I started reading A Confident Heart by Renee Swope this week. I got it for free a few weeks ago for my ereader, and with Sam on break this week and homeschooling lessons on hold while Daddy is home, so I've been reading while nursing the baby.
God impressed on my heart the need to have a Women's Retreat of some sort. It started out as being just for young mom's on a Saturday morning. Then I thought, well why not open it up to any woman (or girl!)...so started the plans of planning a Women's Retreat! We have booked a local Christian Camp for a Saturday morning and now I'm working to line everything up. I am learning as I go. For the last few years, God has also laid it on my heart to speak so I'm also take a leap of faith and going to speak at this retreat! Yikes! I know!
This was perfect timing starting to read this book. I am having a ton of doubt in my ability to do this, but I am constantly CHOOSING to trust.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
The Weather = Summer Vacation
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| Tile Number Line |
A cold ran through our house, which left one child with pneumonia (his lungs are super sensitive!) and one with an ear infection. The baby is still fighting it off...slowly but surely. I feel like I'm struggling to get a solid week of school in! We are having fun and I'm doing my best to be flexible....
The boys begged me to start cursive. I did buy the A Beka cursive books at the beginning of this year and then chickened out and mailed them back. Fearful of how difficult it was going to be with it being our first year. Little did I know how natural learning cursive would be! I was terrified of teaching our T, he is not gentle in anyway and I was imagining how teaching him to make loops and careful marks would go. Would you believe he is doing marvelously? He is so neat and careful when he writes. I am sold on starting with cursive young! I am going to start Hannah next year with her preschool material!
We are looking forward to buying next years curriculum! The boys are so excited! Right now we are on track for completing our material 5-6 weeks before Sam lets out for school so I think we will start right in with their next years material. I am hoping that the material will arrive in time. I am also going to hit a few used curriculum sales in hopes of finding Shurley English, other than that we are going to go with A Beka for phonics and math. I have really liked teaching their material this year. We are going to be using the AIG science and history curriculum. We used their science curriculum this year and it has been awesome. The kids learn so much from it and the activities are right on target! I am also looking at a more definite art curriculum, more than just drawing and coloring.
I am not sure how to fit everything in that I want to get in a day! I am thinking about creating a schedule with certain times for certain subject areas. I wonder if we spent too much time in certain areas this year? I think I stressed to much and went overboard on explaining/ making sure they each mastered every single standard. It made some days very tedious, I don't want to lose the joy of learning!
To sum up my thoughts on our first year of homeschooling thus far:
*I totally underestimated the time it would take.
*It is a full time job.
*I fold laundry at night when the kids are in bed, because there is no other time to do it.
*It has been a huge growing experience for me as I experience areas in my life that are lacking (um...patience?!?!) and those areas are regularly pointed out in subtle ways in my homeschooling.
*I always feel like I'm never doing/teaching them enough.
*I lovelove love having lunch with my kids every single day...and breakfast...and dinner...and snack!
*When we have doctors appointments, they don't have to miss anything. They will still get the material!
It is awesome to see how much the boys have learned this year!
Friday, March 9, 2012
Here, there, everywhere!
The last 2 months have been a whirlwind. I have many posts that I've written but they are tucked away. Putting them out there would leave my heart a little to vulnerable.
I have struggled with how open to be with how difficult homeschooling has been. I don't want the doubters to say, "I told you so." And I don't want to discouraged those who want to get started! With my teaching background, I had anticipated homeschooling to be blissfully joyous. It has not been. My teaching background does very little to help in our homeschooling adventure. Nearly everything I've learned in college is exempt when not practiced in a classroom. Homeschooling is very different from teaching in a classroom. Multiple age levels, on top of keeping up with all the house work and having a new baby...crazy.
Would I change it for next year? Absolutely not. I enjoy having my children home with me. I enjoy knowing what they are learning and being able to encourage them along the way. I enjoy eating lunch together. Some days I watch out the door for Sam to get home so I can have a little break, a bit of breathing room.
