Sex Education Resource

So many times we fight letting our children hear how the public school children learn about the birds and the bees. I don't disagree. I want my children to understand their bodies and their ability to reproduce through God's eyes. There are good resources out there for the physical aspect only that are used in the public school settings. I wanted more than that but what to use? I also found some good Christian based material, but again not perfect in my opinion.

I want my child to learn from the very beginning that the love of husband and wife is representative of the love of the Father and the Holy Spirit creating the Son. I desire to understand the Theology of the Body as explained by The Great Pope John Paul II. But how in the world do you teach your child these deep theological concepts while they are still very very young?

Unfortunately not teaching them is a bad option. Our children see and know much from TV, Internet, ads, and radio. Your first child will know much less than the younger ones but ones. So I recommend the official teaching to change based on the development of each child and their placement in the family, or maybe when they ask.

We found that with our big family my older children had many questions that we glossed over until they were around 10 to 12 years of age. Then we tried to continue to dialogue, taking it deeper. We found one book that really helped with that The Joyful Mysteries of Life by Catherine and Bernard Scherrer published by Ignatius Press.  I recommend reading this with your child. Mom to daughters and dad to sons, if possible. I made the mistake of letting our oldest just read the book on her own, and I was pregnant at the time. The book did a good job of telling her how it happened and that it was a beautiful part of God's plan. She did confront me at one point with, "I know how that happened, I read the book!"

Now this is just a starting point. I would not end with this at all. I am loving the newer resources that are coming out on the Theology of the Body studies for high school and college age.

What I don't love about this book is that is presents the "perfect" side of things. It is almost too sticky sweet. I have never seen life that way and the world has twisted the role of sex in our lives so much. This book is almost too idealistic to be at all helpful to our real world children.

What I love about this book is that it creates the words for us to start with. It gives the mechanics of sexual intercourse in a non threatening manner. I love that the language is soft and loving. I love that the reality is so pleasant that if presented the right way your children can see the truth behind the lies that society tells. I love that our beautiful faith is the basis for the facts of life.

Use this book to start your conversation with your child. Do not think you are finished when this book is over. Point out in a movie or show how the characters get it or don't get it according to our faith. Stay involved and as they hit the high school years start looking for a Theology of the body resource.

Catholic Coffee Club

The Catholic Coffee Club is a group of home-school high-school students that join together to discover and discuss the Catholic faith. We are in the area around Spring, TX. We gather once a week during the school year to discuss what we learned while reading that week’s chapter. We base our discussions on the books printed by the Midwest Theological Forum in the Didache Series. We are a group of teens that gather together to explore the faith and become friends in Christ. The teens are guided in these discussions by a few adults that also love the faith in the fullness and beauty, love the teens for who they are, and own the answer books.

Years ago I decided that I wanted my daughter to have one class that was with her peers. I believe that once a child is in high school that social time together is very important. I didn't want the study of our Faith to be reduced to just another "class" with a "grade" given. The solution was to join with some others to study religion while also accomplishing the goal of sharing my love of my faith with my high school daughter and her peers. I worked up the idea that has grown into the Catholic Coffee Club.

The group has always met at a Coffee House or somewhere that sells a good cup of Joe. As moms we both loved our daily cup and wanted our daughters to learn to let the study of their faith be a part of every aspect of their lives, even the social aspect. At first it was two young ladies and one friend from traditional school that would meet once a week and dive into a wonderful set of books teaching the faith. My goal is that these teens will learn that their faith doesn't stop when they leave school. It is up to them to continue their learning. It is a great idea to start a catholic book club. I hope and pray that as they mature into adults they will encourage their peers by inviting them to have a cup of coffee with them and discuss an great teaching of the church.

The moms purchased the answer book and we went from there. Those three girls graduated last year. We now have about 17 teens that join us. The older one stick around and do a Bible study on their own. We have grown and I have learned so much. I just hope that the teens have also. The really exciting news is that a few cyber friends from around the country have copied this idea. We also have a second group in our own area filled with another group of teens. Across town two other groups formed and pretty much follow our format. I try to keep my group organized by using a free yahoo group. This allows us to send reminders and share information very easily.

We all come prepared having read the latest chapter. We pray and invite the Holy Spirit to guide our discussion. We share any surprises that we learn from the chapter. I am amazed that I still have those "no way, I didn't know that" moments. (Pretty sad considering this is my second time through this year.) We then turn to the back of the book and spend an hour discussing the questions that are listed. This isn't so bad considering the adults have the answer books/teacher additions. We then wrap up our discussion with everyone listing their prayer request. I love hearing what is on the mind of the teens.

It is a simple and wonderful way to share your faith with your highschool kiddos. I recommend this approach to my friends with kiddos in traditional highschool as well. Meet with your son or daughter once a week in a warm setting where you can discuss the faith. Encourage them to learn and to fall in love with the study of our Catholic heritage.

Phonogram Cards

I have used almost every reading tool, game, and book out there with my wonderful children. The kids are dyslexic and I have kept searching for the perfect solution. Hours and hours we have spent trying the best new program out there.

The Riggs Institute offered me one of those programs. Their stuff is a tad expensive but I believe their program is solid. I agree with their approach. I think that the research is solid.

What I didn't love was that it is another phonogram set. It is hard for some young ones to have the skills to write the letter the way the program requires. It is another intense program. It isn't a quick fix, by any stretch of the means. I used the cards in a very simple manner, and they worked for us.

What I love about these cards is that they teach handwriting while they teach the sounds. I think this is so important. It really does help the dyslexic learning. It is a great way to help the child "touch" the letters. It is so important for some of these kiddos to connect the physical action with the sounds. Children leave these cards with beautiful handwriting.

Hich School Books for Catholic Faith Study

In our home we really believe that the study of the faith is not a subject. It is more of a way of life. That being said it is very important to understand that faith and to push your faith to grow. For the high school years it is very appropriate to take courses to study the faith in an in depth manner. I believe that the high school years is the perfect four years to offer a deep study of the faith.

Finding the right text is very difficult with this one. I felt so blessed when my friend found this serious of books from the Midwest Theological Forum. This is from their website:

"More about The Didache [DID-uh-kay] Series:
The Didache Series presents the life and doctrine of the Catholic Church in the context of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the teachings of Vatican II as witnessed by the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. The Didache Series also draws from Sacred Scripture, the lives of the Saints, and the Doctors and Fathers of the Church. It is ideal for high school and adult education, seminaries and colleges, RCIA, catechism classes, and home schooling."

My children and I have found that the books are very well written. They are not dry. They bring the faith to life. It is exciting and yet readable. They are engaging and yet very much in line with Rome. I just love these books. I would encourage any individual that is wanting to study their faith more to pick them up. Start a group and study them with friends. You might not know as much as you think you do about your faith.

What I don't love about the books is that they are long. The one on Scripture and the one on the Church are not broken down very well to use to in a homeschool setting. I would love them more if they could have broken the chapters that were 50 pages long into more digestible bites and give us around 25 chapters.
What I love about the books is that they are easy to teach with. They give so much information and the answer/teacher books really help in leading a discussion on the books. We have developed our own club based on these very texts and I will discuss those in another post.

