What Happened to Sunday?

Well it is day 12 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge and I am still going strong.  Today I want to talk about Sacred Sunday.  I can remember growing up as a child and there being blue laws, where most businesses did not open on Sunday or holidays.  Those were days to spend with God and with family.  You typically went to church, came home, ate and spent time with your family or friends.

After I met my husband, I spent most Sundays at my in-laws' house.  We would get up Sunday morning, go to church and then come back to their house to eat and spend the day together.  As we had children the tradition continued.  It was so nice to know exactly what we were doing.  But over the years, we have moved twice thanks to the military.  We now live in North Central PA while my in-laws live in southeastern NC.  So we don't get to spend many Sundays with them.  While living in PA (and we have lived here for almost 6 years - 4 years in the western part of the state and 2 years where we are now), we don't always succeed at keeping the Sabbath as I would like us to do.  

However, I want to get back to it.  It makes for such a better week to take one day and devote the day to God and what He has given us.  All too soon my children will be gone.  There is no telling if they will live close by or live far away.  Which means, I don't know how often I will get to see them.  So I want to instill in them a sense right now of spending Sundays with God.  Oh I am not saying we should just spend Sundays with God and forget about Him the rest of the week.  We need to focus on God all the time, but Sundays should be a day of rest.  After all if God took the seventh day to rest, why should we be different.  Also in the Bible, it continually points out how Jesus went and took time for himself in prayer.  We need that time to focus solely on God so that we can focus and understand what He would have us to do.  

So I pray you take time on whatever day your Sunday is to focus on God and your family.  Focus on what really is important.  I realize everyone may not have Sunday off, but devote one of the days you do have off to God and family.  See if you don't have a better week for it.  Share your thoughts and results with me.

WHAT WE USE FOR OUR HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM

So yesterday I talked about what a day in our life looks like.  Today I want to talk about what we actually use for our homeschool curriculum.  Then tomorrow I will be talking about how I actually choose curriculum.

We have four children:  three sons and a daughter and they are all individuals and are all different.  What works for one child doesn't always work for another child.  Or even sometimes, what works one year for one child doesn't work the following year.

Our oldest son is 18.  This son has had numerous health issues for the past 9 years.  It affected every area of his life and especially his ability to complete schoolwork.  So this summer we evaluated where he was and where he wanted to go.  We agreed that it was best for him to complete another year of homeschool.  So this year all of his curriculum is online.  He is the only child that is using one curriculum for all subjects.  For him, we are using Alpha Omega's Monarch Online curriculum.  I love the flexibility of this program in scheduling assignments.  Also, it is almost completely self grading.  It calculates grades, keep track of days school is completed and such.  While no curriculum is perfect, it does work well at the point we are right now.

Our second son would be considered 10th grade if he was in public school.  This year, he is doing Bible, Math, English, Science, History, Latin and electives.

Our third son would be considered 9th grade in public school.  He does Bible, Math, English, Science, History, Latin and Electives.

Our daughter would be considered a 7th grader by public school standards.  She is doing Bible, English, Math, Science, History, and Electives.

So now to get into more specifics starting with our 2nd son:

Bible:  He uses a variety of items including some of his Dad's resources from his Ministry.

English:  180 Daily Grammar Lessons by Easy Grammar, IEW's Student Writing Intensive Continuation Course; Excellence in Literature's Introduction to Literature; English from the Roots Up; Phonetic Zoo for Spelling

History:  He began the year doing Notgrass' Exploring Government and has now competed that and moved into HSLDA's Generation Joshua's ICitizen course for Civics

Science:  Friendly Chemistry

First Form Latin

Music activities - he pretty much works on what he chooses for this including practicing singing, practicing instruments and working on music theory

Introduction to Criminal Justice

Forensic Science course with Lab

and some electives on Monarch

Son numer 3:
Bible:  He is basically expected to keep up with daily Bible reading.  We are getting ready to jump back into our Advanced Training Institute Wisdom Books, which will help give this more structure.  And the whole family does this.

