Homemade Princess Playwear for Disney World!

One of the wonderful things about home education is being able to work our schedule around traveling.  My daughter will be going with her Grandparents to Disney World in a few weeks and I won't need to pull her out of school and she won't miss any of her work.  

Gage's Mom came across an awesome idea to create functional dress up play wear to wear to Disney World!  I wanted to share this idea for all of you wonderful people who know how to SEW ;) 

She made a Disney princess themed dress for each day they will be at Disney World! They even have tags that say, “Grandma made it”!  There is also a Minnie Mouse dress too that is amazing.  I’ve never really been a huge fan of the princess dresses they sell in the store.  They are scratchy, you need to wear them over clothes, and they are expensive!  This is such a great idea for some fully functional princess clothing that your little girl can wear anywhere! I’ll be sure to share some photos of my daughter wearing them as soon as they get back from their trip.

Sewing is something I've tried a time or two in my life but I still could not sew something on my own.  I think maybe in a year or two I'll start doing some sewing lessons with Zoe so that we can both learn!

As soon as I find it I'll post a link to a post that inspired her to make these as well as any other helpful tips on how you can make them on your own. 

Dealing with Another Job Loss

There are so many other things that I wanted to include in Zoe's school room  and so many more books and educational games I'd love to get for her but for now they will have to wait, and that's fine.

Unfortunately my husband lost his job again a couple weeks ago.   This is the fourth time this has happened. Whenever a company can't afford to keep him anymore... we end up right back here.  He just hasn't had good "luck" with jobs.  It's a shame too because he's great at what he does.  

A couple good things have come out of all of these previous job loss experiences, we have learned not to worry as much as we used to and we are so much better at trusting God.  

Being without an income definitely has it's scary moments though.  Every once in a while I am putting things away (we're still unpacking...) and I start to wonder if I'm just going to have to re-pack everything that I just got out. 

God has blessed us in more ways than I can count during this past year though.   

This year has been a rough one - two job losses, all while dealing with trying to pay for childbirth, our brand new mortgage payment and house taxes.  

So many people have been so sweet to us though.  

There have been times where we simply did NOT have the money to pay our mortgage and what do you know, $300 randomly shows up in our mailbox from a dear friend...  

I didn't think anyone in my family was going to get to meet our new daughter this year but, much to our surprise, one family member randomly sent us the exact amount that we needed to make the trip to CA happen.  

Last week I was planning cheap meatless meals because we couldn't afford meat anymore... that same night our neighbors showed up with two bags full of meat to put in our freezer.   

This week, a similar thing happened, we went through all our food this week (except for all the meat in the freezer) and had nearly nothing left and our family members decided to bless us with a ton of groceries. 

Also - our new neighbor that moved in two weeks ago called and asked if we'd like some fresh vegetables and garlic bread. 

It's amazing how God works.

We're trusting God daily.  Praying that Gage will find some work soon.  We also know that no matter what happens, God will provide us with exactly what we need at the exact time that we need it.  And then, maybe one day we'll be able to help out other families in need! 

Preparing for Our First Year of Home Education!

This week has been a busy one for me.  For the past five years I have not met many new friends and acquaintances.  It became too difficult to try and get involved in anything when Zoe was little so I kind of just...stopped. Not entirely of course but overall most of our weeks on the calendar have been completely empty.  It was nice, in a way, to not have a list of places that I needed to be or people to meet up with every day, but over the years I've really missed having bit a social life.  Aside from the rare play date here and there, the only times I ever really spent time with friends was when I'd travel to California once or twice a year.

This year, thanks in large part to Zoe starting Kindergarten, I am meeting new people left and right!  I've met and talked with more new people in the last 2 months than I have in the past 2 years. Between the homeschool co-op, various homeschool gatherings here and there, meeting neighbors in our new neighborhood, and we even have a new neighbor that just moved in next to us.  It's good... it really is.  I really need the interaction with other adult human beings.  ;)

I'm looking forward to getting to know all of these new people and getting re-acquainted with older friends too.

