Why We Homeschool - Reason #1

I would like to keep a running list of reasons why we homeschool and I thought this would be a great place to do it!
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Reason #1

Because we want to give God the glory for the subjects that He created and orchestrated. We do not believe that History, Science, Math, Reading, Logic, etc... should be taught to our children in an environment that intentionally leaves God out (and that many times attacks God). And I do not have the time or energy (nor would my children) to re-teach the subjects at night and on the weekends.

What's More Important?

This is taken (with permission of course!) from a friend of mine's family blog. I was so encouraged after reading this....

I've been trying to spend time with Ru [their 2 1/2 year old daughter] each night before she goes to bed 'cuddling'. In fact, each night before bedtime she says, "I want my daddy to cuddle with me!" And she gets upset if we have to skip it. We spend the time chatting about the day that's past and talking about what tomorrow might bring, and then we pray. We've had some sweet times together. She's used that time to open up about some things that she's been feeling, like when she told me the other night that someone had thrown a pillow at her. The someone was me. I'd thrown it at her while we were playing tag and chasing each other around the room. I'd thrown it kind of hard, and even though I'd apologized, I gathered it had hurt her feelings more than she'd previously let on. So we made peace again and prayed together. She also tells me about things that she's excited about, like someone coming over to play or going to preschool. And we come up with things and people to pray for. It's really quite cool.

I've also been finding out just what Ru knows about God and what she doesn't. She's been on a mommy and daddy kick lately, asking "What's Maddo's daddy's name?" and "What's Alex's mommy's name?" and "Daddy, what's you're daddy's name?", etc. Last night I asked her what Jesus' daddy's name was. She answered pretty quickly, "God". And then when I asked her what God's daddy's name was, she also answered "God". So I got to try my hand at explaining to a not quite three year old how God is different than ever other person in that he has no beginning and no end.

I'm often impressed with how these simple conversations present opportunities to teach profound lessons (both to Ru and to me). Today she asked me to read her a story and brought over a big children's bible we have. I asked her if she knew what the book was about and she said "God". Score one for Ru! But then we were about half way through the story and she became distracted and started fighting with her brother over a toy. We have a rule and a principle that we're learning in our home that goes like this, "people are more important than things". I find myself often asking Ru, "What's more important, toys or your brother?" She doesn't always get the answer right, but we keep asking the question. But in this moment, I asked a new question. I said, "Ru, what's more important, learning about God or being nice to your brother?" I think she really thought about it for a bit and said, "learning about God." To which I replied, "No Ru. We can learn all we want about God, but if we're don't love people, if we're not nice to our brother, it doesn't matter." And then I thought, "Wow, how did I just put that together so easily and do I live that?" I'm learning that God really wants to see Ru know the truth and he's empowering me towards that end.

My girl can be really fun and she can be really tough sometimes too. But I love her. I love her because she looks like me, because she acts like me, and because she likes to be around me. But most of all, I love her because I love what happens when I take the time to get to know her - I get to learn about love itself, by teaching her what I know and watching it reflected in her! So please keep praying for us, that we'll keep growing up together, learning together to love and bless each other and the world around us.

Freebie Friday!

Here are a few free homeschooling resouces for today:

Free E-Book: Noble Womanhood: A Collection Of Quotes

Free Printable Fashcards (I am definitely going to utilize this one!)

Free Language Learning at wordchamp.com. You can teach a language, learn a language, or find a tutor.

Free activites and lesson plans from eNasco. There are TONS of resources on there once you register.

Thanks to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine for letting us know about these freebies!

Speaking of Starbucks....

Starbucks is including homeschoolers in their “Great Start for Great Teachers” promotion. Teachers have been getting a free Tall (12 oz.) Pike Place Roast every Monday in September and homeschoolers are now included for this next Monday, September 29th (hopefully they will include us the entire month next year)! Here are the details from the HSLDA website:

This coming Monday, September 29, homeschool parents will be able to pick up a complimentary tall size (12 fl. oz.) cup of Pike Place Roast from Starbucks.

This promotion is part of Starbucks “Great Start for Great Teachers” promotion, and is now open to all teachers.

HSLDA intervened when we were alerted that homeschool parents were not included in the promotion.

We are pleased that Starbucks is recognizing the contribution of homeschool parents by extending their program to us.

In order to pick up your free cup of Pike Place Roast you will need to present evidence that you are a homeschooler.

Any one item on the following list should be accepted by Starbucks:

• Home School Legal Defense Association membership card.
• Membership card from a state homeschooling organization.
• Notification from a school district or state government recognizing compliance with compulsory attendance.
• Paperwork submitted showing intent to establish a homeschool program.
• Paperwork showing the establishment of a private school.

If you don’t have one of the items on this list be creative and try to provide other proof of homeschooling.

Please note: the final decision about whether to accept proof of homeschooling resides with Starbucks.

We hope you choose to take advantage of this offer.

I will definitely be taking advantage of this!

Field Trip - Mary Kay Production Plant

I LOVED field trips as a kid, but we would only go on a couple every year in school (if we were lucky). My kids are no different and get excited at the opportunity to go visit a new place and see how things work. Last week we went to the Mary Kay production plant here in Dallas. My 3 yob loved seeing all of the machines on the assembly line and my 6 yog loved seeing the massive amount of makeup products.

Here are some other field trip ideas:

Waste Water Treatment Plant
Local Farm
Candy Factory
Bee Farm
Cow Herding (especially if you live in the DFW area!)
Museums
Newsroom (TV or Newspaper)
Recycling Plant
Radio Station
Local Pizza Restaurant

Ask around your local homeschool group to see where the different dads work. Are there any that work in a plant that you could tour? I still remember getting to tour DuPont in 4th grade on "Take Your Daughter To Work Day" and seeing how plastic is made.

Feel free to comment with any other field trip ideas!

Homeschooling at Starbucks!

What a perfect way to start my blog to chronicle our homeschooling adventures! "J", my 3 year old, goes to preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays so that I can focus those days on first grade with my oldest, "F." She got really excited when I told her this morning as we were getting ready to take J to preschool to pack her backpack because we were going to do school at Starbucks! We set up a little "cage" in the back corner so that "C," my 8 month old could crawl around while we learned (and by "we" I mean.... WE! Yes, I am learning things right along with my first grader!) F thought that doing school at Starbucks was the coolest thing ever and flew right through her work.