I have had a busy year; nearly a year since I posted last. I though we'd be continuing with things around here as they were for another two years, but no, things have changed. Quick update on our kids' lives - our son and his wife are expecting a baby next month!!! We are very excited!!! Our daughter in Wyoming is still in Wyoming teaching first grade. Our daughter who lived near us now lives near her brother and his wife. We're glad she is near family since we won't be living here as long as we thought.
That's my transition to what's been happening in our lives. My husband has decided to retire this summer; two years earlier than planned. I continue to get periodic data collection assignments, but the work coming up is part time. We are picking up speed to rid ourselves of the stuff around here and getting the property ready to sell.
Tomorrow we are going to Oklahoma to buy our next home!!!! It is a 1993 U300 Foretravel. It is going to be a challenge to reduce a 2000+ sq. ft. houseful of stuff down to 340 sq. ft. of space. I'm up to the challenge!!! I keep telling myself - I'm up to the challenge!!!!!
First project - BOOKS! The reason I want to start with books is that they are very important to me, and I don't want to wait until the last minute and become ruthless. My husband is on spring break and wants to get started, so that's all for now.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Choose what is best for your children!
I've been asked many times over the past 20+ years why I decided to homeschool our children. My answer is a personal one with many facets. First, I can't say I decided, but rather we decided to try homeschooling. A successful homeschool is a family affair. If one person wants to homeschool but the others in the family are against it it can become a battle. That said, it was my husband and I, but not our children who made the decision. They were not consulted when we started homeschooling them since they were young, but as the years went on, we did discuss our school decisions with them.
We started this journey by doing research and by praying about our decision. At first we decided to take it one year at a time. When I got the questions about why we homeschool I gave the same answer to everyone. We think it is best for the children. That should be the answer that everyone who homeschools should give. The reason it is best will vary. For some it is lifestyle; for others it is the relationship they have with their children; and very often it is their opinion of institutional schools. Our reasons were many and didn't always match with other people's reasons.
What about those who send their children to institutional school? They have also made a choice. It is not mandatory that people send their children to institutional school. Homeschooling is legal in all of the United States. If asked, the parents should be able to say they send the children to institutional school because it's the best choice for the children. Sometimes institutional school is the best choice. It may be because of the family's lifestyle or their relationship with their children or because of their opinion of homeschooling.
Whether parents choose homeschooling or institutional school, I just hope they base their decisions on the research they've done and on what is best for the children. I think everyone should research all forms of education before they make their decisions. I know of some who have decided to homeschool for a few years and then send their children to institutional school. Others who have started their children in institutional school before starting to home school. I trust they have done a lot of thinking about what was best for the children in each phase of their lives.
I talk to children who are in institutional schools but would like to homeschool. I wonder if the parents have researched the possibility of homeschooling. Are they doing what is best for their children by sending them to institutional school? Maybe so, because it is a huge investment of time to homeschool. People aren't going to do what's best for their children if they decide to homeschool but don't make the commitment required to be successful.
We all make choices in our lives. When it comes to our children we need to choose what is best for them. The reasons may be personal. Just as we don't demand an explanation as to why someone would choose institutional school for their children, let's stop demanding a reason from people who choose to homeschool. Let's do encourage parents to do what is best for their children.
We started this journey by doing research and by praying about our decision. At first we decided to take it one year at a time. When I got the questions about why we homeschool I gave the same answer to everyone. We think it is best for the children. That should be the answer that everyone who homeschools should give. The reason it is best will vary. For some it is lifestyle; for others it is the relationship they have with their children; and very often it is their opinion of institutional schools. Our reasons were many and didn't always match with other people's reasons.
What about those who send their children to institutional school? They have also made a choice. It is not mandatory that people send their children to institutional school. Homeschooling is legal in all of the United States. If asked, the parents should be able to say they send the children to institutional school because it's the best choice for the children. Sometimes institutional school is the best choice. It may be because of the family's lifestyle or their relationship with their children or because of their opinion of homeschooling.
Whether parents choose homeschooling or institutional school, I just hope they base their decisions on the research they've done and on what is best for the children. I think everyone should research all forms of education before they make their decisions. I know of some who have decided to homeschool for a few years and then send their children to institutional school. Others who have started their children in institutional school before starting to home school. I trust they have done a lot of thinking about what was best for the children in each phase of their lives.
I talk to children who are in institutional schools but would like to homeschool. I wonder if the parents have researched the possibility of homeschooling. Are they doing what is best for their children by sending them to institutional school? Maybe so, because it is a huge investment of time to homeschool. People aren't going to do what's best for their children if they decide to homeschool but don't make the commitment required to be successful.
