I should probably tell you that I relax now

I should tell you that what I knew to be the right way to do things concerning educating my children has begun to change.  My friend told me she was making some of the activities that I had posted on here that I do with my kids.  I wanted to go into all the details right then and there about what I am doing now, but I thought I would do a blog post instead. 

I thought school at home was the way to go - calendar time, workbooks, planned crafts and activities.  I thought you had to do this by this time to get them ready for this.

Until my oldest son decided to teach me a few valuable lessons.  He didn't do things on the time frame that "they" said should be done.  I couldn't get him to, no matter how hard I tried.  So we struggled.  We really struggled in this left brain society that we live.  So then doing all of the other stuff I thought we should be doing with the other kids was also a struggle.  I woke up dreading the day.


I tried calendar time - over and over - a few different ways.





I printed, I laminated, I planned, I scheduled, I failed.  I tried again a different way and each time we really didn't enjoy it.  But wasn't this what I was suppose to do?  Isn't this how you did schooling?  Didn't they have to know this at this age to go on to know something else at the next age?  Wouldn't they be behind?  How would they get into college?  Forget college - how would they make it into high school?  Oh the dread, the worry . . .

Until - our journey with dyslexia.  I can't express enough how this has been THE biggest blessing in my life.  I don't know quite yet if I believe that dyslexia is a learning disability - well I actually don't believe it is - I believe it is just a different way of learning, but I can tell you this it has made me . . .

I have seen the proof that if I don't work every day (or every week day) with a child that they still end up learning.  I have seen that even if I don't do addition flashcards that my son still memorizes the addition facts - eventually, by doing, not by memorizing a card.  But we had time - time to let it be.  To let him practice - to let him see addition done several different ways - on a chart, by blocks, on paper.

Even though I don't see signs of dyslexia yet with my middle two, I am not doing what I used to do.   I am doing some things - but not things that involve a lot of time and prep by me.  I am now just laying out things on the table - or making art supplies more accessible.  I am asking them to create with no direction from me.   Then when they do I ask them to explain what they have created - and the imagination just astounds me.  My 5 year old did some painting yesterday and she explained to me that the blue streak was a dragon and the pink streak was a princess in a tower and she went on from there.

I would never think that up.  I used to read those preschool blogs for inspiration and now I'm just letting my children be my inspiration.  It is A LOT less work and it is a lot more interesting.  I still lead them - like doing our chalk art lessons.

I'm not saying you shouldn't try out my fine motor activities for littles,  I'm just saying you shouldn't force it on your kids like I did.  They HATE the lacing cards - all of them do.  Some things they find fun.  Some things they don't.





 
I just no longer find it necessary to make them do things that neither one of us enjoy.  I no longer worry if they make a bench mark set up by someone that doesn't know my children.  I'm not leaning completely towards unschooling but I am leaning a lot more towards relaxing.

I have proof that things will come eventually when we work on them slowly and without frustration.  So for those of you out there - now you know where I stand.  I don't do what I used to. 



For my oldest (8 years old) we don't work on any one subject for more than 15 minutes at a time.  We do math for 15 minutes a day (Math U See).  We do writing - one page a day (Handwriting without Tears cursive), we do his Animal Devotion book.  We do this book Toe to Toe recommended by another blogger.  We don't stop in the summer because what we do doesn't take long - a total of maybe an hour.  We will pick up more subjects in the fall - like science (he LOVES science and history).




For my daughter (5 year old) I occasionally have her do Starfall and read a Bob book but other than that I let her play.  My husband wants her to go to school in the fall (I mean summer because they do the balanced calendar) so we are going to try that out for this year.  I don't want her to do any more than she has to this summer because she will be in school for like 8 hours a day.




For my other son (4 years old) I let him play people.  He loves to play (unlike my older son who never wanted to play with toys).  He will play at the table with toys.  He will play in his room with toys.  He will make up elaborate things that his toys are doing (I used to do that with Barbies - he does it with wrestlers and superheros).  The key here is - I let him play!




And my baby girl - we just do a little patty cake here and there and I try to convince her that moving to get somewhere really isn't a bad thing - except that she has three siblings and me who will bring her whatever she wants - so why move?

Did I mention relax?

2013 - My Year of Freedom

I feel like 2013 was definitely a year of freedom for me.  I started the year extremely stressed out and full of fear.  And then God stepped in.  He has changed me in so many ways.  I enjoy my marriage more.  I enjoy my children more.  I enjoy my life more and I'm learning just to embrace the every day. 

These are my favorite posts  of 2013.


