A Word About Homeschooling To Newbies

Looking over our homeschool newsletter, I am thrilled to see how many new homeschoolers are added to our number every year.  Some are pulling kiddos out of public/private schools, and some are just starting with their preschooler.  And now there are even some second generation homeschool mommas!  I think that's precious.

I have homeschooled now for 17 years.  We have 9 kiddos that have been homeschooled since they were born.  1 has graduated college, 2 will be starting college in the fall, and 6 are still working with Momma at home.  

When my oldest was kindergarten age, she had 3 little siblings and I was one tired momma!  I was busy taking care of my growing family, nursing a baby, trying to figure out how to homeschool, and feeling very inadequate to the task!  I felt like I had to do it all.  And what if I failed?  What if I picked the wrong curriculum?  What if there were gaps?  And what was all this talk about socialization anyway?  What if she never learned to read?  How was she going to make friends?  And how was my baby son going to play sports when the time came?  How could I spend the time necessary when I had so many other people that needed me too?   And then what about college??

17 years later and 3 graduations behind me, I have way more peace than I did in those early years.  There were many people from all different places that have spoken into my life over the years and helped me to get to a more comfortable place in my homeschooling.   And as I am preparing for a new school year and reviewing the tricks of the trade, I thought I'd throw out some of my favorite ideas that others taught me back in the day.

#1.  Do not babysit your kids during school.
A single homeschool dad of 12 hooked me onto this philosophy when I was just beginning.  He stressed teaching your kids to read and learn all math facts by rote.  Then turn them loose!  Once they can read,  they need to do as much on their own as possible without Mom holding their hand.  Give them their assignments, and expect them to read it and do it.

Now I'm not gonna lie.  I've had some very "hands-on" friends that do everything with their kids.  Even their high schoolers.  They have elaborate history programs and adopt the learn-it-together approach.  And listening to all they (the WHOLE family) accomplished made me feel guilty,  inadequate, and as though I wasn't doing enough.   But no matter how impressed I was, with 9 kids there was NO WAY I could ever make that happen.

Then my daughter said something out-of-the-blue one day that gave me great encouragement.  You see, my oldest daughter recently graduated college.  She was homeschooled every day of her life, received a very generous full-ride college scholarship and graduated with honors in 4 years.  She said  the thing that benefited her the most was the fact that she was taught to teach herself in our homeschool.  She was never spoon-fed information and she wasn't dependent on a teacher to help her learn everything she needed.  Online classes were also easy because she didn't need special attention.

Teaching your kids to teach themselves relieves a lot of the pressure of thinking you have to do it all. My kids' successes are THEIR successes.  It was their work, their time, their diligence.  I just helped to make it happen by expecting them to do it and keeping them accountable.

#2.  Stay home during school. 
No matter how quick the trip, once I leave the house the momentum is gone.  I may have grand plans of picking it up where we left off.  But I find that if we stay home we eliminate the re-entry process, maintain momentum, and get a lot more done.

#3.  Make a schedule and stick to it.
There's a million different ways of going about it, and here is a site I really like.  Their resources are very helpful...especially for first year homeschoolers.  Work and re-work your schedule until it fits your family just right.  Establish a chore routine and menu plan.  The time it takes to maintain this (and it does take time!) will pay off in peaceful days with happier people.   If everyone knows what to expect every day there will be less frustrations and more cooperation.

#4. Be Flexible! 
Your schedule is only a tool to help keep everyone on track.  It's not the boss of you.  So if something better comes along, by all means ditch the schedule and go with that!   I have a friend that tries to get in 3 full serious days of work in the beginning of the week.  Then if the end of the week starts to fall apart, she feels better knowing that most of the week was spent in diligent study times.

Those 4 principles have helped me more than anything else over the years.  And as I'm working on our new school schedule, I am keeping these ideas on the forefront of my mind!

A Sneak Peek At Our Back-To-School Plans

It's almost time!!  This will be my 22nd year of homeschooling.  Or if you count actual school grades, my 17th year.  Anyhow, it's a long time.  I'm just coming out of a rut of school dread and I'm actually looking forward to this year.  And while I don't wanna sound annoying cheerful (because if you are not looking forward to school, I totally get it.), I am thrilled to finally feel a bit of enthusiasm.

"Back To School" doesn't just mean back to school around here.  It pretty much means clean up, strategize, plan, reorganize, restock, and re-plan.

