First Day of School

Monday was our first day back in the schoolroom for the 14th time. It does feel a little empty now with one desk missing. We are left with just a 6th and 11th grader, but we bought a few new boxes of crayons anyway. The first day of school just wouldn't be the same without new boxes of perfectly sharpened crayons--age and grade have nothing to do with it.

Tiffani is very responsible, getting up on her own every morning for work. I wonder if she misses
A Beka at all...hmmm...just a little?? Naw.

What a wonderfully fun-filled summer we had this year. We traveled to Pensacola, FL; Pismo Beach and Santa Barbara, CA; Indianapolis, IN; St. Louis, MO; Austin, TX; Miami, and Key West, FL; and last but not least, Nassau and Coco Cay, Bahamas. We were sad for the summer to end, but are up for the challenge of a new school year.

I have many new and exciting doors open to me this fall as an interpreter, and I anticipate improving my skill enough to be able to test again for a higher certification within a year.

Tiffani's Last Day to Homeschool

Friday was our last day of homeschool for the 2007-2008 school year. As we finished up the final exams, cleaned out desks, filed papers, stored away text books, and averaged grades, there was a different feeling than other years. Friday was monumental. For the past 11 years, I have been Tiffani's school teacher. For nine months out of every year, she has started every school day off at 8 p.m. sharp (well, sometimes not so sharp) writing her spelling list, and then moving on to language, math, history and science. (There were electives in there too. Her most recent elective was French, in which, ironically enough, she scored higher than in English.)

But. Friday was her last day to homeschool. This fall she will be starting the collegiate program in the metroplex whereby she will complete her last two high school years congruent with her first two college years. It is a free program for those who are accepted. Two years from now she will have 2 graduation ceremonies: one for her high school diploma; the other for an associates degree in engineering.

As most of you know, we have used the A Beka curriculum, and it has served us well. She scored extremely high on the Accuplacer entrance exam at the college.

This is a big step for all of us. This is one more step in letting go, and I've got to say, it is tough for the mom in me. These are unchartered waters, however, we have all prayed about this, and we truly feel as though God has opened this door for her. Tiffani has a good head on her shoulders, and when it comes to the big decisions, she consistently makes the right choices. I trust that she is going to be a faithful ambassador for God on that campus this fall.






This is our downsized classroom, ready for the 2008-2009 homeschool year.

Pencil Toppers

I just stumbled across a cute little idea for pencil toppers from Missy at Crafty Carnival She also has several really cool tutorials--one for a sweet tooth fairy pillow complete with pattern download! (I could have used that pattern about 11 years ago!)



Nevertheless, I modified the toppers for the current season, and whipped one up this morning. I often have little segments of time when my kids are taking tests or doing math problems or writing assignments. I find my hands fidgeting, needing something to make. (We mom's have an innate need to multi-task.) (Sure I can stitch while I read off my daughter's spelling words for her test!)

Now Bethani is making a list of the people in her life that need pencil toppers.

Vision Forum

I recently came across a catalog put out by Vison Forum, a trusted FAMILY company who is on the same same page I am when it comes to family values. It is a company started by a Doug Phillips, his wife Beall, and their 8 children: Joshua, Justice, Liberty, Jubilee, Faith, Honor, Providence, and Virginia. They have been doing this for 10 years, and now there are more than 50 people pictured in their "staff" picture! They sell whole books that convey, in their words:

The importance of distinctively Christian education through presuppositionally biblical training and parent-to-child discipleship; by pointing fathers to their duties as household shepherds and women to the nobility of femininity, industry, motherhood, and home; by reminding Christian men of their duty to sacrifice for "women and children first"; and by encouraging a culture of virtuous boyhood and girlhood.

Wow!

Can you believe they even have an American Girl Doll alternative?? You can see their online catalog here. Last night I told Craig, "If I just had tons of money, I would buy everything in this catalog!!!"

We don't

So, instead, we took the catalog to our library. They had several of the books we found in the catalog, and we are going to try inter-library loans in the Dallas area. We are also scouring the web for more of these hidden gems. Jeremi has especially enjoyed the first G.A. Henty novel: The Cat of Bubastes. It is set in 1250 B.C., and apparently the main character meets up with Moses in Egypt.

Cool, huh??

School Time

This marks the end of our first week back in school. It wasn't too bad. Really. I think everyone is adjusting to our routine quite well. The subjects are a little more challenging for everyone, and we will need to put some extra effort into our studies, but it is do-able.

Bethani is in 3rd grade, and it is substantially more advanced than 2nd. The papers look more like the older kids, and they are expecting a lot from her already. And she is delivering it. Our goal for her this year is beautiful handwriting.

Jeremi is in 8th grade, and it is much like 7th. He will, however, need to study more. They expect specific answers 'filled in the blank' on tests. A Beka really isn't a 'cake-walk.' Because his schedule is not too heavy this year, we are going to slip in typing and possibly shorthand. (This is something he has shown an interest in.) Apparently this lighter schedule is just a reprieve for him before he hits high school. Look out Jeremi, they don't mess around in 9th grade! Our goal for him this year is to eliminate school procrastination, finishing each day in a timely manner while being thorough.

Tiffani is a full-fledged high school student. She has a heavy DVD load with Grammar/Comp, Algebra 2, consumer math, world history, biology, and French. She started to struggle in French the first 2 days until she found a "suitable tutor." She is excelling now. Our goal for her this year is to cram as much into her little head as possible in order to excel on her SAT and be accepted at Richland Collegiate next year.

They are awesome students! Sometimes I tend to focus only on the things that they still need to master and forget to recognize the good that is already imbedded. I was just pondering this morning on how well-disciplined they really are:

• Promptly at 8:00 EVERY morning, all three of my children are dressed and sitting in their seats in the school room--all on their own, and most of the time without me. (It is here that I confess to sometimes [okay, many times] checking my email from 8-8:30.) Now, granted, there is a small reward for them if they are on time--not one minute late. Nevertheless, they are establishing a good work ethic.


• Each morning we gather for family prayer--sometimes with mom, sometimes with dad. Occasionally they sleep, but hey, so did Jesus' disciples! We are setting a precedent for them, (right Jeremi?)


• We work diligently until 12:30 with an occasional 5-minute break, and then have lunch until 1:00. Any work left-over must be done after lunch. Obviously, the goal is to finish before lunch time, and most of the time they are trying.
  

Now, before this sounds like pie-in-the-sky, let me confess that just about every day we have an issue with someone. You see, my children are not perfect. But then again, neither is their mother. We are, however, continuing to become. God is helping us, and I believe this year we WILL see more fruit.

Summertime!

Well, today is the last day of school for us. After today, summertime will officially begin. Grammy and Grandpa are flying in to officially kick off our vacation. I'm sure there will be more spoiling.