In our house, we are pressing "toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Truly!
Some days, especially in the springtime, it is all we can do to remember that we aren't just doing this to mark of the plan book. We really have a purpose for learning all these things. It is our calling for this time in our lives to prepare us for the next part of the calling.
Now we just have to remember that.
Other things we are learning are:
1. Seemingly horrible and potentially embarrassing disasters, like Firefly experienced on Tuesday night, can be real blessings in the long run. First, our friends have a chance to stand beside us and lift us up instead of beat us down (Thank you, Lord, for the heart of home schoolers!!) Second, it gives us the opportunity to rise over the tribulation and be true victors.
2. Creator's Son had the opportunity to share his story even more publicly than his blog. Boy, what a rush to share things from your heart!
3. Adding and multiplying polynomials isn't as bad as we were afraid they would be. :-D
4. Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Mark Anthony, and Herod the Great had great big problems, but still did some interesting things. God turned all things they did toward the glory of the manifestation of His son, Jesus.
5. "The Door Within" trilogy is almost as good as the "Wingfeather Saga". Of course, Mom has only just gotten a good start on the first book and the other two might debate which is better.
6. The "Little House" series is still a great set of books to read aloud. Even to 7th and 9th graders. And even if Mom's copy is falling completely apart from age.
Next week marks the beginning of the end of numerous things (including having our Grateful friends nearby). Should prove to be busy. But at least we get to do it all together!!
Friday, April 27, 2012
Friday, April 6, 2012
What We Are Learning This Week? Really?
This has been one of THOSE weeks. And I am not even sure why.
We really didn't have a ton of things going on or lots of meetings (that is next week).
Everything just seemed to take longer. Everything! From our morning chores to getting ready for bed.
Who knows. Maybe it is springtime and that makes us want to do something different.
Of course, we are always learning something.
1. The Ancient Greeks, well the whole ancient world, seems to have been in quite an upheaval, but it did take 4000 years for most of it to happen. That is a long time after all.
2. Diligence really does pay off toward the end of Algebra I. It isn't quite as hard as when we started out. However, the further you get into Pre-Algebra, the more time it takes to get it done.
3. Even weeks with one of the greatest holidays in the weekend can be just another week on the list. Except when we stop and read through the stories every morning to keep it "new every morning".
4. Circle skirts are fun to wear and make, even the third or fourth time around.
5. A day spent with friends flies past way too quickly!
Things on the list can get checked off, but the most important things sometimes just go past and we don't always notice.
We really didn't have a ton of things going on or lots of meetings (that is next week).
Everything just seemed to take longer. Everything! From our morning chores to getting ready for bed.
Who knows. Maybe it is springtime and that makes us want to do something different.
Of course, we are always learning something.
1. The Ancient Greeks, well the whole ancient world, seems to have been in quite an upheaval, but it did take 4000 years for most of it to happen. That is a long time after all.
2. Diligence really does pay off toward the end of Algebra I. It isn't quite as hard as when we started out. However, the further you get into Pre-Algebra, the more time it takes to get it done.
3. Even weeks with one of the greatest holidays in the weekend can be just another week on the list. Except when we stop and read through the stories every morning to keep it "new every morning".
4. Circle skirts are fun to wear and make, even the third or fourth time around.
5. A day spent with friends flies past way too quickly!
Things on the list can get checked off, but the most important things sometimes just go past and we don't always notice.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
What We Are Learning This Week
Okay, so it is Thursday instead of Wednesday. I hope Grateful for Grace will forgive the one day delay.
We have been busy this week with all types of learning! What fun it is!
1. Wild horses really go up for auction and they are awesome to spend time watching. Even if we can't buy any.
2. Baby miniature horse are absolutely adorable!!! And twice as awesome when the momma actually lets you pet the baby.
3. Pericles, Frankenstein, geodes, how algebra is actually used to solve coin problems, the Greek word for soul and how to make it plural and possessive, centrifugal force is not a real force, and blogging is still fun and educational even after 5 months. Here are Creator's Son and A Kid's Life working on today's blogs.
4. Birthdays are fun, even if they belong to a good friend and not just in your house. A full day of birthday is fun to share! However, the next day it is sometimes hard to get back to the business of school.
5. Planting tomatoes from seeds is fun, but trying to "harden them off" so they can be planted outside is hard work. This picture makes them look a lot more healthy than I think they are. They are suppose to stand up tall instead of being brushy like this.
