Joyful Heart

Quick, a multiple choice test!

When things don’t go the way you want them to, do you…

a) throw up your hands and say, “I can’t do this!”?
b) keep moving forward, inch by inch, making modifications and adjustments as needed in order to reach your goal?
c) cry out to the Lord for help?
d) all of the above?

If you answered choice ‘d’, then maybe you can relate.

We are on day 31 of our first grade and preschool homeschool journey this year. (Well, actually day 42 now that I am getting around to posting this. LOL!) Yeah!  While it is exciting to think that we are this far into the school year already, I must admit that the beginning weeks of our school year have been very challenging for me.

I used to teach kindergarten in a public school.  There were fairly set times and a distinct order to our day. I could post a schedule on the board and kids would know what was coming next.  In general, kids thrive on routine -knowing what is coming next and what is expected.  I thrive in an environment like that as well.   So, here in our homeschool, I have organized a daily routine and order for what we are to do when, but  in a household of 4 precious children, ranging in age from 6 years to 7 months, we can’t always have a set routine.  There are some uncommon first grade ‘interruptions’ that my oldest has to deal with – such as stopping while mommy has to discipline a younger sibling or taking a break as mommy goes to change a diaper or calms her baby sister.   So, what if we take a quick break every now and then or I ask her to continue working by herself on something?  Or, what happens when it says in my plans that we are to do read aloud next, but the baby is crying and there is no reasonable way anyone can actually listen and comprehend what is happening in the story – let alone mommy be able to read?  Does it really matter if we switch the read aloud time with say, some phonics seatwork while I can comfort my baby girl?   It is these daily times of adjusting to the needs of each child and taking in consideration of what is best for all of us that are challenging for me.   I want to cherish the time with the youngest children AND do school well (and keep an orderly house, etc, etc.)    So, in order to do that, flexibility has had to become my new motto!

And, in all honesty, these challenging times are also the times when the enemy whispers thoughts of  ‘You can’t do this.  You’re just playing school.  When are you going to send her to a REAL school?’

I have to remember that, no matter how crazy some days feel, my first grader IS learning.   She is just learning in a different environment.  And that is OKAY!

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone. My hope comes from Him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation.  He is my fortress.
I will not be shaken.  My salvation and my honor depend on God.
He is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people.
Pour out your hearts to Him.  For God is our refuge.
(Psalm 62:5-8)

My hope is in my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  My strength comes from Him.

Psalm 56:3
When I am afraid, I will trust in You.
When I am afraid, I will trust in You.
When I am afraid, I will trust in You.
Psalm 56:3
I will trust in You!

Since the end of our 3’s school and kindergarten year, my oldest two children had eagerly been asking when we would begin school again.  Thoughts of the last three months of our school year would flash through my mind.  We had a newborn the last three months of school.   Pulling my K student to do school whenever we had some time when the baby napped worked for awhile, but the unpredictability and loss of routine and structure had left me frazzled!   So, although the girls were excited, I was experiencing a paralyzing fear.  Thoughts of ‘What if I can’t do this with a toddler and baby needing my attention as well?  They deserve more – someone more qualified, more knowledgeable, someone with more energy and patience …’  

I decided to ask to meet with another trusted homeschool mom (more seasoned than I) to see if I was on track for the type and amount of work I had been planning for the upcoming year and to glean any words of wisdom.  She graciously helped me tweak some areas and encouraged me as well.

About a week into our new homeschool year though, I was once again feeling defeated and thinking, ‘I can’t do this.’   I was nearing the point of throwing in the towel before I had even started!  ‘The school bus for our district wouldn’t even be coming around for another week or so. There was still time to switch, right?’

Then, at just the right time, God sent two things (literally) to get me refocused.  One was a reader’s comment that spoke some calming reassurance to my heart.  These weren’t her exact words, but what I heard as I read was, ‘God is sovereign and He gave us our children to raise for His glory. It is our responsibility and blessing to get to train them and to educate them at home.  He makes no mistakes. Your little ones are where they need to be.’ 

