10 Free Summer Ideas for Kids

1. Have the kids wash your car.

 

2.  Go play outside!

 

 

3.  Go to the library (or borrow some books from friends if you don't have a library near you).

 

 

4.  Let the kids make a fire in your BBQ pit, and burn paper, sticks and leaves.

 

 

5.  Have a slumber party in your living room, pop popcorn, and watch movies.

6.  Bake a cake or cookies from scratch.

 

7.  Break out the Legos.

8.  Make compasses with needles and cork (or just float the magnetized needle on a leaf).  Directions are easy to find online.

9.  Wash your own clothes by hand, outside.

 

10. Break out the games!



You know you're a missionary when...

  You know you're a missionary when...   at the restaurant, your kids entertain themselves with bottlecaps they find in the dirt..... and you're ok with that!

End of School

We officially ended school on Friday, June 6th.  Then, we took a nice trip as a family for 5 days which was nice.  Summer vacation is officially here at our house!
             We are taking about 6 weeks off before next school year.
Although we tend to have school year round, I still like to have a bit longer of a break over "summer" although here it's the cold and rainy season, and not hot enough to swim in Arusha. 
  Yay for break!!

What is Education?

     As a homeschooling mom, this question passes through my mind from time to time.

            Heather asked me today, "What is education?" 

Good question.  I should know, since I'm supposedly providing her and her siblings with one!

         I answered, "It's learning through reading books, talking to people, watching TV and movies, and listening to music."   "Even watching TV?!"  "Yes, you learn through TV and many other things."
    


Heather works at her desk while Katrina and Jonathan play Alphabet Go Fish

      It did bring me back to that question though. 

                              What is Education?

     Hopefully, we all received or are receiving an education, and homeschooling moms are working on giving one to their children, but WHAT IS IT?
         Merriam-Webster says it is the "knowledge, skill, and understanding that you get from attending a school, college or university".
      Hmmm... since my kids stay at home, does that mean they aren't receiving an education? :)

I think most of us would agree that to be educated, one should have knowledge of how the world works, a sense of their place in history, understand math in order to do banking, and shopping, and to know how to read and understand what you are reading.
        In other words: Science, History, Math, and Literature.

But, is there something more to an education?  Are you truly educated if you don't have common sense, or if you don't have empathy, or have no creativity?
          Is there something more to education that studying for tests?


In my opinion, to be truly educated, one should have not only skills in reading, math, science, history, typing, art, handwriting, etc., etc.... they should also be taught life skills like empathy, cooking, creativity, responsibility, and forgiveness. 
                 Of course, most of those last things are things you learn at home.

                                    When you are homeschooling, they become part of the curriculum.

      I strongly believe that all children need to learn to read, learn the multiplication table by heart, and know what the Civil War is about.
             They also need to know how to make up after a fight with a sibling or parent, how to mend a torn off button, how to entertain a toddler.  And most importantly of all, what is faith, what does the Bible teach, and having a personal relationship with Jesus.  Some day, those "non-curriculum" items will be as important, if not MORE important than the "book learning".
         What do you think?

PS. Found this on Wikipedia so take it for what it's worth but, "the word "education" is derived from the Latin ēducātiō ("A breeding, a bringing up, a rearing)


School Books have Arrived!

  
           The school books for next year have arrived!  Getting them here was interesting.  The books were at my parents while we tried to figure out how to get them here.  I posted on Facebook that we were needing someone to bring a bag for us, and there was a lady coming two days later who was willing to bring an extra bag for us (we paid for the extra baggage).  My parents got the bag of books up to her the next day, and then she flew to Kenya the day after that!  She left the bag at the Methodist Guesthouse in Nairobi, and it was there for two weeks.  Bill picked it up while in Nairobi this week, and he returned today with it!

                                 I don't know what it is, but I just get very excited about new school materials!

Maybe it's the possibilities, all of the clear, unmarked pages.... or thinking of all that the kids (and I) are going to learn in the upcoming year. 

            When I was school age, I loved the start of the new school year.... freshly sharpened pencils, new textbooks, and a fresh start.  I guess I still feel that way.

      Of course, we aren't done with the current school year, as of yet.  But, we are REALLY close to finishing, hopefully we'll be done within a few weeks. 

Then, comes the joy of "summer break" (it's the rainy season here), before we start up again in August.
                                 
                            School can really start to drag towards the end of the year, and you start to feel like your homeschool is "limping along", so to speak.  I look forward to a break, and then beginning again with a fresh outlook for the upcoming school year.

                 

My Call to the Home

    
       When we first came to the mission field, I knew I was called to the mission field.  I had felt that from the age of 12.  We went to language school, and placed Katrina, then 3, and Heather who was 9 months old and still nursing into a pre-school on campus while we went to class for 7 hours a day.
      After language school, with the urging of our mission team, I was just as involved with ministry as my husband.  I hired a nanny so that I could focus on the cultural learning courses and language tutors each day.  We put Katrina into a preschool and I even taught at it one day a week to help with the cost of tuition.
     When we returned to the field after our first furlough, suddenly things were changing.  We weren't a part of the mission team we first came with, and were working on our own. 

      But, something else happened.

God called me to stay at home.

 

  I remember the specific moment... I was sitting in the car with the girls who had fallen asleep on the way home.  I was praying, talking to God and listening.  I felt him specifically telling me that for this time in my life, I needed to focus on the kids and the home.  That other ministry things would come again, but for this time in my life, they were my ministry.

 

        That year, was a very stressful year for our family.  We moved twice, we had interns (two married couples that lived with us in our house), we had a visiting team, I found out I was pregnant and we weren't sure where to have the baby, we had to help close out the mission work of a fellow missionary.   During all of this turmoil, I knew that I had to be the rock of stability for our kids.   God had called me to do it.

 

       During this time, I also started homeschooling Katrina for the first time, for Kindergarten. 

 

  But, more importantly, I was working hard at making the children feel safe and loved in the midst of all of the turmoils of mission life!

 

 

     Since that time, we have had many more moves, more changes, more teams.... and I have not yet felt the release from the call that God gave me sitting in my driveway all those years ago.

 

                     So, for now.... my ministry is my family.  Yes, I do other ministry, but they are my main focus, until God tells me otherwise.

Is Technology a Benefit or Detriment for Homeschool?

            What are your thoughts on technology and it's use in homeschool?


  For us, we use technology in homeschool, with a balanced approach.

Our 6th grader listens to the Bible on an iPod touch while doing seatwork.  She goes onto the computer for spelling and math games, and she also does a Phonics training everyday on the computer called Lexia. 

      Our third grader uses spellingcity.com to learn her spelling words, and does a typing game everyday to practice typing.

      Our Pre-Schooler plays an educational game on the computer most days.

Katrina learning guitar from a computer program.

 
   It is a balancing act, and it can be easy to fall into the trap of letting them use technology too much.   Our kids are very creative, imaginative, and love to bake, sew and other things.  But, if allowed, they would sit in front of a computer or TV all day.  I try to limit them to half an hour during school and half an hour after school for computer time.
        
         Yes, I allow technology in school....

   .......it was raining today, so gym time was done on Wii Fit.  (the laundry hanging on the banister is because it's raining and nothing will dry on the clothes line).

           Where do you draw the limit for screen time in homeschool?