Homeschool Hump Day Encouragement

Many of us are schooling children in multiple grade levels and sometimes we wonder, "How can I teach all these children what they need to learn?" The answer can be a simple one. 
First, step back and think about what you want your school to look like. Do you want each student in his or her own desk? Are you trying to teach each one something different or are there similar topics? Have you considered teaching a concept to all the children at the same time even if it's over the heads of the younger ones? 
I believe that in casual learning, students retain more information than formal training when there is pressure to remember events, dates and formulas. That has been my experience in learning myself and in the ways my children learn, too.

Condense teaching when possible. Call all the children together to discuss the respiratory system or when explaining the effects of World War II on people and communities or when laying in the grass at the park looking at clouds. Focus on the teachable moments and watch your children flood you with their creativity and knowledge!

Blessings!

Book Review: Balanced by Tricia Goyer

Do you find yourself running here and there? Dropping one child off for this event, and heading to another venue to drop another off there? Are you a work-at-home mom who is homeschooling and trying to figure out a good balance between work and home life? Then this is the book you need to read!

Balanced: Finding Center As a Work at Home Mom by Tricia Goyer brings a revelation for all of us trying to balance our lives and work as we stay home to raise our children. I really enjoyed the Pause and Reflect sections as well as the Tips from the Trenches. In these glimpses into her own life experiences, Tricia shows other homeschooling work at home mothers like me that we are not abnormal! She's been where I was...feeling guility about choosing to write and follow the call the Lord put on my life. And she's found balance through prioritizing and identifying themes for her family, something I plan to implement in my own family before my younger children grow up!
Where Tricia brings us to is reality is that it's not just about the work we are doing at home to add to our family income and perhaps follwoing our dreams. But rather it is finding what the Lord would have us do for our families in this calling He has given us that will create balance in our work-at-home lives.

You can find Balanced: Finding Center as a Work-at-Home Mom On Amazon and Barnes and Noble!

Blessings!

TIP TUESDAY: Which Organization Website Should I Follow?

How to Choose Effective Methods of Cleaning & Organizing

Several years ago, I began following FlyLady. FLY stands for "Finally Loving Yourself." It was a wonderful concept. I would be emailed daily reminders of what section in my house to clean, what the main focus was for that week and the things I needed to do every day. The trouble was, I was running around quite a bit and wasn't home to do the things the emails said I should. I felt as though I was getting behind, so I quit. There were a few things that stuck like getting dressed to the shoes and making my bed everyday, but for the most part, I began to feel like a failure. That was NOT the intention of FlyLady! It was and still is very much the opposite!
I also began following A Slob Comes Clean. Now this was a gal I could relate to with cleaning my home! Everyday on her blog she discusses ways to simplify and declutter, but my big takeaway with her was to make sure to load and run the dishwasher everyday and do at least one load of laundry.

(C) Organized Chaos Online

Finally, one of the best Websites I have found for getting our homes organized and breaking free of the chaos has been our friends Patti and Tawsha over at Organized Chaos Online! Now these gals know how to simplify and make organizing fun, easy, and practical. Their site is currently being decluttered (they decided to take their own advice and clean things up a bit there!), but when you can, make sure you visit their page for ideas for those empty ketchup bottles, ways to decorate your home very inexpensively, and getting organized in the midst of the chaos that is often our lives.

Ecclesiastes Week Three

This week, Ecclesiastes gets a little bit deeper, in my opinion. Here's what the verse says:

When we read that first line, "a time to kill," what is the first thing that pops into your mind? For me, I think of killing the bad seed I've sown with my words and my actions. I need to kill those thoughts of doubt, lack of self-worth, and envy. I need to tear up the seeds of anger and really, kill my old self and my old, fleshly wants, needs and thoughts. The Lord said in His word that we must die to our old self. That is what I think of when I read that part.
The next line talks about a time for healing. I think the author of Ecclesiastes was speaking both literally and figureatively. There is a time for us to heal from the wounds of a supposed friend who gossiped and spread rumors, from the pain of separation or divorce, from the broken heart of a child not living for the Lord, and for the death of a loved one. I think it also means it is going to take us sometime to heal from the death of our old self. We have to leave our "stinkin' thinkin'" behind and put on the mind of Christ in all that we do.
This leads right into the part about there being a time to break down. What does this line say to you? Does it mean we can break down emotionally? Does it mean we need to break down friendships, especially if they are damaging or breaking us down? I've thought about this verse and those are the things that came to mind. You know when a contractor is buidling a house and something isn't quite right with the foundation, often, if it is possible, he will tear up and break down that foundation in favor of creating a correct and strong, solid one. Breaking down those mindsets we've collected over the years that have damaged our foundation in the Lord must be a priority if we are truly going to live set apart lives.
The final portion of this verse tells us there is a time to build up. I look at this in two ways: we are to build each other up in our faith and we are to add on to what we already have. The Scripture tells us in 1 Corinthians 14:26 to "let all things be done in edification (building up)." First Thessalonians 5:11 says "therefore comfort each other and edify (build up) one another, just as you are also doing."
This week, consider what needs to be killed in your life, your words, your actions. Look at the healing that is taking place in your life as the Lord breaks down that foundation that has begun to crack and shift and see the wonderful things He is building up in you!

