Home-school Revamp

Written a few months back, I am sharing a post that hadn't been published but was saved as a draft. Since I wrote it, we have been working mostly on reading and some neat science projects the kids have enjoyed. 

I feel like I'm running out of time. My pregnancy appears to have progressed rapidly and I realize what this means. It seems that very soon the time spent with our schooling will be affected greatly. I know from past experience, that immediately after giving birth and for some time later, our schooling time diminishes considerably. As it is, my days are spent driving my college-aged girls to and from school, making our schooling schedule choppy and shortened.

 I could have really used a schedule, but never did get around to it. Instead we have mostly done lessons from workbooks for the youngest. Occasionally I prepare a more elaborate lesson with a project which I know my kids enjoy much better. The oldest ones have more freedom choosing what and when to study. Usually they spend most of their time reading something they are interested in, this could be anything from history, biographies, science, or literature. Later, they might work on some math and writing. I haven't been as consistent as I would like, but I try to keep them accountable. To do this, I periodically ask, what they are working on at the moment, and I encourage them to make sure to dedicate time to different subjects.

It's important to check through the work they do, in order to get a better idea of the progress made. This helps me see where there is need for improvement. As it is, I see a need to spend more time reading with my younger ones. My older kids could also benefit from putting more emphasis studying grammar. 

I think this coming week is a good one to make some major changes. We need more structure and better accountability. Maybe the best way to accomplish this is keeping a written record of our daily school work. My older home-schooled kids have planners, but haven't used them much. This however seems like a good time to start using them again. If I purpose to check their planners daily, and record the lessons worked on by my younger ones; I believe we can make some noticeable improvement.  

Accountability is important for me as well. That is why I'm grateful for the times my husband asks if and how, our kids schooling is progressing. I also feel gratitude for my college students. They see and understand the importance of education, and will regularly question their siblings schooling improvement (or lack of improvement). This helps keep me on my toes and helps me focus better on our educational goals. 

I'm excited for the coming weeks. Maybe, I'll even take some time to post some of the things we work on. I do love being a home-school mom, even though I admit to being guilty of slacking off a bit.
My goal for the next few weeks is to revamp our home-school! Any ideas or comments are appreciated. 

~Blessed@home

The Dreaded Struggle with Reading

   Homeschooling may be more of a challenge on some days than others. With the difference in learning styles among other factors, finding a teaching method that works for both student and teacher can be difficult at times. Despite any difficulties and challenges that may arise from the task before us, we can be sure that we can certainly succeed with the help of perseverance and dedication. Naturally every child can have different strengths and weaknesses which will need to be identified. There may be a child that is especially quick at learning new things and with a gifted memory, while another may seem to struggle and present an uncooperative attitude.

   

    I believe that with the several homeschooled children I've worked with, I've had my share of challenges. As a matter of fact, I once found myself in a situation where all hope seemed to be lost. My child was uncooperative and miserable on a daily basis. I'm not sure how I got through those days, all I remember is they seemed to go on forever. At the same time I was also teaching the opposite type of student, which only made things appear to be worse than they really were with my struggling learner. Time did pass by though, and struggle as we were, we continued on our homeschooling endeavor. The days were long and difficult, as at the time I was also raising toddlers and pregnant for the most. My child was in tears each and every day, and basically any time we were working on any kind of formal reading, writing, or arithmetic exercises. While I can't give much details on how we overcame our challenges, I would like to give a word of hope to any struggling parent trying to homeschool with similar challenges. One thing that I will tell you is DON'T DESPAIR! There is always hope and without a doubt, light at the end of the tunnel! Success is all the sweeter when it's something you've worked hard and longed for all along. This time of struggles were a learning time for both my child and me. It definitely was a lesson in patience for me; I can tell you that much. 

   We continued studying and though it may seem illogical, I never tried to water down our lessons or making them any simpler; if anything, we constantly reached for higher goals. Naturally, there had to be much encouragement along the way. I had to not only convince my child of the certainty of success, but I had to believe it myself first. We read and eventually the tears stopped. We mastered the basic math concepts with even greater ease. Little by little we moved forward making progress as the days and months went by. Today this once struggling student is unrecognizable. Not only did reading become bearable but it's become somewhat of a hobby as reading is done voluntarily and even for pleasure. I can honestly say this is my ideal kind of student. My child did not only learn what we aimed for, but embraced learning as a goal and a way of life. This days, when I need help on proofreading any kind of writing guess whom I turn to. Even when I need to refresh my memory concerning any math concept I'm covering with my other children, my once struggling learner is there to the rescue.

   I've got to admit, that I'm far from being the best teacher. I don't have all the answers and I'm still learning and trying to improve my teaching skills. Every chance I get, I want to learn from good teachers and their methods. At the moment I'm happy to say, I'm in the middle of reading Teach Like Your Hair is on Fire after having just finished There are No Shortcuts which are both a great inspiration to me. There is no special method that I follow, just a desire to be there for my children and watch them succeed. I may do a lousy job at times, while have great days on others, but my focus is not on the immediate results. My goal is to do the job I've been called to as helpmeet, mother, and teacher; hopefully to the best of my ability. If you find yourself struggling or desiring to give up, remember there is hope, and sometimes the first kids to be labeled are the very ones to prove to excel among the rest. I would encourage you to read about Einstein's childhood.   Even when every child is not necessarily a genius, we can know that they are teachable and that we can reach our goals.  So don't give up and most of all don't lose sight of why you began homeschooling in the first place. Remember that success is waiting right around the corner.

