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'Tis the season of gift-giving, and now that we are in our tenth year of homeschooling (HOW did that happen?), I am thinking a lot about the gift that homeschooling is, and the gifts that it has given me over the years. Whether you are a first-year homeschooler or a veteran, do these ring true with you? What would you add to this list? One of the biggest blessings of homeschooling is the time it gives me with my children. Do you know how much time children spend in school? Assuming seven hours a day, 180 days a year, for thirteen years (kindergarten through twelfth grade), that is 16,380 hours, or 682 twenty-four hour days (910 waking-hour days). That is two to three years total away from home, away from family, and away from your influence. Homeschooling gives us those hours, days, and years back. Homeschooling also gives us time to spend on learning (if more time is needed), time to jump ahead (if a subject is particularly easy), and time to take a break when life interrupts. I will forever be grateful that because of homeschooling, we had the flexibility to jump in the car and drive twelve hours to surprise my mother-in-law for her birthday one year, and then to make the same drive only weeks later to unexpectedly say good-bye to her. Homeschooling gave us those memories without the stress of getting permission from their schools or making up schoolwork. Homeschooling certainly means we spend a lot of time together in our family. Sometimes that can grate on everyone's last nerve, but most of the time, its a true blessing. My children are four years apart in age, and homeschooling means that they are together a lot more than they would be if they were enrolled at different schools for the majority of the day. We try to take advantage of, and nurture, that togetherness by engaging in activities that suit the whole family, such as Tae Kwon Do or American Heritage Girls or Trail Life USA. We also do some learning together, even with one child in elementary school and one in high school, with read-alouds or music and art appreciation, or watching World Watch for current events. Homeschooling requires communicating. Teaching my children, checking their work, explaining how to do a problem, discussing what they got out of something they read, having them narrate a story to me - all day long, we are talking. I've begun to realize as my children get older what a gift this is. My daughter is now in high school, and the habit of communicating all day long about her learning has kept the door open for communication about other things, too. Because of the topics we choose for them to learn about, we have conversations about deeper topics than we might otherwise - about friendship (Charlotte's Web), about glory (The Iliad), about virtue (Famous Men of Rome), about God's sovereignty (Community Bible Study), and many other topics. Trust Time spent together learning and talking can build a closer relationship, which in turn leads to increased trust - in both directions. My kids know that I have their best interests at heart and so come to me with their questions and concerns. In turn, I'm able to trust them because I see their hearts as we hash out issues related to homeschooling, as well as the bunny trails that we go on! Homeschooling has given my children the freedom to explore and develop their talents. For my son, that has included nurturing his creativity with Legos and digital art, as well as different sports. For my daughter, it has meant time to learn to crochet and to play the ukulele. I love seeing them find and grow in their talents, and to see how they can use those to serve others and to glorify God. Doing school together means we can weave the truth of the Scriptures into everything our children learn, whether that is history or science or literature or even math. All truth is God's truth, and we talk about truth all the time. We talk about what it is and how to recognize it and how to defend it. We praise God for it and remind each other of it. Truth is a major topic of conversation around our home. As a homeschool mom, I have a front row seat for the transformation of my own children. I have the privilege of seeing them struggle and overcome in their school work. I get to see those "aha" moments as they realized why something is true or how things they have been learning fit together. Could I have these gifts without homeschooling? Well, yes. I have plenty of friends whose children are in public or private school who could relate stories about how they also experience time and togetherness, about the meaningful talks they have, about opportunities they also have to develop their talents and to talk about truth, and about how they have seen a transformation in their children. Clearly, homeschooling is not the only path of blessing. But for us, those have come through our homeschooling lifestyle, and in a season of gift-giving, these are some for which I am profoundly grateful.
