Homeschool Update

It’s been awhile since I’ve talked about our homeschool year! Here’s a brief update on all things school.

1. My oldest was struggling with history. She loves to read and usually loves history but as this was more of a review year for her with our current curriculum, she was getting bored. She’s done small portions of American history for the last four years and this year was one big overview. I don’t think it’s possible to know/remember everything you’ve learned over the years but when I would talk with her, she clearly knew the big events, people, and time periods and was simply bored. I’ve NEVER switched curriculum in the middle of the year but I felt it necessary to keep her interest engaged. So she started reading A Child’s Geography on the Holy Land. It combines geographical, historical, and cultural information with lots of colorful pictures. She’s enjoyed it much more and it started the ball rolling for world history, which she’ll begin next year.

2. My second grader is loving Handwriting Without Tears…as much as a boy who doesn’t love writing can! This has been a great program for him; it combines learning and practicing separate letters with writing them in words. He’s almost finished with his current book and ready to move on to pre-cursive.

3. The big win for our preschooler has been UsBourne Wipe Clean books and activity books. She loves them and with the Wipe Clean, I’m amazed how she happily does the same activities over and over. She does need help reading the pages to know what to do/look for in the activity book but I can easily step away from the older kids, tell her what to do on those pages, and she completes them on her own.

4. I recently bought this book and we’ve enjoyed reading the entry for the day. It’s opened some questions about different people, events, inventions and so far we haven’t come across anything not appropriate for kids. We also read a nature poem a day from this book and the older kids have started taking turns reading them aloud. I think reading poems aloud is such a great skill to have!

   That about sums it up! This year has gone fairly smoothly and I can’t believe we’re already in March! Another school year almost complete.

   Photo by Anton Sukhinov on Unsplash

New Bible Verse Printable!

Last year, as we were going into the schoolyear, I made a collection of cards with Bible verses that could easily be printed off and left around the house, schoolroom, or whatever you wanted. My aim was to encourage all the mamas out there and give you a resource for memorizing a Bible verse a week with your kids, whatever education choice you made.

This year, I wanted to do it again with a few changes. I’m really excited to share this new printable with you! A few things different from last year:

• I found these amazing printable index-sized cards at Walmart. I thought they were a perfect option for our weekly Bible verse cards! They are perforated which makes it so easy and fast; just print and fold and you’re done!

• The cards this year are larger — I put four verses on each sheet opposed to the six last year. I did this so they would fit the printable index cards mentioned above and so I could make the font larger.

• Extra room to doodle! It’s a proven fact that copying, highlighting, underlining, etc. all help in memorization. These cards have more room and larger font for kids to trace the words, copy on the back, draw symbols, or whatever they want to lock these Bible truths in their hearts. Print a set for each child and let them underline new words or put stickers on the corners.

• If you print these on index cards, they are thicker and an easy size to hold. Of course, you can print these on regular paper, cut them out, and glue them to fancy cardstock as well.

• This summer, I felt a pull to focus on Bible verses that have to do with our personal character. We’ve memorized verses about God helping us, salvation, peace, etc. But the Bible has a lot to say about how we should act…and shouldn’t! Many of the verses I chose this year are reminders of how we are to treat others, listening, confessing our sins, and the benefits of obeying God.

I hope these are a help and blessing to you! Many of you commented to me that you had printed off the verses last year and enjoyed them. Please print off as many as you want and share the link to this post with friends. I’m praying this school year brings joy, growth, and a love for our God and the children we’ve been entrusted with.

Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash

What I've been Doing....

It is July and summer is moving fast!

I always have a list of things I want to accomplish after school ends and before the next school year starts. Because I homeschool, there is only so much I can feasibly get done while also seeing to school each morning. So summers are not slow down times, just a change in focus. Here are a few highlights!

New Office!

In June, we wanted to make a few changes to the function of our house and that involved moving a lot of furniture, painting several rooms, and reorganizing some spaces. I was able to use Tommy’s former office space for my desk and books and it’s been wonderful to have a room with just my crafting, writing, and reading things all available. The kids still bring their toys in and make background noise for my writing efforts but I honestly didn’t think that would change.

Writing!

I have slowly been researching, reading, and making notes about rest. I’m considering things like why it’s important, why it gets pushed away, how an attitude against rest is harmful, biblical examples and implications, and more. It’s definitely been a challenge and growing experience for me because I’ve struggled to rest for years. I feel like I’m wasting time, not being as profitable, etc. Studying the biblical purpose and necessity for rest has been eye opening. I hope to share more in future posts!

Newsletter!

I am not tech savvy. In building and modifying my website, YouTube was my mentor and Google was my friend. I’ve been wanting to start a monthly newsletter for quite awhile but it’s turned out to be more complicated than it seems! {Maybe it’s just me.} With some help from Tommy and again turning to YouTube experts, I think we’ve got it figured out! I will hopefully have a form on this website soon where you can sign up!

