100 Things to Pray For (A 100th Day of School Activity)

I realize that most of us have already hit the 100th day of school mark and the celebrations have already been held. But I want to share with you a project that can be done any day of the year.

I love the 100th day of school-the fun with math, the activities, the achievement and celebration of learning. My girls love it too. Every year, I try to come up with some new ideas to celebrate the milestone. This year, I came up with a few but this was the most important one.

I may have mentioned before how much I love prayer time with my children. It has become one of my favorite parts of our homeschool mornings. About a year ago, I took the time to write the names of our family and friends on cardboard hearts. I threw all the hearts into a small container. Each morning, we would each pull a heart from the bucket. The name on the heart was the person we prayed for throughout the day.

Our prayers have not and are not limited to what heart we pull from the container. We always pray for who/what has been placed our own heart and pray for the big, small, and those things important to each of us.

A few month ago, I started to find the small container needed a bit of refreshment. There were so many more people, things, and requests that had not been written on a heart. An idea was born.

I grabbed some chart paper and numbered it 1-100. The kids and I sat at the kitchen counter and in no particular order, started shouting out 100 people/things to pray for. (If you see your name and wonder why you are not closer to the number one spot, now you know why. Position does not equal importance. 🙂 )

After the chart was filled, I took 100 bottle caps and wrote the numbers 1-100 on them. I had come across a treasure trove of odd and ends in our church attic and these caps were perfect for this purpose. You do not not have to use bottle caps though. Numbered paper or cardstock works great too!

After all the bottle caps were numbers and collected into a big bowl, we took turns pulling a cap from the lot. We read the number and referred to the chart to see who (or what) we would be praying. The first day we did this, I pulled #61- MOPS. It just so happened that I had a MOPS meeting that afternoon. MOPS got some extra, extra, extra, extra prayers that day!

We have incorporated this prayer chart and bottle caps into our homeschool morning routine. Over the next few months, I would like to have the kids write “100 Praises and Answered Prayers” or “100 Blessings” or “100 Good Gifts.” I think that would really help to emphasize thanksgiving and praise in our prayers.

If you have toddlers at home, please include them in praying out loud. I absolutely include my two year old. He loves to be part of this special time. He watches and listens to us as we model prayer for him. And when its his turn to pray, his prayers are sweet music to my heart. I know that the prayers of all of us are pleasing to God. (Revelation 5:8)

Here are a few verses on the importance of praying for others:

“Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray without ceasing, ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,” 1 Timothy 2:1 ESV

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another,that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” James 5:16 ESV

^“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” Matthew 5:44 ESV

Advent-“Unwrapping the Greatest Gift” Day 7-8-9-10 Craft Ideas

Advent Crafts — “Unwrapping the Greatest Gift” Ornament and Craft Ideas

This is Part 3 in a series of ornament/craft ideas that I think correspond with the daily advent readings from Ann Voskamp’s book “Unwrapping the Greatest Gift.” Read about Day 1-2 here and Day 3-4-5-6 here.You can find many ideas on the internet for Bible story crafts. Below are some of my original ideas and some that I modified from Pinterest. I gave credit for those craft ideas that I borrowed. If you decide to make and share one of my craft ideas, I would to love to see it. Tag me on Instagram or send me a link to your blog post. 🙂

day7altar

“After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ²He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Genesis 22:1-2

Materials Needed

-mini wooden craft sticks

-colored tissue paper

-glue gun

1.) “Build” a fire with the tissue paper. Tape it in place, around the bottom, so it forms a flowery-bunch.

2.) Build the sticks around the fire, hot glue sticks in place.

Jacob's Ladder ^“12And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!” Genesis 28:12

Materials Needed:

-Large Craft Sticks

-Mini Craft Stick

-Wood glue or hot glue

1.) Glue sticks together to resemble a ladder.

2.) Paint the sticks. (PS I am sure when I do this craft with the kids, their ladders will be colorful, bedazzled, and might include a few angels on the steps.)

joseph's coat of many colors

^“3Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. ” Genesis 37:3

I cannot wait to do this craft with my kids. I had fun making it and the colors mixed together so beautifully.

