First Day of Homeschool 2011

We had a great first day getting organized and oriented to the year ahead. Our school is down to five now as Lydia will be attending a local private school for 8th grade. Being that this is my 10th year of homeschooling, we decided it was time for a change. The curriculum has become increasingly eclectic through the years and thus increasingly complicated for the teacher. Therefore, this year we will be streamlining and participating in Classical Conversations. We are blessed to already know many of the families in the group as friends. I think I'm the most excited since I know what great things are ahead!

In attempts to make our first day extra special, we started with cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Then we sat down and we came up with the "school rules". We each contributed one. Not much changes from year to year, but I always love the way the put things in their own words.

1. Don't cry. Either ask questions or get some help.

2. Don't interrupt mom.

3. Obey the first time.

4. Put away your books every day. If you can't find a book, you owe mom a dollar.

5. Ask for permission to use the school art supplies so they don't get lost. (That was mine:)

6. Drink a bottle of water while you do your school work.

Next, we brainstormed some snack and lunch ideas and field trips. We discussed the daily schedule, too. Though it can't be the same everyday, we strive for routines.

Since we are going to be referring to a lot of timelines this year, the kids made their own timeline of their life starting with their birth and spanning into the future. Here's what they created. I think I'll keep these precious papers for a very long time.

Miriam, 6th grade. She's not thrilled about being the oldest this year, but honestly I'm looking forward to spending some time with this special girl.



Elizabeth, 4th grade. I love the way that she thinks in pictures.


Joseph, 3rd grade. He even included the date for when pictures of Pluto will be transmitted back to Earth. Who knew?


Rebekah, 1st grade. How could my baby girl be a first grader already? She's so ready and very excited!

John, PreK. I love the picture of him being a doctor when he grows up. He loves to help people especially when they need a bandaid.

Finally, we spent some time making up our own, pocket sized dry erase assignment sheets. This will be just a quick check list of daily responsibilities on one side and school assignments on the other. They had fun picking out the clip art and fonts. It became a little lesson in computer skills.

Winter Inspiration

The flu has hit us hard this year. As of right now five kids have the fever, chills, coughs and aches. Hannah, who had it first, slept for nearly 48 hours straight this weekend and somehow has managed to go to school and play basketball this week.

Not that I'm glad for illness, but I was secretly ready for a little break. This time of year is our busiest it seems for activities out of the house- practices, games, lessons, co-ops, work.... We are really focused on our schooling. There's not much recreation going on, so one day just runs into the next.

Having to just stop in our tracks, cuddle up on the couch, read a book, take a nap or just hold each other is a welcomed change.

I know a lot of homeschool moms are headed toward burnout at this point of the year. It seems like the end is in the far future and the beginning was so long ago that it's a distant memory. The books are no longer new and the creative ideas have slopped flowing. And when school becomes a grind for the teacher, the students quickly follow suit.

I was encouraged recently to go on a homeschool tour. Some moms from our co-op traveled together to eachother's homes and shared our resources, spaces, and ideas. A lot of times homeschooling moms talk about their struggles and frustrations. It was nice to be encouraged in such practical ways for a change. I was really struck by how different each of our schools operate and yet how well suited they are for each family. It was clear to me that each mom has been gifted by God to give their children just what they need.

I used to feel the need to compare our homeschool experience to everyone else's. God has slowly been working on me and freeing me from these unrealistic expectations. Since that time I find such inspiration and motivation when I'm introduced to another mom's perspective.

So while the troops are recovering I'm going to spend my days digging in to these new found treasures. Hopefully, when we are back full speed next week we'll be able to plow right through until Spring.


Word Roots : A game in which the student builds a city building their vocabulary and spelling skills

Time for Learning: An online supplementary tool with games, lessons and printables.

Enchanted Learning: k-3 printable and activities

Draw and Write Through History

Life of Fred A day in the life of Fred where he encounters math in the everyday. Written like a novel with a humorous story line.

Teaching One Another

Perhaps one of the most enjoyable things about having children is observing their various strengths and gifts. I'm continually amazed at how different they are and yet how well they compliment each other. They are not perfect by any means, but learning to live and choosing to love each other in the midst of imperfection is what family is all about.

