Today our women's Bible study group finished the book of Daniel with Beth Moore. It was a real challenge! The first half of the book we talked about Babylon and what that means. How we are all in our own challenges in Babylon. We deal with materialism, strife, gossip, gluttony, all kinds of things that pull us from God. I realized that there are some things in my life that I need to work on! (Isn't that just the way God works?)
Materialism is something that people relate to the States and how life is there. There's just so much abundance. You can get anything if you work hard enough and want it bad enough. But, I've found something else out about materialism. It's a state of the heart.
Here's why.
I struggle with materialism. Not necessarily buying things I don't need or spending more money than I have (although there was a time, I suppose, when I spent money I didn't need to), but, feeling resentful that even if I wanted too, I couldn't. There's a deep-seeded feeling of resentment at times when I see friends buying things right and left (things, I would argue, that aren't even necessary) and I can't. The ability to do so isn't even there. To cover it, we can get the attitude, "Well, I guess even if I could, I wouldn't because I can think of so many better things to do with my money. There's so much need in the world, I would help that."
Just to knock out that sense of pride, here's a thought. Do you have something right now in your possession that someone else might really need? Maybe you have more than one thing. Do you give it? My husband one time met a man who lived on the street who was wearing a light, long-sleeved shirt. He gave him his sweatshirt we just bought. At first, I'm ashamed to say, I was a little upset with him. How could he do that? It's not like we have the money all the time to just run out and buy more if we need to. (insert indignant look here) Do you know what he said to me? "Honey, since I have 3 more in my closet, we won't need to worry about running right out and buying another one anytime soon. The man doesn't even have a home." (Now you can insert an ashamed look)
What was I thinking? Did it really matter to us, even if it was my husband's last sweatshirt, to give it to a man who didn't even have a home? You get possessive. You see the need, you can even maybe meet the need, but, you justify it by saying that really, you can't afford to. It wouldn't even truly hurt to meet that need, but, we don't. What does Jesus think of that? He who gave us everything we have to begin with? He who gave all He had without even a second thought, when we didn't even deserve it?
Anyway, Daniel did it to me. I hated that study! I hate having to crucify the flesh. It's painful, it hurts, and it's ugly to see what needs to go. Just when I thought, "Wow, I'm doing really well, Lord. I'm serving You here in Guatemala. I'm giving You everything I have." He says, "Really? Let's just see."
God is so good and patient with us. I'm grateful! What would I do if He thought and acted the way I do sometimes? Yikes! Yikes to us all!
I challenge you. Ask Him, truthfully, what you can work on. He'll start to point things out. It's not fun, but, the end result is amazing.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Goals and Visions
On a discussion board I'm a part of, I recently talked about the importance of having goals and a vision for your homeschool. I really think this is important because it helps keep me focused on what our plans are as parents for our kids. It keeps me focused when I'm choosing curriculum and planning for the next year. In other words, it may be wonderful, but, if it doesn't fit our goals it's not for us. Here's what my husband and I have come up with:
Four Winds Academy
Goals and Vision
General Vision
1. To be able to further our personal relationship with Jesus in all aspects of our
lives.
2. To be able to communicate the gospel effectively and in a culturally relevant
way in society.
3. To be solid in the foundations of our faith by having a Christian worldview.
4. To be life-long independent learners and, therefore, successful in all we do.
5. To build strong relationships with fellow believers.
6. To understand the value of service and committment to others.
Goals to attain the vision
1. To be able to further our personal relationship with Jesus in all aspects of our
lives.
a) Teach the necessity of a personal quiet time each day.
b) Be involved in a healthy, spiritually alive church family.
c) Have a daily family prayer time.
d) Start and maintain Bible and Prayer journals at all ages.
2. To be able to communicate the gospel effectively and in a culturally relevant
way in society.
a) Teach a thorough understanding of the gospel and the law.
b) Create opportunities to be evangelistic as a family. Encourage the sharing
of their faith to their friends and others that they meet.
c) Teach them to be culturally relevant by using the newspapers, magazines,
music, and videos as tools to understand the cultural trends.
d) Be open and sensitive to questions they may have about what they see and
hear.
e) Choose curriculum that is fresh and makes God relevant to all they are
learning.
f) To teach a variety of communication skills including: writing, speech, drama,
music, art, and debate.
3. To be solid in the foundation of our faith by having a Christian world view.
a) Attend World View Weekends and Summit camps at appropriate ages.
b) Choose material that clearly represents and defends our Christian heritage.
c) Educate them on other religions and world views so they can compare and
contrast and understand truth.
d) Buy current event materials taught from a Christian World View.
e) Provide videos that teach these concepts.
