Educating as unto the Lord

We've been homeschooling for 5 years now.

Five full, wonderful, stressful, exciting, exasperating, joyous, delightful years.


And next year, we're taking a new direction.

My boys are headed to public school.  Our plan has always been for them to go with Philip when they are in 5th & 6th grades (for those who don't know, my husband is a mad scientist/teacher at a local intermediate school).  Nate wasn't quite ready last year, so he's heading off with Daddy for 6th grade.

And the little boys, well, that's another story.  Gabriel went to speech pre-K this year at the elementary school. And he thrived.  His behavior has improved so much (and we actually understand him when he speaks!)  So we are sending him and Luke to the elementary school next year for K and 1st.  They are excited and I am praying that more structure will help Luke in the way it has helped Gabe.

Which leaves me home with my girls.  I'll have a 2 yr old, a 2nd grader and a 4th grader.  I am so thrilled that I will have more time with Anna before she heads off with Philip to 5th grade the next year.  I am determined to teach Abigail to read - a challenge for both of us as she struggles with dyslexia.   Thankfully I'll have the carrot of "more time for crafts" to dangle before her!  And finally, I am delighted that I can thoroughly and completely enjoy my last go-round with the terrific two's as Leah Claire heads into the world of preschool.

I've even found a new homeschool enrichment co-op (though I will miss my SACC friends mightily) that will allow me to have 5 whole hours to myself each week.  (Imagine shopping alone!  Or taking a nap!)

But I've gotten a lot of flack from friends about this arrangement.  As if I have given up on my children and ceded them to the devil.  As if homeschooling is God's perfect design for children and public school is satan's playground.  

But I think that's silly.

God never said that we must homeschool.  Sure, there is Deuteronomy 6:7, which says of God's laws, "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."  Which homeschool zealots take to mean that we must have our children with us 24/7 so we can teach them God's laws.

But we have to remember that this command was given at a time when most children were with their parents 24/7 anyway.  And most fathers and mothers worked in the home.  We make a mistake when we read more into a verse than was originally meant.  When we read condemnation when it was not intended.

I believe the whole counsel of God is clear.  We should be teaching our children to love Him, follow Him and obey Him.  But homeschooling is not the only way to do that.

I also believe that we should be preparing our children to function at the fullest of their capabilities in a modern world.  That means giving them opportunities for academic excellence.  It means not using the cop-out "what really matters is that they love the Lord.  As long as they know the Bible, it doesn't matter if they know physics or chemistry."  Because academic excellence and a heart for God are not mutually exclusive.  The God who created our minds is glorified when we use them to our best ability.  And He is shamed when we waste them for some sham of holiness.

I have to admit, after 5 years, I have realized that I cannot do it all with excellence.  I cannot teach all 5 of my school aged kids to the level that I would like (at least not at this point).  I refuse to short-change my kids because of my pride.

I hear "we have all our homeschooling done by noon" and "it only takes 2-3 hrs per day" on homeschool blogs all the time.  But that isn't how it has looked for us.  We start in the morning and I'm usually finishing with the last child at dinner time.   We have been using an inclusive curriculum (Tapestry of Grace) that allows us to do many subjects together.  But there is no getting around the fact that math, reading, grammar, writing and spelling have to be done individually.  And when your dyslexic child's reading level is not the same as his comprehension level, you must read aloud most of his work.

Something's gotta give.

I want my children to love God wholeheartedly, but I also want them to be fully educated and prepared to do the things He has for them.

Homeschooling is a blessing.  But so is our educational system.  I challenge other moms to look honestly and prayerfully at the job they are doing with their kids and realize that putting your child in public school does not mean you have failed.  It may just be one path God uses to grow your child and educate him.  His Hand is not limited by your limitations.

If you cannot do it with excellence, maybe you need hand off the baton.  And that is okay.  I realize this may sound a bit judgmental, but I am getting so weary with the homeschool rhetoric.  When I hear moms say things like, "Well, we were busy last year with the new baby, so we just didn't do math," it makes me sad.  And angry.  (Especially when the new babies come every year or so.)   Raising your child to love God doesn't mean short-changing them educationally.

Or at least it shouldn't.

Homeschooling, special needs, preschool and punching friends

I have a lot on my plate. (And if I ever forget this, I'm sure a stranger will remind me that I "sure have my hands full" next time I go to Costco). This is our fourth year of homeschooling. Last year was the first year that I really felt like we hit our stride. Of course, having Leah right at the beginning of this school year kind of threw a wrench into the works, but we are slowly getting back on track.

