Our Schoolroom

Here we have our Homework keeper, our calendar, weather station, and 

bulletin board.  Each morning we go over the verse of the week, character

quality for the week, the weather, and we change the calendar.  

This is our school desk for the younger kids.  They enjoy being with 

one another and working together.  We also have our schedule on our wall 

and hooks for hanging dry erase printables.  You will see to the right 

of the school table that we have drawer bins.  We keep workbooks and 

extra school supplies there.  Easy to get to and handy because the drawers

are see through.  My desk is right in the corner, so I can be close to them.

This is one of our many books shelves.  Here we house our chapter books

and early reading books. The desk to the right is used for computer time. You

will see our flags.  We do our pledges at least once a week.  

We have posters on our walls for geography, grammar, math, and science.

Here you see our stereo we used for audio books and music.  We also have

roll away bins to house craft items.  Each child has a bin of books they are

working on reading.  To the far right you will see our science table.  We keep our

experiments and some science books here.  

Our final picture is of our bookshelves where we keep curriculum and

educational magazines and books.  We also have a toy bin, lego boxes and 

our DVD/VHS cabinet.  

This is just a peek into our schoolroom.  I will be blogging about organizing and  scheduling over the next few days.  If you have any questions please comment here or on our homeschool Facebook page.

Wednesday's Wisdom Words: Taking Time to Enjoy Your Children

     

     When I had my first 3 children, I didn't enjoy my kids.  I thought being a mom meant feeding them, bathing them and picking up after them.  I didn't realize it was okay to have fun with them.  To put everything else to the side and get on the floor and make memories.  Boy do I have regrets!  

      To be honest, I was only 20 when my first baby was born, and I wasn't really ready to be a mom.  I sort of played house the first few years of motherhood.  I had watched those shows that helped you learn how to raise your kids and I was all set to follow every step they had shown me.  What those shows failed to tell me was that each kid was different and there was going to be a different formula of discipline and showing love for each of them.  I really messed up a lot with those first 3 little ones.  Thankfully by the time our 4th came along, I had rededicated my life to Christ and He showed me where I was failing with the other kiddos. 

     Our oldest is 20 now and I still apologize for things I didn't do with him as a little kid.  He sees me being a different mom with his younger siblings and I am sure he wonders where this mom was when he was young.  He knows mama loves him and did the best she could at the time, but I know if I could do it all over again, I would have been more involved in their lives.  I would have gotten outside to play and gotten my hands dirty in the sandbox.  I would have played cars, barbies, and blocks right there beside them.  

      Please don't wait until it is too late to be the mom that makes memories with their children.  Go ahead and give yourself permission to be the fun mom.  Put down the phone, turn off the computer and TV, and just enjoy your kiddos.  They will grow up so quickly, don't let the time pass you by.  Show them by your presence that they mean the world to you.  Instead of buying the latest electronic for them, take them on a trip to the zoo or on a picnic.  Your time spent with them will be remembered forever.  The gifts you buy them will be tossed away in a garbage dump one day.  Memories are forever!  Now go and make some joyful ones with your children today!  

For My Homeschooling Friends, Our Curriculum Choices for the 2014-2015 School Year

Hey Homeschool Moms and Dads, I wanted to give you a peak into our choices for curriculum this year.  We use A Beka, Bob Jones University Press, Christian Liberty Press, and Saxon.  I used abbreviations in my images so I wanted to let you know what those meant.   Enjoy and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

All To Jesus, I Surrender

     Today is a new day!  Isn't it great that we have another morning to begin anew.  I love Monday mornings.  I have been renewed and refreshed on the weekend and I am ready to go!  

     This weekend the Lord has been speaking to me about giving Him every second of my day.  I need to pray and ask for His guidance each and every minute.  I need His wisdom to help me make the correct decisions for me and my family.   He has a good plan for us and we don't' want to step out of His will.  

      I am a planner, so it is hard for me to relinquish control of my schedule for His, but I know He will always have a better plan than I will.  When I fail to surrender to Him, my days are filled with chaos and frustration.  As a homeschooling mom, I like to follow a rigid timeline, but some days, God has a very different plan for our time.  It never fails to amaze me how wonderful His agenda is compared to mine.  The kids learn more than I could have ever imagined on days He takes us away from our plans.  

      Are you ready to give up your plans and dreams for His?  I understand it is hard to let go, but once you decide to do so, your life will have so much more meaning.  God will show you things you never dreamed possible.  You will make a difference for Him.  Rather He has you on a mission field, or at home taking care of little ones, you will be affecting the lives of others for Him.  Lean on and trust in Him as you live your daily life.  He will never fail you!  You may not always see the big picture, but He does.  Rely on that fact and obey Him.  He will give you wisdom if you ask!  

