Weekly Heart of Dakota Check-In: LHFHG Unit 9/Beyond Unit 1

This week we changed things up by substituting the RH side of Beyond instead of the RH of LHFHG.  Shana did great with it.  For Language Arts, we are still doing "Fine Motor Skills" from LHFHG.  This is a bit to keep track of, but post-it notes are our friends, and Shana has a steel trap memory so she helps me remember.  :)  We also are working on an assessment of her reading and math skills.  It's rather long, so we are just doing the LH side of LHFHG for a few days while we finish the assessment, because she is done with reading and math after about 45 minutes of testing!

Since we are in the middle of the five Old Testament prophets, we are enjoying some fun projects.  Highlights include her using sugar water and sidewalk chalk to paint Heaven, to which Elijah was whisked in Elisha's presence.  Shana LOVED that.  She also enjoys the Rhymes in Motion, as well as the current verse, Philippians 2:14, "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God..."

I endeavor in the new year to become better at taking pictures of our times together!  For now, here's a Christmas shot of Shana, John, and me in Houston outside a kiddie train we took at one of the local malls!

Homeschool Co-Op was a Successful Venture Today!!!

We are so happy to be a part of a local homeschool co-op with some wonderful families who love the Lord and share their gift of love for children with our children.  We met the ladies in the co-op through a friend from The Crossing who also used to teach at Birchwood Christian School, resigning a year before I taught to homeschool her own children!

The co-op instructs all the children in geography, science, and art.  We rotate by age, so that in a 3-1/2 hour time frame the children learn each of the subjects and still have time to play at the big playground outside for recess.  :)  We coordinate snack time with our geography class, and choose a snack indigenous to the country we study.

For geography, we use the Galloping through Geography materials geared toward K-3.  Science uses the Answers in Genesis materials, and Atelier Art governs our art lessons.  Though we have students older than third grade, we find we are really able to extend the material upward to our oldest, in 8th grade.

Shana and John have both struggled in the co-op, but for different reasons.  Shana is a very particular student, liking to be warned in advance about what to come, and struggling if things are not as planned.  John's a social little boy, and wants to participate right along with the kids.  His challenge comes when, at 2, he is not able to do all that the "big kids" are doing.  He is easily frustrated. 

We had to take John out of the mix for several weeks, because he was having such a tough time doing his own thing rather than being able to integrate with the kids, which is what he wanted to do.  He would spend the mornings at another friend's, playing with all her kids.  She homeschools too, so her children, ranging from age 17 to infant, were eager play buddies with John.

This system worked for a while, until my friend was not able to watch John on October 21.  He had to come with me that day, so I took some age-appropriate books and a large utility tote (a fantastic Thirty-One product) full of developmental toys.  He still wanted to color while the "big kids" did their lapbook pages and colored their flags, so though things were much better, they weren't perfect.

By this time, Shana had gotten used to co-op, and knew the routine, so she was doing much better.  We had one glitch during her geography class because we sat John next to Shana, so we decided to fix that.  I initially though, "how cute that they want to sit next to each other!" only to quickly find out that this love for each other waned quickly when Shana would not share her crayons or paper.

So, today, armed with all of our age-appropriate books, developmental toys, John's own crayons and map, and, by the way, an entertaining DVD presented by the art class, we had a great day of co-op!  To top it off, we separated the siblings, and they did well.  John entertained himself talking to new friends, and was also able to go to the science class to have a PB&J sandwich (think presentation on sedimentary rocks!) pressed in a George Foreman grill.  :)

We will repeat the same next week and pray for the best!  Actually, if Kevin's off for Veteran's Day, I will leave John at home with him so they can have boy time.  Prayerfully, this will be repeatable in two weeks, if John doesn't go to co-op next Friday.

After feedback, I tweak my perspective

I just blogged about the perils of a social bug like myself being the mommy teacher of our homeschool.  I got lots of good encouragement from friends which made me feel so much more like owning the fact, for instance, that we are right on track with my goals for us!

My goal is that Shana complete two units of Little Hearts for His Glory (the K-1 equivalent for Heart of Dakota's curriculum) every month, placing us squarely with finishing this curriculum by the end of her normal first grade timeframe.  So, if we shoot for three days of school a week, we more than adequately reach our goal, since each unit has five days of instruction.  The sixth day can be a flex day, and we currently use that for Geography review or for study in our science curriculum in preparation for our homeschool co-op, which we attend on Fridays.  We have sometimes done a book from the Five-in-a-Row curriculum, and, for example, right now we are reading How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World.  Shana wants to make an apple pie, and we'll probably do that for our unit's cake walk at their fall party this Friday night.