I'm excited about teaching Kindergarten this year! So far this is what we've done to get ready for the school year:

- We moved everything out of the "office" in our house to turn it into a school room.
- I spent 2-3 full days researching curriculum at the "last minute" because it always seemed so daunting to me.  Turns out I found her curriculum pretty darn quickly and I'm still happy with my choices.  We'll see how well each one pans out.
- We painted the walls of Zoe's new school room yellow and turquoise (Zoe's request)
- We bought Zoe a new desk and a new chair.
- We moved a ton of stuff back into the room, including my desk with my own piles and piles of papers that need to be filed or thrown away.
- I've been spending day after day organizing it all.  

I now have two weeks to complete her school room... I think I can do that ;-)

Only two weeks left until she starts Kindergarten.  My first little baby is starting Kindergarten.  It just seems so unbelievable how quickly the last 5 years have gone.  I want to just live in denial and always believe that my little girl is only 2 or 3 years old and she'll forever be my precious little toddler.  

It's so cliche to even say these things, but the next 5 will go by even faster.  

I cherish each moment with my little girls.  These years are going to be over before I know it.

So off I go to live in denial at least for another two weeks.

Why We Decided on Home Education - Part 3

In part one of this little blog series I wrote about my likes and dislikes when it comes to the public school system. I did the same for home education in part two.  In this post I want to list the three main reasons we chose the way that we did.

1. A Love of Learning is Very Important to Me

I want my children to have a love for learning from the start.  I was a student who excelled in school but I never really enjoyed the work.  I can’t remember many instances of any of my peers truly enjoying the work either.  Much of the work was tedious and unnecessary. The homeschool community provides children with fun educational choices they wouldn't find in public school.  Many home educated children actually enjoy what they are learning because much of it it is interest led and it is also done at the child’s own pace. I believe children learn the best when they are having fun.  The more interesting, fun, and strange, the better.  That is how memories are made. They need to have a real interest in what they are learning otherwise it is not going to stay with them in the long run.

2. The Family and Flexibility Factor

We chose to do home educate because it is what works best for our family at this point in time.  To say family is very important to me is an understatement.  Quite frankly there is little anyone could do or say to keep me from spending as much time with my family (both immediate and extended) as possible.

All of my extended family as well as most of my husband’s extended family lives across the country in sunny San Diego where we grew up.  Because of this, we make a point to save every penny possible to take at least one (if not two) trips to California each year.  These trips happen every 7-8 months and when we go, we are usually there for at least two weeks.  This doesn't exactly fit with the public school schedule.  By educating at home, I am able to schedule accordingly with our travels.  

3. To Encourage Love and Discourage Segregation

The final deciding point in why I wanted to home educate is actually for social reasons.  I am not a fan of cliques, I am not a fan of misguided and false labeling, and I am not a fan of bullying.

Unfortunately the public schools tend to foster a love for segregation and as a result each generation becomes more and more hateful.  In this “age of the internet”, hate is at an all time high.  Take one glance at a Twitter or Facebook feed.  This world loves to hate and loves to ridicule. Christians are ridiculed, gays are ridiculed, homeschoolers are ridiculed, working Moms are ridiculed, stay at home Moms are ridiculed, smart people, rich people, poor people, obese people, conservatives, liberals, atheists... all ridiculed, all the time. The list goes on and on and on.  There is nothing right about this. It is my mission in life to teach my kids to love.

Regardless of whether my kids’ natural personalities are shy or outgoing, I want them to love social gatherings of any kind and I want them to grow up without any superficial ideas of superiority among their peers.  Contrary to what you see in the movies and on TV, Home educated kids often develop excellent social skills and they are able to talk to anyone regardless of their age, beliefs, or social status.  This is in large part because they are never separated into groups that were created based on entirely false perceptions.

