Send Bibles

View this video about the persecuted church around the world. Go to www.wildershow.com and click on Send Bibles to help.

Challenge vs. Frustration

In education, a fine line exists between challenging a child and frustrating a child. The only way to find the balance is to truly know the child.

In one of our co-op classes, I co-teach a class with 23 students. Ten or so are freshmen, five or so sophomores and juniors, and one senior. With such diversity, we have such a difficult task finding assignments that are challenging to all, yet not frustrating to any.

Is this possible?

Isn't this why we homeschool to begin with, so we can tailor our learning to the specifications, the bent, of the child? I suppose the best solution is to modify the workload.

In a co-op setting, just as in a school setting, we release some of our rights, our control, over our children's education. This is one of those instances.

If only we had more time, more hours in the day, or at least more hours of class time, we could do so much better. But a co-op is truly a partnership between parent and teacher. We just have to pray God will give the parents the wisdom to see what their own children need, and provide as He always does.

How did Laura Ingalls Wilder do it?

Locks of Love

I am mailing hair. No joke. I am physically putting hair in the mail and sending it to someone.

Why, you ask?

For the second time in their short lives, my little girls are donating their hair to Locks of Love. This summer we cut around 15 inches each off of their hair, and we are sending it to Locks of Love so they can use it to make wigs for children with cancer.

I love the joy with which children give. A joyful heart truly is good medicine.

Little Lamb of God

Little lamb of God,
Little lamb of God,
Little lamb of God.

You were born a lamb
And I was born a child.
He was both.
We are blessed.

Little lamb of God
Do you know how blessed you are?
To be a lamb is great.
To be a lamb is great.

~~Posted by Lil Yoda

Ode to Cocoa

We're on our way up a narrow path,
Only taking our living things with us.

One of our belongings has raced ahead of us
And reached the gate before we did
And started a new life up in heaven.

Though we miss her very much
We know she will no longer suffer
On the graveled road that leads there!

(This poem is based on my dog Cocoa who died on Sept 17, 2007 and was born on Dec 7, 1997, almost ten when she died.)

~~Posted by Padme

Refreshing

This week were blessed to babysit for my lifelong friend's 3 & 5 yo children. We had such a wonderful day doing preschool activities, playing dress-up, playing cars & planes, working puzzles and cooking in the pretend kitchen.

This is such a fun age. Those of you with preschoolers, enjoy them! There will soon come a day when all problems can not be solved with a popsicle, and kissing it no longer makes it better. These are precious years and they pass so quickly.

What a refreshing day! Thank to my dear friend for sharing your sweet little blessings with us!

Co-op classes

We love our co-op. We get together with the 100 families who are our closest friends (ok so I don't know some of them) once a week and exchange teaching skills. I teach what I'm good at, and others teach what they are good at, and the kids get all the benefit. We have really developed some good friendships there, and we look so forward to our 10 weeks in the fall and 10 weeks in the spring! We are going on Week 3.

Here is a list of what my kids are taking at co-op this year:

My eldest is in 9th grade this year so he has no fun classes, only credit classes:

Chemistry (he has already taken Biology and IPC/General Science - 2-3 hours homework each week)
American Government (2-3 hours homework each week)
Precepts (this is a Bible study class with 2-3 hours of homework each week)
Humanities (multi-credit class that combines History, Lit, Art & Music Appreciation - 8-10 hours of homework each week)

Padme, 3rd grade:
Traveling the American Road (taught by her Grandma)
Shake It Up Shakespeare (taught by her sweet Momma)
Make It Medieval (a crafts class - last week she came home with a flag)
Cheers & Cartwheels
Extreme Weather (again taught by Grandma)

Lil Yoda, 2nd grade:
Traveling the American Road
Shake It Up Shakespeare
Fun With Cooking (if you knew her you would not be surprised)
Once Upon a Story
Extreme Weather

I teach Humanities with 2 other ladies, and I also teach the Shakespeare class (1st-3rd grade) and a Movies As Literature class called Thumbs Up (9th-12th grade). Plus I get to help with preschool, which is the highlight of the whole day.

All of this makes for a very fun, very exhausting day. But also fun. And exhausting.

Of course we do many other subjects at home, that are not part of co-op. We follow the Ambleside Online curriculum, although we have deviated somewhat to avoid overlap with subjects covered at co-op. Our at-home subjects include Bible, English, handwriting, math, critical thinking, character study, art, artist & composer studies, home economics, hymns, folk songs, nature study, Greek, Latin, Spanish, French, Italian and whatever else sounds really fun. We do a lot of reading around our house.

Admittedly, homeschooling is a lot of work. But it's also a lot of fun. Besides, what better things do I have to do for the next 10 years?