So, I guess we are doing ok.  I think with advance planning and follow-through, we will maintain our goal, and reach it.  My friend Jess suggested we school at the same time every day, and turn off the ringer.  I should avoid social plans during that time.  My other friend Laurel reminded me that learning happens all the time, and so we should not view learning opportunities in a compartmentalized fashion.  My sister-in-law, Ann, who homeschools my nieces, told me to be easier on myself.  I just wanted to be accountable, but I appreciate her encouragement to lay off!  ;)

I took these points from my feedback:
1.  Choose a time every day when optimal learning happens to plan our formal lessons
2.  Remember that strategic socializing is important, and possible when you homeschool
3.  Set goals for yourself, but don't beat yourself up when they are not achieved, unless you became lazy!
4.  Remember that you homeschool partially because it fits into a busy lifestyle full of ministry, and sometimes you might have to let situations dictate your timing. 
5.  Flexibility is key, but only when partnered with discernment!

Confession is Good for the Soul

I have to confess, I have not been diligent about Shana's school.  Well, I have and I haven't.  I am starting to feel that I'm missing a key window of time in her learning spectrum, and I'm needing to capture it!  We have been at this for three months, and while I think there are a lot of pluses, I have to confess that I have made it more of a priority lately to catch up with people or not miss opportunities to do things during the best hours of our day, the morning.

A typical morning for us is currently shifting later by an hour (thank you, Alaska sunrise/sunset changes!) later every day.  This is all of a sudden an issue in the past two weeks, because the average day shortens by 35 minutes a week during the fall.

We usually have breakfast upon waking up.  When doing school, I immediately launch into two of our 3R's (if you need a refresher, they are reading (which we do in the afternoon, for reasons stated below), writing, and arithmetic, otherwise known as math).  If we have time, we do our storytime from our curriculum.  Then we get ready for the morning, getting dressed, brushing teeth, and heading out to our morning activity.  Right now, with Shana being in kindergarten, we can leave at 10 and still have gotten ample time in for school.  However, with most of our recent activites being earlier than that, school has, well, gotten pushed to the side.

When we do school, we come back around lunchtime, have a quick lunch, and start quiet time.  Shana initially would take 45 minutes for quiet time, then bound down the stairs at exactly 45 minutes after her quiet time started to spend time with me.  All I have to say is I better have spent time with the Lord, exercised and showered before the kids got up because I get online to send a couple of emails during her quiet time before she is already downstairs again!!!

After quiet time, we do the rest of her school, the Bible portion.  All together, this only takes 45 minutes.  We then have phonics to do, and piano.  We do phonics in the afternoon while John is napping for the simple fact that we do it on the computer, and if he saw her on the computer, he would want to do it too.  Moving it to the afternoon saves us time and hassle because he doesn't know she's doing it.  That takes another 20 minutes, tops.  I find piano the hardest to get to, but again, that has to be pushed to John's nap now so he doesn't see her playing it.

Our biggest problem recently has been not protecting that prized 9-10 hour to capitalize on being home and getting school done, mostly because we are in the car zooming somewhere to meet someone.  I can push off errands till the afternoon, but often, because of John's nap in the afternoon, we race out in the morning.

I've rationalized this somewhat by thanking God we are only doing Kindergarten, so that if we only do school three days a week (plus our co-op on Fridays), we're doing great.  Plus, all told, our curriculum only takes 1-1/2 hours a day, with the piano being another fifteen minutes, so it's not a major time sucker.  My goal is to do a unit's worth of lessons in two weeks, which means five lessons plus two co-op days = seven days of school.  That seems to meet Shana's attention span and capacity for learning right now.

I'm feeling especially convicted today because we did school Saturday since we ran too much last week. We have not done school since Saturday, and though we can do it today, we will look at having to do it the following Saturday too.  Then, Monday is a free day, since there are a lot of activities.

Work in storytime for John at the library, and I feel maxed out.  Thankfully, that begins at 10 am, so I can do school with them first, before we go, and then maybe get another day.

