We did it and survived!
The children are loving our new schoolroom and I have to agree with them it is pretty cool!
This week I’m trying to focus on helping them learn our new system and becoming more independent in certain areas.
Let’s say it is going better for some and not great for others!
Our focus this year outside of LOVE is a verb “put it into action”, being a friend to Jesus and lifting each other up is:
- American History (US Presidents) – we will learn when they were voted in, what state they were from and neat facts about them during their term as President.
- US Geography (they love learning about a new state each week) – we are going through them alphabetically. I have great map resources in the history/geography tab above.
- Learning a bible verse each week – we are using Seeds Family Worship CD’s to help with this :-) Totally Tots is sharing free printables to go along with the songs.
- Spelling (10 – 12 new words each week)
- Grammar – combining Rod n Staff and Easy Grammar Daily Review sheets
- Handwriting – Reason for Handwriting (girls book C – boys book B)
- Art – this year they will learn to paint using watercolors and basic drawing techniques
- Math – the girls are all using Teaching Textbooks and they love it! The boys are going through Kumon workbooks with me.
- Science – I think we will do a mixture of earth science and the human body this year. I’m still not 100% sure which we will do first.
- I will help the girls with their writing skills. They will write short stories, poems and improve upon letter writing skills (Jolanthe tell the girls letters will be coming next week!)
- The girls all take piano and voice lessons. The boys take voice lessons and will pick up an instrument next year. We tried for the last nine months and they just aren’t ready.
I went into this year with high hopes for myself and the children after a fun summer break. The girls kept up with math all summer so they would not forget what they learned last year. I think that worked in their favor! And mine :-)
Once again God reminded me to keep my eyes on Him and not on my plan. I planned to get done so much more than we do each day. I feel like 3 hours is not enough time to teach them what I want because they need extra help here and there. I give them a recess of a half hour and then we regroup and finish before lunch time. Then any worksheets that did not get completed or math is worked on after lunch. Then they are able to spend the rest of the day reading, playing, or swimming.
They don’t seem bothered of course – it is me. I truly want to be a better teacher this year and help them grow in so many areas and to fall in love with learning. I forget that on top of learning reading, writing and math – our children are still learning how to handle failure – which in them brings out fear of rejection, abandonment, etc as adopted children. A few cry when they get more than two wrong on any assignment. A few want to give up if they don’t get it the first or second try. A few want me to do the work for them vs. asking for help. A few believe that if they ask me over and over again I will change my mind or the assignment I gave them.
So although we survived the week – it was not without bumps along the way and God showing me that my heart is still not completely in line with His for our school year. I need to display love in action all of the time and in Him all things are possible! If I don’t rely on Him during our school time or really all day long as a mom to this many – I’m going to let them down and most certainly won’t help them learn what I am teaching is important enough for me to do no matter what. So as I teach the values God has so strongly impressed upon our hearts this summer – I’m being tested in them every single day.
LOVE is VERB – PUT IT INTO ACTION!
Refining is sure to come this year in many shapes, sizes and forms. Homeschooling is not easy – at least to me with this many children – so many ages and levels needing me to meet them where they are at. Oh how I want to be the fun teacher and give them memories of childhood filled with laughter each day. I struggle to see their disappointment when they mess up and I feel as though I didn’t teach it right again.
All of this brings me to my knees – where I lay it all down and rest in His love, wisdom and faithfulness to see us through this year. I am trusting Him to help me be the mom/teacher they each need.
I am putting all of my hope in You God.
Next week I will remember what worked and didn’t – so that I can meet my goal of walking out what I talk. I want to be a living example of the WORDS I teach.
This year I feel a new level of consecrated surrender coming through our school year! How about you?
Father, your tender love encourages me so much each day. Please, keep my heart soft, so I can express that same love and teach the most important lesson my children can learn—compassion. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
6 comments:
Just wanted to say thanks for your blog and your postings over at totally tots! I have 3 biological children and 1 foster child. We homeschool and I love the Lord with all my heart. I mess up on a daily basis though and am always asking for his forgiveness. Somedays I just dont feel like I give them everything they need bc I have so much to do each day. Thanks for the encouragement that you share.
Love is a Verb... what a strong teaching point!
Haha!! Hopefully the girls got the letters mine sent the other day. They have already starting circling the mailbox waiting for letters. We had a lovely little talk about patience and that it takes longer than ONE DAY for a letter to be returned.
Ahhh..the days of immediate gratification can exhaust a parent.
your children are just precious!! Love this posting, too! i homeschool and am always looking for ideas of what others are doing...:)
Hi there! I am really enjoying reading your blog. (Found it via Lucy Lane's.) Anyway, this is only our second year of homeschooling and I have a specific question about record keeping. I wondered what method you use, especially since you have one in highschool. Mine are only in gradeschool, and I purchased an online program, but for someone who is not computer savvy it is exhausting to work through it all. It is the Homeschool Tracker System and it has so many options and data entry places that I am overwhelmed. I am wondering if the good ol' teacher notebook planners are a good choice. I want to start with a method now that makes sense to continue through the later years. I mean, if your eldest is thinking about college, how do you make sure all the records/transcripts are in order? What are colleges looking for when a homeschooler applies? I know my state doesn't require record keeping, but I am doing it nonetheless, just in case we need to prove what we're doing and in case we ever move to another state that DOES require it. Thought I'd ask now before we get too far down the road. Help!:) You can either post a comment back here or email me at woosterweester@aol.com. Thanks SOOO much!
Rory
I enjoy reading about what other people are doing for school. It's always nice to read about other families of 9 children. It does get a bit trickier with each child, just because it is one more person to keep tabs on.
I thought I would share with the previous commentor what we do for record keeping. (I have two in high school, a 15yo and a 17yo, and we aren't required by the state to keep records either.) I put the onus on my children to keep track of what they've done, though I do need to keep track of them keeping track. I bought them high school organizers which will last all four years. They use these to log everything they've done... books read, classes taken, courses completed, extra-curricular activities and the hours they spent. Then I go back and create the transcript using those records. There is a formula for how many hours on task equals one Carnegie unit. (Sorry I can't remember what it is off the top of my head.) I find they have more than enough credits for high school this way, because so much of what they do can be counted as 'school'. I'm not sure my explanation makes any sense, but I hope so.
Post a Comment