Fourth Grade, Bible Set Three

Hymns

• My Redeemer
• I Will Sing the Wondrous Story
• He Keeps Me Singing
• Sunshine in My Soul
• Love Lifted Me

Bible Memory

• Psalm 19:11 - 14

The Bible Detective; Bible Reading

• When the Rooster; Matthew 26
• Price of the Christ; Matthew 26-27
• Prisoner Goes Free; Matthew 27, Mark 15
• Friend and Follower; Matthew 27
• Husband's Lie; Genesis 20
• No Looking Back; Genesis 19
• Wife Hunt; Genesis 24
• Dad's Favorite, Genesis 25, 27
• Dream; Genesis 37, 39-41
• Midwives; Ex 1-2
• God in Bush?; Exodus 3

Catechism

• Learned #58 - 61
• Reviewed a section each week

Our 24 Family Ways

• We choose to be peacemakers, even when we feel like arguing.
• Days 1 - 5
• Learning the Way
• Made a poster

Window on the World

• Kyrgyz
• Lesotho
• Lobi
• Madagascar
• Maldives

 Missionary Book

• 77 Zebra

Fourth Grade, Math, Set Three

Addition and Subtraction

• Professor Pig games
• Number Stories
• Fast Track
• Worksheets

Multiplication

• Marvelous Multiplication
• Split Second
• Crossword Puzzle
• Worksheets

Division

• Dazzling Division
• Division Scrabble
• Three-in-a-Row 
• Worksheets

Measurement

• Problem Solving with Time and Money

Fractions

• Changing improper fractions to mixed numbers
• Adding fractions with like denominators

Geometry

• Symmetry
• Line Segments, Points, Lines, Rays 
• Intersecting, Parallel, and Perpendicular Lines (Here's a video that explains what they are.)

 Number Sense

• Roman Numberals
• Reading numbers to 100,000,000
• Number Stories
• Comparing values
• Name That Place game
  

Fourth Grade, Reading, Set Three

Little House Series

• We read On the Banks of Plum Creek.
• Questions and Discussion

Mystery-fold

• This one turned out to be a tiger.

Tall Tales

• John Henry
• I found a map that showed the railroads that were built in 1870 and those that were added between 1870 an 1890. We talked about where the most r/r were added, located the transcontinental r/r, states with fewest and most r/r, how to get from here to there.

Fourth Grade, Grammar, Set Three

g.u.m. drops pages 27 - 39

• Possessives
• Adjectives
• Adverbs
• Subject / Verb Agreement
• Subject / Pronoun Agreement

Fourth Grade, Writing, Set Three

Kim is getting better on doing her journal every day. I put stickers on each day's writing, then if she gets a sticker every day, she gets a piece of candy on Friday.

Week One

• The Cat Who Became a Poet (in the book, Nonstop Nonsense by Margaret Mahy)
• Write a Couplet or Triplet.

Week Two

• A Cloak for the Dreamer by Aileen Friedman
• Write a top-to-bottom description. 

Week Three

• The Friendly Four by Eloise Greenfield
• Write a non-rhyming poem.

Week Four

• S is for Sea Glass: A Beach Alphabet by Richard Michelson
• Write a quatrain. K.'s was about the beach.

Week Five

• Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran
• Write a sensory description of a place. K. wrote about a beach scene on our wall.

I found this really good worksheet explaining the difference between couplets, triplets, and quatrain poems.

Fourth Grade, Spelling & Vocabulary, Set Three

More great vocabulary words and phrases:

• rogue
• knave
• ingite
• harried
• stifling
• dispersed
• outlook
• presumptuous
• dominion
• honeycombed
• reluctant
• sociable
• coup
• insurrection
• technicality
• heinous
• quavered
• outlandish
• given her a turn
• settling the dust

Dictionary Skills

• schwa sound
• dividing words at the end of a line
• reading the pronunciation 

Fourth Grade, Science, Set Three

Elementary Life Science

• Chapter Eleven: Reptiles and Amphibians
• Activity: Took the temperature at different places and times in the house to find out where cold-blooded animals would want to live (75 - 85 degrees F)
• Chapter Twelve: Life Cycles of Birds, Mammals, and Insects
• Activity: Did this really cool activity to demonstrate the life cycle of a butterfly. Four strips of construction paper are 2" x 8-1/2", one is 2" x 11".
  

  

  Eggs

  
  

  

  Caterpillar

  
  

  

  Chrysalis

  
  

  

  Butterfly

• Chapter Thirteen: Classifying Animals
• Activity: Classifying Donuts -- we bought a glazed, old fashioned, bear claw, twist, and apple fritter and classified them. After that K. asked her dad questions to see if he could figure out the donuts by their classification. For example, Which donut is bumpy and has a hole? Which donut is not bumpy, not round, and not twisted?
  
