PrincipledMom™

I just received my latest order from FACE: the Christian History Library in Libronix. It is the best investment I've made in a long time.

There are 11 volumes included (see the list here). They are all searchable and interactive, so I can search a topic and the program will search all volumes for every reference. It saves so much time.

I can also tag passages with my own notes and save them. This is very handy as I study.

The footnotes are hot linked as well, so when it refers to other volumes you can click and read the full context of the footnotes. It's so nice not to have to get out 4 books to read 4 pages!

It copied all the volumes to my hard drive, so I do not need the CD-ROM every time I need to use the program. I can just click the icon and get cracking. It saves time on 4-R ing subjects and word studies as well, because it contains a KJV Bible and Webster's 1828 Dictionary.

If I discover any more cool things the program will do I'll post again (and I probably will!). The hard copies are also terrific to have because sometimes you need to hold a book or you just don't want to be at your computer. But for study and lesson preparation this is a wise investment.

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Principle: God's Principle of Individuality 

I have to admit we have not been on good terms. I have poo-pooed her ideas and rolled my eyes at her suggestions. Her penchant for school supplies and compulsion to write on the chalkboard drove me to distraction. I wanted to change her altogether, reshaping her into more of a "fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants" individual, tossing every hint of traditional education out the window. She was having none of it.

Through much prayer and seeking I have come to realize something. It's really okay the way God made me. That may be a "duh" to you but I'm a little slow on the uptake. God's Principle of Individuality highlights the beauty of true diversity, and that includes the way I educate my children. God knew what temperaments my children would have, how they would learn best, and how that would work together with my teaching style to develop strong American Christians. And just because I may do a lot of things like a traditional teacher does not mean we operate just like a school. We enjoy our home education and celebrate our unique way of learning.

I need not put myself on the scale to see how I measure up to other home educators. There is a specific bent that God gave me, which happens to look very much like a school teacher. I enjoy detailed planning. Our pencil sharpener is one of those ones like I remember from school that is screwed into the wall and I love using it. School supplies make me giddy and I enjoy standing at the dry wipe board and pointing to the map from time to time.

There is nothing more liberating than realizing you are okay just as you are, "schooly" or not. To me, that's the beauty of home education. I am done comparing my kids and my lessons and my teaching style. 

I am off to get my inner school teacher a hot cocoa and a comfy chair--so she can get busy with those lesson plans.

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