6. Blogspot has changed a lot of the way things are done from the time I set up my account to when the kids set up theirs. My girl couldn't help me with captions because mine doesn't do that, but she can't just move her pics around. Interesting.
7. Babysitting is interesting. Even if it is Nana's cat. Everyone's house is run SO differently. It is actually kinda cool to think about.
I wonder what fun things will we get to enjoy next week.
We have been busy this week with all types of learning! What fun it is!
1. Wild horses really go up for auction and they are awesome to spend time watching. Even if we can't buy any.
2. Baby miniature horse are absolutely adorable!!! And twice as awesome when the momma actually lets you pet the baby.
3. Pericles, Frankenstein, geodes, how algebra is actually used to solve coin problems, the Greek word for soul and how to make it plural and possessive, centrifugal force is not a real force, and blogging is still fun and educational even after 5 months. Here are Creator's Son and A Kid's Life working on today's blogs.
4. Birthdays are fun, even if they belong to a good friend and not just in your house. A full day of birthday is fun to share! However, the next day it is sometimes hard to get back to the business of school.
5. Planting tomatoes from seeds is fun, but trying to "harden them off" so they can be planted outside is hard work. This picture makes them look a lot more healthy than I think they are. They are suppose to stand up tall instead of being brushy like this.
6. Blogspot has changed a lot of the way things are done from the time I set up my account to when the kids set up theirs. My girl couldn't help me with captions because mine doesn't do that, but she can't just move her pics around. Interesting.
7. Babysitting is interesting. Even if it is Nana's cat. Everyone's house is run SO differently. It is actually kinda cool to think about.
I wonder what fun things will we get to enjoy next week.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Where I Got My Name
I have been wanting to share with you about where I got the name "Rockcastle Blessings". Let's see how well I can explain.
As long as I have known my husband, he has always wanted to build a spectacular house, an unusual house. So, after we moved to the Hill Country, 13 years ago, he thought one of his building materials would be rock. Even though we haven't gotten that far, we continue to dream.
He came up with the name of Rockcastle, which I love, and we have used it for several things. Our homeschool is even called Rockcastle Academy.
The Blessings part started some years back. We heard a sermon in which the sentences, "Blessed people bless people. Cursed people curse people." Wow!
I have always wanted to be a person who blesses others, but first the Lord had to take me through years to teach me how blessed I am. It has been a wonderful journey. I don't even know what all the steps look like since some of them were so gradual.
Then six years ago we were introduced to Dave Ramsey. He changed our lives. We had just lived the American dream of stuff and debt. We took the Financial Peace University together and changed our dreams.
It took us five years to be completely debt free, but now we have been for 8 months. I look forward to the day I can say it had been 8 years and we are still debt free. :-D
Anyway, I love Dave's carefree, heart-felt way of telling people that he is doing "better than (he) deserves." I was at a stage where I was tired of people at church and other caring places just casually asking, "How have you been?" each week as they come in, but don't really want to hear it all. So I began looking for a phrase for me. I finally settled on answering, "I'm blessed!" (Cuz I couldn't steal Dave's.)
Now I have had to learn to say it with conviction. Sometimes I have to say it to remind myself.
I do still hesitate to always give that answer because I don't want it to sound so trite, and yet I LOVE the reminder of how blessed I am. It always, without fail, causes me to pause and remember how blessed I really am. I also love the pause it tends to give the asker. It is kind of fun!
On our recent 6 day vacation, we stopped in a Christian bookstore. I had so much fun pouring over all the homeschool curriculum and shopping for a t-shirt with my son. I had no intentions of purchasing anything. It is just fun to look. Suddenly, I found the one thing that made my heart swoon and brought a tear to my eye. Something put there just for me.
Now I have another gentle reminder that I truly am blessed.
My Father loves me!
As long as I have known my husband, he has always wanted to build a spectacular house, an unusual house. So, after we moved to the Hill Country, 13 years ago, he thought one of his building materials would be rock. Even though we haven't gotten that far, we continue to dream.
He came up with the name of Rockcastle, which I love, and we have used it for several things. Our homeschool is even called Rockcastle Academy.
The Blessings part started some years back. We heard a sermon in which the sentences, "Blessed people bless people. Cursed people curse people." Wow!
I have always wanted to be a person who blesses others, but first the Lord had to take me through years to teach me how blessed I am. It has been a wonderful journey. I don't even know what all the steps look like since some of them were so gradual.
Then six years ago we were introduced to Dave Ramsey. He changed our lives. We had just lived the American dream of stuff and debt. We took the Financial Peace University together and changed our dreams.
