Simply A Musing Blog

Today is the first day of homeschool - no time to post much, as we're too busy getting back in the swing of things again. With an 8th grader, a 3rd grader and one in kindergarten, I'm pretty sure we'll all be learning something new and exciting. I'm going to be in Photography school while the kids are homeschooling. I've found some terrific online resources and will be reading and studying through them as I have time between lessons. Last night, I took my eldest and her friend to a local business park and we took some photos with my new Nikon. I've been wanting to do this since I got it, but the timing or the weather just hasn't been cooperative. When we got there, a "profeshunal" photographer was there doing a shoot with some high school kids. I tried really hard not to be embarrassed about my lack of flash attachments or zoom lenses. But I did watch him for a few minutes before we decided to explored the back alleys so we wouldn't interfere w...

A few weeks ago, I posted an entry about my frustrations of late. Some of it had to do with homeschooling, but mostly? It was about heart and character issues - mainly mine. Here is a response I received from a family member (who I'll not name, because I love this person dearly and appreciate the honesty which was displayed). I have a solution for your dilemma, it's called PUBLIC SCHOOL. That's where children learn to cope with the stresses of everyday activities, such as getting up early, having a structured environment with other children of all socioeconomic levels, learning respect for themselves, their peers and their parents, and all the other ups and downs of going to school and being in a daily routine of the realities of life. Parents need to stop protecting their children and let them be faced with the real world. What happens when they are ready to go out in the world and they are afraid to cope? Or, what happens if their parents should befall a horrific early...

I could not resist posting this. I found it on one of my favorite Christian Homeschooling sites while reading a post aptly entitled “Homeschool Burnout - Rising from the Ashes”. If you don’t read “ Heart of the Matter ” online, you might want to check her out. I have come to know and love Robin Sampson through her many coaching sessions with me on twitter(the funny thing is that she doesn't even know she's coaching me! :) Look on the bright side! Subscribe via my RSS feed.

My eldest on a recent Homeschool field trip to a Science Discovery Museum - so much fun was had! Here is is losing her head...or is that her body? I don't know - but I thought this was the neatest thing!   Look on the bright side! Subscribe via my RSS feed.

This may just be the year that homeschooling does me in. I've had to call in reinforcements (my husband) to help me with not only our eldest, but our two youngest. Let me preface my rant by saying that I have three beautiful and creative children and I love them dearly. But sometimes, love isn't enough - grace is required. I am very thankful to be swimming in God's grace today, because I would probably have drowned a long time ago in the vast ocean that is called homeschooling. I live in a house full of emotional children who raise their voices in frustration and resort to crying instead of digging their heels in and trying to learn. I am not very tolerant of those tears, either. Lord help me, I don't want to raise a bunch of whiny quitters. But I'm seriously at my wits end. Every time I make the attempt to throw out a lifeline or an aid, one of my children rejects the help and continues to flail and flounder. Of course, I do take full responsibility for this. I am ...

Remember just two days ago I said that some of you might think I was a conspiracy theorist because I stated that I really feel like the government is trying to take away our rights as parents? I received this in my inbox this morning - from our HSLDA President regarding a UN Treaty that Hillary Clinton supports and will most likely introduce. Please read it and be informed. Personally, I find this frightening. Here is the article in full, from Michael Smith: Washington Times Op-ed—U.N. Treaty Might Weaken Families by J. Michael Smith HSLDA President One of the issues American families could face this year is the ramifications from a treaty called the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). You may ask, “How could a treaty directly affect internal decision-making by American families?” We generally think of treaties as agreements affecting international relations between countries. The U.N., however, has initiated treaties that not only affect international relations...

When I started seeing the "Save the Handmade" signs pop up on the internet, I thought, "how cute" - let's all save handmade. I had no idea that there was an actual law that had passed placing a ban on items created for children under the age of twelve. I am not sure exactly when I became aware of the law, but I do wish that I had known sooner. If you stuck me in a court of law, I don't think enough evidence could be found to ever convict me of being any kind of activist - not because I don't care, but I'm usually silent on controversial matters. However, I feel so passionately about this because the law is so far reaching and affect so many different aspects of how we will be allowed to raise our children. As I've researched this new law out, I have grown increasingly concerned about a number of things. Shannon from Rocks in My Dryer has posted an informative interview with Heather from Blessed Nest as to how the laws will affect the cottage...

