Still Here

Hello Blogland!  Just checkin' in to let you know we are still here and doing well.  Much has been happening here at the Widhalm house to keep us busy, as always.  Thought I'd give you just a quick update about a few things around our house.

School - After a short stint in public school for Jackson and Carter, we have learned that homeschooling really serves our children and our family in a way that the school system cannot.  I would never make judgements about what is or isn't right for another family or other children.  Schooling is not a "one size fits all" matter, in my opinion.  In our family, though, we have come to truly appreciate the opportunities and the lifestyle that homeschooling enables us to have.  I'm happy to have all the boys back home with me and looking forward to new studies and activities in the fall.

We will continue in our math, history and literature studies over the summer, which will include various summer reading programs, classic read alouds,  math memory work, history/geography of the middles ages, phonics and copy work.  The boys are doing extremely well with their studies.  I couldn't be happier both with our curriculum plan and their achievement.

Summer Fun! - Summer has officially began and we are enjoying its benefits tremendously!  We paid a visit to Silver Dollar City yesterday and today we hung out with new homeschool friends at a backyard pool party.  On the agenda next week is White Water and initiating the pool in our own backyard.   Having so many fun things to do is a great motivation for getting our schoolwork and chores around the house finished!

Missions/Africa - Africa continues to have its place in our heads and hearts each day.  It is never far from our thoughts.  We are praying daily for our friends and the kids we love so much in Sierra Leone, as well as for God to give us opportunities to serve.  Although we don't have definite plans of traveling back to Sierra Leone soon, we are able to Skype with the children we sponsor as well as another sibling group who is very close to our hearts on a monthly basis.  It's such a joy to see their beautiful smiles in person, but it sure does make us "Africa-sick".

There is a possibility that I have an opportunity to travel to  Guatemala to serve at an orphanage called Shadow of His Wings.  I'm not sure whether or not that will come to fruition, but we are praying about it.  It's not nearly as expensive as a trip to Sierra Leone is, but I love Sierra Leone so much that it's hard to make the choice to spend resources on airfare to someplace else.  I know it would be another wonderful experience, though, so we'll see what God has in store.

I had a wonderful opportunity to serve the people of Joplin, MO, last weekend.  What they have endured is beyond anything I can express in words.  The photos on the internet and the news do not do it justice.  However, even among the tremendous turmoil, God is at work.  It's always amazing to me that when we put ourselves in a position to serve others, we receive such an incredible blessing of our own.

God is continually bringing people across our path who share our passion for orphans and other ministries.  My heart is still being stirred and new thoughts and ideas are never ending.  We continue to wait in prayer and be open to whatever He has for us.

I hope you are all enjoying the blessings of sunshine and summer as much as we are!

Homeschool Lessons

I don't often post about our homeschooling, although I am thinking that I will try to make it more of a habit.  Most of you are aware that we  homeschool.  Some of you are thrilled....some of you are not so thrilled.  I understand.  It's ok.  


I think there are still a lot of preconceived ideas about what homeschooling really is and is not.  The unknown is always a little scary and sometimes brings anxiety, especially when it involves people you love.  So,  I think I'm going to start sharing some of our homeschooling lives here with you.  It will serve more than one purpose, I hope.  Hopefully, anyone reading will enjoy and learn from it...and I'm hoping it may also be a learning experience for the boys, especially Jackson.  


Today, I thought I'd post a few lessons we've learned from and about homeschooling.

• I didn't know my boys nearly as well as I thought.  Becoming their primary teacher has given me a much better understanding of not only what they can accomplish academically, but also about how they feel about things and how they feel about themselves.  We have time to talk now...about all sorts of things.  Not only am I present for lessons, I am also present as they are forming friendships and interacting with others.  Because I'm aware of what is going on, I am more able to help them if they need me.  Even though 2 years ago, I was teaching just down the hallway from Jackson's 1st grade classroom, I'm ashamed to say that I was too busy with my job and our busy lifestyle to be able to keep up with his class, too.

