Archives for October 2010

Homeschooling….what a day!

Yep, my last post was about wonderful field trips.

But today I’m feeling like we homeschool moms sure do tackle a lot in one day. Tuesdays are especially busy for us. Today it was up at 6:45 which is way to early in anyone’s world, if you ask me. Especially that of a homeschool mom. Maybe not Pioneer Woman’s world but it is in mine. Then breakfast, teeth brushed, hair fixed, clothes on (foregoing our beloved PJ’s for the day), makeup for me and hair in a clip. We have to leave for Classical Conversations by 8:00-8:15 and that’s if I’ve gone to set up my classroom the night before. If not, we are up an hour earlier and leave an hour earlier.

Then I teach a classroom full of 4 and 5 year olds

English Grammar (reflexive pronouns today)
Math (skip counting by 14s), History
History Timeline
Latin (present perfect tense of the verb “to love”)
Science (parts of the sun)
Geography (today the parts of the MidAtlantic World and our geography lines including the Prime Meridian, the Equator…..you get the idea)
the Tin Whistle and a little about music theory
then we do a Science Experiment (today about planets)
and each child presents something to the class to work on Presentation Skills. All this is done in 3 hours.

You teachers out there in the world….my hat goes off to you. You have an incredibly difficult and underpaid job.

I do this for 3 hours one day a week. You guys do it for 5 days a week for 8 hours! And it’s enough to make my skin crawl. The spidery kind of crawl. YIKES.

I love my kids. They are a challenge to keep on track at the pace we go for 3 hours but they are fun. They wear me out.

After the morning I’m exhausted and my older boys still have three more hours of school. The younger two have PE and are watched by one of the moms afterwards. We leave “school” about 4:00 and head home. Thank goodness there was a roast in the crock pot for supper tonight. We unload the car, put back packs away and unload the cooler. It’s at this time I consider crashing on the couch………….actually lying there with a pillow under my head for several minutes…………….. but the mom radar goes off and I realize if I stay there the rest of the night will be history. Therefore I get up to start the sprinkler system because the yard guy put down weed and feed yesterday (we rent less you think us wealthy in things other than the things of God) and told me I needed to water it in. Parts of the yard were not getting wet so of course that needed investigating. The cat box needed scooping (somehow my job), the sunporch aka 3rd born’s bedroom and cat’s…..um….bathroom needed sweeping and mopping.

My 3rd born’s birthday is tomorrow. He will be nine. For the next two months out of the year I have an 11, 10, 9 and 6 year old. Sounds impressive huh? Like I gave birth every year for three years. There is actually 13 months between my first two and 20 months between my second two but for a few months I pretend to be superwoman.

Maybe that’s why this post is emerging from a day of feeling like a homeschool mom with a full time job. It seems like just yesterday I was birthing that sweet child.

Happy birthday my little baby boy!

If any of you guys want to know more about the Classical approach to education or CC just click on the link above. I know many moms out there giving their time to tutor such precious little ones. Oh, and big ones too!

So what did you do today?

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Posted: October 19, 2010 by Julie |Category: Homeschooling | Our Family, Our Lives | Tags: Classical Conversations, classical education, homeschooling, mothering

Oh how I love field trips…

While visiting in SC we took the time to spend part of our day in Greenville. Downtown Greenville is such a fun place. Whether you are on a date or with the kids there is something to do! Reedy River Park is a favorite spot of ours. The lack of rain caused the normally gigantic waterfall to appear to be a trickling faucet. But we had fun exploring the creek bed, looking for critters and jumping on rocks.

They even had the fountains a beautiful pink color in honor of breast cancer awareness month. Baby girl thought this was awesome.

Not a lot to say tonight. Just wanted to share some pictures and to tell you that I squished an extremely large angel named Ronnie last night. I fell off the ledge around our hot tub and landed almost exactly the way I did when I broke my left foot. This time it was the right but thankfully there was no tell-tale snap. It’s a wonder too. Hard wood vs concrete. The hard wood won. I’m sore and bruised but am without a even a sprained ankle.

For those of you who are wondering I named my guardian angel long ago. I don’t want to get to heaven and not have a name for him. Do you have a name for yours?

Thanks Ronnie, for taking the hit for me.

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Posted: October 17, 2010 by Julie |Category: Homeschooling | Our Family, Our Lives | Tags:

Not a pretty post…

Today’s post is not one of those pretty, fluffy ones….so be forewarned.

I am still, to this day, amazed at the ugliness of man’s heart. I am not so sure I should be, but I am. If man hung the Savior of the world on a cross why would we not act ugly when our feelings are hurt and our emotions are running high?

Someone once told me when emotions run high intellect runs low. I believe that statement.

Why do we choose anger and discord instead of love and understanding?

Manipulation instead of Trust?

Why do we choose to accuse instead of listen?

Why did we look into the face of God and puts nails in his hands, thorns on his head, and a sword in his side? I know he came to earth to do the one thing he could not do in heaven…die. But we are the ones who killed him.

As amazed as I am at God’s provision, God’s love and His miracles I am also bewildered at man’s desire for revenge, accusation and discord. When we can choose peace why do we choose war among ourselves and among the ones we said we loved? Why do we choose hate? Is it because it’s easier? I know in my own life I SOOoooo want to give into my flesh at times.

I am astounded at the capacity we have for love and for hate. We can kill or give birth. We can speak life or death. We can pray or we can seek revenge.

The natural man vs the spiritual man.

Flesh vs Spirit.

It’s a lifelong battle, has been since the beginning of time. How is LIFE lived out in my own life? Do I act in love as I say I love? Am I humble when others need something I can give? Do I give and then give some more? And then give until it hurts?

Sometimes I don’t know the answer to such deep questions. I want to be “Jesus with feet” but am I? I want to show the love that was shown to me on the cross.

And so my journey with life and with my Lord continues as it will until I meet Him face to face. Through the pain and the joy I look for His face. It’s there if I only look hard enough. And when my heart can not see Him I stand on the faith of knowing He is there even if I can’t see Him.

On one of our recent school mornings I read my kids Philippians 2:14-15. Do EVERYTHING without complaining or arguing. I did this to help them understand that God tells us this so that no one can criticize us. And I realize that not only did this apply to a situation in my own life recently where I watched arguing at it’s ugliest, but it also applies to me when I interact with my kids. Since that day I have refused to argue with them. It’s changing our lives. It’s changing mine. I’m amazed at the words our Father chooses to use. Words like EVERYTHING.

“Everything, Father?”

“Yes, everything my child.”

And that is where my trust comes in. Do I trust Him to handle the situation? Do I trust Him to look out for my best interests? Do I know He is working all things for the good of those (me) who love Him?

A work in progress…julie

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Posted: October 7, 2010 by Julie |Category: God Breathed | Parenting | Tags: Bible, God, Living as Jesus, Loving, Phillipians 2

Field Trip Day! Yippee!

We had a wonderful visit to the Jacksonville Zoo on Monday.

I didn’t take my camera because I wanted to enjoy the day but here are a few photos from AUSTRALIA I took with my phone.

The kids loved the birds. They are called lorikeets. You can check them out here. I have to admit it was a lot of fun.

“Hello beautiful bird we’ve never seen before……”

We bought nectar to feed them. It was amazing to watch their tongues scoop it up much like a dog laps water.

Our second born was a bird favorite!!

Baby girl was not sure of them at first. All the flying around scared her but by the time the nectar was gone she was over her screaming every time one moved.