Just David - A Beautiful Story

For a second time now, I began reading a book titled Just David with my kids. I first got this book a while back as a gift when I purchased some things from Timberdoodle. I had never heard of this book before this, but decided to read it, since I had it. I read it together with my kids when my oldest son David was about 13-years-old. It's been about five or so years since and now I am reading it with my younger children. Once we started reading, I realized what a beautiful story it is; from that moment, it became one of my favorite books from our library.

The story of Just David is a story of innocence and beauty. It is a moving story about a delightfully sweet boy, whom after being lovingly brought up and surrounded with all things good and pure, and sheltered from all else, finds himself suddenly plunged into a world he has never known. It is through the various circumstances, that David finds himself in and his peculiar and unexpected way of dealing with them, that makes for quite interesting reading. The author draws, one, through a journey along with David to find his place in this world and a search for an unknown family. He touches many lives along the way, mainly teaching other characters from the story, along with its readers, valuable lessons. I highly recommend this book for reading along with the family, or alone if you like a good book. It brought many smiles, laughs, and even a few tears to our family. I hope you enjoy it, and comment on it if you do. Happy reading!

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Story

Since today is the Holocaust Memorial Day I thought it a good day for a post on The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. I can't exactly recall how long ago, but my daughter asked if we could watch the movie, by this title. We couldn't find the movie, at our local movie rental place, and were disappointed after looking in several places. On one of our visits to the library, while browsing through the new selections, I noticed a blue striped book. Upon closer inspection I came to the realization that it was the story of  The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Naturally, I checked it out for my daughter who had been asking for the movie. I told my daughter to read the book, and we'd get the movie, on the first opportunity we could.

The story is about a boy who befriends another boy, about the same age, under peculiar circumstances. The friend he makes is on the other side of a long and tall fence. Over the fence, he notices a group of people who seem to always be wearing their pyjamas usually accompanied by soldiers, which happen to be under his father's command. Puzzled by the strangeness of several things he notices, of the secrecy about the subject and other odd things, he decides to investigate the matter. This story takes you through many questions and new findings as seen from the perspective of this young innocent child.

The end of the story, I won't give away. However, after both reading the book and watching the movie, both my daughter and I thought the book was the much better option. If you haven't seen this movie, or read the book, I would definitely recommend it. This novel is a good way to study about the holocaust tragedy and it's horrible effects on humanity.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

Marriage To A Difficult Man

Let me just clarify first that the title for this post is actually the title of a book I recently purchased. While listening to A Wise Woman's Guide to Blessing Her Husband by Vision Forum, I first heard about this book. Douglas Phillips talked about it briefly and recommended it as a must read. If you read my previous post, then you know about two other books I also purchased. This means, I'll have to decide which book to begin reading first. All look like good books, and I have read a bit on two of the three new books I bought. I'm excited about my reading, especially because the topics are very interesting and excellent to me. It seems that for a while, I won't be going to the library. Eventually I hope to take some time to write a post on each of the books read. One more thing I'd like to add; in case your wondering or can't make out the name, the author's name is Elizabeth D.Dodds.

Books and Visits...

Some interesting things have happened around at our home lately. I haven't had much time to write, as I've been in and out so much, and when I am home there's too much keeping me busy.

Well I, I'm excited to say I ordered some books and received them this week. I bought the books, Large Families Logistics: The Art and Science of Managing the Large Family by Kim Brenneman and Passionate Housewives Desperate for God by Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald.

 I was checking my e-mails and I noticed a sale at vision forum, where I bought my books at a good discount. I'm so glad I found out before the sale was over, because these books were on my wish list. Besides the books, I received two free CDs titled Honorable Language, Peaceful Siblings, Gracious Wives. Of course, the Cd's content has already been transferred to my iPod and I'm listening to them when I'm out doing errands. 

This past week we were happy to have a special visit. My nephew Caleb, came to spend a few days with us which was a true blessing to the family. It is always encouraging to see him, as we always wind up having some very interesting and edifying discussions. Also, when his parents picked him up, we watched a DVD together called The Hebrew Yeshua vs. The Greek Jesus by Nehemia Gordon. This too initiated a lively discussion, I highly recommend it. My husband had previously bought the book so that we were familiar with the message; however, it was good to see the DVD as well.

Among other things that have gone on around here; I was thrilled with a gift my sweet husband gave me. A few days back he bought me the cutest little puppy which I couldn't resist and named Goliath. Here he is, hiding by David.

We have two other dogs, and they seem to be getting along fine. It was funny the first time I took him outside to our yard. The little thing went after our ducks which are so much bigger than he, and chased them away. It was too funny to watch, I can't wait to see what he does when he sees our chickens.

Too many things have happened, but I'll leave that for another post. Maybe my next post will be of pictures that I've been taking.