Communism

Our latest history lesson was on Karl Marx and the Communist Manifesto (thank you Linda Hobar and the Mystery of History!).

As I was reading and explaining Marx's theories and how Communism and Socialism are "supposed" to work, my oldest said, "wait, so if private industry goes away, doesn't that make the government the rich and powerful ones?"

Yes, yes, yes.  And again yes - if my 16-year-old can figure this out, then those who are okay with socialism and communism are CHOOSING to not see this truth.

Election Season - Already??

I have been homeschooling for about 10 years.  My oldest is going to be a junior (!!) this year.  His birthday is in October, so he's always a grade behind where people assume he should be.  He'll turn 17 this year, and 18 in 2016.  He's very much looking forward to, *gasp*, voting in the next presidential election.

The other day, he turned on the TV and a news channel was on.  I won't tell you which channel, but I will tell you I have banned CNN in our house, due to the airing of a terrorist sniping an American military member (they "graciously" went to black at the moment of impact, but I don't give a flying flip).

Anyway, he didn't immediately change the channel!  When I asked why, he said that since he was going to be able to vote in the next election, he probably ought to start paying attention to what's going on.  I almost fell over.

Then, last night, he was able to watch a bit of the first Republican debate (the one with the "lower tier" candidates).  He came into dinner discussing what he had heard and his thoughts on how to fix some problems in our country.

Is he becoming....responsible??  Thoughtful??  Nah.....

But maybe....

Testing

Today was our annual testing day.  None of us really like it, but it has to be done to satisfy the state requirements.  I have explained all this to the kids:  this isn't a true measure of what we've learned this year, this doesn't measure how you can cook or care for animals, and that it certainly is not a measure of your worth.

It was still a rough day for a couple of the kids, but we had some positive stuff come out of it.   For the first time, Peter was able to finish his entire reading sections in the time allotted - that's never happened before!  Caroline finished all her math and felt pretty good about it! Victoria was lucky to finish strong - she got pretty bored at the end of the reading part - but this was her first time having to read all the instructions herself.  Jonathan - well, he smoked it.  Always does!

The kids understand the necessity of the testing, and they're taking it well.  I'm so glad they enjoy homeschooling enough to work through it!

Vitamins

I recently took my oldest to the doctor for some acne treatment - it's pretty bad - and the doctor commented that many times, acne is better in the summer than the winter.

We returned home and while we were talking about what needed to be done, he said, "maybe I should start taking vitamin D since acne is better in the summer than the winter."

Holy cow - he's been listening!

Funnies

Just a few funnies that I want to remember.

In the car, discussing with the kids where polar bears live, as well as where penguins live.  When we explained that the penguins live at the SOUTH pole and polar bears live at the NORTH, Jonathan was a bit perplexed.  "Wait....I thought penguins lived at the North Pole with Santa Claus."  Tim's response?  "Well, THAT explains why you haven't been getting anything on your list."  Tee hee!!

The other night, at the dinner table, we got a little silly.  Caroline threw her napkin at Tim, and missed WIDELY.  Hardly made it halfway down the table.  We harassed her a bit, then Victoria tossed her napkin.  Landed right on him.  We laughed and teased Caroline about how her sister was a better shot.  Caroline exclaimed, "well, the wind took hers!"  We ALL had a good laugh over that!!

Random Thoughts

Haven't posted in awhile....it's been a tad on the frustrating side here.  BUT....a little light shines here and there!!

Last week, when I picked up the boys from Bible study, Jonathan told me they had to tell a role model they had.  He said he chose me! Awwwwww!!!

Yesterday, we were watching a video about Creation and we saw greenish-yellowish pools, to which Victoria said, "that's sulfuric acid."  WHAT???  I mean, she was right, of course, but who knew she knew!?

Parenting is HARD

One of the most encouraging verses in the Bible about parenting is in Judges.  I hear you scoff, "Judges?"  Yes, Judges.

