Friday's Here....

Ahh, finally Friday!  I made it through my first week.  I may have spent 3 days in bed, but on day 4 I got up and showered...that's progress!  Day 6 is here and I had lunch wtih my Mammaw, grocery shopped, washed and folded laundry, cooked dinner and did the dishes!  I have to say that I am very proud of me, for getting all that done today.  If you have never suffered depression you won't understand what an accomplishment this is for anyone, but trust me it is!

I can't say that things are getting easier, they aren't, but we are getting over the initial hurt and trying to look to bigger things.  We are going to try and plan a trip to the beach with my mom in the next few weeks and we have our annual homeschool conference to attend.  I have lots of things to keep me busy in the next few weeks.  We need to finish up our school year, finish testing, look at new curriculum for next year and start planning for next year also.  I'm hoping that we can get caught up with some schoolwork, as we are a few weeks behind right now.  I got spring fever a few weeks ago, then we helped our friends move and this week was a total bust, cause I didn't feel well.  Great thing about homeschool......it goes where we go and we can do it at OUR pace!  The kids are actually excited to know we will be continuing some subjects through the summer.  We will still take time off for fun, but I think they like knowing that there will be some consistency to their days...not just a free for all.

Tomorrow we have our LAST soccer game of the season!  It's the Big One....Championship Game!  I'm looking forward to it and to the end of the running around for awhile.  Fall will be here before I know it, summer will be over, a new school year beginning and soccer season right behind it, but for now I will embrace the spring and enjoy my kids!  Have a Great weekend yall!!

Focus....

It's time to focus on next years curriculum choices.  I have lots of changes in store for next year.  This year has been wonderful, so far.  The kids are always so enthusiastic to learn something new and they are getting older, so we need to change the way they study some things.  My oldest arrow will be going into 8th grade!!!  I can hardly believe she is that big....seems like just yesterday we started this homeschooling adventure and here we are about to start our 7th year.  WOW.....time flies.

As I am still reading my book on Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit, I am trying to put into work some of the things I have already learned.  For example, they suggest bringing in your husband to help with the curriculum choosing.  This is an area that I have normally had full control.  My husband trusts my choices, although I often go to him first and ask what he thinks.  This year however, I will be seeking to do this as a joint praying and decision making process.

Having an almost highschooler in our midst really changes the way you look at curriculum.  You want to make sure that her transcripts will look good to whatever college she might applies and you seek to teach them as much as possible before they are "adults."  I have to say, I am getting a bit nervous over this one.  This is when I have to stop and pray, pray, pray. 

The younger children's curriculums won't change all that much other than a few things here and there.  I am seeking a new math curriculum for everyone.  I've loved using our Teaching Textbooks, but I have also heard recently that they miss quite a bit too.  I don't even know where to begin on this one!!  Any suggestions?  We really enjoy having it on the computer, as I am not great in math and the "new" way of math has me baffled!  I could probably get by with teaching it the "old" way, but I'd be doing my kids a disservice when they get older and into higher grades.  So, what do you do?

How do you go about choosing your curriculum?  Do you follow what your fellow moms are teaching, branch out and go your own path, or do you and your husband pray over and choose wisely?  I'm curious to know....so sit a spell and give me your insights.  I'm wondering if after 6 years, am I missing something wonderful???  Thanks for sharing!

I'm off to FOCUS, pray and focus on choosing the right curriculum for my uprising highschooler.

Refreshed.....

Well, we finally started back to school!! Yes!!! Maybe now I can get back to my regular blogging schedule. I have missed the steadiness of our "school schedule" and the order which it brings. This year will be a busy year for us, but a Great year no doubt. We have new classes outside the home this year and extra classes to be taken here and there along the way. I have also already scheduled all of our holidays into the year and I have a firm grip on things now rather than fumbling later.

We started Aug. 24th and had a wonderful first week of school....then that dreaded stomach flu hit the house and all of us got it at the same time! By Tuesday we got a slow start, but we did have fun with History to get everyone in a good mood. Wednesday was a better day for us all and a full day of school again. Now yesterday brought NEW joy to a couple of the girls. My 2 middle arrows had their first science class with nJoyscience and they LOVED IT! They both came home talking of catapults, simple machines, levers, inclined planes and the list goes on. The made a catapult and my middle arrow played with hers for hours yesterday, hurling anything and everything across the room.

It is so refreshing to see ones spirit revived, their love for something return. Don't you think? I see the sparkle return to their eyes, the questions start swirling. How does this work and why does it do that? Or when they have struggled with a new concept and then all of a sudden it clicks and they figure it out. I LOVE to be here and see that and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to teach them myself, so I don't miss those moments.