Real Learning

This is a wonderful book. I had been homeschooling for years before I saw this book. We had moved to Houston and I began to have real issues with some of the children with learning issues. As I grew more and more discouraged at their lack of correct output I began to loose focus on my true purpose of homeschooling. A friend began to tell me about this book, she knew the author and was so excited that it was in publication. I love it and I really believe that it can help anyone learn how to focus on the true meaning of education of their child.

An Important Science Resource

Every Catholic homeschool must have a book entitled 1000 Years of Catholic Scientists. It is to be used as a resource for all science classes. Our classroom is better off having this book. I have found that for the study of science we have had a hard time finding a text that is challenging enough, while still being interesting. If it meets both of those standards it is often written in a secular manner or sometimes if it is written by certain Christian groups it might even be anti-Catholic.

I want my children, my students to grow to appreciate their faith and the world that our Creator has given them. Our wonderful Roman Catholic Church has too often been given a bad name in regards to science. When one looks closely the truth can be seen. Often the Catholic church has worked to pursue the study of all sciences. Understanding God's creation is understanding Him.

Unfortunately as those that had issues with the church for various reasons began to write the text books found much of the truth was distorted or lost. I found that as we studied science I was longing for a reference to help me balance the truth with what was reported in the text. I was so happy when I found this thin book. I am so thankful to have this. We pull it out as we use all other science text.

I have so enjoyed learning from this book. I am most thankful to the author. If you are a Catholic Homeschooling family and you want to be able to study science with a resource that will help you find the truth about many of the worlds most famous scientist then you must have this resource in your home library.

Here is the description of the book from the site that sells this valuable resource.

1000 Years of Catholic Scientists new edition
Did someone say that good Catholics can't be good scientists? Never have been, never will be? Have they heard of Pasteur? Of Lavoisier? Of the Ampere whose name is abbreviated on most of the electrical appliances in your house? Using the Catholic Encyclopedia, now on line, along with her personal background in science and a network of other resources, Jane Meyerhofer has composed this list of nearly 200 eminent Catholic scientists since the tenth century. Find them in every century, in every field of endeavor. In the new edition, scientists are listed chronologically, with an alphabetic index. This is much easier to use, and -- though it is intended as a reference book, the list actually makes a very interesting read, straight through. Mrs. Meyerhofer is a homeschooling Mother of four (so far) and did all this between the peanut butter and lullabies. It is a great work of intelligent love.

Student Planners

I am so excited to discover that these student planners that I fell in love with years ago have gone down in cost. In fact I have avoided getting them for the past few years and then out of the blue the company sent me a sample of the 2009-2010 version. As soon as I saw it I fell in love with it all over again.

This is a beautiful student planner. It can be ordered in a Catholic version, Christian, or Lutheran. I absolutely love the Catholic version. The day's saints are listed. The next Sunday's gospel is printed at the top of the weeks page spread. The pages are outlines in the church's seasonal colors. A Christian word is highlighted and defined each week. The Homeschool teacher in me loves the selections for the subjects in the elementary edition: Religion, Science, Math, Social Studies, Reading/English/Language Arts, and a blank column. At the bottom of the page is a spot to list weekly prayer request and the side has room for a weekly spelling list. Then if that were not enough all of the extras are wonderful. The prayers inside the front and back covers are very nice. Tons of other extras also that include science, literature, grammar, math, writing, and so much more. The Catholic version also includes an imprimatur from the Most Reverend Robert Hermann from the St. Louis Archdiocese.


As you can see Creative Communications offers these helpful student planners for all ages. I found the planners to be so much better than the general ones that can be purchased with your other school supplies. This appears to be a young company that caters to Christian schools of all sorts. Their product works wonderfully with the homeschooler as well. I think I might give one of their teacher planners a try.


Give the planners a try, I think you might be pleasantly surprised.

http://www.goodnewsplanners.com/

All pictures came from the above listed website.

Timeline update

I really had hoped to reach my goal of having it available by last weekend. I have run into a huge problem. The program I used to create the pages is not compatible with the program I plan to use to share these pages free of charge to you. I have the time line ready to go except that it is taking time to convert each page into the correct format so that I can then upload them. I am sorry that this is taking me more time that I planned. I will be out of town this weekend but by the end of the month I should have it finished. I am so sorry for the delay. My own children are now pushing as they want to restart, cleaner looking time lines.

What book have you found to be the most helpful during the course of homeschooling?

There are so many Catholic home schooling books. They all help a little but the book that has given me the most help in these years while the kiddos are at home has nothing to do with home schooling. I Should Have Seen It Coming When The Rabbit Died by Teresa Blomingdale is a book that I go back to over and over again. It was first printed in 1979 and was one of my mom’s paperback books. I read it when the older ones were young because the title looked funny. The author had ten children in 12 years. She was a mom from the late 50s and the 60s. She loved her family and children. She was Catholic and the book is about her experience of having ten children as a Catholic woman. She writes with so much humor and love. Her children all went to Catholic School but her drive and passion for her children is like mine.

After the author tells many amusing and moving tales of her children the book ends with an Epilogue chapter. The title is “The best is yet to be” and this is my favorite part of the book. The author describes various conversations that she had with her father as she grew up. He would always tell her not to worry because the best was yet to be. She was very sad that he passed away before her oldest son got married. She describes how she couldn’t wait for college, then a job, then true love, then marriage, then children etc. etc. etc. She says that she thought watching her young children open gifts at Christmas was the best it could ever be, but her father tells her the “best is yet to be”. She understands that statement more fully later when she enjoys watching her older children helping their younger siblings on another Christmas morning.

The book ends as she looks over the ceremony of her son’s wedding. She ponders how it could ever be better than this moment. A beautiful Mass with her son so in love with his bride on the alter surrounded by all the siblings. Everyone is there dressed to the nines. They are all with God in church and together as a family, except for her deceased father. As she wonders how any moment could ever compare to the joy she feels right then she hears her father whisper to her. She knows he is whispering from heaven to tell her, “The BEST is yet to be.”

There have been many times when things are bad in our family life. Like when we had to decide what to do with the one that needed open heart surgery. There have been many joyous moments. At every one I hear those words and am reminded of heaven. This silly little paperback book written years ago has helped me to remain focused on Him and on heaven. For the my family, heaven is the reason we home school.

How have you taken advantage of having home schooled children?

We take trips when we want. We do school when we want. We sleep in and stay of late talking. We help people when we see a need. We can always do school later if someone needs our help today. If we are sick we don’t school. We have been able to go on trips with Dad.

Years back I was hurt in a car accident. We ended the school year early but still learned so much about feet while we watched mine heal. The girls learned to cook, clean and run the house all while I was in a wheelchair and pregnant with number 7. The kids learned compassion and so much about pregnancy that summer.

I love the group learning. I think it has helped us all learn so much more. We can do that being homeschooled.

If your children were offered a Catholic School education for free would you send your children?

