Normalizing Normal

The question of what is "normal" has come to the fore front over the last decade as our culture and laws have grasped on to ideas and behaviors that have traditionally been seen as abnormal. Within the Christian community, especially the Evangelical and conservative communities, there is a lot of talk about preventing sin from becoming "normalized" in the minds and hearts of our children. Just ask about the newest live-action "Beauty and the Beast" and tempers begin flaring over how much children should be exposed to and how much popular culture is trying "normalize" behavior and attitudes rejected by traditional Christianity.

I've sat back, listened, and wondered - What exactly is "normal"? And what, as Christians, are we supposed to consider "normal"?  Is submission and adherence to traditional Judeo-Christian values really what is "normal"?

None is righteous, no, not one;

no one understands;

no one seeks for God.

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;

no one does good,

not even one."  (Romans 3:10-12 ESV)

Over and over again in scripture, we are told all of Creation groans under the oppressive weight of sin. All of mankind is "dead in the trespasses and sin....we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind."  (Eph 2: 1, 3)  The more I read scripture, the more I realize, it is sin that is normal. 

We don't like that. We don't like that our normal state is one of sin - drunkenness, lying, cheating, murder, selfishness, extra-marital sex, homosexuality, transgender, lazy, idolatrous, blasphemous, lawlessness. That is the "normal" human condition. That is not the way mankind was created, but because of Sin, it is what is normal. In our completely natural, God-free state, that is who we are. In our normal condition, we reject everything God created us to be, and live in the passions of our flesh. We were born searching for happiness and purpose, driven by our passions and feelings to find it where ever and how ever we can. 

Yet the natural human state leaves us feeling unfulfilled. Those passions of flesh feel good for a time, but leave us wanting more, or different. As Christians, we know that fullness of life only comes from God, so we have "normalized" Christian values. We have spent decades preaching if you go to church, follow the 10 Commandments, sing "Just As I Am", deny the passions within you, and "turn to Jesus", God will find you and save you. If you run from sin, God will save you. 

The most devastating part of this, is it is a lie. We can live "good" lives. We can avoid much of the heartache and devastation sin brings. We can feel happy, and content, and prosperous. We feel good about helping the poor, keeping the 10 Commandments, and practicing the Sermon on the Mount. We can avoid all the "big", obvious sins. The lie is easy to live with. It creates a nice, yet dangerous, front that allows us to ignore the truth. In working to avoid our normal human condition, we reject the Gospel. 

The Gospel is not easy. The Gospel begins with one basic premise - We are all trapped in sin that feels good and appeals to our natural nature.  The entire Old Testament law proves we are incapable of escaping sin. The law was given to teach us what sin is (Romans 3:20)  - not to teach us how to avoid it. We have no problem sinning. We have no means, on our own, of stopping. (Though we certainly do a great job of thinking we can!)  The first thing the Gospel demands, is the painful recognition that we are all dirty, hopeless, destitute, and dead in sin. The first step of Gospel living, is recognizing I am no different than the worse of all sinners. It is realizing dealing with the "exclusively gay moment" in Beauty in the Beast may be uncomfortable not because it is normalizing sin in my mind, but because it taps into a "normal" part of me that I don't want to look at.  It is reading history, and recognizing that except by the grace of God, I am the slave owner. It is watching a passionate movie scene, and acknowledging part of me wants that.  The Law shows us that what is normal and desirable, is not acceptable in the eyes of God. 

That is where the hope of the Gospel jumps in. Sin has been conquered, and we no longer have to be slaves to our normal nature. WE become abnormal. It is not the non-believers who are different from us. WE are different from them. We are the abnormal. 

So where does that leave us when navigating through a world that is increasingly accepting of its natural condition? 

First, we need to recognize that generations of "normalizing" Judeo-Christian values within the culture has led us to this place. What we are seeing, is the world standing up and saying "This is who we are!"  After generations of enslavement to laws and traditions, the world is simply being what it naturally is. It is throwing off the chains of religion. We have been born this way, and it isn't a choice.  When we understand the depths of the power of sin, we should not be surprised when it rises up. We should not be shocked by sin. If we are shocked by it, it is because we do not comprehend its power. 

