As you can tell from my title, *sniff, sniff* my husband and I have decided to allow my 13 yr old, Jacob, to try out school. He has been begging for it, and as much as we loved the idea of homeschooling, he really enjoys being able to spend more time with friends. Homeschooling offered plenty of activities when he was younger, and we did them all, but now that he is close to high school, academics are more pressing and he is spending his time at home alone, studying. Well, I am there, but there is only so much I can do while he is working through math problems or reading a chapter in history. As he says, it is “just Mom”.  I think if he were surrounded by siblings, it might make it more fun, but his younger brother  definitely needs a  structured program and has found a good fit at his private school.

Jacob has been on the football team this past year, for this Clay County school, and just completed Spring ball to prepare for the fall team. He has made some friends, knows the coaches, and is even active with the FCA- Fellowship of Christian Athletes club.

I know he will do well, and we still have to go through the testing process, but this is still a hard transition for me. I am the one always trying to teach my boys to be flexible and open to changes that God brings into our life, whether we are comfortable with it or not, and will hopefully be okay with this by the end of the summer *sniff, sniff*. I know it will open doors for me to get back into the work force, or paint, or promote Dare2Shine, but I really did have a dream of homeschooling my boys all the way through. We have just had too many unique dynamics in our family  to make it possible, or even desirable, anymore. The changing tides in the economy are a factor that cannot be ignored anymore as well.

I am still going to leave all of my homeschool references up in the resource page. If we run into any real challenges, or situations that are unacceptable, I have promised all my men that we will be back.

Please say a prayer for us as we start the summer testing process.

Travelling through the trees of color in NC over the weekend was a wonderful distraction (and well needed) from daily routine, but now that I am back, it is really hard to resist the urge to turn on that TV and get all caught up emotionally in the hullabaloo of election and outcome and especially aftermath. But I have so much on my plate to help me resist the temptation and am so enjoying my plate painting.

I finished some princesses last week, and little boys with Star Wars sabers. Today is 2 more little girls that like soccer. I am so enjoying it!

So I plan on painting and keeping the TV off. Gibb and I are homeschooling today.  Vivaldi is playing through the house, and although it may feel like a really cloudy day, we will make it sunny anyway.

Since we have evolved from totally homeschooling special needs (Joshua), to one in school (for specific challenges), to two in school (for specific challenges), back to one homeschooling again, possibly two homeschooling in the future….it has been difficult to really find our niche of peers, except a handful of buddies who just understand our home is a WILD ride. We seem to always have been in a “transition” of some sorts since Joshua passed away.

I have been on a mission for peace and stability again for quite awhile, prioritizing homelife and my boys. The time is so fleeting and in a few years, our house will be much more quiet. As I was perusing some other christian homeschooling sites, I ran across this dad, and really wanted to share his site. Sometimes it is easier for the mom to be grounded in her convictions, as we are so social and collect like-minded peers for support and encouragement. But Dads are so busy and doing all they can to earn the living. It is sometimes difficult for them to slow down and grasp that bigger picture and vision for why we do what we do. I wanted to share this site with my dear husband, and you as well.

Well, after much deliberation and prayer about where to place the boys this year, I am finding myself homeschooling again(for one of them)! M y 12 yr old had some incredible improvement this past year in his school program and we have found some specific courses and teaching styles that I think will work for all of us. I will be teaching art appreciation, “God in the History of Art I and II” at Homesweethomeschool, and he will be taking some classes there, as well as on Florida Virtual school. My biggest job will be helping him to stay ON-TASK, while balancing our business and being an active PTO mommy for my youngest son, still in school. We will get to do the Language Arts thru lit. program together, and I am looking forward to it. That was always my favorite, anyway. Yay!

We were beginning to see some challenges with the boys this summer in attitude and testing boundaries ,and I know in my heart that this is the right decison because I love my relationship with them. I was blessed to get to the Homeschool convention in Jacksonville last week, and it is not so much for the vendors, but just the comraderie and companionship of being around like-minded people that affirms and encourages me so much.

I have never really fit into the group of SOLD OUT homeschooler moms that have many kids and all homeschooled perfectly. We always had such exceptional situations, and when we were walking through grief it was almost impossible to accomplish all that we wanted in the home, financially or emotionally. We also found some learning challenges that really required testing and getting educated on answers. So I am thankful for our school experiences as well. I am so grateful for my husband who works so hard to provide. I know from experience that every child is soo different, and we cannot approach them all the same way. We must be so flexible to change with every year, and every child, and every situation.

But I am grateful to be homeschooling him again. My 7 yr old, absolutely LOVES structure and routine, and still has a real challenge when things get too loose and unplanned, so he will still be in his sweet, specific school program. There may be a day when we can homeschool him as well, but until then, we found a program that works for him to have a peaceful, thriving year.

We moms can be wrought with anguish over making the right decision for our kids and families. Sometimes what is best for the kids, may not even be the husband’s present wishes..more anguish. I know. Whatever your situation, financial or emotional, I am encouraging you to just give it to God. Once he helps you make the right decision for your family, for that time, you can operate in peace and know that God will make it into a good (Romans 8:28). I can look back now and see some of the things we have walked through and realize the why. 

Many times it was just to grow me and teach me that I am going to have to let go of those reins again. You know, the reins of control that we all want to hold..

It’s like the TV remote. It is soo annoying to be watching TV and someone else has the remote and they are flipping.  Let’s say the controller even has ADD. Now THAT is annoying. Ideally we should be able to compromise and agree on a show together, but sometimes, life can quickly change the channel on you, huh? Sometimes it is a show we reaally do not want to watch.  

So the only thing we can do is get up and go fill our brain with something positive, something pure, whatever is lovely, like.. the word of God, prayer, something encouraging.

If you want some encouragement in the area of homeschooling, you can go to the www.HERIJAX.com  site and look under convention 2008. You can contact the rhino technologies company and order the tapes from the breakout sessions. Many are just encouraging testimonies from Parents that have walked the walk, like Pam Tebow. I know there were talks that I missed and will order soon.

Whatever your decisions, I pray that you will have peace on you throughout the year once the decision has been made. Give it to God. Then walk in gratitude for the beautiful children you have and are comissioned to raise to the best of your abilities.

Thank you God for loaning us these beautiful children, and this awesome responsibility.

I cannot believe summer is over for us. Just like that. This has been a difficult transition and I know it should be easy when we feel the peace of God on our hearts about something, but I have homeschooled for so long. As a homeschooler, even after school started we would still have another month or so to do summer type things. Once we got going with school, we still were not adhering to anyone else’s tight schedule. Last week we got our list of school supplies and plodded through “holiday” lines at Walmart, Officemax, and Target to find each item required before entering the class. It is unbelievable!! My mom had suggested taking each boy out individually to get their uniforms and supplies and making an exciting event out of it (including ice cream). So I did and that really helped it all go more smoothly. This is our first experience with uniforms and although the boys seemed oppositional, I think they really enjoy the structure. They look so handsome.
I am hoping to still be a very active and integral part of their education still as a volunteer using my art and creativity in the classroom. So, hello to a new season. Thank you God for an easy transition. It is going to be a wonderful fall.
Sophia