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Uncovering Homeschool Myth #4

    1. Our kids are unsocialized 

    2. You have to be patient, organized & crafty 

    3. We breed like rabbits

    4.  We all wear glasses and live to be on the “Geek Squad”

    5. We keep our kids in a bubble so they won’t see or hear   evil

So now that I've played Tim Hawkins for you, I'm going to change the subject.

Are you familiar with the story of Seabiscuit?

Seabiscuit was bred a race horse. Except when put on the track, Seabiscuit went every way but straight. He was wild and unruly, walked with a strange gait and was just slow. But something about the horse caught the attention of a cowboy named Tom Smith. He says the first time he saw him, the horse looked straight through him.

I have a daughter kinda like Seabiscuit. Set her down with “school-work” and she’s all over the board. From the day I first put words in front of her to read, my daughter has fled the scene like a dog chasing a squirrel. Thinking she was being rebellious, lazy, obstinate or missing a few tools in her toolshed, I pressed in harder. I tried every curriculum I could get my hands on, buying the sales pitch that this one would be the magic solution. 

Finally, I decided it’s not the curriculum…it must be me. I am the wrong fit for my daughter. I’m not trained; I’m not the professional. It would be better for her to learn under someone else. So I tried to turn in my 2 week notice to my husband, but he wouldn’t accept it. He listened to my complaints, dried my tears and together we made some changes.

What I found was that underneath the giggles, wiggles and fingernail polish lay a brilliant, sleeping giant of a mind.

Kinda like Seabiscuit. Here’s a clip of the story from Laura Hillenbrand's book Seabiscuit:

“With long, careful schooling, Seabiscuit began to figure things out. Once he was no longer being coerced, his instincts bubbled back to the surface. His innate love of running returned. Pollard used the whip not as an implement of force, but as a signal: one glancing swat on the rump at the eighth pole, another a few feet from home, a cue that it was time to hustle. Seabiscuit began to wait for it and respond with lightening quickness. ‘So long as you treat him like a gentleman,’ said Pollard (his jockey), ‘he’ll run his heart out for you.’ Though the horse was still goofing off and pulling tricks in his workouts, his speed was excellent.”

Putting this in the perspective of education, I believe kids have an innate desire to learn. Just like Seabiscuit was bred to be a race horse and therefore had a natural desire to run, our kids, too, are "bred" for something special and it's our job to point them in the right direction. We "treat 'em like a gentleman" and allow their natural love of learning to bubble to the surface.

With homeschooling, we don’t care if our kids make the "geek squad" or not – yeah, sure, I’m sure some do. But that’s not at the heart of homeschooling. At the heart is the desire to unleash our kids to learn – to start that fire burning deep in their souls and fan it in as many ways as we can.  Is it scary? Hard? Oftentimes un-definable? YES!

One of the biggest races of Seabiscuit’s life wasn’t even at an “official” racetrack. It was between he and War Admiral. The day before the big race, Biscuit’s jockey, Red Pollard, suffered a should-be career ending accident and was laid up in a hospital bed. In his place, “Ice Man” Wolfe was set to ride Seabiscuit in this once-in-a-lifetime race. The two talked strategy over the phone. They both agreed War Admiral had more natural speed than Seabiscuit. Seabiscuit usually started slow, then caught up towards the finish line. That wouldn’t work here. If they let War Admiral get away, Seabiscuit would never catch him. So instead, they would break Seabiscuit hard and fast from the start and bet he would beat War Admiral to the first turn. Pollard told Woolf to “gun to the lead, but to keep him in check on the backstretch…” 

To Woolf’s complete surprise, Pollard instructed him to actually let War Admiral catch up. 

"Once a horse gives Seabiscuit the old look-in-the-eye, he begins to run to parts unknown. He might loaf sometimes when he’s in front and thinks he’s got a race in the bag…Seabiscuit is the gamer horse.”

I hate to give away the ending, but it proved true.

Some say Seabiscuit was the greatest horse that ever raced. Had it not been for farmer Tom Smith, Seabiscuit would’ve been destitute to live a life as a lead pony. How sad and unfulfilling that would have been for Seabiscuit!

Somehow, I fear, we have mainstreamed education to the point of putting kids in at one end of the assembly line and then spitting them out at the other, forming them to look just like the mold. 

Again, homeschooling may not be for you. But I hope you decide that for the right reasons. 

Homeschooling is not about winning every race and producing what we think are good scores in life. It’s not about being the smartest kid on the block or district. It’s about, when you have a Seabiscuit child, you don’t let them be OK with being a lead-pony when they were created to be a race horse!