4. To be lifelong independent learners and, therefore, successful in all we do.
a) Choose curriculum that is self-contained and can be easily done independently.
b) Assign projects that encourage research and discovery.
c) Provide materials to assist in research and discovery.
d) Teach skills effectively: reading, writing, research, etc. This will help to
achieve independence.
5. To build strong relationships with other believers.
a) Attend a spiritually alive church.
b) Provide ample opportunity to build friendships through play dates, co-ops,
and clubs.
c) Teach how to be a good friend and effective communication skills in relation
to others.
6. To understand the value of service and commitment to others.
a) Provide opportunities of service through community volunteer organizations:
nursing home activities department, soup kitchen, animal shelters, crisis
pregnancy centers
b) Teach on commitment and find a place for them to have to commit to being
involved for a short length of time.
c) Help them understand attitude, commitment, and obedience go hand in hand.
Four Winds Academy
Goals and Vision
General Vision
1. To be able to further our personal relationship with Jesus in all aspects of our
lives.
2. To be able to communicate the gospel effectively and in a culturally relevant
way in society.
3. To be solid in the foundations of our faith by having a Christian worldview.
4. To be life-long independent learners and, therefore, successful in all we do.
5. To build strong relationships with fellow believers.
6. To understand the value of service and committment to others.
Goals to attain the vision
1. To be able to further our personal relationship with Jesus in all aspects of our
lives.
a) Teach the necessity of a personal quiet time each day.
b) Be involved in a healthy, spiritually alive church family.
c) Have a daily family prayer time.
d) Start and maintain Bible and Prayer journals at all ages.
2. To be able to communicate the gospel effectively and in a culturally relevant
way in society.
a) Teach a thorough understanding of the gospel and the law.
b) Create opportunities to be evangelistic as a family. Encourage the sharing
of their faith to their friends and others that they meet.
c) Teach them to be culturally relevant by using the newspapers, magazines,
music, and videos as tools to understand the cultural trends.
d) Be open and sensitive to questions they may have about what they see and
hear.
e) Choose curriculum that is fresh and makes God relevant to all they are
learning.
f) To teach a variety of communication skills including: writing, speech, drama,
music, art, and debate.
3. To be solid in the foundation of our faith by having a Christian world view.
a) Attend World View Weekends and Summit camps at appropriate ages.
b) Choose material that clearly represents and defends our Christian heritage.
c) Educate them on other religions and world views so they can compare and
contrast and understand truth.
d) Buy current event materials taught from a Christian World View.
e) Provide videos that teach these concepts.
4. To be lifelong independent learners and, therefore, successful in all we do.
a) Choose curriculum that is self-contained and can be easily done independently.
b) Assign projects that encourage research and discovery.
c) Provide materials to assist in research and discovery.
d) Teach skills effectively: reading, writing, research, etc. This will help to
achieve independence.
5. To build strong relationships with other believers.
a) Attend a spiritually alive church.
b) Provide ample opportunity to build friendships through play dates, co-ops,
and clubs.
c) Teach how to be a good friend and effective communication skills in relation
to others.
6. To understand the value of service and commitment to others.
a) Provide opportunities of service through community volunteer organizations:
nursing home activities department, soup kitchen, animal shelters, crisis
pregnancy centers
b) Teach on commitment and find a place for them to have to commit to being
involved for a short length of time.
c) Help them understand attitude, commitment, and obedience go hand in hand.
Time Management
I've noticed lately the need for a lot of attention to time management. I kept track, one day, of all that needed to be done and I have to say, I'm not sure how I did it. There aren't enough hours in the day! For example, just today, this was my schedule so far (it's now 11 am):
6 am wake up and have quiet time
7 am left for the gym
8:15 am returned from the gym
8:30 am showered and got ready for the day
9 am started school, did science, history, algebra, and spelling by 11 am also, baked a banana cake for my family for desert tonight (try to do that 2 times a week)
Now, I have to make lunch, finish the laundry, take the kids swimming, make dinner, finish language arts with ds9, do more reading for tomorrow's classes, and spend time reading for myself (I'm working through all of the Jane Austen books again).
I think as moms, we do more before lunch than even the army does all day!!!! It's overwhelming. At first, I want to see what can go from my schedule, but, there isn't anything. I would love to get rid of the gym! But, because I have a heart murmur and I need to loose weight, that can't happen (I want to live to see my grandchildren!). Besides, why is it that we always assume that whatever we, as women, do for us is automatically open to cutting out of the schedule? Well, that's not going to happen! Not in my world!
