A Day in the Life of Home-Schoolers

Okay, so I have to be honest and confess right up front that all our days do not look like this.  I’d love to tell you that every morning we faithfully and cheerfully get our chores done, do a little exercising and happily sit down to work on penmanship and spelling and all such academic things.  But I’d not be stating the truth, sadly.  I won’t go into what most days are honestly like, but instead I’ll relish in those days that things DO go smoothly and share THAT day with you (and just let you believe this is the “norm”). J

8:00ish – a healthy breakfast with a Bible story

8:30ish – chores

9:00ish – penmanship, etc.

10:00-11:00ish – walking

12:00ish – a little more academics before lunch

12:00-1:00ish – a healthy lunch (sometimes prepared by Levi while I work on more academics with Jonah)

After lunch – back to the books until all is complete

So while we’re all living in this nice and neat little world of everything going as planned, let me share some pictures of how it often looks on that “all is well” day.

PENMANSHIP

How do you like their choice for “seats” to practice their writing?  Yes, they have desks, but that gets boring if it’s what you do ALL the time—have to change it up on occasion. ;)

SPANISH and TYPING

And let’s not forget LANGUAGE, READING, MATH, HISTORY, SCIENCE, POETRY, BIBLE MEMORY, etc.

And I’d post pictures of some of the “fun” or recreational time, but I’m too vain to post the one I took of us out walking today (with my hair all pulled back in a headband); and I don’t have one of Levi out working in the bees with Jake (because, well… I’m here, not there); and we’ve not gotten around to art for a couple of weeks due to being on the run with appointments and such…  But you’ll have to take my word for it that the boys DO do more than just academics J and they’re both doing quite well in all they’re doing so far this year (we are on our sixth week of 2^nd and 4^th grades).  So, just let me bask in the warmth of a good school day and pretend that they’re all just like this (shhhhh… no one wake me up to reality just yet—that’ll happen soon enough I can assure you).

 

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Jonah played soccer at the Wakulla County Recreation Department this year for the first time.  He was actually very good at it.  I think we've found his sport!

 

Levi was chosen for the Wakulla 9U All-Stars team and he was so proud.  They lost their first tournament, but he enjoyed the team, the coaches and the opportunity.

The boys even spent a few days by the road selling blackberries they had picked in our yard.  They made a whopping $4 and were just as proud and satisfied as they could be.

They even got to try out Taekwondo last week and they LOVED it (as did I).  But, sadly, we discovered that we cannot afford it unless we find a way to earn extra money (which we have not given up on).

VBS with our church has come and gone and the boys, of course, had a great time.  We're now gearing up for VBS at Mt. Elon (church just up from our house) and I know they'll have a great time again.

But after next week, it'll all be over.  No more soccer, no more baseball, no more berry selling... and, unless God sees fit to provide, no Taekwondo.  We're looking for options of other extra-curricular activities right now and praying we find the perfect fit for us, but meanwhile... what does a homeschooling mother do with bored kids in the heat of summer with no other activities going on?  START THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR, of course!  Won't the kids be glad?  LOL

I know every kid who does NOT homeschool is feeling very thankful that they don't right now, huh?  But that's okay, because come hunting season, my kids will be rejoicing that they are off and able to hunt EVERY day of the season!  We really do love homeschooling around here.  Well, most of the time :)

 

Short and Sweet

You know I'm not one for  being brief or concise, but I just wanted to post a video or two since my parents are not on FB and cannot see it via that route :)

Here's one of Jonah reading (reading did not come as easily for him as for Levi, but it's finally beginning to click and I think he's doing okay for a first grader).

(of course he's read this book probably 10-20 times before I thought to get out the video camera)

I love that he is loving to read :)

 

 

 

Jonah's enjoying being on video so much, he decided to do some preaching again (it's been a while!). Notice when he says "if you don't go to heaven you'll go to hell" that he looks off to the side (he's looking at Levi). He is so concerned about Levi's soul. He's a precious gift for sure! (Levi realized he was preaching at him so he decided to throw in an amen or two---probably to divert attention). Those boys are something else!

 

Quick side-note... We're reading Pilgrim's Progress as part of Levi's curriculum (simplified version).  For those of you who don't know, that is a very "deep" book with spiritual meanings.  Sometimes the questions that go with it can be tough since it's spiritual allegory, but guess who most often gets the questions correct right away?  JONAH (and yes, it makes Levi mad).  His understanding and comprehension really is amazing.

Praise!