  
• Chapter Fourteen: Classifying Plants
• Activity: Put white carnations in colored water to see how water moves through a plant.
• Chapter Fifteen: Classifying Fungi and Protists
• Activity: Get two bottles of soda pop. Empty one and fill it with water. Put a teaspoon of yeast into each bottle, mix it up, put deflated balloon over the mouth of the bottle. Leave for 24 hours.

Fourth Grade, History, Set Three

Covering the years 1882 - 1890

Jesse James  was shot and killed

• Jesse James: Western Bank Robber by Kathleen Collins -- presents more as a list of facts because it is in the Primary Sources of Famous People in American History series
• A Bank Robber's End: The Death of Jesse James by Ryan Randolph -- this is more of a story told by Frank James

Buffalo Bill Cody debuted his Wild West Show

• Heroes and Villains of the Wild West: Buffalo Bill Cody by John Hamilton
• Buffalo Bill: Frontier Daredevil by Augusta Stevvenson -- good read-aloud book 

The Brooklyn Bridge Opened

•  Brooklyn Bridge by Sarah Tieck -- All Aboard America series; limited text, easy to understand
• Brooklyn Bridge by Lynn Curlee -- wonderful illustrations
• You Wouldn't Want to Work on the Brooklyn Bridge! by Tom Ratliff

Grover Cleveland became president

• Grover Cleveland by Mike Venezia -- Getting to Know the U.S. Presidents series; interesting to elementary students with fun illustrations
• Grover Cleveland by Ann Graham Gaines -- Our Presidents series; a good overview for 7th grade and up 

The Washington Monument was completed

• The Washington Monument by Frederic Gilmore
• Washington Monument by Julie Murray -- All Aboard America series

Benjamin Harrison became president

• Benjamin Harrison by Sandra Francis -- Our Presidents series
• Benjamin Harrison by Mike Venezia -- Getting to Know the U.S. Presidents series 

Johnstown Flood Occurred

• The American Story Run for the Hills
• The Day It Rained Forever by Virginia T. Gross -- historical fiction; very good story, although sad, it ends happily
• Head for the Hills!  by Paul Walker

Jane Addams founded Hull House

• Jane Addams: A Life of Cooperation by Ann-Marie Kishel -- good, informative, and written for elementary aged children
• Jane Addams and Hull House by Deborah Kent -- lots of photos, interesting, and well written
• A Personal Tour of Hull-House by Laura B. Edge -- spending a day at Hull House

Yosemite National Park was created

• John Muir: America's First Environmentalist by Kathryn Lasky -- great illustrations; the story of his life is very interesting 
• Yosemite National Park by David Petersen -- in the A New True Book series
• Welcome to Yosemite National Park by Pamela Dell
•  Camping with the President by Ginger Wadsworth -- realistic illustrations
• The Camping Trip that Changed America by Barb Rosenstock -- big, fun illustrations with limited text

Wounded Knee Massacre took place

• Wounded Knee: The Death of a Dream by Laurie A. O'Neill -- we only read the first chapter, which was about the massacre. I think it deals with the subject fairly. This will be a book to read more of when K. is older.

Fourth Grade, Fine Arts, Set Three

Recorder

• Practiced previous songs
• Learned fingering for notes E and D
• Started learning Old Brass Wagon

Bracelet

• Chevron bracelet

Badges

• Native American badge

Fourth Grade, Bible, Set Two

Hymns

• Faith of Our Fathers
• Yield Not to Temptation
• Open My Eyes
• What if it Were Today?
• In My Heart There Rings a Melody

Bible Memory

• Psalm 19:6 - 10

The Bible Detective; Bible Reading

• The Giant, 1 Samuel 17
• A Suffering Saint; Job 1-3
• In the Lions Den; Daniel 6
• Gifts of the Magi; Matthew 2
• Baptism of a King; Matthew 3
• The Obedient Storm; Matthew 8
• Mustard Seed Faith; Luke 17
• Down of the Farm; Luke 15
• Sisters; Luke 10
• Resurrection; John 11
• To Be Born Again; John 3

Catechism

• Learned #54 - 57
• Reviewed a section each week

Our 24 Family Ways

• We are diligent to complete a task promptly and thoroughly when asked.
• Days 1 - 5
• Learning the Way
• Made a booklet

Window on the World

• Japan
• Jolas
• Kal-Tamashaq
• Kazakhstan
• Kurts

 Missionary Book

• Charlie 

Fourth Grade, Math, Set Two

Addition and Subtraction

• Professor Pig games
• Fast Track
• UNO Card game
• What's the Difference?: Turn over two cards and tell the difference between the two numbers
• Worksheets

