9th Grade (2007)

Summer is a time to hang out and have fun. Read a little, play a little and love a little. These are the important things in life!

After (Francine Prose)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)

Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)

Hanging on to Max (Margaret Bechard)

If You Come Softly (Jacqueline Woodson)

Shattering Glass (Gail Giles)

Son of the Mob (Gordon Korman)

The Greatest: Muhammad Ali (Walter Dean Myers)

Thwonk (Joan Bauer)

Kindergarten (2007)

Summer is a time to hang out and have fun. Read a little, play a little and love a little. These are the important things in life!

What Mommies Do Best, What Daddies Do Best (Laura Numeroff)

Astronauts Are Sleeping (Natalie Standiford)

Chicka Chicka ABC (John Archambault)

The Chicken Sisters (Laura Numeroff)

The Leaf Men (William Joyce)

Market Day (Lois Ehlert)

Mouse Mess (Linnea Asplind Riley)

My Many Colored Days (Dr. Seuss)

Prairie Primer A to Z by Caroline Stutser

The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller

Sheep in a Jeep (Nancy E. Shaw)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Visiting the Art Museum (Laurene Krasny Brown, Marc Brown)

Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin by Lloyd Moss

What Non-Homeschoolers May Not Know

We’ve been educating our children at home for ten years now. In those ten years, I have observed that there are expectations that non-homeschoolers can place on homeschooling moms simply because they lack the practical knowledge of what it means to homeschool.

If you are the mother, grandmother, sister, friend, father, or brother of a homeschooling mom, here are some things you should know:

1. Educating children at home is a full-time job. Don’t get irritated if she consistently allows the answering machine to do its job. If she were a teacher in an institutional classroom, you probably wouldn’t think of calling her during school hours, so try to realize that while still at home, she is keeping regular school hours, too.

2. Unlike homes in which the children are gone for eight straight hours, her home is in a constant state of activity. The children are not only home, they are home making messes. All day long. Their mother doesn’t even have the opportunity to go into their rooms while they are at school and weed out the junk. And if she is like me, you might find odd homeschooly things lying around- like the month we had a dead turtle in the garage fridge.

3. Housekeeping and homeschooling are mutually exclusive. If she is doing her job educating her children academically, then her house is not being cleaned. If she takes the day to clean the house, then school wil not be accomplished.

4. Place realistic expectations on her- she cannot simultaneously teach school, make three square meals, keep a house that looks like it has sprung out of the pages of Architectural Digest, have her nails done, drive children to extracurricular activities, and have all the clothing laundered and pressed. Something’s gotta give, and in my experience, it is usually her personal care. So don’t expect her to don the latest styles, have her roots meticulously dyed at just the right moment, and her aforementioned nails filed and polished to perfection. And while most of us aren’t slovenly, we just tend to put some superfluous aspects of personal care at the bottom of the to-do list.

5. For many of us, homeschooling isn’t an option. Many believe it is not only the best way for their family, it is the only way. Many see homeschooling as a Scriptural directive. When sharing a particular struggle unique to homeschooling, comments like, “Well, why don’t you consider putting them in school? Maybe homeschooling just isn’t your thing” aren’t helpful. Instead, offer a listening ear and your fervent prayers on her behalf.

6. If you are truly concerned about the state of her emotions, home, children, or marriage, offer practical help to ease her burden. Personal time is at a premium for her, so consider offering to take her kids for the day so she can recuperate. If you like to do laundry, offer to come over and get the loads going, fold, and/or iron. If you like to cook, consider putting together some meals that she can store in the freezer for days when time is at a premium. If she teaches a broad spectrum of ages and grades, consider offering to come in once a week or more to teach preschool to the little ones. One grandma I know created “Nana U” for her preschool grandson (number five of seven) and not only did it ease her homeshooling daughter’s burden, it created a special bond between grandma and the child.

But there’s a caveat here: ASK her what would be most helpful to her. Don’t presume to know what would help her. Taking the oldest children for the day might be fun for you, but it’s quite possibly not at all helpful to her. The living room might need to be vacuumed, but it’s not helpful if she’s trying to take a nap. Someone once told me, “If it’s not wanted, it’s not helpful.”

7. Think about what a financial burden homeschooling may be placing on the family. The loss of her possible income can be a real struggle nowadays, and you might be able to buoy her for another year by offering to purchase little things like simple school supplies. Gifts for the children like books on subjects of interest to the child, field trip fees, museum memberships, and the money to pay for music lessons or other extracurricular activities are the best thing you could give a homeschooling family. Not only does a homeschooling mom not need one more thing to manage or pick up, she would be thrilled to see you take an interest in the many academic items on her wish list.

