Encouraging Moms Who Homeschool

Today I'm going to post a psalm of David, Psalm 37. I think this psalm can speak encouragement into the heart of all Believers, whether they happen to be homeschoolers or not :) Psalm 37 ~ New Living Translation ~(theme: trust in the Lord and wait patiently for Him to act) Don't worry about the wicked. Don't envy those who do wrong. For like grass, they soon fade away. Like springtime flowers, they soon wither. Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart's desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you. He will make your innocence as clear as the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act. Don't worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. Stop your anger! Turn from your rage! Do not envy others - it only leads to ha...

It's officially summer break for the Burt Family! I must say, it feels pretty good to have made it to the finish line. Although it's not exactly like running a marathon (my husband and oldest daughter are runners - so I've seen what a marathon does to a person!) homeschooling does require copious amounts of endurance, patience, perseverance, determination and plain old hard work. Despite all of my "research" and reading which have informed me that homeschooling can be easy (whatever that means!) I have come to the conclusion that it requires quite a bit of effort. I mean, sure, there are tools we can employ and methods we might utilize to make our homeschooling days run more smoothly...but I don't think I could honestly describe my 12 years of homeschooling as truly easy. That does not mean I never have days that are filled with ease; I can relax and enjoy living in the moment while homeschooling.But perhaps my definition of the word "easy" is incor...

Well, it's Monday again! Here we are, back at it for another week. But this week is different than other weeks. Not just because it is the last week of "school" around our house before we take some time off over the summer months. This Monday is different because it is the only time in all of my life I will be able to live this day (Monday, May 17th, 2010). I'll never have this time again. Likewise, this week is the only time I'll ever have this week with my husband, with my children, with my friends and neighbors and extended family members. No matter what I do, I can never regain this time in my life once it has passed. I suspect that's why moms and dads tear up a little bit when watching old family movies. They can look back and see exactly how precious that time was...and sometimes they can watch themselves "waste" that time right there on the big screen in front of their very eyes. We really can't afford to be discouraged today because of lo...

So, here it is almost the end of April. As I reflect on the school year, I am awed and blessed by all that the Lord has done in my family. He has gently and lovingly handled every concern, each struggle, all of the emotions that come with 4 daughters and a 17 year old son sharing the same "space" day in and day out - and He has done it while drawing me to Him with cords of kindness. My God is a good God indeed. What's in my homeschool? What's in your homeschool? Is the joy of the Lord there? Is His Holy Spirit leading and guiding you through the day? Is there respect for your husband in your homeschool? Plenty of love and grace and mercy shown to your "students"? Is the Ancient of Days the ruler of all your minutes and hours? Does the Great I AM have all authority over your homeschool - from curriculum choices to character building to sick days? Are you talking to Him and seeking Him all throughout the day? Can you say along with Job, "The Lord giveth; ...

Wow! It's been a while since I've posted! Has my life been busy or have I just neglected this blog? Hmmm...I think my life has been pretty busy and while I may have neglected my blog I don't think I've been neglecting my family, so I guess I'm doing okay, right?! I won't give you a blow-by-blow of what's been keeping me so busy - but some of it is pretty important to our homeschool so I will likely blog about it in the future. Today I'm posting about our lovely female Pug named Mimi. She is a small dog with a big personality, and she brings a whole lot of fun into our lives. Mimi has had some eye problems over the last year and a half, and has been seeing a specialist on a regular basis. Each time Mimi has an appointment with "Dr. B" he puts some numbing drops in her eyes and then measures her pressure in each eye. Now, what's interesting about all of this is that Mimi really loves "Dr. B". I don't mean a little - she thinks t...

This post has been a long while in the making ~ I've spent the last 6 weeks or so working my way through this e-book & am now ready to share my thoughts...but my goal is to stick to the content of the e-book as much as possible and not veer too much toward my own experiences as a homeschooling mother of 2 highschoolers. This may be a little hard for me, because I found myself relating to so many of the articles in this compilation that it may be hard for me to share about the book without sharing about myself. I'll start with a brief overview of this e-book's content. The e-book is 122 pages long and is published by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. It is a compilation of articles written by veteran homeschooling mothers who have A) graduated children from their homeschool B) are currently homeschooling high school students or C) both of the above. The introduction was written by Amanda Bennett (anyone who has ever used a unit study probably recognizes her name & if you...

Today's post will be short and to the point. And what's the point? Well, just to do a quick shout out to some true friends. There is no order to this listing - like any good homeschool mom knows, NEVER play favorites!! Janette - hard-working, diligent in prayer, shoots it to ya straight - one amazing lady - she's one of the best and I can call her my friend! Kimberly - loyal, loyal, loyal and always incredibly supportive - one who makes me stronger as a homeschooling mother - and one who openly loves my kiddos & let's me love her kiddos too! Jeannie - never ceases to make me feel great about my kids & is able to push me to be better w/o being pushy in the least! A friend for life. Miriam - will lend you a hand at a moment's notice & makes everyone's day a whole lot brighter! Also the mother of 2 really wonderful tykes - she's awesome! Kym - a pillar of strength and a source of courage that emboldens me as I watch her walk through a dark valley - ...

So, it's a wonderful Sunday afternoon. We have had a great day at church, enjoyed celebrating Palm Sunday, enjoyed fun and fellowship with church family, and plan to relax this evening. But alas, it is dinner time. Okay, in our house, it is past dinner time! And here I sit, typing away, no where near the kitchen... So, does this make me a bad wife and mother? I know that I will spend a good part of the evening working on next week's school plans. I am certain I will get up early in the morning and make my husband's lunch, do some laundry and maybe some dishes, after spending time with the Lord, and start our Monday morning strong. Tomorrow I will know what we will have for dinner before we have lunch. The rest of the week will follow suit. But today, I've just been enjoying life with my family so much that I haven't planned dinner. And since I have failed to plan, I have planned to fail. This holds true of me in many areas of life. Once I decided to L-I-K-E doing th...

Wow, the weather outside just keeps on getting better and better - albeit a little bit at a time! In the afternoon, when the school day is done, my kids have been playing outside again - and they haven't come in with blue lips and red noses! Spring weather...I just love it. So, spring has finally sprung - does that mean it's time to put away the books and make a break for summer? Does that mean we have to keep plugging along, missing the chance to enjoy the wonderful spring weather (which will soon enough turn into long, hot summer days)? Well, yes...and yes. Yup, we should put away SOME of the school books and spend some time outdoors. Take a field trip, walk to the library, have a picnic lunch in the back yard, plant some flowers or raise butterflies. Yup, we should also keep plugging along with our school work. While it may be okay to put aside the cursive workbook or the typing program to enjoy an afternoon out of doors, it may not be okay to start skipping math lessons or ...

I have to tell you, as a Type-A personality and somewhat diligent homeschooling mother, this year marks only the third time our family has taken an "official" spring break. The first year we took a week off while my husband spent a week in the hospital to repair his severly broken femur and to ensure he no longer had a terrible staph infection that threatened his life the summer previous. Our second spring break was taken in February of last year - we traveled to Arizona following my grandfather's death. Although it certainly wasn't a typical spring break, it was a needed break during a very emotional time. And just this past week our family enjoyed a spring break that coordinated with the local school district - my kids played outside with their friends and enjoyed the wonderful weather...which changed back to winter weather and snow on the ground at the end of the week :( During this week's break from homeschool I enjoyed working on some projects around the hous...