Oops! Did the title give it away? Good! This will be short and sweet.
We are on Week 3 of schooling. All has gone well up until today. I wanted to blame it on the fact that the boys had been out of town so two days of schooling didn't get accomplished.
Today was Hump Day....Wednesday...the first day this week to get "back on track" now that everyone was home. What a day! Nothing went right. Then as the day ended I reflected back on today realizing our priorities had gotten way off track. We went straight into school mode today and we forgot to do something very, very important. We forgot to have our Bible time this morning before we started our schoolwork.
Have you ever seen the object lesson about the jar, sand, pebbles, and rocks? The sand represents the very small things of life. The pebbles represent the slightly larger things in life, and the rocks represents the most important things in life. Can you guess what the jar represents? Yes, your life (or your day)! Depending on how they are placed in the jar depends on if all the items will fit. If you choose to fill your life (or day) with the things of little importance, you won't have time for the most important things. However, if you put your priorities in order and fill your life (or day) with the most important things, all the smaller things in life (or in your day) will fit in and surround themselves around the most important things. This little demonstration really puts things into perspective
So guess how our day tomorrow will start off? We will start with our Rock, Jesus Christ!
*If you have never seen this object lesson, here's one version of it (minus the pebbles):
Rocks and Sand: Priorities
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Thursday, September 5, 2013
New name, new look for the new school year
Originally this blog was completely dedicated to our homeschooling journey using a particular curriculum. We still use this curriculum and love it, but I want to expand this blog to more than just homeschooling. Our family passions stretch much further than homeschooling so we are now opening up this blog to everything that we are blessed with and hope to share this information with you. One day we might post a quick, cheap family dinner recipe. One day we might post a recipe for a homemade cleaner. One day we might just blog about our dreams of owning chickens and goats. One day we might write about far away places we hope to explore. One day we might blog about our favorite Bible verses. One day we might blog about our homeschool field trips and science projects. This blog will offer a little bit for everyone, from all age groups. We hope you will be blessed along the way.
We are now.....Blessed to Infinity and Beyond!
We are now.....Blessed to Infinity and Beyond!
A new school year begins with organization
This is my fifth year homeschooling, and for the first time I felt ready and prepared. It felt great to wake up and start the day knowing that I have the whole school year already planned out and ready to go. You might be asking, "Well, don't you always do that?" Quite frankly, I can't say yes. Each school year would start off with a bang but would quickly fizzle out by the end of the week. Yes! By.the.end.of.the.week! We would quickly get frustrated and see that our schedule wasn't working.
You know those moms who work all summer long to create the "perfect" schedule? These moms make a minute-by-minute schedule of their entire day, and it would take a full wall in their house to write out the schedule for all the family members for just one day's worth of activities. I've read those books. I've seen those planners. I've even considered buying one of those planners just because I thought if I paid the money, I would use it. If I used it, I would follow it. If I followed it, everything would be "perfect." Bahahahaha! I realized THIS homeschooling family can't stay on a schedule, and I have come to the conclusion that it's okay. We don't have to have a set time to wake up, or to eat lunch, or to go to bed. I know most parents would cringe at that idea but it's what works for our family. Instead of a set time, I like to look at it as a "round about" timeframe. Yes, we do have things that are at a set time on our schedule, such as doctor appointments, and we are diligent to follow those set times but all the other things in life, we work best by following a "round about" timeframe. And, yes, this is part of what has made this year of homeschooling different.
I didn't start the school year off with some crazy time schedule posted on the bulletin board or start out with picking and choosing the days we would do school. I've done that, and see how it doesn't work for our family. It only causes frustration if we can't follow a schedule. Frustration leads to tension. Tension leads to an unhappy momma. "If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." That sums up the last few years of homeschooling.
I've been determined to do things differently this school year. We even schooled right through the summer because we tend to change curriculum mid-year simply because I think that is the problem. It only puts us further behind. Luckily with four years of homeschooling under my belt, I finally feel I'm getting the hang of it. It was never the curriculum's fault. It was a fault of my own. That fault is called a lack of organization. This is the first year I can really say I am organized and ready for the school year, and IT FEELS SO GOOD!
Do I know which days we plan to take off for holidays? Nope. Do I know when the last day of school will be? Nope. But I'm organized. In my opinion, being organized and having a schedule are two different things. Yes, you can have both and it work out fine but if you think that having a fancy schedule posted on the wall is going to make everything fall into place...well, momma, sorry to be the bearer of bad news but without the organization, that beautiful schedule on your wall is doom to fail.
If you read this and thought I must have been a fly on your wall at home...immediately run to that fancy schedule on your wall and rip it down. It's okay. You'll still make it through the school year. Rather than concentrating on the clock and running your homeschool similar to a public school day, enjoy it. Sit back, cuddle with the kids while reading a book, and enjoy your homeschooling days.
You know those moms who work all summer long to create the "perfect" schedule? These moms make a minute-by-minute schedule of their entire day, and it would take a full wall in their house to write out the schedule for all the family members for just one day's worth of activities. I've read those books. I've seen those planners. I've even considered buying one of those planners just because I thought if I paid the money, I would use it. If I used it, I would follow it. If I followed it, everything would be "perfect." Bahahahaha! I realized THIS homeschooling family can't stay on a schedule, and I have come to the conclusion that it's okay. We don't have to have a set time to wake up, or to eat lunch, or to go to bed. I know most parents would cringe at that idea but it's what works for our family. Instead of a set time, I like to look at it as a "round about" timeframe. Yes, we do have things that are at a set time on our schedule, such as doctor appointments, and we are diligent to follow those set times but all the other things in life, we work best by following a "round about" timeframe. And, yes, this is part of what has made this year of homeschooling different.
I didn't start the school year off with some crazy time schedule posted on the bulletin board or start out with picking and choosing the days we would do school. I've done that, and see how it doesn't work for our family. It only causes frustration if we can't follow a schedule. Frustration leads to tension. Tension leads to an unhappy momma. "If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." That sums up the last few years of homeschooling.
I've been determined to do things differently this school year. We even schooled right through the summer because we tend to change curriculum mid-year simply because I think that is the problem. It only puts us further behind. Luckily with four years of homeschooling under my belt, I finally feel I'm getting the hang of it. It was never the curriculum's fault. It was a fault of my own. That fault is called a lack of organization. This is the first year I can really say I am organized and ready for the school year, and IT FEELS SO GOOD!
Do I know which days we plan to take off for holidays? Nope. Do I know when the last day of school will be? Nope. But I'm organized. In my opinion, being organized and having a schedule are two different things. Yes, you can have both and it work out fine but if you think that having a fancy schedule posted on the wall is going to make everything fall into place...well, momma, sorry to be the bearer of bad news but without the organization, that beautiful schedule on your wall is doom to fail.
If you read this and thought I must have been a fly on your wall at home...immediately run to that fancy schedule on your wall and rip it down. It's okay. You'll still make it through the school year. Rather than concentrating on the clock and running your homeschool similar to a public school day, enjoy it. Sit back, cuddle with the kids while reading a book, and enjoy your homeschooling days.
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