My Own Education

 For the entirety of my adult life, I have considered myself to be the eternal student. I set my attitude at a fairly early age to see lessons in the mundane and everyday. When I was very young, my mom pointed out to me that we should always be learning something new. She was very intentional in helping learn from situations that we encountered. And for that, I will forever be grateful to her. For that, I strive to always be learning and growing in some form or fashion. 

And if you're wondering, that doesn't mean that I have an advanced degree in anything. I have an Associates in General Studies, that I earned nearly twenty years ago. I do believe in the merits of a formal education, but I also know that it's not the be all and end all of being educated. Since I finished my Associates, I have been a self-educator. I was taught, intentionally, by my mom to examine things- ideas, subjects, events, people, etc- from all angles. To really view things from a 360 perspective. Or at least do my best to see it from all sides. 

Ok, back to on track...

My own education has largely been through extensive reading, conversations with formally-educated close friends, and just a general study of whatever strikes my fancy or intrigues me. I have passions that have blossomed in that time of self-education and even self-study. Things like nutrition, history, psychology, and the interconnectedness of all of it. I am a collector of information. 

But not just random facts and information. If you are familiar with the StrengthsFinder 2.0; I am a Learner, Input, Connectedness, and Context. 

I love to know how things are related, from the closely-related, to the obscure connections. 

And don't get me started on how important the context of it all is. 

Because I want to "learn it all", it has been very difficult for me to find a formal degree program that has interested me enough to commit to one field of learning. But I finally figured it out a few months ago. With the help of the Holy Spirit, of course.

Biblical Studies.

In a way, it's been in front of me my entire life. I are up in church, and have attended regularly my entire life. I am a student of the Bible. And I am not tooting my own horn, by any means. This is not a "look at me, I am go great; such a wonderful person and christian" kind of thing. It is just the truth. Many years ago, I saw a light & joy in someone in mentorship of me and I wanted it. I knew enough about her story that it only came from a deep and intentional relationship with her Savior. My seeking began there. The realization that I was missing something... I just didn't know what. 

Fast forward to now, I am beginning this week on a journey that seems to be almost a lifetime in the making. 

I am beginning an online degree in Biblical Studies this week.

Last night, I got the list of books I will need for my three classes, and I immediately called my sister. She is also an eternal student of life and God's word. I was so excited, I had to share the titles and synopsis' with her too. (She is also considering getting a degree in Biblical Studies). 

All of this is to say, that just because you didn't "find your thing" at a young age, doesn't mean that you won't ever. It just means that you haven't found it, YET.

And I think that it the key here. God's word is full of "yet" moments. And so is his plan and guidance of us. 

We have been created to lifelong students. Precept upon precept. 

Beauty Subjects & Morning Baskets

 For this year, I wanted to try something a little bit different from what we had before. This year, we have beauty subjects. 

My Big and I did something akin to this our first year of homeschooling, which was his 5th grade year. I wasn't so much as studying the works of art or music themselves; but more of a study of the composers biographies and the various types of music through the ages. I found that very cool to put together, but if my Big remembers anything from that, time will tell. I had tasked myself to find clips of each musical piece as background to a cartoon or movie clip that my Big was familiar with. That was a scavenger hunt I will not easily forget- even I learned a few things about the music we hear without recognition. Needless to say, there were a lot of Bugs Bunny or Looney Tunes clips he watched. I won't complain about that, because who doesn't love a good Looney Tunes episode. (Especially Elmer Fudd singing to the tune of Ride of the Valkyries. Best cartoon moment ever.)

But I digress. 

This year, we are studying music and art from many of the greats. For my preschooler, we are learning about the artists and composers that are highlighted in the Gentle & Classical Preschool curriculum. Which also, we are using that for his "play school." He seems to really enjoy the poems, nursery rhymes, songs and stories that are laid out so beautifully for us. 

For my Big, We are also using Gentle & Classical's Morning Virtues curriculum. Erin has done a wonderful job of creating an easy to follow plans. Morning Virtue's include read-alouds poetry, affirmations, scripture, folk songs that correspond to a virtue. For instance, we have started with Courage. the biographies of the artist and composer chosen, display courage in their own form & fashion. The story of Renior having the courage to push through his work while suffering with arthritis- was a little mind-blowing for my 12 year old. 

Each of these has music to listen to as you go. So I have created a playlist that includes both the Morning Virtues songs and the preschool songs. Both boys seem to enjoy all of the selections and they both seem to be benefitting from the sweet messages of the preschool songs and morning routine. 

This is probably my favorite time of the day. It is a slow intro to the harder tasks of the day for them and gets those little gears turning. Not to mention, I love watching them both draw or color and use their creativity with no agenda other than to "be".

Now I see why so many homeschooling moms subscribe to adding this routine. 

Our Seventh Grade plan

 So, we are officially in our second week of seventh grade and PK4, and it is good. The first couple of days were a little hairy- but that's normal when getting back into a routine, no matter how short the break was. 

We have shaken things up a bit this year. Well, I have. I have added beauty subjects and read-alouds to the mix. And my Big actually said that the doodle/read-aloud time was his favorite way to start the day. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy. That was exactly the kind of reaction and appreciation that I was going for. Something relaxed, and peaceful instead of just trying to blow through things as quickly as possible. 