Recently, I picked up this book for $3 off the clearance rack. I had aspirations of actually engaging my kids through art. Little did I know what a treasure it would be! Within a few hours Lydia had all the kids involved in an art lesson. She was so encouraging every step of the way and the results speak for themselves.



Rebekah (age 6)

John (age 4)

Joseph (age 7)

Resources for Learning

Recently I ran across a most useful website to supplement our learning at home. neoK12 is a collection on useful online videos, educational games and images. There is even an area where the student can create a report similar to a power point with all of the information right there on one site. Thus far, I've been impressed with the content and the amount of time saved since I no longer have to search the web for appropriate material.

It's great when one is learning about seeds, another about India, and another about light, I can point them to this site to explore and see for themselves. Besides that, I can "reward" a certain young man for his reading with a few short clips about asteroids. What could be better?

Just like clockwork

Now I remember. It always hits me about this time every year and somehow I'm always surprised by it.

The reality of a homeschooling life.

The kids are diligent and eager. I hit the ground running. The days are flying by. We sit down in the morning to do school and before we know it lunch time is here. Then it's reading time, dinner preparations, errands, evening activities.... It's like putting on an old comfortable glove.

It's just.... the house and all the stuff it holds. When I'm attending to more important matters, I think little elf people come out to play. They drop a pieces of paper here and there, open a toy bin or two, get crafty, decide to look through ALL of the books on the shelf, decide to sort the legos but never finish.... I'm having a hard enough time keeping up with the dishes and laundry let alone putting out these kinds of fires.

*sigh*

I need a maid.

I need a better system.

I need some motivation and inspiration.

Anyone care to share?


Did I ever tell you about the time last year we ran out of the house one morning to go to homeschool group? Our house looked like it got hit by a bomb. Seriously. There was stuff EVERYWHERE. The breakfast dishes were still on the table. The kid's rooms were less than stellar.

When we pulled in, there was a sheriff's car outside. Terrifying moment. Inside was the sheriff himself. One of the kids had failed to shut the door and he was checking for "suspicious" activity. Well, he found it all right. I kindly declined when he offered to survey the upstairs. I'm just glad he didn't call CPS.

Firsts

There are very few things changes in life that can be written on a calendar. Most of the time, change happens because new circumstances arise or things naturally shift a different direction. Sometimes change is so subtle that you don't even recognize it until much later.

But there are other moments in life that you can see coming from a mile away. You plan for it. You wait for it. You imagine what it will be like. You question if you're really ready. It a day that will stay in your mind forever as the day that....

A stepping stone
A fork in the road
A pivotal moment
A defining act

The day you were born
The day you moved away from home
The day you started you new job
The day you married

The day you first went to school...

The First Day of Homeschool

Today we kicked off the 2009-2010 school year a little differently than in the past. Normally we dive right in so excited by the new books and materials. The first ten weeks fly by, but then the excitement wanes. The eyes aren't quite as bright and shiny. The teacher is less diligent. We stick to the schedule, though, and finish with a sigh in the spring.

Well, I'm not sure that all of that can be completely avoided, but I really desire to instill in my kids the desire to learn and take initiative as subjects become particularly interesting to them. Somewhere in the teacher's guides, schedules and outlines, we've lost an element of fun.

Here's some of the changes we'll be making. The older girls are moving to a computer taught math curriculum, Teaching Textbooks. Something tells me that the Mr. Roger's sounding voice explaining fractions is going to be much more instructive than the toe tapping mom. I'm going to be deliberate about integrating their subjects. Reading, writing, drawing... about their science and history topics. Also, we'll be blocking our subjects and not striving to do everything every day.

This year, much of my energy is going to be focused on reading with and to the younger kids. They are all on the verge of stepping up a level in their reading skills and I don't want to miss this prime time. Once a child can read, the world opens up.

We began this morning around the table with a pancake breakfast. It was fun to have Hannah with us. She'll be off to her new school in just two more days. We decided that we'd like to have breakfast together as a family before she leaves for school each morning. This will be a first, since we've always just eaten breakfast in shifts.