Math:  Videotext Interactive Online for Algebra

History:  Completed Mystery of History Volume I and now is getting ready to probably start Mystery of History Volume III, but I have to decide what I want him to do.

Science:  Apologia's Exploring Creation with Biology

English:  Daily Grams by Easy Grammar, IEW's Student Writing Intensive Continuation Course; Excellence in Literature's Introduction to Literature; English from the Roots Up; Phonetic Zoo for Spelling

First Form Latin

Practices keyboard

Does Electives through Monarch Online.  He is doing 2 now and will do 2 more in the spring.  

Daughter:

Bible:  Does daily Bible reading and will be resuming the ATI Wisdom Books

Math:  Life of Fred:  Currently has completed Pre-Algebra I and is working on Pre-Algebra II and then will move into Beginning Algebra

English:  Daily Grams, IEW's Student Writing Intensive Continuation Course;  English from the Roots Up; Phonetic Zoo for Spelling

History:  Completed Mystery of History Volume 1 and is now doing History on Monarch Online.

Science:  Doing Science on Monarch Online

Latin: Latina Christiana 

Electives:  On Monarch including American Literature and a couple of others. 

All of the children are expected to do some activities related to art throughout the year.

So that is what we are using this year.  If you homeschool, let us know what you are using this year.  We welcome your comments.

A Day in Our Life as Homeschoolers

So it is Friday and it is also day 10 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.  Today I want to talk a little more about homeschooling and how how our day goes.  My husband is usually the first one up because he typically leaves around 7:30 in the morning to go to work.  He likes to start his day off by reading his Bible.  So typically he gets up between 6 and 6:30.  Then at almost exactly 7:02 every morning, our daughter bounds into our bedroom to begin her homeschool day.  She works in our room at my desk, which makes life easier - she can show me her work as she completes it.  Plus she doesn't (or should I say I don't) have to lug the books all over the house.  She finishes these subjects and then assumes her duty as the town crier (AKA - the walking, talking, screaming alarm clock) going around to the boys' bedrooms to tell them it is time to get up.  Sometimes the boys do well with this and other times laziness sets in for a while.  She then proceeds downstairs to eat breakfast.  

After eating breakfast, she heads to her bedroom where she does her subjects on her computer.  As she goes to her room, she typically reminds the boys that it is time to get up.  All three boys work in their bedrooms.  Our youngest son will come show me his work as he completes it.  The older two tend to forget this step.  My oldest son does all of his work on the computer.  My second son has a mix of books, workbooks and subjects he does on the computer.  Starting around 12 Noon everyone begins their lunch time routine.  Once lunch is over the younger two typically have recess outside for 30 minutes while the older two have some time to do things they want to do.  Around 1:30 everyone is back to work.  They continue working until they are either finished or Dad gets home from work.  Dad typically gets home anywhere between 3:45 and 4:45 depending on the day.

At 4:30 everyone is supposed to be on the first floor to help with dinner detail.  Some will set the table.  Some may empty the dishwasher.  Still others help Dad or I prepare the meal.  But everyone is supposed to be roughly together.  Once dinner is ready, we all sit down at the table and eat together.  Some of our dinner conversations are quite fascinating while others lend themselves to the disgusting side of life.  We may discuss things they learned about that day or we may talk about things they are simply interested in - it all depends on the day.  After dinner, the four children are tasked with cleaning up the kitchen.  Once that is done, everyone basically has free time.  Sometimes sone of them play games.  Sometimes we may watch a movie.  Other times we have evening activities planned such as church or shopping or other things that need to be done.

Anywhere from 9:30, if it is a school night, to 11 pm is bedtime.  Then the next day we start it all over again.  So I hope you enjoyed taking a peak inside our day.

Never liked English in School So How Did I Get Here?

Alright I need to be honest about something.  All through school English was never my favorite subject.  Oh, for the most part I adored reading (I am a bookaholic), but the rest of it including literature analyses and such I did not necessarily find fun, exciting or interesting.  Initially I went to school to become a teacher, but allowed some well meaning people and a few not so well meaning people to convince me I was on the wrong path.  So I switched majors and colleges to pursue a degree in Business Administration.  This was not my "best yes" by any means.

