A Little Homeschool DIY

Peacefully homeschooling. Zero conflict. No whining or complaining. Schoolwork that gets accomplished without nagging or tears (from the kids or from you!). 

Sounds ideal, right? It is definitely something we all dream of and hope for and strive to achieve. If your home is anything like mine, it doesn't happen. At least not every day, and not all day on the days that it does happen. I have four sweet kids... and four very different, dynamic personalities attached to those four kids. And those personalities don't always mesh.

We have had a lot of struggle with homeschooling this year. Not with the schoolwork itself, but just with life. There has been a lot of conflict between my two school-age kids this year. She's the bossy older sister, he's the irritating younger brother. She sits still (mostly) to do her work, he doesn't sit still ever.

We have a small home. Honestly, it's too small for five people. Someday, I know that God will bless us with a larger home and a big yard to go with it! (Because that younger brother who never sits still, ever, truly needs a lot more outside time than he currently is able to get.) For now, though, I am learning to make it work and to be content. We do not have space for a designated school room or school area, so we spend a lot of time at the table. She takes a chair on one side, he takes a chair on the other side, and they get to their work.

A couple of weeks into the school year, the bickering began. It was mostly petty stuff, and I found myself spending a good chunk of our school time correcting behavior that they should be well past by now. So, we went to Walmart and purchased two, small, tri-fold presentation boards. We came home, and I told them that they could decorate them however they wanted and with whatever they chose, and that was going to give them their own space to do their schoolwork. They were so excited and got right to it! They decorated their tri-fold boards the way they wanted and proudly set them up on the table each day so that they had their own space and couldn't see each other during school time. It worked...for a while.

Now that we are into the second semester, the bickering is back. Even the tri-fold boards provide fuel for their arguments. "She knocked my board down!" "He poked his pencil through my board!" What's a mom to do?

A week ago, I figured it out. My two daughters share a bedroom, and the dresser they had in their room was no longer functional. The drawers were falling apart and just couldn't be fixed. Believe me, I had tried. One of them wouldn't open without major effort on my part, so there was no way my four-year-old girl could get it open. I found a great dresser on Craigslist a couple of weeks ago to replace their old dresser, but I still hadn't gotten the old one out of their room. I knew I wanted to do something with it for my oldest son, but just wasn't sure what.

Last Monday, it hit me. Build him a desk! Since it was an unusually warm January day where we live, I decided to do it that same day. So, I hauled the dresser out of the girls' room and out to the driveway, took a few measurements, got out the circular saw and some other tools, and got to work.

First, I took the drawers out of the dresser and began removing the drawer glides from the inside of the dresser.

Then, I took the circular saw and cut the dresser down to size. That really impressed my oldest son, who is 7 years old. He told me afterward, "Mom, you've got some power!" After cutting down the sides, trimming the cardboard backing, and sanding where I had cut, I reattached the support piece to the bottom, put in the one functional drawer, and voila! A working desk perfect for a young boy!

The next day for school, he asked if he could do his work at his desk. He loved it! He got his work done quicker, he was able to focus on the work in front of him, and there was no bickering.

He still doesn't sit when he does his work, and that's okay. His not sitting isn't bothering anyone, he can tap on the desk or hum without bothering anyone, and both kids are getting their work done in peace, which means that we have peace in the home during school!

You can do it, friend! A little homeschool DIY may be just the thing you need to help your school time flow a little better. I promise, power tools really aren't as scary as they seem, and you just may impress your kids in the process. :)

God is Faithful!

"Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father, there is no shadow of turning with Thee;"

This hymn has rolled around in my spirit a lot during this year. As 2014 comes to a close, I can look back and honestly tell you that God is faithful. He keeps His Word. He doesn't betray us, He doesn't leave us, and He doesn't let our needs go unmet.

I have looked back at the bills that have been paid--every single one has been paid on time. Every one! We have not lacked food to eat, clothes to wear, or a home to keep us warm and out of the elements. God has provided for our every need!

As we headed into the Christmas season, like many of you, I began to feel stressed. I knew what was in my checking account. I knew there wasn't a lot of extra to be able to buy gifts for my kids. But I went to the Lord, and only the Lord, about it. I didn't tell Him that I needed a certain amount of money in order to buy gifts; I just asked Him to provide so that they could have a few things under the tree. You see, prior to this, I accepted a job and had to quit the job two weeks later. It wasn't the right fit for our family. On a Wednesday night, as we were headed to church, I had gotten on to my oldest child and told her to stop trying to do my job. She truly wants to help, and she has a big heart... sometimes, her "helping" doesn't come across that way and stirs stuff up between the kids because she is overstepping her boundaries and crossing into my territory, attempting to boss the other kids around. Well, when we got to church that night and the kids were in their classes, I went into the sanctuary for the last little bit of praise and worship. As I lifted my hands in surrender to the Lord and began laying things at His feet, He told me in a very familiar tone, "Would you stop trying to do my job?" Ouch! Message received!

It was after this that I went to the Lord with what was on my heart for the coming Christmas season. He said that He would provide and to just trust Him. So I did. 

