Homeschooling for His Glory

It's Friday and time for a random 5 post:  1.    I received my Hey Mama planner a couple weeks back. It's already being put to good use. Along with that, I have started buying our next year curriculum, and am in full swing planning for next school year. 2.  The boys and I have been enjoying watching the World cup. 3.    I have one excited boy today: we just got the Lego DVD and as if that was not enough it came with a free child admission to Legoland. That's one ticket down for during our trip to Florida this summer. 4.   We had a great church picnic at a close by park right after the service last Sunday in honor of Father's day. 5.   Monday was our Homeschool Track and Field. Johann won a gold medal for his age group one more time, and Zach just enjoyed the day. Have a great week-end!

We live in a world where the word worldview has become a word on the street, and everyone has a definition and a content for it. We also live in a world where deep and rigourous thinking is not necessarily upheld by christians. That said, I believe that as a christian I have the responsibility to make sure I teach my boys the right and proper worldview, the christian worldview, which demands rightly thinking about matters of reality, purpose, knowledge and truth. Here is a non-exhautive list of the top ten concepts I want and need to have my kids understand and adhere to: 1. The chief end of man is not happiness, but to know God and bring Him glory. 2. True happiness is to be found in a true knowledge of God. 3. God is transcendent - above, beyond, other than ourselves and the created order. 4. Our outlook and view of life should be beyond the here and now. We need to be "eternity - minded". 5. Humanity is in rebellion against God and under His wrath, that means e...

We are nearing the end of our 2nd year using Tapestry of Grace, otherwise referred to as TOG, and I am still very much in love with this great History curriculum. So, I decided it is time I get around to write something about why we love TOG: It is Christian based . History in TOG is taught from God's perspective.TOG emphasizes throughout the curriculum the sovereignty of God and how He works out His plans and purposes through the actions of man.  TOG is Gospel centered. TOG' s goal in teaching History is to go through the events of history and discover, and point out, humanity's desperate need of a Savior.  TOG follows the classical model of education according to stages, that is, it follows the Trivium (Grammar, Dialectic and Rhetoric stages). TOG follows the classical model of a 4 year cycle through History: The Story of Redemption: Ancient World //// Between Ancient and Modern: Medieval through American Revolution //// The Nineteenth Century //// The Twen...

 Homeschooling is no easy task. Many parents often tell me they do not know how I can do it. To be honest I can't. I am only able to do it as I recognize that it has been appointed to me by the Lord and, that being the case, He equips me daily. My task really is to keep leaning on His Spirit to guide me and equip me with the qualities that I need to be the mom and teacher He intends for me to be. So here is a run down of some of the 10 top character traits that are needed in homeschooling: Patience Calmness - self-control Kindness and gentleness Trust in the Lord - faith Devotion and perseverance Forgiving spirit - forbearance A willingness to learn Flexibility Humility A transparent love for the Lord. You will notice that I did not put a gift of teaching. Really if you exercise the above it will compensate that fault if you think you are not a good teacher, especially #7. Also, I have to say that these are qualities in which I do not in any way excel in, but tha...

I do not think any homeschool mom will say that the homeschooling journey is a smooth and easy one. Every year is a different year. Everyday is a different day with its own sets of challenges. That's why most homeschoolers will tell you they homeschool one day at a time and a year at a time. So, I though I would list some of the challenges  I (we) face sometimes: 1. Choosing curriculum: there are so many and not spending an enormous amount of money on educational resources. 2. Dealing with those around us who do not understand our decision to homeschool or do not share our values. 3. Keeping up a schedule and meeting our goals. 4. Keeping kids focused. 5. Keeping the house in order. 6. Including physical education and spend quality and quantity time outdoor. 7. Developing social skills (mainly if you have less that 3 kids), that's where playdates and co-ops come in. When they do, they end up with better social skills though. 8. Being patient and gracious no ...

