AngelaP | Heart of the Matter

August 5, 2010 By AngelaP 7 Comments

It is that time of the year to begin again. That is if you take a break in the summer. The beauty of homeschooling is that you get to choose the best schedule for your family. For our family we choose to take most of the summer off. However, learning is a lifestyle for us so we are always schooling, we don’t “officially” count it through the summer though.

I have struggled trying to pick our curriculum for this fall.

Our two children are very different in their learning styles. So for the first time ever I have pieced together a curriculum that will be what we need.

I really had to pray this through. These children belong first to God. He knows exactly how they are made and exactly what they need. This year it ended up to be a mixture of this and that. I think I will like it better this way.

I decided to use Switched on School House for a couple of subjects with my oldest. I will be doing Singapore Math with lots of manipulative tools for my ADHD learner. I am also going to use the skip counting memory work from Classical Conversations. We will be doing The Story of History volume 1. We will be using the Cycle 2 Science from Classical Conversations and build on that. We will be with La Clase divertida for our Spanish again and Prima Christiana for our Latin. We are using Spelling plus for Spelling and Handwriting without tears. We will be doing lots of hands on field trips to aid in this process. For Bible I am not sure yet what to do. The thing I know for sure is it is how we will start our day. I am thinking we will be studying a lot about unity this year. We will be doing lots of reading individually and read alouds. My picks for this year so far are The Hobbit, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and Alice in Wonderland.

Thankfully in our fourth year of doing this I am finally feeling a little more confident. God has given us all we need. We are fully equipped to do every task He gives us to do. This includes homeschooling. After four years I am finally feeling this. I hope this means we are set for a great year.

I really want to know what you are all up to this year. What suggestions do you have to help others feel confident in this large task? When is your school year starting? What curriculum have you planned? Let us hear from you!

Angela Parsley, of the international ministry Refresh My Soul Ministries, is a wife and homeschooling mother to her 2 young daughters. Angela is also a contributing author to a devotional book entitled, “Standing on the Promises of God” and Radical Revolution, a devotional site for teen girls through Proverbs 31 Ministries.

July 8, 2010 By AngelaP 4 Comments

photo credit: Christine – From Storms to Sunshine

Even when you don’t know it they are watching. You do not get a break at anytime. When you think they cannot hear, they hear you. When you think they cannot see, they see you. The little eyes of our little ones are watching–always.

Children learn by modeling. They are looking around at others watching their behavior as they are discovering the world around them. They are like little sponges. They are influenced most by their parents for the good or the bad. So are you being a good role model in your everyday behavior?

This very thought makes me shudder. I often see the bad things that I do and am prone to condemnation but the Bible tells us there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. I am free from that. God is working out His will in my life and these children are part of that process. How will I treat this stewardship in His power and in Him? I am never alone in it. He gives me all I need for life and parenting.

Watch your children to see how they view you? They will role play house with dolls, legos, or themselves. Listen to what they think a parent is supposed to act like. It is the most interesting thing to me. They are looking up to you. They are watching and learning every day.

I mess up so much in what I think I should be doing as a mom. But I am not called to be faultless. I am called to be in Christ. It is a process learning to die to myself and live in Him. Parenting is a work that helps us learn this. Though I will think I am never enough, with Christ I am.

My children who are watching are learning. I was doing a Bible study one morning entitled Becoming a Woman Who Loves, by Cynthia Heald. My child took a look at that title and said, “What are you reading that for? You are already are one.” Those are the kind of words that make me melt. Though I often feel like a woman who lacks love, my child sees me at all times. She can tell me that I am a woman who loves. She is watching me at all times. She knows I fail but make things right as God leads and guides me.

How about you? What kind of things have you experienced with your children like this? How do you know they are watching?

June 17, 2010 By AngelaP 4 Comments

Sadly, the Parsley home has been a home of strife lately. Not strife between husband and wife but strife between siblings. This in turn enters into and disrupts the peace of the entire home. Just as if husband and wife quarreling in front of the children causes a disruption of peace in the home, so does sibling rivalry.

It has always been my goal to keep our home a place of peace. The world outside of our home is just plain crazy. There is not much peace to be found out there. Home should be a place where the family can just be together in harmony. It is a place that certain stability should be found.

Lately my girls have been at each other’s throats! It is driving us mad. We are desperate for this behavior to stop. We have been crying out to God about it over and over. One morning God impressed these verses on my heart to share with the kids.

“What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure” (James 4:1-3, NLT).

