Teaching with TLC: August 2011

The first Teaching Blog Expo!

In one day, in the comfort of your own home, you can learn from 7 of the teaching blog community’s best bloggers and find out exactly what you want to know! These sessions cover everything bloggers and teachers want to learn and there are HUGE goodie bags for registering for the live event!

I just can't wait!

Need some encouragement?

Many of us are preparing for the new school year and are filled with excitement. Meeting new students and decorating classrooms brings a teacher happiness. As a home educator, I love going through my new curriculum for the school year and making lesson plans.

But there are several teachers who are experiencing a sad time right now.

I receive emails every week from wonderful educators who have lost their jobs due to recent budget cuts. These are phenomenal teachers and some of them have taught school for years. It is so unfair.

Unfortunately, some of my closest blogging friends are among them and it breaks my heart to see them struggling emotionally and financially. But these educators continue to persevere and create incredible posts to inspire other teachers returning to their classrooms, even though they are wishing to return to a classroom, too. They have lost their home away from home. That must be challenging!

Two years ago, I experienced one of the toughest trials in my life that I will hopefully get the opportunity to share more details with you in the future. But to sum it all up in two paragraphs, my family lost everything financially in one year, including my husband's job, our home of seven years, our credit, both our cars, and every ounce of pride that we had left. Add to that, moving away 13 hours from our family, church, and homeschool group and also becoming unexpectedly pregnant with having no reliable income to support our existing family, I sank into depression. I had hit rock bottom. I just never knew how low the bottom was until this particular trial.

Weeks before my fourth child was born, we had to move again because of the lack of money to pay rent. Then we moved again in another 7 months because my husband (who has a computer engineering degree and graduated valedictorian) could not find a job in the area. He could not even get an interview after submitting more than 300 resumes. This was VERY difficult as a mom of four kids who had to keep homeschooling throughout it all. Friends and family sent us money to help pay for our basic bills, such as electricity and water. Talk about a humbling time. I wanted to be the giver, not the receiver. Just a year before, my husband was earning six figures and we had tons of reserves for emergencies and even equity in our home. We were on our way to financial freedom but how quickly everything disappeared.

The only constant thing I had in my life besides my family was God. I clung to His word more than ever before and posted encouraging scriptures throughout my home. Below are some songs that I played over and over. Even when I listen to them today as I post this, tears stream down my cheeks because I will always remember the heartbreaking feelings I endured.

But during this time, I saw God up close. I felt His embrace like never before. That experience transformed me and made me who I am today. I am in awe watching God rebuild and restore my family's life in a way that I never thought possible. He is amazing!

Just know God has a plan for you (Jer. 29:11) and you will make it through this time of testing. Keep on believing and moving forward and you will see Him working out the details. God is never early or late but His timing is always perfect. You will see, I promise.

My favorite song ever- http://youtu.be/bL0nDrEYDnk
(You Tube will not allow me to embed this video due to copyright.)
It is beautiful so click on the link to listen.

Here are two more of my favorites.

Why do I homeschool?

I never thought I would homeschool. In fact, I had never heard of homeschooling while attending college. When I taught elementary school, I only knew one family that homeschooled and honestly thought that was kind of strange. It is amazing how God can instantly change your heart.

My perspective was transformed in just one night. I came home from teaching school (I had a very tough class that year) and my three-year-old sat on my lap and asked me to read a book. I told him I was too tired to read to him. In fact, engaging in any learning activities made me want to cringe. I was completely exhausted with no energy left for the person that mattered most in my life.

Then the light bulb went off, I was giving 100% of my quality time and energy to my students (not by my choice, again, it was a very tough class that year) and I had nothing left for my son. I decided to begin my homeschool journey that particular night. I discussed it with my husband and then submitted my notice to my school the next day, which stated I would not be returning the following school year. All my colleagues were stunned but I guess that mommy instinct took over because this was no longer about me, but now it was about my son.

I was providing half of my family's income (and a young couple with a teacher's salary, you can quickly figure out that we were not financially prepared for me to be at home full-time.) My husband was still in college at night and he worked during the day. We had lots of debt- car payments, school loans, and a mortgage- and zero savings.

But I was bound and determined. My son was my top priority, not my income. The money issue never worried me. That is how I know God was in control because I naturally worry about money. Not a good quality, I know.