We spent the next hour creating something for a time capsule to be opened on the last day of school. Each page contained a drawing or written answer. The topics were: What are three things you are good at? A self portrait. What do you dream about doing? What will you do this year to improve in one area? They were really thoughtful. I'm looking forward to our end of the year party and revisiting the time capsule together.



Next, we went up the white board and brainstormed about the daily schedule, rules, chore rotation, quick lunch/snack ideas, field trips.... We organized the binders and books. I taught the older girls how to record their own grades on Homeschool Tracker, We determined the theme of the year to be, "Responsibility, Accountability, Independence."

And finally, we spent the afternoon at the Downtown Library. I taught (and retaught) some kids how to find books in the library. We left with some great resources to compliment the first chapters that we will begin tomorrow.

The consensus on the way home was, "Wow! This was the best first day of school ever!"

I agree.

Here they are. The students for 2010-2011:

Lydia- Grade 7

Miriam- Grade 5

Elizabeth- Grade 4

Joseph- Grade 2

Rebekah- K

John- Preschool

Graduation

Dear Hannah,

It has been the joy of my heart to know you not only as my daughter but as my student. I cherish each and every hour that we've spent together sitting on the floor, cuddled on the couch, working at the table.... I can still remember so clearly the night I stayed up to cut out squares and laminate them before your first day of homeschool. On each of these I placed all of the letters and from them you soon learned to spell and read. I really didn't know what I was doing, but you were so responsive and eager to learn. You've had to lebe flexible and patient often waiting for a baby to eat or me to carve out time for your questions. But through it all, you've proved to be a diligent, selfless, focused young lady really teaching yourself this past year. Watching you learn and discover has been my reward. I wouldn't have traded these years for anything in the world.

It's true that I'm going to miss you immensely. My mind I know that you will be practically across the street, but my heart knows it's a letting go nonetheless. I'm letting go of you proudly, Hannah, knowing that you are going to shine for Christ. I'm excited to see what new things you will try, what opportunities will arise and what you will learn about yourself in the process. You can be certain that I'll be your number one supporter with my arms open wide each time you return home.


Loving you always,
Mom

One of those moments....

Today we were sitting on the couch working together on Language Arts. Specifically, we were learning about adverbs.

I asked, "Looking at the word 'adverb', what do you think it is going to modify?"

The answers came tumbling out. "An adjective?" "A noun?" "The subject?" "A pronoun?" With each answer came more uncertainty and the tears began to flow.

"What is there to cry about? I'm asking a simple question. This isn't hard. What word do you see here?" I spoke back while underlining the word two times. (Obviously, I'm not a trained educator.)

"I just don't know what you want?! What are you asking me?!"

I had to stop and take a very deep breath. Taking off my glasses and rubbing my head I was stuck between feeling defensive and utterly defeated.

What have I done? What do I lack? How can I communicate any better? Why am I homeschooling? It's obvious that I'm not teaching her anything. I'm just frustrating her. I'm not good enough.

We directly closed that book and moved on to science. I was reading about the inner planets with a quivering voice. She quickly caught on (as did everyone else in the room) and there were many red faces and sniffles as I expounded on the clouds on Venus and the temperature on Mars.

"Mom, it's not that your a bad teacher. I'm just a bad learner."

That was like a knife in my heart. There were many hugs and soft whispers as I tried to reassure her that she is in fact amazing. She is gifted in so many ways and specifically made by God Himself to be unique.

As the tension lifted there was soon a giggle from across the room. Then a chuckle escaped from person hiding behind their book. Next the laughter finally broke through the tears for us all. We all agreed that there is certainly nothing to cry about when it comes to the planets.

Today I believe the was lesson for me, the teacher. More than anything, I was reminded that I daily need the Lord's help in shaping these young hearts and minds. I get so busy and caught up in getting it done that I forget to even ask for God's guidance. Homeschooling isn't about my capabilities. It's not about whether or not my kid "gets it" the first time around (or the second or the third). In the end, it's really has nothing to do with academic achievement.

It's all about a mind willing to learn, a heart ready to serve and a life that responds to the Truth. There's a lot more than Language Arts that goes into that sort of education- for the teacher and the student.