When I think about the beginning of the school year and that refreshing of their spirits, I think of the Holy Spirit within me. He refreshes me everyday, not just school days. He sustains me through my comings and goings, He intercedes for me....what a comfort He is at all times.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17 (ESV)

Do you have that freedom? Are you calling upon His Spirit to lead you and refresh you? I encourage you to spend time in prayer today and call upon the Holy Spirit, ask for that freedom and it will be given to you. Have a Blessed Day!!!!!

Busy...Busy

Busy is the perfect way to describe our past week. We have been running here and there, visiting my grandmother, basketball and schooling at the same time. I am happy to report that my grandmother had back surgery and is home recovering now. She will have a few months of physical therapy ahead of her, but we are praying that the surgery was a success and she will have more movement in her back and a lot less pain. She had 4 screws put into her vertebrates to get them off one another and unpinch a nerve. She has suffered for years now and God knew to hold her off until now for the surgery....it was a new procedure, but one they have had great success with too. I just marvel at how God's timing is so much better than our timing. Please continue to pray for her.

Now, for our household. We have just been busy all around. Last week we were visiting my grandmother in the hospital alot so that took a good portion of the week. We had basketball games last weekend, our oldest arrow shot the winning shot for her team!! So, we had to celebrate with ice cream once we got home! The other 2 arrows had their games on Saturday afternoon and one team won and the other team lost....it was the first loss for that team, but I think it was good to teach them how to lose gracefully. I think it is important for kids to learn how to lose gracefully, God doesn't promise us a life of happiness everyday, no trials, but He does promise us......

For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." Acts 2:39 ESV

God is with us during our trials, strengthening us, conditioning us, drawing us closer to Himself....for our good, for our sanctification. I am so grateful for such a loving Father. Aren't you?

After such a busy week last week, this week has been slower. It has been nice to relax, get back into the school swing, since last week it was school on the go. We got the school room cleaned up and organized again. The kids are still enjoying their curriculum on the computer...and I am so thankful for them! That was the hardest to teach on 3 different grade levels. Now we just do Science, History and Spelling together. Reading they do on their own, or we read a book aloud together, with discussion afterwards. Speaking of school....it's past time to get our started! Gotta run! Have a Blessed Day!

Lesson Plans....

I finally got some lesson plans done today! I have never made lesson plans. I have tried a few times, but I never get too far and never followed them. However, today I packed up my stuff and took it to basketball practice. As the kids had their practice I sat there working on my plans. I now have plans through March. Woohooo....yay for me. I am so excited about finally improving on an area of my life I have been praying about for a long time. I have friends that do their lesson plans in the summer, some do it every month, but I never could figure out just what or how to do my own.

I have been praying that God would help me be more accountable to the kids and with our lessons. We have made GREAT progress in the past 3 weeks, now that the kids are healthy again. The girls are just flying through their studies and loving every minute of it. We have a field trip coming up to Old Salem soon as a reward to all of us for our dedication. God has been so gracious to put people in my life that influence me in a good way. He has provided for my every need in more ways than you can imagine. I continue to pray for His strength each day, His guidance in teaching His children, His wisdom in the subjects to teach them and for His patience to pursue this path. I see everyday where God is sanctifying me and bringing me closer to himself. Thank you dear Jesus that you have given me the power and strength to get through another day. May tomorrow be another wonderful day of homeschooling and may you bless all the rest of our homeschooling days.

New School Year..

Our new school year is slowly approaching. I have so much organizing and planning to do for our new year. We are going with all new curriculum this year. We have used Abeka for 3 years now and it's just way too boring for the kids and too much paper work. The kids have done well with it, but they were ready for a change, so we are going with all new for everyone this year. Here is the line up so far...we are still looking for Science, some supplemental stuff and Bible curriculum too.

Oldest Arrow(6th grade)
Teaching Textbooks Mathematics --computer
Switched on Schoolhouse Language Arts --computer
History of Horses
Early American History
Spell to Write and Read
English from the Roots Up


Second Oldest Arrow (3rd grade)
Horizons Math
Switched on Schoolhouse Language Arts --computer
Early American History
Spell to Write and Read
??English from the Roots Up??


Precious Middle Arrow (2nd grade)
Horizons Math
Yellow Book Language Arts through Literature
Spell to Write and Read
Early American History

I think this is a great start for our year. It looks great typed up, I just pray that it works with a one and two year old. I am hoping to get my 2 yr old arrow involved with some preschool activities while the girls are working. She is very interested in the Spell to Write and Read phonogram cards and sounds. :) Its amazing how much faster the younger ones learn, when the older kids are doing their work. They just have to keep up with the big kids, don't they?

Happy Home school Blogging!