As believers living in a sinful world and with sinful hearts, we have many needs. God invites us to draw close to His throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace in time of need. So, I thought it would be nice to share my top ten needs and prayer requests as I seek to grown in maturity and in grace. 1. A growing love for God - God is so good to us and has done so much for us, how can we not grow in love for Him. Without love we are nothing and we will not grow. 2. A growing love for and  knowledge of  God's Word - without God's Word will will remain infants. 3. A submissive heart and spiri t - without a submissive attitude we will always fight the work of the Holy Spitit and it will translate in our relationships with others. 4. A servant Heart - we are called to servanthood; serve Christ and serve others, just as Christ's example of a good servant. 5. A willingness to be inconvenienced - this is a hard one. This means denying ourselves constantly and seek to ger rid o...

Both my boys love Lego, so I thought I should sit down and write down what good things  can come out of them spending so much time playing lego (then I'll hopefully feel better . . .) 1 . Promotes and develops creativity. 2 . Gives them a chance to learn and develop sharing skills. 3 . Sharpens their story telling skills. 4. Opens them to new interests. My boys have discovered the world of kingdoms and knights through Legos.  Legos also has caused them to dig deeper into fire fighting and police stuff. 5 . Gives me long quiet times (except when there are disagreements). 6 . Develops critical thinking and problem solving. 7. Encourages spatial thinking and awareness: structural relationships, balance, and form. 8 . Stimulates your imagination. 9 . Develops motor skills. 10 . Stimulates concentration So what do you think?

We all have many reasons why we homeschool, but for many of us one of the reason is the ability of being the primary influence on our kids as opposed to their peers or school teachers, on top of the added advantage of being able to teach in "the moment". One of the things we want to teach our kids is christian character and attitude. We all know that the best way is by modeling it to them ( I need to write a separate post on that since I am really learning that), but we can also use means. I just wanted to share here some of the things we have been and are using in our home to help us teach our boys godly character, attitudes and traits. 1. A Little Boy After God's Own Heart 2. Teach Them to your Children 3. Leading Little Ones to Christ 4. A Child's Book of Character Buiding 5. God's Wisdom for Little Boys 6. Parenting with Scripture 7. Bible memory verse system from Charlotte Mason 8. Characterjournal.com 9. A Catechism : We used Westmins...

I am still to have written a post on some benefits of homeschooling. Here is a top ten list by no means exhaustive: 1. You get to set your own schedule and pace. 2. You get to do school while having a snack, or in your pajamas. 3. You get to do impromptu projects. 4. You get to go places anytime of the day, which also translates to more field trips and discovery time whether through visits to the museums, library, bookstores or wherever. 5. You do not always have to take tests. 6. You get more time to explore your interests (no time to be spent on homework if you are diligent), or dive into a topic in more depth. 7. You learn to be diligent. 8 . You learn to be independent. 9 . You get to spend the necessary time learning christian character traits and values. 10. You get things explained over and over and in different ways until you get it: the blessing of one on one education.                     ...

1. The Well-Trained Mind   One of the basic and classic for homeschoolers (especially those with a classical bent). 2. Educating The Whole-Hearted Child   One of my favorite and which presents you with the basics of homeschooling. 3. The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling .  A must have for the the homeschooling mom. 4. The  Complete Guide to Getting Started in Homeschooling .  This was my go to book when I first  started. 5. Honey for a Child's Heart  A wonderful resource for read aloud lists. 6. Learning at Home: A Mother's Guide to Homeschooling   a book geared toward the mom's heart, motivation ad goals with practical insights. 7. Homeschooling  at the Speed of Life : on my list of books to read. 8. Love the Journey . My newest favorite, geared toward the new homeschooler, but very, very, helpful as well for the veteran. 9. So You're Thinking about Homeschooling 10. Creative Home Schooling: A Resource Guide fo...

