Sonlight Blog Party: How did you decide on curriculum?

We first heard about homeschooling after my husband spoke to a guy from Idaho whose family was doing it. I hadn't, personally, met the family, but my husband returned from a training trip with this zany idea and tried to convince me of it. At first I thought he was crazy, but he managed to pique my curiosity by talking about how we would be able to travel as a family when all the other families were in school. We could travel to Europe in the low season and take advantage of lower airfares, cheaper hotels and uncrowded cities! It's true. That's what got me thinking about it at first. We love to travel and we wanted to pass that love on to our kids. Plus I wanted to visit my family in Italy and it would be waaaaay cheaper to go in September/October than it would be to go in July/August. I was willing to give it a second thought.

Later, over time, and many discussions, research and prayer, we developed better reasons, loftier reasons. But it's true that at first our reasons were pretty shallow. No matter. In the end, the end justified the means, or the reasons anyway.

We decided that our school needed a name. People were forever asking where our kids were going to go to school. Our brother and sister-in-law's kids were attending Hickory Christian Academy (HCA for short) so we decided that DCA or DelCharco Christian Academy sounded good. In time, we got to where we would answer the Where do your kids go to school? question with a nonchalant Oh, they go to DCA.

We not only named our school, but we sat down one day to to develop our goals, mission statement and vision for our school. I'll recreate them here for posterity's sake. Plus it might help a new homeschooler out - inspire them to create their own goals and mission. Or you might just think we're crazy. Whatever...

DelCharco Christian Academy (DCA) 

WHY WE HOMESCHOOL: [So on those days when I wanted to call it quits, I could pull out this list and remind myself. If my reasons had changed, I could enroll them in Beauclerc Elementary. If they hadn't, well...it was time to suck it up and just.do.it.]

1) Nobody can love or teach my kids better or want them to succeed more than me.

2) We want to be the major influence in our children’s lives; to have some control over the influences in their lives.

3) We want our children to have uncompromising character; for us to be proactive in their character development and education.

4) We want our children to have compassion for others; a heart for others; time before money; people over things; a true love relationship with Jesus.

5) We want our children to be able to work at their pace; explore their interests further; fill their loving cup when they need it; pace their maturity with appropriate exposure to sensitive material; teachable moments extended throughout the day.

  

 Mission Statement:

To develop bright, intelligent kids, who have a strong moral character, a heart for God and others and a life-long passion for learning.

[We then defined what some of these key words mean.]

Definitions:

• Bright
• Clear thinking/think on feet
• Common sense
• Articulate
•  Intelligent
• Depth of knowledge
• Well rounded/founded
• No fear of any subject
•  Strong moral character
• No compromise
• Clear on absolute truths
• Biblically based – no situational ethics
• Respectful
• Well mannered
• Gal 5:20 – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness gentleness, self-control
• Heart for God and others
• True desire to be in communion with Him
• Selfless – thinks of others as more important than self
• Life-long passion for learning
• School does not end
• Research options to make well informed decisions

   

Goals:

5-year: daily QT, solid relationship with Jesus, voracious reader; strong math skills.

10-year: fully-orbed human beings; making wise decisions; not easily swayed by peers; to be capable sailors; finding their niche in sports; active lifestyle (camping, hiking, fishing, running, biking, etc…); wouldn't consider drugs because they're just stupid.

Life: loving disciples of Christ following His lead; Servant heart; discipling others.

We have mostly met those goals. Not all. And we are still homeschooling so we are still a work in progress, but for the most part, we are doing well. But I digress. I'm supposed to be explaining how we decided on curriculum. 

I had read several books on homeschooling. [I do that. I like to research and do my homework whenever tackling a new project.] I was deciding between Abeka and Bob Jones when I learned about a homeschool convention that was in my town. A friend from church had told me about it and had photocopied the workshop descriptions and schedule for me. She had circled the ones she was going to go see. I poured over the schedule and workshop descriptions and did the same, circling the ones that seemed relevant and interesting to me. For one particular hour, there were no workshops that grabbed me so I decided to attend the one my friend, Beryl, had circled. It was about Sonlight. 