It took us five years to be completely debt free, but now we have been for 8 months. I look forward to the day I can say it had been 8 years and we are still debt free. :-D
Anyway, I love Dave's carefree, heart-felt way of telling people that he is doing "better than (he) deserves." I was at a stage where I was tired of people at church and other caring places just casually asking, "How have you been?" each week as they come in, but don't really want to hear it all. So I began looking for a phrase for me. I finally settled on answering, "I'm blessed!" (Cuz I couldn't steal Dave's.)
Now I have had to learn to say it with conviction. Sometimes I have to say it to remind myself.
I do still hesitate to always give that answer because I don't want it to sound so trite, and yet I LOVE the reminder of how blessed I am. It always, without fail, causes me to pause and remember how blessed I really am. I also love the pause it tends to give the asker. It is kind of fun!
On our recent 6 day vacation, we stopped in a Christian bookstore. I had so much fun pouring over all the homeschool curriculum and shopping for a t-shirt with my son. I had no intentions of purchasing anything. It is just fun to look. Suddenly, I found the one thing that made my heart swoon and brought a tear to my eye. Something put there just for me.
Now I have another gentle reminder that I truly am blessed.My Father loves me!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
What We Are Learning This Week
My friend, Grateful for Grace, challenged her readers to post about what they are learning each week on Wednesdays. Here is my observation.
- HOME schooling has seasons of being a misnomer. One must be home to HOME school. Some schooling travels well, but sometimes life is the school without books.
- Five and half inches of rain accompanied by hail, thunder, and lightning is incredible in many ways. Awe-inspiring during the storm, sleep-depriving (if it keeps up all night), and way cool when you get to visit the rivers and creeks then next day.
- When you have a span of time for no blogging, the ideas pile up and you have to choose just one.
- All those weird named books in the Old Testament were real people, written during a real time in history, and have real significance.
- Pluto helped open better categorization of our solar system. Planets and dwarf planets (like Pluto) now have a more clear definition.
- Beyblade tournaments are just as much fun as My Boy had hoped, and swollen creeks are even more fun than My Girl had hoped.
- Even after all these years of home schooling, we continue to get confirmation on how blessed we are to be allowed to spend these years together. Drawing close to one another and living as a example of chasing after the Father's heart.
Friday, February 24, 2012
25 Random Things
A friend of mine linked to posts in which people listed 25 random things about themselves.
I am not sure that I even HAVE that many, but I suppose.... I will have to see what happens.
1. I love to cook! Baking is my favorite.
2. Knitting is relaxing to me.
3. I have to read before I go to sleep.
4. I really enjoy reading aloud to my two children.
5. Ya gotta do the voices if you are reading aloud.
6. I like to grow plants, but I don't know much about it.
7. I have become the plant rescuer for my mom... her cat eats them.
8. Italian and Mexican are at the tops of my food lists...IF we eat out.
9. I actually cook breakfast for my kids every weekday....weekends are out.
10. I am a rare breed that even cooks breakfast for hubby each weekday at 6 am.
11. I really don't like Facebook. It is visually too busy. I am too busy.
12. I have never even looked at Twitter.
13. My 14 and 10 year olds still let me read to them at bedtime. We like to find weird, cool books like the Wingfeather Saga.
14. My husband is funny....most of the time.
15. I play too much solitaire on the computer at times.
16. I cannot just sit and watch a movie. I must be knitting or doing sudoku or something.
17. I love routine! Not a strict schedule follower, but the order of the routine is peaceful to me.
18. I have kept a written daily journal almost everyday for the past 6 years. It's kinda boring, but I use it to remember some special events.
19. I am usually mesmerized each Tuesday during my daughter's music lesson. Watching her attention and diligence is humbling.
20. My son's sense of humor is both annoying and captivating. Depends on the moment. :)
21. I LOVE to hang out with my kids. They are fun people.
22. I cannot read a short sentence with comprehension if someone is talking to me. Yet, I am a perpetual multi-tasker....go figure.
23. I get up at 5:28 am just to have time to write in my journal and read my Bible before everyone is up and talking to me.
24. I have been making my own laundry soap each month for the past 4 years. (Even though my son says it makes me sound like a Beverly Hillbilly.)
25. I do not like to talk. I much prefer to listen. Please talk to me. :)
Wow...I didn't think I could do it. (Though I cheated by putting the kids in there. But they count...right?)