We all make choices in our lives. When it comes to our children we need to choose what is best for them. The reasons may be personal. Just as we don't demand an explanation as to why someone would choose institutional school for their children, let's stop demanding a reason from people who choose to homeschool. Let's do encourage parents to do what is best for their children.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Decluttering the mind - sorting memories
I think that one aspect of decluttering involves decluttering your mind. As a teacher with nearly 40 years experience teaching every grade from preschool through high school in many different settings, my mind is a bit cluttered. The blessing of being able to teach for so long means that I've had many experiences I'd like to share. Just like the stuff in a cluttered house though, the thoughts are scattered and not always easy to express. I decided today to try to recall one of my most favorite experiences while teaching. That's actually hard to do because there are so many. Was it the day I walked with my sixth grade class to the park for the school's field day at the end of the year? Was it the bus ride with junior high (that's what we called middle school in those days) students to attend a talent festival? Was it when my Kindergarteners didn't want to leave school the last day of school because they wouldn't be able to return until the whole summer went by? Or was it the day I taught my three children about clouds as we drove to my son's doctor appointment in a town 25 miles away? These are just a few of my favorites. I hope to tell all of those and more in the coming days.
Today I want to start with a young lady who was in my sixth grade class when I taught in North Platte, NE. She came from a broken home. That wasn't news. Many of my students came from broken homes. I know the family didn't have a lot; that showed by the clothes she wore. She struggled academically, but always tried her best. She was always cheerful though, and got along great with everyone. This girl was my inspiration to look past your problems and keep trying. She also played softball. She was very good at softball which drew the attention of the news. One day the photographer at the local newspaper captured a picture of her throwing the ball. She was looking straight into the camera with a fierce look of determination on her face. I carried her picture with me for years. If I needed to be reminded to get over my own problems and remember the bigger picture, I would pull out her picture and remind myself of what she went through.
I hope, in decluttering my house I will come across her picture again. Even if I don't though, I have it in my mind. I pray that she is doing well today.
Romans 8:18 "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."
Today I want to start with a young lady who was in my sixth grade class when I taught in North Platte, NE. She came from a broken home. That wasn't news. Many of my students came from broken homes. I know the family didn't have a lot; that showed by the clothes she wore. She struggled academically, but always tried her best. She was always cheerful though, and got along great with everyone. This girl was my inspiration to look past your problems and keep trying. She also played softball. She was very good at softball which drew the attention of the news. One day the photographer at the local newspaper captured a picture of her throwing the ball. She was looking straight into the camera with a fierce look of determination on her face. I carried her picture with me for years. If I needed to be reminded to get over my own problems and remember the bigger picture, I would pull out her picture and remind myself of what she went through.
I hope, in decluttering my house I will come across her picture again. Even if I don't though, I have it in my mind. I pray that she is doing well today.
Romans 8:18 "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
My transition away from public education
I used to be a very good public school teacher. I'm not any more. Homeschooling ruined it for me. Let me explain. When I was a kid I wanted to be a teacher. My brother needed some tutoring, so I applied the skills I'd learned in school to teach him like I'd been taught. After four years of college I ventured into the world of public education where I taught for ten years. I improved my skills of keeping 20+ children occupied each day. We did some awesome things. I was good at what I did, but I wasn't happy. Something was missing. God wasn't in the school much. We could talk about sports and TV shows, but religion was on the sidelines.
It's not like there was no religion. I was a midweek teacher at my church, so sometimes I encountered one or two of the students from midweek at school. We had a bit of comradre, knowing we believed the same thing. Occasionally a student would ask me about my faith. The laws of our land weren't so strict against teachers talking about their beliefs in the 70's and early 80's as they are now.
I left public education in 1983 and didn't return until 1999. In the mean time I taught in Lutheran schools for seven years and homeschooled our three children for 15 years. While still homeschooling I began to substitute teach in public schools with the idea that I might re-enter the public school system. God was gone. But not only that, I'd changed. I was no longer able to teach in public schools because I'd discovered a better way. Not that I didn't try to fit back into the mold of the public school system, but it was not a good fit. Not at all.
Thinking back on the tutoring of my brother, I didn't ruin him, nor do I think I ruined the kids I taught in public school. I just didn't do my best. With my brother it was because I didn't know any better. With the kids in the public schools it was because of the system. During the years I homeschooled I found out what good education looks like. I will be sharing my thoughts in future posts.
It's not like there was no religion. I was a midweek teacher at my church, so sometimes I encountered one or two of the students from midweek at school. We had a bit of comradre, knowing we believed the same thing. Occasionally a student would ask me about my faith. The laws of our land weren't so strict against teachers talking about their beliefs in the 70's and early 80's as they are now.
I left public education in 1983 and didn't return until 1999. In the mean time I taught in Lutheran schools for seven years and homeschooled our three children for 15 years. While still homeschooling I began to substitute teach in public schools with the idea that I might re-enter the public school system. God was gone. But not only that, I'd changed. I was no longer able to teach in public schools because I'd discovered a better way. Not that I didn't try to fit back into the mold of the public school system, but it was not a good fit. Not at all.
Thinking back on the tutoring of my brother, I didn't ruin him, nor do I think I ruined the kids I taught in public school. I just didn't do my best. With my brother it was because I didn't know any better. With the kids in the public schools it was because of the system. During the years I homeschooled I found out what good education looks like. I will be sharing my thoughts in future posts.
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