Tornado destroys homeschooling family's home

In case you hadn't heard, the Crawford family was hit with a tornado that destroyed their home. Kelly's blog has been an encouragement and blessing to many. Mrs. Fuentes has graciously set up a place for us to donate to this large family. Here is the link:

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home.

And here is a bit of solace dedicated to the Crawford and the Lee families: (Please keep the Crawford family and the many other families hurt by the tornado disaster in your prayers.)

Homeschooling sanity

Home-school books.

There are so many methods, so many ideas about education, that it is enough to make a mother dizzy! I am about to share some things with you that are not at all "politically correct". These are my own observations after having run through the gamut of educational methods and systems. Of course, others may have had different experiences, and I don't claim to know it all! I hope you will keep this in mind as you read my personal conclusions.

"School at home" is where we usually start. We purchase the desks, the chalkboard, and the workbooks and begin in earnest, all in our places with bright, shining faces!

But soon the baby cries, the toddler flushes a doll down the toilet, and the 5-year-old cannot grasp phonics or counting. The laundry lies in mounds in the living room floor, and dinner is too often sandwiches or macaroni and cheese. Marital tensions mount as "Wife" is hidden under stressful layers of "Teacher".

The burdens of daily living combined with homeschooling require a juggling act for any size of family, but when a family is growing almost yearly in number, the demands increase almost exponentially.

I can't count just how many questions I receive from mothers with many young children, close in age, who are asking the question, "How can I get it all done?"

After years and hours of research, I can honestly tell you that even the best of methods do not adequately help a mother in stressful situations.

For instance, although Charlotte Mason's methods are beautiful and practical in many instances, I have never read that Miss Mason ever had children of her own, nor that she was ever even married. This is not to say that she lacked insight into education and training of children, just that she never educated them at home, as a devoted wife, and in the midst of mothering many children each at different educational levels.

Her practical applications are aimed primarily at families having financial means, where the mother could actually afford help. Many homeschooling families are not so economically well-off, having given up the potential of a second income for the sake of the family. Also, the more children in the family, the more things must be stretched, monetarily speaking.

For example, it is recommended by CM that all children take an hour's walk daily. This is a high ideal, but what if a mother of 7, the oldest 10 years old, is fighting all-day pregnancy nausea while carrying child number eight?

Of course, there are still ways of incorporating these high ideals, but within reason for such situations.

Here are some of the other methods:

Classical. In great humility, I must tell you that keeping track of all of the different stages—grammar, dialectic and rhetoric—is just impossible for this mother of many. Although there may be merit in considering each child going through such stages, it is not possible for me to keep track of it all, nor am I convinced that doing so would actually help my children fare any better. Burn-out is not uncommon for mothers with small children who try and adhere strictly to the recommendations of such a theory.

Thematic. At first blush, this seems to be a perfect way to keep all of the family on the same page and yet realize positive momentum. I used this method for a number of years. It was fun at times, absolutely better than school-at-home, but still had its negatives. For one thing, not every child is absolutely delighted in each subject equally—so there can be a bit of push-back when relying on the power of enthusiasm to carry a study session along. Also, attempting to bring in every educational discipline into each subject can sometimes become a burden. Mother ends up doing the work of research, etc., the children become passive consumers of second-hand information, having had all of the connections between subjects already done for them (some rather contrived and unnatural).

Mother and child—together.

Lifestyle of Learning. This method correctly encourages mothers to be spiritually in tune with God, and to encourage the same in one's children. It relies almost entirely on the delight-directed activities of the child, and leaves huge gaps as to how a child is to learn basics such as math skills. Then there is the question of dealing with the authorities in one's life—spouses, relatives, and especially any reporting or testing—how do you explain that you are just "waiting" until the evidence of their learning becomes apparent? I have read and studied her materials closely, and while I was encouraged by them in many ways, I also found them to be strong on theory, weak on practicality, which is what a mother of many children needs most when living with so many children at different stages.

Charlotte Mason.  I find that Miss Mason had a better balance between the theoretical and the practical. It just takes a discerning mother to realize that her recommendations do not have to be adhered to in specifics, but basic understanding can be gleaned from each so that they can be effectually applied on a daily basis. I find it daunting when I have read the schedules of some mothers as they have attempted to put these ideas into regimented practice—a mother with tiny babes cannot plan a day in such explicit detail. I am aware that there are those who advocate putting the smallest infants on a regular feeding and sleeping schedule, but I am still not convinced that this is always the best, nor is it even practical in most cases—which means that most of us must make allowances for such situations that pregnancy, infancy, and toddler hood can create. There are also other interruptions of real life. Strict scheduling can create dilemmas that lead to discouragement and frustration.

Unschooling. The heart of unschooling is the belief that children already want to learn, we just need to facilitate their natural inclinations. This theory does not take into account the sinful, self-destructive tendencies of a child. Of course, God's imprint of original creativity is inherent in each of us, but to allow it free-reign is utter foolishness. Granted respect for this natural curiosity and desire for knowledge is paramount, but without discipline and wise guidance, it can lead down the path to ruin, and introduce chaos into the home. Besides this, children need very clear expectations with defined boundaries.