My purpose in having a newsletter is multi-faceted. It allows me to connect with people who are interested in what I write even if they aren’t active on social media. It also is easier to post links to things I’m using and loving, articles I learned from, and other random tidbits.

Homeschool!

Summer wouldn’t be complete without planning for the new school year! I’m going to have a pre-preschooler, second grader, and fifth grader in the classroom. I’m nervous {fifth grade math is more complicated than I remember!} but also excited. I’m planning some fun new things we haven’t done before {more coming in a future post!}, my kids requested more art projects, and I hope to incorporate some fun poems to our day. Planning the school year and researching materials is always fun for me. Just a little more and I’ll start ordering our supplies!

So that’s the summer so far! We also went camping in April, piano recital in May, finished AWANA, hosted our church family for a backyard picnic, enjoyed playdates, family movie nights, days in Grammy’s pool, the library summer reading challenge…and we still have July!! I hope your summer is off to a fun start!

Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash

Things I've Learned from Homeschooling

We have finished our fifth year of homeschooling!

Even though I knew I wanted to homeschool my kids before we even had kids, each year that we successfully complete is a triumph but also kind of amazing! Homeschooling is an opportunity that I am very grateful for but it’s not the easiest option, it’s not always the most convenient option, and it’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly or flippantly. It’s definitely a choice that we make every year and go into with much prayer.

I’ve had so many people ask me about homeschooling and how we do it year after year. To be honest, we look at just the year in front of us and plan our best for that year’s needs. I’m also changing routines and aspects of our school days each year based on what worked the previous year, what didn’t, what my kids are interested in, how they learn best, and how they’re developing. Learning is not a static process and I don’t treat our school that way.

Although I love homeschooling and recommend it without reservation, I know people’s situations are different, there isn’t one answer to good education, and I try to never disparage another parent’s decision about education. That said, I want to share some things I’ve learned about homeschooling and present an honest truth from my own experiences.

I don’t have to know everything before I teach my children. One of the most humbling things about teaching is realizing all the things you’ve forgotten. Especially as my oldest gets into complicated math problems, more complex literature and grammar rules, and deeper science theories, I find myself with a niggling in my mind that at one time I did learn these things; I just don’t completely remember them. So I have to review, work a few long division problems, watch some YouTube videos about diagramming sentences, and move forward with my daughter.

Not everyday is the same. Because I like planning and routine, I used to set out with grand plans for everything we would do each hour of our school day. But those aren’t practical for us or very sustainable. I know some homeschooling families are much more structured but one of the beauties of homeschooling is making it fit with your family. Sometimes history takes us 15 minutes, other days we’ll stop after 45. If something is resonating and sparking questions, we’ll dwell on it a little more. When my daughter was learning about sand being heated to make glass, she asked about the process and we watched a few YouTube videos that showed the glass making process. That led to a conversation about recycling, how things are recycled, and another video on that topic. We are flexible and I’m thankful for the option.

Learning can look different than books. I love reading and beautiful illustrations and diagrams and maps. To me, books are great treasures for learning about things. They can involve your imagination and emotions and teach you in ways other mediums can’t. There’s nothing like holding a book in your hands and being transported. But I’ve found my kids can put into practice the things they’ve studied in so many different ways. By giving them Legos, blocks, pipecleaners, buttons, and a host of other ordinary things, they can build and imagine in such a diverse way. It’s one thing to read how a bridge supports weight or how people lived in castles and another to actually build a structure that stands and design your own town with everything people need to survive. But it is all learning.

I’m not strong enough. The hardest days in homeschooling are when I’m frantic, distracted with worries and anxious, and haven’t read my Bible or fixed my mind on biblical truth. Anything I try to push through and muster the strength for on my own leaves me frustrated, tired, and ready to give up. Even though we are the teacher for our children and it feels like a weight and responsibility we alone need to bear, we were never meant to do it alone. I love James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” God has promised to give us the wisdom we need to fulfill what he has called us to. We have but to ask, yet how often do we attempt to power through on our own? It’s not weakness to admit we need grace and help. It’s living in humility.

Life is about learning. Homeschooling is a humbling, growing, stretching blessing that I don’t take for granted. I’m thankful to teach my children and learn alongside them. Every year that I homeschool I find out more about God and my children and myself. It’s a unique and remarkable journey that I don’t regret.

Photo by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash.

Bible Truth for School + a Printable

I think we can all agree that this school year is going to be crazy.

No matter what choice we made for our kids, there are going to be challenges and adjustments. And even if we aren’t doing anything radically different, the world around us is a completely different place. Wearing masks, not going certain places, not being able to visit friends or family. Depending on where you live, it might feel like what was normal last fall will never return.