Dear Meme,

Today marks two years since we lost you. I still miss you –

I miss you when I take my first bite of chicken spaghetti,

And when I smell broccoli cheese soup simmering on the stove.

I miss you at Thanksgiving when someone else is sitting next to my Papa. 

It’s not right for you to not be hovering over my shoulder offering me another roll.

3 Ways to build Margin not Balance

I bet if you compiled a list of all your daily responsibilities, activities and “need-to-do’s”, you would soon be looking for a chair to sit down in. Staring at that list is like peering down into the Grand Canyon – it just goes on and on. If not anchored, you’ll lose your balance.

That’s how I feel at least. The demands of being a mom and teacher to my kids, plus the maintenance of owning a home and a dog, often times leaves me toppled over. That’s when I resort to re-organizing my schedule to see where I’m blowing my time budgets. Still, no matter how I try to spend within my means, I’m still exhausted.

Uncovering Homeschool Myth #3

    

  

   

    1 . Our kids are unsocialized 

    2. You have to be patient, organized & crafty 

    3. We breed like rabbits

    4.  We all wear glasses and live to be on the “Geek Squad”

    5. We keep our kids in a bubble so they won’t see or hear   evil

I could use this space to talk about my sex life.

Or, argue the cons to birth control…

But I’m not.

Instead, I’d like to uncover the underlying reason why this is a common home-school myth. Deep down inside all of us lay a funny little quirk we like to do in our spare time: Categorize people. Like filing away papers to be stored in a cabinet for tax season, we file people away into their proper folder. It sounds something like this:

Just to be with You

I’ve had a long standing rule in my house that “wake up” time is at 7:00 a.m. I need my sleep and space in the morning so everyone is to stay in their room till then. Before my oldest son turned three, I had a clock in his room with stars marking the 7 and 12. I followed this timely gift with a conversation about when the little hand points to the 7 and the big hand points to the 12, that means it’s 7:00 and you can wake up! For the most part it worked. At times, even now, one of the kids will push the envelope and crack open the living room door at 6:55, just to check the validity of this invisible boundary. I usually let it slide, but then in a couple days, 6:55 turns to 6:50 and then to 6:45. Before I realize it, kids are jumping in my bed at 6:30 and I’m ready to blow my top. We re-establish this un-movable boundary because I am just a person who has to wake up slowly and calmly, without dealing with “I’m hungry” and “She touched me!” right out of the starting gate.

Uncovering Homeschool Myth #2

   

1. Our kids are unsocialized(click HERE to go to this page)

    2. You have to be patient, organized & crafty 

    3. We breed like rabbits

    4.  We all wear glasses and live to be on the “Geek Squad”

    5. We keep our kids in a bubble so they won’t see or hear   evil

“I don’t know how you do it. I just don’t have the patience to homeschool.”

When the Alarm Clock Fails

 Before turning out the lights to end the day, I had Adam set the alarm for 7 a.m. My parents are in town and my dad wanted to go jogging with me in the morning. Being able to hear the birds sing rather than dodging two way traffic is my preference, so getting out the earlier, the better. At 5:30 my body jolted up, peering through blurred, squinty eyes to see what time the clock said. “In case the alarm forgets to go off,” I thought, “I need to wake myself up.” I did it again at 6…and again at 6:30…finally at 6:45 I thought, “The alarm is set, just trust that it will work.” Sure enough at 7:00, the alarm rang!

When you Find Yourself Waiting in Line...

Standing at the checkout line at my local grocery store, I realized I, again, picked the wrong line. Wrong line, that is, if my goal was speed. Right line, if I wanted to watch the crowd of people I passed in the isles now wave goodbye to their friends. 

Uncovering 5 Common Myths of Home Schooling

   

1. Our kids are unsocialized

    2. You have to be patient, organized & crafty 

    3. We breed like rabbits

    4.  We all wear glasses and live to be on the “Geek Squad”

    5. We keep our kids in a bubble so they won’t see or hear   evil

Let’s look at #1 first –

“How do you socialize your kids?”

