Speaking of homeschool

This year is very different. I am truly amazed at how things have changed. Even though this is our 4th year, to me it's seems like this is our first.

I've been rattling it around in my brain, pondering the ways that I've changed, that ways that my family has changed and broke down the last 4 years of our homeschool lives.

Year one:
Noah was in Kindergarten. He wasn't allowed to be officially registered, since you must be 6 years of age or older. This was my "test" year. I followed all the legal rules by keeping records, logs and writing out my philosophy. My goal at that time was to get the hang of it all. Learn the system, familiarize myself with how it works and teach myself a system for our home. For me, at that time, I was stretching myself with organization, discipline and routine. I struggled, but also impressed myself by proving to myself that I CAN do this.

Year two:
Noah officially in grade one. In the actual system was a bit intimidating. Caleb was 8, Noah was 6, Isaiah was 4 and Faith was 6 months old. I look back on that year and wish I could have been more structured. I was SOOO busy with all 4! When I think of that year, I think of how tired I was. I was learning alot of new things personally. That was the year that I lost all the weight. Having a baby crawling around made it hard to stay structured, but I also personally struggled with staying disciplined and following through in my tasks.

Last year:
Where do I begin??????????????
We started off strong. I knew that with Noah being in the second grade, Isaiah in kindergarten, I needed to once again take it up a few notches. My goals for last year when it first started was to stay focused, not burn out and stay disciplined. To take everything that much more seriously, to stretch myself that much more, to do that much more in every area. I wanted to excel. I wanted to finish with a bang. Of course, in the middle of October, Caleb got very sick and by the end, he had passed away.,... I still can't believe it sometimes. All our sanity as we knew it went out the window. By the new year, I was able to gather up some courage to give it one last shot before our little Elishah was to be born. Knowing that I was due the beginning of March, I hoped to cover another big chuck of our school. When the whole year was said and done, was had "official school" from September to middle of October and January to end of February.
Of course, I know that we did much more than "official school" in that year as a family. It was tough. And without God, we wouldn't be here right now!

This year:
I am so optimistic. I love the materials, I love our schedule, I love my kids. They are doing so well! This year also started with a storm when my mom was admitted to hospital with a heart condition. It has got me thinking on a whole new level. It takes endurance and vision to stay the path. When my mom was laying in her hospital bed, there were moments that we thought we would actually loose her.......But my kids were always on the back of my mind. I believe that God is speaking to me through all of this as it relates to our homeschool. I have no regrets about last year and our school. I did the best that I could with what I had. But you can never predict tragedy. Our lives will be full of storms. I've realized that no matter what is thrown at me, my kids are still depending on me. As a homeschool mom, I need to pick my battles. (I guess this would go for anyone, no matter what you do) I can find many reasons to "put off school". To drive someone here or there. To help this person or that person....But this is my job. I may not get paid in a form of a cheque, but this is my job. I take lunch breaks like everyone else. I may not even answer my phone.
Maybe this is a "duh" for others, but something that is really upfront for me. I need to keep going, purposing to do what God has called me to do. I pray that God will give me HIS strength to pick my battles, and stay on track all year long!!

Our homeschool

I can't really explain the passion in my heart for schooling my kids. Not many people ask me about it, and that's okay. My dad called me from work and asked how school was going and that was nice. I guess every year that we do it, the more I realize how much us Waldherr's are built for this way of life. We thrive together. I am so thankful for the relationships that are being glued between the silblings and the parents.
I am blessed by the resources that I have this year. I feel like I know what I need to do, what I need to accomplish before the year's end. It's also nice to have Isaiah in the first grade, knowing that I've done this grade before. Even though her learning style is very different than Noah's, I am familiar with the material and can present it in a way that fits Isaiah.
Here are some pics of the first month of school....

Isaiah learning to read

Some of Isaiah's creations


I will go up to the six fingered man and say, "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die"



noah doing a new curriculum this year curriculum this year called, Learning Language Arts Through Literature. We love it. Bought it used at the book fair last year for 20 bucks!



Time for a bath after finger painting!!



Elishah is so good! I couldn't ask for a better baby. She sleeps well and is happy as she follows us around all day!

Things rattling in my brain

-sensing another big wave of grief coming on with the one year anniversary right around the corner....

-in my journey of faith....i'm searching for the true God, the real thing, without it being dressed up with pretty language, duties and expectations.

-Wondering where God really wants me to go from here

-feeling very disorientated in my journey of faith

-Totally loving school with my kids and excited to see all where God will take us as a family this year

-Scared, yet excited to lead a small group.....asking God to fill in the MANY gaps that I will have in being able to do a good job.