Materials Needed:

-Coffee filter

-scissors

-paper towels

-food coloring (liquid), water

-bulb pipettes ( We have the Coloring Mixing Set from The Homegrown Preschooler The set comes with pipettes. Amazon has them too.)

1.) Fold the coffee filter in half. Cut out the shape of a long-sleeved coat.

2.) Put the coffee filter on top of a few layers of paper towels. Mix food coloring with a few drops of water. You want the colors concentrated and not watered down.

3.) Squeeze some color in the pipette and drop onto the coffee filter in a polka dotted fashion. The colors will start to run and blend into each other.

4.) When the filter is completed covered with color, allow to dry. No two coats will be the same.

day10tencommandments

“And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. ²The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. ³Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today” Deuteronomy 5:5

Materials Needed:

-dark colored cardstock

-gray and white crayons

-skewer

1.) Pressing heavily down on a gray crayon, color over the card-stock. Repeat with the white crayon. The colors should resemble stone.

2.) Cut out the card stock to resemble two tablets.

3.) Use a skewer to write roman numerals.

4.) Punch hole and hang on the tree.

Pumpkin Fun

Pumpkins oval, pumpkins round;

Pumpkins tumbling on the ground;

Pumpkins giant, pumpkins small,

Pumpkins lined against the wall;

–Virginia Kroll

Pumpkin books, pumpkin recipes, and pumpkin activities. The last two weeks of school have been centered around learning about one of fall’s favorite, brightly colored fruits as we said goodbye to October and hello to November!

I kicked off our Pumpkin Unit with an introduction and challenge to memorize Virginia Kroll’s “Pumpkins” poem. The poem is full of descriptive words and rhyming couplets.

On the first day, we read the complete poem (see link below.) We created hand and body motions to accompany the rise and fall pattern of the words as we read them. I found some great (and free) reading comprehension activities that went along with the poem and picked the activities that I thought would best be appropriate for the girls to complete.

Each day we worked on the poem, adding two lines at a time. We recited it at lunch, we recited it at dinner, we recited it over Skype, in the car, when we walked, at dance, just about everywhere we went. Even my two year old was reciting the opening line. By the end of the two weeks, the girls and I were able to recite the whole poem from memory. It was an accomplishment for all of us.

PUMPKIN BOOKS:

When I was teaching in the public school system, I bought a lot of my own books. Consequently, I now have a great homeschool library. Some fall and pumpkin books get pulled out every October. Here are a few favorites:

Pick a Circle, Gather Squares- A Fall Harvest of Shapes by Felcia Sanzari Chernesky

Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie by Jill Esbaum

From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer

The Runaway Pumpkin by Kevin Lewis

Too Many Pumpkins is one of my favorite, favorite pumpkin books. It is about a white-haired-lady named Rebecca Estelle and her cat Esmeralda. Rebecca has an unexpected encounter with a splattered pumpkin that causes a bit of a situation. A shift in perspective allows her to notice the goodness of her position and she is able to bless those around her. (Sounds a little like A Fierce Flourishing)

With this story, we worked on characterization, cause and effect, and sequencing events. You can get the same materials I used online at The Mailbox Education Center.

FIELD TRIPS:

Our first pumpkin unit field trip included a trip to Rhode Island to visit my family and the Roger Williams Zoo’s Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular. The Spectacular was founded in 1988 by a former mail carrier who has put a team of professional pumpkin carvers together, called Passion for Pumpkins. The carvers spend 6 – 8 weeks creating 5,000 pumpkins to be displayed on the Zoo’s Wetlands Trail amid special lighting and themed music. 1 Some of the pumpkins were amazing (see below, Mother Goose and the Sound of Music.) The creativity is worth seeing. A word of warning though, the path is very dark, there are a lot of people, and some of the displays are scary. If you have children (or adults, for that matter) who are sensitive to noise and crowds, this might not be the best place to take them. We quickly pushed through the crowds to avoid seeing the more spookier displays.

