Quiet your mind. Let the Holy Spirit lead you. Then watch this:
And now, take a look at this post on Hands Full, HEARTS full, Quiver full. And this one on Banku, Pho and Fried Spiders.
If you need another nudge, leave me a comment with your most pressing questions about adoption. If I can't set your mind at ease, there are plenty of other readers here who would be happy to share their stories with you. You can always repay them with prayers for their adoption journey!
And promise me this--promise that you'll ask yourself what's holding you back.
Because folks, there's a whole lot of children who need homes. Homes just like yours. Imperfect. A little chaotic. Messy, even. Houses too small. Run by fallible Mommas and Daddies. Without sprawling backyards. With $10,00 per year in the annual paycheck than they'd like.
Just ask yourself, o.k.?
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Confessions
Lately, I don't feel like the world's greatest mom.
While Oliver was at visitation today, I took the remaining four kids to McDonald's. And fed them JUNK. Why? Because they had video games there and I really wanted to just sit in the (relative) silence for ten minutes.
I have been counting the free sample lessons on the Teaching Textbooks website as math for the three older kids all week.
I didn't vacuum this morning, and there is dog hair all over the floor downstairs.
I need a haircut.
I would rather read to my kids than load the dishwasher.
My cousin is on vacation and I miss getting her emails and talking to her.
I realize suddenly that Manolin turning one is going to hit me like a ton of bricks.
I think I'm beginning to HATE Oliver's social worker. Seriously--HATE. I don't HATE anyone. Well ... until now.
My husband makes our bed every morning because I just don't care if it gets done or not.
The flowers in pots on my front porch died. Already. Bummer.
I plan on going to the Y early for my workout tonight because I want to bring the little guys home while the big ones are at AWANA and just be alone.
I am wearing the "WORLD'S GREATEST MOM" badge that Atticus made me today.
I am not looking forward to my homeschool support group meeting tomorrow night.
I haven't called to check in on my disabled mom in nearly a week.
That's the real me today. Warts and all. Love it or leave it. How real can you be this rainy Thursday?
While Oliver was at visitation today, I took the remaining four kids to McDonald's. And fed them JUNK. Why? Because they had video games there and I really wanted to just sit in the (relative) silence for ten minutes.
I have been counting the free sample lessons on the Teaching Textbooks website as math for the three older kids all week.
I didn't vacuum this morning, and there is dog hair all over the floor downstairs.
I need a haircut.
I would rather read to my kids than load the dishwasher.
My cousin is on vacation and I miss getting her emails and talking to her.
I realize suddenly that Manolin turning one is going to hit me like a ton of bricks.
I think I'm beginning to HATE Oliver's social worker. Seriously--HATE. I don't HATE anyone. Well ... until now.
My husband makes our bed every morning because I just don't care if it gets done or not.
The flowers in pots on my front porch died. Already. Bummer.
I plan on going to the Y early for my workout tonight because I want to bring the little guys home while the big ones are at AWANA and just be alone.
I am wearing the "WORLD'S GREATEST MOM" badge that Atticus made me today.
I am not looking forward to my homeschool support group meeting tomorrow night.
I haven't called to check in on my disabled mom in nearly a week.
That's the real me today. Warts and all. Love it or leave it. How real can you be this rainy Thursday?
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
JOY
Note on Jo's bedroom door whiteboard this morning:
The cause for such public proclamations of praise?
After rounds two rounds of sad breeding outcomes, a successful litter has been kindled in the rabbitry of one little Jo Blandings. Jo's $35 mistake bunny, Michelle, gave birth to her first batch of babies in a seamless delivery last night.
Jo made the announcement with tears of joy streaming down her cheeks as she burst in on me in my trademarked "DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR UNLESS THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE" bath time. Needless to say, the house was not on fire. But, it turns out, the flame that is the love of the Lord was being fanned in my beloved daughter.
As if it weren't enough to just have live bunnies after the specter of death haunted the last attempts, the Lord took this opportunity to pour out on Jo the kind of love that He knew she would understand the most:
Jo, it turns out, had been praying for 3 live kits. Three. It seemed like a lot to ask, she says, but she knew that God could do it. So she prayed. She petitioned. And she kept her mouth firmly shut, waiting on Him.
