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My Favorite Part of My Day

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The kitchen was in disarray, books were everywhere, witnessing to the fact that my kids do indeed read and the younger children had done an amazing job of turning my living room into a rather complex fort. In the middle of this chaos I found my somewhat frazzled self sitting down at the end of my day with a cup of tea and reflecting. Did I get any homeschooling done? Did I have a productive day? What is my definition of a productive day?

It was one of those typical homeschool days where I had felt like the day had flown by in a whirlwind of activities without being productive. I was determined on a daily basis to get my checklist of homeschool tasks done and yet it never seemed to get accomplished. Can anyone relate? Your days are busy as can be and yet you don’t seem to get to the homeschooling subjects that you wanted to. I began to realize in my early years of homeschooling that I needed to have a paradigm shift on what constitutes a productive homeschool day. This is when I discovered the beauty of “Morning Time”.

“Morning Time” is a phrase that I learned from Cindy Rollins who is a veteran homeschooler of 9 kids whom have all graduated from her homeschool. She is an amazing influencer and mentor in the homeschool community. She wrote a book called “Morning Time” that changed my perspective on what was important in my homeschool. I highly recommend reading her book to get an in depth look at what “Morning Time” is all about.

“Morning Time” is a set amount of time that I set aside with my kids to study the different subjects that I want them to learn. If we accomplish nothing more in our day than “Morning Time”, my day has been a success. These subjects are usually subjects that I have always wanted to study with my children, but we just don’t seem to get around to them. For example, we might study famous artists, Shakespeare, Plutarch, science, apologetics or a famous music composer. This is also the time that I do a continuous read aloud with the kids. My current read aloud with my teenage daughter is “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexander Dumas and my current read aloud with my younger two children is “Prince Caspian” by CS Lewis.

This is my favorite part of our homeschool day because we come together as a family and learn about the truth, goodness and beauty in the world we live in. A Shakespeare play that we are listening to or a novel that we are reading can lead to thoughtful discussions. Another benefit of “Morning Time” is seeing a family book culture emerge in our home where my kids will remember reading certain books or topics and those topics will pop up in random conversations. My children’s humor or comments start reflecting the books we are reading. They see an artist’s painting or hear a piece of music and recognize who or what they are because of what we have studied. In my opinion, this creates more of an education for my children then simply filling out a worksheet. If my goal is to create a love of learning, then I want to introduce them to many different aspects of the world around us.

I don’t want them to learn math with the mindset of just having to fulfill a requirement. I want them to see the unique mathematic equations that exist in our world. For example, the sunflower is a mathematical creation representing the Fibonacci numbers. I want my kids to begin to see learning as an opportunity to see the world in a new way. When we study Vincent Van Gogh, what is the story behind his famous painting of Starry Night? When we enter the world of Narnia by C.S. Lewis what do we see? What is the story saying about the world around us? What are the Biblical Worldview questions that my kids are struggling with?

I cannot have these conversations when the kids are working on their everyday worksheets at their desks, but I can create a space for these discussions to happen. I began to see how this was the learning that I desired my homeschooling to have. I made a decision in my early years of homeschooling, that if we didn’t get to anything else, but we made space for “Morning Time”, we had had a productive day.

“Morning time” can look quite different depending on the ages of your kids and your family dynamics. I had years when we had little toddlers and the “Morning Time” had to be short and during the baby’s nap time. Our current “Morning Time” is actually split between my younger two kids and my teens. I wanted to read deeper books with the teens that were not as relatable to the younger kids. Our schedule has changed as the kids have gotten older and now I am able to do a “Morning Time” in the morning with my younger kids and a different time in the afternoon for my teens. Although for most of our homeschool years, I did keep all five kids together. It was logistically easier, at that time, to keep them all together and not split them up.

“Morning Time” does not have to be in the morning. There were a couple of years that we still called it “Morning Time” but my sleep deprived teens functioned better in the afternoons. Find a time in your day that works best to meet your families needs. It does not have to be complex or long. You can simply start by having a 15 minute read aloud time where you sit down and read with all your kids. You can study whatever you would like with your kids that you think would interest them. Perhaps you would rather listen to a Shakespeare play together, explore a science book or read an apologetics book as a family.