One thing I've done is take a book I need to read to the gym to read while I'm on the treadmill (I call it the torture device from satan's lair, but, I'm informed that the proper term is treadmill) and that saves me time and helps the miles melt quicker. I also utilize the time at the pool or horseback riding for lesson planning or reading (for me or for school).
I know that one thing that gets put aside is the rest time, the mental downtime I need as a wife, mom, and minister. I really need to make sure that I can fit it in. It's super important! I need to prioritize that and maximize it.
Meals are also something I can't just set aside. My family gets hungry regularly! One thing that has helped me is menu planning (I'll try to post an example) and trying to cook as much ahead as I can. When I buy the hamburger, I brown what I'll need for the week for different recipes and put it in the freezer in labeled containers for the different meals. I also try to clean all the veggies and fruit as soon as I bring them home. I grate up the cheeses I need and put them in labeled containers as well. I precook my chicken and prep as much as I can on Saturdays. During the week, I just have to throw it all together and cook it. I also make sure I make up at least one large pot of soup, stew, or chili to keep in the fridge for when I don't have time to cook for lunches.
There are other things I can do as well. I'm working on maximizing my time so that I can do everything I need to do as well as having time to enjoy my family and have time for myself.
6 am wake up and have quiet time
7 am left for the gym
8:15 am returned from the gym
8:30 am showered and got ready for the day
9 am started school, did science, history, algebra, and spelling by 11 am also, baked a banana cake for my family for desert tonight (try to do that 2 times a week)
Now, I have to make lunch, finish the laundry, take the kids swimming, make dinner, finish language arts with ds9, do more reading for tomorrow's classes, and spend time reading for myself (I'm working through all of the Jane Austen books again).
I think as moms, we do more before lunch than even the army does all day!!!! It's overwhelming. At first, I want to see what can go from my schedule, but, there isn't anything. I would love to get rid of the gym! But, because I have a heart murmur and I need to loose weight, that can't happen (I want to live to see my grandchildren!). Besides, why is it that we always assume that whatever we, as women, do for us is automatically open to cutting out of the schedule? Well, that's not going to happen! Not in my world!
One thing I've done is take a book I need to read to the gym to read while I'm on the treadmill (I call it the torture device from satan's lair, but, I'm informed that the proper term is treadmill) and that saves me time and helps the miles melt quicker. I also utilize the time at the pool or horseback riding for lesson planning or reading (for me or for school).
I know that one thing that gets put aside is the rest time, the mental downtime I need as a wife, mom, and minister. I really need to make sure that I can fit it in. It's super important! I need to prioritize that and maximize it.
Meals are also something I can't just set aside. My family gets hungry regularly! One thing that has helped me is menu planning (I'll try to post an example) and trying to cook as much ahead as I can. When I buy the hamburger, I brown what I'll need for the week for different recipes and put it in the freezer in labeled containers for the different meals. I also try to clean all the veggies and fruit as soon as I bring them home. I grate up the cheeses I need and put them in labeled containers as well. I precook my chicken and prep as much as I can on Saturdays. During the week, I just have to throw it all together and cook it. I also make sure I make up at least one large pot of soup, stew, or chili to keep in the fridge for when I don't have time to cook for lunches.
There are other things I can do as well. I'm working on maximizing my time so that I can do everything I need to do as well as having time to enjoy my family and have time for myself.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
My thoughts on Science for next year
I just had a conversation with a friend about science. It was interesting. I was telling her how I'm currently reading about chemistry because next year I'll be teaching it to my children. As we talked, I realized how much I don't enjoy science. Do my kids feel the same way? It's a question I'm pondering. I don't want them to not enjoy science. Science is really wonderful and awe-inspiring when you look at it with the correct point of view. Is my reluctance to teach it rubbing off on my kids? Is my attitude effecting their ability to enjoy a subject? Here's what I think.
I'm the teacher. I'm the adult. I set the tone. Unfortunately, in science, it's been a struggle for me to enjoy it because I feel as though I've never really understood it. I had teachers who "did their job" but didn't inspire a curiosity an adventurous spirit. It was about the right and wrong answer not about the process. Science needs to be about the process, not necessarily the right and wrong. How many experiments throughout history have failed and other things discovered: penicillian, gravity, the solar system revovling around the sun, electricity. What if they all just looked for the right anwer and everything else was considered a failure?