Manoah and his wife have been childless.  The angel of the Lord appears to the wife and tells her she's going to conceive and have a son.  Then he instructs her as to what she must do - drink no wine or fermented drink and eat nothing unclean.

The angel of the Lord comes back later and this time Manoah gets to talk to him too.  Manoah asked him, "When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule for the boy's life and work?"  That's me, wondering what the rules are to be for my kids....what will their future look like?

The angel of the Lord answered, "Your wife must do all that I have told her."  He repeats the previous instructions and says again, "She must do everything I have commanded her."

I LOVE that.  Did you figure it out?  We're not supposed to worry about our kids and their future.  We know what we're supposed to do (read the Bible, attend church, pray, be generous, love one another, etc., etc.), and God is going to take care of our kids' future.  It's not our job to know what they'll do for a job.  It's our job to train them in the way they should go....to bring them up in the fear of the Lord....to teach them to love the Lord our God with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their mind, and with all their strength....to teach them while we walk along the road, while we sit at home....to discipline and disciple them.  And frankly, that's more than enough for us to do!

I had very wise Sunday school teachers when my kids were very little.  They told me, "no guilt, no glory."  When you've done the best you can, following God as well as you can, you take no guilt on yourselves as to how your children turn out.....nor do you get the glory.  Samuel (Old Testament) was raised by Eli.  So were Eli's sons.  Eli's sons turned out bad and were struck down by God.  Samuel turned out very well.  Same parenting.  So what's the difference?  God.  God.  God.

He makes all the difference.

Van......

I was reading Rip Van Winkle to the kids and they laughed at the name.  "Van?"  I told them I was pretty sure it meant that the person was of Dutch descent.  "Oh."  Pause.  "You mean like Martin Van Buren?" That was Caroline.

Hooray!  She listens!

I don't know for sure that he was of Dutch descent (haven't googled him yet), but I was, again, just happy she listened!

Wow

Here's an awesome tidbit from our schooling today.

We've been studying American History and we just finished up with Andrew Jackson (and him ignoring the Supreme Court and relocating the Cherokees).  I asked a question (from the book we're using):  "Had the power of the presidency grown from the first president until now?"  Meaning Jackson, of course.

Peter thought for a moment and said, "no".  I was horrified....but then thrilled as he finished his thought.  "The power of the presidency didn't grow, but they acted like it did".

That just made my day.  :-)

I made him hunt down some examples of what presidents have done and the problem with their actions (Adams, the Sedition Act and the First Amendment), but really - I think he's already figured it out.

Praise God!

Our church "youngster" group (grades 4-6) is having a talent show on Saturday.  I was interested to hear what my kids would choose to do.  Jonathan is going to be an escape artist, with Peter handcuffing him (I know I'm going to regret that at some point).  Victoria is going to sing "I've Been Working on the Railroad" and Caroline...well, she wasn't sure.

She came to me today and she had written a song.  It made me cry.  Here are the lyrics:

I want to see you

I want to find you

I want to know you

So my life won't be so hard

What I want the MOST for my kids is for them to follow after Jesus.  I pray that this is just the very beginning of her passion for Christ.

No wonder...

...I struggle with whether my life/job is important.  Read this quote:

The truth is that years ago, before this generation of mothers was even born, our society decided where children rank in the list of important things. When abortion was legalized, we wrote it into law.

What a horrible, horrible....and then sickly truthful comment.

Motherhood is...

....transformation....

This is an amazing post - so encouraging to me!!
http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/motherhood-is-application

Kings and Queens of England

We had some friends over the other day and somehow the question of Mary, Queen of Scots came up.  The question was raised by this friend - is she the same as "Bloody" Mary.  I started to answer, and my kids piped up, "no"!  Jonathan remarked that Mary, Queen of Scots was Elizabeth I's sister, while Peter said that "Bloody" Mary was her sister.

Hooray!  They listen!!

Tidbits

Sometimes the best moments are moments that I forget after a few days.