One more important thing to remember is that “Morning Time” is a journey with your kids that doesn’t always go the way you expect. There have been many “Morning Time” days that have gone far from what was ideal in my mind. I sometimes wondered why I was even incorporating it in my day. Despite the days we had of chaos, I kept cultivating the habit because I knew I was planting seeds. When you plant and water seeds, you don’t immediately see growth, but the seeds are still growing. I chose to believe that I was cultivating learning even if it seemed, at times, that they weren’t listening. As some of my kids have reached their teens, I can see the seeds that I had planted and how they have grown. The “Morning Time” was worth it! It is a lovely tool to help cultivate an atmosphere of learning. It is a part of my homeschool that I have never regretted doing.

If this concept of “Morning Time” is something that you would like to incorporate in your homeschool day, I will list some resources below that were helpful in my study of what “Morning Time” is all about. I will also list what we currently are doing for our own “Morning Time” to give you an idea of different things you can do with your kids.

Resources for “Morning Time”

“Morning Time” by Cindy Rollins (cindyrollins.net)

“My Morning Basket” by Pam Barnhill (Excellent podcast on the different parts of Morning Time)

“Back to School Conference 2019” (found at cindyrollin.net)

(Cindy did two sessions in the above conference on how “Morning Time” works and she also walked through a typical “Morning Time” that she had done with her kids. You can still purchase the recordings even though the conference was last year)

Book List-

“Morning Time” with my teens

The God who is There by Francis Schaffer

The Great Divorce by CS Lewis

Plutarch Lives- Alexander

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Count of Monte Christo by Alexander Dumas

The Classic 100 Poems Edited by William Harmon

“Morning Time” with my 8 and 12 year old

Bible

Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

Poetry- Emily Dickinson

Picture Study- Van Gogh

Animals by Thorton Burgess

Grimms Brothers Fairytales

Prince Caspian by CS Lewis

First Day of School Traditions

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What does a first day of school look like for homeschooling? Can’t our kids just stay in pajamas all day? Do I really need a first day of school when we are just staying home? What is so important about celebrating the first day of school?

When we started homeschooling 12 years ago, I wanted to make the first day of our school memorable. I didn’t want our kids looking longingly at the school bus leaving our neighborhood, thinking that they were missing out. They weren’t missing out, they were just on a different adventure than some of their neighborhood friends. I wanted our kids to enjoy the uniqueness of homeschooling and what that might look like. Yes, they were staying home, but I wanted to create an atmosphere of excitement for the new adventure that they would be stepping into this year. The first day of school became a tradition that our kids look forward to each year.

I do something a little different every year, but they know that the first day of school will have a variety of delights for them to enjoy and remember as they begin a new school year. I thought I would share with you some of the different traditions our family have enjoyed over the years.

One of the first traditions that I do is to make homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Right now, we are about to have our first day of school and the yummy cinnamon rolls are waiting downstairs in anticipation of the kids waking up to start their day. I think the only hard thing for me about making the kids cinnamon rolls is the temptation of eating them. I have to keep reminding myself that they are for the kids and not me.

Another tradition is school supplies outside their door when they wake up. I usually make a little card that says “Let the Adventure Begin…” and then put some kind of school supplies outside their door. This year I bought art supplies and a favorite book that I had picked for them to enjoy in their reading time. This looks a little different each year, depending on what school supplies they need and what my budget is for that year. This also depends on the age of my kids. For example, my teenage daughter is going to have new coffee mug and a book while my younger children get the art supplies. I try to pick a school supply that is part of a subject that they really enjoy learning. I have also had small budget years when the school supplies are minimal, but the kids still enjoy the anticipation of what is outside their door each year regardless of how much of a budget I had to work with.