Freedom from a life of legalism:

One way Love

My Philosophies They are A Changing

Freedom from status quo education:

Our Journey With Dyslexia Part I

Our Journey With Dyslexia Part II

I might have never known

I should probably tell you that I relax now
 
Freedom from first time obedience/behavior modification parenting:

Gentle Parenting

Worst Case Scenario Parenting

I can honestly say this year was not without its challenges.  I disappointed people (as we all do).  I lost some people who I loved (not lost as in death just lost as in out of my life).  I learned that even though its good to help people - you must set boundaries and I'm not good at that.  I'm learning.

Within my little immediate family though things were honestly pretty wonderful.  I'm truly thankful for that.  They are my calm in the midst of the storm.  My husband is my steady rock who loves me so much and is always there for me.  My kids are sweet and have incredible hearts.   My friends are so great and I am so thankful for them too.  My church is incredible.   My family is pretty good too.

We had lots of interesting things happen this year too.

Like our youngest son breaking his arm.



Our first and second camping trips.


 

What a year it has been!  I'm thankful for every second of it.


 

Our Journey with Dyslexia Part 1

Source

It started when he was 2 years old.  I would take walks with him almost everyday and everyday I would tell him the grass was green and the sky was blue.   The next day we would take a walk and I would ask him what color the sky was and everyday he would not remember.  I know two is early but we worked on colors for a long time.  So long in fact we joked he might be colored blind.

This was my first inkling that he didn't learn like everyone else.  But what did I know - he was my first.  Next came his letters.  I could show him an A flashcard everyday, five times a day and the next day I would ask him - what is this?  He would say an E (or any random letter).  I wasn't worried but someone finally recommended The Letter Factory DVD and it was honestly the only time he got his letters and he also learned his sounds this way (so did my 2 year old daughter).

At least he knew his letters but writing was a horrific experience and he hated coloring and doing puzzles.  I just thought he was a boy's boy and didn't want to sit for long.  When it came to numbers - life got more difficult.  Here he was about to start kindergarten with a year or so of preschool behind him and he could not recognize his numbers.  I wanted so badly to homeschool him but my husband just thought he really needed to be in school.  I agreed because quite honestly - whatever I was doing was clearly not working.

http://www.garrickgreathouse.com/design_blog/2012/5/29/dyslexia.html

We finally decided on a Christian school and went in for the first meeting.  We did not know we had to bring our child to do a test for K5 and so the principal just asked us questions about him and we told him what he knew and he said, "Oh, he'll be just fine."

I should have done more research about what kindergartners should know but I thought kindergarten is where you learned these things - not anymore!  When he started kindergarten I remember just thinking - it'll be fine.  He will do well with someone else teaching him.

A week later his teacher said to me, "Why is he in my class?"  Um, excuse me?  She explained to me that their school only took children that had been to a K4 program.  She was a first year teacher - to be fair.  It took her about 2 weeks to finally figure out he was left handed.  Then she showed me a paper that he had done and basically asked me what was wrong with him.

Source

I went home that night and googled what this was and the only thing I could think of was mirror writing.  Because literally if you held up his paper to a mirror you could read it.  Here is what I found out:

Mirror Writing

Mirror writing is writing left-to-write languages (like English) backwards AND also reversing the letters so that the writing only appears normal when held up to a mirror and the reflection viewed (see Figure 3).



Figure 3.  Example of Mirror Writing

Some people are able to write quite easily and naturally this way (for instance, the Italian inventor and artist Leonardo da Vinci famously kept his notebooks in mirror script). If a left-handed child has a tendency to mirror write, the teacher can help him or her overcome this by making sure the child always begins writing on the left side of the page. This can be done by placing a mark on the left side of child's paper showing which side to start writing from. If the mirror-writing persists, the teacher can try other strategies to help the child establish the correct direction and orientation of the letters. For instance, the child can be instructed to slowly and carefully copy text from a correctly written page. If the child has trouble even copying text, the teacher can have the child trace over correctly written words (in either case, remember to mark the starting point on the left side).

This is what I found with a simple Google search (from Handedness.org).  Later I wondered why a teacher who had had 4-5 years of college could not do a Google search and find out about this.  Better yet - why don't they teach anything like this to elementary teachers that are suppose to teach writing????

To say my son's year in kindergaten was frustrating would be an understatement.  What we did not know was what we know now - he does not learn like everyone else learns.  But he can learn!

Therefore teaching him to memorize his numbers and write them correctly was torture to him.  Making that poor child memorize 100 sight words was so difficult for him and me.

