Things I Have Learned Through Homeschooling

As promised: here is a list of things I have learned and things I like (and dislike) about homeschooling.
*I am lying in bed still at 8 in the morning listen to my kids play and writing this, and we will still finish all of our work before Jimmy gets home.
*My kids get to spend so much time together, they are forming such a strong bond that, I hope, will last the rest of their lives.
*My kids get to spend so much time together, they start bugging the crap out of each other on purpose. (This is much more rare at least.)
*Ava is capable of playing on her own for multiple medium periods of time, allowing for Tucker to complete all of his work.
*Ava is capable of demolishing an entire house in 10 minutes.
*My kids can handle the tough mommy expectations I have for chores better then I thought they could.
*The joy of being with my babies 24 hours a day.
*The reality of being with my crazy monkey children 24 hours a day.
*In the begining it was a little overwhelming to be with them so much, for days on end. But now I am getting used to it and also give myself mommy breaks to Joanns, to hang out with my family, etc. when possible.
*If I am having a bad day and cannot handle teaching all the work that day, we can just finish it throughout the week.
*We can wake up at any time.
*My patience has been increasing.
*Being the one who gets the honor of teaching my son how to read is so exciting and fun. I had no idea I would love it so much and don't want to let anyone else teach him that.
*Observing Tucker learn something new or overcome something that has been difficult for him is one of the best feelings in the world.
*Seeing how much Ava is learning just from being around us.
*Being home so much that potty training will be easier. (nice side effect!)
*Having so much support from the Charter school is amazing!
*Having the flexibility to go to the park and playdates mid day.
*Last, but the most important one. Teaching my children about the Bible, watching Tuck memorize Scripture, teaching about Jesus, and watching their love for God grow is truly priceless and the #1 reason why I wanted to homeschool in the first place. We start every day in the Word, and I hope that is a habit that sticks with them throughout their lives.

I'm sure there are many other reasons and things I have learned that I forgot, but that is the list for now. I know homeschooling is not for everyone, but it works amazingly for our family. I am so thankful I listened to God's leading for us.

Patience Before Homeschooling

I have been thinking over the last month that I should post about the patience I am learning from homeschooling, and I keep getting side tracked with other topics I want to post about. Well, today is the day. And do you know why its the day? Because I have had my patience tested. All. Day. Long. The only reason I can blog right now if because I put both of the kids down for naps/quiet time. Some of you may know, Tucker has not taken naps for two years. Today he is. I have also stopped blogging two (and now three) times because Ava has climbed out of her crib and opened her door. I was about one more tantrum shy from having a tantrum myself when I read a post on my friends Facebook. She said, "When you don't wake up with the Word your whole day can make you feel like you are on the verge of tears! It's so easy for us to think we can handle all the little things...until we don't entrust them to the Lord, then they don't seem so little anymore." (I hope you don't mind me quoting you Kristin!) I love how God can reach me through friends, through Facebook, and through the Word. It has been on my mind lately that although I am doing a lot of Bible work with the kids for school, I am not doing that much for myself. This is definately a wake up call to get back to reading the Bible more and always starting my day with it. So, it is not the begining of my day, but it is the begining of my second half of the day, post-naps. I am going back to the Scriptures that started this blog, Galatians 5:22-26. "But the Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. There is no law that says these things are wrong. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their own sinful selves. They have given up their old selfish feelings and the evil things they wanted to do. We get our new life from the Spirit, so we should follow the Spirit. We must not be proud or make trouble with each other or be jealous of each other." It has almost been a year since I started this journey. It has flown by, but also seems like I have always been this way. The best things in life seem to be that way, like raising kids and not working. I can see parts of why God started this change in my life on October 8th, 2010. (If you weren't reading this blog back then, you might want to check out the first entry.) Because if I had been the same person now that I was then, I dont think I could handle homeschooling. With a two year old. And a new baby on the way. And I don't think I would be handling any of those things seperately very well either. God prepared me for what was ahead, and He is still changing me day by day. The patience I have learned from homeschooling couldn't have been acomplished unless the lessons from the fruit of the Spirit had been soaked up in my life. Patience is not a fun thing to learn, but when you get it (at least for the most part), you have a different outlook on life. You have a peace that passes understanding. And even though I have had a crazy day of disciplining and bickering, when I sit down with the Word and re-center myself, it all goes away. Maybe another day when I am in a more fun mood I will post a list of funny things I have learned and how I have learned patience through homeschooling...but for now I leave you with this, Colossians 1:11-12 "God will strengthen you with his own great power so that you will not give up when troubles come, but you will be patient. And you will joyfully give thanks to the Father who has made you." Thank You Father for strengthening me through Your Word. God is good, have a blessed day!

