Night School

Often, people ask me how we run our homeschool. Do I teach every subject every day? What times do we do school? Do the kids sit at a desk or at the table? I have so many people (it really isn't even funny how many people) tell me that they just want to come sit at my house and watch how we do school, so they can figure out how I do it all. Truthfully, if someone were to come sit at my house and watch me, they'd probably be sorely disappointed. It's not nearly as organized and well planned as some seem to think my homeschool is. But, I thought I'd give you all a small glimpse into our school, so maybe you will be inspired to try something new. (Or maybe you already know this great secret, and your kids do the same thing!)

Each night before bed, Britches and Little Man go grab their book and spend about 30 minutes to an hour reading. This is our reading class. If they have questions about words or meanings or anything, I am there to help them. Otherwise, they just read. 

I don't usually let them pick just anything. I make sure they are reading a good book, sometimes a classic, that has good, wholesome content, and has enough depth to it to be challenging. Britches is reading a horse book she got for Christmas, and Little Man is reading The Chronicles of Narnia. For Christmas, he got the complete set all in one book. So, the book is huge, but he's just focusing on one book within it at a time. Britches was thrilled that she finished her book tonight, and Little Man was very happy that he finished one book and was moving on to The Horse and His Boy.

And that's it. Nothing special about our reading program. No papers to fill out to see if they understand it. If they can tell me what their book was about, they get it. So there's no need for me to "test" them on their book. This is also how my children are able to speak with such good grammar. It isn't because I'm all that great of a teacher in that department. But they read so many well written books, they have learned the correct ways to speak. I have always tried to steer them away from books that used improper grammar or language, because I didn't want that to be what they learned. And it has worked. 

So if you think I have something spectacular going on over here, just know that it isn't all that. School is just life with us. 

If you're finding it difficult to teach certain things to your kids, try adding it in to their day in a way that they don't even realize it's school. If you have a hard time teaching math, try getting in the kitchen and cooking something together. If you can't get them excited about history, go visit a living history museum. If science is their hang-up, create a cool experiment with them, like making slime, so that they are just having fun, or go visit a hands-on science museum. And if you can't seem to get your child to be still during reading time during the school day, try doing night school and just letting your children pick a good book that interests them and let them read away. It's really that easy!

The Winner of the Free EXPO Ticket Is...

WOOHOO! I have a winner for my blog giveaway!! YAY! ~Drum roll, please~

And the winner is TERRI LOCKARD!! Congratulations Terri! You are going to LOVE the Schoolhouse EXPO!! And for those of you who didn't win, go get a ticket at the early bird price of $19.50. You will be glad you did! After Feb. 10, the price will go up. So get your ticket early. Thanks to all of you for entering!!

My Testimony

It has been said that one's testimony should not be more than a few days old. In other words, you can't live you life retelling what God did for you once long ago. You should be constantly in a state of Him working in and through you for His purposes. We should be able to say, "Hey, let me tell you what God did TODAY!" So in light of that, I wanted to take a few minutes and tell you what God has been doing in and through me over the last several weeks.

Back in the summer, an article that I submitted to The Old Schoolhouse was accepted for publication into their Winter 2010/2011 issue of the magazine. I had been waiting anxiously for about seven months to see that article in print. How very disappointed I was when they e-mailed to tell me, only a week before the magazine was to ship, that, due to unforeseen circumstances, my article would not be used in that issue of TOS. They asked if I would be willing to let them keep it to use in the Winter 2011/2012 issue of the magazine. Well, to be perfectly honest, I was furious and really didn't care a thing in the world about letting them keep it. I was ready to just call the whole thing off and forget about it.

For the next few days, I prayed hard over this, and I sought the counsel of some Godly people. And let me tell you, when you pray and really seek God over something, He will answer. I asked God, very honestly, why he was slamming this door right in my face, right on the heels of another door being slammed in mine and Brient's faces. I told God I just didn't understand it, and I couldn't figure out what was going on or what to do. This is what He told me.

He said I was putting too much hope in people, and not where it needed to be, which was in Christ. I had put my hope in the people at TOS, and they let me down. I had put my hope in the people at my husband's job, and they had let us down. There have been times when I have put my hope in people at church, and they have let me down. The bottom line is, people let you down. The only One who will NEVER let us down is Jesus Christ. When our hope is focused solely on Him, we can rest in the fact that He knows the future, He has our best interest in mind, and He has a perfect plan to see us through. After He showed me those things, I had to repent of my selfishness and my misdirected focus, and I had to ask Him to help me refocus my attention on and hope in Him. Whew! You would not believe the release I had after that. It was as if a burden was completely lifted off of my shoulders. I no longer needed to sit and worry over the things that "might be," because now it didn't matter. Whatever happened, I knew it was in God's perfect plan.