Flip it - Twist it & Do a U-Turn

Unless you live under a rock or wrap them in bubble wrap your children are going to encounter many kinds of character types and personalities through the lives of other individuals as they grow. We live in a corrupt and semi twisted society and being as such your sweet little seedling is going to face other people who hurt and deceive their tender little hearts and may even crush and or challenge their walks as maturing young Christians.  Like it or not your precious young one is going to be influenced by such things as teasing, lying, jealousy, bulling, controlling, deceiving, conniving, manipulating, and bad attitudes in general.

So, how do we raise our children to be in the world but not of it as they witness and experience these kinds of character flaws and instruct them to be radically different then what they witness? 

We need to take every opportunity to train our children to flip it, twist it, and do a u-turn with circumstances and situations that happens in their lives.

Now, what do I mean by that?

I’m so glad you asked.

I searched my heart thinking of a way to verbally explain to you what it is that I am thinking and the only way that I can really think of explaining it is to just give you a personal example of how I taught myself to flip it, twist it and do a u-turn.

My father was an abusive man and he found entertainment in allowing me to bond with animals (I’m an animal’s lover so that wasn’t hard for me) kittens usually to be exact. I never knew when it would happen, but on occasion while I was at school and he was at home he would torture and ultimately kill my animals. When I returned home he would spend about an hour carefully explaining to me how he slowly killed each one in dark torturous ways and he ever so gently described for me how they suffered as they died.  I made a decision that that was not the kind of person that I was going to be. I made a decision to mentally watch, examine and observe his behavior as a person not just as my father and in doing that although I felt great pain emotionally I was able to rise from the ashes mentally as I decreed that I was going to learn to do things differently than he had done. To this day, I think with compassion, first, in all things in my life. And, I accredit that to my father. He in a sense taught me deep overflowing depths of compassion because he had none. Mentally, even as a child... I taught myself to flip what he had done in my mind and I made a promise to myself to always think with compassion, first. I twisted the actions of torture that I witnessed and to this day when I see suffering I step in and do something to physically alleviate the suffering. I made a decision when I became a parent that as for me and my family we were going to do a u-turn and serve the Lord. In a sense… Flip it, twist it, and do a u-turn.

I encourage you to train your children to look at experiences in retrospect as they enter into their own life lessons in life. Teach them to carefully observe people and their behaviors as you would watch animals in their cages at a zoo. Children so tenderly take everything personally and it is our responsibility as parents to carefully instruct them to learn from the bad behaviors they see in others and live out the opposite that they witness as we encourage them to be radically different.

When you notice a difference in your children’s behavior take the time to talk with them to find out what is going on in their lives and understand that hurt people hurt people. Your child’s recent behavior detour just may be emotional overload. I encourage you to closely guide and instruct them through your own experiences as you share your personal stories and adventures of how you learned to personally flip it, twist it and do a u-turn in your own life.

Teach your children to take the darkness that splatters on their personal life canvases and train them to splash brilliant colors of compassion, kindness and gentleness as they dare to be different in creating their unique life masterpiece.

Tina Marie Eisenhart, is the mother of 5 beautiful kiddos ages 20, 17, 15, 13 & 2. She has worked with various aged children and youth most of her life but has been a dedicated home school mama and children’s ministry teacher/team leader for the last 18 years. Education and encouraging others are her most dynamic passions. She is an author and self proclaimed word nerd as writing is also one of her passions.

You Reap What You Sow

     As I was watching my kiddos play with one another yesterday, I listened to what they were saying.  I heard a lot of comments my husband and I would say.  Their little ears are always tuned in to us.  They listen to what we say and how we say it.  They learn how to act and react from our example.  

     What a huge responsibility it is for us as parents.  We must think before we speak and be careful about how we react to situations.  If we see our children acting in a way that is not pleasing, we may want to take a good long look in the mirror.  I know I have personally had to do this many times.  When I heard things I didn't appreciate or saw a behavior that was less than acceptable, I had to stop and think..... Did I teach them this?  Did they see me responding like this?  Did they hear words like that come from my mouth?  It was eye opening!  I realized many things I disliked about their behaviors were actions they learned from me. It caused me to repent for my own actions, thoughts, and words.  

     Each time we open our mouths or react in a way that is not pleasing to the Lord, we are sowing seeds in the hearts and minds of our children.  They rely on us to be their teachers and good examples of godliness.  As their teachers, we must also be careful who our children hang out with and what they watch and hear.  Those things also sow seeds.  Our children are so impressionable. It is our responsibility to protect them from things that could cause them harm physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  God gave these blessings to us and we are liable for their upbringing. 

     When I wake up in the morning, I spend time praying and reading God's Word.  The one thing I pray for most is that I will be godly mom and wife.  I want to please God in all I do and say.  Do I fail?  You bet, but God is there to pick me up and help me try again.  He is there to guide me as I parent my kiddos.  If you find it hard to be the best parent you can be, you are not alone.  We all have days we feel like the worst parent on the planet, but there is hope.  Hope in the Lord who will give us strength and the ability to carry on.  If we rely on Him, we will make it through and He will show us the way.  Today I encourage you to pray and ask the Lord to help you as you go throughout your day.  No matter what we do, He is there!