Songs for Saplings

Last year, our church had the opportunity to host Dana Dirksen of Songs for Saplings for a family concert. Dana and her husband started a music ministry years ago that give children (and adults too) a solid Biblical foundation of the truths of God's word through catechism memory. We love these songs and enjoy each and every CD. There are currently four CD's available for purchase and the fifth will be coming out this year. I encourage you to stop by their website today!

The First Day

Today was our first day of kindergarten! My son (just turned five) and I have been looking forward to this day of initial homeschooling adventure! We went out the back door and walked hand in hand into the door of learning. (aka: front door)

Overall, the day was a success. We spent approximately two hours in lessons today and then broke for outdoor playtime and lunch. Right now my boys are taking a bath due to the mud 'class' in the backyard.

My oldest is having a hard time adjusting to the schedule of a school day- although it is SO relaxed compared to any institutional education. Today he told me (as a follow up to the past weeks) that he doesn't really need to go to school because he already knows everything in the whole world. Great. My work should be really easy. Aargh.

Here are a couple shots of him with his completely empty backpack (aka: prop) that he loves to wear around the house. I have no idea what we're going to put in it, but he feels more socialized with it on. And we just know that we've got to socialize those homeschoolers, so have at it kiddo.

The Mold

Approximately one year ago I began a journey into the world of homeschooling. I had met a handful of families that did the same and was encouraged in my exodus out of the ordinary. I began to read books by the Maxwells, Forsters, Pearls and Tripps. We began to attend family integrated worship services. I started a subscription to the Above Rubies magazine, penciled in CHEO conferences and keep up on the latest HSLDA updates. I enjoyed much of this, but also felt it part of an unwritten elite homeschoolers code of conduct that I needed keep up with.

As time has gone by I have realized that we will never be able to achieve it all, or frankly, come even close. The visions in my own mind regarding my 'perfect homeschooling life' are an illusion. For instance, I have met wonderful mothers that never seem to get riled! I am in awe! I am not laid back and calm by nature, but I am praying that the fruit of God's spirit would allow me to control my actions and show patience when my temper desires to flare!

I am slowly realizing that it is our connection through Christ and the love for our children that is bringing us together as a homeschooling community. There is no one elite family who has it all and lives the perfect life. Personally, the Lord has blessed my husband and I with unique and energetic boys that always keep us on my toes. They are social, curious, and very strong willed. They have two decimals; loud and louder. Where some children sit quietly through church, my boys roll under the pews. I praise the Lord that I have the opportunity to raise them and educate them in our home.

I initially thought my heart attitude would change if I began to change on the surface. For example; I am a jeans girl all the way- I don't even OWN a dress. I have nice pantsuits for church and am all about femininity, but you won't find any denim jumpers in my closet. Now, I have wonderful friends who have been convicted to wear long skirts and dresses most of the time. So, out I went to the thrift store to find skirts. Much like sitting in a cookie jar does not make you a cookie, thus went the analogy for my short-lived skirt wearing. Could I do it? Sure. But what purpose was it serving for me? My long-term desire is to live modestly and wear attire that reflects that. I found that I could continue wearing the clothing I currently owned and still respect my husband and the Lord.

I know that God will reveal his desires for my family (areas of health, family size, modesty, etc) and pray that I will be receptive to hear them. I am overjoyed in the diversity of God's family and excited to be a part of it. Even if our family does break the mold just a little...

Seriously Folks, it's just a Spider

A few weeks ago during a short cleaning spree in our basement, I found a large tote filled with books from my childhood. In it were an abundance of classics, including a copy of Charlotte's Web by E.B. White.

Before naps, during downtime, and prior to bedtime prayers we have been reading a chapter or two over the past week. The boys have seen the older version of the movie, as have I. The book is delightful and fun, but we all knew what was coming.

Last night we read the final two chapters of the book. Can I just say, "Hello tears, goodbye sanity!?" Seriously, people! I am a grown adult who was weeping over the death of a spider! Weeping! This from a girl who is deep and lifelong friends with Bug-B-gone, Terminex and Hot Shot Max! I was completely depressed for the remainder of the evening as I kept blowing my nose and remembering that "Charlotte died alone..." Good grief! Mr. White, what have you done to me? Talk about the facts of life!

The boys didn't seem to be bothered. Granted, my youngest was dumping all the clothes out of laundry baskets in the closet and was slightly out of earshot. My oldest wasn't so much worried about the book as much as why his mother had to continually stop reading in order to gain her composure!

It does prove, however, that when we humanize something, it gives that thing great capacity to exceed itself...and our emotional attachment to it. On the other hand, when we devalue or dehumanize something, we find ourselves questioning its worth. My husband wrote a great post this week along the same lines here.


Ahhh... the joy of books. I think after this, we're ready for the "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich".

