Shesa Goin' Home!

At the end of our last furlough, in March, we said goodbye to Sarah. Our eldest daughter has been in the U.S. for the past six months. It's been a difficult but wonderful time for everyone. I can't even begin to describe the experience, but I will say that the wonderful did balance the difficult and the difficult even turned out to be wonderful.

Caleb, for example, has stepped up and proven that he can write a curriculum for a kids' class and run the class smoothly -- even when there's a bit of mutiny amongst the younger siblings. Evie proved that she was not the sole contributor to the messy room which she and Sarah shared.

Meanwhile, back in Oregon, Sarah got to experience the joys of American culture: youth group, public library, Dutch Brothers, zumba, financial aid and car insurance.

The original plan was a six-month stint in the U.S. and, "Then we'll see where God leads." During that time, she was working to save money for college and pay her expenses. She also applied for financial aid to be able to attend the local community college this fall. However, none of us really had much peace about college.

All summer we prayed, "Give us peace, God. Your will be done."

So, September came with no financial aid in sight. Our response: Relief. Our daughter is coming home. I'm a bit excited. Maybe my motives are a bit selfish; I love having a partner in the kitchen, I miss her guitar-playing, She's my favorite Spanish dictionary.

Yesterday, I was reading an article in Reader's Digest. [Sidenote: I used to love that magazine, but this issue has more advertisements than the Superbowl, all the depth of a kiddie pool and the journalistic value of a first grader's book report.] The article, ("They're Baaaak!" October 2011, p. 37) began by stating that 85% of the college class of 2011 was moving back home. Intrigued, I continued reading.

By the time I finished the half-page article, I was ready to throw the whole magazine in the trashcan. Reader's Digest's recommendation for parents whose college-age kids are returning home: "Remember, when kids leave high school or even college, they are not adults. Between 18 and 23, they're entering the last and most difficult stage of adolescence: trial independence."

*Pause here to re-read that quote.*

What a crock of over-ripe fertilizer! Reader's Digest just lost a reader.

Reader's Digest, the company which popularized the word "teenager" in a 1941 issue, has now extended teenagerhood into the mid-twenties.

I'm sorry, but in our house an 18 year old is not an adolescent. "Adolescent behavior", in fact, is discouraged after the age of 10 or 12. Of course, the kids are all still growing and learning and making choices and sometimes mistakes, but as a general rule we try to move our kids from childhood to adulthood with very little time in that adolescent limbo which the American culture calls "the teen years".

With that said, let me tell you about Sarah's decision to move to Mexico in December. She's not coming home because of "failure to launch". Nor is she returning because of a lack of funds and inability to enroll in college or pay for car insurance. Although both of those were issues, they really had no bearing on her decision, other than as confirmation of God's plan for her at this point. Sarah is moving to Mexico because it's where God is calling her. And we are very excited.

Sarah's future is wide open. She left our home-nest to test her wings and found them strong. In fact, to borrow a phrase from Isaiah, she has trusted in the Lord and has risen on wings like an eagle.

School is still in the plans, as are mission trips, a journey to Europe and only God knows what else. We're all trusting God for His timing and direction.

And did I mention that we're excited?

Isaiah 40:28-31 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Homeschooling Highschool -- Validation!

I have officially handed the boys’ Spanish class over to Sarah. I love that. I love that she’s capable to put together the lessons, assign the homework, and manage the class. I love that she’s confident in her presentation, but doesn’t come across harsh or snotty with the boys. But, you know what I really love???

I love that she has the same struggle I’ve been having with a certain one or the other of the boys who doesn’t think that homework necessarily needs to be handed in on time nor does it need to be written legibly.

That is one of the greatest problems I’ve had with homeschooling high school. Not the late homework assignments nor the sloppy work, but rather the slightly accusing voice on my shoulder saying, “You’re just being too picky!” or “It’s really not that important in the larger scheme of things.”

Having Sarah say to one of the boys something like, “The next time you hand me a paper that looks like that, you’re doing it over!” makes me feel…what’s the word? Validated. Yes, that’s it. I can flick that little devil off my shoulder and confidently say, “It is TOO important! So there!”

Anyone else out there struggle with feeling outnumbered when teaching your kids (whether you home school or not!)? Are you tempted to cave a bit or to let some standards slip sometimes? I know that grace and mercy are important, but justice and righteousness (or in this case, neatness and punctuality) are important too, right?

Computers Help People Help People -- BFS#110

Memory Verse: Ephesians 4:29
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Please try to learn our memory verse this week. We will be sharing a new verse every week and hope that you will store them in your hearts and find a special joy in His words.

Intro: Computers Help People Help People (Marketing credit: IBM)
There are many ways computers help us. It is a wonderful way to stay in touch with family far away, “meet” other christian women around the globe, and it can be such a blessing with homeschooling.

