Duck at the Door

Reading is my favorite past time. I love good books. It is my hope, that my children grow to appreciate books throughout their lives. Already, my daughter shares my love for reading. This is her favorite right now. I must say, mine too! :)

It was a quiet night until...

Knock, Knock, Knock!

It's a Duck!

Max, is his name!

Max moves right on in and makes himself at home.


In February he discovered he had a flair for cooking.


Max, quickly takes over the house.
Someone had to talk to Max.
But who??

Just then Max burst into the room yelling, "Listen to the quacking! My flock has returned! I can't wait to see them."

Just like that Max was gone.



Life was ordinary again.
Nobody took over the remote and
Brody didn't have to share his bed.

Oh, how they all missed Max!
sniff, sniff...


What happens next??

I'll not ruin the ending for you.

Fridays are our field trip to the library.
We love to explore all the books. After the library, we feed the ducks.
Gracie always wants to bring the ducks home.
But mom bribes her with ice cream scoops instead.


Happy Day!!

Homeschool Prayer

I will teach my children because I love God, And because I love them.

I will know my children, and my children will know God.

Together, we will travel this road of learning.

If they learn by seeing-I will let them look.

If they learn by hearing-I will let them listen.

If they learn by doing-I will let them do.

I will take time for each child to grow and blossom.

If one falls behind, I will slow down until they catch up.

If one is soaring, I will give them the wings they need to fly higher.

I will take time to listen, to hear, what they need.

I will learn what makes them special.

I will give them what they need for this life, and for the next.

I will love them, teach them, train them, adore them.

What we do is not always EASY-but it is ALWAYS worth it!

-Author unknown

Why Do You Homeschool?

"The pace of life in our culture can be frantic. Homeschooling gives us the precious gift of time with our children."
-Zan Tyler, Anyone Can Homeschool

I get asked this question often. Especially, in the company of other mothers. The most important reason we homeschool our children is because we want them to have a Christ centered education. I want to read and study scripture with them daily.

"And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart: And you shall TEACH them diligently to your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Deuteronomy 6:6

It is our responsibility to educate our children. I also home educate my children to protect them from the nightmare that is the government school system. Do not mistake my words, not the teachers, some wonderful Christian teachers teach in government schools. It's the system that is broken. It all began with the taking of God out of the schools. A Christian teacher cannot speak the Word of God over her students, she cannot pray with a child, she cannot have a copy of the Ten Commandments posted and resighted in her room. I can and I do in my classroom.
Is homeschooling easy? No, not always but I have never felt more reward and fulfillment doing anything else. I know the hearts of my children. They are safe in my care daily. They will not grow up and get into no good mischief. They will not experience multiple adult romantic relationships as teens. You know what I mean! I hope that my children will wait for the ONE God has especially for them. I hope they will have a pure courtship until marriage. It was not so long ago that these values where the normal custom. Only in the last fifty years or so has casual dating become acceptable. Yes, I sound old fashioned. I embrace old fashioned.

I wish all mothers would embrace staying home with their children and homeschooling. I had a comment here before from a working mom, "I would love to stay at home but I like to have electricity and food" as do I friend. I don't fault mom's that think like this because not so long ago, I did. I have a degree, I had a high paying career, and I like nice things. I never felt right about working after becoming a mother. As I prayed over what to do, and read God's word, I knew being home and educating my children is my place. It is the place of mothers. I realize, their are circumstances loss of a spouse, etc. where a mother may not have the blessing of a choice but in general, we have a choice. Sometimes, that means giving up certain things. I am proud to say that I love shopping thrift shops for nice cloths for myself and my children. I shop with coupons and have cut my grocery budget from about $1000 per month to about $400 per month. We live with a debt free vision for our family, hopefully in the near future. We live modestly but never have we, as a family, been happier.
I am blessed with a wonderful husband that encouraged me to be a stay at home mother, and it was also his idea to homeschool. The seed was planted in my heart but his encouragement sealed the decision to homeschool. He works hard for us everyday. He doesn't particularly like his work but he has peace because he provides for his family. He is always in search of new opportunities for himself and I full hearted support him. The Lord provides and we are grateful.
http://http//www.voddiebaucham.org/vbm/Blog/Entries/2009/6/25_Top_Five_REasons_Not_to_Send_Your_Kids_Back_to_Govt._School.html


It is not my intention to judge. These are just our families beliefs and values. It is my hope to encourage mother's to make the choice to be full time caregivers of their children.

School Days

That day has come again, the first day of school. Not for our family, for us school is year round. Sure, I give them a break from structured learning periodically. We did take off the month of June for a summer vacation and a cousin visiting for a few weeks. We have been hard at work ever since. Well.... not really! We practice a very relaxed homeschool environment. I want my children to enjoy and love our learning routine. I use a private schools curriculum but do not abide by thier work schedule. A few hours of book work four days a week and the rest we make up as we go. We do ALOT of arts and crafts. I'm lucky my children and I share the love of any and all things hand made. Oh, by the way, my son moved up a grade in the middle of the year last year. He will continue to move up grades at a faster pace than public schoolers. Why is that a good thing? For one thing, if he is ready, why not? Also, in the state of Florida, he is still eligible for all programs, scholarships, and grants that public schoolers can get. That includes the dual enrollment program. He can have two years of paid for college under his belt before other kids his age have even graduated. Does anyone know a young man by the name Tim Tebow. That's right, a Christian homeschooled boy, that finished high school and college early.



I just couldn't imagine taking them to school at 8am and not seeing them for seven or eight hours five day a week. Not knowing what thier hearts are feeling. God only knows what they might be learning. I have seen what children learn in government schools both in the classroom and from thier peers. NO thank you! Not for my children. I have started them early down a different path.

So in the morning when all those little sunbeams are grumbly waking up with the sun, we will still be snoozing. When the rush rush is taking place in homes across the country, we will be sitting down to breakfast together. As all the other children are lining up for the lunch room, we will be closing our books and heading outside to play. I LOVE HOMESCHOOLING!!!