Tonight as I tucked her into bed we talked again about what transpired today. Her heart is still tender and the emotions raw. She is struggling to find her place, to know her strengths. I get that. I'm praying for the insight and sensitivity to steer her through these tough times as her teacher and her mom.

When I came downstairs to my bed I found a note on my pillow. It read, "I love you mom. You are a good teacher. A+."

I'm humbled by that sentiment knowing that I fall far short, yet, I'm thankful to know the greatest Teacher of all.

School Days

We are in our sixth week of school now. Today sitting on the couch I had fun photographing life as it happened around me:

Two were reading.



One was on the floor doing math.




The other was beside me learning about DeSoto while I completely enjoyed holding my niece.


And the others, well, I'll let you see for yourself.....

Multitasking

At last. John and Rebekah playing together while we do school.

I've been of the opinion that multitasking is a woman's duty. You know what I mean- talking on the phone, checking email on the laptop, putting on a bandaid, scribbling a note to tell a child to practice the piano, cooking dinner and unloading the dishwasher at the same time. I mean, it's a necessity. Right?

Now translate that into a homeschool scenario- giving a spelling quiz to the 4th grader, getting out playdough for the preschoolers, helping the 6th grader with story problems while searching the Web for that elusive multiplication game. That's just a one room school house, right?

At the end of the last school year, I felt a bit frazzled. I was not so much burnt out and ready to quit, but rather on my last nerve trying to meet everyone's needs at the same time. I had instructed my children, that's true. But had I checked for understanding? Patiently answered their questions? Engaged them? Looked them in the eye? Acknowledged their achievements? Sadly, the answer would be no.

This frazzled state was carrying over into my housework as well. I could go room to room tidying up, but never get anything truly accomplished. I was moving the same piles around the house and never actually doing anything productive with them. I just about drove myself crazy. Why couldn't I just get it together? Oh, did I mention, that I was checking Facebook, blogging and cooking dinner while doing housework?

Worse yet, this frazzled existence was seeping over to my children. I telling them, "Do this, this, this and that and come see me when your done." Meanwhile, I would interrupt them while they were trying their best in order to add to their list. Craziness.

This summer I spent considerable time taking a step back to take an honest look at my life. I read several books on homeschooling, time management, household management.... These all basically pointed to the same problem.

There is no such thing as multitasking done well.

The time and focus it takes to balance so many plates at once is counterproductive to getting anything done and done well. Life is better spent (and more glorifying to God) when lived with purpose. People become the priority in place of activity.

So that's my mantra for this school year. (Borrowing from the title of a book I read) "Say Yes To No." Saying "No" to the expectations to get more done faster and "Yes" to accomplishing the one or two tasks in front of me.

To the best of my abilities, I'm striving not to multitask. When dinner needs fixed, I invite a friend in to help me and we do it quickly together. When the phone rings during school, I let the answering machine do its job. When someone needs a bandaid, I stop where I am to find out what happened. When it's time to clean, I engage the troops and we stick to it for an hour.

Life's not perfect, but there's a balance being established that has long been missing.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart..." Colossians 3:23

Love Languages

Fast forward one year.

School will begin in a week. We'll be shopping for school supplies, making sure there are shoes that fit, sucking the last life out of summer's freedom.

We'll be hitting a milestone as a family, too. Our first little bird will be leaving the nest to attend school outside of our home. The next year it will be another. And so it will go on.

I've been thinking a lot about what that day will be like. What is it that we need to accomplish this year to prepare for the next stage? What ground have we not covered academically, spiritually, emotionally, socially?

I'm no fool to think that there is a magic formula or a simple checklist. God has directed and equipped us. We've applied ourselves to the task- sometimes with great failure and other times with success. She belongs to the Lord. He will take her through her own roads of this life. We are trusting Him for the results.

The one thing has been on my heart recently is the need to focus on our relationship in this coming year. It is so hard at times to span the gap of ages. A three year old has drastically different needs than a preteen. It is very difficult to take off my micromanaging toddler hat and relax enough to actually listen and exchange ideas with the older kids. It would be much easier to treat them as one unit. I am guilty of this at times, yet they are growing into young ladies with their own opinions and dreams. The days of constant care are gone. Now is the time to build them up and send them out.