The second item God sent was a book that I had ordered a few weeks before school was to start, Lies Homeschooling Mom’s Believe by Todd Wilson.  I had first heard of this through the Heart of the Matter Online Devotional Study and knew it would be one that I would want to add to my library.  The book was written by the husband of a homeschooling mom to 7 and I found it to be a quick, often humorous, and straightforward read, offering much that I could relate to and needed to hear.    (The above HOTM link will allow you to read and get a good feel for what is in the book, so I will not elaborate on that here.)   I know I will be referring back to the book throughout this year – as it seems to be an on again, off again battle in my mind to NOT believe the lies.  I need to remember that Satan is the Father of all lies and that lies need to be combated by the Truth in God’s Word.

Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Dear Jesus, I will trust in You.

Taking our ant problem and making it FUN!

“Ants have three body parts. They have a head, abdomen, and thorax. There is one queen in a colony. They have jaws. They use their antennae to smell. Some ants have stingers. Some ants are brown and some are black. Most of the ants are females. Forager ants collect food. Some of the ants are builder ants. They fix the nest if some of the dirt falls. The male ants meet with the queen. The male ants have wings. After the flighting, the male ants die. The special part about the queen is that she is the only one that lays the eggs.”
by A – age 6

making an anthill with tunnels and rooms for all the ants…

our edible ants….

We also READ a ton of ant books that we gathered from the library, watched The Magic School Bus has Ants in its Pants (way too many times, LOL!), counted out raisin ‘ants’ with tweezers into muffin tins, made a construction paper ant, and read what the Bible has to say about ants …

Proverbs 6:6-8
Go to the ant, you sluggard.  Consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.

I just discovered a new, encouraging, online homeschooling magazine called The Heart of the Matter.  They are having a weekly meme and this week’s entry is to share a typical homeschooling day.  Being fairly new to homeschooling,  I have been loving reading each family’s daily routine. 

Below, I am hesitantly sharing what we do – a Day in the Life with our Kindergartner, almost 4 year old preschooler, and our just turned 2 year old toddler.  Oh, and this homeschool mommy is pregnant with blessing number four and expecting in 2 weeks =)   So, our ‘typical’ day and routines will be changing soon!

6am – My alarm goes off and mommy tries to get up (usually I’m up no later than 6:30am though), shower, daily Bible reading and meditation on God’s Word, prepare breakfast drinks for the kids (This may sound silly, but it is my way of prepping for the breakfast rush as I prefer to not have a toddler wrapped about my ankles or hanging on my side as I pour 6 glasses of liquids – 1 milk and 1 juice cup each.), eat my breakfast in the peace and quiet before little ones awake, and check email.  This is all accomplished on a good day =)

7:10-7:30am  – Our toddler usually awakes at some point during this time , is changed, dressed, and cuddled.  Then he tends to play with his trains while mommy sneaks in a load of laundry and makes the bed.

7:30am – Big sisters awake, get dressed, make beds (if they remember), and come downstairs for breakfast  (They may awake earlier than this, but per advice of some other moms, we have recently made a rule that they can’t come downstairs until 7:30am (mainly for mommy’s sanity=) . )

After breakfast, the kids brush their teeth, comb their hair, finish making beds, and play/read a little.

We try to start school no later than 9am.  We head downstairs to the basement playroom – which is a welcome and much loved addition to our home this fall! 

