Hatch School Diaries - First entry

For those of you that said you wished you could be a fly on the wall of my house when I announced our decision to homeschool....

The Hatch School Diaries

We have logged thirteen days, (we need 180 each year) and none have been exactly the same, but generally, for those curious, a homeschool day so far goes as follows:

9am - We begin.  Breakfast has been eaten, beds made, teeth brushed.  I have had at least one cup of coffee and possibly taken a walk.  Possibly.

We meet at the dining room table and start with prayers.  All of us take turns offering up our praises and requests, then we recite the Lord's Prayer or I say a simple prayer to get us moving.  (I had to put a stop to the daily request for more Legos.  That was my little Kelly's constant heart's desire.)

After prayers, math is first; This just felt natural to all of us.  At 10 o'clock we take a short break, then move into language and reading.  That carries us until noonish.  Break.  I make lunch and they go run around outside, do their soccer drills, or play legos.

By 1pm we are sitting in the living room where we listen to a book on cd that Key is reading.  It relates to our history unit, so Kelly gets information from listening as well.  Then on to history, which is currently colonial times and the Revolutionary War.  They have assignments to do and I assist with each as needed.  Around three we tie things up and turn our house back into a dining room and living room.  I have a closet, a big wooden tray, a stack of books, and a portable bin to help us attempt at containing clutter. 

I collected my school lessons from a variety of places - stores, used book sales, friends, and online.  I have found tons of great resources are free on the computer once I get to digging.  The library has become a staple for us at least once a week.  I chose various curriculum from advice of friends, teachers, and veteran homeschoolers.  Some of it I like; some of it is getting scrapped as soon as I find a better alternative. 

For the social aspect and special interest classes, we have lots of options.  There are two support groups here in town and four total in my county alone.  I haven't researched them to tell you details, but some do play dates, field trips, etc.  Some do weekly teaching co-ops and prayer groups.  We will pick one eventually.  The boys both play soccer and are out at the fields four or five days a week.  We have neighbors with children, and we have friends from school last year that have made a point of coming over to visit.  For music and art, those will be incorporated into their education as we get more comfortable.  So far they have been listening to Bach during math, and will read about him this week.  I also have planned crafts for both of them, but for truly educational art, we will probably do more further into fall. 

Also, you'll notice I have left out science.  No worries.  I decided to try concentrating on either history or science, but not both at the same time.  So first a history unit, then a science unit.  The two overlap at times and we will certainly let that happen naturally.  For the year we have four units for each subject ahead of us, and the Revolutionary War unit has proven fascinating.  Next up will be a unit focusing on biology.

If you ask the boys, they are happy - really, and while I am a bit overwhelmed with all to be done, I love having the time with my children.  I know not everyone has this opportunity, and I am grateful a million times a day for mine. 

And p.s. - It is wonderful, but we are not perfect.  Things go differently than planned all the time.  Today we made Johnny Cakes for afternoon snacks, and I just about set off all the smoke alarms.

Any more questions?  Ask away!  I'll try to answer all that I can.

Worshipping Air

We moved.  To the most precious town this side of heaven.  Sorry, I know that's cheesy, but we are still the newbies and are completely enamored with the growing season and the farms and the food and the people here.  My new favorite person is this little old lady with dentures that I met at church last Sunday that told me if I sat next to her at the potluck, she promised I wouldn't leave wonderin'.  Town is a five minute walk and farm country is a one minute drive in the opposite direction.  We are the third to last house before the sidewalk ends, so either way, you get to go somewhere.  And it really is beautiful here.  Green.  Trees.  Flowers.  Interesting historic homes with porches.  Southern homes.  Old trucks.  New trucks.  Lots of trucks.  Churches.  One two doors down and across the street and one on the other side of the neighbors on the right.  And land.  Land in every direction, just about.  You could call it God's country, could easily hear Him breathing there.

So...Yesterday I was driving home in my newly repaired vehicle through a not so attractive part of a city near us.  We go to the city for big stuff and for things like a CarMax car warranty.  So when we hit it, the edge of the city, and we kept driving in, my oldest leaned forward. 

And he said. 

Mom, we don't fit here.  And it is, I don't know.  Just.  I don't fit.

And what he meant was that the place was run down and ugly and tumbling and had weeds all over but no trees and lots of empty strips of stores ran together and it just looked like a place of little hope.

Made me appreciate our new home and big yard and the tree lined sidewalk into town.  A place where my boys can roam and wrestle with the neighbor's dogs and swing on ropes hanging from trees.  A place that for us, offers new hope after a long hard haul.

And then, I thought of a dinner we went to once where I had to explain God to a group of Hindu women.  And they told me about the Catholics in India that were surely more serious than me.  They worshipped nothing.  No statue or picture of their God.  They worshipped air.

Air.

And I thought, God, He floats even in a place looking like little to no hope.  In places where a picture or a statue or a fancy replica would not belong.

