Are You Ready To Home School?

     I just got these questions from a friend of mine.  Like most potential home school moms she had some good ones!  I am so glad that she is approaching this commitment with an honest attitude, she seems to realize that it will be a trial and sacrifice, but hopefully what I can convey to her is that despite her selfish inclinations, home schooling her children would be huge blessing, not only to her, but to her children as well.  Further more, the blessing extends to our community and society as a whole.  But that soapbox is for another time.

     Here are her questions in bold and my answers follow.

What was the deciding factor for you to home school?
Well, for our family the decision was made before we ever had kids.  I learned about home schooling before I met my husband and knew that I needed to marry someone who felt the same way.  When I encountered my first home schooling family they dressed funny, made their own bread and yogurt, all the kids were kind to each other and helped each other and they were all very intelligent.  A light bulb went on inside me.  I knew that that was how I wanted my family to be, I knew I HAD  to do that.  Maybe minus the dressing funny and the bread and yogurt... however, the bread and yogurt have come with time!  :0)

It was a year or two into this job that I realized what a challenge it would be for me.  I barely made it out of high school!  My family, prior to marriage, sure weren't nice to each other.  There was never a self- disciplined moment in my existence!  Eeek.  It was all catching up to me.  Believe me, there were a few good solid months where I doubted EVERYTHING about the whole thing.

How confident were you on the thought of teaching different subjects? (Example: English, grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc.?)
I wasn't at all.  I was horrified to teach math, which ironically has become my favorite subject to teach!  I had consulted with several math teachers and home school parents who were doing a bang up job, they all recommended Saxon math to me.  Wow.  I was so afraid to try it.  So glad I did though.  It gave me confidence knowing that I had people to turn to for help if I began to sink.  I never needed them. The books script out what to say, which I thought I would hate, but I realized what a boost it was for novice like me, and now I whiz through the teaching because we already know what to do.  They do, I do, and it makes my kids feel confident too because they know what to expect.

It hasn't been like that for every subject.  We are several years in and I just found a good English/Grammar/Punctuation curriculum that I like and that gives me that confidence boost that helps me feel like I can teach it.  Yes.  I am a bit dependent on some curriculums.  On the other hand I have learned and gained the confidence to improvise when I want or need to.  Which is empowering for a new home school mom, you begin to realized that you are learning the ropes.  Then you relax a little.


What age did you start a curriculum?
I started with very little and only to help me teach reading.  We did some crafty stuff from some books since I am not an artsy or crafty mom.  Those things annoy me and give me the heeby-geebys.  Glue and cotton balls are my nightmare!  Some moms do awesome without curriculum.  Some don't.  Some need it all laid out, some don't.  Some people find the curriculum that their children need to feel successful, however, I totally don't, and this will sound selfish, but I use what will help me, because I feel that teaching is about the teacher!  You have to be able to teach them.  If you hate it they will hate it!  Period.  If you think it is hard, so will they.  When I have my best tools I am excited and prepared to do this thing which in turn makes them excited and happy to do it too.  Even if it is math.  Even if it is simply eating broccoli.  Your attitude affects them.  

How are you and your children taking to the home schooling?  (Do you feel confident, second guess yourself?)
No, I don't always feel confident.  Sometimes I panic.  Sometimes I feel content and solid.  I am a wave tossed!  However, in one of my dark times, I threatened to send them to school, and they panicked!  They cried.  I said, "that was a dumb idea, never mind".  But again, in a dark and discouraging moment I said, "get your shoes, I am going to sign you up for school"  They wailed and cried, and I realized that  me saying this to them was doing them harm and not good.  They were scared.  They don't want to go there.  I said I was sorry that I scared them, and I won't say that again.  They have taken to it because they don't know anything else, but I have to say that that doesn't mean we don't have hard and bad days.  They would in government school too, but being home they don't have to face the pernicious and destructive social silliness that would corrupt their little souls.  Yes, they have to deal with a mom who has bad days too, and who is often inconsistent and selfish but there is no better way to teach them about God and His grace by having to live out what we believe, learn to deny ourselves and sacrifice for each other.  We are forced to depend on Him!  We have taken to home schooling like peas and carrots, a match made in heaven.