For this reason The Five Love Languages Of Teenagers caught my eye at the library. I was thinking that I'd just skim it through. I know my kids already, right? And certainly they know they are love.

Wow, has it been not only convicting, but instructive. It has made me much more aware of body language and responses that I am given. More than that, though, this book has brought to light my own assumption that each one of them interprets my love the same way. This simply is not true. Moreover, the things that I do not do (or do poorly- like tone of voice) actually has a negative effect on their perceptions of my love.

I've spent some time this week just asking them randomly about some of the content of this book. I've asked them two questions: "When do you feel most loved- the kind of love that makes you smile later when you think about it?" and "When/ or what has happened when you are not sure of my love for you?" They were honest with me and I am excited about the conversations that resulted.

Yes, we still have 180 of school to work through this year. There are still some loose ends that need to be tied up. But in the short time that I've been trying to love them a bit more intentionally, the response has been joyful for both of us.

Encouragement

I thoroughly enjoying the homeschool convention in Cincinnati this weekend while Sean is occupied with his own Texas Instrument's conference. It really is quite an experience to be in a huge room with other like minded families. We may choose different curriculum, having varying expectations or hold to distinct convictions, but we all share a like desire. We strive to follow the Lord's lead to keep our children home for now and educate them to the best of our abilities.

So many days homeschooling seems like such an island. We get up every morning. We go through the daily routines and lessons trying to come out the other side of the day having learned a bit more about the world and God. There is the constant interplay of relationships within the family, the responsibilities at home and the complete uniqueness of each child to consider. No one but us truly knows what happens in a school day. The accountability is ours one to another. One hundred and eighty days of us. I wouldn't trade these days for anything.

This by far has been our best year of schooling and yet in some ways the most complicated for me. The children are growing in new ways now. Their personalities are emerging. Their preferences are strong. Their weaknesses are evident, even to themselves. This equates to constant flexibility on my part, as well as the integrity to require the hard things of them to keep them moving forward. It's a balancing act like none other. I question myself often and lean hard on the Lord for direction. Truly it is He that holds us together.

I've heard some thought provoking words this weekend. I hope they challenge you, too, in the raising of your children. I know that some of these words may seem quite stereotypical or harsh being plucked out of an hour long lecture. But taken in context, they are words to consider.

Regarding reading....."When character is low, comprehension is low."

"The Word of God is what changes our lives. Satan wants to occupy our time and mind with images, not Words."

Regarding purity....."Dads need to point out to their daughters what is modest."

"Cell phones and texting take away the 'blush factor'."

"Parental supervision is the difference between a child succeeding and failing morally. Why place your child in a situation that invites failure?"

Regarding God given passion... "The 'thing' that makes your child smile to accomplish is his passion. That passion is the joy of the Lord shining through them. Use your childrens' passion in schooling whenever you can."

Regarding kinesthetic learners and boys under eight in general... "They have to experience it before having it explained. They grasp the big picture before the details. They leave things everywhere. Feeling words often fail them. They repeat behaviors just for the feel of it."

Regarding anger in boys... "When a boy is habitually angry you must ask, 'How is his relationship to his father? And how does his father handle anger? Don't react. Start there."

On my reading list:

The Courage to Flee

Families where Grace is in Place

If I Perish

Do the Hard Things

The Disappearance of Childhood

Talent is Never Enough

That Printer of Udell (Ronald Reagan said this is the book that most impacted his faith and prepared him the be President.)

Wide Wide World

Reality Check

It's been getting harder and harder to engage the brain for homeschooling these days. Spring has a tendency to do that at our house. We've plugged away all year and I'd really like to end on a strong note. Today we sat down with all the books and wrote a plan as to how school is going to be completed in the next six weeks for each student. After explaining what needed to be done, I made them sign the page just so that we are all in agreement.

Not surprisingly, this little exercise resulted in a deep conversation and a puddle of tears by mom and girl alike. When we finally came to the bottom of it, my daughter had the courage to say that she felt embarrassed and weak in a particular academic area. She has been asking fewer and fewer questions recently because she is overwhelmed by what she thinks she should know and does not. She lacks confidence because it was never taught.