 Multiplication

• Skip Count Cards
• Marvelous Multiplication games
• Shout It Out
• Split Second
• Multiplication Search
• Worksheets

Division

• Review Sheets
• Dazzling Division games
•  Three-in-a-Row (I highly recommend this game!)
• Answer Up
• Worksheet
• Worksheets

Word Problems

• Wacky Word Problems games
• Word Clues
• All About Me

Graphs

• Great Graphs activities
• Dangling Spoons
• Television Pictograph, just #1
• Birthday Months

Decimals

• Delightful Decimals games
• Scavenger Hunt
• Name that Place

Number Sense

• We each had five pieces of paper and wrote a different number (any number - big or small) on each paper. Then we:
• Put them in order
• Practiced 10 more / 10 less
• Found place values
• Compared using < and >
• Wrote the expanded form

Pre-Algebra

• Worksheet with missing addend

Fourth Grade, Reading, Set Two

Little House Series

• We read Little House on the Prairie.
• We started a map of the Ingalls' family travels.
• Discussion and questions.

Mystery-Fold

• We did one that tells the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff and the picture is a troll.

Tall Tales

• Johnny Appleseed
• We looked at a map of where apples grow, noticing continents, countries, weather zones, and states in the United States.

Fourth Grade, Grammar, Set Two

g.u.m. drops pages 14 - 26

• Verbs
• Verb Tenses
• Irregular Verbs
• Contractions
• Pronouns

Fourth Grade, Writing, Set Two

K. is continuing writing in her journal. It is hard to get her to do it everyday.

Week One

• Urban Roosts by Barbara Bash
• Write an expository paragraph. K. wrote about two kinds of birds that live in the city.

Week Two

• Two Days in May by Harriet Peck Taylor
• Explain a process. K. wrote about her trip to the zoo.

Weeks Three and Four

• Secret Place by Eve Bunting
• Write a research report. K. learned and wrote about hyenas.

Week Five

• Through Grandpa's Eyes by Patricia MacLachlan
• Write a sensory description of a place. K. sat in our backyard with her eyes closed, then wrote about what she heard and smelled.

Fourth Grade, Spelling & Vocabulary, Set Two

We are getting some really good vocabulary words.

• erroneous
• taboo
• tousled
• dispersed
• courteous
• shun
• cynical

Fourth Grade, Science, Set Two

Elementary Life Science

• Chapter Six: More Forest Biomes
• Activity: Put a thermometer in a white sock and in a black sock, then put them both in the sun; compared the temperatures after 15 minutes
• Chapter Seven: Tundras and Desert
• Activity: Made permafrost by mixing dirt and water, then freezing it. Set a building (made of clay) on stilts (toothpicks) and then on the permafrost. Let the permafrost melt and watched what happened to the house. We also looked at pictures on the internet of houses effected by thawing permafrost.
• Chapter Eight: Aquatic Biome
• Activity: Fix three glasses of water with different concentrations of salt, add a different food color to each glass. Insert the straw into the salt-free water, cover the end to keep the water in. Insert the straw into the the low-salt water, remove your finger to allow water to enter; cover again. Do the same with the high-salt water. Here are directions.
• Chapter Nine: Species and Offspring
• Chapter Ten: Plant Structure
• Activity: Put beans in small zippered bags and compared their sprouting after a week.
• with moist paper towel in dark place
• with moist paper towel in direct sun
• with moist paper towel in indirect sun
• with dry paper towel
• with a cup of water

Fourth Grade, History, Set Two

Covering the years 1874 - 1881

First Kentucky Derby

• Kentucky Derby by S. L. Hamilton
• Derby Day: A Pop-up Celebration of the Kentucky Derby by Pamela Pease
• The Last Black King of the Kentucky Derby by Crystal Hubbard 

National League of Baseball founded

• Take Me Out to the Ball Game by Andra Serlin Abramson 
•  The Desperado who Stole Baseball by John H. Ritter -- I started reading this one, but just couldn't get very interested in it

Battle of Little Bighorn took place

• Sitting Bull: Great Sioux Chief by Lavere Anderson
•  The Tragedy of Little Bighorn by Warren J. Halliburton

Wild Bill Hickok was killed

•  High Noon: Wild Bill Hickok and the Code of the Old West by Eric Fein
•  Wild Bill Hickok Tames the West by Stewart H. Holbrook -- this is a Landmark book

Invention of the Telephone

• Alexander Graham Bell by Victoria Sherrow
• Inventing the Telephone by Erinn Banting

The Electoral College awarded Hayes the presidency

• The Electoral College by Michael Burgan

Rutherford Hayes, president

•  How to Draw the Life and Times of Rutherford B. Hayes by Melody S. Mis
•  Rutherford B. Hayes by BreAnn Rumsch