I’ve been struggling with keeping a positive attitude. I’m usually an optimistic person and I genuinely try to not let things get me down. But there are some aspects of 2020-21 that I am not looking forward to. And I’m not excited about explaining things to my kids or dealing with their frustrations.

This summer as I prepared for our school year and planned curriculum, there were moments when I wondered if my efforts would even matter. Will we be able to do the fun things I’ve researched? Will field trips be a possibility? How can I get my kids excited for things without risking having to cancel our plans and disappoint them?

There’s always a measure of unknown about the future but this year feels completely uncertain. Thankfully, we are not alone. And the One Who is with us is Sovereign over all. This summer as I’ve prepared curriculum and spreadsheets and my lesson planner, I’ve also been praying and meditating on Bible verses a lot. When the wisdom of this world is complete foolishness and I’m at the end of my mental and emotional rope, I can always rest in the truth found in the Bible.

The Bible never grows old or outdated. The truth that comforted David as he ran from Saul can comfort me in 2020. The grace Paul wrote of is available to me now. The wisdom Solomon gave his son thousands of years ago is relevant for us to pass on to our children. And God Who inspired and directed its words is still in control of the world He created.

So as I approached this unprecedented 2020-21 school year, I wanted to make sure I was filling myself with God’s words and not the discourse of today’s news. The Bible is brimming with encouraging verses that we often forget.

To help myself — and hopefully you — I’ve created a very simple printable of 47 verses. My hope is that we print off and cut out these small cards, put them in the schoolroom, in our planners, on our bathroom mirrors, in our kitchen windows, and recite these promises to ourselves and our kids.

I made them simple because 1) I’m not a graphic designer, 2) I know not everyone has a color printer, 3) I wanted the Bible verse to take full attention. If you want to color, draw, glue on scrapbook paper, make it pretty, go for it!! Print it and make it yours. Read a new verse everyday then circle back to review throughout the year. Or mediate on the same verse for a whole week.

Just click the button below and a PDF should open for printing.

Photo from Jeffrey Hamilton on Unsplash

Making Unit Plans

We are over halfway into summer! For me, that means planning for next school year!

This might seem tedious but I love it. Talking to my kids about what they want to learn and researching possibilities is fun for me. Mapping out a {tentative} school year plan is always challenging but I enjoy it! Of course, rarely does a year go exactly as planned {hello, COVID-19!!} but I like having a goal set and some things in place to strive for.

First off, we traditionally homeschool meaning we use a set curriculum for our core subjects, my kids have books and workbooks and a laid out lesson plan for math, science, language arts, and history. We use the Bob Jones Press textbooks and really love them. They have a great scope and sequence laid out that flows together from year to year, and the subjects tie together well {like what we’re learning in English grammar corresponds to what we’re doing in spelling, etc.}. So far, my kids have demonstrated that sitting at desks and having a structure works for them.

So, when I say my kids are choosing what they want to study, what am I talking about? I fully realize that some things in school you just have to learn but different people are drawn to different things. When I was a student, I loved reading, history, and writing. I still gravitate toward those more than science or math. But science and math are necessary and important so we can’t spend all our time reading literature and writing book reports.

I’m a firm believer that most kids love learning but they need to have an opportunity to learn things that keep them interested. Every year, I ask my kids what topics they want to know more about. It can be an animal, a place, a time period, a person. I ask them to choose two or three each. Then I look for books, activities, YouTube videos, etc. that we can incorporate into our school year. This isn’t a formal curriculum or something that’s super structured. In the past, we’ve done it one day a week and alternated weeks. This year, we’re going to try doing each subject daily for two weeks, then switching subjects.

What I love about this is it gives the kids {and me} the opportunity to learn about something that might not be included in curriculum we would usually use and to dig in a little deeper. I haven’t finished putting the plans together yet but let me show you my process for planning:

We will be learning about Sweden, the Vikings, dinosaurs and Creation, and Russia and the Romanovs in our first semester. Here are the steps I followed for each topic:

1. To start, I thought about what aspects of those topics I want my kids to learn, keeping in mind their ages. Obviously, we can’t be exhaustive on the subject, especially if we’re only spending 2 weeks on each one! So I try to keep it realistic. For Sweden, for example, I would like them to learn where it is, major city names, and a little about the history. For fun activities, we’ll cook some Swedish food and learn how they celebrate holidays.

2. Then I looked up what books the library has available on these topics {for dinosaurs, I looked in our church library to focus on the Creation/young earth viewpoint, not evolution}. I wrote down the names and call numbers to save time in the fall. Once I know what weeks we’ll be covering each topic, I’ll put the books on hold at the library.