Second,  We need to remember - We are the abnormal.  Through Christ we are "new creations".  The Holy Spirit is "normalizing" in us what is not natural. It means the world should be shocked by us. It should be shocked by the love, grace, compassion, humility, joy, peace, patience, kindness, self-control, and self-sacrifice of the Holy Spirit working through us. We should be shocking. We should stand out. We should be counter-culture. Our lives should be so controlled by Christ, His death, and His resurrection, that the rest of the world takes notice - not because of the laws we demand it lives by, but because of the freedom we have to be everything it can't. The world should be shocked by the power of God within us. The world should take notice not because I demand movies, books, television, and laws conform to a God it doesn't acknowledge,  but because I am free to say, "Yes. I want to do that too, but I have something that is bigger, better, and more satisfying. I do not need to act naturally to have real joy, peace, and purpose."

Third - We need to take a very hard look at what we mean as individuals and parents by "normalizing sin".  As Christian parents, our deepest desire for our children is Christ. We want them to so desire and long for Him, that their hearts will never be satisfied until they are sitting in His presence. It takes much wisdom and discernment, and knowing each individual child, to know when we are teaching and training in righteousness, and when are we over-protecting them from the truth of the sin-filled world they live in. Are we protecting immature hearts and minds, or denying who we are outside of Christ? Are we trying to demonstrate a more glorious way, or are we hiding from the harsh reality of a fallen world?  It is hard, it is devastating, it is ugly, and it is violent, to show our children who they naturally are, who we naturally are, and what the world around them naturally is. Are we standing in the way of them experiencing their need for Christ?  Do our believing children know that the only difference between them and the "sinner" is Christ? Are they so shocked by sin, that they fail to see the tragedy of a life without God? Are we protecting our unbelieving children from their own nature to the point they are not being driven to the cross?  Do they need to see and experience normal to realize they were created for so much more than this? Is it when we step out of the way, that they will find themselves at the foot of the cross? 

Could it be, that in "normalizing sin", we can better demonstrate Christ to the world, our children, and ourselves? 

Joy Inexpressible

It has been well over a year since my last blog. The last year and a half have been very dark for me, and most days found me struggling to just get out of bed. A very long deployment put me in a place of having to confront many of my own deepest demons, leaving me exhausted and depleted.

I can't say I've fully recuperated. Or that I'm back on top of everything. Or that I'm not still struggling. Or that simply leaving the house continues to take a lot of emotional energy.

But......

Last night I watched a small miracle in my home, and my heart is so full it just may burst.

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, 

if necessary,

you have been grieved by various trials,

so that the tested genuineness of your faith-

more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire-

may be found to result in praise and  

glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Though you have not seen him, you love him

Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,

obtaining the outcome of your faith,

the salvation of your souls.

I Peter 1: 6-9

Exactly what happened isn't what I want to focus on. It is the joy, inexpressible joy, of watching God take grief, darkness, trials, tribulations, loneliness, fear and anxiety and use it to produce something amazing and beautiful. Something that many years ago I stopped daring to hope I'd actually see this side of Heaven. 

I have children to wake and new friends to meet this morning, so I must stop. But I needed to share this morning, especially for those of you who are going through times of darkness and despair..

While we are promised to see His joy in Heaven, at times He allows us a small glimpse of it here on earth. 

And it makes every thing worth it. 

So take heart. Look up from those dark places and know He is doing a work that is more than you can bear to hope for. 

Homesick at Home

Our weekend began a few hours earlier than expected when my phone sprang to life. The living room resounded with cheers of "Daddy!!" as I opened this picture:

Over the course of the afternoon we got that wonderful first phone call, and a furry of text messages passed across 3,000 miles of land and ocean. Needless to say, school was done for the day.  As I later sat at track practice, I was blessed to "see" what he was as he passed by sites and landmarks, sending me pictures of places he has wanted to visit his entire life. Our 3 year old sat next to me, begging to "text Daddy" and "see Daddy's ship", while I struggled to understand what I was feeling. Soon I found myself settling her in on bleachers with a coloring book, while I grabbed my phone and walked the track as fast as I could, struggling to keep back the tears that were overwhelming me.  After several weeks of no contact, why was I so incredibly sad, in mourning even?