Shawne and Katie, the consultants, spoke about learning from "real books."[I *love* reading!] They told of the world focus that Sonlight has. [I want my kids to learn about the world!] They explained how the founders' desire was for a missionary family to remain in the field for one more year by providing them with a box of books and everything they'd need to homeschool their family for one year. [I want everything I need to come to me directly!] They explained how you could teach history, Bible, science and do read-alouds with multiple aged kids. [Hey, that's gonna save me time!] And how these books would be able to be reused with subsequent children. [Hey, that's gonna save me money!] 

I was hanging on to their every word. [That sounded like FUN, not school!] I  was incredulous to learn that you could teach using real books, not textbooks. [Can you DO that??! Is that  even ALLOWED?!?]  I took the catalog home and poured over it with my husband. I was hooked. I was a BELIEVER! We started our first year of homeschooling with Sonlight's Basic K (now Core A). Best.decision.ever.

Linking up with Sonlight's Blog Party.

Being a mom...

Being a mom means that when your son needs you, you go! Even if he's 19 and lives an hour and a half away, because when he needs surgery, he still needs his mommy!

Thomas broke his finger in early November at the Florida-Georgia football game. He actually broke it at the tailgating picnic when he hopped out of a friend's pick up truck. Initially we just thought he had hyper-extended it but an x-ray showed that he had, indeed, fractured it. The x-ray also revealed a bone cyst which we were assured was nothing to worry about.

After six weeks, the finger had not healed so the doctor ordered an MRI which showed that there was some sort of growth. He suspected a giant cell sarcoma (I think that's the name). This doctor referred Thomas to his colleague, a specialist. When the new doctor took a look at the MRI, he ordered the surgery for the next day! Yikes! So this mamma tries not to panic, clears her schedule, packs up and heads south.

At check in, the lady behind the desk, whose name is Sheila (good sign?), gives us some information and then we wait a short time for our name to be called. The nurse hands Thomas a disposable gown and he is ridiculously excited to wear a backless gown. Like giddy. (What?)

In pre-op, Thomas is cracking jokes with the nurses and doctors. I'm glad I'm laughing rather than crying. I'm trying to be strong. I'm not *really* worried, but the "what ifs...?" try to creep in. I keep them at bay. The laughter helps. Praying does too. At one point, he laughs a little which causes the monitor to start beeping faster. He decides to see how fast he can make it beep so he hyperventilates.Yeah, that makes the alarm go off. He is delighted! *sigh*

I know that my son is in good hands. I know because my brother in law has assured me that this doctor is the BEST. He should know. He was a resident under him 18 years ago. But it's still nerve-wracking to watch two nurses wheel your son away on a gurney. It just is.

I wait in the waiting room, send out group texts updating everyone then head downstairs to grab a yogurt and a house coffee at the coffee shop. It comforts me to know how many people are praying for this doctor, my son, the surgery.

Soon enough, the doctor comes out to talk to me. The surgery went well. He explains what they did and what to expect next. I'm allowed to go back and I'm surprised to find that Thomas is already awake. The patient is but his arm is not. He says it feels weird to touch his hand but not not feel it, like touching someone else's hand. The nurse gives him a sling because he has no control over his arm.

In no time at all the nurse and I get him disconnected from tubes and dressed in his own clothes. We laugh as we have to "set his arm aside" which he puts his tshirt on. While wrestling with the sling, my hand slips and his arm falls limply to his side. We laugh. He gets to ride in a wheelchair to the valet retrieved car. He *is* still a little woozy from the drugs.

We go straight to fill his prescription for pain meds. The doctor assures us he will need them when the block wears off. After settling him in on the couch, I return to pick up the meds and then I go directly to pick up dinner at Chipotle since he had been fasting all day. We eat dinner together on the couches with the roommate, eating our burrito bowls and laughing about not being able to will his thumb to move. Then we snuggle on the couch and watch movies.

