3 hours ago
This past week we finished up our homeschool year. I have to say, I was a homeschooled student, but coming from the mom side is a whole different thing. There are a lot of advantages I have as a homeschool mom from being a homeschool student myself, but there are also a lot of things that you can't learn until you are on the teaching side of it. I thought I'd take a little time today to reflect on what I've learned over this first year of homeschooling (first real year anyway - in my book, kindergarten doesn't count).
Homeschooling Is Great For Developing Patience
I would in no way consider myself a patient person. Patience is something that I've struggled with over the years - I get impatient when things don't go smoothly, when I have to repeat myself, when things don't go my way. Getting married cured me of some of that. Having kids has grown me even more. But having my kids with me 24/7 and teaching them myself at home is a whole other ball game when it comes to patience.
When I mention that I am homeschooling my kids, I've had lots of moms say to me "Oh, I wouldn't have the patience for that." This year I learned that I don't have the patience for homeschooling either. The secret is, a lot of moms who choose to homeschool don't have the patience for it. But homeschooling is an excellent facilitator for sanctification.
I know you've heard it said that if you ask God for more patience, He'll give you opportunities to practice it, and that's exactly what homeschooling has done for me. It hasn't always been pretty, and my deep-seated impatience has never been more obvious to me, but I can honestly say that at the end of this year that I am more patient then I was at the beginning of the year. And that's purely through God enabling me and giving me practice at developing patience through this thing called homeschooling. It's hard, but I know this is exactly why I should be doing it.
It's Okay To Change Curricula In The Middle Of The Year
I mentioned in a recent post that we ended up changing curricula in the middle of the year. A lot of homeschool posts will advise you against switching your curriculum, will tell you to give it a really good chance before you drop it. And there's some wisdom in that. You obviously can't be switching curricula constantly - it would waste a lot of money and stunt your child's learning. But this year I learned that when something just isn't working, you should find something else that will. I'm so glad we didn't muddle through the whole year with the curriculum I had originally bought for reading - finding a curriculum that fit was so life-giving to our homeschool days! Switching curricula mid-year does not mean you are a failure for starting with the wrong one. When you are in the early homeschooling years with any kid, it's going to take a little trial and error to figure out what will work best with your unique blend of personalities. I imagine we might have to switch curricula mid-year again at some point since I have five different kids with unique learning needs, and that's okay!
I mentioned in a recent post that we ended up changing curricula in the middle of the year. A lot of homeschool posts will advise you against switching your curriculum, will tell you to give it a really good chance before you drop it. And there's some wisdom in that. You obviously can't be switching curricula constantly - it would waste a lot of money and stunt your child's learning. But this year I learned that when something just isn't working, you should find something else that will. I'm so glad we didn't muddle through the whole year with the curriculum I had originally bought for reading - finding a curriculum that fit was so life-giving to our homeschool days! Switching curricula mid-year does not mean you are a failure for starting with the wrong one. When you are in the early homeschooling years with any kid, it's going to take a little trial and error to figure out what will work best with your unique blend of personalities. I imagine we might have to switch curricula mid-year again at some point since I have five different kids with unique learning needs, and that's okay!
You Will Be Miserable If You Don't Learn To Stop Comparing
I remember seven years ago, as a brand-new mom, I struggled constantly with comparing my baby to all my friends' babies. I doubted myself whenever another child started rolling over, walking, talking before my own baby. Every new mom has to learn not to compare her baby to others, because every child learns and develops at their own pace. I eventually became secure as a mom as I learned those things. What I didn't expect was for all those insecurities to come roaring back as soon as my oldest hit school age. This year I had to re-learn all over again that kids' learn and grow at their own pace, and that this will necessarily affect the way we homeschool. While kids' need to be challenged to grow, there are also times when they are just not ready for a certain academic skill and you have to sit back and wait until they are. Learning when to challenge your child with a new skill and when to wait a bit - and learning to stop comparing your child to other children - is part of becoming a good homeschool teacher.
I remember seven years ago, as a brand-new mom, I struggled constantly with comparing my baby to all my friends' babies. I doubted myself whenever another child started rolling over, walking, talking before my own baby. Every new mom has to learn not to compare her baby to others, because every child learns and develops at their own pace. I eventually became secure as a mom as I learned those things. What I didn't expect was for all those insecurities to come roaring back as soon as my oldest hit school age. This year I had to re-learn all over again that kids' learn and grow at their own pace, and that this will necessarily affect the way we homeschool. While kids' need to be challenged to grow, there are also times when they are just not ready for a certain academic skill and you have to sit back and wait until they are. Learning when to challenge your child with a new skill and when to wait a bit - and learning to stop comparing your child to other children - is part of becoming a good homeschool teacher.
You Actually Can Have A Baby In The Middle Of A Homeschool Year
I have to admit, I was nervous about how having a new baby in the house would affect our homeschool year. This is the first year we have had a legal requirement on the amount of days we needed to do school, and I was really worried that having a baby would make it hard to hit our target. But I learned that having a baby in the middle of a school year is not really a big deal. The great part of homeschooling is that it is so flexible!