No matter how excited I was for him, how eager I was for each text and picture, and impatient for an actual phone call, I was overwhelmed with grief. All those positive emotions were being overwhelmed with the feeling that I wasn't where I belong. I should have been next to him. I belong with him. He is my other half and instead of sharing these exciting moments, seeing the look on his face as dreams became realities, I was 3,000 miles away watching a group of sweaty kids run around in circles. In that moment, I would have given up everything else, to be with him. Don't get me wrong, I love our children, but he holds first place in my heart.

Trying to distract myself from how I was feeling, I sent him several pictures of our children's practice. I got this text in response:

That's where I'd rather be.

I've struggled all weekend, with my heart walking around halfway around the world on sandy beaches, while I failed miserably at trying to live in the cold place God has placed me. It was during worship this morning, I began to understand. 

I was right. I am not where I belong. There is a very real sense, that my husband and I are one. We belong together, sharing life together - all the good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly. I should be with him. I promised him and God on our wedding day that I would always be with him. Yet, where we have been called does not allow me to fulfill that promise, at least in a physical sense. I have a task here, and he there, that while singular in purpose, keep us from each other. 

Where I find myself in my marriage right now, is a place similar to where we live with God. I am His and He is mine. I have been created to walk with Him, to live with Him and have perfect fellowship with Him.  He also longs for my companionship and to love me with His everlasting love. But, that is not where we live. We live on a sin-filled earth that keeps us from walking with God the way we were created to. Instead of living with Him in the perfect garden He created for us, we live in a cold world with heartache, difficult responsibilities and separated from the One for whom our hearts long. He also longs for the day we will live with Him, perfectly, with nothing separating us from His arms. He longs for it so much, He left His Paradise, and gave up everything to purchase our passage back. We do not live where we belong.

I live with the daily hope that I will one day be back in my husband's arms; one day, we can live life together again, and there will be other dreams we can together watch become realities. I wake up each morning, and go to bed each night knowing he loves me, and would rather be with me and the mundane crazy of large family life, than at his tropic ports. One day, I will watch him walk down a long hallway, and will be in his arms where I belong. More importantly every Christian lives with the reassurance that we will one day be in our Savior's arms. That every heartache, tear, frustration and longing is a reflection of His longing for His children to be safely back home where they belong - back where we can walk together in the cool of the evening, working side by side without strain, pain, or longing. One day, He will come to bring us Home.

Both of those days, cannot come fast enough! 

Thanks-giving in Everything

Rejoice always,

 pray without ceasing, 

give thanks in all circumstances; 

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

(1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 - ESV)

Daily, I am reminded of all the ways God has blessed me and my family. How can I not be? We have been given more, and entrusted with more, than most people in all of history could even conceive. Yet, it is so easy to complain and focus on those things in life that are challenging, annoying and painful. This morning I was putting together our "Deployment Wall" - a space dedicated to keeping connected with our Daddy as he traverses the globe this year. As I was hanging the world map and Daddy Mail Box, the above verse from I Thessalonians came to mind. I began thinking of many of the challenges life has brought us, big and little, and quietly I began hearing that Still Quiet Voice reminding me of how He has used each.  I wanted to share some with you, praying God will use them to help you also "give thanks in all circumstances"

1 - Our drafty, cold house: Our new home is older, and we haven't had the chance to do some weather proofing yet. Nights have been cold. Stockinged toes quickly begin tingling on the hard wood floors. But, we have a home and one that more than meets our needs. It also meets many of our desires, and has a few perks thrown in.  We are not living on the streets, or in a refugee camp, or in tents. We have heat and extra blankets. We have a home we can share with others. 

2 - Spills, Interruptions, and Legos:  Our home is rarely quiet. My days are spent cleaning up messes, stepping on and over toys, refereeing arguments, and wishing for a hot cup of coffee with the book collecting dust on the shelf. But  - with each spill comes wam hugs; with each argument comes an opportunity to show grace; with each toy out of place comes the privilege of sharing with and serving others. Each interruption is an opportunity to love another human with the love Christ has shown me. That book collecting dust? I have a book I am capable of reading that can collect dust! 