The second trip we took was to the pumpkin “patch” (aka Garden Center.) We walked around trying to find all the pumpkins described in the pumpkin poem. After much deliberation, the girls each found the perfect pumpkin to take home to carve.

At home Dad took over as the art teacher. He helped the girls scoop out the seeds, pick a design, and show them how to carve their pumpkins. The pumpkin carving took a long time to complete but the final products- Mater, Puppy, Panda- came out fantastic.

PUMPKIN MATH:

After the carving, it was time to wash, count, and roast the pumpkin seeds. I read How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara. It is a great book to explore estimation and skip counting.

The girls estimated how many seeds they had and decided the best way to count their seeds were by skip counting by 10s. They got busy creating groups of 10s. I cut out circles, pumpkins, and square mats to help keep the groups separated. When all the counting was said and done, our pumpkins contained- 400, 562, and 466 seeds.

PUMPKIN RECIPE:

We like simple recipes. One day, we made Pumpkin Patch Dirt Cups. They were super easy to make and delicious. My kids got a kick out of how real the “dirt” looked. This idea and recipe came from Paintbrushes and Popsicles.

THE GREATEST PUMPKIN LESSON OF ALL

Finally, the best pumpkin lesson came from my husband’s sermon two weeks ago. During the service, he carved a pumpkin as he describe how we are the pumpkin and God is a brain surgeon, a heart surgeon, and an internist. He explained that God needs to do brain surgery on us, scoop out the “junk.” Our junk is then placed on the cross and we are forgiven through Christ’s sacrifice. Next, God performs heart surgery on us. He takes out our dark, broken heart and replaces it with one of love and light. He gives us the Holy Spirit so that we can shine our light bright in a hurting world. The kids were kept in the service and I think that everyone was engaged. It was a great visual with a great message!

Tot-Time Tuesday- Scavenger Hunts

Last week, we took advantage of the great fall weather and made an effort to get outside every day. One day, we went on a nature walk and brought a scavenger hunt along with us. Scavenger hunts are fun, inexpensive, and easily modified for all ages. They are an excellent activity in the practice of observing and the skill of noticing goodness. There are many great scavenger hunts already created and easy to find online. I printed this one from “The Bird Feed NYC” and placed it on clipboards- one for each child. I liked that this hunt uses both words and pictures of items that are easily found in our backyard.

As soon as we were out the door, my girls excitedly began to find and check items off their chart. My son bounced along, happy to be outside. He was glad to have his own clipboard and his own marker. Never underestimate your youngest children and include them in as many activities as possible. With a little assistance and some modeling, my son quickly got the idea of looking for an item and crossing it off the chart. Using the marker was a big incentive too. Due to some past unfortunate incidents, say a mural on a white window sill, we have kept the markers out of his reach and out of his artistic fingers. He was thrilled to have it back in his hand.

We searched and explored for about 20 minutes. It was just enough time to keep everyone’s attention and interest. We ended up finding 19 out of the 20 items. No matter where we looked, we could not find any animal tracks. It really did not matter if we found one or all the items, it was so nice being outside with the kids and spending time together.

“I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.”

[Notebook, Oct. 10, 1842]”
― Nathaniel Hawthorne, The American Notebooks

Check out The Bird Feed NYC’s website and other scavenger hunts here.

Tot-Time Tuesday-Autumn Mixed Collage

The first day of autumn was last week but the warm weather continues to linger in parts of New England. I am ready for autumn to make its full, glorious appearance and stay for good. Rainbow leaves, over-sized, comfy-sweaters, UGGs, fresh apples, and bright-orange pumpkins are some of my favorite things and I cannot wait to be reunited with them.

Last Wednesday, to get us in the right mood for fall, I read It’s Harvest Time by Amy Beveridge. It is a short, early reader that highlights all of God’s blessings in the season of autumn. I love these little, inexpensive Happy Day books (Tyndale House Publishers.) They incorporate faith, family, and values in interesting stories with brightly colored pictures.

