PLANNING!

I have been working on lesson plans and using this...


http://www.wellplannedday.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=01WPD_2011-2012

It's awesome, I'm just saying.  No, seriously. It's great, exactly what I needed to plan this next year.  I highly recommend it. (No, I'm not getting paid for this. The 'Well Planned Day' people have no idea who I am.)

Giveaway

http://www.itakejoy.com/educating-the-wholehearted-child-a-giveaway-for-the-best-book-ever/


Check out this giveaway for Educating the Whole Hearted Child.

http://www.wholeheart.org/

Work Clothes Wednesday

Okay, So I found something that really works for me: A Laundry Schedule! Yes, I know this is not a new idea for some of you. Here's how it works:

Monday: The Boys (ages 3 and 9 months)

Tuesday: The Girl (age 7, and goes through a few outfits a day) On a side note, I really do try to tell her to hang her clothes back up when she only wears them for a few hours. She's getting better about it, and I

'm doing less laundry!

Wednesday: Hubby's work clothes and socks

Thursday: Sheets, Towels

Friday: My Clothes and Hubby's 'nice' clothes

It goes really well for me, as long as no one messes it up. Now, since we manage (and clean) some daily rental cabins, more laundry goes into the mix on some days. This schedule is not adhered to perfectly, but when it is, the stress of laundry dissapears almost entirely! So next step: A cleaning schedule...HaHaHa! We'll see.

Thankful

Today I am thankful that my daughter is excited about homeschooling. One of our concerns with pulling her out of public school was that she would miss that time with her friends. It helps that her cousins are being homeschooled too and they live nearby. That was our biggest reservation with regard to the decision to homeschool: Missing out on the whole 'school' experience. While some of public school can be downright AWFUL, there are some good things that she will miss out on. The benefits of homeschooling, for our family, far outweighs any of these experiences. She only has 18 more days of public school left, then summer. We are going to do a little bit of school stuff this summer, and we'll officially start in the fall. 

I've got a desk in mind for her that I'm going to paint, and we've got an antique cabinet that used to be in my Grandparents' house to hold our homeschool stuff. The 'school room' is in our living room. I'll post pictures when we get things set up.

I think my 3yo son will love having 'Sissy' home. He asks about her during the day and absolutely adores spending time with her. (I'm not sure the feeling is always mutual though :)

 I've got my core curriculum and have a few things in mind for extras if we feel we have time. I'll take it easy to start with though. There is so much that I WANT to do. I'm trying to be VERY realistic in my estimations of how much time this is going to consume. Once we get into the swing of things we'll try adding things like music and a foreign language. There is going to be an art class at my church next fall that I'll take her to. Little Man is a little young for it. That's all for now. More thoughts to come later.

The Decision to Homeschool

       It was a pretty easy decision to make. For the longest time I dismissed the idea. Always in the back of my head I thought, I wish I could do that. I thought my daughter (the oldest) was too social to pull out of public school. We pray every night for wisdom in raising our kids, disciplining them, teaching them, etc. For awhile she would come home from school and do her homework (reading a short book) and it would take her an hour. There would be lots of tears and frustration, from both of us. I felt like she wasn't progressing like she should or could. She was bored of it and wanted to just be done with the school day. One day in the middle of all this I had the thought: What if I just homeschooled her? Peace. Peace about the idea of it, peace about my abilities to do it, just peace. I started researching and got really excited. Now it's obviously exciting when you start looking at curriculum and school supplies and teacher supplies, but this was different. The more I looked, researched, read blogs of other homeschoolers, the more excited I got.

      I decided that too much time everyday was spent with school and that my kids need a chance to be kids. I don't want their whole childhood to be consumed by school. I want the opportunity to see my kids grow up. I want to impart Godly principles into them on a daily basis. I want to give them the foundation of a life based on God and spent with family. I love the idea of my kids being able to learn at their own pace; to learn about things they wouldn't normally learn in public school.

     As of right now, my oldest (7) is still in first grade. We are letting her finish out the year. I haven't purchased any curriculum, but I know what I'm going to get. (pretty much :) Everyday I look at something on the Internet related to homeschooling. I'm trying to get as much info as I can right now cause I figure next year in the middle of it, I won't really have time to be doing research. While it makes me nervous about finishing housework, raising my other two boys (both not old enough for school yet), making sure she gets out and spends time with friends, and teaching, all at the same time; I know God is with me and it is not my abilities but His help that will make all this possible.

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)
For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. (Philippians 2:13)

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)


Check this out:  This blog has helped me so much, and I love this post. It says it all!
http://confessionsofahomeschooler.blogspot.com/2010/11/candid-conversation-with-god.html