3 - The Opportunity to be a Single Parent: First, I have been blessed to be a parent, and a parent to many children. So many women long, beg and pray for the blessing of children that came so easily for us. This upcoming experience of parenting alone is temporary (by God's grace!). Unlike so many moms who have been forced into single parenting, with no expectation of ever having a help-mate, our Daddy should eventually come home. He is not leaving voluntarily, because he is giving up on us, or pursuing selfish interests, or because he found something or someone new and more exciting, but because he has been called to an amazing task that will take him away for a period of time. Our Daddy has the privilege of serving our God and country in a way that is reflective of Christ's life - willingly and voluntarily offering it all for God's glory and the betterment of mankind. In the mean time, I can learn lessons that God may use to bless other moms in similar situations. I will have the opportunity to lean on Him in ways I wouldn't otherwise. 

4 - Our Miscarried Child:  I don't talk about him. In fact, until this blog, there are very few people who even know about him. We didn't know he existed until we lost him, because even modern medicine missed his arrival. I will miss the 4 year old face that won't be at the table tomorrow. I will miss buying him presents for Christmas and watching him open them. I will miss celebrating his 5th birthday this spring and helping him draw pictures for Daddy. But - I was blessed to be his Mommy for a few short weeks, even if I didn't even know it at the time. His loss makes me appreciate my 6 other children all the more. He showed me how fragile life can be and how much it should be cherished. He has allowed me to better mourn with those who mourn. He has given me one more reason to eagerly anticipate my final homecoming, when I will finally be able to hold and hug him. 

5 - Broken Relationships:  Broken relationships are devastating, and I've had several over the last few years. Particulars aren't important, but there was a time I didn't think I would survive the experience. Though I never want to experience the worse of it again, I have been gifted remarkable healing and restoration. I have been given a glimpse of the depth and power of God's love and grace, and the opportunity to extend it to others. Though not every relationship has as yet seen restoration, I have hope that it is possible. Not just possible, but that the other end can be more wonderful than the beginning. 

I'd encourage you to find your Thanksgivings in the painful parts of your life. God has incredible healing and hope in store for all who "give thanks in all circumstances". We don't know what the next year has in store, but it could be, that learning to give thanks for all of the past and present, is preparation and a source of strength for the future. 

This song, and the truths and promises in it, carried me through the darkest times. Sometimes His grace does come through raindrops and His healing can come through tears....

Deployment Cycle and Help for Civilian Friends and Family

In the next 2 months our family will be experiencing quite a few changes - 1000 mile move, new house, new church, and our first deployment. I've had several friends and family members ask how they can help us through this time. I've told each of them the truth, "I don't know". I have been very blessed by my civilian friends who are taking the time to try to understand what we will be experiencing and how to support us, but have struggled to come up with tangible answers. One thing I struggle with is asking for help, and identifying I need help, especially when I'm stressed. So..... I thought maybe one of the best things I can do right now, is try to explain the theory and psychology of "The Deployment Cycle" - the stages families and individuals tend to progress through when anticipating, experiencing and regrouping from deployments lasting over 3 months. 

Stage 1 - Anticipation of Loss - This is where we are now. We know it is coming. We are making and working though lists of things that need to be accomplished to keep family communication going, finances in order, and preparing for the unexpected and tragic. Stress and anxiety levels are beginning to increase so children are whinier and tempers are shorter. For our family, we are also feeling just generally more tired. We are trying to find ways to bridge the gap in our expectations for the next year as the children and I will have a completely different life from Daddy's. Each of us are going through periods when we need to talk about this next year, and times when we just can't deal with it. I find I am beginning to fluctuate between resenting my husband still needs to go to work everyday, because the Navy gets him for the entire next year, and feeling like I need to start shouldering all the responsibility on my own.

Stage 2 - Detachment and Withdraw - In the couple weeks leading up to the service member leaving, families tend to withdraw from each other. Couples tend to have at least one BIG argument and individuals begin wishing the service member would just leave.   Psychologically, in a sense, the deployment is beginning. There is a sense where everyone just wants to get the initial separation over with, and get on with life. 

Stage 3  - Emotional Disorganization - The service member leaves and the first month is filled with many mixed emotions for everyone involved. There can be relief that it has finally happened. There is sadness and sometimes anger at the loss, or just a numbness. In many ways there is a grief cycle that happens during the first month or so. Individuals are left feeling overwhelmed, vulnerable, alone and often sleepless. 

Stage 4 and 5 - Recovery and Stabilization  -  This is where everyone establishes the "new normal". There are always ups and downs; good days and bad days; but there is an equilibrium that is established until about a month or so before the service member is anticipated to come home. 