I make endless lists.
I shop what I already have.
I shop the libraries.
I read reviews.
I shop the internet.
And used books sales.
And I spend money.
Then I lesson plan.
Lots of lesson planning.
I take inventory of socks/underwear.
I buy more socks and underwear and spend more money.
I reorganize the school storage.
I shop the back-to-school items.
And I spend more money.
I make goals for each kiddo.
I re-do the chore schedule.
I plan a special breakfast.
With juice.
And fun snacks on the side.
And it's all a surprise.
Including one BIG surprise for each kid.

It's a HUGE day.  And it's a bunch of fun.

Here's a peek at some of the new things for this year.

~No matter what I've tried, I can't seem to convince my kids to re-use a cup.  I've assigned special cups to each kid.  I've bought everyone water bottles.  I've put cups in designated places.  Nothing.  We are still washing 20 cups a day.

Just when I was ready to give up, admit defeat, and move on with my life, Nikki introduced me to these.  Sip And Straw Lids.   And I think this just might be the answer!  The only problem is that the straws are all the same.  So I bought extra straws that were all different.  We'll see....

~This year we have 2 college bound students and 1 high school student doing part-time concurrent enrollment at the high school.   This means 3 of our kids will not be home for several hours of the day and each has a different schedule.

I took them out of the kitchen clean-up rotation leaving only 5 younger kids to rotate the weeks.  BUT I'm having LB help every night with her younger sibling on duty and the college kids will be responsible for the whole weekend's kitchen work together.  So basically it means the youngers will only be on duty Monday-Friday (rotating every week) and will have a helper every evening.

~I'm changing our writing curriculum this year to Write Shop.  This was a considerable portion of my book money.   I have 2 kids that will do the older version and 2 kids doing the Jr version.  Then I have one that falls in the middle and will do a little of both.  To save some money, I didn't buy the teacher's books.  I hardly ever buy the teacher's book for anything.  I think I'll be ok with the older version, but looking over the younger one has thrown me for a loop!  I'm still hoping to wing it without spending more money on it.

~LB's big surprise is a fancy calculator.   I had to buy this used on EBay because Oh My Word they are super pricey!  But she has been using the same little pink calculator I bought her at the dollar store 6 years ago.  And besides having to re-write the numbers on the buttons with a sharpie, it works great.  However, it can't be programmed with ACT formulas so it was time to upgrade.

~My Mally Girl is getting the last 4 Moody books in the series she loves.

~And Zekey is getting his first paint-by-number in hopes of helping with some fine motor skills.

~Another big change this year is that we are switching to more traditional text books for some subjects.  The reason being that our younger kids are getting older and needing to be better test takers.  Text books, complete with quizzes and tests, will offer more practice at this.  It doesn't matter how smart you are, if you are a crummy tester it's not going to land you a scholarship.  My boys need some practice in this area.

~2 of my boys are getting new back packs.  Christian will use his at school, but Jes really has no school related back pack needs.  I'm sure he will fill it with all matter of boy junk and be thrilled to have another area of personal space.

~Now Lane will be starting college.  But as far as I can tell, she already has every practical need met. So this year I bought her 2 cases of juice.  She loves having juice for after work and I rarely ever buy those little bottles.  Juice is a BIG deal at this house!

~There's LOTS of new traditional type school supplies waiting, plus some that are a little different that we've never tried before.

Our party is scheduled for Monday.  And for the first time ever, their daddy will be home to celebrate too!  I'm looking forward to showing you his real pictures instead of my iPhone pictures this year!

A Little Bit Of Lately

~I had a huge day of errands and appts one day this week.  And when I found myself with an excuse to pop into Hobby Lobby, I was thrilled.

Hobby Lobby ALONE!!  

Do you need a moment to appreciate that?  Because I can tell you it's never happened before and will likely never happen again.  But this time, a sheer miracle found me browsing the fancy delicate beautifulness without me directing a line of children to not sit on anything, lean against the shelves, and to walk with their hands behind their backs.  

The clearance aisle was full of fun.  And there were these wooden swirly monogram letters like you can hang on your front door.  For 80% off!!  So I dug through the Ps and Ys and Zs and finally found something that might be a T.  But it was hard to tell with all that swirlyness going on.  So I asked the lady on the aisle with me if she thought it was a T.  She took off her glasses, backed up, studied it, and told me to turn it upside down.  It was iffy.  And we couldn't be sure.... but it just might be a T.  But finally I decided that if it took that much imagination to figure it out, my guests coming to the front door would have no idea what it was supposed to be.  So I left it there.  

But there was a very pretty picture that I loved just across the way and I knew just where I would hang it.  

And isn't it lovely?  But my walls aren't really that color.  

Unfortunately I can't do anything about the smoke alarm or thermostat.  But that unsightly switch plate with the mountain home scene etched into it will have to go.  