After the book, I modified an idea I found in our Boz’s MOPPETS curriculum. I provided my son with a red paper plate and a variety of fall colored materials. The materials included pieces of orange curling ribbon, yarn, pipe cleaners, twine, sparkly leaves, and pumpkins (that I had purchased on clearance at the end of last season.)

I put some Mod-Podge in a cup, gave my son a paint brush and demonstrated how to paint with the glue, then stick the item to the plate. I think that he enjoyed painting with the glue more than placing the items. When my girls were his age, they would have enjoyed placing the items (A LOT of items) on the plate over the gluing part. The differences in my children amaze me and makes me smile!

Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture of the final product. BUT we will be doing this project again with real items we find outside. I am hoping for brilliant red maple leaves, yellow birch leaves, artistic designs of sassafras leaves, and brown acorns. We just need fall weather to come and stick around. It shouldn’t be too long now. Mark Twain was very correct when he said, “If you don’t like the weather in New England now, just wait five minutes.”

Homeschool Week #2 Wrap Up-Measure of Success

Well, this week was not as “successful” as last week. My attention was divided into a thousand different directions as I have been preparing to leave for the MOPS International’s Leadership Convention- MOMcon.

There is so much to do before I leave. Between church ministries and meetings, MOPS start up plans and Coaching, finding childcare for the kids while I am away, packing, household chores, laundry AND homeschooling, the week went by in a blur of checklists and details. Before I knew it, Friday had appeared and I found myself saying there’s just not enough TIME!

Feeling a bit defeated and comparing this week to last, I started asking myself what exactly does success looks like in our homeschooling. Is it the amount of material that we cover? The number of skills the girls master in a week? Staying on task and lesson objectives met? Having fun together? Spending quality time? What is it?

Every day we completed all of our reading, language arts, and math lessons. We managed to do some fun Labor Day activities and made some fantastic smelling playdough. Science and social studies lessons flowed naturally through our days and we read a lot of books together. That sounds successful, right?

There is an incredible amount of thought, research, and writing about success. Briefly, success is the accomplishment of an goal or purpose. It can be measured in terms of objective (measurable terms, salary, promotion, accomplishments) or subjective (emotional and psychological responses- happiness, joy, pride, feelings ) situations. Within areas of your life, you can have both objective and subjective goals and success. “Subjective success is an individual’s response to an objective situation. “1 A Harvard Business Review article gives an example of a corporate lawyer who has a great compensation package and position but has not met her life-long goal of becoming a Supreme Court judge so she doesn’t feel successful.

This is what happened to me this week. We met all of the objective goals I had for homeschooling. Academically, we were right on target and I was happy with the amount of curriculum we accomplished. But it was my subjective goals that left me feeling less than satisfied. One of the biggest goals I have for myself is to be more present and less over committed. This week, I felt like I did not do this well. Therefore, I felt unsuccessful.

Timing is everything. Not every week will be one like this one. I travel only once a year! The details of church ministries and MOPS start up are not usually happening all at one time. This just is a very busy time. It is important to keep evaluating how I am spending my time, keep saying “no” when presented an opportunity that will stress our schedule, and making time to rest and connect with people in a way each person deserves. Beyond that, I also think that it is important to look at homeschool success with the whole picture in mind and look beyond those subjective feelings. So reevaluating, I think that I should rephrase my first sentence and say that this week was certainly different (and BUSIER) than the first but it was equally successful measured in different ways.

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A Few Highlights:

1.) POM-POM SORTING: I made something new for my littlest one to do during school. This task works on fine motor, sorting, and color recognition skills. It took about 5 minutes to set up and it was inexpensive! I had everything I needed in the house and it is completely reusable. Just have to change the color on the top of the lid and the color of pop-poms to sort!