It was so sad to me that school had become so awful.  I cried so much that year.  My heart ached for him and I had no idea how to help him.  I knew one thing though - he would not go back to that school.  And I know that school was a private school so they don't have the resources to help everyone.  And his teacher was kind to him and loving.  She just wasn't equipped or taught how to teach right brain learners.  I also knew my child was smart.  He just could not memorize the things they wanted him to in the time frame that they wanted it done.

During our second parent teacher conference (I was beginning to dread them so badly), his teacher said he was doing okay.  But we would have to reevaluate in February (when they started enrollment for next year).  In February she told me he would need to repeat kindergarten.  So in two months he went from doing okay to needing to repeat kindergarten.  Do you know how devastating it is to sit in a tiny little chair in a kindergarten classroom and be told your child needs to repeat K5?   I mean he was one of the younger kids in his class but something inside me knew repeating kindergarten was not the answer.

One thing I had learned about my son was that when he got something - it clicked and it stuck for good.  It did take us a long time to get that something to stick but we knew there was hope we just didn't know how to teach him or what would make things click.

As the year came to a close it was such a wonderfully blessed relief.  I was so ready to be done with that place.  I was so happy to leave and never look back. We did not get any help that year - at all.

We did finally decide that next year we would do a hybrid school - it wasn't complete homeschooling but it was partial homeschooling and I would get to help him more.

The journey was just beginning . . .

Our Journey With Dyslexia Part II

I might have never known

I should probably tell you that I relax now


 

Our Journey with Dyslexia Part II - Amazing things are happening

Here is where the story takes an interesting turn and really gets good.  I want to write this all down so that I will remember God's incredible grace through this journey and the things he brought into our lives.  We were in the middle of my son's second grade year.  I was still doing the hybrid public charter school but we were so frustrated.  I had my suspicions for a while that he might be dyslexic but his little school did not do testing so I went to my pediatrician and she suggested I start with behavioral health testing.

I did that.  We went and he was tested and I had to wait a month to get the results back!!!  I was naive and didn't realize they did not do dyslexia testing there.  When I went in for the results the doctor gave me the report and talked me through it.  She told me she was giving me a preliminary diagnosis of ADHD but here is the kicker - she did not believe he had ADHD!  He registered right on the border of possibly having it.

So basically I got no answers except that she would refer me to occupational therapy to help him with his fine motor skills (writing and such).  I was fine with that because his writing was still atrocious and he was still having trouble tying his shoes well.  But I was at a loss as to where to go about dyslexia testing.

We started occupational therapy after being on a waiting list.  I looked into the Dyslexia Institute of Indiana but it was about $1600 to get tested - having dyslexia is expensive.  We just couldn't do that right now so I was praying and trying to figure out what in the world we were going to do.

Then comes January and I get a message that would change everything for me.  An acquaintance messaged me on Facebook.  How I know this lady is a story in and of itself but I'll tell you about that later.  She just said that she saw on my Facebook that I homeschooled and wondered if we could get together and talk.

We finally meet up and start talking and she tells me about her daughter (a year old than my son) and how she is - wait for it - dyslexic!  Up until now we had not discussed this with anyone. I didn't know who to talk to so my husband and I just kept it to ourselves mostly.

Can you believe this?  She goes on to tell me how she had her daughter tested at this school that deals with dyslexic kids which is about 45 minutes south of us.  They only charge $149.  Since she was able to get the diagnosis she was able to get her daughter tutoring from DII (Dyslexia Institute of Indiana) for a decent price.

I honestly wanted to shout from the rooftops because God had literally laid a solution in my lap.  I called the school to make an appointment but it would be a few months before I find out anything and in the meantime God just kept doing these amazing things for us.

More to come  . . .

More posts about dyslexia: 

Part I

I might have never known

I Relax

   

I might have never known

I wrote about our Journey with Dyslexia last week.  I think as mothers with intuition we have a feeling about our children but sometimes we just don't know what to do about it.  If you live in America you know this machine that we have here - get up go to school, go home, do homework, keep doing that until you are around 18 then do it again for another four years or so until you get a degree to get a job where you get up go to work come home, maybe do some work at home and get up and do that again.

I'm not much for the machine, never have been but I did not know how much I wasn't for it until our foray into dyslexia.  I went to school.  I studied hard (sometimes).  I was decently smart.  If I would have tried a little harder I could have done better.  But I've always been a dreamer.  I am still a dreamer.  I am not always a follow-througher, but I still dream.