Then, there was the Usborne party day last week.  A friend had one.  I LOVE my curriculum (check out www.heartofdakota.com), but it is complete as is.  Supplements are added for the upper age range, but she's at the lower one for her guide, so I don't NEED Usborne books!  However, I hadn't seen this friend in a while, another friend was going to be there; need I say more!

I am confessing I don't know where to start.  I don't want to neglect my friendships, and I feel blessed to be in a situation where I have so many friendships that it is easy to have to put some to the side.  However, I'm already feeling out of touch with a lot of people, but I know that is where I need to start.  We committed to homeschooling (a) because we felt the Lord leading us to it, (b) because we felt it would provide the best quality education for our kids, (c) because of the flexibility it affords in a fast-paced military lifestyle.  It's that third one that's getting me right now.  I need help with it!

Christian Praxis in a Pluralistic Environment

I'm not sure the "new age" of pluralism is all that it's cracked up to be.  In the marketplace, one can see the impotence of watered-down observances of Christmas and Easter that is sure to make the average evangelical Christian sweat.  We all believe in offering a hearty "MERRY CHRISTMAS" to those who would say "Season's Greetings."  And we're pretty proud of ourselves that we can be so bold in our day and age.

In the military, my context, I see that the watered-down aspect of pluralistic Christianity only serves to divide all those of faith into different corners (although a room with as many corners as you'd need would practically be round).  We all tend to assert why OUR particular brand of Christianity is the superior one and point out flaws, omissions, or shortcomings of other ones.

I've most recently seen one brand of church assert that their version of the Bible is the only authoritative one, and all of us other helpless creatures are hopelessly swayed by the evil one himself.  I've also seen others pledge to forego certain foods to maintain purity, or others completely inundated with the allure of their individual church body second-guess or even question the viability of others.  I've been to such a variety of church services in Alaska that I know some bodies I've been involved with would wonder if others are truly Christians just based on their worship styles.

I'm not even referring to music.  The dichotomy certainly travels down the worship music line too.  Some friends who hold a true faith in God fall hard on their hymns and time-honored songs of the faith, to which I have to remind them that some of their favorites are less than 50 years old.  Yes, some of the more recent "anthems" are shallow theologically, and this should give one pause.  I think people are actually asserting a superiority ecclesiastically just based on tempo, mood, and rhythm.

So, what is happening to the American church?  From my vantage point, we are eating each other up and spitting each other out, and judging others who are not like ourselves has become the norm.  Jesus, knowing the thoughts of the Pharisees, in Matthew 12:25, said, ""Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand."

No one I know wants this for the church.  So, why are we doing it?  I'm fully cognizant that based on the beliefs of some I mentioned in this article, they might not believe I'm a Christian because of MY beliefs, and see no harm done by coming against me with the superiority of their beliefs.  However, in Mark 9:40, we see Jesus saying to the disciples themselves, that "he who is not against you is for you."  So if I'm not against them, at minimum (although I would wager that I am with them 100% as far as the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20), then why all this pushing away based on issues I don't even see as doctrine, but as preference?

We've got a major issue in the American church, because we are so comfortable speaking our piece that we choose to push others away by saying that their beliefs are inferior to ours.  Meanwhile, people are perishing daily without a chance to hear the Gospel, as we stand mildly by, arguing our points.

I'm not trying to argue these specific points, but to use them as illustration.  If we are truly all on the same team, we ought to act like it and start preaching the Gospel, whether we use words or not.  We have people God's called us to, and we choose to sit in our whitewashed tombs proclaiming our own greatness, to the expense of others in the church!!!

Let's grow up and look for our similarities instead of our differences, and go after those who don't know Christ, and love those who've rejected Him!!!

Being a Female Ordained Minister Has Its Risks

Unfortunately, I don't blog as quickly or as often as my mind moves.  However, I have been mulling this subject for a while, and I don't know if I'm quite through with it.

It might be good background information to say that I have been having a hard time for years accepting the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has called me to be an ordained minister.  I have suffered ridicule from both ends.  Some groups claim I'm not a Christian because God wouldn't call women to ordained leadership in His church.  Others say to be careful because the stigma that ordained women are actually lesbians is quite strong in some circles.  So, to come right out and say you're an ordained minister, even if you don't have a church, is risky.  On top of that, I've had still others say they would never go to a church with a female lead pastor, because God never called women to leadership in the church.  To that, I say, what do you make of Deborah judging Israel?  What do you make of Lydia holding house church.  What do you make of the apostle Junia, or the teacher Priscilla?  Then, they counter with "well, being a priest is different than being a pastor.  You might be a pastor, but God never called women to be priests in His church."  How do you know?  Maybe the Jewish faith didn't employ women as temple priests, but that could have been because the other role for women was to be prostitutes (although not in Jewish tradition, but in other religions of those surrounding Canaan).