You will Give Your Time to what you Value

I hate pain. I especially hate it when I’m running. Whether it’s shin splints or muscle strain or side stitch, it slows me down. It also makes me think the worst. That my side is going to split open if I take another step, or my leg muscle will be injured for life if I keep going. Now sometimes, pain is an indicator that something’s off, and may need to be addressed. I’m not really talking about that. I’m talking about the pain that’s just part of running….or just part of life. There’s a certain amount of “rub” that happens when we’re apart of fellowship containing PEOPLE. It’s called “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" (Pr. 27:17) It’s unavoidable. God made us all different and then tells us to love one another as we would our self. God has a great sense of humor! But sometimes, when that conflict arises, instead of pushing through or asking our self if this particular pain is just apart of the “run”, we flee. Whether it’s to stop the pain or save face, that’s our tendency.

When Dreams Don't Come True

I love the words to this song! As I sang them over and over again, I realized the words didn’t stay on the surface of my mind like a fun catchy tune, but sunk down do the deep places in my heart. God was stirring something around in there, and as I processed, this is what I discovered…

The Yo-Yo Effect

I watched my son release the yo-yo out of his hand and it tumbled down toward the ground. Right as it bottomed out, he flicked his wrist and it magically returned to his hand, where he repeated the process.

He said, “You have to wait, till it gets right here (demonstrating) and then you pull it up.”

Do you pray with your spouse?

After 15 years, do you know what stands out in my mind most about my wedding night? Nope, not the food. Not the sheets. Not even the I-can't-believe-my-parents-really-let-me-do-this feeling that I was married (we were 18!)! I remember something even more intimate than what went on in our hotel room. I remember that for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Adam Steck, we prayed together.

After Chocolate and Vanilla...

Have you ever created something? A painting or sculpture, crocheted a hat or a blanket? Have you ever made dinner or lunch for guests or just family? What about a cake – carefully crafted the icing to celebrate an important event? Maybe you’ve written an essay, turned in a report, prepared a speech for a conference, convention, bible study, 3^rd grade class or business meeting. Perhaps you’ve held a piece of wood in your hands and envisioned a jewelry box or the beginnings to a table or chair.

Modify if You Need To!

Future laundry loads litter the floor. The smell of breakfast dishes lingers in the air. Dinner needs to be started. The floor needs to be swept; the counters wiped down. As I add one more errand to the white board list I feel it all pressing in around me. Some days I feel like I could drown in the needs of my own house.

A Few Veggies Where there is Love...

Mackenzie has been writing down some scripture verses that stand out to her. She started with Proverbs 15:13. Then she liked the next verse, so wrote it down and it became Proverbs 15:13-14. Then she liked the next one, so wrote it again and it became Proverbs 15:13-14-15. She has finally stopped at verse 19. She loved these words so much she took them to her guitar teacher and they added chords and a beat to it. She brought verse 17 to me and told me I needed to put this on my blog. It says, "A few vegetables where there is love is better than the finest meat with hatred." Pretty true.

Hidden Snares

As I flung open the door, I saw my childhood best friend handcuffed, her captor shouting threats at me. I left. Immediately, I was placed in a large parking lot. A stranger was talking to me. He was explaining there were more in similar troubles. People everywhere are being taken captive with their captor heavily guarding them. I spent the night barging into churches, grocery stores, shopping malls and camping trailers locating these captives, but I had no way to set them free. Finally, I woke up.

Coffee with Jesus

I wish I could just meet Jesus for coffee. Except, I don’t drink coffee – for Him I’m willing to make an exception. Sometimes, I just want to hear His voice, see His smile, smell His clothes.

There's nothing wrong with Vanilla!

I have married a very simple guy. On our date nights, we usually stop by the local frozen yogurt shop where I love to try all the new flavors. Yes, I also have my “usual”, but I get excited at the new options. As we check out I look at the bowl next to mine on the counter and see that Adam has again, chosen chocolate and vanilla. Every time. Just chocolate and vanilla.

Grab a towel!

I can make it a habit of being discouraged. The dog barks too loud, the kids ask the wrong question at the wrong time, leave their socks lying around for the last time, you get the picture. My quiet, reflective morning easily turns to despair when 2 or more of these items happen at the same time. The great, fun, exciting plans for the day are dashed in my head now....

The Ring of Fire

We had a fire going in our burn pile late one Sunday afternoon. The pile had grown tall throughout the months with limbs and logs from the fall rains. At about 10:00, the fire was catching its second wind. My husband, wanting to sleep some that night, took all the proper precautions to ensure the blaze would remain contained. He sprayed down the ground around the fire pit, and he made sure no leaves or limbs were dangling over the side. As we prayed that night before going to sleep, we asked the Lord to guard the fire and awaken us if it needed attention.

Work those Muscles!

The cooler weather has taken my exercising INDOORS. Yes, I know this reveals that I’m not a die-hard runner, but I am still trying to stay active.

