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BACK TO SCHOOL ENCOURAGEMENT
by Virginia Knowles
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Our home school co-op starts classes this Monday (August 11), so we’ve been in a flurry to order curriculum, buy supplies, plan lessons, make copies, and gear up for the new school year. In addition, we registered Rachel for dual enrollment classes at the local community college. Some of my kids want to get a jump on things and have already started their assignments. I read Joanna's high school spelling words to her yesterday morning, and Melody was mimicking the words as I said them. This was especially funny since some of the words had five syllables, and she is only three and just learned to talk! Then I remember that Joanna herself did not speak very intelligibly until after her third birthday – but she learned to read fluently when she was four. Home schooling is full of those sorts of surprises. Sometimes they are happy ones, and sometimes they aren’t. Sometimes we must just learn to endure and be patient a while longer – hopefully with a smile! I guess that’s part of what I was thinking about when I wrote the poem A Mother’s Seeds. We don’t always see the results we want right away, but we keep going and going and going!
Are you penny pinching this year? I have bought a lot of sale school supplies at Staples (like free two pocket folders, graph paper books for 50 cents, etc.), but I get most of my stuff at Wal-Mart because of the consistently lower prices. At Sam’s Club, I buy 8 packs of 1” white notebooks (with a clear insert cover) for about $10, which is so much cheaper than anywhere else I’ve seen. We go through a lot of printer ink in our house, so I’ve set the default to “fast draft” mode which conserves ink and prints much faster. We don’t notice the difference in quality much. If we do want something in a higher quality, we just change it for that one document when we print. We also bring our empty ink cartridges back to Staples, since they give a $3 refund through their reward program. Check it out! Also, if you like to order from companies on-line, you can find discounts and promotional
coupon codes at www.RetailMeNot.com.
Overwhelmed? I know so many of you are starting to feel spazzed about starting school, especially if it is your first year. Take a deep breath now. Try to think clearly. Keep it simple, sweetie! The early years do not have to be complicated. Why not just a little math, a little phonics and handwriting, a few fun science experiments, and a whole bunch of cuddling up on the couch to read aloud about life in different times and places? You can do it! Ask a friend for help or accountability if you need it. Don’t be shy about this! We mothers need to mother one another! If you want to see some of my favorite curriculum options for the early grades, I have included a list later in this issue. You can also read an excerpt about learning to read from my book Common Sense Excellence at: Learning to Read.
Here's a quote that I am using for copy work for my 7th/8th grade co-op English class this next week. I want to get them used to the idea of working hard, because that is just what they are going to do in my class this year! This quote is a wonderful reminder for moms, too. I found it in Cindy Prechtel's book Character Building Copywork which I plan to assign often for handwriting practice -- as well as for character building!
“Thank God every morning when you get
up that you have something to do which
must be done, whether you like it or not.
Being forced to work, and forced to
do your best, will breed in you temperance,
self-control, diligence, strength of will,
contentment, and a hundred other virtues
which the idle never know.”
Charles Kingsley
Don’t overlook your husband as a valuable source of support when you are feeling inadequate for your tasks. I am a free spirited mom, usually flying by the seat of my pants. My husband is very logical and meticulous, so over the years, he has been faithful to come alongside me and provide accountability and structure to what we are doing. I really couldn’t manage without him! Thanks, honey! (You can read more about Thad on my blog post “Two Dozen Years and Counting” and more about working together in a Real Life Home School Mom book excerpt called “Cherishing Your Marriage” which is on my web site.)
Talk to your kids, too! Ask them for their feedback on home schooling – what they liked, what they didn’t, what frustrates or confuses or bores them, what excites them, what new interest they want to learn about. They will know that you care when you listen to them and follow through on at least some of it! Do this continually, not just at the beginning of the school year. It will pay off!
You and I each know moms who need a bit of extra encouragement just about now, so I have a little assignment for those who are feeling a bit more confident than you were in your rookie years. Think of a home school mom (or two) who might be struggling. This might be because she is new at it, or she has a special needs child, or there has been a crisis in the family, or she has just moved to a new town, or whatever. Then pray about meeting some of her needs in simple ways. (If you don’t know what she needs, ask her!) You could offer a word of encouragement, answer some questions, take her to a support group and introduce her to your friends, lend her one of your favorite books or magazines, look up a resource on the Internet, watch her kids for a few hours so she can go out on a date with her husband, or bring the family a meal, or some other small thing that might make a world of difference to her. Even knowing that someone cares enough to notice and do something can have a huge impact on a mom. I am so thankful to the other moms who have reached out to me over the years, even after I had become a “home school veteran.” Even after home schooling for nearly two decades, I still get confused about things, too! I’m glad I have faithful friends whose brains I can pick. This has been one wonderful benefit of being in a co-op. It’s not just for the kids. It’s for the moms as well! You can find out more about making the most of “Your Support Network” in my book The Real Life Home School Mom.
Here are a few web resources that might be particularly good for you and your friends:
Jeannie Fulbright has an extremely encouraging and friendly web site for home school families. You will find plenty of wonderful articles and resources at www.JeannieFulbright.com.
Jill Novak of The Gift of Family Writing mentioned that she’s speaking at Cindy Rushton’s on-line “Back to School Blast” conference this weekend -- starting tomorrow (Friday, August 8). You can participate from the comfort of your own home, and it’s free, too! Check it out at http://www.backtoschoolblast.com/. My friend Maridel Willer is another one of the great speakers. They will have MP3 audios of the sessions available later.
If you know someone who has a special needs child, please refer them to National Challenged Homeschoolers Associated Network web site at http://www.nathhan.com/ They have myriad helpful articles and resources, as well as a support forum.
Along these lines of meeting the needs of others, I urge you to think of ways that your family can serve the poor or struggling, either around the globe or down the street. Consider it a very crucial part of your child’s education. Academics are important, but compassion is indispensable! Of course this starts in the home, pouring juice for a little sister or helping with a chore when Mom is tired. I wrote in The Real Life Home School Mom about how when we think of how to alleviate the troubles of others, our own challenges in life seem to fade in comparison. I thought about this as Andrew and I did the dishes by hand today. Our dishwasher is broken and won’t be fixed until next week. For the past decade, I’ve had a little poem posted on the kitchen cabinet:
Thank God for dirty dishes
They have a story to tellAnd by the stack we have
It seems we’re living very well.
While people of other countries are starving
I haven’t the heart to fuss
For by this stack of evidence
God’s awfully good to us.
And finally, I think that some of us somehow got the idea that we “arrived” just because we home school our kids. I have certainly gone through my obnoxious, self-righteous seasons of life. Maybe I’m still there and don’t know it. (Lord, have mercy!) I plead with you to lay aside any “homier than thou” pride that might be harbored in your heart. It will rise up and bite you if you don’t watch out, and it certainly doesn’t bless those around you. It’s quite easy to raise a brood of little Pharisees in a home where Mom or Dad look down on others who don’t make the same choices in life. In real estate, the formula for success may be location, location, and location – but in home schooling it is humility, humility, and more humility! OK, I know there is more to it than that, but start there anyway!
This issue also included articles that you can find on other pages:
The Home School Mom's Alphabet
My Favorite Resources for the Early Grades