March 29, 2010 by admin.

It’s been said that if you fail to plan, plan to fail. This is so true. I also heard someone say recently, ‘Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency for me.’. This happened to be in a work-place environment, but I think it could be said for any situation. When we are in a place of leadership, we must be absolutely sure that whatever we expect out of our ‘subordinates’ we expect of ourselves. If you expect your child to be able to get out of bed, make it up, get dressed, wash his face and brush his teeth and hair, then you should be able to be ready for breakfast, devotions and school on top of your other daily morning routine. You are the superior. Where much is given, much is required.

Wow, I seem to be a cliché machine today! But I guess that’s okay, since they happen to be true. J

So how can you plan for a good school day?

Number one: Take time to pray. You are not the all-in-all, Jesus is. It’s His plan you are following, and not your own. A day without prayer is a failure from the beginning- every time.

Number two: Take time to plan. Forget thinking about what you want your child to learn through the whole year. That is not a day to day plan. That plan should have been done before the year started. No, this day to day plan should just be following this big plan. If you purchase a curriculum, this should not be a large problem. Most curriculums are pretty thorough with already set daily plans. Your job is to look at the plans before you start school! You could even take a few minutes before bed to look over the next day’s work and pray about it.

Number three: Don’t forget things like appointments or meetings that happen to interrupt your school week. When you fail to plan in things like that, you set yourself up for aggravation which filters down to your children. Make a list or keep a calendar. If your child has a quiz or test scheduled for the day you must be out, plan to give it before you leave or after you get home. You may even have to wait until the next day. By all means, do not expect too much out of your child in this area. They are just there to follow orders at this point. When they get older, in 8^th or 9^th grade, you may incorporate their thoughts into your plans, and even give them experience in planning the week.

To sum it all up, don’t fail to plan and your plans won’t fail to bring peace to your home schooling experience. Be flexible, but not malleable. Be structured, but not rigid. You shall succeed! J

One more thing, don’t limit planning to just school.  Plan for the future of your children in prayer and supplication to God to lead in every avenue of thier lives.  You’ll be glad you did! 

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March 12, 2010 by admin.

This is the time of year when homeschool assessments are being done. Consequently, this is the time of year when a lot of people who are debating about homeschooling start asking me questions. I would like to try and answer some of the more common questions here if possible for a reference to those whom I speak to. If you are like me, even though I’ve talked to someone, I like to have a written reference which I can go to if I forget something.

1. When do I send in my letter of intent? First of all, GOOD JOB in knowing that this is the first step to the legal process of homeschooling! Chances are, if you have gotten this far, you have already made up your mind to homeschool in the fall, and have been doing your own research. Letters of intent must be sent no later than two weeks before the first day of the school year. I don’t advise waiting that late. I do advise to send your letter Certified, especially in the first year you are homeschooling. Most of the time, we send in our letter with our children’s assessments. This year, however, I will have to send my letter separately because we chose the Portfolio option.

2. How should my child be assessed and when? First of all, WV law provides for three options for assessment. Option one is the WESTEST given at any public school. You must contact the school to order the test and arrange for testing. Most homeschoolers do not advise this option, for several reasons which I won’t get into at this time. Option two is to have your child take a standardized test such as the California Achievement Test, the Stanford Achievement Test, or the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. The test can be no older than ten years old. Most Christian schools do one of these tests, and I can assure you, they know how old the tests are ;). They are held to the same standard testing procedures. Up until this year, (and only because we chose portfolio) we have had no problems getting a Christian school to allow us to come and test with them. Organizations such as CHEWV also offer testing options through them. Option three is the Portfolio option. With this option, you much have a certified teacher assess your child’s work that he has done throughout the year and send in an assessment form to the board of education. Contrary to some people’s belief, you do not have to send your child’s portfolio to the board of ed.

Any of these forms of assessment have to be at your county’s board of education by June 30. The testing ’window’ varies, but is usually between March 1 and April 3. I always send my assessments by proof of receipt or certified mail. Yes, it costs some money, but it is worth the peace of mind to know that what you had to get in by a deadline, actually got there!