Assignment: Share some of your favorite homeschooling sites. The only “rule” for this assignment is that you have to list at least one “free” site. Many homeschooling families have made the choice to live on very little income to do what they believe is best for their children and I want everyone to be able to benefit from this assignment. If you have other sites that are “paid” sites, feel free to include these also as it might be something someone would really appreciate. If you feel led, share your curriculum choices with us. I always love to learn what is out there that I don’t already know about. Please make sure to include links to the sites you share.

---

The only difficulty in this assignment for me is limiting the post to a reasonable size! ;^)

Over the years, I've used many, many different internet sites for curriculum, information, testing and supplies. Some of these sites I used for only a season. Enchanted Learning, for example, is a great site for outline drawings, easy craft ideas, and other ideas for elementary grades.

Once upon a time, Enchanted Learning was a free site; it is no longer. When they decided to make it a membership site, I decided to look elsewhere. I'm just a cheapskate, I guess. I think the main reason I decided to not pay the membership, though, was that I had already used it for my older kids and had many things printed out. I didn't see the point of paying for a membership when my kids were nearly past the age when that site would be useful. If I still had 4 preschoolers and ran a daycare, I would pay the fee and be glad I had the resource.

The Math Fact Cafe is my source for free math worksheets. Generate math fact tests, flashcards, drill work, etc. This site has both ready-made worksheets and a build-your-own page generator. I used to have a fact sheet emailed to my inbox everyday to print out for the kids. With my internet as it is, I just printed out a dozen or so different drills and use them as masters to copy.

The Riggs Institute is a school in Portland, Oregon, which teaches teachers to teach reading. Say that 5 times fast! Do you know how many spelling rules come into play in English? No? Click the link to find out. The Writing Road to Reading is the program we used to teach reading to all 6 of our kids. When Sarah was about 5, I discovered the Riggs Institute and their updated teaching of the old phonics. I never looked back! This program is not free, by any means, but all the info on their site is. Also, the teachers at this institute are SOOO helpful! When we lived in the States, I called the school with questions and they were always ready and eager to help. That was free!

We've been using English from the Roots Up for a little more than a year now. It takes us a while to get through textbooks. I'm such a tangent-taker. Know Your Roots is a great site to help with vocabulary and word roots.

Making word puzzles is one of my favorites ways to reinforce spelling words. Check out the Puzzle Maker.

Our kids are required by Oregon to be tested every other year. We used to have them tested with other homeschooled kids by a woman in our area who was a teacher. She used the CAT tests and while I did like the convenience of those tests, they were a little spendy -- especially if you have 6 kids to test! Last fall I discovered that the Texas Education Agency has standardized tests free to print out (of course, you need to buy a ream of paper to print them, but...). This is a great way to teach your kids how to read the story, answer the question, fill in the circle. Standardized testing is a wonderful way to measure how well your kids test, but that's another issue for another post! ;^)

I find myself referring to Ken Ham's website Answers in Genesis frequently during our Mystery of History class. He has great information and resources on many topics -- not just dinosaurs!!! We were able to read part of the Gilgamesh Epic there. Very interesting! They have really cute cartoons to put on your blog, too. Those are here.

Last year Sarah did a daily grammar review instead of an actual grammar text. The quizzes at Interactive Quizzes are, well, interactive. No wasted paper. Just a quick grammar review and you're on to better things.

Word Reference is an online dictionary of many languages. Sarah is studying French from a Spanish-speaking teacher, so she needed not only an English/French dictionary but also Spanish/French and sometimes Spanish/English. Having all three at her fingertips is a very nice thing.

Like I said, my only challenge is keeping this post somewhat short! Hope you are able to find something useful in that collection.

The internet, and computers in general have some serious issues. I am often frustrated by how much time I spend in front of the computer screen. We try to keep it education or communication related, but still the 'puter is on more than I would like. Sigh. I'll focus on the positive: the internet can be a fantastic resource...especially for those of us who have no access to television, radio or libraries. It's a blessing as long as we use it wisely, right???

"Study to show yourself approved. A workman who needs not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15

Procura con diligencia presentarte a Dios aprobado, como obrero que no tiene qué avergonzarse, que maneja con precisión la palabra de verdad.

Of Daffodils and Diesels

Years ago, a young man in our youth group (who is now married with a baby of his own! Time does march on...) read a really...thought-provoking story to me. He had found it in the Country Journal Magazine, February, 1994. For years I wanted a copy and then I found it reprinted in a homeschool handbook for NARS.

A friend sent me an email today and what we were discussing reminded me of this article, so I'm finally getting "around to" typing it out.

For those of you with (especially) boys who just don't see the point, I hope you'll read this through to the end. It's a good reminder of why we homeschool.

Of Daffodils and Diesels
Author Unknown

I'm not very good in school. This is my second year in the seventh grade, and I'm bigger than most of the other kids. The kids like me all right, even though I don't say much in class, and that sort of makes up for what goes on in school.

I don't know why the teachers don't like me. They never have. It seems like they don't think you know anything unless you can name the book it came out of. I read a lot at home -- things like Popular Mechanics and Sports Illustrated and the Sears catalog -- but I don't just sit down and read them through like they make us do in school. I use them when I want to find something out, like a batting average or when Mom buys something second-hand and wants to know if she's getting a good price.

