A couple of people have commented on how great my garden looks, which I certainly appreciate. I love my garden and am rather proud of how much we are able to accomplish in the garden :) But, just in case anyone thinks I am writing all these posts about gardening because I am actually a really good gardener, let me show you that I do not actually have the proverbial green thumb...
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Wow! I can't believe my "baby" is five years old already! Today I want to share with you what happened when she was born. Her birthday is a good reminder to me to be thankful for life, especially my own life, as I nearly lost my life when Munchkin was born.
You know, it's kind of funny. When I was in school I hated math! But now that I'm homeschooling my children and teaching them math, I actually enjoy it :) I think that remembering how much I disliked math as a child is why I try so hard to make it fun for my children. The best thing about it is that my math skills are improving as I teach my children too ;)
This year my children are in preschool, grade one and grade three. I have found two things that help me teach multiple ages and still keep my sanity intact; unit studies and work boxes.
Does anyone else struggle with keeping their children dressed? When it comes to clothing we are far from worried about having the best fashions or the best brand name. Most days I just want them to be wearing clean clothes that actually fit and cover their bodies the way they are supposed to! Clothes that actually match are optional ;)
Change, or trying new things, is exciting and scary! At least that's how I feel! Change in our homeschool can be especially stressful! As parents, we always want to do the best thing for our children, but sometimes it takes some trial and error to figure out exactly what the best thing is. Sometimes the children change, or just grow older, and what use to be the best thing is no longer the best. Changes need to be made to find a new best. That is where we found ourselves this year. It was time to make some changes in our homeschool for our oldest child.
The other day my preschooler learned a lesson in perseverance, and so did I. Little Munchkin was the teacher and I was the student.
The new school year is starting off amazingly well for our Little Man! Again, I can see how true it is that if we wait until our children are truly ready, they will learn better then we ever imagined! I read the book, Better Late Then Earlyby Raymond and Dorothy Moore a few years ago. Basically they said that most children are not ready for school until they are eight to ten years old and that if you push them before they are ready they will end up hating it. My husband and I did not completely agree with the idea that we should wait until they are eight years old before beginning their formal education, but we did decide not to push them if they did not seem ready.
When I asked friends what they would be interested in reading about on a homeschool blog a couple of people commented about being “real” and sharing our “struggles and triumphs”. When I think about being "real", it scares me a little bit. I tend to be a little defensive about homeschooling sometimes, wanting everyone to know that homeschooling is awesome and we are having so much fun, and we are not ruining our children by homeschooling them. But the fact is, it is not always easy or fun and sometimes even I wonder if I am doing the right thing.
When I say that I wonder if I am doing the right thing, it's not that I doubt that God wants our family to homeschool, but sometimes I wonder if I am doing a good enough job. Actually, I worry about that an awful lot. Sometimes people make nasty comments about our choices that don’t help either. |