The Return of Ralene

Greetings fellow homeschooling mamas!

I have returned. If you have been with GYH since the beginning, you'll already know that I was one of the founding members. I had to take my leave about 18 months ago when life got pretty hectic. So, let me catch you up.

Last I was on here, my family and I were living in Hawaii, my husband was in the military, and we were embarking on our Kindergarten year of homeschool.

Life now . . .

My husband had some medical issues and was discharged over a year ago. Acclimating to civilian life has not been easy. We moved back to the states, settling in Kentucky, close to family.

I am still writing fiction, but I also started my own freelance editing business at the beginning of this year. You can find out more about that on my website. I have a few spots available if you're looking! *wink* The extra money allowed me to pay for some classes and to attend a couple of writing conferences in the last year.

And of course, there's homeschool. This year, the girls are in second grade. In the past, I've kind of picked out different curriculum for each subject. With the new business and the adapting to civilian life, though, we decided to go with Sonlight curriculum this year. So far, we are loving it!

For those who don't know, Sonlight is a Christian, literacy-based curriculum, which draws a lot from the Charlotte Mason style of learning. The girls love the books, and we have such fun discussions.

I did choose to keep some of our old choices because the girls were doing so well, So, we continued with Math-U-See, All About Spelling/Readnig, and We Choose Virtues.

We also finally joined a homeschool co-op. It's fairly new, having just started last spring, but it's a great group of local families. I'm even teaching a Creative Writing course to middle and high school students.

I'm sure you're curious about the kids:

Alley Cat is a 7-year-old artist. She would do nothing but draw and write stories all day if we'd let her. She loves the color purple, unicorns, cats, and her favorite subject is history. I think. She's in second grade. We just recently started speech therapy at home with her. We're not quite sure where her speech development delays come from, but it's to the point where she needs the extra help. Since we were unable to afford a professional, I've bought the Super Star Speech, which was written by a speech pathologist for homeschool families. She needs nothing more than for someone to sit with her and draw/color to be happy.


Squealer is a 6-year-old spitfire. She's all giggles and drama. She has such a heart for caring for others--she loves helping me with chores and taking care of her younger brother. While she likes to draw as well, she'd rather sing and dance around. She loves reading, and is reading well above her age. She's in second grade this year, along with her older sister, and keeps up just fine. Our biggest issue with her is reminding her that she is not the mommy. Her favorite color is pink, and she loves dogs and Hello Kitty. I'm not sure she has a favorite subject, but like I said, she loves to read!

Growler is only 3, but he thinks he rules the house. We're working on that. lol ... He's a lot of fun, though. He likes to sit in on school sometimes and "help" teach. He's known his letter since he was 2 and can already count to 20. I've thought about trying to do more pre-school stuff with him, but really can't get him to sit down for longer than 5 minutes. So, I'm content to just let him learn as he goes. Right now, we're working on listening the first time and potty training. His favorite color is green, and he loves video games (thanks, Daddy), especially Mario.

You Want Me to What...?

Perhaps my favorite aspect of blogging is the incredible people I meet! 

It is my privilege to introduce you to Mountain Mama.  I first met her through a weekly link-up over a year ago and have been blessed by her words ever since.  She blogs about faith, family, and life with posts that make me laugh and cry, depending on the topic.  More importantly, her words inspire me to step out in faith, to live the adventure life was meant to be.  Today, Brooke is talking about homeschooling right here at Growing Your Homeschool.  So, if you are currently homeschooling or have ever considered homeschooling, you will be blessed to read this encouraging testimony...   

I'll never forget how I felt when the Lord was leading us to homeschool.  There was a feeling of shock mixed with uncertainty and insecurity. I didn't think I was up to the challenge and in all honesty I didn't want to be "one of the families."  We tried it for a few weeks but the new Christian school across the street from our home looked very appealing.  It was just too easy to send our eldest out the door every morning in her cute little uniform with piggy tails swinging in the air.  It freed up my time, gave her new friends and put my focus on our two younger children.  But, deep down, I knew we were not obeying what the Lord wanted us to do.

Fast forward to a couple of years and we find ourselves living in the remote Idaho Mountains.  Remote as in: a single neighbor and one hour from our mailbox on a death defying road.  Not to mention bears, coyotes and rattlesnakes.  To say living there was a challenge is an understatement.  We had to face our fears head on.  But, more importantly, we grew as a family.  We were always together and we HAD to homeschool.  Doesn't the Lord have a sense of humor?  We even held our own church service on Sundays. We bonded as a family and for the first time I realized what homeschooling is all about.  I wouldn't trade those humbling few months for anything.