In school, though, we've got to learn whatever is in the book, and I just can't memorize the stuff. Last year I stayed after school every night for two weeks trying to learn the names of the presidents. Some of them were easy, like Wahsington and Jefferson andLincoln, but there must have been 30 altogether and I never did get them straight. I'm not too sorry, though, because the kids who learned the presidents had to turn right around and learn all the vice presidents. I am taking the seventh grade over, but our teacher this year isn't interested in the names of the presidents. She has us trying to learn the names of all the great American inventors.

I guess I just can't remember names in history. Anyway, I've been trying to learn about trucks because me uncle owns three and he says I can drive one when I'm 16. I know the horsepower and gear ratios of 26 American trucks and I want to operate a diesel. Those diesels are really something! I started to tell my teacher about them in science class last week when the pump we were using to make a vacuum in a bell jar got hot, but she said she didn't see what a diesel engine had to do with our experiment on air pressure, so I just shut up. The kids seemed interested, though. I took four of them around to my uncle's garage after school and we watched his mechanic tear down a big diesel engine. He really knew his stuff.

I'm not very good in geography, either. They call it economic geography this year. We've been studying the imports and exports of Turkey all week, but I couldn't tell you what they are. Maybe the reason is that I missed school for a couple of days when my uncle took me downstate to pick up some livestock. He told me where we were headed and I had to figure out the best way to get there and back. He just drove and turned where I told him. It was over 500 miles round trip and I'm figuring now what his oil cost and the wear and tear on the truck -- he calls it depreciation -- so we'll know how much we made.

When we got back I wrote up all the bills and sent letters to the farmers about what their pigs and cattle brought at the stock-yard. My aunt siad I made only three mistakes in 17 letters, all commas. I wish I could write school themes that way. The last one I had to write was on "What a daffodil thinks of Spring". I just couldn't get going.

I don't do very well in arithmetic, either. Seems I just can't keep my mind on the problems. We had one the other day like this:

If a 57 foot telephone pole falls across a highway so that 17 and 3/4 feet
extend from one side and 14 and 16/17 feet extend from the other, how wide is
the highway?

That seemed to me like an awfully silly way to get the size of a highway. I didn't even try to answer it because it didn't say whether the pole had fallen straight across or not.

Even in shop class I don't get very good grades. All of us kids made a broom holder and a bookend this semester, and mine were sloppy. I just couldn't get interested. Mom doesn't use a broom anymore with her new vacuum cleaner, and all of our books are in a bookcase with glass doors in the family room. Anyway, I wanted to make a tailgate for my uncle's trailer, but the shop teacher said that meant using metal and wood both, and I'd have to learn how to work with wood first. I didn't see why, but I kept quiet and made a tie rack even though my dad doesn't wear ties. I made the tailgate after school in my uncle's garage, and he said I saved him $20.

Government class is hard for me, too. I've been staying after school trying to learn the Articles of Confederation for almost a week, because the teacher said we couldn't be good citizens unless we did. I really tried because I want to be a good citizen. I did hate to stay after school, though, because a bunch of us guys from the Southend have been cleaning up the old lot across from Taylor's Machine Shop to make a playground out of it for the little kids from the Methodist home. I made the jungle gym out of old pipe, and the guys put me in charge of things. We raised enough money collecting scrap this month to build a wire fence clear around the lot.

Dad says I can quit school when I'm 16. I'm sort of anxious to because there are a lot of things I want to learn.

Keew Ykcaw -- Wacky Week!

This is WACKY WEEK here at Blogger Friend School! Everything is wacky fun! This week YOU, the student, get to share something of your choice that is little “Wacky”!!!
Have you done something crazy in your homeschool? Do you fingerpaint with your toes? Do you let your children do your hair? Do you wear your pajamas during homeschool? Oh, the list is endless, but it’s up to you and how much fun you want to have.

To make it even “wackier” (not sure if it’s really a word, but hey, we don’t check spelling this week at BFS either!!!…..try and type some or all of your post sdrawkcab. (backwards!)
!keew gnixaler dna nuf a siht ekaM
(…and forwards…Make this a fun and relaxing week!)

---

Who, me? Wacky?!!! :^) How did they know I needed a week to goof off?

Have I done anything wacky recently? How much of what we do in a regular day would look a little "wacky" to most sane folks I know? Do I want to answer that?

OK, yesterday...we've been reading a book about the Pharoahs of Egypt -- really good book actually, once you edit out the "hundreds of thousands of years" garbage -- to go along with The Mystery of History and yesterday when it came time to sit down and read, it was too hot. I'd just finished preparing lunch and I had sweat running down my back and streaming down my face. The last thing I wanted to do was to sit in the hot living room and read...fan or no fan. SO I went and put on my swimsuit and told the kids that as soon as everyone was in the pool, I'd read. Was that wacky? I dunno. It felt more like survival!