When Victoria lost her first tooth (which was SO tiny), she received an Eisenhower bicentennial dollar from the Tooth Fairy.  She got up the next morning and was so thrilled that the tooth that was SO small could get such a LARGE coin!!  

Today while shopping at the mall, the kids saw Santa and his one elf sitting and waiting for children to arrive. My kids felt sorry for him and they said they wanted to go keep him company.  Victoria said she was going to ask him what HE wanted for Christmas.  They all had a good chuckle over that!

Some days....

Some days I want to quit.  I want to go hide somewhere no one can find me and ask me for anything.  I want to send the kids on that yellow bus and have seven glorious hours to myself.  I want to not hear any words for ten minutes.  I want to clean something and have it stay that way.  I want to get caught up with my scrapbooking.

Some days I wonder why I'm doing what I'm doing.  Does it make a difference?  Does it make enough of a difference?  Couldn't I just send them to school and get the same result?  Everybody else does it - why can't I?

Something odd about these thoughts....they're usually at night.  After a decent nights' sleep and some time spent with the Creator of the universe, I'm usually okay.

God says trouble will come. God says to stay strong.  God says He'll always be with me.  God tells the truth.  God IS truth.  God is who He says He is.  God can do what He says He can do.  I am who God says I am. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  God's word is alive and active in me.

I'm not alone.  I can do this.  I can't do it on my own, of course.  I need God.  I can't do anything without Him.  He called me to do this.  I know that.  I know we're doing the right thing.  I just need a little encouragement.

Maybe that's why God keeps nudging me to encourage others.  Because it's so necessary.  Sometimes you're so close to just chucking it all - and that word of encouragement will make ALL THE DIFFERENCE.

Encouraged!

I have been homeschooling my kids since the oldest was five.  He's now thirteen (Lord, have mercy!).  This past week I finally went to a homeschooling convention.

I had no idea what to expect.  I had read some people's suggestions on what to do once you were there, but didn't really know how or even really why I should go.  But hey, when your husband says, "sure, go away for three days and two nights by yourself in a city 2 hours away and stay in a nice hotel", you're an idiot if you don't go.

I'm so glad I went.

I got there on Thursday, checked into the hotel (a KING-sized bed all to myself!!), and then walked the seven (wait, what?) blocks uphill (no, not both ways) to the convention center.  Lots of people milling around, getting checked in, looking at books.  Okay....so???

Then I went to the first workshop, Transcript Boot Camp.  The entire convention paid for itself in that three hour "class".  I left thinking, I CAN homeschool through high school!!!!  We wanted to, but I didn't really know how on earth I could....and how I could prove we did a good job.  Inge Cannon rocks.

Next day was good too, and I got to go to the Exhibit Hall and see all the vendors.  Way overwhelming.  I went to the Used Curriculum Sale.  COOL stuff on sale!!

But Saturday....I was just going to leave early and not go to anything after the keynote speaker.  But, well, there's a workshop that's supposed to be very encouraging.

IT WAS.  I laughed, I cried.  I love Rick Andreassen.

By the time I got home Saturday afternoon, I was wiped out.  That's okay.  I'm still sorting through my books so I can fit in the new ones.  That's actually fun and freeing.

Most of all, I'm still soaking in what I was taught and what I learned.  I hope I don't forget any of it.  I had some random stranger talk to me in the hall.  She said, "don't change what you're doing just because one of these speakers said to.  If what you're doing works, LEAVE IT ALONE."  Do you know how encouraging that is to someone who wonders every day if she's "ruining" her kids?

Anyway, I went, I saw, I learned, and I am so blessed to be home with my kids, with the blessing of my husband, and God's mercy to see me through this part of our journey.

It was worth it

Some days are horrible and I just want to send my kids on that bright yellow bus and have a few hours of peace and quiet.  Some days are just ordinary and I can handle it.  Yesterday was one of the good days, when I remember why I homeschool and we laugh and enjoy ourselves.