And this, my friends, is how the Lord of Heaven and Earth answers the small, heartfelt prayers of an 11 year-old girl whose faith in Him was not shaken despite the storm:
NINE. Yes--9 kits. Healthy, wriggly and mewing.
I serve the MOST HIGH GOD, the One who cares enough to reach down and tenderly place a heap of baby bunnies in the lap of my hopeful daughter. It's a good day. A very, VERY good day.
God will:
provide for
care for
love
remember
keep
treasure
listen to
YOU!
The cause for such public proclamations of praise?
After rounds two rounds of sad breeding outcomes, a successful litter has been kindled in the rabbitry of one little Jo Blandings. Jo's $35 mistake bunny, Michelle, gave birth to her first batch of babies in a seamless delivery last night.
Jo made the announcement with tears of joy streaming down her cheeks as she burst in on me in my trademarked "DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR UNLESS THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE" bath time. Needless to say, the house was not on fire. But, it turns out, the flame that is the love of the Lord was being fanned in my beloved daughter.
As if it weren't enough to just have live bunnies after the specter of death haunted the last attempts, the Lord took this opportunity to pour out on Jo the kind of love that He knew she would understand the most:
Jo, it turns out, had been praying for 3 live kits. Three. It seemed like a lot to ask, she says, but she knew that God could do it. So she prayed. She petitioned. And she kept her mouth firmly shut, waiting on Him.
And this, my friends, is how the Lord of Heaven and Earth answers the small, heartfelt prayers of an 11 year-old girl whose faith in Him was not shaken despite the storm:
NINE. Yes--9 kits. Healthy, wriggly and mewing.
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. --Luke 6:38
I serve the MOST HIGH GOD, the One who cares enough to reach down and tenderly place a heap of baby bunnies in the lap of my hopeful daughter. It's a good day. A very, VERY good day.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Can I get your opinion on this?
I saw Voddie Baucham speak at a recent conference and was challenged by his take-no-prisoners approach. I tend to retreat from encouraging others--even those who I know in my heart of hearts would make great homeschoolers--to abandon public schooling. Instead, I find myself reigning in the urge to answer the question "Why do you homeschool?" with "Why DON'T you homeschool?"
I'd love to hear what readers have to say about this clip.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
TOS Review: Homeschooloing ABCs (newbies, you MUST get this!)
One day, I sat down to compile a list of all the answers to all of the questions I get from folks interested in/new to homeschooling. I threw in the basics-- "What about socialization?" and "Where do I find curriculum?"--and some of the harder to answer ones, too (such as "What do I do with my babies and toddlers?"). My hope was that I could create this master file pdf and send it to the people who contacted me about our support group expressing an interest in getting started. Talk about a timesaver for me!
Within about forty minutes, though, I was discouraged and sure that there was no way I was ever going to put all of these thoughts into one concise package. So I quit because, you know ... someone probably had a poopy diaper or something.
I forgot all about my list, and my great plans for this wonderful, all-inclusive guide to the beginnings of homeschooling died.
Little did I know someone else was at work on the same thing--and that person not only had the wherewithal to dig for deeper questions, put also the eloquence to put them together in a format so practical and easy to use that frankly, it's a must have.
The series is called Homeschooling ABCs, and it's authored by Terri Johnson. Terri's talent for speaking directly to the scared-but-excited part of our hearts is an absolute treat; I can imagine myself as a timid newbie feeling completely empowered by the ideas, analogies and simple how-tos that Terri writes about in this series.
Delivered to your email in-box in 26 weekly lessons, Homeschooling ABCs hits on so much more than any one homeschooling mentor can offer you. Some highlights:
Written with enthusiasm and authority, these lessons are the instruction manual that I wish I'd had before I took on the job of teaching my own. I honestly plan on printing the entire series and passing it on to Jo in the hopes of encouraging her toward homeschooling the next generation. Homeschooling ABCs is everything you are trying to glean from a whole library of homeschooling guides, and more. All in one place.
How convenient is that?
Within about forty minutes, though, I was discouraged and sure that there was no way I was ever going to put all of these thoughts into one concise package. So I quit because, you know ... someone probably had a poopy diaper or something.