So, I have found the ordained ministry quite tiresome.  I have obstacles to overcome before even starting out.  I have had friends just tell me, "isn't your ministry to your kids enough?  Why do you have to make a big deal out of finding a pastorate?"  To this, I reply that none of this was my idea.  My call was not one I chose.  I would not have chosen the ridicule and, quite frankly, verbal abuse people seem to want to heap on women who answer the call to ministry.  Go ahead, abuse away.  Jesus was abused and yet He rose from the dead, even after His abuse resulted in His death.

To cap off social stress, I cite an internal struggle that ensues in every situation I find myself.  Did I really discern the call correctly?  Am I just playing out my own fantasy?  Is there something I'm not content with which pushes me to look for some outlet to express my inner shepherd?  Aren't my kids church enough?  Why do I go to congregations and pretend to be a good little congregant, instead of someone who can lead?  Is there something about ME that makes people not want to ask me to lead?  Which community or communities are right for me, as we move often?  How can I serve and homeschool my kids, which I fully enjoy?  What would people or congregations say if they knew I was an ordained elder in the church?  Would they say, "you're not welcome here, you can't really be a Christian, you must have heard wrong, you're not welcome to express those gifts here, you can be a part of us if you'll put that part of you away," or would they say, "that's COOL!  How do you feel you can serve here?"  How do I brush the dust off my feet from those who would fall in the former category, when the majority of evangelicals (of which I do identify myself) would THINK that I was misled?

I'm really close to understanding that I can't be like "everyone else," who can just go to a church and fit in.  I either know I'm welcome, or I can tell I'm not.  However, how do I feel about the fact that the majority of people at two of the recent churches I've found myself don't know I'm an ordained minister because I'm not sure what to do with that information once they had it?  Would they try to proselytize me?  Or could they believe the God they serve is the same God who called me into leadership, without deconstructing their whole theology?

We Heart Heart of Dakota!

Such a great day homeschooling today!  We did half of Heart of Dakota's "Little Hearts for His Glory" as well as handwriting, math, and phonics, AND swimming today!  Follow that up with a little lunch, quiet time, and then a play date at new friends' and we had SO MUCH FUN!  I love homeschooling!

John really digs the swimming.  He could not wait to get in the pool himself, and it about killed him to wait for Shana to finish her lessons.

A friend was telling me her woes about her curriculum she uses, another literature-based one, with schedule, even.  She also does the four-day track.  I was so excited to tell her our school didn't last too long, and that Shana really gets it and blows through it.   I could see her jaw drop.

Reluctant Convert to "Managers of their Homes"

A friend recently gave me a 1998 copy of the original book by the same title.  I had avoided the Maxwell's materials without any real research on their standpoints on certain issues.  I am sure that they do a lot of good in the homeschool community, but I saw them as a bit too extreme, so I avoided them until my friend gave me the book.  Someone hands me a free book, and I'll at least flip through it.  Kinda like getting party leftovers.  :)

Simultaneously, we had been having major issues both focusing our free time during our days, integrating with PS friends on the playground after school, and limiting ourselves to suitable activities as extracurriculars.  So, I was desperate to try anything to help us use our time better and limit meltdowns.  When you have a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old, it is a major accomplishment to reduce tantrums.  I was ready, though.  I'm too old for some of this!

I got up early this morning (not on purpose; I just woke up) and so I put that time to good use fitting the puzzle pieces of our lives together to make something relatively workable.  Today was good!  I found it helpful to have a guide for our days, and also discovered that I need a little more of a plan for Boy-O, at age 2.  I have to give him credit; at 2, he wants to track along with Girlie, who is doing Heart of Dakota's Little Hearts for His Glory at half speed for kindergarten, along with some other things.

So far, so good.  However, my plan shows that I should be going to bed, so I'd better sign off!

Our Journey to Homeschooling, Part 2

During the summer of 2010, I followed the lead to not enroll Shana in a pre-Kindergarten program.  I had found several, including "Little Lambs of Peace Preschool," but really didn't have peace, ironically, with putting her in that school. 

