Clarity

During school today:

Mama: "Okay, for Bible time we are going to read the passage where Satan tempts Jesus. 'Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."' (luke 4:1-3)

Cole: "Wait. I don't know who the devil is."

Mama: "Satan."

Cole: "Who is Satan again?"

Mama: "He's like the biggest bad guy. He's the one that is fighting against God."

Cole: "OH! OH! I remember him! We saw him on Oprah!"

Mama doubles over and tries to be nonchalant about it.

Cole: "Remember? We saw him. I know exactly who he is. Remember? He was walking on the air between those buildings."

Mama (using her arm to hide her hysteria): "Um, that was someone different. That was Criss Angel."

Cole: "Wait. So now there's TWO bad guys?!"

The Long(er) Update

I'm a little delayed in writing this post, but this past week has been full of phone calls and appointments and I am definitely still in the "gathering information" stage. So here it is: My diabetes test from last week came back positive. Blasted Crazy Juice! My glucose numbers are still just a smidgen high--but because technically they are still above normal range, we have all been working to decide what the next step is.

I'm not thrilled to have a positive diagnosis, obviously. But there is some relief in knowing why sugars have been bothering me so much during this pregnancy, and knowing that there are people out there who are able to help me keep my levels more in line. Just in the last few days, I have altered parts of my diet on my own and have noticed a HUGE change in my energy levels and overall well-being. It's empowering to feel like I can affect change so quickly. And I'm loving being able to focus on the boys more without feeling so loggy all the time.

So, the next question is: Where do we go from here? At this point, I still have a chance of delivering with the midwife, but that may change depending on how the next few weeks go. I had my regular prenatal appointment this morning and it was FABULOUS--this belly is still measuring 34 cm (only 2 1/2 cm ahead now!) and Baby is now head-down (there was actually a moment this week when Justin and I were talking and suddenly my stomach gave a huge gelatinous SHAKE--Justin said, "wow, did the baby just flip or what?!")....all good reports. We spent a lot of good time talking about gestational diabetes and what it all means, and I left there really feeling like everything was going to work out beautifully.

This afternoon, I met with the hospital dietician/diabetes counselor to talk more in-depth about my unique situation and what the options are for change. I think I went into it pretty well-informed, but still I felt like my head was swimming a bit when I left a short hour later (though that may just be my pregnant brain!). So I think the next few days will be key as I actually start putting some of this stuff into effect--watching my foods carefully and charting my blood sugar numbers. I have to meet with an endocrinologist on Tuesday and I am anticipating that I'll be feeling like it is all "old-hat" by then, ha!

I am so appreciative of all of your prayers as we navigate these new waters. There are still several things up in the air about how exactly this delivery will go, but I'm not feeling anxious about any of the details.

"Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed your children within you!" psalm 147 12-13

One Month

In one month, I have
mourned the loss of my fifth pregnancy
cried over the deaths of two co-workers
listened to my husband explain to me why he lost his job



I have also
purchased new clothes for growing, healthy boys
bought groceries and gasoline with cash
worn tank tops because my house is nice and warm
eaten hot meals lovingly prepared by family and friends
given to others out of my excess



In the next month, I will
celebrate the birthday of my three year old son
sit round a table with 17 others in thankfulness
help a sweet one year old blow out a candle


"the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised"! (job 1:21b)

First Week Of School, part two: Lesson Plans

We survived our first week of school! (one down, 35 to go) Had a bit of a slow start since our school weeks are usually only four days and Monday was a holiday. But I am thankful to be easing into it, since it's really the first sort of formal schooling for both Reese and Reuben, and since Cole is coming off of a summer of literally living out of doors. We've all needed an extra dose of grace this week.



Here's what we're studying! (I love hearing about what materials people are using--what's working, what isn't working, what brilliant ideas you have that I can steal! So feel free to post your lesson plans too and maybe I will come take something of yours *grin*)


Reading: Tons and tons of reading aloud. We're intermixing "kids' choice" library books with Sonlight Core 1 Read-Alouds, Daddy's choice "Wizard of Oz", folktales from a variety of countries and cultures, Bible stories, and other "ancients" literature. Cole and I just started "Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad" in our afternoon reading. It's very difficult material for him--I'm literally stopping every half-sentence to explain vocabulary, backstory and plot lines--but we're both loving it! Our mandatory "no TV or computers for the entire school week" rule is lending itself to much more reading around our house. Cole is working through his "I Can Read It" Sonlight Core 1 readers (see Language Arts), Reuben is learning letter recognition and sounds, and Reese is doing basic phonics and early reading exercises. We do all three of these simulateously in the mornings, so that the younger kids get the benefit of whatever info they might glean from Cole's lessons, and so that Cole gets the benefit of review through what his younger brothers are learning.