Do your kids ask about going to a public school or ask why they don't go?
Yes, they used to.  Now they don't.  We would explain to them that some kids go off to school and some kids stay home.  We made sure they knew tons of other families that schooled at home so they wouldn't feel alone or strange.


     I don't know if this is helpful at all.  I know that as a new home school mom myself at one point I had so many questions.  Getting into it and then identifying myself as one woefully unprepared I knew I had a choice.  Throw in the towel and send my kids off to some other person or their peers to raise them, (because that is exactly what happens, as hard as that may be to hear for some moms)  or I could pull up my boot straps and get myself together (which I wasn't sure I wanted to do at that point) and figure out exactly what those kids did need and start to apply it.  It has been messy for sure.  I have the love of a clueless but supportive husband (when I say clueless I mean that he doesn't have anymore answers about these things than I do) who looks at me lovingly and expects me to plug along for another day.  We just keep going.  We pray.  We trust God for the results.  He gave us these precious gifts.  Do we believe that He will work in their lives through broken vessels?  Absolutely!

     I hope that someone somewhere has been encouraged.  Amen.

Happy About Baby!

I am posting here because my husband will not let me share the good news with our family or friends yet.  No one reads this, so, it is safe to share here. 

Baby number 4 is on the way and we could not be more happy about it.  Yeah!  Praise the Lord for His wonderful gifts! 

Not sick yet.  Whew.  It is 4 weeks and 1 day... waiting, waiting.  Maybe I won't end up glued to the couch moaning and groaning for 3 months of my life afterall!  That would be cool.  Either way.  So excited!

We are going to cloth diaper this time... should have done it last time, but didn't want to intimidate Daddy out of doing his fair share of the diaper changing.  Wouldn't have wanted to deprive him of that!  This time he is much more relaxed.  He even said we can do a homebirth!  Oh yeah!  So, now we will see what the Lord has in mind.  Will we live here or somewhere else by then?
Will I end up with another breech?
Only God knows. 
Should we find out the sex?  Even though I have many questions, I am old now, things don't press me like they used to.  Time settles things I think... I know that I can rest, that the answers will come in their own timing.  Just like the name of this sweet little budding bloom.  Can't wait to meet them already.  Will they have hair?  Will they be as sweet and easy as the others?  Either way.  I am old now.  May the Almighty continue to calm me down with each blessing that comes into my life to pour energy and love into.  Let the tired of old age mothering be contenting.  I am so glad that my husband seems to share my joy. 

I will have to post about later about how this man of mine is going to decide to break the news, because it seems that he is cooking something up.

For now, God be praised in Christ Jesus His Son!

Saving Dinner: Another Home School Gotta Have

One thing that every home school mom wishes that she had, if she doesn't already have one... is a maid.  We all wish that we had someone who would come out of the goodness of their hearts and say this, "Honey, whatever you need today, I am going to do it.  How 'bout if I wash those windows for you?  Or maybe I can whip that pinnacle of laundry into shape for you?"  

Yes, that is the truth.  Home school moms wish for a maid.  So there it is.  Now to the "gotta have" part.  I find that my Saving Dinner cookbook is almost as good as a live in maid.  The book was written by Leanne Ely, whoever she is.  What a Godsend!  There are numerous types and ways to make cooking easy, but this is great.  Here is why I like it so much.  

1)  It isn't a "download" or paid subscription which means that I won't get distracted by the internet or feel guilty if I don't use it.

2)  The recipes are simple and healthy and did I mention that it gives you a grocery list and then 6 day meal list by season?  Oh, it is wonderful.  I copy the list on my copy machine and add the other things I need to get right to that list.  It is broken up by section so the grocery shopping doesn't take me near as long.

3)  I used to do this by myself but now I don't have to think about it.  I just print, add my other things from my fridge grocery list and go.