So where does this leave us?

On one hand, conventional schooling methods are out of the question for most larger homeschooling families due to their ineffectiveness and cost in time and money, and yet these other methods, when followed to the letter, can become just as stressful and impractical.

I have tried almost all of these roads in the last 21 years, and have copybooks full of notes and research.  Here are some of my conclusions:

Order is first. It doesn't matter if we own every nifty book and device for learning ever contrived, if our children are unruly, our husbands are neglected, or if we can't find a clean dish to eat with, we are failures before we even begin. Taking the time to get our homes in order is more important than having the most engaging learning plan on earth. Charlotte Mason is a great help here.

Spirituality. The Bible is not inconsequential. Unless we are making the Word a priority in our lives, we are creating "educated skeptics ". Knowledge without wisdom (the fear of God) leads to arrogant vanity. For those who can read, I require one chapter daily when they awaken. For those who cannot, the Bible is read to them. The Word is also used for copy work and dictation at various times. The Word of God is referenced in the study of any and all subjects and is purposely discussed all during the day. The Bible is central to Christian homeschooling.

Dad is not an interruption. There have been times when Daddy has been home with us. For a while he worked from home (two years). Since he tends to be more of a spontaneous person, he often encroaches upon my "plans". This can be a real stumbling block for me—a way that I can become offended and then everything goes down-hill very quickly!

Jesus receives the children.

I have had to surrender this area—I have a loose plan, but whatever Daddy wants to do is more important, such as a bit of gardening, a nature walk, Bible study right in the middle of the morning, etc. We are so blessed to have a Daddy whose main goal in life is to be with his family—and he loves teaching the children from the Bible and godly books, he has read aloud to them the world renown Christian allegory, Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard and Brother Lawrence's The Practice of the Presence of God. Not to mention several of A.W. Tozer's books and scores of devotional studies designed to instruct them on practical Christian living and character development. The children have benefited greatly from all of his "interruptions". Thank God!

McGuffey and other 19th Century Texts. I don't believe that McGuffey and Charlotte Mason ever met, nor that either was aware of the other, even though they lived during some of the same years. I do believe that each one would have greatly appreciated the other. For one thing, they both believed in respecting the child and not treating him as a blank slate, or dumb animal needing to be trained. While it is true that later educational theorists who revised his readers were influenced by those who viewed people as animals and machines (such as Wundt—see John Taylor Gatto), McGuffey's original books do not reflect these humanistic attitudes. I am often struck with the brilliance and purity of even the beginning readers.

McGuffey formulated his readers with deference to the situations which existed on the American frontier at the time. Many families did not own any book save the family Bible, so his texts needed not only to teach the basics of reading and writing, but introduce works of literary excellence. A bit of history and science were also included. Unlike the attitudes of those that would come later, he respected the parents, teachers and students as being made in the image of God and with the imprint of a Creative Master, just as Charlotte Mason concluded.

For these reasons, I have found these old readers to be a wonderful aid to me in the homeschooling of my many children. I can be assured they are reading worthy lessons, including works of poetry, while we use oral and written narration, copy work and dictation (all recommended by Miss Mason) for each. I also add scripture copy work appropriate for each lesson.

Ray's Arithmetics.  After reading a description of what Charlotte Mason considered to be important when considering maths, these texts fit the bill. The reliance is on word problems with a focus on practical life. They are also non-consumable and logical in order, with numerous resources available for the reinforcement and mastery of the content presented, both for free and at very nominal prices.

Living Books.  I keep books near at hand that lend themselves to introducing important information to my children through reading aloud and general discussion times. Some are novels of historical significance, some biographies, some fiction, and some purely informational and instructional. None are textbooks. After a bit of reading, we narrate orally or simply discuss the ideas presented. Here is a small sampling of what I consider worthy of our time:

Johnny Tremain (history, literature, patriotism, character)
Whatever Happened to Penny Candy (economics)
What Einstein Told His Cook (cooking, science)
Swiss Family Robinson (history, science, problem solving)

Time for this is often reclaimed from passages of life that would otherwise be wasted; while waiting in the van for Daddy, just after eating breakfast or lunch, on lazy afternoons lying on a blanket in the shade, watching the younger children play quietly in the sandbox.

Geography can easily be studied from the vantage point of a good book—and this is the kind of geography that will stick! Having Atlases lying around the house helps—my children take these to bed with them at night for continued study!

Notebooking.  I cannot say enough about this method. For one thing, there is only enough space available on my refrigerator for all of the clever, educational and artistic expressions my children can create. Keeping all of them neatly in three-ring notebooks can give each child the recognition and feeling of accomplishment he/she needs. I began keeping notebooks for my children 16 years ago, and the work that my older children did is still available and re-read by my younger children in these collections.