I was skeptical of homeschooling before I did it.  I don't know if we would be doing it had dyslexia not come into our lives.  We learned quickly that our round peg would not fit into a square hole.  I describe our school experience as sucking the soul out of my child.  If you have never dealt with a child with learning issues then this will seem very foreign to you.  When  you put your child in school and beat your head against the wall doing simple homework that they just don't get - you get frustrated and nervous because if this is what kindergarten is like - then how will I make it to senior year?????

I honestly did not know or believe that school could be enjoyable.  It was a box that just needed to be checked off.  It was a place you must go to be involved in the system.  You know the system - go to school, go to college, get a job, make money.

I went through the system and did fine.  But my son will not fit in this system.  Not right now - maybe someday but I don't know.  I will tell you that the change in him since we started straight homeschooling is unbelievable.

My son hated books.  He would get so upset if we made him read.  It was so painful for all of us.  And I could not figure out what he was interested in because of all the schooling we "had" to do, I had no time left to explore what might really interest him until now.  I have finally discovered his love for science and animals.  People - the boy leaves a book in the van so he can read it to us while we are driving.  Do you understand how incredible this is?  It is a book he is interested in - dare I say - passionate about.  It is all about extreme animals.

Everyday he asks me to do research with him.  He likes to have "face offs" between different animals.  Today was about the harpy eagle and the peregrine falcon.  Say what???? Then he tells me all of the facts he has memorized from different books and from national geographic websites we have looked up and then we compare their skills and abilities and decide on who would win in a fight between them.

Do we do reading and spelling and math - you bet we do!   But we spend the bulk of the time learning the things he is interested in.  Even my Dad and stepmom  couldn't believe all of the things he new about all of the animals he has studied - on his own accord people.  He is 7.  To me it is incredible.  I don't push books down his throat because some list somewhere says he has to read them.

You know why, because when I graduated from high school I had spent so much time studying for tests and doing exactly what the curriculum required that I honestly had no idea what I loved and what I was passionate about.  I had no idea what to major in at college.  That is why this video struck a huge cord with me.  It is so true.

I would have never known what my son could do had it not been for this dyslexic journey.  To see your kids passionate about learning - makes you want to do whatever you can to keep that enthusiasm going.

Here is the text if you would prefer to read it.

" For those of you out there that must continue to sit in desks and yield to the authoritarian ideologies of instructors, do not be disheartened. You still have the opportunity to stand up, ask questions, be critical, and create your own perspective. Demand a setting that will provide you with intellectual capabilities that allow you to expand your mind instead of directing it. Demand that you be interested in class. Demand that the excuse, “You have to learn this for the test” is not good enough for you. Education is an excellent tool, if used properly, but focus more on learning rather than getting good grades."

It is so good.  P.S.  I am not against whatever school you send your child to.  We are probably sending our daughter to public kindergarten but I am aware of the pitfalls and will keep a close eye on how things go.

I am just so thankful that my eyes were forced open through our journey and I can say that children can learn in a variety of different ways and it doesn't have to be with a paper and a pencil and a test and a grade.

 
 

The post in which I talk about homeschool curriculum

This is our first year straight homeschooling my son.  If you have been here recently you know we have been on a journey with dyslexia.  We have done a hybrid school with K12 curriculum but this year is different.  I am focusing mainly on my soon-to-be third grader.  I have a kindergardner but she will be attending a Montessori school for half day so I can take more time with my son.  He is dyslexic so I need a little more one-on-one time with him.  We plan to do the things that need the most attention during the afternoon while she is at school and when my other little two nap.  I also have a pre-K boy and a baby girl.

I am hoping to do some pre-K Montessori stuff using this book - Montessori at home.

Konos

I chose Konos this year because I was describing what I wanted to my friend and she said, "You need to check out Konos."  And I did and I liked it.

We will be doing Konos for our first half of our day.  It will involve reading some real books on subjects and people and then doing hands on projects so all the kiddos can listen and be involved.

I will do a more in depth post on what we are studying in Konos but it will cover social studies, science, geography, arts and crafts and history and a few other things.

Math U See

I really like Math U See.  I have several levels of it and it is working well for us right now.  We watch the DVD together at the beginning of the week and then do the worksheets - one for each day.  If it is a lesson he grasps well then we don't do all of the worksheets and move onto the next lesson.

Handwriting without Tears

We are continuing to learn cursive with this.  I just have him do two pages a day.  He is dyslexic and hates writing so I don't want to torture him.  But his cursive is so much neater than his print and the "b" and "d" is different which helps him.