3. Then I looked online for things that might fill in, like activity books, sticker books, videos, etc. I found dinosaur ‘eggs’ you chisel open and find the dinosaur ‘bones’ in then reconstruct the dinosaur! On YouTube, I found a video that gives an overview of Sweden’s history with animation. Anything fun or hands-on I save to an Amazon list or write down. I don’t want to break the bank or purchase more than we can use so I set a limit on how much I’m going to buy per subject. Pinterest is a great place to look for activities to download. I found a whole Viking unit with games, crosswords, and puzzles that a homeschool mom put together for a free download!

This might sound like a lot but I love it! It also helps to get the kids excited about school next year. I try to keep some of the plans a surprise for them, but knowing we will be learning about things they love helps their enthusiasm stay high.

What fun things do you incorporate into your school year? What are some unit studies you’ve tackled?

Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash

Homeschool Resources

There are so many places for educational resources out there! It’s easy to get bogged down or not even know where to start! If you are new to homeschooling or if you just want some educational things for your kids, I hope you find this helpful.

Before you start looking for resources, I would recommend knowing what type of homeschooling method or style you plan to follow. I’m not going to get into all the options here but it will dramatically change what you look for depending on your philosophy {unschooling, Charlotte Mason, traditional, classical, literature based, etc.}.

NOTE: If you don’t know what I’m talking about, this post from Pam Barnhill is a great breakdown of the methods of homeschooling and some resources for each type. If you want information on starting to homeschool, check out this post from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

There is always Amazon but I’ve been surprised to find some curriculum and games less expensive on some of the sites listed below. It pays to look around! So let’s get into a few of the great places to look for educational supplies!! I’ll mention if the website is Christian or carries Christian curriculum. I’m sure I’m leaving out some but these are websites I’ve shopped on or heard about in my homeschool community. In no particular order:

1. Lakeshore Learning - I love so many things here! Great bulk art/craft supplies, fun games and puzzles and toys, daily journals. You can get an educator card — even as a homeschooler — for a discount.

2. Oriental Trading Co. - Did you know they have a whole education line?! Lots of craft supplies, notepads, stickers. I get their pom-poms and buttons for counters to use in math.

3. Dover Publishers - When I was little, it was always a treat to get paper dolls from Dover. They have paper dolls or sticker dolls to show the fashion of just about every era, previously out of print books, novels, stickers, activity books. They are a great place to check for inexpensive fun ‘fillers’ to your school curriculum.

4. Barnes and Noble - Of course you know they have books! But did you know you can get an educator card and receive 20% off all purchases {except things like Legos}? I like to take my kids and let them pick out a book or two, then stop at the cafe for a sweet treat and coffee to start the school year!

5. Rainbow Resource - This is a great place to look for discount curriculum and books. I’ve found so many fun things here, including Usborne books! They are a Christian company and have a great selection of Bible curriculum, books, etc. It’s very easy to get overwhelmed on their site; they have a ton of stuff for all ages. I like to request a free catalog to browse instead of searching online. They send out a curriculum catalog and a separate catalog for educational toys, books, and manipulatives.

6. Timberdoodles - This is a new company to me but I’m impressed with what they have. You can get complete curriculum kits if you aren’t sure what you want or some fun educational toys. My daughter is very intrigued by the Graphic Library history books {like comic books} that we found here. This is a Christian company but you can get secular curriculum/kits.

7. Christian Book Distributors - As the name implies, this is a Christian company. But they have an entire search option for homeschool supplies. They frequently have sales and also offer popular curriculum {Bob Jones, A Beka, Saxon, etc.}. I’ve gotten some Melissa and Doug educational toys from here at great prices.

8. Mardel - Another Christian company that offers big name curriculum, often at a discount. They also have planners {I’m using their homeschool planner and really loving it!}, religious shirts and jewelry, and Bibles.

9. Masterbooks - If you are familiar with Answers in Genesis, you’ll recognize this name. They publish many of the books Ken Ham has written but they also have their own curriculum. I’m planning to use, “A Child’s Geography: Explore Viking Realms” and “Passport to the World” for part of our unit lessons this fall. I also love all their resources about dinosaurs and creation for kids.

10. Homeschool Used Book - I recently found this site through the Well-Planned Gal page. This is an online place for you to sell and buy used curriculum. They offer a range of grades, curricula, and subjects and note on each one the condition of the item and the discount from retail price. Many are 50%+ off!!

11. ThriftBooks - I’m a fan of book buying but especially discount book buying! ThriftBooks has just about any book and DVD and if they don’t currently have it, you can add it to a wishlist and be notified when they get one in. I’ve saved so much money comparing here to Amazon. I usually pay about half what it is on Amazon. They have a points program and you can earn free books by buying books, sending friend referrals, and using their mobile app. They have adult books, cookbooks, UsBorne, picture books, dictionaries….

