Wednesday, September 9, 2009

To address or not to address

I've been thinking a lot this week about the big hooplah over the President addressing our children. Just thought I would share some of my thoughts on that. I will be the first to admit that I was initially outraged by it. Why? Because I was being told things like, "No President has dared to do this before..." and "As parents we should be able to control what our children hear when they are in school." Of course the icing on the cake was the list of questions that was being presented to the children to think about while they were listening to him speak and after he was finished. Questions like, "What is the President trying to tell me?" and "What is the President asking me to do?" Of course it was all over Facebook. Conservatives posting polls that the President shouldn't be allowed to speak to their children... Liberals posting that prior Presidents actually did speak to the children but never had to get permission to do it... it all began to make my head spin, and I actually forgot why I was upset about it to begin with!

Then the address to the students came and went... no big deal. I actually read some of what he said, and had no problem with it. And it made me wonder, why are we freaking out about these things? Don't we have much more important things to worry about? It also got me thinking about the reasons why many Conservatives and Christians were in an uproar about this. We don't want Government sticking its nose into our lives... into health care, religion, etc. But why do so many people send their children to public school if they don't want Government involved? It is a Government institution isn't it? I personally, had nothing to worry about, because my children are being homsechooled. This isn't a post to convince everyone that they should homeschool. But it makes you think. Yes I consider myself a Conservative. But it bugs me that so many Conservatives spend so much time complaining about Government getting involved in things... yet they send their children to a Government run institution. Doesn't that seem like a double standard? We are upset because we want to be able to control what our children hear at school. But do we honestly believe we have any control right now over what our children are hearing at school?

I'm not trying to stir up controversy, it just really got me thinking. When did our country become so split? Why are we fighting among ourselves? We talked about this briefly in my Bible study this morning. We don't need terrorists to come and fight us. We're doing a fine enough job fighting on our own. We are no longer a united country. When did we get labeled, "Conservative" and "Liberal"? It really saddens me.

This doesn't mean I'm not going to stick to my moral standards and convictions. I believe what I believe for a reason. But I'm not going to change someone else's mind until I start living out my convictions. We think we're going to change each other's minds about things but all we do is go in circles and bicker amongst ourselves. It's very ineffective. To reach other people they have to see something different in our lives. Not the same bickering they see from every other person. I just feel sometimes I am quick to jump on the Conservative band wagon and get upset over things just because everyone else is and that bugged me.

Maybe that was a ramble, so I apologize. But it was on my mind and I just thought I would share. I'll close with the number one reason I choose to homeschool my children:

"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. " Deuteronomy 6:5-9

I can't control what Government chooses to teach my children. I can only control what I teach them. And that is what I have chosen to do!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

First Day of Preschool

Well this week we started our homeschool curriculum for Carter. We are just doing a very basic, preschool (Pre-K 3.) Carter already knows most of his letters and sounds and counts pretty well, so I figure whatever he learns this year is just a bonus! I am using a curriculum by "Heart of Dakota" specifically for 2-5 year olds called "Little Hands To Heaven." The main focus is on Bible and learning the sounds. They do include math, drama, art and music. We are hoping to have fun this year. Of course we had to start the day off with a picture on our front door step. I always remember those pictures on my first day of school. Even though our children will not be going away to a school, I don't want to miss out on those fun photo ops. Carter was so excited and didn't even know why!



I love that I am his Mommy but also his Teacher! What a joy that is for me to be able to share this experience with him.

We set up our classroom in the dining room since it had the most space. I also liked how bright it was in there from the front windows. We started our day with the letter A, and learning the sound it makes. This is a breeze for Carter but I think it is so good to daily reinforce it so that he will soon enough be able to put the sounds together to start reading. I don't want to push him yet but love that he is excited to learn!



Here I drew a capital and lowercase Aa and put glue around them. Carter put cheerios on the glue. He loved this!



He was supposed to color something that started with the letter A. This was a little hard for him, so he just colored while we talked about different things that start with the letter A.






Today we had more fun. During math time, he drew a purple circle. I was amazed at how well he actually drew a circle! Then we went around the house first looking for things that were purple. He found seven things! Then we went around looking for circles around the house and he found twenty things! I really was so impressed with how well he did with it. We are also learning in Bible about how God created the world. We talked a lot about the animals that He made.
I can't believe that Carter is already going to be 3 in less than 2 months. It is amazing how much time flies. We are excited to see what this year brings.





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I am a homeschooling mom to four. I just had a VBAC after 3 c-sections this year after I was told I no longer had the choice by my first Doctor. I am a childbirth instructor for Birth Boot Camp. My first class starts January of 2013!