Thank You!

Thank you Papa and Adam for serving our country!!!

Papa served in the Navy and Navy Reserves

Adam in the Marines

We're thankful for all who have served our country to give us freedom!

Happy Memorial Day

Reb Bradley

This past weekend I was at our state's homeschool convention.  But instead of going to lectures or looking for curriculum, I had the privilege of helping Reb Bradley in his booth!

I get so excited sharing with other parents what this man's ministry has done for our family.  I get even more excited when I think of them getting the information in their homes or churches and knowing it can change their lives as well.

Saturday night after the convention Mr. Bradley stayed the night in our home and Roddy drove him to the airport early the next morning.

Mr. Bradley with the kids...

They were so excited to meet him for the first time and to have him stay with us!  We had a great time.  I loved getting to know him better.  He's quite a hoot!

Wednesday nights, this fall, we'll be faciliting his video series Biblical Insights into Child Training at our church. Any locals interested in coming, let me know.

Homeschool Curriculum - Where to Begin

I love curriculum! During our summer break, I try to get things reorganized that during the school year get out of order.

One of my top priorities so far this summer has been to take the old curriculum off the school shelf and replace it with what I already have for next year whily reorganizing all the curriculum I store for future use. As I was doing this, I decided I needed to type up an inventory sheet of everything I have.  That way when I go to the next used curriculum sale, I won't get duplicates of things.

Well before typing it, I recorded it on notebook paper and kept it in a yellow folder. Every time I passed that folder I got excited. I think partly because I love organizing but also because I really love curriculum! I think it's an extension of my love of books.

Anyway. There is curriculum to fit every style, every family, every child. Some people find the options exciting and some find it overwhelming. I'm probably a little of both. I'm going to link you to a post I wrote at the beginning of our school year detailing what curriculum I have used in the past and what I was planning to use this past year.

I really like what we did this year. Probably my favorite year yet. But I don't think that what I did is the only way to go. This is just the experience that I have to offer.

I suggest finding someone or 2-3 someones who have homeschooled for a while and asking them if you can come over and pick their brains. Look at what they've used and find out what they liked or didn't like about it all. Then pray about it and ask God for wisdom. Ask for your husband's input, too. He is the Principal after all.

Also, I love these cds by Victoria Botkin.

And here is the link to my previous post on curriculum. I hope this is helping someone. If you have more specific questions, please let me know.

Next week, I hope to answer a couple of questions which I believe to be common to all mom's considering homeschooling or in their first year or so of homeschooling. So check back in.

Vision Forum Coupon

If you are concerned about what your children are reading, there is one website from which you can order books without concern of inappropriate content.  That is Vision Forum.

I wanted to pass along a coupon that just appeared in my Inbox.  It is $25 off every $75 purchase ~ (unlimited) through June 1, 2010.  So hope on over and check them out.

Vision Forum Coupon!

Old Books!

You know I'm a book hoarder. I especially love old books! Well just look at what Meme brought back from Roddy's grandmother's house...

I could hardly wait to go through them!

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin...

I can't find copywrite or print dates in all of them so I'm going to do some research online. But I know they are at least 50 years old.

This one much older...

Look at the phone number on this homemade cover...

The ones I'm super excited about are Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott...

Christmas Stories by Charles Dickens...

which includes A Christmas Carol...

And these...Travels of Marco Polo, A Tale of Two Cities, Shakespeare's Masterpieces, and others...

And isn't this one interesting?

Love the layout and detail of this one...

THANKS, MEME!!! I'm going to find a special place to keep them!

Dad and Jackson

My dad and Jackson are exactly 60 years apart in age.  Jay was born on Dad's 60th birthday!
 

He loves sharing his birthday with Papaw.

What's also interesting is that Roddy is 30 years (not to the day) older than Jay and Roddy' grandmother (who went to be with the Lord a few years ago) was 90 years older.

So when he was born, Roddy was 30, Dad 60 and Mudder 90!

The Two Esses

Pop quiz!  Can you name the #1 question received by homeschool families or those thinking of homeschooling?

If you've homeschooled for even 6 months, you've heard it.  "What about Socialization?"  I have to say that even typing it gets me a little riled up.

The next time someone asks you that, will you ask them exactly what they mean?  Then write it down and send it to me, please.

Because I don't really think they know.  I don't think they've thought about what they are asking. 

Do they think because we stay home for school that we stay home for everything, secluded from everyone? They wouldn't be talking to you if you were.

