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.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Geology and the Flood
Once again, I am way behind in updating my blog. What's new? During the months of September and October, we studied Geology. We examined rocks and gemstones, matching them to their names and properties. We studied the three types of rocks and even made cookies, layered bars, and fudge based on the idea of the three types of rocks. We found these recipes easily on the internet. Here's a picture of our cookies. The recipe called for pineapple chunks and "smart momma" thought kids would like fruity gummy bears better. "Smart momma" forgot that gummy bears melted which meant they oozed out EVERYWHERE! They were fruity but not so tastey.
I discovered it's very hard to take pictures when I'm teaching, especially for hands-on projects. When I first started this blog I thought how cool it would be to document EVERY project and event during our homeschooling adventure. Wow! I discovered its very hard. So even though I may not write much here or show many pictures we did much, much more than I can write about. I have found that the homeschooling links page here on this blog will contain much more of the bulk. Don't forget to check out that page!
Oh, and how could I forget our study on volcanoes during this time. Check out our volcano we made. Then we used Mentos and Diet Coke for the eruption. It was cool!
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| Our "cage" for the frame |
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| Preparing the paper mache and added balls of newspaper to the frame |
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| The finished volcano! |
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Creation Study
We have now been using the Blessed is the Man curriculum since July. We are doing our studies chronologically; therefore, we began with the Creation of the world and Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden. We have had a great time studying dinosaurs and fossils. We watched DVDs by Answers in Genesis, and I had the desire to be able to visit the Creation Museum. For me this was just a wish and a future vacation idea. Little did I know that God would direct us during this time to Shriner's hospital for my son's medical care. (I will discuss this in a separate blog post at a later date.) I discovered that the Creation Museum was just 15 minutes away from Cincinnati. I was so excited. We left two days earlier so we would have the opportunity to visit the Creation Museum. It was better than Disney World in my opinion. I always think it has much more meaning to visit and explore museums when the content is fresh on the child's mind. Being that we were just finishing up our study, it made for such a wonderful, educational experience. I highly recommend studying a topic BEFORE visiting the museum, historical site, etc. Knowing the history or content of the topic prior to the field trip makes it so much more exciting.
Here's a little glimpse into our visit to the Creation Museum.
Here's a little glimpse into our visit to the Creation Museum.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Homeschooling 101: High School Curriculum
My oldest son is starting the 8th grade this schoolyear. We began homeschooling halfway through his 4th grade year. In these few short years of homeschooling, we have tried many types of curriculum. We have tried the complete boxed curriculums. FAIL! We have tried the online software curriculums. FAIL! We have tried many different publishers of workbook style curriculums. FAIL! As you can see, I could sit here and say that our homeschool experience has been one big failure, but that's just not true at all. See, these failures with the different curriculums just was proof to me that those particular "styles" of learning were not the direction we needed to continue in order to have a successful education. I have found that my children respond better to the unit study approach. Unit Studies are a theme or topic chosen to study and then all subject areas revolve around that topic.
When I first started homeschooling, I didn't know anything about curriculum. I didn't know about learning styles of students. I didn't know how to homeschool. I was clueless on how and where to begin. This blog isn't going to teach you that at all. A simple Google search listing some of the wording I used above will be enough to get you headed in the right direction in those areas so I won't repeat that information here. (Sorry if you think the title was a little misleading but I think we will see why I chose that title by the end of this blog.) Luckily, I was able to locate a small homeschool support group in my county. I made sure to attend the very next meeting and warned them ahead of time that I was coming with LOTS of questions. (I highly recommend anyone beginning the homeschool process to find a local group of homeschoolers for support--even if its just a group of people on a social media site.) This group of ladies was my "go to" when I had questions, and I am so glad I took the time to search this group out in the beginning of the homeschool process.
The support group met just once a month. After several months of meetings, a "show and tell time" was scheduled. Each person was to bring some of their curriculum, make a quick presentation about that curriculum, and then we had the chance to look through any of the curriculum at the end of the meeting. Now here I was still fresh into homeschooling an upper elementary aged child and this lady presents a high school curriculum entitled Blessed Is The Man, She mentioned how her son built a fort as a special project for one of the unit studies. It was intriguing to say the least. Here I was suppose to be looking for the perfect elementary curriculum and I am drooling over a high school curriculum. Then I find out there is a girl's version of the curriculum entitled Far Above Rubies. Double drooling now! That moment has stuck out in our homeschooling journey. I knew right then what we would be using for our high school curriculum. The odd thing is that of all the used curriculum sales I have attended and all the online used curriculum sites I have searched, these curriculums are rare to come by (in a "used book" sort of way.) Personally, I think it's because it's so good that no one wants to give up their copy of the curriculum. Don't fear, my homeschooling friends....these curriculum are still available in a CD format. You can check out the curriculum HERE.