So the next morning, I e-mailed The Old Schoolhouse and told them that I would love for them to keep my article to print next year. I told them I was very disappointed about the whole thing, but that I was trusting God to do everything in His timing. Done.

Well, let me tell you, as soon as I did that, God began to pour out blessings one after another.

First, I talked to Sharra, a girl who, last summer, wanted to have me be a pre-show speaker at one of TOS's webinars, but that never came about. So I asked her if that was pretty much a dead issue, since it had been several months since I had heard from her. She told me that she did still want to use my presentation as a show opener, but there were several factors that had prevented them from doing as many webinars this last year. That's why mine had not been used. But she was still planning to use me hopefully this year to open for a webinar.

THEN, Sharra asked me if I would like to be on the Homeschool Speakers Bureau. Well, to be perfectly honest, I had no idea what that was. So I looked at the link she sent me for a little more information. I was amazed - first at the site, and second, at the sheer fact that she ASKED ME TO BE ON IT!! It is basically an online database of speakers who are available to speak at any convention or meeting or whatever. If a person is holding a convention and needs someone to speak during the event, they can search this database to find an appropriate speaker, and they will pay you to come speak! Oh my! So I told Sharra that I would LOVE to be a part of the Speakers Bureau, sent in my application, and was approved two days later. Woohoo!

And then, Sharra asked me if I would like to be on the Schoolhouse EXPO Squad! The Schoolhouse EXPO is BIG, and TOS was in need of bloggers who would be willing to help promote this great event. YES!! I definitely wanted in on that! So I signed up, and now I am part of the EXPO Squad and will be regularly blogging about all the great events leading up to and including the EXPO in May!

Also, I decided to send in another article to a different magazine, Eternal Encouragement, which is a magazine to encourage women to be all that God has for them to be in the areas of motherhood and being a wife, and so much more. My sweet friend, Juliann, sent me one of their newsletters out of the blue one day. I had never heard of this magazine, but I decided, after reading their newsletter and web site, I wanted to get in on their work. So I sent my article to Lorrie Flem, the publisher, and forgot about it. Two days later, Lorrie e-mailed me saying that she really enjoyed my article, and that she wanted to publish it in their fall issue of Eternal Encouragement! WOW! I am so excited, I just cannot tell you!

So I tell you all that to say this. There was an issue in my life that was not pleasing to God. I was placing my hope in many things, but not the right thing. I was not putting my full hope in Christ where it belonged. After God brought that to light, and after I repented, He began to work and move again in my life. I seriously wonder if He would have poured out all those blessings the way He did if I had not done what I was supposed to do first - repent.

Is there something holding you back from all God has for you? Is He standing by waiting to bless you, but can't because you have too much "self" in the way? Is there something you need to pray over and ask His forgiveness? Don't miss out on all that God wants to do in and through you simply because of some little thing that's in His way. Ask Him to show you any area that needs to be yanked out by the roots, and then ask Him to forgive you.

I am still a work in progress. He has not shown me all that He has for me yet. And I am sure there are still areas He will bring to light in time that I need to work on. But I have just been simply amazed at how, when I turned my face back to Him, He was able to pour out blessings over me. I love it!

**TOS Homeschool Expo Giveaway**

I am so excited today! There are so many great things going on, and I can barely contain myself! So let's get right to it.



Today, registration is open for the Homeschooling With Heart LIVE spring EXPO! What is the EXPO? I'm glad you asked.

The Old Schoolhouse store describes it this way:

"  The Schoolhouse Expo will help you recharge your heart for homeschooling as you enjoy live sessions with an incredible array of speakers at our fantastic, online, five-day conference! Covering a vast amount of information, you’ll hear about ways to improve your homeschool and plan for the upcoming year, all from the comfort of your home. It doesn't matter if you live in the states or internationally, you will benefit from the Schoolhouse Expo as you enjoy five days of interactive sessions with dynamic speakers, a virtual vendor hall, fabulous door prizes, and free gifts valued at over $200 for every attendee!"

