So , my last post was about how God comes in cleans things up in our homes and rearranges the structures of our family . Well, Hes still here , in fact He is going to stay here , and as a wife / mother / teacher I am making the commitment to make sure He stays here , and lives among us !!
Now , ever since I received the call to home school God was gracious enough to allow me to be introduced to a style of home schooling that is very popular among homeschooler s now a days ....video teachers !!!!!!
This was the only way I would even agree to home schooling ! See, I'm not a teacher , I don't know how to be , I have a small learning disability , words on pages get all jumbled up in my head and get criss crossed ! But the Holy Spirit has been dealing with me and dealing with me about what my vision to home school was about in the first place !  That's right I , I , had a vision !!
The Holy Spirit started tugging at my heart ( while my children were still  in private school )  a deeper desire for my kids , I wanted them to love to learn , to really get things , and to learn a different way ....a deeper way .
I've been holding onto our current curriculum like a life preserver in an uncharted ocean , in the middle of a raging sea . The Holy Spirit has been impressing on me ...its time to let go . Okay , so I'm not naming any names , because I don't know how all that works , being new to blogging I don't want anyone pressing any charges on me for reasons I would need a lawyer to explain ..so . I'm just going to say  " said video curriculum " I guess I thought just because I was educating my children at home that , that would make a difference , but truth be told , guess what ..it didn't ! I was doing the exact thing that the school system was doing to them . Said video curriculum was written for a school system , not homeschoolers , they just made it available to home schoolers . OH .... ! When I heard this I realized what I had been doing . Video / computer based curriculums are great there are ones I really really like , but God is moving us in a different direction , a direction towards the vision I had in the first place . I don't want to feel like I have to keep up with "said curriculum program , or feel guilty when we've spent too much time on one thing . If we have to take two weeks to learn about the mountain ranges and make lapbooks and notebooks , sitting together , learning together , then I know they will have enjoyed what they have  learned !! This is my vision :)
So now I've exhausted so many resources , but I am announcing I am throwing " said video curriculum ) out and we will now begin a new journey following the vision God gave me in the first place .....Pray for me . This isn't going to be easy !

She said , " wait mommy , let me do my pencil like this , so I look smarta " but she just could't get that pencil to stay ..

 Love love love , these free printable worksheets from education.com!!

Anytime we can cut , color , and paste , we are all happy , happy , happy !!

One of the many things I like about Kindergarten

When God cleans house

A month and a half ago God came over , and  gently placed me to the side and got busy at work . After Thanksgiving last year I got sick. and then I stayed sick. Then 4 weeks ago I had a hysterectomy (yes!! I said the big "H" word..shh) . So now I'm finally getting back into the swing of things,just a little bit slower. But I think that was God had intended the whole time!Man! We get so tied up and tangled up into the stresses and pressures of homeschooling and our children that our joy just gets robbed!!And I knew it was happening,I was well aware,but just like being on a fast train,you can't always just jump right off,that train is moving waaay too fast;until,God comes in and stops it for you.
So what have I fought learned ? hmm,not to yell at my kids if they aren't exactly the way I think they should be,and not to yell at my house if it's not exactly the way it should be either! I mean I love Pinterest,but my house should not look like one of those rooms on there...all the time.. I mean,I have kids!! Five of them !! And a dog,and a cat,and chickens..Yes,I tend to work better in a clean, neat environment but Better Homes and Gardens is NOT coming over at any minute to take a cover photo of my house.
I have learned to slow down with my kids,to sit down with book with them,to enjoy them. I used to start out in the mornings like a drill sergeant ,you know " Get up!!!make your bed!!!brush your teeth!!brush your hair!!unload dishes!!hurry hurry hurry hurry hurry hurry !!!" Now I'm trying not to be ran by the little numbers on that clock,I do believe children should learn to be up by a certain time,that teaches them responsibility for when they are ready to leave home. But by the time I was done spitting out orders and we would all sit down at our desks or tables I was so worn out from all the hollering ;I came to the table empty,wore out,stressed out and joy'd out! This was not God's plan for us,or me.But on those days I was too sick to get out of bed ,too sick to fix meals,clean the house,and to to be able to take care of my children I realized that it was a blessing to be able to do those things and I had taken them for granted . When I wake up each morning I'm still a little slow,so there's no hurrying around here,it gives me time to remember the joy of having my children here with me,and in return they have joy of being with their momma again,and they too are grateful for all the things I did for them that they took for granted as well.They have been more helpful,which is always an automatic "A" in my gradebook :)
When God comes in and cleans house,it's not always a cup of tea,but in the end,theres nothing sweeter !

When all else ' fails ' ..believe..

I would have loved to have seen the look on some peoples faces when they heard I was becoming a homeschooling mamma  I admit..I was NOT an 'a' student, or a 'b' student,okay I never made the honor roll....EVER. I was that disheveled student.Yep! That was me!So many times my homework would be left at home with the company of my lunch....on the bar in my kitchen.The two of them saw more of each other than I of them in all of my 12 years of school. There is one teacher I remember ,one teacher of whom I thought at the time had allowed me to graduate only out of pity.You know ,sort of 'helped ' me to graduation. I really thought that he just didn't want to see me end up back in class the following year,sitting in a desk..in his classroom.....again. Just because I ..for the life of me,just could not get ,adjectives,adverbs,sentence dissection and so on and so forth..Looking back in retrospect ,you know,I think it was because he believed in me,beyond simple phrases,and verbs,beyond a grade,he saw me.

There are many homeschooling parents that have this belief that homeschooling is the  preferred method of education in Gods eyes .I however,do not believe this.I believe that there are some really really great God fearing teachers out there.And while our public schools and sadly even private schools may be morally corrupt ,I do not believe this to be so in the hearts of every teacher.Today who I am as a homeschooling mom/teacher has been greatly impacted by some of my teachers,whether it was my all so helpful English teacher of my senior year,or that elementary Librarian ... ooh boy was she something!!! Of whom almost 25 years later she still keeps in touch with her students!! Love that !! Every time I pick up a book to have story time with my children I somehow channel this great story teller that when she read...you LISTENED!! Crossed legs,heads up ,mouths opened ,and eyes set a gaze a group of children sat ,half circle. I do not think there ever was a time she had to stop in the middle of a story to fuss at wrestles children no,we were part of an exciting escape that she so eloquently ushered us into,known as story time! When she read,she made Goldilocks and the Three Bears sound like the greatest adventure ever told! She,believed in her students.She,was involved with her students.She,cared. She looked beyond our grades or our struggles whether or not we were a 'a' student or not,but she saw our capabilities!

So,teachers,whether homeschooling parent,or school teacher,believe in your children. Chances are if your frustrated with them they are too. Be patient,look beyond the grade,and see the struggle that they are having.There are so many pressures on a homeschooling parent,and there are so many times I see the opportunity to get frustrated .But when I see my child struggling I remember not so long ago I was in their spot,and so I take the opportunity to encourage them.  Encourage your children,they are so much more than a grade,and what they mean to us and God far exceeds any grade that they can receive. Let us not label our kids by an 'a' or 'b' student. Because believe it or not children hate to disappoint anyone, especially, especially,their parents..

I am so glad my Heavenly Father believed in me,He believes in me even when I don't believe in myself. He loves me,He died for me,and because of that I can walk through failure with confidence! Because I fail. I fail every day,Im not an 'A' Christian. I'm a failing student with a whole lot of Grace that has graduated me to Glory!So now I'm a forgiven,loved and confident child of God!