One Down, Five to Go….

By -
Fifteen or so years ago, I distinctly remember thinking, “Okay, Lord, I’ll be willing to teach my children at home, at least up to high school.” And then as junior high and high school approached, I prayed, “Yes, Lord, I’ll consider teaching the children through high school. Please, just don’t make me teach them chemistry or government.” Now, over a decade into our actual teaching adventure, I’m standing on the other side of the bank and saying, “I have a high school graduate who survived me as his teacher for twelve years – even through chemistry! How did we get to this point?” Well, it suddenly occurred to me as I was watching my oldest son hugging people and shaking hands with those who were congratulating him on his achievement: We got to this point the same way we got through learning to read, memorizing multiplication tables, and practicing how to write a logical paper; we got here by God’s grace. Did I think that His grace was not sufficient enough to get us through chemistry, for heaven’s sake? By God’s grace, Derek (our eldest) will continue to develop academically, to grow in his understanding of God’s will for his future, and will desire to do God’s will. And by God’s grace, we’ll get through the five students who are remaining in our little “academy” in the woods of Elyria, Ohio. To God be the glory, because it is only by His grace!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Music Lessons?

By -
           Whether it’s knowing how to answer your children when they ask, “Why do I have to take music lessons?” or answering family members who ask, “Why are you wasting money on piano lessons?”, we hope the following list of reasons may give you some ammunition against music-lesson-skeptics:   Music lessons really do build character and instill diligence and a strong work ethic in the participant.   Music lessons give a child an appreciation for music that merely listening to it will not afford.   Music lessons have been determined to reduce anxiety, depression, and attention problems in children because they change the cortical thickness in the brain.   Increased cortical thickness in the brain also allows a student to improve memory skills, organizational skills, and attention.   Music lessons improve a child’s ability to solve complex math problems, comprehend reading passages, and use his verbal skills more effectively.   A child who takes musical lessons tends to ma
Read more

Never Stop Learning!

By -
Image
As we conclude our series of posts using the word HOMESCHOOL as an acronym, we come to the letter L.  What I’ve Learned About HOMESCHOO L ing: Never Stop Learning- No Ruts Allowed!  I just told my husband yesterday that I think I know my math facts better now than ever before. Why is that, you may ask? Because I am reviewing flashcards every day, doing facts practice pages, working through multi-step math problems… all with my children!   It never ceases to amaze me how much I am learning while we homeschool. Things I never knew (or understood?) when I was in school are so interesting to me now. I love being in on this learning process with my kiddos! Just as we are constantly learning new things in math, science, and grammar, we need to be willing to keep learning in other areas too. I tend to be a “rut” kind of person. If it works, why bother changing it? However, this isn’t always the best approach to life or schooling. Sometimes we should improve in an are
Read more

My Best Time of Day

By -
             My husband is a night owl —accomplishing some of his best work after 10:00 P.M. I am a morning dove (yes, I know that’s spelled incorrectly; work with me for the pun’s sake), getting up around 3:30 A.M. so I can have some alone time to get my best work done. Others would be like hummingbirds, who can work all day long. Okay, let’s get away from the bird similes and go to the point: u se your best time of day to accomplish your most important work ! Whether it’s creating lesson plans, grading, reading lesson instructions, having devotions, spending time with your spouse, working on scrapbooks, or whatever else is significant to you, use the best hour of your day to do that work . Determine what is most important to you or most necessary to you, and then accomplish that work when you are freshest and most alert. So, if it is within your power, use your best hour of the day to do your best work—in terms of productivity or in terms of quality of production.         
Read more