I tried to get ahead a bit by schooling a few days here and there over last summer, but we only accumulated 20 extra days. When Georgie was born at the end of October, I took the entire months of November and December off, and we didn't do a single thing (aside from some field trips). But we still finished up our school year before June! Our school days after Georgie arrived were laid-back and simple - we did practically no school work in the mornings. When the little ones were down for a nap in the afternoon, then we would work on our reading, language arts, and math. When the younger ones got up, we'd read our history and science books together.
I was surprised and encouraged to see that homeschooling fit easily into our new life stage - and the key was letting our days be flexible. I'm actually glad I didn't have to deal with getting my kids out the door in the morning and picking them up by a certain time every day, not to mention all the extra preparation for lunches and school events - it might actually be easier to have a baby without sending my kids' to a school building!
I have to admit, I was nervous about how having a new baby in the house would affect our homeschool year. This is the first year we have had a legal requirement on the amount of days we needed to do school, and I was really worried that having a baby would make it hard to hit our target. But I learned that having a baby in the middle of a school year is not really a big deal. The great part of homeschooling is that it is so flexible!
I tried to get ahead a bit by schooling a few days here and there over last summer, but we only accumulated 20 extra days. When Georgie was born at the end of October, I took the entire months of November and December off, and we didn't do a single thing (aside from some field trips). But we still finished up our school year before June! Our school days after Georgie arrived were laid-back and simple - we did practically no school work in the mornings. When the little ones were down for a nap in the afternoon, then we would work on our reading, language arts, and math. When the younger ones got up, we'd read our history and science books together.
I was surprised and encouraged to see that homeschooling fit easily into our new life stage - and the key was letting our days be flexible. I'm actually glad I didn't have to deal with getting my kids out the door in the morning and picking them up by a certain time every day, not to mention all the extra preparation for lunches and school events - it might actually be easier to have a baby without sending my kids' to a school building!
Learn To Love What Must Be Done
I am admittedly an academia-loving person. I get excited by school supplies. I love studying and learning new things myself. I actually love the idea of teaching my kids history and science! But there are some areas of being a homeschool teacher that I was not as excited about. I've had multiple friends make comments to me too about not looking forward to homeschooling, not feeling excited or passionate about it. However, through this first year of homeschooling I've learned that it is possible to learn to love what must be done.
I can't remember where I first heard this phrase, but it has become a constant refrain for me this year, as we pushed through our lessons on days when I was just not feeling it. It's impossible to be passionate and excited about something all the time, and I think to be successful at homeschooling you have to realize that. You can push through and learn to love what you are doing anyway.
It's the difference between the newly-married, heart-pounding love, and the steady deeper love that you have when you've been married for years. As the fresh excitement of the school year faded, and the seeming drudgery of daily work took over, I learned that there is a deeper satisfaction and passion that develops when you push through, as you find the meaningful in the midst of the everyday, as you learn to shake things up and give yourself a fresh perspective throughout the journey.
That's how you learn to love what must be done, by sticking with a commitment even when you don't feel a superficial excitement about it - there's a deeper accomplishment, and yes, even a love, that comes with the commitment.
Next year is my first year homeschooling two kids in two different grades, so the learning has just begun! Stay tuned.
Homeschool friends, what was the biggest thing you learned in your first year of homeschooling?
I am admittedly an academia-loving person. I get excited by school supplies. I love studying and learning new things myself. I actually love the idea of teaching my kids history and science! But there are some areas of being a homeschool teacher that I was not as excited about. I've had multiple friends make comments to me too about not looking forward to homeschooling, not feeling excited or passionate about it. However, through this first year of homeschooling I've learned that it is possible to learn to love what must be done.
I can't remember where I first heard this phrase, but it has become a constant refrain for me this year, as we pushed through our lessons on days when I was just not feeling it. It's impossible to be passionate and excited about something all the time, and I think to be successful at homeschooling you have to realize that. You can push through and learn to love what you are doing anyway.
It's the difference between the newly-married, heart-pounding love, and the steady deeper love that you have when you've been married for years. As the fresh excitement of the school year faded, and the seeming drudgery of daily work took over, I learned that there is a deeper satisfaction and passion that develops when you push through, as you find the meaningful in the midst of the everyday, as you learn to shake things up and give yourself a fresh perspective throughout the journey.
That's how you learn to love what must be done, by sticking with a commitment even when you don't feel a superficial excitement about it - there's a deeper accomplishment, and yes, even a love, that comes with the commitment.
Next year is my first year homeschooling two kids in two different grades, so the learning has just begun! Stay tuned.
Homeschool friends, what was the biggest thing you learned in your first year of homeschooling?
It's here! This week the third decade of my life is coming to a close. There is something more significant about those decade increments, and I wanted to mark it here on the blog in some way.
