Tag-Archive for » homeschooling «

Jun

This is a modified repost of a previous popular post here at the Queen Mommys Cafe:

Our girls, Curly & Georgie, are 4 and 2. Curly just graduated from Christian PreK right and loved it. Both girls are social butterflies (big surprise, right?) and both are very bright – when I can get their attention long enough, that is…

I still feel – even after posting this some time ago, that as part of the Mothering experience for me homeschooling could play a real part. And I still laugh. (Yep, call me Sarah.)

Who, ME? God – do you know who you are talking to here? Me? Miss Love it for 3 weeks and then lose it somewhere in the house? Me – miss plant the garden (late) and not reap all the goodies. Me – miss fall in love with a product only to toss it out 6 weeks later.

Me – Miss Love The Thrill of the New Experience, Tolerate It Until Its Gone. Really, Me? Every single semester with Liberty University Online I’ve threatened to quit. Seriously.

So I’ve been investigating, asking questions, reading curriculum reviews, and talking to some homeschool moms. I still have loads of information to share here about homeschooling – and have just put it off because it’s been a tad painful for me. My husband is a big proponent of education – the kind you get at schools and in colleges. And I’m NOT criticizing him – so everybody just calm right down.

Yes, my personality and nature would make homeschooling more work for me. That is very true.

And the days when I find an entire roll of toilet paper stuck in the toilet (Georgie), or oil crayon all over the playroom walls, floors, and even my prized hope chest (Curly) – I want to scream and pull my hair out and give up on the whole interactive motherhood adventure.

The truth is – I couldn’t possibly homeschool without my husband’s blessing or support. And this is not about raising cane to try to coerce that.

I laughed at the first notion of homeschooling BECAUSE I know myself and my tendencies. It’s not a small thing to take your child’s education into your own hands – when it can be so easy to relinquish it to “trained professionals” and just do my part when she’s home. Of course, I want the best education for each of my children, and I have questions about any kind of education for my daughters.

But I do think God challenges me – whatever the outcome – because He wants me to EMBRACE my role as Mother to my children. It is as much about committing to raise them up in a way that honors God as they learn and grow – whether they continue with their Christian education outside the home – or not.

My husband is not the bad guy – it makes him the Husband & Father he is called to be – and my role is to be the Wife & Mother I am called to be – whether my children get their education at home or in school.

And education isn’t just about book learnin’! =)

I feel absolutely – more and more and more every day – that my role in motherhood is even DEEPER than I imagined it to be – and even than I’m sometimes willing to be. I am constantly being challenged to let go of myself more – to let go of my desires and whims – and focus on raising them to love Jesus – whether or not I also teach them how to diagram a sentence or anything else “educational.”

So, while I won’t be homeschooling them next year, I am going to dig into being a better hands-on Mother and Leader and Guide and Trainer – because that’s what God gave them to me for…

Oh – and I WILL be talking more about homeschooling in the near future…

Category: Faith, Family, Home, Life, Parenting Tags: Godlay Motherhood, Godly Womanhood, homeschooling, raising children 3 Comments

Jan

Homeschool! Who, Me? You’ve Got to Be Kidding!

queenmommy

Our girls, Curly & Georgie, are 4 and 2. Curly is in Christian PreK right now and she loves it. Both girls enjoy being read to and Curly & I have recently made a game of writing her letters or numbers, identifying them, trying to sound them out and more on the big Magna Doodles she got for Christmas.

So when I felt like God was saying that as part of the Mothering experience for me may include homeschooling, I laughed. (Yep, call me Sarah.)

Me – Miss Love The Thrill of the New Experience, Tolerate It Until Its Gone. Really, Me? Every single semester with Liberty University Online I’ve threatened to quit. Seriously.

So I’ve been investigating, asking questions, reading curriculum reviews, and talking to some homeschool moms. In fact, I’ll be meeting with some next week, and have some interviews prepared for blog posts to come. I know my nature – I know my inclination to jump in full swing and then lose steam…

So when my husband mentioned his concern that I would follow my pattern with homeschooling – well, it hurt my feelings. But only for a minute. He wasn’t being mean – it’s a valid concern and he did everything he could to be gentle about it.

But it’s true. I am that way.

Sometimes.

While I do threaten to quit going to school every semester since I started my Bachelor’s – I haven’t yet. And I’m mapping out the next few semesters to see how and when I will complete my degree. Despite last semester’s difficulties with Algebra (which I will get to retake) and the miscarriage.

While it is sometimes challenging, I’ve been a pretty committed blogger for 4 years now – and love it. That may not seem like much to some people – but it’s a big deal for me. Blogging is hard work some times – and building a blog with good content challenges me – even if its not the most popular blog out there or if I don’t always do everything right all the time.

My husband’s comment hurt because I believed the worst about myself – for just a moment. He didn’t say it’s what WOULD happen, he was just concerned it might.

I laughed at the first notion of homeschooling BECAUSE I know myself and my tendencies. It’s not a small thing to take your child’s education into your own hands – when it can be so easy to relinquish it to “trained professionals” and just do my part when she’s home. Of course, I want the best education for each of my children, and of course I have questions and concerns about homeschooling myself.

