I am not Cut out to Homeschool!

"You're Supermom!"

"I don't know how you do it!"

"There's no way I could do what you do!"

"God sure has gifted you in a way that I am not!"

These are just few of the comments I often hear from other moms when they realize that I am a homeschooling mother with four small children. Most of the time they laugh hysterically before they say a word. And then I often get the "better you than me" look because for some reason a lot of other moms think they need more alone time than me, don't feel qualified to educate their children, don't have the patience or organization skills to homeschool, and the list goes on for the "normal" mom vs. the super-godly-ever-patient-gentle-spirited-put-together-highly-organized-parent-of-the-year-homeschool-momma...

NEWS FLASH! I am normal! Just like every other momma. And guess what, I am not supermom, I don't do any of this on my own, and it's only by the GRACE OF GOD that I make it through each crazy day that is my life!!

There are several reasons why I am not cut out to homeschool. I'll just list a few...

I am not organized. Oh, I want to be. I buy little whose-its and whats-its to help me stay organized and most of the time they end up holding a bunch of junk that I'm not sure what to do with. I have piles and piles and papers stacked all throughout my house and at least 3 "junk drawers" that I am not really sure what's in there but I don't have time to go through them.

I am easily flustered. Flustered may be putting it lightly. Anger is a vice that I deal with on a regular basis. I don't have the "patience of a saint" but rather I have the impatience of a sinner! I should have James 1:19-20 tattooed on my children's foreheads so that I can be reminded of it every time I am not slow to speak, quick to listen and slow to wrath!! I yell more than I should and gentleness is something that I really struggle with. I desperately want to be more gentle.

I am far too worried about what YOU think. I have this constant self-imposed pressure to look and sound like I'm doing a good job. I have this irrational fear that all the other mommas in the world are looking at my life and judging me, my kids, my husband, my house. The enemy has a field day in my head when I see other mommas' blogs about all the wonderful and crafty things they do with their homeschooling!

I have very high expectations. Some expectations are good! You don't want to have no drive. You don't want to teach your kids to not have goals. But my expectations are too high. Getting frustrated with my 6 year old because she's still sounding out some words or with my 4 year old because he still can't write his name on his own or my 18 month old twins because they don't come to me when I call them... that's a little ridiculous! Right!?

I don't have enough time. Did I mention I have 18 month old twins that are ON THE MOVE, a very active and challenging 4 year old, and a 6 year old who is too smart for her britches and gets bored very easily? Yeah. Oh, and I'm also "the pastor's wife." I teach Sunday School, lead the kids' signing group, teach Wednesday night kids, sing in the choir, and help teach Jr. church on a rotation. Then there's the perpetual 3ft deep laundry pile that takes up 1/4 of my living room that needs to be folded, the dishes to be done 3x a day, the toys that are constantly scattered about, grocery shopping, cooking meals, field trips, walking the dogs, etc. etc. and you can forget date nights! So where exactly do I find the time to do school??



These crazy kids... I can't imagine my life without them!

So you see, I am not really cut out to homeschool. I'm not being negative or cynical. No. I am being honest and confessing that I CAN'T DO THIS. Nobody can! It's only by GRACE.

God has given my husband and I this deep calling to take the responsibility of educating our children. He has started this good work in us and HE WILL BE FAITHFUL TO COMPLETE IT. He gives me the strength to get through the days that I want to give up because I feel completely and utterly inadequate. He is the One who has renewed me after confessing to my husband "I can't do this! I am not cut out to homeschool!" He is the One who shows me how to be organized in the midst of chaos. He is the One who shows me how to find time to sit-down and do school work even if the littlest ones are screaming and running around in just their diapers. He shows me the beauty in my son reading his first word and gives me joy in my daughter's "light-bulb" moments when she's learning something new. I find homeschooling impossible. But with God, all things are possible.

And it is because of Him that I get this amazing privilege to homeschool my babies. They are wonderful, funny, smart, tenderhearted, incredible little people, who bless my heart tremendously and drive me nuts as well! The beautiful chaos that is my life is such a wonderful adventure. And I am so thankful that God has chosen to use me in spite of my many flaws. He gives me courage day in and day out to press on in this never-ending mission to be a good momma. And no matter how often I fall, Jesus is there to lift me up, dust me off, and sit me back down at the table for another day of homeschooling.

Bye for now,
Kristina

Mighty Mouths

"If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.  Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.  So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.  For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.  With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so." James 3:3-10

What mighty mouths we have! They have the power to build others up and the power to destroy them. This little tongue, this tiny part of our body, can cause a whole heap of trouble! I know first hand because I have often struggled with "taming" my tongue. Today, I wanted to teach my children about our mighty mouths and how we often use them to both glorify God and to hurt others. So I thought I'd share this very simple, yet effective lesson with you.

SET-UP:
1) In the center of a poster board, draw a mouth about the size of your fist. It should be an open mouth since most of the things we are going to discuss you would do with an open mouth!
2) Around the mouth, draw 10 speech bubbles. In each bubble write one word per box:

• slander
• good advice
• name calling
• honesty
• lying
• not saying anything
• gossip
• humility
• boasting
• courtesy

(Hang your poster in the classroom where they can see it easily)

I found this poster in an old Lifeway Sunday school
teacher's packet. But this would be easy enough to
draw out on a poster board.

3) On a piece of construction paper or card stock, draw 2 boxes for each child you have (ie. I was teaching this to my 2 children oldest so I had 4 boxes). In each box, draw a mouth inside the box. They should be different (ie. one smiling and one frowning). Then cut out the boxes and tape a craft stick to the back of each box so that it makes a mini sign.

