Well, I'm sitting here on the side of the rode with my little's because my battery died.

Sigh...

We had a great day on a field trip to the local Locomotive museum in Cambridge Ohio with our church homeschool group.

This man carved all of these trains. We learned about steam engines and how they were run.... Very interesting.

He also made all these toys.

Afterward we ate lunch at the Byesville park. This is a wonderful park that we had never been to before today.  Why did I not know about this great place???

Just around the corner was a little museum that we toured about the town of Bysville, Ohio.

We had a wonderful time of education and fellowship.

As I started to leave, my van would not start... so here I sit waiting for a jump. :)

We're still alive! Things have been very busy around here since school started. Also, my tablet broke, so I didn't have anything to write with:( Until now that is. Here are some pictures of what we've been doing!!

My Grandpa De Leon came down and took us out to eat at the local Mexican restaurant.

We ate really good food; and there was a lot of it too, as you can see:)

We went for a drive and saw fields and trees....

and a lake....

and more fields and trees!

We saw a sign....

and stopped for ice cream.

 

We saw a broken barn....

and some cool rocks.

See you tomorrow! (Maybe:))

CarissaFaith:)

So, we made it through the second week of school! We're pretty much in our schedules now, I think.

Nothing exciting has happened yet. I took a total of two Bible quizzes, 2 History quizzes, 1 Literature quiz, and I'm pretty sure that's all. I think I said I was taking Spanish this year and I'm starting to think in it too. Autumn and I were making lunch today and I went to get some banana peppers. I suddenly had this thought: caciendo. I was wondering why in the world I was thinking that when I realized it was Spanish for cook:-)

I don't have any elaborate pictures or anything. Well, unless you count the First Day of School Pictures on the Second Day of School:-)

Carissa Faith :)

Every year I see people take these great "first day of school" pictures and I feel guilty, because the first day of school comes and goes and I didn't get that picture.
Sooo....this year I was determined to get a first day of school picture.

I did, kind of ....

BUT...we will call it

It took us over 3 minutes to get a good picture. This was my first attempt. I actually took video without them knowing it of "trying to get the picture".  It seriously takes them FOREVER to stand still! LOL! I tried uploading it, but our internet said it would take 600 minutes..crazy!

This was better.

Well, we started our homeschooling Tuesday and it went pretty well. We start out with family devotions at 7:30 which I really, really, really love!!!

One of the greatest advantages of doing this is that everyone's goal is to be dressed, beds made, and personal devotions finished before devotions start . I also love that Michael leads us in morning devotions. It puts us all on the right foot to start the morning.

Charity woke up dry, so we put her on the potty before devotions.

After breakfast, everyone is supposed to QUIETLY start school in the basement while Charity, Mercy, I run the vacuum and clean up the kitchen. When 7 kids go down to the basement QUIETLY does not always happen! :)
After my little preschool and Kindergartner help me upstairs, then I get them started downstairs on their school.
By the way, if you have small ones...let them help you vacuum, sweep, and clean up. It teaches them responsibility AND it keeps them out of trouble...messing up the entire house!

This is where I found Charity after I got Mercy started on school.

Mercy is writing in her Journal. Kindergarten!

Serenity working in her handwriting. 3rd Grade!

Can you tell Stephen likes to be organized? 4th Grade!!

I'm teaching Timothy Life Science this year...7th grade!!

Carissa was trying to ignore me... :) 10th grade!!

I interrupted Melody in writing her personification paragraph. :)

Sweet Autumn is in 11th grade. Hard to grasp that she will be graduating next year.

Happy School Year!

I'm scared.
I'm frightened.
I'm afraid.
Why?
I always get this way at the beginning of the school year.  I am going to be brutally honest…I love homeschooling. I love the ability to teach my children and enjoy being not only their mom, but their teacher as well.

We start on Tuesday. However, I find it overwhelming and feel the burden of school, meals, laundry, music lessons, new church year, and just being a mom coming crashing down on me.

Every beginning of the school year a fear takes over me... a fear that I will fail as a teacher, a mother, and spiritual mentor. I have no one to blame, no one to complain to, no one to say it's not my fault...the bucks stops with me.

Is my curriculum right for each child? Am I going to have the right attitude and correct spirit to help a frustrated child? Can I give each child what he/she needs?

These are the thoughts that come into my head at the beginning of school.

Yes, I have the books, paper, their desks are ready and filled with newly sharpened pencils, colorful crayons, and chalk for those new personal chalkboard I made this year...all the school supplies they need for the start of a new year.

But am I ready?
The teacher?
The mom?
The wife?

Going to a homeschool convention this summer, I met a lot of other homeschoolers many of whom were homeschooling for the first time.

They had that look in their eye... Like they were trapped between excitement with the privilege of teaching their children and the fear of what to do, how to do it, and will they fail?
Like a deer caught in the headlights in the pitch dark on one of our country roads!

Homeschooling is not just that fuzzy feeling of having a clean house, the laundry done, breakfast ready for the perfectly dressed child, a clean kitchen after breakfast, school starting on time and you and the child sharing a book on the couch as the sun shines in through the window! :)

It's the day to day living. The times when the house is not clean, the kids are fussy, it's raining, the laundry is not done, the schedule is messed up yet and school and learning still continue.

The learning my children receive not only comes from the books, but more importantly, it comes from a life wholly dedicated to God. A life that shines the love of Christ when either the day is perfect or the day  is out of sorts and the schedule is off.

I want to be that mom that shines Christ.
I want to be the teacher that loves God, shows God's love.
I want to be the mentor that looks like Christ?
How can I be that mom, teacher, mentor?

Well, that brings me full circle to THE teachers edition, the manual for my life.

God's Word

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. Deu 6:7

1. I need to  pray like Nehemiah...
"O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.  O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. " Nehemiah 1:11

 2.I need to follow this pattern as Paul told the Corinthians:
  Let all your things be done with charity. (love)". I Cor 16:14

3. I need to walk worthy like Paul told the Ephesian people.
 ".I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Eph. 4::1-3

4. I desire to do as John says:
 "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.".

This year as I seek with God's help to teach my 9 children Kindergarten to 12th grade, I go on my knees...