Now that we are home in Oklahoma we try to apply what we call "Mountain Life" to our days.  Mountain life includes a lot of family time both with just us and everyone who is in our family tree.  Mine is full of nuts by the way.  I'm only kidding.  We love our families!

Another thing we strive for is simplicity.  In the mountains the kids didn't need many toys or entertainment.  They made their toys creating their own see-saw, rock climbing "walls", swings, playhouses, etc.  I was blown away by their creativity.  Did it frighten me when they were climbing on boulders and running down mountains at full speed?  You bet. I practiced placing my trust in the One who moved us there to begin with and learned to relax and let kids be kids.  Not without a few rules on my part mind you.

Mountain life also means guarding our time.  We don't watch TV and we are very strict with the movies we watch.  Why?  We want to honor God in all that we do.  There is so much junk in the world, especially in the media.  Plus, we would much rather play a round of "Go Fish" or actually go fishing then sit and be immobile.  Making family memories is so much fun!

This leads me to a question people ask: Do I feel like we're protecting our kids too much from the world?  No way.  Our goal is to build a strong foundation for our children, one built on God's word so when they do come into contact with not nice things they will know what to do and the best choices to make.  They are learning that there are problems and issues in the world and that not everyone can be trusted.  However, we are also teaching them to serve and love people and to show them honor and respect.  We are NOT better than anyone else, period.  We are to be a light in this world and how can we that if we are too proud, afraid or never mix with the world?  {Matthew 5:16}

Guarding our time also means we don't say "yes" to everyone who asks us to do something.  We've skimmed down our schedules and are sure to do things several times a week to be a blessing to others.  Mountain life = less stress. We eat dinner as a family almost every night.

Another question I receive is, "How long does school last on a daily basis for your family?"  My answer is always the same.  Learning at home is a lifestyle.  We learn ALL the time.  When we cook together, serve at church together, run errands, work in the garden, go to the library...there are literally teachable moments everywhere.  It's not all workbook pages.

Another statement I hear often is, "I just don't think I could stand my kid for eight hours a day."  I try to laugh this statement off but it cuts deep into my heart.  For starters, God knows what He's doing when He places a family together.  He knows our personalities will clash.  He knows that at times the worst of us will come out and I daresay He hopes we will venture to learn, grow, change and rely on Him for help.  I tell the kids that learning to get along with each other will prepare them to get along with the world and future relationships.

Do I think all families should homeschool?  No way.  There are too many variables and every family is so different.  Each family should pray about the Lord's will for their child's education.

I believe there is a generation of kids being taught at home that will no doubt be world changers and that's just what we need.  It is an adventure to say the least.  If you are "crazy" enough to be homeschooling already, and I say that with love, then I want to pat your back and give you a hug.  You are going against the flow, doing something that is challenging while at the same time growing right along with your kids and no doubt making a lasting impact on them and God's kingdom. Way to go!!

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Brooke D. lives in her home state of Oklahoma with her husband of thirteen years and their three children.  She is known as “Mountain Mama” in the blogging world.  She is passionate about serving the Lord with her whole heart.  Brooke recently earned a degree in natural medicine.  She enjoys exploring new places, reading, spending time with family and volunteering her time to help others.

Me Time?

Today, I am excited to share with you a guest post by Janet who shares her heart and adventures at Janet Rose.  She just recently returned from a mission trip to Alaska!  You can read about her adventures on her blog, but first we invite you to pull up a chair, and read over these words of wisdom she shares with us today...  

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up, went out,

and made His way to a deserted place. And He was praying there.

Simon and his companions went searching for Him.

They found Him and said, “Everyone’s looking for You!”
And He said to them, “Let’s go on to the neighboring villages

so that I may preach there too. This is why I have come.”

So He went into all of Galilee,

preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. 

Mark 1:35-39

A conversation that I had last week with another homeschooling mom finally gave me the best answer to the most asked question I have received over the past 4 years of homeschooling... 

"How do you spend all day, every day, with your kids?"

Often following this question is a statement about needing "me time".  I have always just spoken from my heart that spending time with my kids is a joy and it is what God desires of me right now. 
I am then usually asked about when I have "me time".  I speak of having a wonderful support system of grandparents and friends who watch the boys time to time.  I do not feel a need for time away from my kids every day.  I actually really miss them when they are with someone else.

Now, though, thanks to one simple statement from my friend, I have a great answer to the question about being with my boys all day long, but I also have a new perspective on "me time"...
"The Bible doesn't mention anything about 'me time'." 

