Weekly Homeschool Wrap-up–September 27, 2009

 

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From where I sat this past week,

 

As an individual, I…

don’t have much to say except to update you on our church drama.  Sunday was, in a word, interesting.   The class was great, and the lesson was great.   We used a variety of soda cans in water experiment to talk about relationships that weigh you down (exhibited by Coca-Cola, which sinks in a tub of water) as opposed to friends that are in your life for elevation (exhibited by a diet soda, which floats).   The “you” is represented by Dr. Pepper, also elevated in water as it contains less sugar than Coke—who knew?

 

Anyway, our co-teacher was present, and I was so braced to either hold my tongue or let it loose politely after hearing her critique of what we did/ didn’t do during the lesson.    This whole exchange had preoccupied my thinking, and before stepping into the class, I told the Lord that I needed Him to move so that I could focus in on what was truly important that day—not arguing with cantankerous spirits, and not allowing Satan to creep in with distraction or disruption.   I just wanted to worship Him and feel His presence.    Anyway, afterward the other teacher was silent.    I mean she didn’t say a single word to me (the superhero left the room to empty the used tub of water, but personally I think he left me alone to listen to the critique–   ).   I said goodbye, to which she murmured something that sounded like a salutation, and we proceeded home.    I thought this was ridiculous from a woman of this age and alleged maturity; the silent treatment was childish, but I actually preferred it to the alternative.   At any rate, I will stay prayerful about it.

 

 

I still need to post an update on the children in our class—worth an entry on its own.   Much progress has been made, but so much prayer is needed.   One of our brightest students has missed the last two Sundays.   The other boys in his foster home have said that he got into trouble at school.   Apparently the punishment for his misbehavior is to keep him from church(?)   Another student of ours from this same home was sent to a mental institution and so we lost him.   A third (we have five total from this one foster home) accidentally scraped his back during class.   In bandaging his scratch, I pulled back two shirts that reeked from dirt, sweat, and an obvious lack of washing.    I plan to have our son go through his wardrobe and pull a couple of shirts for each of the boys; it is the very least we can do.

 

 

I’ve not worked out at all in the last week, but the Wii says I’ve lost almost 8 pounds.    I think at least some of it is that, in all my busy-ness during the day, I’ve unintentionally cut back from 3 meals to 2—one late breakfast and an early dinner.   If I get hungry, I munch on a little popcorn in the evening.   It seems to work; my clothes are feeling looser, and walking stairs and gardening count for something, right?

 

 

As a wife and homemaker, I…

 

 

love Tuesday nights.   In all the years that our children have danced, we have never had a time when everyone danced at the same time.   So this year, for one hour on Tuesday evenings, everyone is gone.   The superhero and I have had the date time that has been missing in our marriage for years.    We’ve not spent so much time together and alone perhaps since we began having children 14 years ago.   I know that sounds bad, but it can be so cumbersome to find reliable babysitting at a place where the kids actually enjoy going.   There’s always a young person wanting to make some money—money that we don’t always have.   I think sometimes that this is one of the disadvantages of homeschooling; you get so accustomed to moving as a family unit until detachment from one another can be hard.   Of course, that’s not a bad problem to have.

 

  As a mom and homeschooling parent, I…

 

 

have had to battle Satan’s lies and truly speak God’s words over the oldest.   She had her first science test, and performed poorly—well below the class average.   Of course, somebody’s kid had to land on the bottom, but you never want it to be yours.   When we looked at what happened, I’m convinced that she would have scored higher with some guidance of the nuances of taking tests online (check to be that nothing moved before you click ‘send’, 30 minutes means don’t move slowly, but also don’t rush, etc.).   So I felt very guilty that I intentionally walked away from her so that I wouldn’t be tempted to help her out.   Her lowest score will be dropped, so assuming that she can perform well on the remaining exams (7 for the year), this isn’t the end of the world.    Yet, both the superhero and I were in moments of panic for about 24 hours, as my mind walked the path of whether she would pass or fail, what would this look like on a transcript, and so forth and so on.    Those thoughts had to be placed under the captivity of Christ, and this week we started anew with an opportunity to teach study/ test preparation habits, and an opportunity to intercede on her behalf.   As she’s placed the information in there, Holy Spirit, bring all things to her remembrance seen and heard according to Your Word.

 

 

Our son and I are enjoying Island of the Blue Dolphins together.    If I sat down long enough, I’d probably start to cry, this book is so sad.   He’s still zooming through his school work, except for an occasional slowdown in math.   I sometimes think that kids for whom work comes easy get an unrealistic sense of how the world really works.  I notice that our son gets frustrated to the point of tears when he can’t get something immediately, and we have to work past both the academic lack and the emotional hypersensitivity to make learning happen.   Last week, it was prime numbers.    He didn’t get the concept in 2-3 problems, and here come the tears.    So before I could help him with the problem, I had to go through how this is what school is for—we can slow down and work in places where concepts aren’t coming easily.   After he calmed down, he worked on it, and by the next day, had the concept down cold.   It’s amazing: the oldest has to work very hard in areas like science and math to “get it,” so she thinks nothing of re-reading, taking longer, etc.   She’s pretty stable, whatever is going on with retention and understanding.   Our son expects everything to be “old hat” after a skim of the information, and is an emotional wreck if he has to slow down to understand something.

 

 

We are now dealing with drama on the dance team.   Our competition team this year lost two members; now they are at six.   All contracts and fees were due this past summer.   However, two bullies moms have decided that the fees are too steep for their children and won’t pay or sign a contract, yet they are sending these girls regularly to the team practice.   It’s as if they’ve drawn their line in the sand and are daring the instructor to cross it.   It’s so unfair to parents who’ve done their best to pay all the increased fees on time, and let’s face it: none of us are Rockefellers.   The kicker was that the dance center teacher knew that these two parents had not met all the requirements, but, as of yet, has not been tough enough to stand up to them.   At least that’s my version of the story.    Now I know why I’d never own a studio.   In any case, I’ve already prepped my son for the possibility that if these games continue, this will be his last year competing on the team.   Though none of the kids are headed to Julliard tomorrow, it’s painful and discouraging to pour yourself into something and then be partnered with people that don’t have enough integrity to even try and honor their end of the commitment.    Is that too mean?   It’s been a rough week.

 

 

The youngest is still a delight, although I finally had to concede that I couldn’t keep up with all the “hype” that she expects each day.    The happy ending debates continue.   We’ve been studying the word endings –aul, -awn, and –all.   She saw a picture similar to this one in her phonics book, and argued about having to write the word fall.

 

 

 

 

In studying the history of the Jewish people, I found a neat website with activity sheets, word searches, coloring pages, etc. entitled Bible Study Planet.    She completed her first word search and has now demanded to have one each time we complete history.    Uh, oh.  

 

As a business owner, I…

 

did not get nearly as much done as I planned this week.   I did write a couple of articles, though, for upcoming newsletters, sites, etc.   Praise God for free advertising in this way.

 

 

  May the Lord bless your week as well.