A sad life lesson

This past Monday we said goodbye to another fur baby. Our beloved Bear-Bear, who was 12 yrs and 3 months old went to run and romp with our Sebastian, Hank (our lop-eared (house trained) bunny -- which was my husband and my first pet after we were married.) and Stormy.
This experience has been harder than loosing Sebastian. We had to have Stormy girl put down in April due to the fact that she was dying and it would have been a horrible death to let her go naturally. Stormy lived a long happy life she was over 17 yrs old. Bear-Bear went naturally here at home with us. He wasn't really in any pain and just went to sleep. We're hoping that it gave our sweet Basset Hound, Lollipop some closure when it comes to Bear-Bear. All she knows right now (bless her heart) is that when someone she loves leaves in a blanket they aren't coming back.
Lil' Man took Bear-Bear's passing really hard too. They grew up together. Bear-Bear was our "baby" stand in when we were trying to have a baby. 1 yr and 1 month after his birth, Lil' Man joined our family. They were best of buddies and playmates. Bear-Bear was ever so patient and understanding when it came to Lil' Man. He never bit him or nipped at him not matter what Lil' Man did to him. He would just give a gentle little grrrrr and then we would tell Lil' Man that Bear-Bear said that was enough. They would kiss and let me tell you it was interesting. We have such sweet memories of our fur babies and are so thankful for the time that God gave us with each of them. They have blessed us far more than we could have ever shown or told them. They will forever be in our hearts and deeply missed.They will never be far from our hearts.
I bet your wondering why this is posted on my blog about homeschooling. Our pets have always been a part of our lives, that means they're part of our school. They listen to us do our school and share in our school day. Loosing them is like loosing a classmate in a way. It's a life less in grief and loss. I pray that this experience will help to make each of us stronger and more compassionate towards other living creatures and humans We learned that life is to short, you never know when it will end. Never take your loved ones for granted. That every day and ever experience is precious, to be enjoyed to the fullest and to do your best at every task you do during it.

Our Sweet Stormy Girl Adopted August 1998

Passed Away April 7th, 2014

Bear-Bear

Born April 15th 2002

Adopted June 2002

Passed Away July 7, 2014

Lollipop Born February 12,2009

Adopted April 8, 2009

Do You Test?

I get asked so many times, if we are required to test our child yearly. The answer to that question is no, we are not required to do so by the state. We are simply required by the state that we live in to register as a non-accredited school. We do not have state workers, teacher, regulators or any other government officials coming in and telling us how to school our child. I know that a lot of folks reading this right now are shocked and even mortified that there aren't some type of regulations.
We choose homeschooling because that is exactly what we wanted to do away with, the government telling us how to school, raise and care for our child. We wanted to be able to freely school him as we saw fit.
It depends on what state you live in, as to what the requirements are for homeschooling. We are blessed to live in one of the easier states that doesn't require a multitude of hoops to jump through each year. Personally, I feel that would take so much away from the schooling experience for our family.
Now, to the answer a little bit more in depth about testing. While we are not required or mandated to test our child by our state, we still do a yearly test Personalized Achievement Summary System (PASS) Test through Hewitt Homeschooling. We use this test not just to access how our child is doing but how we are doing teaching him. Where his weaknesses and strengths are. We love the fact that this test can be given to him in the comfort of our home. There are no time limits, he can take as long as he needs. Thus there is little stress for him. I simply administer the test and then walk away (that's the hardest part for me), letting him take his test. This is our 3rd year testing him with the PASS test, and I have found it extremely helpful in a lot of ways.
When he is in High School he'll start taking the Iowa State Standardized Tests through our local Homeschool group. He'll also take his ACTs and SATs. We just feel that right now testing shouldn't be a stress, or a hoop that he's required to jump through.