The other day, I pulled out some of my old stand-by DVDs to plug in. You know, the ones with the young and well defined muscular men and women leading the program. When Adam saw me lacing up my shoes and which workout I was putting in, he said, “You know that guy is like in his 60s now?!” Not realizing the total amount of years that has passed since its debut, I thought, “I wonder what he looks like now!” 

Top 10 Homeschool Phrases....

 I May or May NOT Say to my Husband

10) Yes, my brain is fried!!

9) I don't know what's for dinner - any ideas?

8) Your jeans are in their new drawer, some call it a dryer.

7) Yes, I want your help, but don't ask me what with - just pick something!

6) Yes, this is normal and calm!

5) "Yes, honey, I'll come to bed in just a minute. Let me finish this chapter...I can't decide if I want to use Saxon Math or Teaching Textbooks..."

4) No, I don't know what happened to your chair - it didn't look that way before our art project!

3) I thought the house looked pretty good - you should've seen it an hour ago!

2) What, I can't hear you - let me get my 5 year old to turn down the music. I don't know how to work it!

1) I know I don't always tell you - calmly - but thank you for being the stable & sane parent!

Enjoy the weekend Moms!!

Putting it In Our Own Words,

~Julie

Top 5 Date Night Rules

1)      Set aside $$ - Sometimes we think our money should go to anything and everything but investing in our marriage. We think it has to be an anniversary or special occasion to justify the expense. This just isn't so! With so many things vying for our money, we have to be intentional about this and not just “wait and see” if there’s money left over. Something else will surly seem “more important” and take its place.  Right after giving, why not make it a habit and put back $100-$200 (whatever is suitable for your budget – maybe less, maybe more) for a month of dates? Will you need to hire a babysitter or do you have family or friends nearby you can easily use? We have some family nearby, but enjoy hiring a babysitter for 2 reasons. #1 is the kids enjoy getting to know someone new and spending time with them. #2 Adam and I enjoy walking in to a quiet, sleeping house and ending our time together in peace. Because let’s just be honest: Bedtimes can be stressful!

Puppy Dog Eyes, Alligator Tears

Zach looked up at me with puppy dog eyes, with one of those alligator tear drops threatening to spill down his cheek. He was disappointed. Something hadn’t gone his way. Someone left him out. Like an unsuspecting helium balloon flying high on expectations, a tiny pin hole had let all the air escape and finally landed flat on the floor. That was my little boy. He wasn’t trying to manipulate circumstances or get someone in trouble – this time anyway – he was just deflated. Coming to his Mom, he simply crawled up in my lap, just needing to be held. As I wrapped him in my arms and dried his tears, I whispered, “I love you, Zach.” “I love you too,” he replied.

Fine China Meals - Steck Style!

June 19, 2000. We had been married not quite a year and it was my husband’s birthday. I looked around our newly acquired apartment. Boxes lined the white, bare walls and the carpet was hardly visible. With no pictures on the wall or clothes hanging in the closets, this place didn’t quite feel like home yet. “How can I do something special for his birthday in this mess,” I thought regretfully. As I continued to unpack the boxes and assign the dishes to a cabinet, I came across the box of beautiful china place settings we were given as a wedding gift. “That’s it!” I had an idea.

Locked Out!

   “Bang, bang, bang,” knocked my 5 year old son, outside, on the door. His little eyes peered through the window. No answer. Quickly he knocked again, “bang, bang, bang”. Still nothing moved from within the house. Inside, the radio volume in the living had been turned way up to feel the good song and I was back in my bedroom, completely oblivious to the banging noise. Any other time and Zach’s brother and sister would easily have heard his knock and responded, but this time, they weren’t home. The banging turns to crying and wailing as my desperate son realizes the reality: He’s locked out! When finally, over the noise of the house, I heard a faint sound. I went into the Living Room and saw my husband, home for lunch, with a child tucked in his arms standing at the back door banging as loudly as he can. And thankfully, if I hadn’t heard that knock, he had a key! 

The Water Bottle

   When my kids were babies, I remember watching them observe the world around them in awe. A mere water bottle would entertain them while I ate dinner. Turning it over and over in their hand, they inspected every inch of the label, how it crinkled when pushed on, and how the ripples felt on their little hand. I remember Caleb being especially drawn to tags. He would flick it back and forth with his finger, put it in his mouth, take it out, look at it again and repeat the whole process numerous times.