Writing: We've used Reason For Handwriting for the last couple of years and I'm loving it thus far. We chose it simply because the "style" of letters was the most similar to the lettering that both Justin and I learned as children. Beginning with the Grade 1 books, the writing exercises are all scripture verses, too, which I love.



Math: Horizons math books aren't very "hands-on", but Cole and Reese have done well with them, so we'll continue in this vein unless we hit a snag. I like that the workbooks introduce a concept, stay with it for a bit, move on to something else, and then circle back, over and over again. This method seems to be greatly effective in reinforcing abstract concepts in my boys' minds. Additionally, I'm trying to add a lot of my own manipulatives and real-life applications these days. We'll play a lot of games, cook, make our own colorful charts, count, sort, add, divide the buttons in Mama's button box, etc.



Spelling & Other Language Arts: For now, we're working with the Sonlight K and Core 1 LA materials we already had on hand. The programs are pretty all-inclusive, so spelling, dictation, grammar, vocabulary, narration and readers are all pre-planned and pre-organized. I did order a copy of First Language Lessons and we might supplement with that...or use at a later time.



History: This year we'll use Story of the World for the first time! I'm uber excited about it; history was always the one subject in school I just couldn't wrap my head around. I loved the stories and was able to memorize dates just fine--but I never could seem to comprehend which historical events were happening simultaneously. Learning American History separate from European History and so on created the illusion in my head that there were way more historical periods than actually existed. So for my own kids, I purchased several of the Usborne history materials, but I felt like I was falling into the same rut. I'm so excited to begin Story of the World and am hoping it will fulfill my expectations of presenting history in a linear way that will make it wonderful and appealing to all of us! Our books have been delayed in the mail, though, so next week, we will be working on an alternative social studies project....more on that to come (in part three of this post)!

Science: This week we will beginning Sonlight Core 1 Science...the last of our materials just arrived a few days ago and I haven't had a chance to peek at them much...so will have to update you later!

Bible: Our Bible reading falls into the "ancients" read-aloud category. For memorization, though, I have chosen Ecclesiastes 3:1-8:

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

which I'm sure will take us at least eight weeks, if not sixteen. But I'm feeling deep emotion about this passage, as I've recognized that every other word out of my mouth the last year or so seems to be "it's not time for that, it's time to (fill in the blank)." I don't want to be a mother that is continually telling my boys that they can't wrestle, or be loud, or dig up the flowerplants...I want to be a mother that teaches her sons to recognize when those things are appropriate, and conversely, when it is appropriate to be silent, to embrace, to plant, to build. So I'm thrilled that God (and Solomon), in their wisdom, included this passage in the Holy Book and thankful for the opportunity to teach it to my children and watch its seeds begin to come alive in them.

Art: Ooh, this is a hard one for me. I am pretty much of the mindset that children should do art all day long! ....but I am hopeless when it comes to artistic creativity. Thankfully I married a man who is artistic to the core. I'm not planning a separate "art" segment yet, because I'm anticipating that the SOTW workbook will be full of crafts and art projects. If it turns out that isn't true, then Justin will take the reigns, and Fridays will become "Art with Daddy" days. And they just might anyway.

Montessori: On top of everything else....we'll focus each week on a different Life Skill to be taught in detail and practiced intentionally. Wonderful, majestic things like Saying Thank You (without prompting), Washing Dishes, Sewing, correctly Setting A Table, Sweeping, and (Daddy's favorite!) Being Silent. Hooray! I love how this instruction will further enforce the Ecclesiastes passage we'll be studying.

Whew! Is that it? What a whirlwind this homeschool thing is. As with every other area of parenting, it's dawning on me that homeschool, too, is more about my education than my childrens'. Thank you, Lord, for using these boys to refine me!