Reading - Toe By Toe

Since he is dyslexic we have tried a few things and are currently using this book - Toe By Toe.  It is actually a British book but I have heard so many good things I'm trying it anyway.  Also, there are only a few things that are different from American English.  I read about it on another blog and then read many many reviews on it.  It is simple.  It is a bit boring for him so I have had to build some incentives in the work.  I set the timer for 20 minutes and that is all we do of the book.    I am hoping this works to help him improve his reading level.  We may also do dyslexic tutoring as well.


Bible

I don't necessarily need a Bible curriculum.  I believe we should just live it out and model it for our children and encourage them to do their devotions on their own.  For now I sit down and read with him - The Big Book of Animal Devotion.  I will probably incorporate some Bible with our Konos as well.


More

I won't be doing much in the way of grammar with him until next year.  I have read and researched and have learned that grammar is best started after 10 years old because they understand the concepts better.  I may do a little this year but won't push it.

Also, I will probably go through All About Spelling Level 1-2 starting in January.  We have done Level 1 but I think we need to go through it again.

I am starting slow and I want us to enjoy the journey.  Remember - I'm trying to relax now.

 

My Thoughts on Marriage

Warning:  this post is really for adults and Dad, if  you are reading this you may want to skip this one.

I can’t really explain it.  I don’t know the exact time it happened but one day not long ago (some months) I woke up and realized I sleep next to a pretty good looking guy every night who is sweet and seems to want to be around me a lot.  I hadn’t seen him in a few years - about six or so it would seem.  Since having children I have struggled with balance.  The balance to keep my home clean and running smoothing and  to keep my children fed and not watching TV all day and to keep my husband, well, fulfilled.  It has been an exhausting journey and I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into.

I didn’t know that the most important thing in my life after my relationship with Jesus Christ would be put on the back burner and would be an after thought.  I am talking about my marriage.  Sadly, I have wasted so many years and months in the last six years being tired and grouchy and unhealthy.  I think several factors contributed to me waking up to a better marriage.

1.  I found this post on iodine after one really bad monthly cycle where my husband threatened to move out (only for a few days).  I knew then it was time to do something. So I have been taking an iodine supplement and it has really been helping me.

2.  I started (and am still working on) taking my health more seriously.

3.  I started shaving my legs more.  Seriously, if you are a woman you know what I mean.  I am trying to take better care of myself and trying to find my former self who actually didn’t just think deodorant would suffice as perfume.

4.  I started having those butterflies in my stomach when I was around my husband.  I anticipated him coming home.  I thought a lot about him during the day.  I texted him often mostly saying “I love you” and “I can’t wait to see you”.  It is honestly like we are dating again - only we are married which makes it soooooo much better.

5.  I made a serious effort to be available for him.  He switches shifts every 28 days.  It means our house is kind of turned upside down every month.  I have to be flexible and when he is on second shift we don’t get to see each other as much if I go to bed early so I stay up for him.  He doesn’t get home till midnight and I often don’t get to bed till 1am but I do it because I want to see him and it is a  time that we can spend together alone without the kids.  And sometimes nap time is our time too.   We fit in couple time whenever we can find it.

6.  I can’t really talk too much about the other things I’m doing but they involve massage oil and candles and other things that make our time special.  Hey we are married after all.

This is seriously the most amazing time in our marriage and this year it will be our 11th anniversary.  I cannot believe the difference.  Last year we went on vacation by ourselves for our 10th anniversary but it was partly to see if we still liked each other and could still be alone with one another without the kids.  My husband was fearing the day we didn’t have children at home because he didn’t know how it would be.  I had forgotten how to be a wife and all I was doing was being a mother and a housekeeper.  I forgot the most important thing - to work on my marriage and keep it strong.  Not only for myself and my husband but for my children.  Our children see us kiss.  They see us hug and they know we love each other.  I want them to always feel secure in that.

If you are at a place in your marriage that may be difficult or if you are mom with young ones - take heart!  It does get better.  And when you are too tired to think about anything else, prayer works wonders. God gives you the strength to do the things you never thought you would be able to do.  God is the one who created marriage and at times I have questioned the logic there, but I see how important marriage is in the lives of children and for a society at large and to keep husbands and wives on track.  God definitely knew what he was doing!

Uncharted Territory

I grew up around a lot of Christian people for most of my life and I can only name a few handfuls of people that were joyful - out of thousands.

I had heard so much.  I had went to church for so long - for every service.  I didn't miss many- Sunday morning, Sunday night, visitation, Wednesday night, revival - we were always at church.

