And so it begins. . . the arduous task of organizing and bringing closure to the school year.  I feel like I am drifting back and forth between the school year we have completed and the one that we will begin in August.  I have a stack of books that need to be stored as proof that my kids were educated well in 2010-2011 (for my own peace of mind) and a growing number of brand new books that we will conquer in the coming school year.  I have also been blessed by a friend that has just retired from years of public school teaching and made me the prime recipient of the mountain of supplies that she had to clean out of her classroom.  My school room is an intimidating place right now!

I have never had a problem starting the school year off well.  After a nice summer break I am always rested and eager to get back to the routine of school and learning with my children.  The end of the year is always my nemesis.  My state of mind today is a perfect example.  I sit here with absolutely nothing on my calendar.  My house is *mostly* clean, my husband is working, my kids are occupying themselves with games and independent projects, and my school room is begging to be dealt with.  I have records to finalize, supplies to organize, items to pack away, and, when I find it, a floor to vacuum.  Instead of working on that, however, I am talking to you about it!  This seemed like a much more enjoyable way to spend my free time!

I know I am not the only one who struggles with forcing myself to do the thing that I know I should do instead of being driven to many less worthy endeavors by the part of me that prefers to stay distracted, unorganized, and lazy.  So, I am sharing this little bit of my current struggle with myself to let you know that if you are in this boat with me, you aren't the only one.  I am also casting away any images that you may have of me being perfectly organized all of the time.  That's not me.  I'll include a pic at the bottom of this post so you'll see my true colors :)  

Have fun working on your own end-of-the-year challenges.  Don't bee too discouraged if it takes you a month or even the entire summer to get things where you want them to be.  Having an organized school environment and keeping a record of what your family has accomplished in the school year has many benefits.  Don't be tempted to take short-cuts that would undermine your ability to give an answer to anyone who asked how your children have been educated at home.  Don't underestimate the blessing of being able to look back at past school years and the mementos that your children have created while learning at home.  And if you need an extra dose of motivation, try this little trick:  write a blog entry to your homeschool community. . . it may provide just the incentive you need!

- Jessie

When our children were little, it was so much work raising them. Training them to have healthy sleep patterns, eating patterns, how to walk, talk, read, write, add, subtract, and so on. The teaching opportunities seemed endless. There were days I felt I was not qualified for the job. Pray, have Patience, Practice,  repeat. That seemed to be a constant pattern for me. We all know, there is no manual on the “perfect” way to raise children, although there are many tools to assist us in the process. Adding to the challenge, while teaching and training our children … God is trying to teach and train us! I remember so many times when God said to me “Are YOU paying attention?”

I am writing this to encourage you, You can do this!
On your own .. NO!
With God’s help .. YES!
I am also writing to encourage you for the LONG HAUL! 

I thought, as our children got older, it would get easier. In many ways, it has. They bathe themselves, cook, clean, do their schoolwork more independently, make choices for themselves, yes, in many ways it is easier.

I recommend though, you start praying for your future teenagers now, while they are young. Pray God will continue to be prevalent in their lives. Pray God will reveal their unique gifts, and how He will use those gifts for His Kingdom. Pray you will recognize character weaknesses quickly, and you and your husband will always make time to address them. Pray you will not just "chalk" attitudes, and failings up to "he/she is a teenager, that is how teenagers act, right?" Wrong. Only if you allow and ignore the behavior. However they are acting, is practice for the adult they will become.

Questions I am hearing from my teenagers.  How has He created me? For what purpose? What am I going to do with my life? Character? What shows good character? What does bad character look like? Who will be my mate? How do others view me? Do YOU think I can do it? Is there really a God? Do you really love me? Does God Really love me? Can I stand against what everybody else is doing? How do I do that? What do you believe about .......... ?

God blesses us by starting with innocence. Our children believe we walk on water. Mom and Dad can do anything. We are the beginning and the end. They come under our umbrella. They are saved by our faith.

Then, they grow up. They can no longer lean on our faith. It is about what they believe or don’t believe. Their destiny is in their hands, not ours. And then, there is the "watching." Teenagers no longer just do what they are told. They WATCH you. Watch if your words line up with how you behave. They see us. They REALLY see us. For who we truly are. 
Sinners.
Just like them.

I am telling you, this is not easy. As we face our own sinful nature, with our teens. It is really important to live the gospel during this time. If we can’t admit our sins, neither will they. If we can’t say “I am sorry” with a sincere repentance in our heart, neither will they.
   