In a nutshell, the Schoolhouse EXPO is a LIVE online homeschooling conference that you can attend while sitting on your couch in your PJ's and sipping hot cocoa if you like. Have you ever thought to yourself, "I'd really like to go to one of those homeschool conferences to get some new, good ideas, but it's just too far to drive. I have no one to watch my kids while I'm gone for several days. And, it costs too much."? Well, you are in LUCK! No excuses here! During the Schoolhouse EXPO, you will get the privilege of attending a FANTASTIC, information packed 5-day conference without ever leaving your house!

Look at all you get during the Early Bird Sale . . .

• Live Schoolhouse Expo Ticket—$39.99
• Free Gifts Package—$211.73
• Bonus Freebies—$103.15
• HLA Membership—$65.00

All yours for just $19.50!

Each year, there is a limited number of tickets up for sale, and they sell out FAST! So be sure to reserve your seat now, while there are still tickets available.

This conference is slam packed with great speakers who will offer you a wide variety of topics from which to glean information. Be sure to check out the speaker/topic list to see everything on tap.

Don't forget to check out the free gifts and door prizes section of their web site to see all the great things that will be given away! You will DEFINITELY want to get in on these prizes!

If you still need more information, and there is a LOT more to know about the Schoolhouse EXPO, visit the Schoolhouse EXPO online, and follow their blog to keep up to date on all the excitement.

And now, for the other REALLY EXCITING NEWS of the day!! I, yours truly, was asked to be on the EXPO Squad, which means I will be doing regular posts to keep you up to date on all the happenings of the EXPO, and to help you remember the EXPO date. (You certainly don't want to miss any of it!)

But what that also means is that I get to give away ONE FREE TICKET to the Homeschool EXPO!! YAY! (I just LOVE blog giveaways!) So if you'd like to WIN a ticket to the EXPO, listen up. Here's how I will hold the contest on my blog. Leave me a comment below this post telling me why you would like to win a free ticket to the Homeschool EXPO. You will only have until Saturday, so get to it people! On Saturday evening, I will hold my drawing, and I will announce on my blog who won. If you are the winner, you will also be receiving all the freebies that go along with a purchased ticket - FREE!

I look forward to reading all your comments! Don't wait. You are NOT going to want to miss this!!

Britches' Art

For quite some time now, my Britches girl has shown an interest in art. When she was younger, she liked more of the "arts and crafts" type thing, but lately, she has really been getting into painting. For over a year now, I have heard her talking about different artists that she watches on PBS, like Donna Dewberry and Bob Ross, but to be quite honest, I never really pay that much attention, because art is not my thing. So I listen politely to her, and show her that I care about what interests her, but then I go about my business and forget all about it. Anyway...

She has started painting some very nice pictures on regular copy paper. Nothing that would sell for money, but a good attempt none the less. I suggested to her that she might want to try painting on canvas, because her copy paper would get too wet and tear after she had put a lot of work into it. That was especially a problem when she would try to paint with watercolors. So we went to Wal-Mart and bought her some small canvases that had no wood frame on them. They were just a piece of cardboard, or wood, or whatever they use, wrapped in canvas. She wanted the small ones, because she wasn't too sure she could fill a big canvas. Well, she used all three of those that came in that pack, and then she went back to painting on copy paper.

I told her I'd be happy to take her back to the store to let her buy more canvases, if she wanted. Yes, she buys her own things, because she has this "thing" about someone buying ANYTHING for her. It's amazing that the kid will even let me buy her food and clothes. It's unreal how upset she gets when someone tries to buy something for her, instead of her buying it with her own money. I have never in my life seen a kid like that - ever. Anyway, she said she would like to go get a few more canvases from the craft store, so she could practice her painting on something that would last a little better than just plain paper. So off to Michaels we went.

It just so happened that they had a special on a 7-pack of canvases when we went. They were $14 for the pack, which made each canvas only $2 a piece. These were the larger ones, too, and this made them cheaper than we got the small ones before. So she decided to go with the 7-pack. She picked up a few paint brushes she had seen Bob Ross use that she felt she needed, and off we went.

The next day, she woke up just itching to paint on her new canvas. So after the little ones went to take a nap, and I knew all her painting would be safe, I gave her some free time to create. I left her alone for about and hour and a half. When I walked out of the room, she had just begun putting some blue paint on the top of the canvas. An hour and a half later, this is what I came back to find.

Needless to say, I was very impressed with her work. Especially considering the fact that this girl has never had an art lesson in her life, but has only watched those shows on PBS and learned from them, and checked out books from the local library and learned from those.

One day, if the time gets right, I may sign her up for professional art lessons. But for now, she has free private tutors via our local public broadcasting station, and they seem to be teaching her pretty well.