Dont Settle for Good, Make Your Life Great

I love my church. If you haven't caught my refrences to our church in past posts, I am completely inspired by the pastors, staff, pastors wives, and other awesome people God has put in my life from the Movement. Yesterday's sermon was from John 13:1-35, and was titled "The Keys to Greatness." The main point Pastor Jeremy made was "Don't settle for ordinary... choose to be great. Love like Jesus, live like Jesus, and lead like Jesus." I have had this theme running through my life for the last year or so. The theme of our Life Group is "Just do it," meaning don't think about changing, just do it. Don't be afraid to be bold, just do it. Don't make excuses, just do it. This has lead to big changes in my life. But back to the point. As the Pastor preached I was thinking about ways that I have been ordinary, when instead I could be extraordinary. My life is currently completely about being a mom, wife, and teacher. At the moment I heard that, I didn't feel like I was doing any of those amazingly. I didn't feel like I was doing horribly either, I just felt like I was doing "fine." After three weeks of homeschooling the monotony has begun to wear on me. Somedays we don't leave the house and after a few days of this I think I am going to go insane. Also with being 9 months pregnant I will sometimes *(usually)* be lazy when I can be doing other more productive things. I am incredibly blessed to be with my children 24 hours a day, homeschool them, and put my whole life into them, but that doesn't mean that its easy. So when I heard Pastor Jeremy say that, it inspired me to go about my life with a new passion, a new drive, a new energy. If God put me on this Earth to be a supportive, loving wife and to raise children who truly love God and those around them, then I want to put my all into it. I don't want to look back and wish that I had used the time I had better. I want to look back, no matter what the outcome, and say I did the best job I possibly could.
With this Monday came a new Mommy. I realized I have been just trying to get through the day, trying to complete the school work assigned, and countdown to when Jimmy got home. Today, I marveled at teaching my son how to read, write, and do math. I enjoyed reading books to my baby girl. I was happy doing chores with them (as crazy as that sounds for those of you who know me well ;-). I cleaned the house, not because it is my "job," but because it makes my husband (and I) happy to have a clean home. I read the Bible with my kids. I took my son to his MMA class and spent time with my mom. And all of it was a joy, none of it felt forced or annoying. Sometimes as moms, taking care of everyone and everything can become a burden. But today, it was a blessing. And I pray for myself, and anyone else reading this, that it is always a joy and a blessing. My scripture for today is John 15:11 "I have told you these things so that you can have the same joy I have and so that your joy will be the fullest possible joy." I know that God put me on this planet to be a mother to my kids and a wife to my husband, and I want to do it extraordinarily. How do you want to live your life?

Perfectionism Passed Down

As week three of homeschooling rolls on, I have more realizations of who my children (and I) are and how we work. The lesson this week has been difficult for Tucker and I to learn. As Tucker and I are both firstborn children, we both have a natural tendancy towards perfectionism. It is a quality that can be super frustrating and limiting to me, and I have been trying for years not to be so hard on myself. All my life I have avoided doing things unless I could do them perfectly, often would not try new things, and would feel like a failure if I was not absolutely perfect at what I was doing. I wouldn't even play team sports for more than one season because the pressure I put on myself was so unbearable. This is the last quality I would have ever wanted to pass down to my children. But I did. Tucker has a very similar personality to my own, and I have discovered more in depth this week that he is very hard on himself. While attempting to read or draw, he has melted down screaming, "I can't do it! I want it to be perfect." And then he goes on to sob, "It has to be perfect. It has to be perfect." :-( It breaks my heart. I wonder what effect I had on him. Was it my perfectionism that he is taking on? Or the fact that as my firstborn I poured all my hopes and dreams into him, thinking everything he did was so wonderful, giving him the impression that everything he did was perfect, only for him to struggle with new experiences and learning in the future? The only bright side is that I can totally relate to him and I use the opportunity to teach him that Jesus is the only perfect person who has walked this earth, and that being perfect is impossible. I hold him while he calms down and let that thought sink in for me as well. We can only try our hardest, that's all that God asks of us. I am going to have Tucker memorize a verse today that will help him when he feels like he has to be perfect, Romans 3:10 "As it is written:"There is no one righteous, not even one." I also need to learn this for myself. Also, it does not say in Galatians, being perfect is one of the fruits of the Spirit. All you can do is your heartfelt best.
This is definately not finished, but I hope that what I have said to Tucker is sinking in so that he doesn't feel this way forever. And that I don't either.

Siblings

We are finishing up our second week of homeschooling. Over the last two weeks I have had a wide variety of emotions and realizations. The first day I was on cloud nine with how smoothly schooling went, how well behaved both kids were, and how it was so much easier than I anticipated. Skip to day three, I was about ready to drive Tucker to the nearest elementary school and drop him off. After much prayer, I realized that this is going to be a huge adjustment for everyone in our family. After playing all Summer, we all have to get used to a new schedule. I realized that my daughter is much better at playing by herself than I thought she was. And I realized that my son does very well listening to me as a teacher as long as I give him breaks after two subjects. I am now confident in our decision to homeschool and feel like we are moving along smoothly.
  My favorite realization this week is seeing how much closer we are and will continue to be as a family. I realized this by watching Tucker run right to Ava to play with her as soon as he was granted a break. I saw it when my kids hugged and kissed each other over and over again while saying "I love you! I love you!" And I see it in the way they treat each other, especially when they think I am not listening. Ava was cheering her brother on while he played Wii, she said, "Good job big boy!" And Tucker calmly taught Ava how to play Toy Story Yahtzee. Sure they have their tiffs, but they do amaze me with there genuine love for each other. And as great as it would have been had they been in school, I know it is going to be a million times better since they get to spend so much time together. Homeschooling isn't for everyone, but I believe this is what God wanted for us. And I can't wait to see where this journey takes us in the future. My Scripture for today is Psalm 32:8, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you." This verse tells me that God is guiding me with his loving eye. He will show me the right path, I just have to obey. I also like the words "instruct and teach" and how they tie into homeschooling. I will post more on how homeschooling is refining me towards the fruit of the Spirit another time, I just had to share what a joy it is to watch your children truly love each other <3 Have a blessed and joyful day :-)