As a homeschooling parent, as well as a Christian, I am very careful to be respectful of other people's choices for thier children's education. I do not believe that homeschooling is for everyone, and though I have many friends IRL who homeschool their children, I have just as many whose children attend public or Christian schools. I would never in a million years, dream of telling them they are making a mistake having their child in a public school. I believe that the public schools need Christian teachers and students - the worst thing we ever did as Christians was to pull our kids out of public schools when we lost the right to pray in school. We are supposed to live in the world, without partaking of it. But that's another rant altogether. I am constantly amazed by the attitudes of certain public school educators in our area who believe that we homeschoolers are lazy and that we only allow our children to be homeschooled because we don't want to teach them. Such i...

“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree” - Emily Bronte Oh how I love the changing of the seasons from Summer to Autumn, where every leaf becomes a flower, issuing a gentle reminder to slow down from the hectic pace of summer and just enjoy being . We spent a homeschool day at the Fair last month and I'm just now getting around to post about it. It was a free day and there were lots of activities especially for the kids. The weather was cool and crisp in the early morning, but as the afternoon wore on, we all shed our jackets and sweaters, because the temperatures climbed into the low 80's. This year's theme was "Thank a Farmer", since almost everything we eat and wear comes from a farm. The kids learned that corn is in practically everything they come into contact with and were especially interested in the fact that even the root beer they love so much has a derivative of corn in it (corn syrup). The kids loved the cow-milking demonstratio...

I'm not really here and you aren't really reading this. I'm trapped in a swirling vortex of homeschooling goodness and mayhem even as you read (well, more than likely...unless you're reading this at 6 am...in which case I'm still snoozing under the covers). Happy Labor Day, everyone - hope you're all fortunate enough to be able to take the day off from work - you've earned it. I will not be taking the day off, as I still have 3 loads of laundry to finish from this weekend...but that's another story for another day. A couple of quick notes before I start the day: 1. And we have a winner for Saturday's Mystery Photo Contest! Bummer. Oh, I totally kid - I'm not bummed. Amber from Bringing Good Home - email me so I can get your "n"eat gift that I may or may not have in the mail for you. Also -- I'm revising my photo selecting process and I will not be blurring the photo next week...so be ready for something that doesn't hurt your ey...

For most mom bloggers, having your kids in school means having a period of 6-8 hours to yourself a day -- oh to have that luxury on some days. :) Homeschooling is a choice my husband and I made five years ago when we went from a dual income down to one. I had been working full time since I was seventeen without any real break and for the first time, I was feeling stressed between caring for our 8 month old son (whom I was fortunate enough to be able to take to my office with me every day), keeping my eldest daughter from feeling left out because she wasn't with us all day, meeting my husband's physical and emotional needs, and trying to keep work and home balanced. My hat is off to any woman who works outside of the home - it is a constant struggle to maintain balance between home and work, and much like having three full time jobs - your work, child-rearing, and housecleaner/maid. I truly admire women who can do it. I just couldn't. Of course, I say I "couldn't...

Is it just me or has the summer flown by this year? I'm probably one of the very few moms you'll hear say that I'm just not ready for school to start. This is the first year out of five that I've homeschooled my kids that I am having doubts as to whether or not I can do it. I have actually lost some sleep over it the last few days as the date of Sept 1st draws nearer. One of the bittersweet things about being a homeschooling family is that I don't get to experience the same emotions as other moms when it comes time for the kids to start back to school. In some ways, I am almost jealous of these women who will soon have more free time during the day while I will still have my kids at home with me, attempting to do even more than I've been doing this summer. Having a schedule should help, but I'm still wondering how I'm going to do it all, especially having a third separate grade to teach this year. Abby is starting Kindergarten. I've lamented all summ...

As women, we do some rather insane things to achieve what could only be defines as modern standards of beauty. We wear shoes that do horrible things to our feet. We don bras that dig into our chests and push our breastesses into strange configurations. We slide on pantyhose to firm our stomachs and lift our behinds, makeup to hide our imperfections, and hair dye to diminish or complete rid us of our grays. And we have this strange habit of yanking other body hair out from the root , be it our eyebrows, underarms, legs, or pubic hair. (yes, I just said pubic hair - forgive me) When I was a buyer for Nordstrom, I was much more likely to pay attention to fashion than I am now. I think part of it is because I interacted with other people on a daily basis and it was my job to actually look like I had it together. I have had my nails done weekly, my upper lip waxed monthly and even had a bikini wax once. (Although I never wore a bikini, you understand, it was for my wedding night and I regr...

That date can NOT come soon enough for this mama. It marks the END of this year's homeschooling. I don't know how other homeschooling moms feel, but I am SO ready for a break that I'm getting jittery with anticipation. T-minus 9 days and counting. Lord, help me make it through the nine. Look on the bright side! Subscribe via RSS.

