Blueberry Picking

Just think about it. The cool breeze blowing off of a pond near by. The evening sun beginning to set. Spending time chatting with some of your closest friends, while picking blueberries with your children laughing not far away. The blueberries were the biggest, juciest, ripest berries of the season. The caretaker suggested going down closer to the pond for the bigger ones. They weren't really any bigger than the ones closest to him, but I took his advise anyways since the area was much prettier than the congestion of the noisy parking lot. My children had a great time too! They had more fun giving their berries to our friends though. I didn't care, just being out picking has a certain sense of peace to it that words just can't describe. It sort of reminds you of all the things in the world that go unappreciated. Produce is readily available in the supermarkets. The general public doesn't have much time to experience harvesting crops, or sowing a garden. It really is sad. They are missing a great thing.

My Favorite Math Curriculum

I have so far used two different math curriculum's. The one I am using right now is by far my favorite. Math U See uses blocks for manipulatives. They really take the time to make sure each child really understands the math that is being learned. Algebra and fractions are not just taught as a level in math. They are integrated into every level of the curriculum so that when the student reaches the time to learn them, it won't be such a shock. Being brought up in a school system that waited until 8th or 9th grade for algebra, did make it very difficult to understand. I feel confident that my children will not experience this. One other thing that I love about this curriculum is the fact that each curriculum level comes with a DVD showing an instructor teaching each lesson. This gives the homeschool teacher the ability to observe the class with the student so that each lesson can be reinforced. I love this for the really hard concepts that I don't quite know how to get my child to understand. The instructor is great in his way of explaining to the students at their level of thinking. Over all, this is a great math program to use, and I highly recommend it to anyone in search of one that takes the time to explain each math concept until it is understood.

Five Different Ways to Show Love

Quality Time, Quantity Time, Acts of Service, Giving Gifts, and Physical Touch and Closeness. These are the five love languages according to Gary Chapman. Which of these are most important for your children? Gary Chapman says that all children under eight years old need to have all of these all the time. They don’t have any preference to any one, and prefer to have all of them met. This is a bit overwhelming. To have to give my children all of these different kinds of love seems to me allot of work! It’s a good thing children are resilient, or I would be a failure! I love Gary Chapman’s concept though. He is right. Children need lots of love, and in many different ways. This is how we impart God into their lives. God is love according to 1 John 4:16. If we can give love to our children, we are giving them God. That is deep. So even an infant can be ministered to.

I have learned through much trial and error, that children respond the best with patience and love. If you have frustration, and a quick temper, children begin to lose their self-confidence. They no longer feel like they are good enough for you. YOU are the one they most value. YOU are the biggest influence in their lives. YOU are the one they want to please. You are their image of what God wants them to be. If we as parents are not imparting God into their lives with love, what are we showing them?

Now, Gary Chapman has found five different ways to show love to a person. A child can receive any one of these and feel love. This is not so very overwhelming now, since I can choose any one of these at any time for my child. It is like having five different books to read and asking your son or daughter which book they want to read today. Of course they like them all, and would want you to read to them every single one, one right after another, and then all over again. So, which book are you going to read to your child today?

Read this Book to Get Your Child to Sleep Through the Night

Going "Baby Wise" with Gary Ezzo takes much discipline. One of my closest friends at the time my first child was born helped me get more involved with "Baby Wise". At the beginning of the book, it clearly states the importance of being flexible within the schedule of a child. It is very easy to put yourself in a box and not deviate from it. This is how babies can be deprived if parents use this technique unwisely. I myself found that it followed an already established routine that the preemie ward at the hospital started with my first born. The only thing that I did differently from the hospital that Gary Ezzo suggests, is to allow the baby to demand feed at night.

All in all, this book really helped me get comfortable in being a first time parent. I needed something that would help me feel like I was doing something right. There wasn’t very many influences in my life at the time that could look over my shoulder and cheer me on. So, fortunately, with this book in hand I took the milestones as accomplishments and kept going forward. The whole point of the book is on how to get your child sleeping at least six hours a night by a month old. It was a success on all of my children. However, on the last one, I relaxed quite a bit, since I already knew how to be a mom, and didn’t need any self-gratification. She still was able to sleep 6-8 hours a night by a month old.

This is really a great technique, if you are looking for a way to get your baby to sleep through the night.