Sunday morning, Caleb was slow-moving (that happens sometimes...he's 14) and hadn't rolled out yet, so I threatened to sing the song. The other kids started urging, "Do it, Mom!!!" So, I sang...(all caps words are shouted)

WAAAAY up in the trees, the little birds sleep.
Way down in the nest THE LITTLE BIRDS REST
WIIIITH a wing on the left and a wing on the right
The little birdies settle in FOR A LONG NIGHT.
SHHHHH! They're SLEEPING!!!!
With the new dawn of day the little birds wake.
"GOOD MORNING! GOOD MORNING!" the little birds say!

Yeah, I'm a nutcase. That song always worked when I was a summercamp counselor to get the junior and senior high kids out of bed. It works here, too. Is it wacky? Well, maybe, but at least it puts people in a better mood than, "Caleb! You get your little hiney out of that bed right now before I come up there and yank those covers off of you! Get a move on! Come on! Move it, move it, MOVE IT !!!" People tend to be a little "grumpy" when you roll them out that way! As we say around here, "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar!"

I had a teacher in high school (!deppiks reven I ssalc esohw enO) who had, years before I came through, gotten rid of all the desks in the classroom. There were cushions in the corners, a couple of long tables for projects, a couple of computers on roll-carts (???skrowelppA rebmemer) and shelves of books and supplies. The windows were always open and she gave hall passes freely for kids who wanted to go do their work out on the school lawn. The class was "Critical Thinking", but those of us in the class called it "Geek Study Hall". Mrs. Sharp hardly ever actively "instructed" anything, but she taught me more than all my other teachers combined about how to help kids want to learn. She was wacky! I hope that I take after her in my teaching style. Yeah, I can definitely picture Mrs. Sharp dismissing the class to reconvene in the pool. I've arrived! :^)

Try it! You'll like it!!!

Intro: Try it, you’ll like it! (Life Cereal)When everyone else was afraid to try Life Cereal, they called on Mikey. Sometimes stepping out of our comfort zone is just too scary. Have you felt God gently (or maybe not so gently) nudging you to do something for someone else? You know that it needs to be done, but you keep putting it off because it is outside of your comfort zone? Well ladies, this week we are taking a step outside of our comfort zones.

Assignment: This week I want you to do something for someone else. Do you have a neighbor that needs you? Do you know an elderly person or single mom that could use you? What about the homeless? Pack even one single sack lunch and give it to someone in need. Do you know someone in blogland that is struggling right now and could use a note from you about how much you care? Pray about this. Let God put on your heart the perfect thing for you to do for another. Now, here is the kicker…I DO NOT want you to post about what you do. Whatever you choose to do is between you and God. Our rewards are in heaven, not here on earth, Mathew 6:1. I want you to post about how doing this “act” made you feel. Was stepping out of your comfort zone in this area as hard as you thought it might be? Could you see the gratefulness in their eyes? Hear it in their voice? Tell it from their typing? Do you think you might make doing things like this a more regular part of your time? If this is an area that you are already active in, tell us how you feel this has impacted your life.

Picture ideas: Post a picture of your “Helping Hands”. Let us see a picture of your hands, the hands that have honored God by being Christ like and serving others.

I struggled with what to write for this assignment. That’s probably why I’m late in posting it! ;^)

I am not shy. Those of you who know me in real life know that. I’ve never had a problem speaking my mind, stepping into an unfamiliar situation, confronting a tough issue (although the latter is NOT my favorite thing to do, I still will do it if needed.) I have a pretty good-sized comfort zone. I think the hardest part of this assignment was trying to define what really is outside of that zone. I figured it out. Communicating in Spanish is outside of my comfort zone. That is a real problem since we live in Mexico.

I’m a social person. I love to talk – about “real” things, not just pleasantries. I love to hear other people’s opinions, give my own, listen to other people’s concerns and share mine as well. When we moved here, almost 3 years ago, we spoke NO Spanish. None. Nada. Zilch. OK, I knew the word “nada”, the colors, a few basic nouns, some verbs in the infinitive form. But you just can’t have a meaningful conversation with that limited a vocabulary.

Over the course of the next year, our family studied and practiced and practiced and studied until our heads hurt, and I didn’t want to speak English – let alone Spanish – at the end of the day. I got into the habit of staying home, keeping to myself and not talking much in public. I still smiled and nodded and was polite, but I just wasn’t comfortable trying to carry on a conversation in Spanish. I don’t know if I was more scared of misspeaking or misunderstanding! Probably both!

Fast forward to now – I can speak Spanish. I've led women's Bible studies, youth studies and last week even taught on a Wednesday afternoon service (even though I REALLY didn't want to...but that's a different story!) I understand about 90% of what is said around me and more if I’m actively listening. I’ve been told that my accent is good (although I laugh at that), so I have no reason to be afraid to communicate.

What's my problem, then??? I think that my biggest problem has been that I developed the really bad habit of NOT communicating and now it is easier to just be still.