Sometimes the pages we include are created spontaneously but most often they are assigned by me, as I see an interest being pursued by a particular child in a specific area. This is where Marilyn Howshall's ideas come into play. I have found that if I give precis spaces to be filled in, this keeps the children on track and gives them the structure and direction they need from me (giving them blank pieces of paper can overwhelm and discourage them). However, fill-in-the-blank sentences can stultify their learning and keep them passive so that they are discouraged from investigating on their own (searching to fulfill an expectation instead of personalizing the greater concept). I give plenty of area for drawings, etc. and keep things as open-ended as possible. There are many sources available for these ready-made, both free and for a nominal fee.

There are also many other ways of including great works of art, music, literature, poetry, etc. in one's educational scheme without over-structuring. For one thing, we play good music during the day—Handel, Bach, Beethoven, etc. are all names which have become part of our vocabulary. If we are particularly impressed, we even look one of these up in our encyclopedia sets and discuss him over lunch. Classical recordings are extremely affordable, even when purchased as new. There are also numerous Internet radio streams which offer classical music exclusively.

But only God can make a tree!

Hymns are part of our lives; we have a collection of hymnals and sing them from them together as a family during our worship times and even while we are cleaning the kitchen. These songs are important—they are not just like the choruses sung in our modern churches. They are full of the meat of theology and pious devotion. The survivors of enemy prisoner-of-war camps have all attested to the strength the singing of these hymns lent them when everything else had been stripped away (there are now sites with recordings of the melodies of these if they are unfamiliar to you).

I keep a poetry anthology or two close at hand and read from it whenever the idea strikes me, or as a concentrated study. My favorite is 101 Famous Poems as compiled by Roy Cook. I have owned this one for about 18 years and referred to it so often that it is quite dog-eared. Each entry has a brief biography of the author. Our first poem memorized from this was Joyce Kilmer's Trees:

I THINK that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

Even small children can remember this one in just a few minutes. My grown children still quote it to me.

Of course, I must not neglect to mention Mother Goose rhymes, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Christina Rosetti for the younger set. I keep these close by my desk and find them soothing to read aloud just before a nap or during a thunderstorm at night.

Checking out over sized books from the library on a certain artist is one of the funnest ways to go about studying art. We also have a few encyclopedias of art in various places of the house and refer to them regularly. Our family is definitely bent towards artistic creativity (four of our grown children are graphic designers, two working full-time in the field), so artistic pursuits don't have to be encouraged, and sometimes are used as leverage against bad behavior (taking away drawing for a few days, etc.). I believe this is due, in part, to all of the time my children had over the years to draw and create as they wished—we have owned very few coloring books.

Tending the garden together.

As for the out-of-doors, the younger children play outside in our yard often, they are taught to enjoy the nature we have created there. We keep two gardens; one with herbs and flowers, the other with vegetables. They tend both and enjoy it immensely.

Quiet time in the afternoons is when the older set go off on nature walks—and after the little ones nap they excitedly share what they have seen with all of us. We try and go on family nature walks at least once a week, although in the heart of winter it is nearly impossible (our weather is often below freezing—not like the temperate winters Charlotte Mason experienced).

While I suppose certain educational exercises are relegated to specific times, the whole day is considered an educational experience. We do not own electronic game equipment, have only one cell phone, no cable TV subscription, and no computer games except solitaire. There will be times when the children will need to branch out, but we are not in any hurry. We have already raised six children to be fine adults in the same way—and they all do fine in social situations, despite our "cloistered" way of life.

We don't consider it our job to solve boredom—if a child comes up to me and even uses the word in a sentence, a new chore is assigned! Our children learn early-on to be creative with what they have at hand.

Concerning specialized areas of study, the older children naturally pursue these as they are needed—each child following his bent as he has been taught to put habits of careful and thoughtful diligence in place. They have been taught from infancy to view learning as fun, and so their leisure time is dedicated to it. With a little imagination, their careful studies are easily turned into high-school and even college-level courses.

Life skills are important! We tend to emphasize the liberal arts in our programs, but our children will grow to appreciate the time we take to teach them how to keep a checkbook or maintain a car. Even a nuclear physicist will have to change a flat some day!

Every child has his/her own satchel. This is where books, notebooks, copybooks, etc. are kept. These can be taken anywhere in the house, or even on the road, for learning at any time. These are dedicated to learning materials only—not allowed to be kept as "catch-alls" for gum wrappers, doll clothes, etc. It keeps things neat and simple and prevents them from becoming misplaced in the jumble that makes up our days.

I hope I have given a picture here of how possible it is to give children of a large family good, solid and practical educational experiences, without burning out or going broke! It is not our goal to cover every area of life and knowledge—no program can claim to do this—the universe of knowledge and wisdom is too vast to put into the nutshell of 12 years of study! Neither do we try and pursue everything all at once, but tend to learn in "seasons"—sometimes emphasizing nature, sometimes math, sometimes art.

It all boils down to trust—trust in God's timing and provision, as He cares for us more than we can possibly fathom.