Nez Perce War

•  Chief Joseph by Mary Englar
•  The Nez Perce by Sharlene and Ted Nelson

Invention of the Light Bulb

•  Inventing the Electric Light by Lisa Mullins
• The Light Bulb by Marc Tyler Nobleman 

Knights of Labor went public

•  The Knights of Labor and the Haymarket Riot by Bernadette Brexel

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

• Covered when we read about Wyatt Earp

James Garfield

•  How to Draw the Life and Times of James A. Garfield by Lewis K. Parker

Chester Arthur

•  How to Draw the Life and Times of Chester A. Arthur by Rachel Damon Criscione

 Clara Barton created the Red Cross

•  The Red Cross by Anastasia Suen

The Tuskegee Institute was founded

• George Washington Carver by Andy Carter -- an "On My Own" biography
• George Washington Carver: Plant Doctor by Mirna Benitez
• Booker T. Washington: Leader and Educator by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack
• Booker T. Washington: Educator and Leader by Kristin Thoennes Keller -- we read this book first, but, well, let's just say it is a list of facts and a majority of the sentences begin with the word "Washington" or "he", which gets rather tedious after a few pages.

Billy the Kid was shot and killed

• Billy the Kid: Wild West Outlaw by Elaine Landau

Fourth Grade, Fine Arts, Set Two

Recorder

• Practiced Hot Cross Buns and Good News!

Bracelet

• Made a Basic Diagonal Stripe bracelet 

Textile Arts Badge

• Made a color wheel with paints
• Made a wall hanging

Cake Decorating Badge

• Spring themed cake

A Word for Journals - April, 2015

I was sorting through old school things, when I came across a Winne-the-Pooh day planner from our 1999-2000 school year. Beth was in fifth grade that year and I bought it for her to use as a journal, for the purpose of practicing her cursive penmanship. 

I opened the journal and started reading. I was transported back to those days. She wrote of going to camp, spending the night at Jessie's house and Jessie spending the night at our house (there was a lot of that!), there was an entry when she was mad at me because I wouldn't let her finish reading a book she had started, waiting for Aunt Beckie to come, spending the day with Grandma, a gift from a cousin, going to the dentist, fights with her sister, things she wanted to tell me, and so much more, a lot that seemed insignificant at the time.

Needless to say, none of it is insignificant. It is a piece of our past that has been preserved in a fifth grader's penmanship.

This year, Kim is journaling each day, just a few sentences in cursive, to improve her penmanship, but more important than that, to preserve this year, her thoughts, our lives. So in 2030 we can sit on the couch reading her journal and saying, "Remember when...."

So, if you don't have your children journaling, I would encourage you to have them start. In ten or fifteen years, they will be priceless travelogues, transporting you to precious memories.

Oh, and yes, just writing a three or four sentences each day, Beth's penmanship did improve over the year.

For Me, Too - February, 2015

We choose to be joyful,

even when we feel like complaining.

Have you ever planned a lesson in Bible specially for your child's benefit, then in the middle of it displayed that you need the same lesson, too?

I picked seven "Family Ways" to work on this school year (from Our 25 Family Ways by Clay Clarkson). We were just starting the lesson on joy. The verses for the week were Philippians 4:4-7. Kim had just started reading them aloud when the timer buzzed signaling it was time to get a drink.

We stopped and went in the kitchen for our drinks. Kim reached across me to pick up her glass, but instead, knocked it over. I quickly said, "Get a towel." She stood there and looked at me. "Kim, get a towel!" She continued to stand and stare. Richard handed me a towel and I proceeded to verbally pour out my irritation on Kim while I moved appliances and sopped up the mess. "Spills happen, but you need to quickly clean them up before they make a bigger mess. Why didn't you grab a towel? You know where the towels are! I'm not mad that you spilled, but why did you just stand there?!?"

Back to our Bible lesson, Kim started reading, "Be full of joy always because you belong to the Lord. Again I say be full of joy! Let all people see how gentle you are. The Lord is coming soon. . . "

Always be full of joy; and the realization of what I just did started settling in. Let all people see how gentle you are; and I knew I had just blown it.

"I wasn't gentle . . . I'm sorry . . ."

How much joy do you have? Are you full of joy, or is there room in your cup for more? How gentle are you? Would your husband and children characterize you as gentle? Through prayer and giving thanks, we can have the peace of God, which will give us joy. Let's pray for joy and gentleness this month.

