Sweet Rewards

It wasn't too long ago that I had a mini-moment-breakdown about homeschooling through the high school years. If you followed my Montana blog you may have witnessed the scariness of it all. I was fretting about all sorts of stuff-transcripts, extra-curricular activities, my teaching abilities (I mean what mom can get over a grandma standing in her kitchen telling her she will NEVER be able to teach high school sciences at home), and a whole bunch of borrowed trouble. Reading Ambleside online didn't help either...they said be prepared for 6 - 8 hours of academics per day. Sheesh...this high school stuff is serious business.

Fast forward nine months-after tears, prayers, research, prayer, ten torn-up booklists/schedules, prayers, advise seeking, and prayers-I am at the end of week 3 of the first year of high school. Life around here is kind of fun. Exciting actually. We are getting into a groove. Etching out a routine. Each child finding their own approach. Finally, I am watching the movie play after years of scripting, writing, casting, and wrapping. The reward is sweet.

The first day of Biology was awesome. As a side I must plug Apologia Biology. This book is probably the closest thing that you can get to a non-textbook. This Charlotte Mason mom loves it-so far. Okay, back to the first day. As we started reading I saw the kid's eyes dance. They were getting it. They already knew all of this stuff. Our life's adventures had already taught them these processes, theories, and truths. Now, they are learning the technical terms and gaining new information to add to the foundation they already have.

Grammar? So glad that I waited. Once again Latin is proving to be all they need. No years of being ruined, exasperated, and confused by silly workbooks. For those moms who are laboring over what do do with grammar again this year, those who are doubting the choices they are made, those who are feeling pressured because everyone around you is singing the praises of Easy Grammar-wait, just wait. Grammar is still gonna be there long after the years of childhood have past. Charlotte was right when she said that afternoons should be reserved, even guarded for a child and their 'play'.

Life of Fred continues delight. Both of my teenagers are learning more than they have ever learned before and loving math.

I must add that I appeased some of my own fears and frustrations by streamlining the high school years. I bumped Kiersten up a year. They have always done the same things together except for science and math. I just decided that she was going to do Biology with Christopher this year and continue on her own with math. I mean by the time I got to high school all of my friends and I were in different math classes. So, in a way I did cheat a bit to save myself from teaching Biology two years in row and next year having to teach Chemistry and Biology at the same time.

Education continues here, albeit a wee more serious. I couldn't be more happier with the educational approach we took when the kids were young...block upon block, precept upon precept.

Virginia Summers are Like Montana Winters

I am a wimp. No doubt about it. The heat here is intense and every morning when the weather man reminds those of us living in Tidewater how easy we have had it this summer I want to run in the corner and cry like a baby. Really? This is easy? Are you sure, cause I can't even breath when I walk out in this junk.

Seeing that I am an expert in 'how to survive' long winters', I am implementing those very survival tactics on super hot, humid days. Ready for the secret? Bookwork and lots of it. It is quite lovely, except for the part when my Montanan mind sees sunshine outside and thinks, 'hey stupid, why are you inside, the sun is shining and there is no snow on the ground...go play.' So while I am retraining my mind we are diving headlong into Latin, the Ancients and lots of glorious fractions and algebra.

Being in the house more is forcing us to make this house a home. Before our junk was just kind thrown in here, now said junk is strategically placed; every piece in its rightful place. Rain jackets are now in hall closets instead of being stuffed in day packs. Mixing bowls are now on reachable shelves and not hidden in that cupboard no one ever gets to above to fridge. And school stuff is out where the peeps can easily access it. Yeah, if you came here you would think the people who lived here planned on being here for quite some time....shhh don't say it too loud, I might hear ya say that.

And during this time of suburbia house fever I am dreaming about all the wonderful things I am going to do come fall. Lots of hiking, camping and driving in the country. Apple picking, antiquing and fall color drives. Quiet trips to Williamsburg without public school kids and annoying tourists. The clippity-clop of Amish buggies on lonely roads. Whoppie pies. Fall decorations, pumpkin spice candles and soup everyday. Fresh baked bread. Ahhh...just a few more weeks.