• Because we have the opportunity to do formal lessons year round and  24/7, we can enjoy taking the opportunity to participate in fun activities most anytime we want.  We can participate during the daytime in programs with the conservation dept, the park board, community theater, art museum, etc....or just enjoy the sunshine on a fall day instead of being cooped up inside.  Schooling year round also alleviates the "summer lag" felt by lots of kids with a traditional school year.

• I am no longer concerned (if I ever was) that socializing these kiddos is a problem.  These boys are involved with one activity or another every day of the week.  They can recruit playmates anywhere they are at, and it doesn't matter their age.  I love that Jackson is considerate of younger kids and he doesn't think twice about asking an older boy to play, either.  He's comfortable and happy to be with anyone - not just 3rd graders.  Carter is coming right along, too...and he has a great role model in his older brother.

• I love that our family is a stronger unit because we homeschool.  I'm not saying that you have to homeschool to have a strong family, please don't misunderstand.  I am saying, however, that for us....we function better as a family now than when we were so busy trying to keep up the pace of school, work, sports, church, etc.  There was a lot of stress associated with that busy schedule that we just don't have anymore.  Instead, we have time to focus on each other and take care of each other.  When we are all fed and happy - academic achievement is a much easier task to accomplish.

• The school bus comes early.  We are glad nobody has to be on it.  Instead, we are sitting together at the table enjoying a good breakfast together.  Only two mornings a week, we have to be somewhere by 9:00.  

• Doing math in your pajamas doesn't change the fact that you are still doing math.  :)  It doesn't happen real often, but it does happen.  It doesn't make one bit of difference.

• The newest "thing" in education (or anything for that matter) isn't always the best thing.  The one room schoolhouse was pretty efficient in many ways and there are many famous and very successful people in our country's history that were schooled at home.  My 3 year old is sitting at the table with us when he wants to and you would be amazed at what is learning!  Jackson LOVES being able to teach his brothers, which is the highest form of learning he can participate in.  Carter gets the best of both worlds...teaching Harrison and soaking up great information with Jackson.

• I'd rather my kids produce a small amount of work that has little to no errors than stack of papers filled with inaccuracies.   We are taking a very different approach to language arts than our public school counterparts.  Traditional - classical - old fashioned.  That's us.  We like it that way.

I'll be posting about our schedule, our curriculum, and hopefully I'll convince Jackson to post a thing or two, as well.  If you have any questions - feel free to ask!

It's been a very interesting week...  Decisions made, others being pondered and prayed over and lots of great things to look forward to!

Summer is almost over, and the back-to-school pictures of kids with new clothes & backpacks are being posted like crazy on Facebook.  The big yellow bus will be rolling through our neighborhood next week for the first time this school year.  And even though my boys won't be getting on that bus, it does bring back the long lost routine that I've been missing these past couple of weeks.  Our new schedule, which includes school time for Jackson and Carter as well as "Tot School" for Harrison is on the fridge.   I've still got to get our other organization tools done next, primarily chore and incentive charts in the works.  Starting Monday, it is Back-To-School at "Widhalm Academy" and I'm really looking forward to it!  Our new school room isn't quite going to be finished, but we'll make do with what we have until the contractor is back to finish up the basement floor and we can move everything else in and get settled.

The walls are painted and furniture moved it, but that's about it so far.

Still need to get the dry erase board and wall decor hung.  The closet 

is going to serve as storage for teacher references and a cozy place to read.

The floor is going to be stained shortly.  We'll add a few other things after that.

We considered putting the boys in public school this year.  After lots of prayer and discussion, we just didn't feel peaceful about going that direction right now.  I'm so thankful that as parents we have the freedom to choose what is best for our kids and our families.

Stupid In America

This is a video of a 20/20 article that I have not watched yet, but I want to watch.  I'm just posting it here, so it will be easier for me to find when I have time for it.  I figured a few of you might be interested in it, as well.

We do homeschool our boys right now.  We have chosen not to get too ahead of ourselves, though, and just take it one year at a time.  We will have a 3rd grader and a kindergartener in the fall.  I've already purchased the base of the curriculum we'll use from My Father's World.  I'll bring in other reading materials and activities as it is necessary.  Jackson will also be using Singapore Math, and both writing and language programs from Susan Wise Bauer.  He'll also be memorizing a history timeline from Veritas Press.  Jackson will take a standardized test in the spring, just so I can compare some of his work to his peer group across the country.

