The second quarter is short due to the Thanksgiving break and the fact that I end it before our Christmas break. However, we make up for it by having a longer third quarter.
This quarter we studied 2 Timothy in Bible. The theme was "Becoming God's Champion." Kay Arthur used an Olympic theme. Some of the key things the study focused on were who Paul was, the truths of the Gospel and the characteristics of a believer in Christ. We saw that Paul was suffering in prison for the gospel. But Paul did not worry about himself; he instead wrote to Timothy to encourage, instruct, warn and charge Timothy to fulfill the call God had on his life. We learned that the gospel was revealed through Christ and that believing in the gospel is the only way to have eternal life. As believers, we are now vessels of honor and we are to be careful about whom we spend time with; we are to pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace; and as we study God's word, it will equip us to do His work.
In history we learned some more about the Reformation through people such as Henry VIII and his many wives, Ivan the Terrible (or Awesome as his name really translates), a few of the first explorers to North America, William Tyndale - the Father of the English Bible, Mary Tudor - known as "Bloody Mary", Elizabeth I and Jeanne d'Albret - a strong Christian woman who brought reform to her small country. I enjoy history and especially seeing how the Christian faith grew and influenced so much of the growth of the nations.
Our study of the body has been quite informative. This quarter we covered a lesson on health and nutrition, the respiratory system, the work of the blood in our body as well as in our salvation and the cardiovascular system.
Math has gotten more challenging for our 7th grader. So far, I'm still able to help her. It's just hard to teach enthusiasm for a subject that isn't your favorite. It's more lessons in perseverance! In language Josh did a book study on the "The Trumpet of the Swan", which he enjoyed. Both kids continue to do well with our IEW curriculum and don't seem to mind writing.
Our only field trip this quarter was to the San Diego Zoo. It was a very nice day spent with friends. We haven't been for some time, so we really enjoyed being back and seeing animals like the pandas, polar bears, elephants and gorillas.
Ellie finished up her volleyball season. She did very well and continues to grow in her skills. Josh finished up his golf lessons for the season as well. He also is growing as a player bit by bit.
Friday school continues to go well. I spoke in chapel in October just before Halloween, so shared the parable of the pumpkin. This story was written by Liz Curtis Higgs. Her story tells of a farmer who picks out a special pumpkin from his garden, scoops out the yucky insides to make room for his light to shine. In the same way, God's transforming love can fill our hearts with joy and light and others can see the love of Jesus in us.
In November Ellie turned 13. We surprised her with tickets to see
Beauty and the Beast at the Pantages theater. She enjoyed the show very much. I suppose we could count this as a field trip as well!
The week of Thanksgiving we dog sat our niece and nephew's dog, Lucy. She was quite fun and took to Ellie.
Happy Birthday to our girl! We now have a teenager in our midst!
Both kids participated in the
Christmas play at church. Josh was a window cleaner and Ellie a housekeeper at the Holy Day Inn. I was the director this year. Dennis helped with the kids' choir. It was a great opportunity for all of us to serve together.
Over our Christmas break we went to the
Reagan Library to see the Christmas trees. They were all beautiful. The kids got to see some of their favorite exhibits from our previous visit as well. Another family field trip!
Homeschooling began to become a bit more challenging as this quarter drew to a close. There was an increasing lack of love for learning and a desire to get through things as quickly as possible. This meant doing the minimum amount of work required and giving up when things were challenging. It was very discouraging. This was on top of the daily discomfort I was feeling due to my skating fall. I was struggling to feel adequate as a mom and teacher. Needless to say, I was thankful when the quarter was over myself.
I am dedicated to homeschooling. I still believe it is what we are to be doing at this time. But I will be honest and say that it is not always easy. I still have doubts. Things don't always go as I planned. I fail. My kids fail. But we will continue to persevere.
I chose the word "Restoration" for the New Year. It was my hope we would all be refreshed over the break and be able to begin anew in January.