I struggle with balance. Having the house picked up, making dinner, folding laundry...are all things that I work to get done after school. With children who are learning to read, school takes a lot of time. I struggle with how much to go with the flow and how much to strive for a cleaner house or time to run. How hard to fight for this or that? Or do I just let it go? I love running. I love getting outside and hearing my sneakers smack the pavement. I love listening to praise music. I love the sweet fellowship I have with just me and God that is so rare within the walls of my house. But I'm seriously struggling with the time I need to do that. I'm not in a season of life where picking up and going for a run is easy. Do I let it go? Or fight for it? Or maybe I need to find a different way to find the solitude with the Lord that I so enjoy on my runs? My life isn't the same as what it was a year ago. I was a Mommy to three little one, 2 IN school, no diapers or nursing sessions to worry about. And now, life is so different! Homeschooling 2, nursing a baby, changing diapers, struggling just to find time to spend with each one...so is it ok to let running go for now? It isn't so much the exercising, just the act of running. Soon enough the weather will be nice for bike rides and walks with the stroller.
And as Sam said, last night...I could have a terrible case of cabin fever! Come on spring!
I have struggled with how open to be with how difficult homeschooling has been. I don't want the doubters to say, "I told you so." And I don't want to discouraged those who want to get started! With my teaching background, I had anticipated homeschooling to be blissfully joyous. It has not been. My teaching background does very little to help in our homeschooling adventure. Nearly everything I've learned in college is exempt when not practiced in a classroom. Homeschooling is very different from teaching in a classroom. Multiple age levels, on top of keeping up with all the house work and having a new baby...crazy.
Would I change it for next year? Absolutely not. I enjoy having my children home with me. I enjoy knowing what they are learning and being able to encourage them along the way. I enjoy eating lunch together. Some days I watch out the door for Sam to get home so I can have a little break, a bit of breathing room.
I struggle with balance. Having the house picked up, making dinner, folding laundry...are all things that I work to get done after school. With children who are learning to read, school takes a lot of time. I struggle with how much to go with the flow and how much to strive for a cleaner house or time to run. How hard to fight for this or that? Or do I just let it go? I love running. I love getting outside and hearing my sneakers smack the pavement. I love listening to praise music. I love the sweet fellowship I have with just me and God that is so rare within the walls of my house. But I'm seriously struggling with the time I need to do that. I'm not in a season of life where picking up and going for a run is easy. Do I let it go? Or fight for it? Or maybe I need to find a different way to find the solitude with the Lord that I so enjoy on my runs? My life isn't the same as what it was a year ago. I was a Mommy to three little one, 2 IN school, no diapers or nursing sessions to worry about. And now, life is so different! Homeschooling 2, nursing a baby, changing diapers, struggling just to find time to spend with each one...so is it ok to let running go for now? It isn't so much the exercising, just the act of running. Soon enough the weather will be nice for bike rides and walks with the stroller.
And as Sam said, last night...I could have a terrible case of cabin fever! Come on spring!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Thankful Thursday
December 1!! I am so thankful that this is the last full month with lots of business before our little Striker is here! Yes, I am hesitant to right this because I do not want to wish this pregnancy away BUT we are all very excited to meet him! Turner can't wait to see if he has hair, or if he does have hair then how much does he have?!?! He is such a mover, I wonder if when he gets here if he will be this active? We have learned so much about his little personality! We can't wait to actually meet him!
I am thankful for homeschooling because Sam has actually been able to see and spend time with the kids this week. Had they been in public school, they would've been in bed when he arrived home every night this week. I will admit, getting back into the swing of homeschooling after a week of this week was difficult. And I've thought about throwing in the towel a few times this week alone, but watching Sam get to spend time with the kids well past 8pm has been so worth it! Plus, we are heading out today to have lunch with my Mum at her work then to Sam's robotics competition!
I am thankful for a new washer and dryer. This is the first *new* nice thing we have bought! Well, minus our van but this is our first NEW household thing we've bought. We bought a large high efficiency set. I can't wait for it to get here! I have been coaxing my old set along now for a few months and with every load I rejoice that it survived! I am so thankful for my husband who was bound determined to get me an awesome washer/dryer set!
