Oh goodness, so many thoughts have been swirling around in this head of mine lately and so many of them would have made fabulous posts on here! But time... where does it go?? No time or energy this week to post anything since we have begun our first full week of homeschooling.
It truly has been an awesome week! Everyone has gotten off to a good start and really kept up with their reading. I have really been able to engage each child, listen to them narrate back to me on what they have read, and help them out a bit when they get stuck. Math, as always, continues to be fun yet challenging-- especially when you have a 9th grader doing algebra 2 and you feel like your algebra days passed eons ago!
The thing I like most about homeschooling our children though is the meaningful conversations we get to have. So much passes through those minds on a daily basis, and a parent is liable to miss much of it if their child is tucked neatly away at school for 8 or more hours a day. And then, if your kids are anything like mine, they are trotted off to all those afterschool activities they love and by the time you really get to sit down and talk with them about their day........... they have forgotten most of what happened already!
Well, at home I am lucky that I get to see those wheels turn as they are learning, and I get to talk with them about what they are studying and what they really think of it. That kind of interaction is priceless and I am so blessed to be able to be such a big part of their everyday lives. I am also thankful that I know everything they are learning and am able to guide them in learning things that I think are so important-- like modesty which we discussed today, or being a gentleman towards ladies for my boys. We had such an amazing discussion about both! These things interjected into our days... along with the routines of math, science and literature... are part of what make homeschooling so special and I love it.
Tomorrow we are off to our first homeschool group classes of this new school year. The kids are SO excited, they just can't wait till tomorrow! There will be some old friends and lots of new, and being that they are all social butterflies (like their momma), they can't wait to meet them. I am excited for it too and all the terrific learning it will provide. We will be doing so much! There is picture study, composer study, Shakespeare-- we will be studying King Lear which is my FAVE-- as well as nature study, writing, poetry and geography. The kids will also get to draw and the older ones will be reading and analyzing some literature as well. Lots of work but lots of fun!
Now, switching gears to my other passion........
On a separate note, I just read a wonderful and inspiring post about adoption on a family's blog this evening. It really puts adoption in a whole other light for some who have never thought about it from this perspective, definitely a Christian perspective. As she mentions in her post, most people think of adoption as a means to have a family. Those who can't have children on their own, adopt. But what about those crazies like me who already have 5 and are still passionate for more? If I had a dollar for all the times someone has asked me why on earth I would want more I would have enough money for another homestudy already!!
I really think she explains it well and helps us look at it from God's perspective. These are His children out there, homeless and unloved. Don't you think He wants homes and families for them? And isn't providing a family for a child more important than a fancy car or a closet full of new clothes? Why shouldn't we desire a large family? No one balks about someone buying a new house or a beautiful new flat screen when they already have two... so why wonder when someone wants to save a child? Where do our priorities lie?
She goes on to talk about how even if we cannot provide a home for an orphan ourselves, we certainly can donate to help someone who can. Every little bit helps and let me tell you, adoption costs a pretty penny. And most of the time those out there doing it don't have tons of money lying around. Yet they still feel called to give of themselves in order to save the life of a child, and they fund raise and sacrifice so that they can bring those little ones home.
That, in my opinion, is truly letting people see Christ in you...... both the families that adopt children and the families that give so that others can save them are showing the world what is most important. People not things. Love makes a life. Giving of yourself shows your heart.
And let me tell you, these things are also some of the most important lessons I strive to teach my children each day. I hope to teach by living them out, not just talking about them.
Hopefully someday soon we will be able to call upon the love and generosity of others so that we might make the life of another child a better one. Read the article linked below and let me know what you think.
http://thecheerfulgiver.wordpress.com/
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