Blessings!

Homeschool Hump Day Encouragement

I woke up out of a sound sleep in a panic! "Have I taught my kids all that I should be? What if there are learning gaps because of a subject area I've neglected?" Early on in my homeschooling journey, these thoughts plagued me and caused me many sleepless nights.

Mom, I want to encourage you today that you are doing such a wonderful and empowering thing for your children as you homeschool them! You have chosen to put them first and show your children that there are so many important things you want each of them to learn that you personally have taken on the challenge of teaching them. That is a huge step for many of us. We know homeschooling is the right thing to do for our families, but still there are those thoughts of "What if..."
Let me tell you, those are not of God. He said in His word, "Teach them to your children and talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them down and tie them to your hands as a sign. Tie them on your forehead to remind you, and write them on your door posts and gates" Deuteronomy 6:7-9, New Century Version.
Teaching our children of course involves academics like math, language arts, science and history. But it is also so much more than those core subjects. As homeschoolers, we have committed to building certain character traits in our children, morals, values and beliefs and we have made a pledge that we will teach our children about the Lord, His goodness, salvation, hope and the love of Jesus.
So if you are lying awake at night wondering if you're teaching all that you should or could or if your children will be lacking in some area, remember that the eternals thing you are teaching your children are important, too.

Blessings!

TIP TUESDAY: Busy Bags

When I had younger children, I found that we often had to wait for my doctor's appointments, the children's appointments, or for the nursery at church to open and the children became restless. I began carrying tote bags for the kids filled with things such as toy cars, coloring books, markers (we really like the Color Wonder products!), and other things to keep the little ones busy while we had to wait.

Moms, you can keep a busy bag for yourself, too! This might include a book, your Kindle or tablet, crocheting or a word search book. No one likes to wait for long periods of time, but being prepared to busy yourself will make the time go by faster!

                                     Photo credit: micheldf / Foter / CC BY-NC

Blessings!

Ecclesiastes: Week Two

A Time...

This week's verse is Ecclesiastes 3:2-

Do you know you were born just at the right time in the right decade on the right day that God had planned for you? He intended you to be born to follow through with a particular purpose He assigned you. And jeremiah 29:11 tells each of us, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you a hope, a future and an expected end." He knows when you are expected to perish from this earth.
The next part had me thinking about what the Lord was trying to get me to understand. A time to plant and a time to pluck what is planted...First, let's look at the time to plant. That might mean when you feeling the Holy Spirit urging you to go talk to or pray for someone. You plant the seeds of being hospitable.  We also plant seeds with our words and when we plant, we expect that what we say is what our seed will produce. We do that with the tithe, too. There's lots of planting to do in the Kingdom of God, isn't there?
What about a time to pluck what is planted, though? Well, often I find myself saying things I really don't mean. How often have I caught myself saying something like, "My foot is killing me," "I'll never have enough money," "I'm not good enough to get that job..." Do you find that is true for you, too? These are some of the things we need to pluck up! We can go right to the Father and say, "God, I made a mistake. I didn't mean what I said and I dig up that seed of disbelief and doubt in Jesus' name!" It's that simple. 
So this week remember that you were born for a purpose. You have a planned time that you will come to the end of your life. There are opportunities to plant and sow seed into your own life and the lives of others. And there are things we have said or done that we need to go back and figureatively dig up. Your destiny that God had for you when you were born is set! And His plans for you are for good and not evil and to prosper you! So plant seeds of prosperity over your life and dig up those seeds that say you can't, you don't have enough, or you're not enough. You ARE a child of the King!

Blessings!