Day with Dads

  

Adam and I served alongside some dear friends at a prison unit recently, facilitation something called “Day with Dads”. Here, convicts, separated by their families, have the opportunity to fully embrace their loved ones. We served lunch and played games. Had it not been for the white uniforms and guards present, you’d forget this was a prison. To see the faces of the Dads when their son or daughter walked in that room…there are no words, but tears streamed down my cheeks. Through-out the day, the families continued to offer their gratitude for this program and the opportunity twice a year to see their loved one who’s living with the consequences of their choices. The end of the day came, and the good-byes held more tears than the “hellos”, for both parties knew it would be many months before this would happen again. The young children did not understand why Daddy can’t be home.

Don't Move that Wall!!

  

   We've all heard of the re-model project gone awry. The wife wants this wall moved over here to open up this space. That door then scoots down a foot and we put a new archway over there. Sounds simple enough, right? What's the one hitch to pulling it off? After the husband's approval, that is. Right, is "that wall" a load bearing or free standing wall? If that wall has a beam in it that's important to the entire structure of the house, to remove it means you're remodeling more than just the living room!
  

Dry Eyes, Prickly Thorns

   

Sometimes I feel that I know how the rose feels…to have a thorn in its side. I’ve written about the thorn of the rosebush before in the context of relationships (Relational Rose Bush). We know roses have thorns and must treat them as so and not curse the way they are! Some days I believe I too, have a thorn in my side. There’s this thing that is just apart of how God made me that gets twisted up in my flesh and rears its ugly head. It's purposes are against God's plan and desire for me. I have prayed for deliverance of it, confessed it, sought forgiveness for it's effects, ignored it, shoved it in a locked cabinet, fasted over it, but it’s still there, just like the rose's thorny stem.

Bigger is always Better...or Is It?

   Things are just bigger in Texas! We have bigger burgers, bigger hats, bigger cows, and maybe even bigger people. We look naturally to the BIGGER, thinking somehow it’s better.

   For many of us, we want to accomplish BIG things in life. We toil and strive to come out on top – to be distinguished and noticed in our field of expertise. Why throw a tiny pebble into the pond when a large boulder will make a much larger ripple effect? Have you ever tried to pick up one of those boulders? Or tried to launch it? I argue, your ability to would depend on how many smaller, “lesser” ones you’ve practiced on previously. The untrained can throw their back trying!

Better Than a Black Friday Sale

Proverbs 24:3-4 “By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.

   How do we build a house with wisdom? This verse says our house will be established through understanding. That like couches and tables that fill our actual house, the beautiful antique treasures in this metaphorical house get there by knowledge.

Putting Movement into Learning!

   When I decided to have a "home school" page on my blog, I didn't want to "follow" a certain curriculum or method, or be a second Pinterest page to look at. Instead, I want to encourage home-schoolers in their journey whatever they use and wherever they are. This journey is hard enough without thinking we have to be highly organized or crafty to do this well. If God called you to it, He knew You could do it with the personality and style You posses. Now, that doesn't mean we don't grow in the process, but we thankfully don't change who we are!

Joys from the Stomach Bug

It has happened to us all. The day starts out great. The sun is shining, kids are playing and you are feeling great. Lunch rolls around and the day is halfway over! Thirty minutes after the leftovers are refrigerated and the dishes put away (or in the sink) it hits...nausea, headache, dizziness. You must find a toilet, a bed, a rag and FAST. Mentally you scratch off the original plans of your day because you have the stomach bug. Hopefully it will “run its course” in 24-hours and no one else will get it!

Flexible

I love being flexible, except when it interferes with my routine. I have never done "school" during the Holidays. However due to an extended summer break and later than normal Kenya trip, we have found ourselves doing just that. Now, instead of rolling into the holidays doing fun crafts, candies, and colors, we are doing MATH, World War 2, and Phonics! 

The Best Kept Secret Ingredient...according to my Kids

I don't know about you, but I'm glad the holidays are over!

   For us, the month of December is a time for family gatherings, gifts, shopping and often times, stress and packed schedules. In the middle of all these activities I try to make time for my kids to make some home-made gifts of their own. This year, it was last minute, but I seized Christmas Eve Eve as the Day! The kids dressed in their aprons, the counters cleared and the broom and mop ready for the mess that would follow, we began. I think we started more enthusiastically than we ended, but still, considering it's the holidays, I consider the day a success! 

Who are you?

   

   Mom, you are important!!! Don’t tell me your kids aren’t watching you. Don't think for a second that how you live life in front of them doesn’t matter to them. It does matter. Greatly.