Homeschool Hero

Earlier this month, I went to two memorials for a wonderful Christian homeschool Mom.  But she was much more than a homeschool Mom.  She was a mentor, encourager, tutor, friend and teacher to the homeschooling community in our area.  I only had the priviledge of meeting with her  a couple times for help with teaching my kids.  After hearing how much influence and a blessing she was to so many others, I was saddened that I didn't know her better.  She was a true Titus 2 woman, continuing to help younger mothers train and teach their own children long after hers were grown and graduated from college.  She truly left a legacy: all four of her children gave the gospel message at her memorial service and are living proof that she loved her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to her fullest, teaching them to do the same.  She was truly an extraordinary woman, but as her daughter said, she was also ordinary, that it was Christ who did the work in her and through her, for her to do all that she did.  Her daughter encouraged us homeschool moms and dads that we, too, can do extraordinary things for Jesus.  We just have to be willing.  For me, I want my kids to be Movers and Shakers, but first I have to be an example.  And the first place to start is by praying.  (But that is another post.)

10 Years of Homeschooling

Ten years of homeschooling down, ten to go, all involving teaching High School! I've been wanting to write this post since we finished our 10th year in June, but at least I am getting in 2010. When we first started in Sept. 2000, I had one student and a few littles. Two years later, my second student joined us. I've been teaching all 5 for 3 years. I have just 3 more years teaching all 5 of my kids. My oldest, who turns 16 in a few days, will graduate in 2013. In that year, I will have 3 in high school! One by one, they will finish our homeschool and at some point in their lives, move out on their own. We will almost have 5 teenagers at once, but our oldest will turn 20 just 11 days before our youngest turns 13. That will be in four years, and boy that isn't very long. The time is flying by. May I take full advantage of every minute I have them with me in our home. I better go spend this New Year's Eve with them now.
Here is our oldest in her Kindergarten year, 2000:

Good Bye Math Manipulatives

I sold our Saxon Math Manipulatives today. It was a difficult parting. A few weeks ago, the kids took a lot of the items back out of the box to keep. So many fun memories! My oldest daughter took out the Teddy Bear Counters and Pattern Blocks. What fun the two of us had in Kindergarten counting with those little Teddy Bears! My youngest took out the clocks. They wanted to keep the geo boards. But this week, I decided to go ahead and sell everything. Except the Teddy Bears. So I substituted them with Butterfly Lifecycle Counters. And gathered everything else. I am amazed that after 10 years, I still had all 100 linking cubes and all 100 counting squares! All the dominoes were there except the double nine!!! Where is it???? So they found a good home with four young children today. To a local mom who has been looking for them, hoping for a good deal. I was able to bless someone else, and make a little money, too. Good bye linking cubes and pattern blocks. Good bye little teaching clocks and hundred number board. We had good times and hard times. I'll never forget how you helped my children learn.