Not In Vain

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. " - 1 Corinthians 15:58 NASB

It can be easy to feel that all this work we do for our kids is emptiness. That what we do each day doesn't matter. Especially when we've told them for the 100th time to pick up those toys or stop fighting with their siblings. But, I think homeschooling is the work of the Lord. We are trying to raise our kids to see Him as the most important part of life; trying to lead our kids to love and serve the Lord.

One week last year, I heard this verse from about 4 different sources. I had read it in my quiet time, and noticed I had highlighted it before, so I jotted it down in my journal. Then, at my home school support group, this was a verse used that night in the discussion. Then, our pastor at church used the verse in his message that Sunday and we talked about it in our small group that afternoon. So, I did a word study of this verse, and here is what I came up with:

"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be firm, do not be moved, at all times be in excess in the work of the Lord, knowing that your pains, trouble and weariness are not empty in the Lord."

Pains, trouble and weariness are what homeschooling and parenting are all about, and they are not in vain, because they are the Lord's work.

Spelling Power Review

Spelling has been a real challenge for my dd. In Abeka for 2nd grade, they have 20 words a week to learn. It wasn't that she was doing terrible, she was getting A's and B's (mostly) on her tests. But, she wouldn't remember how to spell them the next week.

Well, since we are switching to My Father's World next year, I thought I would look into their recommendation for spelling for 3rd grade. I did some web research and found out how it works. We started incorporating Spelling Power's methods to studying Abeka's spelling lists. It is really paying off! She's only missed one word since we started in January.

Here is what we do... On Friday, I copy the words onto 3 x 5 cards, and then we just say-spell-say them and talk about the different special sounds the list covers that week. Then, on Monday we study the first 5 words using Spelling Power's 10 step method. This involves looking at the word, marking the double letters, marking the vowels, and then we guess what her "weasel" might be - what might make her miss the word. Then, we try to make those letters look like a weasel some how. (It's really funny, some of the pictures we've come up with). Then she looks at the word and spells it. Then, I have her write it with her finger on a textured pillow we have on our couch without looking at the word. After that she traces the letters on the 3 x 5 card, then writes it in her notebook without looking at the word. If she gets it right, we go on to the next one. If she gets it wrong, we look at what the "weasel" really was, and go through the steps again.

Then, on Tuesday we do the first 10 words; Wednesday covers the first 15 words; and Thursday covers all 20 words. Now, she's also writing the entire list each day during seat work time. She is doing so much better with her spelling tests, and spelling in general. Instead of asking me how to spell every word, she's actually trying to write everything out and then letting me come back and help her fix them. This is such a big improvement over where we were.

Anyway, this mom gives 2 thumbs up to Spelling Power. I can't wait to get into full swing with it this fall.

Hope this helps someone else.

Introduction

I thought this might be a fun thing for me to do, so I signed up.

First I'll introduce us. I am a stay at home mom of 3. I have a daughter, who is currently doing 2nd grade Abeka, and Math-U-See Beta. I have twin boys, who are too young to do "school," but we have preschool every day. That means I read a story to them, and then we do something else - lace up cards, Alphabet Lotto, cutting, coloring, playing trains, building things with blocks, or just wrestling on the floor.

A little about my blog name "School 4 Us." When our daughter was younger, we took her to Toys 'R Us to pick out her bike for her birthday. Well, instead of calling it "Toys 'R Us" she called it "Toys For Us" and it stuck.

I've been homeschooling my daughter since kindergarten now. We've always used Abeka. I think it is a great program. It helped me teach her to read. I had tried "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons," got to lesson 42 or so and gave up. She wasn't getting it. The problem was, I didn't know the rules I was teaching her. I don't remember ever learning any phonics rules, but I do remember being able to read the things in my preschool room when I was 4, and being able to read the instructions on worksheets in kindergarten. Abeka was great as it taught me what rules I was using to read, and it helped me teach them to my daughter. She's now reading just fine.

My daughter is a very active girl. To teach her the blends and special sounds, we would go outside and she would swing while we practiced them. It was unconventional, but it worked. That may have also been a problem with 100 Easy Lessons - she had to sit still next to me. Now, she can sit still, but back then she was just a bit too wiggly.

I picked Math-U-See based on Cathy Duffy's recommendations in her book. It is a good fit for my daughter. We did have to spend last fall just memorizing her basic addition and subtraction facts, but it was worth it. I'm very glad we did, as the new concepts that have come up this year have been easy for her.

In spite of all this, I have decided not to stick with Abeka for next year (fall 2008). It is too much workbook. My dd needs more hands on and "fun" for her to enjoy school. So, we're switching to My Father's World this fall. We're going to do Exploring Countries and Cultures (ECC). They had a sale last fall, so I've already bought the Deluxe package, and am looking forward to starting. I think it will be a great fit for us. I'm also hoping the boys will join in for the hands on things. But, I'm not going to force them.