I've been toying with different blog post ideas. I've seen some people doing "30 Things I Learned Before 30", but I couldn't bring myself to write a post like that. Most 30 year olds are still in the I think-I-know-so-much-but-I-don't-realize-I-really-don't stage, and that includes me. When I reflect back over the last 30 years, I don't think I'm qualified to offer anyone advice. I know less now than I thought I knew at 20 years old! I've spent too much time with people further down the road and much wiser than myself to offer anyone life lessons from a still relatively shallow well of experience.
What I can do though, is look back over these first decades of my life and say what I've regretted, and what I never will, so here we go.
What I Regret From My First 30 Years
Caring Too Much About What People Thought In My Teens
Doesn't every teen care too much about what their peer group thinks? Yes. Does every adult wish they had cared a little less about what their teenage peer group thought? Probably also a yes. I was so insecure as a teenager, and I can't say that I could have really done anything differently to change that - confidence must be earned in some way, must be grown into. But I still wish teenage Callie could have had a little more spunk and individuality.
Going On The Birth Control Pill
This one is a bit of a mixed bag, because I am obviously so thankful to have the children I have, and our rather frustrating journey to parenthood brought them to me. God is sovereign and always had a plan. But I went on the pill unquestioningly right before I got married, and I didn't know about it's potential abortifacient effect, which conflicts with my pro-life beliefs. I didn't know it would seriously mess up my hormones so that when we were ready to start trying for a baby, things wouldn't work right. I'll always wonder if there could have been another child, I'll always wish I did a little more research about birth control before succumbing to that cultural norm. I just didn't know.
Not Getting Serious About Budgeting Sooner
This year I finally realized that grown-ups should have budgets. I feel stupid even typing that. It's not that I had no budget at all through my 20's, I knew what I had to spend each month and I had varying success at staying within that limit. I didn't really overspend (except for one dark period between 2014-2015), but I didn't think enough about future goals and plans. I didn't "give every dollar a job". When I think of all the dollars I have wasted by allowing them to slip away without a plan every month, it makes me kind of sick. I wish I had taken one of those financial peace classes or read more about making and managing a budget before I got my first grown-up paycheck.
Not Witnessing To My Coworkers
I got a job at a great dental office the year after we got married, and I worked there until I got pregnant with Clarice. My sister even worked there for a while, which was so fun. That office saw me through the birth of three of my babies, and I so appreciated the people there. I worked there for almost 7 years. And in all that time, I was too chicken to witness to my coworkers. I was a good employee, and I know some will say that you should "preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words", but let's be honest, that's a cop-out. No one ever got saved without the use of words. I should have loved them enough to be vocal. I kind of wonder if the Lord took me out of that job because I was blowing my chances to tell them about Jesus. To me, this will always be one of my biggest failures. From an eternal perspective, it feels like a waste.
Not Filming My Kids More
Not to toot my own horn, but I have kind of knocked it out of the park when it comes to taking pictures of my kids and documenting their babyhood. But I've also had a video camera in my back pocket for years now, and I'm such a slacker on filming them! In "my next 30 years" (you know I couldn't resist that country song reference!), I want to get better at filming their childhoods, before they slip away.
What I'll Never Regret
Putting My Trust In Jesus For My Salvation
Let's start with the most obvious one! When I was four years old I asked Jesus "into my heart", and over the next years I learned and grew into my faith, made it my own. I will never, ever regret asking Jesus to save me from my sin, turning to Him alone to save my soul. It was the best decision I ever made, no matter how long I live. I am so thankful for my Savior.
Being Homeschooled
When I was 8 years old, my mom made the decision to pull me out of public school. She did this at a time when homeschooling was not common, and looking back at it now, I so admire her bravery. I am thankful every day for her decision. Being homeschooled allowed me space to stop thinking so much about what other kids thought, and start caring a little more about what God thought. That first regret in the list above could have been so much bigger. That decision by my mom to homeschool me became a major part of my testimony - without it, I don't know if I would have grown in my faith or walked with the Lord through high school at all. It's a big reason why I always knew I'd homeschool my kids. I wouldn't be who I was today without it, and I never look back at homeschooling and feel that I missed out on anything. Instead, I gained something precious from it.
Getting Married Young
When I was still in hygiene school, I remember walking into the office one day with a sparkly ring on my finger. I was so happy and excited. I remember one of the front office ladies looking at me with concern. "Are you sure? You are so young. What is the rush?" She didn't get it, and a lot of people didn't get it. They didn't understand that I was committed to not sleeping with anyone before marriage, so living together was not an option. They didn't get why I didn't care to "have some fun" first (marriage is fun, people!). They didn't recognize that when you already know you're going to marry this person, there is really no point in waiting just for the sake of waiting. They didn't think a 20 year old was mature enough to make that kind of decision. But we were absolutely committed to each other, and we got over every rough spot together. I love him more now than I did then. Did I have growing up to do? Yes, but I got to grow up with my husband next to me, my best friend. I'll never regret marrying him young.