Here is a rundown of some series that I have enjoyed and made a point of reading and watching with my kids. It is part one because I have more and I will surely find more in the future as my kids get older. These are mainly for K-3 or 4 and are available at the library for the most part. 1. My Path to Math - Math 2. Let's read and Find out Science - Science 3. Brian P. Cleary Books - Math, language and more 4. Murphy Stuart J. Books - Science, Math 5. Planet Earth videos - Science 6. Crabtree Publishing books 7. Jane Shuter Books - History 8.   Visual Education Centre Limited Videos - all subjects 9. What Do We Know About - History 10. Ancient Civilizations - Ancient History For more Top Ten go over to Oh amanda

Previously I have shared Top Ten Interactive Educational Websites , today I thought I would share sone of my favourite educational resource and help websites: 1. Book Adventure: Reading site that tests your reading comprehension. 2. Snag Learning : A gallery of videos on a wide variety of topics and themes for all grades. 3.  Helping with math: Great site with lots of Math helps. 4. Science Audiobooks: Great online audiobooks on a varied range of science topics. 5. Kid's Health: Lots of science info and videos. 6. Brain Pop Jr. (unfortunaly it's a paid membership) 7. Khan Academ y  (Tons of math videos) 8. Emints: Your one stop resource place for links on a varied topics for grades 1-12. 9. Aha Science: Unfortunately this is a paid membership as well, but it is really good. My boys love it. You can get it at a discount at Homeschool Buyers Co-op . 10. My Audio School Update: I know it is a top Ten list, but I got to add this one: Mr. Donn , it is a must see resource site!

For this week top tens I thought I would share my top ten interactive educational websites. These are sites that I often use with my kids and that they enjoy, or where I find valuable resources and help. 1. Starfall: Great site for learning how to read. 2. Big IQ Kids : great for spelling, Math fact reviews and . 3. Literactive.com: a language art site. 4. Arcademic Skills builders : lots of math practice there. 5. Helping with Math: A great sites for math helps. 6. Book Adventure: reading site that tests your reading comprehension. 7. E-Learning for Kids: comprehensive site for grades K-8. 8. BBC Skillwise: lots of resources there and practice on different subjects. 9. Cool Math 4 Kids: Another great site for Math practices. 10. Snag Learning : A gallery of videos on a wide variety of topics and themes for all grades.

Put aside the TV debate, here are the shows that I let my kids watch (in no particular order): 1. Super Why (language) 2. Curious George (math and science) 3. Dinosaur Train (it teaches evolution but we just have to teach them what is right. I do not believe in keeping the kids ignorant of what's out there. They need to know the truth and it is our job to teach it to them). (science) 4. Sid the Science Kid (science) 5. The Cat in the Hat Knows all About That (science) 6. The Magic Schoolbus (science) 7. Busytown Mystery (thinking skills) 8. Puppets Town (thinking skills) 9. Blue's clues (not necessary Blue's Room): you can still get them on DVDs and videotapes (preschool-kindergarden, multiple) 10. World World (language)

Yesterday, we were out on a picnic at Center Island in Toronto, and I thought it would be cool to do a top ten on essentials to bring out to a picnic: Drinks Food and snacks Blanket for the grass Games, balls, frisbee Change of clothes for kids Camera Good dose of energy, especially if you have kids Lots of enthusiasm Friends Bikes For more Top Ten hop on over at OhAmanda.

Yet again I am participating in a new meme where the goal is to list some of our top tens. Foe my first time I decided to share my top ten places where I find support, encouragement and thought provoking articles to help me in my homeschooling journey. So, here we go: 1. The Homeschool Lounge 2. Our Lifestyle of Learning 3. The Homeschool Classroom 4. Heart of the Matter Online 5. Homeschool Blogger and The old Schoolhouse 6. Homeschool skedtrack bestsites 7. Simple Mom 8. Simple Homechool 9. Homeschool Enrichment 10. Homeschool-Articles.com Make sure you visit Amanda @ Ohamanda for more top tens.