Our oldest son, Nate, is dyslexic. He is 10 and reads on a first grade level. For the first two years that we homeschooled (and the year he went to public K) I beat my head against the wall trying to teach him to read. We tried so many curriculums and strategies. Finally, last year he was tested at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and diagnosed with dyslexia. Since then we have made a lot of progress towards reading well. But Nate still needs a lot of help.

Abigail shows some of the same tendencies that Nate did at that age. After over a year of phonics instruction she still does not recognize all of her letters. So I anticipate that she may need reading help as well.

Our two little boys, Luke and Gabe, both have severe speech delays. (Can I tell you how much I cried when Gabriel finally said, "I love you, Mama" for the first time last week?) They attend walk-in speech therapy at the local public school twice a week, but it was recommended that Gabe attend full time speech preschool.

There's only one me. And with a new baby, I am limited. So we made the prayerful decision to enroll Luke and Gabe in preschool two days a week. It will help with their speech issues and give me more time to intensely focus on schooling the older three, especially Nate and Abby.

But do you know what some of my homeschooling friends said? They were appalled that we would send our babies away. Even for 10 hrs a week. "If God wanted our babies to be put in school they would be born in classrooms instead of families," one of them sniffed. And I wanted to punch the stupid out of her. In Christian love, of course.

You see, Philip and I are homeschooling right now because we have prayed and believe it is the best thing for our family and our children. But that may change later. Some of our kids may go to private school or even (gasp) public school. It depends on what God tells us each child needs.

Because we are not disciples of the homeschool movement.

We are disciples of Christ. And our educational goals for our children are simple. We want them to be well-rounded, well-read, capable servants of Christ who have the skills they need to succeed at the calling He has placed on their lives. Homeschooling is not the goal, it is the method that we are using right now on our path to raising our little ones to love and serve Him.

He's got the whole world....

on a cake!






The kids and I are embarking on a trip around the world this year. The kids all have faux passports and as we travel we will add stickers to the passports for each country. One of our first projects was to make a map of the world - on a cake. We made a wonderful chocolate mint cookie cake. I discovered that freehanding a map of the world is harder than you would think. I wasn't intending to be so egocentric and have North America so large, but I started on the left and went right. So Asia got squished. And then eaten. Nate insisted that we use sprinkles for the major mountain ranges to it would be a physical map.

Recipe:

2 boxes chocolate cake mix
2 eggs
1 cup oil
1/4 cup water

Mix together. It will be quite thick.

Add 1 bag Andes mint chips.

Pat into a large greased jelly roll pan.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Cool and ice as desired.

The zoo, the zoo, the zoo is on fire!

So I've been busy for a few months, but I'm back now. And I did promise pics of the fire shirts, so here we are:

These pics are from a zoo trip in May. We really got good use from our Dallas Zoo passes the last couple years, but we're checking out the FW Zoo this year instead.

What we do in our free time

Family Rule Phylacteries

Today we read Deuteronomy 11:18, "Fix these words of Mine in your hearts and minds, tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads." We discussed the difference between being a Pharisee (just making an outward show of following God) and being a true disciple (hiding God's Word in your heart). We then came up with some family rules and made phylacteries with them.


The kids liked wearing them on their hands.



Anna sang us a song about the rules. She likes to sing.

Ummm, no

This week the children's Bible verse is Matthew 12:34b, "Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks."

While they were copying it from the board, I explained what the verse meant and asked them, "If the overflow of your heart is what comes out of your mouth, what is in your heart?"

Anna sat for a moment, looked at me, and said, "Spit."

Thanksgiving movie

My friend Kimberly is a missionary in Ireland. They are having a traditional Thanksgiving feast next week and she asked me if the kids would act out the story for them and then say what they were thankful for.

Here is our (not quite) high quality video:

What's that again?

Philip and I were talking last night when Susannah popped in with a question.

"Mama, how do make an earl?"

"Pardon? What do you mean 'an earl'?"

"Well, I made the 'g', but I don't know how to write the rest of 'girl'."

Philip and I just about died laughing.

Halloween.

Some pictures of the world's most adorable kids having a blast at our church's Trunk or Treat fest.

Duh!

Taking a large brood of children to Target requires planning. I tempt them with the promise of a cookie (free over in the bakery) if I see good behavior. I strap Gabriel onto my back, put Luke in the cart seat and admonish the other three with the Prime Directive (Stay with Mommy!) We head into the store and are moving through the aisles with ease. No squabbling, things I need are on sale, all is good.

And then I realize Anna is not behind me. What? She was just with me in office supplies. I begin to shout for her and search the aisles. I find her two aisles over, staring straight ahead, frozen against the endcap with her arms in bent position.

I tap her on the shoulder. "Anna, why aren't you with Mommy?"

