First Day of HHE

I wish I had stopped to take more pictures.  It was a flurry of planning, packing, loading, unloading, and gearing up to get us ready and out the door for our first day of co-op.  I'm not going to lie, it was tiring, but I think it was TOTALLY worth it.  All the kids enjoyed their first day and the boys came home saying that Writing was their favorite class.  Praise God!  That is a HUGE praise!  As we get used to everything I will take more pictures to add on here along with class descriptions, but for now, I am just INCREDIBLY thankful to have this new co-op!

I did manage to snap this ONE picture toward the end of the day.  It is no coincidence that this is the Drama room.

He said that he was teaching about Jesus.  ~LOVE. 

Apologia Science

I LOVE Apologia Science.  This is our third year to use their Elementary series and our first for their Middle/High School books.  I am SO impressed.  They not only teach everything from a VERY Creationist viewpoint, they also teach the kids to use this knowledge to defend their faith.  Preparing them to give an answer for the HOPE that lies within them.  LOVE APOLOGIA.

That said, this semester we have chosen Zoology 3 - Land Animals of the Sixth Day.  We did our first lesson today.  It was basically just an introduction to what all they will be learning.  The books look like textbooks but Jeannie Fulbright writes directly to the students, even giving personal examples for the topics she is covering.  It reads like a story.  LOVE APOLOGIA.

Sidenote:  Today while I was reading, Sonora was doing a coloring page from the Junior Notebooking Journal.  Hard to see, but it's just a picture of a Prairie Dog with Genesis 8:17 below it.  What impressed me however, was the fact that Sonora identified the hills in the background as The Badlands.  My heart SOARED.  She remembered that we had seen white Prairie Dogs in The Badlands and made her picture reflect her memory and even colored them correctly.  Ahhhh...Sweet sigh.  Vacation was worth it.  For many reasons.

Back to science:  The girls and I discussed predator/prey relationships and how it wasn't always this way.  Also, how it won't be this way forever.  1 Corinthians 15:26 says that the last enemy that will be abolished is death. We talked about how this applied to animals and used passages in Isaiah to show that the wolf will dwell with the lamb.  Harper was SO excited and said when Jesus comes back she's getting a pet cheetah.  The passage in Isaiah says that "the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den".  We discussed and Judah overheard us.  He piped in (LOUDLY as always) and said, "I don't like snakes.  I like caterpillars."

On a different note: Years ago, we had the privilege of hearing Jay Wile speak at a homeschooling conference.  We were so inspired by his lecture that we KNEW when our children were older we would be using his textbooks.  He also speaks directly to the reader which I personally love.  Nate is using his Exploring Creation with General Science this year.  It's Nate's first year to do all the reading, experiments, and lab reports on his own.  So far, I am impressed with his effort and with what he is learning.  We are on week 2 and he takes his first test on Module 1 soon.  The grades are weighted with the tests making up two thirds of his grade so I am holding my breath.  Today, I did see the following in the front of the teacher's manual:

"Finally, I must tell you that this course is user-friendly and reasonably understandable.  At the same time, however, it is Not EASY.  It is a tough course.  Thus, a letter grade of "C" would represent the score of the average student who will most likely be college bound."

Whew.  We're up for a challenge.

LOVE Apologia.

Best Laid Plans

I'm a planner, and a list maker.  Always have been.  And as a former classroom teacher, my 'bent' is to make a schedule and then adhere to it with rigidity.  The bell rings and it's over, or it's lunch, or time to change classes, or whatever.  Therefore it stands to reason that one of my biggest challenges as a homeschool mom has been in letting go of THE BELL.  I have at times drifted, and reverted back to my former way of thinking and tried to make the kids stick to a very strict time schedule.  THIS NEVER WORKS.

"Ok kids, we are stopping right here in the middle of this exciting history lesson to...yes, you guessed it, have our handwriting lesson.  Forget Alexander the Great, get your pencils."

