Part 2 Student End-of-Year Evaluation

Earlier this week I shared what 9-year-old Paul thought of his school year. Today I share Peter's end-of-year evaluation.

 

I agree that the main theme this year was war. War is sad, depressing and lonely, with battles all over the land. Land is ruined and crops and buildings destroyed. People grieve a lot about the death of loved ones, and it is only with God's help that they get past the terrible sadness.

 

The benefit of war is freedom and yes, freedom is worth fighting for, but I think it would be very sad to leave my wife and kids. I wouldn't want them to suffer over my death. But I would fight if I had to.

 

Favorite Fiction Books:

 

Kitchen Madonna - The boy in this story started out sad because he didn't see his parents enough. He was kind of neglected because they worked so much. He had a lot of different housekeepers and nannies. His new housekeeper was also sad and lonely. He loved her and wanted to help her, so he and his sister worked very hard to make her a kitchen Madonna. This was something she had in her home in the Ukraine. To her it was a "good place".

 

When the boy worked hard to make the housekeeper happy, it made him happier too. He worked closely with his sister and grew to like her more, and he worked with people in the neighborhood too, and grew to like them. He used to never talk to anyone, even his family, and he stayed in his room.  In the end he was completely changed by love. Love healed him and his housekeeper.

 

Gone Away Lake - The book had a lot about nature, which I am very interested in. It talked about insects and many different flowers and plants. The characters were very nice and in the end they were all happier because of the friendships they made at Gone Away Lake. The elderly people were less lonely and the children appreciated all that the elderly people shared about life and plants and history.

 

From the Mixed-Up Files of Basil E. Frankweiler - The girl in the story wants to run away with her brother and plans it out very well. She brings money, and they hide out in a museum. Soon they find themselves mixed up in a mystery about a famous statue. The kids are really smart and that makes the story so interesting. At the end, when they are running out of money, Basil Frankweiler helps them solve the mystery of the statue and then drives them home. I liked it because it was fun, adventurous and very smart.

 

Favorite Non-Fiction Books:

 

Man's Slave Becomes God's Scientist: George Washington Carver - I liked this book because it had a lot of information about nature and botany, which I really like. I want to be a farmer when I grow up

 

George Washington Carver had a very special relationship with God. He had a lot of faith. This book is also about education and how Carver helped black farmers learn important information about farming so they could make a living for themselves after slavery. He traveled by buggy to farms all over the south. He told them about the pest that was destroying cotton crops, and he told them to plant peanuts. At first they didn't listen, but then their cotton didn't do well so they changed their minds and planted peanuts like Carver suggested. They couldn't find buyers for their peanuts so Carver invented a lot of things to make with peanuts, with God's help. He prayed for wisdom and God answered his prayer.

 

Bruchko - Bruchko was a brave missionary who loved God very much. He had a lot of faith and had to suffer a lot while he worked in the jungle with the South American Indians. God saved his life more than once and he became pack brothers with Bobby, his special friend. Many sad things happened, like Bobby's death and the death of Bruchko's fiance. Bruchko persevered through many things because of his faith in God.

 

Main Improvements This Year:

 

I improved a lot in spelling, writing and math.

 

 

End-of-Year Assessment, Student Addition

We just had our end-of-year homeschool portfolio assessment. As much as I don't like extended vacations, we will take 6 weeks off, just doing reading and Bible. I think the children would plot their runaway if I didn't give them this time.

 

Personally I think we all do better with the structure of school, and I suspect the children agree, but they would never admit it. Behavior and the stress level around here are definitely better when their free time and structured time are balanced. I think maybe this is true for adults as well? God knew what he was doing when he told us, after the fall in the garden, that our lives would now include work. Some work each day keeps some sinning away....

 

Just my two cents and it's a good thing you can't throw tomatoes at me....

 

I had both boys summarize their year (American History Year Two -  Civil War to about the 1950's. This is what Paul had to say (I'll get to Peter tomorrow):

 

Paul, age 9

The main thing I learned about this year was war. I understand better that there are two sides to every conflict. Some wars are necessary and some are not. The World Wars and the Revolutionary War were necessary, but I think the Civil War could have been avoided. Ending slavery could have occurred over more time without such loss of life.

