PrincipledMom™

Getting yourself ready for a new year can be exciting and more than a little daunting. In all your planning don't forget these simple yet important ideas.

1. Don't get distracted by mechanics. It is very easy to get caught up in studying and 4-Ring and teaching with leading ideas and principles that we can lose sight of the bigger picture. The way the lesson is structured is less important than whether or not the child learns what you intended. The mechanics will come. Don't let your lack of mastery stop you from providing excellent lessons for your family in the here and now. You will grow and they will grow and the mechanice will come more easily. And maybe you need to pause and sit together at the feet of the Master Teacher and allow Him to minister to you.
2. Don't get discouraged. It is challenging to see your shortcomings and feel confident to teach this method, but you are more than able in Christ Jesus. Diligent study, patience and dedication to Biblical principles will take you far. If you are tempted to get down on yourself, take a deep breath and look back at how far you've come. Also keep your eyes on the prize and remind yourself why you are doing this. One thing you can do is to keep a journal of your home education. I love to read what was going on a year or two ago to remind me that we have made some real progress.
3. Don't forget to pace yourself. This is not a race, so get off the fast track. We are all in a different place on our journey and it takes us all a different amount of time to get where we are headed. Stop comparing yourself with others. Also don't forget it's about the journey, not the destination.
4. Don't forget the Holy Spirit. We can only do so much in our own knowledge and strength. We must seek the Lord daily for insight, wisdom and patience. If you are struggling with your temper or your kids just don't seem to "get it" lately, maybe it's been too long since you spent time with the Lord.
5. Don't overfeed. Baby chicks only need a seed at a time, not a whole ear of corn. Try to avoid the firehose syndrome and do for the IV drip. They only need one principle at a time, one idea to chew on. And don't demand instant answers. Sometimes they need to get back to you after they have thought a while. Less really is more.

There are so many exciting milestones along the way of growing together in the Biblical Principle Approach. I hope you will make an effort this year to stop and smell the roses. And to seek hard after the Lord.

read comments (0)

Well I sort of hate to do this, because as soon as I post it here, it probably won't get done as written. ha! I am looking forward to this year more than I have in a while. I have renewed vision and I have studied hard to prepare myself. Also I have accumulated many resources so I have enrichment activities at my fingertips. (I am NOT going to get into a lecturing rut this year.)

Our over-arching principle is the Christian Principle of Self-Government. All we do this year will focus on being more self-governed in our spiritual lives, in our lessons, in our chores, in our personal lives, in our speech and in our service to others. More than anything else, I want us to increase our self-government this year. If this time next year we are more self-governed, I count the year a raging success.

As for our actual lessons, I have taken a decidedly low-key approach. I am not going to overplan and overschedule. I am planning less material so we can actually savor the material, and work on doing an excellent job as we increase our capacity for Christian self-government. I am tired of rushing from thing to thing. We will do less to do more. What I mean is we will get more in-depth with the principles and not just stick to the surface with facts. Here is our schedule:

MWF:Bible, literature, science (M and W), math, Princess G will do this reading program

TT: Bible, HisStory/geography, art, math (reinforcement)

daily: creative writing, reading aloud, family altar, Spanish

This is very manageable for our family. I try to do Bible and academics in AM and enrichment in PM (after lunch). Science works well for us in the afternoon so we have more time for experiments and walks. Art and writing are also good in the afternoon when we have time to enjoy them. Spanish will move to the evenings so we can do it as a family.

Here are my resources:

Bible: JBC--love this curriculum, but it is an investment of time, because you have to do the work yourself. There is a support group too.

HisStory: my own plans with the help of Lisa's Freedom and Simplicity in HisStory materials (although I do love Mrs. Smith's HisStory books for kids too!)

Science: Dr. Worthington Hooker's materials

Literature: my own plans, lots of good literature, main study will be Bach (I think!)

Geography: various stuff from HomeschoolEstore and other sources

Creative writing: this book

Reading aloud: many books, along with some help from this book

Art: various sources, including this excellent book. Also we will make many books by hand, along with ATC's and other various paper arts. Also I like to use art cards, so we will work them in somehow.

Read this post about how I actually plan my lessons with the help of Mr. Rose's book.

One book I highly recommend is Managers of Their Homes. I read it often for help with ordering our days.

Please leave a note if you'd like me to list the resources I use to enrich my lessons. There are so many great books out there and they are so much fun!

read comments (0)