School Pics

We started our school year much later this year than last year. Last year we started on July 15, and this year we started on Sept 8. Whew! We tried starting back while we were still at Nana and Papa's house, but there were just too many distractions and people constantly around that it just didn't work. But that's one of the joys of homeschooling - flexibility. Now that we are settled in our new home, school is going very well and we are enjoying our new school room and time together.

Pics from our first day:

These three.







 

The boy who fixed his own hair for pictures. The baby who is a m.e.s.s. And the big girl who is a little mama and {mostly} sweeter than ice cream. Yes. It's these three that make our homeschooling journey a great family adventure.

Kindergarten

It has honestly been a surprise to me how much I have enjoyed teaching Kindergarten this year. I am so happy with the curriculum that we chose. At first I thought that My Father's World K would be too "simple" - not that Buddy-Ro is advanced, but just that it is a simple approach to learning. But it has been exactly what Buddy-Ro has needed. There are SO many hands-on activities and projects, and honestly some of them would have probably gone by the way-side if I was doing it without MFW b/c all of the "extras" are so hard to work in to our day (what with teaching 3rd grade and having a brand-new-toddler toddling around:)).

But MFW has been a blessing to us. Buddy-Ro is right on the cusp of beginning reading, and he's happy to do school. I am praying that it continues, and I am eating it up at the moment - because I'm an experienced Mama, and I know how quickly things can change. Without warning.

We did a leaf unit with the letter L. We collected leaves from the back yard on our nature walk, and then used the leaves he found all week.







This leaf was so big that Mama had to help a little with the coloring. Buddy-Ro helped hold the leaf in place. :)



But he did all the rest!!





Proud of his leaf-sorting abilities. :)



And then...the BIG DAY arrived. Buddy-Ro's ants arrived in the mail. As in Black.Live.Crawling.Ants. He was so excited. Let's just say that ants aren't exactly Mama's thing. But it's part of Kindergarten, so it's what we do. I'm such a good sport. Well, when I let Daddy be in charge of the Ant Farm set-up. ;)



And now we have ants. I can admit that their tunnel building capabilities are impressive. And no one could argue that ants are lazy. Which is a great thing to teach kiddos! And the sentence Buddy-Ro is learning this week is: I am a wise child, so I will work hard.



Kindergarten is fun! Just the way it should be!!

The boy who loves to learn

After bath Buddy-Ro said, "Mama, I want to do more school."

Really? It had been a long day. It was already after bath time, and I was mentally ready for bedtime.

But how do you say no to the boy who loves to learn, who went straight into the school room and got out his own math book? Who loves to learn so much that he didn't even remember to put his PJs on first?!!?



Gotta go with it while he's so eager! :)

Should Christians Homeschool?

(Disclaimer: This is my from my heart, and my opinion. :))

Over the the past few months, I have come across a whole lot of people asking the same question: Should Christians homeschool?

There are many different reasons people choose to homeschool, and most of them are valid. Many families choose to homeschool because it is convenient for their busy schedules. Many families choose to homeschool because they want to be with their children all-day-long-every-day (I'm one of those "crazy" people!). People choose to homeschool because they feel that their children will receive a better education at home, or because they want to filter the influences in their children's lives. People choose to homeschool because of their physical location. See, lots of different reasons.

Of course, there are also a lot of different reasons that people choose not to homeschool: the whole "socialization" issue, parents have to work, parents don't feel called to homeschool, parents feel that their children will receive a better education in the public school system, parents want their children to be able to play sports competitively. All of these are valid reasons.

However, I have heard many people lately say, "Christians should not homeschool their children because they need to be a light for Jesus."

Hmmm. I think this reasoning needs to be evaluated.

Children are children. They are young, they are immature, and most of them simply do not have the ability to be a "light for Jesus." Children cannot evangelize public schools when they don't know what they truly believe and why they believe it. When we believe something, believe in something, we are not influenced by others and what they believe.

In the Bible, Jesus himself is not reported to have started any kind of evangelism until age 12 when He and His parents went to the temple. Twelve years old is a mighty big difference from five, or six, or even 10 years old. A twelve year old has the ability to understand {more of} what s/he believes and why. So if the argument was that "I am sending my high school student into public school to be a light for Jesus," it may have a better argument behind it.

But it's many elementary school parents who are saying this, and that is what's being evaluated here. Children are the most impressionable beings on the planet. Children know better, but still do wrong all of the time. Do you tell your children not to lie at home? Do they? Do you tell your children to speak politely at home? Do they ever speak rudely? Do you tell your children to be kind to one another at home? Do they ever treat others unkindly? Do you tell your children that it doesn't matter what your brother/sister is doing, you still need to make your own decisions at home? Do you have to discipline your child for "going along" with poor behavior?


My point? You can raise your child in a Christian home, but you will still deal with human issues. If you are rearing your child at home with Christian values, but you still see sin in their lives - how is that going to change by sending them to public school? Many Christian parents today argue that their children should have an opportunity to influence the secular world and, thus, send them to public schools. They see themselves as using public school as a ministry opportunity. Question: Are they sacrificing their children and their faith on the altar of opportunity? Children are immature little creatures. Are they really ready to be a light for Jesus? Can you truly think of a situation in which a child will not be influenced - good or bad - at a young and impressionable age?

The Great Commission (which is what most parents are referring to when they say they want their child to be a "light for Jesus") says this: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I commanded you…" If our children do not understand and obey all that the Lord commands within our own homes, how will they "make disciples" in the public school? How will they, as children, not be influenced by the secular ideas that you teach against in your home?

