1. I learn lots of things I wouldn't normally know. For instance, I know things about Florida custody laws that most people in Florida probably don't know. I also know the best filing cabinet for your type of workspace; and I can give wonderful tips on how to ace the ACT. I have written mind-numbing articles about spyware and anti-spyware software. I also consider myself somewhat of an expert on Celtic wedding bands.
2. I like to tell people what to do. When I write the articles I can pretend people will actually care about what I'm telling them to do. They weren't forced to read it, right?
3. I can marvel over how wonderful words are and how my mind can come up with words and thoughts, and my fingers effortlessly type them, and I can read my thoughts being typed out onto the computer screen. I know that was a run-on sentence, but I'm so fascinated watching my thoughts appear on the screen that I don't care.
4. I tell myself that I have a job besides being a mom and wife. Not to diminish the importance of those jobs, but sometimes it's nice to know that someone outside of this house wants me to do something for them and will pay me for it. In money.
5. It's really fun to buy new shoes, a shirt, or even school books for the children with the money I make.
6. It gives me an excuse to say, "I have some work to do, so nobody bother me while I'm at the computer." Sometimes they actually listen.
7. While I'm mulling over how to write an article about finding a good psychologist that sounds legit and will be interesting to read, it's a good excuse to browse Facebook and check my ebay listings. Hey, I'm working!
8. I just plain, flat-out like to write even though I've never had any professional training. I have two fiction novel ideas that I would love to write someday, but I know it will probably never happen. I like writing articles because it's a short commitment, it feeds my desire to be a writer, and I don't have to face a lot of rejection.
Now, you can remind me of this blog post the next time my crazy boss wants me to rewrite an article I wrote four times. Just kidding, I love her. But she's still crazy.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Words Devotion
This is a devotion I wrote for our Ladies Meeting and I had a few friends say I should put it on my blog. So here it is! I hope it can be a blessing and encouragement to someone.
Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer”
God gave us a special way to communicate that no other creature has. We can use words to communicate. We can speak words, write words, and even sign words. And amazingly, other people can understand our words and communicate back with their own words. When you think about it, it’s an amazing thing!
With our words we can project our feeling, our passion, our love, our hate, and our annoyances. Most of the time our words are negative more than they’re positive. What does the Bible say about our words? What should the majority of our words be?
In Hebrews 10:24 it says “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:” Our words should encourage others to do good, and to love. The word provoke is not always a negative word, but it means to persuade and push. When we speak, our words should persuade other to love and do good works.
The most important thing our words should contain are words of God’s love. Our words should be a sweet smelling savour (Ephesians 5:2) to God. We should use our words to be kind to others, to tell others about Jesus, and the share His love with those around us. We don’t have to constantly tell others about Jesus’s sacrifice and love for us, but our words should contain words about Jesus and His love for us.
Our words should also contain forgiveness. In 2 Cor. 2 Paul tells the Corinth church that if someone does something offensive or wrong, that’s it’s better to forgive them and comfort that person, that to hold it against them and cause bitterness in their hearts. He says that if you forgive that person, God will also forgive you, and it will be counted as a blessing toward you. Having a bitter spirit, and holding unforgiveness in your heart is shown through your words. People can hear your bitter heart, without out having to tell them it’s there. ii. We should be quick to forgive, and slow to judge. It’s easy to criticize and wonder why people do things, but it builds an unforgiving spirit and it affects the words you speak. It’s much better to learn to let things go, and to not let them bother you, unless you’re willing to face them and deal with the problem.
Eph. 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” In whatever we do, we should be able to say kind words to others. Sometimes it’s hardest to say kind words to those we’re around all the time. We can be kind to the check-out girl, the bank teller, and the person who calls the wrong number. But it isn’t always easy to temper our words with kindness when we’re talking to our family, or those we see often.
Don’t let words with no benefit pass through your lips. Gossip isn’t always stretching the truth or telling lies, most of gossip is truth that doesn’t need to be spread. Decide whether the words you’re about to say are words that are yours to say. If it’s someone else’s story or event, let them tell it themselves. And if it isn’t going to spread a kind spirit in the person you’re telling, keep it to yourself. Not all information needs to be shared. “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”
Along with Kindness, our words need to contain truth. Eph. 4:17 “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.” There’s always debate about whether or not a “little white lie” is bad. While we shouldn’t go around saying everything that’s on our mind, and giving every opinion we might have, it’s also not good to keep the truth hidden in your heart. Don’t lie to yourself and say everything is fine, when there’s something that needs to be dealt with; either between you and God, or between you and someone else.
