Weekly Homeschool Wrap-up–May 10, 2009

 

 

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO ALL! 

If you want to participate in this meme, please visit Carol at ThreeLittleLadies, and be sure to link your post to her Mr. Linky so that we can all see what life has in store for you.   From where I sat this past week,

 

As an individual, I…

am heavy-hearted today.   One of our best Sunday School class students has gotten into a true fix that only the hand of God will pull her out of injury-free.    “Injury-free” in my mind is defined as her emotional and psychological state as opposed to bodily scars.    We teach these kids week in and week out about making a difference for Christ, and being a light in the darkness.   This kid talked a classmate out of using a weapon to ward off school bullies.    The classmate surrendered the weapon to the Sunday School student.   If this was the end of the story, it would be such a tidy testimony.   However, the student’s book bag was found—with the weapon in it.    This is a felony offense, and, of course, the original owner of the weapon has nothing to say out of fear of like treatment by the school system.    God’s favor has covered the student thus far, and the student’s immaculate record has helped the situation tremendously.    Yet, there are realities to breaking a rule of such magnitude.    As the parent said best, the system is not designed to redeem “good” kids, but to rid the system of bad ones.   The end result of this is that the student has been treated as a criminal with a glowing record—still a criminal, guilty until proven innocent.    If I’ve learned anything in the past two years with this group of 13-14 year-olds, I’ve learned that 1) the teenage years are such vulnerable years for children—you can’t be with them all the time, and it makes your head spin to think of how quickly one poor decision can spiral into overwhelming madness, 2) there are no good or bad kids, just kids who are in loving, supportive environments and then those that are in…well, you get the picture.     There is a court date later this month, and our agreement is that the student will not even have to face it, but that preliminary meetings, letters of recommendation, and mostly, God being strong in our weakness will prevail.

As a wife and homemaker, I…

miss my husband this week.    It’s amazing how one person’s presence or absence can make such a difference in the home.    So much transpires in a day, and a phone conversation is not sufficient to share all the happenings, much less all the plans and dreams that flow through the minds of our three kids and me during the day.   

I have been so proud of myself for exercising, if not as regularly as I should.    I have actually been jogging!    Not long distances, but 15-min runs—thank God for sports bras!   Anyway, I feel as if I’m eating more.   It might be a function of my husband being out of town, but I find myself nibbling a lot—never truly hungry, but never quite full.   I’m sure this is undermining my efforts as I put on a pair of pants today that fit, but I would have thought they’d be a bit looser by now.   Weight is so easy to put on, yet so difficult to get rid of—at least for me.   I sat with our son’s duet partner earlier this week, and we talked about body shape, genetics, and how we have what we have.    She spoke of how she was frequently accused of being anorexic as a teen, and longed to be able to put on weight.   Isn’t it amazing how the grass always looks greener on the other side?   Of course, the reality is that, wherever you are, the grass has to be mowed.

As a mom and homeschooling parent, I…

have mixed emotions about our remaining lesson plans and the upcoming break.    We have 2-1/2 weeks left—I am firm on that, as I need the break perhaps more than the kids.   However, I’m trying to reach a point of completion that is beyond the 2-1/2 weeks.   Just as one example, the kids really enjoy history, and I certainly wouldn’t be one to quell their interest and enthusiasm.   However, we’re in 1954 right now with Brown vs. the Board of Education.   If I cover the book as written, it will take us until the end of June to get to 2001 where the series ends.  

 

The oldest is one chapter short on finishing science—actually she’s two chapters short, but I’m insisting that she finish one.  I don’t have the option of allowing it to move into next year because I’ve already paid for her biology class, and don’t want to create a problem with her trying to work on two science courses in addition to everything else. Her father suggested a “summer school” of sorts, meaning that she’d stop at the end of May and then pick up for 2-3 weeks in July, but she opted to continue into June.   Out-of-town guests coming for the dance recital will prolong this effort, but I’m determined to take a break.    I think the real struggle for me is that, though my head knows that you don’t have to cover every ounce of any book, and believe me when I say that I’ve come a long way with that concept, there is still a body of work that needs to be completed.   Moreover, there is still responsibility and accountability for what you’ve been given to do.   So for those reasons, I have a real problem not holding the proverbial “feet to the fire” simply because someone dragged those same feet all year long.   I guess I’m having to come to grips with the fact of what that means for me in addition to what it means for the oldest.  