Besides the nuts & bolts of curriculum, they will also be participating in two different co-ops each week.  One program is just the "fun stuff" - art, music, drama and pe.  The other is also fun, but includes some academic time as well.  Besides co-op, we have Children's Music Academy music class, church classes 2-3 times per week, Upward basketball, city league baseball/T-ball, Missouri Dept of Conservation classes, and other various fun things as they arise.    These boys have no shortage of opportunity for social activities!!

I've chosen to homeschool year-round, which gives us more flexability in our schedule.  We are currently taking a break that will last until I return from Africa.  We'll start our new curriculum in June.

I'd love to know what your choices are regarding educating your children, and how it is going!  Leave me a comment and let me know.

The Craziness Continues!

It's been another hectic week!

When I got home from West Plains after helping with Grandma, my cousin and his family arrived to spend a few days due to a death in his family.  He, his wife and two girls were here about four days this week.  The girls left yesterday afternoon.  My cousin is still here while he is taking care of the things we all hate doing after someone we love is gone.

Our homeschool routine has gone to pot and I am trying to revive it, but honestly, I'm having a hard time.  Jackson is being stubborn, avoiding and making every excuse possible to not do what I ask.  He is so great about doing school most days that I don't deal too well with when he doesn't cooperate. 

I'm still exhausted from lack of sleep and have a mountain of housework to get done.  Where is that laundry fairy??  Hopefully, next week will be better.

No Stress Chess

This is our favorite game now!  Jackson has been interested in playing chess for a while, but I've never played before so I didn't know exactly how to teach him.  I found this game at Toys R Us for around $16.  It was worth every penny!  We have played it more times than I can count already, and we've only had it out a week or so.  It hasn't even made its way back to the game cabinet yet!  Yea!


The board is set up to play on both sides.  One side is the traditional chess board, the other has pictures of each piece and their name in the spaces where they should start.  Jackson can set it up in less than a minute without any help from me!  There is a deck of cards with the game.  Each card has a chess piece on it, labeled and gives directions how that particular piece is allowed to move - complete with a diagram!  You can use the cards in a variety of ways, depending on your level of play.

In the beginning, all the cards go in the cardholder which has a place for the draw pile, facedown, and two spots for the discarded piles.  In the beginning, all you need to do is draw a card and move that piece.   (ie, If you draw a pawn, you move a pawn)  It is SO easy and is a great way to learn how each piece moves.  The game ends when the king is captured, of course.  The luck of the draw determines the winner, of course.  There is really not much room for strategizing, but this is GREAT for a beginner.


The next step is to deal 3 cards to each player.  On each turn, the player gets to choose from the cards in his hand.  This allows a little more ability to strategize and make more decisions for yourself.  The next step works the same way, only you deal out 5 cards each.  Finally, you can play the traditional version of the game without the cards at all - on either side of the board.  


It's our new favorite!  What's yours?

Things I Love About Homeschooling!

My 10 Favorite Things About Homeschooling(in no particular order)

Jackson making a doll like Laura Ingalls Wilder's at our book club.

1.  Our schedule does NOT revolve around the school calendar.  We can vacation or go wherever we want, without worrying about missing school and assignments.  This also means we are not up at the crack of dawn to get kids ready and on the bus or loading everyone up for the ride to school.  We are able to have a nice, big breakfast every morning because we have plenty of time to do so.  We fit all of our school work in and still have SO much time left to do other things.  In general, our lives are much less hectic than they were last year when I was working and Jackson was in school.  We are enjoying life so much more because we have time to breathe, instead of rushing around all the time.


2.  They are learning a lot of practical life skills.  I know I should say that I would be teaching them those things anyway, but I don't think I would be.  Because I'm not stressed and we have plenty of time, I don't mind if they don't do things the "right" way.  They are getting lots of opportunities to make mistakes with things like sorting clothes, folding towels, emptying the dishwasher and making their beds.  They love to dust and wash windows, too!