The next day feeling has returned to his arm and with it pain. The meds work but also keep him asleep off and on throughout the day. I administer pills and water as well as wash some clothes, clean the bathrooms, go shopping for dinner supplies. It's hard to leave him the next day but he assures me he's fine and I drop him off at class on my way out of town. I look forward to hearing what the doctor has to say today at the follow up appointment!

Despite the heartaches that inevitably come with the job, I just love being a mom. Best. job. ever.

3 a.m. and the police are at the door!

That's never a good way to wake up. My thoughts immediately start to race. Did something happen to our college son? Did someone break into the cars? Did something happen to a neighbor?

No. We back up to an apartment complex and a gal had gotten into a fight with her boyfriend. He threw her Prius keys over the fence into our backyard. In the middle of the night. Now the policeman wants to search our backyard. In the rain. He is apologetic. I feel sorry for HIM having to wake us and search around in the dark and the rain.

My mind wanders as I lie in bed and can't fall back to sleep. Ephesians 4:26 comes to mind: In your anger do not sin. I like what Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary says about this verse:


If there is just occasion to express displeasure at what is wrong, and to reprove, see that it be without sin. We give place to the devil, when the first motions of sin are not grievous to our souls; when we consent to them; and when we repeat an evil deed. This teaches that as sin, if yielded unto, lets in the devil upon us, we are to resist it, keeping from all appearance of evil.


I'm sure that the man had a reason for his anger. He should be allowed to express those feelings to his girlfriend. However, his anger led him to actions he should not have effected. I'm not saying that throwing keys over a fence is a sin. But "consenting to the anger and repeating the evil deed" is. 

In case you were wondering, the policeman did not find the keys. I could NOT fall back to sleep until almost morning. Then I missed my run date with my running partner. We looked again for the keys this morning. Still nothing. 

A seemingly harmless act will now have expensive repercussions. Replacing keys can be costly! The takeaway? Think through your actions when you are angry to be sure you don't regret them later! 

Now, I'm off to make a second cup of coffee. I'm gonna need it today!

Sonlight Turns 25!

To commemorate Sonlight Curriculum's silver anniversary, they are hosting a year-long blog party on the 25th of each month. The topic for this month is Introduce us to your family. Are you just getting started homeschooling? Or do you have graduates? Or somewhere in between?

I first began homeschooling in 2000. My kids were 5 years, 2-and-a-half years and 3 months old. Since it was only Kindergarten, I was pretty confident that I could handle it, even if I did have a newborn! I had attended a homeschooling convention the month before and had found out about Sonlight at a workshop (thanks Shawne and Katy!). I ordered my materials and was so excited to be able to homeshool using BOOKS and have a plan! (Love the IGs!) Although it was challenging, that first year was so fun and it gave me the confidence to try it again the next year. And the next. And the next. Over the years, we have enjoyed our time together reading, learning, and traveling to visit many places that we had learned about.

Fast forward 15 years and now my kids are 19, 17 and 14.5. I've been homeschooling for 15 years and all of them with Sonlight, with some supplemental stuff thrown in as well as joining various co-ops and support groups. My oldest is now in college, a sophomore at the University of Florida. He used Cores A through H before going to a private high school. My second son is now a junior and is currently doing Core 300. He is dual enrolled in our local community college for math and writing, takes advanced Physics at a co-op and Italian 2 through Landry Academy. My daughter is a freshman and she is currently doing Core 100 as well as taking Geometry, Biology, Spanish 1 and Logic through PEP, a local co-op.

Although my career as a homeschool parent will draw to a close in three years, I will cherish the time we've had together: the fun, the memories and the great stories!

On a recent trip to the Eternal City

Be sure to check out what other bloggers have to say about homeschooling with Sonlight!

Sonlight Curriculum

I'm in Colorado for the Sonlight Training Conference, getting all trained up for the 2015 convention season. Sonlight is celebrating their 25 year anniversary and they have lots of cool things planned in conjunction with that.

Company luncheon in the warehouse

Clowning around with Donna of NH

I enjoy coming out here. This is my 7th training conference (one was in Florida) so it certainly feels familiar by now, but I still get a little thrill getting to go to HQ.

The indefatigable Luke giving us some computer training!
 (That's not a duck face. I caught him mid sentence.)