12. Home Science Tools - Last year I ordered the science kit that went with our curriculum and we received in one box all the materials to do all the experiments listed in my third grader’s science book! They have kits that go with a variety of curricula and also offer individual things like microscopes, dissection kits, chemistry supplies, weather and geological experiments, and more.

13. UsBorne - I love UsBorne books! They are great quality, colorful, educational, and cover so many topics. I look for these books on other sites {a few I mentioned above} but there are certain titles that are impossible to find unless you go straight to the source. We love the Lift a Flap, Shine a Light, and doodle books from here!

14. A Child’s Dream - This is a Waldorf method website. They have mostly arts and crafts type things and not as many books. I haven’t ordered from them but they have high quality wool, felt, and painting supplies.

15. Nature Watch - If you want rocks, minerals, butterfly kits, fossils, and other hands-on things about nature, this is a great site! If you teach a Co-Op class or want a fun activity for a group of kids, they also have craft kits that are less expensive the more you order {does that make sense?}. I haven’t ordered from here but I have my eye on a few things if the budget allows.

Now, you can also go to publisher’s websites and order straight from them for curriculum. I have not ordered or used curriculum from all these companies but I know families that do use products from the companies listed and have recommended them to me. I’ve mentioned a few of the major ones below.

If you are interested in classical learning: Classical Conversations, Memoria Press, Classical Academic Press.

If you are interested in Charlotte Mason: Beautiful Feet Books, Ambleside Online.

If you are interested in traditional learning: Bob Jones Press, A Beka.

A few other companies are: All About Learning Press, Sonlight, My Father’s World, Math-U-See, The Good and the Beautiful, Rod and Staff.

Like I said, knowing your homeschool teaching style/method is important so you don’t get bogged down in all the possibilities! It is possible to mix things. We are traditional style {using Bob Jones Press for most things} but we use Song School Latin from Classical Academic Press and New American Handwriting from Memoria Press. But I like using the same company for our core subjects because it gives a cohesion and familiarity to our school day and makes sure we’re not forgetting something.

If you are feeling like homeschooling is impossible, don’t give up! Just choose one of the above websites and start looking around. You don’t have to buy everything available to get started. Just get your core subjects {math, language arts, science}, start slow, get comfortable, and gradually expand. You also don’t have to buy everything at once. I’ve ordered supplemental books or activities in October once I saw what we were learning for the year and what my kids enjoyed doing.

Please comment below if you have questions! I’d love to help and encourage you if I can.

Photo by J Kelly Brito on Unsplash

Growing in Grace

We homeschool our children. We chose to do that for many different reasons {read more about why here}. But ultimately, when we tell people that we homeschool, I’ll receive looks of compassion and long suffering and hear, “You must be such a patient person.”

My gut reaction is to laugh in their face. But my mom raised me to be polite so I smile and reply, “Not always.” You see, for all the reasons I teach my kids, being patient isn’t one of them.

When we decided on home education, it was the simplest decision and the hardest decision to make. Simple because I love watching my kids learn, I want to know what they struggle with and who they hang out with and what they are exposed to. Hard because I knew it would require sacrifice. It meant my time and energy every morning would be wrapped up in their education and needs. Some days are still hard but I never regret the decision to homeschool. It’s taught me just about as much as I’ve taught my kids, only in a deeper sense than reading and math go.

In our state, I needed to fill out an affidavit to file with the county giving my intention to homeschool and take responsibility for my children’s education. I didn’t fill it out flippantly; the gravity of what I was committing to weighed on me. On part of the affidavit, I was asked what the name of our school was. I paused to consider. Names are something I don’t take lightly. A name, a title, speaks volumes about what you want to stand for and represent. And I’m a classic over thinker, non decisive person.

Finally, I landed on Growing in Grace Academy. Not because I think we’ve arrived and we’re waiting for the world to catch up. But because we continually need to do it! One secular definition for grace is, “the manifestation of favor to an individual” but the biblical definition is, “receiving a gift I don’t deserve.” I want my kids to learn to demonstrate grace to others and remember the grace that God has already lavishly bestowed on them.

We have a warped view that grace is for salvation and then we keep walking. But grace continues to follow us through the sanctification process!! We never outgrow our need for grace!! And God abundantly provides it. In the same way, we need to show grace to others. Even if we feel they don’t deserve our forgiveness, our love, our empathy. We show up and say, “God offers you grace and so do I.” And we pray for them and forgive and don’t allow bitterness to take root.

Naming our school Growing in Grace is a daily reminder of what I want to be doing and how I want to be an example to my kids. I want to show them I need grace and I also give grace. I forgive bad attitudes and love them through their struggles. I ask for forgiveness and apologize when I raise my voice. I remind them no one is perfect and we all fall short. We all need grace and we all need to give grace.

So as we homeschool, as I go about my mornings correcting spelling words, handwriting form, and grammar structure, I always have the amazing gift of grace before me. And I strive to show it, live it out, grow in it through my teaching and life. I get multiple chances a day to try and — with God’s grace — I pray I show it to those around me.

