Ya Ya NO MORE!

Ya’ll-  I just quit a support group. Yup.  You read that correctly.  Straight up quit.  I emailed the mediator, asking her to please remove me from all future mailings and meet-up invitations and didn’t give a reason.

My reason? Hmm. Well- if I had given a reason, well, I guess it probably would have been more fuel for the fire. MY reason for quitting is crazy.  It is absurd.  It is really awkward to describe.  My reason for quitting, is because the community that I had hoped to find within this group was not a community AT ALL.  There was NO hand-holding-bonding-love like the picture up there. 

Yes, It’s title was “Christian Homeschool Mom’s of XYZ”  [I won’t call them out…I will respect them in this realm]…but this title was NOT all encompassing.  These ladies were:

1.Moms...CHECK

2.Home schooling their children...CHECK

3.Christian…NOT SO SURE

Let’s rewind a few days.

A Mommy-lady posted a question to the group’s online forum :

“How many of you allow your children to wear costumes and dance with the devil?”

…I, obviously, knew that she was referring to Halloween, and truly thought that she was being humorous…maybe a bit sarcastic. {“have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moon light?” – Jack Nicholson as the Joker in the BEST version of Batman} I kind of chuckled at it, actually.

WELL…what began after that question, was U-G-L-Y.

Every single Mother who innocently answered the initial question was returned with:

·        What denomination are you?

·         Do you realize the history of this “ritual”?

·         Do you really believe in Jesus? (seriously?)

·         Do you know that you are going to go to Hell? (WOW…seriously?)

I, abstained, from partaking in this bullying of women BY women who proclaim to be “Christian Women”. [AND IT TOOK RESTRAINT TO DO THAT]

Over the next few days, the topic of conversation was not that of actual SCHOOLING our children, or CURRICULUM, but turned into who was which denomination, and then which denomination was the REAL Christianity etc… It was U_G_L_Y!

I didn’t even want to let me heart get involved in such negativity and evil…that was supposedly spoken in the name of our Lord? [Again, I know, I know, I could have taken this as an opportunity to speak  some truth and spread some love…but honestly, the “instigator” Mommy-Lady  scared me and I didn’t want to get involved]

So…I let things go.

WELL.  Last night, I fell asleep with all of my babies on my bed, after their bath and reading bunches and bunches of books. {my FAVORITE way to fall asleep}  My poor husband slept in the spare bed, as my little tribe and I lay sprawled across our bed.  I woke up at around 3am, and went to find my dear husband who was sound asleep. I, however, couldn’t fall back to sleep.  My mind was racing and amidst my thoughts of harvest, which apples I needed to replenish on the stand, how I wanted to tackle making my Bubby’s Shark-Boy costume, and then…this horrible feeling of missed opportunity to minister and guide some {obviously} hurting ladies- came over me. I could have helped them. I could have tried to deflect the negative and bring it back to Jesus. But, I didn’t. I quit instead. I let FEAR take over.

But…I’m going to take the opportunity, now, to say what I would have said.

Jesus Loves EVERYONE.

Jesus is the ONLY way into heaven.

NO human could EVER condemn ANYONE to hell.

Christianity has many facets. It has many denominations.

Similar to the worlds languages (which the LORD created when he forbid the Tower of Babel to be built), as Christianity has spread and grown and changed and reformed and gone back to its most primitive, original form.- There are MANY differences in the practices and daily walk of all Christians.

I guarantee that my walk with Jesus is different than yours, is different than the family I sit next to in worship on Sunday, heck, I GUARANTEE that my walk is different, yet, to my husbands! That is why we are all individuals! God gave us ALL free will…BUT, with that- He gave us the tools necessary to survive this crazy ride called life, and ALSO gave us the KEY to unlock the door to His kingdom. How we choose to navigate the route to the Kingdom gates is ours and OURS alone.  NO ONE, human or not, other than the Great God Almighty,  our Lord Jesus Christ or the Spirit can condemn ANYONE. We, as a people, need to STOP DOING IT!

SPEAK LIFE. SPEAK LOVE.  SPEAK TRUTH.

I have said over and over again, this month, that I am going to SPEAK LIFE!!!

Maybe that is why I held my tongue when this all went down?  They say that once you do something 14 times in a row it becomes habit. Today is the 23^rd, that means that for the last 23 days I have not spoken ill of, nasty to, and prayed for my adversaries.