I am not sure that I even HAVE that many, but I suppose.... I will have to see what happens.
1. I love to cook! Baking is my favorite.
2. Knitting is relaxing to me.
3. I have to read before I go to sleep.
4. I really enjoy reading aloud to my two children.
5. Ya gotta do the voices if you are reading aloud.
6. I like to grow plants, but I don't know much about it.
7. I have become the plant rescuer for my mom... her cat eats them.
8. Italian and Mexican are at the tops of my food lists...IF we eat out.
9. I actually cook breakfast for my kids every weekday....weekends are out.
10. I am a rare breed that even cooks breakfast for hubby each weekday at 6 am.
11. I really don't like Facebook. It is visually too busy. I am too busy.
12. I have never even looked at Twitter.
13. My 14 and 10 year olds still let me read to them at bedtime. We like to find weird, cool books like the Wingfeather Saga.
14. My husband is funny....most of the time.
15. I play too much solitaire on the computer at times.
16. I cannot just sit and watch a movie. I must be knitting or doing sudoku or something.
17. I love routine! Not a strict schedule follower, but the order of the routine is peaceful to me.
18. I have kept a written daily journal almost everyday for the past 6 years. It's kinda boring, but I use it to remember some special events.
19. I am usually mesmerized each Tuesday during my daughter's music lesson. Watching her attention and diligence is humbling.
20. My son's sense of humor is both annoying and captivating. Depends on the moment. :)
21. I LOVE to hang out with my kids. They are fun people.
22. I cannot read a short sentence with comprehension if someone is talking to me. Yet, I am a perpetual multi-tasker....go figure.
23. I get up at 5:28 am just to have time to write in my journal and read my Bible before everyone is up and talking to me.
24. I have been making my own laundry soap each month for the past 4 years. (Even though my son says it makes me sound like a Beverly Hillbilly.)
25. I do not like to talk. I much prefer to listen. Please talk to me. :)
Wow...I didn't think I could do it. (Though I cheated by putting the kids in there. But they count...right?)
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Planning
I LOVE planning.
Putting things in order, finding a place where things belong, figuring out a great way of doing something...oh what fun!
Really, I do.
I have always delighted in digging through all of the marvelous material available to us as homeschoolers. Reading, downloading sample pages, putting prices in the spread sheet to fit the amount of money I have. Oooooo, it gives me shivers of joy!
I am a little bummed this year. I really don't need to go do all of that searching. *sigh* I already know what we will be working on for next year. *sigh*
I am perfectly happy with the choices, since they are all continuations of what we are doing now. I have really enjoyed the choices we have for this year. I see no need for change.
All that is left to do is compare prices on a few websites. *sigh* There is little thrill in that. Necessary, but not challenging.
Of course, I have a history forum that I read in which all the parents of their 3rd and 4th graders are pushing them to get tons and tons of material under their belts. I did those same things.
Now that we are at the "high school" stage, I know the course work my boy needs to cover. I wonder why I was stressing over all of that stuff then. THEY told me not to stress, but I did anyway.
Well, the planning is mostly done and I won't even need the next material until August. We will go ahead and purchase it in April or May anyway.
I guess it is time for me to try to plan a family vacation. Except that is planning for someone else. Not near as much fun...
At least I know I will enjoy the company along the way.
Putting things in order, finding a place where things belong, figuring out a great way of doing something...oh what fun!
Really, I do.
I have always delighted in digging through all of the marvelous material available to us as homeschoolers. Reading, downloading sample pages, putting prices in the spread sheet to fit the amount of money I have. Oooooo, it gives me shivers of joy!
I am a little bummed this year. I really don't need to go do all of that searching. *sigh* I already know what we will be working on for next year. *sigh*
I am perfectly happy with the choices, since they are all continuations of what we are doing now. I have really enjoyed the choices we have for this year. I see no need for change.
All that is left to do is compare prices on a few websites. *sigh* There is little thrill in that. Necessary, but not challenging.
Of course, I have a history forum that I read in which all the parents of their 3rd and 4th graders are pushing them to get tons and tons of material under their belts. I did those same things.
Now that we are at the "high school" stage, I know the course work my boy needs to cover. I wonder why I was stressing over all of that stuff then. THEY told me not to stress, but I did anyway.
Well, the planning is mostly done and I won't even need the next material until August. We will go ahead and purchase it in April or May anyway.
I guess it is time for me to try to plan a family vacation. Except that is planning for someone else. Not near as much fun...
At least I know I will enjoy the company along the way.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)