We have had offers over the years and have always said no. The cost of a good Catholic school is not the reason we homeschool. As our oldest grew the schools wanted her on their teams and in their classrooms. She would have made them look good. The offers were never ones that would be better for our children just better for the schools.

Extended family tried to get the kids in school that way. One family member had someone from the parish approach us and offer to pay for the children’s education at the parish school. I suspect family was behind that first offer and that they would really have been paying. At first we were a littel temped but then that same year the new principal banned rosaries from the campus. (Hello Catholic School here!) She thought they were too much of a distraction for the students and forbad them. No rosary was allowed in the pocket or anything. If she saw it, the child would be punished. I knew then that there was no way our children would ever spend time in that building. Later that principal was fired but I have always wondered if any children have lost their faith because of her years.

In all honesty no one cares about my children as much and their father and I do. We are the only ones that will answer to God for them. No teacher will ever care for them that much. Unless of illness, death or some other extreme situation we will never put them in school, at least I have yet to see one that can measure up.

What are some reasons you decided to home school?

Year before I met my husband I met an incredible family. This family was unique in that they homeschooled. The mom said that it was because she wanted a stronger faith instruction for her children. These kids were the coolest kids I had ever met. They were all beautiful and smart. They were all very athletic and had an incredible love for life and each other, even the cousins. These were not dorky kids at all. They were a part of the community in their social work, volunteered at church, had jobs and yet were kept home for school.

These teens and young adults went to Mass everyday, they prayed the rosary as a group just about every day, they stomped each other at some game (soccer, football, waffle ball, hoops etc. ) every day. The more I spent time around them the more I wanted to get to know Christ. My faith grew so much just being around these people. Where did that passion come from?

I think it had to do with the fact that they were home schooled. Their moms pulled them out of the strong Catholic school because the faith wasn’t a strong enough part of the day. These were fun people who were real. They could have cared less what I thought of them. I asked my friend where that came from. He said it was home schooling. He was allowed to grow up with confidence because his mom believed in him and he had never heard to the contrary. I was in love with my faith but couldn’t share it like these kids. I decided then I wanted that passion and self confidence for my children if I was ever lucky enough to get married.

Convincing dad was another issue. As it turned out is was God's will. I still thank him for allowing me to see that humble example in my young life.

Do your children enjoy learning?

Learning is very natural. I do not know if I would say enjoy because it is just a part of our daily life. My children are curious about everything. When they want more information on a topic they find it. They have learned to see their passions in everything.

Our oldest son struggles with reading and yet loves to learn about history. He also loves cameras, picture taking, computers and being creative. While watching a history show about an Egyptian pyramid he commented that he was enjoying the show. He seamed a little too interested. I had not known that he like Egyptian history that much. I asked why he liked this so much. At the next commercial break he explained.

He saw his passions of history and of filming put together. He said that he would love to know history and filming enough to get to be the person that films those types of shows. He understood that to be in a pyramid he would need to understand history so as not stand in the wrong place. He would have to know where the camera had to film. He would also need to know quit a bit about filming so that moments of discovery would not be lost. You can't reopen a tomb if your filming was bad.

These kinds of things show me that my children are learning all the time. They have learned how to learn. I didn't need to point out all careers involved in the show we watched. My son thought that one through on his own. He wasn't wanting to be the host, he wants to be the camera man. He was looking at the entire picture not just what was in front of him. He was thinking and that is what real learning is all about.

Has homeschooling helped your children to be more able and willing to stand up for what they believe?

Their faith is their life. It is part of everything we do. They can not imagine things happening without their faith. They have never had the misfortune of seeing things happen outside of faith. Yes I think they stand up for it all the time without even knowing they are doing anything special.

A few years back the then 5 year old noticed that one of the swim team coaches said something about not knowing who The Blessed Mother Mary was. This child took her coach the small statue she had bought on vacation the previous summer to give to her. I was worried she would offend the girl. My daughter didn’t care. She said, “Our coach needs to know Mary. She doesn’t know her and Mary wants to get close to her.” Our daughter gave it to her with great confidence. Two years later this same daughter was having a bad day at swim team. This coach told her not to get upset. She told her, “I know that your friend Mary would want you to be strong. I still have her on my dresser. I talk to Her every day!” Wow, our strong willed daughter is spreading her faith without even knowing.

Do your children seem strong in their faith as a result of homeschooling?

On 9-11, I watched the beauty of home schooling unfold as my family reacted to the shock of this attack. We were at Mass that morning. One of the old guys told us something bad had happened as we walked into church. We smiled and told him we would pray. Nothing was said during Mass, we stood outside and talked with friends before heading home. On the way home we turned the radio on. As we passed another Catholic church we heard the announcer saying, “Oh my God, a second plane has just flown into the second tower.” We made the sign of the cross and prayed devoutly the rest of the way home. At home we watched the news for about one hour. Then our oldest walked up to the television and turned it off. Dad and I are both news junkies. We were like, “What are you doing?” In response she handed us a rosary.

Later that night we had volleyball practice and soccer practice. The church offered a Mass, and we went and then to practice. We found that at practice these other kids needed to talk and understand. My kids had already spent the day doing that. These kids had not been allowed to think for themselves at school, and they all went to Catholic school. It was at practice with our Dad that these other children got to say, “Are we going to be ok?” My husband told them as long as they stayed close to God they would be fine. They had not heard that at school, or from their parents. Their parents had just not had the time with them. My children looked at the real world and could respond with their faith, these other children needed to be told how to respond. They needed to be reminded to respond with faith.

Our faith isn’t a test we pass at 10:00am every morning, it is our lives. The joy of a new baby coupled with mom and dad’s fear of how to pay the bills. The trauma of a death in the community or the result of a hurricane are real like situations. They all are handled with prayer. That is our real faith and home school children see it in action all the time.

What are some negative effects you see in homeschooling?

As a mom I don’t get alone time. It is so important for us moms to have some social interaction of our own. It becomes limited when home schooling. I have to search it out to get it.

For the kids I see a wondering what school would be like. I don’t think it is really a disadvantage. They also get to see mom at her worst. I don’t know if this is really bad or not. Some kids that go to school just think mom has an easy day cleaning, laundry and running errands. They don’t see her stress out when a bill is due and there is no money to pay it. Some might think this is a good thing. I don’t. I think it is unrealistic. My kids see the good and the bad.

What are some positive effects you see in homeschooling?

The most important effect I have seen is self confidence.

This is an old example but still very appropriate. Many years back we were at the home of relatives. Many extended family members was there. One of the Aunts corners me and begins a conversation out of the blue. She is telling me how concerned she is about the social life of our children, (I don’t even think she knew their names but was still concerned for their socialization.) It seamed beyond her comprehension how I could even consider that my daughter was getting all the interaction that she needed.

