In Freedom's Cause - A Review

Can I just tell you how much I LOVE Heirloom Audio Productions?  Seriously.  After discovering and enjoying their first production released last year I was so excited to learn of their second title that I actually purchased it for my children for Christmas.  Imagine my excitement when I saw the new story come up for review.  I just had to jump on board!  It is an honor to share with you a piece of history published by a company so dedicated to providing a sincere and true account of the lives of real heroes that have gone before us.  Knowing that I have access to an ever growing resource of true accounts of honorable figures to share with my children and grandchildren is exciting and uplifting.  The passion behind the production of these audio dramas is very evident, and I am so thankful that the team at Heriloom Audio Productions has answered the call to bring real history to life with such dedication and determination.

Our family has been enjoying the experience of listening to the story of Sir William Wallace and King Robert the Bruce and their fight for freedom.  The In Freedom's Cause Single Package will continue to bless our family for years to come.  This story is told with such fire and passion that you are effortlessly transported Scotland at the beginning of the 14th Century at a time of great turbulence.  We enter at the point of history that would eventually lead to Scotland's freedom from English rule.  For me, there is no better way to learn history than to be completely immersed in it, and the stories of G.A. Henty told through Heirloom Audio Productions come to life in such a way that you feel part of the story.

Our family circumstances have changed a bit since the first production was released.  We used to spend a lot more time in our vehicle traveling to a distant destination on a regular basis.  Praise God, that is no longer the case.  With the young ages of my children this meant that I had to get a little more creative with our listening time.  We enjoyed coloring, putting together puzzles, and working with homemade busy bags either in our family room or at the dining room table while we enjoyed the story.  After we had completed the first CD, I did a general search online to locate Scotland specific coloring pages.  We located Scotland on the map and colored a map of Scotland as we began the second CD.  This allowed us to already have a nice foundation in place to build their understanding and comprehension of the story.  We later colored a Scottish bagpipe player, Sir William Wallace, and Maid Marian.

The CD Set and Study Guide provide wonderful opportunities for discussion no matter the age of your children.  With mine being younger I picked out the portions that I thought were relevant and helpful for their age group.  There is plenty of material for the beginner as well as the more advanced student.  There is so much potential here to expand on the story further cementing this part of history into our consciousness.  I love the way the Study Guide is so simply presented with it's three focus points; listening well, thinking further, and defining words.  We primarily focus on listening well and defining words at this stage in the game discussing the questions and terms verbally together either during or after our listening session.  I look forward to building on this as the children get older.

The story of Wallace and Bruce is one of heartbreak, tragedy, and pain.  It is also an empowering lesson in faith, determination, and the value of freedom. Through its telling Heirloom Audio Productions wonderfully achieves their mission "...to engage our listeners imagination by taking them back in time and immersing them in the story."  I have so enjoyed the first two releases that I am overjoyed to learn that two more new releases are expected this year!  The first title, With Lee in Virginia, a tale of the American Civil War, is slotted for release on Memorial Day.  You can follow the progress on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter.

In Freedom's Cause is a valuable piece of world history.  It will forever hold a prominent place in our homeschool.  You can learn more about In Freedom's Cause via Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest.  It's never too late to learn our history, and there's no better way than through Heirloom Audio Productions CD sets.

It's a Privilege

One question we get asked in fun each winter, since we live in an area that receives snow, is:

"Do your children get snow days?"

We homeschoolers even ask each other that out of curiosity.  Generally speaking, the simple answer is, "no".  However, if we look a little deeper we find that we get so much more than the occasional snow day.  In fact, viewed through the proper perspective, I would go as far to say that as homeschoolers we actually live a life of privilege.