I don't want that for my kids. I want to inspire them. I want to challenge them. I want them to have, dare I say it?, fun with science. Here's a contingency plan I've been processing on how we'll get there:
1. More nature journaling. We currently nature journal once a week on Friday. We enjoy it. It's fun for us,
but, we don't take the time to do it the rest of the week. I want to add at least one more day. I want to
incorporate art and poetry into our journals as well to make them more interesting and fun. We used to do
that, and I'm not sure why we stopped, but, we will start again.
2. More experimentation. I'm still figuring all of this out. But, since we're studying chemistry, there's so much
we can do. Making ice cream is chemistry (there's an excuse!). I'm looking at books that introduce fun
experiments like that.
3. Read more biographies. Sometimes scientists seem so above us. We can never attain to their stratosphere
of knowledge and know-how. It helps to see them as regular people trying to solve regular problems. I'm
looking forward to finding out more about their lives, who they really were. It'll inspire my kids to see that
they are people just like us.
4. Gardening. We have a walled-in back garden at our house and I brought some seeds from the US. I plan on
learning about composting and growing things in our backyard. I also want to build a trellis for grapes and
climbing roses. This should be a great opportunity to learn about composting, seeds, and how things grow.
Not to mention, it will make our backyard beautiful!
For nature journaling, I already have a great resource. It's called Keeping A Nature Journal by Clare Walker Leslie and Charles E. Roth. I love the way it breaks things down into seasons with really great pointers on making your nature journal great. My kids have seen it and already shown an interest in it.
So, there's my ramble on Science! When I come up with a more concrete plan, I will be sure to post it here!
I'm the teacher. I'm the adult. I set the tone. Unfortunately, in science, it's been a struggle for me to enjoy it because I feel as though I've never really understood it. I had teachers who "did their job" but didn't inspire a curiosity an adventurous spirit. It was about the right and wrong answer not about the process. Science needs to be about the process, not necessarily the right and wrong. How many experiments throughout history have failed and other things discovered: penicillian, gravity, the solar system revovling around the sun, electricity. What if they all just looked for the right anwer and everything else was considered a failure?
I don't want that for my kids. I want to inspire them. I want to challenge them. I want them to have, dare I say it?, fun with science. Here's a contingency plan I've been processing on how we'll get there:
1. More nature journaling. We currently nature journal once a week on Friday. We enjoy it. It's fun for us,
but, we don't take the time to do it the rest of the week. I want to add at least one more day. I want to
incorporate art and poetry into our journals as well to make them more interesting and fun. We used to do
that, and I'm not sure why we stopped, but, we will start again.
2. More experimentation. I'm still figuring all of this out. But, since we're studying chemistry, there's so much
we can do. Making ice cream is chemistry (there's an excuse!). I'm looking at books that introduce fun
experiments like that.
3. Read more biographies. Sometimes scientists seem so above us. We can never attain to their stratosphere
of knowledge and know-how. It helps to see them as regular people trying to solve regular problems. I'm
looking forward to finding out more about their lives, who they really were. It'll inspire my kids to see that
they are people just like us.
4. Gardening. We have a walled-in back garden at our house and I brought some seeds from the US. I plan on
learning about composting and growing things in our backyard. I also want to build a trellis for grapes and
climbing roses. This should be a great opportunity to learn about composting, seeds, and how things grow.
Not to mention, it will make our backyard beautiful!
For nature journaling, I already have a great resource. It's called Keeping A Nature Journal by Clare Walker Leslie and Charles E. Roth. I love the way it breaks things down into seasons with really great pointers on making your nature journal great. My kids have seen it and already shown an interest in it.
So, there's my ramble on Science! When I come up with a more concrete plan, I will be sure to post it here!
Friday, March 21, 2008
New and updated Plans for 2008-2009
Well, after much praying, thinking, reading, praying again, and discussion with dh, I think I've narrowed down what we will definitely be doing 2008-2009.
9th Grade
Teaching Textbooks Geometry
Lightning Literature Early American Lit.
History from 1600-1800 (with lots of reading!)
Trail Guide to US Geography
Art Appreciation, Music Appreciation using some books I've bought from RR
Apologia Chemistry
Writing Strands 5
Spanish and beginning French
PE/Health--not sure yet!
God and Government 1
7th Grade
Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1
Lightning Literature 7
Learning Language Arts Through Literature Green
History from 1600-1800
Beautiful Feet Geography
Art appreciation/Music appreciation
Christian Kids Explore Chemistry
Writing Strands 4
Spanish
PE/Health--not sure yet!