So, I explored the idea of homeschooling further.  I surrendered to the idea, and even researched different curricula.  I explored and even purchased Sonlight P4/5, and promptly realized that for me it didn't work.  The books were a bit too violent for Shana, and the readings seemed disjointed.  It also comes with way more material than one could do in a year, and I really felt that with my compunction to complete tasks and check things off lists, then I would not really like it myself.  We read New Toes for Tia, and Shana got scared.  I had a friend using this curriculum, so I was able to pass it along to her.

I also stumbled upon "Five in a Row," a literature-based unit study in which one uses a specific book to learn about social studies, language arts, applied math, science, and art.  It is a sweet program, one in which students learn much about the world around them and fall in love with particular books.  The originators even offer a Bible study supplement and a cookbook to accompany the family's lessons.  I was missing a connector, a spine to weave together all the lessons into a cohesive bunch.

Then, I found "Heart of Dakota."  A friend mentioned it to me, and I researched it.  Upon first glance, I didn't understand how scripted it was and decided to forego it in favor of Ambleside Online.  Both of these curricula are based on the precept and principles of Miss Charlotte Mason, a 19th century British educator.  I'm not going to do her philosophies justice, but essentionally she believed in the following:

• Informal education for toddlers and preschoolers, waiting for formal education until age 6
• Learning through play and nature studies
• Reading focuses on comprehension, and that is monitored by narration, an essential skill in education
• Short lessons keep students' attention and reinforce skills on a daily basis

Ambleside Online is a wonderful program, but as I went along, I found that I was still missing the cohesiveness I wanted.  In addition, I realized that, though many users of Charlotte Mason's principles, and Charlotte Mason herself, were and are Christians, Bible study and focus on a Christian worldview are still ancillary.  I found that I really didn't like that.  AO also lacked a cohesiveness that I knew I needed.

While both programs still require the parents to choose phonics, math, and handwriting, Heart of Dakota has a program picked out that seems to be challenging and methodical.  It also is Christ-centered, providing the cohesiveness and Biblical focus I sought.  Christ is interwoven into every day's lesson in such a way that the child can form a Biblical worldview without the parent trying to find a way to insert Christ into books that are read.

In the meantime, as all this was occurring from October 2010-December 2010, I was teaching in the Christian school.  More on that in "Our Journey to Homeschooling, Part 3."

Lego Nobility

Shana crafted these Lego characters this morning.  She got these Legos from a friend in a yard sale, and we have been SO HAPPY to have them.  :)  I just love finding out about my kids' abilities like this!  The first one is a dog, the middle one is a princess, and the third one is a My Little Pony.  :)

July 3, 2011 - Lego Nobility by Shana

Unit 6 - Joseph Becomes a Leader

We had SUCH a fun week with Unit 6 (Joseph Becomes a Leader)!  I can tell it's summertime...and I have to admit I've really slacked on the 3R's.  However, we've had some impromptu nature studies, both indoors and out.  It's still moderately warm and overcast in Alaska, so it's not as easy to get out as I had hoped.  Since DD had farm camp last week, we've done a lot of discussions on the farm animals she studied while there (it was a day camp, not sleepaway).
I tell you, I LOVE this curriculum.  It is so easy and well-laid-out, that it flows nicely with the rest of our day.  Right now, we're still trying to figure out when school is best done during this season.  It seems that we spend my son's naptime doing school with my daughter.  I guess that's ok for now, but when we have two guides running, and start doing formal kindergarten (in the fall), I'd like to revisit that.  I often make bread or return phone calls, and find myself doing that kind of thing in the morning.

The best part of our day this week was when I happened to be making tortillas the day we learned that Joseph's brothers came to him from Canaan, asking for food.  The tortilla dough balls became the food that Joseph gave them.  Of course, by that time, we were "done" with school, so I was rolling out the dough at the same time Girlie was playing.  I was happy to see it sink in.  :)

Here's a picture of her with Joseph hidden behind the sticky note.  She did a great job following directions!  Plus, the blueberries in the front are also supposed to be food.  Sorry for the bad resolution; my camera on my phone is not strong, and we can't find our camera!

Farm Camp June 20-24

Last week, Shana attended Farm Camp at Party Ponies and Friends in Wasilla.  Check their link for more details.  It was really small and laid-back, although that didn't mean disorganized.  She had a plan for each animal they would cover each day, and did a good job of finding crafts and hands-on activities for the kids to support the animals they studied.