Photo by Maarten Deckers on Unsplash.

Why We Homeschool

Recently someone asked if I homeschool because it’s easier than getting my kids to traditional school. I had to smother a laugh. Yes, I’m glad I don’t have to shuffle kids into the car each morning and brave the pickup line each afternoon. Yes, we love taking vacations when everyone else is tucked behind a desk. But our decision to homeschool is so much deeper than these reasons touch on. And it is far from easy.

**Before I begin let me say that how you choose to school your children is a personal choice. Homeschool is not for everyone and within homeschool there are various types {free schooling, classical, structured, online, etc}. My point in this post is not to shame anyone for choosing different than we have chosen, nor is it to say our way is best. But whenever people find out we teach our kids at home I get two immediate reactions: 1) people think I’m amazing and super patient for doing it, 2) they want to know why we chose to educate this way. So I figured a blog post would dispel some of the rumors of my patience and answer the incredulous question “Why?” Keep in mind different families homeschool for different reasons. Some of what I have below may not apply to all who school this way.**

Last week, I was explaining the hundreds place to my older daughter while cutting out a paper bat for my son and holding my nine month old who happened to be screaming in my ear. At that moment, our decision to school at home was anything but easy or desirable. When we left our little schoolroom - basically a walkin closet - I asked myself why I was doing this. And it wasn’t the first time I’d asked.

I’m going to first address the reasons people assume we homeschool but are false. These are things people have said about our decision but are not true for us.

-We don’t trust other people. This is almost laughable. I enjoy it when my kids can learn from others. For three years we were involved in a Co-Op and most of the time I was not with my kids for those three hours every week. Giving my kids the opportunity to sit in a classroom and listen and raise their hands was great for them. They also take music lessons and self defense classes from people outside our family.

-We only teach what we believe. This is a big one. My kids know about evolution, other religions, ancient mythology. We don’t shelter them from the world. But we do get to teach them through a biblical worldview lens, answer their questions without going through a third party, and choose when to introduce topics. Anyone will tell you children develop at different rates. So being able to see what my individual child can process and grasp and choose when to start talking about evolution vs creation, etc is a huge benefit of homeschool. And I’ll be honest, some of the questions they randomly ask from talking to friends, watching Netflix, or reading still catch me off guard. But I’m glad we have the framework of learning together daily to approach each question in turn.

-It’s less expensive to homeschool. Again, completely false. For two years we participated in ‘public online school’ where I was sent all the material and could teach it how I wanted and it was completely free. However, we had to do state testing, online meetings with a teacher, and keep to the district school schedule. The benefit was FREE!! But we decided we wanted to choose curriculum and my daughter was tired of having everything online. So now we purchase books, manipulatives, learning resources, etc that we want to use in addition to paying our state taxes for education.

So now that I’ve covered why my husband and I DON’T homeschool, why DO we?

-I love learning with them. It can be draining to go over the same concepts day after day and wonder when we’ll move on, but once it clicks I love seeing the pride and joy they take in it. And it really stretches me also. I have to change how I explain something or find another example that maybe will help them better. And their curiosity about things keeps me learning and exploring and seeing the world through new eyes. My kids love animals and over the last few years, I have learned more random animal facts and watched more nature programs than I thought possible.

-We get to learn together. My son doesn’t realize it but he knows more at four years old than I did. Because he has never liked to be alone, for the last three years he’s been sitting in on school with his older sister. When we read, he’s right there answering questions about the scene and characters. When we do science experiments he wants to watch the “volcano” explode and plant his own bean seed and everything. The other day, we were reading about Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller and he closed his eyes and covered his ears, trying to imagine a life lived in darkness and silence. Knowledge doesn’t have age limits.

-We can take time for extra things. My daughter loves crafts and art. So we’ve been learning about different artists every other week and doing a craft project. Since she’s taking piano lessons, we’ve also been learning about composers. I’ve already mentioned our animal fascination and we regularly check out the live animal cameras at the San Diego Zoo and a few other places, just to see what the pandas in Washington DC might be doing on a Wednesday afternoon. With online resources and YouTube, it’s amazing what we can learn about. And that doesn’t include our library trips!!

-I get to be with my kids all day. Moment of honesty: sometimes this introvert wishes I had a day to myself. I am far from perfect in my attitude and cheerfulness and joy every moment of everyday. But being a stay at home homeschooling mom has grown me and stretched me and taught me a lot about myself. I’m not as patient as I would like, I like things done a certain way, I definitely need grace and strength from God. When I look back on each day, I’m amazed at all the little blessings I saw. My daughter reading to her brother for Book It points, my son tracing his name with master concentration, the older kids playing with the baby and setting the table. They sometimes fight - we deal with hurt feelings and bad attitudes and complaining just like everyone else - but I am there to help them apologize and forgive and start a dance party. Though the days be hard I’m thankful this is what we’ve chosen.