4)  The meals don't take long to fix!  Seriously.  

So that is it.  This is the newest item to my list of "home school gotta haves".  Thank you Leanne Ely where ever you are!  You have given me such a blessing.  

Potatoes and Applesause

I had a really exciting homemaker moment the other day and I wanted to share it.  It is worth sharing so that I will remember it long after the moment is gone.  I bought 50 lbs. of potatoes and 2 (either 1/2 or whole... not sure which because I flunked farming class) bushels of apples.  You might be wondering the significance of this event, I realize that to most folks this would seem a little strange and unexciting but to me it was thrilling.  Here are my reasons why.

A) I strive to be a better homemaker, mom and wife.  I want to streamline the process and make life a little easier on me, since there is only one of me.  Buying these items in this quantity did this twofold.  I saved a few trips to the store for those items and I have one already prepared food ("sass") and one easy to prepare food (taters) available for quick use.

B) I amazed myself by getting that applesauce whipped up before I lost more than 2 apples.  I tend to lag around about things if they seem like a lot of work and end up wasting a percentage of what I buy because it spoils.  Not so this time!  I bought, I conquered!  Only 2 apples lost and those babies were well on their way out by the time I got them by the looks of them.

C)  I ended up making the applesauce for about .99 a qt.  I used the new Foley Food Mill that my mom sent me and it took hardly any time from start to finish.  P.S. apples smell so great when they are cooking.

D) I got to stand back and look at that little act of selfless love for my family and know that I too will get a blessing when my kids start oohing and ahhing over my "sass" and sing the "applesauce and apple fritters" song.

E) I used my husbands hard earned money wisely.

Some women do really amazing things.  I make applesauce.

Now, what to do with ALL THOSE POTATOES that I spent exactly $.16 lb. on?  Eh, well, we are Irish, right?  We will figure something out.

A Post I love!

http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2010/02/why-i-dont-think-having-four-kids-is-un-green/

Pros Of Being Married

I like being married.  I always wanted to be married, even as a little kid.  Although I can't imagine why, my parents didn't like each other very much at all.  


One reason is faithfulness.  What is that you ask?  It is when a person stays (with their mind and body).  That is how I look at it, from a very simplistic view point.  They stay when it might seem easier elsewhere.  Faithfulness is a pro of marriage because each person can fail and succeed with the assurance that they will wake up tomorrow with that person still next to them.  It matters because you are investing in a life.  If you feel that tomorrow your 401k is going to crash, you get out now, but that is a crappy way to have to feel about marriage.  Faithfulness means you are investing in a person who is going to stay, they may come up and they may go down but over the long haul it is a gain.  


Which leads me to another reason.


I like being married because I get to see courage in action.  Courage was demonstrated to me when my husband took my hand, slipped a ring on my finger and showed me he agreed to love me even if I got old and ugly!  It took courage to admit that he would love me because he knew that he too would get old and ugly!  He showed courage as my belly grew with child and fear rose up in him that I might always look like that!  I might be one of the ladies that doesn't regain their shape after birth.  He showed courage by staying with me and looking for a brighter day.  Thankfully we found one when my kids were born and we could both breathe a sigh of relief that we had made it through that tough time.  My brave husband shows courage because every day that we are together he invests a little more of his life with me knowing that our time on this earth is short, and that one day it will come crashing down and one of us will die.  We, either he or me, will have to suffer the greatest loss on this planet and yet he continues down the course with me as brave as any soldier.  


I think another pro of marriage is the obvious, one that cannot be unmentioned, and that is, the behind closed doors part!  This is a part of life and a part of marriage... I won't unmention it because I am a Christian but I also won't get creepy or loose on you here either because I believe that what goes on back there behind closed doors is holy, and beautiful, and fun and totally none of your business... except to say that it is a part of marriage that is a PRO!  