Land of Fairplay
5th Grade
Developmental Math
History from 1600-1800
Beautiful Feet Geography
Christian Kids Explore Chemistry
Learning Language Arts Through Literature Purple
Art appreciation/Music appreciation
PE/Health
Spanish
Land of Fairplay
This, of course, doesn't include our Plutarch and Shakespeare which I'm not done planning yet. We also have art lessons that the kids do with a teacher here. And, of course, our Nature Journaling we do weekly around our house and at various spots in Antigua.
You know, every year I get so excited about what we are going to be learning and studying that I have a hard time focusing on what we're doing now! It's a struggle for me to continue to be excited about where we are and not always looking ahead. The grass is always greener, if you will!
This year we will completely finish: LLATL for all 3 dc, all our science, all our history, and our math. That is some kind of record for me, I have to say!!! I know that the public and christian schools don't finish their stuff every year, but, I always feel like I've wasted money when we don't! I don't like the feeling of unfinished books sitting there while we pull out the new ones. It's a pet peeve of mine. One I don't think I'll ever get over!
We are year-round schoolers, so this helps us out a lot in finishing, although, we do take our share of time off during the year. Next year it looks like I'm able to come up with the same type of outcome,which is good for little obsessive me!
Happy Easter everyone! Have a beautiful and peaceful holiday.
9th Grade
Teaching Textbooks Geometry
Lightning Literature Early American Lit.
History from 1600-1800 (with lots of reading!)
Trail Guide to US Geography
Art Appreciation, Music Appreciation using some books I've bought from RR
Apologia Chemistry
Writing Strands 5
Spanish and beginning French
PE/Health--not sure yet!
God and Government 1
7th Grade
Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1
Lightning Literature 7
Learning Language Arts Through Literature Green
History from 1600-1800
Beautiful Feet Geography
Art appreciation/Music appreciation
Christian Kids Explore Chemistry
Writing Strands 4
Spanish
PE/Health--not sure yet!
Land of Fairplay
5th Grade
Developmental Math
History from 1600-1800
Beautiful Feet Geography
Christian Kids Explore Chemistry
Learning Language Arts Through Literature Purple
Art appreciation/Music appreciation
PE/Health
Spanish
Land of Fairplay
This, of course, doesn't include our Plutarch and Shakespeare which I'm not done planning yet. We also have art lessons that the kids do with a teacher here. And, of course, our Nature Journaling we do weekly around our house and at various spots in Antigua.
You know, every year I get so excited about what we are going to be learning and studying that I have a hard time focusing on what we're doing now! It's a struggle for me to continue to be excited about where we are and not always looking ahead. The grass is always greener, if you will!
This year we will completely finish: LLATL for all 3 dc, all our science, all our history, and our math. That is some kind of record for me, I have to say!!! I know that the public and christian schools don't finish their stuff every year, but, I always feel like I've wasted money when we don't! I don't like the feeling of unfinished books sitting there while we pull out the new ones. It's a pet peeve of mine. One I don't think I'll ever get over!
We are year-round schoolers, so this helps us out a lot in finishing, although, we do take our share of time off during the year. Next year it looks like I'm able to come up with the same type of outcome,which is good for little obsessive me!
Happy Easter everyone! Have a beautiful and peaceful holiday.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
It's that time again!
Where I live, Easter and Holy Week are the biggest weeks of the year. It's such a cultural experience each year for us that I really love it! Here are some pictures of Antigua this time of year. I love the sawdust carpets (yes, folks, that is colored sawdust that they use to make those incredible carpets all over the streets of Antigua! Also, I love the costumes and pageantry. It's really an incredible sight. On Easter Sunday, there is the final procession proclaiming Jesus' resurrection from the dead. That's a great one! The music is happy and joyful and the people rejoice in the streets. It's fun!
What am I doing for ME!?
Someone on a message board I frequent posted about what do we do, amidst all the planning for our kids, to plan for ourselves and our goals and education. I loved that! As moms, we usually don't plan and try to fit ourselves in amongst the daily grind of life. As a wise college professor once told me, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." If my education is put on the back burner and I'm not a life-long, motivated, active learner, how can I expect my kids to think it's important enough for them? I can't. They will follow my example. So, here are some goals for me:
Learn something new:
--start learning to play chords on the piano
--landscape my back garden
Continuing Education:
--get all my past-tense Spanish verbs down so I don't have to think so hard!