I believe one of the best ways to help my kids out in this area is to allow them to grow up without all of the completely unnecessary and frivolous cliques.  It’s important to learn early on that the “popular” kid is no more important than anyone else, the “geek” is not a “freak” that you should avoid, the “outcasts” are most likely people you’d really enjoy talking to, and most importantly - the people who believe differently than you are not to be ridiculed or hated.  

I believe children should be taught to interact with, appreciate, and love all people.  This should be taught by the parents and taught in school.  Building character, tolerance, and teaching kids about proper discernment is not a priority in the public school anymore and it should be.  The fact that these things are neglected in public school is, I believe, the reason cliques exist and the reason so many kids care more about their social life than they do about their own education.

I want my children to grow up knowing how to love and also knowing what is actually important.  

My Decision Based on My Own Convictions:

After considering all of my beliefs and concerns, I came to a pretty obvious conclusion that home education is the right thing for us.  While attending public school would be perfectly fine, I believe home education offers my kids more that will help them in the long run.  It is also a good fit for us as a family due to my current “stay-at-home Mom” status and our frequent trips to visit family.

Above all, I have chosen to educate my kids at home with the hope that they will develop a love of learning that will last into adulthood and to rid them of a childhood filled with segregation and worry and instead fill their childhood with as many real relationships as possible, as many learning opportunities as possible, and most importantly I want them to have fun and enjoy childhood.

Back to Part 2

Back to Part 1

Why We Decided on Home Education - Part 2

In my first post in this series I talked about all of the things I like and dislike about the public school system and in this post I’ll share my likes and dislikes of home education.

Deciding to homeschool was not an easy one.   There were many pros but there were also some cons and it took me a few years to figure out exactly why I would or would not choose to homeschool.  

I’ll admit there aren't many cons to home education but there are a few that I have considered that are important to think about.

1.  I would like my kids to have a wide variety of friendships, not only Christian friends. The vast majority of homeschooled children (at least right now) are conservative Christians.  Thankfully that is changing. I say thankfully because I believe everyone can benefit from home education, not only Christians. For my kids, who will be growing up in a conservative Christian household, being exposed to all sorts of people with different beliefs is going to be a bit more of a challenge. Don’t get me wrong, we can and we will find ways to do it, but it’s not as easy as simply going to school every day where there are hundreds of kids with hundreds of different beliefs and backgrounds.

2. Public schools NEED more Christians in them.  That one is self explanatory. This is a big one! We need more people in schools that are willing to stand up for Christ and to be examples of Christ as well.

3. Stepping into the homeschool community you have to prepare yourself for dealing with a lot of hatred from both pro-homeschool and pro-publicschool parents. Going into this, you have to know that you cannot please everybody.  Someone will be offended by your decision, no matter what the decision happens to be.  People in this home school community are very defensive over their choices. The Mom who homeschools often feels the need to "defend" her choice by unnecessarily bashing the Moms who don’t choose home education, or Moms who use the wrong curriculum or teaching methods, or by publicly criticizing women for working outside the home rather than staying home to teach their children.  And likewise - the pro public school Mom has the same problem.  She also resorts to nasty bashing and petty name calling in an effort to prove her point. She will criticize the stay at home Mom of "not living up to her full potential".  It’s a lot like being back in elementary school.  This community is very opinionated and it can get to be very harsh.  It was without a doubt my biggest turnoff about homeschooling when was first considering what we should do.  I actually went through a little grieving period when I thought that there was no way I could home school after realizing this fact. I was so afraid of all of this negativity and pointless (and often unfounded) arguments. I realized pretty quickly though that no matter what my decision is, I will offend someone.  It’s sad, but it’s reality and it’s something that we will have to live with unfortunately for a long time to come.

Aside from those three points, I really do LOVE home education.  ;-)

The positives truly do outweigh the negatives in this situation.  Here are a "couple" of reasons I love it. Yes, love.