-Many things in my brain like my mom's new heart condition, my relationship with my inlaws, my neighbour across the street that just lost her kids (they were apprehended) my hubby starting his awesome new job today, keeping a close eye on my kids and all that they need to learn......

-Maybe God wants me to be all disorientated, maybe not.....usually I know where I'm going and where I've been. It's hard to related to life without Caleb. It's like my relationship with God was really tied together to Caleb. Now that he's gone, I'm having to relate to God without Caleb being like a porthole....sounds weird, but that's what it seems like.

thanks for listening.

-

finally, some pictures!!

You can click on any of these pics to get a better look!!
I'll start with a few updates on our basement...
We have a new bed set!! If any of you know what actually happened to the old one !! (hint: it involves a two year old and a huge jar of vaseline)


After living in our basement for 8 months, we finally have doors! YEAH FOR PRIVACY!
We've done it! We've taken the plunge and got 2 cute little guinea pigs! Isaiah named hers Pixie, Noah is in bed and I can't remeber the name he gave his little one.
Here they are all scared on their first night in a new home

These are our two little frogs. Noah caught the brown one and Nin found the redish one by her house. The red one has no toes on his right foot.
Our homeschool has been going really well. This is where we keep our workbooks and there are drawers for keeping the stuff they've already done. Keeping good records is very important.
Our new "managers of their homes" schedule. This layout is from an awesome book we bought at the convention 2 years ago. It works very well for our family.
This is our schedule broken down a bit more. Even little faith has preschool everyday! It's so fun!!
Last but not least, a pic of Elishah. She blesses me to no end. she is so full of joy. She brings so much to the rest of us, even though she can't even talk yet!

Well, that's it for now. I really want to walk through a day with the camera with each kids and lay out what a day looks like for each of them. I'm sure no one would be really that interested, but more so for me to look back and see.
blessings to all

Super quick update

Still off track with sticking to the body for life diet.
Back at running....feels great. It's been a great stress reliever
I rushed my mom to the emergency room on tuesday night with heart trouble. We thought she wasn't going to make it! Super stressed, super hard, lots of memories. Being called at 5 am rushing to the hospital while it's still dark......(like I said, lots of memories)
She's getting better. She was diagnosed with "broken heart syndrome" She needs months of rest.

My homeschool started off strong, I am thankful for the grace God has given me to tackle it all. I positively without a doubt love being home teaching my kids. They are such a blessing. Of course in the middle of the year, I will need to remember the energy I have now!! I told nin that I wish I could channel it and use it when I loose the umphf.
I'll try to get some pics up.

Got sick, stopped running, and then fell off the wagon with my eating.....

I never thought I would miss running so bad! I will be 2 weeks on Sunday since I've ran. I came down with a nasty virus with a cough. Any kind of cardio would throw me into a coughing fit, so I've been waiting it out....of course, in this time, I've completely fallen off the wagon with my food diet! GRRRR

I can't wait to get back out there. I was up to running 2.5 km without stopping with a great sprint at the end of the run. That's a big deal to me. That's running from mac's along Diefenbaker all the way to the church on the corner of Laurier Dr. and then all the way back home again. which is off of steeves. My sis has had no one to run with all this time.

We are doing a dance for a concert with our church in October. I'm not going to tell details, but the heart of it is breaking generational curses. Going against the stream and flow, swimming upstream, fighting for all the best that God has for us. Fighting a battle against defeat, fear and sin. But in the last 2 weeks, I feel like I'm losing the battle. If I'm not going to walk the walk, then of course, I will get seriously wounded.
There's a saying that I have been clinging to and a verse that goes with it,
"You don't succeed because you're perfect, you succeed becuase you persevere."
"He will complete the work He started in me"

I have to keep going, brush the dust off, turn from my sin and walk towards the light. He can restore me.

School starts tomorrow!

Well it's that time again. Time to jump off that cliff. It's time to jump and wait for the Lord to catch me...
I think to myself that if I were a grade one teacher, I would learn the material after a few years. I would probably get myself in a groove. After 4 of 5 years, I may have it down to a science. Of course, I have never been a school teacher and have never taught 30 kids at one time!!! (that would be a challenge to say the least!)
But I start each new year (this being our 4th year) with totally new challenges.
-My kids keep changing their levels
-New children keep arriving!
-The schedule never ever looks the same from year to year.
-I need to learn a whole new grade!

It's fun and exciting to watch them grow and mature, but it can seem overwhelming to me at the same time....what an AWESOME RESPONSIBILITY! WHAT AN HONOR!
The responsibility of raising Godly children has been placed on my shoulders by God himself! I am thankful, fearful, and in awe all at the same time.

I pray for strength, courage and wisdom to do this job well.