Higher science—the living book way

Here is a terrific resource for those with older children—the dear creator of this website has compiled a list of science resources that are serious, yet presented in the context of "living books", and therefore perfectly in line with Charlotte Mason's recommendations!


MacBeth's High School Science

Enjoy!

How to clean a room

At home with mother

Most of us are not born knowing how to take chaos and create order.

My boys, especially, will look at a messy room and become despondent. The idea of sorting through the whole mess overwhelms them.

My boys love the book "Diggy Dan" in which Diggy is faced with a trashed-out bedroom and uses the occasion to fantasize about all sorts of things while cleaning up. His mother simply looks in every once-in-a-while and tells him to keep working.

I'm afraid that real life is not as fun. Sending a child in to clean his room without giving him some sort of plan is frustrating and useless for both sides.

There is a method we use around here to tackle total madness. Here it is in a nutshell:

Make the bed. On "Super-clean Friday", we tear everything off and change the sheets and wash the blankets. Usually, though, we just make sure the sheet is pulled up, the pillows all fluffed and in the right place, and the covers neat on top, tucked in without wrinkles. Anything found that does not belong on the bed is placed in the middle of the floor.

Clean under the bed. This is the favorite cleaning routine for children; stuff everything under the bed! But it doesn't work in our house as long as I inspect—otherwise the children resort to their old tendencies. Anything found that doesn't belong is placed in the middle of the room.

It's Super-clean Friday!

Clean the closet. We don't put the children's clothes in dressers—they are like sucking holes that end up being crammed with everything—including old peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches and dehydrated apple cores. Also, just when it is time to get ready for church or attend the business Christmas party, that special dress or dinner jacket is found crammed in the bottom of a drawer, wrinkled and unidentifiable. Instead, we hang everything besides pajamas, underwear and socks on hangers (sometimes we use baskets or bins for small items). This means that closets are very important, and therefore their maintenance is of the utmost importance. The children have been taught to arrange their clothes according to type and color, and also to keep the bottom of the closet free of debris. Again, anything found that does not belong in the closet is placed in the middle of the room.


 Clean furniture/container insides. Cubby-holes, along with bins and drawers are all emptied, and thoroughly cleaned and refilled in an organized way on "super-clean" days. On regular days they are simply tidied-up and anything that does not belong is placed in the middle of the floor.


Sort, put away or throw away.  Usually there is a mound of unknown contents filling the middle of the room at this point. What to do?—make piles. One pile for trash, one pile for clothing, one pile for shoes, one pile for toys, one pile for everything else. With younger children, Mom needs to be involved in this process until they can do it on their own. Older children just need some follow-up to ensure that everything really ends up where it should go—and not underneath someone else's bed, or under the couch, or even on top of the refrigerator (if you have tall boys like me—it took me a few years of missing things to realize they were all placed higher than I am able to see).

A clean and neat bedroom

Clean the surfaces. This requires some rags, cleaners and a vacuum (or broom). On "super-clean" days we tackle the windows, baseboards and walls. On a regular day we try and keep the doors and door jambs free of fingerprints and the floor clean.

At first my job is to work right along-side the children until they get used to the routine, as long as I do not allow them to just sit and watch me! They must be actively involved.

My next job is to direct and inspect, inspect and inspect—believe it or not, this takes a lot of energy—but things just don't get done well if I am not showing an energized interest.

Creating some sort of list or check-off chart can help—even if you hand-write it or draw it. This gives the child something concrete to hang on to when the mess begins to overwhelm him.

I have a very basic list created go here for basic list.  Happy cleaning!

♥ Softened by love ♥

The gift of motherhood

Lying there in the recovery room of the maternity ward waiting for my newborn baby to be brought to me, suddenly I became very aware of how unqualified I was to be a mother.

Pregnancy had just "happened" to me. Yes, I was happily married, but I was a young and inexperienced woman. How would I handle a small and helpless infant? What does a good and loving mother really look like?

I was a soldier in the United States Army at the time. I was told to be tough, to learn to subdue my female instincts and harden myself as a good trooper must.

These were ominous times—femininity was out, feminism was in. It was understood that women should take care of themselves; men were not trustworthy, responsible, or even intelligent enough to handle the complexities of relationships or family-life.

I had been taught these "enlightened" ideals from infancy. The only good man was either totally subdued or left by the wayside. Women needed men, it was reluctantly admitted, but only to lift heavy objects, to fix things, or to possibly bring home a paycheck. Leave the rest to the more capable female of the species.

Children are an heritage of the Lord

Children were inconvenient people that couldn't be avoided—they made you look stronger, they even gave you reasons to claim martyrdom—but beyond this they were nuisances. Give them some educational toys and good basic nutrition (with regular trips to the doctor and dentist) and press on with the business of living! And, by all means, have only two, for your own sake—how can you take care of everything and have children besides?

I had even found a way to adopt this hard, cold-hearted outlook into my Christian experience. I sheltered myself behind a wall of suppressed emotion, believing I was experiencing a valiant self-denial for Christ!

