Homeschool Retreat

I am pretty pumped about homeschooling right now. I attended a conference on Saturday up in Ridgecrest and went away feeling excited and not overwhelmed (which was what I expected to be) about it all. Let me share some of the things that I learned.....well, not all of it was new info to me, but what great reminders! The first thing that comes to mind was this:
Do not do for your kids what they can do for themselves. Now that is a lot harder than it may sound to enforce and go about doing. For example, I made the boys make their own sandwiches for lunch today (under my supervision) because they need to be able to do that. They already do a lot around the house to help like taking out trash, unloading the dishwasher, vacuuming, and general picking up because I have a new recent rule that when I clean, they help. I guess those go hand-in-hand with the idea of not being their "mommy-servant". Teaching them these life skills makes them better people and me a happier mom.

Of course I was convicted of my poor organization and got a few pointers to get going in the right direction. Simplify and make lists. That sums it up.......And try to stick to a schedule.

We also got a lot of information on the different homeschooling methods and curriculum. Good stuff. I had always worried that I tend to concentrate on my favorite things (reading and history) but found out that it is OK and I do have to factor what I enjoy into our choices. (Don't worry, we will still do science.)

My sweet moma gave me some money for books so I picked up some history cds for the van rides to Black Mountain, a book about learning styles, For the Children's Sake (all about the Charlotte Mason method) and our Science text book. The kids love the cds and didn't want to get out of the car when we got home this afternoon. I am learning a lot from them too.

Another theme that I found interesting was the idea of a joyful home and making learning fun. Although I struggle in the organization department, a strength I DO have is creativity and doing things a little weird to change up the mundane. One of my main goals in educating these kids is that I want them to love learning and want to know more about life. As I have said here plenty of times before, boys need more than sitting at a desk to learn about things.

Speaking of goals, one of the first things we did in a seminar was to make a mental list in our heads of what kind of person we want our children to be when they are 20 years old. When we got home we were supposed to write it out and post it on the fridge to keep us grounded and set on the ultimate (eternal) goal. I haven't gotten to that yet, but hopefully by the end of the week I will have it done. Hhhhmm, maybe I will start here:

What I want for my 20 year olds:
1. I want them to have a personal relationship with the Jesus and saving faith in Him.
2. I want them to love others.
3. I would like for them to be able to pursue their goals whether it be college or something else.
4. I would like them not to care what others think of them so much, but instead focus on caring for others and loving them.
5. I want them to love learning and see value in going to class at college even if the professor doesn't take role and they could probably still make a C.


Is that too much to ask?




So, I have cleaned everything out and made lists and goals. Everyone needs to pray that this energy lasts because I know one thing for sure:
I cannot do it alone and in my own strength.