I forgot all about my list, and my great plans for this wonderful, all-inclusive guide to the beginnings of homeschooling died.
Little did I know someone else was at work on the same thing--and that person not only had the wherewithal to dig for deeper questions, put also the eloquence to put them together in a format so practical and easy to use that frankly, it's a must have.
The series is called Homeschooling ABCs, and it's authored by Terri Johnson. Terri's talent for speaking directly to the scared-but-excited part of our hearts is an absolute treat; I can imagine myself as a timid newbie feeling completely empowered by the ideas, analogies and simple how-tos that Terri writes about in this series.
Delivered to your email in-box in 26 weekly lessons, Homeschooling ABCs hits on so much more than any one homeschooling mentor can offer you. Some highlights:
- Determine YOUR philosophy of education -
By understanding what you believe about education, you will be able to impart that education more strategically to your children. And stay more focused and on-track!
- Understand your children's learning styles - We all learn differently, there is no doubt about that. When we understand how our child learns best, we can cater his education specifically to him.
- Learn the ins and outs of buying & selling curriculum - Let's face it, if we need to buy curriculum to successful teach our children, we might as well learn to buy it right!
- Find out how to get and stay organized -
You and your children will function better when your school day, school area and school work are well organized.
- Learn how to teach multiple ages at the same time - Most of us do not just have 1 child and so it helps to learn how to teach more than one child at more than one grade level. You CAN excel at this!
- Make the most of field trips - Field trips can take school from good to great. Find out how to optimize learning while still having fun.
- How to handle the "S" question - Socialization -
People will constantly ask you how you are socializing your children. Have an answer and a plan.
- How to start each day WELL and keep it going that way - Keep your children motivated, stay cheerful in their attitudes and quick to finish their schoolwork
Written with enthusiasm and authority, these lessons are the instruction manual that I wish I'd had before I took on the job of teaching my own. I honestly plan on printing the entire series and passing it on to Jo in the hopes of encouraging her toward homeschooling the next generation. Homeschooling ABCs is everything you are trying to glean from a whole library of homeschooling guides, and more. All in one place.
How convenient is that?
Thursday, April 30, 2009
TOS Review: Memoria Press
Finally, I found it.
There is a perfect Latin program out there for Atticus. It's from Memoria Press, and it teaches Latin with the same careful, incremental approach that Mr. Blandings enjoyed at the hands of the brothers who ran his Catholic high school in the Midwest. It's called Latina Christiana, and yes, I had heard of it before. I'd read about it in The Well-Trained Mind but had dismissed it as being too stodgy for Atticus. Turns out, however, it's perfect. A firm grounding in roots, heavy on the memorization and -- did I mention?-- real Latin, right off the bat.
If you have a budding Latin scholar in your home, don't let the seemingly stuffy presentation turn you off. The DVDs make teaching the course an almost auto-pilot experience ... unless you're like me and end up sitting alongside your student and picking up a few handy tidbits here and there. In addition, the texts are simple, easy to understand and (dare I say it?) foolproof for the non-Latin learned.
The program is thorough, it's usable and it's written for anyone to teach with minimal preparation.
Can't you just hear my sigh of relief?
Memoria Press also offers an amazing series called Famous Men of (fill in the time period). We have Famous Men of Rome, an impressive story-based study that brings the reader into the heart of some very action-filled adventure tales sure to woo your child's heart. The parents question provided dig deep into the heart and moral of each story; it's clear that dates and names aren't the main goal in this series. Understanding and a love of learning is at the heart of each classical vignette. The language is challenging--this is not a dumbed down version of the events, but one designed to engage the mind in some academic acrobatics--but it's not stiff or overly advanced, either.
The books are priced just right for adding to your home library if, like us, you can never get enough beautifully illustrated anthologies on specific topics. Rome is one that I think my children could revisit again and again and never tire of. Judging from the appeal of the Famous Men of Rome student book, I think we may be in for many more years of Horatius and Cicero.