The Waiting Room - December, 2014

It had been sitting on my closet shelf for years. Each time I cleaned, it got dusted. Finally, I decided to get it out of my closet, but the only way to do that was to read it -- a woman's devotional book. I have to admit that I have a terrible aversion to women's devotional books. They always ask how you "feel" about this or that. I'm a "fact" person much more than I am a "feel" person, and I usually have no answer to these questions.

At the end of one chapter was this prayer.  

Dear Heavenly Father, it seems easy to run to You when I'm in trouble, but I'll admit right now that I have no affection for the waiting room. Please help me to keep on trusting You when things don't go like I think they should. You've been so faithful in the past. Help me to concentrate on the mighty things You've done before, both in my life and in my heart and in the lives of others. Please provide the patience and peace of mind I'll need while I "wait" for Your direction, and use my attitude and the circumstances of my life to bring honor and glory to You. In the precious name of Jesus, Amen.

In some of Sally Clarkson's books she talks about waiting, and how we are to wait, but the phrase, "use my attitude and the circumstances of my life to bring honor and glory to You" made me stop and think. In my waiting, I am usually just concentrated on me and my family -- how we are growing and changing and trusting. This reminded me about the bigger picture. That the circumstances of my life should bring honor and glory to God.

Sometimes my life circumstances aren't very fun, but when I remember that my attitude and response toward my circumstances should bring honor and glory to God, it helps me to have a better perspective, and maybe I'm doing a better job of waiting.

Enjoy the Season - October, 2014

" To everything there is a season,  

a time for every purpose under heaven."

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Kim and I are working our way through Short and Sweet by Katherine Loop. This is a book of short stories with a message. The story, Enjoy the Season has a really good message that I thought would be great to share with you. When applied to homeschooling, the message i got was to not stress out over all the courses I think we need to cover before graduation. Then Saturday evening it hit me in a different way.

The story is about two brothers, James and Eric. As the story begins it is winter and James is complaining about the cold, but Eric is enjoying the snow.

Then comes spring. The brothers have too much to do with schoolwork and planting. James is complaining about all their father has given them to do, but Eric says, "I'm sure father wouldn't give us more work to do than we could handle. He loves us so perfectly. This hard work must be just what we need. I'm going to choose to enjoy it!"

When James complains that they can't possibly get all the work done, Eric remembers, "...it was his father's problem to figure out how everything would get done! Eric was only responsible for doing each task with a full heart. The smile returned to Eric's face. He did not have to carry the burden; he just needed to be diligent with the tasks his father had given him."

I had a lovely Saturday planned: clean my parent's house, do the laundry, go to the library, finish this newsletter, and work on a sewing project.

By noon, I had the laundry going, the house cleaned, and we were back from the library. I just need to feed my mom lunch and the afternoon would be mine!

Then the doorbell rang.

We have friends that are in charge of the food bank at their church. When they have extra, they often bring it to us. The cans of food and bags of beans were easily put in the cupboard. But there were also 8 lbs of strawberries that needed attention right away. As I was washing them and cutting off any spoiled spots, I decided to put 3 lbs in the freezer, make 3 lbs into jam, and we could eat the other 2 lbs before they spoiled.

By the time I had the jam in the jars, it was time to attend to my mother's needs again. After that was done, I had 30 minutes until time to fix dinner. After dinner, Kim brought me the dress she wanted to wear to church. It needed to be ironed -- all 5 layers of ruffle!

Across my brain burst the news-flash that I was not going to get to the fun things I had planned to do. In my head I started to complain. I did for everybody else today. I didn't get to do anything that was for ME. But, God brought the message of Enjoy the Season to my mind.

The work that my Father arranged for me on Saturday was exactly what I needed; I just needed to choose to enjoy it and do each task with a full heart and let Him carry the burden.

I know you have days like mine. And I know you have the same Father I have. He has planned our days and our tasks (Psalm 139:16). Let's practice choosing to enjoy them and let Him carry the burden.

Counting The Cost - August, 2014

"If one of you wanted to build a large building, you would sit down first and think of how much money it would take to build it. You would see if you had enough money to finish it, or when the base of the building is finished, you might see that you do not have enough money to finish it." Luke 14:28 - 29a

We aren't building a tower, but we are building our house and family (Proverbs 14:1). We don't need to count the pennies in our bank account, but we do need to count the cost of physical weariness, emotional exhaustion, and sacrifice that come due on a more or less regular basis to all homeschooling moms.

During this next school year as you juggle home, children, church, family, and friends, there will be times when you will become physically weary. Remember that God rested after creating the world, and you need to rest, too.

When you spend your days with your children, giving affection, educating, training, and discipling them, expect there to be times when you are emotionally exhausted. Remember to wait on the Lord and let Him renew your strength.

When you need to put some of your dreams and desires on the shelf in order to be the mother God wants you to be, remember that Christ laid down His life for us.