The reality is there is a stigma, which is hopefully falling by the wayside, of what homeschoolers are like. I'm not even sure what that is, but apparently it has something to do with being socially awkard.  Have you ever met a public or Christian schooled kid who was socially awkard?  Of course, you have.  'Nuff said.

There are so many people making the move to homeschooling that there can be a never-ending list of social activities.  You actually have to be careful to keep yourself at home.  There are co-ops and fieldtrips and one-day-a-week homeschooler schools! 

Here we are on a field trip to a worm farm.  This is maybe a third of the homeschooling families we get to do things like this with.

According to Wikipedia, socialization is this:

...the process of inheriting norms, customs and ideologies.  It may provide the individual with the skills and habits necessary for participating within their own society.

Who do you want teaching your kids what normal should be? Who do you want teaching your kids their ideologies 35 hours a week?

When you keep them home, YOU get to teach them this.  When you send them to school for hours on end, their peers teach them.  Their teachers, who don't love them nearly as much as you do (I don't care how sweet they are), teach them this.  I don't want my kids acting like their peers.  Or probably like their teachers either.

A wise, seasoned homeschooling mama told me that the character issues you want to work on in your children can be addressed quicker and more often when you have them home with you.  You are able to see growth in those areas much sooner than when they are away from you.  When you send them to school, you're constantly retraining what gets undone while they're gone all day.

Just something to think about.

The second "S" question on a lot of people's tongues is, "What about Sports?" 

Really?  I've made it almost 36 years without playing a sport.  I went to public school and wanted to cheer.  But my parents didn't want to spend the money on the uniforms.  I'm pretty sure I'm not scarred for life!  Although I bet there are a bunch of psychologists who'd love to try to prove otherwise.  Worldly wisdom, people! Worldly wisdom.

What is the big push about getting kids into sports these days anyways?  I'm not saying there's anything wrong with sports, but what does it have to do with life?

I had a dad tell me he wanted his sons to play sports because he learned so much from playing when he was a teen.  His coach really taught him a lot.  That's great but that wasn't the coach's job.  It was his parents' job!  And it's not that other adults can never teach our children anything, but we shouldn't relegate the responsibility of teaching sportsmanship, team work, or anything else to anyone else.

God has called us to train up our children. To teach them to love God and love others.  To teach them about God and all that He created.  He created language, math, science, geography.  Who better to relate all of that back to this awesome God than us?

We had a hallelujah service in math class one day!  It was awesome.

But again, there are so many opportunities if you want your kids to play sports.  That question is not even practical any more.  By the way, Upward Sports is a great program if you are interested.

I've got a busy week but hope to get at least one more post in about homeschooling.  I have plenty rolling around in my head.  If you have questions or are just curious about homeschooling, leave me a comment.  I'll be glad to answer them.

We Have a Winner!!

Congratulations goes to....APRIL!

April is Roddy's cousin and is expecting her first baby very soon!!!  So excited for you April!

Love you!

Thanks to all who participated.  If you want to purchase a flower, you can visit my sister's blog.

Giveaway

There are only a few more days to win...

Find out how here.

Homeschooling

Have you ever considered homeschooling but have a million questions about it?  I hope in the next couple of weeks to tackle some common questions about homeschooling to help you in this monumental decision.

Let me tell you how it started for me.  The area we live in is zoned for a school that we would not send our children to.  So I had always said that if we couldn't get into one of the charter schools near us, I would homeschool. It was a last resort, to be sure.

When Emma was four years old we took a parenting course at church.  At the final class, the teacher brought in her four children for a question and answer time.  We could ask anything we wanted about how they felt about how they were parented.

Up to this point in the course, not a word had been said about homeschooling.  But during the question/answer time, the son made a comment about being homeschooled.  Well that just opened a large can of worms.  The remaining time was filled with mostly questions about that.

I listened.  I also observed.

These were great kids.  They ranged in age from 9 to 21 years.  They were fun, kind, respectful. Modest without being frumpy. And they got it!  They got what the Christian life is about. They got what it means to love God and honor their parents. They also said they loved being homeschooled and would do the same for their kids.

After class I said to Roddy, "Maybe we should homeschool."  My easy-going husband said, "Okay."

