First of all, let me introduce you to my boys. Jordan is six years old and we are working on his first grade work with our Abeka curriculum. Jordan is extremely sweet and thoughtful but he has excessive energy and is a bundle of excitement equipped with a megaphone of a mouth. Trust me, whatever he does for living, he needs to use his voice--this child loves to talk LOUDLY. And, if I could find a way to bottle up his energy and sell it, I'd be a millionaire in no time. But, Jordan has trouble concentrating. He's not ADD but he's not missing the mark by far, let me tell ya.
Jordan enjoys learning. I've homeschooled him since birth except for last year when he went to the public school for kindergarten. At the end of the year, most kids learned to read those easy readers--but Jordan never did and his handwriting was never corrected in ps and he never could count to thirty correctly. At the time I was in college part-time and assumed he would want to go back to school. But one day on the way home he said, "Mama, I want you to be my teacher next time." After talking to my husband, Jordan was elated. He told me, "Mama, Daddy said you could homeschool me." I was sooo afraid. I mean, come on, teaching a child to read is MAJOR. I didn't want to make any mistakes. But, I am happy to report he is doing really good in reading and everything else. He just needs that one-to-one ratio. Public school was a distraction for him--all the kids, the sounds, etc. He couldn't think about learning. So, that's where I'm at with him.
As a side note, I have decided we must change curriculums. Don't get me wrong Abeka is great. But, Jordan is a hands-on learner. Abeka is school work. I don't really want him to just do school work. I want him to learn to enjoy just learning. Learning is fun and enriching and it's not workbooks and textbooks all day long. I want to see his character grow and mature into the man God wants him to be. I've researched and prayed and frankly, gotten bug-eyed over looking at all the curriculums. So, next year we are going to start with My Father's World curriculum. I am excited. It's exactly what I want in a curriculum and it includes Bible. Matter of fact, the whole curriculum is written from a "Biblical perspective." Thank God. The main issue I have with Abeka is that Bible is not included in the standard parent/child kit. It's so important to me to give my kids a view of the world from God's perspective. It's how I wish I had been taught.
Now, let me introduce you to my wild child, "Lil' Toot" or as his birth certificate says, "Landon." Landon is four years old going on thirteen. He is extremely smart and notices minute details that boggle my pea-brain. He is hard to teach. (I need some prayers, here!) He is very vocal but in a negative, whiny, excuse-laden, "I know, I know. . . " kind of way. He has an answer for everything and everyone. Heaven help us when he's speechless. The world must be crumbling away. The sky must be falling if words don't come from this child's mouth. He doesn't comply with "Hush" or "Be quiet" ever. I have tried everything I know with him. Disciplining Landon is like telling a raging elephant not to stampede. I pray daily for guidance and wisdom and patience. Lots of patience. I honestly couldn't make it some days if it weren't for God's endless supply of strength, mercy, wisdom, and my wonderful husband. Please don't take this the wrong way. I love and adore this child. He is the zaniest. He's a real hoot and can be so much fun to be with. But he is a challenge. I used to wonder why he was such a "toot." And then I read a quote that goes something like this, "Children are sometimes used by God as heavenly sandpaper. . . " Well, God is certainly polishing up a lot of areas in my life and teaching me so much through this child.
Landon is a blessing--a delightful blessing, as is his brother, too. I am truly thankful that God has blessed my life with them. Just a thought, but if you have a "challenging" or "difficult" child would you like to share what has or hasn't worked for you?
Jordan enjoys learning. I've homeschooled him since birth except for last year when he went to the public school for kindergarten. At the end of the year, most kids learned to read those easy readers--but Jordan never did and his handwriting was never corrected in ps and he never could count to thirty correctly. At the time I was in college part-time and assumed he would want to go back to school. But one day on the way home he said, "Mama, I want you to be my teacher next time." After talking to my husband, Jordan was elated. He told me, "Mama, Daddy said you could homeschool me." I was sooo afraid. I mean, come on, teaching a child to read is MAJOR. I didn't want to make any mistakes. But, I am happy to report he is doing really good in reading and everything else. He just needs that one-to-one ratio. Public school was a distraction for him--all the kids, the sounds, etc. He couldn't think about learning. So, that's where I'm at with him.
As a side note, I have decided we must change curriculums. Don't get me wrong Abeka is great. But, Jordan is a hands-on learner. Abeka is school work. I don't really want him to just do school work. I want him to learn to enjoy just learning. Learning is fun and enriching and it's not workbooks and textbooks all day long. I want to see his character grow and mature into the man God wants him to be. I've researched and prayed and frankly, gotten bug-eyed over looking at all the curriculums. So, next year we are going to start with My Father's World curriculum. I am excited. It's exactly what I want in a curriculum and it includes Bible. Matter of fact, the whole curriculum is written from a "Biblical perspective." Thank God. The main issue I have with Abeka is that Bible is not included in the standard parent/child kit. It's so important to me to give my kids a view of the world from God's perspective. It's how I wish I had been taught.
Now, let me introduce you to my wild child, "Lil' Toot" or as his birth certificate says, "Landon." Landon is four years old going on thirteen. He is extremely smart and notices minute details that boggle my pea-brain. He is hard to teach. (I need some prayers, here!) He is very vocal but in a negative, whiny, excuse-laden, "I know, I know. . . " kind of way. He has an answer for everything and everyone. Heaven help us when he's speechless. The world must be crumbling away. The sky must be falling if words don't come from this child's mouth. He doesn't comply with "Hush" or "Be quiet" ever. I have tried everything I know with him. Disciplining Landon is like telling a raging elephant not to stampede. I pray daily for guidance and wisdom and patience. Lots of patience. I honestly couldn't make it some days if it weren't for God's endless supply of strength, mercy, wisdom, and my wonderful husband. Please don't take this the wrong way. I love and adore this child. He is the zaniest. He's a real hoot and can be so much fun to be with. But he is a challenge. I used to wonder why he was such a "toot." And then I read a quote that goes something like this, "Children are sometimes used by God as heavenly sandpaper. . . " Well, God is certainly polishing up a lot of areas in my life and teaching me so much through this child.
Landon is a blessing--a delightful blessing, as is his brother, too. I am truly thankful that God has blessed my life with them. Just a thought, but if you have a "challenging" or "difficult" child would you like to share what has or hasn't worked for you?