This was the mindset lying there with me in that hospital bed, but it was incapable of helping me nurture the most beautiful being in all of creation—my daughter!

I knew that Jesus could help me. So I urgently prayed.

There were four women to a room in this run-down military hospital. The staff was minimal, so we fended for ourselves in many ways; changed our own bedding (the stay was four days back then), walked down the hall to retrieve our own trays of food, etc.

God saw to it that the lady in the bed next to me knew just how to love her infant. Watching her released me and gave me the freedom to begin to enjoy my own tiny girl. I coddled, fondled and slept with my baby on my chest. I adored her every move, examined and took pleasure in the delicacy of her hair, her fingers, her eyelashes—I simply fell in love.

In loving her, the icy hardness of my heart began to melt away. I could feel the warmth flowing as stone turned to tender flesh.

Of course, I soon learned, that this meant life could hurt more, but I knew that this was God's wonderful plan for me. He wasn't going to let me live in the unreality of anti-femininity. He created me female—a woman, a tender-hearted, emotional being! He created me to mother!

Over the years I learned much more from other Biblical teachings and godly mentors. I learned that it is OK to be needy, dependent and weak. It is OK not to handle everything or even to try to be "on top of it all". Vulnerability is not a liability in my profession; it is a great asset.

Looking through the eyes of a child

It is just fine with God if all I want to do is to stay home and make home more heavenly. God considers it perfectly fine if I choose to skip down the street with my seven-year-old rather than help build a corporation.

And if I should choose to give my husband a lift and lilt at the sound of his voice—this too gives God pleasure.

I have found that my Bible is full of sweet emotive expressions. In Colossians we are told to, "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering".

These clearly are not feministic traits!

Paul tells the Philippians that there is comfort and consolation in Christ, and that we are to be like Him. We are given the example of Jesus in 1 Peter chapter 2, while standing before His accusers, instead of railing and fighting, He entrusted Himself entirely to God, He was his defender, and then we are told likewise...

"...ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; while they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.

Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement." (1 Peter 3:1-6)

Because we truly can trust God to take care of us, we do not need to be the hard, cold fighters the world desires us to be.

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:2)

There are certainly seasons in which we must fight, but solely under God's direction alone, even these times will be accompanied by peace as we are trusting in His strength and protection, not trying to battle in our own assurance.

My maturity is of more benefit to me now than when I first began. My 11-year-old daughter says she thinks older people's skin is softer than younger people's, I told her it becomes tenderized—because of all of the years of beatings!

Little Patience looking at her book

I am not sorry I yielded to love's call. Being so unprotected left me quite vulnerable to feeling every attack, but these, in the end, have been blessings to me as I put my face fully into the wind of God's Spirit which blows through me to drive out the chaff. I could be a very lonely, dark person today, but instead I am filled with joy and wonder, even after all of these years along this life's difficult journey.

Jesus can do this for you, too.

Just don't be afraid to be the woman God has destined you to be!

Ways to build a frugal homeschool curriculum

Homeschooling builds character

Tax return season is upon us, and many considering homeschooling in the coming year are in the process of figuring out what sorts of things can be bought with their tax dollars.

I spent many years calculating the costs for homeschool curricula and supplies. My first inclinations were toward an all-inclusive program. My journey began by ordering from a company that claimed to turn out advanced students, so they sent me a little bit of this and that—mostly from Abeka.

At first it was an exciting rush—all of those pretty textbooks made me giddy! But the honeymoon was soon over, my daughter was experiencing a lot of frustration and I became totally confused. I then began to search for something better.

Bob Jones was touted by all of my friends at the time. It was colorful and professional—it made us all feel "official", yet Biblical at the same time, but also poor, since it was (and still is) very pricey.

Notebook work time

This led me to try Rod and Staff books. They have some great materials that are not as expensive as other publishers, and are very Bible-centered and conservative. These were fine for a while, until I noticed how my sweet boy (who was by nature a compliant child) was languishing under the slavery of filling-in-the-blank books. My oldest daughter, the late-bloomer, could not relate to these materials at all. Although I liked the readers and the preschool booklets were fun, I could not justify spending so much money on consumable workbooks for my rapidly growing family—children being added almost yearly.

I then ordered the "everything" workbooks—those thick things that claim to contain all of the subjects in one consumable volume. I was also hearing and reading here and there about people who followed someone by the name of Charlotte Mason, so I began to be interested in unit studies. When I was visiting a fellow homeschooling mother, she confided in me that she had thrown the curriculum out and was using "real books", but she swore me to secrecy, just in case anyone else should find out (she had very active twin boys who just could not sit still for all of the busy work of the most popular programs). Her "confession" actually gave me permission to consider still other options, the "unusual" ones.

A new homeschool year begins

The next time I had tax money, my dear husband took me to a local homeschool supply store, which is where I found Kathryn Stout's "Design-a-Study" guides. I remember that the whole series, plus a taped recording, cost me only $128, compared to the $300-$500 it would have cost me to purchase complete materials from a conventional publisher! They were also non-consumable, which meant I could use them over and over, in fact, I still use these today!