4) Have some hand sanitizer on hand for after the game :)

LESSON:
First, play a game with your kids to get them to understand how their tongue helps them speak. Have them stick out their tongues and hold it between their thumb and forefinger and tell them to say "speak." They will try and try but it will just sound like mumbo jumbo. You can have them say an array or words, however long you want the game to last. They will laugh and giggle. Then, explain to them that even though their tongue seems little compared to the rest of their body, it is very important. We can't speak without it! And the Bible tells us our tongues are very powerful. (Don't forget to sanitize their hands after the game).

Next, paraphrase James 3:3-10 referenced above. You can read it straight from Scripture if you want to. Mine are a little young to understand the language, so I simply explained each analogy individually. I talked to them about the horse and bridle, then about the boat and rudder, and then about the forest fire and spark. Then I discussed with them how something very small has the power to do big things. And just like these, the Bible tells us that our tongues and what we say have the power to bring life or death. That we can use our tongues in ways that glorify God and put others first, or we can use our tongues in ways that are sinful and hurt others.  

Finally, I gave each child a good mouth sign and a bad mouth sign. We discussed each bubble on our poster and decided whether it was a good way to use our mouths or a bad way to use our mouths. Then they would hold up the proper sign over their own mouth. You can also number the speech bubbles and play a game by rolling dice and saying the corresponding word. Then have the kids hold up the proper sign. Once we finished discussing all the different ways we can use our mighty mouths, we prayed and thanked God for our mouths. We thanked Him for giving us the ability to speak and use our mouths for good, and asked Him to help us not use our mouths for bad.

The kids LOVED this lesson and it was very easy to explain everything. It was a good, interactive lesson where they added a lot of dialog. The poster will stay up in the classroom so I can point to it in situations where they need to be reminded of how to use their mouth for good. I hope that your kiddos will enjoy it as much as mine did!

Bye for now,
Kristina

It Really is Easy Peasy!!

Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool is a free, online, Christian homeschool curriculum that is made available for anyone and everyone who needs quality, inexpensive curriculum for their homeschool. I have known about Easy Peasy for quite some time, and I've even linked to her website in previous blogs; but to be honest, I have never used it. Not until this week. No, I have actually felt... get this... GUILTY for wanting to try it! Like I will somehow be cheating or be lazy by using a curriculum that is already planned, outlined, and ready to use! I know, I'm crazy :)

 

But I finally decided to give it a try this week...

 

And it really is easy peasy!! Even at dinner tonight my daughter prayed, "Jesus, thank You for this food, thank You for this wonderful day, and thank You that we found Easy Peasy. Amen!" Amen is right! So I thought I'd fill y'all in on how we are going to be using Easy Peasy in our homeschool and encourage you to check it out if you haven't already!

 

I started Samuel(4) on the level "Getting Ready 1" (Day 172) which is for Kindergartners who have never used Easy Peasy before. He'll do 8 days worth of "Getty Ready 1" and then he'll move on to "Getting Ready 2." For his school day, he does reading, math, Bible, and science. He is also doing beginners Spanish. Since he is not able to write yet, I sit next to him and I keep an "Easy Peasy Journal" for him.

 

This is Day 172 (which is actually our first day) in his journal. You can see I just keep it dated, with a heading for each subject and a general idea of what he studied that day. This way I can have a good record of what he's learning for myself, as well as for evaluating him at the end of the year (Note: My county does not require evaluations until children are 6yrs old so he will not have an official annual evaluation but I will be assessing him on my own to help him in areas that he is struggling or advance him in areas that he excels). The curriculum does not provide science until 1st grade but I decided to teach it to them at the same time and it has worked pretty well. It's slightly advanced for him but he seems interested in it (we are doing elementary Biology) and can answer questions orally. I am also teaching them the beginners Spanish together. She has a link to online Spanish 101 that is very simple and they really enjoyed it. (By the way... this is a really nice compromise for Samuel because he HATES doing book work but he LOVES using the computer!!)

 

I started Savanna(6) on Day 1 of the Second level which is geared for 2nd grade. Although she's been doing 2nd grade curriculum for several months, I felt like it was best to start her at the beginning because she's a newbie to the online system. Besides, the material presented isn't exactly what I've used so she's likely to learn many things that I have not taught her. For her school day, she does reading, science, math, Bible, history, and spelling. She also does art, music, computer, writing, thinking skills, and Spanish periodically throughout the week (perhaps once or twice a week). She also has an "Easy Peasy Journal" that she writes in each day. I make her write down all the answers and keep track of what she's done. This is part of that "to-do" list she likes to do and it also helps her practice her penmanship and grammar. It helps her stay on task and stay focused as well! 

 

I am still using my post-it board. I wrote down for each
day which "day" they are supposed to do and which
electives to do. It helps me stay on track with what
they are doing.

At first it may seem like A LOT of work but it really isn't. I have Savanna read a book of her choosing and log it in her reading journal while I work with Samuel on his reading and math. Then we do Bible and science together. Then I let Samuel go play while Savanna does the rest of her work. We're usually done by lunch!! It's been very nice, easy, interesting, and the kids love it! It's really great for the older children who like to work at their own pace and be more independent. It's also not hard for momma to sit right next to the younger ones and help read all the instructions (there are a lot of written instructions) and encourage them to stay on task. It really is easy peasy!

 

I am choosing to still use other teaching aids as well like lapbooks, science experiments, field trips, games, additional reading materials, etc. (although supplements are not required if you don't have the time or resources) just because I like them to be away from the computer now and then :) But I plan to continue to use this curriculum and I do THANK GOD that He gave Mrs. Lee a wonderful mission to share her resources and talents with all of us other mommas and help make this adventure we call homeschooling just a little easier!!

 

Bye for now,

Kristina