Pearls of Wisdom

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Welcome to the July 2009 edition of A Living Education E-zine!

This month I am unable to do a full ezine, but I wanted to share some questions and answers that I have recently dealt with as well as a few little pearls of wisdom which may encourage you in your family choices and homeschooling.

4 year old playing on her own

A single homeschool mom asked: “How can I encourage my only child to play on her own so that I can have a little me time?” When you homeschool an only child, the relationship in the home is very intense between mother and child, particularly if Dad is not around or works long hours.

My advice is to find a homeschool support group or a co-op and hook up with one or two likeminded families. In this way the journey will not be so lonely for you and your child.

The second thought is – do not feel guilty and thereby feel like you have to spend every waking moment entertaining your child. Learning to play on their own is a skill all children should learn. Start with small increments of time and build it up as time goes on to an hour twice a day.

Lastly, you need not feel like you have to “play” her games all the time. Bring her alongside you as you do your chores and organizing, or gardening. These times can be wonderful times as you work on projects together.

This little light of mine

A friend and I were chatting about the missions requirements in a local church. She shared a little analogy that was so dear... “I don’t believe that young children can be salt and light in the darkness, their light is so little that it takes only a small puff to put it out. Their light is a little light, but it shines with all its might until it grows when they are older and walking with the Lord.”

This ministered to me so deeply and brought me a peace about an issue I had been tossing around in my heart.

Empty nest syndrome

A mature mom mentioned that her youngest had moved out to live closer to his job and her home was now empty. She asked what she can fill her time with. While chatting about the option of building an online business I said this to her:

Sometimes I get upset when I see parents ship their kids out to friends and family for weekends all the time so that "they can take a break". I always think that one day my nest will be empty and I will get tired of "taking a break" so rather to enjoy my time with my children now. You can say to yourself: "Well done [Susan]". You have done your job, raised your child and now can enjoy this time...

How to fit in exercise

There are so many reasons to make time for exercise. I was asked the other day how I fit it in. For me it is quite simple – I make it a family thing. I have never been attracted to gyms for exercise but when my children are in their team swimming season and spend and hour 3x a week at the gym training, I will sit on a trainer and read while I cycle.

But my preferred form of exercise is mountain biking with my children. Granted, MTB riding is not everyone’s cup of tea, but in our home we all enjoy it and do it together.

I encouraged this mom who asked to find something they can do together as a family. At worst a walk every evening with the dogs, even better would be weekly hikes as well and at best it would be a form of cardiovascular exercise like biking or running that the whole family can do together. Even if you have little ones in the family – a runner pram or child seat on a bike can include them.

I don’t want to start school again!

This comment above was made with the mom stating that after 6 weeks of summer break her house was now clean, her laundry up to date and decent meals being cooked after 9 months of chaos.

Does homeschooling = unclean/untidy homes, piles of laundry and fast food? It need not!

Organization and plans for things like...

Laundry
Meals
Chores
Organizing rooms

...can all be fitted into a homeschool day.

What art do you do that is Charlotte Mason friendly?

I have tried many art programs over the years. I have even tried to be very Charlotte Mason and do art appreciation according to her philosophy. However, I have stuck with very few of them.

Last year I felt that I needed to give this more attention for two of my four children have shown an increased desire for art.

We discovered Artistic Pursuits and have not looked back. Artistic Pursuits has art appreciation, art history, artists biographies and art techniques included in each of the programs.

If art is a hiccup in your homeschool, do consider giving it a try for the new school year.

Free Ecourses

For new subscribers to this ezine and for homeschool moms getting ready to start schooling again, remember my free ecourses to help you get off to a flying start:

Homeschool Planning Essentials
Back to HOMEschool Ecourse

My home grown products

I have tried to capture as much of my human wisdom as I can and put it into reasonable priced ebooks for moms who need a little help in the following areas:

Ultimate Homeschool Mom's Planner
Mom's Meal Planner
Child Chore Program

Checking Movies

Lastly, after my last ezine, a kind subscriber recommended a website where you can check movie suitability before viewing. I have found that this website is also great for checking our music and books [and computer games for those who play] as well. If you are needing a moderate Christian perspective on what’s OK and what’s not…be sure to run it by www.commonsensemedia.org

Take care until next time,
God’s richest blessings to you as you homeschool,
Wendy

PS Please pay it forward by sending this E-zine on to other homeschooling moms who will benefit from my thoughts. If you received this from a friend, sign up here