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I received a free subscription to My Math Assistant in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, not was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC regulations. LOOK FOR A COUPON CODE AFTER THIS REVIEW! Math is one of those topics that can elicit groans from the most veteran homeschool parent. Finding the right program that fits your child and his or her math learning style, is challenging, especially one that isn't too easy or too frustrating (for both the child AND the parent). Switching from one curriculum to another is intimidating because as with other skills, you want to avoid gaps in your child's learning, and different curriculum options present math skills in different ways and in difference sequential order. I've shared before that Saxon has worked beautifully for my ninth grader and we have used it with her consistently except for one year that we took to explore Euclid geometry. We used it with my son (now in fifth grade) as well, until about halfway through third grade, when math was turning into a daily battle for several reasons. For one, my son has a condition called palmar hyperhidrosis, or extremely sweaty palms, that makes writing on paper a true challenge. Our solution to that was to have me be his scribe, but that took extra time, and working out problems was particularly frustrating. That, combined with the length of Saxon's lessons, sent me looking for another solution. We found and switched to a math program that was 100% online, and it worked great in some ways. No more problems caused by sweaty hands, plus it has bells and whistles (literally) that make math lessons more fun. But we have found it is still taking a LONG time to finish his math lessons, and I am still a fan of Saxon's approach. I also know what Saxon will look like in high school, and I was unsure of how that would be with the other program. My son has also been asking about the possibility of switching back to Saxon, but the issue with his hands remains. That much writing is just wearying for him! Then I found My Math Assistant, and that is what I want to share with you today. What it isMy Math Assistant is a companion website for Saxon math. That means you need to have the physical Saxon textbook, testing book, and answer key, BUT it helps you with all of the management AND teaching of it. It enables me to make the most of the parts of Saxon that I love and to adjust what hasn't always worked for us. My Math Assistant includes several main components. Video instruction for each lesson is provided in a concise, easy-to-follow writing-on-the-blackboard format. There are also links in the Extra Practice problems back to the video for the lesson each problem comes from, so if a child is having difficulty, he or she can go back and watch it. I really like the no frills, no distractions look of it. The self-grading feature gives immediate feedback to your child. This is huge. It tells my children right away if they are on the right track without them waiting for me to grade their assignment. You can also change the settings to allow multiple attempts and to adjust the grading (or not) for repeated attempts. If they make multiple attempts and can't get it, or if they are frustrated and want my help, they can also click on "I need help" and move on to the next problem. I will then get an email, or I will see it in my dashboard when I log on, and we can work on that part together. Facts practice is available for all levels. In Saxon, those are the pages of math facts that are typically anywhere from twenty to a hundred on a page. They are great practice, but can be overwhelming! In My Math Assistant, I am able to choose how many problems to do and which kinds of facts practice, or even if I want to skip them for a while. ACT/SAT Test Prep is something that I will be using with my daughter (the ninth grader). These are short videos that walk through typical problems and also give test-taking tips. You can add them to lessons or use them as a stand-along feature. How it worksYou start by setting up your account, and your child's account and choosing your child's book (if you are just starting with Saxon math, My Math Assistant also has placement tests to help you know where to start). Your account allows you to receive reports and to customize your child's lessons. Your child's account lets them see their assignments, to enter their answers, access videos (if you have that option) and to receive feedback.
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How much does it cost?There are three subscription options. All include Facts Practice, Online and E-mail Reports, the ability to customize, and Customer Support. One includes Video Instruction (both the Saxon lessons and the ACT/SAT prep), one includes self-grading, and one gives you everything. There are also different monthly prices for a single student or a family of two to five students: Video Lessons: $4.99 (single); $8.99 (family) Self-grading: $4.99 (single); $8.99 (family) Everything: $8.99 (single); $12.99 (family) Annual pricing: Get twelve months for the price of ten. If you use my discount code MMA26007 you can save $5 on your first purchase. :) Don't forget that this is not a stand-along program - you MUST have the Saxon curriculum to be able to use My Math Assistant. You can also have a free seven-day trial period to see if this will work for you! Why I love itI love this for my fifth grader because he can work independently with the curriculum we already know and love. I love how easy it is to customize and to simply remove some options so it's not even a distraction (right now, I'm ONLY having him do the lesson practice for a few lessons). I love how it grades his answers immediately. The only thing it does not include that we need is an online workspace to work out problems, but we have a special app for that anyway (Mod Math Pro).