~My kids have 3 more days of speed camp next week.  After that it's the big back-to-school party!!  And I'm so eager to get started with our new stuff and new schedule before our lives get busier with little foster babies.  

~AND, the crews are here this week making the final plans for the new childrens' home, Maggie House.  They have a nice construction budget and it will house 30 boys and 30 girls.  It will be open in February.  THIS February!!    We are beyond excited.  

~We got another piece of good news this week with an email awarding Laney a college scholarship we didn't expect.  I know!!  So her plans have changed a bit and she is adding more classes and shopping for books.  I'm so happy for her.  And very grateful.

~Remember Blue?  My neighbor's dog.

Well Blue hasn't been here all week.  And we can only assume that my neighbor finally found some combination of devices to keep Blue in his own yard.  Since it took us approximately 5 minutes to fall head over heels for this pup, we are contemplating how to break him out without being caught.

~One more thing.   This recipe!!  We love it.  Except we don't know Molly.  And we don't know anybody else named Molly.  So it's needing a new name.

Happy Anniversary!!

On Tuesday, Honey and I celebrated 26 years of wedded bliss.  TWENTY SIX!!  

Ok, well it hasn't all been bliss.  We've had our share of stupid arguments and silent dinners and loud conversations.  But for the most part, I'd describe it as AWESOMENESS.  

We were talking about some of our favorite memories together.  Now we haven't taken any cruises or mission trips or done anything glamorous.  We spent the first 3 1/2  years together eating Lucky Charms on the couch for supper and walking the dogs at the park.  The next 22 1/2 years we've spent raising 9 gorgeous kids.  I was pregnant and/or nursing for 16 years.  

That's a lot of sleepless nights, tears, poopy diapers, dirty laundry, car seat loading, car seat unloading, seatbelt buckling, shoe tying, puke cleaning, and snot wiping.  It's been 22 years of teething babies, stubborn toddlers, athletic boys, bossy little girls, and emotional teenagers.  

But do you know, do you know?  That not one of our favorite memories revolved around kids!?  Yes, the kids were there.  They were included.  But they were not the stars and focal points of the memories.  When it came down to just our favorite times, it included stuff that the two of us had done together.  Whether it was coordinating a move, learning something new, or a particular date we had at a certain place.  

I count that as a HUGE win.  Because people tell me that someday my kids will all be gone and living their own lives and we will have all the groceries to ourselves.  And as my older ones are growing up, I'm seeing that play out on a small scale.  Now ya'll.  After having these people around for over 22 years, we've grown rather fond of them.  What would we even talk about if it didn't have something to do with math homework or football camp? And living life without them eating up every scrap of food sounds a little boring.  

So when our favorites list involved 2 people instead of 11, I was tickled to think that when that time comes, we still might have just as much fun together as we did back in the day.  And with over 26 years of practice, I might even be able to come up with something better for dinner than Lucky Charms!  

A Gappy Grin

Look what's missing!! 

He's been working on that tooth for some time.  But finally it's OUT!!  And he couldn't be more thrilled.

We have a tradition of the"tooth fairy" taking you out to lunch when you loose the first tooth.  After that, it's money.  And our kids have always known the whole tooth fairy game.  But even though this is his 3rd tooth he still asked begged for the tooth fairy to take him just one last time.

Here's the note he found under his pillow.  

Early this morning, I hear him yell, "YESSSS!!" from his bed. 

I love this new smile! 

Nine Uninteresting Things

One~ I had some friends over today to visit and to watch my mother-in-law make kimchi.  It's been something I've wanted to do before school officially started for everyone.  Now I don't like kimchi.  Not at all.  But it's fun to watch her work in the kitchen.  And she has this gift of making a big batch of anything with hardly any mess.  I do not have that gift.

Two~ We are taking pizza to the in-laws for dinner tonight.  NOT homemade pizza either!  It's Tate's last night before flying back to AZ.  We're going to miss him.

Three~ For the first time in forever I'm excited about starting a new school year.  EXCITED I tell ya!  And truth be known, I'm always excited about the party but not about the work that lies ahead.  This year it's both.  I think the kids will really enjoy the new structure of school.

Four~ We are saving up for another car.  We have more drivers all needing to go in different directions. Honey is selling his motorcycle and we are used car shopping and saving.  It has really sparked my interest in money management.  For 26 years Honey has taken care of all things money.  And he's done a great job. But now I'd like to help out a bit.

Five~ Mally learned to ripstick!  She's so happy.

