Homeschool Campfire

I know the recent election has caused many of us to pause.  We have some very interesting days ahead of us.  With a new President who supports so many things we oppose, who knows how our lives are going to change.  We are going to have to fight harder for our right homeschool, I believe.  In my devo this morning, I came across this scripture:  “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you” (Isaiah 54:10 NIV).

Thank-you Lord for that wonderful reminder this morning that no matter what happens in life, you Love Me.  Our mountains are about to be shaken and the hills removed, but God will be right there beside us all - loving us!  We will submit to the new authority God has placed above us on this earth and we need to pray for Obama and his soul and his governing of this country.  In another email I received this morning, someone so wonderfully put this that I just had to share with you all:

Our GOD is a GOD of peace.  I will rest in HIM even in the face of what seems to be defeat.  The people wanted a king and they got the king. (1 Samuel 8:6-21)  GOD sees our hearts and HE knows who are faithful.  Our greatest chance to shine is in the darkness.  I do not believe it will be easy, but my Redeemer lives.  My heart is heavy, but I will continue to praise HIM.  Our GOD is an awesome GOD!!!!

Bless you all!

Boy, have I caught some slack from letting my children (soon to be 12 and 13) go through their first haunted house.  Yes, parts of it scared them to death and they were down so far in the wagon that I literally thought they had become part of the wagon.  No, they did not like any of it and both vow never to go again.  But despite all my warnings, they really, really wanted to go and would not let up about it.  So, I came up with what I thought was a God-given idea.  I took them through their first haunted house.  While my kids hated it, I must admit that I personally have not laughed like that in a while.  Let me tell you how I turned this into an AWESOME teaching moment that neither child will soon forget!

1)  I asked both kids if they enjoyed the haunted hayride.  Of course, they shook their sad little faces and said no.  Then I asked if they were better for it after going through it.  Again, they said no.  Finally, I asked them if it changed them in anyway.  They said yes and told me that they were going to be afraid and needed to sleep with me when they got home and all kind of things.

2)  I explained to my children that this is what things of this world can be like, i.e. premarital sex, drugs, and alcohol.  They will look fun and wonderful from the outside, but after you have gone through them you will not be better for it and in some cases, you will be changed in a way that you do not like. Sometimes, they can even cause you great fear.  I totally got to explain to them that this is what the bible means to be in the world but not part of the world.

3) Plus, I got to put in the plug that your parents really do know what we are talking about and maybe next time when I tell them that they will not like it they will be a bit more likely to listen to me.

4)  My kids have already joked that when they are going to go out with their friends at age 16, that mom will say “Remember the Haunted House” and they will know exactly what I mean.  I pray that is true!

5)  I also got in a huge lesson on fear.  They know what it is like now and exactly how things of this world can make them feel.  The bible tells us to fear nothing but He who can send us to death.  My kids have a more complete understanding of this now.  They came through their experience and knew they were safe and protected.

6)  This would not have worked if I had waited till they were 16 and had the realization that the haunted house was really a big joke.  I am sure we will have plenty of teaching moments with this one as they get older.  I already have tucked away some of them to use for later.  When we discuss sex in more complete detail when they are older, I can say that having premarital sex and having to wait and see if you are pregnant is going to make your body fear like it did in the haunted house.  Also, going to a party where there is under-aged drinking and the party gets busted is also going to make you feel the fear you felt in the haunted house.  It is not worth it. The list goes on and on and on.

So, you may not take your kids to a haunted house.  I did and I used it to my advantage.  The things of this world can harm us and I wanted my children to really learn this!  It is not something either one of them are soon to forget!

WOW!  WOW!  WOW!

My daughter just finished reading her 3rd novel from cover to cover and actually remembered what she read!  Praise God!  It just made me cry.  We have struggled so long!  Way to go!  I attribute a lot of her success to the wonderful teachers at Learning RX!  Both kids have been in their program for about 4 months now and I can see the differences.  Even my son is able to SIT and complete most of his work now.  SIT and work.  Never thought it would ever happen.  This program really works.  It is provides cognitive skills training that empowers anyone of any age to learn faster and easier. Tutoring and other programs reinforce WHAT students must learn (information). LearningRx learning centers identify and strengthen the skills behind HOW students learn. They provide testing and life-changing training for students of all ages who desire to learn and read better for life.  I highly recommend them.  We have gone to the one located in Mt. Pleasant, SC.  If you call, ask for Julie Chase and tell her I sent you.  Email me if you would like more info!

Brothers and Sisters,

Please pray for my brother and sister-in-love, Kevin and Elysa.  Kevin’s mom went home to be with the Lord this morning at 5:30am.  She fought a very long battle of Parkinson’s.  Her personality was lost a long time ago and her body has finally caught up.  This has been a very tough time for the whole family.  She left behind a loving husband, 2 sons, 2 daughter-in-laws, and 4 grandchildren (3 of which have autism and are going to have a tough time understanding where their Oma went).  Please pray for them all.  I love each one of them and even though everyone is relieved that her suffering on this earth has ended, she will be dearly missed by those she left behind.  Give your loved ones an extra hug today!  Ignore the small stuff that gets on your nerves and keep your eyes on the big picture!  We are not promised tomorrow!

God Bless You All!

I just shared this email with my friends and family and I thought it would be a wonderful one to share with you all as well.