3. How much time do we have to spend ‘doing school’? There is no set amount of hours, time or days to the homeschooling calendar, but every parent concerned about their child’s education will have an idea about how much they know their child can handle in one day. Sure, there’s going to have to be some seatwork done, that’s part of learning to do things we don’t like to do! J But let me stress that paperwork and testing do not a classroom make! We used to go shopping, and Leah would tell the cashier how much my bill was before they hit the total button! She was doing math all through the store. It impressed ME the first time she did it. I didn’t know she was adding it up…tax included! J Reading road signs and billboards are good reading practice, not to mention trips to the library! Museums and arts centers are wonderful homeschooling tools. Don’t lock yourself in a box with a set number of pages or videos to watch every day. When the sun shines go play! They are only children once. I guarantee that if you apply yourself to homeschooling, it will show on assessments.

4. What do I mean by the last statement? Do you mean they don’t have to sit and do ‘work’ on paper? Well, in a word, yes. Here are some examples: When they are very small, and you are playing at a park, count the rungs on the ladder to the slide! How many times can you swing? See that sea-saw? What is it? Why does it work that way? Sounds like physical science. J The slide is a ramp. How far can you throw a rock? How fast can you run? (that’s Phys Ed!) Get fancy and use a stopwatch, or teach them to count the second hand on an analog watch! How fast does your heart beat after you run? How do you think your blood travels through your body? You know I can go on and on and ON with this school day and have never picked up a pencil. What’s that bug in the grass? How about that leaf? Which tree did it come from? How are clouds made? Why is the SKY BLUE???

Does that sound daunting to you? Then, I’m sorry. You are not ready to homeschool.

If it sounds fun and exciting and makes you want to go now… well, what’s keeping you?

Homeschooling IS a walk in the park - IF you apply yourself. You don’t know the answers to those questions? Well then, chances are your kids won’t either, because as far as I know, Government schools don’t do that.

Does it make you want to learn those things, and put a longing in your heart to teach? Well, then I’d say you’re ready.

Now, I have dear friends who are not physically able to go to the park and play with their kids. They honestly cannot run, they can’t get active because of ailments. That doesn’t mean they can’t homeschool. I have friends with other special needs - I refuse to use the word handicaps because they are NOT handicapped. They can do some things better than someone without their issues! I encourage them to homeschool also. Why? Because I know what homeschooling IS and what it is NOT.

In a word, homeschooling is instilling a love of learning in your child that will last a lifetime. It is not a tedious, boring, mental anguish that makes everyone hate learning.

Nobody, (I mean nobody!) knows everything. The learning process continues long after the twelfth grade whether you know it or not. Think about it, how many things can you think of that you learned after you got out of school? So just because you can’t do some things does not mean you can’t teach other things.

The last bit of advice I would give is …ask for help. Other homeschoolers with a true heart for kids won’t put you down because you have a limiting quality that keeps you from doing something like going to the park! Maybe they will take your kids when they take their kids? Homeschoolers ARE social! J Then, maybe one day, you can teach their kids something. I kind of hate to use a cliché, but - We’re all in this together! It is invaluable to have a homeschooling friend to talk to.

It is invaluable to have your kids with you; to watch them grow and learn and BECOME a productive adult capable of handling life’s cold, hard facts in an extraordinary way.

Posted in standardized testing, friends, teachers, Q&A, portfolio, curriculum, homeschooling, hints, beginning, letter of intent, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

March 1, 2010 by admin.

 In part one of this series, we asked ourselves some WHY questions that can be answered by searching the scriptures. In part two, we examined our children’s attitudes and why they have bad ones at times, and we asked, is it wrong to ask God why? The conclusion was, no, it is not wrong to ask God why if done in the right way. Do you think that God as Creator of the universe would have killed Cain on the spot if he had had the right attitude and asked, “Why, God, when I have done this for you, is it not acceptable?” I don’t - because even when God punished him, he didn’t kill him. Cain knew he SHOULD have been killed, but fully expected a man to do it and not God.

So in this part three, I want to look at a couple of examples of HOW to ask WHY:

John 11:19 -33- And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning thier brother.

20.Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him; but Mary sat still in the house.

21. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

22. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.

23. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

24. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

25. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

26. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

27. She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

28. And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.

29. As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.

30. Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.

31. The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.

32. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died

33. When Jesus therefore saw her weeeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.

Poor Martha. Let me ask you a question- can you guess? Yep…. WHY?