That begins the second half of the cycle - which I plan to deal with as we approach it.

There are a few things I would greatly appreciate our family and friends keep in mind:

1 - Every member of our family is going to be feeling different things and needs will be different. Some of us need to be able to talk and be with people when stressed or sad; others need quiet and space. Our introverts will talk when they are ready, and pushing them before they are willing is counter productive. Allowing them space, or simply sitting quietly with them may be the best thing anyone can do. Our extroverts may need extra ears that are willing to take more time than normal to listen to whatever is in their head. They may require an extra amount of patience! We will have both needs within our family at the same time. 

2 - Please, be mindful of conversations around the children, especially concerning world events. We don't know what will happen during this time, and I attempt to be honest and open with them about current events, but just remember that it is their Daddy who could be in the middle of things. While normal conversations about events around the world may be benign for you, for them it could be very personal. Especially if there is a major event while he is away, keeping the news turned off and conversations on other topics while they are around would be greatly appreciated. 

3 - We will not always know, or be able to share, what our Daddy is doing or where he is. Our Daddy's and his shipmates' safety is our first priority - so please understand if we give vague answers to questions.  The children have been told to direct questions about his job, whereabouts and safety to me.   Discussing some of those things over the phone, email or Facebook can be a security risk - so if I don't answer a question or give information there may be a reason. 

4 - If you want to help, offering specific things you are willing to do would be best. A deployment specialist recommended I request this. I have a hard time asking for help. In the midst of stress and feeling overwhelmed, I don't always recognize where and how I need help. I also have this awful tendency to feel I need to deal with everything on my own. It will be much easier for me to give an answer to "Can I bring over dinner?" or "Let me come stay with the kids tonight." or "Do you need shoveled out?" then "What can I do?". 

5 - Remember our Daddy! We will send him letters and care packages fairly regularly. Feel free to send him things too, or give me notes, cards, and fun items to add to our boxes. Knowing he is feeling loved and remembered will help all of us. In someways this will be hardest on him. The children and I get to go through this together close to family and friends. He is reporting to a command where he knows no one, traveling to a variety of new places, cultures and climates. He is the one who will be missing Christmas, birthdays, concerts, etc... 

5 - Allow us to help you! One of the best things we can do is keep busy and our focus on God and others. I will say "no" if  something is too much, but part of finding our new normal will be in participating in our community and in the lives of family and friends. 

I have already been blessed by the number of people who are praying for us and have volunteered help. God has blessed us with a great support network that not every military family has. 

A Year of Change for Calvin Institute (Part 2): Schole, Schedules and Socialization

As I was praying and planning for this school year there was one thing that kept coming up - the need for peace.  This fall, we will pack up our house, leave behind church and friends, drive 900 miles to a new house, try to reintegrate with friends and family, find a new church and say goodbye to Daddy. Holding on to our Rock, our Peace in the midst of the storm, our Home port will be the only thing that will pull us through.

This summer I was introduced to the concept of "Schole", through Chris Perrin of Classical Academic Press. "Schole" is the Greek word for school....and leisure. The idea is that learning, education, should be restful! In a day and age when academic learning is defined by high stakes testing, multitasking is the norm, and pressure to achieve abounds from all angles, "schole" almost seems antithetical to learning.

We put aside the busy work.

We focus on one task at a time.

We keep first things first.

We focus on enjoying the journey - not on the destination!

Finding peace in the midst of 6 children, laundry, cleaning, cooking, church,  bills, budgets, grocery shopping, doctors appointments, packing, and planning, must be a deliberate act. It must begin with me.

I began with the schedule. Curriculum was consolidated and pared down to meet individual needs while eliminating busy and extra work. Then I sat down to the yearly task of trying to figure out how one of me is going to be stretched across 6 children, 30 "classes" and a household.  I got overwhelmed. I cried. I gave up.

I become a slave to the schedule. It masters me, leaving me feeling exhausted, stretched too thin and unaccomplished. There is too much to do and not enough time no matter how I try to plan. So I stopped planning. Ok, I stopped planning the hour to hour and day to day for everyone. Instead, I plan a week at a time in 5 week chunks. Each child now receives a weekly assignment chart, broken down by subject and recommended daily tasks, and all books, worksheets, maps, questions etc.. needed for the entire week. How those tasks get done, in what order and when I do what with whom is left up to life. We have a rough outline of the week. Math, literature, grammar, writing and Latin are done every day. Social Studies on Monday and Wednesday; Science on Tuesday and Thursday with Friday being reserved for dialectic and rhetoric discussions - and those that are most important. History and Literature Socratic discussion may not happen every week, but it happens when the content or student most needs it. I am choosing to make curriculum a tool we use, not the master of our day.

