A Lifetime of Love

This week brought about a major life event, and truthfully I am still processing it.  My oldest child, Thomas, graduated from high school. He is officially an adult. My parenting journey with him is finished. At this point, I can only offer him advice.  He is fully responsible for the choices he makes, as well as the consequences.   18 summers. That is what we, as parents, are given to influence, mold, discipline, and train our children so that when the time comes, they are responsible, contributing members of society. It is an arduous task that at times seemed not worth the effort. But, looking back, there really isn’t much I would do differently except perhaps cherish the time we had together. While the days were so, so long, the time has passed quickly! I look back at old photos and the memories they invoke seems like they happened just yesterday. Homeschooling Thomas afforded me the gift of time with him, and if nothing else, that alone made the stresses of...

*Sigh* This week has been mentally challenging. I was officially laid off from my teaching position and began the steps to file for unemployment. That was heartbreaking, and it has nothing to do with money. When I was still being paid, it gave me hope that we might return to school before the end of the school year. However, the moment I received the news, my bubble was burst. On Wednesday afternoon, the governor announced that no one would be returning back to school before the end of the year. That was expected, but again, knowing what my children are feeling makes it difficult to accept. I have been thinking about this a lot, and it seems to me like we are going through the stages of grief (all over again). I definitely had denial (no, school won't be canceled), anger (why can't we just stay until Spring Break), bargaining (we can at least go back for a day to see friends and say our goodbyes), depression (been in this stage far too long), and now acceptance. I get...

Week 3 has been better in many ways. School was easier to complete, I was able to "talk" to friends while maintaining social distancing rules, and I got myself on a more "normal" schedule for our morning routine. Schooling with Ruthie, my 1st grader, went a lot better since I assigned my older 4 girls specific times to play with/entertain my little boys.  We tended to finish her school work by noon each day. Ruthie was also able to Zoom with her Spanish/math teacher one-on-one a couple of times throughout the week. Seeing her teacher and receiving individualized instruction was so good for her emotionally and academically. Ruthie was also able to Zoom with her class and both teachers for a little bit one morning. This is really the first time she has seen her friends and had an opportunity to talk to them. I think it was the highlight of the week for both of us! Ruthie talking with her class A couple of mornings this week I met a friend in a parki...

This week was somewhat better than last in certain aspects, but it also brought its fair share of difficulties. TJ wasn’t feeling well most of this week so that meant I was a single parent for 90% of the week. Let that sink in- 9 kids for 90% of the day, 24/7.   There were a few times where I was able to get some time to myself, for which I am thankful, but I am ready for this entire situation to be done and over.   Trying to balance schoolwork, housework, cooking, sibling squabbles, and children is challenging and often overwhelming for me.   I cried daily in the shower, sometimes in the middle of day, and even before bed depending on the day I had. I realize I am sounding very negative so let me add there were a few bright spots in my week.   The first was on Tuesday when I got to see most of the students in my class.   Let me share the backstory (since there really isn’t much else to do these days): prior to all the school closures, my class was wri...

I haven’t posted in a couple weeks, and I always process my thoughts/feelings better through writing, so this blog post is going to be somewhat lengthy. Stop reading whenever you are tired or bored, lol! A week ago last Thursday my sister, who is the District Nurse for a district in OH, called me and told me her district was closing beginning Monday by order of the governor. I was a little surprised, but I understood. Fast forward to last Sunday afternoon. The governor of SC ordered all schools here to close, effective Monday, also. I was not surprised as between Thursday evening when my sister called to Sunday afternoon, several states had shut down schools. While I wasn’t surprised, I also wasn’t prepared for what that meant. Schools closing have effectively turned my world upside down. And not just my world, but everyone’s. I am going to chronicle each week as we employ “social distancing” from our friends, classmates, and even family members. Week 1: 3/16-3/22/20 ...