I have been missing Yellowstone pretty badly this past week. Memories are wonderful you know. I can close my eyes and instantly transport myself to one of a hundred lovely places. Sometimes my eyes stay closed for a really long time, cause I hate leaving there. What I really hate is the jealousy that wells up in me for all of the people that are there and will be there everyday until the Park closes in November. This is the first summer in a decade that I haven't visited YNP. My feelings are still so raw. BUT, I have found this wonderful website that streams live pictures from the top of Mt. Washburn. It is so nice. Many a mornings I have watched the sun come up over the backside of the Absorokas or elk eat on the bare hillside on that webcam....a cheap thrill really. But one that I covet these days.

So, life is continuing. I have found quite a bit of peace. Knowing that my dreams aren't forever gone, just delayed a bit. In the meantime I am relishing days with my children and truly loving living so close to my family.

This weekend brings big plans. Kiersten is celebrating her 14th birthday. For two weeks she will sing to Christopher "I am the same age as you" and for two weeks he will volley back "I am still older". We have a few surprises in mind for her, as well as a much anticipated mom/daughter shopping day planned. Good times.

What's Left Over

I really wasn't sure that I would ever blog again...really it sounds dramatic...but I meant it. My heart was hurting so bad and it was only made worse by sharing it with you all. I mean, I couldn't pretend to be okay. So hear I am 6 months and 6 days post "your life as you know it is over" and should I be surprised I am still vertical? Silly girl. I have had some dark days and some real dark moments. All self-inflicted mind you. I again have learned what I have known for years now. God's truth is God's truth. It doesn't change. It is always there for the taking. You can choose it or in my case fight it. And fight it I did. I had a good-ole-knock-down-drag-out fight with the Creator of the universe. Pitched myself a right good fit. And I whined and complained and well, you get it. And like God warns such trespasses become 'as like rottenness in bones' and that of course caused all kinds of ugliness. So, now I am left with 6 months of looking back at what I wish I would have done versus what I did. And guess what? I still had to leave my beloved Montana. Gheesh. Hopefully I won't be walking with a limp for too long! Should have learned from Jacob.


So, what's up you ask? My family and I are embarking on a great suburban experiment. The house is all settled and for all intent and purpose so are it's inhabitants. Chris is working. The kids are doing what teenagers do. And I, well I am slowly finding my way...by choice. I am back to baking bread and cooking. I am all hooked up with Freecycle. I am planning the homeschooling year for a high schooler. I am supporting Chris in his new job to the best of my abilities. And in between life's necessities I am spending time with the Lord, singing a new song, finding new dreams and asking for a new vision. And after I apologized immensely for trying to break his back, He has been faithful to deliver.


I have loved blueberry picking, burning my lily white thighs at the beach, walking in my neighborhood's walking trails, spying my backyard raccoon, buggy chasing in Bird-In-Hand, reading good novels, running in the rain, watching earth shattering thunderstorms, sharing meals with my parents, having afternoon lunch with visiting grandparents, summer afternoons in Williamsburg and enjoying the nurturing love of new friends. All of which I would have missed if I would have not left Montana.


I don't cry anymore when I think of Montana and all I left behind. I still miss it and always will. To me, that's home. But, (and I never thought I would say this) there is life after Montana. And best of all...I am still just simple ole Gina.

Life of Fred

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Living Books. Karen Andreola says, "Living Books are usually written by one person who has a passion for the subject and writes in conversational or narrative style. The books pull you into the subject and involve your emotions, so it’s easy to remember the events and facts. Living books make the subject “come alive.” They can be contrasted to dry writing, like what is found in most encyclopedias or textbooks, which basically lists informational facts in summary form." I have used such books to educate my children and have reaped the benefits ten-fold!