The last tradition we do is to go on some kind of outing or field trip. This is the kids favorite tradition and unique to homeschooling. One of the benefits of homeschooling is that we can do field trips while everyone else is in school. We have done a variety of field trips such as hiking, visiting a park, going out for pizza or even going to the zoo in the previous years. The zoo is quite fun without all those crowds of people.

It really didn’t matter what we chose to do, we just had fun celebrating our first day with a field trip. This year, we are going on a fishing trip with all their cousins. I am blessed to have my siblings, who also homeschool their children, live in the same area. We have all decided to celebrate the first school day together and take the kids to a lake for fishing. Choosing to go on an outing for the first day of school is wonderful way to celebrate your homeschooling. My kids look forward to this event each year. Again, this can be quite simple, and does not have to be a big event. I have simply gone to a park one year and the kids loved it.

Homeschooling is an adventure worth taking and one of the ways that we can communicate that to our kids is to celebrate the first day of their new school year. There are so many ways that you can celebrate that are simple and easy. I have done all kinds of simple “First day of school” activities throughout the years. We have made special lunches at home, read to them a story, or simply went outside and had popsicles in our backyard. Our kids have loved it when we have had a S’more night outside or played a family board game. Think of what your family might enjoy or what you occasionally do for fun and maybe it would be a good fit for celebrating the first day of school. The important thing is to celebrate the start of their new adventure. Kids will remember the moments, not how spectacular the field trip or activity ended up being.

What are some of your favorite first day of school traditions? What does your family enjoy doing together?

Hope you all have an amazing first day of school! Enjoy the adventure!

“At Home in the World” by Tsh Oxenreider-Book Review

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Synopsis: “At Home in the World” is a captivating and delightful memoir of Tsh Oxenreider’s decision to take the whole family and travel the world for 9 months. Having three kids the ages of 10, 7 and 4 were not obstacles but part of the adventure. Tsh and her husband have the desire for travel to be a normality for their children. This is just something their family does. The behind the scene look at the different cultures that they interact with is not your normal sight seeing tour. You get a taste of each of the cultures that they visit and it feels like you are listening in and seeing the different stories unfold. It only inspires you to embark on your own world tour and know more.

Each country that they visited had their own unique story or perhaps unique challenges. I felt like the author was taking me on the trip around the world with her. Throughout her journey, Tsh contemplates what it means to be at home. What does being at home look like? She learns through her travels to find balance between her wandering and staying home.

Why I Loved It: I love how Tsh brought me into her world of travel effortlessly with her detailed accounts of the people and life that surrounded her. She is an amazing story teller and she did a wonderful job of sharing her story. The story of the people that they encountered made me fall in love with each of the countries. It was also refreshing to hear about the ups and downs of the entire trip. There were definite challenges and these details only endeared the story to me more. I wanted the real story and she gave it to me.

I will admit this was also a dangerous book for me to read. I already adore traveling and there is nothing I would love to do more then to take a year and travel the world with my 5 kids and husband. Tsh inspired me to want to do just that!

Rating: 5 Stars

Recommended For: Anyone who loves to travel or learn about different cultures. This also is a great book on Audio read by the author.

Bookish Content: If you would like more bookish content from me, you can find me on Instagram @booknerdmama5.

Enjoying Shakespeare!

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“To know Shakespeare provides a head start in life”- Ken Ludwig

Why teach my child Shakespeare?

My kids and I attended a couple of years ago a Shakespeare play of “Much Ado about Nothing.”  The director informed us before the play started that it would take about 15 minutes of listening to Shakespeare and then we would start to understand the story in its entirety. I thought the director might be a bit crazy.  I had not grown up learning Shakespeare or honestly have a desire to make it part of my life. The director of that play ended up being completely correct.  Within about 15 minutes, I was understanding the play and getting the humor.  It ended up being a delightful experience for me and my kids.

I started to research the benefits of learning Shakespeare and so my adventure begin with my kids and Shakespeare.  They weren’t crazy about the idea at first but I continued to teach little bits here and there.  I also exposed them to different plays and discussed the meanings of the language and story plot.  They started to enjoy it and in fact, my daughter started loving Shakespeare so much that she wanted to read the plays for herself. 