Why is poor Martha always the bad example and Mary the good little girl? (Afterall, I find myself being Martha a lot more than Mary most times! Couldn’t she just ONE time get it right! Smile.)

I mean wasn’t Martha HUMAN, just like Mary? She was mourning her brother! She had a right to be asking WHY Jesus didn’t come when called for - didn’t she? Verse 19 said the Jews came to comfort who? Martha and Mary.
And didn’t Martha know Jesus would help her? When she knew Jesus was coming, she showed INITIATIVE and got up and went out to meet him even before he got to town. Mary just sat there like a lump- letting folks comfort her!

Martha was KNOWLEDGABLE. She knew that Jesus could have healed her brother- if he would have come on time!

And she knew that he could still do anything that he asked God for. She was a BELIEVER - according to verse 27.

And she knew the SCRIPTURES. (verse 24)

But when she asked the Lord WHY…for that is what she was really saying to him - Lord WHY didn’t you come when we needed you most? Why? I had faith, Jesus, and YOU LET ME DOWN. But I know you can make it up to me because you are GOD and you can do WHATEVER I WANT YOU TO DO…I mean…whatever you want to do. It didn’t touch Jesus in the least.

He just sat right back down where he was, and didn’t move. He said, in essence Okay Martha. You want to be intellectual and spiritual and tell me what to do? Well I can answer your why questions in the same way they were asked, and He did. By the way, did Jesus know what she really wanted? Of course.

Did she ask for Lazerus to be raised up? No, she had dismissed that thought because she questioned Jesus’ method. She wanted him to have been there so he could heal Lazerus, not raise him from the dead!

Because she didn’t really trust Jesus, she missed the will of God. She wasn’t even looking for the miracle that Jesus would do. Perhaps, all she was really wanting at that moment was a way to FEED all the folks who came calling to help her mourn. And maybe Jesus would figure out a way to help them provide for the household now that the breadwinner was dead. I think she was “STUCK ON A WHY KICK” like the little guy in the first part of the lesson. And she was distracted from the real reason to see Jesus at all.

And then, WHY did she go tell Mary that Jesus was asking for her? Did I miss a verse? No, that was a bald faced lie. I think she just wanted Mary to DO something. But she didn’t realize that this was just the catalyst that Mary needed to go to Jesus. And she found him - right there waiting on her.

What did she do? She asked the very same question that Martha did! WHY…

But she did it in a different attitude. She was not IN YOUR FACE, if that makes sense. Verse 33 says that Mary fell down at his feet weeping. She worshipped him, acknowledging that He was God. Although she said the same thing as Martha - WHY didn’t you come when we needed you most? Why? I had faith… her questioning stopped there, and didn’t extend to the YOU LET ME DOWN stage.

Mary was troubled in spirit, broken, weeping and at her wits’ end. She probably knew the scripture as well, or better, than Martha, but she didn’t thow it back in God’s face and say NOW WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT!?

I realize that people grieve differently, and people have different personalities. One can be solemn without tears and try and rationalize situations logically without having a bad attitude, but when it comes right down to asking why, you better do it right and worship him in the beauty of holiness not with attitude -with OR without tears.

Mary said more without saying more and got more results. She touched the heart of God. She knew that whichever way it turned out, that although Jesus didn’t come when she called, He was there now, and He could make anything better. She knew he was reasonable, that she was accountable to Him, and not he to her, and she trusted Him.

And John 11:35 says, Jesus wept.
Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities.

So when we go to asking God WHY…

1. We better have a good reason.

2. We better do it in the right attitude - worshipful and humble

3. We better trust him to know what is right and not try and make him ‘eat his own words’

Which brings me to just a little side note. A big movement is afoot to “PRAY THE SCRIPTURES”. Now just who do we think we are? Is this supposed to be a magic incantation to make God do what we want him to just because it’s written in the Bible? Sounds like a real Baditude to me, actually.

So if you feel compelled to ‘pray the scriptures’ I just caution you to do it God’s way. There are examples in the Bible of such, actually, but always look at context. In a word, if you do it in the wrong way, you are wrong, and you are forgetting WHO you are and WHO He is. We are the sheep of his pasture and it is he that made us, and not we ourselves.

Attitude counts, and it’s one thing that touches the heart of God.

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