2.) APPLE PIE PLAYDOUGH- A new recipe that I found on Pinterest, this playdough smells AMAZING! A small, welcomed whiff of fall in the abnormal, ninety degree weather we are having in the Northeast. You can find the recipe here—> http://jugglingactmama.com/2014/09/apple-pie-scented-play-dough.html

3.)ANTONYM WORK- We did a lot of work with antonyms this week. We defined antonyms and identified pairs when we read. The Foot Book and Old Hat, New Hat are great books for this activity. After we read The Foot Book, I traced the girls’ feet and they illustrated a pair of antonyms they chose.

Antonyms

How was your week?

Homeschool Week #1 Wrap-Up – Why I Think It Was Successful and A Few Highlights

Hooray! We did it! Our first week of school was a success. We started “on-time” (on the date I wanted to), the girls retained more than I thought that they would, and we had a relaxed first week back.

It was such a different school start than last year. Last year, I was a tangled ball of emotions- excited, eager, joyful, anxious, a little fearful. Through experience and prayer, I was able to untangle the ball of emotions by releasing anxiety and worries and replacing them with confidence and peace. With two years of homeschool experience behind me, I feel more confident about what our school day is going to look like, what needs to get done, and how to fit everything in to make homeschooling and other commitments work for our family. I think a few other factors contributed to our successful first week.

For the first week of school, I kept an open schedule. There were no scheduled playdates, visitors, or appointments and I worked hard to keep interruptions at a minimum. I kept my cell phone far away from me, upstairs in my bedroom, so that I would not be tempted to look at texts and social media. I did not respond to any emails during school time. I was not distracted and my attention was not divided between so many other things. Yes, this may seem like common sense but last year this was a real struggle for me. I have had to work hard to prioritize, simplify, and get better at time management.

Easing into our school year was a good thing. I had expectations and things that I wanted to get accomplished but I also had the mindset that if something did not get done it would be okay. I did not focus on getting through all the subjects on the first day. The first day we did a little, the next day a little more, the third day even more than the second, and yesterday, we made it through all the subjects. It was less stressful and more enjoyable for everyone.

Since we are finishing Sonlight Core A before moving to Core B, the format and procedures of the lessons are the same as last year. The girls are already familiar with the routines and materials the program includes. Last year, I spent great deal of time establishing good routines and the time paid off. Getting back to the swing of things was much easier than I thought. The girls seemed to pick up right where they left off. A lot less explaining had to happen and that meant more time to get other things accomplished.

One more thing (and the most important one) contributed to the success of our first week of school and that was prayer! Over the summer, I had been preparing for the school year in prayer. Others have been praying for us. And we have been praying as a family. Each morning, after our morning work journals, the kids and I take the time to sit in a circle and talk about who we should pray for and what we should pray about. I love this time as it is a window into their little hearts. They are so compassionate and kind and often pick up on things that I would not have noticed unless pointed out. Even though it is for only a short time, it is one of my favorite and most important parts of our school day. It is so important to keep our eyes on God and our hearts centered on Him. Everything else will flow out of this and He will provide everything that we need as we lean into Him. This year, we trust that He will give each of us what we need to make this school year one of the best ones yet.

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A few first week highlights:

1.) First Day of School Time Capsules- We plan to open them on the last day of school!

2.) Family Journal– As suggested in our writing program, we are keeping a family journal and adding an entry each school day. (Today is my grandmother’s birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GAMMY!) This will be a great experience for us and I am really excited about doing this with the girls.

3.) Keeping your two-year old entertained during homeschool- No problem! (haha…just kidding) Love Crayola Color Wonder Fingerpaint! It is fairly expensive BUT pretty awesome. The girls (myself included) wanted to use it too. Lots of sensory boxes and the return of the coconut playdough helped keep him busy.

4.) SCIENCE- We tasted food for sourness and used red cabbage juice to test for acids. The tasting provided a lot of laughs and the testing was very interesting. Later, we added baking soda (a base) to the cabbage juice and watched the mixtures turn to blue and green.