I am thankful for homeschooling because Sam has actually been able to see and spend time with the kids this week. Had they been in public school, they would've been in bed when he arrived home every night this week. I will admit, getting back into the swing of homeschooling after a week of this week was difficult. And I've thought about throwing in the towel a few times this week alone, but watching Sam get to spend time with the kids well past 8pm has been so worth it! Plus, we are heading out today to have lunch with my Mum at her work then to Sam's robotics competition!
I am thankful for a new washer and dryer. This is the first *new* nice thing we have bought! Well, minus our van but this is our first NEW household thing we've bought. We bought a large high efficiency set. I can't wait for it to get here! I have been coaxing my old set along now for a few months and with every load I rejoice that it survived! I am so thankful for my husband who was bound determined to get me an awesome washer/dryer set!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Reading, reading, and more reading!!!
We took a week off from school. Even though I didn't officially teach lessons from my teacher books, I still had the boys working on different areas of their learning. They just didn't know it :) For example, I challenged them to read 20 books for a prize and then picked out a number of books that centered around Thanksgiving. The boys were so excited to have days of freedom. To wake up and not have to buckle down and work on school work. My Mum came into town and spent the morning and evening with us for a day (she spends the afternoons with my grandmother! I'm so thankful she will divide her time between us!) so the boys loved having the free time to be with her! We crafted place cards for our 2 Thanksgiving dinners and the boys wrote the names on all the cards!
I have been hesitant to blog about homeschooling and where the kiddos are at. They have struggled each in their own areas and I didn't want to 'out' them, if you know what I mean? I know I'd hate for other to be blabbing about my short comings. And while their struggles are a far cry from 'short' comings since they are doing so well and have far exceeded the standards set for public school students, I still have been hesitant to post about it.
Isaiah was on a reading spree this weekend. He sat with my Mum and read a bunch of books with her. I sat back and listened in awe of the leaps and bounds he has grew in his reading journey since we started homeschooling in August. He is more willing to challenge himself now and is becoming very fluent with his level 1 readers. I listened as he added inflections in his voice and his reading became quite 'alive'! I may have cried a bit. It was so encouraging to hear him read so comfortably with someone else other than myself! He still loves math, but when I was telling my grandmother that reading came second to math on his 'like' list, he quickly added that he does enjoy reading! The library found him some easier leveled comic books that he enjoys so much!
T-man started adding 1 before we had Thanksgiving break. This opened his eyes to a whole new world in math! He is doing so well with his number recognition! I don't feel like I am pulling teeth to get him to the table for his math lesson anymore! He comes very eagerly! He loves to be challenged and to have new material placed in front of him. I struggled with knowing how much to push him at the beginning of our school year when he was getting off to a slow start. I didn't want to discourage him by pushing to far ahead but I also didn't want him to feel not challenged with the material. I am very thankful that we kept plugging away. He finds sight words to be incredibly frustrating and I find him sounding out everything he can! I love to see his passion grow as he learns more and more every day!
Hannah is working on colors and counting. She loves to color and just needed a fresh box of crayons for her box as she colored the tips right off her current crayons! She loves to sit on my lap and color while I am teaching the boys! She is very excited next year to get her very own school books!
The boys are begging to start cursive. I had ordered the books but mailed them back out of fear that it would be too difficult and now I am regretting it! I am going to look just a basic cursive book to start them on once the baby gets here and then I will order the cursive book with their curriculum next year.
I have been hesitant to blog about homeschooling and where the kiddos are at. They have struggled each in their own areas and I didn't want to 'out' them, if you know what I mean? I know I'd hate for other to be blabbing about my short comings. And while their struggles are a far cry from 'short' comings since they are doing so well and have far exceeded the standards set for public school students, I still have been hesitant to post about it.
