Category: Homeschooling

Letting Go

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My arms ached as my kids grabbed their bags and tumbled out of the car.

I didn’t give them one last hug, my mind alerted me in bold letters.

I resorted to hollering “I love you“, through the crack in the car door before it had a chance to fully close.

The sweet, smiling lady I’ve seen every morning now grabbed their little hands and walked them to the cone just ahead of me. From there, she passed them to another lady who assured their safe arrival to the other side of the parking lot. But before they could walk across, the second lady grabbed both of my kids, gave them a big hug and kissed the top of their head.

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Warning! Underground Cable Wire

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Last year held such change for our family. As we closed chapters and creaked open new ones, one thing that has remained for me, is this calling to write.

Now, I’ve always written, but I preferred the words to remain safe, tucked inside my nightstand drawer. Four years ago I was not even thinking about releasing them on the World Wide Web to be read publically. So this act of obedience has been hard at times. I have this fear of being misunderstood. The thought that someone could read in-between the lines of what I write and misunderstand my message, scares me every time I hit publish.

It’s been three years since I wrote my first blog post and towards the latter part of last year I began to feel this rumble inside me of something more percolating. Blogging became more than just a way to process and straighten the jumbled up slinky life often throws at me. That is always why I write, but I felt it growing from a hobby into a calling, a ministry to encourage and help others also struggling to sort out this of life.

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When the Marble Tower Toppled

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Zach, holding back tears shuffled into my room.

“Mom, my marble thing fell down.”

This masterpiece he and his big brother worked on for hours to look exactly like the picture on the box had crumbled to the floor.

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I pulled him close and almost cried with him, for that’s just how I felt too. Like it just all fell down. This tower I had planned and build just right…came crashing down.

The winds of change have swept through my house and ushered in a brand new season. Transition is hard for me. I save reading the last chapter in a book for weeks, not wanting the story to end.

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A Simple Advent

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Welcome to Advent Season 2015!

Celebrating advent is a new thing for me. I didn’t grow up doing any kind of advent activity or devotion. I had a wooden shadow box that I counted down to Christmas by putting cute little miniatures in every day, and that was it.

Since having kids, I’ve tried various Advent activates, always beginning with much excitement and enthusiasm but fizzling out long before Christmas arrived.

The year I began my blog, I did a simple alphabetical devotional series in honor of funny quotes my kids said. After that the ABC theme was still in my head at Christmas time. I wanted to do something that talked about other Bible stories than just the manger scene. I wanted to open the Word with my kids and let them see His character. I wanted something simple, something I wouldn’t feel bad about not doing every single day, something I could travel with, and something guests could join in on too.

This is what I came up with.

There are 26 letters of the alphabet and 25 countdown days until Christmas. Official days anyway. I wondered if I could find a character quality of God in each of the letters. We began with A on December 1 and looked up ALL. The next day was B and we looked up the Bread of Life. We continued on till the day after Christmas and the letter Z, finding that yes, the letters of the alphabet give Him glory and share with us a glimpse of His character.

The more I learned, the more I saw how much more there is to learn. But the process brought the stories of the Bible alive to me.

When I started my kids were ages 3, 6, & 9. Now they are 6, 9, & 12. My 3 year old didn’t understand everything, but he at least heard the stories and I tried to give him things to feel apart as well.

This will be our 3rd year of following this.  Last year we changed a few words by looking in the bible concordance. Sometimes I would let my kids pick a word if they could think of one. For those who could read, I let them read the passage.

But most importantly, I found this to be flexible…we could spend 20 min together on it or 5 minutes. We could be around the kitchen table or in bed or in the car, by our self, or with friends or family. So I wanted to share it with you. Enjoy…and let me know what you think!

Just click the link below to download an ornament for each 26 letters of the alphabet and coordinating verses/story for that day. I’ve also included a day-by-day simple outline with extra verses to read and an optional activity for the days you have time. 

And please, if you like it, share it with your friends!

Click HERE to Download the Simple Advent

Here’s an updated explanation of each day…advent-updated-2016. You will still need the pictures from the the first link.

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Life on a Segmented Plate

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Thanksgiving is next week! It’s my favorite holiday, even above Christmas. I love food and family, so naturally, family gathered around food is a perfect fit.

We normally host a small portion of our family and I excitedly prepare for days. There’s the homemade bread that needs to dry out for the homemade stuffing, the real cranberries with a tad of orange peel and brandy mixed in, pineapple bread pudding, green beans, sweet potato casserole…and don’t forget the turkey and ham (unless I forget to pull it out again). My taste buds are tantalized!

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With all this fine food, there is one small problem…When I sit down to eat I don’t like my food to touch.

Nope, I don’t want my spiked cranberries running into my sweet potatoes. Now, the turkey, dressing and gravy, no big deal, but the green beans and pineapple pudding need to stay separate. There are just some flavors that don’t need to mix.

Thank you segmented plates!

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Why I Am Thankful Even For Doubts

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It happens every year.

After a long break, school begins. At first I’m excited. The crayons smell new, the pencils prick my finger with their sharpness and the scissors and glue find their home in a plastic shoe box neatly stored away in the cabinet. The kids insert tabs into page dividers, write Science on a label and slap it on the spine of their notebook. Books neatly file themselves on the shelves, waiting to be opened.

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It all looks so nice and organized.

Then we start.

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How to Homeschool Multiple Children in 5 Easy Steps

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  1. Start off the day with a slow, calm morning

2. Eat a healthy breakfast.

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3. Allow plenty of time in the afternoon to put your feet up.

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4. Get plenty of rest.

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5. Have a nightly dinner with children joyfully retelling Dad all they learned today.

Wouldn’t that be nice?

Enjoy your days homeschoolers! They aren’t quiet, organized, restful or always healthy, but they are good. You are doing a good work.

Essentials Every First Year Homeschooler Must Know

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Imagine you’ve arrived at an intersection. On one side a smooth, paved, super highway with elegant, easy turns and architectural overpasses awaits you. This road has mile markers indicating how far you’ve traveled, exit numbers so you don’t miss a turn, and crystal clear GPS tracking to equip you for the inevitable question every parent gets, “Are we there yet?”.

Then imagine beside it, a back road pulled straight from the latest country song. At least it looks like a road. Paved in dirt, overgrown with weeds and fresh four wheeler tracks catch your eye at first. To travel down this one you might hit the ditch, get bit by a snake, or even get lost. Road signs? Mile markers? GPS signal? Not a chance.

Welcome to the decision of whether to homeschool or public school.

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Pros and Cons to 6 Common Home School Curriculums

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So here it is: My take on the curriculum that I have tried this far. I will share the pros and the cons from my experience using what I have tried.

One note before we begin. So much of what works and what doesn’t depends on your personality and the personality/learning styles of your children. If this is you first year of homeschooling, your focus this year is to identify how your child learns best, what his or her strengths and weaknesses are, along with you and how you best steer this ship of learning. Somewhere in the middle you’ll find something that will work. Hopefully this will give you some guidelines.

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What I Learned After Trying Every Curriculum Out There

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So there I was – fully enjoying complete satisfaction of my curriculum choice for our first year of homeschooling. I confidently purchased the same program for the following year and walked into summer with a smile. When it was time to start back, we dove into year #2 with grand anticipations.

We didn’t get 3 weeks into that year before I realized, this curriculum is no longer working. I wasn’t happy, my son wasn’t happy and something had to change!

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