Now math has always been a super sticky area for most Charlotte Mason eduacators. So, for the most part you found what worked and that always (or most always) included a dry, boring textbook. Every now and again a new hotshot would come along and rock our homeschool world...but before too long it ended up on our shelf...having done it's job...and not more.

Enter Fred. I am not sure if it is an East Coast thing or what, but until moving here I had never even heard of Life of Fred Books. Life of Fred books provide to the Charlotte Mason mother what peanut butter gives to jelly. Finally, a match! And are you ready for this? Pssst...they are for the middle and high school years. I know

Now, before I get tons of emails about how incompltete the series may be or how can this possibly compare to a tradional form of math...let me say this. Life of Fred is not for everyone. CM education, especially in the latter years takes a sort of bravery. Fred isn't for the mothers of non readers, tradionalists or school-in-a-box patrons. Fred is for those kids that everyone else thinks is weird, but us mothers know they are purely educated. Educational virgins if you will, untained and unruined by the educational powers that be.

Now for Fred. Here is what Stanley Schmidt says about his books:

"The Life of Fred books are self-teaching. Parents are encouraged NOT to teach the material. Here's why: I believe that English and reading are more important that mathematics (and I have a Ph.D. in math!) Increasingly, as the children go through their years of elementary school, high school, and college, they learn by reading more than by lectures. In kindergarten, virtually everything they learn is from the teacher's mouth. By graduate school, sitting around in seminars discussing what you have read becomes normative. And after college, the graduate faces 40 or more years in which virtually everything of importance that is learned is from reading---not from the Discovery Channel on television. Children are human. They seek labor-saving approaches to life. When reading in any math book, when they hit something they don't understand, they immediate choice is to cry from help from mama. And mama comes running (it's hard-wired into our species) and "helps" the little one. And this has several negative effects: (1) It teaches the child to whine (which can drive parents crazy) and (2) The child never learns to read in order to understand. If the parent says, "Dr. Schmidt says that I'm not supposed to help you," the child will go back and re-read the passage a second time--at a slower speed--and will find it understandable. The Life of Fred books are clear if they're not read at the same speed you read comic books. I have told parents that if the child still can't understand the material, they can phone me! I've had about five or six calls over the last half dozen years."

To top it all off is the price of the books...they are cheap...dirt cheap and they will last for as many children as you have to use them.

Take a few minutes and check out Life of Fred for yourself:

http://www.stanleyschmidt.com/FredGauss/index2.html

On a personal note, some people have asked me how I am uing these books this year. For Kiersten, it is all she is using. For Christopher, this will be his main text and I am going to use it expecting he will CLEP the college class he was going to take this year. Of course I will update you on that. Happy Homeschooling!

The End of a Blogra

Alright, not as catchy as the end of an era...but still. I know when to end a good thing before it becomes a not so good thing, although I may still be a bit late. As you may have guessed-my blogging days are over. I have nothing great or creative to say and frankly this blog feels more like a burden than a blessing.

Not sayin' that I won't ever return. Just sayin' that the well has run dry.

Folks that cannot live without my creative, I mean senseless rambling can join me at Facebook.

Take care Peeps!

Life Goes On

I have been remiss about posting here. Don't get me wrong, I have had plenty to say...I just haven't. It could be because I have been very ill, or that I have been too busy or maybe because I feel like I really have nothing important to say.

My life looks much like it did in the weeks after getting settled into our Montana home. I see a pattern here. Life is just plain chaotic after a move, especially one to a new state, town or community. I am sure that this has much to do with my perpetual habit of trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. I hate change and I am unwilling to bend. Throw all that in with a newly discovered allergy that left me in the ER and I might just have an excuse to not have posted.

Things are continuing to settle, mostly on their own. Time has a way of taking care of change. Life is easier if we let time do it's job. Simpler really. I am thoroughly enjoying modern day luxuries. And really they are luxuries. The dishwasher, dryer, crock pot. The garage door, complete with opener. Air conditioner. You really can live without these. But they do make life easier and I figure if I have to be here, I might as well enjoy them.

