Poke, Poke... yes, we are still here!

In our rush toward the end of the year to get finished and then our lazy, hazy days of summer, my poor little Homeschooling blog has suffered some neglect. There now, little blog, you are loved.

I have been following, with some interest, the Corpse Flower at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. It seems lots of people are interest in Lois (that's the name given this Corpse Flower). Unfortunately, Lois seems not to follow everyone's timeline on when she should bloom. She's poking along at her own pace and laughing in the face of the predictions of the experts. They have made slits, attached bags of rotten fruit, turned up the heat and humidity... to no avail. Lois is still cocooned in her bud. I hope all this poking about doesn't kill the poor thing.

That got me really thinking this morning about home educating our students. They poke along at their own pace. Often not keeping the timetable that the "experts" say they should follow. "Well, your son should be reading chapter books by 2nd grade. Blah, blah, blah." They create an artificial environment and expect kids to "bloom" on time in it. Kids, like Lois, were made by the creator with their own timetables. I like to work with that timetable instead of fight it and force it. Doing so, allows them to "open up" and enjoy their education.

Nature Walks

In our continuing efforts to follow the Charlotte Mason method, and since the cold weather is starting to give way to our warm Houston spring, we have been starting our nature walks again. We have a wonderful detention pond in the back of our subdivision that has been turned into a park of sorts. It is still very wild and I like it that way. The boys hop on their bikes, I hook up the dog, the boys grab their nature walk notebooks, I grab my camera and we all go for our nature walk.
Here are some pictures from our walk.

My oldest writing a poem he is keeping to himself. Notebook entries should only be shared if the child wants to.
The boys enjoy riding. So much freedom!

Enjoying God's creation. We can see His handiwork in even the "weeds".

Strawberry Picking Field Trip

Ah Tradition... one of our favorites is our annual Strawberry Picking at King's Orchard with our local homeschool group. I just love to go! In fact, I have been suckered into leading it for the past 3 years. No, it really isn't all that bad, I am just being silly. I just send out a map, tell people what time to be there and field all ridiculous complaints. (insert eye rolling here)

Here are some fun pictures.

Calling All Seasoned Home Educator

I still shake my head when I say outloud "I've homeschooled for 7 years." It doesn't seem possible. I still feel like a fledging newbie to homeschooling. The reality is that as a homeschooler with a few years under my belt (or purse), it is my responsibility to encourage others. That might mean giving unsolicited advice to those homeschoolers just coming up. Sometimes they don't know the questions to ask. We know the pitfalls and problems.

We tend to cocoon in these older years. We don't feel the need to go to homeschool meetings because we have a lot figured out already. We stick to our group of friends who are also seasoned. It is comfortable. The fact is that we are too lazy to put ourselves out there and mentor these moms coming up. We should attend these meetings not because we need information, but to be available to give information.

This is a call to all you seasoned homeschoolers: Get out there! Encourage, encourage, encourage! Get out of your comfort zone and find a new homeschooler to mentor. Make yourself available to them. Pray with them. Will they take all your advice? No. They might take none of it and that is OK. Just the fact that they have a cheerleader in their corner makes all the difference. Rah! Rah! Rah! Go Homeschool!

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

Titus 2:3-5 NIV

Is there a doctor in the house?

THE SYMPTOMS:

• I yelled at the boys twice today,
• I forgot to take my medicine this morning,
• Some guy ran into the back of me at Wal-Mart while I stood in line at the self-checkout and said "Surprise" (not "sorry"... "surprise" uh huh) I just turned and glared,
• I felt myself grit my teeth as the older lady in front struggled to find the UPC bar code to scan at the self-checkout,
• I found myself complaining to my husband about the lack of funds around Christmas when I knew he was getting paid in two days,
• I am unmotivated to check math work even though there are only 4 days left until we get out for Christmas holiday.

THE DIAGNOSIS:

Yes, I know, I'm in burnout. It's common around this time of year but for some reason it always catches me unawares. I finally got a clue after lunch that I was in full blown burnout mode. Now at least I can extend a little grace to myself and ease up. Did you ever notice that we are nicer to our friends who are having a rough day than ourselves? Recognize the symptoms you usually have during burnout and give yourself a lot of room and a few excuses to slack off.

Wal-Mart Commercial Gets My Goat

Who writes the commercials for Wal-Mart? One this summer really got my goat... it was the summer 2009 Wal-Mart commercial that said "Summer is here. Our kids are ours again." What???? Who did they belong to during the school year? The government? This line of thinking is scary. Are we are a rats hair away from total government control? Are we being conned into thinking that the government knows what is best for our kids? Probably.

While walking through the school supply aisle this August, I heard one lady commenting to another lady "God, I can't wait for school to start and for these kids to go back." The kids were standing right there and I saw their faces sink. It made me feel so sad for those precious children. I wanted to yell at these clearly idiotic women... "What is wrong with you? These kids are gifts. You should treasure every second you have with them." These are the parents whose kids get into trouble and they wonder where they went wrong.

Parents: Children are a gift. Their childhood is fleeting so don't wish away this time with them. The scripture says "The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. " Proverbs 29:15 Sow into them love, kindness and discipline. Let them experience the consequences of wrong decisions. Your children are not your "best friend". Parents make decisions that are best for the child NOT what will make the child happy. Spend time with your children. Speak into their lives good things. Cheer them on in what they do best. Encourage them not to give up in things they find difficult. Your children are not there to fill your emotional needs. They are not there to hear about your problems. If you find yourself doing this, you need to reexamine your relationship with God. He is there to hear your problems and fill your needs.

Art Appreciation

Here we are in October already with several weeks of schooling out of the way. Our habits of reading the Bible daily, followed by a poem and nature walks on Monday has been working out very well so far. Today I somewhat reluctantly added art appreciation. We were studying a Picasso painting entitled "A Family of Saltimbanques". I'm not a fan of Picasso but I enjoyed studying this painting with the boys. I had them study the picture for about 5 minutes. Then we covered up the painting and then asked them to describe it. Then we looked at it again and I asked them how it made them feel. I was amazed at what they read into the painting. They both said it had a sad feeling. My 10 year old son said that he felt the lady with the hat represented Picasso and his feeling misunderstood in the art world. Wow! He also noted the coloring of the lady with the hat was the same as the boy in blue and the girl in pink and that perhaps they were related. They also said that the group was on the move. They also noted the barren location and that it added to the sad feeling of the piece. Their observations took me by surprise and now I am sorry we didn't start this sooner. I thought they wouldn't really enjoy this part of our day, but it turned out to be the highlight!