The Pressure to Continue Homeschooling

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Homeschool families are pretty open, honest, and forthcoming when asked about homeschooling. We readily talk about the whys, hows, how longs, socialization inquiries, and the long list of curriculum questions.

But there is a black cloud that hangs over many homeschool families. A deep, dark struggle that many of us refuse to put voice to. If we ignore it, the problem will just go away. One day we will wake up and that inequity will be gone. As if we ignore the issue it will just disappear.

Sadly, this will never be the case. We will always feel the pressure to continue homeschooling.

There I said it, I put voice and writing to the unspoken truth within the homeschooling community.

If you have been homeschooling for more than a few months you have most certainly had a day or more when you just want to throw in the towel. Your kids are frustrating you, you can't get lessons completed to save your life, and all you want to do is close yourself in a quiet room to get away from it all. But you can't, not for your sake and not for the sake of your children. We've all been there. Some of us more than others.  The longer you've been at this homeschooling thing the more rough days you are bound to have. These days pass however, a new day dawns, and like magic everything comes together and you have a great day of learning together as a family.

The good days are what sustain us through the rough patches. We cling to those "aha" moments like beautiful diamonds scattered in a coal mine. Those sweet, tender, and loving learning moments remind us why we chose to homeschool. Our children are our treasures, our blessings, and we enjoy being with them.

But what about those situations when you need to throw in the towel? For your sanity, for your child's stress level, and the happiness of your family you need to stop homeschooling and send you child or all of your children to a public/private/charter school.

What do you do then?

Well if your need to stop homeschooling is real then the choice to stop is obvious. But what about your heart? Ever thought about what it would feel like to actually throw in the towel and give up homeschooling your children?

There is an unspoken rule in the Christian homeschooling community.

Once you start homeschooling you have to see it through to the end. God has called us to homeschool so we HAVE to continue homeschooling no matter the cost to our sanity, happiness, and relationship with our family and friends.

If we stop homeschooling we will suddenly be out cast by our homeschool friends. Afterall, we've sent our kids to "school". We've let them loose and they are now adrift in the sea of public school. We've failed. We couldn't hang with the "big boys". We've given up on our children. Our homeschool friends will now look down upon us because of our inequities.

I don't have the answer.

But I do know that I have felt this way countless times when I feel pushed against the wall. I struggle nearly everyday with one of my children and can see one of my younger children quickly becoming just like their older sibling. So I will soon have 2 children that will test my limits and push me everyday. I want to throw in the towel, I really do. Just being honest. I want to keep my "easy" learner at home, skate through the day, and drink tea quietly while my gifted learned thrives and learns under my tutelage.

When I think about sending my challenged learners to a mainstream schooling option I feel the "cloud". I feel the pressure and despondency. What will my friends think? Am I giving up? Am I failing my children? My family? My Father in Heaven? I'm swimming in the homeschooling sea and struggling to keep my head above water.

Yes, there is a cloud. Yes, there is a pressure for Christian homeschooling Moms to continue homeschooling. No, we don't talk about it. No, we don't write about it. Well, until now that is.

I am taking it one day at a time and so can you. Step back, reevaluate, relax, breathe, and most importantly pray. We can and will conquer our challenges. The way we conquer our challenges and achieve our goals will differ depending on our family situations.

No matter your situation however, please do not let the cloud, the unspoken truth, affect your decision. Pray about it and do what is best for your family. Don't worry about what your friends or the homeschooling community at large will think. You need only answer to God.


Be Blessed,

Apologia Astronomy Venus Project

As a homeschool Mom with a degree in biology I am sad to admit that science has taken a back burner in our homeschool courses in previous years. I just couldn't find the time or energy to fit yet another subject into our already full schedule. Also, after looking through countless science curriculums I wasn't able to find one that held my interest. Science is real, it is exciting, it is full of wonder and amazement. I had yet to find a science program that conveyed that excitement the way that I wanted my children to learn my favorite subject.

That was until this year! Finally we have found a curriculum that I love and thankfully my boys are enjoying it as much as I am. What are we using?

Exploring Creation with Astronomy, Young Explorer Series by Apologia.

I will save my review on this book for another post but I did want to share my 7 year old son's creative lego project for our most recent astronomy chapter. Above Mini-Me is pictured with his lego model of a volcano on Venus. A side view of the lego structure shows the profile of the volcano with a plume of ash and lava shown by the red ball on top. A lego model of the surface of Venus is suggested as a project in the Exploring Creation with Astronomy book. However, as I expected Mini-Me put his own spin on the assignment and created this very original and creative project.