*******

"But women will be restored through childbearing--if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety" I Timothy 2:15

Shelfy's Long Swim Home

I have several friends who are in a season of waiting right now. They have all individually petitioned God for something and are waiting anxiously to see how it will all play out. In honor of them, I want to share something that happened at our house last week....

At Cole's 3rd birthday, his favorite gift was a stuffed trout that he received from Michael and Kristin. He named it Shelf. That was four years ago, and though different stuffed animals have been favorites at one time or another, Shelfy has always been in the top three. So around the time Sean was born, when I realized that I hadn't seen Shelf for awhile, I was worried. When Cole said that he hadn't seen him for awhile either, I was even more worried.

We started praying every night that Shelf would be found. Sort of trivial, I know, but this is spirituality at a six-year-old's level. Cole's friend was lost and we were grieving. We hoped that he would be returned safely, so we prayed. And prayed, and prayed, and prayed.

Months went by. Then, a few weeks ago, as I was tucking the boys into bed, Cole said, "Mom, I'm almost ready to give up hope for Shelfy. I'm starting to believe that we're never going to see him again. I don't think we should pray for him anymore." Knowing that their bedroom/playroom is an abyss and that there were still some places we hadn't uncovered, I told him, "That's okay if you want to give up on Shelfy, but I'm not ready to lose hope yet. I still believe that we'll find him someday. So you don't have to pray for him anymore, but I'm still going to..." Cole agreed that we should continue asking God just a little bit longer for Shelfy's safe return.

On Father's Day, Justin was talking to his dad in Portland and got online to send his dad a photo we took of Justin holding all four of the boys at once:

...when Justin's dad received the photo, he emailed us back....and lo and behold, at the end of his email, he said, randomly, "we found a stuffed trout at our house, and thought it might be Cole's..."

I was absolutely beside myself. The last time we were in Portland was August. It has been nearly a year since Shelf was home. After all this time, God answered our prayer! I began stalking the mailman until the fateful day that an oversized envelope appeared in our box. Acting nonchalant (but frantically pulling out my camera), I tossed it to Cole and told him he had a package....

God absolutely heard our prayer. All of our many, many prayers. I'm so thankful that we didn't find Shelf right away, and that we were forced to wait all those months, because I know now that Cole will never forget the day that Shelfy came home. He has surety now that the Lord heard him, and answered him.....even though the answer didn't come quickly. And I am so blessed, at my deepest core, that he has this foundational truth within him now. I can't imagine that he will ever ask in faith for anything the rest of his life, without remembering this moment, when his God heard him.

School At Our House

This post is a long time coming. I have a handful of friends whose babies are just beginning to reach schooling age, and they have been pestering me for some time now for information and advice about homeschooling. I have been putting them off for so long that I am beginning to lose sleep at night, worrying that they will hunt me down. You know who you are. This post is for you.

For the rest of you, well, you know who you are, too. You think we are back-country, right-wing conservatives who are doing our children a great injustice by keeping them out of the public school system (grin). There are no hard feelings if you'd like to stop reading here, and check back later in the week for a less controversial topic. Instead, I will leave you with a video that will bring a smile to your face

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM6uqj0_jQc (btw, that's MY six-year-old!)

and a Quote Of The Day:

"These veggies taste good, but they look like you scraped them up off the ground at Dagobah." --Cole, age 6 (a child critic's review of Pasta, Beans 'n' Greens)

******************************************************
Okay, for the handful of you that remain: Let's get down to business.

WHY WE HOMESCHOOL
I don't know if I would have ever considered homeschooling were it not for my husband. He wanted to begin talking about the possibility of schooling our kids at home when I was only a few months pregnant with Cole. I was more interested in talking about how to stop the Cycle of Barfing and a way to develop a covert system of continuing to get paid at my job while spending the whole day asleep on my desk. So we differed, a bit. But that was when the conversation began.

My first impressions? Well, I was against it, frankly. I mean, come on. Homeschool kids are weird. Let's not deny it. They're smart, but weird-smart. Too smart. They don't fit into the rest of the world. They know how to do things like pluck a chicken and knit a hat, but can't recite Shakespeare or throw a ball. They don't know how to communicate with anyone who is not an immediate member of their (large) family. But despite all of this, I wanted to entertain the idea, and keep the dialogue running. I married Justin because he is wiser than me and often has a more refined sense of the eternal, so if it was important to him, I wanted to examine the topic further.

