#110 - What a Week!

I mentioned that the girls were testing this week, but I haven't elaborated on why they are doing so. The homeschool co-op that we are a part of offers to administer a Stanford achievement test every year. Since this is the first year we've been a part of this co-op, we felt like it was a good time to have the girls tested. Not because I want to compare their education with what the government says that they shouuld be learning. But because I want them to be familiar with taking tests and to be prepared for their future tests - i.e. ACT, SAT, etc. We also want to make sure that they are getting the basics down and learning on a level that is appropriate for their age compared to other children in the nation. The results of these tests will be only available to our family. So far they are excited about how they've done. We'll see when the results come back in June! :)

With homeschooling we have learned many new things and met some wonderful people to help us along the way. Even though this is our third year I feel very inadequate about certain things. Is the way I teach getting through? Are we using the right materials?

Even with all of my doubts of how I'm doing as their teacher/mom I am still fully on the homeschool bandwagon! Am I now an advocate of a home education? You bet! We have several different reasons for homeschooling and we believe that our girls are our blessings from God. They are gifts from God for us to care for, nurture, protect, and yes, even educate! They are not wardens of the state and we have the God-given right to make sure they are brought up in the Truth of the Lord. For us that means to teach them academics at our home. But I feel like it means more than just academics. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says that we are to teach our children God's commands from when they arise out of the bed until they lay down at night. It breaks my heart when I hear our county school bus go by our house at 6:30 A.M. every morning. Knowing little sleepy heads are nodding! That fact along would be enough to bring our girls home (even though neither ever rode a bus once to school!) But then these precious ones are at school, counting bus time, over 8 hours a day. That means that for 1/3 of a child's day they are in the hands and care of others. Now mind you, I do believe that most of these other people - the teachers, aides, & bus drivers - do care about these children. But the fact of the matter is that they aren't their parents. That means that the other 1/3 of the day is typically spent sleeping and the other 1/3 is packed with supper, homework, baths, and very little time for families to just be families. It breaks my heart, because I know that this is not how God ordained families to orchestrate.

There are so many ways that I could expand on this, but we've got one more day of testing and honestly I am exhausted tonight! Our revival is going wonderfully and there is also one more night of services. A very busy, but a very blessed week!

I didn't snap a picture today - hopefully tomorrow I'll get back with my pics of the day. So I thought I'd look at what I took last year around this time and I found this little baby:

Meet Mo-Hawk Strawberry Shortcake! Her hair had all fallen out after it dry rotted and apparently last year I felt the need to photograph this wonder. :D

Have a great Thursday!

Deuteronomy 6:4-9
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."