 I pray that we, as Christians-

-Whether we are Non-Denominational, Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian,Catholic, Assembly of God, Messianic Christians,  7^th Day Adventists etc.

- whether we are blue, green, purple or red

- whether we are married, divorced, single or widowed

- whether we have children or not- whether we attend worship as part of a church family, or if we worship alone with a bible in our bedroom.

WE ARE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST.

WE must love one another as HE LOVES US! 

We need to stop judging each other by who is a “Better” Christian. Who practices the correct holidays.  Who gives more money to what charity.  Who does better mission work. Who loves Jesus more.  It is not OUR call. It is not OUR job.  It isn’t remotely in our job description here as an earth dweller.  GOD is the judge.

We need to  work on becoming a peaceful union to GROW our church.  

WE are the CHURCH. 

It’s not a building.  It’s not a denomination. It’s not a pastor. WE, as Christians, are the church. Things in the world are getting ugly. The end times are near. It may not be in our lifetime, it may not be in our kids’ lifetime, but MAN, don’t you want to make the CHURCH stronger for our future?

 For our grandchildren? 

For our great- grandchildren. 

For ourselves?

Speak Life.

Support each other. Love one another. GROW our CHURCH!

Amen.

{beBlessed} and have a GREAT day!

Dani

"And greater is the One living inside of me than he who is living in the world."-Mercy Me

Dick, Jane and The Dude...

Oh my goodness gracious!

I have been SOOOOO busy that I have not had a chance to even sit at my desk, not to mention at the computer WRITING!

I know that I really NEED to set aside time each day for my writing.  It really is what helps me to “decompress” and relax, helps me to get my thoughts out of my head and I KNOW that I sleep better once these thoughts are out here in cyber-land.

Just WHAT have we been up to?

SO much!

We have been in full bloom, out here on the farm.  The winter did decide to hit the road and it seems as if the Spring time tasks around the farm all came due at once!  We had a beautiful blossom and I got the kids outside for some photos.

What has REALLY been taking up my time is schooling the boys.  I had “Spring Time” lessons planned beginning in early April.  Well, the weather didn’t quite cooperate with MY plans, so we have been playing “catch up” and trying to get all of our field trip and exploration done!  The boys have really taken to creating field journals, and they are SO easy to create yourself. (better yet, THEY can create their own!)

This is my first year as a “Homeschool teacher” and it’s a bit different than being a public school teacher”. Though I only have 1 (next year 2) children to report on, I still have to do ALL of the same state reporting.  I have to submit an Individual Home Education Plan [similar to the OLD IEP format that you “ancient” teachers, like me, remember writing] I also have to have copies of ALL of the materials that I will be using next year. THIS, my friends, is the toughest part for me. I am indecisive. I know what I want to accomplish, HOW I want to do it, and my heart always returns to the “Old Way” of doing things, versus the “New and Improved”.  Which should I use? Why do I even battle with myself?  If you are comfortable teaching something...your will TEACH BETTER. It's a proven fact. Why reinvent the wheel?

 When I first started teaching …14 years ago- I was a self-contained, 8:1:1 teacher.  My Masters work was focused on remedial reading and curriculum development- focused on multi-sensory learning. My first teaching assignment proved PERFECT for writing my thesis, as my kiddos not only needed the reading support, but they also needed to utilize a variety of different learning styles to be successful. I found success with these kids, using some “older” programs, which were:

1.     1.  Proven to be successful

2.       2.Been tried, practiced, tested, modified, edited and reworked

3.       3. I was highly trained to use them

As the years passed, (and really not MANY years, in the BIG scheme of things) I went on to use FIVE different “Reading Programs”, 3 sets of NYS assessments, writing curriculum (with major changes) 3 different times and NOW, the introduction of the Common Core Standards and all of the curriculum changes that go along with them. [PRAISE GOD that I am no longer in the public school system!!!]

Knowing my background in Literacy/Special Education, people often ask me WHAT curriculum I use with my kiddos, and why? They ask my thoughts on the “Core” and I offer it freely. I thought I may share my thoughts with you all. Some of you may just be starting your homeschool journey, some of you may be seasoned “Mommy-teachers”, but I thought that you may be interested in knowing what a Teacher-turned-Mommy-turned –“Mommy-Teacher” recommends.