These guides allowed me to feel "official" while also being free to use many resources that were at my library, or old textbooks and other books that I found at garage sales in my area. We used our money to purchase bookshelves, a microscope, used encyclopedia sets, and office supplies. I wouldn't have been able to afford such luxuries if I were buying conventional materials.

Homeschooling was beginning to be fun.

Back then computers were just getting out of the "ms dos" phase—a Windows based system was a brand new innovation. The only access to the Internet was via dial-up modem. CD-ROM's were extremely expensive, and they didn't always work with every computer system.

But today's homeschoolers now enjoy fast access to the Internet. Almost each and everyday I discover something new and profitable such as bird identification helps from Cornell (the university that published books by Anna Botsford Comstock), and still others including birdsong—whole books for free—Wikipedia—coloring pages—phonics songs—notebooking pages—eBooks on homeschooling—video tutorials on everything from auto maintenance to knitting—online courses, etc.

Learning creative ways to be frugal

A few years ago, cable Internet service cost about $60 in our area, which made it pretty hard to afford. Now, with everyone cutting out everything but the "essentials", the cable company (and the phone company) got wise and now both offer their services for about $24 per month—making the investment a wise one indeed! We pay our bill (and we don't subscribe to television cable—just the Internet) six months in advance. An enterprising mother could find ways of earning that $24 a month so that it wouldn't take a dime away from the family budget.

These days, I would still encourage buying a few manuals to keep one from feeling "lost". I would still browse local garage sales, library book sales, and the like for tomes that could be useful, but I would make it a priority to have access to the Web (with oversight).

Of course, this means that one needs to have a good computer or two around the house. With today's stiff competition, add to that a depressed economy, desktops and even laptops can now be purchased for $300-$500; they are often utilized for work and household commerce, and even in our fast-paced world can last for a number of years with the proper care.

A good quality printer is a must. Fortunately, these are now also relatively inexpensive—although the ink cartridges are not cheap—but I always use the "economy" option in the "properties" area of my printer software to make my cartridges last longer. In addition, there are reliable businesses such as Walgreen's that refill cartridges for about half the price of the cost of a new one.

"Real-life homeschooling!

Office supplies are a must—we recently bought a ten ream box of copier paper for about $30. Pencils can be bought inexpensively in bulk, as can pens, from wholesalers such as Sam's Club. I also purchase my three-ring binders from Sam's—I can buy a six-pack of 1" binders for under $9!

Printers and specialty paper stores have supplies of card stock, etc. I have actually received some nice paper for free simply by asking a local printing shop for their "leftovers".

Another neat thing you can do is to ask a paint or wallpaper store for their old wallpaper books before they throw them away—these are wonderful for notebooking or scrapbooking!

Color crayons, notebooks, glue and folders can be purchased during the "back-to-school" supply sales in August of each year at your local retailers for a mere pittance.

A local dollar store can be a resource for most other supplies, such as occasional craft items (even a pad or two of decent sketch paper).

The bottom line?

For beginning with a few tiny tots, a good computer, printer and paper could suffice, along with some colors, scissors and glue. Most of these resources we already have on hand—so the costs would be negligible, and a library card is free (if you remember to take the books back on time—I have been notoriously known to run up a tab of over $20!)

If I had a bunch of kiddos, with elementary ages in the mix, my costs might be slightly higher, but not much more. An investment in a set of McGuffey Readers and Ray's Arithmetics could keep me in textbooks for a number of years, and even these could be printed and bound from a free Internet download site.

A time for Art supplies

Not everything would need to be purchased at once; making plans and procuring what you need when you need it can sometimes be more efficient than buying a large supply of materials that must be stored; then subsequently lost or damaged, or sometimes wasted because it looks as if there is such an ample supply!

Homeschooling conventions and fairs are about to begin all over the country. This is a time when the "glitz" can be overwhelming. I am not saying that one shouldn't purchase items that are needful, and pay handsomely—these are investments and therefore should carry no remorse with their procurement.

All I am saying is that there is a bunch of "fluff" that is being presented that is unnecessary, or at the very least is patterned after the failing public schooling model of content first, learning skills second.

In general, modern textbooks, unless they are purchased for $.25 apiece at a garage sale and only used for reference (maybe) or for some illustration or chart material, are not worthwhile. It is far better to invest in real books; the type of books people (meaning adults) use when they are trying to find something out, or perhaps learn how to accomplish a task. Craft, homesteading, and field guides, etc. are the best purchase for the buck. About 18 years ago we purchased an animal kingdom encyclopedia set for $20 second-hand—now that was a wise purchase! We also have books on woodworking, electricity, needlework, frugality, business, medicine, writing, computer science, and aerodynamics. Most of these were very reasonable, although some were worth paying more to obtain.

Let's keep spreading the word!