We had some snow on the first day, just for me because I prayed for it, but the weather started warming up after that.

We are feeling the absence of some friends who are no longer with Sonlight but we are making new friends with the new people. (Jamie of Alabama can be seen in the picture below. She's a stylish southern cutie and you can check out her blog here!)

Quick break between trainings

Sonlight has some fun stuff planned to celebrate their 25 years. One is a year-long blog party that they are hosting on the 25th of each month. Be sure to come back for my post on the 25th! If you're a Sonlighter and a blogger you can join the fun here.

Can you spot Sarita??

If you're a Sonlight and NOT a blogger you can share your Sonlight story here. Because if you are a Sonlighter you are part of the Sonlight timeline too!

Camping

Does your family enjoy camping? Ours does and our camping history goes way back to when Michael and I were first dating. About a month into our dating relationship we decided to drive up to the north Georgia mountains for a camping trip - totally on a whim! We used a small pup tent he had, grabbed a sleeping bag and some blankets, a small, single burner cookstove and drove his dad's Mazda 626. We parked somewhere along a road, hiked into the dusk and fog, picked a spot at the top of a mountain and set up our tent. It was dark by this point and foggy so we couldn't see where we were, exactly. He heated water on the single burner to make soup but spilled it on my foot. It was really hot at first but quickly turned cold. We hadn't packed for cold weather, really, coming from Florida and it was really cold that night. REALLY cold! Ice had formed on the inside of the tent. He got up in the middle of the night and called to me to poke my head out. The clouds had cleared and the stars were out and the view was AMAZING! I think I knew that night that this was the man I wanted to marry. He told me later that he was impressed that would want to go camping, that I was tough and didn't complain. {Phew! I passed the test!} I loved that he had a spirit of adventure and that he loved the outdoors and was strong, tough and manly. And that he could play the guitar. We sang songs all the way back to Florida; I drove while he strummed the guitar.

After we were married, we camped with friends in St. Petersburg (fondly calling it the DHK camping trip) even while I was pregnant. (It was at that point that I insisted on sleeping on an air mattress rather than the Ridge Rest.) We took Tommy camping when he was 6 weeks old in Michael's parents' RV. Again, it was really cold but this time we had heat! We have taken all of our kids camping, beginning when they were very young. I have a vivid memory of giving Annie a bath in a dishpan perched on a picnic table on one camping trip. She must have been about 6 months old.

Later, when we joined Redeemer, some friends of ours began a kids' camping trip to Fort Clinch. At first it was just dads and kids but since I liked camping I wheedled my way into the group. Oh the memories we made on those weekends! Tours of Ft. Clinch at night, hikes to the BFT (big fat tree), shared meals (we all loved Tracy's smoked brisket and pulled pork), swims at the beach, runs through the park. We've done this pretty regularly in fall and spring.

This past week we went again. The group has changed and evolved over time. This time we had a small group. I got up there late on the second day. I almost didn't go because it was so late. I was tired since I hadn't slept a lot the night before and I had cooked for a women's retreat at Redeemer all.day.long. But Michael and Annie were there and they were expecting me and I wanted to go. So I drove the hour to Amelia Island and I am so glad I did. Sitting around the campfire, talking to friends, sleeping cuddled up in a tent is so relaxing, so rewarding. I can't wait to go again in March! If you want to join in on the fun, shoot me an email or tell me in the comments. I can get you a spot!

The kitchen crew hard at work

Our brand new stove and coffee pot

Hanging by the fire is the BEST!

This is the BFT

The BFT is good for all ages

It really is BIG!

Another milestone

Today marks a new change in my life. Yesterday my middle child turned 16 and of course part of the day consisted of a trip to the DMV to get a driver's license. We have another driver in the household.

Although we already went through this with our first-born, I'm finding it doesn't get any easier with the second. I clearly remember the day Michael and I drive two cars to the DMV, then watched Tommy drive off to school alone. That was hard. Reeeeeeeealy hard.

I relived that day today, but this time Timothy and Annie drove off together to go to PEP.

