1 week homeschool

Our first full week homeschooling went well! It wasn't "perfect" by any means, but is anything that has to do with parenting or life? I think not :) One big thing I learned was that 3 hours of school a day is WAY too long! We can accomplish everything we need to accomplish in a good solid hour and then a review and craft 1/2 hour after lunch. I also learned that Owen pays attention for about 15 minutes. And the rest of the time is trying to keep him busy (with busy stations, "intentional play") so I can work with Eliana. For now our home-school time looks something like this:

Day of the week
Weather
Bible verse/prayer
Colors and Color of the Day
Shapes and Shape of the Day
Counting to 20 - and this week skip counting by 2's
Writing - the letter of the day, a sight word with letter of the day, name, color of the day, and a few numbers
A Craft - this week we did cards to people we love, a first commandment art page, and cut and glue picture
Personal - we covered kindness, how to ask a question, everyday manners, and calling women and men Mr. and Miss
Then we review our Classical Conversation work which consists of - Acts and Facts, English, Latin, Science, History, And Geography.

This week our Geography was the Fertile Crescent on the edge of Africa, so we also talked about the nation of Africa, Burkina Faso (where we have done mission work and have mission friends), Ethiopia (where their next brother or sister will be from), and looked at the map of America and pointed out Virginia (where we live), Kansas (where our family lives), and Missouri (where our friends live and we use to live)

That was the bulk of our week! We also include a Library visit each week and will eventually start some regular field trips each week. I would like to take them to places where they can see others in their jobs, like fireman, chef, dr, etc...

Here are a few pics from our week:

Eliana doing her shapes and Owen doing his "work"

working together to separate colors

pom poms are one of our new "busy stations" to separate colors, make patterns, and fill in printed worksheets

This is Owen's favorite right now. He loves to string the beads on the pipe cleaners, and for Eliana I make patterns and she strings them on to continue the pattern.

Also since our last blog post talking about the why we chose homeschooling for this year we have adjusted our goals a bit. Thanks to my step mom who is the Principal at a Christian school we were able to look at their age goals and added a few things to our list! To achieve our goals we are combining the CC curriculum with our own material we find via the web that will help teach the goals we have set. If you are interested in any of these sites I have listed a few of them below.

Overall we had a great first week and I am looking forward to more weeks to come!

OH.... but WAIT... before I leave you I should say this... Homeschooling is WAY harder then I thought it would be! I am convinced it would be WAY easier to take Eliana and Owen to school! I have to make sure I stay consistently motivated to "do school" and really challenge them and have them apply themselves! So before I leave this post too fluffy I just needed to be transparent and say that!!! Ok thanks :) ha ha

My current favorite homeschool helping websites-


http://www.homeschoolcreations.net/

http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/ForTots.html

http://www.supermommoments.com/category/printables/worksheets/

And of coarse pinterest - here is the link to my homeschool board

If you are considering doing some homeschooling or have some great websites please share in the comments!!!

Prayers and Blessings - Dawn

Interrupted Book Review

Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker is the first "Christian" book that I picked up and couldn't stop reading until it was done. It caught my attention from the start and had me contemplating, praying, and planning throughout the whole thing.  This is a big deal to me because I am a little ADD, therefore I am horrible at finishing books (and a lot of things in general) that I start! BUT this book was different. Reading this book hit me right between the eyes, it spoke to me where I feel God is taking Todd and I, and stirred my heart in exciting ways! I don't want to give too much of the book away because I really think you should read it! I know that its not going to be where everyone is and so you may not love it as much as I do, but I think it will get you thinking no matter what! 

The jest of the book is about Jen and her husband and the journey God took them on that interrupted their lives.  They tell the story of how they go from a pastor and pastor's wife in a large american church, to moving into the downtown of Austen TX planting a church for the "least of these."  They don't plant a normal church either with the model of "serving the saved" they plant a mission focused church praying their membership will grow not just with "Christian converts" but with lost souls saved! The book is full of humor, authenticity, God's word, and gut checks! 

Here are some of my favorite quotes  in the book:

"we were the opposite of counter-culture. We were a mirror image of culture, just a churched-up version."

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." A quote from Ghandi

"Many pastors wives feel the church is the other woman."

"I want others to see and say - Wow, you live a really different life."

"We can not deny love because it might be despised or misunderstood."

"I assure you, for every weed who will take advantage of your mercy, there are fifty stalks of wheat who'll shed tears of gratitude for it."

"Don't get sucked into the game. Be counter-cultural."

"If people around me aren't moved by my Christ or my church, then I must be doing a miserable job of representing them both."

"turn or burn!"  (ha ha)

"our works count only when they match our intentions"

"We have the privilege of serving Jesus Himself every time we serve others."

"A hot meal can't hold a candle to a real friend."

