Monday, September 12, 2011

Homeschool Mother's Journal - September 12, 2011


In our homeschool this week...
We only had 2 days of written school-work.  Because my husband actually gets Labor Day off, we enjoy just having time with daddy.  It was a relaxing day at home - a much needed one!  As my oldest's birthday was on Thursday, we also took that day off, leaving us with 2 days to do school.  Oh, how sad we were...NOT!! 

Our bi-weekly homeschool co-op, HOPE (Helping Our Parents Educate) began on Friday.  This left me staying up until 2 a.m. finishing up lesson plans for my 2 geography courses I am teaching, as well as final arrangements in the overall organization of the day.  After 4 1/2 hours of sleep, I stretched before getting out of bed on Friday morning and did something horrible to my neck leaving me in quite a bit of pain over the weekend.  Good thing about the pain was that it really didn't get too bad until after HOPE - God gives blessing in the trials, amen?!  

Helpful homeschool advice to share...
Cut out as many of the extra-curricular you can.  I'm trying to tone it down this year and, so far, so good.  No matter what, our life is still busy, but I'm trying to be a bit more discriminating in what we choose to do and where we choose to go.

I am inspired by...
Anyone who coaches beginner soccer.  I watch my 6 year old daughter's Saturday Soccer coach and feel a mixture of humor, compassion, and awe.  Mostly, I feel exhausted.  This man coaches 8 little girls who have very little idea of what they are doing and he smiles the whole time!!  Amazing!

Places we are going & people we are seeing...
We really didn't go too far last week - and I loved it!!!  We did make a quick trip to the hair salon for my 11 year old to donate 10 inches of her hair to Locks of Love on Wednesday and I met up with my mom for some delicious coffee on Saturday before she left for a big trip the next day.

My favorite thing this week was...
 Having only 2 days of school to plan for.

Questions I have...
How in the world do homeschool moms have so much time to blog, guest-blog, run a business, spend hours on a computer during the day and still educate their children?  I wish I could do all those things, but I seem only able to sit with my kids and do school...hmm....

I'm reading...
My first e-book.  I electronically signed a book out of our local library and it's pretty cool to be able to read it right from my phone.  The book is an amazing autobiography about a woman who escaped slavery in the mid-1800s and she attempts to let the North know exactly what slaves went through. Nothing is sugar-coated and it is a real eye-opener.  The book is entitled, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs.  I never heard of this woman until I went to a local museum.  She has local ties as she spent some time with Frederick Douglas and his family while they lived in Rochester.  I highly recommend this book, even if you already feel you know many of the atrocities of slavery.  Not recommended for young readers, however.

I'm cooking...
On the menu this week:  pulled pork, ham & mashed potatoes, chicken salad wraps, beans w/ hot dogs, golden potato soup, and Pasta al Forno.

I'm praying for...
A friend's mom who is recovering from surgery and a friend's nephew who was just reported injured on the battlefield in Afghanistan.

A picture to share...




So proud of her!!!! 

For more journal entries, go on over to the Homeschool Chick!!  Better yet, join in next time.  It's really great to be able to see that we do accomplish something in our homeschool each week!

4 comments:

Angel said...

I have the same question you have about the moms who blog. I guess it just comes easier for some to do all that blogging and writing. I seem to find myself doing other things besides blogging. But I wish I was like that!

Your daughter is blessed to have that hair, and to be able to bless others is so amazing!

Promise Christian Academy said...

Hi Victoria, thank you for your visit to our school!
I certainly have the same question about busy moms. My blogging time is really few and far between! I just like sharing, so I manage a few posts a month. I can post from my phone in a pinch, so that is really fast! The children sheepishly grin when I pull my phone out for random photo sessions!
This is our first real year with FIAR, though I have been familiar with it for several. Any advice is welcome!
My daughter donated to locks of love years ago.. she loves having long hair now, though.. it may be a while before she is wanting to donate again!
This week, we will have time for even less school! sometimes life appears in full force and we can not do both! My daughter inherited an entire sewing room of supplies, and we need to get that organized and put away..get our home back to order!
I couldn't stay up until 2am to plan! I just fizzle out.. the co-op is lucky to have someone so dedicated.
Thanks for the book reccomendation. I have considered that read several times, we read a lot of Civil War bios to help with our living history hobby. I always wondered if that book was age appropriate for my daughter, now with your gentle warning.. I know it is a 'pre-read' for me!
It was nice meeting you.. happy schooling!

Theresa said...

I hope your neck feels better!!

That book sounds interesting.

I love the advice on cutting out the extra curriculars...very true. We only do the church stuff and the things they girls really enjoy...they end up exploring on their own too!

As for blogging, I usually blog at night when the kids are in bed. I have a ton of ideas and sometimes I write 3 posts one night and just schedule them for during the week. I don't have that much time for Twitter or facebook.

Marcie said...

I did the same thing not to terribly long ago to my neck and shoulder. After schooling from the couch and a heating pad, my girlfriend said not to use heat and go straight to ice for 20 minutes every hour. WOW!!! I felt a ton better.

As for blogging, I am really hit or miss. Sometimes no time, sometimes nothing to say. If I am blogging I do it in the mornings before Pea wakes up and maybe in the afternoons between school and dinner.