The UN-Socialized Homeschooler

The one thing that I hear so often when we say, "We Homeschool" is "What about socialization?" Really? Do you think that they are allowed to socialize with one another in a class room setting? NO! They come in, sit at their desks, remain quiet for the most part and do their work. Talking and socializing is for before and after school (with lunch and recesses included).
Really, my son is far more social then I am. He's not afraid to speak up in a crowd, to get up in front of people and preform, to tell you plainly what is on his mind and what he believes. He knows how to interact with various age groups, not just those in his own age range. He can sit and play with a baby, have a in-depth discussion with an elderly gentleman from church, talk to an adult about an interest of his with great passion, he can debate his point of view (respectfully most of the time) with someone he disagrees with.
He loves going next door to our elderly neighbors and talking about model planes, birds, the weather, dogs, trains and the list goes on. He's been doing this since he was 3. He'll sit for hours and just talk with his friend. Age doesn't matter to him, he just doesn't see it.
He also doesn't see disability verses ability. He's not afraid to befriend a child about his age with a feeding tube and diaper at the water park, to talk and listen patiently to someone with a stutter, to play with a child who hums and zones out. He just enjoys being with people and interacting with them.
His only great frustration with people, especially children his own age, is bullying. He doesn't tolerate it. He will be the first to stand up for someone who is being picked on, to tell the bully to leave him alone. However in the other hand, he's also been know to just sit and take it from the bully so the bully will pick on him and not on someone else.
Chivalry isn't dead! We've taught him that all women are to be treated like princesses (even those who don't act like it or deserve it). He'll open doors for ladies and pick things up for them that they have dropped. He addresses his elders (even when they are rude about it) with Ma'am and Sir out of respect, not sarcasm. He's been taught to have manners and tries his hardest (he's not perfect by any means --- after all he is a child and ALL boy) to use them with love and respect with all those that he comes in contact with on a daily basis.
He's protective of his friends, respectful of his elders, treats a lady like a princess and tries his hardest to understand and "love" his enemies.

I have the privilege to belong to a well organized Homeschool Co-op. The mom's teach classes, organize field trips, parties and other activities to enjoy together. I can tell you that my son isn't the only homeschooler who dispels the "Homeschooling = No Socialization" myth. These kids probably know their peers better than those in public school do. They learn to deal with all sorts of situations with the guidance of those who love them best. I can't say we haven't had bullying, because we have. Typically though, it is taken up by the parents of both parties and loving handled. We guide our children through those awkward experiences in social world. No we aren't up there guiding the every move. We stand back, watch and act only when absolutely necessary.  We talk with our children about what we saw and now to better the situation. We praise them for doing the right thing. We give them the positive feed back about situations at the time that they happen so they know what that they are moving along the right path. Most times then naught they are up asking us about things, if they are concerned. There's a beautiful open communication not just between a family unit but also with all the peers no matter the age gap.

No, she doesn't live here either.

No, I am not a Super Mom!  Never have been, never will be. I have never claimed to be or want to be. I just want to do what is best for my family and sometimes it does ends up blowing up in my face. I do try to over stuff  my life "plate" with to much of this and that at times. There are times that it doesn't go well and I can't pull it off. My arch nemesis is myself, as I have the inability to say a simple word "No!". I love to help people, to make people smile, to do what I can for everyone I know.
My kitchen sink has dishes in it (unless my DH attacks them, which he's the one that mainly does). I have a mountain of laundry to wash and another mountain of it to fold and put away. I must admit I usually need at least a weeks notice to get the place some what in order to have friends over (we're working on this issues currently and seem to have it more under control)......and well, that stinks when you want to call someone up last minute and invite them over for coffee.
I love to cook and bake but don't always have the time, there are times that we eat out (sometimes a little bit more than we should some weeks). We've learned to be adaptable to however our school day unfolds. Sometimes all goes as plan and we're done, on a rare day it's marvelous and we've excelled with time left to spare, but most days it's grumbles, mumbles, grasping at straws, pulling teeth and trying to relate to a 10yr old that we need to stay on track so we can accomplish all of our goals by the time that Dad (a.k.a the principle and upper school administration) get home. If we're not done then it's detention with Dad until it's done.
So the next time you talk to someone and find out that they are a homeschooling family, you'll know that they aren't as put together as you might believe they are. We aren't Super Mom, nor are we trying to be. We have the sinks full of dishes, mounds of laundry, floors that still need to be swept and mop and the list goes on. Our children are not always clean, they are a little rambunctious from time to time, we experience melts down (the kids and our own), and we know that neither ourselves or our families are perfect. There are calls to the principle (sometimes multiples through out the day), there are time outs (usually for mom). We're just with our kids 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year because we choose to be because we believe that is what is best for our families. We're just like the majority of Moms out there, we're striving to do what we feel is best for our family and doing it with all the love in our hearts that we have and then some.

Why we chose to homeschool

First, I want to start out this blog post with a statement: While I do think that Homeschooling is a great choice, I am not against any other form of schooling. I attended public school, as did my husband, our siblings, our nieces and nephews. I have known people who attended private school. I even knew 1 homeschooler when I was in High School. Like I said in my previous post, what works for one family, might not work for another. Each family's needs are unique and individual.

Our consideration for homeschooling started prior to ever having children. I worked as a live-out Nanny for almost 5 years and worked for 2 families (overlapping each other at one point as a Nanny share) over that time period. My charges at the time that I started caring for them were 5, 3, 18 months and about 2 months old. I watched 3 out 4 of them, head off to school. I watched changes in my sweet little charges that I didn't like and concerned me. I prayed for them. I also noticed because I did help from time to time with classroom things, that school wasn't like it was when I went to school. Things were changing and it didn't feel like changes for the good. When we found out that were going to have child of our own, we started talking about what we were going to do when the time to educate came. We both prayed about it. We both felt that homeschooling was the best option for our family.