Our words should not involve twisted truth about others. Sometimes it’s necessary to discuss an event that’s happened, and sometimes you need to talk to a trusted friend about something that’s bothering you. But make sure that the words you speak are truth, and not a twisted truth. And speak ALL of the truth. A lot of times we’re good about leaving out our part of the fight, or downplaying what we did to cause the disruption. Be as honest about your involvement in the problem, as you are about the other person’s involvement. Speak the truth.
God gave us the ability to use words, and he gave us the ability to communicate with them. Make sure that the words you speak are the words God wants you to use. Imagine using God as a filter and consider if your conversations and words would pass His test of approval.
Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer”
God gave us a special way to communicate that no other creature has. We can use words to communicate. We can speak words, write words, and even sign words. And amazingly, other people can understand our words and communicate back with their own words. When you think about it, it’s an amazing thing!
With our words we can project our feeling, our passion, our love, our hate, and our annoyances. Most of the time our words are negative more than they’re positive. What does the Bible say about our words? What should the majority of our words be?
In Hebrews 10:24 it says “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:” Our words should encourage others to do good, and to love. The word provoke is not always a negative word, but it means to persuade and push. When we speak, our words should persuade other to love and do good works.
The most important thing our words should contain are words of God’s love. Our words should be a sweet smelling savour (Ephesians 5:2) to God. We should use our words to be kind to others, to tell others about Jesus, and the share His love with those around us. We don’t have to constantly tell others about Jesus’s sacrifice and love for us, but our words should contain words about Jesus and His love for us.
Our words should also contain forgiveness. In 2 Cor. 2 Paul tells the Corinth church that if someone does something offensive or wrong, that’s it’s better to forgive them and comfort that person, that to hold it against them and cause bitterness in their hearts. He says that if you forgive that person, God will also forgive you, and it will be counted as a blessing toward you. Having a bitter spirit, and holding unforgiveness in your heart is shown through your words. People can hear your bitter heart, without out having to tell them it’s there. ii. We should be quick to forgive, and slow to judge. It’s easy to criticize and wonder why people do things, but it builds an unforgiving spirit and it affects the words you speak. It’s much better to learn to let things go, and to not let them bother you, unless you’re willing to face them and deal with the problem.
Eph. 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” In whatever we do, we should be able to say kind words to others. Sometimes it’s hardest to say kind words to those we’re around all the time. We can be kind to the check-out girl, the bank teller, and the person who calls the wrong number. But it isn’t always easy to temper our words with kindness when we’re talking to our family, or those we see often.
Don’t let words with no benefit pass through your lips. Gossip isn’t always stretching the truth or telling lies, most of gossip is truth that doesn’t need to be spread. Decide whether the words you’re about to say are words that are yours to say. If it’s someone else’s story or event, let them tell it themselves. And if it isn’t going to spread a kind spirit in the person you’re telling, keep it to yourself. Not all information needs to be shared. “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”
Along with Kindness, our words need to contain truth. Eph. 4:17 “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.” There’s always debate about whether or not a “little white lie” is bad. While we shouldn’t go around saying everything that’s on our mind, and giving every opinion we might have, it’s also not good to keep the truth hidden in your heart. Don’t lie to yourself and say everything is fine, when there’s something that needs to be dealt with; either between you and God, or between you and someone else.
Our words should not involve twisted truth about others. Sometimes it’s necessary to discuss an event that’s happened, and sometimes you need to talk to a trusted friend about something that’s bothering you. But make sure that the words you speak are truth, and not a twisted truth. And speak ALL of the truth. A lot of times we’re good about leaving out our part of the fight, or downplaying what we did to cause the disruption. Be as honest about your involvement in the problem, as you are about the other person’s involvement. Speak the truth.
God gave us the ability to use words, and he gave us the ability to communicate with them. Make sure that the words you speak are the words God wants you to use. Imagine using God as a filter and consider if your conversations and words would pass His test of approval.
Friday, July 6, 2012
10 Things You Have to Be a Mom to Do (Apparently)
1. Flush the toilet.
2. Put a new roll of toilet paper on the toilet paper holder.
3. Have the ability to pick up a toy off the floor once you drop it.
4. Find anything. And I mean anything.
5. Sleep past 7am.
6. See juice spilled all over the kitchen floor, and then know what to do about it.
7. Remember where pens go after you use them.
8. Stay up late into the night worrying about how you losing your temper that day is going to seal your child's fate of being a psychopath in the future.