While I was trying to truly listen with charity knowing that another family member had set her up. I watched a scene in the corner of my eye. I watched this kind woman’s heavyset grandson. He was awkward in his actions. He was about 9 or 10 and would not look any body in the eye. He was hiding under the kitchen table where his grandmother and I were talking. My oldest (who was apparently so anti social that she was considered a freak by family) walked up to the table, pulled back a chair. She was only about 7 at the time. I watched her coax this “well adjusted schooled” child from under the table and down to the basement to join the other kids while they were playing. She wasn’t told to include him and she had never met him. I watched her just be Christian and work to include someone when that person was having a hard time. It was so ironic to watch while I was being shown the ‘truth’ by well meaning family.

My children are very aware of each other and others. They are kind, polite and thoughtful. They remember everything, we have huge discussions as we pray for people at night prayer time. I have watched them help at functions put on by schools, they always help clean up and never leave someone out. I never see those same things in school children.

I see this strong character in each of my children. I see children that are polite, kind, trusting, helpful and independent thinkers. They value heaven and they know Christ. I ask for a more important positive effect from homeschooling.

Are your children responsible enough to one day have a family? If so, how has homeschooling influenced this?

An example from our daily life might illustrate my answer. Dad and I were sitting in our bed room just off the family room. A candle was lit on the coffee table as it usually is. We heard a scream and cries which we often hear. As it turns out the four year old had been ‘reading’ a piece paper that she kept moving closer to the light. It caught on fire. The little one froze and did nothing as this paper burned in her hand. We heard the 10 year old screech and looked out to see the 11 year old pushing the four year old out of harms way, taking the paper and shoving it into a cup of coffee that was sitting there. That was impressive to us. At 11 I would have been frozen, this young one took action. We have seen things like this over and over again.

Home school kids are in the real world. Our son didn’t need to go to a special presentation from a fire fighter to learn not to panic and what to do. He knew he needed liquid and fast. He didn’t wait for an adult to ‘give him permission’ to react he just took care of things. In one week I can give you 100 stories just like this. Kids in school wait to told to try something, to do something etc.etc. Home school kids seam to not be afraid of life. They understand family. They do not get to hide from their family at school. I feel that a home school family has a more rounded and real family life.

Yes they are responsible enough to one day have their own families. I think that also have a better idea of what to expect. More realistic.

Do your children interact with children from all age groups better than most children their age?

It seams that no matter where we go our children are sought out. Other children love to be around them. I think that has to do with the fact that they are friends with children from all ages. They have never known age as a boundary like children in school do. They can talk to adults and babies alike.

I got an email today from a gentleman in the neighborhood and the parish we just switched out of. He emailed asking why he hadn’t seen us. I replied that we left the parish. He quickly emailed back explaining that he had wanted to talk to dad and I about our children. A few of our children had done him a favor the summer before. We had helped his family move some boxes. The man said that he was very impressed with our children.

This neighbor said that he and his wife still discuss how articulate and fun these young people were to interact with that afternoon. He commented that he had never seen such young people act so mature when needed. He also pointed out that they were also able to play with his children at the same time. He had been thinking about and after six months still felt compelled to point it out.

Are you children, especially your older children open to big families?

Oh My gosh YES!!! Our oldest has been reminding me that she will go away to college soon. She wants us to have another one so she can get to know him/her before she goes to college. Our last one was a shock. To be honest mom and dad were taken back by this news. It wasn’t in our plans but all of the children were ecstatic. I can not even begin to describe the joy we can see in each of their faces when they share in the joy of a new life.

They all seam to want to have bigger families when they get older. One says that says she might not home school her six because it would be very hard to be a doctor and a home schooling mom. She also feels that six is all she will have. I don’t think that she realizes that is a large number. Another has always said that she wants a dozen. One is undecided between being a nun or having 14. I just pray that they are open to what God wants of them. It is very contrary to society but I do hope that they can accept God's will no matter what it might be. I have tried to teach them the skills and a strong faith base to handle things if God has in a path that doesn’t include children. I know it would be hard but I am confident that they will accept his will and continue to love God. If any of them can not have children it will be very hard.

How has having children with learning disabilities affected the older student/sibling?

That is a very interesting question. Our oldest has never known any different. At times she would follow my example and get angry that they were not catching on. I think she thought, like I did, that they were just lazy and not really trying. That frustrated her to no end. She was also worried about ourside family and what she would say to them. It did become easier for her when we found out about the ‘disabilities’ we were looking at and actually labeled them. She let me do the research but always wanted an update. She often offered her opinions that helped me decide what issues we were dealing with.

She also defended them at times. She was in a girls group for awhile and when the next daughter joined; the other girls made fun of her for not reading. Our oldest wasted no time in defending her sister. She wasn’t embarrassed by her. That would be different if they were in school, I think. Our oldest felt like she had invested herself in raising and teaching her sister right along with me. She felt a little guilty that her sister wasn’t reading, just like like I did. She also saw how hard her sister really worked to read one word, she saw for herself that her sister was very smart even though it didn’t look to this group of girls.

Last year we decided that the math program we were using was too difficult for the ones with the learning issues. I would never have thought that our oldest had learning issues and yet she asked if she could change programs as well. In all of our searching for what worked in the other kiddos the oldest paid close attention to her own learning styles. She now asks for stuff that works better for her. I think that will give her a huge advantage in college. She will know how to search out help if she needs it. Knowing when to ask for help is an important skill to learn in life.

I don't think she is burdened by any of it. I really believe she is a better student based on her siblings and their issues. If anything she has learned the kindness and compasion that we all need to succeed in life. She is closer to heaven having had to learn to deal with it all.

How has having children with learning disabilities affected school?

One is the way that we are affected by the learning disabilities is the way in which we school. My kiddos that can’t read still want to learn. I don’t want them to be denied the history and the science that they love. So we group many classes together. We do history as one big read aloud and adventure as a group. Younger ones do not work on a time-line but the older ones (3rd grade and up) must prepare the picture while mom reads the history. You will then add your item to your own timeline.

We have done science work as a group also with mom doing most of the reading aloud. Everyone has their own notebook. Each must copy notes off the board and add to their books. Mom helps to create the notes by writing the high lights on the chalk board. Hopefully this is also helping to prepare them with note taking on lectures. These science binders where the notes are stored are fun. They make the science touchable.

Most of our subjects are done as a group. This does not included the high school students. I feel that high school needs to be more independent. This is when the child is preparing for college work. It is truly when the student needs to take over the learning process. It isn't hard because the foundation has been set.

The other way the learning disabilities have affected us is not as positive of an observation. Having the non-readers come along really seeded doubt in me. I worried so much that I was failing them by not putting them in school to learn how to read. By becoming friends with moms in similar situations I gained the confidence that I needed to persevere. I have found that we need to maintain a little more privacy in how we home school. More privacy in where each child is or isn't. I will not reveal in present terms where exactly we are or are not.

My in-laws do not like that we home school and they would often use the non-readers as reasons to try to push school. I can not even begin to tell you the number of family “fights” that have started by outside family trying to convince us, our friends and even our priest to force us to send the kids to school. We have even had legal issues threatened. That makes us very nervous.

