Christmas Devotions

Half of the year is almost over and I want to re-cap all we've done, but that will have to come later. Right now I wanted to share what we are doing during our devotion time. Check out Ann Voskamp's website at http://www.aholyexperience.com/. You probably already know she wrote the New York Times' bestseller One Thousand Gifts. If you sign up to receive e-mails, you can download her Jesse Tree devotional for Christmas. Every morning the girls and I light the Advent candles and read in the soft glow of candlelight. It has become a very special time for us. The readings so far trace glimpses of Jesus in the Old Testament. All three of us are learning a lot and it is a beautiful way to start our school day.

Spider Study

I haven't posted since school started. I admit I've been a little overwhelmed. This is the first year the girls have done history and science separately, so that is double work for me. But each of them is happier and they are working on topics that interest them.

Liana's rock study kind of fizzled out. We read several books from the library, but I never could find a good beginner's book for rock identification. We haven't given up, just put it on hold, because Liana really wants to study rocks. But we went back to where we left off in Land Animals of the Sixth Day to the chapter on arachnids. I thought we'd better work on this before all the creatures outdoors are gone for the winter.

We read about spiders from the book and then took a walk in the yard. It was alive with activity! We'd learned about orb webs, funnel webs, tangle webs, and sheet webs and found many different types of webs right outside the door. It was very exciting! We even found the spider who made this beautiful orb web in the top picture. You will probably have to click on it to enlarge it and see the web.

We've had a lot of rain in our area lately and found another visitor to our yard, this lovely toad. I've never seen one in the garden before. He was very large! In our exploration, we also found a long snake slithering across the front porch before hiding in our vinca vine. I'm glad to know he's there. I wouldn't want to come across him unawares, and I'm sure he wouldn't want to be surprised by me either.

We Begin Again

In May, I admit, I needed a break. Then the summer got crazy and I longed for us to be back in school with predictable days, a schedule, time alone with my girls. We had August 29th on the calendar to begin again, but now this week has many interruptions. So I decided to start slow before we get up to full speed. A week of history and science only. Now that sounds like fun.

Over the weekend I had a list of questions to discuss with the girls: What is their favorite part of school; what do they dislike? How can I make learning easier for them? What would they like to do more of, less of? (No, we can't give up math.) What field trips would they like us to pursue? (Liana wants to visit a fashion design studio and explore caves. Arielle wants to see many things in Washington, D.C.) So those things will take a little more planning than, for example, a day at our local zoo.

One thing that came out of our discussion is that Arielle does not want to learn science or history together with Liana. She said the books are below her level and she would like more challenging work. She also said she does not like the creative projects that Liana enjoys so much and prefers worksheets and written work. Okay...what to do now since I had the whole year planned?

I did some research on-line, reading reviews, and exploring new history texts. I already have a hefty science book for her. I came up with The Mystery of History. It is not a high school book, but it appears to be sufficient for now. It also got rave reviews from homeschool moms. What I like about it is that not only will we learn world history, but also the history of the church. I admit I am ignorant when it comes to that. I ordered Volume 3 for Arielle. It picks up where we left off last time.

On vacation this summer the girls did some gem mining and Liana renewed her interest in rocks. All weekend after we got home she organized and studied her rocks, searching websites for more information. I had her science all lined up for the fall, but this is what is wonderful about homeschooling. I asked her if she would like to begin science this year with geology. She was all for it, and I ordered several books from the library. Our first day, waiting for the books, we read about rocks in all the books we already have.

We don't have Arielle's history book yet, but Christian Book Distributors allowed us to download the first four chapters. So she was able to start her work too. At least three times during the day she said to me, "I really like this book." I can honestly say I never said that about any history book I ever had in school.

Gearing Up

The summer went by much too quickly. It isn't over yet, but the next couple of weeks are busy and I know they will rush by in a flash.

Arielle shares my love of school supplies and we've enjoyed shopping for them. We've picked up a few items. Our favorite pens and pencils, some folders. We don't need much. All around us are moms with lists from various schools, trying to find each item required. I feel so free from all those trappings.

We also renovated our school room! We reorganized and moved furniture and sorted through books. Fred even painted. How nice to have a clean, fresh look for our first day.

Even more importantly, we need to prepare spiritually. Years ago while studying the book of Nehemiah I saw so many parallels to Nehemiah building the wall and us educating our children at home. (I believe the complete study I created is contained in this blog in previous posts.) I was reminded of it again when Nehemiah 4 popped up in my e-mail since I subscribe to daily Bible readings. In this short chapter were several important messages.

The taunters ask, what are these feeble moms doing? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish? Despite what others say, we build the wall, "for the people had a mind to work." Yes, it's hard work. Let's get to it.

