Funk phase! It happens...

This week has been, well not our best. I'm just in a bit of a funk. Sorry I'm honest. This night shift working in between homeschooling has got the best of me, put me in a little bit of lazy mood. The boys do their studies wonderfully and sometimes a little to independently. Nolan is finally grasping multiplication. Thank the Lord, I was fixing to bang my head upside the wall. Just one of my frustrations this week. Ugh. He knows math, he just second guesses himself. It's getting better. I love my boys but I think I have been so focused on the school aspect, I have neglected the character building aspect of homeschooling. One of my main reasons for schooling them. To raise respectable, polite little men. So right now I have an 11 yr old who I believe is hitting preteen hormones, he wants to argue with me now. It's hard he is such a sweet kid, but it's like he is fighting a little battle within himself. After he acts up he immediately beats himself up about it and I can't get enough hugs from him for him to understand, it's ok. We all do wrong at times, we forgive and forget then move on. Nolan has taken the bossy role his brother has let go of and the baby is well the baby! Lol. We're just in a weird phase right now. Sorry for my rant of complaints! Lol. Just know we are a normal family with everyday issues like anyone else. So today we have a free day! Veg out watch movies together while it's cold out. Momma's gonna reevaluate somethings to change this funk. Going to have Thanksgiving this weekend with the family, and then we will get back in the groove. :)

Did you know homeschooling mom's are most likely to give up during the months of November and February. (Read that in another blog).

Happy thanksgiving!!!

New friendships.

Just truckin along in our studies...Taylor is starting to show a real interest in space this year, which is kind of cool. Hoping we can plan a field trip to a local observatory soon. His creative writing is coming full circle this year. I found a new book called writing on target. It is super helpful for him, it just breaks down the story writing. First you read an example, then fill in the parts of the story your writing. (Topic, problem, events, close and intro.) Next you add detail to each section, then write the.whole story elaborating further and last you proofread and edit. A week for each story. It has excellent prompts for him to write about. Right now he has written personal stories, non fiction and fiction. Nolan is taking a liking to geography this year. I love watching them explore new things. Well besides the book work we are steady making friendships, me included. Last week Timothy had a play date and a another homeschooling mother joined us, she has two boys 6 & 8. Our boys hit it off so well with them. And really me with her, she's uses the same curriculum we use. Her teaching style is similar and she was really able to shed some light on things for me. I gave her some suggestions as well...it was super helpful. I told her halfway thru talking I know why our two 8yrs olds are getting along because your struggles your telling me about are the same struggles I have with mine. Love it. We have plans for a picnic at the park this week. This really was such a boost for me at just the right time.
Oh one more thing, one of the helpers in Taylor's Awanna class at Church stated all the kids have decided that Taylor's only ahead because he is homeschooled. Lol. I don't force him to work on his work at home and mostly he works on it at night, but hey, think what they want. Some of the kids are telling him how cool it is that he is homeschooled and they want to be homeschooled too, of course I'm sure they have no idea what homeschooling entails, but hey works for me! :-)

General News

Homeschooling is just going, not to much overly exciting in the homeschool world. We did go to the pumpkin patch paint pumpkins and two fall festivals for a little trick or treating.
On a side note...some may know but we moved churches once again about a couple months back. We had been in one church for  5+ yrs, it was good church, just losing sight of God's will and purpose for a Church. (Not trying to bad mouth) We moved to a fellow church that was small and trying to grow. Great church great people, just a lack of kids and outreach. After a lot of prayer we decided the children really needed to be somewhere they could make friendships and be challenged. We hunted around and God led us to a southern Baptist church very similar to the same church I grew up in. We joined a month ago, probably been there two months now and the boys love it. They have a Sunday night program of what they call Awanna (Approved workmen are not ashamed) for those who don't know it it a program set where the kids all learn scripture, memorize, learn how to apply it to their life, they earn badges throughout the years and have vest/ shirts to sport their accomplishments on. They also have big group competitions and such. So new to us, my oldest Taylor is flying through his book. He has two pages left and he will have completed the whole 5th grade workbook! It's not even Thanksgiving yet! He can't move ahead so now he will go back and complete the 3rd and 4th grade books. Reason being he can earn badges missed in those books to add to his, also if he continues Awanna up through 12th grade and goes to a Baptist College they will honour his completion and he would be granted a $3000 scholarship. Now that's cool. This applies to all my boys if they stick with it and decide to go to College. I'm not forcing that upon them by any means, but either way it's cool to think about. Nolan is doing super well in his class too. Its just so gratifying to me to see them eager to learn about God and be challenged in his word. Seriously, they put me to shame in their Bible smarts.

I have to say this church is such a blessing to us. It's so nice to see a genuine love for people and a willingness to serve, not a forced because your a member you must teach a class or do this and that. Simply, causes a lot of bitter church people going and serving in church for all the wrong reasons.

My husband put this as his status the other day: " I rather be around someone who only goes to Church once a week and has a good attitude than someone who goes to Church every time the doors are open in a bitter spirit." Food for thought!