How We Came To Homeschool and Why We Do- Part 2

According to homeschool research, there are about 2.2 million home-educated students in the United States. An estimated 1.73 to 2.35 million children (grades K-12) were home educated during the spring of 2010. The research indicates the homeschool population continues to grow at an estimated rate of 2% to 8% per year (over the last few years.) (Ray, 2011) 1

Homeschool families are a demographically wide variety of people. People of different religions, nationalities, and with various degrees of education fall into this diverse group of people. Just as each family is different, each has their own story as to how they came to homeschool For some, it was an easy and clear cut decision. For others, it was a challenging and complicated choice. Most families have their specific reasons as why they chose homeschooling as the best choice of education for their children. The following are our family’s reasons:

1.) SCHEDULE– Flexibility! A pastor’s schedule can be crazy and unpredictable. When other families are enjoying weekend time off, our family is at work in the church. If my children went to public school, our family time would be extremely limited. My husband and I were not willing to cut-away time spent together. Homeschooling has provided the flexibility needed to schedule family time and vacations when it works best for us. We also appreciate that our homeschool schedule allows time for other ministry opportunities (like serving as a MOPS Coach and Coordinator for me) and serving in the church as a whole family unit.

2.) TIME– Time is precious and valuable. Our children are growing up faster than we care to admit. Homeschooling allows us the maximum amount of daily time spent with our children. There are plenty of opportunities during the day to strengthen and build family relationships and practice social interactions with peers and adults. I recognize that homeschooling is a calling of selflessness and servitude but for our family it is a sacrifice worth making.

3.) CURRICULUM– I am a curriculum fanatic! I love the freedom to choose my own curriculum as I see best fit for the individual needs and differences in each of our children.The ability to teach my children about life, social issues, history and science with a Biblical worldview is very important to us. I love that Bible time, study, and prayer are included in our school day. I also appreciate that my children do not have to take part in state testing. I believe very strongly that progress and growth should be evaluated but I like that there are options in the way it can be done. Last year, we chose to do a portfolio evaluation which was much less stressful experience than a standardized test would have been. Along with curriculum and testing choices, I have been overwhelmed with the educational opportunities that are available for homeschoolers. Museums, nature reserves, art and drama classes, music lessons are available to accommodate homeschoolers’s needs and interests.

4.) MORE TIME FOR LEARNING- When I taught in the public schools, I was constantly spending time redirecting behavior or transitioning students from one place to another. As much as I tried to keep “time on task” to a maximum, the distractions and general “noise” in the classroom made for a less than optimal environment to learn. At home, distractions can be kept to a minimum. The ability to teach in a small group instruction fosters quicker mastery of academic skills. And lessons can be based on individual needs and learning styles. On top of that, challenges and problems can be identified and remediation can occur quickly. And all of that equals to more time on task and the ability to accomplish more learning than in another school setting.

5.) SOCIALIZATION- The very reason why some people think they should not homeschool is one of the very reasons why my husband and I think we should. According to the The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, SOCIALIZATION is defined as “the learning of customs, attitudes, and values of a social group, community, or culture. Socialization is essential for the development of individuals who can participate and function within their societies, as well as for ensuring that a society’s cultural features will be carried on through new generations. Socialization is most strongly enforced by family, school, and peer groups and continues throughout an individual’s lifetime.”

My husband and I both believe that the public school is not the best place for our children’s socialization. We do not want our children to learn and develop the customs and attitudes of the world and culture rather develop attitudes and values based on a life of faith.We do not want to send our children into a place of unknowns before they are developmentally ready to deal with difficult people and situations on their own. We are not trying to shelter them or keep them in a bubble. We believe that there are other avenues of POSITIVE socialization and our job as parents is to equip our children with the skills they will need to be a part of those environment. We believe that homeschool is the best place to build our children’s self-esteem and confidence and practice social skills as necessary that they might need to deal with bullies and peer pressure. My children still have plenty of opportunities to socialize with adults and peers their age at church, dance class, Audubon Society classes, and Museum art classes. Research on homeschool socialization says the following: 2

According to Home Schooling and the Question of Socialization by Richard G. Medlin, “Home-schooled children are taking part in the daily routines of their communities. They are certainly not isolated; in fact, they associate with–and feel close to–all sorts of people.”