Not Drinking
That whole "drink a little more lemonade, and not so many beers" (you know, from the song?) does not apply to me! There are a multitude of reasons why I don't drink, and I won't get into it here. That could be a whole other post, and it is a post I've attempted to tackle several times but was never satisfied enough with the result to share. I think there is liberty here for Christians, so I'm not going to judge you if you do have a drink (without getting drunk, of course, see Ephesians 5:18). But I absolutely think it was a great decision for me to never open that door. I don't want it or need it to relax (a bubble bath and chocolate does the trick), I don't need it to have fun (I honestly feel sorry for people that do), and let's just think for a minute about the money I've saved over the years by not creating that (potentially addictive and risky) habit. I don't imagine I'll regret not having a drink in my next 30 years either.
Having Children In My 20's
I started having babies in my early 20's, and had my last baby in my late 20's. People are always surprised at how young I am, considering I have five kiddos, and sometimes they're even a little judgey about it. But I'm quite happy with how it turned out. I'll graduate my first child at 40, and probably my last before I hit 50. When you are young you have more energy, and I'll hopefully be a younger grandma, which will be fun. I might even get to see my great grandchildren, like my grandparents have. Having babies young isn't always possible, and I want you all to know that my heart aches for every woman who wants to be a mama, and for whatever reason she can't. I know young motherhood isn't possible for everyone. But I don't regret it a bit. I personally don't see anything but positives attached to becoming a mom when I was young. I'm glad we didn't wait too long.
Having A Big Family
I've written about this at length, so I'll keep it short here, but goodness, I'm so thankful for my five kids. Our house is loud and chaotic and full to the brim with joy, and I wouldn't change a single thing. I'm so proud of my big family.
Quitting My Job To Stay Home Full-Time
There was a crossroads in my life a few years ago. When my first three kids were little, I was able to work just one day a week. I didn't have to be away from them very much, and was still able to supplement our income. It was a blessing. Then things started shifting, becoming a little more stressful at work, and they told me they needed me to work more days per week. I hated the thought of giving up that job at the time. But I didn't want to spend more time away from my kids, especially with another baby on the way and kindergarten looming (I wanted to homeschool). After I quit, I felt so free (and also a little guilty and insecure about no longer contributing my "extra" to our income, but that was silly and I got over it). I don't think I ever realized how much even just one day a week was taking from my energy, and now I have it back to give at home. If you are a working mom, I'm not trying to send you a message, so don't read this section that way, please. But for me, I'm so glad I let that job go and came home full-time.
Starting This Blog
If I'm totally honest, I struggle with this little online space sometimes. Blogging has changed so much, and I've changed so much too. There are times I still love having a place to share my thoughts, and times when I am afraid the whole thing is pointless. But as I write this today, I'm glad I've documented the last decade here. Would I remember so much of my 20's if I hadn't taken time to write about it? Without this space, would I have slowed down, formed my thoughts enough to be able to look back now and see God's hand in the journey from 20 to 30? I don't really think so. I don't know what the future holds for this blog. My children are growing, and life keeps speeding up. I imagine it will look different in another 10 years than it does today. But I'm so glad I take some time to write about my life here, and God's hand in it all, if for no one else than for me, to stand as my "ebenezer". It's a reminder of God's goodness to me. I don't regret writing here. And thanks to all of you who have read my posts and stuck with me through the years. Without you, I don't know if I'd have this record at all.
And just for fun, remember that unofficial 30-year-old beach shoot from my vacation? Here are the outtakes. The tide was coming in, and the waves just kept coming in higher, and that water was cold!
And just for fun, remember that unofficial 30-year-old beach shoot from my vacation? Here are the outtakes. The tide was coming in, and the waves just kept coming in higher, and that water was cold!
Here's to the next 30 years!
I somehow found Erin Lynum on Twitter a few years ago, and I specifically remember clicking through to her blog and reading her post about receiving a jar of 936 pennies as she dedicated her baby at her church. The 936 pennies represented the weeks she would have with her baby from birth until their 18th birthday. In that post she challenged moms to make sure they were spending their 936 pennies well. That idea stuck with me, so when I saw this book, I knew exactly who had written it and I snagged it!
I would classify 936 Pennies: Discovering The Joy Of Intentional Parenting as memoir/encouragement for moms. Erin shares a lot of her own mothering journey and ways she has learned to "spend her pennies well" over the years. She doesn't get preachy or tell you what you "should" do, but instead presents her personal experiences as an encouragement and challenge to parent intentionally, with the passing of time in the forefront of our minds. Her kids are about the same age or perhaps slightly younger than mine, so while there were certain sections that I no longer struggle with as much, I could deeply relate to 95% of the book.
There were a couple little quibbles I had here and there with how she worded certain things, but I can definitely say this book is solid doctrinally and is thoroughly grounded by biblical truth and the gospel. She doesn't just focus on superficial suggestions to make our days smoother or more fun, but she digs down deep into what it means to parent our children with not just 936 pennies but eternity in mind. I especially enjoyed the chapters toward the end about memory-making and keeping (something I spent some time writing about last fall), and about how we can gain some time back by using technology well.