I continued this into adulthood but then I started going do a different denomination but in all honesty it was a lot the same.  There was a few years when I went to a non denominational church that was actually quite wonderful.  There was some inner turmoil in the church and it ended with the pastor retiring and a new pastor coming in. 

My epiphany came when I sat in Sunday school as a mother and as an adult and the teacher asked what we would do if we only had a week to live.  There, of course, were the standard answers - tell as many people as I could about Jesus.

You know what?  I sat in my chair and my first thought was - "I would stop doing laundry and take my family to the beach."

I didn't think at all about Jesus or about eternity.  I came home and knew I had lost something.  It was a slow epiphany in my case because I kept going through the motions.  I kept reading my Bible daily, doing the accountability thing, going to church but I was pretty much spiritually dead inside because I just didn't believe that what I was taught was it.

I saw such a huge disconnect between what the Bible said and what I saw in churches.  And there was no joy and not a lot of hope.  But condemnation - now that was a plenty.  I was officially over it all.

I had lost my first love as the Bible said.  Manipulation and guilt just stopped working with me.  I could no longer go through the motions because of the guilt I felt.  It wasn't in me.  I did not want to.  I was done.  But I did not know anything else.  How else could one go to God without guilt?  How were you to fill the church pews if not for guilt for not knowing enough and not doing enough?

I didn't know if there was anyone out there that preached the Word but dropped the guilt.  Could there be?  I didn't think so.

So I just kept going to church but I stopped listening when I was there.  Tuning things out or literally walking out to sit in the cafe with my baby.  It is an odd place to be - spiritually desperate and hungry but not knowing what to do about it.


Christians are failing.  To preach the gospel, to love people, to show grace.  I feel like I am in a very odd place because I still 100% believe in Jesus.  I still believe what He says is true.  But I didn't believe in church anymore and I had a hard time going.  Its hard to say that because it was all I ever knew.

But I found that broken people didn't really belong in church.  You can't be broken and let people know about it.  Because if you do you aren't really having faith.  You aren't really changed. 

I finally found a church that fit what I needed.  I call it the soul healing church.   And I fear if we have to move or it disbands that I will stop going to church.

I love the Lord.  I do.  I know the Bible well having studied it all my life and memorizing many verses and chapters.  But legalism scares me.  It makes me run away.  It gives me hives - seriously.  I can't handle it.

So here I am forging ahead despite my fear and despite going into uncharted territory because with grace you don't have the checklist of things I should do or should not do.  With grace you just feel like you are free falling - literally and it is terrifying and wonderful at the same time.

And I'm still on this journey and I'm still trying to figure things out.  In the meantime I pray.  I really pray a lot. 

This was probably the book that gave me the most hope.  It changed my perspective and I love it!  I recommend everyone read it.

One Way Love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


 

Our Adoption Story Hasn't Been Written Yet

When I was ten years old, I was sitting in a pew with my family when a missionary came to speak.  As most missionaries do, they had slides of where they were living.  Of course they had slides back then now they have Power Point presentations and such, but I digress.   I had lived a pretty sheltered life until then and so I hadn't really seen how people lived on the other side of the world.  I saw the faces of these lonely, hungry, barely clothed children and I wanted to cry and then I got angry.

My thoughts turned to injustice - how can we sit here in this warm building with so many things when these children have almost nothing and no family to love them.  After that night I new that I would adopt.  I honestly thought about it a lot growing up.  I dreamed about it.  I still do.

I feel like God has been so gracious to us.  He has given me an incredible life - beyond what I thought I could have or be.  My children are so blessed with parents that love each other and them.  We are so blessed.   I know this is a bold statement but I know somehow, at some point I will adopt. 

Things in our life don't make that dream seem possible right now.  There are many things to consider yet I am very confident God will allow this to happen in our lives.  I am drawn to it.  Right now I am being as patient as I can.  I am praying about it daily.  All of my friends know it is in my heart.  I know it will be a very tough journey.  I know it could be expensive.   I know we have a 1400 square foot house with 6 people already living here.  I know we have two vehicles - one with close to 200,000 miles on it and the other with well over 100,000.  I know I stay at home and we have kids to feed and clothe.

And yet I know that God will provide.  Why wouldn't He?  He has provided my every need up until this point.  I feel very strongly that Christian families should seriously consider adoption.  Is it a mandate?  No.  Is it a salvation issue - of course not.  They are the least among us.  They are many times helpless.  We have to look beyond the, "But I can't afford it", "My family is full already."  "We don't have room in our house for one more child.".