What can I say? I about melted myself holding my sobbing girl and wanting back the time and opportunities that are now gone. I had just given her a whole big spiel about not talking negatively to herself or allowing her feelings to cloud out what is good and true. "There is always going to be something to learn. You are never going to know everything. You have amazing God given gifts and talents. Some things are going to be harder, but you'll learn. You'll only know as much as the questions you are willing to ask."

If only I would take my own advice.

Homeschooling is hard. No corrupt system to blame. No other students who are moving too fast or too slow. No annoying teacher who just doesn't understand my kid. No excuses for too much homework or not enough time.

So, I'm praying. Asking God to give His grace to this teacher to empower my children not only to learn, but to know....

Homeschool Links

I've never relied heavily on the computer as a core component of teaching homeschool, but I have found some great resources lately that have been encouraging to us all. It's great to have a tangible reward to give when the kids complete their work but still need to spend sometime in the learning mode. And it's also inspirational for me to have new ideas and resources at my fingertips to keep things interesting around here. This year has gone so fast. We have will start our last nine weeks on Monday!

Multiplication Games (there will be a day when we don't have to practice these, right?)

Learning to Read Games

Freebie of the Day (a new free download every day from a range of topics- this site is great for providing extra activities for the various national holidays that I've missed in the past)

Reading Assessments (I'm using this to encourage my students to know that they are good readers. They should be proud. I am.)

Music Note Flashcard (The cartoon teacher is a little odd, but the cards work:)

Learn to Type Games

Netflix - We watch instant online movies. This continues to be my favorite when needing to generate a little more interest about a subject. Just last week we were all mezmerized by The Blue Planet after studying about the ocean. I never would have been organized enough to send away for the movie, but with Netlix it's just a click away.

Do you use the internet as a resource in your homeschool? If so, what are some of your favorite sites?

Spelling- Help for the Afflicted

Not everyone has a gift for spelling. I know I struggled through grade school, but this was more likely due to the fact that I REFUSED to write those words ten times each every day! Stubborn.

So, as a homeschooling mom, I do empathize with my reluctant spellers. And although grammatical spelling is cute in first grade, it no longer holds quite the charm for say a fourth grader. I've ordered various spelling curriculums and researched different methods over the past few years. Finally have come up with one of my own. It's been relatively painless and completely free. Best of all, it's been working!

1) Using this list of the 1000 most commonly used English words, each Mondays I give my student a quiz and stop when she has misspelled 10 words. It's been a confidence booster for her to see that there are many words she already knows. These 10 words become her spelling list for the week.

What I like about this list is that it is alphabetical and is in three different levels in regards to difficulty. Currently we are working through level 2.

2) Next she enters her words at Spell City where a very calm and patient spelling teacher engages her in practices quizzes and games. There is a section where the nice lady spells the word so that it is heard and the letters appear. There is an area which has ten different games and methods for learning the words. And there is also a place for the student to be tested and scored. LOVE IT!!

3) At the end of each six weeks she takes another test over all of the words that have been learned so far. Any that are still being misspelled are then placed back on the list.

She has never been prouder and more motivated to spell. I feel like she's getting caught up to speed with the other kids and I have never been so not stressed about teaching spelling.

Find other ideas that are working over at Works for me Wednesday. Also, this along with other wonderful frugal ideas can be found at Biblical Womanhood's Frugal Friday.

While we have school...

the unsupervised find plenty to do.

The Polly Pocket hot tub.

Who needs the newest toy? We just make our own.

The children make their own preschool crafts and teach each other phonics. They are much more creative than I.

Resting and Reading

Our culture is visually saturated and we are doing are best to raise some bookworms in the midst of this. It is so much easier to put in a DVD to quiet things down. Sometimes this is exactly what we do. But for the most part, we try to encourage the kids to wind down by "resting and reading time". This is usually an hour in midafternoon. They have found this to be the highlight of the day. It's a rare chance to be still and let the imagination soar or the mind be engaged or the spirit be renewed.