--continue reading about Russian History, start journaling
--learn more about herbs and natural remedies
Character development:
--work with our family on specific character traits every month with journaling, reading, and accountability to each other
I'm hoping to come up with a plan of action, so to speak, on how I will start to accomplish these things. I know that I need accountability, so here it is. I've put it out there for anyone to see. That will, hopefully, make me motivated to begin a plan of attack!
Learn something new:
--start learning to play chords on the piano
--landscape my back garden
Continuing Education:
--get all my past-tense Spanish verbs down so I don't have to think so hard!
--continue reading about Russian History, start journaling
--learn more about herbs and natural remedies
Character development:
--work with our family on specific character traits every month with journaling, reading, and accountability to each other
I'm hoping to come up with a plan of action, so to speak, on how I will start to accomplish these things. I know that I need accountability, so here it is. I've put it out there for anyone to see. That will, hopefully, make me motivated to begin a plan of attack!
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Happenings here!
Well, we finally made it back from our first break in 2 and a half years! Minnesota was beautiful, but, I have to say, very very cold. And to top it off, the car someone let us use didn't have heat! God has a sense of humor, doesn't he? Needless to say, we are very glad to get back to sunny, warm Guatemala. It was a good trip, and we accomplished much, but, I'll be glad to get back into the swing of things here again.
During our trip, we didn't do much schooling. We brought some books in the event that we had some time to do some school, but, it just didn't happen. We did visit the Science Museum in St. Paul, and did some fun educational activities including visiting the co-op I helped to start several years ago. Boy, do I miss the friendships and support I had back then.
Good things are happening here. We have 2 new families moving in close to us who are home schoolers! That's an answer to prayer for me and my dc, we don't know many here to home school, most send their kids to the missionary school in the City. It's expensive for us, and, I just love home schooling!!!! I'm meeting with one of the families tomorrow to talk to them about how to go about it and help them with some curriculum. I'm looking forward to it.
While we were home, I made our final curriculum choices. We are going to go with everything except Singapore Math. I've decided to do Developmental Math with my ds who is an extremely visual learner and loves hands-on things. It will be a supplement to what I already have and I think with the two together, it will work really well.
I am now endeavoring to piece together my history things and see what else I might need in way of supplements, but, I think I'm doing okay with all of that as well.
Tomorrow we get back to it. I'm overwhelmed by what needs to be done in the next several months, but, I know it will all come together and I constantly remind myself that public schools do not finish their curriculum by the end of the year, so I don't need to worry so much about that. I do want to get to a good stopping point for my dc so that they don't have holes, though, and I'm going to spend the next few weeks going through everything and determining the good stopping point. Whew! I'm going to be busy.
I hope to start posting our weekly report to keep myself accountable as to what we are accomplishing and doing. Also, I want to start processing through writing my thoughts about Charlotte Mason and her methods. I need to be inspired again to keep on the track we started so long ago!
During our trip, we didn't do much schooling. We brought some books in the event that we had some time to do some school, but, it just didn't happen. We did visit the Science Museum in St. Paul, and did some fun educational activities including visiting the co-op I helped to start several years ago. Boy, do I miss the friendships and support I had back then.
Good things are happening here. We have 2 new families moving in close to us who are home schoolers! That's an answer to prayer for me and my dc, we don't know many here to home school, most send their kids to the missionary school in the City. It's expensive for us, and, I just love home schooling!!!! I'm meeting with one of the families tomorrow to talk to them about how to go about it and help them with some curriculum. I'm looking forward to it.
While we were home, I made our final curriculum choices. We are going to go with everything except Singapore Math. I've decided to do Developmental Math with my ds who is an extremely visual learner and loves hands-on things. It will be a supplement to what I already have and I think with the two together, it will work really well.
I am now endeavoring to piece together my history things and see what else I might need in way of supplements, but, I think I'm doing okay with all of that as well.
Tomorrow we get back to it. I'm overwhelmed by what needs to be done in the next several months, but, I know it will all come together and I constantly remind myself that public schools do not finish their curriculum by the end of the year, so I don't need to worry so much about that. I do want to get to a good stopping point for my dc so that they don't have holes, though, and I'm going to spend the next few weeks going through everything and determining the good stopping point. Whew! I'm going to be busy.
I hope to start posting our weekly report to keep myself accountable as to what we are accomplishing and doing. Also, I want to start processing through writing my thoughts about Charlotte Mason and her methods. I need to be inspired again to keep on the track we started so long ago!
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