8. Simple questions like, “How can I pray for you?” and “Is there any way I can help you?” are like a cool breeze in her life. Don’t assume you know her needs- ask. You could just be the vessel God uses to carry her on through this very demanding and ultimately rewarding season of her life.

Source: Kendra

Thirteen Habits of a Happy Homeschooled Family

As I’ve reflected over the last sixteen years of teaching my children, a few habits we have developed over time have come to mind that have helped our home to be a happy place of learning.

1. I rise before my children and have at least a ½ hour for my husband and myself. Generally, we sit on the swing outside and watch the morning nature activity. Sometimes we talk and sometimes we just sit and observe.

2. I exercise. I hate it, but I do it.

3. I clean my bathrooms, dress and make my bed first thing. This helps me to feel ready for the day. My children generally follow my example.

4. I am mindful to set the proper tone for the day first thing in the morning. I greet each child with a ‘good morning,’ a kiss and a hug. I tell them I missed them and I asked them how they slept and if they remembered any of their dreams.

5. We have a posted routine that gives my children a map for their day. The children love a routine (even though I despise it) and they have come to expect things happening in the prescribed order.

6. I continue to educate myself as well as keep up a hobby. I consider this very important for ALL mothers. I lost myself once – no more. I deserve better.

7. I read my own personal book selections in front of our children whenever possible. They like to model my behavior.

8. I try hard to choose my words carefully and to train our children rather than admonish them.

9. The children play outside as much as possible. Most days it’s around 4 hours.

10. We eat our meals together for lunch and for dinner.

11. One evening a week is reserved for Family Fun Night.

12. My husband and I have set dates throughout the week: Dinner on Friday nights, breakfast on Sunday mornings and lunch on Tuesdays. We sometimes have unscheduled dates especially when one of us has had a particularly stressing day.

13. Each child has a “special day” twice a year; Once in their birth month (or the month closest to it) and one six months later. They choose which parent, meals for the day, an outing, an outfit and a gift if we can afford it.

12th Grade (2007)

Summer is a time to hang out and have fun. Read a little, play a little and love a little. These are the important things in life!

American Gods (Neil Gaiman)

Bel Canto (Anne Patchett)

In The Company of Heroes (Michael Durant)

Interpreter of Maladies (Jhumpa Lahirir)

Life of Pi (Yann Martel)

Moneyball (Michael Lewis)

Prep (Curtis Sittenfeld)

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Mayhem at the Fair that Changed America (Erik Larson)

The Dive From Clausen’s Pier (Ann Packer)

The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)

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13 Articles of Motherhood

May 5, 2007 by SPF · Comments Off
Filed under: Uncategorized 

1. We believe in being sealed to our husbands, in being mothers in Israel, and in being organized (when the spirit moves us.)

2. We believe that women will get sick from their own germs and not from their neighbor’s uncleaned closets.

3. We believe that though efficient organization all essential work can be done, by obedience to the laws of agency and tenacity.

4. We believe that the first principles of organization are: first, faith in ourselves; second, a positive attitude; third, immersion in good principles; fourth, laying on our hands to get the work done.

5. We believe that a child must be called by his mother, with authority, and with the laying on of hands, when necessary, to make his bed and clean up the surroundings thereof.

6. We believe in the same organization that existed in our mother’s homes, namely, clean dishes, sorted laundry, see-through windows, impeccable children, and so forth.

7. We believe in the gifts of time, perfection, self-cleaning floors, enough closets, help from husbands and children, and so forth.

8. Our children believe Mother means what she says as long as she repeats it ten times; they also believe Daddy means what he says.

9. We believe all the work has not been done, all the work is not now being done, and we believe that there will yet be left undone many great and important trivial things pertaining to the organizing of our homes.

10. We believe in the literal gathering of laundry and in the restoration of the lost socks; that supper (an everyday miracle) will appear upon the table; that our families will arrive punctually in our homes; and that our wardrobes will be renewed so we can shine forth in all our paragonical glory.

11. We claim the privilege of doing our work according to the dictates of our own conscience and allow all others the same privilege; let them clean how, where or what they may.

12. We believe our work is subject to time, money, energy, and interruptions; we obey, honor, and change our schedules.

13. We believe in being thrifty, safe, neat, patient, efficient and in telling stories every night to our children; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonitions of our prophet- we grow all things, we can do all things, we have stored many things and hope to able to eat all these things. If there is anything we don’t have to cook, clean, sew up, or put away, we seek after these things.

~ Unknown

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