 

The benefits of war are freedom and sometimes, land. The cost of war is death, hardship, sadness, and bloody disasters. People live sadder lives because of the memory of loss and death. The people who lived through the war go on to live better lives because of their new freedom, and the people who died will never be forgotten.

 

If the war is justified, I would be willing to give up my life. I would have fought in the Revolutionary War and the World Wars, but not in the Civil War.

 

My Favorite Fiction Books this year:

 

Johnny Tremain - Johnny became much nicer and not so prideful. At the end he was willing to give up his life for his country. He cared about something bigger than himself.

 

Half Magic - I liked this book because it was adventurous and imaginative and had a lot of humor. The writing was very good. The children really wanted their mom to get married in the end. They missed having a father in the home, after their father's death.

 

Gone Away Lake - I liked this book because it was so imaginitive. I liked the characters a lot. The children loved visiting the forgotten houses in the woods. They liked the two elderly people and having the children around made the elderly people less lonely. The children were nicer in the end and more friendly, and happy to have good friendships with their new neighbors.

 

I read 17 fiction novels, mostly historical lit. I also read 16 non-fiction books. My dad read 11 read-alouds to us (historial fiction).

 

Favorite Non-Fiction Books:

 

Fabulous Facts about the 50 States - This book has a lot of facts about the 50 states, like how many square miles the state is, the state bird and tree, and many other interesting facts.

 

Kids Almanac for the 21st Century - This book  has many interesting facts about all subjects. It has colorful graphs and many charts. It teaches you so many different things and I love the variety.

 

Two Main Improvements This Year: I think I improved a lot in reading. I understand more words than before because I read so many books. I also improved in music--now I play the Piano!

 

 

On My Knees, Clinging to Hope

Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

I'm a mother on my knees. The Lord has me right where he wants me and why am I so surprised at this?

It's the arthritis again.

Beth's joints (both knees and left ankle) didn't seem to worsen during the first 16-18 days she was off all medicine, due to her July 10 tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. The medicines increase the risk for bleeding so they have to be stopped ten days before and ten days after any surgery.

At the very end of the hiatus I thought I detected a little extra swelling, but I expected much worse. Overall I was elated, praising God for this little miracle. I even wondered if she might be close to remission (in the back of my mind).

1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

We resumed her arthritis medicines--methotrexate and an anti-inflammatory called meloxicam--on July 21. With each passing day I noticed a little more swelling, but I held onto hope, knowing the chemo drug methotrexate would kick in soon to back up the auto-immune response. Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune disease, but acts somewhat differently than the adult version.

To my horror, the worsening has continued; this week I'm begging God for mercy and healing every time I look at her knees, especially the left one, which was always her better one. The progress gained in the last six months on methotrexate has been nearly erased, except for her range of motion, which is still good. Pain and stiffness have returned in the mornings, but no limping yet and she doesn't complain.

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

We started the methotrexate last December and in March it finally became therapeutic, with even more improvement seen in June, the six month mark. Her physical therapy sessions gradually reduced from once weekly to once monthly.

She really needed the surgery, as her breathing was labored and disordered with no end in sight. The tonsils were nearly touching and weren't going down on their own, and the swollen adenoids were causing constant congestion.

But oh, that surgery was costly and God knew. He knew he wanted me on my knees. And now I'm there, interceding for Beth, clinging to all the Hope and comfort in the Bible, seeking grace like rain while my daughter's knees continue to swell.

On my knees. It's a good place to be. 

image

It's a Wonderful Life (and the movie too)

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
Monday at the ophthalmologist's office we waited two hours to see the doctor for a fifteen-minute check. All four kids were with me. This doctor sees patients from all over the world, having developed a new surgical technique for strasbismus. There were three patients ahead of us, all new and seeking treatment for complicated problems, thus the unusual wait.