Six~ I bought some curtains at Savers during the 50% sale.  I like the color and design but they were not even close to the right length.  So I pinned them up and played with them until I got them to a place that looked good.  I left them like that for Tracy to see and to ask about how to sew them.  I can barely sew a stitch and wasn't looking forward to this part.  But Tracy showed me how to pin them a different way that I didn't need to sew!!  Happy!

Seven~ It's July and I'm wearing a light jacket and drinking hot chocolate.  Oh I'm in love! And tomorrow morning I will need to check our bees and I won't have a heat stroke in the bee gear.  These cooler temps make me ready for some Tiger football!

Eight~ We are months and months away from opening our home for foster care.  But I am working toward getting some things we'll need for our home study.  We have a new fire extinguisher and a trash can with a lid.  We also have a crib in our room for our foster babies.  I was needing to buy one at some point, but Dana gave me hers.   I'm still needing a mattress and hope to find one at GKS this fall.

Nine~ I think this could be labeled Most Boring Post Ever.  Maybe it's because we are in between ball seasons.   But it pretty much sums up life at this point. And sometimes boring is good.

Learning To Live Intentionally

I'm reading through 1 Corinthians these days.  It's interesting how Paul addresses the churches so differently and speaks to their individual needs.  And then at the same time, I find my "need" in whichever epistle I'm reading and it's as though he is speaking to me.  Apparently I have ever-changing issues.

If I were to summarize 1 Corinthians it would be Intentional Living.  Paul speaks a lot about our bodies, how to honor God, putting people first, and also warnings against serving ourselves.

Yesterday, I spoke to my kids about storing up treasure in heaven.  God tells us that our treasure should not be here on earth where moths destroy and thieves steal, but storing up treasure in heaven instead.  Laney mentioned that whenever she heard that teaching it always sounded like we were to store up our own personal treasure boxes for ourselves as the end goal.

But it's not that.

Our goal is glorifying God.  And one of the biggest ways we do that is by putting ourselves last and loving others.  The treasure is the by-product of a life of love.  "....just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved."  1Cor 10:33

But it doesn't just come naturally.  And that's where the instruction comes in.  Do this.  Do that.  And by all means, DON'T do that!!  It's not burdensome, but freeing.  Not only does Paul say "love one another" but he tells us how to do that in chapter 13.

My planner is full of the day-to-day business of life.  There are reminders, menu plans, shopping lists, school ideas, various Scriptures to remember, and the big list of things to do.  But sometimes in the afternoons I find myself in a place of not knowing what to do.  Not that I'm bored, but just overwhelmed with not knowing where to start or what to jump into next.  And often I'm jumping from thing to thing without ever feeling like I'm getting anything done.

This verse has helped..... "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you my obtain it."

Again, this speaks of intentional living.  Having a purpose and then ordering life so that I can achieve that end result.  And the result is ultimately loving God and loving others.

The afternoon is a good time to check off everything that has been done and then evaluate and prioritize the remainder.  By afternoon school is finished, 2 meals are done and cleaned up, and there is a bit more freedom in how to spend the time.  I can play with my kids, swim, or go for a walk.  We can read, make cookies, or just have quiet time.  I can glance at my planner and decide how to spend that time with the goal of loving others and not just catching up on Pinterest.  Every day is different.  But by intentionally prioritizing that time,  there is an actual purpose behind what I'm choosing and I don't feel as though I'm just hopping from thing to thing.

New Friend

Meet Blue

He's our neighbor's new puppy that finds his way over to visit.  

He's the sweetest, most lovable little guy. 

And we have had fun with some puppy love.  

Nana's Dip

This week was Bee Club.  Some of my kids love going to Bee Club with me but I suspect it has nothing to do with learning about bees and everything to do with the snack table.  

You see, these people go ALL OUT with the snacks.   We're talking fried chicken, cheese trays, homemade breads, and endless cookies.  I've never ever seen just a regular chip and dip bowl.  No...that would never do for Bee Club.  

And every month I say I'm going to take something.  And every month it never happens.  Unless you count that one time that I thought it was a potluck BBQ and I took a watermelon.  Turns out, it wasn't.  

But this time, with our garden overload, I decided to take a plate of cucumbers and dip.  And even Honey, who has never seen the snack table at Bee Club, thought I would come home with every one of those cucumbers and a full dip bowl.  

But he was wrong. 

Very Wrong!  Because he didn't take into account THE DIP.  

Nana made this for us for Christian's graduation and we scarfed it down, scraped the bowl, and would've licked it if nobody had been watching.  

My Bee Club folks were equally impressed.  The cucumbers were gone, the bowl was scraped clean, and I found myself having to repeat the recipe over and over to the ladies.  