There is a perfect Latin program out there for Atticus. It's from Memoria Press, and it teaches Latin with the same careful, incremental approach that Mr. Blandings enjoyed at the hands of the brothers who ran his Catholic high school in the Midwest. It's called Latina Christiana, and yes, I had heard of it before. I'd read about it in The Well-Trained Mind but had dismissed it as being too stodgy for Atticus. Turns out, however, it's perfect. A firm grounding in roots, heavy on the memorization and -- did I mention?-- real Latin, right off the bat.
If you have a budding Latin scholar in your home, don't let the seemingly stuffy presentation turn you off. The DVDs make teaching the course an almost auto-pilot experience ... unless you're like me and end up sitting alongside your student and picking up a few handy tidbits here and there. In addition, the texts are simple, easy to understand and (dare I say it?) foolproof for the non-Latin learned.
The program is thorough, it's usable and it's written for anyone to teach with minimal preparation.
Can't you just hear my sigh of relief?
Memoria Press also offers an amazing series called Famous Men of (fill in the time period). We have Famous Men of Rome, an impressive story-based study that brings the reader into the heart of some very action-filled adventure tales sure to woo your child's heart. The parents question provided dig deep into the heart and moral of each story; it's clear that dates and names aren't the main goal in this series. Understanding and a love of learning is at the heart of each classical vignette. The language is challenging--this is not a dumbed down version of the events, but one designed to engage the mind in some academic acrobatics--but it's not stiff or overly advanced, either.
The books are priced just right for adding to your home library if, like us, you can never get enough beautifully illustrated anthologies on specific topics. Rome is one that I think my children could revisit again and again and never tire of. Judging from the appeal of the Famous Men of Rome student book, I think we may be in for many more years of Horatius and Cicero.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
TOS Review: Friendly Chemistry
Once word gets out that you review homeschool curriculum, you'd be amazed at how popular you become in certain circles. Shockingly, the homeschool community appears to be populated quite heavily with bibliophiles, education nuts and others who just can't seem to get enough resources into their lives.
Which begs the question, really: which came first, the curriculum obsession or the desire to homeschool? It's our own little chicken and the egg quandary, people. Let's own it!
In the course of trying out Friendly Chemistry, I had a handful of homeschoolers with children "on the cusp" of the dreaded cliff that is high school. Every single person to whom I mentioned the program asked the same, very pointed question: "Is it rigorous?"
Definitions of "rigorous" as they apply to a chemistry program vary, as I found out when I did a little more digging. For many folks, that meant "Is there enough lab work involved?" For others, it meant abandoning a Creationist viewpoint in favor of what she referred to as "college level science." Still another just wanted to know that what was covered would line up with the boxes she needed to check off on her son's transcript in the making. All of those questioned held up an example of what a chemistry program ought to be; for many, that program was Apologia's offering.
And then, I kid you not, every.single.person sighed deeply and told me how they were pretty sure that the chemistry program they had their eyes on was way over their heads and would probably be skimmed over since they--the teaching parent--found the entire prospect so intimidating.
Simply baffling, you all. "I want a chemistry program that is tough. One that covers all the bases. One that digs deep. One that is hard science. But you know, I can't teach that, so I probably just won't."
May I humbly suggest something to the homeschool community at large?
The best curricula is the one that won't stay on the shelf.
That's right. The best curriculum doesn't necessarily fit under the umbrella of supreme academic knowledge. It doesn't have to put you through the paces. It isn't the one that your neighbor used to help her son get into Harvard. It should be the one that you feel comfortable teaching--the one that you will use with your child.
Ladies and gentlemen, you can buy a college-level curricula for any given subject and I can guarantee you that it will include pretty much everything you want to know on that topic. It may be chock full of lab examples outlining the overall process. It may have footnotes that refer you here, there and yon for further studies. It may be researched and annotated and indexed. But if you cannot teach from it, it is useless to you.
No matter how many wonderful reviews something has, no matter how well received it is on a high school transcript, that money was wasted. Both you and your child are far better off buying a user-friendly product that no one has ever heard of it it means that you will use it.
And this is the beauty of Friendly Chemistry.
Friendly Chemistry is not fancy. It's not head-over-heels in love with lab work to the point of making your kitchen seem woefully inadequate when cast as a site for experiments. The explanations could probably go deeper for students with a great desire to understand the field. The explanations don't require a degree in the field to decipher.
