Showing posts with label Decisions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Decisions. Show all posts

Monday, September 26, 2011

Faithful Over a Few Things

His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’   Matthew 25: 21
This Sunday, our dear pastor and his lovely wife and son had some much deserved R & R.  A brother from the fellowship delivered the message on Sunday.  He taught on the Parable of the Talents from Matthew 25.   It was a message I needed to hear.


Ever since we decided to homeschool, I purposed to put aside all my ministry roles outside of the home so that I could focus on homeschooling.  For a season, I decided, I would pour all my gifts into my family and home.  This decision was practical.  It made sense.  The only problem was that it just never felt right.   


As wives and mothers, are our primary callings in the home?  Yes!  However, there are other needs (both within and outside of the Body of Christ) that each one of us may also be called to meet.  I've always been convicted that we can never convince our families and neighbors of God's goodness and love if we never step back from our own (many) responsibilities as wife and mother to show them His love.  I believe in stepping away to minister to others, we not only bless those who are outside our home but those inside it as well.  It reminds our family- especially our children- that there are times when our own desires must be put aside for the needs of others.  


God gave us our gifts to be a blessing.  When we use them, it should not be a burden but a joy.  The servants in this passage were entrusted with a gift from the master.  When he returned to settle accounts with each, he expected that they had been not simply good stewards of the gift, protecting it from destruction.  He expected that each had used the gift to bear fruit.  It was only in those cases that the master  uttered the words we all long to hear: "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your lord."  


I am not a preacher or a prophet.  I'm not an evangelist or a teacher.  I do however have a gift from the Lord.  He has given me the analytical and organizational skills of administration.  I can take what might seem like a dry and daunting task to others and break it into small, manageable parts and bring order to a situation.  I have used my gift as secretary of our church, an event coordinator for our Women's Ministry, to organize rides and other help for a friend in need.  Please know that I am not bringing glory to myself at all- God has entrusted me with this gift of administration and I want to use it to bring glory to Him alone!  


Now that we are homeschooling, do I need to step back from some of these roles to pour my time and energy into this calling?  Yes!  Are there ways that I can still use my gift to bless others outside the home as well?  Yes!  God confirmed this to me in Sunday's message.  There are opportunities to minister with my gift that He is bringing to me.  When I know He is calling me outside the home to use my gift, I must follow.  


I have heard Him already.  It is a little thing He asking.  I want to be faithful over it.  


Linking up to Michelle's Hear it on Sunday, Use it on Monday meme:
  

Friday, June 10, 2011

Summer Learning is Fun!

Remember last year when I was all organized about our summer plans and even wrote a series of sorts on the process of planning and our final result?  This year- not so much!   That's not to say I have not been planning.  Oh yes, I have!  But between planning for summer, planning and purchasing materials for our great home school experiment next year, wrapping up two large volunteer projects at school and training a new person to take over my job as church secretary, time (and energy) to blog has been scarce.

However, since I have a few moments right now before our final regular season Spring baseball game for our oldest, I thought I'd take the opportunity to share what I've planned out so far for the summer.  Since we will be joining a group of friends in Year Two of Tapestry of Grace next year, a friend suggested we read through The Story of the World, Volume One: Ancient Times over the summer to get an overview of history prior to the Middle Ages.  I devised the following plan from The Story of the World, Volume One: Ancient Times textbook and activity guide.  Maybe this will help someone?

Week One Readings and Activities:
Day One
Read & Discuss Introduction                                                                                               
Complete Make a History of My Family Book                                                                    

Day Two
Read & Discuss Chapter 1                                                                                                   
Complete Map Work                                                                                                           
Complete Make a Cave Painting                                                                                         

Day Three
Read Chapter 2                                                                                                                   
Complete Map Work                                                                                                           

Day Four
Read & Discuss Chapter 3                                                                                                  
Complete Map Work                                                                                                          
Complete Make Cuneiform Tablets                                                                                   

Day Five
Read & Discuss Chapter 4                                                                                                 
Complete Map Work                                                                                                         
Complete Make a Chicken Mummy                                                                                   
Week One Field Trip- Egyptian Exhibits at Local Museum                                           


Week Two Reading and Activities:
Day One
Read & Discuss Chapter 5                                                                                                        
Complete Map Work                                                                                                       
Complete Word Search                                                                                                  

Day Two
Read & Discuss Chapter 6                                                                                               
Complete Map Work                                                                                                       
Complete Activity Puzzle OR Comic Book                                                                       

Day Three
Read & Discuss Chapter 7                                                                                                
Complete Map Work                                                                                                       
Complete Make Your Own Law Code Stele                                                                    

Day Four
Read & Discuss Chapter 8                                                                                             
Complete Map Work                                                                                                       
Complete Art Project OR Writing Project                                                                        

Day Five
Read & Discuss Chapter 9                                                                                              
Complete Map Work                                                                                                       
Complete Craft Project OR Writing Project                                                                     

  
Week Three Reading and Activities:
Day One
Read & Discuss Chapter 10                                                                                           
Complete Map Work                                                                                                      
Complete Writing Project                                                                                               