Shakespeare increases your child’s vocabulary and comprehension levels in their education.  Shakespeare also was a great influence in many authors that we see everyday.  He was a great influence in Jane Austen’s writing and also Charles Dickens.  We can see the writings of Jane Austen reflected in today’s books and movies.  When we introduce beautiful language into our kids education, it does indeed give them a head start in the literature world.  I would also hope, at least with my kids, that it helped them desire to read more beautiful language therefore helping their taste in books contine to grow and gain depth.

But how do I teach Shakespeare, you might ask?

My Favorite Resources for entering the World of Shakespeare-

1. “How to Teach your Children Shakespeare” by Ken Ludwig

This is an amazing book to start with.  If you just want to invest in one book to start your journey with your kids and Shakespeare.  Let this book be the one.  Ken Ludwig helps your kids develop a love of Shakespeare by having them memorize certain passages out of Shakespeare Plays.  He then explains phrase by phrase what each of these lines mean in the context of the play.  This helps the parents like me, who are not an expert in Shakespeare, easily teach our kids Shakespeare.

2. “Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare” by Edith Nesbit

(Found at Amazon)

These are lovely, understandable stories of Shakespeare’s plays. I would read one of these stories before we read the actual play so my kids would have background knowledge. Its important to build background knowledge before embarking into the play so that the kids have some frame of reference.

3. Shakespeare In Three Steps by Rebekah Shafer

(Found at SimplyCharlotteMason.com)

This is my latest find of Shakespeare that I love. These are the actual Shakespeare Plays for you and your kids to enjoy. We are studying Twelth Night right now. When you purchase “Shakespeare in Three Steps”, you get a book of a Shakespeare Play of your choice and the Audio of the entire play told with multiple actors voices. At the beginning of each is book is the synopsis of the play to help your kids build background knowledge before they listen to the play. The Audio is very well done! This is a simple way to enjoy Shakespeare with your kids.

4. Shakespeare 16 Books Story Collection by Tony Ross

(Found at Amazon or Costco)

These books are a delight for your younger reader. They feature 16 of Shakespeare’s plays in storyform. Even my teens will read one of these to gain background knowledge on a play.

5. The Bard of Avon by Diane Stanely

(Found at Amazon)

This is a children’s biography of William Shakespeare and his life.

6. Poetry for Young People- William Shakespeare by David Scott Kasten and Marina Kasten

(Found at Amazon)

This is exactly what is sounds like, a selection of poetry written by William Shakespeare

7. “Twelfth Night” by William Shakespeare (Folger Shakespeare Library)

(Found at Amazon)

I buy these versions of the Shakespeare Plays for my teens to read. We own four of them so far.

“Twelfth Night”, “Julius Ceaser”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Much Ado about Nothing”

Shakespeare is a journey worth taking! Even if you just do a little bit to introduce your kids to William Shakespeare, it will enhance their literature study.

What is your favorite Shakespeare Resource?

Reflection-homeschool life

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I am sitting here at the end of my day and looking at my house.  All is quiet and peaceful.  I look around me and see birthday balloons still floating above the dining room table, a kitchen that is not quite as clean as I would like it and toys scattered throughout my downstairs living area.  This is usually a point of frustration in my day where I reflect on how I didn’t get enough done in my day.  A clean house is a peaceful house in my book.  There is some truth to that, but I also was sitting here and reflecting on how this mess that I am staring at is also a representation of blessings.  The imperfect kitchen, the toys that don’t seem to ever be put away, even the balloons that are still floating above the kitchen represent life.  I am blessed with a 5 year old that just celebrated his birthday.  I am blessed by a house full of children that are learning and experiencing their own journey of growing up.  I get a front row seat to see what God plans to do with their lives.  The Speech and Debate world captured our attention tonight and led me to having an imperfect kitchen. It’s a delight to see our kiddos work on their communication and critical thinking skills and enjoy doing it!

Now don’t get me wrong, the kitchen and the toys will get picked up and my downstairs will eventually be clean but I am realizing that I need to quit dwelling on the things I didn’t get done and embrace the blessings and things that did get done.  I am in a unique season in my life where my kids are young and my main investment of time is with them.  I need to stop stressing about the little things that don’t always get done and embrace the moments that God is giving me everyday.  I am blessed!

Word of Encouragement to Parents-

Embrace the journey you are on with your kiddos.  Enjoy your front row seat in watching them grow into the young men and women that God has called them to be.  You are amazing and need to realize that everyday.  God has given you the children you have for a specific purpose and reason.  He has mighty plans for them and is choosing to use you to help them grow.

 

Holistic Dental Care

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Today I wanted to talk about a recent book that I read.  I am a mother of 5 kids and needless to say, the trips to the dentist can get expensive.  I personally go to the dentist and end up having 9 cavities that they have to work on.  This has happened more than once in my trips to the dentist.  Needless to say it was worth the effort and time to research better ways for my family to take care of their teeth.  I was looking for a more healthy way  and I wanted to save some money with less trips to the dentist.  I found this book called “Holistic Dental Care” by Nadine Artemis.

This book was informative on not just taking care of your teeth but how your entire teeth and mouth were created to function as an integral part of your body.  One interesting piece of information that I learned is that brushing lightly gets the teeth much cleaner then brushing harder.  I have put this into practice and so far, I would agree with this advice.  Another interesting  thing that I added to my dental care was creating a salt rinse in a mason jar.  The salt alkalizes the inside of your mouth before you begin your brushing routine.  It also helps get bits of food between your teeth out even before you floss.  It’s really easy to make your own salt rinse.  The author did an amazing job of talking about how the tooth was created to heal itself but that process can be stopped based on nutrition.  Our teeth are living tissues and what we put in our bodies greatly affects the dentin inside our teeth, therefore effecting our whole mouth.  Brushing your teeth and keeping them clean is only part of having healthy  dental care.  It was an easy read and very informative about different scientific and practical things surrounding the subject of your dental care.  I am having my family slowly start to put into practice the different ideas that this book presented.  This book is worth checking out!

You can find the book at www.livinglibations.com which is Nadine Artemis’ website or you can find it on Amazon.  You can also check out youtube videos on Nadine Artemis. She has videos on dental care that explains part of what she talks about in her book.

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Bonus Healthy Tip:

This has nothing to do with teeth but does continue in the health category.  My family has been suffering with coughs lately.  The type of cough that will just not go away and keeps hanging on.  I found on this wonderful blog a recipe for homemade cough syrup.  Its easy to make and it works.  All you need is violet leaf and raw honey.  The recipe is found at www.thenerdyfarmwife.com.  She does an amazing job of offering free natural recipes for different things your family might need.  Check out her blog!  The cough syrup has worked for us numerous times during our recent on going coughs.  I have even made my husband a believer because it helped him in his recent on going cough and allowed him to actually sleep at night.  Violet leaf is a natural immune booster but be sure to read her website on where to get the herbs and what type to get.

That’s my adventure for this week.  Talk to you later.

Review-“Be Your Own Doctor”

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I went out with a girlfriend of mine one night and she mentioned that she hardly ever goes to the doctor and tries “natural” ways to solve everyday sicknesses with kids.  I was curious on how she went about this so I asked her where she learned how to do these natural remedies for sicknesses.  She said she started by reading “Be Your Own Doctor” by Rachel Weaver M.H.   I am not against the medical world and I think there is a time and place, that if you are too sick and the “natural” ways aren’t working, then you should go see your doctor.  We have had severe emergencies in our family that we needed the atmosphere and help of a hospital and the medical world.  But I do think God has given us many things in this world like herbs and plants that aid in the healing process.  I think he has provided us with many different ways to help heal sickness and so I thought it was worth getting the book to satisfy my curiosity.

After spending some time with the book, I am hooked.  Rachel Weaver has so much helpful information that would help families in gaining knowledge on how to help the healing process of your everyday sicknesses.  For example, I learned that chamomile is a natural pain reliever for sore muscles.  You can easily take a chamomile bath by steeping some chamomile tea bags in a pan of water and then pouring it into your bath water.  Rachel Weaver also talks about salves which are like thick oils that you can use for medicinal purposes.  She puts the recipe in the book and tells you how to make it.  We used the “Green Salve” which is for every day scrapes, bruises or cuts on my daughter.  She had fallen and her arm was all scraped up.  When I put the “Green Salve” on her arm, she said the pain went away.  “Green Salve” is a natural antibiotic that takes the place of something like neosporin.

“Be Your Own Doctor” not only gives you a wealth of information on what different herbs and plants do, the author also includes many recipes on how to implement them in your life.  There are 101 stories of how people used “natural” ways to solve sicknesses. This gives you a excellent perspective on how the different remedies can be used in everyday life.  I am one of those people that if I like something, I am all in.  This made me appreciate the list of supply stores that she put in the back of her book, so that I could either purchase ready made salves, tinctures and other “natural” products or she listed companies that sold the different ingredients you might need.  The most economical way would be to grow the plants yourself.

Some items I just want to buy but other things like the “Green Salve”, I want to use more and make it.  It depends on whether you would feel ambitious enough to try some of the different recipes.  They are actually quite easy to do.  I am taking it one little step at a time.  I am picking a couple of things that I want to have ready medically in my cupboard.  I am also involving the kids by having them help me make some of the different recipes.  My daughter is especially excited to see the science behind the different things we make.

“Be Your Own Doctor” is a book worthy of your library in my opinion.  There are some recipes  and valuable information in there for everybody.  You can find the book on Amazon or at Rachel Weaver’s website which is bulkherbstore.com.  She even has kits if you don’t want to think about how to get stuff or how to start.

This was my adventure for the week.  Until next time….

Trim Healthy Mama

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Part of being in the adventure of homeschooling and raising a family is staying healthy.  When I eat healthy, I feel better and am able to function better in everything that I do.  I found “Trim Healthy Mama” awhile ago and I love eating this way.  What I love about Trim Healthy Mama is that it is not a diet, its a way of eating for life.  I love to eat, I love all kinds of variety of food and enjoy trying different things, I have no desire to diet.  Trim Healthy Mama is the perfect fit for me because its all about starting a healthy lifestyle.

Trim Healthy Mama was started by two sisters who wanted to get healthy and eat the amazing food that God has provided for us.  They have 18 kids between them and desired not only a healthy lifestyle for themselves but for their families as well.  The Trim Healthy Mama method is eating protein with every meal but not mixing your carbs and fats.  They call them S and E meals.  If you are having an S meal, you are having protein with fats.  An example of this would be a cheesy omelette or steak and vegetables.  If you are having an E meal then you are having your protein with carbs.  An example of this would be oatmeal with fruit or a turkey sandwich with all the fixings minus the cheese.  What I love about this lifestyle of eating is that I am never going hungry, I am just changing the way I eat food.  Trim Healthy Mama takes out all sugar but provides alternatives that are amazing.  The natural sweeteners that I use instead of sugar keep you trim and you don’t miss the sugar.

The best way to understand the Trim Healthy Mama method is to read their book the “Trim Healthy Mama Plan”.  It gives in detail the science behind the method and why it works.  It also is a great guidebook on how to get started and how it works.  Another benefit of the Trim Healthy Mama plan is that it is diabetic friendly.  When you take out the sugar and don’t mix you carbs and fats, you are keeping your blood sugar from spiking.  I personally know diabetics that are finding it helpful to eat on the Trim Healthy Mama plan.  They also wrote their own cookbook, which is a great tool to have.  They have many different recipes which takes the work out having to come up with it yourself.  But my favorite thing that “Trim Healthy Mama” has created is their website membership.  For 5 dollars a month, you get access to not only the recipes that THM has come up with but different bloggers as well.  They have “THM television” which is the two sisters showing you how to make certain recipes.  They also have different research behind the different methods that they use which are awesome for a research geek like me.  Check out their website at www.trimhealthymama.com.

