Cherish the Moments

I've been very busy lately and have neglected my poor blog.  I wanted to let you know what we've been up to though.  I've been working on turning my love for photography into a part time business adventure.  The working title is Cherish the Moments Photography.  I'm excited to be a 'real' photographer.  If you'd like to keep up with Cherish the Moments, you can find us on Facebook or follow the photography blog at: http://cherishthemomentsphotos.blogspot.com 

I would love as much input as possible in our new venture.  

Learning Together

This year has been somewhat of a curriculum overhaul for us.  We have changed a lot of our curriculum and we are loving the changes.  As we advance through each grade level, we are constantly learning what works and what doesn't.  For a long time I would convince myself that the curriculum we had chosen was the only option and if it wasn't working it was because of a failure on my part.  I've learned over the years that different curriculum works for different people.  What you may think is the perfect curriculum simply may not be a good fit for your family.  It isn't a failure to change curriculum.  

A perfect example of this curriculum misfit was in our math program.  We started homeschooling with Saxon math.  It is a great math program.  One of the best.  Josh loved it.  He understood it.  He excelled.  I had made the 'perfect' choice.  Then, Joy started having trouble with math; lots of trouble.  Still, I told myself that I had chosen the best curriculum and she would 'get it' eventually.  She didn't.  Also, as the three younger students started school and I found myself teaching every subject in every grade-level.  Four grade-levels multiplied by how many subjects?  It was all just too much.

I tried an alternative, Teaching Textbooks.  If you're not familiar with Teaching Textbooks it is a computer-based math curriculum.  I felt like turning my kids over to a computer for their education was a failure on my part.  I felt like giving up on my 'perfect' choice of curriculum was also a failure. And you know what that made me.  That's right!  A FAILURE. Then, something wonderful happened.  My kids started loving math.  Josh had always loved math, but now Joy was loving math too.  Also, my 2nd grader (at the time) was completing 3rd grade math at an alarming rate.  I realized something.  My first choice wasn't really the perfect choice I had thought it was because it didn't work with our family dynamic.  What makes curriculum good for one family may not make it a good fit for another.  Teaching Textbooks was a good fit for us because it freed me to teach other subjects.

This year we have started with completely new history and science programs this year.  Our youngest students are in 2nd grade and our oldest is in 6th.  Of course reading, writing, math, and language skills are vastly different for these students.  Still, I wanted to spend as much of our school day as possible learning together.  To accomplish this we have experienced a lot of trial and error, but we have found some excellent options for learning together.  

For history we are using All American History from Bright Ideas Press.  The textbooks are very large and the reading level is definitely above a 2nd grade reading level.  Still, the curriculum has some optional features that make it perfect for us.  All American History is a 2-part history curriculum covering American history from the age of exploration through current day.  The textbook and student activity book are geared for the upper-elementary student.  The activity book includes review work, notebooking pages, mapping exercises, and much more.  What makes this program a good fit for us is the All American History Jr. download.  The download includes coloring pages, lap books, maps, and notebooking geared for younger students.  The download also includes literature studies for books that are on a younger student's reading level.  Now, all 6 of us can study history together.

Science is a favorite subject for all of my little ones.  I want a science curriculum that challenged my older students and encouraged the younger students.  I wanted to study together if possible.  Last year, Josh and Joy started science on their computers with Switched on Schoolhouse and they loved it.  I wasn't completely satisfied though.  Although they were learning a lot and enjoying science, I wanted our science study to be filled with reading, research, hand-on projects, and learning together.  Apologia's Young Explorer series was the perfect fit.  There are 6 titles in the series.  The textbooks are wonderful science studies from a Christ-centered perspective.  Each title offers a notebooking journal for upper-elementary students and a junior notebooking journal for younger students allowing us to work together while providing each student with grade-level appropriate reading and review work.  Apologia also offers lap book options (downloadable from Kindle too), lab kits, and audio versions of the textbooks.  

I have found that any opportunity for us to work together as a family instead of dividing us all up to work individually is a chance to learn more than what is in the textbook.  It is a chance for us to learn about each other, teach each other, encourage each other, and share in the joy of learning.

Charlie

If I started writing book reviews there would be no end of posts.  I LOVE BOOKS!!!  I love classics. I love non-fiction.  I love historical fiction.  I love reference books (yes, I know that is weird).  I love mysteries.  I love biographies.  I love poetry.  Cookbooks combine my love of food and my love of books which is just magical.  I am thankful for my children for hundreds of different reasons, but one of the best things about having kids is filling the house with children's books.  I enjoy their textbooks, picture books, chapter books, everything.  This week we were especially excited about one of our new books.  I wanted to share it with all of you.  

We frequently order books from Scholastic Reading Club.  They have wonderful books and their prices are usually really good.  We like to do lots of oral reading as a class so we order six copies of quite a few titles.  Reading Club often has $1.00 books which really helps.   Of course, when the kids get to 5th and 6th grade (we have one of each of those this year) a lot of the books are less than appropriate to say the least.   I tend to stick with the classics for older students unless I have time to proofread a title.  Still, my older students enjoy reading some of the 'little kid' books along with their younger siblings.  This month our Scholastic Reading Club order included a surprisingly homeschool friendly book.  