9. Stay up late trying to figure out a clever way to get your children to do their chores, so you can blog about it and everyone will applaud your wonderful mothering skills.
10. Appreciate the sticky hugs and kisses that only you get because you're their Mom. <3
2. Put a new roll of toilet paper on the toilet paper holder.
3. Have the ability to pick up a toy off the floor once you drop it.
4. Find anything. And I mean anything.
5. Sleep past 7am.
6. See juice spilled all over the kitchen floor, and then know what to do about it.
7. Remember where pens go after you use them.
8. Stay up late into the night worrying about how you losing your temper that day is going to seal your child's fate of being a psychopath in the future.
9. Stay up late trying to figure out a clever way to get your children to do their chores, so you can blog about it and everyone will applaud your wonderful mothering skills.
10. Appreciate the sticky hugs and kisses that only you get because you're their Mom. <3
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Fifth Wheel for Sale!
Because of our change in ministry, we are selling our Fifth Wheel.
It's a 38', two bedroom, rare Fifth Wheel with 4 slideouts. We lived in it with our family of 7 for 2 years comfortably, and the family before us that had it had 7 family members as well.
We would like to sell it quickly, and we would give a good deal to someone that is in the ministry. We also have a 1 ton Ford pickup for sale with a trailer hitch, if someone wants a packaged deal!
Please share this link with anyone you know that might be interested in a Fifth Wheel.
http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/rvs/3017358412.html
(Sorry for the double post, we just really need to sell it!)
It's a 38', two bedroom, rare Fifth Wheel with 4 slideouts. We lived in it with our family of 7 for 2 years comfortably, and the family before us that had it had 7 family members as well.
We would like to sell it quickly, and we would give a good deal to someone that is in the ministry. We also have a 1 ton Ford pickup for sale with a trailer hitch, if someone wants a packaged deal!
Please share this link with anyone you know that might be interested in a Fifth Wheel.
http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/rvs/3017358412.html
(Sorry for the double post, we just really need to sell it!)
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Big Changes!
Almost a year ago my husband came to me and said he thought God was calling him to be a Pastor. I was less than thrilled. I was also skeptical. I admit, I was growing tired of living in a fifth wheel, traveling, and not having a home. But taking a church? That was a little bit much for me.
We didn't talk about it much after that, he would just casually mention it every once in a while. I told him I would follow him wherever he decided to go, but I didn't feel like God wanted me to be a Pastor's Wife! I didn't feel properly equipped.
When we went to Mississippi everything went wrong. Caleb kept getting hurt or sick, our children were fighting like crazy, Noah has started to have problems with sharing a room with his sisters, and I started to feel claustrophobic living in this trailer.
So I started praying about it, and God started to speak to my heart and He showed me a lot of things that I would like to share in a later blog; too much for right now!
In January we visited a church near where we were working in Mississippi and the Pastor preached on serving God and one of his main points was that we need more men to step up and be a Pastor. I just KNEW God was talking to my husband. And I couldn't deny God's working power, so that night I quietly told God that if Caleb talked to me about it again, I would be open and willing to follow him.
Well, he did, and I did, and we started praying that God would work things out, and that He would give us clear direction in leaving NTCP, USA and looking for a church to Pastor. Our burden was for small churches that would close if they didn't get a Pastor. We didn't want a cushy Pastor's job where we could relax. We wanted to serve and be used by the Lord.
When we came home the end of February we immediately took our Pastor (Caleb's Dad) and wife our for dinner. We told them that we wanted to look for a church to Pastor and Mom started laughing and said "I knew God wanted you to do that last time you were here!" That confirmed it in our hearts, that this was what God wanted. We had to go through a process of speaking to people in authoritative positions over us, and Caleb's knee injury gave us a good excuse to be home for a month or so, and not be doing any work. Everyone we talked to was on board and excited, and we just kept getting more and more excited! When we told our kids, it was like we were telling them we were going to Disney World! Kayla said "I've always wanted to be a Pastor's Kid!!"
We started praying about where God would want us, and Caleb and his Dad called different men to see if they knew of a church that needed a Pastor. We felt like God wanted us to stay in the Midwest, but we weren't limiting ourselves to that.