I know that each of the children are learning. They grow in their knowledge and ability every day. I am thankful that we have been in Texas where the law has been on our side. Showing progression is not that difficult but it can look bad if you just compare a child with learning issues to the public school peer. The true peers with learning issues often have very low self esteem but on paper look like they are doing so much better. I know that we are better off but it does require me to be a little more private about where the non-readers truly are in their scholastic endeavors.

How has having children in all age groups/a big family affected school?

I used to think that the different ages could really make it difficult at times. Then I was put into place many years ago by another home schooling mother. This woman had 16 kids at the time and I was just pregnant with number 6. I remember asking her a question that I thought was very profound and her answer shocked me. She started her reply with, “Well if I ONLY had 6, I would blah, blah, blah.” I had never thought of it that way but she reminded me that the ages, the numbers, the personalities that I had were all from God. Someone else always has it worse and someone else has it better. It just depended on how they looked at it. I decided right then that until I had 16 like she did I would never complain or allow myself to use the number or age range as an excuse to not learn. We might learn differently but we would still learn.

It would be a lie to say that our school day isn’t influenced at all by the ages. I can’t even begin to say how many times we stop a lesson to deal with a very poopy diaper, or stopping because one of the little ones is running through the room with a knife. It is a good day when the older ones sit still no matter what the distraction.

To be honest the biggest issue we deal with is dad working from home and not the babies. He often comes in to share news, or ask my help or wants to kiddos to talk to his mom or whatever. He is our principal so we try to not get too upset and he tries to only interrupt when it is important. I love that we are all together to get good or bad news. We can pray right away and I don’t have to wait for people to get off an ugly old school bus before I tell the kids.

What are some ways you have used family life to influence school?

We start the day with prayer. We first begin by talking about what family news we might have or reminding each other of what we might need to pray for. Like our family friend might need special prayers because of a medical test she is having done today, etc. We might also remind them that dad will not be home all day today, that is odd for us because dad works from a home office, or that mom and dad might be going shopping that afternoon. During our brief time in a group in the morning everyone is present, except dad. I have nursed babies during this time and now the 2-year old must color in her book. It is as much family time as it is school time. The two are the same thing in our home.

What are some ways you have incorporated school into family life?

Home school is part of us. We have never done any other form of school. Learning is very natural. We all have a desire to learn about things that interest us. Being a home schooling family means we dive into things we really love.

Last semester we studied Ancient Egypt. We read aloud from books on Ancient Egypt every day. We watched movies about Egypt. When we went to visit family in St. Louis we made sure to fit in a visit to the museum that had three mummies and a huge Egyptian display.

Last year we focused on Astronomy that meant that as a family we held passes to NASA and we often cuddled around to TV to watch the latest show about the planets. One child got a telescope for Christmas last year. We all enjoyed watching the stars with him.

We try to study many things as a group even though we are different ages. That way we can have great conversations and our trips can interest everyone. The younger kids don’t get as much out of it and don’t take notes like the big kiddos. They are learning though. When we come back around to those subjects they will already know some of it.

There is no incorporation needed it is just who we are!

Heaven is the goal!

(originally written in 2005)

So you are home schooling your children and you have had a friend over to play with your 4th grader. This kid is smart. He plays the piano, he is in advanced classes all across the board, you about pass out when he starts quoting a book that you didn’t even read until college. You then look back at your beautiful 10 year old son. This poor boy cannot read at all. It is near impossible to read what he attempts to write. His work is always sloppy and he would do anything to get out of the classroom. You send his friend home and begin to really judge your son. How can he be this lazy and unmotivated? What, how dare you judge your own son that way?

What am I talking about? Your son will need to lead a family some day; he must learn his math and his reading. He will need to provide for a wife and children (God willing) or better yet run a parish, a diocese, or maybe even the entire Catholic Church. Wow, how can you see your little under achiever as the pontiff. Those men need to know several languages and you can not even master English. Maybe you should put him back in school. Will that be the best for him?

Let’s think about that idea for a moment. If your child was in school you would be on his side and not out to point out his faults. Why have you abandoned him? He still needs your support. He still needs you to see his potential. If a teacher was telling you how slow your son is, you would be pointing out how smart he is. You would remind her that he comes home every day sharing what he has learned. You would be pointing out that he is the only one in the family that knows anything about hooking up the DVD player or getting the computers running. He might not be reading but he is brilliant.

Now you are the teacher and the mom. You have to see both sides. You need to see him like Christ does. The Father created your son; of course He knows his faults. Remember our Lord sees the complete package. He sees the child as a temple for the Holy Spirit. He sees the potential and the love. It is so hard, but that is what we are called to see. The math and the reading are very important but Heaven is the real goal. Don’t ever forget that.

Where we started

(originally written in 2006)

Are you a new homeschooling parent and wondering if you will ever feel at ease with what you are doing? Have you been homeschooling for a long time and wonder if you will ever feel comfortable? Did your best friend convince you to try it and said you would love it, but you can not see why?

For me it took 10 ½ years before I felt completely at ease with it. I have had many friends start homeschooling and give up. It always makes me so sad. Why did we keep going while others get overwhelmed and stop?

I always knew that I was supposed to be homeschooling. It is my call. I had always wanted to be a teacher so when I found out that I was pregnant. My husband and I decided that I shouldn’t continue to take out student loans to learn to teach someone kids. I would have my own child to work on.

I had always wanted to homeschool. My husband didn’t want me to. We knew that we would be not using public schools. Our Catholic faith meant so much to us that we would do anything to see that their education was from the parochial schools, just as ours had been.

We prepared our first for the beginning of school and toured the facilities of our parish. We took her in for the state testing and in to the school for their testing. She had so much anxiety that afternoon. She faced it with Grace and style and she would prove to do as time went on over and over again. She would have handled school with ease if we had sent her. Her father stated to worry that she would not be challenged because she was clearly very smart. So just in case I also gathered some information about different homeschool programs as we prepared all the paperwork for her to enter the private school.

We received a note telling us about the expenses for the year, uniform fittings, and to send in payments by certain dates. In this same mailing was letter telling us that there was not a spot for our daughter because they had too many children in the class already. We had turned stuff in early and had jumped through every hoop. She was number four on the waiting lists. She should just wait until a spot opened. I was so upset, we had sat down with the pastor and discussed this very subject when we registered in the parish. At that time we were assured that every child would have a spot in the classroom.

We sat on that note for two weeks. We were very upset. Did the pastor lie to us? In retrospect I am sure he did not, but it felt like he did at the time. I sat there one afternoon looking over the packet of information I had just received from one of the Catholic Homeschool providers. My child would excel with these books. The cost would be much less. What would everyone say? My mind was spinning. Dad was home that afternoon. He came down to the kitchen to see me looking over these books.

When the phone rang he took my spot at the table and let me get the call. As it turned out it was the school. They were upset because I had not sent in my last required pre-payment for our daughter’s tuition. I asked what the payment was for considering they didn’t have a spot as of yet for my daughter. School was to start a few weeks later and they still had her on the waiting list at number 4. One student had dropped out but another younger sibling of a current student got that spot.

