Just a small suggestion to all my young folks (from a not so old foagie). You can learn lots and get a ton of experience in whatever field of interest with the right mentor and a plan. But most of all get to know yourself. Your likes, dislikes, your strengths and weaknesses. You don’t have to go to college to discover these things but you do have to be self aware. You can’t be self aware if you numb yourself partying your life away and all the bs that goes with it. So I just want to encourage you to first discover your spark, then your dream and finally the activity that will successfully carry you towards your dream. Thank you and good night.
Off the shelf-November
It is no secret how much I love to read. I hope to instill this love for reading into the children as we continue on our homeschooling journey.
Freezer Jammy Jam
Employing light child labor leads to delicious results!
Today I’m posting about one of my favorite things, strawberries! I have enjoyed making this every spring once strawberry season has hit. I’d like to thank the blog www.pinchmysalt.com for introducing me to this fun and easy process. I am including instructions on how to properly freeze your extra berries so that you can enjoy sweet berry goodness all year round. Read the rest of this entry »
What’s up with ya girl?
I am trying to move toward creating healthy habits. Not just for my sanity but for my own health. It occured to me that the way that I usually approach things is a bit…scatter shot. Some things hit squarely in the middle target, like running with a local group consistently (Go BGRHR!). Other times though I am completely off the mark. Read the rest of this entry »
You, Me and NaBloPoMo!
So apparently November is not only NaNoWriMo but also NaBloPoMo! We writers are just writing up a storm all last minute like right at the start of the hectic holiday time of year. None of us are strangers to pushing ourselves and our work. I figured since this is an active time of year for myself and my family committing to posting everyday would be a good way for me to aptly explain my homeschool philosophy, family, God, food and other subjects. My husband has a whole back log of blogs that he’s been holding back because I haven’t posted much. So this challenge is just the fire i needed to be lit under my tuckus. I’m so excited you guys 
Happy Posting!
Update July: Making the Decision to Homeschool One Year Later
Working hard on my Math!
Well, it is almost a year since we decided to get off the public school hamster wheel and take the reigns on the children’s education. Those that know me know that I believe in strong free education. An educated population helps a community and a society grow. What happened last year at my daughter’s school was not what I would call good preparation for life long learning.
The kicker was that this was the gifted program for our district. I had high hopes for all the things she would learn and all the fun she would have in broadening her educational horizons. I came away from her third grade year with a tired kid who was tested until she was a nervous wreck and who didn’t really master the basics. We were both so disappointed. She and I both worked hard. If I saw that she needed help in a subject we would get up early and practice. However, we were also staying up late to get through her homework, and she still wasn’t getting it. The entire year went this way and when I tried to talk to her teachers I felt like my concerns were not taken seriously. After talking it over with my husband we felt it would be best that we pull her from public school. It was a hard decision and one that we did not take lightly. I can’t explain how helpless I felt trying to work with my daughter within the system. Learning was pushed aside in order to teach the kids to pass the Virginia Standards of Learning tests (SOL). Everything was geared towards this test. Not mastering the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic but passing a test at the end of the year. I felt like with much more “learning” in this way and my child would slip through the cracks.
A lot of our school year has been going over things that she “learned” last year so we are just now getting to grade level material. I would be concerned that we are “behind” but doing public school at home is not what our schooling is about. Our schooling is about raising individuals to critically think about the world around them by giving them a strong foundation on how to learn.
We are blessed in that I am able to stay home and do this for all three of my children. I am blessed that I have my husband, Daniel’s, love and support. We have learned a lot this year but we have done it in a way that is certainly not a stressful as last year. Looking back at this year I’m glad that we took this step.
To My Favorite Person
In this post I will not talk about the kids (much) but about the extraodinary person who made this blog and its aesthetics a reality. My husband Daniel. Although we’ve been together almost thirteen years, married for twelve, he still manages to fascinate me. He is a modern day Renaissance man in both thought and deed. Although an artist by trade, he was a decorated officer in the Army and served honorably in Iraq before he was honorably discharged for medical reasons. Before that he received a fine arts degree in communication design. He’s a great father, a wonderful husband and a man with quick wit and wry sense of humor. I consider it a triumph when I make him laugh out loud. Mostly though he has a heart for God and his people. I’m not sure how this wonderful individual manged to fall in love with me but I am forever grateful that God brought us together. Not only do I love him for the man that he is but I can genuinely say that I respect him and enjoy his company immensely. He did not have to do this blog for me. He could have let me struggle along with my html coding skills from 1998 but its a measure of his love for me that he’s done it. This is especially significant because we’ve been experiencing technical difficulties in me being able to post for the past year. Thank you Dan for all that you do for me. You’re my one in a million.
Bringing Them Home
O my hammy (Double D)
Today, memorial day, started out pretty normally but towards the end it gave me some insight to what my home school life might look like. I’ll be educating all three of my children ages 9, 5 & 4 at home for the next school year and for the foreseeable future. It is bittersweet because I really believe in a rich and effective public education. Our grandparents benefited from one and so did our parents. We know that it is possible but it seems to be failing in all but the richest communities. So while I still believe I can’t wait for the system to correct itself. My husband and I decided to really step up and take full responsibility for educating our children. To not just teach them the three R’s but how to think critically and reasonably with a Christian worldview.
Today I read to my children, we talked about planting a container garden, watched some cartoons, went outside and worked in the yard and pitched a tent to play pretend in. It was glorious! I really enjoyed their company and watching their imagination run wild in how to use the tent in their pretend play.
I’m excited to help them learn and grow into what God would have them become. These are the days where motherhood is like a warm kitten purring in your lap. I’m sure another day kitty will attempt to use my thighs as a scratching post but today it was all curled up for my pleasure.
(originally written May 2011)
Can you see me now?
Hooray! We’re finally live today. Its with great excitement and trepidation that we launch this blog. Honestly, I know what our intent is with starting a family blog I’m just unsure that it won’t morph into something else. With that in mind you’ll see that there are different facets to this blog represented by different pages. Dan is actually working on that right now. So while I’ll be generating content for the other pages you might not see them until the design is just right.
In the mean time enjoy what’s here right now. We’ve had a particularly busy fall start with everyone’s activities (swim and ballet) and school for Cherise and homeschooling the boys for preschool and Dan and my responsibilities to Bible Study Fellowship.
Summer has been over for a while and Fall is already presenting its own joys and challenges. As we march intently towards the holiday season I think its important to keep in mind the things that are really important. Loving God and loving one another. I want this blog is to make an impact. I pray that it is a reflection of the love and grace that has been lovingly bestowed into my life through the actions of those around me. Bask in grace until next time.
Rolling out the Welcome Mat
Hola! Guten Tag! Buon Giorno! Nǐ hǎo!
Hello, and no I do not speak any of the above languages fluently. Besides you’re not here for a language lesson. You’re here to get into my business or at least the business of me and my family. This will be where I post our pictures, videos and news of all our happenings. My husband and I have been talking about setting this blog up for quite some time now. We’re finally at a place where he can actually design and I actually have time to sit down and write. Well, write without being distracted by the internet and I get distracted a lot. The twitter is quite addictive. I have to admit that I love our cozy little corner here on the interwebs. Not the least is the ambiance of the design. I just hope the content can measure up. This post is wandering into rambling at this point so I will say stay tuned and I will keep you posted on the latest.