 The doctor finally came in and there we were, trying to hide our exasperation, but he's got such a dynamic personality we all perked up quickly. He knew Beth got her tonsils out so he joked with her, asking where her tonsils were now. She glanced at me, hesitated, and then told him with a giggle, "They're in heaven."

The doctor and his intern got such a chuckle out of Miss Beth!

Next, he asked her if she had a pool and if she'd been swimming. She told him no, so he asked if she could dig up her own pool. "No, it's too heavy," she answered. He responded, "Do you have a dog? Maybe he can dig a big hole for you?"

She giggled at that thought and said, "You're so silly!"

Beth loved his shenanigans so much that when he released her from the examining chair, she gave him a big bear hug.

Touched, he hugged her right back and said, "That was the best part of my day."

And I don't know why, but when we left and headed for the elevator, I had tears in my eyes.

Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

My Beth is such a blessing to all of us, and I love it that she's also a blessing to her rheumatologist and ophthalmologist (she gave hugs on Friday to her other doctor and the nurse practitioner too).

The Lord has reasons for allowing health conditions in our lives, and sometimes in the case of Christians, it's to bless our caregivers in some way, perhaps? As the years pass and Beth continues to visit these offices, maybe she'll tell them about her personal faith, and all the love she offered them in the previous years might make them think twice about Jesus.

The best part was, her eyes are clear, despite the recent medication break! Even the doctor was surprised at this blessing.

Hebrews 12:28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,

Giving Thanks to God:

~ My uncle and his friend brought four refurbished bikes over yesterday, and I've got some blessed kids!

~ I took an Easter-type dress out of the closet Sunday morning and presented it to Beth as a church choice. Pleased to see it, she said, "Oh, I thought that dress was only for bake sales." (I merely giggled, but in my head I thought...Bake sales? Since when do we see bake sales at all, especially with fancy dresses on?) I don't know where she gets some of the things she says, but I hope she keeps entertaining me for years to come.

~ Beth asked me into the bathroom to keep her company. She proceeded to tell me, holding up her dress-up princess dress, "I changed my mind; I'm not going to be a candy maker when I grow up. I'm going to be a princess instead, but I know someone will be a candy maker so don't worry about that."

~ Peter's zinnias blooming in the front yard.

~ Watching the family movie It's a Wonderful Life together. My husband, quite affected, teared at the end and I knew God used it to speak to his heart. He gave us all nice hugs afterwards.

~ Yesterday the kids and I went to a ministry meeting at a large fancy house full of toys, home to three children. They had their own creek and tree house, numerous bikes, scooters, skates, a fancy swing set, tons of board games, etc. Peter mentioned how lucky these kids were so it was the perfect opportunity to explain that wealthy people are no happier than others. People get used to having a lot of stuff and quickly get tired of their things and forget about most of them. Their everyday life isn't better. My boys know these kids from church and it didn't take long for Paul to agree, "She's right Peter. Those kids aren't any happier than us." To which Peter had to admit, "Yeah, I guess you're right, they aren't."

~ Ian from the Pray for Ian blog is walking without a walker!

~ The first Mercy House Kenya baby turned two years old!

~ Making chocolate cake with all the kids, even if some are just along for the licking part.

~ All the beautiful, life-sustaining verses in the Bible.

~ The hamster got loose during a cage cleaning, so the children enlisted my help in the search. After twenty minutes in the living room and dining room, I started down the hallway and there he was, right at the end, staring up at me like he found the whole thing amusing. Most of the time I dislike having a hamster in the house, but today I have to admit he's kind of cute. He seemed happy to get back to his cage and didn't try to bolt when Peter reached for him.

~ My husband's hugs.

~ I'm thoroughly enjoying the Eastern Hemisphere Sonlight titles I'm prereading this month. Such meaningful stories, all of them.



Psalm 107:1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

What's blessing you today, friend?

In Defense of Stay-At-Home Moms Barely Making It

I don't often write about the benefits of staying at home with children, but I believe strongly in what I'm doing. Passionately, even. In some cases a woman just can't do it because of a disabled or deceased husband, because of divorce, or other complicated reasons.