As I said before, people choose how to educate their children for different reasons and our choice is not the right one for everyone. You may start with one type of school but switch as your family changes. But whatever your choice - public, charter, homeschool, private, online - remember that you as a parent are your children’s biggest influence. Even if they aren’t with you most of the day, get into their lives, learn with them, laugh with them, teach them. God placed your children in your family for you to disciple them. Pray for these gifts from God and never take a moment for granted.

For more reasons I love homeschooling, check out this post.

Photo by Evan Kirby on Unsplash

Showing Grace When We Would Do It Differently

Imagine this scene. Two homeschool moms are talking about the curriculum choice they made for their children. The first mom says they really enjoy the curriculum they are using. The second mom is semi familiar with it but quickly states that that curriculum is far too expensive and there's no way she would pay that much for books when there are other less expensive options available.

The first mom fires back that it's not as expensive as the second mom thinks and the quality of the material and the convenience of the program make it the perfect choice for their family. As both women go back and forth about the pros and cons of their choices, both get more involved emotionally and neither of them change opinions.

Now I used the example of what they choose to teach with because it's a debate I've heard in homeschool circles. They could just as easily have been discussing homeschool vs regular school or what food they feed their family or whether or not they vaccinate or a 100 other choices we make for our families.

The simple truth is that for everything we decide to do, there is a flip side we're choosing not to do and it often comes down to personal preference, family size, what we've found works best for our lifestyle, etc. It doesn't automatically make the other choice wrong - that option just doesn't work for our family.

The sad thing is many a mom has left a conversation like this feeling run down, questioning her decisions, angry, frustrated, maybe feeling personally attacked. Some moms might quickly shrug off an encounter but she probably replays it in her head a few times and mentions it to her husband. Other moms might start to doubt the decisions they've made for their children, rethinking choices and losing sleep because of someone else's opinion.

The simple truth is that no one is perfect. We are all trying to raise our kids well, doing what we believe is best for them. But our decisions shouldn't be a mandate for others to follow. Do we make mistakes? Of course. Can we change our minds? Absolutely. God gave us children who are different from other children, he gave us abilities and interests different from other moms, personalities that are not cookie cutter. Why would we think there's one way to do things when our families operate differently?

Multiple times we as Christians are called to unity. We are called to build each other up, to strive to be like Jesus (I Thess. 5:11). If we are following God's Word and raising our children to follow after Him, the choices we make reflect those values. And a mom who raises her children differently but desiring the same goals is doing what's best for her family.

Now I want to point out something quickly. Obviously if a mom is making sinful choices for her children {like encouraging them to do something illegal, or something against the principles God has outlined in the Bible} we should lovingly confront her with the problem. But let’s be honest. Usually the discussions we have and debates we enter into are more things of choice and preference than biblical command.

We need to show grace to others in a very practical way. It's acknowledging that the decisions other moms make are okay, even if they differ from ours. It's listening to why she made those choices and not demanding she listen to our choices and change her mind. It’s loving others as God loves us (John 13:34; I Peter 4:8-9).

Photo by Magdalena Raczka on Unsplash

Planning Our Homeschool Year

I've had some interest in how I'm planning our homeschool year and thought I'd write a post to break down what I'm doing. It's important to note that each state has its own rules and requirements for homeschool families so check with your state. Utah - where we live - suggests doing school 180 days but I don't have to turn in or record any type of attendance. Many curricula are organized with 180 days or 36 weeks of school in mind so it just makes it easier to plan with those numbers in mind.

Curriculum

The first big decision is choosing what method of homeschool you will follow and what books you plan to use. We are more school at home in our approach and this year we are using BJU Press for all the major subjects, Sing Song Latin for language, and I'm writing/planning art, music, and Bible on my own. If you aren't familiar with the different methods to homeschool, this website will break down the most common ones.  Keep in mind you don't have to follow any one of these completely. While we are structured in the curriculum we use we don't have a set schedule of how much time is spent on each subject, the time we do certain subjects, etc. Once you have your books in hand, you are ready for the next step. The actual planning.

Yearly Planning

Once you know what books you're using and how many days/weeks your state requires, you can decide how your year will look. Some homeschoolers prefer a year round approach. This gives mom a few weeks off throughout the year to regroup and rest. It often looks like 9 weeks doing school {one term}, three weeks off, and repeat. So instead of having a long summer you have breaks at nine week intervals all year and just three to four weeks off in the summer. I've never tried this because I enjoy having a long summer break and my kids definitely do! We start in mid August and go through mid April with short breaks at Thanksgiving and Christmas. We also finish school daily by noon so that gives us every afternoon to go places and do things. 