As a Mother who is desperately trying to raise independent and creative thinkers I appreciate and am thankful for curriculum that encourages and fosters the very things that I am seeking in my young children. Mini-Me asks everyday to do science, he loves this book and in turn is developing a healthy love of science. I had planned on making this book our science curriculum for the year but at the pace my 7 year old wants to learn at we will most definitely fly through this book and at least one maybe 2 more this school year. I am thankful that Apologia not only has this Young Explorer Series but also has a more advanced science curriculum so that my children can learn and explore science in depth.

Thankful for a Clean Kitchen Floor

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For Christians, praying is as important to our faith as drinking water is to our daily health. Prayer is necessary for our relationship with God to grow and be healthy just like water is needed for our bodies to be healthy and grow.

But where and when are Moms supposed to find that quiet time to pray? We are constantly on the move from the minute our feet hit the ground in the morning. Those of us with little ones barely have a moment to get a drink of water or use the restroom. Warm meals are almost unheard of and we are lucky to get dinner on the table at a decent hour. So when are we supposed to carve out the time we so desperately need with our Lord? We know we need to but some days it just seems so impossible.

Over the years and through the various seasons of Motherhood, where and when I most often pray during the day has varied. At one point when my youngest was sleeping through the night I faithfully woke up early and sat around my kitchen table to read His word and pray. Those days are long behind me though and won't be a possibility for the foreseeable future, afterall I've got 3 littles under the age of 2. I still need to carve out that much needed quiet time in prayer though, not only for my faith but also for my sanity and mental well being.

So when do I most often pray?

The simple answer is whenever and wherever I can. It is never anything fancy, I just say quick prayers and give thanks for His blessings whenever a quiet moment presents itself. Doing dishes, sitting down to give the twins a bottle, nursing my youngest, folding laundry, even cleaning the bathrooms are all places I have prayed in recent days.

Tonight however, it all hit me. Earlier this evening I had a very rare moment when everyone was in bed and I still had enough energy to clean. Keep in mind my youngest is still waking up every 2-3 hours at night so in a typical night I am up 4-5 times; energy and wakefulness are not my strong assets in this season of my life. Tonight I was able to finally clean my kitchen floor. Cooking, canning, and daily traffic had left my floors far dirtier than I prefer. As I was on my hands and knees scrubbing the splattered tomatoes, leftover food pieces, and other unknown stains off of my white floor tiles I prayed. Not only did I pray but God opened my heart to the specialness of that moment. Yes, cleaning my kitchen floor on my hands and knees on a Saturday night was a special moment.

Why?

Scrubbing the floor tonight was so special because it symbolized all that was right in my life. I could be a million other places right now but I am not. I am here at home with my 6 beautiful children who are healthy, thriving, and growing in His word. There was no where else I wanted to be at that moment than on my hands and knees cleaning my kitchen floor.

I am blessed and so are you! Sure there are daily struggles and worries. But through it all, think of all that you have been blessed with and have to be thankful for.

Be thankful for your clean kitchen floor!!

4th Year of Homeschooling: Off and Running

As I was planning the upcoming school year earlier this summer my anticipation steadily grew with every new box of curriculum and every new entry into my favorite planner, The Well Planned Day Homeschool Planner. I had dreams of picture perfect, conflict free hours around the kitchen table. Fantasies of every lesson completed just as I had planned. Visions of intricate and highly planned lessons filled my head. I had every reason to dream. The past two years of homeschooling were anything but complete, far from easy, and wrought with life distractions. Now that life has settled down I saw this new school year as a rebirth for our homeschooling journey. A chance to redeem myself as a home educator and an opportunity for my children and I to return to the glory days of homeschool year number 1.

What was I thinking? August 1st was the first day of school for the new year here in our house. Reality quickly collided head on with my picture perfect dreams. My school age children were no more ready to start school than I was. My beautiful school lessons were too much and overwhelming right out of the gate. Not only that, but I have irish triplets of which the older 2 are only 19 months. Not only were my lesson plans too much too soon but I didn't take into account all the time and effort needed to care for my younger 3. I can not sit down for long stretches of time to teach a length lesson. God blessed my family and now I need to learn to work within those blessings and make this the best school year that I can.

I erased a LOT of lesson plans.

Now that my dreams and visions of grandeur are behind me I am beginning to settle into reality. I have rearranged the lesson schedule, made lesson instructions shorter, and taught my children that Mom can teach them anywhere, not just at the kitchen table like usual. Most importantly though, I have come face to face with the fact that it isn't all about how much schoolwork we get done in a day. Teaching my older children to keep the house and care for one another is of first and foremost importance. These are formative years in my young family, caring for one another and the blessings around us in crucial. There will always be time for a math lesson or a science experiment, they don't have to happen exactly when I have them "scheduled" in my planner.