We have to step out on faith and God will make a way.  Let me tell you folks, I am so excited to see it happen.  I can't wait!

Until our story is written - here are some of my favorite ones to read:

Cute Girls Hairstyles - Her Adoption Story

Owl Haven's Adoption Adventure - so good!

 See Jamie Blog

P.S. Some friends recommended a book to me and I can't wait to read it.  You might want to check it out too - Adopted for Life

 

Our Journey with Dyslexia Part II

Part I

It was finally summertime and we had finished kindergarten at the Christian school we sent our son to.  There was a graduation but I was only half-hearted about going because I knew we were not going back there and I knew the teacher thought I should hold my son back to retake kindergarten again.

We were very excited about our decision to send our son to a hybrid school.  This was a public charter school.  Honestly, I had  no idea what I was in for.  I was on board with homeschooling but I was nervous about it.  I knew my son needed one-on-one attention.

Our boxes of curriculum came in the mail along with a computer and a printer.  He went to school two days a week and then we homeschooled for three days a week.  His teacher this year was also a first year teacher.  But she was far different than his last one.  She was patient and she was very laid back and she was encouraging!  With this new school came a different struggle.  The lessons were all laid out.  The problem was he was just not getting the information or if he was it was taking him forever.  I saw this as a problem.  His teacher calmed me down and told me it would all be fine.  I asked if he should be held back again and she said they would evaluate that in second grade because by second grade you really had to get ready for third grade to be ready for the standardized tests and he really had to have his math facts memorized - eeeeekkkk!

Now I know how dyslexics learn - then I did not, so trying to get my dyslexic son to memorize math facts from flash cards was a nightmare.   If you want to torture dyslexic kids then use flashcards with just boring numbers on them.  Remember how he couldn't memorize numbers when he was 5?  Well, he couldn't memorize math facts either.  We used our fingers a lot during math and we used a hundred board as well.  And this Momma was frustrated and not very patient and it makes me so sad that I was like that.  I just wasn't understanding how he could have something one day and not be able to remember it the next day.

Phonics was not super fun either.  They did use tiles but it was just such a chore.  He also still did not get sight words.  Fortunately his teacher was so great that she did not pressure us to have so many memorized by a certain time.  She tried to reassure me not to stress but I did stress because we had to do things on the school's timeline and we were constantly behind.  My son was reading but it was very slow.  He was getting better at sounding things out but if you threw in a new phonics rule - then forget it.  We just didn't have time to wait for him to have a rule down before moving on to the next rule.  For instance, he understood silent "e" for the most part but throw in "ay" or "eigh" and forget about it.

I do not know how we finished out that year but we made it.  I was so glad to pack things away.  This year was much better than last year but by the end of it I knew it wasn't just that my son was young, something else was going on.  We bought a Summer Bridge book to do over the summer so that he could do things and not forget everything he learned.  We needed to keep doing school things or he would lose a lot of what he had done. 

We decided to do the hybrid school again for second grade, but we would not complete the year.
  Stay tuned for Part III.

 

Thoughtful Thursday, Are you getting overwhelmed?

I have talked about being over committed. And maybe you saw my post where I am trying to change the way I do my grocery shopping. What do these two things have in common? Baby steps. The way to stop being over committed is to use baby steps. The way to change a habit -baby steps. There is a really good series by Keeper of the Home about using baby steps. My goals with grocery shopping and meal planning are to try not to use processed food and make as many things from scratch as possible.

My first baby step - use only real butter, that was it. This is how I started my journey. Obviously, I am still on that journey. I am slowly replacing processed food with homemade. I am experimenting with all kinds of recipes. I have joined a buying club and am starting to order natural healthy foods. I buy grass fed beef in bulk.

So, if you really want to make a change, start by making just one and stick to that for a while.

I have many other goals, such as teaching my son his letters, the days of the week, shapes and numbers. I am starting small and simple. I could easily get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information and lesson plans that are out there. Right now, I "teach" him on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I use two different websites and I do 5 minutes of prep beforehand. This is all I can handle right now. But, later, it will get more involved and I will (hopefully) get better.

Don't beat yourself up. Keep trying, never stop trying. Figure out one thing that you think you can actually do and DO IT! Do it for a week or two and once you have it down, go on to the next thing. You will be surprised at yourself. Now I have to go clean my kitchen before I get overwhelmed. Happy Thursday!

Unstoppable with Kirk Cameron - a review and give-a-way!