Now a word of caution: Don't make homeschooling more costly than God intends. God does not ask us to set unrealistic goals or standards that are higher than our children can reasonably attain. When we require a higher cost of ourselves than God wants, it is no wonder that we bankrupt ourselves emotionally and physically and are not able to finish building.

In Joy in the Journey by Lori Hatcher, she states that homeschooling is the hardest thing she has ever done, but "if I had the choice to make again, I'd do it in a heartbeat."

Homeschooling is hard and it has a price tag, so rely on God each step of the way, casting your burdens on Him, because although homeschooling is taxing, it is definitely worth the cost.

A Sane Mother - June, 2014

I have been wonderfully encouraged as I've read The Spiritual Power of a Mother by Michael Farris. Chapter 9 is about the myth of the perfect homeschool mom. In this chapter he admonishes:

Your children need a sane mother far more than they need a support group.

You simply cannot do everything.

You need to decide which areas are the most important and devote more of your resources and your incredibly precious time to those projects. You must let lesser priorities slide, either a little or a lot.

I underlined those sentences and have considered taping them on the bathroom mirror or the refrigerator . . . maybe both places. You can take out "support group" and change it to fit your situation.

When I am "sane" I like who I am as a wife, mother, teacher, and friend, because I like how I treat myself, my husband, children, and friends.

We all have days (or maybe a few weeks) during our school year when things get crazy and we go a bit insane, but how would you characterize your year as a whole? Do you like who you are as a wife, mother, teacher, and friend? Assigning priorities to subjects and events can be a big help in staying sane.

Because I have to drop whatever I'm doing at certain times during the day to take care of my mom, a high priority for me is to start schooling on time so I don't have to leave out something fun I planned to do or hurry and scurry through our subjects. I don't like me when we have to rush. Kim likes to talk about things and I can see her spirit close when I keep watching the clock and telling her to hurry. So I put a lot of effort, planning, and discipline into my morning routine.

On the other hand, Fine Arts is a low priority. There are many days (and sometimes weeks) when I let some (or a lot) of what I have planned slide because something else (which is a higher priority) comes up or takes more time than I thought it would. 

Getting outdoors for exercise is a middle priority -- it happens almost every day.

Do you know what your priorities are in schooling your children? My challenge to you is to take some time this summer to establish priorities for you and your children so you can be a successful, happy, and sane mother.

His Timing and His Way - April, 2014

Some weeks ago I needed a size G crochet hook. I had smaller hooks and lots of larger ones, but no "G". I looked at Walmart. They were out of G's. On Saturday we went to Jo-Ann's. They were having a sale, and seriously, they only had a few wooden hooks left! Is a size G hook really so popular? God, couldn't You just have one that fell on the floor that I could find?

Sunday, after church, we were going to try another Jo-Ann store. On my way to Sunday School, I saw that my secret sister had left a beautiful box for me. Before class started I opened the box. It was full of embroidery thread, but I heard something jingling, so I dug to the bottom and there were three crochet hooks -- YES! one was a size G. I shared my story with friends and we all marveled and praised God!

Ladies, many times in your homeschool, you are going to feel discouraged. You try this or that and it seems that nothing works, and you just want to cry out and say, "God, give me the answer! You wrote on the wall for Belshazzar, couldn't you do that for me?"

I want to encourage you to wait on God. Hope in the Lord. Look ahead with eager anticipation, knowing that God will do something good. Pray, obey, and trust God. He knows where the "crochet hook" is and He will give it to you in His timing and in His way and then we will all marvel and praise God with you.

His Plan and My Spirit - February, 2014

I know I've written before about following God's leading in our schooling, but I'm guessing that since it is a lesson God keeps walking me through, then maybe another mom needs encouragement in this area, too.

This morning while brushing Kim's hair, she confided to me that some clothes she saw other girls wearing made her feel envious -- they had sequins on them.

I asked her what God says about how we dress. She didn't remember, so we pulled out our Bibles and read 1 Peter 3:3-4. Then I decided that making a little poster with the verses on it might be good reinforcement. I pulled out a piece of art paper, foam flower stickers, and markers. Then Kim said she wanted to write the verses, so I drew lines on the paper. I told her to pick four or five flowers and decorate around the edge. She took her time and picked out ten.

Oh, I didn't tell you, from the beginning we were running late in getting MY "school" day started, and by the time we started the poster, half our time for Bible was gone. We were supposed to be singing a hymn, learning our verse, reading Proverbs 2, reviewing our catechism, praying for Afghanistan, and reading about missionaries.

