiments. I get a lot of ideas from homeschool blogs and Pinterest!  Also field trips to nature centers, the park, or museums are other great ways to get kids into science. With fall upon us, going out and having an Autumn scavenger hunt is a favorite with younger (and older) ones! All it takes is a paper bag and list of things to find.  In the winter we would search for signs of winter, same in the spring.  *Everything highlighed below will take you to a website if you click on it* We've also used lapbooks ...

For grammar and composition we've been using Rod and Staff.  It's a lot like Abeka but less expensive. Because it only goes to 9/10 grade I switch to Abeka beginning in high school. Rod and Staff is really old school but I like it because it's very  thorough and like Teaching Textbooks it has a lot of review which is great for helping the kids remember concepts learned. Abeka is a more current curriculum and I love the worksheets. I know it's not very creative but it does the job. For spelling/vocab Lily is using Rod and Staff for now but I'm going to switch her to what Noah is using which is Word Roots from the Critical Thinking Co.  The Latin root words help with breaking down a word even if you've never seen it before you can figure out the meaning of a word by using its Latin root, prefixes and suffixes. Hopefully this will come in handy for the dreaded SATs.  This is an area Brooke could have done better and thankfully I read this is suppose...

I can't say enough about this math curriculum. I didn't learn about this math program until about two years ago. Before this I would print things off the internet or use what was cheapest and it showed in the work my kids were producing. Thank goodness for homeschool blogs of moms who review and post what they are using.  As soon as I ordered the first book, which for Noah was Pre Algebra, I knew I had done the right thing. What I love most about Teaching Textbooks is the repetition of previous lessons to reinforce concepts so that my kids really get it.  I was NOT very good at math growing up and I didn't want that to happen to my kids so this curriculum was easy for them and for me to use and teach. Lily has been doing TT since 5th grade so I don't buy the Cd's that can be bought for the workbook. (Thankfully I wasn't that bad at math(: ) But with Noah starting pre algebra I spent the extra money on the Cd's. The Cd goes though each lesson probl...

Today some special homeschooling mamas, our kids and I went to the 9-11 Garden of Reflection in our area. There was a special service going on, of course, to commemorate those who lost their lives on that beautiful, sunny day 13 years ago.  I can only imagine the sad thoughts that were going through their loved ones mind as they sat there listening to the names of the fallen . While we sat for a picnic lunch afterward I posed the question, "Where were you when the towers fell?" Every one of the ladies with me had a vivid memory of what they were doing at that somber, scary moment. We will never forget. I pray that the families can find peace in Christ one day, if they haven't already. I thank God that such a thing is possible .

How did I get here?  I feel like Bugs Bunny when he would end up somewhere different then he was headed and he'd say, " I must have made a wrong turn at Albuquerque". I made a wrong turn somewhere because I felt like I shouldn't be where I ended up. With a wayward daughter, engaged to a lost man with one foot out the door! Oh yes, she also decided she's moving out to live with him and his family, far, far away. Was I such a terrible mother that my daughter wanted to move hundreds of miles away from her family? What did I do?  Help me Lord! And He did. Once again he gave us the grace to face this evolving challenge. He showed us the way to go, one step at a time.  In just a few short months I would have to say good-bye to my first born. She made up her mind. Believe me, we tried to talk them out of it, but when young people have their mind made up there is no stopping them. It's them against the world. Guess how I know that? Because I was once 18 and i...

Although we wanted so much to be Christ-like in this situation, we weren't at first. But then we asked God for grace to handle this new challenge and He gave, and gave, and gave. We needed A LOT of grace. It all started one day in November. I was trying to take my sanctified Sunday afternoon nap between services when all of a sudden I couldn't sleep.  My daughter was heavy on my heart and God wanted me to talk with her. I told her things like, "You know you can always come to me about anything", and "when I was your age..." I shared my heart with her. We cried, prayed together and hugged; but she still wasn't talking.  "Well Lord, I did my part!" That night we were sitting on the couch watching TV and I noticed her looking at me then the TV. This went on for about a minute and I just looked at her and said, "Are you ready now?" She started to cry, no words came out of her mouth.  I asked some more questions and finally asked her i...

Yup! This pic explains exactly how I felt last school year. I was caught off guard and fell flat on my face! The good thing though is that the bible says, "For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again.." I didn't want to get back up. I felt like I had failed and in some ways I did and I need to own that. But I had to get back up, dust myself off, and keep going. You see, the school year started off with great promise.  It was my oldest last year of high school. Yes! I had one last year before she went off to college and started a life of her own so, I wanted to make it count, but something was wrong. She wasn't the same. She was moody and stand offish.  I chalked it up to Senioritis, nerves, self doubt.  Never did I suspect she was acting off because of a boy. Yup! A boy....not just any boy THE boy. He swept her off her feet and she was dare I say; in love? So what's the big deal you ask? She was 18 and this was her first serious relationship but...

I can't believe it's been a year since I've blogged! It was nice to go back and read all that we've done.  I couldn't help but think why I hadn't written anything in so long.  Well, then I remembered, it was all down hill from my last post.  Stay tuned....