The secretary was rude as she asked for the payment and laughed when I asked why I should send payment in for class. While at the same time she was telling me that I needed to get our daughter registered for public school and let her go for about three weeks. By then a spot would open. That would be only if I had sent the next two payments in by the end of the week.

Looking back I am very thankful that the secretary was so rude that day. It was just enough to get my husband thinking. We knew that public school wouldn’t happen and we were now very angry that this school needed several thousand dollars by the end of the week to hold our daughter’s spot even though she didn’t have a spot. He told me, “Let’s homeschool one year. We will see how it goes and we can put her in school next year. If it works we will talk next year about what we should do.”

We have been on a “one year at a time” basis every since. Man that is a long way until retirement. So far I will be teaching until the school year of 2024-2025. I would give up at that thought alone if I haven’t seen all the reasons of why I do this. It feels like it will never end. We reserve the right to put them in school if it is ever needed. I pray that will never be the case. I love what we do and how we do it.

That is a huge investment. But it is more worth it that I could ever put into words. We have faced many challenges and I am sure God has many more in store for us. I am confidant that with his care we can continue on.

The proof really is in the pudding. We have spent years around other schooled children. We have seen the bad right along with those parents. I know we made the decision that we were supposed to make. The homeschool movement has changed so much over the past decade. I can only imagine where it is headed. Our children are well behaved, they love to learn, they are kind, gracious and smart. Those qualities will help them get into heaven. That is all the truly matters and that is what keeps us going.

When will you put them in school?

I am often amazed when a family member will comment over and over again about how well behaved my children are.

You are such a wonderful mother! They are such great kids. You have done such a
great job. They are so well behaved in a restaurant. They are so good at church!
How do you teach them how to talk to people? They act so mature and yet still
have so much fun. How do you teach that?

Then I always get that next question,

When do you think you will put them into school?

I hate that question because it is already implying that we are failing. This is what I hear when they ask that question.

When will you just admit this isn't working? When will you love your children
enough to do what is best for them? When you let go of the fantasy of
homeschooling because we are tired of being embarrassed to say that you Homeschool the children!

HELLO, maybe they are so great because they have never been in school.
Did you ever think of that!?!??!

Am I the only one that can see that?

Special words

There are many educators out there that have helped me to form my ideas on educating in realation to faith. One would be Charlotte Mason. I like to make notes of some of her words as I refresh my own passion for educating my children.


In Home Education she is quoted as saying:

Let us save Christianity for our children by bringing them into allegiance to Christ the King!

Thougths on Dsylexia from email 1-09

The problem with the term dyslexia is that is covers so many variations of a way of learning and processing information. There are a million different sources with a million different ideas. My thoughts are that is is just a way in which the mind in some people works. I have 9 kiddos and each one has issues at different levels. I don't like the term learning disability because they are not disabled just different. The trick if finding what works for the individual.

A lot will depend on how old this child is. It is very hard to diagnose anything if the child is under 7. Developmentally sometimes reading is hard until a child is older than 7 but by 7 they should pick out the letters OK. Letters may move around on a page for any child until about 7 and writing letters and numbers backwards can be very common.

If the child is in school, the schools tend to try to label right away. In the case of dyslexia it is dangerous to diagnose to early. Remember this is not an illness just a learning style. It is hard to remember that when talking to teachers, counselors, and doctors. I found that the book that helped me the most was a book called: The Gift of Dyslexia. The first half of the book opened my mind into how this type of mind works and thinks. The second half of the book offers a trick to fix dyslexia. I did not find that part helpful at all. I also trust the information gathered about the dyslexic from that same author at this website: http://www.dyslexia.com/library/symptoms.htm

We struggle with reading issues and comprehension issues and even with one child writing issues. I still find that my children are very smart and I try to encourage learning in spite of their issues. I think that the hardest thing is the self esteem issues and not the actually learning. We try to keep in mind every day that our goal is heaven and any thing else is just gravy. I find comfort in knowing that there will be no reading test to get into heaven. I think they still need to learn to read but being kind to others is the most important, even in learning how to read. I hope this helps. I wish I had more time to write stuff but that website should be a good vantage point to take off from.

Time Line Template Coming Soon

I have had many discussions with friends about how to teach History in a way that brings it alive and ties everything together. I keep Math separate but almost everything else can be taught with the aid of a time line. Our approach is to use it as the base for most other studies. We put everything into ours and love using it.

I like what we have but have wanted to improve it for years. Pooker is done but even Moogie wants to revamp as we have gone in and out of using ours. I first made our time lines about 10 years ago. Now with the use of better computers I want to update and make it a tad more appealing to the eyes.


I will soon add a link so that you can print your own copies. I will also add a history of how we developed it and how we use it. I will give complete instructions with some tips. This is in the works and will be up by mid-month (Feb 15Th) at the very latest. I just wanted you all to know that I have not forgotten it and that I am working on it now.

Dyslexia isn't an end to home education!

I have been homeschooling my children for ever is seams and we deal with the same issues. I have 9 children. All of them have different learning styles. Some are way more difficult to adapt to than others. The bad news is that nothing will fix this. I hate that we use the term "diagnosed". We are not talking about an illness here, medicine will not make it better. We are really talking about a way of thinking. The brain is working differently for these individuals than for others, and that isn't a bad thing. That was the hardest thing for me to understand.

What really helped with that was reading a book called "The Gift of Dyslexia" (click on the title and it will take you to a visual of the book). The book is in two parts. The first part is wonderful and lovingly explains the mind and how it works for a dyslexic. I felt like I could once again understand my children. It was worded so positively and not too technical. Very good read. Ignore the second half of the book. It is an odd approach to try to "fix" it. I found that part goofy at best.

Math U See is wonderful for this situation. I switched programs for younger children and had my then high school freshman want to retake all math. She had never understood it even though she was doing well. She worked her way through each book her freshmen year. It was the best investment of money for me and time for her. I love Math U See. I have heard some people complain about how it prepares one for the SAT though, or I should say doesn't. BUT we haven't experienced that issue ourselves yet. The other children are making progress as well.

Please do not stress about this. You have discovered your child in a way at a very young age and there are many things that you can do to help that child adapt to school world. Please do not run out and buy tons of new programs to help. They are all very costly and often not very effective. You will to do lots of reading aloud. Get audio books from the library, etc, etc.

There are many cognitive training programs out there that will help with processing speeds and such. Some are a little too advanced for a 7 year old. Looking back I wish I had stressed less and spent more time with hands on stuff. My children thrive with art, living history, science projects etc.etc. When you can afford it I would recommend looking into the PACE program. It will be costly but worth it. A friend of mine runs a business in the Woodlands with this program. She teaching/trains with the PACE program out of her home. Her business is called The Woodlands Learning Center. http://www.thewoodl andslearningcent er.com/main. html

There is another home version of the same type of program. I have listened to talks and have a few products from Little Giant Steps. I have not used their new complete program or had my children evaluated, so I can not say the true value but it looks good. And in Theory I agree with the approach and philosophy behind these programs. http://www.littlegi antsteps. com/index. php


We love our timeline approach to history and it really seams to help this type of leaner. We pick a time frame and read book that are suggested by Designing your own Classical Curriculum. We then read together many of these books and add pictures from the Internet to our homemade time lines. We like to look at our time lines as photo albums for His family. We include saints, science, politicians.