3.  Academically, Jackson is ahead of what they would be teaching in public school.  I know that he is working at his independent level in everything we are doing here at home.  This means that he's not wasting his academic time and we are progressing faster than we would in public school.


4.  He is able to work as much as he wants in a given subject area.  He has gone through periods of being very excited about one thing or another.  When that happens, we take advantage of those "teachable moments".  That wouldn't happen for him in public school as much.  Most teachers are very busy trying to get all their curriculum goals met, so it is hard for them to vere of the course very much.


5.  I LOVE what he is learning in English grammar, math and history.  We are doing a great job in those areas.  I'm using History of the World, history timeline cards by Veritas Press, Shurley English and Horizons for math.  We will keep these things going next year.  He is learning so much!  

Carter matching shape pictures with the words

6.  He is already a good reader, so I love that he can choose his own reading material.  My reading program isn't nearly as structured, though.  He gets to choose his own books with a little guidance from me about what is appropriate, he reads them and then we discuss them or he does a book report-type project.   


7.  We found Homeschool Academy, which he LOVES!  He gets an entire afternoon each week (without me) to do art, music, drama and p.e.  He rotates through each class with a group of about 25 kids who are all his age.  


8. Children's Music Academy.  Carter and Jackson both have a group music lesson of their own for an hour each week.  They are learning to play the piano by reading music as well as getting good ear training, voice, movement, rythm exercises and lots of fun.  


9.  One of my favorite things about homeschooling is the relationship that has grown between the boys and I.  We are closer than we have ever been and the sibling relationships have grown as well.  They still have their moments, don't get me wrong, but they are generally perfectly content to be together and don't need to have other people around all the time.  They both love to play with friends when the opportunity arises.  They aren't begging for it, though.  They are both very content to be at home with each other.   I "know" Jackson better than I did last year when I was working.  Even though he was just down the hallway, I had so much to do that I couldn't focus on him and his likes/dislikes as much as I would've liked.   I've learned alot about him as a person and what's in his heart.  That's priceless.


10.  Wearing pajamas all day!

It's been a very busy week!  I can't believe how quickly the days are flying by.  The weather has been cold and rainy, which means we are stuck inside.  I love fall, but has it come and gone already?!  It feels more like winter!

The kids are doing great!  No one has been sick yet, which is a huge blessing!  I was told earlier today that one of the elementary schools in town is closing because of the flu outbreak.  Harrison has his 2 yr checkup on Thursday.  I'm praying he doesn't get sick from being at the doctor's office.

Homeschooling is going well.  We (Jackson, Carter & I) are working hard to stay caught up with our memory work from Classical Conversations and Junior Bible Quiz.  CC is a group we attend on Tuesdays and focuses on memorizing important information.  This week at CC, we added the geographical components of the Hittite Empire, eight more historical events (from a timeline that starts at creation and goes to the present), skip counting the 9's and 10's, "b" prepositions, a history sentence about the fall of Rome, and some sort of Latin.  That was just what we were assigned today.  This is the 5th week of 24.  He'll also be memorizing the entire chapter of Exodus 20.  I hope we can keep up.

We (Jackson and I) are also memorizing 15 more JBQ questions/answers for our first meet on Saturday.  This brings us to a total of 120 JBQ questions.  I sat with him in practice last Sunday and he was the high scorer in both rounds!  I'm so proud!  I'm excited about the meet coming up on Saturday.  Most of all, though, I'm thrilled that he is doing such a great job at hiding God's Word in his heart!

Needless to say - with all this memorization going on, the kids are not the only ones getting an education!  I'm learning things I never knew and don't understand why no one told me! lol

Doug and I are continuing to pray for opportunity to step out in faith and live a life of service.  God is really stirring up something in our lives and I'm looking forward to what He will show us.  We are really focusing on just taking one day at a time and doing what we feel He has called us to do today, in this moment, and having faith that He will work out the details in His time and for His purpose.

I'm hopeful that our lives are going to begin looking different and that there will be no doubt we are living in service to others and, therefore, to Him!  It will be an interesting journey, I'm sure!