Then I received a phone call from someone asking if it would be okay to help with the kids' gifts this year; the call so took me by surprise that I was struck speechless and the person on the other end thought that the connection had been lost! I stepped outside on that cold afternoon and shared with the person  the kids' clothing sizes, what they needed, and a couple of things from their wish lists. After that, another person approached me and said that a certain group also wanted to help with the kids' Christmas gifts. I was given some money to be able to buy them a few gifts, just in time for the Black Friday sales. 

This is just a taste of what God has done for us this year. As I said, we have not lacked for anything that we have truly needed. He has provided. God is faithful, and He has shown His faithfulness over and over again!

As this year comes to a close, I want to encourage you to look back and see where He has proven Himself faithful in your life this year, and trust Him to continue to provide for your every need in 2015. Friend, God is faithful, and remember this verse from Matthew 6:

"Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are?"

God loves you, friend; and as my pastor often says, He even likes you!

He is faithful! 

I Just Wanted a Cup of Coffee!

My fourth child is two years old. The problem is, he doesn't believe he is only two years old. He thinks he is every bit as old as his older siblings and every bit as capable.

One morning last week, he and I were awake before the other kids, which really isn't that unusual. If I wake up first, he follows behind me within about 20 minutes. Sometimes I have time to get the coffee on before his feet hit the floor. This particular morning, I didn't.

My little buddy just about always wakes up hungry. Often, he will just ask for a cup of milk to tide him over until breakfast. This particular morning, I asked him to wait because breakfast wasn't too far away. I'm trying to teach him to wait, but it just didn't happen.

As any mama can attest, anything that can go wrong will go wrong when you have to go to the bathroom and you have a toddler in your home.

My conversation with my little buddy went like this:

Him: "Mommy, hungry. Want hot cereal." (He loves Cream of Wheat and has it a couple of times a week.)
Me: "Let's wait just a minute, buddy. Mommy has to potty, but I will fix you some hot cereal in just a minute."
Him: "Okay."

So I left the room. One of the advantages of having a small home is that you can hear everything that goes on, no matter what room you may be in at the time. I heard him getting into the pantry in the kitchen. No big deal, I thought. He's probably just getting into the Goldfish. He's really hungry this morning, so I'll just let it slide. Besides, I don't want to wake the other kids up just yet.

So when I headed back toward the kitchen, he met me in the living room with outstretched hands. "Hands dirty," he said. "Okay, buddy. I'll help you wash your hands in just a minute. Please let mommy get the coffee started." "Okay, mommy," he replied.

I stood at the counter in front of the coffee pot to get ready to set it up to brew and I noticed that the floor under my feet felt gritty. Hmm. Maybe he crushed up a couple of Goldfish here. But I didn't see anything on the floor. My kitchen flooring is kind of a gray-brown color; orange Goldfish crumbs would definitely show up on the floor.

I glance over at the rug in front of my sink and found this:

Hmm. Why is the sand bucket in here? Was there still some sand from the lake in the bucket and he dumped it on the floor? I thought to myself. I definitely wasn't firing on all cylinders just yet. If I could only get to that first cup of coffee...

So I headed over to the pantry to get the canister of coffee and noticed this on the floor:

A pudding box? Why is there a pudding box on the floor? And why is it open? Still not firing on all cylinders, so I got the coffee canister and set it on the counter. Then I grabbed the coffee pot and headed to the sink to fill it up with water. I could almost taste my morning java! And then, it all made sense. I found this on the sink:

Why yes, that is an entire package of pudding dumped on the edge of my sink! 

It seems that my little buddy was super hungry and decided that he just couldn't wait for a minute for mommy to fix his breakfast. He was determined to get that hot cereal himself! 

So, I had a choice to make. I could get upset about it, or I could take pictures and get a good laugh to start my day. I chose the latter. 

When I finally got my first cup of coffee, I poured it into my favorite coffee mug. 

It says, "M.O.M. Manager Of Messes." 

How appropriate!

I love toddlers. They really keep me on my toes!

Friendship and Community

We have finished our 6th year of homeschooling, our 6th year with Classical Conversations, and my first year as a tutor with Classical Conversations (CC). Our CC community has been invaluable to us, both from a homeschooling stance and from a personal one. More than ever, we needed that sense of community that comes with our CC group this past year. They held us up, supported us, and encouraged us. But more about that in a minute.

As a tutor, I am required to attend the free, three-day Parent Practicum that is offered each summer.Today was the last of the three days for our local Practicum, and it was phenomenal! Although we have been in CC for the past 6 years, I didn't really have a vision for where we would be going with education and with CC. This Practicum really solved that for me. Today, during the morning session, the speaker showed a few slides that laid out what our children will learn in each of the Challenge levels (Challenge A and Challenge B are middle school, and Challenges I-IV are high school), and I am so excited! I truly wish that I had been taught classically. I think that I would have been better prepared for college and for life. I am glad that my children will have this opportunity to be taught HOW to learn in such a wonderful manner.