As your son gets a tad older. I would recommend Apologia science. They have a younger program that starts about 4Th grade. We do them all together as a read aloud. I love them. I do "take notes" on the board and make them copy them. Not many but a few.

Please remember. This is not a problem. It is wonderful that God has given you an insight into how your child thinks. Your child is not broken or damaged or different. This is just how it is. The world needs people that think in pictures. They are the ones that give us ideas and hope. It can be a tad different but wonderful. It is a challenge to discover how to teach someone that learns differently but I have learned so much with them.

Just enjoy this learning, it is God sent. Dyslexia

Parenting advice

The most important piece of advice any one can ever give a new parent would be to remind the new parents to never hand away their authority. That child is yours don’t ever give the authority of parent to the grandparents, the day care providers or even teachers. You were given this child and only you know what is best for the child. It is true that often people might know more about a topic that might fall into your world. If you find out your child has a deathly allergy to peanuts you would defiantly listen to the advice of a medical doctor on how best to parent this child in the immediate topic of peanut consumption. But you are still the parent. Don’t forget that. Too often as parents we choose clothes, foods, schools based on what other “experts” tell us is best for our child. This can be very dangerous.

You need to see the good qualities, not just the faults! 2-25-07

So you are home schooling your children and you have had a friend over to play with your 4th grader. This kid is smart. He plays the piano, he is in advanced classes all across the board, you about pass out when he starts quoting a book that you didn’t even read until college. You then look back at your beautiful 10 year old son. This poor boy cannot read at all. It is near impossible to read what he attempts to write. His work is always sloppy and he would do anything to get out of the classroom. You send his friend home and begin to really judge your son. How can he be this lazy and unmotivated. What, How dare you judge your own son that way.

What am I talking about. Your son will need to lead a family some day, he must learn his math and his reading. He will need to provide for a wife and children (God willing) or better yet run a parish, a diocese, or maybe even the entire Catholic church. Wow, how can you see your little under achiever as the pontiff. Those men need to know several languages and you can not even master English. Maybe you should put him back in school. Will that be the best for him.

Let’s think about that idea for a moment. If your child was in school you would be on his side and not out to point out his faults. Why have you abandoned him. He still needs your support. He still needs you to see his potential. If a teacher was telling you how slow your son is, you would be pointing out how smart he is. You would remind her that he comes home every day sharing what he has learned. You would be pointing out that he is the only one in the family that knows anything about hooking up the DVD player or getting the computers running. He might not be reading but he is brilliant.

Now you are the teacher and the mom. You have to see both sides. You need to see him like Christ does. The Father created your son, of course He knows his faults. Remember our Lord sees the complete package. He sees the child as a temple for the Holy Spirit. He sees the potential and the love. It is so hard, but that is what we are called to see.

We have one graduated! 1-3-09

January 3, 2009 is the date listed on the official transcript as the date she is finished with her high school studies. Along the way we were often asked "how do you do it?" Just remember it didn't start with her as a teenager.

Way back when our oldest was just 5 years old I had it in my heart that I wanted to home school her. Her dad did not want that for her. We had both grown up going to private Catholic grade schools and then high schools. He wanted the same for our children. So we researched both and actually enrolled her into the local Catholic School. We jumped through the hoops, took placement tests, made deposits, turned in medical records, met with teachers, signed up for volunteer lists, ordered the uniforms and then we waited. (. .and waited . . .and waited)

Her placement scores were very high and we had turned our paper work in early but there were too many kids that year. In the end our daughter was put on the waiting list and not really set for classes at all. We had never wanted her to go to public school but now she would have to start there until a spot opened. So my husband said to me, "Go ahead and try this home school thing. We will try it for one year and see how it goes."

When our daughter's peers started at school that year we began her work at home. She was a very smart young woman and loved learning. It was a fun year, full of adventure and wonderment.After the end of that first school year we took the the time to re-evaluated. We decided to try homeschooling for one more year. She started her first grade year using the complete program from Seton Home Study. This was a very intense year of study and I felt it included too much busy work. We did it all but it got difficult with all the babies running around.

Second grade was a little easier. We still used Seton but this was the last year for a pre-packaged program. I was reading so many teaching books and knew that I wanted to pick my own curriculum. I had now been teaching this child for 2 years and knew that we were on the right track. As each year passed my husband and I became more and more confidant that this was the path for our family.And so it went from there. It had started as a second choice and a last minute fill in alternative. Now homeschooling was a way of life for all of us. In the end it is a true calling from God. We took it one year at a time for 12 1/2 years. We had always thought we would send her to a Catholic High School when the time came. After moving to Texas we realized that high school would be better taught at home as well.

It hasn't always been easy but our daughter has always given her best. She has matured and learned to find balance in life with it all routed in prayer.We will offer her a graduation ceremony later in the Spring. She is currently enrolled in community college for next semester. She has graduated our program one semester early. She plans to work toward her associates and then head off to a earn a bachelors. She is interested in nursing of some sort, and is open to seeing what God has in store for her.

We are so proud as we offer the world our first graduate of our home school. We kept our daughter home and maybe protected her from some stuff. That wasn't our reason. Most importantly we offered her a world of studies that were not limited to four walls and a curriculum picked out by a board of strangers. We have nourished her social life with positive experiences and good Christian peers. We have boasted her self awareness offering her a strong education that included her faith. We have demanded that she learn to balance all aspects of her life to best form her into the kind, loving, smart, passionate person she is today. We are so proud to graduate this young woman. We offer the world a beautiful, smart, strong, educated, fun loving, well rounded woman of GOD.

I'm not the only one! Right? 9-26-07

I’m not the only one! Right?

I know that this has happened to you, at least to some degree. You are in a public place, the library, grocery store or even church, and the children are politely talking to an adult. As soon as mom enters the conversation the tone changes and that question is asked. You know the question. They always ask. I am often trying to juggle a baby that wants to nurse, catch a toddler that is trying to run, telling a teenager she can’t skip school work, answering a million voices asking why we can’t have McDonalds for lunch all while trying to assess what my little informers have shared with this total stranger. It is hard to determine “friend or foe” from the statement/question that was posed, “You Home school these children?”

This is about the time that my little informers start sharing our family ‘secrets’.
“If you can call it that, we don’t even get up until after 9:00a.m.”
“We do home school but some of us can’t read yet.”
“Mom says that because of the new born we are unschooling now.”
“We were tight on money so she hasn’t ordered my books yet.”
“This year our school work is learning how to help mom with the laundry.”
Usually the stranger can’t hear these sarcastic remarks due to the constant rumble from all the voices offering these answers. Thankfully most ‘outsiders’ are not used to hearing so many people talking at once so they can not decipher these lies (secrets. . .exaggerations . . .OK they are completely true but I don’t have a year to explain the reasons to this stranger.) This is one of those situations that I am very thankful we have a bunch of kiddos.