( There goes my liiiiiifffe... running through my head)

And another string that binds my children to me is severed. 

And another little piece of my heart breaks off. 

This parenting thing is the hardest roller coaster I've ever ridden. With exhilarating peaks and steep drops, it often stops me in my tracks, gasping for breath, eyes blurred.

Today is one of those moments that quickly drops me to my knees in prayer for my children. Lord, pleeeeeeaaase keep my children safe on the road! Keep all bad drivers far from them. Give Timothy wisdom in how to handle any situation that arises.... And then I receive the required text: WE MADE IT ALIVE. 

Relief.

Gratitude. 

Tears. (I'm such a sap, I know.)

And I've got to do this aaaaaaallll over again in two years! (I just felt another hair turn grey.)

Book Review: Bread and Wine

I received this book as a Christmas gift from a dear friend. She had mentioned that when she read the book she thought of me. The title and this comment intrigued me. I wanted to lock myself in a room with a glass of Chianti and read it immediately. But since I had some unfinished books that I wanted to complete before beginning another one, I was able to wait until the new year. 

Oh my.

I am in love with Shauna Niequist! This gal is cut from my same fabric! (Except that she is a skilled writer.) I am certain we would be close friends if we ever had the chance to meet. She GETS me!

Once I started reading, I had a hard time setting this book down. And yet I wanted to savor each chapter as it was filled with such wonderful stories and, more often than not, delicious sounding recipes, so I forced myself not to rush through and read the whole book at once. 

The similarities between us are remarkable: she loves to cook but does not consider herself a good baker, she has run a marathon, she likes to have friends over, she travels, she "is a bread person" as well as a "wine person." I know there are more that are escaping me at the moment. I should have kept a log as I was going through the book! 

Of course there are differences as well: she's married to a musician, her father is a pastor, she lives up north where she battles cold temperatures, she has struggled with infertility. And yet even the differences offer me a view of life from a different peak, a familiar yet new vantage point, where the landscape is the same and yet altered. 

The book is a "collection of essays about family, friendships, and the meals that bring us together." It's a book about "food and family and faith." Can you see now why it's my kind of book?

I read parts of the book aloud to my husband, Michael, as we were driving to and from Orlando for the Disney Marathon weekend. After reading and discussing several of her essays, we decided that we wanted to be more intentional this year about gathering friends together and living in community with them around the table. What is becoming clearer and clearer to Shauna really resonated with me as well, when she says, "...that the most sacred moments, the ones in which I feel God's presence most profoundly, when I feel the goodness of the world most arrestingly, take place at the table. The particular alchemy of celebration and food, of connecting people and serving what I've made with my ownhands, comes together as more than the sum of their parts. I love the sounds and smells and textures of life at the table, hands passing bowls forks clinking against plates and bread being torn and the rhythm and energy of feeding and being fed." (p. 13) Isn't that beautiful? I feel these same things!

I am Italian. We eat meals slow, lingering around the table as we clean our plates, sip our wines, finish our conversation. Growing up, Sunday dinners were sacred. I was free to do what I pleased with friends on Saturday, but Sundays were family days and I was expected to be present. I could invite a friend, and later a boyfriend, to join us, but it was understood that I would participate in the weekly ritual. Sometimes we would go for picnics on the beach in Taormina where the meal consisted of fresh bread, a rotisserie chicken with roasted potatoes, cheese and salami. Later we'd stop for a gelato or a granita for dessert. Or we might drive "up the mountain," (Etna, a live volcano) and cook sausages on a grill in the pine forest, go for hikes, nap in a hammock strung up in the trees, throw the frisbee around. Later we would stop off at a bar for a pastry and an espresso for the adults. But mostly we would gather at the dining room table or in the glassed-in balcony on a sunny winter's day to soak up the warmth from the sun, the company and the food and eat mom's pasta, or chicken, or beef stew. 