As I shared this with them they seemed surprised. The fact is that they did not want to be fighting all the time either.
Learning that these selfish desires are in their hearts they have started to see that they need God to live at peace with one another. They are not capable of doing it themselves. They are learning that they need to take these things to God. He is the one who can solve or resolve any problem or issue. He is the one who can see correctly straight into their hearts. He can help them to make the wrong situation right by exposing their hearts.

I really like that they are learning to see their hearts correctly. This activity is helping them learn to talk to God first
about their problems. It is helping them learn to assess their heart’s desires with God’s help. They are learning to listen to God and do the right thing in His strength.

I believe that these sisters are the very strongest tools thus far God has brought in their lives to grow them and make them more into His image. There are battles that have to be mediated. Daily I continue to point them to the Scriptures about what God says about a matter. It is tiring but in the end I believe we will have sisters who love one another better and look a whole lot like Jesus in the process. I thank Him for showing us this.

May 13, 2010 By AngelaP 2 Comments

“Yeah, Mommy is sitting on the floor!” My oldest daughter exclaimed as she peeked around the corner at me on the floor teaching my youngest money facts. We were playing store. Playing with actual money while pretending to buy things is a very effective technique for learning money concepts. We had a great time doing this together.

My oldest was working on an art project in the other room. She was designing an outfit for her sister. Definitely a non-traditional school we run here. A designer firm in the kitchen and a play store in the living room. But this is how many of our days look. When we have mastered one thing we then move on to the next. I love how the children feel confident in the things they have mastered or are working toward mastering. Using this method of mastery we also get to see where their true gifts lie.

Parsley Family photo taken by Liz Power Photography

Now back to her comment above. I asked my oldest, “Honey, why are you so excited that mommy is sitting on the floor?” She replied, “Because I know you are feeling good Mommy, when you sit on the floor.” She is so precious. She pays as close attention to me that I do to her and her life. She knows her Mommy struggles with chronic illness. So apparently sitting on the floor is a sign that I am felling well.

We as a family need to pay close attention to our strengths and weaknesses. Through knowing one another well we can learn to help one another and function together better. We can run as a well oiled machine when we know what each person needs to be successful in life. My youngest struggles with concentration. As a family we work together to help her in this struggle by doing activities to help her succeed. Also by picking up on her having a hard time and stopping what we are doing to help her focus. We need each other.

I struggle in teaching math. The children’s father is gifted in math so he teaches this to them. Whereas I am the best organizer in the family so I plan our schedules and keep things in order so we keep things running smoothly. That is what a family should do is work together. Build on one another’s strengths. That is what makes schooling and home life successful.

February 26, 2010 By AngelaP Leave a Comment

Motherhood equals a Woman of many hats. I don’t mean those crazy big church going hats that are all fancy like. I mean hats that are sometimes messy. Hats that are not in the literal sense at all. These hats are the actual roles given to us to play. As a mother I can be wearing my nurse hat, my doctor hat, my house cleaner hat or my teacher hat at any given time. At times I could be wearing all the hats at the same time. Moms have to be versatile and flexible willing to flow with whatever comes our way. We have to be prepared to wear any of those hats at any given moment as the need arises.

As a mother life flows in and out of many different responsibilities. As a homeschooling mom this is also the case but even more so. I have a friend who home schools wearing the teachers hat. She takes off her mom hat at that time and even tells her kids that she is now their teacher. This helps them and works for them. But for me, I can never make myself take off my mom hat. It is always there along with the others. When we start school the teacher hat just goes on top of the mom hat. I think it can work either way just fine depending on your family.

However, because my life is so intertwined with so many roles and responsibilities I found it hard when we had to take a number of sick days because of the flu. In my mind I was having a really hard time allowing us to be sick. I was fighting the temptation to give us work anyway for school though it would have been a disaster for us all. I was also finding it hard not to clean up every little thing that became misplaced. I could not do it if I wanted to but I found myself fretting over it.

God was trying to teach me rest. Our bodies need rest when we find ourselves ill. It is okay if things get out of place and life has to come to a stop for this time of healing. God was showing me how to surrender that activity for rest, something I really need to learn to do without being sick. School will always be there and we will get right back into the swing of it as soon as we are well. No need to think we are behind because we are not. We are on our own schedule and will follow it until completion. It will not always look the way I want it to or think it should but nevertheless it will be completed.