I try to talk loud enough to drown out all the little ones that are selling me out. “Yes, Yes, we do home school. I just love it. I have great children so they make it easy.” Maybe if I speak loud and continue talking this stranger will not hear the little ones at all. “We do a lot of group study and it really has helped our family to grow close. I would not trade it for anything in the world. The day includes several loads of laundry but other than that we get a lot done.” Hopefully this is enough information to answer the persons question and I can move on to the stranger’s next question or chase down the toddler.

The truth is this would be a funny scenario if it didn’t happen several times every day! Can you relate?

Note sent to a new friend from the pool. 8-7-08

I just wanted to plant one little seed with you for right now. You seam very concerned that you will not teach them something that they need to know. The only thing that we really need to learn in life is God's love. Now the reality of learning God's love is by learning about his earth and everything in it. I get so excited that it becomes hard to pick my words. Forgive me. My point goes back to basic Baltimore Catechism. Why did God make you? God made me to know Him, love Him, and serve Him in this world so that I can be happy with Him in the next. (or whatever) The point is that all your children must truly learn is the path to heaven. Often the school setting (even a Catholic or private school) does more harm than good in that ultimate goal of heaven.

So before we even begin to talk about programs, tests, books, or even the social issues I encourage you and your husband to look at our faith. You will find the answer there. Read the promises that you make during your child's baptism. Study the graces that are freely given to the parents who bring their child to Him. Read the catechism on baptism. Read what JP II said about the parents responsibility on education of a child. Refresh your marriage vows. Look over them. During a Catholic wedding we promise to raise our children in Him.

The grace to know what to do is given to the parents. Only mom and dad will know what is best. Don't let a grandparent, aunt or friend make that decision. Ultimately I leave that to dad as head of the family. God gives him the grace not me. That doesn't mean leave it up to him it just means that you might be surprised that while you worry about the detaills your husband might become confidant one way or another. Don't fight his confidence get strength from him. You may start homeschooling right away and you may do it in two years, you might home school for one and put them back. Just be open. God will let you know.

It does sound like He is guiding you. Do not worry. You, the Mom and Dad of a child of God can not mess up. You are not doing this alone. You will not fail. God will never allow it. What ever happens will be guided as long as you are open to it. No one will ever care about the success of your children academically or spiritually as much as you two. In my opinion you two, dad making the major decisions and mom faithfully caring them out (Just like St. Joseph leaving in the middle of the night with Mary having to make a new home.) are the only ones qualified to educate your children. Degrees do not matter. Our beautiful faith tells us that the grace to care for a child is given to us at marriage. It is a promise.

I am not trying to sound all crazy but it is the truth. You will need to concentrate on how to carry out that education. Realizing that you are the parent is sometimes the hardest thing in making the decision. I am sorry to ramble. I am just so excited every time I hear that a faithful person is trying to discern homeschooling. It is a gift from God. I cannot imagine sending a child to a stranger to care for the details that come naturally to me. Our culture tells us the opposite. It makes me angry to think about it.

In short: YES you can do it, you are called to it by baptism and marriage, you will not fail, you will love it!!!! Don't worry. Enjoy the process. I have found that when God starts to pull at your heart. The best thing to do is sit back and enjoy it. The road may get rocky but the bumps are what make the ride fun, just ask the kids who sit in the back seat.

Writing a Transcript

Where to begin is often the hardest part with anything this "official". I found that one of the tricks to remember is that my husband and I have been in charge of our children's schooling from the very beginning. Why would I approach this any differently. We are are still in charge and this official document will be created by us. This is not a stretch, even though it took me a while to feel that way.

Deciding to home school throughout high school was not an easy decision for us. I am so glad we did and I really feel it was the best approach. That is not the purpose of this post. We are here to discuss the transcript and how we did it.

When planning high school I did have an idea of the projected 4 years. I just found this free tool for helping to plan the 4 years. I didn't have it but it takes some of the work I did out of the mix. I knew in the end that the transcript would need to cover certain things to be usable to get my child into a college. I also know we needed it for scholarship applications as well. As the years went on I tried to make notes, some just mental, on all the projects that were accomplished. I didn't jot down every book read. I have friends that have done that but I didn't see the need. We made notes of all the extra curricular and the volunteer stuff as well.

A tool that I used to actually put it all together to look like a real transcript was a product called: TranscriptPro Home School Transcript Generator Developed by Inge P. Cannon and produced by Education Plus. I found this tool to honestly meet all the promises that it advertised. When it comes to organizing the information this tool is a Godsend and worth every penny I spent. I have the first edition and am limited to just 5 students. I noticed that the third edition limits you to 8.

Before starting I highly recommend that you read: The 12 Most Common Home School Transcript Errors by Inge P. Cannon at Education Plus.

We picked the look that most matched what we wanted and got started. It really was very simple plugging in our courses and assigning a grade. There are many tips out there on how to assign a grade and how to assign credit. We read them all and then with an educated mind made our own criteria. This was all while trying to remember that we were the teacher, principal, and administrator of the school.

Another good source for transcript information can be found at the HSLDA website. They even have examples in file format that you can play around with to create a transcript of your own. HSLDA Transcript information can be found here. As with everything HSLDA is a great resource.

In the end this is what I did. I searched out several examples. I found what I wanted the end result to look like. I knew my child's needs. She was using it to share just course information with the community college she was enrolling in. If she was applying for a traditional 4 year college without starting at the community college I know that the transcript might need to be tweaked a little different. So know your audience and what they are looking for.

I used the Transcript Pro product to calculate the Carnegie Units of Credit and the Grade Point Averages. I printed off their version then compared it to several copies of transcripts I found just doing a google image search. I then created one that worked best for our home school using a publication document creator from Microsoft. I did this because we never studied a foreign language. At least not hard enough to assign a credit to it. I didn't like the empty column generated from the program. We also never took classes from any other organization. She had very few standardized tests to report also.

In creating our own look within publisher I was careful to not get too creative so I followed the same format as the majority of others. I was once told by a college admissions director that it helps the college admission board to asses the home schooled student if their transcripts look like the rest. They are used to looking at those and can do so efficiently. So be careful and keep in mind that you don't want to look so different that your child's transcript gets put off because it can not be quickly reviewed. I added what she needed and took out what she didn't. In the end we had a beautiful document that accurately described her high school studies and accomplishments.

That is how I did it. If you don't want to get as creative and publish your own then use one of the many available generators. In the end the important thing is to remember you are the one that needs to do. Don't put it off. Just get it done! My daughter found such a wonderful sense of accomplishment when I should it to her. "Wow, I did do all that, didn't I? I really did do the school work just like my friends." We had never discussed grades, never. So when she actually saw what she had earned she grew very excited.

The good news is that we got it done without much issue. We are proud of the end result. We have used it to save money on car insurance (she had a B or better!) and is set up at the community college for classes next semester. We now have the official document to also send for her scholarship searches that she is now working on.