Shoot for the Moon

Always striving forward, never looking back. Imagine yourself climbing a mountain. Persevering all the way to the top. Don’t look down, you may lose your balance. I love the story “Pilgrims Progress”. If you strive forward and take on the unnecessary burdens, you won’t get very far without trouble. Think also of Lot and his wife in the story about Sodom and Gomorrah. They were instructed to go forward and not look back. Remember what happened to Lot’s wife? She turned into a pillar of salt. God has really been teaching me to strive forward and not dwell on the things that happened already. I make many mistakes and tend to dwell on them to the point of making myself sick.

When working on the homeschool convention this year, I wanted to have it turn out the best I could do. In order to do that, I had to not look at the little mistakes that were unchangeable. It was imperative to keep my eyes on the goal at hand, and not let anything get me distracted. By the way, there were many things trying to distract me. One person in particular tried her dead level hardest to make me distracted and not think about the project I was working on. Don’t you hate that? I like that person very much, but it was a knawing temptation to give in, and follow what she was trying to make me do. For a while, I was like Christian in “Pilgrims Progress” and carried her burden, but I soon realized that it was only another one of the many obstacles that tried to stand in my way of planning this homeschool convention. If you just shoot for the moon, and don’t look back at the distractions along the way, it is easier to accomplish the goals you have set before you.

School Year is Almost Over

We normally school off and on during the summer. This way the children do not forget all that they have learned. This year, they are realizing what public schools do, and that they don't get the whole summer off. We school in the morning when nothing is going on anyways, and are flexible with schedule changes. Two days ago I decided that a last day of school was needed for our homeschool. I haven't done a last day of school for a few years, however I felt it was important so that my children could have that feeling of accomplishment. They have worked very hard and deserve the time off. Since we homeschool, I can choose how long this time will be. Fortunately, my children are happy with any time off. It makes them excited. Personally, I love to see the joy in their little faces when I have good news. What they don't understand quite yet, is that the public schools take almost 3 months off. We will be taking 3 weeks off, then resume our schedule granting flexibility to accomodate the summertime. I'd love to hear what you do for the summer. Do you school all the way through also, or do you take all the time off you can?

To Persevere...

From what I've found out is that there are two different ways to spell this word. Each way means the same. What do you like better? Perseverance, or perseverence? I like all the e's because it is easier to type and remember. There are dictionaries that only include just one way to spell it. Tell me what you think is right. If you find that "perseverance" is the right way, oh well. I like my way better.

To Persevere.... It means to be patient, determined, and persistent (according to the Webster's Pocket Dictionary). I would like to model my life after this. If I am not patient in my homeschool endevours, than there would be unrest in my family. Why should I yell and scream and get frustrated easily? My family would only suffer. I could have a nervous breakdown from all of the extra mental energy that go's into losing control.

To be patient, means to be accepting of inconvenience (also from the previously mentioned dictionary). Homeschooling is not easy. Sometimes it can be very inconvenient when springtime comes, and you cannot go out and garden because your child needs to be administered a spelling test. Or, the milk is gone, you have to go shopping, but you know if you disrupt the regular homeschooling schedule, it would also distract your childs brain from learning at all that day. Can anyone relate to this?

Let talk about determination. We need this to be able to finish a day's work, whatever that may be. I am determined to finish this year of school with my children. Just recently I coordinated a homeschool convention. This was really hard. It seemed as though there was an obstacle put in my way everytime I overcame one. To complete this task, I needed determination. The end result was satisfying. We had a great convention!

Persistence is a result of determination. This is where you begin school everyday at the sametime. Children work well with schedules. In order to accomplish that schedule, you must be persistent. If you set a schedule for the day, it is easier to find out what time of day your child works best. Mine are morning learners. If my children do not start school by 9am everyday, I lose their focus. After 10am they are pretty much ready for the fun stuff. However, if I start the technical curriculums, such as Math, Spelling, or English by 9am, then I could almost go all day with technical type subjects. If I start school sometime after 10am the children seem to drag more, and complain about being challenged.

So I live my life demonstrating perseverence. If I don't, my children's education would be in turmoil. Nothing would ever get done.