One of the things that CC stresses is community. As homeschoolers, we need that supportive community around us to help us as we educate our children. The speaker stated it so eloquently this week when she remarked, on more than one occasion, that there was "so much wisdom in the room." As a community, that is vitally important. What an opportunity to learn from those Titus 2 women and then to become a Titus 2 woman yourself as you help other new homeschoolers. She also talked about community, and how our CC community is a vital support network, not only in an educational way but also in a personal way. A few moms stood to say how they have been blessed by the community that is CC. They have developed friendships with ladies whom they know they can call anytime, who would help them in any way possible; one woman stood to give testimony about how the CC community in our area (comprised of 3 local CC communities) came together to support her and her family during a very serious medical crisis, and many had never even met her or her family.

In the life of my family, CC has been a huge blessing during this past year. My director was one of just a couple of people who knew that I had become a single mom last  summer. I called her and had a very candid conversation about returning to CC and what that may look like and would I be able to be a tutor given recent events and would we still be welcomed in our community--because, let's face it. When you are thrust into a major life change, the enemy comes at you with all kinds of doubts and fears and irrational thoughts. My director so patiently listened to all of these fears and thoughts and alleviated them one by one. So I made the commitment to stick with CC one more year; if for no other reason than the kids would need the support of their friends. You know what? Mama did, too.

My friends in our CC community rallied around us all year; they threw a surprise birthday party, provided meals, and blessed our family in a variety of ways. We could have made it through this last year, but it was made easier with the friendships and the community that we have with CC. They were part of our Aaron and Hur (see Exodus 17:12).

I am incredibly thankful for the community of believers and homeschoolers the Lord has placed us in with our local CC community .

What about you? Do you have a good support system for homeschooling and for life? Feel free to share about it in the comments!

Don't Shrink Back!

Do you ever need encouragement? I do. And today was just one of those days. I was weary and grumpy and ended the day feeling quite lonely, if I may be so honest. So, instead of sitting there having a pity party, I started looking through my journal from earlier this year.

On the way home from church one Sunday morning, I heard a devotional on the radio which ended with this verse:

"But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved." (Hebrews 10:39, NRSV)

I have a few different versions of the Bible on my bookshelf and can compare translations pretty easily. (Yes, I know this can also be done with the Bible app... but I'm one of those who prefers actual books, especially my Bibles.) I took the time to look this up in the Amplified. It reads:

"But our way is not that of those who draw back to eternal misery (perdition) and are utterly destroyed, but we are of those who believe [who cleave to and trust in and rely on God through Jesus Christ, the Messiah] and by faith preserve the soul."

My question to you--and to me--is this: In what areas have you shrunk back and not trusted in and relied on God as much as you could? I can name a couple of areas for me. And in those areas, it always comes back to trusting in God. Trusting in Him instead of relying on my own thoughts and ideas and ways to get things done.

My encouragement for you today is to not shrink back and to continue to put your trust in the Lord. He will never, ever fail you!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! 

My pastor had an interesting message this morning for Father's Day. He talked about how important dads are in the lives of their kids... whether they are still married to their kids' mom or not. He encouraged all the dads (and moms) to truly spend time with their children, because that one thing--spending time, giving our children our complete, undivided attention--is one of the two most important things that will keep them from falling into the "statistics" that are out there about single parent families. The other is teaching them about the Lord and teaching them to rely on Him.

Today, tomorrow, and every day, when your child comes up to you to talk to you, stop what you're doing and look at them when they talk to you. Give them your attention. And when you have to discipline them, make sure that they know that you love them.

Now, because my oldest daughter has gotten me hooked on this song that she heard at church camp last week, here is a song for your Sunday. Enjoy!

Sibling Rivalry

My kids getting along.

What family of more than one child has not dealt with sibling rivalry on some level? If you haven't, please email me and tell me how you've done it! :)

At the convention last Saturday, I noticed one of the workshops called "Is Your Homeschool C.H.A.O.S. (Contstantly Heckling Always Over Something)?" and thought, "Wow... this is one I really need to attend." I just knew that Susan Kemmerer was going to be like Special Agent Oso and give us three special steps to cut out the sibling rivalry in our homes.

Nope. Would you like to know what her very first answer was to sibling rivalry?

Look in the mirror.

Yep. It starts with you.  She even gave a great paraphrase of James 1:20.

"The anger of mom does not produce the righteousness of God."

Well now! How often have I gotten angry with my kids over their childish behavior and their lack of self-control? She wasn't saying that we shouldn't get angry with our kids. But she was saying that our anger doesn't produce righteousness in our kids. It doesn't bring about justification. Justification comes by grace alone!

Do I always show my kids grace? No. But the great part about this workshop was that it hit on so many things that the Lord has been teaching me about parenting my children over the last year or so, and what she said really reinforced so many things. I need to teach my kids to show grace toward each other by extending grace to them. I need to teach them to walk in kindness by putting on kindness and practicing kindness. The only way they will learn to be gentle with each other is if I am gentle with them.

She gave so many Scripture references, and I really need to take the time to look them all up and ask the Lord to help me to apply them to me first so that I can then teach the kids to apply them to their own lives. Susan Kemmerer was right; if you want to end sibling rivalry in your home, look in the mirror. It starts with you.