These days we live in Florida. And when my parents are in town for the winter, we still gather at their house after church, my brother and his growing family and me with my shrinking one and we continue the tradition of eating mom's delicious home cooked meals, sometimes with friends, sometimes with just immediate family. My kids are also allowed to invite friends, and girlfriends, but they know that this is what we do on Sundays. They've learned to expect it, and now as they are getting older, to cherish it as something special that is part of the fabric of our family. It's what we do; it's who we are. Perhaps that is the main reason that I enjoyed this book so much. It's something that we are already doing and it excites me to see that there are others who think the same way I do about "life around the table." 

I agree with Shauna that it's not necessarily about the food but rather it's about "what happens when we come together, slow down, open our homes, look into one another's faces, listen to one another's stories." Personally, I am learning that life is really about relationships. It's not about success, fame, the accumulation of wealth or the next fad. The ONLY thing that will last into eternity is relationships. And what better way to foster relationships than through food? The Bible is filled with mandates to celebrate, to eat and be merry, to live together in peace and harmony with one another. From the Passover meal, to the wedding feast in Cana, to the Last Supper, the Bible illustrates for us how life around the table with others is supposed to be. 

In Psalm 23 we are told that God prepares a feast for us and that our cup runs over. I just love that mental picture of food and wine and a party and joy. Is it any coincidence that the Hebrew toast is L'chaim!? To life! 

Celebrating 20 Years!

We recently passed a milestone...our 20th wedding anniversary! I have heard from several friends who passed that same milestone and they did nothing special to celebrate. That made me sad. I really like to celebrate important dates/achievements/completions/milestones!

We decided 10 months ago that we would celebrate by going to Paris! We had both been to Paris before, just never together. Plus I had this wish of going to the very TOP of the Eiffel tower. Twenty-one years ago I had gone to the second level, but never to the top. So Michael and I had decided years ago to go to the top together.

As a special treat we also decided we would eat at the Jules Verne which is a one Michelin star restaurant located on the second level.

The trip proved to be as magical as we had imagined it would be. We visited Ile-de-la-Cite' and Notre Dame, Sainte Chappelle and le Musee du Louvre. 

We walked all over, rented bikes and biked around, took a cruise on the Seine and a tour on Les Cars Rouges.




























We rode the metro up to Montmartre and visited Sacre Coeur and saw le Moulin Rouge. We feasted on pain au chocolat, cafe', croissants, steak frittes, fromages, baguettes, vin.... and more!

But perhaps the most memorable experience was the time spent on the Eiffel tower since it WAS the whole point of the trip!

 Taxi ride to the tour to make our 1:00 lunch reservations.

 20 years and counting....!

Ahhhhh....vacation!

We just got back from a 3 day get-away. It was vacation for the kids and me but work for hubby. He likes having us along though. We like tagging along, especially when the hotel is paid for! We went to beautiful Panama City Beach! The place we stayed in was right on the beach: Sandpiper Beacon. It is a big spring break destination for the college crowd, but everything had been freshly painted. No evidence of crazy goings-on! But let me tell you, I KNOW why they call it the Redneck Riviera! Whew...

Annie said about this place, "This is the best hotel we've ever stayed at!" And she's stayed at some pretty nice ones! Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Gaylord in Orlando...The reason? the lazy river. Not because the decor was top-notch (it wasn't) or because it was brand-new (nope). She LOVED playing in the lazy river. It was small and it was indoors but it was fun!
Our room was quite nice (again, nothing fancy!). We had a two-room suite with three beds and a pull-out couch, so everyone had their own bed! (yey, no grumbling!) It also had a kitchenette which was great for breakfasts, drinks and snacks. We liked being on the top floor because the view was great!

Despite the view, the pools, the beach and the hot tub, THIS is vacation for Tommy:


He did manage to go out for a few runs. He is training for his first triathlon and Michael had hoped to do an open-water swim with him, but alas, there were jellyfish and both Tommy and Annie were stung. They looked more like jelly-worms. We saw quite a few of them washed up on shore. Strange looking things...

We did enjoy the beautiful sand and played around in it quite a bit. The water too was the perfect temperature and so clear. Darn those jellyfish!

I relaxed and enjoyed myself, but I'm in no rush to return. Not my cup of tea, I guess. I prefer the Atlantic, murky water and all!