"Church can become a machine, where secular business tactics become necessary to maintain momentum, much less thrive."

"What if we really loved our neighbors and offered a safe place for community in our home, showing them church rather than just inviting them to one?"

"Bind your heart to things of eternal value, keep your mind on a vision bigger than you, and ensure all your efforts match those affections. Jesus will take care of the rest."

"When we exhibit Christ to others they discover the church is not a place you go - it's a people you belong with. The building is simply the place you celebrate God together."

"There will never be enough knowledge to fill the cracks of Christian maturity without the fruit of selfless service manifested in our lives."

"The battle is for the souls of humanity, and our secret weapon is LOVE."

So there are some of my highlights! Just like God's word please don't read the quote and make judgement on the whole book, you must read the paragraph, chapter, etc.. to get the full context!  But again can I say I Loved This Book!!!!  You may recognize the Author's name and know of her book SEVEN? It is a popular book right now going around the "Christian Community"  I also loved that book (but i loved this one more!)  I will give a little review of that book next week!  

So if you are looking for a new book to challenge you and make you laugh all at the same time then this is one for YOU!!!  And if you like her writing you can follow Jen Hatmaker on Facebook to see her blog post, everyday funnies, and more!  

Thanks for stopping by and as always Prayers and Blessings - Dawn

A New Homeschool Adventure

Well as proper Prather fashion we are embarking on a new adventure - Homeschooling! I never thought I would be a stay at home mom and I definitely didn't think that I would ever be a homeschooling mom! But - we are excited to give it a go this year with Owen and Eliana. I figure they are 4 and 2 and I can't mess them up too much ;) In all seriousness, we have had Eliana in some sort of "schooling" since she was 2 1/2 when she attended the Montessori in California Missouri. She went a few days a week and really loved it. She learned so much and has had a wonderful learning curiosity about her since. When we moved here we were very overwhelmed with all the options for her and didn't know what to choose. We ended up choosing a part time Christian pre-school. Eliana loved the preschool and learned all of her letters and some great bible stories. But at the end of the day there was just something missing. Last winter we decided that I could give her what she was learning there, and we were blessed with other stay at home mom friends so she was having lots of play dates and getting good social interaction (much needed when she is an extreme extrovert like her mom)!  Plus we thought if she was ok being out of pre-school it would be a way to save money for adoption. Since then we  went on the hunt again for a pre school for her. I had a list of what we wanted for her and for us as a family, and while we have a lot of options we just didn't find one that we loved (within our budget). At first I was getting discouraged, but then I allowed myself to consider home schooling. I went back and forth on what would be best for her because she enjoys having her independent time but I also want to challenge her where she is. Keeping all that in mind and after a lot of prayer we decided to go for homeschooling!

There are fortunately a lot of home-school groups here in the area and even some different coop groups. With the help of some friends we trust we decided to go with a classical christian conversation model. We will meet once a week in a classroom setting and school from home the other days. At first I was a little nervous about all of this (well I still am) but am growing more and more excited. I am most excited because no one knows my kids better then we do! We know where they are in their learning capabilities, what their strengths are, and what their weaknesses are. We know the best way to teach them and know how to hold their attention. We also know what we want to instill in them, and what character we want to grow in them. So we're off... tomorrow will be our "first day" at home school. We plan to do school for 3 hours a day. I feel that is plenty of time for a 4 and 2 year old. We have made a list of the basic ideas of what we want them to learn -

Eliana:
  Bible - memorize verses, old testament stories, sin and salvation, worship, prayer
  Math - Counting to 100, basic adding and subtracting, tell time, understand date, money
  Handwriting - write legibly, write basic words, and full alphabet and numbers
  Reading - read very simple stories and words
  Science - weather, (and other fun science stuff)
  Geography - continents, states, countries, bodies of water
  History - Will basically follow the classical conversation info in this department ;)
  Personal - etiquette, fruits of the spirit, home making skills, hygiene
  Computer - a little navigation and possibly typing skills

Owen:
  Colors
  Shapes
  Counting
  Matching
  Letters - sounds
  Personal Hygiene
  Manners
  Worship and Prayer
  Oh and Todd says Potty Training (I think that goes in Hygiene)

These lists may seem silly or far fetched, we don't really know. We just sat down as a couple, talked about our kids, and talked about what we thought they could and should learn over the next year based on where they are now... So who knows what will happen! But we are excited to share it with you all!

We are even blessed enough to have an area in our basement that will be our home school area. I have been able to set it up a little and hope to expand on it more. I know our family is a family that thrives on daily structure (most the time) so I want our homeschooling to be very similar to school structure! Here is sneak peek at what we have so far -

sidenote - yep that's still our Dossier checklist taking up half the chalkboard wall but it will be gone soon! Our homestudy list is gone ;) only two items remain so I felt good erasing it!

