Thursday, September 17, 2009

Workbox planning

I know for a fact that I have never spent as much concentrated time on planning as I have in the past 2 weeks, getting ready for our new workbox system. I also know, because I know my kids, that this should be by far the most fun we've had with schoolwork so far. They are actually excited, waiting to get their hands on these boxes--though that could be because they have become aware that there might be a "have a treat!" workbox or a "you may have 30 minutes of video-game time" workbox in amongst the regular subjects from time to time.
I've taken the time to make the numbers for the boxes attractive to each of them, using flowers and butterflies for the girl child and characters and weapons from the "Zelda" games for the boy child, and they really like those, as well. I had some misgivings at the beginning, because I had intended to use "Velcro" type stuff to stick the numbers both to the workboxes and then to the card, as each box was finished. But, because of the laminated surface on both the numbers and the cards, the Velcro kept coming off of one or the other and sticking to itself. I was a bit stymied, but decided to try poster putty, and that is working perfectly. I'll just have to replace the little bits from time to time as they collect cat and dog hair, etc.
As I get nearer my finish here, I will be posting pictures of my boxes and also my cards, etc.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Praying for grace, praying for wisdom.

Gabe is scheduled for surgery tomorrow--just a minor procedure to repair a hernia. I am praying for wisdom here, more than usual, because the past few weeks have been difficult. Apparently, it's normal protocol with surgeons to simply blurt out, in front of the child, that they are going to have to have surgery. Gabe has been laboring under this knowledge now for several weeks, and originally the surgery was scheduled for April 16th.

This past weekend, I realized that we simply couldn't do this anymore--Gabe was miserable, dreaming about this, talking about it, getting naughty all over the place and then bursting into tears, wishing he was a baby, etc. All of this could have been prevented by the surgeon simply talking to me first, and allowing Jim and I the right (which we should already have) to bring up the topic with Gabe at the appropriate time. Anyway, yesterday, I called the surgeon's office and said that we had to get this done ASAP, and explained why. They were very helpful and sympathetic, and we were able to get in tomorrow. We even managed to get a pre-op physical today with our regular doctor, which was a small miracle in itself.

I need wisdom now, and in the days to come, as I have in the past few weeks, because it's so important to follow our routine, to be "normal", and yet I need to know when to take a line on discipline and when to give grace because he's beyond coping. God has been good to us, and I think that Jim and I both have made wise decisions about how to handle various situations that have come up with Gabe, and we have primarily been just trying to keep him extra busy so that he can't think too much about his "stitches", as he calls it.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Sometimes it's a drag....


The face you see before you is the face of my darling daughter, confronted once again, with her daily math assignment. It's a terrible, onerous thing, as you can see by the expression. It's all of 30 minutes of her day....
I don't know how she stands it. Sometimes I don't know how I stand it. I spend quite a of time devising new and exciting ways to approach topics. But, there always remains the fact that certain subjects just have to be done, like math and English. Sometimes I get a bit disheartened (or a lot disheartened) by the reaction I get to my plans. At that point I really have to remember that my desire to give my kids an excellent education really has very little to do with their feelings about it. Sure, it's great when everyone loves the project we're doing. But, if they don't, it still builds character to plug on and finish it. I am trying to do my work as unto the Lord, and if the kids don't like it, that's secondary.
We are working together on the concept of doing "all for the glory of God". It's a tough one to see in day to day things, I think, especially for an 11 year old who's faith is so new, and more even for someone who's 5 and really just getting a grasp on the basics of the Gospel. I know that both of my kids are getting the information they need, academically. That's the easy part. It's the character things that go along with the parenting/homeschooling package that make it tough.
Of all of the things I teach, the Christian worldview has to be the most important and the hardest, especially in our noisy culture. It has to be a constant, day by hour by minute thing. We can't shelter them from everything, and as Stella gets older, we allow more and more things to creep into her awareness, so that we can teach what the Bible says about "X " issue.
We definitely keep mainstream "tween" culture--TV, movies, clothes, bands, etc, out of our lives. That garbage is so highly sexualized and so shallowly based, there's just no reason for it. But big issues--abortion, war, the economy, etc--those topics are bit by bit entering our discussion. A friend at our homeschool group made a comment (it may have been a quote, but I don't know how to attribute it) that "Christianity isn't about what we are against--it is simply what we are about". God is the author of everything, He holds it all together and keeps it moving by His command, so all topics must come back to Him.
I've only been a Christian for 6 years or so, and my worldview has long been colored by the culture I was raised in, so it's very challenging for me to look at issues and try to view them through the lense of Scripture. Of course, the more I study the Word, the easier it gets.

So, anyway, the point is that although Stella abhors her math, I know that I am doing the right thing both by making her do it, and by explaining how even math is an example of the greatness of God. Math and science are actually some of the best examples, I think, of God's glory--the precision and perfection of the Universe, of the Earth, of our bodies, of a single cell, can be best explained through mathematical and scientific means. God is a God of mathematics and science and logic. Even if it's no fun teaching it to someone who doesn't yet appreciate it, God is good, and I have faith that it will work in the end. I just have to keep going.

The Ocarina of Gabe

Today was one of those days with so many errands to run, it was unbelievable. After our schoolwork, chores and lunch, we set out, at about 2 pm. Between 2 pm and 5 pm, we went to Groth Music so Gabe could buy an ocarina, the bank to deposit money to fund our expedition, Great Clips for Gabe's haircut, Caribou to refresh ourselves, the library so Stella didn't go mad without anything to read, Sam's Club for chicken for soup tomorrow, the gas station, Chuck and Don's for a few cans of Tiki Cat for Master Orange Pants, and Papa Murphy's, because by that time I wasn't about to go home and start cooking. Nine stops in three hours, in three different cities, essentially. It went so smoothly, though. Obviously, as we already know, the hype about Friday the 13th is a joke.

The highlight, for Gabe, was the purchase of the ocarina. He loves to watch me play the "Zelda" Nintendo games, and has played just a bit himself, and he really fancies himself a Link-type hero. In recent weeks, we have made a sheath for his dagger, a bow that shoots Tinker Toys and a quiver for said Tinker Toys (both the sheath and the quiver strap to his body with one of my patent-pending knotted string affairs). He already had (before the Link thing) a wealth of manly weapons to go a-slaying, and the final thing he needed to really feel like Link was the ocarina. It was $3.95, which was a sizable chunk of the $7.00 he's saved, but he was thrilled with it. It's a really nice, solid little thing, and it's a real instrument, rather than a toy, which is nice. He's a very music-oriented guy, which I think he gets from Jim, because I used to think I liked music until I had kids, and now I like quiet. Anyway, he puffed around on it all afternoon, and regaled us with various tunes, including "Happy Birthday", "He Shall Feed His Flock Like a Shepherd", and "Hungry Like the Wolf" (yes, the Duran Duran song. I don't know where that came from). At bedtime, he played a lullaby, which he requested that I sing along to, and that was nice. I think he'll really enjoy his purchase, especially as it's starting to warm up and he'll be able to go outside with his gear and dash around in the trees and sneak up and villains, etc, and he has to have an ocarina to do all of that properly. However, in the interest of self-preservation, I will be placing the ocarina in a secret spot tonight before I go to bed, and I will reveal it's location tomorrow morning after I've had a cup of coffee.Add Image