Homeschool Mother's Journal, April 12, 2013

Early Life, William Henri Colchester Mollett

In my life this week...

I continue to peruse homeschool classifieds and e-bay for used homeschool curriculum. I'm waiting on an e-bay auction for the girls' science curriculum.

I'd like the six-week summer break and the rest of this year to pre-read the boys' books for next year. They'll be studying the Eastern Hemisphere with Sonlight during 2013-14.

We've also begun the spring clothing switch in earnest. Suffice it to say...the living room is a mess as I work on washing and hanging all the extra clothes, and as I record what we need from thrift stores and pile up what we can pass on to church friends or to Freecycle.

In our homeschool this week...

The boys are reading In Search of the Source and marveling at the thought of a people in the highland jungles of Papua New Guinea eating beetles, grubs, cobras and bats. Fascinating, eye-opening book on many fronts. The translator and his wife, Neil and Carol Anderson, spent over two decades in this remote jungle area, translating the Bible into a previously unwritten language.

Praise God for this precious couple! God cares about every single soul and sometimes He has Believers endure the unbelievable to get the gospel out. Think that Bible Study you host or teach is a lot of trouble? Sometimes I'm put out by the commitment to provide a Children's Bible Study every Saturday afternoon. Read this book and renew your commitment to the Great Commission and your passion for God's Word.
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Sonlight synopsis: "A translator struggles to help a tribal people understand what the Bible says. Fascinating, thought-provoking, and often funny, these are the stories of a culture's first encounter with God's Word."

The other neat thing this week is the opportune check out of a DVD series called Liberty's Kids. It's a reenactment of the American Revolution and the events leading up to it. In cartoon format with engaging characters--including such greats as Ben Franklin, George Washington, and Paul Revere--the kids find it riveting. Very high quality and we're all reviewing our history. Even my six-year-old daughter finds it fascinating! A great find at the library (five total hours). I believe you can watch the episodes online here.

Helpful Homeschool Tips or Advice to Share...

Christian Homeschooling is a call from the Lord. As such, trust God to guide your steps. Commit yourself to praying for your homeschool and walk in peace as you pass on a love for learning. And remember this...their hearts first, academics second.

Things I'm Working On...

...In my heart: A neighbor family of six here often needs help and I'm working on helping without feeling irritated by the inconvenience. The husband is nearly six months without a job and the mother works a low-wage job (not even full-time). Intermittently, they need gas money, help with transportation to the local schools when their van is down, etc. They even come fairly often for milk and sugar. The other morning our plans were upset by a sudden request to take them to two different schools. The brakes are out on their Dodge van.

So often people don't want to give their time. It's easier to give money and call it done, patting ourselves on the back. The other morning I felt so inconvenienced, wondering ultimately...wouldn't it be easier to just give them $200, rather than taking them to school until they have the money on their own? But then I thought...can we really afford to part with $200 after all the homeschool costs recently? And why am I so against giving my time? As I ride with those kids I could pray for them and maybe something that God allows to come out of my mouth might encourage them as they endure hardship after hardship.

They don't come to our Children's Bible study and we don't know why, but we do take the 9-year-old boy to AWANA each Wed. And lately, a tiny local Baptist church has a van that arrives to pick up their kids for Sunday worship. This particular church goes door-to-door in our neighborhood frequently, looking for new Sunday worship guests. Shame on me for feeling irritated when God is obviously working on these kids' hearts....


I'm grateful for...

Every single day of being with my children all day long. What a privilege. Even when the four year old gets into the spring clothes, tries them on and leaves them strewn all over, in every room. Sigh....

Something I am ogling or have my eye on...

I'm too busy to ogle anything! But I guess I could mention this review of the Writer's Jungle from the Simple Homeschool site. Sounds like an interesting, motivating book for every homeschool family, if you can afford it. Here is the creator's website. Here is Cathy Duffy's review of the product.

Bless you, dear friends, and have a wonderful weekend!