Trim Healthy Mama allows me to enjoy eating and feel great too.  Its worth checking out!

 

 

“Do Hard Things” -Book Review

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One of the things that I like to do in my homeschooling is give my kids “growth” books that challenge them to grow spiritually or in character.  The most recent book that I have given my 14 year old to read is the book “Do Hard Things” by Alex and Brett Harris.  These brothers wrote a book that challenges teens to live according to God’s way of thinking instead of the world’s way of thinking.  They call it the “rebelution” which consists of teenagers having a rebellion against low expectations.  To realize that even as a teen you don’t have to live with low expectations but can rise to change the world in amazing ways.

They give many examples within their book of teens that are currently changing the world by following in the adventure that God has for each of them.  For example, there is teenage boy named Zach Hunter who has a heart to stop human trafficking.  At the age of 12 he started with the simple idea of using loose change that you might find in between your couch cushions to loosen chains of the people who are victims of human trafficking.  He presented the idea to different peers and schools and ended up founding an organization that he still runs today as an adult which is called LC2LC (Loose Change to Loosen Chains).  He was a 12 year old that wanted to make a difference and stepped out in the adventure that God was giving him.  This is just one of the stories that can inspire young people to realize their potential now as a young person pursuing the things of God.

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“Do Hard Things” is a book that I would encourage to be on your homeschool list of “must read”.   They have also wrote other books to follow up the “Do Hard Things”.  The next book that they wrote is called “Start Here” which gives the next step for teenagers in their journey of discovering the adventure God has for them.  It gives more direction on how you might start walking out your individual adventure that God has designed specifically for you.  They are also in the process of releasing a parent book that talks about parenting world changers.  Their website is therebelution.com.  You will find current inspiring stories of teenagers changing the world and other helpful resources for your teen.

I believe that God has amazing and unique plans for each of our children.  We have the awesome privilege of helping them discover the gifts and talents that God has given them and leading them to discover their own intimate relationship with Jesus.  One of the things I try to do as often as I can with these books I give my kids, is to read them myself and cultivate an atmosphere of discussion with them to help them start thinking.  I am excited to see how each of my children walk out their own adventures with God.

Flexibility and Homeschooling

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The flexibility of homeschooling is probably one of my favorite and most challenging aspects of homeschooling.  I have mentioned before that I am a type “A” personality.  I like a schedule and I want to stick to it but sometimes that isn’t what is best for your children.  My oldest has launched us into the adventure of homeschooling high school.  Some aspects of homeschooling become easier with high school and other things have become more challenging.  I thought that it would be easier because he would have more independence but along with that independence came ideas from my son of a high school education that doesn’t quite match what I had in mind when we decided we were going to homeschool our children through high school.

My son is quite talented at music and has a love for it.   His wish would be to have 24 credits of fine arts and not have to take anything else.  I love that he is in love with music and the fine arts but I also felt it was important for him to have regular classes in case he wanted to go to college.  I spent all summer planning this “perfect” high school plan for his education and found out that I needed to adjust that plan quite a bit to give my son the education that he needed.

One of the ways that his classes were changed which worked out amazing was that he developed a love for debate.  Debate this year is based on economics, so we decided to help him debate better, he would take a course on economics.  He ended up loving economics and it helped his debate at the same time.  This replaced his history for this year and debate was an elective that can be used for English and it wasn’t fine arts.  My son was more open to taking the regular subjects when we mixed it up with things that motivated him.  One thing I learned so far in homeschooling high school is that you need to be in communication with your student on what is working and what is not.  My son still has to take a couple of classes that he would prefer to skip but he is also enjoying many classes that he excels in.  My idea of a “perfect” high school education was not what fit his personality.  I love that homeschool allows this flexibility and that we can change things up even in the middle of the school year to help your child become the person God has designed them to be.    So, I received a lesson in flexibility and my son and I were able to come up with a high school plan that he is going to enjoy much more.