A friend sent this news article to me via email. It is an older article, but the subject matter is still relevant. Please visit the link and then come back and share your thoughts in the comments section. I am astounded that there are teachers who feel it is okay to discuss this type of thing in the classroom. On one hand, I have had a couple of public school teachers tell me "It's not my responsibility to raise other people's kids and instill morals and values"...which I happen to agree with. But on the other hand, I feel that some teachers are just pushing the boundaries too far by discussing issues with such young children. First and second graders? This is the exact reason I am homeschooling...not because I don't want my kids exposed to this type of thing, because they'll be exposed eventually. You can't shelter them from all the issues of the world, but I homeschool because I want to present it from a Biblical perspective. And before some people go of...

Well, not really, but close. This past week has been very draining. And very telling about my skills as a homeschooling mom and teacher. I'm afraid if we could hear the angels in Heaven while on any particular day school was in session this past week, we might have heard something to the effect of, "Woe! Woe! Woe unto them who are schooled by Karen!" Yes, it was that bad. I should be so much better than this, shouldn't I? After all, I spent copious amounts of time putting together lesson plans, coordinating schedules, checking and rechecking curriculum...not to mention, this ain't my first rodeo -- I have been homeschooling Katie now for four solid years. But no amount of preparation could have readied me for trying to teach my daughter how to write. Not just write, but write well . Move her from her childishly constructed sentences to actual prose. I have completely forgotten what it was like to be in 5th grade. My memories of school are a jumble...it seems I hav...

Today was our first official day of homeschool...the lesson plans were finished in the wee hours of yesterday morning, the books laid out neatly, pencils sharpened, dry erase board loaded with the day's plans for each child...but I only had one child who was even remotely excited about the first day...and that was Katie. AJ fought me tooth and nail, the entire time. He started with whining and when that didn't work, he moved from cajoling to pleading to an all-out fit-throwing. I did maintain my composure, although I wanted to just chunk it all and say we'll start school when he's in 6th grade. But...this is only Kindergarten...and I have to remember it was his first day...what was I expecting? For him to just sit down and actually adhere to some sort of structured morning ? Was I out of my everlivin' mind to think he would magically wake up and be a different kid just because school was starting? He's my little Texas Tornado...a rough and gusty, swirly windstor...

I'm still in the midst of homeschool planning for 2007, which starts in FOUR. DAYS. PEOPLE. I should be well out of the planning stages, but since I'm what some people would call a tad bit of a procrastinator...well, you get the picture. Truth is, I've really just started in earnest mapping out the course details. I've got the curriculum, but no lesson plans, no guide, no PLAN. Ack. Excuse my twitch...it will disappear towards the end of May '08. What have I been doing, you ask? Well, other than a FUN! TRIP! to the Emergency room to discover I have a peptic ulcer (probably because of this whole lesson plan fiasco), not a whole heck of a lot. The medication I've been taking for the pain has left me a little woozy and unable to string two coherent thoughts together for the last week...which is why I haven't posted anything "real" in that time. But I'm going to be fine, thank you very much. :) I contemplated scanning my x-rays for you, but I don...

I have been preparing this week for homeschooling, which begins in less than two weeks, by my calculations. Tonight, as I was reading through a book I purchased to help me teach AJ to read ( Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons ), I actually started to get excited that AJ is moving beyond colors, letters and numbers. Eager to share with him what we'd be doing for school this year, I pulled him into my lap to show him the book and was explaining to him that this is what we were going to be learning this year. To which he replied with the sweetest smile ever, "Mama, I don't want to learn to read. I just want to watch tv, play my video games and pick my boogers." That's my boy. Yessiree. Technorati Tags: , Homeschooling , Texas

Setting goals is one of the number one ways to achieve success in an area - the number two way to achieve success? Get started. If you set your goals (like reading an hour a day with and to your kids) but you never get started...well, you get my drift...you won't succeed. Fortunately, I did both this time - and the results have been amazing. Let me start off by saying that I have always read to my kids, but not on a consistent basis...I tend to go in spurts and it's all centered around how I feel, how the day is running, what I have on my plate, and a plethora of many other silly exuses I tend to dream up. Last November, we started the Laura Ingalls Wilder series and got through about 1/2 of the first book. Abby's attention span at 2 was not the best, so I didn't know what to expect this time around, but I was pleasantly surprised. She not only paid attention to the story lines, but she also thought about them afterwards and I found all the kids discussing what Almonzo...