All in all I am very excited to start our new adventure tomorrow - and on that note I am off to bed!!! 

Prayers and Blessings - Dawn

 

God's Promises (part - 1)

I have had different seasons of growth with the Lord since surrendering my own life/will to Him in 2004. Most of my growth seasons have been painful and tough, but the last 9 months has been a sweet season of growth. It has left me excited for the coming year(s) and excited for the path we are on. With all that being said I have wanted to share with the blog world (family and friends) what has been swirling in my head and tugging at my heart. But it is hard to organize thoughts (especially mine) when they are going in a million different directions! Plus how do you do justice to God working in your life through a blog post? or several blog posts? So rather then thinking daily and weekly that I would really like to blog about this, I'm just going to go for it.. share bits and pieces as I can, pray you understand I am human in my writing, and hope that it speaks to your heart as well!

A while back I felt God tugging at my heart to do a study on His promises. To read from Genesis to Revelation and find what He promises. So like any good kid I just started a month ago... ha ha... and am on Genesis chapter 9! (yes I am a tough one I know but I'm sure many of us are) But already I have had some mind blowing thoughts on things, and really some DUH moments! So as I go through this I want to share what I am learning.  I hope it helps someone out there, and also the accountability will hopefully keep me from dragging this task on for 5 years! So here we go promise #1

Genesis 2:16 ..." but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

So God is promising Adam and Eve - "Eat from the tree = death". Then here comes the serpent to lie to the woman and tell her that God is lying, she won't die- so she sees it, it looks good, she wants it, she eats it, Adam doesn't stop her (protect her), they are separated from God. The fall in short form.

So this is all the mind-blowing stuff I never got from this story before (I mentioned I was a tough one right?)

1- God equates separation from Him as DEATH. Its not the death that maybe we comprehend in our earthly mind. But He understands that when we are out of His will, protection, covering, etc... we are DEAD. That is HUGE! So everyone walking around that has not found the true love of the heavenly father is basically a walking dead person!

2- With #1 being said, I also saw that the serpent was extremely clever in his deception, because he was right - she wasn't "really" going to die. At least she wouldn't die the way a human thinks of death (although I'm not sure how Adam and Eve really knew about death since they were the first humans, but I digress)  the death they would face would be even greater then loss of the beating heart. So Satan has a way of twisting something to where it seems true, makes sense to us logically, even though it will certainly lead down a deadly path! Cunning from the start.

3 - I don't know why I never saw this before but this blew my mind - THE FIRST SIN WAS WITH A WOMAN AND FOOD!!! Hello Dawn Prather and your food issues! Eve saw food that looked good to her, she wanted it even though she knew she shouldn't have it, she ate it, and she was easily convinced to eat it! HELLO!!!! DUHHH.. I felt like God saying "Dawn your not the first and only to walk this path of struggle, this is where it all started!"

4- Woman's first sin was being controlling and man's first sin is complacency. Definitely a generational sin that has carried down through the years and plagues our generation today!

5- Lastly I see that this led to Adam and Eve's death - and thus a need for "rebirth" or an "adoption" if you will. When we choose to come home back into the Father's care we are adopted back into the family. openly and lovingly He has the door open just waiting for us. And not just waiting for us but coming after us saying no turn around your going the wrong way, your home is this way. Being a sucker for an adoption story, I am thankful the heavenly father adopted me into my intended family, and can't wait to adopt our child into our intended family!!!

So ya, that is one tiny little piece of something on my heart right now. Maybe for most of you this is not anything new, maybe you are thinking BIG DEAL?... and if so.. that's ok, I only wasted a few of your minutes reading this! ha ha! But maybe some of you are like me (slower learners) and never had this perspective! I am blown away by how much I soaked in from one little promise!

A few other "promises" (not as mind blowing but note worthy)

Genesis 3:14-15 "cursed the snake"
Genesis 3:16 - women painful childbirth, will desire for your husband and he will rule over you (aka submission?)  - men cursed is the ground you will work all the days of your life (hello 60 hr work week :(  )


Anyway - as I type this I find it important to say I have NO theology background, I am NOT claiming I have things figured out. Quite the opposite, I want to figure more out, so I can understand our Awesome God just a tiny bit more.  And as I will continue to read the old testament I will be reading knowing that God has something better coming (JESUS!)  And while His promises will show to me more of His character, the picture will not be complete until the promise of the new covenant is fulfilled.

Thanks for reading - lots more to come!

Prayers and Blessings - Dawn

CIG Giveaway!

Hey everyone just wanted to share about a giveaway we are doing at Crafted In Grace. We have some new pieces and more fall stuff to come! Head on over and check it out, tell us what you like, and what you would like to see!!!  The Giveaway ends Sunday, so enter ASAP!!!

some new fun goodies -

As always Prayers and Blessings - Dawn