God is big enough to make the impossible happen, but I'm assuming these women have already prayed for the impossible, and it hasn't come yet.

Nothing would hurt me more than having to leave my children, and I'm aware of women forced to work who drive their morning commute in tears. Not wanting to add to their burden or sorrow, I try to avoid this topic.

 But today, there's something I have to say in defense of staying at home despite a low income.

Still trying to get my grocery budget down, I came across a blog post entitled "Staying at Home With Your Kids When You Can Barely Afford It", written by a 30-year-old mother of three, and wife to a high school teacher bringing home $40,000 a year gross income. Erin, The Humbled Homemaker author, shares five ways they make it work: budget, buy used, shop sales, don't shop, choose free or cheap entertainment, supplement income with skills.

I loved the article and agree with everything Erin shared, but as I read through the comments, my heart sunk. Most were wonderful comments, but three of them I found sickening.

One woman wrote: "I wouldn't want to be one of your children."

Another woman, nastier in personality, wrote: My tips would be not to have so many children that way you don’t have to have such a boring life. No vacations, no shopping, no going out to eat, no new stuff, no cable….. how boring. I don’t pop out babies like a factory. I’ve got 1, and I can stay home on my husband’s small income without doing any of this (and no, we have NO debt). Better yet – don’t have kids in the first place!

And lastly, one woman wrote this: "Wow. Such a disappointing post. I don’t think you are doing your family any favors by crowding three children into a single bedroom, going without the experience of vacations, and not taking time for yourselves. Good luck though."

Yet another women said she didn't believe God wants us "barely getting by". He wouldn't want us struggling so.

Really? As in, struggling indicates a lack of God's blessing? This couldn't be more untrue.

What popped into my mind immediately were these verses: Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

If travel is your god, you'll feel lost without extra money. If shopping, eating out, new stuff, or cable are your gods, likewise. It was obvious to me that though these commenters were reading a Christian blog, they hadn't yet chosen Jesus over the world, for you can't serve two masters.

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

I sincerely hope that after the Holy Spirit works through this Humbled Homemaker's words, these ladies will experience a change of heart. Her post was heartfelt and compelling.

You'll never get Jesus to agree that kids need vacations, rare experiences, dinners out, larger living spaces or new stuff. To think that children would be happier going on a vacation, or going out to eat and having new stuff, verses having mom home all day is a worldview that stinks of materialism. I can't sugarcoat that and my heart aches for all who choose materialism over being home with their children.

You can choose to invest in their hearts, or you can choose to invest in things that moths and rust destroy. Either way, it's a choice (see exceptions cited above).

Sure, children will notice if everyone on the block has a scooter or a shiny new bike, and they don't. They might even complain and wonder why. They're children. We can't expect children to think like wise adults. Teaching them godly values takes over 18 years, and in the meantime we certainly shouldn't be taking our cues from them about what they need, in material terms.

So first, don't let what your children think they need dictate whether you stay home or not. They need food, shelter, clothing, and none of it needs to be fancy.

My children don't have a swing set or a pool, or anything outside except for a large yard, a soccer ball, a bat and plastic baseball, a wagon and their old bikes, which are often in disrepair. And yet, right now they're all outside playing a battlefield game in which the oldest takes the younger "wounded soldiers" to a "military hospital" in the wagon, aka a military jeep, where my second-born cares for them. Intermittently, they switch to being active soldiers in battle. They've been at it 90 minutes, having a blast.

Let me reiterate, children need food, clothing, shelter, and an imagination. The more we try to entertain them with our extra cash, the more we kill their imaginations and with it, their potential. Boredom is not the enemy; boredom is a catalyst for greatness. Satan and his materialistic lies are the enemy.

If you've never had significant time with your family over months and years, you don't know what a blessing it can be. A simple life is a gift, not a curse. I'm never bored.

Now let's turn to health insurance, which is another big and divisive issue. A few commenters wrote that they work for the health insurance, but would otherwise be at home with their children. One woman stated emphatically that they don't believe in using state health insurance.