Here are some intentional steps we have taken to foster our childrens' hunger for reading even from a young age.

1. Provide low, accessible bookshelves with a wide variety of children's books. Amazing books can be found at garage sales for pennies. I used to get upset when the books were all over the floor, but then realized that love of reading and tidiness aren't even comparable. We just pick them up together at another time.

2. Go to the library often and ask the child what he/she would like to learn about. I'm often surprised by the answers I get and more surprised about their excitement to see a whole shelf of books on the topic.

3. Read exciting chapter books with an understandable plot. A book like this may take a while to get through, but it creates a thirst for more and the sense of accomplishment that comes from finishing a longer book.

4. Read with an accent. Sean has a English/Scottish/Irish accent that comes out ever so often and really engages the children. Kermit the frog also makes an appearance over the kitchen's half wall for some reading after dinner:)

5. Invest in a few quality picture books. Usborne books has some large, well illustrated and captioned books on history and science. The younger kids and beginning readers can spend a good hour looking through these and studying the pictures. These books are made for little hands and can withstand quite a bit of use.

6. When watching TV or a DVD turn on closed captioning. Seeing the words and hearing them at the same time is good for the brain and an easy way for our struggling readers to get some practice without knowing it.

6. Don't avoid older books or those with a deep vocabulary. Our favorites are Lamplighter books, quality moral literature from the 1700-early 1900s. These have been edited well and really are easy for an adult to read aloud. Hearing these more difficult words will hopefully allow the children to not be overwhelmed by these types of books in the future.

7. Read chapters of the Bible aloud and encourage the children to read it to one another. Modeling the reading of God's word in larger portions is a good reminder to us all that Scripture is a whole book, not just a collection of stories and antidotes. This really is the only book we need and God's gift to us.

I have to admit that Sean is much more consistent at bringing books to center stage in our house. I do implement "resting and reading time" mostly for my own sanity. I make regular trips to the library shushing seven children and sporting a laundry basket in a double stroller. He is the one who is intentional about reading to the children individually or as a family, which is much appreciated. I guess I'll have my turn someday when I have grandchildren.

What are some of your favorite ways to bring literature into your family's life? Better yet, what are some of your family's favorite books?

Jefferson's Ten Rules

This reading came up during school today. Some principles are timeless.

Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.

Never spend your money before you have earned it.

Never buy what you don't want because it is cheap.

Pride costs more than hunger, thirst, and cold.

We seldom repent of having eaten too little.

Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.

How much pain the evils have cost us that have never happened.

Take things always by the smooth handle.

When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, count a hundred.

9 weeks

Today marks the beginning of the second nine week term of our school year. My how time has flown! We are one fourth of the way there.

Many things are working well this year. For the first time I am giving regular quizzes and tests and thus there are grades. I've even assigned homework over the weekend. Sean presented them with their report cards Friday night with a commentary on each subject and their achievement. There were beaming faces all around.

I wasn't sure how the girls would respond to receiving grades, but they have embraced it completely. For those who are competition driven, it is a huge motivator. For others it serves as proof that they can and will will be rewarded for their hard work and study.

I just told Lydia to put a bean in a bag with a wet paper towel. She's taken it to a whole new level. We might have a botanist on our hands.

We are, however, going to have to revisit our list of rules and daily schedule. It's so easy for us all to get off track here and there which can really make a wreck of things. Oh, how I love spontaneity. I'm feeling a bit discouraged these days with the house and its sad condition. It is getting picked up (mostly), but not really cleaned. My room is full of winter/summer clothes bins, piles of clean clothes to be folded and dirty ones to be washed. It really is not an encouragement to open one's eyes each morning to this mess. There are shoes missing and stacks of papers to be filed. I just have no energy or motivation at the end of the day to get to these every growing piles.

This is our school room. As you can see, it's also our play room.

Homeschooling has so many implications for the daily life of a family and the house they live in. If anyone knows how it is that a family can manage a school, cafeteria, home office, playroom, laundry mat, clinic, library.... under the same roof in an orderly fashion, could you please enlighten me? This teacher, cook, secretary, entertainer, wash woman, nurse, librarian.... is getting a bit overwhelmed it seems.