I'm not going to try to catch you up on everything between my last post and now, but I do want to take the time to give praise where praise is due.
On Wednesday night the boys were playing in the shower and Jonah took a fall and busted his head.  We prayed that God would heal it and take care of Jonah and just look at the results.  A picture is worth a thousand words so I will keep this post short and just let the pictures (and hopefully our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ) speak.  These pictures are almost EXACTLY 24 hours apart.  We serve a mighty God.

Confession Time

Yep, I’m going to go ahead and confess that I have NOT been successful at sticking to the schedule I had going for that first week back (see previous post).  I’m one of those almost honest-to-a-fault type people so I’m going to also confess that much of the reason for not sticking to it was laziness.  But, in my defense, some of it was planning for Jonah’s birthday party and the beginning of both boys’ baseball season.  Does that redeem me any?  I didn’t think so.  Oh well.  I tried ;). 

Please pray for us as God leads us to lead these children.  We really do want to raise them to love and honor Him more than anything else and that’s quite a big job to take on and we don’t take it lightly.  If Jake and I fail in leading our children to the Lord Jesus, then we fail completely.

 

Now on to the sports...

Jonah’s baseball season is already ¾ over.  He’s playing for the Braves (machine pitch baseball) and is enjoying himself quite a bit.  He does seem to have a bit of a distorted sense of what type of player he is, but we’re just glad that he’s happy.  He’s made statements such as, “I’m probably the best player on the team.” And “I’ve probably got the best arm on the team.” And “I’m probably the strongest kid on my team.” It’s just hard to be humble when you’re so great (shhhh… don’t tell him he’s not the best on the team—in truth, I already have informed him of that, but I’m not sure he believes me even though he’s already played 5 games and only gotten one hit and has barely touched the ball on the field).  In all fairness, he really is improving and may truly turn out to be a good ball player.  Seriously!

Levi is somewhere around ½ way through with his season.  He’s playing for the Indians in the Cal Ripken league and is immensely enjoying himself.  He’s doing very well with pitching and infield playing.  I’m not positive how well he’s doing on batting (I’m not too good at keeping up with that type thing), but I think he’s doing okay there, too.  He's not been in the outfield so far, but I think he'd do well there, too.  He's a gifted athlete and we pray hard that he'll use it for God's glory and not his own.  He has a wonderful coach who praises Jesus unashamedly.  You can recognize his team by the one shouting JESUS at the top of their lungs after every game.  Thank you, Lord for such a great coach!

A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated Jonah’s 7^th birthday with an Armor of God theme.  We spent the weeks leading up to the party studying the Armor of God to be sure the boys understood what it all is and is for.  If you want to get your own copy of free VBS curriculum for the week-long study, visit this site.

http://ministry-to-children.com/free-vacation-bible-school/

We all had a great time and are looking forward to Levi’s baseball theme party that will be coming up soon (which will be a “triple play” shared with two of his teammates who also have birthdays near his).  God has been good to us and we are always thankful for all His blessings. We don't deserve all the wonderful things in our lives (especially our kids), but we sure are thankful that God has allowed us to borrow them for a while.

 

 

 

 

 

A New Start (brought to you by Busy Bee Academy)

After about 2 months off for the oh-so-important hunting season (no sarcasm intended—this time of year is very important to ME since I get such a long break as well as to the boys and Jake!!!), we have completed our first week of the second semester.  And it went quite well if I do say so myself.

I had gotten in quite a funk of being lazy and neglecting my personal time with God as well as pretty much any “fun” time with my kids it seems.  Now, those of you who know me, know that “fun” and “Brenda” don’t really go in the same sentence, so you’ll have to weigh out what you know about me to figure out what “fun” means in this house.

Let me give you a quick run-down of our first week back with all the new activities incorporated and beg you to pray for me that I can keep this up for everyone’s sake!

First let me start by saying that the boys have slept a little later than normal ALL week long, thus giving me some time in the morning to read my Bible and pray before they get up.  Thank you, Lord for that time!  I know I had a friend praying for me and I am quite sure it was a direct answer to her prayers that the boys slept later all week (thanks Jilma).

Monday we usually have p.e. and speech at Medart Elementary, but the speech teacher couldn’t be there, so we moved that to Tuesday.  We met friends at a local park, played and socialized for a while and then headed to gymnastics.  After gymnastics we joined another friend for an impromptu birthday dinner at El Jalisco’s for her son that is in gymnastics with Jonah.  For us “home-bodies” Monday was quite an outing and the boys and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Tuesday I managed to drag myself onto the treadmill and get in a little exercise while the boys watched an Adventures in Odyssey video (that’s a Christian video for those who are not familiar with it).  Then after our school-work was done we headed to Medart for p.e. and speech.

