Homeschool This and That

I know I'm posting a lot, I feel like I have a lot to catch up on. In the past I was very open about my life and that went fine, but then I went under fire for awhile for some things that I said, and I just became more reserved about personal thoughts and beliefs. I think that's part of why I just quit blogging altogether- what's the point of doing it if I'm nervous about other people reading it and lashing out at me? I just lost the desire.

Anyways, I feel more at ease sharing my personal life again. I am reaching a place of "I don't care what other people think of me" attitude, because that, deep down, is having a fear of man. Why should I fear mankind? If God is for me, who can be against me? No, what matters is what He wants and pleasing Him, not people. It's taken me a long long time to get to this place.

So, not very many people know yet that we are going to homeschool again. I just don't feel the need to mention it unless it comes up. If I broadcast that we are homeschoolers to people we don't see a lot, then I'll get lots of questions and concerns, I'll answer them, but it's tiring to have to defend myself a lot. Most people are kind and receptive, but I still think it's a personal decision and I'm just picky about who I tell in person. At this point my parents and inlaws know, my friend knows, and my sister who isn't really supportive knows. She's not ugly about it, but she is a teacher in our school :)

And now the internet knows.

So, I have finally finally gotten our homeschool room back! I don't have pictures yet but I will. It was a process, because we had to put all of our girls into one bedroom, which meant we needed to buy bunkbeds, which meant we needed to save money for those and so on...

Last night my husband put together our new set of beds and they are all four in one room. The walls of the room are newly painted and clean. I plan to make everyone a quilt and some curtains, but that's a long term project. I've been working on the other room all week. I don't know if I want to paint it or not...the walls are pretty dirty (they are white) from living here for five years, but then painting is a lot of work! I still have a bathroom to do, so I may just get out the magic erasers! Anyways, I've only just begun getting it organized and all that.

To most parents, what I'm going to say will probably not sound smart. My decision to homeschool is based on this: Jesus is returning soon. The signs are all there, every minister I listen to is preaching it, including my pastor. If He is coming, then is it really the most important thing for my girls to spend their days away from me studying how to pass a state test?  These are just my thoughts and conclusions by the way, how I arrived at my decision. What is eternal? What is the one thing that they can learn here that will be with them eternally? A relationship with God is the only thing. So, our focus is to teach them God's Word, how to listen to Him and talk with Him, how to praise and worship Him and how to walk by faith.

That is it. The Holy Spirit is a genius, and He can fill in any gaps if and when they need it. Should we homeschool their whole school lives, as long as they can read and do math they can learn whatever they need to know. It is my goal and focus to not get stressed or burned out by academics. I've already been there and done that.That's not to say that we won't have a plan or any kind of schedule. But when the going gets tough, I need to remember the purpose. When that's in front of me, it's a whole lot easier to press through difficult moments. The truth is, I love my children dearly and most of my life is about them. I spend most of my time feeding them good food, cleaning up after them, sewing or knitting for them, spend most of our extra money on them and so on. But, I get weary of someone needing me all the time. I am the type of person that needs some space and some quiet or I get really stressed. Especially with my oldes daughter Leiah, she hovers over me all day, and I just don't want to be touched after awhile.

So, I need to be able to step back and breathe! I know myself, and need to set things up for success. For me that means my physical surroundings need to be nice to look at, which is why I decorate everything, It's just too much mental clutter if something is ugly or messy. I can't start cooking a meal if the kitchen is a mess, just doesn't work. I tend to procrastinate, so I need to plan ahead and get things ready in advance. That was not something I did well before and I gotta make new habits. This is why we are working on this now in June because I want the whole summer to prepare. I am also not a morning person, and in order to get some personal time alone in the morning before I have to talk to anyone or do anything, I have to get things done the night before and get up earlier than everyone else.

I am slowly working on these things, trying to to be nice to myself and again, set myself up for success. I'm doing all the food changes now with plenty of time so that when it's time to start school, I'll have these new changes down pat. Baby steps LOL.

And because my posts are so long, anything I was going to write about our curriculum choices and all that will have to go in the next post!