I print off a calendar from this website because you can choose your beginning and ending months and what format you want. I mark off the holidays/breaks we plan to take and circle the date we plan to start. Then I count out 36 weeks, taking into account any days or weeks I blocked out for holidays. That gives me my end date. You can add or subtract days if you don't take full week breaks. And we're ready to move on to the last step!

Daily Page Planning

Because I am a planner, I like having guidelines for where we should be as the year goes on. I also think it's good for children to see a goal {in this case a certain page number} and work toward it. I make a simple chart that lists all the subjects, the number of pages or chapters each has, and my start and end dates. Some subjects like spelling and Latin are easy. We do one lesson a week in each. For the other subjects I take the total number of pages in the book, divide by 180 {the days we do school}, and it tells me how many pages we should do a day to be finished in 180 days. If the number isn't even - like 2.6 - I make a note to do 2-3 pages a day.

 We break our year into four nine-week terms. So I also take the total number of pages, divide by two, and that's the page number we should be on halfway through the year. I split it in half again for the first term and add that number to the halfway point for the third. Is that confusing? Here's an example:

Our math book has 332 pages. 332 divided by 180 equals 1.84 {about 2 pages a day}. **You can be finished at this point because you know how many pages to do each day. But if you want to give yourself or your student a number to help keep on track throughout the year, keep going!** Now we take 332 divided by 2 and get 166. We should be on page 166 by the end of our second term. Divide 166 by 2 and we have 83 so we should be on page 83 by the end of our first term. Now take 166 and add 83 and we get 249 which is the page we should be on by the end of our third term. 

In our art and music schedule I purposely left the last two weeks of school free. This gives us extra time those last two weeks to finish up the other subjects if we get behind for some reason. Also her spelling only has 33 lessons so we will finish that three weeks early.

I know this seems like a lot, especially when you have multiple kids. But once you get into a groove it goes very quickly. It took me a few afternoons but that was doing it with a baby in my arms between nap times. I should note that I only do this with my second grader. For my preschooler I'm very relaxed. He'll do art, music, and Bible with us. Then he has his own book and we'll focus on a certain page each day but I'm not going to be super scheduled with him because at his age a lot of learning is just playing and observing new things.

If you are a seasoned homeschool mom, do you schedule out your year like this? Have you found any tips or tricks to make prepping easy? I'd love to hear about it!

Photo by Melinda Gimpel on Unsplash

Instructing with Kindness

Recently I was reading in Proverbs and this short verse stood out to me. ‘Her mouth speaks wisdom, and loving instruction is on her tongue.’ (Prov. 31:26 CSB) Chapter 31 on the virtuous woman is not a new passage for me but I was reading in a different translation than I usually do and the words ‘loving instruction’ stood out to me. The English Standard Version translates it ‘the teaching of kindness.’

As a stay at home, homeschooling mom, my days are full of instructing others. My children are lower elementary age so basic facts about phonics, math, writing, and the alphabet are usual topics of teaching. We're also learning manners, how to get along and solve disputes between siblings, how to do chores. It seems as if my days are one long teaching session.

If I'm honest I would have to admit that what I teach is not always done in love or patience or kindness. Sometimes it's a frustrated nails-digging-into-my-palm kind of teaching. When I've explained the same thing 20 times and they still look doubtful. When I correct and deal with the same attitude issues and see no proof they've listened. When I struggle to not raise my voice and retreat to my room for a long cry, wondering if I'll ever arrive as a good mom.

Maybe that's why verse 26 leaped off the page at me. Because I've lived the opposite of teaching my children with loving instruction and I didn't like it.

Proverbs isn't the only guide we have for how to use our mouths. Consider what James says when he writes, ‘Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.’ (James 1:19) A few chapters later we read, ‘So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.’ (3:5) We can use words with love and kindness or in anger and selfishness. And how we speak shows others what is in our hearts. (Matt. 15:18)

So where does that put us with speaking loving instruction? Or rather we should ask what does loving instruction look like practically lived out?

To me it means having an attitude of love for who we are teaching before the teaching ever begins. If my response and attitude don't show my kids I love them, anything I say or try to teach will fall on unresponsive ears. I will look like a hypocrite - instructing them to love others and serve God while failing to do it myself.

Teaching includes a large percentage of ‘do what I do.’ And children are notorious mimics. They will copy what we do whether we tell them to or not.

When I look back on my day with my kids, I don't want to regret what I taught with my own attitude. I don't want my kids to grow up thinking I don't enjoy my time with them or I regret my decision to homeschool. I want our everyday interactions to be brimming with love.

My desire is to do all with kindness.

Whether you homeschool or not, you are primarily responsible for teaching your children the ways of the Lord. And it begins with the attitude in how we teach.

photo by Laith Abdulkareem on Unsplash