There are many privileges of homeschooling.  Here are my top five:

1.   The Freedom to Sleep When it's Needed - At first I was going to say sleeping in, but there is so much more to it than that.  Even though my kids don't allow me to sleep as late as I would like compared to the alternative we are sleeping in.  Thankfully, my hubby is a morning person, and he's up and at 'em by 5:30 each morning, but the rest of us get to continue in slumber until about 7:30 when the house slowly comes to life.  We take our time waking up, cook breakfast, and wrap up the very beginning of our day by 9 o'clock.  Talk about a privilege!  I can guarantee you that at this point we've not even gotten out of our pajamas.  We're in the country, but we do happen to live on a public school bus route.  I can personally attest to the fact that none of the local kids that ride that yellow bus have that luxury.  That bus has long since driven past our home by the time we're wiping the sleep out of our eyes.

The privilege of sleeping in isn't the only way we are blessed.  What about when we're sick?  Both the parents and the children benefit in this regard as well.  There are no worries of missed days, piling up of assignments, loss of pay (if you were a paid teacher at the school), or sharing of germs.  It's a lot easier to cancel a get together or reschedule a meeting than it is to miss even one day of institutional school.  We can continue on with our routine while sipping hot tea, stopping to blow our nose, and breaking to medicate.  No doctor's note.  No prescription.  No penalty for taking the time to rest that we so desperately need.  No validation needed from anyone.  We simply listen to our bodies and act accordingly.  Being sick may not be fun, but being free to deal with it on our own terms is pure bliss.

This goes even further when the family faces a crisis or major life change.  We're honored with the privilege to take the time we need to grieve the loss of a loved one.  We can welcome a new family member, be it a new baby or other circumstance, without worrying about pressing on at the same speed.  We can adjust our routine to give us the time we need to ease into our new circumstances without the outside pressure of adhering to a schedule we did not create for ourselves.  I cannot begin to express just how beautiful a blessing this actually is for us.

2. The Freedom of Lifestyle Choice in Many Areas - Since we've moved to the country I appreciate our many differences even more-so.  Homeschoolers come from all different lifestyles.  There are homesteaders, RV travelers, world travelers, urban dwellers, commuters, small business owners, missionaries, the terminally ill, those suffering with chronic pain, multi-generational families, divorced families, military families, multi-cultural families, adoptive families, classic educators, unschoolers, single-income families, two-income families, single parent households, and on and on and on.  All of the different lifestyles we live make us unique.  As homeschoolers being unique is celebrated, not criticized.  Despite our differences, we are a community brought together by the simple fact that we home educate.  Being unique and different is encouraged and supported.  The freedom to live our life as we desire is not hindered by the artificial framework of institutional education.

We are in charge of our time to the fullest extent possible.  This means that milking the cows holds the same importance as wrote lessons.  The value of living, really living, is honored and even capitalized upon.  There is freedom to integrate learning into our life building our education around the lifestyle we live.  We are not forced to try to live around an artificial lifestyle created for us.  Having lived both within the confines of institutionalized education as well as with the freedom of homeschooling (using various methods over the past 18 years), Being able to take a vacation anytime we want, being free to set our routine around dad's work schedule, and seeing a movie in an empty theater or visiting a museum while everyone else is in school, I now recognize this freedom as a privilege not afforded to all.

3.  The Freedom to Set Our Own Pace - Have I told you lately how much I love this?  We actually have the privilege to choose how fast or slow we progress through any given learning experience.  My most recent "personal object lesson" in this area would have to be my nine-year-old and her struggle with understanding money and place value.  She really "should have" learned this by now, right?  Well, when I was trying to teach her last year I tried every method I could think of.  We used manipulatives, worksheets, computer programs, apps, and board games.  It just wasn't sinking in.  Once I had exhausted all of my avenues it finally clicked, "Hello!  She's not ready to learn this.  Back off, lady!".  Fortunately, I had enough experience with how children learn by this point to actually trust my instincts, and guess what?  Here we are six months or so later, and guess what I noticed?  She's understanding money and place value now.  I didn't notice it by giving her a test or forcing her to just keep at it until it had been drilled into her.  I noticed it by paying attention to her, by conversing with her, and providing no stress opportunities for her to experience money and place value outside the confines of intentional instruction.  She is now ready to take it to the next level, and it happened without my interference.