I highly, highly recommend this book! I found myself so encouraged to invest in my kids and put some of my own strategies in place to use my time with them in a way that will matter for eternity. I also think this would make an excellent baby shower or first birthday party gift, along with a jar of 936 pennies, of course. If you are a mom, check this one out!
Note: I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for a review. This is my honest opinion.
“What is Callie’s favorite productive hobby?”
I sat there sipping my blueberry limonata while everyone scribbled away in the notebooks Derek passed out. My 30th birthday party, and my sweet husband came up with a contest for whoever could get the most questions about me right. He knows my love of games - in my opinion they make any and every party better!
A few minutes later and he read off the answers, and when he got to the question I just mentioned, almost every single person in that room got the answer right. Writing. Blogging.
I expected to be surprised at some of the answers that the majority got wrong, but here I was surprised at the question that the majority got right.
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Yesterday I decided it was high time I purged my blog feed. I wanted a clean, simple lineup of blogs I actually care to read, not blogs I followed because of a giveaway, or big bloggers who never knew my name. I opened up the browser window and navigated to my “following” list. As I scrolled down the page, I found out I actually wasn’t following too many big, impersonal blogs (just a few that were clogging up my feed). But I was still following blog after blog written by people who have long abandoned writing on the internet. I remembered each one. I remembered what they looked like, how many kids they had, how many more or less years they were married than me.
Blog after blog written by people who no longer thought it was worth putting themselves out there for the world to see.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I closed the window before I totally finished.
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Somehow I’ve been pounding out my thoughts on this blog for nearly ten years. It doesn’t seem like that long ago that I tentatively typed my first post, wondering if there was anyone out there who would read it. Back then, none of my real life people knew I had a blog. I didn’t tell anyone, not for years and years. There was a tiny part of me that was irrationally embarrassed. I didn’t tell anyone until I started making money at it.
I don’t think I was the only one who kept their personal blog a secret. It’s vulnerable to put yourself out there in the first place, even more so to have real-life people who may be reading, who may or may not “get” why you are writing.
Then the professionals came on the scene, and we casual bloggers started to feel like maybe these kinds of posts weren’t really worth sharing. Maybe this blogging thing was only worth doing if you were trying to make money at it.
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I’ve been thinking about the blogging community a lot lately, as I slowly approach the ten-year anniversary of this blog. I added a blogroll back to my sidebar. Somewhere along the way blogrolls in the sidebar became uncool, unprofessional, and if you wanted to “make something” of your blog you wouldn’t be caught with one anymore. As my ten year anniversary approaches, I’m rejecting that. It’s back. It’s a short list, full of bloggers who proudly still write the kind of posts that I like to read. Posts about their real life, things they saw and did, feelings that it takes a certain measure of bravery to launch into public.
Blogging has changed so much, and we’ve lost alot. It’s got me thinking that maybe all those times when we bloggers didn’t want to admit that we had a blog finally caught up to us somewhere along the way. Maybe we did this to ourselves by not being willing to stake a claim, and say that no, these kinds of posts are worth writing. To say that being willing to organize our thoughts and record them for posterity in a way that is interesting and relatable to other people is worth doing, not something to hide, even if you never make a dime from it.
In the end, after ten years and countless blogs lost, I am starting to think that when it’s all said and done, maybe these are the posts that are really worth writing in the end. And maybe all us bloggers from the old school should have realized that before so many quit, thinking it wasn’t worth the effort.
So I’m here, and a lot of blogs have bitten the dust, but I have no plans to stop writing on this little blog that no longer makes any money. I’ll write about my faith and thoughts and feelings and successes and regrets. In the end, those things make up a life.
I’ll write it all out for my children, and maybe their children after them, and I won’t feel a bit sheepish that this is all I'm doing anymore. I won’t feel a bit of embarrassment that almost everyone in my life seems to know that I write on here without any other incentive than I just want to. Because years down the road, I just don’t think I’ll regret the times I wrote here for nothing more than the love of it.
(Note: We took a trip to the beach recently - vacation recap coming soon - and I got this dress from Pinkblush just in time before we left! They sent it to me for free in exchange for the feature I am including in this post, but I totally used it as my dress for an unofficial 30-year-old photo shoot on the beach!)
In less than a month, I will be turning 30, and I'm not bothered by it. Not even a little bit. Here's why.
1. Growing older means more experience.
You all know I'm a talk radio fan (honestly, I listen to way too many shows and podcasts), and Rush Limbaugh often says how he is never sorry to grow older, because it means he has more experience and knows more than he used to. I have to say, I love that. I've adopted his attitude over the years, and especially as I've been surrounded by wise older people. Some of them are decades older than me, like my parents or grandparents, some are people just a few years further down the road of life (ahem, like my husband), but I always look at them and think about the experiences and growth that they've walked through and I haven't yet. So the passing of a year, even a big year like 30, is just another year that I've grown and matured and learned more.