It isn't often that you come across a kid's book about a homeschool family so how often do you come across a kid's book with a homeschool dog?  We ordered several new back to school themed books.  We enjoy those books, but most of them are about meeting your new teacher and finding the right classroom and things that aren't anything like our back to school experience.  We also got the book Charlie Goes to School by Ree Drummond (a.k.a. the Pioneer Woman).  It was a pleasant surprise to find a back to school book with homeschoolers.  The kids and I highly recommend it.

There are several Charlie books available.  We are definitely going to be ordering them.  You can also see the 'real' Charlie on her website here: Charlie the Cowdog 

Plowing & Planting

Plowing & Planting

Our school year is off to a wonderful start.  Not the "we've already finished our entire first semester" sort of start that I dream of, but a wonderful start regardless.  My favorite part of our school day has always been Bible time.  We start each school day together in the living room praying together, singing together, and reading God's Word.  It is a precious time that reminds me of the real reason we homeschool.  The rest of the school day may be semi-organized chaos, but these first few minutes are always a wonderful time together.

This year, our focus has been on wisdom and choosing wisely.  We have been talking about, praying about, and singing about choosing what is best and having wisdom.  Naturally, our Bible reading has centered around the book of Proverbs.  Each passage admonishes us to use wisdom in our lives and challenges us in a new area of our lives.  III John v.4 says, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."  It has been my great joy to see the kids not only listening to God's Word, but applying the truth in their lives.

For our literature reading we have been reading through the Little House series.  I fully anticipated much wailing and gnashing of teeth from the boys on this front.  However, I have been pleasantly surprised.  All of the kids have enjoyed reading about Laura and Mary and their experience on the prairie and beyond.  

Our Bible reading and our literature reading collided today and taught us an important lesson.  I hope that our lesson will bless and encourage you as well.

Proverbs 20:4 - The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.

There have been a few verses in our study of Proverbs that were obvious in the way they apply to the children.  Proverbs 10:1b, "A wise son maketh a glad father." Proverbs 7:1, "My son, keep my words."  Proverbs is full of excellent lessons for each of us and Solomon speaks specifically to young people throughout the book.  Still, the kids weren't exactly seeing how a sluggard plowing (or not plowing rather) applied to them.  That's where our literature reading came in.  We talked about what they had learned from the Little House series about plowing and harvest.  Then I asked them, "how does this verse apply to us?"  Yes, I received a few very confused looks and some humorous answers as well.  "Reason of cold" - it's cold in Alaska!  Harvest, like cutting the lettuce in the garden?  Sluggard?  What's a sluggard?  (yes, I've explained this term many times by chapter 20)

This is the part of our Bible time that has become so very precious to me.  The time when I'm able to show these precious ones that God has entrusted to us how that he can teach them something 'just for them' from a verse that doesn't seem to be 'for them' at all.  

You see, this is the time of their lives that is the plowing time.  Just like spring time is the time to turn the soil and prepare the ground for seeds, these early years of our children's lives are the time to be preparing their hearts and their character for that day that surely will come - a day of harvest.  Is this plowing always fun and exciting?  No, it is hard work.  It is not a work for sluggards.  Plowing takes planning and hard work and faithfulness.  

The sluggard says, "it's too cold."  I may say, "I'm so tired."  The kids may say, "I want to go play."  Then, when the harvest comes; will we have nothing?

It is a work that we choose to do together.  I have to work to plow and plant the seeds of truth in them and they have to work hard as well.  Yes, there are days when it is exhausting and discouraging.  Yes, there are days when the kids don't want to put in the work and I don't either.  Still, there is a harvest that is coming and it is my heart's desire that their harvest will be a life honoring to the Lord.  Of course, I want each of them to be that homeschool prodigy that you read about that graduates college at 15.  I want them to love school, score above average on everything, love music, develop their talents, and excel at everything.  I want all those great things for each of them.  (Okay, the graduating college at 15 seems rather unlikely)  However, the harvest that I am looking forward to having in that great day of harvest is five children who are so much like my Savior that I can see Christ in every part of their lives.  Yes, that is the harvest that I look forward to, pray for, and work towards.  

Today is not that harvest day.  Some days I wish it were because the plowing and planting is exhausting and I'm ready for some rest.  Other days I'm thankful it's not quite here because I'm sure that my harvest will not even come close to resembling what I'm trying to grow.  Still, the harvest day is coming and it's closer every day so let this simple truth be an encouragement to you today.  It's worth it!  Some days may feel like your work is in vain, but don't give up.  Don't make an excuse and put aside this important work of plowing and planting for another time or for someone else.  God's Word tell us in Proverbs 31:25 that we "shall rejoice in time to come."  I cling to that.  It's a promise from my God who can not lie.  So today I choose to plow the little field where God has put me and pray for the harvest that God will make up for my failures and give the increase.

FACES

I'm not a fan of copying music lyrics; however, this song relates to my next post and I hope that it will be a blessing to you.  The third verse is specifically related to what I'll be writing about.  If you'd like to have the first or second verses as well, please let me know and I will post them.  If you would prefer to have the sheet music it is available for purchase and download from musicnotes.com.
Faces - words and music by Rodney Griffin.

Faces

Though you did not see the yield,

You were faithful to plow the field.

At other times, you helped Me plant the seed.

No matter how small the task,

you did just as I asked.

And, thanks to you,

these souls have been set free.

Then He showed me the faces of the ones who'd come because of me.

So many faces that my life had led to Calvary.

All those years I thought nobody saw as I labored in lowly places.  

That's when Jesus smiled and showed me all the faces.