I have really cracked down on chores and waking up. I wake everyone up - once. There is a list of chores that need to be done each day, once a week and once a month. I no longer assign them, but every child must be working on chores, and they all must be completed, before breakfast. If you don't help, you don't eat. I refuse to argue, beg, yell, or bribe. It is very simple. If I don't see you working, helping and cooperating, you don't eat.....and it is up to me and me alone to determine when it is completed. The first several weeks there were unhappy, and hungry, children.  Sometimes they had chosen to go back to sleep after being woken. Some chose to sit on the couch and watch others work.  Some were sent back to their rooms until they were ready to help cheerfully, or at least without bickering or being mean. 7 weeks into school, most of the them have realized it is in their own best interest to just do what needs to be done!

The hardest for me in choosing peace is when it is all falling apart. Refusing to argue with a child.

Giving myself a "time-out" when I need it.  Taking a breath, and even delaying discipline or the next task, until I can handle it with love and grace. Taking the time to cuddle the fussy preschooler; or listen to the emotional teen; or guiding minds to discover for themselves instead of answering questions.  I am trying to be more intentional about creating an environment that is peaceful for me. Not that the children's, and my husband's, preferences don't matter, they do, but knowing that I matter too and if I am not at peace, the rest of the household suffers. Morning and evening quiet time is essential for me. It doesn't matter if I read, study, play Facebook games, blog or take a walk, I need time away from noise, confusion and clutter.  Frequently during the day, I have quiet music playing in the background - usually some Chris Tomlin or the Gettys while preparing breakfast, classical or several varieties of instrumental during school (the 8 year old is into ragtime right now), and maybe something a little more upbeat during the afternoon (if my preschooler has her way it is the Frozen soundtrack!).  Music quiets my mind, sets my heart on things above and soothes my soul.  Inevitably, the lyrics swirling through the house, or through my mind, speak to what is going on at the moment.  Tomlin reminds me "My chains are gone/I've been set free" when I'm feeling cornered, or Queen Elsa pleads to "Let it go" as a preteen is grumbling.

Most important is remembering where peace comes from. The schedules, the clean house, the environment I create must all be anchored in the Prince of Peace.  I must choose daily, hourly and sometimes minute by minute, to find peace in Christ.  He is my Shelter in the midst of the storms of life and the Giver of fair winds and following seas.  He provides grace for each and every moment, and joy overflowing through out the day.  He is my Strength, my Song, my Salvation.

Rhetoric, Recitation and Relocation: A Year of Change for Calvin Institute (Part 1)

National Homeschool Day is this week, so I thought it fitting to give my yearly run down of what is going on at the Calvin Institute for Higher Learning this school year. My hope is you will find having a peek into our school encouraging and maybe I can gain some ideas from you!

The 2014-2015 school year is our 9th year of this home education adventure; it is also a year of big changes for us.  Later this fall the children and I will move several hundred miles, closer to family and friends, while our school principal (aka "Daddy") serves God and Country across the globe for the next year. We officially opened our high school this year with the promotion of the graduating class of 2018 to Rhetoric, 2 enrolled in Dialectic (middle school), 2 in Grammar (elementary) and a preschooler.  Academically, this is a year of solidifying skills for all our students. Except for the preschooler, for the first time, everyone is reading and writing at the beginning of the school year!

The family and location changes, and the wide range of ages/abilities, prompted big curriculum changes for this year. Our "core" curriculum is now Tapestry of Grace - a Christian curriculum based on the 4 year classical cycle and pedagogy including social studies, literature, government, philosophy, church/biblical history, fine arts and language arts. (We chose not to use the language arts portion.) All the children now study the same topics at the same time with a lot of flexibility to customize assignments and skill-acquisition for each child.  For me, the teacher's manual provides an overview of the history being studied each week, guides for leading Socratic discussions, and a wide variety of ideas of activities to incorporate into our studies each week. 5 weeks into it, and I could not be happier!