So in all the hats we were as mothers there is a time that we need to just take a breather and relax. Jesus speaks it well this way, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:27-29). Maybe instead of trying to balance so many hats I just need to take His yoke and put it on me. Everything else will fall into place if I just do it His way.

January 22, 2010 By AngelaP Leave a Comment

As you approach this New Year with the last half of the homeschooling year in mind, I want you to consider this Scripture passage. Acts 17:26-28 states,

“From one man God made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’”

These verses are always so encouraging to me. God gave you the exact children that He desired for you to raise up for Him. They are not ours forever. No one else is accountable to God for how you raise your children but you. God hand chose you to be that parent. In this journey of homeschooling God has entrusted you with this task at hand. He will never give you a task to carry out that He will not fully equip you to do.

We are all children of the King who is never far from us. Whenever things get tough we would do well to remember that. In every detail of our lives God is always near. He knows our thoughts and struggles. He is the one who understands every bit of it. When we desire the very best for our children who are His children He smiles on us.

It is our job to teach our children about God in word and deed. Our actions impact them more than any words that we can ever say. Perhaps homeschooling is the best discipleship program for them because they get to observe our walk with the Lord around the clock. It needs to be authentic and real. It is a great privilege that we have to be able to home school our children.

So with that all said, know that you have a great purpose in these tasks. Let us encourage one another in this and bring glory to God in how we handle them. Let us be thankful for the job that God has entrusted us to do. In what ways can we pray for one another this school year?

Angela Parsley, of the international ministry Refresh My Soul Ministries, is a wife and homeschooling mother to her 2 young daughters. Angela is also a contributing author to a devotional book entitled, “Standing on the Promises of God” and Radical Revolution, a devotional site for teen girls through Proverbs 31 Ministries.

October 7, 2009 By AngelaP Leave a Comment

I just love that homeschooling can be something the entire family can experience together.

Just as not all people are gifted in all things, so perhaps they should not teach all things.

In our home, I teach from a curriculum just because it helps me stay focused and accountable. I adore the privilege I have to teach my children. I teach them best the things I like the best. All individuals are limited in certain ways and that is why we absolutely need a whole family approach.

I absolutely love all things history. When I teach it I am passionate and excited about the subject. This effects the learning environment positively. The students also want to learn the things that their teacher is excited about. A teacher’s excitement better keeps the children’s attention.

Now, let’s take Math. I cannot even fake excitement about this subject. It is much needed but I cannot get that same excitement in it as I can history. But, my husband is very excited about math. He is the one who the children learn from and he is their main teacher on this subject. We enjoy dividing things up because we are taking a whole-family approach.

Another way that we approach the whole-family method is within our family of friends who home school. The children are in Art, P.E., and Ballet classes because neither my husband nor I are very gifted in these areas. It is great that they can learn from these other gifted people the things that they are excited about.

We were never meant to do this alone. We are a community. What support do you have with your homeschooling?

August 13, 2009 By AngelaP 2 Comments

What I love about homeschooling is that you can take your time to really learn something in detail.

While we were at the local aquarium taking a Charlotte Mason approach to field trips, we were able to just focus in on the things that the children were very interested in at that moment. It was a time where we could just slow down and learn everything we could about those things of interest.

A sweet thing I would have never learned so easily as a mother was how tender my youngest’s five year old heart was toward injustice.

We were looking for the large sea turtle in its usual aquarium but could not find it. My sweet child inquired about it with the volunteer. He told us that the angel fish in the aquarium were interested in the parasites that clung to him. Because of that they kept picking at him creating sores. The turtle had to be moved into a different aquarium until he properly healed.

Her sweet heart was ready to get those angel fish and have them make it right with the turtle! This is so precious to a mother’s heart. She is understanding restoration. Yet in the midst of all of this we got to learn about the angel fish and what it eats and why this happened. The angel fish was at first helping the turtle by cleaning it of parasites but after a while the helping turned into damaging. There were so many lessons in this about life.

After we studied our subjects of angel fish and turtles we learned much more than we went for.

When it was time to draw or journal what we saw she drew a great picture of the turtle. Her interest in learning is so precious to me. I praise God that I am able to see it all first hand and help guide her. If she was in a large group she would have gone away mad not understanding why the sweet turtle was injured. Sometimes one on one time is best. I am thankful that I can be her teacher. I bet you are too.

Share some experiences you have had that are similar to this. Sometimes homeschooling can be stressful. There are good days and bad days. Let’s encourage one another with sharing our positive experiences. What do you have to share today?