I believe that God is really working on me in this area. For one thing, since I have never been shy, I’ve always (my WHOLE life) had a problem with blurting before thinking. That has been a problem-causer in many instances. Sarah and I were just talking the other day about how God has slowed us down in our speaking! By the time you think about what you’d like to say and then figure out how you would say it and then decide if it would translate culturally the way you intend it and then make sure you’ve conjugated all the verbs correctly, usually the moment is gone and what you were going to say is no longer relevant. What a great way for God to teach me to be slow to speak! I noticed on our last furlough that I wasn't nearly as quick to speak up as I used to be. Maybe I'm maturing??? It could happen!

So here’s my verse for the week:

James 1:19 "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath"

One thing that I have been able to do – even when I was tongue-tied – is to bless my neighbors with my hands. I’m one of about 5 ladies within 5 miles who has an oven, so I’ve made more bread to give away in the past 3 years than I have in my entire life before. My friend Cristina has told me that even when she couldn’t understand what I wanted to say and even when I couldn’t understand what she was trying to say, she could tell by my smile and my eyes that eventually we would be friends. I’m so glad that God communicates to us in ways beyond words!!! Lord, help us to do the same!!!

What a relief it is!

Plop, plop, Fizz, fizz; Oh, What a Relief It Is! (Marketing Credit: Alka Seltzer)
Hello Ladies! Last week's assignment was so great, wasn’t it! This week I thought since we all shared about our educational background and our feelings about homeschooling, the trials and tribulations, and how we got our start, I thought we’d share about some of the burdens we’ve felt.

Assignment: This would be a good week to tell about your worst struggles with a lifestyle of homeschooling. Tell about something you’ve struggled with and how God’s mercies gave us the strength to get past it. Also, share any curriculum/homeschool methods that have been a relief to you, i.e., a particular Teacher’s Manual or Homeschooling method that’s been easier for your family. Talk about how you felt when the burden was lifted and Oh, What a Relief it is!

I don't know who first coined this phrase, but we use it a lot around our house:

Those things which don't kill us make us stronger.

Biblical parallel: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various trials for we know that the testing of our faith works patience. James 1:2-3

This assignment was interestingly worded -- "struggles with a lifestyle of homeschooling". Yes, homeschooling is, for us, more than an educational choice. Before I knew what I was getting into, I saw it as nothing more than teaching my kids at home. Now I know better!

Uncertainty -- Am I choosing the right curriculum? Do I really need curriculum? Is my flakiness going to permanently impair the kids? Are we doing enough? Are we doing too much?

Finances -- Because our lifestyle choice means that I have been home (meaning: working for free) for the past 17 years, there have been some things we just couldn't do: sports, gymnastics, drama, choir, band. Moving to Mexico did not alleviate that problem!!! I hate telling the kids, "We just can't afford to do that." Over the years, God has allowed seasons for all of those "extras", but right now we're in a season of just the basics.

Isolation -- We've lived "away from civilization" since our second year of marriage. We found that being in the country suited our family and personality, but it did tend to leave me feeling a bit "cut off" from the real world while the kids were little. Now we've moved to a culture where everyone lives in a fish bowl! It's an adjustment, having folks stop by to chit-chat just about every day. I like it now. I didn't like it so much 2 years ago. I think it's healthier, but it's an adjustment.

Being spread thin -- "Like chocolate pudding over too much ham." (Bill Boy Baggypants in Lord of the Beans) -- wife, mom, teacher, sister, daughter, AWANA leader, dance instructor, 4H leader, soccer mom, homeschool co-op leader, Bible study leader, Sunday school teacher, youth leader, mechanic's assistant, house veterinarian, goat tender...the many hats we wear. How do you fit it all in? Having 6 preschoolers in the house at once was definitely a struggle...even though now I look back on those crazy years as some of my favorites!

Learning challenges -- I have issues with the term "ADD/ADHD", but I have a son who (if he were in the public school system) would have been labeled and drugged by the time he was 6. He's a lot like me and a lot like his dad, so having all three of us in the house at once is sometimes...challenging. I love the boy he was at age 3, "What's that noise, Mommy?" and I love the young man he's becoming at 14. I tell him daily that I'm glad we let him live this long, cause he's turning out OK. ;^) We have another son who struggles with dyslexia and a speech impediment. At age 10 (almost 11) he still doesn't enjoy reading -- it just doesn't come easily to him. This is especially hard since the rest of the kids and I are bookworms!

***We've seen great victories in both of these young men in the past couple of years. Andrew's speech problem only effects his English -- his Spanish accent is perfect! Caleb's ability to focus on 25 things at once makes him an incredible drummer! God made them special...and He loves them very much! (We've been watching old Veggie Tales this week.) ***

In Christ, we are more than conquerors!

Somewhere along the way, I stopped struggling so much. Now instead of having "seasons" of struggles, I have a couple of hard days once in a while. Part of the relief came simply with time -- the kids got older, I mellowed. God brought the "important things" into focus for me. Now I don't sweat the "small stuff" as much. Not to say that I'm never grumpy. I caught myself grumping at the kids when I got back from town yesterday, but I apologize and move on. The family is always forgiving!

