Wednesday, August 26, 2009

school's IN.




So, I read this quote on the Pioneer woman's website (she home schools too) :
Lots of people support our decision to homeschool. Some are quietly guarded. Others think we're mentally ill. I vacillate between all three myself.
I really thought this was very funny. But honestly, I do not vacillate at all. I am so happy we are going this way and to me and the Doctor, it have been on our hearts for a few years. We have been working for 3 weeks now, and they love it and I love it. never ever did I ever think it would be this much fun. It's a huge commitment, but no one could ever be as committed to my kids (and their future) than me. When I read this piece by Sally Clarkson, it put things into perspective for me:
Your goal in education is reaching their heart, filling their emotional cup, teaching them moral foundations, capturing their vision for life for the kingdom of God, teaching them what it looks like to walk through difficult times while holding tight to the hand of God. May God grant you understanding and faith to follow these paths and to raise up a strong generation for Him.
Even if you don't homeschool, I do encourage you to be involved in your child's learning. After 3 weeks I discovered that Kirstin has issues with short term memory. Now, I can do exercises with her to help her improve. That's just one little thing. Something I might never have picked up on. We start at 9am. we usually finish by 1pm. And then we do fun stuff like art/reading/library. I love having them around. Seriously. In 2 weeks dance starts and we have 13+ dance classes a week. So by then we will all be very busy. I took some pictures of the school room... you can see more pictures HERE. Oh and of course our school room is shades of pink. ; )

A bit of good news for this Wednesday: So many times we read the Bible and think/say: I would love to be like that. We constantly strive/dream to attain the goal of being morally acceptable before God. THE GOOD NEWS is that in Jesus we qualify! Jesus didn't come to be a role model for us. He is an example OF us. This is a huge difference! I think Christians still wait for 90% of stuff that HAD ALREADY happened in Christ. You might ask, HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT? The answer came to me in the simplicity of the incredible price He paid. God punished Him for me. He said: it is done.
John 11:25-26"You don't have to wait for the End. I am, right now, Resurrection and Life. The one who believes in me, even though he or she dies, will live. And everyone who lives believing in me does not ultimately die at all. Do you believe this?"

Awesome news! Love!

9 comments :

Monica said...

What lovely learning stations! I love their little painted "lockers". I'm curious what curriculum you chose?

Andrea Wiebe said...

Wilna I'm just overjoyed!!! Homeschooling is amazing...we are working on our 9th year and I love it more and more!

Unknown said...

we use the School of tomorrow (ACE). Not the most glamorous curriculum, but one of the best SYSTEMS ever.

*Heather said...

So is this your first year homeschooling Wilna? We are starting our 3rd and we LOVE it! Capturing their hearts for Him is so important and homeschooling definitely helps with that! Hope your year is amazing! ;)

Julie Cortens said...

Best decision we ever made in raising our 4 children was to home school them - I loved having them with me and being a part of their education. They are all done, graduated, moving on. Would do it again in a heart beat. Enjoy this precious opportunity Wilna. The girls will be off and married before you know it.

Jan said...

I find we have more and more in common, dear Wilna! First of all, I've been lovin' the Pioneer Woman for over a year now. Isn't she swell? And secondly, did you know that I, too, homeschooled my boys? It was "back in the day" when it wasn't as accepted as it is now. We always re-evaluated our decision to do this every year and finally put them in school (the same year) in 4th and 7th grades. I wish I could have held on longer, but I was having some personal issues. Nonetheless, it was one of the best things we've ever done...

And I LOVE your cheery room with the gorgeous window and light. And the little "stations" each girl has. Reminds me of these huge stations my dad built for 4 of us (pre-youngest brother) when we were young. They were in the basement and stored all our own personal "playstuff". LOVED that!

Blessings to you and yours...

Anonymous said...

Wow, dis amazing wat jy doen Wilna. Julle "klaskamer" lyk pragtig!
Ons gaan hierdie naweek op 'n Huweliksverrykingsnaweek wat ons gemeente reel/aanbied. Bid asb saam ons dat die Here elke huwelik daar, sal bless!
Liefde - ingrid

Sandra said...

Homeschooling is very, very rare here in Switzerland. Therefore when you first wrote about it, I thought, that you would give scrapbook-classes at home... :-)
I find this a very brave decision! May I ask what brought you to do it like this?
The school room looks beautiful and I like the different shades of "pink".

Anonymous said...

our blog is so pretty, i often find myself going over all your old layouts , awestruck at the beauty of your work!