1. More family time! I get to spend every day with my girls and they will get to spend more time with each other. That is especially important to me since there is a 5 year age gap between them.
2. Options! So. Many. Options! I don’t think you realize exactly how many options there are for homeschoolers.  You really can personalize each individual child’s learning experience to suit their own maturity level and learning capabilities perfectly.    If one thing is not working, you can go ahead try something else!
3. Kids can learn at their own pace.  Can I get a hallelujah on this one?
4. There is no need for busywork during school.
5. No homework! Everything they need to learn is accomplished during the day.  It is senseless to bombard children with more busywork to do after school is over.
6. Religious freedom, no need to be politically correct, and true freedom of speech.   They can talk about their faith, they can learn about Jesus, they can say they disagree with a public figure, and they can openly talk about controversial things, and they do not need the fear of being “kicked out” of school for these things.  
7. We can take “school” with us wherever we go; on the road, on the plane, in other cities, states, countries... we can just go and we can learn as we go!
8. The kids will interact with kids of all ages, not only their own age group.  
9. They can learn the same exact information they would in public school, and then some.
10. They can learn things that they want to learn about as much of their education is led by their own interests.

Continue to Part 3

Go back to Part 1

Why We Decided on Home Education - Part 1

So why did we decide on home education?  Well...

Basically... I like it more than I like other forms of education.

I love learning.
I love teaching.
I love that it gives me more time with my girls.

That is the gist of it, really.

I’m already here, I’m home, I’m already teaching them daily, I know the benefits to home education, so why not?

I want to start out by saying that our decision was not based on a fear that public school will have an influence on how our children "turn out". Whether or not our kids will grow up with faith and values is not in question here.

I know that regardless of whether or not my children attend public school, they will learn all about Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection.  They will learn the Gospel.  They will learn about theology, morality, history, science, virtues, and etiquette.   All of these bases and more are covered because we are their parents and we are not going to ignore what scripture has called us to do as parents.

The real questions I had to ask were:

1. Where and how should my girls learn reading, writing, and arithmetic?
2. Does home education offer my girls real benefits that will help them in the long run?
3. What are my reasons for wanting to educate at home and not in a public school?
4. Is public school necessary for our family at this point in time?

My Thoughts on Public School vs Home Education

I believe that public school is a blessing and not something that should ever be taken for granted.  Public education is free, the teachers are often amazing, and learning in a group setting every day does have it's advantages. Public school provides families with the option for both parents to work if needed and it makes it easy for kids to meet and interact with a wide range of people.

Despite the fact that I was the most shy person in the entire school, I loved much of my time spent in public school.  Not all of it, obviously, or I wouldn't be writing these posts (hah!), but I had a few teachers that were really good at what they did and I loved learning in a group setting.  I have nothing against sending kids to public school.  Not everyone is called to teach these things at home; not everyone has the option to teach general education at home and there is nothing wrong with that. If we are ever in a situation where I am not able to be home, I will send my kids to public school and that will be perfectly fine. Public school is obviously not perfect but it is a fantastic resource for everyone that needs it.

I do believe though that not everyone needs public school. I also believe that home education is a far superior way to educate children.

Here are a few of my reservations when it comes to public education:

1. The only thing that I can say really scares me about the public system is the increasing lack of freedoms that kids have.  Religious freedom is very quickly disappearing as is free speech. You so much as hint that you were even thinking about guns in school and you can be sent to jail.  You so much as disagree with someone "important" and you can be expelled. People are turning into scared little sissies and I don’t want my children to grow up with a fear of what they can and cannot say in public.  They'll have enough of that to deal with when they become adults.  
2. Judging from my own experience, public school teaching methods don’t put nearly enough emphasis on the importance of reading comprehension, nor do they put any emphasis on study skills.  Those, I believe, are the two most important things that kids will need when they get to be adults.
3. There is SO much unnecessary busy work done in school. The time that it takes to really learn a concept vs. how much time is given to students to learn it is vastly different. We spent years learning math concepts that we could have learned in maybe a year.  The busy work continues on to after school as well!  Tons and tons and tons of monotonous homework that can keep kids up way too late.

In the end I know that I could have received a better education and this is why I have the desire to home educate.

Continue to Part 2

Continue to Part 3