As far as one particular curricula or book that has been a stress-reliever...there have been a few. Each time I was in a hard, stressful or searching time, I would spend time in prayer (and brain-picking of homeschooling friends) and the "right" thing came into my hands.

OK, I'll wrap this up (sorry I rambled a lot this assignment!)...

A photo of my biggest stress-reliever: The Chore Chart
The name cards are on magnets and rotate to the right every Monday. The "Laundry" magnet moves every day (Monday thru Friday) so that a different person does laundry each day.

This is the 2008 edition. The 1997 edition had no words on it -- fully pictoral. The 2001 edition used velcro and a huge piece of poster board. I revamp just about every year. Do the kids "like" the chore chart? No. Not really. But without it, mom goes crazy trying to keep the house in order -- nevermind trying to keep up with school and "extras"! Do the kids like having a non-crazy mom? Very much!

First Day of School -- Pre-empted

When I went to bed last night, I was mentally prepared to begin school right after my morning exercise.

I was not mentally prepared for a torrential downpour which caused a waterfall to come through the boys' roof, down the stairs and onto my bookshelves.

After we did a "bucket-brigade" of sorts to empty the shelves into the living room and kitchen and then grabbed every loose towel we could find to dam up the small rivers trekking across our bedroom floor, we collapsed into bed.

I can say, "Thank you, God!" that we haven't lost power yet. I knew I wanted to sort through my books and get rid of some that are just "taking up space". Eventually. Some day. Looks like "someday" has arrived.

So we're changing the game-plan today. Ah, the flexible life of a homeschooler!

Oh What a Feeling!

Assignment: Take time this week to write about YOU and your feelings of trials and triumphs with homeschooling. Touch on when you first heard about the concept of home schooling and whether you tip-toed into the idea or just jumped in and never looked back. Share your schooling as a child and how you compare it to what your goals are for your children.


This September marks the beginning of our 13th official year of homeschooling. One would think that 12 years of experience would have eliminated the "first-day-of-school-jitters", but I haven't found that to be true! One thing that those 12 years have done, though, is replaced the horrible, nauseous feeling I used to associate with the first day of school with a sense of happy anticipation. I may still be a little anxious as a new school year approaches, but no longer am I debilitated by fear. Educating my kids at home has repaired a lot of the damage from my childhood public school experience. At least it's been a healing thing in my life -- and I don't have to worry about one of my kids being in the same horrific situation.

During the summer months of June and July, I usually take inventory of the previous year's studies, successes, failures and make plans for the next year. One June, a couple of years back, I took Sarah out to lunch and we laid out her "Four-Year-Plan" for highschool. I really like to take that time to put my ideas on paper, simply because once school gets going in the fall, I don't have much time for reflection! My hope is that the time I spend planning in June will reduce the false-starts and stumbling blocks in September.

We didn't "do" June this year. School ended on a Friday near the end of June and our first mission team arrived on Tuesday. They left the next Wednesday and we headed north for a furlough on Monday. A month later we returned home. We unpacked and did some deep-cleaning around the house and suddenly...it's September. Not only did we not do June, but July and August whooshed right on past, too!

It appears that we'll be starting school next Monday with little preparation. How do I feel about that? Well, Freud would say that since I just typo-ed the word "feel" by typing "reel" I'm pretty nervous. Maybe a bit. One really nice thing is that 3 of the classes we're doing are just "pick up where you left off" classes. History, math and English from the Roots Up...check, check and check. Science still has me puzzled, but looking at where we live, I think we'll come up with something. Why do we really need to "do" a science class when we have 8 foot long pythons catching rabbits in our front yard? (I didn't post about that? No. My camera batteries were dead.) Or kamakazi barn swallows swimming in our pool? ( I did post about that!) And then of course there are the rattlesnakes, pelicans, frogs, lizards...you get the picture. I think we'll be ok with science.

I think I'm a lot more relaxed about my kids' education now than I was a few years ago. With Sarah being a junior this year (and doing really well, too) I feel like we've proven that homeschooling works for us. Any family members who wondered or questioned our decision can rest assured (as can we) that we chose correctly.

Most of my "major" decisions as far as curriculum have already been made. Reading, math, history, language, music -- all of those are automatic now. I am relieved to not feel like I need to keep researching to find "just the right curriculum"! That is stressful!!! I still remember frantically trying to pick the brains of every "experienced" homeschool mom I met -- asking opinions and recomendations -- constantly worried that I would make a bad choice. Guess what! I made a few bad choices! Guess what else! The kids have all forgiven me!!! ;^) (I don't think most of them even noticed!)

A few "schooly" things still worry me a little: finding time to spend with the "little ones" so that they get the solid foundation that the older ones got; making time to focus on the kids' music lessons; keeping Sarah challenged but not frustrated. These are things I'm constantly covering in prayer.

