3 Homeschooling truths

I know what you are probably thinking....3 truths! 3... That's it? I assume this because I was actually thinking the same. But friends, honestly we could all probably write a book all about homeschooling truths and as a matter of fact one day I might just do that. Right now, however, I want to encourage you with these 3 truths and remind you that we all have felt this way and these feelings are usually only temporary.

1) Some days are better than others - There are days where it takes every ounce of strength out of me just to roll out of bed to begin, and then there are others where I'm in an amazing mood and ready to take on whatever the day may have for me.  Are you having a rough day? Remember that you are not alone and everyone has them. I have a saying that I wrote out and printed on paper that says - What are you going to do today with God's gift of life? This encourages me and helps me remember that every single day truly is a gift. 

2) There will be mistakes made - This is a universal fact with everything. I'm unsure how to have everything perfect and mistake free and I'm okay with that. You should be okay with it as well. Most of the time our mistakes or children's mistakes teach us very valuable lessons for future events and times. When a mistake is made, it's done. It's time to move on from it, learn from it and definitely don't dwell on it. 

3) Some curriculum just won't work - Have you ever bought a curriculum that you just knew was going to be a big hit only to find out it wasn't all that it seemed? I think we all have and this pretty much fits into the - there will be mistakes made category, but I believed it needed to be a truth all on it's own. If it's not working, throw it out. Some of our best homeschooling lessons haven't even required a specific curriculum lesson plan, but they have came from experiencing life. Move on from the bad curriculum experiences. It happened, it's over, and now it's time to explore other options that might work better.

Okay, so I was thinking about there only being 3 truths and decided that I should add another. So, here it is.

4) You are doing Awesome! - Believe it and own it! It's the truth!


Do you have anything to add? Please share your comments below.

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How To Have A Horrible Homeschool Experience

 Friends, read these words the way they are written and then read them the opposite way. A little homeschool perspective. 

1) Buy into the lie that you can't do it. Go ahead and tell yourself that there is no way you could ever homeschool your own children. I mean, you probably don't even have the right training and certificates to be teaching children.

2) Only push academics. Work, work and more work. You know you can't have any workbooks uncompleted. 

3) Don't take any time for fun. Who needs to have fun anyway.

4) Worry about what other people think. We all know that their opinion is far superior than what is right for your family.

5) Never take any breaks. You can not fall behind. 

6) Don't listen to what your children want to learn. They can't possibly know what they are interested in.

7) Never offer praise. Your child already knows he is doing a good job, right?

8) Compare yourself to other homeschooling families. You know that they are doing everything perfect. 

9) Try to do it all. "Jane" can do it all...you can too.

10) Never smile and laugh with your kids. You can't let them know you enjoy being with them.

I assure you friends, follow these 10 easy steps and you will succeed in having a horrible homeschool experience. 

Disclaimer: I don't know who Jane is and I don't want you to have a bad experience. 

Have You Been Interrupted?

Hello friends,

This morning I took sometime to catch up on some missed bible sermons. I'm so grateful that I did. This is what I took away from it and I hope that it inspires or helps you, as much as it has me.


Have you ever felt like you have been called to do something, but felt like you didn't have time? I know, I have. Maybe, you just didn't understand what was being asked of you. God's favor isn't always what we imagine it to be. His purpose is often so different than we would ever plan. Sometimes, what we feel is interruption is actually an invitation to something greater. I think about how young Mary felt when the angel Gabriel appeared and told her that she would give birth to Jesus. Did she think interruption or invitation? Actually, the bible clearly tells us that Mary was confused and disturbed at first.

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. ²⁸ Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” ²⁹ Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. Luke 1:26-29 NLT

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³⁸ Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” Luke 1:38 NLT

Remember friends, things you could never plan for can become the greatest blessings, because God has a greater purpose in his plans.

I know, I'm going to be looking at interruptions very different for now on. 

I also wanted to share with you something that has been on my heart for a while now. I recently started reading a little book called Coffee Break with God. I received this book a few years ago, from my mil. I remember reading through it and putting it on a shelf. Well, through the years the book collected quite a bit of dust. I saw this and decided it needed to be cleaned. I picked the book up to dust it off and decided to keep it out, to read later. That evening I opened the book to a random page and WOW! It was just what I needed to read and have felt a strong urge to share the message. 

The first words I read were ---When Life Becomes Routine.   

I know as a homeschooling mom, that stays home a lot, I have felt that things have became very routine. The same this, the same that. Friends, I never realized that these feelings could be signs of oncoming depression. I needed to ask God for a change of attitude. I had been falling into a very destructive thought pattern. I realized that I needed to find a hobby, family activity, etc. One thing is certain, God doesn't want us to abandon dreams he has giving us. He wants us to fulfill the dreams he has put in our hearts. 

I'd like to invite you to Life Church - Church Online.

New Series - Fear Not

What are you afraid of? Fears attack the most precious parts of our life and keep us from living the life meant for us. God wants to help us overcome our darkest fears as we learn to Fear Not. I would love it if you would join me now or at one of the 61 experiences this week to find out more!  You can join us at http://go2.lc/11a.  See you there!

Australia - wk 6 - Day 9

 
(In song) This is the unit that goes on and on my friends, It's the unit that just doesn't seem to end!

Visit our Australia Pinterest Board

Okay, while we have had a ton of fun with this unit, we are looking forward to starting another soon. Today has once again been more of a review day, with lots of emphasis on reading, spelling, & math.

We also have the girls dentist appointments scheduled for today. Today is their six month checkup. We are hoping for good reports. :)

Homemade Crystals

We started today off with a wonderful start. Great moods, great breakfast, and a great experiment. 

We read a wonderful book about rocks and crystals. We read about how crystals are formed. I wanted the girls to be able to do a experiment that would show them crystals being formed. 
 
here is a link to show how to set up the experiment:

How can you make homemade crystals without a kit?

The easiest way to make crystals is to fill up a tall cup of warm water with lots of table salt dissolved in it. Take a piece of thick string or yarn, tie it in the middle of a pencil or stick. Suspend the string into a cup of water by placing the pencil/stick across the cup. As the water evaporates every day you'll see crystals forming on the string. For prettier results add a drop of food coloring to the water. In about a week you should have a beautiful growth on your string

We added red food coloring, so hopefully in a few days we will have red crystals that have formed on our string.

Update: Caterpillar is still in it's cocoon. Checking it everyday and it seems to still wiggle around, not sure what is taking so long for it to come out, but we are still waiting.