I'm not trying to change anyone's mind about working for health insurance. There are just too many variables involved to do so, but I do want to highlight another way to look at the insurance angle.

My husband and I do not have health insurance, and even if it were offered, we couldn't afford it for six people. We eat healthfully, we don't take unnecessary risks, and we have good genes. My husband's father is still going strong at 90, and my own grandmother lived until 88. We also floss and brush responsibly, which helps with the dental bills.

In short, we try to prevent health issues; with God's grace, our prevention skills will get even better. In addition to prevention, we use sliding-fee medical clinics staffed by nurse practitioners for our health needs. We pay $25 for an office visit, $10 for routine lab tests, $50 to see a dentist, and a somewhat-reduced pharmacy cost for generic formulations. If expensive pharmaceuticals are mentioned, we reject them for alternatives or we go without.

Our decisions can be summed up this way: We believe God is bigger than the health care crisis. If He has more work for us on earth, He'll make a way to heal us should something serious arise.

My children are covered under state insurance and before you get up in arms about that, consider something you probably haven't thought of before. I homeschool my children, saving the state (with some federal money thrown in) $40,000 a year. The average school district spends about $10,000 per student per year.

That's quite a bit of money over the course of a 12-year education for 4 public-schooled children. If every mother stayed at home and homeschooled her own children, we would own China far less, though I understand not everyone can do it.

Most people don't think of public education as a government hand-out, but I do. For example, it would take property taxes from approximately 8 houses in my neighborhood to pay for one child's public education for one year. Property taxes are a drop in the bucket toward the cost of public education.

That said, we aren't planning on using medicaid for the children indefinitely. Complete independence from any government spending, outside of local infrastructure and public safety, is our goal.

FYI: I can school four children quite well for approximately $600 per year, and even less if I use libraries exclusively.

One last thought about healthcare: The healthcare system is broken in this country and that's not my fault or yours. Consider that in the past even a factory worker could pay for his children's health needs without filing bankruptcy. Most doctors aren't getting rich, but someone is and until profit stops dominating, the system will remain broken.

I know that many women work full-time not so much for material reasons, but because their faith may be too weak. Recently, I was shocked to learn that only two mothers in my 170-person church stay at home, though I don't know the facts on part-time workers.

Ask yourself, are you basing your personal faith on your own understanding, or on the promises of God's Word? Delve into the Bible and see if you don't come up with a myriad of reasons to be home, verses being absent 40+ hours a week.

Consider that in the Bible the Proverbs 31 woman contributes to her family's income by being resourceful and frugal, not by being absent for most of the day.

Going to one income can be a multi-step process. I left full-time teaching in 2002, right after my first child was born, and took a 3-year, part-time, mostly-from-home homeschooling facilitator job for a California Charter School, before moving to Ohio to stay at home full-time in 2005. We've had some spiritual failures, such as credit card use in the past, but God has been faithful to work with us and we now discern things biblically more often than not, and we're more generous.

One thing God said to me clearly early on, after my first child was born, was this: "It's not your job to financially support your family. That's your husband's job. If you each focus on your own biblical roles, you'll do fine."

We can't complain to our husbands about low incomes, even if we think they could do better; that would be sin. Nor can we resent them if they develop a heart condition and can't work anymore. Accept with gratitude what your husband can provide, and pray that he'll realize his fullest potential as the head of the family--both financially and spiritually, not so you can live at a higher standard, but so you can bring more glory to God.

Our lifestyle is not easy. We gross less than the $40,000 mentioned in the article. My husband has permanent double vision (since childhood), so some jobs are out for him (military, some machine operation, postal, driving/delivering). He also has some attention-deficit problems, but regardless of the circumstances, following Jesus is a journey for the whole family. The gospel is lived out in our homes by extending grace to one another, as God works individually in each member.  If you don't have ideal circumstances, that's just more room for God to shine instead of you.

Bless you and may God bring you solidly into His faithful arms, wanting for nothing.