It's sort of like the way I do my thrift store shopping. I first go through the store (in this case it would be the Internet, catalogs, conventions, etc.) and put in my cart (or on a list) anything and everything that catches my eye and looks half-way decent. Then, when I am ready to check out, I go through the cart and begin to take a more discriminating look at each item. I ask myself questions like "Do I really need this?", and "Is this really worth spending my money on?", and "How useful will this be in the long run?". After I have eliminated most of the items in my cart I return the items (or send my children to put them back) neatly (not to be inconsiderate), then I make the journey home with a bag full of real treasures, instead of building up useless clutter.

The only reason we like textbooks is because it keeps us from having to think so hard—but if we have the correct focus of learning skills first, content second, all we need is some basic structure and discipline and then allow God to fill in the blanks.

Our "Fat-Albert" bird hotel and resort

The "Fat Albert" bird hotel and resort

About eight years ago we planted a five foot Blue Spruce in our front yard. It was a special variety—a "Fat-Albert", known for its dense, pyramid-like shape.

That tree has since quadrupled in height and more than doubled in girth. Because of its density, the birds have found it to be the perfect place for their nests. We have had as many as four nests with chicks in this tree—all at the same time. This Colorado Blue Spruce in our front yard has become a "bird hotel" of sorts.

Workbook nature observation pages

This spring I decided to take advantage of the children's interest in the yearly nesting phenomenon by creating some nature observation notebooking pages that the children could utilize to document their discoveries. They were all very enthusiastic, as you can see (right).

I have uploaded these pages here at: Homeschool Launch, just in case you might have a "bird tree" in your yard, too! We are all sure enjoying God's creation together this year!

Old calligrapher's trick for paper without lines

* Please note, I created these pages without lines, but we use an old calligrapher's trick that of placing a piece of lined paper underneath (I have provided one) that can be seen through to act as a guide when writing (for older students).

A time to every purpose under heaven

A time to every purpose under heaven

This can be a slump time in the home-school year. Children and parents alike are getting a little burned out, and everyday tasks can seem to be mundane compared to the awesome awakening of Spring.

This is also a time when we are planning for next year, or wishing we were! Time, money, and energy are limited resources, and we can feel burdened with feelings of inadequacy.

Don't lose heart—it is all worth it! If you need a break to do some spring-cleaning, or just to breathe, by all means take it! Give yourself and your children a reprieve and spend some time outdoors—look at the sky, listen to the birds, sit and soak in the warm sunshine.

Bake cookies, watch a good old-fashioned movie and enjoy some buttered popcorn. Read aloud a fun novel together. Take lunch to Daddy at work. Visit your elderly relatives. Plant a garden.

Then, after you have rested, assess your year; What worked? What didn't?

Take time everyday to read and meditate in God's Word—even if you have to spread open your Bible above the kitchen sink in order to have time to read it (a la Nancy Campbell of Above Rubies). This is the "renewing of your mind" of Romans chapter 12. Doing so will tune your mind to hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit as you consider and plan.

Talk things over with Daddy—what does he see happening? What direction would he like to see your homeschool take? Be open to God's leading through your husband.

A time to laugh

But you don't have to burden him with money worries—there are many inexpensive ways of going about teaching your children. The very first thing to do is to educate yourself. We are products of our own education, and I am afraid we have been influenced to think of learning in terms of a humanistic and socialistic demagoguery, without any consideration of God's intent for the instructing of children in the fear and admonition of the LORD. There is so much more to this than adding a few Bible verses to your teaching effort! The whole foundation of modern curriculum is flawed. This is why I heartily recommend that we do not succumb to the bait of public school at home—or "virtual schooling".

It may seem that it takes the pressure off, since the plans are all done, there is professional support, and all of the supplies are provided. But, in actuality, the pressure is on, more so than if curriculum is planned and paid for by parents.

For one thing, the curriculum is not any different from that of the brick-and-mortar schools. The subjects are taught in a disjointed manner, and the acknowledgement of God is nowhere to be found. The readers make no reference to including Him in everyday life, the science assumes that the flawed and unsubstantiated theory of evolution is a fact and makes no mention of a Creator, and history fails to credit Christ as the number one influence on Western culture. Without speaking a word against Christ, it influences children to consider Him to be irrelevant to "real life" (no wonder our country is in such bad shape!)

The methods used are full of busy work; keeping students occupied with meaningless filling in of blanks and parroting of "facts". Children are seen as buckets needing to be filled, but there is no time for the lighting of the fires of genuine discovery and learning delight!

The whole family becomes tied to the schedule of the school year. There is no time for "lifestyle learning"—the officials must be satisfied, and the parent becomes a slave-driver, a partner in the assassination of a child's natural desire to learn.

These are not marks of homeschooling.

Here are some sites that give a better view of what it means to "learn in freedom":

And yes—a time to love!