Not in the sense that we use that phrase, anyway. 
And, I realize that I have some changes to make.
  

But the news about Him spread even more,

and large crowds would come together to hear Him

and to be healed of their sicknesses.

Yet He often withdrew to deserted places and prayed.
Luke 5:15-16

Jesus set an amazing example for us in that, when He desired "me time", He spent it in prayer with His Father.  His down time had a purpose greater than that of putting up His feet and browsing FB, catching up on a TV show previously recorded on the DVR, or even reading a book from a favorite author. 

He went off by Himself to pray. 

I am convicted in epic proportions.  

Prayer is not the first item on my list of things to do when I am able to get away by myself.  Getting my nails done, maybe, but not giving my first minutes of free time to Jesus.
Oh, but wait.  It gets better.

He was often interrupted during His "me time"...and He willingly gave it up to teach and heal the people.

When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Matthew 14:13-14

How many mornings were my showers interrupted by a little voice calling from the other side of the curtain?  How many times do I long to not hear my name called during the few minutes I am getting dressed?  Will the day ever come when no one will be asking me questions while I am on the phone with a friend?  I could go on.  In having my boys with me all day long there are times I long for a few minutes to do something alone and probably run short on the compassion that I should feel for those who interrupt those few and far between minutes.    

God wants the first of the best of every thing, including my free time.  Consequently, when interrupted, I am to do as Jesus did and have compassion on those wanting to be with me and who need me.  In my calling as a wife, mother, and homeschooling parent, I have the greatest example ever by Jesus Himself on how to handle the demands from others on me and my time.  It is time to start following that example wholeheartedly.  Things are about to get even better around here, I think, and I could not be more excited! 

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Janet Rose...I am a daughter of the King, wife of 10 years to Scott, and mom to Alex and Tim.  Life for me includes homeschooling, spending time with family, mission trips to AK, traveling whenever and wherever possible, being a youth leader at church, helping at Bible Memory Camp during the summer, and whatever else that comes along.  God has shown me that finding my identity first and foremost in being His child gives me all the energy, power, and comfort I need to handle the ups and downs in life.  Our God is an awesome God, indeed!

Schedules, Planning, and Managing Our Time

Welcome to our Homeschool Holiday Open House! 

This week, we are opening up a little bit more
about the details of our individual homeschools. 
We'll talk about how we organize our homes, manage our days,
tackle technology, and still find time for ourselves!
No, we certainly aren't superwomen,
but are simply sharing what works,
or doesn't work, for us in our homeschools. 
We hope you find encouragement in these posts,
and invite you to join the discussions

and enter the giveaways. 

When homeschool moms get together, several topics always surface.  One I've asked and been asked often is 'how do you plan your time to include all the tasks of life plus homeschool?'  Sometimes this question is worded slightly differently, but the intent remains.  Most people want to know how homeschoolers plan their days.

When asked, Aurie, Jessica, and Tracy responded with
planning techniques and schedules that work for them.

Aurie:

"I use a schedule that has some flexibility, but for the most part stays the same.  The girls get up, are dressed, have breakfast and play by 9am. {while they are playing I get the breakfast dishes washed and do any lunch or dinner prep}  Sophie starts school at 9am, with Bella still playing in the other room.  We break for snack time at 10:00am, and then Bella comes in to color while we finish up.  Lunch is at 11:30am, and the girls are down for naps/quiet time from 12:00-3:00pm.  Since Sophie is preschool, we don't generally do school in the afternoons.  We'll work on some crafts, some fine motor skills, or go outside and run around.

What really makes this schedule work is me getting up an hour before the girls do in the morning.  I have my quiet time, jump online to check email, blog posts & twitter and then get ready to start my day while the girls are still asleep.  This change has really helped to keep me on track!"

Jessica:

"I do my scheduling in small, adjustable blocks.  Our school year is 36 weeks long, usually beginning in early August and ending in late April.  (State requirements would come into play for homeschooling families here; my state requires a similar number of days and the same required subjects as public school.)

Next, I plan a month at a time.  Each month offers an opportunity for me to tweak the scheduled extracurriculars my children participate in.  My oldest son is in band at the public school, which has an already set schedule, but most of the other lessons and sports are scheduled on a monthly basis.