For instance, on the day they studied horses, they got to take pony rides.  On the day they studied chickens, they had chickens walk with paint on their feet on shirts the kids got to paint and take home.  They also got to study pigs, sheep, and goats, as well as cows, though she only has one.

It has provided fodder for discussion and more study about farm animals and farm life this week.  So, we have actually had school consist of processing what she learned last week.  Daddy's the primary teacher for that, and it's worked out because Kevin's been home this week!

LHTH Unit 5: Young Joseph

We enjoyed relating to the story of Joseph, his beautiful multi-colored coat, and how God protected him and took care of him despite his brothers' jealousy and meanness in throwing him into the well and selling him to slave traders.

I so enjoyed seeing my children process the immense jealousy of the brothers and learn that God doesn't want us to engage in jealousy either.

The kids loved making the letters on the ground and bumping around them on their bums.  We even made a heart at Girlie's suggestion!  :)  She then converted it into an ark.  I guess since it was a letter review week, that works!  ;)

We tried food coloring on coffee filters, but I think I got too much water and not enough food coloring.  Note to self - make sure it's really concentrated color, especially on brown filters!  However, the children knew no differently and had the BEST time making their many-colored "robes."

I just love this simple, easy-to-use program.  Just when we think it's summer and we "should" take a break, we find that school is so easy to use and adds so much to our day, we just can't think of NOT doing it!

Girlie's Filter/Count on Left, Boy-O's on Right

Our Journey to Homeschooling, Part 1

We ended up homeschooling, not by intent on my part, although when I look back, I think the Lord got me ready for it long before we started doing it.

As early as three years ago, when I was able to spend a lot of time with friend Lisa Fargo who has homeschooled using the classical method, I started to become intrigued by Lisa's fun lifestyle she was able to craft for her family while maintaining a level of academic excellence that resulted in Emma's superior performance on WA state assessments.

I attended Spanish lessons with her and her kids at the local children's museum, and loved how she made that one of her days of instruction with Emma.  She would do the 3R's every day, and add several different subjects as time went on.

I didn't know if I could handle it, though, because as Shana moved into the two's and three's, her mood became more, well, "terrible."  I just didn't know if I could handle her every day, day in and day out.  Besides, what would we do all day?  It was as if the enemy started whispering into my ear such lies that after hearing them so often, I started to believe them as truth.

I fought the pull toward homeschooling, but at the same time, would borrow and check out books about teaching your children and would incessantly bother friends with questions like, "what curriculum do you use?  what are your days like?  what's your favorite part of homeschooling?  what types of activities do you engage in outside of school?"

More to follow.  It is late and I need to get to bed.

LHTH Week 4: Jacob and Esau

So sorry, ladies...no pictures this week!  Even after snapping some pictures this week (although not of school  ;), I can't find the camera and Kevin is at work...oh well!  Maybe NEXT week.

Actually, we will endeavor to take the week off because we have VBS.  Our erratic summer plans begin!  After that, Girlie will participate in farm camp.  What a treat homeschooling provides!!!

We loved learning about Jacob and Esau, from how Jacob tricked his father and hurt his brother, to them reconciling.  What great Biblical truth.

The kids LOVED wrestling with the balloon, and learning that, even though Jacob cheated his brother out of their father's blessing, his brother (and thus, God) had mercy on him and forgave him for the wrong he did.  We also got to talk about the abundance present.  Jacob brought present after present to Esau, and though he didn't need to, God provided the retribution necessary for Jacob to give to Esau.

I love that LHTH is bringing this up.

Weekly Heart of Dakota Check-In: LHTH Unit 4 - Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Esau

We are mildly behind as we get work done with holidays, and catching up with homeschooling after finishing our school year.  Girlie is incredibly motivated.  We are on Unit 4, and today (a holiday, mind you) she did TWO days of school!  I had to put my foot down because I don't want her to suffer burnout.  That's all in Mommy's mind.  :)

Girlie camouflaged her name like Jacob camouflaged his identity

I had to add Boy-O in, just because!  :)

Highlight of this week was watching both of my kids sing the "Clippity Clop" song from Unit 3.  They had so much fun!  We love Little Hands to Heaven!

Total Epiphany - "Bridge to Kindergarten"

Don't you just love those moments when the Lord just shines through and gives wisdom where you've been asking!?!?!