Wednesday, I again managed to get on the treadmill while the boys watched Adventures in Odyssey.  We also played our first “15-minute-game”.  An idea I got from afore mentioned friend.  You set a timer for 15 minutes and everyone pitches in to accomplish a certain task.  Our task was mopping the kitchen & dining room.  And we did complete that in the time allotted with Jonah moving out the chairs and shaking the rugs, Levi sweeping and me mopping.  But, like most everything I do, one thing led to another and we moved on to the bathroom (mopping, scrubbing tub and cleaning fixtures) so it turned into the “30-minute-game” really.  But, the boys enjoyed it (refer to the earlier mentioned fact that you have to take “fun” into context with our house) so it was a success!  Wednesday was also our first day of “kid-choose-the-meal” day and it was Levi’s turn.  He chose grilled/smoked ribs (which worked wonderfully for me because JAKE cooks those!).  We even had Grandma, Uncle Mike & Aaron over for lunch, so MORE FUN!  Then we wound up the day with the boys heading to the bees with Jake.  What a perfect day! 

Thursday was our normal p.e. & speech day at Medart, but due to the weather we decided to skip both.  We opted for art instead (something we never do here, but I had ordered this HomeArt Studio art program on DVD over the hunting break so that the boys would have that as a new and fun thing for the second semester).  I’m loving it so far.  I just get the supplies ready, pop in the DVD and let the boys follow the directions on the video!  I think that art curriculum will be money well spent J   Here's a look at their first art project from the DVD (paper roller-coasters).

 I know you're jealous of this gorgeous table cloth (it's elasticized and I bought it just for these art projects and it's perfect for the job).

 

 Listening and watching carefully to the directions on the video.

 

 

Friday, I’m proud to say that I was able to get myself back on the treadmill even after taking Thursday off.  That might not mean much to you, but it’s an accomplishment for me.  The boys watched a video online that I think I’m going to really like called “My Place With Jesus” while I exercised.

http://www.myplacewithjesus.com/

Then after the boys completed their school-work and their lunch, they went out to play outside.  And while they were happily running and laughing and yelling out there, I was quietly getting papers graded and lesson plans together for another week of school and fun in here!

Oh, and did I fail to mention the sit-up and push-up contest we had on Monday?  Yep, Levi won!  No surprise there, huh?

We will wrap up the week tomorrow (Saturday) with our first Family Fun Day (another new “fun-item” I’ve implemented weekly here).  Okay, you’re bearing in mind the definition of "fun" at this house, right?  We’re heading to the church for a work day.  Yep, that’s our family fun activity for the day, and yes, the boys are totally okay with that being our family fun time.  Now you’re really getting the idea of what fun means around here, huh?  Gotta love this simple lifeJ.

 

I also got a shipment  of produce from an organic food club this week for the first time.  I'm undecided if I will continue to get in on these buys, but we did enjoy our Chard & Spaghetti lunch yesterday

And I threw together some tuna salad with the spinach and carrots today.

Trying to decide what I'm going to do with the 1/2 of a butternut squash.

 

BirthDAY?

Happy birthday to me.~~  Happy birthday to me.~~  Happy birthday, dear me-e.~~  Happy birthday to me.  J

I know, I know… we’ve said it over and over that we don’t make a big deal of adult birthdays (or anniversaries or any other special occasions) at our house.  And normally, that is true.  So, why am I singing to myself now?  Because this has been a very special birthday for me (or more like birthWEEK).  I don’t know why it worked out that way, but it did and I’m having a great time.

Those of you who know me, know I’m very low maintenance.  You don’t have to buy me things, constantly reassure me that you care about me and… well, just make over me in general.  I don’t require a lot.  And I’m proud that I don’t cause a lot of people stress over “keeping me happy”, but I’m not gonna lie; it does feel good to be made over once in a while. 

Okay, well I wasn’t really MADE OVER today (or this week), but more-so than usual and I feel really special.  Let me back up…

First, I arranged to have a Thirty-One party on Friday for some of my stay-at-home mom friends.  What?  You’ve never heard of Thirty-One products?  Check this out for more information…  https://www.mythirtyone.com/60878/

Okay, back to my story.   I planned this party and while not a lot showed up and not much was bought, you know I love to socialize so I had a GREAT time.  THEN, I arranged a “play-date” at a local park on Monday.  Quite a few showed up and so, again, social-me, had a wonderful time.  But, the fun doesn’t stop there. 

Another wonderful friend of mine came to my rescue with her JuJuBelle business.  Check out this website for more info on that…  http://www.jujubelle.com/index.asp

Seriously, I’m not just trying to promote my friends’ businesses (well, maybe I am, but I am not reaping anything from it, so it’s for honest reasons), but this was really a life-saver for me.  I’m sure now you’re thinking, “What are you talking about, Brenda?” Oh, I’m so glad you asked, let me explain.

