So, three basic areas to cover today: 1. Homeschooling, 2. Latvian Missions, 3. Give a Kid a Chance, 4. Garden gnomes. So, that's four, not three, but you'll notice a pattern here...
1. Today was a GREAT schooling day! Yes, GREAT! Sometimes schooling really stinks, sometimes it's a joy. That's life. This morning when I sat down to grade my 16-year-old twin sons' work from last week (yeah, I didn't really do a great job grading last week), they had ALL A's. What a treat. I only had a few things to send back for re-working. Woo hoo!
We use Switched on Schoolhouse for their core curriculum and it's working well, although the boys have asked for something different next year. They thought it'd be cool doing all of school on the computer. I guess they really didn't think it through to the logical conclusion that it would mean READING everything. Not sure what they were thinking.
In addition to SOS, they attend the Master's Academy of Fine Arts once a week for Art, History, Music and Drama as well as COMPASS Arts -- one for guitar and one for drawing. The boys are following in their parent's and grandparent's footsteps -- budding artists with little patience for sitting still!
Okay, so back to the GREAT schooling day. The boys both finished their work without too much fuss and even did their chores without me asking. Of course, that might have something to do with my utter meltdown at 9 a.m. when breakfast wasn't going so well and the devil got a hold of my tongue -- but I'd like to think it was out of the sheer love for school and cleaning -- I'm allowed a fantasy every once in a while!
Our dear little Annie has struggled so much with school. Just every aspect of it has caused her grief! She's confused. You see, at one point, because of her attention issues (she's been diagnosed with AD/HD -- don't EVEN write me about this if you are going to say it doesn't exist or is a cop out -- walk a mile in her shoes and THEN tell me what you think!), we really believed that we HAD to send her to public school so she could get the help she "needed." So, we began to prepare her for that. Thank the Lord (literally) we discovered that we could homeschool her and that what she "needed" was what we could offer! YAY!
So, lately she asks when she will get to go to the school with lockers. Poor little Annie, she had it in her mind that she's not getting to go to Kindergarten at the school because she doesn't know how to read. No matter how many times I tried to explain homeschooling to her, she just didn't get it. SO -- today we had a breakthrough. I think she finally gets it. She now realizes that she's learning everything she'd learn at the place with lockers PLUS a lot more. She's thrilled that she gets to go to Master's Academy and she understands that she couldn't do that if she went to PS. Also, she finally gets that MOST kindergarteners can't read -- not just her. AND that she's working on a second grade level in Math -- which she wouldn't be allowed to do in PS. So, all is good.
That sparked a renewed interest in school! She actually read a "story" today. BIG triumph. She worked diligently in her new workbook and did new spelling words for this week and new letters of the week and we even found Portugal and Latvia on the Globe -- one of her digressions in her schoolwork. It suddenly became critical that she see where Granddad's parents came from and where her brothers used to live. Then straight back to the workbook.
And that, my friends, is a GREAT Homeschooling Day!
2. Latvian Missions -- Okay, so my calling in life, in addition to being a wife and mom, is ministering to orphans in Latvia and the people who care for the orpha
ns (Social Workers, Orphanage Directors, Foster Parents, etc.). Along with my Husband and sons, I am part of a ministry called Latvian Angels. We match each child in a children's home with a Christian sponsor who agrees to pray daily for the child, write a letter of introduction (including photos) and provides Christmas Presents for the child along with occasional correspondence. It's a cool ministry. So, we recently figured out our budget for the year (we've really been running by the seat of our pants for the first three years of the ministry). I was STUNNED, can I tell you I was floored that our budget exceeds $16,000 -- and that isn't including the Christmas gifts that the sponsors will provide. Ummmm... God's got a LOT of work to do here just to pick my jaw up off the floor -- not to mention providing the funds!So, we're planning some fundraisers and we're confident that, like He has in the past, He will provide! First up is a traditional Latvian pankuka dinner set for April 19 at my friend Merle's house. If you're in North Metro Atlanta you're welcome to come. Adults $10, kids $5.
The picture on this post is of the Staff of Hope for Children, a great ministry in Latvia that works with orphans and kids at risk. We took them out for a dinner and brought them a gift of matching scarves... they're as goofy as we are... I'd love to show you some of the precious pictures of us with the kids, but it's not permitted by the Latvian government -- which I guess is understandable. So, you'll have to settle for HFC staffers!
3. Give a Kid a Chance -- So, a former pastor of mine always said that you should do missions abroad to learn things that you then bring back home and use. So, I guess that's what's happening now with me. I've been doing missions in Latvia and really just sort of wrote that notion off as untrue for me. BUT, it seems that for the third year in a row, I'm working as the volunteer coordinator for our HUGE outreach, Give a Kid a Chance. This is a cool thing. We provide every child in need that lives in our county with what they need to start school -- backpack, school supplies, a haircut, dental, medical and chiropractic screenings, clothing, etc. Way cool. So, we're ramping up and meeting each week and really, instead of typing this hideously long Blog entry, I SHOULD be e-mailing volunteers....
4. Garden Gnomes. Don't know why, but I have a thing for garden gnomes. I'm not really into kitschy things in general. I usually like abstract and folks art -- not things like... garden gnomes... but there's just something about those little buggers that makes me smile. So, I finally broke down and bought one!
It all started with my daughter letting the neighbor's giant black lab into our yard. You see, she does this and she's not supposed to. She KNOWS she's not supposed to. She does it any way. So, I'd finally had it -- the LAST straw -- I sent her to her room, notified my son that he was on "Annie Duty" and headed to Home Depot to fix this issue.
After buying chicken wire (to bury in the ground around the fence where the dog and Annie both dig, creating a hole for him to climb through), Prickly bushes (to deter both girl and dog from coming near the fence), Top Soil (to fill in all of the holes the two of them have dug), and a hasp and lock (so the "gate" between our yards can't be opened by anyone without the combination) I was pooped! And, none too happy that my time and money was going into fixing such an inane problem. As I stomped out of the garden section, there he was -- smiling at me -- this little garden gnome holding a wooden sign that said "Hi." Well... now he's at home and for some crazy reason that small amount of retail therapy allowed me come home with a good attitude and be excited about the improvements we're going to make to the yard!
I suppose he needs a name....
So, hideously long blog entry one -- over and out.
"The only thing that interferes with my education is my schooling" -- Albert Einstein
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