For those who don't know, I started playing the flute at age eight, piano at ten, did a year of french horn in school, and was in chorus from fourth grade all the way through high school.  I love music.  I have not done the greatest job of passing that love on to my kids.  We've tried doing piano lessons and learning how to read music, but my kids were never terribly interested.

Out of desperation, I got Beethoven's Wig, a CD of classical music.  The first time you hear the piece, they've added lyrics.  The next time, it's just the piece of music.  My kids love it!  However, I realized the other day that the kids couldn't identify instruments by ear.  So I hunted down a website where they could learn more about instruments.  It's called The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, by Benjamin Britten.

My kids - all four of them - loved it and sat through the whole presentation and game, which was probably an hour or so. Then, we pulled out all of our instruments.  I have a violin, clarinet, flute, and trumpet.  I always hoped to have a Music Room where my children would play.  They all tried all of them and we're going to start lessons on the instruments they liked best!

It was so cool to see which instruments the boys gravitated to (Peter to the clarinet, Jonathan to the violin), and hysterical to hear the girls get the best sound out of the trumpet!!

Extra-curricular

I hate extra-curricular activities.  No, wait, let me explain.  When I was younger, kids got to be kids.  We played with our neighbors, did our chores, spent time with family and played (did I say that already?).  Extra-curricular activities were for junior high and high schoolers.  Now, everyone starts their kids at age five in some sort of sport or artistic activity.  Parents pay big bucks for their kids to be involved in these activities and family schedules revolve around them .  Pfffttt...

If you decide to buck the trend and make your kid wait until he or she is older, they're simply screwed.  My younger son just turned 11 and has started asking about baseball.  The neighbor's dad (the son is in baseball) made the off-hand comment that my son should really start practicing because every other kid has been involved since they were five.  So can my kids ever compete?  Will they always be woefully behind because I didn't have them in soccer every season since they were six?

I have news for you.  Kids need time to play.  To figure things out on their own.  To learn how to handle peers without the structure demanded by adult-led programs.  Kids need to know that the world does not revolve around them.  Kids need to know that relationships are more important than activities.

We're raising kids who don't have responsibilities at home and whose families' lives revolve around THEIR sports/arts.

And we wonder why young people think that everything should be handed to them.

A Schedule?

Ugh.  Just that word, "schedule", drives me nuts.  I know I need one, I know the kids need one....I even LIKE schedules....I just don't like to follow one.  No, check that, I don't like to feel like I HAVE to follow one.

However, as more and more gets added to our lives (and I work REALLY hard to control how much is added), I see the need more and more for a schedule.  A flexible one.

I have to be up by 6:30 or I don't exercise or read my Bible.  I'm a much nicer person if I read my Bible in the morning - trust me.  Or ask my kids - they know!

All the kids need to be up by 9.  There's only one kid who has a problem with that, and I know it's going to get worse as he gets older (he's only 13).  I get the whole "teenagers need to sleep" thing, but in the real world, he wouldn't get to, and I think he needs to know that.

Chores have to get done in the morning or they don't get done.  School needs to be mostly done by lunch, or it's not going to get done.  I have to meal plan.  This is a biggie.

Here's the crazy thing.  Everyone likes having a schedule.  They don't say so, but they're happier when they know what's coming.  I hear less complaining and they work harder.

Fine.  I'll follow a schedule.

Why am I Here?

If you're anything like me, you wonder and stress over many things.  Am I doing enough?  Am I doing too much?  Should I continue homeschooling?  Should I send them to public school?  I could go on and on.

Here's the thing.  I posted on Facebook one day about how I wanted to kick my kids off to school and do what everyone else is doing.  The best comment BY FAR was this one:  "Please define "do what everyone else is doing?" Because mostly, that means working a job to pay for the gas to commute to that job, the food that you couldn't cook because you were commuting, and the mobile phones for your kids so you can keep track of them while you're apart (most of the day). Nah, stick with the zero-commute home life. :)"

What a great reminder.  Thanks, John.