What's Out there for Me?

I want to start off by saying that there are so many resources available for homeschool families. There are many free resources and there are many more that with just a little bit of money can be a nice compliment to curriculum your family is using. I came across www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com not too long ago and was impressed with all the work this mommy has poured into her family...and we get to benefit too! Some of the subjects covered are geography, literature, recipes, and mommy tips to name a few. The "mom tips" contain a variety of helpful topics. While we all might differ in our approach to homeschool and the many details that make up the routines in our day I always find it helpful to see what others our doing. After all...I don't wanna miss a thing! There is too much information for one person to find all together so why not take little bits and pieces from what others have found. (which is usually what I end up doing) If you are a mommy and whether or not you teach your children at home you will want to check her out!

Still A Novice

Our first year of home school is in the history books. We used the Abeka program for our first grader and kindergartner. My five year old learned to read and do simple math and my seven year old sharpened basic skills from her Kindergarten year. It truly is an amazing feeling to know my daughter learned to read...from me! I still feel like a novice in some ways however. We will continue to use the Abeka curriculum and I do have a good handle on it however, I am still figuring out my girls' individual learning styles and trying to master the weaknesses of the program. Abeka is a strong Curriculum (a whole different blog topic) but I think I can master teaching it when I master its weaknesses. Any other mommy's feel the same way? I used the traditional parent led Abeka program with the girls last year and am switching to the Independant Study using the videos for our current year. I have yet to score a pair of head phones for each student and portable DVD players. I want to use the 10" screen DVD players to make viewing the lessons easy on the eyes. The real reason I am making the switch to the Video Program for at least this year is because of my K4 girl aka "Rainbow Dash" & my youngest cast member two year old "Cupcake." Like I said, I still feel like a novice in many ways. So this year I am going to do the traditional parent led teaching of my four year old. I will be going through the Abeka K4 with "Rainbow Dash" while "Cupcake" does her two year old thing. I do know that there are many mommy teachers (as my girls call me) who are able to teach different grades simultaneously. To you I say, awesome! I will maybe feel comfortable with that one day but for this school year I have peace about the choice my husband and I made. I am grateful for the many options available to homeschool families. Here's to this school year and the many things this novice is going to learn!

Training never comes easy...but it comes with a promise!

Training for anything is not an easy task. It requires patience, endurance, foresight, and lots of coffee! We spend our time, energy and resources on training for competitions of all sorts. We know that if we just drink the yucky protein shake along with 30 minutes a day of physical activity, we will begin to see results. Sure, some of us see it slower than others but if we keep at it our training will pay off.
We often miss this truth when it comes to our children. Proverbs 22:6 reminds us to "Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it." As a mother I can rest in the fact that this verse of scripture is not just a command, but a command with a promise!
That is so important to me. As a Christian I want to know what the Lord expects out of me. As a Christian mother I tend to be a little bit more needy. Trusting God with the promise of Heaven requires Faith. Why do we neglect His commands and promises when rearing our children? This promise of God follows a command. It is a command to train!
Early training will instill lifelong habits that parents must insist upon. We must "fight the good fight" of Faith for our children when they are babes so that when they are older they can fight it.
When weariness rears it's ugly head than it is time for a break. It's time to beg your buddy for some girl friend time. Training our children when they are young means we are being trained with them. You will get tired. You will want to throw in the white towel of surrender. When this starts to happen remember the promise! Use your imagination to see into your childs future. If it makes you smile when you see the Lord blessing your efforts and his or her obedience, then keep on keeping on!