I had a feeling this would be hard to watch just from the description.  As Kirk says:  "It's easy to get excited about your faith when things are going well in your life. But when your whole world comes crashing down on you, the questions start: 'Where is God when I need him most? Why do bad things happen to good people?' UNSTOPPABLE is a journey, based on a true story, that has become the most personal and transparent project I have ever made regarding my faith. Together, in hundreds of theaters across America, we will discover with our eyes wide open, that life is stronger than death, good is stronger than evil, and faith is stronger than doubt."

This movie started out telling the story of a family who had a son die of cancer at age 15.  I was crying listening to their story.  It was truly painful.   The question of pain and suffering is one that Christians get most often and it is a tough question to answer.  In this movie Kirk goes back to the beginning and tells a story we may have heard before but in a very unique way.

“[The Lord] has used the most tragic and terrible tragedies to accomplish the greatest good for you and me,” Cameron said. “He’s been doing it since the very beginning.” (source)

One of the best things that I took away from this movie is hope amidst great personal suffering and sadness.  Hope that only comes from God.  I was just talking last night to my eight year old son and he comes to me with tears in his eyes and he asks me about heaven.  I often wonder when the children of this world realize they were born to die.  It is a truth that we all have to come to grips.  But because I have my faith in God I have a good answer to their questions.  No, I cannot prove that God exists with scientific methods.  You also cannot prove that God does not exist with scientific methods - therein lies faith.

I hope you have a chance to watch this video.  There are times that it was a little slow during certain scenes but it was done to really tell The Story.  

I have a DVD to give-a-way!  If you would like to enter just leave your e-mail address.  The give-a-way ends on 2/9/14 at 9pm EST.

 

ABOUT UNSTOPPABLE

Inspired by the death of Cameron’s close friend who succumbed to cancer at the age of 15, Kirk Cameron takes viewers on an inspiring and hope-filled visual journey to better understand the biggest doubt-raising question in faith: “Where is God in the midst of tragedy and suffering?”

Going back to the beginning—literally—Kirk investigates the origins of good and evil and how they impact our lives … and our eternities. UNSTOPPABLE will prompt audiences to consider the role that pain and suffering has in our lives, as they affirm their personal views on faith, and encourage conversation starters about God, suffering, and hope. 

Visit the official website: http://unstoppablethemovie.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unstoppablethemovie

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/UnstoppableDVD

About Provident Films: 

Provident Films, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, produces, markets, and distributes faith-based films. The company is part of Nashville-based Provident Music Group, which has been one of the world’s leading Christian entertainment companies for more than three decades.  Films from the company have included Courageous, October Baby, Fireproof, and Facing the Giants. More info is available at ProvidentFilms.org.

"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

 Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

 

 

The Letter Hh

**Don't forget to enter my giveaway! 

The letter Hh!  Well, this week did not go as planned, but we know that our ways are not His ways.  I had a lot going on including helping out my friend by watching her kids while she recovers from surgery so you will see some extra kiddos in the pictures this week.  We actually only got to do school for 2 days so I packed in a lot.  Even so I am thankful for extra kiddos and another week with my family!  And you will notice we may still be in our jammies and our hair may not exactly be fixed this week.

We are continuing on our RRS Preschool journey.  If you cannot tell I love her program and I love Confessions of a Homeschooler's printables as well.  These ladies are incredibly generous to all of us by sharing what they have created.

We played these songs while they worked - Honor your Father and Mother and I will obey and Obedience.

I introduced the letter, the verse, the verse application sheet and the song.  We cut out and stapled the book for the week.  We glued on our props for the week.  We put our board together.

Then we did some of the fun activities.

Miss M did the Capital/Lowercase H sorting while Miss L did the H is for Hippo Puzzle.

Then we did Hippo Size Sorting and Hippo Pattern Activity  Miss M has a little trouble with this but Miss L did well - she is a year older.

Miss M worked on her H tracing while Miss L did the find the baby letter game.

Then we did the Hh Do-A-Dot Page.  We did get a little crazy with stickers too.

 We made the Hippo Cut & Paste.

We made H's with scrap paper.  We did the Letter Hunt page.

And we had some warm days this week (Praise the Lord!) so we ate outside and played outside too!

And I found this activity (Toddler sewing basket) around Christmas time and I have been wanting to put it together and I finally put half of it together this week and it was a hit not only with my toddler but with the girls too!

We had a wonderfully short week but we packed a lot into it.  Next week I have decided to make a review week to review our last 3 letters since we didn't get very long to work on H.  I am also going to do the Very Hungry Caterpillar Preschool Pack next week as well as our review.  That is the plan anyway:)