Homeschool Mother's Journal #6

In my life this week…
My week has been an emotional roller coaster, but God has been with me and I feel blessed to pull through with a positive outlook.  Laughing at the craziness today felt wonderful!  The kids thought I was a bit nuts but I didn't mind.  It helps them to see that we can't always take life too seriously!

I registered for e-SBS!!!  This is a course through Youth With a Mission (YWAM) that will train me to study and KNOW my Bible using the inductive method of study.  I have prayed for an opportunity to be part of this class and my prayers were answered!  Praise God!  And a wonderful friend of mine will be my staff person as I study! 

The course will probably take the better part of 2 years to complete... God willing!  At the end I hope and pray to have a deeper understanding of God's word and an ability to teach what I have learned.

In our homeschool this week…
WE FINISHED!!!  We will do some bridging activities through the summer and I plan to have science throughout the summer.  But our hard-core hum-drum is on break until September.  

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
Annual Book and Rummage sale with the Homeschool Association... WOOHOO... Saturday, here we come!  Also need to do birthday shopping (we have two, count 'em, 2 birthdays this week!  One more at the end of the month!)  This also means that "people we're seeing" will include party guests and kids' friends :-)

Also... taking a field trip to the dairy!  Brooke is super excited because she LOVES milk!  (There is free cookies too!)

My favorite thing this week was…
Realizing Brenden will officially be "Middle School" now!  We are celebrating with an ice-cream party... all the trimmings!  (Thanks for the inspiration Sue@Homeschool Chick!)  

Where does the time go?

 While moving forward is my favorite, it is also tearful.  I will only have one left in elementary but she is the other pea in Brenden's pod so learning that he is 'advancing' has caused her to thirst for advancement as well!  I am feeding her what she desires all the while knowing it goes too quick.  I look at Brenden and Brooke so young and then at Ashley who is starting 8th (almost 'high school') and Zach who will graduate next year and I wonder where the time went and why I can't get any of it back!   

 

What's working/not working for us...

I was struggling with the kids grabbing their homework from the h/w basket and jumping in without doing other needed morning prep.  I didn't want to say anything because I appreciated their ambition.  But this week I figured out a balance!  Have everything ready the night before... but not in their folders!  Instead, while they do their morning chores, get dressed, and get ready for their day, I pop in the room and put their work in order.  Multi-tasking at its best!  Worked wonderfully all week :-)  And now we break for summer!  LOL  Figures ;-)

Homeschool questions/thoughts I have…
  After pulling the boxes out to go through and purge un-used stuff for the homeschool book sale, I decided to keep next year's books handy and work on the lesson plans gradually through the summer.  Normally I wait till August... which leads to the last week of August... which leaves me scrambling to rush through lesson plans!  I do not want to do that this year (it makes me crazy!)  

I am looking forward to having a project to whittle away at.  I know you will think I am crazy, but summer always ends up depressing me because there isn't enough structure in my day!  Now, with SBS, lesson planning, some small projects around the house & Internet, and enjoying the summer sun... I think it could shape up to be a wonderful summer!
 
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