2. Let's be honest, 30 is not that old.
We all like to joke about how old we are getting when these decade markers pass us by, but really, the early 30's are still relatively immature. We all think we know more than we actually do. Just watching the people in my life who are approaching 40, I see the difference even that one decade makes in maturity and wisdom. I'm not naive enough to think I have no more growing to do. Thirty is still very young (maybe not always in a good way).
3. I'm surrounded by people who love me (and vice versa).
It is not lost on me how much of a blessing it is to enter my 30's with my own family established, and surrounded by family and friends who love me. I think maybe the hardest part of getting older is not being quite where you thought you would be, whether that's professionally, relationally, or personally. Being surrounded by the people who are most important to me, feeling like I belong somewhere, was always one of my biggest hopes for 30, and so my heart is full. When I look to the years ahead, I can expect a continuation and maturation of the fun I've already been having with my husband and kids and family and friends, and that's a blessing!
It is not lost on me how much of a blessing it is to enter my 30's with my own family established, and surrounded by family and friends who love me. I think maybe the hardest part of getting older is not being quite where you thought you would be, whether that's professionally, relationally, or personally. Being surrounded by the people who are most important to me, feeling like I belong somewhere, was always one of my biggest hopes for 30, and so my heart is full. When I look to the years ahead, I can expect a continuation and maturation of the fun I've already been having with my husband and kids and family and friends, and that's a blessing!
4. I've figured out who I am.
Maybe this is just me, but I've always had these arbitrary marker years in my head, ages that I look ahead to and think "Wow, when I'm that old, I will have arrived." Well, I haven't really arrived because every time I reach the magical age there is another marker age on the horizon. But 30 was one of those years for me. When I thought about 30, I envisioned having figured out my own identity and style, and feeling confident in who God made me to be and what He wants me to do. And maybe it's just the power of suggestion, because of the mental picture I've developed surrounding the age of 30, but I do feel like I've figured out who I am. I just think 30 is going to be good. (The next marker age is 36, in case you were wondering.)
(Speaking of style...I think one of my favorite parts of this age is that I've figured finally figured mine out. I like to try new trends, but I fit them in around casual and feminine basics - this dress from Pink Blush is a good example! PinkBlush is my go-to for maternity clothes, but I love PinkBlush's non-maternity clothes too because they are the right cut for my grown-up, post-baby body, with tons of flattering options. Thirty means abandoning the juniors section for good, and finding brands that look good on my figure, and with options like Pinkblush I'm okay with that! You can check out the dress I'm wearing here. It's a perfect beach dress, right?)
5. Each year I live on this earth brings me closer to Jesus.
Each year I live is that much longer I have to grow in my walk with the Lord and learn to serve Him better. Life on this earth is only an incredibly small sliver of eternity, and for those of us who have trusted in Jesus for our salvation, we have eternity in Heaven to look forward to. And anything good that we experience here will be magnified and perfected there. Really, how can I be sorry to grow older when I think about that? Every year I spend here is one year closer to when I'll see Jesus face to face. As a believer, there are only good things to look forward to when you take the long view.
Was 30 a good year for you, or was it hard to leave your 20's? Or if you are in your 20's, do you look forward to or dread turning 30?
Comment below, I want to hear!
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I sat down and counted up our school days the other day and realized we have less than 20 days left before we hit our required number of homeschool days. That means I'm less than a month away from having my first true year of homeschooling under my belt! (I am not counting kindergarten.)
Last year before we started I shared all about my curricula picks for first grade. So how did all that work out for me? Here's the breakdown:
Math
What We Started With: Rightstart Math
What We Ended With: Rightstart Math
I have zero complaints about this curriculum! Rightstart has an unusual method and order for teaching math, but I was really impressed it. I love how it teaches underlying math concepts, instead of just rote memorization! This curriculum was such a good fit for my teaching style and Wyatt's learning style! We love all the manipulatives, the way it reinforces concepts through games, and the focus on teaching kids to visualize numbers in their heads. It is so much more enjoyable for Wyatt and myself than doing endless math problems and worksheets. I am really happy with it, and will use it with all my kids as long as it fits their learning styles!
What We'll Use Next Year: Rightstart
Reading
What We Started With: 100 Easy Lessons and Rod And Staff
What We Ended With: All About Reading
As we were entering the school year last fall, I knew we were going to be finishing up 100 Easy Lessons before the year was out...so I knew I'd have to shift to something else. We limped along with 100 Easy Lessons until I had Georgie, and to be honest, by the end we were kind of hating it. I really love the first half of that book, which takes your child from knowing nothing to reading sentences. However, by the time we got about 75% of the way through the book we were really bored and frustrated. I was also a little irritated because that book took forever to introduce all the letters/sounds, and didn't go over all the rules I wanted to teach Wyatt. It got him reading, but by the time Georgie was born we were fighting through the lessons and I was ready for something different.