The Petition

Rather you are homeschooling or not, your parental rights are at risk. Please let your voice be heard! Read this for more information about the case in California that started it all. Then click here to sign the homeschooling petition (Anyone- regardless of where your child attends educationally- who believes that the parent has the right to choose the best education for his child can sign). You may also click here to sign the petition that supports a constitutional amendment that protects the vital child-parent relationship from unreasonable government intrusion. Let's stay involved! Thank you!

Got Credentials?! Breaking news...

During my afternoon jump to the Drugereport online news site, my eyes were quickly drawn to an article from the San Francisco Chronicle. If you haven't read the latest news article regarding the California homeschooling laws, please click here .

Basically, back in the 1950's a law was put forth in California that all homeschooling parents must be credentialed to teach their children at home. All others must be enrolled in either public or private institutions. It requires kids ages 6 to 18 to attend a full-time day school, either public or private, or to be instructed by a tutor who holds a state credential for the child's grade level. Parents that disagree with this law have either given in, found loopholes, or have stayed under the radar far enough to keep out of trouble.

Unfortunately, an investigation arose from a child welfare dispute between the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and Philip and Mary Long of Lynwood, who have been homeschooling their eight children. Now ALL homeschooling parents in California are at risk.

Michael Smith, (president- HSLDA) said "the ruling would effectively ban homeschooling in the state. California is now on the path to being the only state to deny the vast majority of homeschooling parents their fundamental right to teach their own children at home," he said in a statement. (excerpt taken from San Fran Chronicle)

Right, so any parent in California who is homeschooling without a teaching credential is subject to prosecution for truancy violation! Potential penalties are community service, heavy fines and possibly removal of their children under allegations of educational neglect.

Leslie Heimov (the executive director of the Children's Law Center of Los Angeles),"it's not the quality of the children's education, but being in a place daily where they would be observed by people who had a duty to ensure their ongoing safety."

Um, hello!?!?!? Are you kidding me? That last statement completely burns me up inside! Is it about 'credentialed' teachers or the safety of the environment? Perhaps in the Long's case it is about the safety of the children (perhaps not...) , but that has no bearing on the 100,000 + families in California that love their children and care greatly for their needs, not only physically, but mentally, and spiritually! As parents is it not our duty, first and foremost to "ensure their ongoing safety?"


And let's look at the data! A great number of homeschooled children have excelled greatly under the tutelage of their "unskilled" parents and sometimes rank higher than that of public schooled children.




This is just one more step that the government is taking to creep into our homes and take over our precious freedom. Think I'm wrong? Read this and see where we are headed if this keeps up.

I've Fired the Babysitter...Again

A while back I posted about my decision to "fire the babysitter"; aka the television. My children (and myself) had become too attached to it and frankly, it had to go. We hardly ever watched 'commercial' television, as it was mostly the occasional PBS broadcast and a plethora of well chosen children's education videos. In essence, nothing was 'wrong' or evil about the shows...it was just our level of dependence on TV time.

(Allow me to interject early on and say that I do NOT believe that watching television is a sin. There is nothing sinful about the act of turning on the TV. Many families enjoy watching wholesome programs occasionally that they can laugh and relate to. That is great! It can, however, turn quickly into a sin issue in a myriad of ways- this is what we must be very careful to avoid. For example: What are you watching? Is the subject matter deadening your conscience? (violence, murder, adultery, lust ) How much time are you giving to it? Is it keeping you from your duties as a mother, father, husband or wife? We must be so careful that any one area doesn't consume us or keep us from communion with Christ.)

Well, as it happens with many good resolutions after time...this one soon was broken in our household. It all started out well and good, you understand. No shows ever. Well, shows only on the weekends. Well, shows before daddy comes home so mommy doesn't pull out her hair trying to prepare dinner. Well, shows when mommy gets a shower so that no one hurts each other during that ten minute interval. Wait! Ah! The blog post! Okay, no shows ever. Well, mommy will watch them why you are napping. Get back in bed! Mommy is watching TV! You get the gist...

So, back it came...creeping into our lives once again. The Holy Spirit began to convict me that I was falling back into the same temptations once again. My idea to eradicate television from our lifestyle was fine, except it wasn't well thought out. I had replaced that "time" in our day with... absolutely nothing. It came back, slowly and surely, because there was nothing there to fill the void.

I have been reading an excellent book by Steve & Teri Maxwell, "Keeping Our Child's Hearts: Our Vital Priority". There are two major points that I would like to point out in the area of entertainment that they brought up in their book. First, 'what appetites and desires are we instilling in our children'? Are they overwhelmed with the unsatisfying thirst for entertainment and filling their pastimes with 'self' promotion? Secondly, 'if our hearts' desire as parents is to train our children to love and serve others as Christ did, how is our daily lifestyle reflecting that vision'?

