I've recently admitted that I yell at my children... and it's all because I'm lazy. I'm confident I'm not alone in that, and so far the internet hounds have not come baying at my door. So, just to be fully transparent, I thought I'd also confess that I'm not an encouraging mom like I once thought myself to be. And this realization has hit me like a ton of bricks.
Read MoreJoy, joy, joy- count it all joy. Choose joy. Joy has become a chant of the faithful as the ultimate side-effect of living a Christian life. John Piper refers to it as Christian hedonism in his book, Desiring God.
But what IS this pursuit of joy? How do we tackle it in the rough seasons- the desperate seasons- the I AM DONE seasons? How do we even get started pursuing it? For Pete's sake- where is the joy!?!
Read MoreI’m so excited to share this review with you! This is the ONE curriculum that I have never once been tempted to stop using! I tend to get my head turned by shiny, new homeschool curriculum. It’s so much fun to try new things, and there are always new products coming out that I can’t wait to check out. But not when it comes to math.
When I first started homeschooling, one of my mentors gave me some great advice. I was sharing with her how I worried that I wouldn’t be able to give my kids a strong math education because I had struggled so much with math in school. Her advice was to find a program that had a good reputation, that suited my teaching style, and that my kids didn’t hate, and then stick with it all the way through. Her reasoning was that the best way to avoid gaps in math knowledge is to use one program from beginning to end...
Read MoreThere's nothing as delightful (and challenging!) as educating our little ones at home. Some of us homeschool preschool and intend to be "long haul" homeschoolers. Others may plan to send their child to school later, but want to make the most of their days with their sweet babes. As a Mama of four with two toddlers underfoot, I've had some experience in preschool and "toddler school." I've made many mistakes, but I've also learned some valuable lessons that help me approach educating my two little ones with a "no regrets" mentality.
Here are five tips to approach those early years that you won't regret!
Read MoreIt's January... which means we are all on a downhill slide. The busyness and craziness and fun of Christmas has all been quieted, and we are left to our own devices (often trapped inside from the frigid temps). If you're like me, this anticlimactic time following the depths of winter as we roll past the New Year can usher in boredom, exhaustion, and cabin fever. We oftentimes enter what's now commonly referred to as a "slump" in our homeschool year.
But why? Is it fully triggered by gloomy weather and post-holiday blues? I suspect there's something else lurking beneath this battle almost every homeschool Mama faces each year...
Read MoreI came to slowly know Christ just over a decade ago. He came to me in the darkest period in my marriage and let me know that despite having failed in every way imaginable, I was still loved. He humbled me and brought me into his fold where I have safely and confidently resided ever since. Since my marriage to Christ, we’ve been in a sweet honeymoon period—for literally a decade.
Jesus saved me from myself and let me know I was loved without fail when I was absolutely unlovable. He changed my heart, my mind, my priorities, my perspective, my marriage, my parenting—literally almost every ounce of me has been made new in Christ (except my potty-mouth, but He’s still working).
I have passionately loved Him for it and pursued Him with fervor—most of the time. Some of the time, I have not. Some of the time, I am overly confident that I can handle things on my own. Some of the time, I feel like everything is going fine, and I don’t need Him quite as much. Some of the time, I forget just how sinful I truly am.
Read MoreI absolutely LOVE books. I love a book that leads me to the Cross, reminds me of God's abundant grace, convicts me of unrecognized sin, and helps me love my husband or children better. God's Word is always my go-to for all of those things, but there’s something special about hearing experiences and lessons from other people who are walking this same journey of faith. Their words feel like a warm cup of coffee with a trusted friend—comforting, challenging, and motivating. (By the way, here’s my very favorite note-taking Bible. I’m an ESV girl through and through.)
Over the years, I’ve read a lot of Christian books, but only a few have left such a deep imprint on my life that I still talk about them years later. I prayed hard about which ones to share here, and I narrowed it down to six books (and one journal) that I truly believe every Mama could benefit from. These books have been lifelines to me in different seasons, and I want to give you a quick rundown of why I love them so much.
Read Morehere's little that strikes more fear into a homeschool mom's heart than the idea of teaching her child to read. It seems that every aspect of their child's future success is hinged upon this necessary, often ominous, skill. I know some homeschool parents that send their children to school for kindergarten and first grade, just to skip the stress of it! So, for a new homeschool mom to be greeted with a child whom she is doing everything "by the book" for and nothing seems to be sticking... well, it honestly feels like their deepest fears of inadequacy are coming to fruition.
You can feel like you must be the biggest homeschool failure in the world when you've been working diligently to teach your child phonics for over a year, and they still know less than a handful of sounds. You can be certain you've ruined your child's future when they are 7, and despite working to identify letter NAMES since they were 4, they still visibly struggle to name each letter. You can feel like pulling your hair out when your child sounds out CCCCC-AAAAAA-TTTTTT on one page, then sees it again 8 more times in the SAME book (seconds apart) and STILL has to sound it out like she's never seen the word in her life every single time. You can get seriously ready to quit homeschooling altogether (I certainly know this).
Read MoreI love my husband. We've been married for over 15 years and together nearly 25 at the ripe old age of 36. He's literally sewn into my existence. We are like peas and cornbread—absolutely inseparable. Except back when we were separable—back when we were making our own rules, following our own feelings, and generally doing life (including marriage) our own way.
Way back when, we were stuck together but we both had some strong moments of being ready for that to not be the case. I'll never forget those days. Those long nights of fights and tears—when he finally decided enough was enough. Those are raw, unshakeable memories for two reasons. Obviously for the immense pain entrenched in them for both of us, but even more so for the unspeakable redemption and joy that came out of it all.
We often have a habit of looking at someone else's marriage and saying they have something we don't have. They're lucky. They don't fight, or their kids don't cause distress, or they don't have financial issues, or they haven't sinned against one another, or their husband does this one thing—or he DOESN'T do this one thing. But the fact of the matter is that almost every pristine-looking marriage that I know of has been on some seriously shaky ground. Loving is HARD work.
Read MoreIn part 1 and part 2 of this series (definitely go back and read those first if you haven't) we tackled the big question of evaluating our REASON for homeschooling in the first place and then used some worksheets to curate a homeschool vision.
Our big question # 2 is this: Are you being REALISTIC with your expectations for homeschooling based on your personality, the abilities of your child, the availability of your husband, and the number of hours in the day? In other words, are your expectations appropriate or even reasonable?
Hear me first on this, mama: When you homeschool, you are NOT a "stay at home mom". You are a work from home mom. You are a TEACHER who works at home- degree or not. You are wholly responsible for your child's education (which is BOTH terrifying and a huge honor.)
Read MoreFull Disclosure: Some links on this website may generate a commission that helps to maintain and market Life, Abundantly. All Amazon links are affiliate links (this does not impact the price you pay). See my full disclosure here.
Full Disclosure: Some links on this website may generate a commission that help to maintain and market Life, Abundantly. All Amazon links are affiliate links (however, they do not impact the price you pay). Click here for full disclosure.
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