A few days ago when talking about my upcoming birthday, Jonah started telling me that he was going to make me something.  Well, that’s no surprise because he is my little creator.  Because they’re not allowed to get tape or use a stapler or anything like that without permission, he went ahead and told me days ahead that he would need at least 4 pieces of tape for my birthday gift.  Then, he started telling me that he was trying to think about how to cut a “v” out of a piece of paper (and the word necklace was used several times).  Are you getting the picture?  You were really wanting to see me at church with a paper and tape necklace on, weren’t you?  Yea, go ahead and admit it, you were laughing!

Well, when I was telling Grandma this story and saying I aught to find someone to send him home with that can help him make jewelry or a scarf or something, she said she had a scarf that he could have and told me to send him in (we were about to leave her house to head to AWANAs at church).  I sent him back in saying that Grandma needed him and he came back out to the van within a couple of minutes carrying a brown sandwich bag and a huge smile.  Whew!  Problem solved, I don’t have to wear a paper necklace.  Thank you, Grandma!  But, wait, Grandma motioned for me to come over to her where she proceeded to inform me that he STILL plans to make the necklace!!  Now what?

So, now on to Levi.  He had been trying to figure out how to get to a store to buy me something for my birthday and here it was Sunday night (my birthday being on Tuesday and him knowing Jake was at work and would not be home until Monday night) and there was basically no way he could get to a store (without me) before my birthday.

Of course I had stated over and over that they did not need to get me anything, but Levi was almost in tears about not being able to do anything for me.  He really wanted to buy me something (and Jonah obviously was GOING to make me something).  So, I put them to bed (Levi upset and distraught) and then remembered my friend, Amber who is a JuJuBelle consultant.

So short-story-long (LOL), I explained the problem and she graciously offered to have them at her house for them to CREATE me some jewelry that they could BUY with their own money.  Win-win-win!  And, yes, it worked.  Jonah was satisfied with the necklace he had made me at Ms. Amber’s and has not mentioned the paper necklace again J.  Yay!  Thanks so much, Amber. 

This is the bracelet Levi made for me (the L and J for Levi and Jonah, the purple stone to represent Jonah’s birth month (February-amethyst) and the blue stone to represent Levi’s birth month (March-aquamarine) and the heart because he loves me!

This is the necklace Jonah made.  He said the cross was because he was saved (I added that the black represented before salvation and the white after—just to explain why a 43 year old woman is wearing a zebra print cross), the flip-flop and star fish are because I like to go to the beach, the flower is because he loves me and the stones are just because he thought they were pretty.

 

So, you’re now probably thinking, “Okay, so that’s why Brenda’s birthday was more special for her than usual.” And you would be right, but there’s more! 

I took the boys to Amber’s house after the play-date in the park and now I had an hour to waste and nothing I needed to do.  So, I decided to peruse a local antique store that I’d never been in (that was right down the road from gymnastics where Amber would take my boys when they were done with their jewelry making).  It’s a little funny that I even went in there because I’m not an antique shopper, but there was nothing else to do, so, why not?  While in there, I found a pair of Gap jeans for $5 and a Vera Bradley purse for $15.  I’ll pause a moment for those of you who know me to finish laughing (I barely recognize name brands, much less sport them).  Okay, are you done laughing?  Then we’ll move on. 

 

NOPE!  I’m still not done!!!  Are you believing this keeps going (from a family who barely recognizes adult birthdays at all)? 

Totally out of the blue, with her not even knowing it was my birthday, a friend calls me Monday night to find out what my plans are for Tuesday.  She is just looking for some company and social time and called me (hmmm… isn’t that strange?).  No, seriously, we do enjoy each other’s company, but we seldom get together (you can count on one hand how many times in a year we get together).  So, for her to call the night before my birthday (with her not knowing it was my birthday) and invite me over ON my birthday—well, I was just in “spoil-me-rotten-and-make-a-big-deal-over-me” heaven!

 

So, while Levi & Jake went hunting today, Jonah and I went and spent the day with my friend Kanani and her three sons.  I’m so glad she called!  I had a great time fellowshipping with her as usual (and, of course, Jonah had a wonderful time playing on her “river beach” with her two younger sons). 

And now as I sit here (after an hour or so long conversation with another friend who I seldom talk to—she called to tell me happy birthday), I’m sipping my coffee and feel quite content to be another year older.  So, join with me as I end my special day—Happy birthday to me~~~ Happy birthday to me~~~…

Jonah took this picture of me wearing my new birthday jewelry.  He cut off my head, but he got the necklace and bracelet in there ;)