Day Two
Read & Discuss Chapter 11                                                                                            
Complete Map Work                                                                                                     
Complete Paper Bead Necklace                                                                                     

Day Three
Read & Discuss Chapter 12                                                                                            
Complete Map Work                                                                                                    
Complete Make a Monkey Doll                                                                                     

Day Four
Read & Discuss Chapter 13                                                                                            
Complete Map Work                                                                                                      
Complete Be an Archeologist                                                                                         

Day Five
Read & Discuss Chapter 14                                                                                           
Complete Map Work                                                                                                      
Complete Moses Stickerbook                                                                                                   
Week Three Field Trip
Tabernacle Reproduction Exhibit and Play- Joseph                                                  


Week Four Readings & Activities:
Day One
Read & Discuss Chapter 15                                                                                           
Complete Map Work                                                                                                    
Day Two
Read & Discuss Chapter 16                                                                                          
Complete Map Work                                                                                                     
Complete Make an Assyrian Siege Tower                                                                     

Day Three
Read & Discuss Chapter 17                                                                                            
Complete Map Work                                                                                                      
Complete Draw the Hanging Gardens of Babylon                                                         

Day Four
Read & Discuss Chapter 18                                                                                            
Complete Map Work                                                                                                      
Complete Minotaur’s Maze OR Build Your Own Labyrinth                                                      

Day Five           
Read & Discuss Chapter 19                                                                                            
Complete Map Work                                                                                                      
Complete Make a Mycenaean Shield                                                                            


Week Five Readings & Activities
Day One
Read & Discuss Chapter 20                                                                                            
Complete Map Work                                                                                                     
Complete Write Your Name with Greek Letters                                                           

Day Two
Read and Discuss Chapter 21                                                                                        
Complete Map Work                                                                                                     
Complete Play the Conquer Mesopotamia Game                                                          
Day Three
Read & Discuss Chapter 22                                                                                           
Complete Map Work                                                                                                     
Complete Write on an Athenian Wax Tablet                                                                

Day Four
Read & Discuss Chapter 23                                                                                           
Complete Map Work                                                                                                     
Complete Greek Gods and Goddesses Wordsearch                                                      

Day Five
Read & Discuss Chapter 24                                                                                          
Complete Map Work                                                                                                    
Complete  Play the Peloponnesian War Game                                                            
Week Five Field Trip
Have an Olympic Games OR the Greek Exhibit at Local Museum                          


Week Six
Day One
Read & Discuss Chapter 25                                                                                           
Complete Map Work                                                                                                     
Complete Play the Alexander the Great Game                                                             

As you can see this plan only spans five weeks and a day.  That works for us!  We have a week at the beach planned in June and hope to escape for a long weekend here and there in July and August.  The kids also have two weeks of half day camps in July.  This plans leaves us with lots of breathing room for lazy days at the pool, a last minute get away with the family or whatever suits our fancy on any given day.  It gives us a framework for learning that is flexible enough for summer fun!

I have more to plan and more to share about summer but I'd better get the kids fed before opening pitch :)

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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

His Hand

As we researched and prayed about homeschooling, God opened doors to give us the confidence we needed to make our decision in the end.  I want to remember how He led us in this process, have a record of it, for those days when I question it all.  

About two months had passed since T and I had begun to consider homeschooling again.  I was coming to the end of the women's Bible study I was involved in at church, Breaking Free.  As a result of the small group discussions in this study, a friend and I decided to be accountability partners over the issues from which we were each committing to "break free."  Jen also just so happened to be one of the homeschooling moms at church that with whom I had always been friendly.  As the weeks went on, Jen and I would communicate frequently as accountability partners and I also began to ask her about homeschooling, sharing with her why we were considering it again.  Jen is a wealth of homeschooling information and teaching is her passion so she was happy to share her experience and wisdom with me.  Best of all, she understood where I was coming from and never pushed homeschooling as the only way to educate our children.  Over the course of a few weeks, with prayer, Jen's guidance and input from several other homeschooling moms I respect, I came up with a plan I was excited about implementing.      

We hadn't told anyone in our families, assuming the reaction would be negative.  One evening, after a particularly long and teary homework session, I was on the phone with my mom lamenting about the situation as I stirred a pot of chili on the stove.  She listened and sympathized with me and then to my utter amazement, my mom asked if I would ever consider homeschooling.  I was literally dumbstruck.  All these weeks, I had been wanting to share this possibility and all my thoughts and research about homeschooling with my mom but had chosen not to yet.  I assumed her reaction would be negative and I did not want it to sway the process.  And then she goes and suggests it to me!  Of course, I shared with her that, yes, we were already considering it.

Not long after that conversation, my parents came for a visit and my dad asked about the homeschooling idea.  He was less enthusiastic than my mom but not adamantly opposed, either.  In the course of our conversation that afternoon, my mom offered to come one afternoon a week to stay with the kids while I took time for myself if we went ahead and home-schooled next year.  That simple offer of tangible support, whether she will actually be able to do it or not, was such an encouragement to me!

When T shared our decision with his sisters recently, one was encouraging while the other was less enthusiastic but not overtly negative.  This was similar to my own sister's reaction.  Our close friends have been supportive, even though to many, the idea of homeschooling is foreign.

