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New Routines, New Materials

9/9/2014

We homeschool all year round in this household, but that doesn't mean we homeschool intensively all year round.

Over the summer we do the basics plus fun stuff.. the basics are .. Math, English and the various books we read.
The fun stuff this summer was... doing some music, working on some science, Veritas Press history and enjoying God's creation.

About six months, off and on throughout the year we work harder, we add in geography, focused science, Phys Ed, history n(reading/hands on etc), arts and bible.   One month here, two months there and such like.

LAST year we homeschooied in bits and pieces throughout the day. So we'd some reading in the morning, take an hour to do whatever, then we school a bit and then do whatever .. so our schooling happened but it was very spread out.. and that at times proved to be problematic in that if something came up.. we'd miss out on doing work. Not so good for our long term goals.

This fall semester we have an international student living with us, this forces us to be up and at 'em earlier in the day, and take in turn allows us to be more focused on getting work done before lunch. (WOOT WOOT).

Today was a bit tough.. I had some rebellion going on, but I introduced the lad to some changes.     For some reason this helped. :)   Go figure.

1. A new list.   I bought this whiteboard, meant for going into lockers, with this wipe off crayons.   I can put our task list on these boards and they can be wiped off when completely. See that blank spot.. that's stuff wiped off already.   Dailies are done in black, cleaning in orange, changes daily in read, and hope to do in green and blue.

The fun past is I bought TWO of them. So my arty boy can draw things while I read books or instructions and keep the wigglies out. :)

See we hate schedules in this house.. we really do. BUT we like lists. :)   So we can make our lists, colour code them so we know what's most important, and then it works! At least for us it works. :)

2. Our most used supplies are right at hand. Solutions was having a "we're closing this store and moving to another site" sale so we got these handy little drawers. one in black, the other in white so we can tell them apart. My crayons for the boards go on the top of the black one (they were currently in use).

Everything is right at hand. Pencil sharpeners, erasers, pencil crayons, pencils, cutting tools, pens (and white out), and markers. It's so handy the lad was quite pleased. "I don't have to look for things anymore mom!" :)

3. Another change is we'll be dividing our time up. So no more doing ALL our computer work all at once. We'll do some computer stuff, then do the breakfast dishes, then do some our black and red list upstairs in the bookroom, then have lunch and if there is any computer work left do that right after lunch (or before lunch if we have time). I hope this will keep us more focused and keep the boy moving so he won't be feeling weighted down by "I have to do all this stuff and don't get a break for nothing).

It overall worked well once the lad got into the groove of schooling again. The lad seemed quite pleased by the end of our day. :)

Hymn Study: God Himself is With us

9/9/2014

God Himself is With Us
Words: Gerhard Tersteegen
Music: Joachim Neander (ARNSBERG)

God Himself is with us:
Let us now adore Him,
And with awe appear before Him.
God is in His temple,
all within keep silence,
Prostrate lie with deepest reverence.
Him alone God we own,
Him our God and Savior;
Praise His Name forever.

God Himself is with us:
Hear the harps resounding!
See the crowds the throne surrounding!
"Holy, holy, holy,"
hear the hymn ascending,
Angels, saints, their voices blending!
Bow Thine ear to us here:
Hear, O Christ, the praises
That Thy church now raises.

O Thou fount of blessing,
purify my spirit;
Trusting only in Thy merit,
Like the holy angels
who behold Thy glory,
May I ceaselessly adore Thee,
And in all, great and small,
seek to do most nearly
What Thou lovest dearly.

Yesterday my son circled all the words he didn't know or that he couldn't read
Words he didn't know/couldn't read: resounding, surrounding, ascending, prostrate, deepest, reverence, ceaselessly. I really should have him circle words in different colours so I know if it's a reading (can't pronounce issue) or a I have no clue what the word means issue. But this gives us a chance to sit and talk about them together.

(November 25, 1697 – April 3, 1769), More about this hymn can be found:
Psalter Hymnal. Hymn Descants. Hymnnary. Cyber Hymnal. Tersteegen Hymns.
Life of Tersteegen(book).

Scripture References:
st.1 = Gen. 28:16-17, Ps. 95:6, Hab. 2:20
st.2 = Isa. 6:3, Rev. 4:8-11
st.3 = Jas. 1.18, Rev. 5.11-12, Heb. 5.8-9

Tersteegen was born and worked in Germany. (November 25, 1697 – April 3, 1769). He was a poet, weaver, a man given to pietism, hymn writer and was known for his deeply spiritual sermons. Originally trained as a merchant.