Each Sunday, I catch up on bookwork for our Farm and plan for the week ahead.  I have a school binder where I keep all our plans and papers for the week.  Each child has a section of the folder where I keep their work yet to be done, and a pocket where I keep their finished papers.  I check off items in the lessons plans as we complete them.  At the end of the week, I remove all the papers and file them (I also keep an item or two that is an example of their best work separate, which we then display at our end-of-the-school-year party) and place next week lesson plans into the binder.  I front-load our week, with most of our activities and heavy academic work Monday through Thursday.  This way, Friday is a short academic day with more time for whatever we need that week (catching up around the house, meeting friends, going on a field trip, decorating for Christmas).

Each evening, I set out all the assignments and materials for the next day at their places.  I also set out my own supplies, the read aloud books we are working from, maps and tools.  I like to set out craft items or coloring supplies as well, if we are going to have a lot of 'listening only' activities the next day.  I also like to set up a CD to play the geography songs, memory verse songs or math facts songs we work on.

I also use the evenings to look ahead at what activities are the next day, and pack the items we need to take along with us.  I also think about (and if I have time, prep ahead a bit) what we are eating the next day.

The most important part of my planning is flexibility.  If we are behind on an assignment, or something comes up, or someone is feeling poorly, or a friend needs our help, we can adjust what we are doing.  School can start earlier and end later (in a day or in the year!), we may push some work back to the end of the week, or we may work ahead if we know things will be busy the next day.  Having a general outline and being able to change it each day is one of the greatest benefits of homeschooling for my family."

Tracy:

"We typically have a very structured homeschool day.  I plan exactly what we will do, and because my children are small, I allow for about 15 minutes per activity.  We use hanging file pockets to organize the activities.  Each pocket will include the worksheet, reading book, or other activity, along with all of the necessary tools to accomplish the task (scissors, crayons, pencil, etc.) I set a timer, and we work our way through the pockets one at a time. Sticking with a strict schedule has taught the kids to work hard even on tasks they don't prefer, because they realize it's only a short amount of time before the next activity.

However, I have had to organize differently this year since becoming pregnant.  For instance, I have become very flexible with our start time, often starting our school day close to 10 or 10:30.  And when I do have a rough day, we work only through the essentials and skip our opening pledge and calendar activities.  It's really forced me to evaluate what my priorities are for each day, what must get done, and what can wait for another day.  It truly is amazing how flexible you can be, even with a structured school schedule!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Every homeschool operates on a slightly different schedule or routine.
We'd love to hear how you organize your days to teach your children,
clean your home, cook meals, and visit with your neighbor?
{By commenting, you will automatically be entered in today's giveaway.}

Today's giveaway:

Educating the WholeHearted Child

by Clay Clarkson with Sally Clarkson

~courtesy Aurie~

This giveaway is open to all residents of the USA
and ends Saturday, December 31 at 11:59 PM  EST,

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post.

Winner will be announced on Monday, January 2, 2012.

Time for Mommy

Over the last two weeks, I've come to two realizations. Or rather, one was a realization and the other was emphasized.

1. My husband gets time away from his "job", but I very rarely do. And if I do, it's only a couple of hours (like going to the store or Bible study).

2. Mommy needs time away, too.

This past week, I joined many of my writing friends at the American Christian Fiction Writers annual conference in St. Louis, MO. I left late Tuesday afternoon, spent four days at the conference, and returned home late Sunday night. The last time I was away from my family like this was when I went to my first conference two years ago.

While I was away, I absorbed each and every moment spend learning, talking, worshiping, etc. It was a total immersion experience, and it was fun!

One of the biggest realizations was that, as a homeschooling mama, I need to make sure I get time away. Now, a five day vacation every year is not possible. But a few hours a couple times a month is definitely not impossible.

Also, this time needs to be personal. Grocery shopping does not count. Running errands does not count. Taking a long bath counts. Meeting a friend for lunch and shopping counts. Kicking back with the latest season of a favorite TV show and having a marathon counts.

Take the time to indulge in our own likes, our own hobbies, gives us something else to focus on. It helps to renew our minds and hearts. If we don't, if we let the homeschool life suck us so far in that we lose ourselves, we'll end up resenting the lifestyle that was meant to bring life and closeness to our family.

So, what do you do to indulge?

(In case you're wondering who that beautiful woman is next to me in the picture, that's fellow writer, blogger, and homeschool mama, Susan Hollaway, one of my roommates at the conference!)

Schooling Amidst A Crisis

The past month, my mother-in-law has been hospitalized. This stressful situation is further complicated by the fact that my husband and I are in partnership with his parents as farmers, so her workload is passed around among us, along with our worry over her. There are also her personal things (bills, cleaning, rescheduling) to be tended to. We also like to have one of us at the hospital when the doctors come around (there are six of them, and they come at random times). So our life has been a little messy and everything that can give, has gone.