Collectors Books

I went to a local used bookstore last year. It was small, but full of fascinating books. I was in search of one particular book though. You should know it. The Old Mother Goose book. You know, the one with the checker board look, and the Old Mother Goose lady on the front. If you have one of these books, do not read on in the post. Just give me the book as a Christmas present. Heck, I’ll even pay you what you paid for it.

You would never believe what the book collector said to me about this one book. First of all, I had to be schooled in the fact that books are like baseball cards. Their prices fluctuate according to popularity, availability and age. Books are not just made in masses. They are made in numbers. It just so happens that since The Old Mother Goose book went out of print because of it not being “politically correct”, it drove up the price dramatically. If you have this book in mint condition, you may want to hold onto it until you are really poor and need that money for your house payment or something, because this book last year was priced at $1400. Can you believe that? I used to have this book when I was 12 years old. Now I really wish I kept that book. What a stupid thing I did the day I gave it to goodwill!

It Is Healthy to Get Away Sometimes

“Mommeeee, I don’t want to go with Daddee, I want to stay with youuuu.” Sound familiar to you homeschool moms out there? The little, precious, whiney voice of your wonderful child needing only you, only to say this dreaded phrase in front of your ‘out-of-words’ husband. I cringe every time it happens, because I know my children love their daddy, but how does that make him feel when they don’t want him?

This is what Gary Ezzo calls; Separation Anxiety. I spend most of my time with these children. I am the nurturer. Most of my days are spent in teaching and imparting Godly character into them. Dad makes that possible. He needs the respect due to him. It’s hard for him to have to go to work, and miss all of these precious moments of time that are only here for a short while. He loves these children just as much as I do. Why can’t they see that? I have tried time and again to get them to not do that anymore! But on they go.

Gary Ezzo says in his “Growing Kids Gods Way” series to get away more often if Separation Anxiety is a problem. I have found that helpful. This year, I decided to be the part time homeschool mom, and let my husband take over part of the time. I learned that he is an awesome substitute teacher! Now my children don’t cry so much when I make them be with their dad at the grocery store. They have realized that I am not the only one on earth that can nurture them. So, if you are struggling like I was with separation anxiety, maybe a little bit of separation is the kind of medicine you need?

My Experience in the Public School System

I grew up in the public school system. My district was one of those that passed a student just for effort and not for intelligence. Fortunately, I wasn’t one of those students. When I first started school, my intelligence level was tested above average. My school didn’t believe in skipping grades, so I was placed into a high achievers class in the second grade. This class taught the abstract way of learning. There were allot of problem solving lessons, and theme projects throughout the year. It was assumed that I already knew grammar, so that was the subject I mostly missed as a result of the extended amount of work that was expected of me. I loved the attention of being labeled as one of the smart ones. Unfortunately, I didn’t know it would hurt me like it did.

By the time I made it to junior high, I was put into another test program for high achievers with another level of abstract thinking. I believe that at this point, if my parents were able to support me and help me learn along the way, this level of learning may have benefited me. Unfortunately, they weren’t, and I missed a whole semester of classes that I should have taken, which put me back further in my education. Once I realized that I couldn’t understand anything being taught, I swallowed my pride and stepped into advanced placement classes instead, which at that time, was supposed to be a lower level of learning compared to what I was in. I fit in getting average grades.

Again, I didn’t really grasp the level of learning because I was behind in the work that was being taught due to the experimenting that was done. This of course was never realized by anyone. I had a label, and was treated with the most honor they could treat me since I was tested at above average in the first grade! By highschool it was even worse. I still had my label, so I was placed again into advanced placement classes. Still getting average grades, I couldn’t even write a paper without much turmoil. Going on to college wasn’t any easier. I was told that if high school was difficult, college would be much easier because of how different things are. What was wrong with me? I sure didn’t know at the time. Nothing was getting any easier. The big hopes I had ended, with the low self esteem.

I know now, that I was just merely passed through the system as a statistic. I graduated in advanced placement classes as a number. We all know the numbers. There are a certain amount of students that are special education, there are a certain number of students being average, and then there are the advanced. What I really wish is that the labels would go away, and the teachers to teach according to the needs of each child.

This is why I homeschool. Only the people that need to know what my children’s level is, know. There are no labels. My children learn, and are taught to their abilities. If there are weaknesses, they are not overlooked. I don’t “pass” my children. It is never assumed that they “just know” any subject. They achieve at every level. My goal is to make sure they are happy with who they are, and succeed in this unfair world!