Another pro is that I get to live with my very best friend.  We share history.  Granted sometimes my memory is short and I forget our history.  It is history regardless of who forgets it!  We have it together.  Remember the time that we... remember when so and so did this... do you remember that old what's her name... and on it goes.  We get to have that together.  We get to giggle at the inside jokes that only we know and would take a lifetime to explain to anyone else.  We get to pick each others zits in the moonlight and marvel at the grossness of our human predicament.  We get to fight and make up.  We get to be a team.  There is stuff that I am better at.  There is stuff that he is way better at.  I like that.  He isn't threatened by me because he doesn't have to be.  I don't need to be as strong as him, I like it when he is better at things, and smarter, because he is my husband.  Why would I marry an idiot?  What would that say about me?  (insert big laugh here!)  Yet, he knows I am smart, and likes that I am because I am the other half to his team, and he wouldn't marry an idiot!  Sound familiar?  


Those are just some of the reasons why I think marriage is great.  It is what you make it.  Sometimes it is harder than other times.  On the other side of a hill is usually a downhill.  But there is no other person that I would rather share this ride with that him.  My sweet Mr. P.  

Strengthened by a Home School Veteran

I am a home school mom.  My children are small, which means that I am not a veteran, I am a soldier in the midst of a war, a battle.  This makes it sound so bad, so unappealing, which is not what I am trying to do.  Let me clarify before you think I am crazy and stop reading.  

As a mom who stays home with her kids 24 hours a day, who is responsible for feeding, training, loving and schooling her kids, it can get a bit overwhelming.  I hear the phrase, "how do you do it?" or "I couldn't do that!", from mom's who think that being with their kids all day would be torture.  It is true that it is difficult, at times.  There are times when I am unsure what to do next with my kids when they are bickering or when they are displaying some ugly, sinful behavior, or when I simply would rather be doing something else.  But I stick with it.  That is why I say it is a war.  Home schooling can be an arduous task, thankfully there are those who have gone on before me!  Those amazing people who have done excellently in training and schooling their children.  Oh how they give me hope!  I will call me the soldier and them the veterans.

 I have needed advise and none could be found.  I have been given advise I simply ignored or forgot.  In spite of this I believe that the input I have received from the veterans should be respected and heeded.  We each school our children differently but there are times when the advise seems to resound, to be repeated from different corners of the community.  Would it be foolish to disregard it and blaze a new and difficult trail?  Maybe.  Probably.

As a personal example, Mr. Robinson of Robinsoncurriculum.com says that we should teach the math facts to our young ones, and then start book work later, after they have the facts down.  As a new home school mom, one with no college experience I had to go so far as to define "math facts".  What are those exactly?  Embarrassingly enough, I really didn't now that.  Now I know and I know that I should have listened to this wise home school veteran!  The good news is that it is never too late to change my ways and humbly take the advise.

I started Saxon math in Kindergarden, I was intimidated because I simply didn't think I had the discipline to sit and do it every day.  I didn't know if the scripted format would work for me.  Turns out it did work and it eased my mind so that I didn't feel like I was missing anything or that my kids wouldn't be at the "level".  Two years of this and it began to feel a little slow.  I trust and respect Saxon and am not going to stop using it, I am simply going to put it away and take the advise of an older man who might have just known something I didn't.  I spent money on curriculum that I really didn't NEED.  Sure it made me feel better for awhile, sure it worked and my kids learned, but I could have done what I have done so far with a cup of pennies or cheerios, a calendar, and a pencil and paper.

This year I am choosing to abandon my text books and teach my kids the math facts, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division using our abacus, pencil, paper, and math-drills.com.  I love Saxon and will go back to it soon.  I will take the advise of Mr. Robinson and will pick it up again at Saxon 4/5.  I am comforted knowing that the advise of the veterans is proven and abundant.  If you aren't sure or confident in teaching your kids, I strongly advise you to check out the robinsoncurriculum.com site and reading the sections, The Independent Learner, Ann's Corner and the Robinson Story.  Read, read, read and find comfort and strength in the advise of a proven home school veteran.

Do you have any examples of learning the hard way with your home school?  Any examples of how you actually took the advise and were glad that you did?  Please feel free to respond to this post, I would love to hear from you.