Ready or not, here we go again...

Another summer is slipping away, while a new school year has now begun (and Sophie is still holding the Preschool sign.  Next year... kindergarten!)  The summer has flown all too quickly with little accomplished projects to show for it. Yet time has been well spent meeting new friends, catching up with old ones, road tripping with my girls, and simply enjoying the lazy days of summer.  No regrets.

As we begin our sixth year of homeschooling, I'm still just as terrified as the first.  Over the summer, feelings of guilt, second guessing myself, and rethinking much of our curriculum and our schedule has consumed my mind. Homeschooling is hard, but there is nothing sacred about it. There is not an extra measure of patience given to those of us who choose this nor a shiny halo over our heads.  This is just a choice our family has made for now.  

It can become mundane and we get stuck doing it the way we started or just because we've always done it that way.  But I've discovered by allowing the mundane to consume me, I lose my joy in teaching my children.  Homeschooling is a gift. It is daily growing alongside our children.  It is finding beauty at the breakfast table and eating lunch outside with great men and women of history.  It's talking about Jesus and those who are spreading the Word in His name.

 

My baby is no longer a baby.  That hurts my heart, yet excites me to have a house full of big girls.  She loves doing school alongside her older sisters, but grows weary quickly. So my goal is to be much more prepared on a weekly basis to not just entertain her, but encourage and enable her to grasp the beginnings of learning to read.

My little middle is starting off on the right foot this year.  I pray daily that she'll grasp some concepts that we struggled over last year and that I will have enough patience and discernment to challenge her, yet cultivate a love for learning.

My girls have grown so big and time is passing all too quickly.  My oldest reminds me often that middle school is on the horizon.  I'm not exactly sure how that changes her daily life, but it does thrill her to think of going to youth group soon. Our study of North Carolina as well as East Asia excites both of us and I look forward to watching her skills refine in many areas in the upcoming year.

 

Even though I woke up on the wrong side of the bed on our first day back, God quickly changed my moodiness to a measure of peacefulness through the thoughtfulness of others.  Talking on the phone to my mama on the other side of the world, our principal (aka. Daddy) taking the pupils out to doughnuts for breakfast, and a special basket from a sweet friend full of notes and treats would make anyone's first day back a success.  My girls dove into their books with no tears till early evening (which one did bawl like a baby).  A picnic at the park and a trip to the library completed the day. Ready or not, here we go again...

For my mama...

Mother's day is only a few hours away where my mother is right now.  She will wake up in a tiny apartment with my dad showing his sweet appreciation for the wife and mother she is and has always been.  How blessed we are!  Memories fill the walls with pictures of the growing generations, the computer screen keeps her in tune with the daily ups and downs of her offspring's lives, and the phone close by is a constant reminder that we are only phone call away. 

My mother is amazing...  I'm sure I didn't always say that as a teenager, but I know I believed it even then.  As a Nana, she can't be beat.  The patience to teach my girls how to sew, the support she and my dad have shown by coming to every recital possible (even over Skype), the tea parties, the walks, the list could go on...  

But what I love the most is the legacy she's given to my sisters and me, and to our children. Her greatest desire is for us all to know her Lord and redeemer who (as she would say) pulled her up out of life destined for destruction.  She is constantly pointing my girls to Jesus.  For this, I will be eternally grateful. 

Even though, you're on the other side of the world, "Happy Mother's Day, Mama!"  Thank you for being the most amazing example of what a godly wife and mother looks like!

Day 26 - How to Teach One Who Doesn't Want to Learn...

To be completely honest, I have no idea how to teach one who doesn't want to learn.  I was a typical first born.  I loved school (except grammar)!  I don't remember how I learned certain things, even after taking classes like "How to teach Math" and "Teaching Science" in college.  

I love each of our girls equally, but our first child spoiled us. We got to lesson 75 of Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and she could read... before she was 5.  My next two girls are trying to remind me that there is more than one learning style & learning pace, and that's ok.  That truly is one of the blessings of homeschooling.  

Some days are better than others.  I consider every story that is read a success.  Making comparisons is easy to do, but extremely detrimental.  Each one has strengths and weaknesses, even if some have yet to be discovered. Praying for patience seems cliche, yet it is at times my saving grace.  When I show my frustration, the struggling child will grow frustrated.  When I manifest that we have all the time in the world, then words come easier (sometimes.)  I don't want to make excuses or give freedom for laziness.  All children need to be encouraged, sometimes pushed to work harder, and to do their best.  This is still a struggle for me, something that I have to daily lay before the Lord.  He is so good though!  My greatest prayer is not for my children to be the smartest or the prettiest, but that each one may come to know our Lord and Savior, and pursue Him with their whole lives.