Prayer Request

Please remember the Chris Klicka of HSLDA and his family in your prayers. Mr. Klicka has MS and he is in critical condition.
He was the attorney we talked to at HSLDA when we had our run in with CPS last year. He walked us through the whole thing.
Check out his Caring Bridge update here.

New plan.

Ok, here's my new plan. I'm going to send my two older girls to the local Church of Scientology. I figure that there they can spread the love of Jesus to everyone they meet.
I'm going to let the boys eat whatever they want. Whenever they want. That will help them to learn to make good decisions.
My youngest daughter will be allowed to go out with boys. Whenever. I want to make sure she knows how to handle herself and the younger we start the better I say.


What do you think? I mean obviously I am stunting their individual personalities by not letting them do and be who they want to be. At the ages of 12, 9, 8, 6, and 3 I think I can trust them to make good choices. God will protect them even when they don't make the best choice.
I mean I'm not 100% sure what I am doing here besides cooking, cleaning, kissing boo-boos and carting them to various activities. Maybe that's what my job as a parent is supposed to look like.
I could teach them manners, cleanliness, godliness, but quiet frankly enough people have told me that when my kids leave home none of that will matter so I'm thinking I could save myself the trouble and just skip it and relax.


Or maybe, I will decide that God has given me these children for a reason. Given them to me to raise and be responsible for. Given them to me to teach them His word and His love and to love, honor and fear Him.
Maybe I will decide that they are not quiet old enough to carry the souls of the world on their shoulders so their evangelizing right now should be under our guidance and protection.
That because they have not been exposed to wisdom for more than a few years they are not so much ready to go out and be wise.
Maybe I will just keep them close by for a few more years. Teaching them God's truth. Teaching them the wisdom from the elders around them. Teaching them to put on the full armor of God and when the evil comes to stand.
Just maybe.

Be Blessed!

Why a homeschool group?

I have been wanting to do a post on this subject for the last two weeks, but things have been moving at a steady pace around here and this is the first opportunity I have had to sit down and blog. I love blogging. It gets ideas out of my head. It gives me something to look back at and remember. I have met some pretty terrific people. But I know that my family is my top priority. So if my blogging seems a bit random, just know I'm thinking of ya'll while I enjoy my family. :)

I am in a homeschool group. My new advice to new homeschool moms is to find a good homeschool group. Why?

It's nice to have other moms to go to for homeschool advice. Most of my friends at church and I have been homeschooling for the same amount of time. I love being in a homeschool group with moms who have kids my age, kids, in highschool, and kids who graduated homeschool and are in college now. Do you know the amount of homeschooling wisdom packed into that one room at our monthly mom's meetings?

Some of these moms homeschooled in the Dark Ages of homeschooling. Where they dared not leave their house between the hours of 8am and 3pm.

My youngest daughter is eight and struggling to read. If I was not in a homeschool group I would be concerned. I mean aren't they supposed to read before they leave kindergarten?? No, more than one mom has reassured me that her child did not read until 8. 9, even 10 and within a short amount of time they were caught up or reading past their "grade level".

Who else but a mom who has graduated a child can tell you that "credits" are pretty much what you, the teacher, make them to be for the child?

I have a few friends who are not in a homeschool group and they struggle sometimes with whether they doing enough. They struggle with wrong information given to them by the school board and their peers whose children are in public school.

My homeschool group consisting of years of experience dispels the myths.

One of the pieces of advice I picked up at the last meeting: When talking to someone at the schoolboard/school/place that public school students frequent run by the government keep calling back until you get someone who knows what they are talking about.

This would have saved my friend some trouble when she tried to enroll her son in HS this year and they told her he was not eligible because he had not completed two semesters of eighth grade at his middle school. His parents pulled him out at Christmas break and could not get his second semester report card. The person she was talking to had no clue what he was talking about. He very well could have been in highschool because he'd completed eighth grade at home.

Between you and me though it's ok, because I think she is a great homeschooling mom and her son will be better off with her. (She does not read my blog but if she ever shows up here I want her to know that she is the best mom I know!!)

So, what do I tell new HS moms to look for in a group?

Someone who has the same belief system as you is a plus. Face it your kids are going to be hanging out with the kids in this group. Did you go through all the trouble to pull them out of public school only to put them in a group with kids who are going to be a bad influence on your child?
Moms you can connect with on a basic level. If you are going to come home from every get together and feel bad about how you are doing as a parent because everyone in your group is Polly Perfect then you need to find another group. These should be moms who are not afraid to tell you about the bad days as well as the good days.

A group who has a mom's meeting. I think this is important. We have ours the first Tuesday evening of every month. We come together and learn from and encourage one another. We plan our next months Kids days, Teen nights, Field trips, parties and other stuff. We discuss problems within the group. We ask questions about homeschooling, mom stuff, finances, and organization. We eat and laugh together. Where else can I find a group of ladies that will laugh when I tell them that the kids wanted to inspect the road kill cat out front for science. They laugh because they have all been there.