First and foremost, when you begin home education, the foundation is the MOST important. Just as in building a house, if your foundation isn’t solid, your house will never hold up.

Your little ones need to build a solid foundation, one that fosters a LOVE FOR LEARNING, encourages FEELINGS OF SUCCESS and one that is MEASURABLE and ATTAINABLE…  by not only them, but YOU.  (***I will reference this statement later on when I discuss Common Core)

Your beginning  literacy learner needs to learn the following before moving forward:

1.       Phonemic Awareness

2.       Decoding Skills (which stem from the phonetic teaching of sounds and words)

3.       Dolche words (YES, these word lists are STILL relevant)

4.       Proper handwriting technique

5.       Proper questioning technique:  Who, What, When, Where, Why and How

The Common Core standards are NOT BAD.  I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.  The problem with them is 2-fold; time constraints and the inability to offer REAL remediation to a child that just plain learns differently than others.  The curriculum is not designed to offer multi-sensory, individual learning style instruction. It is very much:  1. This is the lesson for today. 2. This is how you do it.  3.  You have 15 minutes to complete it.

THIS method of instruction is not beneficial for ANY child and DOES NOT foster a solid foundation.

I TOTALLY “get” the end result, but the means to the end is not quite developed enough yet to thrust our children into learning that way. The core does NOT foster a love for learning.  It has brought much anxiety, hatred for school, and frustration from parents, students and teachers.

I feel bad for the teachers…they have years of study, Bachelors and Masters level educations and are repeating a script, timed and robotic. 

SO, What programs do I use?

Simple. Old. Tried and True.

Kindergarten:

Explode the Code!  Yes, I am aware that this program was written in the 70’s. But you know what?  The English language is WAY older than that- and, it WORKS.

Handwriting without Tears Again, the first draft of this program did hit schools 30 years ago, but again, IT WORKS.

Good ‘Ol Dick and Jane :  I LOVE the success my child (and ALL of my “children” throughout the years) feels when reading a whole story. The Dick and Jane series was the perfect 1^st books for my child to read both guided and independently.

It is also IMPERATIVE that you READ ALOUD to your emerging reader daily.  I read to all 3 of my kiddos during “circle time” each morning.  We read the same story 5 days in a row. (Based on the Five in Row series) This allows for fluency, cross-curricular connections, the ability to have your child “be the teacher” towards the end of the week when he feels that he can read the book better than you can! ;-)

I am also using some Fountas and Pinnell  assessments and book lists.  I am blessed with a great early reader. One great way to not only correctly “level” their reading, but offer accurate district reporting, is completing  a reading level assessment. (or having it done if you are not trained)

Also, make sure that you have some HIGH interest, independent , appropriately leveled readers available at ALL times.  The more interest your child has in reading, the more often he or she will have in learning the basics, the more stamina he or she will have to finish what they started to read and last, but not least, the more JOY your child will find in reading.

What do I plan to use for 1^st grade literacy?

Explode the Code! 

D’Nelian Manuscript Writing

Sequential Spelling

As well as  hundreds of guided and independent choices, our weekly read-aloud selection and the addition of a read-aloud chapter book. (we already read the “Little House” series at night before bed) I plan to begin with the shorter Roald Dahl books. (ie. George’s Marvelous Medicine, The Twits,  Danny, The Champion of the World  and then move in to The BFG, The Witches, James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Now, these resources are just the beginning. These are what I have used with many students over the years and what I chose to use with my own kindergartener, as well as what I plan to use with my younger two as well. I don’t guarantee ANY of my recommendations for ALL children. Remember, every child learns differently. You need to make an educated decision as to what will work BEST for your child.  You have already made the choice to put your child’s need ahead of your own and embark on this home school journey.  You are already ahead of the game!

 I do feel that the “teacher” is a VERY important catalyst in learning. Equally as important as the materials and the teacher, is the ENVIRONMENT in which to learn in.  Not all families are able to designate a specific area in the home JUST FOR SCHOOL. I am fortunate to be able to do so. [future post on classroom set up coming soon]

I hope that my recommendations may help you to prepare for another exciting school year at home with your babes. I feel like I have truly found the BEST of both worlds!

Any questions?  Leave me a comment!

You can also follow our daily antics via instagram  @daniteeple

{beBlessed} and have a GREAT DAY!