Now this is not a sweet dip.  It's perfect for chips, veggies, or maybe even to smear on your chicken.  But one lady clearly misunderstood and was dipping her cookies into Nana's dip!  Her cookies!!

Whatever.  

Now this will take you all of 45 seconds to make from start to finish but you have to let it set in the fridge for a few minutes before you eat it.  

1 cup each sour cream and mayo

About a tsp or so of granulated beef bullion 

Mix it all up.  The beef bullion will dissolve after a few minutes and you will need to stir it all together.

And that's it!!  Then go get yourself a bag of chips or maybe swing by my house and I'll help you out with some cucumbers.  

In Which I Discovered Something Incredible

I learned a new word.

"Columbus"

Meg said it means when you think you discovered something that everybody else already knows.  And I think it might fit just perfectly with what happened to me.

Do you remember years back when I was working through cooking whole chickens and turkeys?  Renee and I were learning this together and neither of us were impressed.  But whole chickens save money.  And you can boil the bones to make broth.  And they are versatile.  And did I mention they save money?  And I'm all about the saving money.

And then there was that year when turkeys hit their all-time low and went on sale for super cheap and I bought 12.

Well times haven't changed all that much, except that I'll never buy 12 turkeys again.  I still hate cooking whole chickens.

1. They come in a bag with chicken juice that always leaks.

2. You have to open the bag in the sink because if you puncture that bag in the wrong place, chicken juice will squirt out on you....with force!

3.  You have to pick up that chicken with your bare hands.

4.  There is that bag of guts you have to contend with.

5.  You have to super clean everything because of chicken juice.  The sink, the faucet, the outside of the seasoning jar, your hands, the utensils, everything.

6.  After you do whatever you are going to do with the chicken, you have to pick all the meat off the bones for later.  Again, with your bare hands.

7.  It always puts Momma in a bad mood.

So see?  It all adds up to be a pain in the butt.

But when I was going to bed one night, I had a fantastic idea.  You see, you don't have to buy whole chickens OR boneless skinless chicken pieces.  There's another option.  You can buy chicken pieces that have bones that are not the whole chicken but only the pieces you actually want!  There's a whole section of chicken choices in the grocery store that I have never bothered with!!  You still get the bones for broth but you don't get bags of guts.  Plus it comes on a nice styrofoam tray that contains the chicken juice a little better and you can use TONGS to pick it up.

As for the extra expense, it turns out it's only about ten cents a pound more.  And I'd happily pay that for family peace and less chicken juice.

I know!!

I single-handedly discovered a culinary secret that will change the whole game.  Or in other words, I  columbus-ed it.... and I'm mighty proud of myself.

Linky Love

We've had such a fun summer so far.  The pool is getting tons of action, popsicles are a staple in the freezer, and we are getting to spend more time at the library.  This week we watched The Lego Movie in the theater room at the library and the kids loved it.

The garden is growing, the bees are busily humming, and the weather has been perfect.  LOVE!

Here's some of what I've been reading and looking at this week....

Our foster care classes won't likely start until winter.  In the meantime, I'm educating myself and reading everything I can get my hands on.  I'm taking the angle of reading every horror story I can.  I want to be ready with an appropriate response and a right heart.  I don't want to judge, be prideful, or condemning. And I want to be prepared...at least as much as possible..and not shocked.  I have no fairy tale honeymoon dreams and I appreciate those who are able to give a no-fluff, serious look at the real world of orphan care.

Another Place At The Table

This is a fantastic book.  I couldn't put it down.  I devoured this and was disappointed it was over.  I borrowed this from Dana, but I need to get my own copy so I can read it anytime I like! 

To The End Of June

This is ok.  Not great. I would say it's a very raw account of heartbreak.  There have been some boring parts I've skipped but I'm about 1/2 way through it.  It was published in 2013 so it's very new and has current, accurate law info.  This is a library book but I may want to own it someday.

And as I read through these accounts and think about the ways it'll affect our family, I keep coming back to two words....Love and Peace.  I'm working on memorizing 1 Corinthians 13.  I've memorized it loosely over the years because it is so popular.  But I'm trying to nail it down word-for-word.  And I love this blog post titled Aggressively Living 1 Corinthians 13.  Wow.  I'm praying through every Verse of it.  

I also like this blog about an easy Bible study method.  It has an awesome guilt-free slant that I'm all over! 

Here is a granola  recipe I want to try and here is a bean dip recipe that we made twice this week because WOW!! And I'm thinking I should just make it every day.

I hope you have a great 4th of July!