It just doesn't work.  Never has and never will.  And in truth, why would I want it to work in that manner?  The short answer:

For my own ease.  To make ME feel better.  Because crossing things off MY list makes ME feel like I've accomplished something.

But have I?  Have I really?

Yes, in life, my children will have to be on time for work (I require them to be on time to our schoolroom now), and yes, they will probably have times in their lives when they are required to follow someone else's bell.  But, right now, RIGHT NOW they are privileged to learn at their own pace.  When phones ring, cars break down, family members are sick, or LIFE just happens, it's not the end of the world.  When we are really enjoying the day's science lesson we are not required to 'finish up' so we can move on.  We CAN do just one more experiment or take a spur of the moment walk.  Do we always?  Nope.  In fact, most days we go with the flow of our schedule and plan.  But we CAN change if we so choose.  Education is integrated with life.  As it should be.

I am writing tonight because I am/was frustrated with our day not turning out as I planned.  Not EVERYTHING got checked off MY list.  On days like today I need to be reminded of the goals that Ben and I wrote years ago.  They are pasted into my planner and always will be.  We should probably revise them someday, but for now they give our home(school) a strong spine.

• Have a relationship with Christ
• Study and understand God's Word
• The ability to think for themselves
• Do anything or be anything
• Know how to find answers to questions
• Have solid relationships with others
• Question things
• A college education if required for their desired profession
• Be creative
• Be inventive
• Be men and women of character
• Appreciate music, art, and literature
• Cooperate with others
• Derive self worth from God not man

When I bring today's events into the light of our lifelong learning goals, my mind shifts.  Just as when I focus on heavenly things vs earthly things.  I can relax.  Still having a goal ( read plans/lists :), running for the prize, but resting in the knowledge that when things don't go as I planned they ARE going as He planned.

 Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.  Proverbs 19:21

So tonight I am taking off my former classroom teacher hat and replacing it with my forever homeschooling one.

This happens often.  

Our Educational Priorities

As I am in the middle of reviewing goals and planning for this next year, I have not been writing as much as I would like to about our day to day activities. I hope to change that soon. Until then, I thought that I would share something Ben made for me at the beginning of last year. (I had planned to put some pretty dried flowers on it...ah well, someday...) It is up in our kitchen and will continue to be, for as long as we have children at home. It sums up our educational goals and helps to remind us of our priorities.


I really like the English Standard Version which says

"For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge..."

Knowledge is the supplement not the number one goal.

90 Day Bible Challenge - Day 1

I have a confession.

I have NEVER, not EVER, read the Bible all the way through, much less in 90 days. I have been a Christian for a lot of years, and I'm pretty sure that I have read every book, but never in the 'read the Bible in a year' kind of way. I have tried MANY times. I don't know how many times I have read the book of Genesis! I have tried numerous reading plans, and for whatever reason, have failed every time.

THAT is why I WANT to do this. I want to be obedient to what God has laid on my heart to do.

That said, here are a few thoughts that are swimming around my head today with regard to this 90 Day Challenge.

1. I DON'T have to read all the chapters at one time. (I can't take 16 breaths in the same location, much less read 16 chapters at one sitting :) - DIVISION

2. I DON'T have to read first thing in the morning. (I tend to think this way: That if my quiet time isn't quiet then it doesn't count...crazy I know) - ANYTIME

3. I CAN read aloud to my children. (Funny story, while I was reading aloud to them today, they decorated me with streamers!) - TOGETHER

4. I DON'T want to skip over parts that I think I know, but read them fully with the expectation of learning something new. - THOROUGHNESS

5. I WILL make this a priority. - PRIORITY

6. I WILL use quiet opportunities to read my Bible (my time nursing J~) - OPPORTUNITY

7. I WILL pray. - PRAYER

8. I WON'T, I repeat, WILL NOT be a perfectionist in this. If I fall behind, I WILL NOT quit. - PERSEVERANCE

These are my resolutions.



I made the above at Wordle. You can make your own or you are welcome to snag mine. They are printable! It's saved publicly under 90 Day Bible Challenge.