We have begun the curriculum and so far we are absolutely in love with it. It allows us the flexibity to pick and chose our assignments in every subject. So far our experience has resulted in very enjoyable homeschool days. We truly feel we are homeschooling and not schooling at home (ya' know what I mean....textbooks, boring instructional videos, etc.)
So now do you see why I titled this blog the way I did? Who else would have a 4th grader, know NOTHING about homeschooling, and feel insecure about my abilities to teach my child yet have already picked out our high school curriculum? I look back at it now and just smile. God had my back all along! I know that it was He who gave me this desire for a particular curriculum. So there you have it. My advice to you is when you are new at homeschooling and you have young children, start by picking out their high school curriculum! LOL Okay, that's NOT real advice but I will conclude with this. If you are new to homeschooling or maybe you feel you need a change within your homeschool--PRAY! God will give you the desires of your heart. God knew all along the desires in my heart for where I was trying to go in my homeschool journey with my children even if I felt overwhelmed with all the choices.
(If you choose to use this curriculum, feel free to use the links available on the Homeschool Links page of this blog. New links will be added when we study the topic. And by the way, we are following the chronological history plan in case you think we are jumping around in the units.)
When I first started homeschooling, I didn't know anything about curriculum. I didn't know about learning styles of students. I didn't know how to homeschool. I was clueless on how and where to begin. This blog isn't going to teach you that at all. A simple Google search listing some of the wording I used above will be enough to get you headed in the right direction in those areas so I won't repeat that information here. (Sorry if you think the title was a little misleading but I think we will see why I chose that title by the end of this blog.) Luckily, I was able to locate a small homeschool support group in my county. I made sure to attend the very next meeting and warned them ahead of time that I was coming with LOTS of questions. (I highly recommend anyone beginning the homeschool process to find a local group of homeschoolers for support--even if its just a group of people on a social media site.) This group of ladies was my "go to" when I had questions, and I am so glad I took the time to search this group out in the beginning of the homeschool process.
The support group met just once a month. After several months of meetings, a "show and tell time" was scheduled. Each person was to bring some of their curriculum, make a quick presentation about that curriculum, and then we had the chance to look through any of the curriculum at the end of the meeting. Now here I was still fresh into homeschooling an upper elementary aged child and this lady presents a high school curriculum entitled Blessed Is The Man, She mentioned how her son built a fort as a special project for one of the unit studies. It was intriguing to say the least. Here I was suppose to be looking for the perfect elementary curriculum and I am drooling over a high school curriculum. Then I find out there is a girl's version of the curriculum entitled Far Above Rubies. Double drooling now! That moment has stuck out in our homeschooling journey. I knew right then what we would be using for our high school curriculum. The odd thing is that of all the used curriculum sales I have attended and all the online used curriculum sites I have searched, these curriculums are rare to come by (in a "used book" sort of way.) Personally, I think it's because it's so good that no one wants to give up their copy of the curriculum. Don't fear, my homeschooling friends....these curriculum are still available in a CD format. You can check out the curriculum HERE.
We have begun the curriculum and so far we are absolutely in love with it. It allows us the flexibity to pick and chose our assignments in every subject. So far our experience has resulted in very enjoyable homeschool days. We truly feel we are homeschooling and not schooling at home (ya' know what I mean....textbooks, boring instructional videos, etc.)
So now do you see why I titled this blog the way I did? Who else would have a 4th grader, know NOTHING about homeschooling, and feel insecure about my abilities to teach my child yet have already picked out our high school curriculum? I look back at it now and just smile. God had my back all along! I know that it was He who gave me this desire for a particular curriculum. So there you have it. My advice to you is when you are new at homeschooling and you have young children, start by picking out their high school curriculum! LOL Okay, that's NOT real advice but I will conclude with this. If you are new to homeschooling or maybe you feel you need a change within your homeschool--PRAY! God will give you the desires of your heart. God knew all along the desires in my heart for where I was trying to go in my homeschool journey with my children even if I felt overwhelmed with all the choices.
(If you choose to use this curriculum, feel free to use the links available on the Homeschool Links page of this blog. New links will be added when we study the topic. And by the way, we are following the chronological history plan in case you think we are jumping around in the units.)
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