May not be my version of heaven.  My pretty new house with my quiet corner and grass growing in the proper places.  My place to breathe Him in.

But God, well, He still floats there.  Just on the edge of the city.

Just like He floats near me.

(And He floats in India too.)

Settling in York - hopefully

Helen of Troy and Joey of Friends (Troy and Joey) are cutting through the side of my current residence.  I can feel the vibrations of the saw on my feet as I sit inside my hopefully permanent home.  And oh, how I pray this is it.  We really like it here.  No more moving from house to house, touring the potential of places but not seeing it all into actual reality.  We want to get to stay to use this house.  Fit into it.  Pare down our things.  Make it simple, uncluttered (except for the boys' rooms), beautiful.  Our new beginning in this old city. 

This house sits in downtown York.  Besides moving home to be near Mom and Dad, York is the best place on Earth.  At least, for me it is.  We can walk everywhere if we want, or we can drive and get there faster.  A trip across town?  Five minutes.  Fifteen walking.  Restaurants (a chicken BLT pita slathered in ranch dressing to die for), a theatre, flowers, gifts, outdoor store, antiques, churches, etc., all just down the street.  A very pretty street, at that.

And how could I not mention Walmart, one of only two choices for groceries?  Walmart?  Why yes please.  Boys got their haircut there just yesterday while we talked to the sweetest young couple that had come into the city from Hickory Grove, a place too small for its own stoplight, much less its own Walmart.  When we left, I saw them walking around the store still holding hands.  Ahh, you have to love Walmart and young love.  (I would like to find a local barber in support of small business, but Miss Ann at the Smartstyles captured my boys' attention, so we may be going to Walmart for awhile longer.)

And the people.  Oh, so welcoming.  So kind.  So willing to let us make York our home.  We haven't found that everywhere.  Feeling accepted so early on truly is a blessing not all towns give.  Our neighbors?  Two Texas ladies with British accents in the big yellow house on the left and a family with their three youngest out of twelve still living at home on the right.  The ones on the right cut our grass and feed our kids almost every day.  I'm going to have to go back to Walmart soon to restock their juice box fridge they leave open on their porch.  (I told my boys not to go up there without permission, but Miss Debbie told them to have all they want, so you can guess who they keep listening to.) 

So, back to you, Helen of Troy and Joey of Friends, please do a good job on that side of my house so that we (being Michael) can actually buy it once and for all.  Like I have said already, I really like it here.

Our life since the move....

First...

1.  Eden Terrace house, aka rental home - Needs WAY too much work to make it a reasonable investment.  So a BIG no. 

Must find a new home....

2.  Bethelfields new build neighborhood - Cannot find lot that will fit house that fits our needs.  Fizzles out.

3.  Hunter's Place foreclosure - Shifty real estate agents on both sides kills the deal.

Hired new real estate agents and tried again.  Still shiftiness from other side, so no go.

4.  Millcreek Falls new build - Dishonest sales agent that price gouges.  No deal.

5.  Peaceful Creek foreclosure - Bank unwilling to negotiate.  Nope.

6.  River Hills foreclosure - Beautiful, but again, bank unwilling to negotiate.  Finished.

7.  River Hills estate sale - Good deal, but horrible inspection, and two closings costs for a renovation loan.  Over budget.  Gone.

8.  Peaceful Creek foreclosure take two - Price fell, so put in our offer.  Again.  Bidding war.  Denied.  No accepted.  Too much running us around.  Nadda.

9.  Lynwood Dr. Judge's house - Owner financing that really just meant we pay down their mortgage until they get back on their feet, then they sell the house at a premium.  Bad financial conditions.  No.

10.  Current deal, the Congress St. house - Postponed closing and move date four times, bad inspection, shady real estate agent/ seller/ contractor try to cover up problems, caught in lies, new contractor, more inspections, and a last minute prayer.  If repaired correctly, it is to finally be our new house.

Searching for a home has taken over a year and lots of money.  Lots of inspections. 

Silver lining = I know this county better than the average citizen, and I've seen the insides of all those homes people wonder about.

Very tired.

Whole family emotionally drained.

Plus.....

School = Wrong educational choice for us, but good teachers, and we all made friends.  Mixed bag of tears and blessings.

Starting homeschool this August as result.

Next...

Soccer Club one = Disaster.  Emotionally exhausting, bad training, unhappy and miserable child.  Must switch to...

Soccer Club two = Successful spring season.  Good new friends.  Team falls apart for next year, so...

Soccer Club three = Potential fit.  Time will tell.

Then...

Church One = Differing views on lots of things.

Keep searching...

Church two and Church three = Nice services, but still on a search.  Long drive and out of our community.  Too difficult to participate.

Church four = Again, far away, but possibly worth it.  And....nope.  Too far from future home.  No ability to participate.

Church search stopped until we find a home = No church for quite a while.  Lots of sleeping in, but lots of struggling with prayer and faith.

Finally...

Michael's job = SUCCESS!!  Thank you Jesus!  At least we got one thing right first time around!  Of course this is our third town from job changes, so maybe third time's a charm is a better statement for this one.