Instead, while Kim picked out and stuck flowers on the poster, I was asking God for a calm spirit. While I read each word to her, spelling some out, I was asking God to help me remember that this was HIS plan for our Bible time. As she picked a different color of marker for each sentence, I was reminding myself to be glad she wasn't grouching about making the poster. And as we put more stickers over her mistakes, I was reminding myself to keep a gentle spirit and loving attitude.

By the time our poster was finished, Bible time was used up and it was time for me to take care of my mom. But I had a victory. I had followed God's promptings with a good attitude, not trying to rush through His plan and get back to my plan. So, who learned more through making the poster, Kim or me? Time will tell. But if I learned something, then the next time God pushes my plans to the side for His plans, I will be able to follow His promptings with even less agitation in my spirit.

I think a lot of my victory in this situation has to do with prayer. While I do pray for myself, I also know that each month one of you is praying for me, so thank you. God is working through your prayers.

Life Long Learners - December, 2013

In a recent newsletter from CreateBetterWriters.com there was an article about creating life long learners. As I was reading the article I was pleasantly surprised that, as homeschoolers, we, to some degree, do the three things suggested to give children a love for learning.

First, find the "awe factor" in the what you are teaching.  Instead of just teaching facts, we find something that will ignite our child's curiosity and make him want to find out or do more.  Whether that is making clothes from the era we are studying, building a castle, making a rocket, watching ants rescue their eggs from the flooded garden, or learning a poem.  The time we get to spend interacting with our children lets us learn about their likes and dislikes so we can better know what will grab their attention.

Second, help your child be successful at learning. We don't want to consistently give our child messages that he is not a good learner. When our children are struggling, they know they are struggling, so we are careful to not crush their love for learning. With homeschooling we can step back, take it slower, change our approach (or even our curriculum), and celebrate successes, no matter how small. We don't have to put grades on papers. Our children never have to see a report card. We don't need to subscribe to a certain grade level of curriculum. Our children can just learn what they are ready for, and can review when it is needed.

Third, allow your child to explore his passions. Allowing students to make their own decisions is a strong motivator in education. Here, also, homeschooling allows us to excel. In elementary grades we can allow our children to follow and explore the shifting winds of what arouses their interests. In the upper grades we can customize the subjects they study to match their interests and the direction God is leading them.

I'm going to add a fourth item, I believe that when our children see us getting interested and excited in what we are learning together, it makes them more interested, too.

Being able to raise our children with the love to learn is a great gift to give them and rewarding to ourselves. A person who loves to learn will never be bored. I praise the Lord for the ability to be able to teach Kim according to "her bent" instead of her having to sit in a classroom with 20 plus other students with a teacher trying to interest all of them in what she is teaching.

Focus On Learning - October, 2013

I'm reading the book Read for the Fun of It by Caroline Feller Bauer so I can implement some of the activities in our curriculum in third grade. In chapter seven I came across the sentence, "The concern of teachers to "teach" writing sometimes overwhelms the fun of it all." I started thinking about that. I've decided that statement can be applied to any subject, and to teaching in general. Our concern to "teach" our children can overwhelm us and make us focus on "teaching" instead of on "learning".

  

I made a big mistake this last year. Kim was doing her first research project. She had chosen to learn about penguins. She was so excited to learn all about them. We went to the library and found five books that were at her reading level. On the way home and the next few days she was reading the books and telling me the things she was learning. Then I pulled out the 3 x 5 cards for notes and envelopes to categorize them. Suddenly, she was no longer interested in penguins. It was no longer interesting and fun -- it was a chore. Looking back, I didn't handle it well. I was focused on teaching her how to write note cards, organize them, and write a report while Kim was focused on the fun of learning about God's interesting creatures. If I could do it over again, I would put the 3 x 5 cards and envelopes away and let her just read the books. Then ask her questions, such as, "What do you remember about what penguins eat?" Have her write some sentences about it. Encouraging her to go back to the books if she didn't remember. And have her draw some pictures to go with her paragraphs. 

Does Kim need to learn to use 3 x 5 cards to take notes as she reads, categorize them, and write a report from them? Yes. Does she need to learn it all in second grade? No!!! If I had stopped my teaching plan and gone with her learning plan, then in third grade when she was doing a report about frogs (or whatever it turns out to be), I could have said, "Remember last year when you were doing your report about what penguins eat and you had to keep going back and looking in the books? Well, this year you are learning about what frogs eat and it might be easier to write down what you learn as you read it rather than going back and searching through the books for the informaton again. Here are some cards to write on.

I need to remember that her learning is what is important and that we have ten more years to get my teaching done.

I know that every aspect of our children's education isn't going to be fun for them. Our children are gifted in different ways and while one thinks math is fun another thinks science is fun, and I don't think diagramming sentences could ever be fun.