Our boys are looking forward to it and our daughter is excited to start Kindergarten.  T has offered to teach the boys science!

I still have to speak to the administration at school to inform them of our decision.  It's silly but I am afraid to do it.  As I've shared, our school experience has been so positive that this last announcement will make it all final.  And, truth be told, it's a little frightening.  Like cutting the apron strings or something- lol!  But it would not be stepping out in trust if there were not an element or at least the perception of danger, would it?  So, very soon, I'll take a deep breath, put faith before fear and let the cat out of the bag at school!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

My Homeschool Mission Statement

Our reasons from homeschooling, I believe, are a little different from many.  We are arriving on this path after having had a mainly positive school experience for many years now.  Our decision to give homeschooling a try was made primarily with an eye to the future for our children, given our assessment of the current state of education in America.  


With all this in mind, as well as the awareness that homeschooling will be a journey with highs and lows, wonderful and messy moments,  I wanted to create a mission statement for our home school that reflected our values and would guide our day to day activities.  I'm hoping to have it written in calligraphy on some nice card stock to frame and display as a reminder to all of us of our goals and aspirations for homeschooling.


Without further ado, here is our Homeschool Mission Statement:

  • To create a learning environment that is engaging and interesting, inspiring inquisitiveness and a love of learning.  
  • To provide our children with a high-quality and interesting literature based, classical education that seeks to impart knowledge while also piquing curiosity, leaving room for delight directed study and developing critical thinking skills.
  • To give our children time to explore their interests, develop their creativity and discover their unique giftings and callings from God.
  • To give us more time with our children to sharpen them as iron sharpens iron, to encourage them and to support and guide them as they discover the path God has planned for them.
If you've been reading here long, you may have seen my other Mission Statements.  I just re-read them and eek!  I think I may need to have those framed and displayed as well.  I'm not quite where I want to be with some of goals laid out in those Mission Statements.  Just keepin' it real!




Friday, February 4, 2011

Decided

This post is a little long.  I considered making it a two-part series but then it would end with a cliffhanger and since I've been alluding to our big decision long enough already, I just decided to post the whole long story at once :)

In December, my husband and I went to see the documentary film Race to Nowhere.  It started us on a journey we hadn't planned.  The film critiques the American Educational system highlighting the effects of the tremendous pressure children are under, the limitations put on teachers to educate their students because of the test driven culture of schools and the inadequacies of the system to produce students who love learning and are creative thinkers and problem solvers.  Race to Nowhere focuses primarily on the issues as they impact middle school and high school students.

While our children are younger, we could not help but fast forward a few years and imagine how our own would ultimately fare in this system.  Especially our oldest who struggles with anxiety in general and needs down time to unwind after school.  He has already come to the point where he says he hates school and he hates learning.  He also claims to hate history and writing.  This breaks my heart.

A week or so later, a friend posted this video on her Facebook wall.  I was fascinated.  Sir Ken's words so resonated with me and the thoughts still tumbling around in my mind from Race to Nowhere.  I watched every YouTube video of him I could find and started reading his book, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything.  In a nutshell, Sir Ken's passion is helping others find and develop their own passion and he critiques our educational system for being antiquated and squelching creativity.

With all this swirling around in my mind, I contacted the fifth grade teachers at our school, the grade our oldest would be in next year, and asked about the workload we should expect for next year.  Our oldest is very bright and does very well in school but after talking with the teachers, I knew the homework and testing load for next year would overwhelm him and eat up the free time he needs.

My husband and I resuscitated an option we had considered and decided against twice before- homeschooling.  We laid out our goals for our children's education and childhood and determined that we wanted their education to be engaging and interesting, inspiring inquisitiveness and a love of learning.  We want them to have time to explore their interests, develop their creativity and discover their unique giftings and callings from God.  The only school option that we thought might meet those criteria was a Montessori program.  Two things would prevent us from going that route: the expense (yikes! and we're used to a private school tuition) and the fact the ones that are close enough go only to sixth or eighth grade.  The only other option I know of that would allow for our educational goals to be met is homeschooling.

As I mentioned, we've been down this road before so I knew just who to go to for advice and encouragement.  (Thank you Jen, Andrea, Layla, Deirdre and Dorothy!)  God has been so faithful to guide us in this process.  He has opened so many doors- a few that completely shocked me- and we are finally ready to take the final step through in faith.  We have decided that we will homeschool our two boys next year and our daughter will go to Kindergarten at the school they all attend right now.  Our boys will be in fifth and second grade next year.  If all goes well and homeschooling is, in fact, a good fit for our family, we will bring our girl home for first grade the following year.

For a few reasons, we have not yet told the school or most of our friends there (though a few close ones are in the know).  That will come in the next month or so, I think.

There's so much more I want to share but I know this is a ridiculously long post already :)  I look forward to sharing the glimpses of His hand in this, how I plan to take care of myself as I take on a new role and responsibilities, the curricula I'm choosing, etc.  Thank you, bloggy friends, for praying for us as we walked through this decision!  And for sticking around for this long-winded story ;)



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