Change Is Coming!

This is a sort of rambling post...skip it if you like.

Something's got to change...I've prayed for a long time for wisdom in how to protect our time as a family, and ensure that we are doing what we ought to be doing for our kids. How to guard that time, without becoming hermits? How to train them to love God more? How to have the children all feel like they are on the same team, rooting for each other instead of going off to study alone?

Something's got to change... The past few months have seen us dealing with the high cost of gasoline, just like you are. So, why did we build "way out here?" Why not in town, or at least closer to town?

We spent a lot of time praying for and searching for our new house, or for a place to build it. We looked for a long time. This homestead we found was a real answer to our prayers. We drove up to this gorgeous lot that was even further out from our old house (we wanted to be closer to our church) and found a family having a picnic by the creek. Lo and behold, it was Colby Butler and his family. John took Colby on a camping trip or two 'way back when, when Colby was a teen. He remembered John as a good man and made us a good deal. We got the most beautiful lot for a song, compared to others nearby...and much cheaper than anything closer to our church. Colby was our contractor (he's dealing with the deck builders now since John's out of town--he's giving them "what for") and now we have the loveliest, most cheerful house I've ever lived in. Not fancy, but it's really us. And we love the Butlers.

And here we are, further out than ever. So we are consolidating every trip to town and re-evaluating the need for sports involvement. Karate stays...JT loves it, and he's pretty good at it. Soccer is over now, at least for a year. Field trips still happen, but they are completely planned out now, and must have something to do with what we are studying--no spur of the moment trips (fine with me, I don't do "spur of the moment" very well). Family takes priority. (So trips to see Heath, Audrey, Grandpa and Grand-Je and Nana and Papa are always on the list. Those won't stop.) Church activities are being weighed...not the mission trips, but some of the "just socializing" activities will be curtailed. We have a very active church, and could be busy several times a week. Just because it is good, doesn't mean it is good for us. Saying "no" is sometimes hard.

What else can we change to provide the outcome we want for godly children and time better spent at home? Well, we are changing how we "do school." This is the biggest change since we started homeschooling all those years ago with Bryan in Kindergarten. We are going to a unit study format, so all three kids will be studying the same subjects (but at different depths) at the same time. This means those science experiments will actually get done because I'll have three kids interested in the outcome, not just the one to whom I'm trying to teach the experiment. Trips to the different spots around our area will get done now, and more frequently because there is a reason to go--three reasons: Bryan, JT and Luci! A bonus: John retires soon, or will at least cut his days of work to 3 or so a week (that's by June of next year) so he can participate and go with us. He's a great adventurer, and makes a good compliment to my stick-in-the-mud-itis.

We've used AOP's LifePacs and Horizons, plus some other items along the way. Now we are moving on to Weaver Unit Studies. I am excited about it. It is a shake-up that I've needed, a totally different way of teaching my kids than I've ever done. Complacency is not good! We'll still use LifePacs for math, and Bryan's high school subjects will be supplemented with other items (for instance, he's learning Spanish with Power-Glide). It is more reminiscent of teaching in a classroom with several reading levels. You teach most things together but those specialized items like reading and math were divided up in my 3rd grade classroom in Duncanville.

I'm really looking forward to the next school year. Updates on our progress and change as it unfolds.