July 16, 2009 By AngelaP 5 Comments

Summer is now here and it is a great time for taking on a lighter schedule. In our home in the summer we continue with the schooling but our school time is not as “official” during the summer as it is during the rest of the academic year. Learning is a continual action and as we go along we are always talking about things. Most importantly however we never take a break from learning the things of God.

For this season something really good for us to focus on in our Bible study time is the Proverbs. They are very simple statements that are there to help make us wise in life and make us think. The best thing about them is that they are not just wise sayings by wise men but they are inspired writings. God ordained Scripture and preserved it for us so we would have instructions to live our life by. They are easy statements to ponder and live out day by day. God didn’t want us living our lives without direction that is why He gave us His Word.

Chapter one of the book of Proverbs speaks of the importance of studying this book. It states proverbs are good, “for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young- let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance- for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise” (Proverbs 1:1-6).

Now just in that list alone there are many good reasons to study them. But I wanted to specifically point out that it points out that they are good for giving knowledge and discretion to the young. Is not that our goal in teaching our children? I love that God left us something for guidance in that area. He knew parents wanted this for their children!

Yet also the Proverbs are two-fold because they are also good for our attaining of wisdom. Besides the Bible can you give me any other book that is good for all ages? That is the beauty of God’s word! It is alive and active. It is useful for every good work. It teaches the young and the old at the right level.

If you want to join me in this study with your children here are a few tips I have found. The first nine chapters of the book speaks much about wisdom and folly so we discussed this issue over and over and used activities like examples and role playing based on some of the passages. We would practice different situations in their lives where they can practice choosing wisdom over folly. Also, in these chapters the fear of the Lord is mentioned several times. That was also important to discuss what that means. After that starting with chapter ten on you can just choose a few sayings a day to focus on. Maybe discuss one at each meal. Talk about them and use examples. Find ways you can put those into practice. The entire family will benefit and can rejoice with each other as you all put them into practice. This can be a fun way to grow together in the Lord.

June 17, 2009 By AngelaP 3 Comments

“The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.”
(Genesis 6:5-8a).

Oh I grieve when I read this. I can see my own depravity of heart and think, Lord, forgive me. Yet the Lord is slow to anger. I think of how unworthy I am, yet the Lord says I chose you. The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in love. In all of His characteristics, this scenario makes me realize that things with these people on the planet had gotten really bad. In all of His love and patience He felt this way about His creation. Oh to think that I have the capacity to fill God’s heart with pain just crushes me.

Now let’s look at our own children. Today was one of those days when I felt the pain God describes here about His creation. These little children He has entrusted to me have torn my heart out and stomped on it. My heart was grieved because to my limited view it seemed that every inclination of their hearts were evil today. From the time we woke up to the time we settled them into bed. All day evil abounded in their hearts toward one another. Despite the pressure of discipline it continued to be a nonstop 24 hour marathon. My heart was filled with pain and truthfully I did ponder why I even had children! I was grieved that I was in this situation because I felt hopeless.

But God knows better than I. God made a way. God relates to every feeling of hurt and pain that I do. He knows the only reason my feelings toward my children are so strong is because of my deep love for them. Only deep love feels deep pain. God loves us incredibly deep. Deeper than anyone else ever will. It was because of this love that despite our great depravity He sent His One and only Son to die for our sinful state. He loved us so deeply that He made a way for us to be pure before Him through His Son Jesus. That kind of love amazes me. I praise God for that.

It is because of God’s great love that though I know today was a very bad day in our household, I am guaranteed by His promise that His mercies are brand new every morning. Just as there is hope for me, there is hope for my children. God will continue to help me instruct them in the way of love and one day they will start to live it. Those are the days that we by faith look forward too. Tomorrow is a new day and my hope is in Him. Whatever may come I know we will make it through and find comfort in the fact that He understands completely. He sustains, helps, provides, and comforts us. He has given us everything we need for life and godliness and He will bring every good work unto completion.

If you are struggling today in your parenting or with sibling rivalry, know you are not alone. We are all in this together. Let’s just take a moment to lift one another up in prayer. This task is impossible without God. We need God to do this thing. Parenting is not an easy task. Be encouraged today. You are doing a good thing. Keep it up!

angelap Angela Parsley, of the international ministry Refresh My Soul Ministries, is a wife and homeschooling mother to her 2 young daughters. Angela is also a contributing author to a devotional book entitled, “Standing on the Promises of God” and Radical Revolution, a devotional site for teen girls through Proverbs 31 Ministries.

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