Click on image to go to source: greenwich

My goal this week is for the lad
To learn who Tersteegen is.
Examine the song and learn about rhyming in poetry. Perhaps do some poetry himself.
Look up where Germany is on our world map.
Look through the scripture references and choose one or two to write out.
Learn the hymn fairly well as we practice it each day.

The joy that is my son

9/6/2014

I am a mom with one child...
AND I dare to homeschool NOT worrying about socialization.
Weird huh?

So how does that all work you think? hmm.. I have to admit to not worrying on it a whole lot, firmly believing that God brought us to this place and he'll provide for my lad what he needs as long as I am able to provide the opportunities and as the Lord wills, the ability to follow through.

And so my son has ONE good friend... and therein he is content. And life is good. :)

I have to admit though, I certainly didn't plan to post with the thought in mind of talking about my son and socialization, I planned this post as a chance to talk about who my lad is and why we still homeschool him, despite his being a singleton.

You see, folks would have us put him in school so he gets some friends, and they don't understand why we don't. EVEN THOUGH he does have friends, and particularly one good friend.

My boy... creative, artsy, like his father gets hooked into videos and tv shows.. like TOTALLY. Given that hubby dear was a film student/geek it totally makes sense to me. His current total fascination is with Rocket City Rednecks and Minecraft. Oddly enough, much of what lad likes, hubby likes so it makes a good "go-to" for them to enjoy together. And what works for them works for me as it makes my heart smile.

Click image to got source bitbybitcraft.

What happens you think when you combine one perfectionist, with another perfectionist and then throw into the mix one "oldest" child?   .. well.. .. I can tell you ... You get a perfectionist.   It is amazes me the intensity of his desire to get everything just so    I creates a situation at times highly fraught with emotional energy and tears and loud noises...and over time will get moderated ... and it recalls the anguish I went through as I needed to learn that sometimes, just sometimes, good enough HAS TO be good enough even if it isn't perfect.   It's good to share with a child some of the things you learned as you matured... even if a lad doesn't want to accept them as of yet. :)

On the positive end of the spectrum... when I ask him to follow a certain rule.. it gets followed JUST SO. With profuse apologies when the rule is missed, or not done "just so"... and it helps him see grace offered. :)   T'is good that eh?

It has meant growth for me... I no longer say "do this in your best handwriting" as you know what??? that causes WAY too much stress for a child..... if I say best well then it has to be best and one mistake is the undoing of an hours work. NOT WORTH it to me. What works is... Can you this in a way that would make your mom happy?   That's doable.. as he knows I extend grace readily.

I could see his need for perfectionism being worn away in a school situation and causing him no end of grief (been there done that have no desire to see that in my boy).    I know that over time my lad will learn to use this need/skill of his in a way that will work for him and drive him on to success.

Freedom... oh.. I love the freedom that homeschooling brings us. The chance to do quiet museum tours, walks in the bush, international students, overnight stays combined with learning with a friend, it is good no?

I totally get that routine is a good thing for children...and that children thrive on it... my lad is learning that our routine is "so.. what do you want to do today?".. "well this is what I want to do today"... let's sort out how to make the day work for both of us hmm? and sometimes into the mix gets a .."Oh.. but Dad needs thus and such accomplished today" so let's figure that out first and then figure out how we can make our day work.   From that we make our list, we make our plans and we just check 'em off as we go. Once it's done the lad knows "we're done" and he's free as a bird for the rest of the day... and as a result he's more willing to be helpful when he's "off the clock" so to speak.

So we do problem solving every day which reduces angst and anxiety of fixed routines, while allowing for SOME fixed routines. Practiced spontaneity, learning to team play, learning to consider the needs of others, learning to combine helpfulness with a cheerful attitude... it's a good thing yes?   It means that I am not bound to "we follow this routine at all costs" (which my lad can easily get locked into but makes me feel way stressed cause it's not how I'm built to be) and I'm not too loosey-goosey to drive the two males in my household completely batty. :)

So homeschooling works for us... keeps us on our toes working together to make a life that runs smoothly.

This is a mostly constant .. it's our conversation jar. The slips of paper have things like questions, jokes, tongue twisters, true/false questions, riddles and what not on them. Once a day usually at breakfast, to make us think or do something different.

Hmm.. what else about my boy makes homeschooling work? How about this one.... he completes this family. He's made us to be better people and that's a good thing. And I think that homeschooling him, keeps us more connected as a family and that makes him a better person as well. (forgive the grainy cell phone picture HEY! I got the guys to pose for a family photo and they aren't all annoyed by it). :)

This creative, leadership driven, perfectionist bound, routine wanting, joy creating lad is all mine. I see me and I see my hubby in him all the time. He's a delight and a challenge to raise and homeschooling for us. It's part of what makes this family tick and fills my heart full up.