I am not arguing whether public school is better or worse than a homeschool environment. If you feel that your child will receive a better education at public school - send him. If you think that your child needs socialization or exposure to sports - send her. But if your only reason to send your child to public school is so that s/he will be a "light for Jesus," I think you need to examine that. Children aren’t to the age yet to be disciples as they are still little sheep. And they are easily led astray.

Again, if public school is your choice because of academic standards or sports opportunities or because you work - that is a sound decision.

But if your decision to send your child to public school rests solely on the basis of your child being a "light for Jesus," I hope you will reevaluate your reason.

Back Yard Nature Study

There has been no school this week. None. Not even reading. Gasp! And it's all gonna be alright. Sickness has taken over {again}, and one of the benefits of starting school in July is taking time off when needed.

But last week we had a full week of school. And it was fun!! My kiddos love to be outside, so nature studies are always a favorite activity. We measured out one square-yard in the back yard, and the kiddos observed everything they saw.

They had to draw their observations first while standing.









And then they got low to the ground and made more observations.





Buddy-Ro observed a bird chirping up high, too. :)





They observed grass, dirt, mud, bugs, a mole hole, recently fallen leaves, dead leaves, pine straw, bugs, a cracked bird egg, and more bugs. They loved it!!

First day of school 2013

OK, so keepin' it real here, folks. Our first day of school was r.o.u.g.h.

Not because it didn't go well, not because of bad attitudes. Nope, it was rough because the tiny one is SICK. Ugh! Y'all, I mean he had 7 (s-e-v-e-n) horrible diapers in 45 minutes. I'm talking puddles-on-the-floor-and-I'm-not-putting-him-in-another-outfit-horrible. I thought seriously about throwing in the towel 20 minutes after our school day started, but the kiddos were SO stinkin' excited about school that I couldn't miss out on it. I mean, really...how can you say no to kiddos who WANT to do school?!? In JULY!! So we pressed on - and by "we" I really mean I pressed on - with whiny baby on my hip (or on the changing table).

So, our year didn't start off the exact way the Mama wanted it to, but we still accomplished everything in the lesson plans. :) I thought about easing Birdie back into school since 3rd grade is much more intense than she's been used to, but with the encouragement from a couple of friends (thanks, Megan and Jill!) we just jumped all in.

OK, the boy is in Kindergarten but I see a 12 year old in this picture. Goodness me!



And here's Birdie starting 3rd grade at 6 3/4 years. Gifted kids are a challenge, but I'm up for it. In 3rd grade at least. ;)



My boys...with the baby showing NO signs of not feeling well.



The #1 reason I homeschool our kiddos is because I just want to be with them. This picture has my heart wrapped around it.



Kindergarten was full of letter recognition...



Concentration...



Coloring (Day and Night from the first day of Creation)...



Math (sorting by color)...



I ran around between kiddos keeping up with the naked baby between diaper changes. LOVE those little toes!! :)









And 3rd grade was full of handwriting...



Math...



Weekly Bible verse...



And Spanish with Buddy-Ro.



Birdie also had Spelling, Grammar, Geography, Science, Music, and Reading today...but I couldn't get a picture of everything. Did I mention the baby was sick?!?

All in all it was a good start to our new school year. Academically, at least! Hoping for a healthy year, ahem, with learning and lots of fun thrown int the mix. Rarely will our days be picture perfect. I know full well that there will be tears and bad days and I-can't-do-this-anymore moments. But I didn't choose to homeschool because it was the easy choice. In fact, I didn't choose it at all. God called me here, to my kiddos. If you would have told me three years ago that I'd be homeschooling my children, I would have laughed out loud. Homeschooling is for weirdos! Well, I either have to eat my words or admit that we are a weird family. :) Either way, I sure do love these faces!

The School Room

The school room is organized. Again. And it is waiting patiently for school to begin.

Summer affects my brain severely at times and I start thinking things like, "Oh, let's just start back to school now." Eeeek! The heat can be over-whelming, apparently.

But, truly, I am excited about school starting back. Probably sooner rather than later since we tend to take breaks throughout the year. Here is where we will be for the most part. We have tried "school" all over the house, but my kiddos truly do better in our school room. While we often read books on my bed, just about everything else is done here.



The kiddos love to have their art work displayed!



Scott built this for the playroom a few years back, but these cubbies are great for organizing our games, puzzles, manipulatives, and maps.



Here is our desk. It's under all that clutter somewhere. Birdie-girl is obsessed with office supplies (especially sticky notes) and her "collection" is obvious. The clutter used to overwhelm me (it still does on bad days), but I've learned to appreciate Birdie's ability to waste nothing...and collect everything. She is able to concentrate on her math while she's at the computer, so for now I'm learning to let it go. See.....Mama learns at home, too. ;)



Sometimes it's just fun to decorate. :)





We have been using the Workbox System for over a year now, and it has worked out well for us..



Scott made the large white board/cork board for our school use. It's very handy having a handy-man for a husband. :)



We are going with My Father's World curriculum this year. I am very excited about it, especially Birdie's curriculum where we are studying geography and people from different cultures all year. With My Father's World there is a heart for missions deep in their curriculum, and that makes my heart happy.



MFW has a system that they call "reading basket" - where you keep suggested reading and books for fun. We love to read, so this was an added bonus for us!





I love the quote that hovers above us in the school room. It's our reminder that we don't do things in our own strength. So when school days get hard (which they will), we can keep going. His strength is sufficient!



I feel myself already getting into school mode. School supplies have been purchased, everything is organized, we talk about school often to get the kiddos excited. I know it won't be a perfect year, it won't always be fun, I know I'll be stretched beyond my own capacity - but here we go anyway!!