January 14, 2008 by pattycov.

You know why? Because my children will not get out of bed when they are supposed to! We started back to school last Monday after 3 weeks off and going into our second week back, my daughters are struggling more than ever. Typically, both of them are up by 8:00, at the latest. That gives them time to clear the fog from their sleepy brains, eat some breakfast, and do their morning chores in time to start school by 9:00. Yes, it varies in actual start time on occasion but we try to hit the mark most days. However, these past 6 school days have been a joke. At first, I was very relaxed about it — oh, they are just recuperating from all the festivities, traveling and inconsistent bedtimes — but by now, I’m running out of patience!

It doesn’t help that this time of year also creates a little lethargy in myself. Getting up while it’s still dark takes quite the effort on my part (and on my husband’s part — his foot on my backside pushing me out of my warm covers). But thankfully, because of a commitment to provide daycare for my cousin’s daughter, I am up and at ‘em without fail.

Any ideas for breaking your children out of a “sleeping in” habit? So far, releasing the aforementioned commitment (Dayna) into their bedroom is at least waking them up. She is my secret weapon for now!

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December 3, 2007 by pattycov.

One of the reasons that I love Weaver is that it doesn’t demand that I finish the curriculum in a school year.  Currently we are in Chapter 16 of Volume One, so we will be finished with the volume by the end of the month, before we go on break.  Who caught that?  “Wait… chapter 16 is only supposed to be 8 days long.”  This is just one example of what happens when I get “in deep” with a unit.  I just happen to love this unit.  It is about the Civil War and slavery.  American History used to bore me to tears when I was in school but now I can’t get enough of it.  I just want to spend two months here because there is so much to learn, to apply biblically, to read about and to do.  I realize that we are only supposed to touch on some of these subjects and not get too deep into it, but I just can’t help it!  I also love to do all the research; find the reading books, find the projects to do, read internet site after internet site and book after book.  So far, we have done a lot of reading.  We’ve read books about the Civil War, about Abraham Lincoln and Harriet Tubman, not to mention fictional stories that took place during this time.  God is so good to show how certain things tie together.   I will admit that sometimes I don’t stick too closely to the DbD when I think it doesn’t go far enough with a subject and we go on our own rabbit trail.  When we started, we talked about battle and the scripture I used was 2 Timothy 2:2-3, “We, therefore, must endure hardships as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.  Anyone engaged in warfare does not entangle himself with the affairs of this world, that he may please the one who enlisted him.”  I think I got that about right, as I am quoting from memory.  We had very in-depth conversations about what that verse meant.  Focus in times of battle, not getting caught up in the things of this life, keeping the enemy in our site (or sight.  I don’t know much about guns).  Today, I went ahead and ventured ahead of our bible lessons to the birth of Moses (though I suspect that’s probably coming up in Vol. 2, so we didn’t go too far), and we talked about God’s purpose for Moses.  Like Moses, God used Abraham Lincoln and Harriet Tubman to free the captives.  He had a specific purpose for their life.  Just like He has a specific plan for our lives.

I have done so much research on this and there are so many great ideas for this chapter that I know I have to reign myself in.  I have to make sure that I’m not taking this above the heads of a 1st and 3rd grader.  Do you ever feel like you are having more fun with it than your children are?   That’s okay; hopefully my fervor and excitement will ignite something in them as well. 

But, again, this is why I love Weaver.  Independence with a little structure to keep me in line!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

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November 29, 2007 by pattycov.

If you are a homeschool mom and a coffee aficionado, I’m sure you understand what I’m implying.  You pour yourself a nice, hot cup of coffee before you get started on your day.  In a perfect world, you would have time to sit and enjoy this moment of tranquility.  But reality says that even if you have a brief moment, it’s rarely tranquil because your thoughts are on what you are pulling together today for your lesson!  You consult your Day-By-Day or other form of agenda, read over your bible study, spend “just a few minutes” on the internet finding just the right information for your lessons and checking email; then, before you know it, your abandoned red-with-gold-polka-dots-from-Starbucks coffee mug has gone cold and it’s contents are uninviting.  It’s sad, but you take a drink anyway and mourn its passing.  Sigh. 

So, on with the show!  I am Patty and I have been a homeschool mom going on four years now.  I have six children, who range from 20 to 6.  Two are step-children, the other four natural.  But in my mind, they’re all mine!  I am only homeschooling my two youngest daughters, who are eight and six, 3^rd and 1^st grades.  I used a conglomeration of materials for our first year of Kindergarten and began Abeka for first grade.  However, the glitter of Abeka quickly wore on me.  By the end of that year, though my daughter was reading successfully and writing in beautiful penmanship, I really felt it was lacking some important substance.  I couldn’t put my finger on it but I knew something was missing.  The first idea that began to catch my interest was the concept of notebooking that another homeschool mom shared with me.  After some research I thought it might be the key to stepping up the fun and interaction in our school day.  Then, after some input from my sisters-in-law, I decided to look into Weaver and I was sold! 

We are weaving into our second year now, though it hasn’t been without some doubts.  By last February, I was ready to get a job at a private Christian school and sign the girls up!  God has been so faithful in this whole calling, though.  Just as I was ready to give up, another friend called me for encouragement.  She, too, was re-thinking her dry curriculum and looking into unit studies.  It completely refreshed my mind of where I had been just a year prior, “looking for substance”.  And she, through the counsel of another veteran homeschool mom, was reminded to PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!  This was certainly my turning point.  I realized that it wasn’t exactly the curriculum that I was having trouble with.  I thought I needed more structure when I had complained about too much structure the year before.  Basically I just needed to PRAY!  Of course, I pray on a daily basis, for our school day and all but there’s something different when you are at your wit’s end and are crying out for God to bless your homeschooling experience, to bless your children despite your faults, for it to be ALL Him and none of you.  Needless to say, our school caught fire as I began to document in our personal homeschool blog (www.graceandemilyschool.blogspot.com).  We entered Chapter 6 of Unit 5 in Volume One.  It was the most exciting school experience ever, for us!  From that point, I have not looked back.  Even if we’re in a lull, I know there’s something around the corner.  I have given our school over to the Master, the fully equipped Teacher, the Principal of principles, the most creative Creator, the Mathematician of the stars and sand and hair, the Scientist of existence, the Great I AM of grammar, the — well, you get the point.  It’s all His and I need to consult Him as I serve Him in His ministry.  That all seems so elementary to a seasoned Christian but sometimes us seasoned Christians can overlook the simplest of things.   

I look forward to sharing what we do at school and hope to encourage the “doubters”.   I don’t know what I can offer the veterans, as I am still learning the ropes, but hopefully there will be something here for you, too! 

Blessings,Patty 

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