Comments and attitudes around us can cause confusion and we forget our purpose. These verses remind us to pray and set a guard day and night. By ourselves we can't make the wall strong and lasting. But we "remember the Lord, who is great and awesome." Sometimes we labor with one hand and hold our weapon in the other, ready to defend the cause God has called us to finish. I am thinking I need to enlist the help of my husband to wield the sword in prayer while I do the teaching. It is a spiritual battle for the hearts of our children. We also need to remember that "the work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another." We need to ask for help when we need it, and listen for the sound of the trumpet and rally to support other moms when they are discouraged.

"So we labored at the work from the break of dawn until the stars came out." Nehemiah finished the wall. Will we?

Summer Vacation!

School just kind of faded out this year. We completed our 180 days, but I had hoped to finish up some other projects. The girls were working hard to prepare for the 4-H County Fashion Revue so their sewing took priority. I didn't even tell them when the last day of school was so they could be excited about it. I just decided to end. They still haven't been to Dairy Queen to celebrate!

While the girls sewed, I worked on the portfolios. Between the two projects, we had such a mess spread out all over the house. I love the portfolios in the sense that we have a record of the girls' school work to keep. It is interesting to go back over all we did this year and to realize we did quite a lot! Liana kept asking me, "Is it fun at all to do this? Even a little bit?" While I was working I said no. They are tedious and frustrating to put together and I resent the fact that they are required by the state. But now that they are complete, we have nice scrapbooks to preserve their work, after the district is done with it, of course.

Yesterday we had our evaluation. Our former evaluator lives far from our house, so I was looking for another. I found this new woman on a website and called her out of the blue. She lives about two miles away, so I was hoping it would work out well. I love her! She seemed genuinely interested in the girls' work and is a delightful woman. I am so glad to find another homeschooling family so near to our home too. Unfortunately, she has five boys, so no new friends for the girls will come about from this relationship.

This is Day 4 of summer vacation. Our first three days were filled with errands, doctor appointments, and visiting friends. Today is our first day home and I can't wait to begin. The girls finished their 4-H projects but they are already working on something new. Liana is cutting out a big purse that will work well as a carry-on bag when she travels to her brother's wedding. Arielle is making a cute top for summer. I have not had time to finish the bridesmaid dresses or even begin to make my mother-of-the-groom dress. So today we will sew! And maybe take a trip to Dairy Queen.

Art Museum

I wrote on another blog about our fabulous trip to the art museum. We tend to neglect art in our class time, not because we don't enjoy it, but because other subjects just tend to take precedence. Liana had to write a short research paper, so she chose an artist to study and has just finished her report on Mary Cassatt. She was very excited to see some Cassatt paintings at the art museum. Wandering around looking at art might be enjoyable, but it is much more than that if we recognize paintings and know a little about the artist.

We are finishing out our days. Every May it seems like there are a multitude of interruptions that steal time away from school. Still, we are making every effort to finish up what we hoped to accomplish this year. For both girls, we have stopped proceding forward with new math concepts and we are just reviewing what they learned all year. Arielle finished all her Language Arts except for a research paper she is doing on Laura Ingalls Wilder. Liana is reviewing for a comprehensive grammar test and then she will be finished with language too.

We are just about finished with Joy Hakim's Recontruction and Reform and instead of starting another book, we will continue with our studies of Central America at a leisurely pace. I realized we cannot finish our anatomy book this year, so after our chapter on nutrition, we will put it away until fall.

When May arrives, it is time to think about the dreaded portfolios required by our state and officially due on June 30th. But they need to be completed before our trip to the evaluator's house in early June. I have not begun to work on them!

The Tempest

Arielle's last literature assignment was to read Shakespeare's The Tempest. Her teacher advised her to get a side-by-side version with the original text next to the modern English. I don't know that Arielle tried reading the original at all. She is a voracious reader but likes ideas more than poetic words.

Her writing assignment was to choose a scene and set it in modern times and re-write the story. What a struggle this has been for her! Arielle is a good writer. Last year our evaluator told us that one of her papers would fulfill a high school requirement, and she was only 12 then. She is good at research papers or any task that requires logical thinking. She is one who likes worksheets and writing that is concrete and well-defined. This assignment has been a challenge. She doesn't like to create characters or stories.

Liana is on the other end of the spectrum. She hates worksheets and any assignment that confines her to a set parameter. She had one lesson that required her to write a story from three pictures. She did not like this at all. It was boring and pointless to her. But an open-ended writing lesson that gives her the liberty to create exhilarates her. Right now she is working on a novel about two friends during Civil War times. This was not an assignment, just something she wanted to do.

We all think differently and learn differently. I can't wait to see how God will use my two daughters' unique gifts as they grow to be women.