As time went on, I asked questions, talked to people, read books, listened to Dobson. I realized that Homeschooling Today is not what it was twenty-five years ago. People do this now. Lots of people. There are organizations (like our Whatcom Homeschool Association) set up to support homeschool families, share information, provide social activities (like fieldtrips and park days) and trade curriculums. There are curriculums. It's no longer a system of scavenging at the library and working sums on newsprint. It's a bit more refined, now. The churches even have Homeschool Small Groups you can join. It's everywhere.

So, when Cole turned four, we ventured into the Homeschool waters. Andie told us about Sonlight and it seemed to be what we were looking for. We took the plunge and purchased the Preschool program.

THE CURRICULUM DEBATE
Oh, now I'm getting ahead of myself, because of course, there are thousands of decisions to make when deciding to homeschool; it's not just "yes we will" or "no we won't". This right here is why I haven't responded to your questions before now----because THIS is the part that is complicated. First of all, there are so many methods of schooling: Unschooling, Classical, Charlotte Mason, etc etc etc....To use curriculum or not use curriculum? It gets overwhelming. Let's cut through all of that for a second. We bypassed most of the decisions by saying: 1) Let's buy a curriculum package (since we have no clue what we're doing) and 2) Let's buy the first one that appeals to us (instead of spending months and months researching all of them). I'm not saying this is the best approach; I'm just saying it worked for us, because it took a lot of the "agonizing over approach and materials" away for me. So when we came across Sonlight, we liked it, we picked it, we pulled out our Visa. Done.

Now. What appealed to us about Sonlight was the vast amount of literature. I liked the idea of my kids learning about history by reading books about certain parts of history--instead of poring over a history textbook--simply because history was the one subject in school that I never really understood, but I loved literature, and I think if I would have been taught this way, I would have gotten it, and loved it. There are workbooks for math, writing, etc....but most of their program is taught through literature. I've always dreamed of having an extensive library, so Sonlight alligned with the things I was passionate about. There are very few consumable resources. It's expensive, but--to me--it was worth the cost to invest in beautiful books that we could absolutely wear out through the years.

Okay, now right away, there were things that DIDN'T WORK for us with the Sonlight program, but we couldn't have known this without trying it. First of all, some of the "preschool" materials were extremely difficult--way over Cole's head. Secondly, at the manic age of four, he didn't like having 20 minutes a day of "sit down and read with Mom" time, and immediately began to resent school. Thirdly, the "schedule" they provide interfered with with a child's natural desire to learn and with the natural rhythm of reading--because they recommend that you pick up 5 different books and read one page out of each one, once a day. What? All this did was frustrate Cole. He'd ask to read another page and I'd say, "No, tomorrow." He'd fight back. There was a lot of push-and-pull between us--not at all the cozy, reading, co-learning experience I was looking for. Now I will say that Sonlight firmly maintains that their Schedules are meant to just be a Guideline, and they repeatedly advise that you manipulate that guideline to fit your own family. I'm sure that works for a lot of people. But I am a List Lover. If I have a list, I HAVE to check off each thing before going on to the next one. I CAN'T jump around and have things incomplete; it drives me crazy. So I fought to the death to stick to the list, and Cole fought against me, and we got things done (sort of), but we were unhappy.

Kindergarten: Same Thing. Push and pull, push and pull, Learning Under Duress. I kept thinking, "Is this why I wanted to homeschool? Absolutely not! We're missing something. Where is that Love of Learning I wanted to instill in my child?"

TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF....
Just recently, I've regained my focus. I've read a few good (anti-curriculum) articles about the original heart of homeschooling, concentrating on the idea of teaching your children at your knee, giving them firm grounding and strong character with some quality education mixed in. Oh! Oh, my soul began to breathe again. This is what I've been looking for. This is what I desire for my children. Not this Schedule-That-Mom-Doesn't-Understand-But-Is-Fighting-For. Not this Constant Dissension. But good, old-fashioned, family-style learning, All Of Us In It Together methodology, following our hearts and our unique gifts and our passions, while still checking off the basics. My boys can learn this way. Oh, they can learn this way! Why was I trying to duplicate the format of school, when that was what I was trying to avoid?!