We were loving our math curriculum so much because it had different activities and manipulative to go with each lesson, so I was wanting something more like that for reading. I did a little research and decided to give All About Reading a try. I've heard so many good things about it (and it was recommended by a great blog friend too!), so I ordered our level and got started. Wyatt flew through that whole curriculum in a few months and we both stopped dreading reading so much! It gave him so much confidence, so it was definitely the right call!
In the end, I don't regret starting with 100 Easy Lessons, because I still think that book has the best method for teaching blending that I have come across. Blending is only covered in one lesson in All About Reading, and if your kid doesn't naturally get it, 100 Easy Lessons would be a great resource. I think the reason we got through AAR so quickly was because we started with 100 Easy Lessons. For my other kids, I will probably start them on 100 Easy Lessons and then switch halfway through the book instead of suffering through the last half.
What We'll Use Next Year: All About Reading
Writing/LA
What We Started With: First Language Lessons, 100 Bible Verses To Read And Write
What We Ended With: 100 Bible Verses To Read And Write
I took a more casual approach to writing and language arts this year, since the language arts priority was solidifying reading skills. We did copy work (mostly with the 100 Bible Verses book) and wrote notes to family members for writing. For language arts concepts, we had plans to use First Language Lessons - but if I'm honest, we hardly used it at all. We talked about some LA concepts as we were doing All About Reading, and I'll review a few things over the summer with Wyatt before we start a more structured writing program this fall.
What We'll Use Next Year: TBD
Writing/LA
What We Started With: First Language Lessons, 100 Bible Verses To Read And Write
What We Ended With: 100 Bible Verses To Read And Write
I took a more casual approach to writing and language arts this year, since the language arts priority was solidifying reading skills. We did copy work (mostly with the 100 Bible Verses book) and wrote notes to family members for writing. For language arts concepts, we had plans to use First Language Lessons - but if I'm honest, we hardly used it at all. We talked about some LA concepts as we were doing All About Reading, and I'll review a few things over the summer with Wyatt before we start a more structured writing program this fall.
What We'll Use Next Year: TBD
Science
What We Started With: Apologia Flying Creatures and Building Foundations Of Scientific Understanding
What We Ended With: Apologia Flying Creatures, BFSU, and random library books
I'm going to be honest and tell you that science kind of took a backseat with the whole having-a-baby thing this year. I had so many grand plans to do all the experiments in our Apologia science book, the science activities in BFSU. I was going to be a science-super-mom!
However, after Georgie was born I just was not organized enough to plan a bunch of experiments and do a really organized study - so we ended up going through a few random sections of Apologia and BFSU (according to whatever looked interesting), and grabbing coordinating books from the library. We did a couple field trips, and a couple science experiments - all interest led though, not really what was in the books. We kind of just went flying by the seat of our pants! I'm actually quite happy with how this turned out. Science at this level is mostly to get kids interested anyway, and I'm fine with that! My plan is to do a few more science activities this summer to introduce different concepts that I really wanted to cover this year, and then start fresh in the fall.
However, after Georgie was born I just was not organized enough to plan a bunch of experiments and do a really organized study - so we ended up going through a few random sections of Apologia and BFSU (according to whatever looked interesting), and grabbing coordinating books from the library. We did a couple field trips, and a couple science experiments - all interest led though, not really what was in the books. We kind of just went flying by the seat of our pants! I'm actually quite happy with how this turned out. Science at this level is mostly to get kids interested anyway, and I'm fine with that! My plan is to do a few more science activities this summer to introduce different concepts that I really wanted to cover this year, and then start fresh in the fall.
What We'll Do Next Year: Stay Tuned, I'm figuring that out now.
History
What We Started With: Beautiful Feet Books
What We Ended With: Beautiful Feet Books
I love this curriculum! For history I knew I wanted a literature-based approach to American History, so we chose the Early American History set from Beautiful Feet Books. There are all kinds of suggested activities in the study guide, but we have really just read the books and done coordinating field trips this year. We are stretching this curriculum out for two years instead of just one, so we are finishing up half the curriculum this year, and we'll finish it next year. We haven't covered a huge range of historical events, but what we have covered I feel that we've covered well - my kids have retained a lot of what we've read this year. It makes my heart happy every time they see a historical reference somewhere else and exclaim "It's just like in our book!"
What We'll Use Next Year: We are continuing with Beautiful Feet Books Early American History for sure, and may throw in another set (possibly the World History set from BFB or Story Of The World).
Bible
What We Started With: ?
What We Ended With: CBS
If you remember, I was a little unsure of what we would use for a Bible curriculum. I had a really hard time finding something I was satisfied with, and I honestly just gave up searching as I approached my due date. Then after Christmas we attended a visitor day at our local Community Bible Study, and I loved it! I did CBS growing up, and I forgot how thorough and deep the lesson books are. This will basically be our Bible curriculum from here on out. Once the kids reach grade school, they get their own lesson book that coordinates with the adult lesson books, which I love! We work through the passage together and then attend our CBS meeting each week to discuss with others, so it's a social opportunity and Bible curriculum all in one!