Now...

Supposed to move this coming Saturday, but the repairs are to be finished a mere two hours before closing on Friday, so we could easily end up in a short term storage and corporate housing complex while we continue our quest for a home. 

Please...

Prayers would be much appreciated.

**The above year is the reason this blog is on life support.**

To the teachers

This is to all the folks out there that I didn't talk to before school ended and to all those I did.

Thank you. 

My children thank you too. 

It's hard being new, and you made it just a bit better for the boys.  You made our mornings tear free.  And that's big.  You made the idea of school ending a little bitter sweet.  You made them smile each day for 185 days. 

You loved them.

You taught them.

And for that, again, thank you.

And to all the others that make a school run, a big thank you to y'all as well.  For every note they carried to the office and were greeted warmly, thank you.  For making paperwork easy, THANK YOU!  For caring about the kiddos enough to learn their names - all 700 of them - thank you. 

And to Gordon and Chad, my kids never knew keeping care of a place could be so cool until they met you.  All of us mommas should be shouting thank you for that lesson right there. Thank you for every bag of trash you carried and every high five you gave and every laugh you drew out of those little ones.  They love you.  They truly do.

So, to all, again, thank you.

Days 20-21: Miracles, Miracles everywhere

Do you believe in miracles?  Have you ever heard God's voice?  Has there ever been a moment when the unexpected practically drops you to your knees in wonder and gratefulness?

I love days like that.

It used to be, these things happened, but I must have brushed them off as coincidence and luck.  I think I am just becoming less blind in my older age.  Thicker glasses.  More awareness of my inability to truly control a darn thing.  Enough stuff that I've survived to have an acute awareness of my need for community.  Mainly of my need for Christ.  And my desire to be good friends with Him.  It's the friendship that makes Him easier to hear. 

So...Two days ago, on the same day I found out about sweet teacher, my husband had to take our old car to the shop.  For a new transmission.

We have been saving up to buy a house, and had just put an offer on house number five.  Houses one thru four fell through.  So point being, as we are waiting to hear about buying said house, our car starts begging for some attention.  This would not be the month or season we want to have to pay attention to old car.

Well...Between the car and the house, I called good friend to ask what God might be thinking?  Had he, perhaps, let her know and just not told me?  She didn't have a clue either, but she also told me about sweet teacher.

And that just ruins my day a little bit more...I mean seriously?  Why? 

I love sweet teacher, as you know.

And....wait....heres the good stuff.

God finally decides I have waited long enough.  No more torturing me with my own pit of wallowing self pity and doubt.  (And, yes, I know I made that pit all by myself...)

Husband calls.  The car shop decided to hook up old car to the computer, found a transmission leak, fixed it, and filled up the fluids.  For free.  But only if we come back in a week so they can check it again to make sure we are safe.

Real estate agent calls three hours later.  We got house number five.  No counter offer.  Just - we got it. 

Twenty four hours later, friend texts.  Sweet teacher is sitting up and eating.  Going to make a full recovery.  Doctor is still in awe, because he has never known another in his whole career to survive the rare stroke sweet teacher endured.  Never.

So, Praise Jesus.  Praise God.  Praise the Spirit.

I really do love miracles. 

And... my thicker glasses are pretty cool too.

Matthew 13:16

But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.

Day 19: Sweet Teacher

Dust to dust, and between the dustings, we are to be Jesus to each other.  I wrote something similar last year at Lent, and that has stuck with me, turning round and round in my head, and popping back to the forefront from time to time. 

This morning I found out that a sweet, vibrant, young teacher in my boys' school suffered two strokes yesterday that may indeed take her life.  She is being held here with life support for the moment.  She is much younger than me and single, her whole life supposedly ahead of her.

Yet we cannot know God's plans.  We cannot know our time.  And we cannot separate ourselves from death, try as we might.  If I wanted to, I could ask about sweet teacher's family genetic history or health issues that could differentiate me from her.  Show why she might die that I live to see today.

But I would be fooling myself.

There is no difference from me to her.  From you to me.  The one certainty of life is death.  In this we are not separate, but together.

Yesterday I heard the question posed that usurps all other questions. 

What do others think you feel for them? 

a.  They know I love them.

b.  They think I care about them.

c.  They think I do not care.

d.  They think I hate them.

The only correct answer is a.  It is the only one that truly shows our neighbors, our family, our friends, and even our enemies, Jesus.

If I am honest with myself, there are probably more people in the b, c, and even d category than are in the a category.  And it makes me pause to wonder what I have been doing between these dustings of mine.

So, it stands to question, that between sweet teacher's dustings, was I ever Jesus for her?  Even for a moment?

I pray today for her.  For her family.  I pray her world is filled with a's, and I pray that wherever she journeys, she knows it.

And this is His command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.  Those who obey his commands live in him and he in them.  And this is how we know that he lives in us:  We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

I John 3:23-24