Our Homeschool is Now Open!

Ever since my first child turned two I have been excited about homeschooling.  Before then I didn't really think I could do it.  In fact, I used to joke with my husband saying that he would teach them, and I would be the lunch lady and arts and crafts teacher.  I thought that was all I would be capable to handling, but I didn't want that to be true.

And so I began to do a few things.  I prayed.  I asked other homeschooling parents and children about homeschooling.  I asked my sister-in-law, who I think is really awesome by the way.  She lent me a book called, When You Rise Up; A Covenantal Approach to Homeschooling, by R.C. Sproul Jr, and what I read within really made me realize that I could do it!  Even though I had a couple of years until I was actually going to begin to officially teach at home, I had a good start at navigating through the process of getting ready. 

A few homeschooling conferences later, I am really very excited to begin this journey.  I have learned so much and look forward to learning more each year.  I am excited to learn with my children, as well.  I am excited to be able to teach my children Truth and help them apply Truth to their lives.

While I will post much more to come about what has become my approach to our homeschool long-term, I am only going to focus on what we are doing now for this post.

Last week I began preschool with my 4 year old.  She is very excited and very ready to start learning more, and asked me for weeks how much longer she had to wait to start school.  Being that she has known much of what is taught in most preschools for a while (She's pretty smart), we are building on what she already knows and then adding to it.  I am amazed at how well she has already done.  She has been so cute during our school time, which is only about 30 minutes of focused time and then some games and activities to help reinforce what we went over.  In fact, she calls me "Teacher," during school time.  Adorable.

So what are we doing?

For the foundation of our preschool we are using Learn Your Letters... Learn to Serve by Laura Coppinger over at Heavenly Homemakers.  I am really enjoying this curriculum!  Through it she is learning more about the alphabet, but also the beginning of phonics, to pray for people, to memorize scripture, to serve others through activities such as baking banana bread for Bonnie during "B" week.

We are also starting to learn Spanish.  Right now we will be working on basics, but eventually I would like to incorporate the La Clase Divertada curiculum into our homeschooling.  I am really looking forward to learning along with my children.  I love languages!

I have some listening activities and other crafts and fun projects to incorporate with this.  Also I am going to be going further into numbers with her by cooking and baking with her.  I'm going to purchase Teaching Your Kids to Cook, also by Laura Coppinger.  I think I'll learn a thing or two in this department, as well!

I have been wanting to teach my kids more in the kitchen, but most of the time I am in a hurry getting something ready to be eaten soon.  I think this resource will really help me to focus on slowing down and teaching my children.  Plus it will be fun!

In January, I will begin violin as part of her schooling.  I found this really great violin curriculum, The Violin Book, that I am actually using to teach myself to play violin, as well!  It is four to five years worth of curriculum, so it will serve us for a while.  My husband and I love music, and I believe that even if our children decide to pick up another instrument other than violin, this start will be helpful to them.  Another reason I chose violin is pretty practical - a violin is small and easy to store, transport, etc.

All of the resources I mentioned I will preserve to be used again and again for how ever many children the Lord blesses us with as they go through preschool, as well.

We also do quite a bit of reading during the day.  We believe reading aloud will benefit our children greatly.  We read Christian devotionals, Bible stories, age-appropriate literature and story books, and even some coloring books that have words in them.  My daughter always asks me to read what is on the page before she begins coloring. 

As for now we are off to a great start.  I am very thankful for the opportunity to be a home educator, and I look forward to the many blessings that will follow as a result...

Pregnancy Ponderings

Courtesy of Jennifer Cottom Photography

Over the past two weeks I have been mostly not blogging or doing much other than: 1.Eat, 2.Sleep, 3.Make placenta (well God's actually doing that), 4.Feeding my husband and children, and 5.Think about this amazing process we call pregnancy.

I know it is pretty obvious, but I wanted to look up the word pregnant to get the definition - especially because of phrases like, "pregnant with possibility," and "pregnant pause."  So according to dictionary.com here goes:

Pregnant:

 

1.having a child or other offspring developing in the body; with child or young, as a woman or female mammal.

2. fraught, filled, or abounding (usually followed by with ): a silence pregnant with suspense.

3. teeming or fertile; rich (often followed by in ): a mind pregnant in ideas.

4. full of meaning; highly significant: a pregnant utterance.

5. of great importance or potential; momentous: a pregnant moment in the history of the world.

 

Quite frankly I think that definitions 2-5 also describe definition number 1!  What potential, great importance, richness, significance, etc a pregnancy holds!  Why?  Because this baby growing within is loved by God, is being knit together by God, and has a God-given plan for his/her life even before the first breath taken.  That is huge!

 

I was also thinking about rest.  I have been doing quite a bit of that, and sometimes much to my frustration.  However today, as I have reached the 8 weeks mark, I realized that it has actually been really nice to rest.  Sure, I am very behind on many things, but what a great reason I have been given to just rest a lot. 

 

Well, and eat a lot, too.  I am still nursing my so-called-toddler (is she really a toddler already?), and being used by God to create another human being that I also must feed.  It's a lot of food.

 

But back to rest...

 

As much as I can take care of things on my end - eating, drinking my supplements, drinking enough water (also a lot), not doing anything crazy like sky diving, etc. - I still must rest and let God continue to work while I do so.  This became a really cool picture to me today.  Sometimes I just need to sit back, or in this case go to sleep, and let God work.  There are many times in the Bible where we see this, but some of my favorites are:

 

"But Moses said to the people, "Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever." (Exodus 14:13 - When they were about to cross the Red Sea.)

 

"You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the LORD is with you." (2 Chronicles 20:17- Another great story of God protecting His people from their enemies.)

 

"Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10)

 

What other areas of my life do I need to just rest in the LORD and trust Him to take care of it?

 

A lot of needed rest can also provide great opportunity to pray if I let it.  In addition to these ponderings, the LORD has also been faithful to remind me to pray for my friends who are also expecting a child and for those who desperately want to be expecting a child, but have found it difficult to do so.  I've also been praying for friends I know who have lost a child or have miscarried or have a sick child.

 

I do know what it is like to miscarry.  I did that a couple of years ago.  It was very humbling because somehow I didn't really consider the possibility.  Then it happened, and as hard as it was, I really learned a lot.  Three months later I was pregnant again, and I realize that without that miscarriage I never would have known my second child.  What a loss that would have been!  The baby we lost is in Heaven waiting for us, and there are many cousins, aunts/uncles, and friends who were miscarried that are there with him/her.  This does bring comfort.  I really pray I never have to go through that again, but I do thank God for His comfort during that time and since. 

 

I wish more people talked about miscarriage.  I never realized how many women I know have miscarried until after we miscarried back in 2009.  I wonder how helpful it would be for everyone if we talked about it more. 

 

We have always been "early-announcers" when it comes to pregnancy.  We announced to everyone we were pregnant at 4 weeks the first three times and 5 weeks this time (basically as soon as we found out).  My husband and I decided that even after miscarrying the second pregnancy, we would still announce early.  Our reason was that we wanted people to pray for us no matter what.  I was so glad we didn't have to go through that alone.  Plus I really don't think I could keep such exciting news to myself.  I understand why other women struggle with this, though, or decide to wait to share the news. 

 

All in all, I praise the LORD for this gift, this blessing, this miracle.  I want to do my best to take care of myself, my baby, my family, and let God be God to take care of it all.  He is so kind, so loving, so generous, and I am continually amazed the He knit me together in my mother's womb and continues to carry out His plan for me as He uses my womb to knit together another.  Amazing.

 

Psalm 139

 

Now, I am going to go eat for the twelth time today...and then go to bed.