We started fall harvest (THE busiest time of year on our farm) and my husband had an emergency appendectomy.

We had intended to begin school on August 1st this year, but that was not a possibility. I decided to wait until my mother-in-law was out of the hospital, but as the weeks stretched on and the pressure from other responsibilities increased, I began to have concern as to whether there would EVER be a "good time," so after discussion with my husband and children we started school this past Monday.

Did we finish *everything?* No. But we were so happy to be back around the kitchen table together. The next morning, I was needed at the hospital very early, so a sitter watched the kids and we fit the rest of school from the previous day's plans into the afternoon. It took two days to complete what would normally be fit into a morning, but we are able to be flexible about when and where we can work on it.

While my dyslexic middle child was in tutoring sessions yesterday afternoon, I worked on phonics with my first grader while my fifth grader did his math lesson. We listened to a song based on our memory work on a CD in the van going to and from the tutoring session. My oldest child read out loud to us from one of our literature study novels.

Is it perfect? No. But it was fun and satisfying. My daughter (six next month) took a lot more from the Native American Indians lesson for the older children than I imagined she would. Her journal entry was about it. Was I able to do everything according to the plans I had laid out? (Laughing) No, but does anything ever work that way?

The most enjoyable part for me was the undivided attention and time I was able to give each child separately. I have felt pulled in so many directions and had so many hats to wear lately, my connected relationship with each of them has been put to the test. It was so wonderful for me to have conversation with, lap time for, and intense interest from each of them without having to worry about what I should be working on instead.

I was doing exactly what I am meant to. The most important work I will ever do is raising these children, and I'm so thankful that homeschooling is a part of that for my family right now.

The School of Life

 So, over the past few weeks, we have had a steady flow of family members coming to visit. This may not seem like a big deal, however, in our world, this means our every day lives are put on hold temporarily. Schooling, in essence, stopped, as our schedules were thrown to the wind and we embraced the fun of having family at our new home - being military, we recently were restationed from the southeast, near where we are originally from, to the midwest, where we'd never been before - so this was the first time in approximately 8+ months that we'd had family come out to visit.

At first, it was a nice break from the day-to-day to just sleep in a little and get up and go exploring and sightseeing with our loved ones... but then, after a couple weeks of it, while still having fun, I began to feel concerned that my kids were getting out of the habit of doing school and the schedule that I had worked so hard to get them on... I was worried that they weren't really learning anything and wouldn't be interested in going back to our normal "routine" of just reading and practicing writing, etc... All of the fun of going to museums and historical landmarks and rock climbing/hiking our way up to waterfalls was going to make regular school seem drab! How could I get them interested in learning again?? 

Then it hit me: they had been learning all along! For example, my son learned the difference between a canon and a missile launcher when we explored the field artillery museum on the post we live on. He learned about the Apache Indians and how they fought with soldiers like his Daddy when we went to visit Geronimo's gravesite... He learned about how flowing water slowly erodes away at rocks and that's why certain waterfalls might have alcoves or caves behind them sometimes... My 4 year old can explain erosion to me! He learned that some fish eat algae, while others like bugs and worms, when we took him fishing... He can tell the difference between a bison and a water buffalo, and a buzzard vs. a vulture, and that Roadrunners are not just cartoon characters that get chased by coyotes, after visiting the wildlife refuge near our home. He learned about heights and how binoculars and telescopes work when we walked around the top of the nearby mountains and used different tools to look down at the beautiful views surrounding us... He learned about Bible stories when we visited the life-sized replica of the Holy City nearby and got to visit places that could be similar to the stable Jesus was born in, or King Herod's court, or the tomb Jesus was buried in, etc... He learned that crawfish like to burrow under rocks in creekbeds to hide, and that they pinch as a defense mechanism (guess how he learned that ~ haha) ... He might not be proficient in addition and subtraction quite yet, but he is still learning... 

So, what have I learned over the past few weeks we've taken "off" of school? I've learned that school - homeschooling, teaching, learning - is about much more than book knowledge and learning to read and write your ABC's... It's about letting life teach you and having a passion for knowledge. It's about teaching your kids to have that passion by allowing learning to be fun. It's about looking for a learning opportunity in everything you do and everywhere you go, because in the end, we are teaching our kids in order to enhance their lives, and by teaching them to love living life and to let life be their school in the most positive of ways, we are giving them the best education they could possibly have. 

What are fun, interesting, and/or unique ways you have found to teach your children, or what activities/experiences have you had with your kids that turned out to be a wonderful learning opportunity?