Summer :)

Summer ... even the word alone is exciting never mind all that comes with it!
We are beginning to wrap up our 'rookie' homeschool year and we are all excited for some time of relaxation, vacation time as a family and .. of course, learning! The learning never stops :) We are going to be doing the 'Kids of Integrity Challenge' from Focus on the Family Canada. If you haven't heard about this ... check it out at www.kidsofintegrity.com
The stuff they have put on their site is great ... family plans for all different traits of integrity. We are starting with kindness and obedience; but they have lots of others to choose from too! It is a great way to share the characteristics of Christ, and build godly character in your children :)

Hannah is completing her kindergarten year and has learned so much! We learned about metamorphosis and the life cycle of a caterpillar/butterfly, learned about ocean life, swam with sting rays ('in their natural habitat' - as Hannah would say), pet a sea horse in the gulf of Mexico, caught a caterpillar and watched it spin its chrysalis, planted a garden, and threw in math, language and all that other stuff too ;) It has been an incredible year!! I can not believe that grade 1 is a summer away!

We are planning a kindergarten graduation for Hannah in mid July ~ when her Auntie Ros and Uncle Anton are back in Ontario from their work trip ~ and we are already talking about all that next year holds! What a joy this is!

I have also been thinking that if we just give our kids a 'head knowledge' of things then really we are not meeting all their needs! Many of you know that my dream is to own some property and build/have a house where we can plant a garden, have some chickens, a goat ... lots of fun things and REALLY teach my children HOW to live! It's a blessing to have a grocery store to go to .. but I want them to know how to grow food, harvest, do canning and be prepared for winter months ... how to make a garden, how to look after animals, the list goes on!

I know ... this sounds crazy to many!! But honestly, I truly feel this is the leading of the Lord is our little family's lives. That He is pulling on my heartstrings as a mom that my girls need more than adding, multiplication and such ... they need a biblical worldview of life! And I just feel so blessed that He has called me to do that for them! Now, can I or do I do that on my own? No way! My girls have so many wonderful influences in their lives .. family, friends; people who love them and are praying that my girls will 'walk worthy of the Lord Jesus.'

Now, am I saying that we throw math out the window ?! Hannah might like to some days :) but of course not! But there are so many wonderful ways to do math!! How long do we have to make our garden if we want to put this many vegetable seeds in it? How many days will it take for our seeds to germinate? (prediction) Let's count the vegetable seeds ... how many go in each little spot? See what I mean ... we can do all these things and still be doing 'school' I LOVE IT!!

I know that some people will think that I am crazy but I really feel a stirring inside me! It is this assurance that my girls are learning, and LEARNING!! Even if you don't homeschool ... isn't it great to know that your kids are learning in everyday experiences?! I think that is amazing! Can't you tell :)

Anyways, I know that I have rambled on .. but that's what has been on my heart ~ :)

~ Curriculum Choices ~

Well ... I have FINALLY finalized the curriculum for Hannah's grade 1 year! WAHOO!!
Let me tell you, I was stressing out big time! It is a huge decision and one that I was really praying about! And, the Lord gave me great help and opened up doors for me to attend 2 great curriculum fairs/conferences and violà ... grade 1 was decided :)

So... here's the starting line-up for grade 1 ...

Language: Alpha Omega Horizons Phonics/Reading
Supplemental Language: A Reason for Handwriting Level A
Math: Bob Jones Math 1
Science: Bob Jones Science 1
Bible: Rod & Staff
Art: Creative Mama (aka...me!) :)

So, there you have it and I am so excited to get going! We are going to do a little homeschool kindergarten graduation for Hannah with a little party. If she was in a 'traditional' school she would have that, so why not at home?!

As for our little Grace, she will be doing a mix of preschool and K4, since she will be turning 4 in December. (4 already...where does the time go?!) I have found a GREAT resource online www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com and the lady who does this blog is AMAZING! She has put all her printables online for FREE and they are incredibly done! What a blessing they have already been to me and I know that I will be using her A-Z curriculum for Grace this coming year. Actually, Grace can't wait for 'school!' and I am excited about that!

Also, I have been reading the book 'Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe' and if you can get a copy I highly recommend it! The author, Todd Wilson, hits it on the head! He talks about 'lies' that homeschooling moms believe to be true....like 'every homeschooling mom's house is tidier than mine' or 'all homeschooling moms make all their meals from scratch ...except me!' It is a great wake-up call to be real with each other and we will find great comfort and help in that. Wouldn't it be great if you were talking to someone on the phone only to hear their kids having a meltdown in the background! I mean ... other people's kids have meltdowns?! It's not just mine :) That is so liberating and refreshing!!! It's not just my daughter who sneaks into the cupboard some mornings and eats cheesies before breakfast?! How great is it to know that!!!

So, can I encourage you to be real with people ... be yourself! Let others know what you are going through, what your struggles are ... and guess what? You will be amazed how many people say 'that happened to me too!' and that will make you feel all warm and fuzzy :)

Well ... definitely check out the website and the book if you can! I think you will be glad you did :)

Have a great day ... whatever you are doing :)

Morning Thoughts ~

'My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways'
~ Proverbs 23:26

I have seen this verse many times, but have to admit that I didn't 'get it!' until the past few days. My desire as a mom is to have me children trust me with their hearts but the last part is the hard part. 'Let thine eyes observe my ways.'
As I look back at 'my ways' I have to ask myself ... do I want my children doing what I have done, having the attitude that I have sometimes had ... in short ... would I want them to look at me and do exactly what I do?! At times my answer is NO WAY! But isn't that sad?