Another way I see the benefit of learning at our own speed goes in the opposite direction.  When I planned out our school year for 2014-15 I prepped a ton of preschool material for the then three and four year old.  It just so happened that once I started implementing the various resources and activities in my bag of tricks I quickly learned that everything I had planned for the four year old was not challenging enough.  We chucked everything.  At this point it didn't matter the time and effort I put into preparing it for him.  What mattered was meeting him where he was at, and this kid knew things at a level that I didn't even realize.  Since we are in charge of our pace he wasn't forced to just trudge along participating in activities that didn't stimulate or challenge him.  We were able to take a step back, regroup, and begin again.

4.  The Freedom to Learn What We Want To - That's not to say that we don't have certain obligations as homeschoolers.  Of course our children need to be taught the same core subjects offered to the public school students here in Michigan.  The difference?  What we teach in those broad categories, the length of time we spend exploring those topics, and the method we use for learning these subjects is up to us.  Our extracurricular activities are determined by us.  The elective courses we decide to explore are our choice.  What a privilege it is to be able to go super in depth in a subject that interests one of our children, and to have the freedom to abandon a subject when it no longer is of interest.  There is nothing better in the real of learning than a custom tailored education, and that is exactly what I am able to provide for my children.

We have the freedom to freely talk about God and the bible.  Things relevant to our lifestyle can be incorporated into our homeschool.  Things like entrepreneurship, animal husbandry, horticulture, astronomy, puzzles and games, art, 4-H, photography, music and singing, acts of service, morals and manners, hospitality, and home economics.  Our children can be gently guided in areas of moral and spiritual growth in the safety of our family and friends.  It is a privilege for them to be actively raised and guided by those that love them and have a vested interest in their success and safety, as well as a privilege for us as adults to be able to have the freedom to be afforded the time and opportunity to truly build relationship with our children.  Through the process of educating and guiding our children our family is made all the stronger by the time we spend working together toward ultimately ushering them into independence.

5.  The Freedom to REALLY be Ourselves - In today's culture we here so much about bullying.  I'm not that old to have forgotten the pressures that accompany spending all day with 1200 plus people all in my same age group.  In real life we do not only associate with people our own age.  I don't know about you, but I have friends and acquaintances of all ages.  I enjoy the company of my friend's nine-year-old (and the fact that she's not too intimidated or bored of my presence to carry on a real conversation with me) just as much as my fellow church members in their 80's.  We associate with people from infants to senior citizens, and my children can feel comfortable around them all.

We don't have to worry about the clothes we buy our children being in style, and even more important is that they don't have to worry either.  They can dress how they like without the worry of being picked on, ostracized, or being made to feel "less than".  There's just something different about these kids that makes them more accepting of each other.  Does that mean that everyone gets along with everyone, and no one is ever mean?  Well, of course not, but the instances are MUCH, much less within our community of home educating families.  This lack of need to fit in is a relief to both the parents and the children.  As a result the kids are more themselves, and the parents are freed the financial stress of school supply lists and back to school clothes shopping.  Instead, we purchase things as they are needed, and that is a wonderful privilege.

I know there are many, many more privileges associated with homeschooling.  I encourage you to share your thoughts.  I'd love to know what privileges and freedoms you are thankful for in your homeschooling life.

A Break from the Norm

Sometimes it becomes evident that a diversion is needed from the mundane, everyday routine.  Don't get me wrong.  Our routine is a good one, and it works well for us, but sometimes changing things up a bit is just what's needed to add a little fun and adventure into the normal course of living.  Since the kids and I have done so well at staying on track with our academic schedule, and we really don't take any breaks, it was easy to throw caution to the wind this week and head out for some spontaneous shopping and exploring.

My favorite day was Wednesday when we decided to take a truckload of donations to K.I.D.S. in St. Clair.  It's a wonderful organization that provides clothing, books, toys, and other needed items to children that are experiencing difficulty in one fashion or another.  We learned about it shortly after the girls came to live with us, and they really blessed us.  Now, we make it a point to give back.  This time was the first time I directly involved the children in the process.

