Mommy bloggers all know this fact, but readers may not. Sometimes the cool things we post are the only cool things we do all week or maybe even all month, so it isn't like I am always inspired with my apron on, muffins in the oven, chalk in hand, Mozart playing in the background, and good book to read aloud. Much of what we experience is organized chaos...not unlike the real classroom, I might add after being a teacher for 6+ years. But this morning {even though I had to be at a MOPS steering team meeting at 10:30} we got down to some first day of school business. I was pretty impressed with myself, even though we didn't get through all of the days assignments yet. As soon as I am finished posting this we will.
Up at 5:40 to walk with Jeka...arrived home at 6:55 to 3 awake chillins already milling around and begging for breakfast...So after praying over the day with Jeka and Lucy, we moved on to food and literature. Our new school year morning routine will not begin in our jammies at the table like it always has in the past. The kiddos will have to complete their morning routines before being served breakfast, but today we started off slow.
Whilst they ate their breakfast, I read to them from the above book I found on Saturday at a thrift store. It is a cool little book published in 1958 about Christian children who dared to live out their faith. I was totally moved by the first story about a young boy named Alfred who longed to be a hunter and ride horses as a trade, but was called to transcribe the first Anglo Saxon version of the Gospel of John. As Venerable Bede read the very last sentence of the book for him to transcribe, Alfred said, "There, it is finished now," to which Venerable Bede replied, "You speak the truth, all is finished now," and he began to sing a hymn...as he sang the last word of the hymn he breathed his last breath and slipped into the presence of the Lord. From that point forward, Alfred no longer dreamed of being a hunter. He had seen a man struggle with his last breath to translate the Bible. Because of that, he resolved to spend the rest of his life making copies of it. Those are the stories of history I want my kiddos to learn about. Yes, all of history is important, but as much as it depends on me, they will learn about the history of the heroes of our faith right along with the world history presented to them in traditional history books. Will they remember this story I read to them over their oatmeal and frosted mini-wheats? Who knows, but I am sure that at least a few of these stories will inspire them from time to time. I want them to know that they don't have to wait until they are adults to be bold with their faith.
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12
So, here are Shelby and Jesse's morning routine checklists that they must complete before being fed.
“The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” 2 Thessalonians 3:10b
(We happen to agree with Dave Ramsey that requiring children to do their part around the house prepares them to be a team player and family member as well a productive citizen. They need to earn their keep so to speak. Kids who have no chores around the house are being trained for welfare...
think about it.)
You will notice that Jesse marked through "dust stairs" because he says it takes way too long. However, after 20 minutes in his room to think about it, he did dust them today and we are in negotiations about it for the future. This is the dustiest house we have ever lived in and if we don't dust daily, we have an inch thick on everything within a week. No joke. The two littles have their routines too, but no checklists since they can't read. I am going to make them ones with pictures like Shelby and Jesse used to have. think about it.)
And, here is our weekly skeleton basic school schedule checklist.These are the core things that will get done every week and we will have other art projects, field trips, science experiments, guest speakers and all kinds of real world experiences in addition to the basics. Believe it or not, we are able to complete the skeleton schedule in about 2 hours on a perfect day with no interruptions. If we are home, we are always able to finish before lunch. even though we had to be at church at 10:30 today, Shelby finished 3/4 of her assignments. Jesse chose to do them all this afternoon, so here we go.
This year, James will be teaching them on Wednesday mornings while I run the OAC from 6am to noon and help lead a yoga/pilates blend class at 6 am. I am so excited for him to take on more of a role in their education. It has always been the plan, just hasn't happened on a consistent basis because of his crazy schedule. Now, this IS the schedule, so it WILL happen. SO excited! I was feeling rather uninspired until today. I actually feel like we can make this thing work now...and more than work.
If you stopped by today, please say a prayer for our homeschool year. We are praying for all of you as your children embark on a new school year, whether at home or in a public or private school. We parents and grandparents need to support one another and lift each other up in prayer because we are ALL doing our very best to provide THE very best for our children and we all have to make tough decisions and trust that God is in control no matter where our kids go to school.