Isaiah was on a reading spree this weekend. He sat with my Mum and read a bunch of books with her. I sat back and listened in awe of the leaps and bounds he has grew in his reading journey since we started homeschooling in August. He is more willing to challenge himself now and is becoming very fluent with his level 1 readers. I listened as he added inflections in his voice and his reading became quite 'alive'! I may have cried a bit. It was so encouraging to hear him read so comfortably with someone else other than myself! He still loves math, but when I was telling my grandmother that reading came second to math on his 'like' list, he quickly added that he does enjoy reading! The library found him some easier leveled comic books that he enjoys so much!
T-man started adding 1 before we had Thanksgiving break. This opened his eyes to a whole new world in math! He is doing so well with his number recognition! I don't feel like I am pulling teeth to get him to the table for his math lesson anymore! He comes very eagerly! He loves to be challenged and to have new material placed in front of him. I struggled with knowing how much to push him at the beginning of our school year when he was getting off to a slow start. I didn't want to discourage him by pushing to far ahead but I also didn't want him to feel not challenged with the material. I am very thankful that we kept plugging away. He finds sight words to be incredibly frustrating and I find him sounding out everything he can! I love to see his passion grow as he learns more and more every day!
Hannah is working on colors and counting. She loves to color and just needed a fresh box of crayons for her box as she colored the tips right off her current crayons! She loves to sit on my lap and color while I am teaching the boys! She is very excited next year to get her very own school books!
The boys are begging to start cursive. I had ordered the books but mailed them back out of fear that it would be too difficult and now I am regretting it! I am going to look just a basic cursive book to start them on once the baby gets here and then I will order the cursive book with their curriculum next year.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Thanksgiving Edition: Thankful Thursday
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
New International Version (NIV)
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Thankful Thursday
I am battling some serious tiredness. I don't feel necessarily sick, just crazy exhausted. I am in the third tri so I guess it should be expected. I have just felt really good this pregnancy (minus the sciatic nerve pain and the heartburn). We are praising God that this pregnancy has been uneventful! Not that I am known for problematic pregnancies but with Hannah I had numerous ultrasounds because I measured 6 weeks behind and she was unbelievably relaxed in the womb. I know, shocking. She is currently running around my house with the boys like a wild chick and never stops talking! And T, well...he isn't known for his health! :)
So it is Thursday. And we have so much to be thankful for. I have so enjoyed just listening to my children laugh together this week. Hysterical laughter. It has been fantastic. To see them bond together as we succeed and struggle through our school work has been absolutely amazing. Isaiah is such an encourager. Earlier this week he told me that I was so good at math! He stopped his work, to cheer on his brother while he was rocking out his number recognition (through 59!!!!) And Hannah just so happened to guess a word correctly that he was sounding out and he was so eager to give her a high-5! Don't worry, all encouragement from him is tossed aside during a round of Mario Kart on the Wii! He is ruthless with the controller in his hand, beware! :)
I am thankful for a husband who works so hard for us. Right now he is nearing his robotics team competition so he is putting long hours in at school while still needing to do all of his regular grading and planning. He has only a few more days before his basketball season starts, for a few weeks he will be pulling double coaching duty...and we will see how his robotics team does...it could go longer! I am so thankful that he enjoys what he does! I am thankful that he puts the kids to bed at night while I either go to bed myself, or just crash on the sofa in the quiet for a few minutes. I am thankful that he will say "How about subs for dinner?" when cooking is nonexistent and he knows I'm tired.
I am thankful to sit next to two very eager boys who want to read to me! I am blown away with how well they are doing! Turner is sounding out everything he possibly can. He is so driven to read! Isaiah read some very challenging words today (thunderstorm! seriously! thunderstorm!) He is learning and using so many tools to help with his reading. I love to sit with him when it is just us in the morning when the younger two are still sleeping and Sam has went off to work and we just read. His confidence is growing daily as he reads more. Next week I'm going to throw a reading challenge at him for Thanksgiving break. Technically we aren't having school, but is there really such a thing when you home school? Turner started adding 1 this week in math and wow! He has a new found love for math now! He loves to be challenged. This is a side of him I never imagined! Isaiah loves a challenge, but it makes Turner so passionate! It also helps that he is getting closer to the work this brother is doing which drives him a bit more! They work on their writing at the same time each day and then switch their books so the other one can choose the best written letter on the page. Then get get to pick a sticker to put next to the letter and a sticker for their brother. They thought this up on their own!
