Homeschooling

Sending my child to receive an institutionalized education is right up there with the worst decisions I have ever made.
It is sad that the best education poses financial hardships. If it were not for the cost of the Little Boy's fifth grade curriculum, he would not have been downgraded to public school. My lesson is being learned, however.
Not only is the Little Boy being set back in his education, but our family has already been bombarded with all kinds of things the school wants us to buy and/or provide. I am a bit floored that he is working on place values, gravity, and proper nouns as a fifth grader when these were things we did as part of third and early fourth grade homeschool curriculum. As far as book clubs, school gear, and fundraisers, I am trying not to allow myself to be sucked in. It is already picture time at school, too. The company they use takes the photos and sends the kids home with a complete package in hopes that no one will send some of it back and just buy the whole thing. I think the pictures I take of my children come out better than school pictures. Without purchasing a package, though, your child is deprived of the class composite. Another aspect of the business side of public education and how parents are sucked into spending money.
When I hear the comments that the Little Boy should "breeze through" fifth grade since he has already done the stuff they are teaching, I want to scream. Children deserve challenges and opportunities to excel. Limiting them to the pace of twenty-or-so other students horrifies me. No child left behind? Apparently not! Public school keeps ALL children behind. The Little Boy has not been publicly educated even a month yet and I already want to vomit every day. How am I going to make it through until June?
Thank goodness the Young Lady is not even entertaining the idea of public high school!
I will always advocate for the best education there is, that which can not be found in a government institution.
(¯`v´¯)
·. ¸ .·´ *•*CrystalLynn*•*•*
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Difficult Choices

For roughly a week I have been thinking extensively about our family's relocation. The education of my children is something I hold very dear to my heart and I will always believe that being active in and responsible for a child's education is one of the most important things a parent can do. Which is why I am heartbroken and devastated with the decision our family made.
After continuously dismissing the idea, I reluctantly made the phone call to the main office of the middle school where we are moving and asked about enrolling the Little Boy. I hung up and cried. My next step as far as making sure he can attend the first day of class is to take proof of residency, the Little Boy's birth certificate, and a copy of his immunization record to the office at the school and fill out a bunch of paperwork. I honestly do not know if I will be able to get through it without breaking down.
I do not want him to think I gave up on him. That could not be further from the truth.
The Young Lady will continue her course at home through The American Academy. When the Little Boy reaches high school, he, too, will likely return to home education through an accredited program.
I desperately want what is in the children's best interests. At this time, the consensus is the Young Lady will be better able to focus on her more demanding studies without her brother's distractions. The Little Boy has been undecided about returning to public school, but leaned more toward it as a result of the desire he has to be hands-on with his learning. I did my best to have a very interactive home school. Admittedly, we lack the resources to provide materials to do amazing experiments. Without active participation and hands-on opportunities the Little Boy gets bored quickly.
The Little boy is becoming excited about meeting new friends at school and is hoping to meet someone who lives within close proximity to our new home. I am definitely more worried and heartbroken about this difficult choice than he appears to be.
(¯`v´¯)
·. ¸ .·´ *•*CrystalLynn*•*•*
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Moving Forward

Suaemoc is changing locations again. A move always puts a kink in getting things going. Of course, one of the many advantages of homeschooling is being able to begin whenever we are ready. Did we ever finish?
The children are enjoying themselves. They have a renewed love of outdoor activities. Bicycle riding, skateboarding, walking, and fun workouts together are some of the things keeping the children active and healthy this summer. The Young Lady has also been giving horse riding lessons, aspiring to grow as a trainer. The Little Boy became very interested in baseball and is eager to learn everything he can about the sport. I have unsuccessfully been trying to get information on sign-ups for fall baseball in the town we are moving to.
Part of Suaemoc's upcoming studies will be educating ourselves on our new town. Being excited about a topic encourages the desire to obtain knowledge. Moving, especially moving to a new town, provides a great opportunity for Social Studies, History, and Geography lessons. Perhaps we will even take a field trip to visit some town offices.
(¯`v´¯)
·. ¸ .·´ *•*CrystalLynn*•*•*
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/▌ Sent from my BlackBerry®
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Summertime Lessons

Just about everyone makes the statement, "Kids are like sponges." Children soak up the world around them. Parents most certainly want their children to absorb appropriate moral principles and beliefs and develop a friendship with their Creator.
The Little Boy attended overnight summer camp for the first time. His conduct at camp surely pleased his Heavenly Father, as the Little Boy was rewarded for honesty, respect, and for being the best camper of the group by his counselor. Learning Bible principles is certainly helping the children to become appreciative, respectful, and empathetic.
Summer camp was another experience in learning about God through creation. Romans 1:20 states: "[God's] invisible qualities are clearly seen from the world's creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made, even his eternal power and Godship." It was wonderful to hear the Little Boy speak of the activities he enjoyed and just as wonderful to remind him that it is possible to survive and have fun without Nickelodeon and the Wii.
Promoting faith is the most beneficial thing parents can do for their children. Summertime affords so many opportunities to draw lessons from creation. Happy learning...and teaching! 8)
*¤•~*CrystalLynn*~•¤*
¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•` ¤ Never miss an
opportunity to make others happy,
even if you have to leave them alone
in order to do it.*´¨)