I've been there with DD. She just is so in the middle as far as skills go, that I haven't had peace with leaving her in LHTH for K and I haven't felt like she's ready for LHFHG yet. Then, nothing significant has to change, but a LIGHTBULB went off as I was reviewing Mom4Him's post in this thread http://www.heartofdakota.com/board3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=9348

Put her on a BRIDGE to K. She's got a late birthday (July 22, 2006) and is smart, but weak in some areas. So we'll BRIDGE her to LHFHG using LHTH as her BRIDGE curriculum. This is purely semantic, but I feel it makes me feel better because it tells me we are going somewhere instead of hovering, recognizing that she has skills in some areas, but is weak in others (like history and storytime).

I don't know why that matters so much, but it made me feel so much better. And it will motivate DD to move on her LHTH; she wants to be in K so bad!

Oh, I forgot to add that one significant part of this is, besides semantics (LOL), her beloved WORKSHEETS.

DD has lots of worksheets from her time in the Christian school, and I divided them up among four categories: thinking skills, writing, reading/phonics, and math. I think once we are through LHTH and these worksheets, I can start her on a clean slate in LHFHG with the K options and feel good about it.

Tomorrow I go to do her ILP with IDEA, and I will present the following:
- Bible - HOD
- Phonics - Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
- Writing - Evan-Moor Workbooks, Kumon Workbooks, School Zone Workbooks
- Math - Singapore Earlybird Math 2A and 2B
- Science - HOD and Apologia
- Geography - Galloping the Globe
- Art - Atelier Art
- PE - Swimming at East High School
- Spanish - Whistlefritz and La Clase Divertida

Weekly Heart of Dakota Check-In: We Started Homeschooling with "B!"

Girlie doesn't let moss grow under her feet.  Though we finished school Thursday, Saturday morning she was begging for "home school!"  So, we pulled out LHTH Unit 2 and had SO much fun doing the finger-play "B-B-B" and low-crawling, trotting, slithering, hopping, skipping, etc. like the animals loading the Ark.

And I thought Girlie would not like the finger-play, but she DID!  Enough for us to do it for Unit 2 Days 3 and 4.

Following is our "B" art.  I asked Girlie to make a "B" with her watercolors, and add pictures of items that begin with "B."  Though you can't see it, she made a ball, basket, bear, and butterfly.  Even Boy-O got in on the action by doing some art himself.  His picture is on the orange paper.  For 2, he is keeping right up!

Girlie and her "B" picture

Boy-O's "B" picture

I just hate leaving John, still!

I've been working now for almost ten months, and just still have the hardest time leaving John.  He was 14 months when I started work, and would inevitably cry every time I dropped him off.  Then, phase two was when he would cry and then not look at me.  The child care provider, who is fabulous, would try to make me feel better by telling me that he would only cry for a couple of minutes. 

It really hurts to have to leave your child, or at least it does for me.  I have many friends who work well out of the house and enjoy what they do, as well as maintain strong relationships with their children.  I feel like I have maintained a strong relationship with John and Shana despite my working, but it still hurts to have to go.

What also is hard is having to wake up either of my kids in the morning to go to work.  I have to be on my way by 6:50 to get John to his sitter's and arrive at school on time.  Inevitably, the kids vacillate between having to be woken up and waking up spontaneously at 5:30 or even before that time.  Shana's woken up as early as 4:45 before.  :(  The pattern usually involves my waking them up Monday morning, Shana getting up at 6:15 Tuesday, then both getting up around 6:15 Wednesday, until by Friday Shana's up at 5:30 or so.

I do best when I can do my quiet time in the dark before kids wake up.  Once one wakes up, my day is rolling and I have to push forward.  I just hate what it does to the kids.  The guilt is sometimes paralyzing.  I'm more apt to want to focus on my kids, because they are my kids, but I also want to do a good job at school and give my students what they need.  What a tug!

Only seven more days of school left!!!  :D

Splitting Time Between Ministries

Tonight, after school, the family splits up.  Both kids go with Kevin to his battalion's FRG meeting.  That means that his work group (the Military Police, for which he is a chaplain) have a family support group meeting to talk about the ways the battalion will support the troops and their families, either by planning activities for the troops and families to participate in, or by initiating ways to raise money to fund said projects.