After breakfast and morning devotions the kids and I headed up to Avery's room to go through all of his possessions.  We took out a trash bag and small box of items to donate.  I had already loaded up the back of my truck over the weekend with items from another room I've been actively purging.  We added Avery's old treasures to the load and headed out.

For some reason I missed a turn and it took us a little longer than it should have to get there, but we weren't in a rush.  It was no big deal.  We still made it there in time for the kids to help me unload the donations.  They enjoyed helping.

Once we were finished at K.I.D.S. we found a local party store to purchase some snacks and headed out to travel the waterline.  We found a nice spot to pull off and watch the water and enjoyed our snacks.  Then, we traveled the back way home through the woods and stopped at a park for some fun time to run around and climb.  Bella's favorite is the teeter-totter.

The rest of this week we wrapped up our science and history studies and focused our energies on purging more things from home.  I cannot tell you how good it feels to finally have enough energy to get some of our house back in order.  With kids moving in and out over the past three years we have changed rooms around more than I care to remember.  It has caused some very frustrating disorder.  Step by step I am reclaiming my organized home.

As the kids grow and get more settled in our family they are growing more independent, and for me that means more time to do the things I need and want to do.  There was a point where it seemed they would never go off and explore or play on their own.  Now they play make believe A LOT, and I absolutely love listening to their exploits.  Sometimes they even include me in their script.  Of course I play along.

Right now we all seem to be in a spot where we need a little more freedom.  Play really is the work of the children, and I have been actively encouraging mine to work very hard.  It just seems like that kind of season right now.  It's a time for us to set aside rigorous academics for a more relaxed approach.  I guess that's why we're so good at being eclectic.  We may use a curriculum, or two or three, for this or that, but we can also flow with our natural rhythm as well.  Sometimes that is what's most important.  Aside from a strong faith walk, the thing I wish most for my children is independence and trust in themselves; their instincts and intuition.  Having enough time to freely explore, create, and play is essential to the end goal.

This week of redirection has renewed my strength and my hope in the future.  It's weird how some days life can seem so long, and others it seems way too short.  Recently I was reminded just how important it is to be present in the here and now.  Life is short, and if we do not take the time to enjoy it we will surely miss out.  We are not guaranteed tomorrow, so we should live today.

Follow the Leader

Robin Nest Discovered 2013

There is one thing I've learned over the years, and it is to let your kids lead.  They are expert at this game if we just give them the chance.  Kids are natural game players, and have you ever met a more formidable force than a determined toddler?  I find myself asking myself, "WHY NOT?", quite a lot.  The key is to not only ask yourself the question, but to evaluate your reasons for 'not'.  Are they valid?

For instance, I was doing dishes this evening, and Annabella wanted to help.  Well, any experienced mom knows just how helpful a just turned three year old is with the task of washing dishes.  She also knows the value in facilitating the experience for the child.  So, instead of rejecting her completely, I asked her to move her stool over so I could stand at the sink without acquiring a crazy backache.  Then, I let her watch for a while.  Of course, that didn't last long.  She repeatedly asked to help.  So, I had her go get some of her play dishes that she wanted to wash and set them on the counter.  When I finished my dishes I refilled the sink with warm water, not the scalding stuff I was using, and some bubbles.  I gave her a sponge, and she had fun for a good hour or so.  Then, the resident four year old joined in the fun.  Once the eight year old got involved it started to fall apart a little, but it ended well.  Does it really matter that my floor got wet?  Of course not.  It's one step closer to clean than it was this morning!

Making a train in
the dining room.

There are so many things our kids love to do, and their timing isn't always perfect, but I have been making a concerted effort to really be aware if their request can be honored as opposed to just dismissing it immediately as not doable.  Is there really a good reason, I mean a really good reason, the kids cannot build a fort in the family room?  What about that sleepover they want to do with each other tonight?  Why not?  They want to paint.  Why isn't it a good time for that?  Is there someway their spontaneity can be honored?  If not completely, can there be a compromise made?