Does homeschooling fill a strong need in your family as well?

So.... here's the scoop. This LINK will go live on Wednesday. Go check out what other homeschoolers of onlies have say... it will be a good thing to do I am sure eh? :)

Cheerio!

Five minute Friday: Whisper

9/5/2014

My Computer is taking 10 minute to load pages, so this morning I am just doing the basics.

Five minutes of Friday. Hosted by kate. Write for five minutes. link up. Encourage the person ahead of you. Easy, Challenging, fun. This week the word is Whisper

This morning I want to scream. Yup. All week my computer has been odd. I've living via my phone. Well...communicating via my phone. :) I've been busy as well, so I"ve coped well. But today, when I have things to do on the beast... it's WAY worse.

So I want to scream.

My frustration is causing me problems Then I see Kate words...Whisper.

And I hear my Lord saying peace... calm. Be not anxious.

And so that whisper in my heart settles my mind. Calms my spirit. And I remember... focus on the vital, the computer stuff will sort out eventually. I will survive, my family will be okay. My work won't suffer over much right now.

It's okay.

So what has God whispered to you lately?

Hymn Study: I heard the voice of Jesus Say

9/1/2014

I HOPE to every week have my son pick of the songs we sing on Sunday to learn during the week. My reason for doing so is two fold. First off there is some great theology in the hymns we sing and second, is my son wants to learn them so he can sing along in church with us. :) We like to make a joyful noise to the Lord. :)

My plan is

Monday: print it off, have him circle all the words he doesn't know, and then listen to it on you tube (hopefully). Talk over words doesn't know.
Tuesday: start to sing the words, Look at the scripture behind the song and do some copywork on scripture. Break down the unknown words into sound groups. Look up definitions if needed.
Wednesday: learn about the composer, sing some more
Thursday: probably copy work - copy out the words of the song,
Friday: probably mix it the hymn and needing to put it in the right order. Check to see if there are words doesn't know.

This week my son chose "i heard the voice of Jesus Say". We are not Lutheran, and this is not our hymnal, but it had accurate words. :)

I would have preferred to have a vocal piece, but every vocal piece I found was to a very different tune, and I think it helpful if we have the same tune don't you?

So today my lad circled all the words he didn't know.

I was surprised at all the words that he knew. :) And when we talked them over, he actually did know them, he just thought he didn't. BUT it gives me a list that I can write out have him break down into sounds to help him learn them more immediately. :)

The Scripture we will be learning is John 6:35

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

Words He'll be practicing

Till (when I said it was short for until the response was oh.. why didn't he just write until then????)
Traveling (oh.. tr-a-vel-ing, got it mom)
Thou (does that mean you?)
Thirsty (that pesky TH sound he struggles with)
Weary (what does that mean mom? What is that word anyways?)
Worn (like worm, just with in n lad.. oh, I got it now mom)

So in short.. that's what we'll be doing with our hymn studies.
Do you study hymns at all?

Learning to read is an important part of missions

9/1/2014

this is the nawdm one

A missionary friend of mine writes:

Since the Forum I have also been busy doing a project that my 'boss' asked me to do and that actually puts into practice making a print environment here on our center by making wall-hangings in the local languages. I collected cultural proverbs (or sayings) from the participants at the Literacy Forum, representing 23 different languages. For example, in English we have the saying "A penny saved is a penny earned." I took the proverbs and typed them up in really large print, and sometimes chose a picture to illustrate it, then had them laminated in clear plastic and then mounted on either a wooden frame or on a colorful cloth-covered piece of wood made with the help of a local carpenter. Now they are decorating the walls of our office building, library and large classroom here on our training center so people can see all the languages we work with in translation and literacy. The large print is the local language, the smaller print is the translation or meaning of the proverb in French, and the name of the language is in the bottom corner. The Nawdm one says, "It's important that everyone knows how to read and write his/her own language." The Akebu one says, "If you haven't yet crossed the river, you shouldn't insult the crocodile."

I've known my friend since college. She works out in Togo, with Wycliffe Bible Translators, a big part of her job is helping people learn to read and helping them put the bible into their language. I find it so very cool. I longed to be out on the Mission Field as a kid, but have since learned that some folks are better staying home and supporting the work of those on the mission field abroad.

AND did you know that there is a curriculum to help folks learn about world missions? There is! It's over at Harvest Ministry and the program is called Teaching with God's heart for the world. It's a free program, go check it out. :)