I graduated from college and despite attending numerous job fairs and interviews through the university,  I did not find a job.  Then I decided to stay in school to complete the courses I needed to get an accounting degree.  After all there would always be a need for accountants.  That first summer, I ended up getting the worst sunburn of my life along with falling through a dock and hurting my knee.  So I ended up not doing well in the courses.  I decided to withdraw.  And because of some other things going on I ended up moving to Jacksonville, NC to live with my finance's sister.  The following August we ended up getting married.

Four years later we had our first son.  Then we had two more sons and while I was working at an Insurance agency as the office manager and enjoyed my job, it was time for a change.  So I interviewed for and accepted a job as a high school math teacher.  I did what is called Lateral-Entry - it means you already have a degree and courses you need to get certified in a particular area and basically just have the education course requirements left.  I worked at the school for two years, the third son was born during that second year.  My husband and I decided it was best for me to pursue being a substitute teacher since we had health insurance through his job.

Two years later we found out we were expecting our daughter and it was in our best interest for me to quit working.  Two years after she was born, my husband went active duty in the Army Reserves and we moved on the military installation.  At that point, I decided to go back to school to finish my education requirements.  During this time, I had a wonderful instructor for one of my courses.  She was an amazing woman.  She was teaching another one of the courses I needed, but it was on the Masters Level.  She offered the opportunity for several of us who already had degrees and were in the current course with her the opportunity to take this Masters Level class.  What an amazing journey it was too!  The entire class revolved around nothing less than writing papers for the entire course and having meaningful discussions about what we learned.  This gave me a passion for writing.

During this time, my husband also went back to school and I had to proofread all his papers for him and much to my amazement I enjoyed it.  I enjoyed taking apart and putting back together theses masterpieces.  And they must have been masterpieces because he wound up with "A's" in the majority of his courses.

I also was homeschooling my children - which you guessed it, involved me teaching English.  So when we moved from eastern NC to western PA it only seemed fitting to begin a blog.  I enjoyed writing this.  I enjoyed writing about our experiences, our dreams, our thoughts and just the general thoughts that came to mind.  So even though I never liked English in school, I am enjoying it now.

Take Your Teddy Bear to Work Day #blogboost

So today is day 8 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.  It is also "Take Your Teddy Bear to Work" day.  All my life I have loved stuffed animals and have collected them.  I have grown attached to quite a few.  The best job I ever had was working at Carowinds (an amusement park on the NC/SC border).  One of the shops I was assigned to work in sold almost nothing but stuffed animals.  I loved working there.  A few might have even made their way home with me courtesy of the employees discount.

But one bear outshines all the other teddy bears that have come through my life.  Shortly after my husband went full time in the Army Reserves, he had to go on a trip the same weekend as our actual wedding anniversary.  It was heart breaking to say the least to be apart.  I forget where this conference was - it may have been in Arizona, New Mexico or Texas (or perhaps somewhere else).  He has taken so many trips I can't keep them all straight after 10 years of active duty service.

But getting back to the point, while on this trip he was with the commander of the other unit in our building.  She was his commander prior to him going active duty.  So we knew each other fairly well.  While they had some down time at the conference they ended up at a mall.  My husband found a "Build-a-Bear Workshop" and knew he had to get me a bear.  He even had them put a push button in that says, "I love you!"  He knew this would be exactly the gift to get me.  And he was absolutely right.  I loved him for getting me that bear.  The bear lives on our bed and keeps me company every time he has to travel.  It reminds me of how much he loves me.

 So while I do not work outside the home, a lot of my day is spent in my bedroom since my desk and resources are in here, I spend much of my day with my bear while my husband is at work.  My husband is not only the love of my life, he also is my best friend.  I have the privilege of saying we have been married for over 22 years now.

