What a blessing it was to hear these women calmly talk of horrifying events and tragic circumstances that brought them in closer communion with the Lord as they tried desperately to keep the school lamp burning.

 

We thank them now for responding to Darcy and know that they will rejoice with the Virtuous Woman whose "candle goeth not out by night." (Proverbs 31:18b)

 

Being a mommy with multiple health issues (MS, Fibromyalgia and Diabetes to name the major ones), and having a house full of kids with everything ranging from allergies
(don't ya love spring?) to autism, being able to 'adapt' our schedule to different health situations was our primary reason for starting homeschooling this year.

Our kids have gotten used to Mommy teaching from the couch. They actually enjoy the change of pace as well. It seems to me that they have clued in on when Mommy isn't feeling all that great, and those are the days that we move everything we can to the living room. They each have their own little table they can set up in front of the couch to work on (4 for $20 at Wal-Mart!), and we also have a stock of movies that are 'school
appropriate' such as documentaries, Little House on the Prairie, anything from Focus on the Family, etc... These are special  'treats' they get to watch when Mom just can't handle it anymore and must rest.

Another challenge for us is when Elizabeth (14 yo autistic  non-verbal DD) is having a bad day which seems to be happening more and more lately for some reason. Her bad days consist of no school work accomplished, her being aggressive and violent, and being completely incontinent. Once we get her settled down, we usually gather around books or the Internet and look up the different areas of autism so the kids will better understand what is going on with their sister. We only look up one topic, research it, and then have narration or writing time so the kids can really understand what autism is all about and why their sister does what she does. I'm telling ya, I'm gonna have a bunch of doctors when they get older. LOL

Another great way to continue with homeschooling when health isn't good is (Praise God for Charlotte Mason and Cindy Rushton!) Nature Studies. What's better than sitting outside on a warm day with a cup of herbal tea and calling it school?  Most of my planting of vegetables and flowers were done with my children last weekend during 'school time'. Seeds are really interesting...especially to younger kids. Looking at the buds on trees before the leaves come out is a great way to start a study on trees. Keeping track of different types of flowers and when they seem to sprout is also fun. Then comes the drawing part (everyone's favorite part here). 

Now, other than prayer (where would I be without prayer-time?), realizing that there are limitations is key in our house. If we are having a bad day...face it...we're having a bad day. It's going to happen. And if all else fails, just think this way...in public school the kids get holidays, the teachers get holidays, personal development days, etc... Kids spend approx 8 hours in public school each day, and only half of it is actually spent learning. How many days have you taught this week? This month? How much did you accomplish in one day?  (probably a lot more than one day at public school...let me tell ya!) Your kids are not falling behind, they are going to learn no matter what, and nobody is going to learn everything all in one week, month, or year. 

Face it, if you don't look after you, who will? Sure, Dad or the kids will make sure you eat, have a cup of tea etc.,  but I mean REALLY take care of you. Rest, pray, rest some more. We are useless to our families if we neglect the one person we have ultimate control over...ourselves.Take a break, recharge, and then get back in the swing of things. Even God rested on the 7th day...that should tell ya something. Rest is important...prayer is important...and all the rest will fall into place.

God Bless,

 

Stephanie, a homeschool mom who rests on the Lord

I completely know what you are talking about. Last year my husband had two heart attacks. He was only 35. He was in critical condition and was not a candidate for a by-pass. He spent three months in and out of the hospital. His entire heart was affected, and he was diagnosed with the advanced stages of coronary artery disease. This stage of heart disease is usually found in elderly people. He is fine now that he has nine stints in his heart, but we do not know when it will return. Of course we deal with other things as well, my daughter and I have Asthma and allergies, and I have the first stages of a painfully disabling auto-immune disease. I even went for a few months with paralysis on the left side of my body caused by migraines.  

It was our first year of homeschool. Needless to say I was totally stressed. I was sure I had ruined our daughter forever by missing months of school. Guess what? When we got ourselves together we resumed school. We did have to review for a week or two to get her back on track, but after that she finished the curriculum early! I was so worried about being behind schedule that I finally gave it to God. He reminded me that she would be fine. Once I gave it all to Him everything fell into place. Now that we know how precious our time is together I try to make sure that we spend as much time together as a family as possible.  

It is because of that time of illness we went to year-round schooling. Here are a few guidelines to keep you in check:

-  Pray about your schedule daily.  My daughter and I do this together before school starts.  She always adds "and please let me have time to have fun today." And of course we always make time for her to play and be a kid!

-  Make sure you do not take off more than two weeks at a time. Any more than that and you will spend lots of time reviewing.  Of course this is a guideline. Is it the end of the world if you have to review? Of course not.

-  Watch out for fake sick days. When my daughter found out she could get out of school when she was sick, she had a mysterious illness where her tummy, hair, and big toenail hurt too bad for school but not too bad to play with friends and watch movies. When I told her she would need to go to the doctor and maybe get a shot her mysterious illness cleared up, and we resumed school.

-  Schedule school work first thing in the morning if possible. I tried to go out and get things done in the morning and school in the afternoon, but we would never get around to getting school done. The only time I allow school in the afternoon is on sick days. Sometimes we just need to sleep in, and we start our day late instead of taking the whole day off; otherwise we start school first thing.

Now we take breaks when things come up and try not to worry about the schedule. When one of us is sick we are not as productive and do not learn as effectively anyway. I have found when I force school on sick days we end up having to go back and review. So if we are really sick (not just the sniffles) we take the day off and stay in bed. Or if we are feeling overwhelmed we will take a day and play. It has all worked out well for us. It has worked so well that my daughter will start second grade in September when she should be starting first grade. We easily meet the 180 school days required plus some. We are more relaxed, and she retains more of what is taught, and when Daddy is home from work we can take a break and let her enjoy the time she has with him. Regardless if there is a life threatening illness or you are just too stressed out, take a break, and remember why you are homeschooling.

Your homeschooling sister,

Christie

 

 

 

For us, school isn't a time or a place. School is a mentality - the opportunity to learn, the gift of knowledge, and as such, should take place every day, one way or another. Education is also an obligation, a stewardship of our minds, given to us by God - again, we should expect to use these wonderful gifts daily. 

~Anni

When we can follow our lesson plans, that's great, but when the Spirit changes our course, we figure His ideas are certainly better than ours, and we try to follow His direction. I believe it's more an issue of how we respond to our lamps burning low; we all know that we will have those days -- sometimes entire seasons -- when our routines are upset, but the learning opportunities are still there; no matter where our journey takes us, as our children travel with us, they will learn.         

When the lamp burns low, use educational movies, books on tape, easy and quiet but
non-messy games (i.e. Concentration) that they can play on the coffee table next to
you lying on the couch. Older ones reading to younger ones, kids drawing with crayons (but not messy paint), and cleaning games such as "Find fine pieces of trash, sort the laundry by color, fold the laundry and surprise Daddy by putting it away, etc." have all worked for me.

 

I learned this idea from when my oldest daughter was in public school. They would have a 'read-in day' once a year when they could bring a favorite pillow, sleeping bag, etc. The teacher read more stories that day, and they had a lot of time to read. I pull this 'trick' out when I need a day off, or my kids are not doing well. I read more stories to them and have them read to me. We read a lot of our library books that day, and I feel I've still accomplished something worthwhile at the end of the day.   

~Kandy