At the beginning of April a Pastor friend gave Caleb a number of a church in Missouri that needed a Pastor. He called, and they asked us to come candidate that Sunday! So we drove out there for the weekend and it was not what we expected. The church was extremely friendly but it didn't seem like the "struggling church" we had pictured in our mind. Plus it seemed like everyone was really eager to vote us in and it scared me. Was this too fast? Do we want to take the first church we candidate? Are we sure this is what God wants? We went home very unsure of what God wanted. They were going to vote that weekend, one week from when we had first heard of the church.
In my heart, I was hoping they would vote no because it was too fast, and I was too unsure. They ended up voting to have us come back for another weekend, so we did. The second weekend we went was completely different, in my heart. A few families were more open, and they shared with us some struggles the church is going through. The church decided to have us stay through Wednesday with preaching every night, and we had meals with the members before service.
I had a few questions, and some concerns, that I was praying God would settle in my heart. Some of them are personal, but some of them I might share in a later blog. And some of them, I didn't even know I had, but once it was discussed, I felt a huge burden lift. I'll just tell you that after Tuesday night, I went to bed knowing 100% that this church was where God wanted us, and I went to bed excited and overflowing with God's love and peace for where He was leading our family!
Wednesday night I was a ball of nerves, the church was going to vote on whether or not to call us. I could barely eat dinner, and I was having a hard time talking to anybody. It was like the huge elephant in the room that nobody wanted to discuss. The service was amazing and Caleb preached an awesome message, finalizing his Facing and Defeating Your Giants series he did that week. We left the auditorium and they had their meeting, and when they called us back in, I thought I was going to faint!
One of the things we were praying for was that we would get voted in 90% or more. We had several people tell us that number was impossible, that maybe we should consider a lower number. Caleb said if the vote was yes with a smaller number, we would still consider, but he really wanted that number. Well guess what, we got 92%! God did more than we asked, just to prove that He can!
Our last Sunday at Lighthouse Baptist Church in Mustang, OK is June 10th, and the next day we are going to officially move to Mound Baptist Church near Oldfield, MO. It's in the middle of nowhere, in beautiful Ozark, dairy country. I will give more details later.
Never doubt what God wants you to do. And don't be afraid to ask for confirmation either. God doesn't want us stumbling through life, unsure of what He wants, trying one thing after another. He is willing to give us perfect peace and rest, and He won't ask you to do something He won't equip you to do!
We didn't talk about it much after that, he would just casually mention it every once in a while. I told him I would follow him wherever he decided to go, but I didn't feel like God wanted me to be a Pastor's Wife! I didn't feel properly equipped.
When we went to Mississippi everything went wrong. Caleb kept getting hurt or sick, our children were fighting like crazy, Noah has started to have problems with sharing a room with his sisters, and I started to feel claustrophobic living in this trailer.
So I started praying about it, and God started to speak to my heart and He showed me a lot of things that I would like to share in a later blog; too much for right now!
In January we visited a church near where we were working in Mississippi and the Pastor preached on serving God and one of his main points was that we need more men to step up and be a Pastor. I just KNEW God was talking to my husband. And I couldn't deny God's working power, so that night I quietly told God that if Caleb talked to me about it again, I would be open and willing to follow him.
Well, he did, and I did, and we started praying that God would work things out, and that He would give us clear direction in leaving NTCP, USA and looking for a church to Pastor. Our burden was for small churches that would close if they didn't get a Pastor. We didn't want a cushy Pastor's job where we could relax. We wanted to serve and be used by the Lord.
When we came home the end of February we immediately took our Pastor (Caleb's Dad) and wife our for dinner. We told them that we wanted to look for a church to Pastor and Mom started laughing and said "I knew God wanted you to do that last time you were here!" That confirmed it in our hearts, that this was what God wanted. We had to go through a process of speaking to people in authoritative positions over us, and Caleb's knee injury gave us a good excuse to be home for a month or so, and not be doing any work. Everyone we talked to was on board and excited, and we just kept getting more and more excited! When we told our kids, it was like we were telling them we were going to Disney World! Kayla said "I've always wanted to be a Pastor's Kid!!"
We started praying about where God would want us, and Caleb and his Dad called different men to see if they knew of a church that needed a Pastor. We felt like God wanted us to stay in the Midwest, but we weren't limiting ourselves to that.
At the beginning of April a Pastor friend gave Caleb a number of a church in Missouri that needed a Pastor. He called, and they asked us to come candidate that Sunday! So we drove out there for the weekend and it was not what we expected. The church was extremely friendly but it didn't seem like the "struggling church" we had pictured in our mind. Plus it seemed like everyone was really eager to vote us in and it scared me. Was this too fast? Do we want to take the first church we candidate? Are we sure this is what God wants? We went home very unsure of what God wanted. They were going to vote that weekend, one week from when we had first heard of the church.
