The Homeschool Mother's Journal - 1

Sue at The Homeschool Chick is hosting The Homeschool Mother's Journal. I've decided to join in this endeavor and will be linking up weekly. In the future, I'll most likely post on Friday/Saturday in retrospect of the week. Those of you who know me are asking, "Why add something else to the plate?" I'm hoping that in fact this will help some understand why homeschooling is that right choice at present for our family. From my former life as a public school elementary music teacher, I know I have some colleagues who think I'm nuts. Quite honestly, I'm guessing some family members feel the same and are just slightly more cautious in how they let that be known. Oh well... maybe in giving more attention on the blog to the goings-on of our homeschool days others will better understand. If not, in the end, we aren't seeking to please people rather an audience of ONE!

Warning... as I'm thinking ahead to my first answer, my writing won't always be 100% related to homeschooling. I've told other I'm not a homeschooler with a capital "H" because homeschooling doesn't define who I am - it is simply what Jon and I believe to be the best for our family right now.

I am so much more - most importantly a child of God.

In my life this week...

• My heart has absolutely been pierced by learning more and more about Human Trafficking, Sexual Slavery, and How to Better Protect Orphans from such horrors. As I've researched, been astounded by statistics, read more and more, and listened to webinars, I've been overwhelmed with a righteous anger. In response to something Tom Davis said on a webinar I listened to, I do believe God may just be "wooing and calling me to act."
• Sanctity of Life... most often the focus is on the unborn child. I've been very struck by a current movement to preserve the sanctity of all life: the babies in the womb, the orphans, widow, elderly, people with special needs, and victims of human trafficking and genocide.

In our homeschool this week...

•  Caleb is working on place value (tens and ones).
• Jeremiah just began addition.
• We completed our Magnificent Moon DNG.
• We "rowed" Katy and the Big Snow.
• Peter Pan was our read-aloud for the week.

 Places we're going & people we're seeing...

• Dance lessons resumed, so Rachel was thrilled to be back in class.
• Our Five in a Row co-op met for the first time this semester, and we really enjoyed being back together with our friends "rowing" Katy and the Big Snow.
• We saw the whole fam... Spaulding's and Wells' joined together to celebrate Jeremiah's birthday.

My favorite thing this week was...

celebrating Jeremiah's 6th birthday. This marked another first for my Ethiopian cutie, and he couldn't have been happier. He's watched his siblings have parties, he's had Christmas, but finally, he had his very own special day. He is a priceless gift, and I'm so blessed to be his Mom.

What's working/not working for us...

Organization and Lack there of :-) We are finding that with 5 people in our house we need organization. I, who has always been incredibly organized on paper only, find that I am "craving" order. I find myself incredibly stressed at times just by my surroundings. Jon and I are making a conscious effort to really work on creating order out of our chaos. This began by relocating some shelves and purchasing new ones. Our school stuff, for the most part, has migrated to the dining room, and the boys' room has some new storage options for books and toys.

Homeschool questions/thoughts I have...

Thoughts: I need to establish a morning routine. I LOVE our flexibility, but in order not to focus on one child's schooling in exclusion of another's, I need to start the day together. We began with doing our Bible lesson first thing, but lately, I have been squeezing it in "here and there." I don't want to be hit or miss in this area. I'm thinking of doing Bible, calendar, weather, etc. to start our days.

A photo to share...

 The Birthday Boy!