We wanted what God wanted for our family. We were willing to put it into His hands, go where He guided us and our family. We wanted our child(ren) to have a good solid Biblical Christian based education. God planted a deep conviction and passion in our hearts towards this choice of education for our child.

We feel Biblical Christian education begins in the home. We do not feel that it's entirely up to the church through Sunday School, VBS, and other youth/children programs to provide this education. God calls us as parents to be responsible for our children and how they are raised, to be parents to them. Therefore, that includes educating them. Yes, we  do realize that there is a world going on outside our door, beyond our four walls, and that our child is going to have to go out into it one day. We are just choosing to be the ones to fully equip him for that day, not someone else. He knows not just what we believe but also what people that he might encounter in his lifetime might believe, which may vary greatly from what we believe.

Homeschooling has been a wonderful journey and experience for our family. Yes, we have met resistance from family members and misunderstanding. We've been told we are doing an injustice by our child. We have been asked out what his future will hold for him if he is homeschooled.

We feel that if we had ignored God's calling for us to homeschool our child, we would have been doing our son a greater injustice. We know that God's in control and that his future is already laid out for him if he's willing to follow where God leads him to go in his lifetime.

Yes, we plan to homeschool through High School as we feel God has called us to do. College is just as much a possibility for our son as it is for any other child.

Homeschooling isn't short changing a child, it's empowering them to be out of the box thinkers. We teach them to work with their strengths and not to see their weaknesses as stumbling blocks. We work at their level and together climb the mountains of learning. We share their smiles and their frustrations. We help them excel as they are, for who they are...not forcing them to fit into a "one-size" is suppose to fit all mold set up by someone that doesn't know our child as well as we do. Homeschooling has been and will continue to be a blessing for our family.

What really is Homeschooling?

Homeschooling is a calling in ones life to dye to self. You have to sacrifice daily your own desires, wants and even sometimes needs. It is a passion, a calling, and a drive to climb those "mountains" of life placed before you. It's knowing that no one can be blamed for your short comings in rearing your child, because you and your spouse have taken all the responsibility upon your shoulders (with God's help) to raise up this child and educate them completely. It's waking up in the morning and putting not just the "Mom" or "Dad" hat on, it's also putting on the Teacher, Chauffeur, Playmate, P.E. Instructor, Activities Director, Principal, Custodian, Cook, Disciplinarian, Guidance Counselor, Wife or Husband, Referee, Nurse, Prayer Warrior, Secretary, Laundress, Maid, Scientist, Mathematician, Historian, Computer Tech hats just to name a few, each and EVERY DAY. There isn't a day that you get to choose not to wear a certain hat. Sometimes you even find yourself wearing a hat that you didn't have a clue existed up to this point. You have to be able to adjust quickly and do what needs to be done with the best outcome possible. You learn your child inside and out, you are with them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week BY CHOICE! Amazingly you also end up learning a lot from them too.
This is no flash in the frying pan, fly by night type of decision. It's something that requires lots of prayer and knowing that there is going to be great sacrifice for at least 18 or more years. What type of sacrifices you ask, all parents make sacrifices you say. I do not deny you that, that is true every great and loving parent does.
Homeschoolers make sacrifices that not just effect the here and now but the future. They sacrifice dreams of exotic vacations, luxury cars, vacation homes, expensive yearly family vacations, large expensive homes, two incomes (going to a soul bread winner in the household). They tend to willingly, lovingly, graciously give these things up with a smile. They know that these years are the most precious in the life their child(ren). It's worth it all in the end. They wouldn't change a thing.
Yes, Homeschoolers are different. They tend to have a different approach and outlook on things. They are usually unique and think outside of the box. They love each "season" of their lives.
Let me quickly say that what works for one family, may not work for yours and what works for yours might not work for another. That's part of the beauty of having the freedom to choose.
Homeschooling is a life changing event. It's a choice! It consumes every second of every hour of every day. Everything in life becomes an experience. You look differently at everything from doing a simple choir, baking a cake, going to the doctor, taking a trip to buy groceries, ect. Everything is and becomes a learning experience, a field trip of sorts, a time to spread wings and grow. It takes over every aspect of your life, and you become grateful for it.
A family who homeschools, life revolves around it completely. Just like the family of a dancer, a pianist, a history buff or football player, life tends to revolve around their schedule, their hopes, their dreams, and your dreams for their future. You talk about it, it's just normal part of your life. Homeschoolers are the same way, it's the normal for their lives. Just because they talk about homeschooling doesn't mean that they are putting you or your schooling choice down. It's just telling you about the major every day part of their life. They live it, breath it every day, all day long.