Those of you who are new to this want me to give you a formula and tell you what books to read, what program to buy, and what path to follow. I can't do that. I'm still so new to it myself; I'm still finding my own path. You'll have to discover your own (I'm sorry). There are still a lot of things I love about Sonlight, truly. But I'm manipulating those things now, to fit my own needs. And quite frankly, this means buying a lot of the materials (mostly secondhand--or check your LIBRARY!) and NOT buying the Schedules. Because honestly, I can't have them in my house. I'm too much of an addict. I need to abstain from them altogether.

What we are left with: A pile of beautiful books available to us at all hours of the day. We can read as much or as little of them as we want. We can read three, four, ten a day....or flip through them and just look at the pictures and discuss the parts that are interesting to us. The only thing I continue to be a stickler about is that (most) every day we take a few minutes to practice our reading (Cole) and do a page or two of math (Reese and Cole). The rest is icing on the cake. And here's the result: PEACE AT HOME AND LOVE OF LEARNING! Hooray, hooray! The boys are pouring over books again, asking to be read to, begging to go to the library to research more about their favorite subjects. Science, history, literature--they're eating it up. I am too. We have found our joy again.

And here's the last thing: God is giving me more and more peace about having children that AREN'T of this world, that are only aliens here for a while. Weird homeschool kids, hooray! I am blessed now when someone recognizes that they DON'T fit in, because really, isn't that what we are asked to do? To raise up children that will fight for Good, and be focused on the Prize? That will run the good race? Many ask if we will homeschool forever. I don't know the answer to that. Does a soldier in the military ask his commander what the mission will be 12 years from now? The battle is ever-changing. But oh, it is a BATTLE! I better make sure these boys are ready. Because the day will come, surely, when their Commander will ask them to Stand and Fight. On that day, I can only place my hands on their heads, and give them their benediction, and pray that I have done my job well.

********

"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master', he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'

His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" matthew 25:19-21

They're Here, They're Here!

My Christmas present was delivered today,
courtesy of the US Postal Service...

Five baby chicks, each of them just 2 days old.

Justin says if we want to name them, we should choose Foodie names, like Fryer and Drumstick, to remind us of their eventual purpose. I don't know that Cole really understands, because he wants to name one of them "Wheat"!

These sweet little ladies are the perfect end to my year, as God has been teaching me great things lately about the sanctity of life.

Last winter, He led me through a journey of ancient Old Testament scriptures concerning food and ritual. I was astonished to see such abundance of life in passages I had read so blindly for years. I saw the beauty of God's protection in scriptures about restriction; I found freedom in the celebration of Sabbath.

And then, unbeknownst to me, as I was praising God for loving me as a parent and giving me safe boundaries, he was creating another child within me, yet again expanding the limits of my little tent....

Teaching me ever more about trusting His timing, and having faith in the goodness of His gifts.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." --jeremiah 29:11

On a basic level, I am thankful for the food these chicks will provide. On a deeper level, although I am not looking forward to explaining their death to my boys, I am thankful for the opportunity to share that experience with my children. I hope that they begin to see, as I have, that sometimes One has to die, for us to truly live....

On Becoming Men

If there's one thing you could say about these boys of mine, it is that they LOVE Crayola markers. Love, love, love them. One of their favorite pasttimes is decorating their legs, arms, faces and torsos with all different shades to become "warriors". They do it so often that it's not even worth trying to clean them up to take them out in public....which means that yes, I do get some wonderful looks from my fellow shoppers at Fred Meyer. But they love to play the role of fighters.

Brenda and I were laughing recently about the huge number of baby boys being born recently. She joked that the reason our new baby is another boy is because I am friends with her, and she ONLY knows people that have boys. At the time, we just thought it was funny.....but then I started hearing from other mommas (who also have only sons) that even within the schools, the younger classes are FULL of boys, with only a handful of girls. And suddenly I was hit with the sobering thought: Whatever could be coming in the next 20 years that might require an insurgence of Godly young men?

..."Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, 'Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?' And Jesus answered and said to them....'You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilence, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows'" Matthew 24: 3-8

I am feeling new resolve to train my sons in the way they should go.

"Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them!" Psalm 127:4-5