And we just made it work. We cut back on everything. No eating out, not even fast food. No cable. No extras, period, until we could recover from a 50% pay cut. I worked part-time during the week at a private school in the afternoons as a curriculum coordinator while my son played with the kids that attended the after-school program (for free). I tutored children on the weekends and my husband worked every part time job he could find, including remodeling and delivering pizzas (on top of working full-time and attending school full-time.)

It was a very busy time, but this time around, it was a good busy. God was faithful and provided. Looking back, we have no regrets. Over the years, we transitioned to having five children and I have not worked outside of the home for over ten years. My son is graduating high school this upcoming school year and we have so many wonderful memories together that I treasure.

I chuckle when people say they are waiting to have children until they can afford them. Well, I don't think I'd ever have any children if I had waited. I still don't think we can afford them. ☺ There would have always been something to take away any extra money that we had. I am so glad that I followed my heart and not my mind, which would have kept me filled with worry and fear. I truly believe that I had to step out in faith to be rewarded with the blessing of being at home with my children.

So why do I homeschool?

The answer is simple. I LOVE teaching and I LOVE my children. When I combine the two, there is nothing else I'd rather be doing.

You can also read My Top Ten Reasons for Homeschooling for a quick laugh.

The History of Homeschooling

Click on image to enlarge.

Via:

Online College Source

My Top Ten Reasons for Homeschooling

(10) Birthdays become school holidays. I love celebrations!

(9) I always get to be the chaperone on field trips. Lucky me.

(8) I can sleep in on rainy mornings. (Okay, I wrote that before my last two babies were born- no more sleeping in for Mom now.)

(7) My pajamas are sometimes my work uniform until noon. Shhh!

(6) The teacher-student ratio can’t be beat!

(5) I can kiss the school principal in the faculty lounge. ♥

(4) Integrating God in our school lessons is always encouraged.

(3) I do not have to stay up late at night helping my children study for tests and complete homework assignments.

(2) I have the opportunity to instill the love of learning.

(1) I am the recipient of hugs and kisses all day long.

Also, check out my son's post on Reasons to Homeschool.

Our Princess Party

This weekend was my little girl's first birthday. For those that may not know, I have four boys. I have had every kind of boy party theme imaginable so I was ecstatic to finally have a princess party.

I used the birthday balloon pixie stick idea and adapted it for princess wands.

Here is Princess Charity on her throne.

Here are the princess cousins. So pretty!

The cake was beautiful!

The princess enjoyed her dessert. ☺

A princess must get her beauty sleep.

What a wonderful day that I'll always remember.

Thank you God for my many blessings.

Summer Silhouette Art

This is one of my favorite summer art projects. It really is stunning!

First, use a paint brush to wet the entire sheet of white construction paper with water. Next, add several layers of colors using watercolor paints to create a sunset. The more imperfect it is, the better it will look when completed.

Cut out shapes (silhouettes) using black construction paper to create a relaxing summer scene. When the sunset painting has dried, glue on the silhouettes.

I add a solid black sheet of construction paper for the back to create a frame.

It really makes the project pop!

Just breathtaking!

Can you see why I love these? Each child's creation is unique yet gorgeous.

Enjoy the remaining days of summer!

Summer Reflections Art Project

Isn't this beautiful? My son made it last week. This art project is perfect for making you want to jump into the water and cool off during the hot days of summer and it even teaches symmetry! Here are the simple instructions:

Fold white construction paper in half to create a line in the middle of the paper. Trace that line with a pencil.
Using a pencil, draw an outdoor summer scene.
Turn the paper to the side now and copy the other half using the folded middle line as the line of symmetry. (Like when you teach a child to copy the other half of a butterfly) This half will be the reflection in the water so children can make the lines wavy if they prefer.
Color in the drawing with crayons except the water.
Paint the bottom half with blue watercolor paints and let dry.
Trace the top half with a black marker to make the lines bold.

Have Fun!

Making learning stick with mnemonics!

I love using mnemonics when I am teaching. It just makes learning stick!

Mnemonics is connecting the unfamiliar to the familiar by using the first letters of words to make new words that the student can easily relate to. For example, many of us grew up learning about the five Great Lakes in the US by using the mnemonic HOMES- Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior.

I compiled the mnemonic devices that I have used the most in the past 20 years of teaching into this packet: