Seeing everyday life as a miracle
This week is one of the most inspiring weeks EVER when it comes to homeschooling. It is the Not-Back-To-School Blog Hop at iHomeschoolNetwork.com. This particular week of the month-long hop is Home School Room week. They have hundreds of homeschool bloggers linking up to show their home school rooms. The organization and creativity of this group of women ASTOUNDS me. Most of these mamas have been homeschooling for years, and they have figured out what it takes to make a school room run like clock work. They have tips and tricks for organization and space planning that I never would dream up on my own.
Last year as I looked through the posts during school room week, I came across one that would become my inspiration for renovating our own home school room. Now listen, you an home school anywhere. For five years now we have done school in the den, in our bedrooms, in the car, at church, at the library, and just about anywhere else we wanted to go. We just do our best to make it work no matter where we are. However, it really works best to have a dedicated space at home to store books, papers, supplies, etc. We use a section of our finished basement as our school room. Though we are grateful for a dedicated space, it was pretty pitifully decorated. I used an old oversized desk that had almost no drawer space and a sharp corner on which I banged my knee every time I turned my chair. Mary Anneliese sat at a six foot folding table in a metal folding chair. We had one closet we used for storage, but the problem is that it is storage for many other things besides home school items. We were constantly crawling over rolls of wrapping paper and boxes of tax records in order to get to the workbooks. We did this for five years. It’s a wonder my children learned anything at all.
So last year as I perused the beautiful, well organized home school room ideas, I got the itch to renovate our space. I could come up with a thousand ways to rationalize spending the money on it, but the truth of the matter is you can’t get blood from a turnip and there was no blood in our turnip for school room furniture. But I’ve tried to teach my girls that when you want something badly enough you’ll find a way to make it happen. We sold a few old pieces of furniture we had around the house and built up the money in our furniture painting envelope (we’re very sophisticated accountants around here). After several months of really hard work by MA and me, we had enough money to buy a few pieces for the new room. And having those few pieces gave us the incentive to keep plugging away. On our last trip to Atlanta, we made the final purchases, and our home school room make-over is now complete!
We are in love with this space and are so grateful to have it. We started school last week, so we’ve spent a lot of time here recently. We couldn’t be happier with how much room we have for school work and how much storage space to keep all our STUFF. There are 33 cubbies in those book shelves, and we need every one of them to stay organized. I (heart) the baskets to hide the smaller, messier items like loose paper and crayons. Otherwise, those things take over and make your room look trashed all the time.
Almost all of the furniture came from Ikea, including the tables and chairs. We wanted a nice, large work surface so that we could each have our own space to spread out. We are so happy to all fit well around our big table.
These baskets from Target work perfectly with large Mason jars to keep scissors, pencils, rulers, markers, etc. within arm’s reach, but still tucked neatly away.
Though we are still looking for one more piece of artwork to complete the top of the book shelves, we added a few vintage items for fun. Jonathan’s dad gave the girls his old microscope and lab set. We haven’t opened it yet to see if it’s still functional, but I love the metal casing enough to keep it just for looks.
We also added a globe which I received from Santa when I was in elementary school. Don’t ask. Santa must have been having a hard time coming up with ideas that year. However, my pack-rat tendencies paid off because we use this thing at least weekly as we study history.
The Pottery Barn rug was a purchase on Mountain Brook Trading. I don’t know if you have local facebook trading pages, but I have bought and sold a TON of stuff on ours for some really great deals. I believe it was $75 because it needed to be cleaned. Our sweet neighbor let us borrow her steam cleaner, and it was soon as good as new. I am waiting on the upholsterers to finish the cushions for the rocker in the corner. I found it at a thrift store and painted it white. I paid $10 for the rocker, $12 for the paint, and $150 for the reupholstering. Something doesn’t seem right about that. However, it will be nice to have a rocker in the room because my little Pitter Patter usually sits in my lap for reading time. Not gonna lie, it’s one of the best parts of my day.
We absolutely adore our new space. It has already been so handy. However, no matter what your home school room looks like, the best part is looking across the table and seeing the ones who make it all worth it…
It’s back-to-school time around here. We started our homeschool year this week, and many of our public and private school friends are beginning again this week. Back-to-school time can be just as busy or even more so for parents as it is for children. As moms, one of the best ways we can serve our children during this time is by praying for them. Whether your children are excited or fearful, unsure or confident, a good student or one who struggles, your prayers can make a world of difference for them. As always, praying God’s word over them is a powerful and effective way of standing against the work of the Enemy in their lives. Here are a few back to school prayers straight from scripture to help guide you as you lift your children before the Lord:
Philippians 4:6-7 – Lord, I pray that my children will not be anxious for anything as they go back to school. Call them to Yourself in prayer so that they will submit their requests to You with thanksgiving. Grant them Your peace in their hearts and minds in such great measure that they are blown away.
Colossians 3:23 – Father, help my children to understand that whatever work they do is not to please teachers or even to please their parents, but it is ultimately to please You, their Heavenly Father. They work for You and not for anyone else.
2 Corinthians 12:9 – Lord, grant that my children may rest in the fact that Your grace is sufficient to carry them through whatever comes their way. When challenges arise that are too much for them, You are carrying them by Your great strength.
Philippians 4:8 – Jesus, when we compare ourselves to others, it is easy to focus on ways we don’t measure up instead of focusing on what You have made us to be. In those moments, remind my children to focus on what is true, what is noble, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and of good report. Lord, if there is anything good or praiseworthy, help her to meditate on those things.
Isaiah 43:2 – Lord, school can be overwhelming. Turn my children’s attention to the fact that when they pass through the waters, You are with them. When they go through rivers, they will not be overtaken. When they must walk through fire, You will be with them and will protect them from being scorched.
Isaiah 54:17 – Father, the Enemy is always on the hunt to harm us. I speak Your word over my child that says no weapon formed against them shall prosper and every tongue that rises against them in judgement shall be condemned. It is their heritage as Your servants and Your righteousness will protect them.
Matthew 5:9 – Jesus, Your teach us that those who make peace in troublesome situations will be called Your sons. May my children be instruments of Your peace in situations full of strife and arguing.
Psalm 133:1 – Lord, according to Your word, it is good and pleasant when Your children live together in unity. Father, give them godly friends at school with whom they are united. Provide friends who share the same beliefs and interests so that they will have strength in numbers to stand against the schemes and temptations of the Enemy.
Matthew 5:6 – Jesus, You teach us that You will bless those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. In this world there are many distractions that my children could follow. PLace in them such a hunger and thirst for Your ways that they aren’t interested in the ways of the world. Consume their thoughts, hearts, and minds with Yourself that they might be filled with You.
Proverbs 1:5 – Father, Your word tells us that a wise man will hear and increase learning and that a man of understanding will attain wise counsel. Lord, give my children godly teachers who can provide wise counsel and inspire them to search after learning. And one they have learned, give them understanding in how to apply what they know. Make them wise.
Matthew 12:35 – Jesus, You tell us that a good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, while an evil man out of the evil in his heart brings forth evil things. I have tried to store up good in my child’s heart. Help them to be ministers of good so that they reap goodness from others. Quickly show them ways in which they might be sowing evil so that they can correct their ways. Give them wisdom in dealing with other children whose ways aren’t full of goodness.
Romans 12:2 – Father, this world is not our final home. Help my children not to be conformed to this world. Help them to set their minds on the fact that we live this life for a greater purpose than entertaining ourselves. Grant that they could be so gospel-minded that they aren’t swayed by the ways of the ungodly, but that they would always live with a crystal clear focus on winning this world to Your kingdom.
Precious readers, I stand in agreement with you in prayer that God wants GOOD for your children. He created them for the purpose of loving Him and serving His people. I pray with you that they would follow Him all of their days and in so doing find protection, joy, peace, and life.
School started this week for the students of the Hill Preparatory School for Girls. The girls were ready and so was I. Summer was fun and restful, but we were ready to get back into our school groove. We have finalized our homeschool curriculum choices for both girls. Yes, “both” – as in, I have TWO students this year. MA is entering 6th grade – A MIDDLE SCHOOLER!!! – and Patterson will be in Kindergarten – KINDERGARTEN!!! It’s a big year for both of them, and I’m thrilled to be along for the ride. When God clearly issued the call to us to homeschool, I had no idea the fun we’d have. It’s such a blessing to me to be with my girls all day every day. It’s a big challenge, no doubt, but we’ve found our rhythm and adore our time together each day.
I feel like we refine our choices every year. This year I’m loosening up on a few places we’ve been too rigorous and clamping down all the more tightly on what we feel is really important. The entire purpose of educating our children (whether through homeschool, public school, or whatever!) is so that they can clearly communicate the gospel of Jesus in whatever circumstance and to whatever group God places them. After all, the best education in the world does not mean a thing if they aren’t regularly discussing THE Main Thing. So with that thought in mind, we have tweaked a little this year. On to our homeschool curriculum…
Let’s start with our 6th grade girl:
Math: Saxon is still our #1 choice for math. We love it. It repeats and repeats and repeats (see what I did there?) so that there really isn’t any room for missing concepts. We’ll be on Math 7/6
this year. Since Saxon jumps around a little, I might take a little homeschooling liberty and teach a complete concept at once. Novel idea, I know.
Bible: We are continuing on our journey through the Bible. We started reading straight from the Bible and discussing the text when MA was in first grade. We’ve made it through Ezekiel and will start Daniel next week. I might have to do a little research, as there is so much prophecy in Daniel. Hoping my student and I can sort it all out. I’d love it if we could finish the books of prophecy this year so that we can move on to the New Testament next year. We’ll see.
I know I’ve said it before, but reading the Bible through has been one of the best parts about homeschooling. It has given us such a fabulous overview of God’s story, but it has also given us time to pick apart details and process them. As the teacher, I’ve had to be on my game. When MA asks questions, she’s not looking for a Sunday school answer. She wants the real explanation, so I’ve had to really dig in to the scriptures to prepare myself. Best bible study EVER.
And because I want my girls to have God’s word stored up in their hearts, we will continue our scripture memory program. We are firm believers in committing God’s word to memory so that it becomes a part of who we are, how we treat people, and what our purpose is. I have talked at length about why we study scripture and the method we use that works best for us. I’d love to encourage you, even if you aren’t homeschoolers, to regularly participate in Bible reading and scripture memory with your family. We so often think our children will just absorb God’s word if we take them to church, but we have to be purposeful and hold them accountable or it doesn’t happen.
Science: We have been quite pleased with Apologia’s science curriculum, so we will be using it again this year. It is a bible-based science curriculum that is not only scientifically accurate, but it presents science from a biblical point of view. Our next book is Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology
Grammar/Writing: This is a tricky one. We have used Rod & Staff grammar books for the last few years and we honestly loved their resources. But as good as their resources are, MA hates grammar. She just does. So this year I’ve decided to back off on having a formal grammar curriculum and let her write a lot more. After all, good writing is the aim of studying grammar in the first place. And I so desire for her to know how to eloquently and clearly communicate what she wants to say that I’m excited to focus on sharpening her writing skills. I will more than likely use the Student Writing Intensive 
Spelling: We have moved through learning the spelling rules, so we will now focus on commonly misspelled words. Our history text, science text, and writing mistakes will be the source of our spelling lists. We’ll also pull a few from lists of commonly misspelled words.
History: While we love Story of the World and will continue to use it in the second half of our school year, I have chosen to begin the year with an in-depth study of Greek and Roman history. Even though we have covered those eras twice now, I still feel like there is so much more for us to learn. We have already started digging into Roman history with our study of “Horatius at the Bridge.” It has been a fabulous resource from Memoria Press. After we’re done with that, we will move to Memoria Press’s The Book of the Ancient Greeks
Latin: Visual Latin was our best friend last year, and we will be using it again this year. MA found their videos to be much more engaging and interesting than learning from a textbook. Imagine that! We will use the Latin versions of Olivia
Fine Arts: We are so sad to say that after much consideration and prayer, we will be leaving the Briarwood Ballet this year. We are grateful for the years of instruction in ballet and godly life that MA has received at Briarwood. This year marks the point at which she would enter their very rigorous intensive program, and she doesn’t want to give up her other activities in order to pursue a career in ballet. She’s just not ready to decide on a career path at this point in life, so we are walking away. She won’t be giving up ballet, however, as she will take from another local ballet studio that doesn’t ask students to give up all other activities in order to dance with their program. This will also allow her to sing in the sixth grade choir at church on Wednesday nights. We will attend as many theater productions as we can, usually about 5 per year. Still working on a way to incorporate more music and painting/drawing into our days, but right now our days are full.
PE: MA is once again playing on a competitive soccer team, which will give her about six hours each week of playing and practice time. She will be running her little patootie off, not that she has anything to run off. She has also been asked to be a regular sub for another competitive soccer team, so I believe she will be getting plenty of exercise.
And now for Kindergarten:
I’m probably way more laid back about kindergarten than most people. I really don’t get too worked up about formal curricula. I have a workbook I will use to teach basic math skills. I will use my Saxon Math manipulatives kit for hands-on learning. We will read, read, and read more. The library is our home away from home, as we go two or three times each week to check out more books. We read fairy tales, bible story books, science books, biographies, story books, and any other kinds of books that look interesting. We will include Patterson in our theater trips this year since she is finally old enough to actually enjoy the plot. She will take a tumbling class weekly and play soccer. We’ll do lots of play dates and church activities. Like I said, it’s a loose plan, but one that works for us.
I know that sounds like a lot of educational planning, but y’all I am not kidding about being more laid back about things this year. I’m realizing that my time with these girls is so short that I can’t spend all my time focusing on book work. If I do, I will neglect the time I should be spending on building character and giving them a vision to reach the nations for Christ. I’ve said it many times, but I really do mean it: If we end the year with two girls who love the Lord, have a desire to serve to His people, and live life with kindness, joy, and humility then I will consider it a very successful year. Even the best homeschool curriculum can’t teach that.
If you are looking for curriculum choices for our previous years, see our fifth grade year, fourth grade year, third grade year, and our second grade year.
PS: All links are Amazon affiliate links. Help a homeschool mama pay for some books, y’all 🙂
The girls and I have had a wonderful first day of school today. MA started the day with soccer camp, which she will participate in for the next three days, and Pitter Patter started her kindergarten day with a little reading and practicing numbers. Good stuff.
We are using several new resources this year, as we do each year. Instead of jumping right into our history curriculum I have decided to dig a little deeper into Greek and Roman history. Although we have studied the Greek and Roman empires twice now, I still feel like there is so much to learn that we’ve barely scratched the surface. We used Memoria Press‘s “Famous Men of Rome” last year as a supplement to our “Story of the World” book, so I searched their website for a few more supplements to use this year. I gotta tell ya, I love their classical studies resources. I feel like they probably have the most extensive and thorough materials for middle and upper grade students available anywhere. I’ve used their “Intro to Classical Studies” set for a couple of years. One of our favorite stories from “Famous Men of Rome” was the story of Horatius, so I decided to start with their “Horatius at the Bridge” text.
I love the story of this classic poem. Every ancient society told stories, songs, and poems as a way of handing down their history. With no formal alphabet or way of writing, they told stories verbally. Most of the stories were eventually written down to serve as a permanent record of events. However, we don’t have any ballads from the ancient Romans. We believe, of course, that they existed, but there is no record of them now. In 1842, Englishman Thomas Babington Macaulay wrote this poem in the style that would have been popular in the Roman Empire times to record the story of Horatius and his battle against the Etrurians. Macaulay thought the poem was a trifle, but it has become a classic that students are still reading and memorizing over 150 years later.
Memoria Press’s book includes the text of the poem in its entirety (70 stanzas) as well as background history, definitions, student guide, maps, history and a test. The book is available for $14.95 from the Memoria Press website. It really is all you need in order to teach students the poem. We started today with the background info. We reread the chapter from “Famous Men of Rome” on Horatius to refresh our memory of who he was. Then we jumped right in with the first three stanzas of the poem. I chose to study the poem with this resource because I wanted to fully immerse us in the culture and writing of the Roman Empire. This resource DELIVERS! We learned more today about the geography of Rome, which is a huge part of understanding the Roman Empire and how it rose and fell, than we have in two years of reading from a textbook.
I can truly say without hesitation that we would use this resource for a fun historical read even if we weren’t studying it as part of our history curriculum. It has me so excited about studying it the next few weeks and then moving on to some of the other Greek and Roman history guides. (More on those later.)
Memoria Press sent me “Horatius at the Bridge” to review for this post. All opinions about their book are entirely my own. I really do like it that much. 🙂
Art is important to our family as an expression of worship. God is a creative God, and since we are made in His image we can use creativity as a way to honor Him. And summer is a terrific time for extended art projects. I encourage you to spend some time this summer creating art with your children that honors our Creator. I’m sharing 10 MORE Summer Art Projects at How to Homeschool My Child today. Join me there…
For more art ideas, check out our 10 Summer Art Ideas for Kids and 10 More Summer Art Projects for Kids.
We’ve been working on a lot of art projects around here the last few days. We love to use art as an expression of worship and as an act of creativity. God is a creative God, and we are made in His image. We should be creative, too, and use our creativity to honor Him.
This project is super easy and can be adapted for use with almost any age. All you need is a background page, a photo, and strips cut from paper with characteristics of the child.
I took the photo with my phone and changed it to black and white using PicMonkey.com. Then I put it in a Microsoft Word document to adjust the size. We then cut it out with scissors.
The background paper can be almost anything you want. We painted the paper blue and then added the polka dots with a circular sponge. You can paint any design you want, as this is an expression of the child’s creativity.
My daughter made up her own phrases about herself. Smaller children might need help with this one. The most important concept here is for the child to grasp that each of these characteristics are unique traits or talents that God has given them to accomplish His purposes through them. And we end it with “I am God’s Child” because that is the foundation that we are building on. No matter how He has created us, we are all His children when we believe on the saving power of Jesus.
One of my big girl’s favorite summer activities is a camp called “Created for a Purpose.” It is a fabulous day camp hosted just for girls by a local church. They spend a week celebrating all the many good plans God has for them. They talk about how God created girls with talents and characteristics and interests that are uniquely their own because He needs them to fulfill His purpose in their own way. Each day they work on a project that is very “girly” and fun.
This rainbow project is one that I will hang on the wall in the girls’ bathroom because, not only is it cute, but it has truths I want them to see everyday. The rainbow is a sign between God and His people. When God makes a covenant or promise to us, His promises are YES and AMEN. (For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” ascends to God for his glory. 2 Corinthians 1:20.) And we know when He promises us something, He will not go back on it. (God isn’t a man that he would lie, or a human being that he would change his mind. Has he ever spoken and not done it, or promised and not fulfilled it? Numbers 23:19) I want them to know that truth in their spirits so that when the devil speaks lies to them, they will hold fast to the Word of God stored within them and be able to discern His voice.
So on to our project. First you need to gather your materials. You will need a board cut to the size you want, acrylic paint, bottle caps (they used some vintage and some spray painted in rainbow colors), small nails, a Sharpie marker, and about 2 feet of ribbon with which to hang it.
Step 1: Paint the board. We wanted the grain of the wood to show through, so we watered down the paint. However, you can paint it any way you like. Allow to dry fully before moving on to next step.
Step 2: Nail bottle caps to form the “spine” of your rainbow. Be sure to use proper order of colors. You know the ROYGBIV mnemonic, right? Well, we didn’t use indigo, but you get the idea. Simply nail in one bottle cap of each color to form a vertical line down the middle of your painting. Start with the red bottlecap at the top and end with the purple (or violet) bottlecap at the bottom. You want tome space between the purple bottle cap and the bottom of the board so that you have room for your rainbow to arch.
Step 3: Fill in the rest of the rainbow beginning with bottom row and moving up. After the spine is in place, finish out the purple row. Then move on to the blue row. Going in this order will keep you from having a cattywompus rainbow. (Sorry, I slipped into southernese.) When finished you should have something that resembles this…
Step 4: Using the Sharpie, add the wording around the edges. You can use whatever promises from God’s Word that you want your child to remember. Ours says, “God’s promises: He always loves me – He will always be with me – He will give me the things I need – He forgives me – He will guide me through tough times – He will keep me safe.”
Step 5: Add ribbon to hang. Using two more of the nails, tack each end of the ribbon onto the back of the piece to hang. You will want to add ribbon close to the top so that the piece doesn’t kick out from the wall when hung.
I pray that as your children work on this piece they will be reminded of God’s faithfulness toward His children. He is able and will keep His promises!
Just in case I haven’t convinced you to BUY your own copy of A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet by talking about it here or here, I am giving away a copy. And this is not just any copy of the book, this one will be signed by Sophie Hudson herself! Can you even believe it?
There are a few ways to enter, as you can see by the handy Rafflecopter doodly-doo below. Giveaway will open on Thursday and close on Saturday.
Perhaps you aren’t the giveaway-entering type and just want to go ahead and purchase a copy. You may click on this picture for a Kindle copy:
or you may click on this picture for the paperback:
(Those are Amazon affiliates links, by the way. If enough of you buy a book, maybe I can take Sophie to lunch and let her know how much you enjoyed reading, mkay?)
It’s book release day for my friend and yours, Sophie (Better known around the interwebs as BooMama.) Sophie was kind enough to send me an advance release copy of the book to read, and y’all… all I can say is I sure do hope she writes a thousand more! A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet is a hilarious and touching and sentimental and – Did I say HILARIOUS? – account of life in a southern family. It celebrates all that is good and right about living in our neck ‘o the woods. I can’t wait for you all to read it so we can discuss. Here’s a little something to get you started…
Now y’all get to your local Books-A-Million, Barnes & Noble, Lifeway, or what have you and buy a copy.
PS – If you are in the Birmingham area, I received word yesterday that Sophie will be doing a book signing at Books-A-Million at Brookwood Village on Saturday, June 15th at 3:00. For my Mississippi peeps, she will be signing books on Thursday, June 6th at the Liberty Shop in Meridian (3:00-6:00) and on Friday, June 7th at Lemuria in Jackson from 4:00-6:00.
Thank you so much for visiting us at The Hill Hangout. I’m Ashley, the chief cook and bottle washer around here. I’m married to Jonathan, a great guy who loves the Lord, loves his family, and pretty much lays down his life for us daily. Yep, he’s a keeper. Together we have two not-so-little-anymore girls, Mary Anneliese (18) and Patterson (12). They are full of life and laughs and are the heartbeat of our home. Read More