Learning Throughout the Summer

Learning does not stop just because the calendar tells us it's summertime. We may not do as much of the "formal" stuff, but every experience in life is a learning experience.
We are planning a trip to the zoo in a couple of weeks. Not only is it a fun day out, but the children learn about animals and their habitats and often get excited about at least one exhibit which inspires them to want to learn more.
The Little Boy will be attending his first overnight camp this summer. That is going to be a wonderful adventure for him. He is not one to be away from home a lot and is usually hesitant to do things with other children whom he does not know very well. Going to camp will promote new friendships and exploring activities he may not have tried otherwise.
The Young Lady has already had some wonderful new experiences. I am intrigued with her bravery. She certainly proves herself to be very strong-willed. Her summertime is usually booked up with equestrian activities, which is a very good thing for her. Not only does she have a drive and passion for all things equine, she has a goal of a life-long career working with horses. She is well on her way, too. I often write about all the things there are to learn on a farm and I stand behind that. The more she and the Little Boy work around the farm, the more well-rounded they become. There is nothing like a farm to teach children the value of hard work.
We have had some very nasty weather and the Little Boy loves learning about science and weather. He still checks the weather report daily and updates his weather chart. He has been fascinated by the severe weather in the United States lately, as well as the thunderstorms we have been having in our own state. He wants to know the cause of weather events and really likes learning about the water cycle that God has insititued to replenish the earth's supply.
We are coming up on the one-year anniversary of the accident that changed our family's life last summer. This summer will undoubtedly be a better one for us, but we will surely be discussing the amazing ability of the body to heal. That accident has given us a year-long lesson on biology and anatomy, only now it's not as scary as it was in months past.
So, everything from having the right amount of money and getting back correct change at the ice cream truck, to executing equestrian abilities and sportsmanship in the horse show ring gives the children fantastic learning lessons all summer long. They may not realize it, but I do. ;)

Misguided

I saw on the news this morning that there is a family in Canada who has chosen to keep the gender of their baby a secret. The baby is a few months old and it was reported that only six people in the world know the gender of this child. The controversial part of this is that this baby's parents have decided that they would like to allow their child the freedom to eventually make its own choice as to what sex it would like to be.
I am appalled. However, that is my opinion.
Here is God's. At 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10, the apostle Paul wrote under divine inspiration to the congregation in Corinth: "Do you not know that unrighteous persons will not inherit God's kingdom? Do not be misled. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men kept for unnatural purposes, nor men who lie with men, nor thieves, nor greedy persons, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit God's kingdom."
My spiritual conscience tells me that this is a situation of an innocent child being kept for unnatural purposes. I form that opinion based on the fact that God created a man and then made a "helper as a complement of him," a woman. (Genesis 2:20) God did not ask Adam if he wanted to be male. He likewise gave no choice in the matter to Eve.
It is a natural occurrence based on chromosomes whether we are born male or female. This amazing procedure of reproduction was instituted by God. The moment we are conceived the Bible tells us at Psalm 139:16 that God sees "the embryo" of us, "and in [his] book all its parts were down in writing." God has such a loving interest in each and every one of us that he records who we are from the moment we begin forming. To afford a child the choice of potentially going against the gender it was created to be is a gross unnappreciation of the wonderful works of God in the fear-inspiring way we are wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14)
Why would loving parents place such a monumental decision on their young child? This child is going to have to "pick" an identity as a toddler, really. There is a reason we don't receive certain privelages as citizens until we reach a specific age. We simply are not mature enough to make relatively well informed choices until we are grown. Are these parents prepared for the possibility of raising a very confused member of society?
I also find this to be an act of greed on the part of the parents. What if this child is humiliated because its parents have put this burden on him or her? They have not gotten a measure of noteriety at their child's expense.
There are ways to provide our children freedom to make choices for themselves while we "keep on making sure of what is acceptable to the Lord." (Ephesians 5:10)
What does this example teach people? What's next?
What I love about homeschooling is that we are free to look to God's Word for the principals we need in order to make good decisions and to base our education on what we know about our Creator. This world is beyond corupt. "All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16) I am grateful to be able to assist my children in looking to our Grand Creator for guidance and direction amidst this very misguided world.

Mom As Teacher

As a parent, you have some pretty high expectations for your children. You want the best for them. You want them to be challenged. You want to see them conquer challenges successfully.
When you take responsibility for providing your children their education, you realize that their degree of intelligence directly reflects your ability to teach them. Perhaps you push them a little too hard, knowing there are those who continually seek to criticize your decision to educate your children at home. Should measuring up to other people's expectations affect the way your children are taught, though?
I learned something from my dog trainer that has weighed heavily on my mind. She said that it is important not to let your puppy fail. If your puppy will only hold a sit for 15 seconds, keep the hold at 12 seconds and release him. Don't let him fail.
Why am I associating this concept with homeschooling? Because of the enormous amount of desire parents have to see their children perform above and beyond and excel in everything. We parents naturally feel disappointed when our children do not live up to the standards we expect of them. Most of the time, we tend to reprimand for substandard performance and neglect to praise them for what they are achieving. And, we set a mark for them that we only become satisfied when they reach.
As parents and more importantly as homeschooling parents, we should not let our children fail.
Homeschooling is a wonderful provision which allows parents to take control of tailoring our children's education to be specific to them. Therefore, our children need only measure up to their own potential. When we try to force our children to go beyond their potential, we make them feel like they have failed. Homeschooling is not about failure.
Sometimes children need a creative approach to learning. This is a great way for parents to use some imagination. Instead of pushing a subject until our children become frustrated and upset that they just can not understand it, take the opportunity to explore fun ways to reinforce the main idea behind the lesson. Use our world! When we have practical, hands-on examples, things become clearer and easier to make sense out of.
So, push your children to reach their potential. Recognize that everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Build upon, praise, and encourage strengths. Find creative ways to work with weaknesses while praising good efforts. Don't let your children feel as though they have failed.