Oh how thankful I am for a Heavenly ABBA Father who forgives when we confess ... because I have had to come before HIM and ask for His cleansing in this area. I want my girls to be able to 'observe my ways' and have that draw them closer to the Lord, show kindness, be obedient.... you get the idea!
But am I always obedient to the Lord, do I always show kindness when I should.... ? I must say I am thankful and grateful for His mercies which are 'new EVERY morning!' Aren't you glad He doesn't 'run out' of mercy and grace?! Oh how I am!!

This week I committed that if I felt like I was going to 'lose it' I thought about this verse. I thought 'how am I going to handle this so if my girls copy what I have done .. it won't get them into more trouble!'
This is a challenge for me and I know that as the evil one sees me working on this, he will throw in some 'extra temptation' but I know that if I am committing this to the Lord, and asking Him to help me so that 'my ways' are pleasing and fit for my children to follow ... then He WILL help me!!

Anyways, a little thought for this saturday morning ~ and let's make today a great day for our children to 'observe our ways!'

Setting the Stage ~

For those of you who don't know ... I was a public school teacher before I had my girls.. (I can hear the gasps from some :) I went to university for a fine arts degree in music (classical voice) and then onto teacher's college for a bachelor of education that focused on integrating the arts into the curriculum. It was an amazing year of learning and getting my feet wet in a 'real' classroom.

I was a die-hard public school person! I had gone to a public elementary school, as well as a public high school and had turned out alright (try to muffle your laughter!) so why wouldn't I put my own kids into that system? That's what I thought! Homeschooling was a foreign thought to me and I was not shy about telling people that we would not be doing that!! Oh, how foolish I was!! Now, this is where the best part comes in ~ it's called mercy!!

The Lord, in His gentleness and mercy, worked on this old girls heart and I had to literally eat my words when I started saying to my husband 'what about homeschooling?' Who was this stranger that was suddenly saying the words 'homeschool' 'our' and 'girls' in the same sentence?!
But the Lord also gave my husband great wisdom and his response was 'let's pray about it!' So.... we prayed and the Lord showed us the purpose He had for me. In a nutshell ~ to be a homeschooling mom ~

One thing I have learned through this years journey, with its mountain tops and deepest of vallie's, is that when you are following what the Lord's will is for YOUR life, then you are at peace~ content and happy! Does that mean that I am always happy when I am doing school with the girls? I wish I was!!! But it DOES mean that I have a great peace with the Lord about how we are schooling and training up our girls. I am praying that our girls will follow Him (the Lord), love Him, TRUST Him, honour Him, and SERVE Him with all their little beings! I want them to know that we are their biggest supporters, and we want them to be successful, learning everything they can, and most of all, learning of the Great Saviour's matchless love!

Now...with that said ~ is homeschooling for everyone? I don't believe so. I truly believe that the Lord lays things on people's hearts and what He puts on my heart, He might not necessarily put on someone else's. That is the AMAZING thing about serving the One who 'knit us together in our mothers' womb!' He knows what we can handle, what we can't .... and all the in between stuff :) Isn't that just great?! That thrills my heart to no end! He knows me so well, and He knows what I should be doing and He puts these little stirrings in my heart to let me know!!!

So .. as these blogs progress ... and I am sure they will ~ please keep in mind that I do NOT feel that homeschooling is the only way to school. Each family is unique and needs to look to the Lord for guidance and help. Maybe it's a Christian school, a private school or something else....what we need to remember is that if we are in the Lord's will for our lives and our families ~ we as moms understand this ~ our spirits will be at peace!

A little history....

Okay, so everyone seems to be blogging these days and i can see why! It seems to be some amazing way to send your thoughts - however crazy they might seem to you - out into the 'universe' called the internet. And I have been having a lot of thoughts lately :) Why are you all surprised! So, for those of you who have regular blogs, consider this my highest form of flattery...I am coping you ;)

As the title of my blog says ... we are a homeschooling family. Are we doing it with joy? well ... we are trying :) There have been times of great joy and some times of frustration and wondering 'Lord, is this really what you are leading us to do?' But then I look at my girls and it is like the Lord is speaking directly to me as my girls say 'mom, are we homeschooling today?' They love it, and I love that!!

We began this homeschool journey in October when we realized that the conviction the Lord had given us for homeschooling ... and the conviction we pushed aside (I know ...tsk...tsk!) was there for a reason! The Lord has blessed us with 2 precious girls who love to learn, and who love to learn through hands-on activities .... in teachers college we called it 'kinesthetic learning.' They prefer delving into a topic/theme, and learning as much about it as they can ... and having our language, math, art, etc. go along with that theme. And it works!!!

Now ... we hit a bit of a .... well, bump in the road at the end of October when my dad was suddenly called home to heaven. It was very unexpected and literally drove me to my knees! The only pain I have ever known as great as that was the homecall of our little Matthew at 7 weeks old. I was cut to the very core of my being! My dad was not only my dad, he was a best friend, a spiritual leader, someone who gave great, godly advice...but was not offended if you chose not to take it! ;) I was stopped dead in my tracks! And...homeschooling took a backseat. I am sorry to say, so did my girls for a little while. I was dealing with my own grief, while trying to help them deal with theirs! The Lord helped me, (is still helping me!) and we got going again in the new year.

So, here we are getting ready to wrap up our first year of homeschooling, and Hannah's kindergarten year! Are there things that we still need to work on? Oh yah ... but I am so thankful that homeschooling allowed us the flexibility we needed when we needed it! Does that make sense?!
Anyways, all this rambling is really just to tell you that I love homeschooling, and I think that there will be more to come in this blog of mine :)