I am thankful for Hannah and all of her girlie girl-ness. I was determined to have a tomboy but she is all girl. I am thankful that I get to experience NaNa-Mommy-Daughter dates! I love our conversations and the cuddles! I love how possessive she is of "HER" baby, and of "HER" boys.
I am thankful that God chose to bless us with another baby! This little boy totally wasn't planned but God knew exactly what He was doing! Everyday we get more and more excited to meet him! I wonder what he will look like? Will he beat Turner's massive amounts of hair? Will he be more lean like Isaiah? I just can't wait to snuggle him!! To smell him. I love to feel him react to the kids kisses or a hand to feel him kick. I feel like I'm learning so much about his personality right now, I can't wait to put a face with it!
So it is Thursday. And we have so much to be thankful for. I have so enjoyed just listening to my children laugh together this week. Hysterical laughter. It has been fantastic. To see them bond together as we succeed and struggle through our school work has been absolutely amazing. Isaiah is such an encourager. Earlier this week he told me that I was so good at math! He stopped his work, to cheer on his brother while he was rocking out his number recognition (through 59!!!!) And Hannah just so happened to guess a word correctly that he was sounding out and he was so eager to give her a high-5! Don't worry, all encouragement from him is tossed aside during a round of Mario Kart on the Wii! He is ruthless with the controller in his hand, beware! :)
I am thankful for a husband who works so hard for us. Right now he is nearing his robotics team competition so he is putting long hours in at school while still needing to do all of his regular grading and planning. He has only a few more days before his basketball season starts, for a few weeks he will be pulling double coaching duty...and we will see how his robotics team does...it could go longer! I am so thankful that he enjoys what he does! I am thankful that he puts the kids to bed at night while I either go to bed myself, or just crash on the sofa in the quiet for a few minutes. I am thankful that he will say "How about subs for dinner?" when cooking is nonexistent and he knows I'm tired.
I am thankful to sit next to two very eager boys who want to read to me! I am blown away with how well they are doing! Turner is sounding out everything he possibly can. He is so driven to read! Isaiah read some very challenging words today (thunderstorm! seriously! thunderstorm!) He is learning and using so many tools to help with his reading. I love to sit with him when it is just us in the morning when the younger two are still sleeping and Sam has went off to work and we just read. His confidence is growing daily as he reads more. Next week I'm going to throw a reading challenge at him for Thanksgiving break. Technically we aren't having school, but is there really such a thing when you home school? Turner started adding 1 this week in math and wow! He has a new found love for math now! He loves to be challenged. This is a side of him I never imagined! Isaiah loves a challenge, but it makes Turner so passionate! It also helps that he is getting closer to the work this brother is doing which drives him a bit more! They work on their writing at the same time each day and then switch their books so the other one can choose the best written letter on the page. Then get get to pick a sticker to put next to the letter and a sticker for their brother. They thought this up on their own!
I am thankful for Hannah and all of her girlie girl-ness. I was determined to have a tomboy but she is all girl. I am thankful that I get to experience NaNa-Mommy-Daughter dates! I love our conversations and the cuddles! I love how possessive she is of "HER" baby, and of "HER" boys.
I am thankful that God chose to bless us with another baby! This little boy totally wasn't planned but God knew exactly what He was doing! Everyday we get more and more excited to meet him! I wonder what he will look like? Will he beat Turner's massive amounts of hair? Will he be more lean like Isaiah? I just can't wait to snuggle him!! To smell him. I love to feel him react to the kids kisses or a hand to feel him kick. I feel like I'm learning so much about his personality right now, I can't wait to put a face with it!
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