Wisdom and My Best Yes

So I am in day 7 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge and at the same time I am on day 2 of week 3 of The Best Yes:  Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands which is the current Bible Study being done by Proverbs 31 Ministries Online Bible Studies and boy do I need this book.  Being a wife, a mother, homeschooling teacher, FRG leader, member of a church, chef, driver (at times), shopper for all things needed in our home means I have lots of different hats and lots of different responsibilities all pulling at me at the same time.  I feel like I am juggling a ton of balls in the air at the same time.  But at any minute they could all come crashing down on me.

So I need lots and lots and lots of wisdom.  I need to have the discernment to rely on God to help me make the right decisions.  This means spending time in His Word and spending time in prayer.  I don't want to make a wrong decision, but as Lysa Terkeurst puts it, I don't want to suffer from "Analysis Paralysis".  You know what I mean, you get so caught up in the "what ifs" and worrying about them, you just don't make any decision at all.  Or you get so caught up in believing the grass might be greener on the other side that you don't make any decisions.

A "best yes" means relying on God's wisdom to help make the right decision at the right time in the right place.  It means not being afraid to make any decision at all.  It also means listening to others around us who God may have put directly in our path.  It is so easy sometimes to get caught up in what we want that we forget to put God into the equation.  I want wisdom like God gave Solomon, but the only way to acquire wisdom is to focus on God.  He has to direct our footsteps.  He has to direct my path.  Oh that God may grant me peace and wisdom to make the right decisions.

How I Choose Our Homeschool Curriculum - Part 2

So we are back for day 6 of the Ultimate Blog challenge and day 2 of my discussion about how I choose our homeschool curriculum.

If you read the blog yesterday, these were the last things I had to say:

      "We have the lists of what we need, so we know what we are looking for and      possibly what vendors will have those items.  Then we go back to our hotel room that evening and have a frank discussion of what we saw."  

We discuss the merits of the choices.  We look at any literature we may have collected from the vendors.  Sometimes we look online at the vendor's website or possibly Cathy Duffy's site to confirm our thoughts about the curriculum.  Then we start making new lists.  This time we typically pick 3 to 5 choices per subject that we want to investigate further.  We have a good idea of what will work for our family.  Day 2 of the convention is spent examining in depth curriculum.  This is where things get really serious.  If a vendor does not have time or interest in talking to us, most likely we will eliminate that selection.  I understand that vendors are busy and we go to conventions that have a ton of people.  But if I stand in a booth watching new people walk in and be helped, it turns me off to that vendor.  

Of course, if the vendor acknowledges me and indicates they will be with me when they finish with the current customer, I can understand that and will wait patiently.  So typically on day 2, my husband and I spend time looking and comparing together.  Other parts of the day, he has a list of items he is responsible for looking at while I have my list of items.  This is where we break our initial lists down further.  We look at the materials closely and with our children and our lifestyle in mind.  then that night we go back to our hotel room and again evaluate what we saw and learned that day.  Sometimes, we bring a child or some of the children into the discussion since our children are older.  It helps to have their opinions occasionally.  Other times, we just make executive decisions.  Finally day 3 comes around (if there are 3 days in the convention) and purchases have to be made.  If there are only 2 days for the convention (like the one for CHAP in Pennsylvania), then day 2 changes to the day purchases are made.  Usually by the time the CHAP convention rolls around we have already attended at least one other convention, so we have already looked at a lot of the material and are really just trying to fill in gaps.

Day 3 we have carts and items to place materials in.  This is also the day that everyone is called to action.  If we have a lot of material to buy, my husband and I may split the list and make purchases accordingly.  Other times, we find it faster to stay together - that way we can make runs to the van or hotel room if necessary to unload things.  With 4 children we can acquire quite a bit.  Plus we usually end up adding in some extra items for my husband's Ministry collection or for my personal library.

I love when I can purchase books or materials and actually bring them home with me.  However, that doesn't always happen.  Sometime we have to order the materials and wait for them to arrive.  But when the boxes start being delivered, it is a fantastic day.  I hope you enjoyed reading a little about how we pick our homeschool curriculum.

We begin