 

So that I get my own needs met, however, I have begun to lighten the load as we wind down.    I figured out that we can do what needs to be done in math in 3 days a week rather than 5.  I will make a sharp turn with language arts for next year as I want to focus less on grammar and more on composition.    I need to look at the last history book in Joy Hakim’s series and see what chapters can be combined, what can be skimmed over, and what can be cut out altogether, though again, Hakim’s series has been engaging enough that we’ve not cut much.

 

As a business owner, I…

wrote two articles this week—one for the Heart of the Matter, and one for an upcoming blog carnival.   Also, I have my first conference date for 2010—seems so far away!

 

God bless you, too.

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6 thoughts on “Weekly Homeschool Wrap-up–May 10, 2009

  1. Haha. You're on here earlier than I am…I'm in eastern time zone. I hope you, too, had a wonderful mother's day. I did, and am in the middle of put pictures on the computer to finish my blog post about it.

    I'm so sorry about your S.S. student. It's so hard to live out in that world, especially, it seems, the world of high school. My daughter, being out "on her own" in the world of theater, is getting a taste of that this year. It's not easy.

    I can certainly relate to your exercise/nibbling/why am I not loosing ANYTHING dilema! I wish I could be more consistant at nibbling on fruit! I bet the weight will come for you, and if nothing else, you know it's good for your heart.

    Have a great week, and keep looking forward to that break. You need it!!

    Tisha

  2. Wow, Belinda! I will be praying for your Sunday School student. What a brave thing to do! I am going to share this prayer request with our youth group tonight, so you can let her know that there are teenagers in MI praying for her.

    I can relate with trying to finish up and needing a break. My ninth grader will be going into the summer (selfish sigh for me). 🙂 The foot dragging scenario is familiar here too. The high school transition has been quite difficult for both of us (my son and me).

    You are such an inspiration! Your HOTM article was great!

    Blessings,

    Andrea 🙂

  3. I have about the same amount of school left to and I can relate to how you are feeling to want to get done. I'm not sure what my plans for the summer will be. If I don't keep a tight ship, we get nothing done and life is not enjoyable for anyone. I think I've got the whiniest family in history! Anyway, I hope you get some time off soon that you can do more of the things you have on yoru heart to do.

    Carol

    PS. I like that pic at the top too. As for the nature journaling, I'm still hoping that the second girl will have a change of attitude about it. Maybe once she gets the idea better. Perhaps I need to get some more books about nature journaling that have other peoples drawings and entries to inspire her. I like to do it with them, and I think that is fun for her, and somewhat inspiring… We'll be doing a lot more nature journaling this spring and summer too, which may help.

    PPS. I'll be praying for your Sunday school student.Edited by ThreeLittleLadies on May. 12, 2009 at 12:09 AM

  4. Wow , lot on your plate right now. I do pray blessings on the next few weeks for you and your kiddos. I had way to much materieal this last year for Canadian History. So I am just going to continue on this coming year and add some fun Canadian Geography to it.

    I am right there with you on the weightloss issue. But I will plug on. Have you seen Chasity's Weightloss Wednesdays. if you want to check it out go to http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Chasity

    Blessings in Him<><
    -Mary

  5. What a rough situation with the SS student. Will keep that family in my prayers!

    I am ready for the summer break as well although I know it will go so quickly and I need to remain committed to preparing lessons for our "together school" throughout that time to ease the load once we begin again.

  6. I love how easily you seem to share your heart.

    You're right……the grass does have to be mowed wherever we are! I am so going to use that on my kids.

    I pray the situation with your SS student works out well and that you find peace enough to enjoy your summer break.

    I love your current photo up on top!

I'd love to hear your two cents!!