Time has not allowed me to send this email until now, but I know it will brighten your day.  Sometimes you just have to dance!  When life gets you down and satan runs you over, sometimes you just have to dance!  On August 30 of this year, Scott turned 39.  We have been hit with so many challenges and through it all, my husband has this true talent to make people laugh.  It use to be his defense mechanism when he was younger that has blossomed into a wonderful gift from God.  I continually receive this wonderful blessing from him!  There is not a day that goes by that my husband does not make me laugh!  The worse your mood, the harder he will try.  On his birthday this year, he wanted to visit our favorite Japanese Restaurant.  Before we arrived, both of our children reminded me that the restaurant would sing Happy Birthday to you.  I decided to let them plan it all.  McKayla nervously snuck out saying she needed to go the restroom and bravely went to the hospitality counter to inform them that we had a birthday boy sitting at our table.  She came came back just beaming.  When the chef asked if it was a special night for anyone at the table, both Andrew and I had to point out that it was Scott’s birthday.  Let the games begin.  This chef picked on Scott and gave him a taste of his own medicine.  He had the whole table laughing.  As our dinner drew to a close, a gentleman came over to ask Andrew if it was his birthday.  Andrew said that it was his Dad’s.  Oh No!  The jig is up now.  Scott knew something was going to happen.  When the waiters and waitresses walked over, there were only 3 of them in the birthday conga line.  I remarked outloud that Scott apparently was not important enough to draw a big crowd.  Our waiter heard us and within moments, there were 15 employees beating a drum and singing out Happy Birthday to my husband.  It only gets better from here.  After the first song, they asked Scott to stand up on a chair and dance for the second song.  This is something I do not think you would ever see me doing in a public restaurant, but my husband knew it was his kids who set this whole chain of events into action and he planned along beautifully.   I was laughing so hysterically at the site of my husband dancing on this chair, that I almost needed to excuse myself to go to the restroom.  The kids were just beaming with pride with the thought they jsut pulled one over on dad.  The restaurant clicks a picture of its special birthday patrons. I so wish you could see the chair in this picture.  This was Scott while he was dancing.  As he danced, one of the patrons sitting at our table pulled out a dollar from his wallet to “pay Scott for his dancing”.  By this time, the whole restaurant has joined in on the laughter!  You can see the redness (from embarrassment) in Scott’s cheeks in the picture.  It was a great memory to share with our kids and I know it will be one that will be repeated often throughout the years.  (Probably not as often as the story of both dad and Gampa walking through the screen door in the same night!  That’s another story!)  So, I pray that no matter what life brings you, you remember to always dance!!!

Hi All!  I pray you are all having a great week.  We have now completed 3 weeks of schooling and I already need a break!  There are times that the daily grind really gets to me.  Just as I was getting really bummed out - God knew exactly what I needed to help me out.   He led me to an online Science class on creation.  I just signed up my kids.  It is for 6 weeks, starting Sept. 22.  It is geared toward children aged K-8th grade or anyone interested in the wonders of God’s awesome creation! The information for the class can be found at http://tinyurl.com/creationkids.  The outline of the class is as follows:

Class One: The Creation Week

Class Two: Flood Geology, Noah and the Fossil Record

Class Three: Evidence for a Young Earth and the Big Bang

Class Four: Thermodynamics, Problems with Darwin’s Theory, False Concepts

Class Five: DNA and Protein, Ernst Haeckel, Human Senses

Class Six: What Scientists Believe, Bad Science, and Hoaxes

I’ll let you know how it went when it is done, but thus far, I am impressed.   The handbook we downloaded was pretty good.  I know even I will learn a few things!

Blessings!

Monica

I don’t know about you, but we love Story of the World.  We even listen to the CDs while we drive from place to place.  This morning I came across this information in another blog about some free, downloadable notebooking pages to be used with Volume 1.  Unfortunately, it is only for volume 1.  For those who know they will still need to use that volume, I highly recommend looking into this.  The notebooking pages would be a great addition to the SOTW workbook.  http://www.lulu.com/content/796912

Blessings!

Mine are too old for this now, but I sure wish I knew about these when they were younger. These sites have great handwriting pages you can print out to use.

http://donnayoung.org/penmanship/index.htm

(http://www.writingwizard.longcountdown.com/handwriting_practice_worksheet_maker\
.html)

http://www.handwritingforkids.com/handwrite/

http://www.kidzone.ws/tracers/

http://worksheetworks.com/

http://www.handwritingworksheets.com/

Do you remember the old radio shows? I love these. They are so “clean” as compared to what our children seem to be exposed to today. My kids have loved them! They publish a free one each week. Of course, you can purchase them too if you just can’t wait. They have a Premium service you can purchase that allows you access to learning guides and much more. I have had no trouble uploading the files onto my iPod to make it easier for us to enjoy on the road. I know your kids are going to love them as much as we do.

http://www.homeschoolradioshows.com/

Well, we have now given the English program a good ole college try. The curriculum is working great for my son who is a very independent learner and great reader. However, it no longer meets the needs of my daughter. She has some expressive language learning disorders and having to figure out the lessons all on her own by reading off the computer screen is now driving her CRAZY. I have tried to supplement by reteaching the lesson to her after she has completed the lessons. I see what she has missed and go over it with her. That seemed to work for a bit, but now she is resisting completing the lessons in the first place. She tells me that she just does not understand it till I teach it to her. She is more of a visual learner too. It was worth a try. I have really tried to move both of my children to more independent studies, but it looks like we still have a bit more to do before we can make that happen. I would love input on some other curricula you guys have used, especially for those with language learning disorders. I am going to keep going with my son. We will see where that leads us.