What We'll Do Next Year: CBS
I'll do a more in-depth post soon about what we will be doing next year for 2nd grade and kindergarten! But in the meantime, I've been searching for books to read for me over this summer. I like to read a few homeschool-related books in the summer to keep my motivation up and give me ideas. If I get a good list going I'll write another post, but I'm excited about this one:
My blog friend Elizabeth is also one of my favorite homeschool bloggers - she gives so much inspiration, ideas, and encouragement on her site. Well, she wrote a new ebook called Lifestyle Homechooling, and it's launching today! I'm really excited to pick this one up, because I'd say "lifestyle homeschooling" is a perfect term for what I'm going for in our homeschool. This past year I have been loving how flexible homeschooling is, how I'm able to work it into our family life and fit it into the life stage we are in right now with a baby. I'm looking forward to getting some ideas from Lifestyle Homeschooling - definitely check it out!
(Note: I am part of the launch team for Lifestyle Homeschooling, and will be receiving a free copy of the book in exchange. Follow me on Goodreads to see my eventual review!)
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I'll do a more in-depth post soon about what we will be doing next year for 2nd grade and kindergarten! But in the meantime, I've been searching for books to read for me over this summer. I like to read a few homeschool-related books in the summer to keep my motivation up and give me ideas. If I get a good list going I'll write another post, but I'm excited about this one:
My blog friend Elizabeth is also one of my favorite homeschool bloggers - she gives so much inspiration, ideas, and encouragement on her site. Well, she wrote a new ebook called Lifestyle Homechooling, and it's launching today! I'm really excited to pick this one up, because I'd say "lifestyle homeschooling" is a perfect term for what I'm going for in our homeschool. This past year I have been loving how flexible homeschooling is, how I'm able to work it into our family life and fit it into the life stage we are in right now with a baby. I'm looking forward to getting some ideas from Lifestyle Homeschooling - definitely check it out!
(Note: I am part of the launch team for Lifestyle Homeschooling, and will be receiving a free copy of the book in exchange. Follow me on Goodreads to see my eventual review!)
It's not the most comforting feeling when we're leaving on vacation this month.
The last couple weeks have been just weird and unsettling. I hurt my knee two Sundays ago. Badly. I was peddling the bike at the gym, and my knee started hurting when I got in the car. The next morning I couldn't even straighten my leg without pain, much less put any weight on it.
I had surgery on that same knee seven years ago, so this feeling was familiar. I was convinced I tore my meniscus again somehow, and I was going to need surgery and be on crutches for six weeks. I was a soggy mess the rest of the day, crying because I'd be on crutches for vacation, and I had so many end-of-year events that week, and I couldn't take care of the kids...crying just from the stress of it all. I shared what happened with different friends as my mom drove me down to the doctor's office, who then ordered an MRI. I was pretty convinced my May was ruined.
Then my knee felt surprisingly good the next day. And even better the next, and the next, until the day of my MRI, I could almost step on it. Results came in. No tear. I was walking without crutches the next day. I just don't even see how that's possible with how my knee felt just a few days before. Because it was bad. It felt like something had torn, but this week I'd say it's pretty much healed.
I'm crediting all the prayers. God definitely healed my knee way sooner than I expected, and it was a gift.
So I'm hanging on to that thought, as I sit here and catch a whiff of smoke, wondering if there is another fire someplace. Derek isn't home right now, and he has some hard work-related things to deal with that will affect our whole family. Both of these things are stressing me out. But then I remember my knee, and I say a prayer and take a deep breath. Rotten things happen every day, and sometimes they work out, and sometimes they don't, but this week I remember that we have a God who cares about it all. When we feel unsettled and anxious, we are supposed to come to Him.
"Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."
1 Peter 5:7
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Philipians 4:6
I know those verses are so much used that they can almost seem cliche, but they will never seem cliche to me. How amazing is that, that we have a God who cares for us? And the proof of that is Jesus. When we trust in Him for our salvation, our eternity is secure in Him. If He died to save us from our sin, our biggest, most insurmountable problem, then He can handle all these little problems too. And even if it doesn't work out like we want, we have Him, and that is all we truly need.
So I'll cast my cares on Him, and go work on some packing.
"Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."
1 Peter 5:7
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Philipians 4:6
I know those verses are so much used that they can almost seem cliche, but they will never seem cliche to me. How amazing is that, that we have a God who cares for us? And the proof of that is Jesus. When we trust in Him for our salvation, our eternity is secure in Him. If He died to save us from our sin, our biggest, most insurmountable problem, then He can handle all these little problems too. And even if it doesn't work out like we want, we have Him, and that is all we truly need.
So I'll cast my cares on Him, and go work on some packing.
Happy Friday, Friends!
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