In my heart, I was hoping they would vote no because it was too fast, and I was too unsure. They ended up voting to have us come back for another weekend, so we did. The second weekend we went was completely different, in my heart. A few families were more open, and they shared with us some struggles the church is going through. The church decided to have us stay through Wednesday with preaching every night, and we had meals with the members before service.
I had a few questions, and some concerns, that I was praying God would settle in my heart. Some of them are personal, but some of them I might share in a later blog. And some of them, I didn't even know I had, but once it was discussed, I felt a huge burden lift. I'll just tell you that after Tuesday night, I went to bed knowing 100% that this church was where God wanted us, and I went to bed excited and overflowing with God's love and peace for where He was leading our family!
Wednesday night I was a ball of nerves, the church was going to vote on whether or not to call us. I could barely eat dinner, and I was having a hard time talking to anybody. It was like the huge elephant in the room that nobody wanted to discuss. The service was amazing and Caleb preached an awesome message, finalizing his Facing and Defeating Your Giants series he did that week. We left the auditorium and they had their meeting, and when they called us back in, I thought I was going to faint!
One of the things we were praying for was that we would get voted in 90% or more. We had several people tell us that number was impossible, that maybe we should consider a lower number. Caleb said if the vote was yes with a smaller number, we would still consider, but he really wanted that number. Well guess what, we got 92%! God did more than we asked, just to prove that He can!
Our last Sunday at Lighthouse Baptist Church in Mustang, OK is June 10th, and the next day we are going to officially move to Mound Baptist Church near Oldfield, MO. It's in the middle of nowhere, in beautiful Ozark, dairy country. I will give more details later.
Never doubt what God wants you to do. And don't be afraid to ask for confirmation either. God doesn't want us stumbling through life, unsure of what He wants, trying one thing after another. He is willing to give us perfect peace and rest, and He won't ask you to do something He won't equip you to do!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Fear of Homeschooling
This post in inspired by some friends of mine, but definitely not aimed at them or a rant about them. I just want to make that clear! I think this is something that most people think, but not many actually say out loud. I just wanted to further expand my thoughts on the subject.
I've been homeschooling for 3 years now and I cannot tell you how many times I've heard people say they could never do it, or they are terrified of homeschooling. It's a reasonable fear! Our society teaches us that being a teacher is a hard job, that only the best can do it, and you have to go to school for years to become certified. Don't get me wrong, I know that teachers work hard and it isn't easy. But comparing a public school teacher to a homeschool mom is a little lopsided!
First of all, when you home-school you are teaching your own children. This is what you were created to do. You teach your children all kinds of things. You taught them how to walk, how to clap their hands, how to eat with a fork, how to use the toilet, how to pick up their clothes from the floor (although most children are still perfecting that art). You didn't have a chalkboard with a syllabus and a half hour a day teaching your one year old how to walk. You just looked for times when he was interested, and you encouraged him to keep trying. Home-schooling is basically the same way. Finding moments in the day when you can get your child's attention trained on some school facts. You do this at meal times when you teach them how to chew with their mouths closed. You didn't have to get a certificate to be qualified to teach them how to make their bed. You used your own life experience.
When you home-school you do not have to make up your own curricula, lesson plans, and research topics to teach your children. You can buy complete curriculum sets that literally tell you what to say, what to read, what to have your child do, and what you will need for the next day. You can be as involved or uninvolved in planning the school as you want. We use a rather involved curriculum and I don't have any prep work besides making sure they have basic school supplies. Any questions they have are addressed in the Teacher's Manuals. And by the way, "real" school teachers have those manuals as well. Most teachers do not make up their own school work to teach.
The biggest struggle for most home-school moms is not WHAT to teach, or HOW to teach it, but WHEN to teach it. When you're home and you see dishes in the sink, projects that need done, a nice day outside, or family that needs help, it's very hard to make yourself sit down and do school. And frankly, sometimes you just want to mess around on the computer or read a book. The beauty of home-school is that you can do that sometimes, but it really can be a struggle to actually get school work done. Some do better with a classroom setting, some like their kids in a central part of the house so they can do housework around them, some like to use library rooms for the majority of the work, and some incorporate the outside and different activities into school. And you know what? All of those things work! Because it's home-school, it's not public school. You don't have to sit at a desk from 8:30-3pm working on work. You can do a few hours in the morning, and some in the afternoon. You can take Mondays off. You can work in the evenings.