There are some things I don't worry about though. The main thing I'm not worrying about right now is Sarah's future education. Strange? From what I've learned by talking to a few homeschool moms (via internet) I think that it is a little strange for me to not be worried about college/careers for my children; but I'm not. Why? Because Sarah has chosen to follow God's plan for her life completely.

Why should I worry, when God knows way better than I do what she really needs? As long as Sarah's heart is where it should be, I won't worry about her future. I'll most certainly be praying for her future, and I'm very excited to see where God will lead her, but I won't worry. The same goes for Caleb, the twins and the little ones. As long as they are putting God's will first in their lives, I won't worry about their futures; but I will be praying!!!

Edited to add my Bible verse. Can you believe that I forgot to include it? Ack. Talk about the absentminded professora! ;^)

To gain the context, you really should begin reading at verse 25, but I'll focus on Matthew 6:33-34 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is its own evil!"

Just Found a Neat Homeschool Site

Well, I've been surfing around tonight (read that: sitting in front of the 'puter alternately smacking the screen and my ankles to kill the skeeters who are eating me for SUPPER! I'm ok. Really.).

Anyway, I just ran across a neat homeschool site with a great giveaway -- which I, of course, want to enter. SO this is my entry post! The notebooks Blogger Friend School is giving away are beautiful and what's so neat from my perspective is that they fit exactly with what I'm doing with my youngest 4 this season. We will be focusing on plants, birds and bugs of Mexico this year, and I'm really looking forward to it -- and so are the kids!!! I love when that happens!

Click over and see what their site is all about!

New School Year, New Look

Well, here we are at the beginning of a new school year and we're in the throes of preparation. (Read that: deep-cleaning every room in the house and trying to make sure I have all the books I need and the copies made that I'll need the first week.)

I have a bunch of "stuff" running through my head, such as:

• My sewing has been spread across the kitchen table for about 2 weeks now...maybe more...but I hesitate to put it all away yet, since I still have projects waiting. Hmmm. Another day or two.


• Caleb's B-day is coming up fast. I woke up this morning thinking up a special post to embarass, er, I mean honor him for his 14th birthday. Of course, I have to work on it when he's not hovering over my shoulder, lurking and waiting for his chance on the 'puter.


• Sarah's French class starts next Saturday. No big deal for me, really, but it involves a trip into town (which costs an extra $10 in gas). I really enjoy our Saturdays in town. It's a great time to connect (and I get to use the wireless internet!), and the class only costs $20 per month (plus transportation), but...sigh. I just need to trust God better.


• Which leads to the main thing stirring up my mind all night long and making me a little, um, grumpy. My lack of faith. I know for a fact that God has never "forgotten" us nor has He ever left us stranded, but sometimes the testing times (remember the wonderful verse "the testing of your faith works patience"?) seem to stretch on and on...and on and on. We are seeing the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, but sometimes I would just like to not feel worried. Yep, that's my issue. I need to not worry. Don't worry, be happy, right? Whatever.


• Anyway, so that I can feel like some part of my life is under control, my neighbor, Desert, and I have resumed exercising 3 mornings a week. Wednesday was our first day. I was SORE Thursday morning. No pain, no gain, or in my case, loss.


• Our ministry website died. Well, it was nice while it lasted, but it had become a bit of a behemoth, so I wasn't too sad to see it go. The web server, Christian Web Host, was excellent, their customer service is fantastic and their rates are really good. Our problem was that we couldn't count on having an extra $10 per month to pay for the service. They had graciously gifted us 6 months of web-service because we are a non-profit ministry. Very cool. I learned a WHOLE lot about web publishing in that time (enough to be a danger to myself and others), so it was by no means wasted time.


• Now I'm working on another blog as a website, since Blogger blogs are free. If you're into the whole "HTML tweaks" and changing your template, check out this site: Tips for New Bloggers. That's kind of a misnomer, because the whole site would totally overwhelm a "new blogger", but if you're a somewhat experienced blogger who has a lot of patience with computers and extra time to kill (why do I do this? I'm none of those!) you'll love this site. When I get it looking more like a website and less like a jumbled mess of non-working links, I'll let you know.


• It's hot. At this instant the temperature is 90 and the humidity is 72%...inside. I'm sitting with a fan barely a foot away blowing on high. It's bearable. The pool is a fainter shade of green today. No one really cares because the water is cool (we cover it at night and life the tarp in the morning to make a canopy) -- the water coming out of the faucets this time of year could burn you. Doesn't make for a very refreshing shower. Because of the heat, I don't want to cook. Kids and Hubby aren't very pleased with that, so I cook anyway. It's part of the "Mommy Job".


• The mosquitoes are insane. I don't think anything I could write would even begin to explain how insane the mosquitoes are. I won't even try. Sarah is going to write a post about them soon. I'll let her elaborate.

Well, if you've made it this far in this post, you are a true friend (or you are as addicted to your computer as I am. I'll pray for you!!! ;^) ). Thanks for listening to me ramble on. Now, I'll stay on topic and wrap up this post...