Man, the first years of homeschooling can be rough. Mostly, you're just trying to figure out which end is up. And then trying to figure out learning styles, and what works for who, and the hurdles of "I don't wanna" days. And then there's the kids you have to figure out those things for... 

Back to the beauty subjects..

Yes, they are for the kids benefit; to learn an appreciation for art, great music, poetry, and creative endeavors. But they are for me as much as for them. I have always had a love of reading to kids. First it was the kids I cared for, and now it's my own. From the day I brought him home from the hospital, I began reading to my Little. I had amassed a wonderful baby-library before he was born. But my Big, reading to him as a small one was something I missed. He is my Bonus. He was just beginning to grow out of the bedtime story & read to me phase when I came on the scene. 

But now, I get to revel in that phase with both of them. And what list of books I have! I don't expect we will get through them all this year, but maybe. We'll see. I won't lie, it would be nice to get through all of the elementary-level classics that Big has never read before. 

I am excited for us. 

I just have to remember to take my time and savor the feast of books and beauty!

What a morning!

 I won't go into detail about it, but my morning did not go as I had envisioned. It was quite the opposite. Neither was it peaceful or quiet- which is the point of waking up two hours before everyone else.

With that being said; as I was pouring my coffee, adding the cream and sugar.... I couldn't help but smile. The moment I'm in, this phase of life, there was a time I didn't know if I would ever get to experience it. 

For much of my adult life I what in the past was affectionately known as the "spinster aunt". Ridiculous phrase. I was my family's reliable babysitter (never mind  that I was actually a Nanny by profession.) Not that I am complaining about the baby sitting, mind you. I loved every minute of it. With the exception of the "You need one of those" comments anytime I'd be holding a new baby niece or nephew. (Insert eyeball here.)

That phase of my life I look back on with tenderness and affection. I grew so much in those years, not just maturing, but also in my spiritual life. Those years of praying, hoping, waiting, depending on God for the one thing I wanted most- has helped me depend on Him and leaning to Him when I am having rough mornings, afternoons, days, etc. 

Another homeschool mom on Instagram, recently shared a passage from Teaching from Rest by Sarah Mackenzie; and it was speaking of Peter walking on the water with Jesus. My mom used to have a painting above her fireplace that was that image. Peter sinking with a look of desperation on his face, and Jesus serenely stretching our his hand to lift Peter our of the swirling waters, the wind blowing about them. The idea that the storm will always be there, and it may blow us about a bit or even a lot, but the assurance that Jesus, the King of Peace is always there- to steady me and my family, it's like nothing I could ever explain well enough. 

I've gotten off track a little. 

My point here is that my mornin was not as restful as I had anticipated. That's ok, because win the grand scheme of things, I am right where I dreamt of being. Next time sans the ants.... 🐜🐜

Starring Down Seventh Grade

This past May I started doing a little bit of research about other homeschool methods and curriculums. I had seen many homeschool moms on social media talking about taking a graceful or gentle approach to teaching their children. With the hard days in the back of my mind, I set out to see what this gentle homeschooling was about. 

I am familiar and do my best to practice gentle parenting, as much as being human allows anyways. So, I wondered if it was similar. Those handful (or two) of hard days usually left me wondering if there was a better way to go about this. Yes, I am well aware that worthy things are sometimes challenging, sometimes extremely. Even gentle parenting has it's challenges. I am in the middle of a challenge as I type this. 

Traditional homeschool textbooks with their 150-170 lessons seemed to take quite a toll on some of our days. I was yearning for a little more freedom, flexibility and more spontaneous. It was just a little too rigid for us- mainly for me. A few more free days would do this Momma some good. Especially, where my housework was concerned. (I'm not gonna lie, trying to keep up with the housework is a chore in and of itself on a normal day.) 

Today, we are starting Big's seventh grade lessons. It's hard to get back into the swing of things after a lengthy break. A month doesn't sound so long, but as anyone that's trying to get into a good habit of anything knows, a month of not going said task, is the equivalent to a lifetime.

I started the day before the crack of dawn when our puppy decided she needed to potty at 4:45 this morning. With my alarm set to go off at 5, I just let her out and made my coffee. 

This time around, we are incorporating beauty subjects into our day. In my search for less intense curricula, I stumbled across a wonderful site built by a homeschool mom with much more experience than I- Gentle + Classical Press, and Erin's wonderful Morning Virtues publications. (I'll post more on other items from her sight I am using for my preschooler in another post.) This morning was quite literally our first foray into beauty subjects. And I believe it was well received by both Big and Little. Even if they didn't/don't/can't fully appreciate it, I sure did. The scripture, artist & composer study, the poetry, hymns, Biblical truths and the read-alouds are all beautifully thought out. This Momma truly loves it. 

This year, Big will be doing more independent reading than he did last year. His history curriculum is in the classical format that I love so much. It is a new publisher for us, but he enjoyed the "search" of conclusions and realizations of his science studies last year, that I decided to transfer that to his history as well. 

Math as it stands, will remain the same rigid curriculum as it has been the last two years. While there are others out there and some that probably have fewer lessons- this one for me, is tried and true. And while the other subjects can be tweaked and played with a bit, math is non-negotiable for me. 

And on that note... by Big is back from walking the dog- better get busy with those math studies!