Home-schooling is a little frightening. It's different, there's a lot to sort through to find what works for you, and there are a lot of opinions on the subject. But the fear of not knowing enough, or not being able to teach your kids the right things should not be a fear. I read somewhere that 80% of 4th graders polled in the public schools could not recognize Abraham Lincoln. I've read that as many as 15% of High School graduates (not just Public School, but all types of schools) cannot read past a 2nd grade level. I'm not trying to speak bad about other types of schooling because every family has to decide what is right for their children. But what I am trying to say is that you can't do much worse than that! Especially if you have the help of a curricula that will help you teach your children what they need to know.
Don't be afraid, you won't be alone.
I've been homeschooling for 3 years now and I cannot tell you how many times I've heard people say they could never do it, or they are terrified of homeschooling. It's a reasonable fear! Our society teaches us that being a teacher is a hard job, that only the best can do it, and you have to go to school for years to become certified. Don't get me wrong, I know that teachers work hard and it isn't easy. But comparing a public school teacher to a homeschool mom is a little lopsided!
First of all, when you home-school you are teaching your own children. This is what you were created to do. You teach your children all kinds of things. You taught them how to walk, how to clap their hands, how to eat with a fork, how to use the toilet, how to pick up their clothes from the floor (although most children are still perfecting that art). You didn't have a chalkboard with a syllabus and a half hour a day teaching your one year old how to walk. You just looked for times when he was interested, and you encouraged him to keep trying. Home-schooling is basically the same way. Finding moments in the day when you can get your child's attention trained on some school facts. You do this at meal times when you teach them how to chew with their mouths closed. You didn't have to get a certificate to be qualified to teach them how to make their bed. You used your own life experience.
When you home-school you do not have to make up your own curricula, lesson plans, and research topics to teach your children. You can buy complete curriculum sets that literally tell you what to say, what to read, what to have your child do, and what you will need for the next day. You can be as involved or uninvolved in planning the school as you want. We use a rather involved curriculum and I don't have any prep work besides making sure they have basic school supplies. Any questions they have are addressed in the Teacher's Manuals. And by the way, "real" school teachers have those manuals as well. Most teachers do not make up their own school work to teach.
The biggest struggle for most home-school moms is not WHAT to teach, or HOW to teach it, but WHEN to teach it. When you're home and you see dishes in the sink, projects that need done, a nice day outside, or family that needs help, it's very hard to make yourself sit down and do school. And frankly, sometimes you just want to mess around on the computer or read a book. The beauty of home-school is that you can do that sometimes, but it really can be a struggle to actually get school work done. Some do better with a classroom setting, some like their kids in a central part of the house so they can do housework around them, some like to use library rooms for the majority of the work, and some incorporate the outside and different activities into school. And you know what? All of those things work! Because it's home-school, it's not public school. You don't have to sit at a desk from 8:30-3pm working on work. You can do a few hours in the morning, and some in the afternoon. You can take Mondays off. You can work in the evenings.
Home-schooling is a little frightening. It's different, there's a lot to sort through to find what works for you, and there are a lot of opinions on the subject. But the fear of not knowing enough, or not being able to teach your kids the right things should not be a fear. I read somewhere that 80% of 4th graders polled in the public schools could not recognize Abraham Lincoln. I've read that as many as 15% of High School graduates (not just Public School, but all types of schools) cannot read past a 2nd grade level. I'm not trying to speak bad about other types of schooling because every family has to decide what is right for their children. But what I am trying to say is that you can't do much worse than that! Especially if you have the help of a curricula that will help you teach your children what they need to know.
Don't be afraid, you won't be alone.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Spring Wreath!
I finally got around to making a Spring Wreath, and now I'm finally getting around to uploading the pictures. This one is a little, shall we say, amateur, but that's because my girls wanted to help so we did whatever they wanted! I think it still turned out cute.
First we needed to take off the Valentine Themed one.
Lela cut the flowers off the vine.
The perfect frame for Anna!
Kayla helped pin the flowers on!
And then they wanted a picture of me in the wreath frame.
We had fun and although it isn't picture perfect, we enjoyed making it together.
First we needed to take off the Valentine Themed one.
Lela cut the flowers off the vine.
The perfect frame for Anna!
Kayla helped pin the flowers on!
And then they wanted a picture of me in the wreath frame.
We had fun and although it isn't picture perfect, we enjoyed making it together.
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