I'll join my friend Donna at her planning meeting for the Protestant Women of the Chapel (long name for military women's Bible study) regional conference in September, at which I get to speak, and for the year's executive board position of First Vice President - Spiritual Life.  Donna had this role this past year and I am taking it on next year.

I'll miss my brood!  Can't wait - in eight days we will be a homeschooling family!!!  :)

To Keurig or not to Keurig?

For the last several weeks, I've been obsessed, it seems, with the idea of getting a Keurig.  For those of you who don't know me very well, I'm very concerned about being a good steward of the world God gave us (that was what He instructed to Adam on the sixth day), so I am an avid recycler and what I would call a utilitarian.  That means that I like to only have what I will use and not own anything that I will not use often. 

So far, I do not have a Keurig.  Kevin and I love coffee and we make at least a six-cup pot every day.  I also have a French press I purchased ten years ago when French presses were popular.  I know that lots of campers and environmentalists like French presses.  The waste is minimal, if any.  One does not even have to have a filter with a French press, since the bottom of the press is full of holes.  I can't think of the name of that!

I have considered and mulled the idea of a Keurig, but have decided against it because:
- I already have two distinct ways to make coffee
- Keurigs can generate a lot of waste unless one uses the reusable K-filter
- the best deal would involve spending $170 at Costco to get a unit, a K-filter, and 60 K-cups.  Sounds like a good deal, but I'd be spending money to save.

The most distinct realization is that there is now no way to recycle the cups.  They are of the non-recyclable plastic.  Also, I have a French press I have paid for long ago, and should be using that.  Right now, it's collecting dust, so I should either sell it or use it.  I think, rather than get rid of it and spend money on the Keurig, I'll use it and not get a Keurig at all.  I can deal with company!  They won't have their choice of coffee, but they can have a yummy one with what I have!

We're having the same dilemma when dealing with Kevin's bike.  He has one, and has recently talked about selling it and buying another bike.  I think we're now exploring keeping the one he has.  There is, however, a real issue with the air pump  for his tires.

We are such a consumeristic society!!!

Our first day with Heart of Dakota's "Little Hearts for His Glory!"

Today we are still in the middle of the school year with Birchwood Christian School, and it is also Mother's Day.  I was surprised, then, when Shana asked to read some school books!  I actually don't know if she wanted to read books set aside for school, or other books on the same shelf that are not designated part of HOD ("Heart of Dakota"). 

However, I did pull out HOD's LHFHG, their K-1 program, and did half of the "left side" and most of the "right side" with her.  We read about the fact that history is "His story" in History for Little Pilgrims and made our Family Tree through grandparents.  We also explored God making the light shine in the darkness before He created the heavens and the earth.  She totally got it.  She really wanted to rock at math, but I had to hold her back till we made it through her storytime book, The Adventures of Reddy Fox.  As it was, we didn't finish Reddy Fox's reading or get to Phonics. 

That can wait!  She did a great job on her fine motor skills, page 2 of Do It Carefully.  She will have to pick up Phonics later.  I will mark the date she completes each "box" on the date she does it to keep track of where she is.  For now, I really love the program.  All that she did took 30 minutes.  That will leave plenty of time for play, music, exercise, and Bible time when we officially start homeschooling.

Things I like :)

I have some very distinct passions and I like to share what I love with others.

Wholy Living - a grain distributor in the area.  I found her in October, and prayerfully considered buying a Bosch and Nutrimill with which to make my own bread.  In this way, I pray we can be more self-sufficient and less dependent on food manufacturers who strip nutrition out of food and thereby make us sick.
FLIP One-Size Diaper Day Pack - I absolutely love the versatility of this diaper.  It allows you to use cloth, but also affords a disposable option that uses renewable fibers, thereby reducing the carbon footprint on the environment. 
FLIP Disposable Diaper Inserts - I have tried several inserts, and not only do these inserts go great with this particular diaper system, they are most absorbent and least destructive to the FLIP covers.
Heart of Dakota Homeschool Curriculum - what a user-friendly curriculum for the busy Christian homeschool mom!  These open-and-go lessons follow a Charlotte Mason educational philosophy, featuring hands-on activities, Christ-centered lessons, and interactive (and even interchangeable) learning!  Substitute your favorite phonics or Math prorgrams if you don't like the choices laid out for you, and enjoy the fruits of Carrie Austin's labors.  This is really a sweet, low-prep curriculum with an economical price tag.  We love it for our family.  :)