Persevering after only one day :)

Rocks of Remembrance

God has taken me through some pretty rough times. Nothing that is uncommon to man, but from my selfish perspective, some rough times. Thing is, He has always walked with me. He is sovereign, and for whatever reason, He chose those trials for me. To grow me, to mold me, to take this stubborn clay pot and shape it closer to the image of His perfect Son.

He has also poured out tremendous blessing upon me. Not for anything that I have done, but because He is a loving Father who loves to give good gifts to His children. The fact that I am one of His children is proof of His abundant lovingkindness (and patience:)

In Joshua 4, God commands the Israelites to set up a memorial of stones to remember what He had done for them in crossing the Jordan.

"Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD.

The stones were to serve as a reminder, a conversation piece, of what God had done for them.

I thought I would share a picture of my 'Rocks of Remembrance'. Each one has a special meaning, either of a trial that God taken me through, or a blessing that He has bestowed.


I hope that as this little bowl sits out on a shelf, it will be a beautiful reminder of where God has taken me and how He as never left me nor forsaken me. I also look forward to the days my children say "Mama, what are those rocks?" It will give me one more chance to tell them of God's faithfulness.

Our Lifestyle of Learning - 90 Day Bible Challenge

If you are a homeschooler who has not heard of Our Lifestyle of Learning, please, go check it out! It is a fairly new online homeschooling community that has been a great encouragement to me. There are so many experienced moms there to answer questions, encourage, and give ideas.

Right now, there are about 30 different groups that you can plug into,,,depending upon your interest, and I just started a summer group - The 90 Day Bible Challenge.


If you would like to read the Bible cover to cover in 90 days, we are starting June 15th and would love to have you join in! I'm looking forward to the fellowship and ACCOUNTABILITY to help me finish this challenge.

There are even reading plans for kids of all ages, so they can join in too. Talk about a summer reading program!

If you aren't a homeschooler, please grab the information in the sidebar and join with me! Don't forget to email me so I can link to you!

Looking forward to growing in Him this summer,

Ideas for Resurrection Baskets

We decided to do Resurrection Baskets for the kids this year. I absolutely hate how commercialized Easter has become with the bunnies and all...walking through the Easter section at Target yesterday was like strolling through a rabbit farm...gag!

Anyway, on to Resurrection Baskets...hence the name of this post:) Here are some ideas that I found from Homeschool Share, plus I added a few of my own...



In no particular order:

~Palm Leaf - for Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
~Green Grass - for the new life we have in Jesus.
~Animal Crackers - for the unleavened bread of the Passover Feast.
~Chocolate Coins - for the pieces of silver that Judas accepted to betray Jesus.
~Lollipop Sticks - turned upside down in the basket to represent the nails in the cross.
~Grape Juice - for the blood Jesus shed on the cross.
~Cup - for the cup passed during the last supper.
~Sponge - for the vinegar soaked sponge Jesus drank.
~Chocolate Cross & Cross Tattoos - for the cross Jesus died on.
~Black Construction Paper - for the darkness that covered the earth (this can also be ripped in half to represent the torn veil!).
~Bath soap - for when Jesus washed the disciples feet.
~Bath Loofa (white one) - for the clouds as Jesus ascended in heaven.
~Fruit flavored candy - for the fruit of the Spirit.
~Hollow Chocolate Egg - for the empty tomb.
~Marshmallow Twist (or Twizzlers or some such product) - to represent the whip.
~Tissues - for the linen in which Jesus was wrapped for His burial.
~Stuffed Lamb - Jesus is the Lamb of God.

If you have different ideas please leave me a comment. I would like to look back at this post in the coming years and make even better baskets!!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Very First Homeschool Blog Post

I've been thinking about having a homeschooling blog for quite awhile. This will be a place for me to record a daily 'footprint'. The premise being, that we leave footprints everyday, whether we want to or not...it is my prayer that we will follow after Christ,,,thus leaving His prints on the hearts and minds of our children.