When children have the freedom to explore in a way that comes natural to them they are more likely to be happy, independent, and creative problem solvers.  They learn tenacity and gain confidence in themselves.  Teamwork is involved as well as compassion and empathy.

In our home we have taken a slight bend in the road and shifted our focus, for the time being, from primarily academics to a greater concentration on emotions and feelings.  We made (not so for me) calming bottles the other day and learned about anger.  The kids love the bottles and have developed a number of creative uses for them aside from their intended purpose.  If I had to do it over again there are a few things we would do differently, so it was a learning experience for me as well.

All this freedom to explore is preparing the young ones in my home for a summer of exploration.  This will be the girls' second summer here, and there is so much right in our own yard to discover.  I cannot wait to create special areas with them on our property for different activities.  The possibilities are limited only by our creativity.  There is so much that can be done.

Some ideas that intrigue me are:

• Plant a sunflower house.
• Blaze a trail.
• Create an outdoor reading area.
• Build a performance stage.
• Create an outdoor music area.
• Establish a water and sand play area.
• Build a fort.
• Build a tree house.
• Plant a garden
• Establish a natural water exploration area.
• Create bird feeding areas.
• Make a digging area.

Who knows which ones of these will happen this summer, but dreaming and planning is fun.  Without first exploring the ideas, how could they come to fruition.  The kids and I are in the beginning stages of planning and preparing for our garden.  The next step will be to explore the above ideas together, and determine which ones are most appealing to us and make a plan to make them happen.  It will be a little easier to plan and explore these ideas once the snow melts.  (It's so deep right now that I can't even walk through it.) Then we can get outside and survey our property to determine the best locations and maybe even come up with more ideas.

Freedom in Definition

Recently I learned that I fit into a category.  Typically I am not one for labels, but I did find this a bit interesting; even a little freeing to a certain extent.  Never in a million years could I have ever imagined all the drastic twists and turns I would travel through traversing the road of my life.  I especially could have never begun to guess that there would even be a few corkscrews along the way.  Who knew, right?

Years ago I looked forward to this stage of my life with great anticipation.  It was going to be a time to reclaim my childhood.  I would explore what it truly meant to be me.  Maybe I would volunteer full-time for a local organization I wholeheartedly believed in.  Maybe I would continue my education.  I've always wanted to learn photography "for real".  Surely I would have plenty of time to really invest in my relationship with each of my grandchildren.

The first hairpin turn was our decision to adopt.  Okay. So we're raising one kid all on his own.  So what?   We raised seven already.  What's one?  It was like a vacation those first couple years; a breath of fresh air.  Then, the best fur buddy I ever had died, we moved, and we started becoming aware that things were going to dramatically change again.

Suddenly the track shot up, the cars turned upside down, and we pulled out the other side with two more children in our car.  This meant lots of changes, big emotions, and slow adjustments for everyone.  Our slow acclimation to becoming a homeschooling family again quickly turned into a quick dive into the deep waters head first.  The water was cold and shocking, but you know the story.  We adjusted.

I have never been a traditional homeschooler.  For a while I considered myself very much an unschooler.  This time around it seemed smartest to implement a full curriculum.  We started our fully anticipating using this curriculum through graduation.  It's perfect, covers everything important to us, and takes a huge load off of my shoulders in the planning department.  As the completion of this first year started to come into view on the horizon I prepared to purchase the next level.  Well, I hesitated.  I read what was next, and I just wasn't so sure we really needed to do it that way anymore.  You see, my favorite aspect of homeschooling is FREEDOM.  I LOVE IT!!!

Spring is coming.  There is so much for us to learn together.  We will be starting seeds, planning a garden, preparing to raise animals, building structures, manicuring our woods more, landscaping, camping, and I have a TON of educational supplies already (like any good homeschooling veteran would).  So, why not use what I have?