So, school is starting next week (or so) and with it I'm doing a little re-vamping of our Blog sites. The kids will be posting this year as part of their writing/typing assignments over at our Family Blog and we'll be having a new ministry website soon, I hope, and this blog (Beautiful Feet) will be more "homeschooly" and "mom-y". More of me yapping. AND THEN I'm writing a cook-book of sorts (which really isn't much of anything yet) over at Mother Hubbard's Blog (I like nursery rhymes!).

So that's where I am right now mentally. Doug is in the green pool (we can't get keep ahead of the algae because of the intense sun and heat) yelling for me to come jump in. I think I'll go take a dip and cool off. That's where I am physically!!!

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!!!" That's where I am spiritually!

Have a great day!

That's Fine

Ok. Has this ever happened to any mom besides me?

Just now, Hubby came in and asked if he could have a drink of my lemonade. My what? I don't have any lemonade. What's in that cup?

Then Evie piped up, "Dad! That's my rock! Don't drink it."

Why is there a rock in a cup of soapy water sitting on the counter? Because it was dirty, of course! Duh.

Dad told Evie that she shouldn't leave cups of soapy water on the counter, and she replied that she had asked Mom and Mom had said it was OK.

When did she ask me??? "Mom," she said, "I asked if I could wash my rock and you said, 'Yeah. Ok. That's fine."

When? While I was typing at the computer.

Hold it!!! Teachable moment...

"Honey," I said, "when you ask me a question or tell me something and I'm typing at the computer and I say 'Yeah. Ok. That's fine.' That means, 'I didn't hear a word you just said, but I love you very much.' That doesn't count as telling me something or asking permission. If you need permission for something, I need to be looking at you directly. Using your name in a sentence is better."

We had a good laugh together (since Dad hadn't actually taken a drink of Evie's rock).

The cup of soapy water is still on the counter. FYI: don't drink it. It's not lemonade!!!

Mom's Braggin' Rights

Consider this a post for the Grammas and Aunties and the other homeschool moms reading this blog, and feel free to skip it if you don't want to read my bragging! I promise to be brief, but the kids have worked hard this year, and I want to share a bit.

So, we finished school officially last Friday. Yesterday, I finished grading "finals". There weren't really that many tests to grade, and they weren't that labor-intensive, but we've been a little occupied with other things (like...life) so I just found the time yesterday...while waiting for the mechanic to diagnose the problem with the van's AC (it's terminal, BTW, but we're praying for a miracle). At any rate, the results are in...everybody passed. Yeah!!! ;^)

No, seriously. The kids took a final exam in English From the Roots Up. All 5 kids passed with flying colors. Out of 62 Greek and Latin roots, 3 sections and 186 points, I think that the most anyone missed was 8. A couple of the kiddos got 100% on the recognition part of the test and a couple on the recall part and all 5 aced the usage section. Of course, Sarah gets an "automatic A" for teaching the class the better part of the year. I only took over the last month when she began to feel overwhelmed by her French homework. Somehow studying English, Spanish, Latin, Greek and French was too much. Go figure! Sarah took a "mid-term" in French last weekend and, although she was upset with her mistakes, she did very well, too. (I'm praying for a French/English dictionary for her for next semester if anyone has one of those collecting dust on a shelf...)

Math was a smashing success also. Caleb landed a solid B in Algebra, Sarah pulled a strong A from her Intermediate Algebra class. Both will be taking geometry next year (I'm praying for another used BJ Geometry textbook, too, if anyone has one laying around!). Neither are overly excited about that. Seth and Jess finished strong in their Saxon Math 76. I found a "Sixth grade math final exam" online which I printed out for them to take. Some of the questions covered topics we hadn't discussed (or at least not in depth) so we counted them as "extra credit". When it was all said and done, both finished with A's. Jessee did great, and I'm proud of the 9 bonus points he earned. Seth though, my mathematical over-achiever, managed to score a perfect 100% plus bonus points for a total of 117% on the final. Sound familiar, Mom? Andrew and Evie are both tickled to be moving on in Math. This year we worked on mastering addition tables and began multiplication tables. Next year...more of the same! ;^) Seth, Jessee, Andrew and Evie's books for next year...I already have! Benefits of having lots of kids!!! :^)

History, though, was my personal favorite this year. Here's a photo of our "Finished Product". The Mystery of History, Volume 1 covers creation through the resurrection. As you can see, we didn't quite make it to the resurrection. We had fun though!!! AND you can ask any one of the kiddos to tell you about any one of the little paper dolls or figures on this timeline, and you'd get an earful. Seth's favorite tidbit of information was about the Epic of Gilgamesh and his cubical ark. You can read more (as we did) about this famous literary work here. One of the reasons we traveled so slowly through time is that we kept learning things! For instance, on the actual day that we began to study Stonehenge, new discoveries were published online about the findings at a recent archaeological dig in England. How could we just read the lesson and move on? We ended up spending a couple of weeks on Stonehenge and then, suddenly, the school year was over. So there we stopped.

We'll pick up where we left off next year! I love home-schooling!!! Happy summer break!!!