He continues, “Home schooling parents can take much of the credit for this. For, with their children’s long-term social development in mind, they actively encourage their children to take advantage of social opportunities outside the family. Home-schooled children are acquiring the rules of behavior and systems of beliefs and attitudes they need. They have good self-esteem and are likely to display fewer behavior problems than do other children. They may be more socially mature and have better leadership skills than other children as well. And they appear to be functioning effectively as members of adult society.”

As I mentioned earlier, each family is unique in their decisions and reasoning. Homeschooling might not be for you and your family and that is okay. This is not a post trying to persuade you that homeschooling is the best way and only way to educate your children. It is only a post about my family’s reasoning of why we do. This year, what ever way you decide to school, I hope that your children will grow and flourish in their education, self-esteem, and in their self confidence.

I would love to hear from you. If you do homeschool, what are the reasons you do?

How We Came To Homeschool and Why We Do- Part 1

If you asked me a ten years ago about homeschooling, my opinion would have been quite negative. To put it bluntly, I was ignorant to the whole thing. With limited knowledge of homeschooling, my perceptions came from common misconceptions of homeschoolers and the lack of exposure I had with homeschooling families. My training as a public school teacher and my teaching experience only compounded my strong opinions. I thought that the public schools had the best access to curriculum, services, and educational experiences. I thought “socialization” at school had to happen in order to form a well-rounded, well-adjusted child. I was way off.

Then we had kids. A funny thing happens when you have them. The moment you look into the eyes of your newborn, the familiar world you once knew seems to change. Holding life in your arms, you are left to navigate a “new” and unfamiliar, selfless world. Constant time and attention is directed to the needs and growth of another human being . You find yourself questioning why you believe what you believe and you start prioritizing your values and obligations. Things that you once held high in importance are let go and you realize that certain things (like faith, family, friends) matter so much more than you ever thought. And oh the decisions, you spend constant hours thinking about, dwelling over, and making decisions. In momentous decisions and small choices you want to do what is best for your child and set them on a path of faith and a good life.

When my first born was about to start preschool, I knew my husband and I had decisions to make about school. By this time, I had been out of the public schools for about three years. With increased state testing (which I had always disliked), changes in education policy and procedures, news stories of bullying, faith and social issues under fire, my opinion of public school was not as high as it once was. I knew public school WAS NOT the best choice for my family. So what was?

Also, by this time, I had become great friends with a homeschooling mom. She was awesome and her kids were normal, well-adjusted, and socialized! The more I asked her about homeschooling and the more she told me, the more my opinions on homeschooling started to change. My friend choose her curriculum (which I loved), went on a ton of “field trips”, and made her own school schedule. Her children had plenty of opportunities to “socialize” through church activities, baseball, cub scouts, and other unique opportunities. Was this the best choice for our family?

The thought of homeschooling started to weigh on my mind more and more. Even when I declared that I would NEVER homeschool, part of me knew that was untrue. I had seen the positive impact of homeschooling on my friend’s family. I wanted a family like hers. The teaching did not worry me. It was the “other” stuff which I think boiled down to what other people would think. Who? I am not sure. I constantly prayed for help to decide what to do. I did my research too- reading books, articles, blog posts. One day, I do not remember the exact day or moment, I felt that I had been given a answer to my prayers. I strongly felt that “yes” we were suppose to homeschool and that we needed to have enough faith that it would work out. A sense of peace washed over me and the weight was lifted. I became really excited about all the possibilities homeschooling would do for our family.

At that time, we did not have everything figured out. We actually had two options for schooling. We had been offered a full scholarship at a Christian School. But at that time, we had spent so much time researching and praying and I felt so strongly that this was God’s plan, we turned down the scholarship. I was so blessed to have my husband’s support. My youngest daughter went to the Christian preschool while my oldest daughter and I started our first year of homeschooling together. It was a blessed year full of learning experiences for both of us. When my second daughter was about to enter Kindergarten, it was an easy decision what to do-HOMESCHOOL.

