School is here!!

So I am sure that many will ask how it went today during our first day of Home school this year. (I have been working with Lilly for three years now and Ella Cate for 2.5) My answer will be that it went perfect and without a hitch. However, only those of you who dare to delve into the deep recesses of my mind will be privy to the truth. The truth is that it went better than expected but not as well as I had hoped.

Ella Cate did wonderful. She grasps new concepts so easily and she finished her work promptly. She anxiously awaits the next assignment and a hug from mommy for her accomplishments. Today when school was over I gave her extra hugs while Lilly was brushing her teeth so that she would know I appreciate the hard work she does.

Now, Daniel did interrupt a few times but you all would be astonished to know that he babysat Rachel in the living room.....alone!! He would come and let me know if she was stinky or wet. He would come and let me know if she was pulling him or pinching him or being bad in some other way. He brought her toys and got out Lilly's guitar and played a song for her and even serenaded her. How precious!! He came in a few times to irritate the girls which got no good attention from mommy so he left. He even came a few times to sit and see what they were doing and participate. He worked so hard that he was asleep within minutes of me laying him down.

As for Lilly, we still have so far to go. I look at her through my 'mommy' eyes and see the potential but no effort. She completed almost everything, but it took twice as long. She cried off and on but nothing too bad until the end. She got upset about a few things and eventually kept murmuring over and over that she is bad. I never told her that. I told her she was being disrespectful. She only heard bad. I get frustrated with her. At the end, she had to draw a family tree and just fell off the school wagon. She cried and yelled until her voice was gone and her face was swollen and splotchy. I went over and held her crayon box and she finished within three minutes. All I did was hold the box. I didn't really say anything. I didn't force anything, I just held the box. I noticed during reading that she doesn't listen to the first letters or syllables in words. The letter was 'a' and she kept saying that the short /a/ sound and the beginning of the word 'pencil' sounded the same. Was she joking? She never would change her story. She just laughed. So the 'mommy' eyes close and the 'teacher' eyes open. I wonder, is there a deep rooted problem that I don't know about? Does she maybe have some sort of learning problem that will prohibit her from learning? My 'teacher' eyes are well-trained, they do not compare the two girls, they see the students as individuals. Ella Cate is accelerating. Lilly is being left behind. Why? What is the issue with Lilly? Math was easier for her, as always. What do I do?
'Mommy' mode sets back in.....I think back to those stupid tests we had to take in college which registered me with Dyslexia and recommended I be tested...HA HA - I have always been an A student. Yes, I have to study hard and yes, I have to check and re-check and find things slightly wrong and number backwards but that is just me. I can't help but feel that our society has made it all to easy for a person to be labeled. Do I want to label her? I refused being tested further. I don't want to do her a dis-service if she has problems but I certainly do not want to incorrectly label her with a test that isn't truly valuable.
'Teacher' mode again.....Calm down - it is only day one. Don't stress out. She will be fine.

In conclusion - she will be fine. I know it. We will continue to plunge forward and see what awaits us. I know that I had several people praying for me today and it worked. I had unimaginable patience today. Please continue to lift us up. I need it so much.
Thank you to all who are praying for us on this crazy road. SC
(pictures will be added later after our celebration dinner tonight)

Almost time!!

IT IS STILL SUMMER TIME PEOPLE!!!!

While all of our friends are getting up each morning and either taking their kids to school or getting ready for home lessons, we are still in summer mode. Just today we went shopping with a friend and then headed to my mom's house to relax and play.

The kids played and kept mom busy while I ordered home school supplies online. I did much better money wise this year. Instead of the $500.00 plus I spent last year, I spent a measley $105.00 this year.

We will be doing Explode the Code for reading, A Bekka for Science and Grammar, Ray's Arithmetic for Math and using various online and home-made supplies for Spelling, Social Studies and Writing. Our Bible content will come from the BIBLE. I know, I am really stretching here but I think I can read it and explain the facts to my kids.

We are going cheaper this year, it just seems to make more sense. I have really been stressing about their knowledge and whether or not they are going to be able to keep up with their peers. it has been a rough few weeks of thought. However, I recently talked with a good friend who spoke words of golden wisdom when she told me that I should take a look around me. Think about the families of Landon and Abby and then decide if stressing about whether or not Lilly can diagram a sentence is really that imporant. And no it isn't. She will catch up eventually. Right now, I am going to do what I can, and let her be a kid. Let her learn to love God above all else and make sure she understand her faith. Sound crazy??? Sure, will TLC Discovery Channel be calling me to join the other circus freak families they find to be on their channel ?- who knows!!
All I know is that now school begins in a few weeks and I am excited, no longer stressed out.

Stay tuned - I will be uploading pictures soon!!

Why I am a homeschool mom----or why I shouldn't be

I do plan to get on my blog tonight and post a few things. I want to add the ending to how I 'landed' Layne and find some old pics to place on here. Also, Lilly and I did some bread making this past weekend that I need to put up and today we are making monkey bread. Also some home improvements.

However, I felt the need to immediately post the following conversation before I forgot it.
**Note- I do homeschool my kids b/c I feel that as a public school teacher(for 3 years) and a mommy with a Master's Degree in Education, I have the smarts to do it. Also, I want my kids to love Jesus more than 'know stuff'. The following conversation in no way makes me feel as if I am failing as a teacher and mom. It also in no way makes me realize that my child has no concept of reality. Neither did it make me want to bang my head against the wall, saying"why why why" over and over.

Lilly - Mommy, when I grow up I will be a vet-narian(spelling here is 'as sounds from Lilly-lips")
Mommy- Great sweetie.(rushing thru room to change over laundry)
Lilly - And guess where I will work?
Mommy - Where baby?(said with visions of grandeur; her answer will be a zoo, a foreign country where animals are starving, a small farm community where she will be a huge asset)
Lilly - J.C.Penney's
Mommy- (deflated and feeling as if my teaching skills are over-rated) Sweetie, they don't have animals at J.C.Penney's just store clerks
Lilly- They will when I am there.