Yesterday during our history time, the Lord allowed me to have a glimpse into my son's heart. We were learning about the prophet Amos. Although he was from Judah, God called him to go preach in the land of Israel because the Israelites had stopped relying on the Lord.  As we were discussing the reasons why (wealth, peace with neighboring countries, surplus of food and supplies), he casually mentioned that he didn't rely on the Lord, either. When I questioned him further, I learned that my son (who will remain anonymous) responded that he didn't have any reason to- he didn't fight in battles (against other countries), he wasn't wandering in the wilderness, waiting to enter the Promised Land, he wasn't being ruled by a harsh king who was a direct enemy of the Lord, etc. How did I interpret his response? Like this: he didn't know how to rely on God. I put the brakes on our history lesson and had a wonderful opportunity to explain to him what relying on God l...

I took the girls to pick blueberries one day while the boys were working to earn some extra money. We have only been to this particular farm once for a strawberry festival. I was familiar with the layout but honestly didn't know what to expect because we've never picked blueberries before. It was a GREAT time! When we first arrived, we made a stop at the bathroom to ensure we would have plenty of time to pick without having to "go" later. When we came out of the bathroom, we saw a group of people listening to instructions from one of the farmers. He then handed out half-gallon buckets to everyone. Side note: we have gone strawberry picking at a different farm and at that farm, customers were required to pay prior to getting their buckets. I was assuming this farm operated in the same way. I was wrong. I was only wanting a total of 1 half-gallon bucket of blueberries. Since each of the older 3 girls had a bucket, I was trying to convince them we were going to SHARE t...

Thomas completed 5th grade and his third year of homeschooling, and Tanner completed 2nd grade and his first year of homeschooling. I am being completely honest when I share that, although challenging at times, this was the best school year yet! Adding Tanner to the mix meant some scheduling changes needed to be made, but once we established a routine that worked, our days passed quickly and the weeks, and inevitably the months, passed even quicker. 1st day of school- August 2012 I personally enjoyed watching both boys learn, grow, and mature over the course of the year. My favorite subject to "teach" them was history as we focused our studies on the Old Testament. I learned so much about God, the Israelites, and how it all relates to not only the New Testament, but to present day living. I know the boys did, too! After reading our daily passage, we often talked about how it applies to our lives today, or how we are/were like a particular person we read about in the...

This is a descriptive paragraph written by Tanner. I am copying it exactly as it is written, spelling mistakes included. I am sharing it because it brings me joy to see how such small, simple creatures can mean so much to a child. How do I know they mean a lot? He chose to write about them out of anything in the world.... I have baby chicks. They are very small and colorful. They are covered in feathers and fur. They sound quiet and cherp a lot. When they are scared they cherp loudly. Their feathers feel soft and furry. I like taking care of them and I also like holding them a lot.

This post is to answer some common questions and address the most common myths related to homeschooling. I am going to answer the questions based on my family, so they will be specific answers, but they can generally be applied to any family thinking about homeschooling. How do I get started? No matter which state you live in, you first need to visit the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)  website to find out how to legally homeschool. Every state is different, and each state has its own laws regarding homeschooling. If you are not abiding by the law, you can face fines, serve jail time, lose custody of your children, or all of the above. =( Once you find out the specific law(s) for your state, HSLDA can also put you in contact with local organizations in your area. These organizations connect you to other homeschool families and can help answer specific questions related to homeschooling, provide support and encouragement during your homeschooling years, as well a...

It's hard to believe school is out for Thomas already. We have had a fun year full of great learning experiences. Below are some pictures of learning in action! September: Latta Plantation Homeschool Day Learning the 3 R's (Reading, Writing, & 'Rithmetic) Reading from a McGuffy Reader Learning about clothing styles & medicine from the 1700s on- VERY interesting! October: Riverbanks Zoo   Our science curriculum is broken down into the various days of creation. This year we started with Day 5: the flying creatures. Megabat- this year we learned the difference between a microbat and a megabat. :) November: Carolina Raptor Center  This field trip only enhanced what we were learning about & was probably Thomas' favorite since he has developed a passion for birding thanks to his study in science this year.  We felt a sense of honor & pride seeing our National Bird up close & in person. Red-tail Hawk: our favorite!! ...