But overall? This is a program that you will use.
The presentation of Friendly Chemistry could, frankly, use some polish. The edition I have--with its photocopied sheets stuck into a nondescript binder-- reminds me of one of the very early editions of Learning Language Arts Through Literature that I happen to own. Typos and all, though, the curricula still teaches. It's still approachable, painless and chock full of the tidbits I want to pass on to my kids. Included are games, experiments and explanations that satisfy the general knowledge category that most students occupy when it comes to hard (meaning not soft) sciences.
Friendly Chemistry was written by a homeschooling family. Given a chance, it will grow. The polish will come. Further editions will round out the presentation and (hopefully) leave the fun elements intact. I realize that this program doesn't have the makings of a textbook giant, but you know ... I kind of like that. Friendly Chemistry is real-life chemistry for the rest of us. And honestly, don't we homeschoolers need more of that?
Which begs the question, really: which came first, the curriculum obsession or the desire to homeschool? It's our own little chicken and the egg quandary, people. Let's own it!
In the course of trying out Friendly Chemistry, I had a handful of homeschoolers with children "on the cusp" of the dreaded cliff that is high school. Every single person to whom I mentioned the program asked the same, very pointed question: "Is it rigorous?"
Definitions of "rigorous" as they apply to a chemistry program vary, as I found out when I did a little more digging. For many folks, that meant "Is there enough lab work involved?" For others, it meant abandoning a Creationist viewpoint in favor of what she referred to as "college level science." Still another just wanted to know that what was covered would line up with the boxes she needed to check off on her son's transcript in the making. All of those questioned held up an example of what a chemistry program ought to be; for many, that program was Apologia's offering.
And then, I kid you not, every.single.person sighed deeply and told me how they were pretty sure that the chemistry program they had their eyes on was way over their heads and would probably be skimmed over since they--the teaching parent--found the entire prospect so intimidating.
Simply baffling, you all. "I want a chemistry program that is tough. One that covers all the bases. One that digs deep. One that is hard science. But you know, I can't teach that, so I probably just won't."
May I humbly suggest something to the homeschool community at large?
The best curricula is the one that won't stay on the shelf.
That's right. The best curriculum doesn't necessarily fit under the umbrella of supreme academic knowledge. It doesn't have to put you through the paces. It isn't the one that your neighbor used to help her son get into Harvard. It should be the one that you feel comfortable teaching--the one that you will use with your child.
Ladies and gentlemen, you can buy a college-level curricula for any given subject and I can guarantee you that it will include pretty much everything you want to know on that topic. It may be chock full of lab examples outlining the overall process. It may have footnotes that refer you here, there and yon for further studies. It may be researched and annotated and indexed. But if you cannot teach from it, it is useless to you.
No matter how many wonderful reviews something has, no matter how well received it is on a high school transcript, that money was wasted. Both you and your child are far better off buying a user-friendly product that no one has ever heard of it it means that you will use it.
And this is the beauty of Friendly Chemistry.
Friendly Chemistry is not fancy. It's not head-over-heels in love with lab work to the point of making your kitchen seem woefully inadequate when cast as a site for experiments. The explanations could probably go deeper for students with a great desire to understand the field. The explanations don't require a degree in the field to decipher.
But overall? This is a program that you will use.
The presentation of Friendly Chemistry could, frankly, use some polish. The edition I have--with its photocopied sheets stuck into a nondescript binder-- reminds me of one of the very early editions of Learning Language Arts Through Literature that I happen to own. Typos and all, though, the curricula still teaches. It's still approachable, painless and chock full of the tidbits I want to pass on to my kids. Included are games, experiments and explanations that satisfy the general knowledge category that most students occupy when it comes to hard (meaning not soft) sciences.
Friendly Chemistry was written by a homeschooling family. Given a chance, it will grow. The polish will come. Further editions will round out the presentation and (hopefully) leave the fun elements intact. I realize that this program doesn't have the makings of a textbook giant, but you know ... I kind of like that. Friendly Chemistry is real-life chemistry for the rest of us. And honestly, don't we homeschoolers need more of that?
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