We are enjoying school, loving each other, and loving life. Isn't that why I started homeschooling in the first place?

I will post our curriculum and my early impressions in the coming days.

Here's to a wonderful new school year!! May your home be blessed!!

Really miss blogging!

It has been months since I last logged on this blog. So sad! I truly miss writing my ramblings, my random thoughts about motherhood, homeschooling, and my faith. Even though I am not actively writing here blog post ideas are constantly popping in my head. Sometimes I am even able to draft a post in my head, if only I had the time to stop and write down those sentences I would have countless posts these past months. But I don't, my family has to come first. I do have every intention of posting here again on a fairly regular basis. I think I know how I will make that happen but until I can actually put my plans into practice I will make no promises.

So until then, please know that I am still around and doing well.

Review: What's in the Bible?

Are you looking for a way to explain to your children what is in the bible? Want a creative way to teach them how the bible is organized? What's in the Bible? will do just that and so much more!

I was recently given the opportunity to review What's in the Bible? volume 1: In the Beginning. Together with my children ranging in ages from 11 to toddler we watched this fun yet educational DVD.  I have to admit, even I learned a few things that I didn't already know.Using puppets and children the nuts and bolts of the bible are explained including such things as how it is organized, how it is put together, and how the books are divided within the bible. The video then goes on to teach about the first book in the bible, Genesis. Again through the use of puppets and children we learn who wrote the bible, how the bible was inspired, and why Genesis is such an important first book in the bible. This video is not just fun and games, it is packed with insightful, educational, and important facts about His book. The information taught in the video helps set the stage for a deeper understanding as you study the rest of the books in the bible.

Along with the entertainment factor of this DVD I thoroughly enjoyed the educational aspect and the conversation that followed with my children. It served as a fun springboard for additional teaching about the bible and our faith. I will most certainly purchase the remaining DVDs in this series.

There are also great resources to accompany this DVD including;

• coloring pages
• flashcards
• study guide
• and more. . .

You can access these activities here.

Disclaimer: I was selected for participation in this review and given a free copy of this DVD as a member of The Homeschool Lounge review team. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Review: Reading Eggs

 Reading Eggs- Learn to Read Online with Phonics in 5 Weeks from ages 3-13

As a member of The Homeschool Lounge and a homeschool blogger I was given the opportunity to review Reading Eggs with my three school age children. I was most excited for this review opportunity for my 5 year old daughter who is a non-reader and shows very little interest in learning to read.

From the very beginning I could tell that Reading Eggs was going to be not only educational but also fun and engaging for my young 5 year old. Because she is unable to read I had her begin the program from the very beginning without taking the optional reading assessment. She dove right into the program and the first few weeks she gladly spent one hour or more engrossed in her lessons. Her interest only waned bit when I made her repeat a few of the levels she had already completed because she did not pass the quiz at the end of the group 10 reading activities. Otherwise she thoroughly enjoyed the Reading Eggs online reading program completely.

In a nutshell, or shall I say "in an eggshell" children can either begin the online reading program from the very beginning or take an assessment reading test to see at which reading level they read proficiently. After the reading assessment the program will start the child at the appropriate level in the Reading Egga game. For example, my 7 year old son took the reading test and began the game on map #8 based on his test results whereas my 5 year old began the game on map #1 because she is a non-reader. Each map is laid out like a walking path and includes 20 steps along the path. Each stop along the pathway is a game or activity for the letter sound or set of sounds that the map is teaching. At the end of the map is a quiz. If the child passes the quiz then it is recommended to move on to the next map. However, the program advises repeating the map if your child does not pass the quiz as was the case with my daughter and map #2. I appereciated the fact that quiz results were emailed to my email address so I could stay up to date on my chldren's progress throught the program without having to hover and watch them every minute.

At the end of my Reading Eggs review program I could tell that my children, especially my 5 year benefitted from this program. She learned new letter blend sounds, she can now recognize a few 2 letter words, and is more proficient at sounding out words when we do our hands on reading lessons. My children all enjoyed this program and were excited to play it everyday.

Pricing:
Complete pricing information can be found here 

You may also enjoy a free trial period by visiting Reading Eggs

Disclosure: I am participating in a sponsored campaign hosted by The Homeschool Lounge Review Team. I received a 5 week membership to Reading Eggs to facilitate this review. All opinions stated are my own.