So we did.  We just finished our 6th year.

~~~~~
I have often heard people talk about being "called" to homeschool. I'll be honest, I don't think you have to have some Divine calling to homeschool your kids.  I think homeschooling is the right thing to do.  That's why I do it.

My friend asked me just yesterday if I ever think I shouldn't be homeschooling.  No.  There is no doubt for me.

I always see myself homeschooling.  However, I also have learned enough in my short life to know that God can lead us anywhere and to do anything.  So ultimately, I will do what He wants us to do.  But my belief is that if you can, you should.

As for parents who say, "Oh, I could never homeschool my kids," this is what they are really saying...

"I'm too selfish to give up my time and energy when it's much easier to send them off to someone else."

or

"I don't have enough self-discipline, patience, etc. to homeschool."

or

"I haven't trained my children to respect and honor and obey my authority, so they won't listen to me."

Those are not legitimate reasons.  To me, those should be wake-up calls for a mother to get herself on a path of self-discipline, self-sacrifice and to figure out what needs to change in her home and then get serious about making those changes.

Sorry if that sounds a little like a soap box.  You'd be hard pressed to convince me that those beliefs are wrong.

My whole point is this, if you are a mom, you are called to homeschool.  There doesn't need to be some supernatural revelation. 

Do I understand that it is extremely daunting and overwhelming to even consider taking it on?  YES.  I've been there and done that.  That's why I'm going to devote the next couple weeks to answering questions that I hope will help calm some of those fears and relax even the most uptight of mothers ~because I used to be one (okay, sometimes I still am, but I'm getting better!)

So please come back and read more...

And, just so you know...the four kids that we interviewed at the end of the parenting class 6 years ago are still great kids/adults.  Two have graduated from college - The oldest, a girl, is an emergency room nurse, dating a great guy.  The son graduated from the Citidel and is now recently married working at his dad's company. The third, a girl, is in college taking stands all over the place for Jesus.  And the fourth just turned 15 and is still homeschooling. 

Their mom recently shared with me that she wrote each of them letters regarding their God-honoring lives.

And they rise up and call her blessed as well! In fact, so do I and many others as well!

Giveaway!

You may have noticed the beautiful flowers the girls and I were wearing in my Mother's Day picture.  My very talented sister made them!  And I am giving one away.

The flowers can be worn as a hair accessory or attached to a dress or shirt.

Here's how you can enter to win:

1.  After you visit my sister's website and view all the lovely flowers, leave me a comment with your favorite.  If you win, that's the flower you will receive!

2.  Become a follower of my sister's blog and then leave me another comment.

3.  Post about the giveaway on your blog and leave one more comment.

So you have 3 chances to win!!  I will announce the winner next Monday, May 24th. 

Thanks for participating!!!

My First Giveaway!!!!

Maybe you've seen the beautiful flower on the right side of my blog. Well, I'm giving one away next week! 

Stay tuned to find out how you can win.

Mother's Day

I had a great Mother's Day!

The whole day was so nice and relaxing.  It started out that way because we decided to go with Mom to church.  And since their second service doesn't start until 11:00 am, we slept in and still had plenty of time to get ready.  I even had my usual poached eggs on toast with orange juice in bed.

And I had time for some pics before leaving...

After church my dad and the kids and I walked home (remember our house backs up to the church's property) while Roddy ran to get Mom her favorite Chinese noodles. 

For lunch, we had sandwiches to keep things simple.  And while I had to fight the urge to get up and help out with whatever needed to be done, I did resist.  I think one day a year is okay to indulge myself with laziness.

My parents and sister and her family spent most of the afternoon with us just hanging out. 

The kids played.  Tammy and I talked homeschool stuff and sorted through hand-me-downs.  We sat on the back porch enjoying the beautiful weather and decided that next year the hubs are going to plan the day for us! Hee hee! Can't wait to see what they come up with.

Disney

One day of our vacation a friend of ours got us into Disney. 

Iris watching a parade...

Driving on the race track with Jackson...

Meme and Gray...

Getting sick on the tea cups...

Pirating with Captain Jack...

(they don't even know who he is but it was a funny show.)

The end of the day...now time for ice cream!

Boating to the ice cream shop...

Thanks Papa and Meme for a great vacation!

Summer Vacation

Every year for at least the last 5 years, Roddy's parents have treated us to a summer vacation. For a couple of years we took it in September but the last 3 years we've gone in May.

And that's where we were last week. Usually one of the children learns to swim like a fish. This year was Iris' turn.
Meme leading the parade...

Papa chillin' in the sun with Charlie...

Roddy, the human float...

One day our friends came to visit...(I know we can see them any time but neither of us owns a pool so it was something different.)

Time Away

Here's a hint as to where I've been.

It was warm...

...and sunny.

We had lots of fun.

I came back toasty brown...

...and ready for summer!