Homeschool Oasis


The Moore Foundation


John Taylor Gatto


Lifestyle of Learning


Charlotte Mason Help


A Charlotte Mason Education


Simply Charlotte Mason

I have discussed this in depth on my blog before, but I would like to add some more resources here:

The Eclectic Learning Series: A person could take advantage of this series practically for free, or at negligible cost when compared to other curricula. You can find most titles for free on the Internet, purchase the McGuffey's Readers, Ray's Arithmetics, Harvey's Grammar and Spencerian Penmanship from Mott Media (or even Amazon), purchase Cd's from Dollar Homeschool, or download and print the books from Google Books, The Gutenberg Project, etc. I have helps here for the Ray's and McGuffey's Primer.

Note-booking. There are more resources for this sort of thing than I have time to post. Here are just a few that are loaded with useful information and helps:

The Notebooking Fairy


Notebooking For High-schoolers


Highland Heritage Homeschool


Practical Pages


That Resource Site

Don't be afraid—don't let the economy or the weather or even your own fear of failure (or regrets) get you down. Learn to sit at the foot of the cross of Christ and allow His grace to cover you—He ever lives to make intercession for you!

Rededicate your whole family to the living and true God, and in the process of surrender you will find peace, and from that peace—the joy of the Lord which is your strength!

Catch the sale!

Westvon Publishing is having an amazing sale on their Scribe System notebooking products--the History Scribe set--usually $30--is only $3--and it is bursting with all sorts of goodies for students from beginning readers/writers to "senior high school".

It's only good until midnight tonight (my birthday!) so spread the word!

At the feet of Jesus

Seek that wisdom which is from above

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brethren dwell together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)

He stared away from me when I entered into his room. I wasn't sure what I would say to him, but I knew he needed some firm yet loving guidance.

The disagreements I was hearing from upstairs turned out to simply be over breakfast food, but they could have easily been about almost anything. Somehow one child in particular has developed a habit of countering and arguing about everything, asserting his opinion about everything, and it was beyond annoying. Still he wasn't the only child suffering from this malady.

I prayed, and these words came out, "Son, you need to concentrate on the words "affable" and "amiable". Do you know what these words mean?"

A cheerful young man

He replied, "I think I do."

I answered, "They mean a person should be friendly. Now, I don't want you to come out of this room until you have prayed and decided that you will try and be a friendly person."

Besides being a bit "cheeky" lately, he is also humble and teachable. He took my words to heart, and for the rest of the morning he was very cheerful and responsive.

I had a few questions, though. I had a vague idea of what amiable meant, but not specifically. So I grabbed a dictionary, and was pleased to find that the authors had chosen "amiable" which proved to have broad connotations, listing not only the basic definition of the word, but an impressive list of synonyms as well.

I began to see the fingerprint of the Holy Spirit on this situation as I studied further.

I also found antonyms of the word, which were quite convicting in themselves, and then scriptures began to come to my mind. It became very clear that our whole family could benefit from the presentation of this study, including yours truly!

The exploration of this one word is a “gold-mine” pointing to God's kind of love as it is expressed in the Bible in 1 Corinthians 13.

Here is a brief outline of my findings:

Amiable: Having a pleasant disposition; good-natured. Cordial; Sociable; Congenial.

Synonyms: Amiable—friendliness and sweetness of disposition. Affable—fits a person easy to approach and difficult to anger. Good-natured—tolerant, easy-going disposition, docile nature. Obliging—disposition to comply with the will of others. Agreeable—an eagerness to please. Pleasant—favorable manner or appearance.

Antonyms: Disagreeable—characterized by quarrelsome manner; bad-tempered. Quarrelsome—tending to quarrel, contentious, surly, hateful, churlish, cross, touchy.

Scripture References:

Proverbs 10:12

Proverbs 15:1

Proverbs 18:4

Galatians 6:2

1 Corinthians 10:24

1 Peter 4:8

2 Timothy 2:24

I soon discovered that I really needed this study myself! How easy it is for us to treat perfect strangers friendlier than we treat our own family members. It stirred me to deep reflection and profound repentance!

Martha and Mary with Jesus

Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. (Luke 10:38-42)

Especially during this Resurrection season, to realize our need for forgiveness gives us an excellent reason to sit at the foot of the cross and gaze up at our wonderful Savior!

A birthday tea party

It has become a tradition to hold a tea party around the first part of April (5 of us, including Mom and Dad were born in this month).

In past years, I have planned and officiated. This year Sarah and Ryan (along with Ellie) teamed up together to plan and decorate, Daddy and I only supplied the goodies. I was quite impressed with what they developed.



The table awaits the guests.

The children chose a butterfly/fairy theme. They created a butterfly mobile, personalized fairy placecards, and cutouts of flowers spread over the table cloth (a polyester floral design turned wrong-side up).



Butterflies flutter from the chandelier.



This placecard is for "Eliana, Queen of Sweet Peas"


There was tea for the ladies, and coffee for the gents, with whipped cream for all.



Patience only wanted the whipped cream!



Treats begin to disappear



 



A happy, messy little princess adds her endorsement to the occasion.

 

Everyone had a blessed time, but we nursed a few stomach aches as the day wore on--such are the happy times of childhood!