But I do think God challenged me – whatever the outcome – because He wants me to EMBRACE my role as Mother to my children. It is as much about committing to raise them up in a way that honors God as they learn and grow – whether they continue with their Christian education outside the home – or not. And even if my husband leads us in a different direction, I will trust that He is following God – even if it’s a different path than I might have chosen.

That does not make him the bad guy – it makes him the Husband & Father he is called to be – and my role is to be the Wife & Mother I am called to be – whether my children get their education at home or in school.

Homeschooling is a challenge to consider – given my current “plate”. It’s a challenge to consider – given my Sanguine penchant for fun. It’s a challenge to consider – given the strong (my husband calls it “dominant”) natures of each of my very different girls. and their mother who is much the same.

But it’s not an impossible challenge given my faith in God, my husband’s feet planted in practical reality, and my love for my children.

And maybe God just wants me to trust Him more – wherever He leads us…

More to come…

To see what’s going on with the other Company Girls this week, visit Home Sanctuary by clicking the pretty link below:

Category: Family, Favorites, Home, Life, Parenting Tags: homeschool, homeschooling 19 Comments

Apr

What's Up Wednesday? Lapbooking!

queenmommy

Have you discovered Lapbooking?

Do you know what it is?

I didn’t until a few weeks ago. I’d never heard the term, but the more I was looking into premade home organization templates & forms to build my Homekeeper Notebook, the more I saw the term.

Being nosy – I checked into it more. And LOVE what I’ve found.

Lapbooking is essentially an easy way to introduce or implement teaching at home and keep a record of important learning – a portfolio of memories. Not just for homeschoolers, although that is where I’ve found the bulk of my information, it is a format which allows for teaching any child at home on just about any subject – whether scholarly or spiritual. Not only is it a way for parents to teach their children on any subject or topic, it is designed to become a keepsake and momento of your child’s learning.

From Math, Science & Nature, to Scripture & Memorization, to Character building & Holidays to much, much more. It can essentially be built around anything you want your child to know.

I began printing some things at home to use with Curly and we’re enjoying things so far. I started with simple coloring pages that I liked to get her used to the idea of keeping her papers in a binder and knowing that when the binder comes out, it’s project time. The more research I did, the better the printables I discovered.

My best find – and the one that got me seriously Lapbooking - was finding 2 groups on the Ning network (which I love) that are geared specifically toward Lapbooking and provide free printables & projects for Lapbooks. Again – To join Ning is free and by signing up for either or both groups, you essentially join Ning. You can find just about any kind of network you can imagine, as well as create one of your own if you’d like. The two Ning networks I recommend for Lapbooking are: Christian Preschool Printables and Lapbook Lessons.

These two networks provide free printables & templates – as well as member photos of finished projects and so much more. I found some terrific projects for Curly – geared to preschoolers – but there are categories and projects for kids of all ages.

It’s mostly free-form – there’s no real “right” or wrong way to Lapbook. Some homeschoolers use it exclusively – while others use it as a supplement – while other parents like me, just use it as a way to introduce concepts & topics at home. You can find guides if you aren’t sure or want some direction – or you can pick & choose from a variety of templates – different websites – and put together your own “lesson plan” of sorts.

Currently, Curly & I are starting on a Creation project. We’re starting off slowly – but building on her letter identification and alphabet skills while teaching her about Creation. I found this particular lesson set at Ning. I got to pick & choose what I wanted from the large selection of pieces in the Creation section, so I’m free to use it with Curly at our pace and comfort level. As she grows older, she can add to this or move on to new projects and keep this as a momento of her early learning. It’s a way we can always enhance her learning, whether or not she’s homeschooled.

This is something that she & I can work on together – gives us some quality time – and it’s fun for me to see how she grasps new information. It also gives us a PROJECT with goals to reach – and and adds variety to our schedule. I don’t do this with her every single day. Some days just don’t allow for it – but I am going to incorporate it at least twice a week as we begin the Creation section.

Category: Family, Life Tags: Christian Parenting, Family, freebies, homeschooling, kid-friendly, Kids, lapbooking, learning, Notebooking, Parenting resources, preschool coloring, printables, Resources, teaching One Comment

Nov

Bible Coloring Pages at ABC Home Preschool

queenmommy

So I visited ABC Home Preschool this morning to check out their homeschool curriculum for PreK. I’m actually looking for something I can do at home with Curly to support what she’s learning at Mommy’s Day Out. I want to be more consistent in helping her REMEMBER what she learns, and the ABC cards we’ve used before have all been destroyed or lost in the black hole of our house. We review her Bible verses, but I want more tools so I can have some one-on-one time with her doing something fun, creative, and educational in addition to that!

First, I should mention that they have printed 9-month curriculum (with wipeoff pages!) by age groups, as well as a download to print at home (much more affordable). However, what caught my eye this morning was the free coloring pages!!! Curly LOVES to color (just like her mommy) and I found a whole page of links to Bible Theme coloring pages! I printed several nativity themed pages for us to color this month – and they also have links for preschool age crafts, too! I’ve bookmarked this page so I can go back and print seasonal or holiday pictures whenever I want. I even printed front & back to save paper – and she’s coloring some of them right now… I think I’ll join her…