...and all of your children shall be taught...

"...and all of your children shall be taught of the Lord and
great shall be the peace of your children." Hab 2:2

I know that I am the one who is doing the homeschooling and my kids are the ones who are learning, but I have to tell ya...I am learning so much too!! David is taking an awesome class right now about counseling for children and it is filled to overflowing with such wonderful information that we have been able to use with our two little muffins...especially about learning styles!! He was watching a DVD the other night and I was on the computer...before long I was sitting in the Living room with him watching the DVD too!! It was by a lady named Cynthia Tobias. The topic was "Learning Styles and Learning Disabilities" and it was absolutely fabulous!! I learned so much about the girls that explained SO MUCH about the girls!!!!

Aly is a Global learner and Lili is an Analytical learner and just knowing those two facts and understanding what they really mean, will make my life so much easier!! And I will be able to help make the girls life so much more productive in the long run!!! I have had some idea of these things since day one of school, but I didn't understand the impact and certainly didn't know what to call it.

Aly is my "broad spectrum, big concept, don't confuse me with the details...I'll figure them out later on my own, just give me lots of rabbits and wide open space to chase 'em. " kind of gal. I have always known that about her...from the time she was barely over a year old. My friend Babs and I used to regularly look at each other with crazy looks while we watched Aly tackle the world from crazy angles that just defied all we knew. We would watch her do and say things way beyond her years...knowing that she didn't understand totally what she was doing, but that she was definately seeing the big pictures all around her. It was as though the sky in her world was just a totally different color than what the rest of us saw!

Then there is my Tiger Lili who is very analytical and detail oriented. She says things that will blow you out of the water, but then get so bogged down in the details that you think she is just going to implode. One prime example came earlier today. She asked if she could have some string cheese. I said yes and asked her to get some for Aly and also for me. So she came back with three and then her brain went into overdrive deciding which one was hers. At that point it took several minutes more for her to decide which end to open the thing from. After studying the cheese for a few minutes and the new wrapper which she had not seen before, she said (on the verge of a meltdown), "Mamma...which end should I open it from?" I said, "Lili...it doesn't matter baby...just open it!!" I mean, after all...Aly had just ripped into hers without a million questions. Lili started to whine and get very upset and said, "BUT I DON'T KNOW WHICH WAY TO DO IT!!!"

As if Cynthia Tobias herself hit me over the head to get my attention it dawned on me that it was just too much for her. So I took the cheese and then said, "This is the end Lili. Open it here" Amazingly she immediately stopped the meltdown and said, "OH...okay" All was again right with the world. She couldn't "wing it"...she couldn't "go with the flow"...she needed concrete directions...my little Analytical Tiger Lili.

Now I know!! Thank you God!!

I have to share another Lili story. On School mornings, just after breakfast, we are currently reading "Hinds Feet On High Places" by Hannah Hurnard. Aly is all about all that allegory...it fits right into her personality. Lili, on the other hand, is just kind of there listening. I mean she is only 3, so I am not expecting her to understand it...but I also know that God can and

will still speak truth to her through this book.

The first few chapters there were a lot of questions as Aly tried to put it all into its place ( who everyone was supposed to represent, etc.) while Lili just kind of looked on and finished eating her breakfast. But, about 5 or so chapters into it, she stopped me cold in mid sentence saying, "Whoa whoa whoa whoa...okay now...who is the Great Shepherd supposed to be again??" Aly and I about died laughing!!! Lili's use of language is so amazing. David swears that she must get up during the night and get online and take some English language

classes online or something. :-)

As I continue to refine our school and seek to make it what God would want it to be for this family, I am continually reminded by HIM that my main focus should always be HIM. I mean, there is nothing..I mean absolutely NOTHING that I can teach them that is even remotely as important as teaching them about their heavenly Father. Teaching them to walk in his ways, to love his ways, to seek after him in all they do. To desire to please him in all things...to always seek God's favor over Man's success.

So, as I look through curriculum and websites and books and plans that I have made I am finding myself constantly trying to figure out how to bring it all back around to him.

"I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you,
who directs you in the way you should go. " Isaiah 48:17

Oh how I pray for wisdom and direction and guidance...I'm talking handwriting on the wall people!!! I can mess up around the house...the laundry, the meals, whatever else...but not these children!!!

Well, I have posted some pictures from the last few weeks. We took this past week off to prepare for Thanksgiving. It was a good time together for the three of us as we tackled several projects. Amazingly we still managed to sneak some school work into our work work and it was time well spent!! I hope you enjoy the pictures~

Aly had a fun science experience that we worked on...we gathered our materials.

The experience was about "germination" You should have seen me scouring around for bean seeds in November!!! LOL

Aly had fun setting up each of the jars.

Jars 1,3 & 4 had to be in a warm sunny window...my laundry room window was perfect! The others were in the fridge!

A very interesting fact that we picked up along the way. Can you imagine???
Lili was so funny...she had to connect the dots by number, but then she thought she was supposed to connect the pictures as well!!! See the black line going from one pic to the other? We all got a good laugh at that one...even her!

We are so enjoying the "Which Way USA" puzzle books and maps for each of the States. So far we have done Florida, Texas, New York, and California. Next week we start on Oklahoma. Aly is getting a good overview of each state and learning a lot of fun facts as well. We also are spending a good bit of time doing map work with each state. It is her favorite thing we do, so it always gets saved for the last subject of the day so as to provide good motivation to get everything else done!!! I'm a smart Mommy like that!! :-)

Okay...this was hilarious. Lili wandered into the dining room...um I mean our homeschooling room. (Okay, David would like it to be our dining room...meaning that we occasionally dined there, but alas...we only school in there. Except for Thanksgiving and Christmas....sorry Babe!!)

Back to the story~

Lili wandered in there on this morning and asked, "Mamma, what am I going to be doing today in school?" I said, "You, my little muffin, are going to be working

on the letter C" She said, "But, Maaaaahhhhhhhmmmmmmaaaaaaa, I can't make the letter C like it is supposed to be made." I said, "Well my dear, that is why you are going to work on them today" All was quiet for a few minutes and then I heard her in the dining room with her doodle pad...then she said, "But if I can't MAKE them right then how am I supposed to WORK on them?" (Ah yes...she really is my little Analytical baby!) "I mean LOOK Mom...Really...does this look anything like a C to YOU?????" You just HAVE to love that kid...I mean, come on... seriously!

This is what Lili wrote on her Doodle pad in the car the other day. I was pretty impressed.

Aly has been working on this poem in English. She just loves it. She decided to spice things up a bit and add in the body movements so that "People will really enjoy it!"

Okay...so I'm off to clean up the kitchen now. Have a wondeful week!!

In HIS Mighty Grip