Enter me learning exactly who I am educationally speaking.  I had to take a brief demographic survey that required me to choose specifically what type of homeschooling family we are.  I had no clue.  Like I said, I don't concern myself with labels and categories when it comes to this type of thing.  Because, in all honesty, does it really matter?  I don't think so.  However, as soon as I looked up "eclectic" and read this:

"An Eclectic Homeschooler is one who looks at the different approaches and methods of homeschooling and takes from each forming his own unique philosophy."

...I knew it defined my style exactly.  Slowly, I have determined that it is now okay to ease back into our more relaxed approach to education.  Our resident elementary student is still warming to the idea that grade level is irrelevant, and grades are arbitrary, but she's getting there.  Taking what I consider a more "whole-life" approach to education will help her to lose some more of her guard and open up to becoming a more relaxed learner.  It is exciting to me!

Yes, being eclectic means a little more work on my part, but I really think I'm ready for it now.  I have the materials at my fingertips.  I need to purchase nothing.  So, why not?  This next year is looking much more inviting to me and even a little more easy.  I have been lamenting the fact that I have two preschoolers and an elementary student; not an easy mix.  With my new found freedom it will be much easier to cater to the individual needs and interests of each child.  I like preschool.  Now, I will be able to enjoy it more.  Therefor the kids will certainly have much more fun.

Does this mean we will never use curriculum again?  I certainly have my doubts.  However, it does mean we have found our niche.  We are grabbing life by the reigns and fully embracing the family we have become.  We know who we are, and we are running with it.

Artificial Time Lines

For those of you that regularly stop by here you know that I have been struggling with exhaustion and being overwhelmed with my personal demands on my time. I have been actively trying to face this challenge and not succumb to the resulting depression. That seems to be a normal course of events in this situation. I have made several changes over the past few months, and they all seem to working for my overall good.

One thing that I am currently reevaluating is my perception of the way things should be done. In so doing I have been forced to think about the demands on my time and why they are there. What I have come to realize is that there are real deadlines and artificial time lines in all of our lives. We fall victim to social standards without really realizing it if we don't pay attention and make a conscious decision to be a free thinking individual.

As a homeschooling mom the most obvious one for me is educational time lines. Who says we have to start school at three, or five, or six, and why not ten? What about graduation? Why do we need to graduate at 18? Why not 14, or 16, or even 22? Since when do we all fit into the same mold? How on earth could our time lines all be the same? What would life be like if we were free to do EVERYTHING at our own pace? I think it would be pretty cool.

In this line of thinking I discovered that one of the things on my agenda, or artificial time line, that was bogging me down was the deadline I inflicted upon myself to have our chosen subjects of exploration completed by May 31st. Who says? Why? To what end? Why on earth does it matter if we complete the Ancient History curriculum that we chose to explore this year by May 31st? If it's not working for us right now, it's not working. Since we learn everyday what harm is there in taking a break when it is needed? My conclusion is ABSOLUTELY NONE!

We are not sitting around like lumps. We are not losing knowledge by putting off a self-inflicted schedule. On the contrary we are learning other things. My 15 year old is currently making a map collage of territory maps of times past. It's rather interesting and amazes me how he can just look at them and know exactly what empire it is strictly by viewing a blank map. My 17 year old is engrossed in writing. He has been writing stories a lot online at a website that others view your work and tell you what they think. Some criticism is useful, and some not so much, but he does enjoy it a lot. Think about the learning and creativity going on here. It's amazing and inspiring.

If my boys are self-aware enough to occupy their time with what fits in the moment, why on earth am I so unable to do so myself? Why do I struggle with doing what feels right for the moment? Why am I inclined to fight my instincts over and over again? When will I ever learn that there are some deadlines that are important like paying the bills on time, and then there are others that are not so important. Life is full of choices, and what we are inclined to think is right is not always the case. Sometimes a reevaluation is in order. When is the last time you took a moment to take a close look at what you are doing with your time? Are you focusing on what is important, or are you paying more attention to something due to an self-imposed deadline. Take a close look. You may be surprised as to what you find.