But if our focus is on their learning rather than on our teaching, I'll bet we could come up with ways to make even their disliked subjects more interesting.

Discipleship Through Academics - August, 2013

Wow! It's almost time to begin a new school year. I pray you are excited and ready to start.

I hope you have set one or two goals for your family this year that have nothing to do with academics. Although when we talk about homeschooling, we mostly talk about academics, I believe that academics should not be our main thrust. Over the years I have known a few families whose reason for homeschooling was "to give their children a better education". Most of those families did not last past a couple years as homeschoolers.

So, what do I think our main thrust should be? Discipling our children.

Does discipleship happen through academics? Well, it certainly can, but it depends on your focus. Your focus needs to be on eternity, not the on spelling words or math facts. That doesn't mean that we don't learn the spelling words or math facts, but they aren't our focus or goal, they are part of the path on which we are traveling to our goal.

I read a paragraph in one of Sally Clarkson's books that made me think about whether I was using spiritual goals to accomplish our academics, or using academics to accomplish our spiritual goals. This translates into: Do I use scripture to get my children to do their work, or do I model (and therefore, teach) love, forgiveness, and joy while I explain (again and again and again) that we start each sentence with a capital letter.

I have found that this path our family is traveling grows our trust in our Heavenly Father. I start the year with a plan (that's a good thing), but I need to cling to His plan and not mine. I have the poem Step by Step posted on my bulletin board to help me remember this.

Step by Step

He does not lead me year by year

Nor even day by day.

But step by step my path unfolds;

My Lord directs my way.

Tomorrow's plans I do not know,

I only know this minute;

But He will say, "This is the way,

By faith now walk ye in it."

And I am glad that it is so.

Today's enough to bear;

And when tomorrow comes, His grace

Shall far exceed its care.

What need to worry then, or fret?

The God Who gave His Son

Holds all my moments in His hands

And gives them, one by one.

--Barbara C. Ryberg

Bring On the Games - June, 2013

Congratulations! You've made it through (or almost through) the school year. Now, after a much-needed period of relaxing, you'll be ready to make your plans for the coming year.

I want to encourage you to plan time for learning through games and activities in your curriculum schedule.

When I homeschooled our oldest two daughters, I used a traditional curriculum. If someone would have told me that I should also incorporate games and other activities as a method of teaching, I would have responded with a question and a comment.

The question would have been: "Why would I want to do that? My children do their work pages, I give them their tests, I record their grades. I fill out all my reports. We're good."

My comment would have been: "I wouldn't know what to do and besides, we wouldn't get our textbooks completed."

Now you can see how much I have changed over the past 17 years! So, let me respond to my old self.

Why use games and activities? I don't have any stunning statistics from research or dazzling documentation from professionals, but I can tell you that when we learn through games and activities, Kim learns faster, has more fun, and we relate better to each other. I smile more, have less frustration, and we are more creative. Kim voices her ideas, asks more questions, and we don't look at the clock as much!

How would I use games and activities? There are really simple things you can do to turn a traditional lesson into a "game". You just need to think outside the "curriculum box". Consider the question, "How can I make this into an active lesson?" Here are a few ideas: take the math worksheet outside and do the problems with sidewalk chalk on the driveway; instead of measuring lines on a sheet of paper, go outside and measure leaves; instead of marking the verbs on a worksheet, use an old reading textbook and circle the verbs in a story.  

As you begin thinking about and planning your upcoming school year, I want to encourage you to schedule in a game or activity for one subject once a week.

What's The Point? - April, 2013

The school year is beginning to draw to a close, the weather is warming and inside your head the pressure is building to complete your curriculum plans on time. But just take a minute to breath, relax the muscles of your neck and shoulders, and remember why you are at home. Are you there to make sure your child completes the schooling plans you made or to build a relationship so you will have his heart and be able to turn him to the Lord?

If you have read any books by Cynthia Tobias you are probably familiar with her question "What's the point?". That is the question I would encourage you to ask yourself if you begin to cram a bunch of school work into your days. I've been there. I've done that. In fact I almost did it this week. Last Friday we did no school work as we were packing and moving our business. Monday morning I was looking at our schedule and I said to myself, "Instead of fine arts, we can use that time to ..." Thankfully, God reminded me that it is easier to build a relationship when we sit on the couch talking while we crochet than rushing through a new math concept, a science experiment, and a spelling test.

When my older girls (now 25 and 23 years old) say "remember when" I can almost guarantee you that their next words will not be about math, grammar, science, or any other core subject. It will be about time spent together in the kitchen, on a field trip, planning an event, sewing, crafting, or reading.

I just want to encourage you to keep the "fun stuff" in your schedule and instead of stressing over completing the plans you made last summer, stay tuned in to God's plans.