Looking Forward

Excited!  I must say that I am really excited for the up and coming school year!   There were so many choices out there and I spent all day yesterday debating on what I was going to use for some of the subjects!  My amazon.com shopping cart has my choices for piano, language, writing and history.  I am also supplementing those items with many of the things I have purchased or received free from The Old Schoolhouse!  I have a hard drive with a dedicated folder just for homeschooling items.  I have SO much to choose from!  It is wonderful!  I HIGHLY recommend signing up for their newsletters as they have such a wealth of information, inform you of great sales and have also included freebies.  I would not be without their e-mails!  They also have some awesome free things right now.  The first two are the Homeschool 101 Digital Supplement & Product Reviews.  Some very valuable information, especially if you are just starting out homeschooling and are looking for curricuum ideas & reviews.  They are also having their Win Big Promotion!  This runs all summer long and is a great way to win Awesome products for your homeschool.    Another website that publishes freebies daily (though they are on summer break right now) is Homeschool Freebie of the Day.  You sign up for their e-mails and they notify you what the products will be for the week.  Can you see that I love free things??  :)  

I will also say that alot, if not most of the curriculum I am choosing this year is something that I will be able to use with my other children.  The first 2 years of homeschooling I followed a more "Traditional Textbook" approach and my oldest and I were often at odds with each other.  He found it VERY repetative and needed more stimulation.  This year we are going with a classical/eclectic/charlotte mason approach.  More "Real books" & hands on projects.  My husband and I could both tell that while our oldest was learning, he was getting to the point of not liking to learn and that is something we didn't want to happen.  Thus the change in approach of teaching/learning for him.  Homeschooling is definitely a learning process!  What works for some may not work for others.  That is why reviews, samples can be so important.  Scour the internet, talk to other parents, and talk to your kids too!  It is important to find out what they like and also see how they learn.  That last one is important and can save so many headaches.  I only wish I had done it sooner.  Now I am sure we will have a great year!

The Frazzled Female

So I am going to be leading a study this summer (hopefully).  I chose the Frazzled Female because I can so relate to that persona!  As a mother of 3 boys I sometimes feel like I am constantly pulling my hair out trying to manage everything.  I don't know HOW mothers with more than 3 children do it all the time.  What's even more interesting is that I would love to have more children.  So I sometimes question my sanity on this issue.  However, in preparation for this study I have come to realize something that I guess I have known all along.  The source of our strength is not from ourselves (though we sometimes try to make it so) but from the Lord.  It is HE who gives us strength in our daily lives.  Sometimes I forget this when the children are screaming at one another.  I admit that in NO way am I a perfect mother.  I am so far from it that sometimes that frustrates me even more.  I then overcompensate and wind up trying to do too much which leads to me getting very "frazzled" and forgetting to rely on Him for my strength.  God doesn't expect me to be something that I can't.  Only One has been perfect and it took his death on the cross for MY sins that I might be able to live again with Him in Heaven.  I am SO very thankful for the gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ.  Without Him I would be nothing.