I love this for my ninth grader because she can receive immediate feedback on her work without waiting for me to grade it. I love that the videos are right there to teach her the lesson, since as she progresses in math (currently in Algebra 2), those lessons get more challenging. She found a bunch of YouTube videos for Algebra 1, but how much time we would have saved to have had this at our fingertips! I also love the SAT/ACT prep videos and how easy it is to incorporate those into her daily lessons. For both my children, I love that I don't need to grade their work, but I am still in control of what they are doing and am here to help them when they need it. And I love how user-friendly it is for me to set up for them, and to see exactly where they are at in their learning. If you are struggling to use Saxon math with your children, I strongly recommend My Math Assistant!! I've been quiet here lately. Not because I have nothing to say, but I've been focused on my family, and I've been doing a lot of thinking - about our country, the world, the body of Christ, about what my children need to learn before launching them into adulthood (having a ninth grader will do that to you). And one of the thoughts on my mind lately has been that phrase Soli Deo Gloria. Even those who haven't taken Latin probably recognize the meaning - glory to God alone. Yesterday was Reformation Day, and the Five Solas of the Reformation were all over my social media feeds, including this one, but this has also been a part of our family prayers for some time as well - "Lord, help us to glorify you in all we say and do." But what does it mean to do all things for the glory of God alone? There are many Bible passages, of course, that talk about God's glory, and whole books have been written on the topic. But the passage that comes to my mind is from Ephesians 1, and that is what I would like to share with you right now. Ephesians is a letter written to the churches in Ephesus and the surrounding area around AD 62, by the apostle Paul while he was imprisoned in Rome. The teaching it contains focuses on redemption, grace, and the new life of those who follow Christ. The patterns of the New Testament letters were to open with greetings, then some sort of blessing or thanksgiving, then the main point of the letter, and finally some closing remarks. The first part of Ephesians, especially 1:3-2:10, contains those first two sections - greetings and thanksgiving - and within these are hidden jewels about God and His glory. Several times, Paul uses the phrase "to the praise of his glory" and sometimes "to the praise of his glorious grace", and always it is connected to something he has done for us. What has he done?Paul begins by saying that God has "blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ" (1:3). How?
Why did he do it?Well, it wasn't because we deserved it. Paul makes that clear. In the first few verses of chapter 2, he points out exactly how bad we are before we know Christ:
Paul gives us clues to the "why" also in this passage.
Do you notice something about all of those things? They aren't about us. Nothing in us inspired God to love us or to lavish us with His grace. He loves us because He is love. He saved us because His character expresses grace through kindness. He lavished with His grace because that is what His love does and means. He blesses us because to do so is in line with his pleasure and his will. And the fact that he did all of this for us when we were deserving of wrath allows His character of love and grace to be put on a pedestal for others to see and to praise Him for who He is. It's not about me. It's all about Him. How do we respond?Again, Paul answers our question by mentioning a very few of our own actions in this passage.
Our response to this incredible, crazy, undeserved grace should simply be to believe and put our hope in Christ (two sides of the same coin) and to do the good works He gives us to do, with the mindset that I am His workmanship (2:10) and that all of this - ALL of life - is for the purpose of putting His grace and glory on a pedestal for everyone to see. It's not about me. It's all about Him. How does that change me?If my actions and my relationship with God are for the sole purpose of shining the spotlight on His character - His love, His kindness, His mercy, His grace - then I need to be using that as a filter in everything I say, everything I do, everything I meditate on, every movie I see, every song I hear, every moment of my life. It should impact how I talk with my family members, how I choose curriculum for my children, how I spend my down time, how I earn and spend my money - every little detail of my life because it's all His. I was made and saved for the sake of bringing Him glory. Not so I can have a comfortable American life. It's all for Him. And even the making of God-glorifying choices is not in my own power, but in the power of the Holy Spirit, who strengthens and fills me (Ephesians 5:18), and who alone can enable me to live a God-pleasing life - and that also brings Him glory, because it's not about me. It's all about Him.
This is what has been filling my thoughts lately. It's what I'm trying to get across to my children in what we do, and learn, and say, and give, and....well, you get the idea. I'm far from perfect in living this out, but I want the thought of this to be on my mind and heart every moment. It's not easy. It's definitely not the normal American life, and I dare say it's not even the normal American Christian life. It's radical to lay everything down and submit every decision about everything, small and big, to the question, "How will this glorify my God and Savior? How will this shine a spotlight on His grace, mercy, kindness, goodness, and love?" But it's what I want. It's what we were made for. To bring Him glory. Especially as we go into the season of Thanksgiving, I'm praying for this, that God will daily remind me of His great grace and help me by the power of His Spirit to glorify Him. Will you join me in this? It's not about us. It's all about Him. Soli Deo Gloria. |
Welcome!Welcome! My name is Kristi. I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a teacher, a writer, a musician... but most of all a child and worshiper of God discovering that even in life's messes, God is still good. Learn more about me and my journey here!
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