Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Some burning questions...



Hi folks!

I have a couple of questions that I just simply want to know now and I couldn't resist writing a blog post even though I am so tired and ready for a break (like most of you are probably feeling too).

As Jeanne reminded me that it's normal to lose inspiration at this time of the year...and I don't know about you, but it's been a HUGE year!

Do you feel like that?

I always thought parenting got easier as the children age but I no longer think that way, the dynamics change so much when our children begin to have their own outlook on life, their own opinions and thought and independence!

I find the dynamics very challenging at times and I sit down with a cuppa, take a deep breath and wonder if I am doing everything right.

Lately I have been feeling like a failure at following the Amble side curriculum with my children, only because if I don't meet the expectations of the curriculum I fall in a heap! TRUE!

But, going through all this has amazingly brought clearer perspective in what we are doing. I feel I know exactly what we are going to ditch for next year and what I will have instead.

I accept more and more that my son is a complete outdoors sort of boy and not a book worm, even though we still read everyday. My expectations on him have been way to high and even with a pole in his hand he is just never going to reach the bar that I have raised and get over.

So I have lowered the bar with his help and we are seeing better results.

On the other hand my 7yo daughter loves outdoors too but loves to read and is moving very quickly, but that's just the way they are.

It's funny how as the year goes on these hidden foxes in my mind creep in and start telling me I'm not doing enough, they should be doing this or that...and so on!

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Taking charge of my mind is what I have been doing this last few months and following the beautiful scripture in Philippians 4:8 ~

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is fair, whatever is pure, whatever is acceptable, whatever is commendable, if there is anything of excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy-keep thinking about these things".


Okay the above was not what I planned on blogging about!

WOW...it feels so good to let the steam out of my engine even if no-one reads this, I'm happy! :-)

I actually have a couple of questions!

1. Today our beautiful 'Little house collection' arrived and I was wondering if there is an order to these books...could you please tell me!




2. My other questions is regarding the book  A Child's History of the World by Virgil Hillyer! I have been doing some preparation work for AO 2012 and I would really appreciate your reviews on this book if you have read it.

Hope your having a great week!

xxx

12 comments:

  1. Sarah, there is an order and it usually is printed on one of the inside pages. It journals all their moves so even though you CAN read them out of order, it's best to read them in order. We LOVE these books! Almost every city the Ingalls lived in has some type of museum, so it would really add to the reading if you looked these up on the web.

    http://www.ecommcode2.com/hoover/research/wilder/chronology.html

    This has a great timeline of their lives and pictures.

    I love your attitude with the kids, you are learning from the Lord and gaining so much wisdom in your parenting. As the kids grow, you will continually have to have this same mindset and the ability to parent according to their needs and abilities and not always your desires.

    Was fun to find your post this morning. You always make me smile. :)

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  2. Thank you Mindy...I was excited to hear from you this morning! xxx

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  3. LOL - you can see the order on the spines in your photo... no. 1 is first, 2 is second and so on ;)
    We have the same series - love it!

    Also the Child's History of The World... we like it but I LOATHE the first bit on creation. It sounds all very new-agey even though the rest of the book assumes God is God and that the reader knows God. We skipped the first bit on creation and I explained to the children WHAT was in it and WHY we were not reading it.

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  4. Thanks Mrs B...I had read that the author followed evolution! Even though I still teach my children what it is, I don't want to buy this book if it is all the way through it! The books don't say on them what's first...lol! :-)

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  5. Hey Sarah, Hugs to you xo. Homeschooling and raising children in general certainly has its up and downs. I found the training muuch harder as they got older, too. It was okay when I was in charge of the little people, though tiring. But big kids want to be in charge and they are more draining emotionally.
    Because my boys struggled so much with their schooling, I took a very long time to come to terms with not being able to reach all the goals. Trust the Lord to give yu wisdom and strength and go with your heart. You know your son better than anyone and forcing him on an impossible quest is only going to squash the enthusiasm out of him.
    Yep, Little House books read best in the sequential order :-)My girls love those books and as adults seem to remember them as the only books we read!

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  6. Hi Sarah. It sounds like my oldest boy is just like yours and my oldest girl is just like yours. I can put anything down and my girl will eventually pick it up and read it. But, the oldest boy just wants to really be outside. I have had to adjust a lot of my living book curriculum/and other curriculum to really address his need for outdoors. I find it is more of a heart issue for me since teaching one is so much easier and more concret goal oriented than teaching the other. I am just now gettng a reall understanding but still learning to balance and adjust. At times I am a little fustrated with myself for not really knowing how to get the same goals accomplished with a different approach. (sigh)

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  7. Hi Sarah,
    Nice to see a post from you again:)
    I have also found that AO takes away some of our outdoor time that we used to enjoy pre AO. So, I understand that part relating to your son!
    I think I know what you mean about how parenting doesn't get easy as they get older, it just changes from being tired physically to tired emotionally lol!
    Anyway, I have not looked that far into AO to know what the Virgil Hillyer book so can't give you any thoughts on that one:(
    I dont' follow AO as strictly as some of the mums do, i.e. I dont' ask for narrations from all our readings as I posted about recently:) It's good to adjust it to suit our own families and children:) All the best with your planning for next year!
    xxx
    Rosemary

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  8. Sarah,
    Be encouraged and know that you're sowing seeds in every little thing you do. I've never finished an AO year "perfectly." You've already shown much wisdom in how you've tailored things for your son. Great job!

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  9. Thinking of you in your tiredness. Trust in the Lord and He will give you all the strength you need.

    Blessings for the week ahead.

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  10. Our own expecatations can be crippling sometimes as mums and especially homeschooling ones, working out how our kids learn best is part of the journey :-)

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  11. Hi Sarah. I'm sorry I'm coming late to your post but I have something to share with you.

    One, that even at an early age, 7 and 5, I have the same feelings with my girls. The oldest in year one is not like me, not a book worm, or not YET, ha ha ha. I'm learning to be grateful for a healthy and well balanced child, and at times, I can't help having those feelings of not doing enough... but in the end, I read Scripture and I see life and their education as a very beautiful and rich one, even when they don't take to the books as I envisioned in my dreams. My dreams are wrong then, ha ha ha.

    I got the set on sale too, and AO suggests the same order you find in the book series in each back of the books.

    Hyllier. My sister has a copy in Spanish waiting for us. I've been told that his quality is so immense, that you can simply skip the first chapters, or present them as what others say and we can rationally and intelligently refute. I won't have reservations on the book for I believe it is widely read between creationists, so it may have much quality that those two chapters can't shadow.

    Hugs,
    s

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