Anna turns, eyes incredulous, and says plaintively, "Mommy, don't you know? I'm a robot. I can only turn if you tap me on the shoulder and tell me how many steps to take. Duh!"

I explain that there is only one of me and five of them and I really need her to keep her eyes on me. Her lip pops out in a pout and she says, "Mommy, you can't blame me. The people at the factory made me this way. I'm just a robot."

O brother.

Our adobe dwelling and zoo trip

Last week we concluded our Native American study by building a Hopi pueblo.



We also went to the zoo and took pictures of animals found in America. Nate was so bummed that most of the "cool" animals were from Africa and Asia. The kids really wanted to feed the birds, so I gave in and bought the little sticks with birdseed. Guess who was the only one who liked the birds? Gabriel.




The girls loved riding on the horses though.





This week are beginning our study of Exploration and Colonization. Fun!

PS: I know y'all are jealous and wish you had tie dyed a tshirt to match ours. We made two sets (one "brights" and one "camo") to wear when we go out - makes it easier for me to see everyone.

Eww!

See this adorable little face? Do you imagine the depths of depraved thinking it hides? I think not.



One of the best things about homeschooling is the ability to turn everyday activities and errands into lessons. I am sure public schooling families do this too, but being a homeschooler has made me more purposeful in my teaching.

We were at Costco and had a few minutes to spare while we waited for them to make our pizza. So we sidled up to the window and watched them while they prepared pizzas. The kids speculated on how many pizzas they make each day, and studied each step of the pizza making process. Lots of fun.

Then Susannah slips her arms around me and whispers in my ear, "Mama, someone gave me a present!" I turned around and Susannah opened her mouth to show me a piece of chewing gum. Alarmed, I asked her where she had got the gum.

She smiled and said, "Someone left it for me, right here under the table!"

"Susannah!" I exclaimed, "Do you know where that came from? Some nasty person chewed it up and left under the table because they were too lazy to throw it in the trash! It has been in someone else's mouth!"

Susannah's response? "Oh." While she continues to chomp away happily.

Eww! I explained that the appropriate response is not "oh" - it is is "Gross!" and should be accompanied by prompt spitting of the gum into the trash can, followed by brushing of the teeth (or at least swishing water in the mouth).

She protested, saying the gum still had flavor. She then explained that all the stranger spit surely had been replaced by her own spit since she'd been chewing for some time. Kindergarten logic. I ended up buying her a gumball just to trade it out with her.

Eww.

Pajama Party.

So, sometimes we have pajama parties with kids. You know the drill. Everyone puts on jammas, we pop popcorn and watch a movie. Lots o' fun.

Yesterday the older three went with Philip to the water park. They came home all worn out and after dinner they went up to put on jammas. As they came down stairs I heard Anna begging to have a pajama party. To which my dear husband replied, "Hmm, Anna, I'm kind of worn out. Maybe we could just have a pajama get together."

Hee hee.

Bra talk

Susannah asked me the other day if she could wear a bra. I asked her why and she said she wanted to be more of a "lady".

I suggested she start with sitting with her legs closed in a dress.

Lonely flooring?

This morning Susannah was lying on the floor in the living room. I asked her to please get up and help me with cleaning up after breakfast. She looked shocked and said, "Mom, I am pretending to be the floor! You wouldn't want the floor to be lonely, would you?!?!"

Um, yes. Yes, I would.

The "D" word

The children heard the word "damn" on television and decided to try using it around the house. I sat them down and explained that it is not a word we should be using. I told them that it meant that you wished that person would go to hell. I then told them that the fifth chapter of Matthew says that when we say that it is like murdering someone in our hearts, and that we should love one another instead.

They were quiet for a minute.

And then Susannah pipes up, "Well, I know who I'm going to say 'damn' to. The devil! 'Cause he should burn in hell!"

Can't argue with that. So I agreed and told her that princesses don't say "damn" because it's not ladylike.

She agreed not to say it, since she's a princess (just ask her!)

Strawberry heaven!

Yesterday we took a trip to a farm near our home that allows you to pick your own strawberries. The kids had a blast and couldn't pick enough. Luke really liked picking the green ones and then making horrible faces.

I guess they really are listening...

My daughters were playing with their My Little Ponies on the floor. Anna's baby pony was nursing from her mama and Anna says, "No biting, Little Man, or it will be no boob for you!" (Imagine this in a Soup Nazi tone of voice). I just about fell out of my chair laughing.

Fossil Rim Wildlife Park

Over Spring Break we took the kids on a super cool (read, expensive) trip down to Fossil Rim Wildlife Park. It was really neat. The kids loved feeding the caribou, adaxes, and big horn sheep. It was a great day.