To coincide with our study of Ancient History, we are diving into the world of Biology this year. Well, most of us. The high schooler hits Chemistry this year, continuing with Science for High School - an inquiry based curriculum, with labs.  Our Dialectic students are using Classiquest Science to guide their exploration of Biology. The Grammar students and I are piggy-backing off the topics the Dialectics dive into each week using a variety of Kingfisher, DK and Usborne encyclopedias with hand-on activities.

Language Arts is the most diverse aspect of our school this year. I really wanted to work on strengthening each students' skills, so each sub-subject was fully individualized. Literature and literary analysis is being covered with Tapestry of Grace, with books coordinating with our history studies. We've already enjoyed some Egyptian Myths, Ancient Egyptian poetry and the Epic of Gilgamesh this year.  Everyone is continuing to write with The Instutite for Excellence in Writing (IEW), though each child is using a different thematic book based on individual skill level and interest. The youngest is enjoying Bible Heroes (written expressly for early elementary students who are reading, ready to write, but not ready for their Student Writing Intensive); our 8 year old is working on Fables, Myths and Fairy Tales; the 10 year old on Bible-based Writing Lessons; and the 12 year old on Ancient History Writing Lessons. Our high schooler is doing a one-semester intensive course on Writing Research Papers and hopes to follow it up with A Guide to Writing Your Novel.  Spelling is being covered through Phonics Zoo (from IEW) and All About Spelling - both are phonics-based, mastery programs.  We took a very different approach to grammar this year, realizing that much of our grammar instruction was being duplicated with Latin. The 8, 10 and 12 year olds are using Memoria Press's  Latina Christiana, First Form and Second Form Latin. They have developed English Grammar Recitation which reinforces the grammar already being taught through Latin, and adds in aspects which are unique to English. The 6 year old is using First Language Lessons from Peace Hill Press. Our high schooler's Latin Alive 2 includes so much grammar we didn't feel the need to give her separate English grammar.  I've also added in additional copywork, dictation, and handwriting practice using  New American Cursive, from Memoria Press, and Write Through the Bible. The 12 year old has begun a formal vocabulary study using Vocabulary Through Classical Roots and continues with logic skills using Spider Island (Critical Thinking Inc). She may move into a more formal study of logic later this school year.

We are in our 9th year using Math U See, but adding in daily fact review and strengthening with Xtra Math. Most of the children are also daily working with flash cards, Math Wrap-ups and Turbo Twist Math to work on mastering addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts.  Math U See has gained a reputation in some circles of being math-lite. After some testing with my children over the summer, and some research, I've come to the conclusion that it isn't the curriculum is light, but that it provides such a solid foundation in mathematical thinking and concepts, that even more advanced math become easy! All the bells, whistles, and cluttered worksheets are unnecessary when there is solid instruction and mastery. Now, our real test of the curriculum will come this and next year as our oldest confronts honors chemistry and physics!

Finally, our "preschool". The longer I do this, the more convinced I become that structured formal learning for preschoolers is a waste of time and money (and my degree is in Early Childhood Education).  An environment rich in real language (not screens or digital media!), freedom to engage in open-ended play and varied experiences will do more to prepare a child for formal education than anything else. Our 3 year old asked to "do school" with us this year, so we have accommodated her request. She has a "school shelf" with a box of toys that develop shape, letter, number, sorting and sequencing skills. She has a binder in which to put her coloring pages and "writing". She loves to play in the room while I do read-alouds with the other children; she builds with the math manipulatives; the older children will read their assignments to her; she has playdough within easy reach (and she knows how to clean it up!). I have stocked alphabet coloring pages for her to color and decorate with crayons, markers, stickers, cheerios or whatever else I can find, and basic Kumon workbooks with easy mazes, tracing and cutting activities. She works on what she wants to, when she wants to. Right now her favorite activity is matching magnetic wooden letters to letters I have printed onto a whiteboard. We work together to put them away, naming letters and phonemes as we go. Frequently we have music on in the background during our school day to which she dances and sings. Full, well rounded preschool "curriculum" with very little expense, no stress and lots of fun!

As with any year's curriculum plan, we leave much room for changes. Already one child has switched spelling curriculum and another has changed Latin levels. But, that is the beauty of home education - the freedom to change as growing children change and develop individual strengths, weaknesses, and interests.