September 1st, will start of our third year of homeschooling. It amazes me how the journey began and where we are now. We still do not have everything figured out and are learning as we go. I think homeschooling is definitely a calling and not for everyone. I feel blessed that we live in a country where we are given the freedom to choose which type of education is right for our children. I certainly do not look down or differently on anyone for making a choice of public or private school. I like to believe that we, as parents, are all trying to make the best choices for their children so that together we will raise up an generation that will kind, good leaders, and good stewards of this world. But as for my family, homeschooling is where we will be educating and bringing up our little world changers.

Stay tuned for the next post- Part 2: What We Homeschool

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Today was the first day back to school for the public school teachers and the students in our town. I love this time of year. A mixture of hope, nervousness, excitement, and anticipation. To me, “Back-to-School” feels much more like a new year than January 1st ever will.

There has been a “Back to School” time as long as I can remember. For the most part, I really liked to go to school. And as early as third grade, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher. The church my family attended met in a school. On Sundays, during coffee hour, I would wander around the school, looking through the class windows at bulletin board displays and classroom set ups. One fortunate day, my sister and I rescued some old teaching manuals out of the trash in the school. I was ecstatic to find those manuals and can remember thumbing through each page imagining what it was like to be a teacher. Most days, I could not wait to get home from school so I could PLAY school. I created worksheets for my imaginary students and corrected”their” work. I would take “them” to imaginary assemblies and field trips. And I kept a Teacher’s Record Book and Attendance!

As I got older, my imaginary students turned into real ones. I started taking care of children in the church nursery and teaching Sunday School. In high school, I participated in our high school’s preschool program as a student leader. Deciding that I wanted to be a teacher was one of the easiest decisions that I ever made and when it was time to go to college I knew exactly what direction to go in.

My first teaching job was a dream job! It was on a small island accessible by ferry. I had five students. I was fresh out of college with a degree in special education and I was ready to inspire, motivate, and lead my unknown students to success. I can vividly remember sitting at the teacher orientation breakfast. It was held in an island hotel, the wind was whipping against the building, postcard ocean views could be seen from every angle. Staring out to the ocean, I felt so extremely thankful and blessed. It was almost too good to be true. I was a teacher! From that moment on, I told myself to try to never take things for granted and every day try to take in as much life as I could.

Over the years, my teaching experience has grown and my life had taken me many places. In those seven years between my first job and staying home with my children, I had the privilege of teaching in three different states to three very different populations of students. In each state, in each classroom, there were no two things the same except ONE- my feelings of gratitude and the excitement for the start of the school year.

This year is just like any other, the same feelings of excitement and anticipation for a new year are flickering in my heart and mind. My classroom is no longer housed on an island or in a public school. My classroom is my house and my students are small in number. Only two this year! Everything still feels the same. There is a room to be rearranged, school supplies to buy, desk name plates to be carefully and lovingly written, a new curriculum to be excited for. And a bulletin board to create!

Years of teaching and motherhood have brought me to this point. It is such a blessing to be able to look back on your life and see God’s hand connecting the dots. From the earliest desires to teach, to small group instruction in public schools, to holding my babies in my arms, and now to teaching them at home, God has been with me through every step and allowed me to gain knowledge to be used for the next one. Every day, I strive to do better than the last and to improve myself and my attitude. So with that, here’s to another year of TEACHING and LEARNING! It is going to be great and I cannot wait to see what is in store!

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare[a]and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Jeremiah 29:11, English Standard Version (ESV)

PS We are extending our summer. Our first day of homeschool will be September 1st. Homeschoolers privilege. 🙂

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PUMPKIN BOOKS:

FIELD TRIPS:

PUMPKIN MATH:

PUMPKIN RECIPE:

THE GREATEST PUMPKIN LESSON OF ALL

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“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare[a]and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

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