I’m not like my husband who only orders soft tacos when we eat Mexican food. I like to change my food up a bit. But when it comes to life changes, even GOOD change can be stressful and hard for me.
Change. I’m finding I’m not a lover of change.
But change happens. LIFE happens. And one of the things I promised you, Readers, was that, if you joined the FFS Community, I would be real with you. So I’m gonna lay it all out for you. Continue reading
If Jesus is to be the standard used by a Christ-Focused Parent, then we should probably study how Jesus behaved. Throughout scripture we learn that God cares more about who we are, than what we do. What is in our hearts is what is reflected through our actions, words, and thoughts. If a parent is who he or she ought to be in Christ, then many parenting and teaching problems are solved. Not all of them, but many.
I see this exemplified in my homeschool, and in the past when I was a classroom teacher. There would be times (and still are) when I would become so frustrated with the students. Either they would misbehave, or not seem to understand a concept I had been teaching over and over again. And once I got myself into a tizzy, I then realized that if I would just change one thing about my delivery of the subject, or my tone of voice, or my proximity in the room, then the behavior of the students changed. I had to change before I could get my students to change.
Alright. It’s summer. But we homeschool year-round. I’ve been having a hard time focusing on any school, let alone science. (and I’ll throw in math too!) So I decided I would give myself a break from the formal school plan for the next few weeks while we get our traveling, soccer practice, and swimming finished for the summer.
I’m all about E.A.S.Y! I love unit studies for science. In fact we are in the middle of astronomy right now. But life has been crazy! And using library books is easy. So instead of formal science/math lessons, the other day I found all the books I could from three specific series. I think they are wonderful! And some of these we have read numerous times. And the kids learn more and more after each reading.
LET’S READ AND FIND OUT SCIENCE: This is one of my all time favorite science series. It is not from a Biblical worldview, so we talk about the “millions of years” at times. But the books are well written.
These are the ones we have checked out right now. They come in two levels: LEVEL ONE and LEVEL TWO.
Hey everyone!!
I wrote a guest post over at My Joy-Filled Life today. Enjoy!!
The Google dictionary defines it as: Deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.
Eclectic.
I’d have to say this describes not only my homeschool philosophy and teaching style, but who I am as well. Let me back up and tell you a little about myself first so you can see how our homeschool ended up the way it did.
I guess you would classify me as a strong-willed child. Not so much when I was little, but definitely when I entered high school, college, and beyond. For the most part, and only through the grace of God, I kept my strong will in check. However, I can remember when I received my teaching materials for my first year in the classroom, I thought to myself, You want me to use these? No way. Of course I did. Yielding to authority is important. But this was the point at which I knew I enjoyed making up my own curriculum and/or finding other curriculum that I knew was fun, engaging, and worked. Continue reading
Here is Angie’s story from Raising Sticky Hands to Heaven. I have been loving these stories that show God in His glory and at work in all areas of life. Angie’s story is no different. Enjoy! ~ FFS
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After the birth of my last child, I just didn’t seem to “bounce back” as quick as I had with the other 4. At first I thought it was probably because I was nearing 30 and not the young whipper snapper I was when I had my first. After a few months, however, I decided it was time to see a doctor. After over a year of many tests and attempts to “fix” my pain, I was given the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.
Chronic pain can be so overwhelming and exhausting at times that I’m unable to think straight. To not admit that I have questioned why this has happened to me would be a lie. There have been times that I’ve questioned my capabilities because of my disability. The Lord knows what He is doing though, and I’ve learned to have faith in His plan.
There have been 2 scriptures that I’ve been clinging to since the pain began. The first one is Isaiah 53:5, ” But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” I know I can be healed, however, until then I will continue to do what God has called me to do. I will boast in God and HIS abilities, not mine. In spite of my pain and fatigue, I will do His work! I will raise my children to walk in His ways, teach them at home, be a good wife to my husband, and help others in any way I can. I don’t care how much this pain tries to keep me down, I will keep going. Continue reading
I am excited to be going to the Teach Them Diligently Conference this week! One of the presenters will be Mark Hamby of Lamplighter Publishing. If you get to go to the conference, please try to make one of his sessions. After listening to him, I bought two of the books recommended, and quite a few of the Lamplighter Theatre productions, and they have been wonderful! Here are some thoughts I had after his presentations:
Mark Hamby was fascinating to listen to and very passionate about his topics. The sessions were about building character and excellence in children. I really have a desire to introduce my son to real heroes. Heroes of the faith and heroes in history. So this was my motivation for going to Hamby’s sessions. I went to 4 of his sessions and ordered the 5th one to listen to. Now I am even more motivated to teach character to my children and I feel more prepared to tackle the responsibility. His sessions were more like a Bible Study to me, so I soaked up as much in as I could!!
One of the truths I had to grasp was that I cannot force character traits onto my children. They have to be intrinsically motivated and have a “want to” for change. Instead, I am going to need to come up with ways my kids can emulate good role models. This could take place by dealing with people or by reading books. TV is a waste of time and detrimental to the thinking process, so it’s not the best way to go about teaching character. Continue reading
Clay Writer (aka Doug) has been a faithful follower of FFS and I am happy to introduce him to you! He has many years of experience with Children’s Ministry and has published his first book. Be sure to visit his blog and read about his recent trip to Africa. It will bless you! Enjoy! ~ FFS
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For most young men attending college in Southern California the ‘party-life’ was as natural as breathing. You went to school, studied sometimes, worked whatever job you could get and went to parties.
Me; well I was shy and avoided those challenging social encounters that most people my age considered to be important.
I was a Christian. I knew there were drinking, drugs, and other enticing things, (girls) at parties that probably would lead to trouble. I chose to say no whenever I was asked to attend a party.
This time was different. This party was going to be at the beach at night.
I loved the beach. I felt as comfortable in raging surf and ten-foot breakers crashing over my head as any other place. If I felt uncomfortable at the party I could jump into the surf and ride some waves. I decided I would go to this beach-party.
God told me not to go. Continue reading
I have written this May I Encourage You? as a guest blogger over at A Joy-Filled Life.
My friend Kristi over at Kristi’s Korner has been a friend and mentor to me over the past 8 years. She gives me such hope as my journey with my strong-willed child is just beginning. Here is her boast in God! Enjoy! ~ FFS
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Our homeschool journey has been an unusual one. Our youngest daughter struggled with reading in third grade, but not enough to get help from the reading specialist at school. We were expected to go over all of her assignments with her, which proved frustrating and exhausting for both of us. God led us to bring her home the following year. The next year our middle daughter and son asked to come home too. In about one year we were teaching elementary, middle and high school. It was a challenge. Fortunately, M and C are self-motivated and didn’t need a lot of my time or I might not have survived. It has been a lot of fun too. Continue reading
Future.Flying.Saucers 