We have enjoyed many blessings over the last few weeks. Hiking in the Shenandoah. Big family meals. New friends. Homeschool Co-ops. Healthy, fresh food. Starbucks. I even got to enjoy a Sunday afternoon nap yesterday. Good times.

I also should mention that despite my best efforts to stay 'oh natural' when it comes to health care I have joined the ranks of allergy suffers who carry epipens, take steroids and pop allergy pills daily. Yep, I can thank oak pollen for that one. After fighting the urge to thumb my nose at the drugs that saved my life I have taken the road mostly traveled and count my blessings...thank you God for the miracle of science and medicine.

I am doing well. I really don't have anything extraordinary to share. I am just a girl, walking daily with her Savior, choosing to be happy, learning what it means to be completely undone, unraveled, and still carry on.

I am happy here, I was happy in Montana, I was happy in Oregon. I am seeing a pattern here. I know more now than ever before this is where God wants me. And while I wish that He would have choosen differently for me, I am extremely grateful that He allowed me to live my dream as long as He did. Today I am living on the other side of sad, hopeful that before too long I will be so far away from sad that I can't remember what it looks like.

Time

Saturday morning was a perfect day for moving. The predicted thunderstorms never came and my entire family showed up at the storage facility ready to work. We found no further termite damage and the Uhaul had no problems. We loaded and unloaded by early afternoon. My mom unpacked the kitchen, my dad put things together and hung stuff, my SIL helped Kiersten with her room, and my brother did whatever I asked of him. It was a great day for me to be boss and watch my family do my bidding!

Sunday was just the four of us finishing up little things. You know the little things that make a big difference. Putting books on book shelves, hanging clothes, driving to Target to get things like Goo Gone and soap dishes. By days end we were watching rented movies and eating Subway. We started to feel settled-not just physically, but emotionally.

The last few days have started to look somewhat familiar. I have tried to sneak a few school lessons in between the plumber, Internet repair man, and the leasing agent. I'm cooking meals and the kids are doing chores. It feels kind of like getting on a bicycle after not riding one for years. You know what you need to do, the whole process feels familiar, but you still fall. Every time you get on you get a little better.

Somethings are in disrepair. Like the oven. It doesn't work properly. So, like in every big city I must wait. Because they are busy. Because there are 100 other housewives whose ovens broke before mine.

So here I am this morning. Hubby is off to work. My house is in order. Cupboards are full. My new life.

I have made some new friends. The beautiful male cardinal that visits my kitchen window feeder several times a day. Baby bunny. The eastern cottontail with the big growth on it's cheek, we have named him John McCain. And the two giant mischievous squirrels that play in my oak trees.

Honestly, I have no idea where this is all going. In Montana I knew what my future held. I had a vision for what was ahead. I had a plan, a dream and I felt so blessed everyday to be living it. Now I know that nothing is certain. I don't know how long Chris will work at this job-the economy is still bad...will he get laid off again? This isn't where we want to be...will we return to Montana? What if we end up liking it here and Chris stays in this job for 20 years...what then?

I have discovered something priceless. I have joy again. I think I choose it. I do know that joy and happiness don't come from a quiet mountain cabin and it doesn't come on some far off back country trail. I had a moment last week through tears where I said to Chris "all I know is that I have a God and He loves me and it has to be enough". I had nothing else. In a horrible moment of sadness nothing else comforted me. And so a new lesson learned. God is enough. Realizing it, accepting it, choosing it. You get joy, supernatural joy. Simple.

Time to make a new life with new traditions, routines, and memories. Time to make new friends and find new favorite places. Time to fix my broken heart. I am gonna miss my old life for a long time, maybe forever...but I am tired of being sad. I am tired of wanting what I can't have. Time to pull myself up from my bootstraps, wipe off the dust and start living again. I have wasted enough time as it is.