We usually begin with our Calendar Time and focus in on the following….
Adding the new date card and stating fully, adding a tally mark for the number of days in the month,  saying the pattern for the month’s cards, talking about yesterday/today/tomorrow, checking the weather and adding a picture and sentence that describes the weather, marking on our weather graph, adding a straw for the number of days in school, singing songs such as ‘This is the Day’, ‘Seven Days’, and the ABC Song (using sounds instead of letters)   (Our K and preschooler, usually, are involved with this, and sometimes the toddler joins us for songs and to tries to take out the straws =) )

Math Time with my K student is typically next.  We are working our way through the Bob Jones University (BJU) Math lessons and corresponding workbook.   I am not an avid proponent of workbooks and worksheets for K and lower, but my daughter absolutely loves this approach.  This doesn’t mean we don’t do the active hands on though also with her!   During this time, 2 days a week, my preschooler also has some type of sorting, patterning, or counting and ordering hands on math activity to do.  My toddler plays, brings us things, sits on my lap, etc.

Bible and Character Focus
We have been following the Bible and Rhyme for 3’s this year for this time as well as memory verses from the girls’  AWANA program at church.   We typically introduce and read a new Bible story each week and then do related devotionals and sing songs / read related children’s books throughout the week.  (Both girls participate in this and the toddler plays or comes to sit and listen.)

Literacy Focus
Our kindergartner reads from her BJU reading booklet, a decodable book, and then chooses 3 additional books to reread to us.  Her preschool sister loves to sit and listen to her read and then takes the book and ‘pretend’ reads it!   Two days a week, our K child will also write in her Daily Writing Practice Book.  I got the idea from another Kindergarten teacher’s website.

Next, we will usually head upstairs for a snack and continue literacy at the kitchen table.  Our K child will write in her writing notebook and complete one or two pages in her Explode the Code phonics workbook.  Her preschool sister, depending on the day, will either be introduced to an alphabet letter that is related to this week’s Bible story and make related letter art or do a letter sort, picture sound sort, or practice letter formation in a tactile way.  (After eating his snack, our toddler either colors, looks at books at the table, watches Blues Clues, plays with some nearby toys, or clings to mommy =) )

Book/Theme a Week
This changes each week and is a time for more literacy, math, and art connections and/or a science and social study focus related to a children’s book or a holiday related theme.  Most of the ideas come from Story Lessons for K and/or the Bible and Rhyme Lessons for 3’s.  For example, last  week was a theme centered around Jan Brett’s book The Mitten and we focused on winter weather, winter wear, snow, and snowmen.  Some art projects can be done with our toddler around and participating (which he loves!), but sometimes we opt to do some of these activities at the start of rest time later in the day,

Missionary Story/Chapter Book
This is something I have been wanting to incorporate all year, but have been failing to do so!  I have just recently purchased books from Youth With a Mission (YWAM) and am trying to figure out a good time of day to incorporate these.

By this point in the day, we are all very ready for a lunch break!  This is usually when we end our ‘official’ school day.  After lunch is free play and stories.  Then comes nap for the toddler (and mommy at this point) and rest/quiet play for the K and preschooler. 

After naps/quiet rest time is snack and more free play, stories, and some more Blues Clues.  Then dinner prep and a chorus of ‘Daddy!!!!’ sung out once daddy comes home =)

And that is it – a day in the life of our growing homeschool family =)

…and my children are content on the couch, in their pajamas, reading books, and enjoying each other’s company before breakfast.  Today was the first day of school for the kids in our community that attend public school.  However, today will be the seventh day of school for our family’s homeschool. 

Several other homeschool moms have asked, ‘Why did you start so early?’  There are several reasons really.

1. We are expecting our fourth child in early February and I knew we would need to take some time off upon his or her arrival…
2. I don’t want us to still be doing ‘official’ school once summer comes…
3. I knew that today would be very hard for me!

You see, we live on a corner lot in our neighborhood and the school bus stops right at our corner every morning and afternoon.  It is a constant reminder to me of what the ‘norm’ is and how ‘different’ the choice to homeschool our children this year is.   What I think is even more difficult is that when I see that yellow school bus each day, it also brings up emotions in me of inadequacy and questioning in my abilities to educate our children at home.

In Psalm 32:8, the Lord says  ’I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.  I will counsel you and watch over you.’   Lord, I trust Your leadng.  Help me to dispell these insecurities and fear of man.