It became very clear to me that although my initial idea of 'pulling the plug' may have been a valid one, it came with no conviction to do it for their eternal good. I had to really think about what appetites I was allowing in my little one's hearts. What they were hungering for was an endless need of self gratification through entertainment

Think about the years before technology had given us television, video games, computers, cell phones, ipods, etc... what did they do all day? I love hearing stories from those folks who lived 'back in the day' and all the wonderful things they did as children! That does not have to be lost! (Please don't get me wrong- I think that technology, science, and progression all have their place in our society...God gave mankind the creative powers to think, invent and imagine!)

So, I've fired the babysitter...again. Our entire family has donned the challenge of keeping the TV off and finding other, more beneficial, things to occupy our time. We have replaced the 'void' with activities that promote service to others, mommy & me devotions in Proverbs, reading- lots of it with each other and by themselves. I have a series of books- "Grandma's attic" that I read back in elementary school. They are about 150 pages each of a grandma retelling her granddaughter stories of her life as a child in the late 1800's/ early 1900's. My boys drool over them...quite literally! We've almost finished our second one...seriously my 2 & 4 year old snuggled up on the couch with a picture-free book! Of course, I have to do all the voices. :) They have such a wonderful Biblical message that weaves throughout all the stories! Check them out if you have never read them. My hubby even enjoys them!

One last encouraging example that this can work to your family's benefit... the other afternoon the boys were playing in the family room and I was making bread in the kitchen. I sat down to work on the menu plan for the week and noticed it was strangely quiet in the other room. (My boys are VERY lively...) I peeked my head around, thinking they must be into trouble. They were reading to each other! I couldn't believe it! I turned off the radio in the kitchen to allow for some quiet time. I prepared a snack for them at the table and continued my work. A few minutes later they both brought their books and sat at the table with me in almost a complete silence as they read for almost 30 MINUTES! I almost checked 'em for fevers.

So, does this mean that we are selling our television and moving to Amish country? Not quite, but I pray that my desire to dwell on "Whatsoever Is...."(Phil. 4:8) would be the primary focus in this house!

Love you all, dear bloggy friends! Have a wonderful week!

Angelena

The Great Debate

For the record, I really don't know if there is a 'great debate' out there over this topic, but there might be...

For the past six months I have traditionally home schooled my four year old son in pre-K education. Using a wonderful 'hodge podge' of exciting materials, books, and the Bible we have moved along throughout the school year with ease!

It is now that we have the decision of what curriculum we will be using for his kindergarten studies. In our state we have the option of a charter/virtual online school. My husband and I were very excited about the prospect of this option, especially because it was government funded by our own taxes and would be completely free!

It was only in the past twenty-four hours that I began to do some intense research through the HSLDA on virtual based homeschooing education. The question arose, "What price are you willing to pay for "free"?

So, I am laying it out to you, blogworld... What are your thoughts? What have you chosen to do in your own home and why? I look forward to your comments of experience and intuition!

A Homeschool Family

Please Pause Songspot in the sidebar before watching video!

Why Do You Homeschool?

When my husband and I began our initial friendship many years ago we were still in school. I was in high school and he was just starting out in college. As our friendship grew into a serious role that we knew was leading us to marriage we began to discuss the important issues that were pertinent to a long lasting relationship. One of these at the forefront was our future children. Even then our hearts were wrapped around homeschooling.

Neither of us had ever been homeschooled. In fact, my husband was in public education from kindergarten to his senior year. His parents were both deeply rooted in the system, his father was the supervisor for special and gifted education and his mother was a talented teachers aide for many years. My parents enrolled me for my entire 12 year term in a private Christian school. The school that I attended had a socialization program for elementary age homeschoolers, but other than that I was not exposed to that specific dynamic in my daily life.

The most positive and biggest part of our decision to homeschool was based on the life and example of my cousins, Bo and Jan. Although they live over a thousand miles away, I have had the opportunity to watch their four children over the past 18 years grow and flourish under the tutelage of their Godly parents.

These are not only brilliant and social teenagers, but also show such respect and love for the Word, their mom and dad, and the discipline of their daily life. They love to work with their mom in the kitchen, talk theology with their father (who is also their pastor) and actively participate in politics in the community. As with all children, I know (and they would be the first to admit) that they are not perfect. Homeschooing does not 'turn out' children who do no wrong. It does, however, give the parents the ability to deal with it immediately, one on one, in love, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

My boys are just reaching the age to start schooling. My oldest and I started preschool together this fall and he will commence kindergarten studies this year. I am so excited to be there with them through all the years ahead! I am looking forward to being their teacher, mentor, chaueffer, and nurse for the next 15 years. There is no other way I'd rather have it! I have so many other thoughts and desires about homeschooling....I'll save that for another post.

In the meantime, please leave me a nice long comment about why you have decided to homeschool. I look forward to reading them and getting to know you a little better!

Blessings,

Angel