We have a co-op in our group. It meets every Wed morning for classes. I could take it or leave it, but my kids enjoy the time.

Kids get togethers are a good thing in a group. A time for your kids to see that your family is not the only on this journey.

These are just some of my thoughts on homeschool groups. I used to think you could take them or leave them, but this year I have decided it's a necessity.

Are you in a homeschool group? Why? What do you think is the most important thing a homeschool group should have? I really want to know.

Be Blessed!

The aftermath

This is what the end of my official first day looked like. Phew, I am wore out. LOL
How is your year going?

Be Blessed!

Making it more about Jesus

Lately Jesus and I have had some serious discussions about homeschooling. Mainly, that this world is temporary. Math, English, Spelling, it's all temporary. Do my kids need it? Sure. Is it life or death that they have it? No. Scary, huh? I spent, HOURS, coming up with new lesson plans and a new organization system back in June just to have it all ripped to shreds these past few months. I truly believe right now I am Heaven's court jester. I say that with the utmost reverence. I truly believe that God is delighted with me and that I amuse Him. In a good way. Like when your kids are being silly and kids and you think they are just wonderful. I have brought God much laughter over this homeschooling thing.

See, Jesus used Karly to show me that I could make this fun or difficult. We could spend the next few years of her life here arguing and fighting over school work or we can spend it bonding and learning to love and serve one another. Hmm.. yeah. Tough choice. So, I am now coming to a place where our homeschool truly is more about Jesus. The loving Savior Jesus who delighted in the children. Who blessed them and had them brought to Him. Whose laughter I can almost hear as he played with the children around Him. I truly believe that Jesus had fun with the children around Him. And I am to be more like Jesus, right?

We will have daily Bible reading. If nothing else gets done that day we will do that. We will go back to singing hymns and memorizing the catechism. We are getting back to memorizing Proverbs as well. I am going to work through How to Study the Bible for Kids by Kay Arthur with Karly and Kelsie. With all of them we are going to read through How to Pray for Kids by Stormie Omartian. We are going to keep a family prayer journal where throughout the day you write down any requests you have and at night we will pray together for bed. I also read something I would like to start. Every morning during circle time we will pray for the person sitting next to us. I'm also going to have the older girls keep a gratitude journal. I will ask them to write down five things every day they are thankful for.

I want our focus to be on God this year. If we get to the math, spelling, and writing portion of the day, great. If not well, we know all knowledge comes from God.

Be Blessed!

Is it just me?

I have never been able to tune my children out. I hear everything they say from three rooms away and if they are whispering I find myself yelling at them to speak up. LOL
While my husband can't hear them fighting in the same room he is in, I can hear them fighting when they are at grandma's house. Ok, maybe not, but it seems like I can.
One time I got on to the girls for dancing instead of doing schoolwork. I was in another room. My oldest started crying. Not thinking I was too harsh in my words of correction I asked her why she was upset.
"How did you know we were dancing? You were in the other room!" she wailed.
The distress of finding out your mom really does have eyes all over the house was just to much for her.
I informed her that a mom knows everything. It was one of the most triumphant moments of my life as a parent. I never let on that I sent a little spy into the room when I heard some weird noises. Some secrets moms just have to keep.
On the other hand, being able to hear everything is sometimes stressful. I envy my friend who can have a van full of children and not hear the horrible (not in a bad way, but come on they are 11 and 12 year old girls) conversations coming from the back. Or maybe she has just learned to be more laid back and ignore them. Quiet frankly about 1.2 minutes of hearing about how great the Jonas brothers are is more than enough from me.
Imagine my 12 year olds surprise when we got back from that trip and I told her she needed to find something else to talk about because I was done hearing about the brothers.
Sometimes I wish I could be a tune them out mom. Then I remember that God has entrusted these kids to me . I have to train them up and if I don't know what they are thinking about then how will I know which direction to take them in spiritually?
I am my husband's helpmeet so I need to be aware of what's going on with my kids so I can let him know. Men aren't wired to multi-task or to hear everything.
So I guess I will be ok with hearing it all. Sometimes it's very amusing. Like the theological discussions my two boys have. I love to hear them playing legos and my six year old preaching to my three year old about the dangers of hell. Yes, I do believe we are raising a little George Whitfield. Where do these kids get this from?? LOL

Be Blessed!

Save the baby whale

This is a short and sweet rant. I am on my death..er.. I mean sick bed today. Some silly summer cold that is trying to wrestle me down.
I was reading stories of the Duggar's newest blessing. Unfortunately, because I enjoy being riled up I read the comments as well. Disgusting.
Apparently the same people who accuse Christians of being brainwashed because we believe the "lies" of the church are being brainwashed into believing the lies of the enemy. Most every comment I read on three different news outlets were blasting the Duggars for killing the planet.
What kind of horrible world do we live in that a beautiful new life added to the planet is viewed so negatively? What kind of world is this where we say no more kids because the planet apparently can't handle another baby?
When did society decide that a planet is more important than a baby.
What kind of society are we in when even Christians believe this?

Disgusting!

Be Blessed!