Moms and Dads schooling young children, GOD BLESS YOU!
The commitment you have made to your children is commendable. This is a wonderful journey. God will give you everything you need, in each of the places you need, if you seek Him.


It will not get easier though, as they age, it will just change. The children God has gifted to our care, are a huge part of God’s plan for our lives. Not only Arithmetic, English, Writing, Science, and History, but helping our son's and daughters be ALL that God made them to be! 

As Jim and I walk through this stage of home schooling our  son and daughter, it definitely has been tough academically. More importantly, it has been tough spiritually. They are  learning to rely on God. Their character and condition of their heart, are being tested everyday in every way. I realize how little time we have left to impart God’s word into their hearts. No, it hasn't gotten easier, but before we know it, we will be done.

Trusting in Him,
Michelle Fisher

With the excitement of what's happening in our CHEBWA group, I've been diving head first into planning, creating, and meeting with next year's Leadership Council.  There is an energy among the leaders that is contagious and we are having a great time working together exploring new ways to serve the group's members.  Everything that happens in my life essentially happens to my family as well.  That means that there is a lot of excitement in the Wiegand home as we make plans for 2011-2012; for our school year and now CHEBWA's.   One of the joys of home education is that we get to mix "school" with everyday life and our children get to be a part of our acts of service and learn first hand how to use their own gifts to bless others. 

That being said, our school day today has been a mix of the usual house cleaning and home making along with a few CHEBWA tasks that I have thrown in randomly when I had a free minute.  It has gone a little something like this:  coffee, email, CHEBWA Teens fb page invites, breakfast, dinner in the crock pot, laundry, start bread making for a marathon bread day, Bible, History, bread, laundry, design CHEBWA business cards, bread, Math 4, print business cards, bread, help Josh with Language Arts, laundry, add veggies to the crock pot, lunch,  bread, find the CHEBWA cards covered with jelly, wait. . . seriously?  Oh, yes.  Seriously.  One of my dear children, and I think I know which one, decided to eat lunch while examining my handiwork.  I had shown the kids the cards after I printed them, but this child wanted a closer look, a much closer look. 

Child raising on its own requires patience, homeschooling just kicks it up a notch.  Since I have been living in this heightened state of character purification for a while now, my Jelly Bandit didn't receive the wrath of a frazzled and furious mom.  God silenced me after my initial shock and I realized that my work was being admired and not maliciously attacked. When I am honest about how that patience was developed in me, it is clearly a Gift from God.  He has managed to use trials and difficult situations to refine my character, and the majority of those difficulties are related to my choice to keep my kids at home and direct their education.  Homeschooling is not easy. 

Even though this was a "little" moment in our day, it was a moment where I was able to catch a glimpse of how homeschooling has, and is, changing us.  Yes, it is is difficult, but that's why I love it.  With kids constantly underfoot, the  never ending demands of house keeping, lessons to correct, and character to refine, it is the perfect "laboratory" for developing strong character.  If we are willing to be teachable, even as we teach, we will find ourselves becoming more faithful servants of the God who is molding us in His image.  It teaches us to serve each other as Jesus did and that gift is worth pursuing at all cost.

Homeschooling has been a blessing in our home for the last ten years and I'm looking forward to sharing the journey of home education with all of you!

To God be the Glory,
-Jessie Wiegand

P.S. If anything in this post gave you the impression that I have it all together: while writing this, I received a phone call from my 12 year old son informing me that I forgot to pick him up from Boy Scouts.  Oh, yes.  Seriously.

Hello parents,

It's the end of winter (oh *please* let it be the end!) and personally, I'm feeling a bit worn out.  There hasn't been a decent break in a while and there doesn't seem to be one in the near future.  Day in and day out, I have to keep reminding myself WHY I'm hs'ing, WHY I'm doing my best to deal with behavior issues, and WHY I'm willing to give up some of that "Me Time" during my days.  I know that God has a plan for our family, for our children....it's just that, well, I need more reminders at certain times of the year!  This is one of those times~

So please, let's encourage one another today!  What are some of the *blessings* of home education?  What are the highlights of your day?  How has God shown you that you are still on the right track, that it's all worth it, and that ultimately, HE is in control??

Let's share a bit of light today for that hs momma that might be struggling (like me!) during this end-of-winter season.  How has God blessed you today??