PARENTING FREEDOM

carol | March 13, 2010

With my hands cupping my womb, I could feel the baby moving around last night! The date would be just past 16 weeks pregnancy/14 weeks after conception. So far, I can only feel movement with my hands. I can’t feel it in my body yet. When I wake up each morning, a big bump sticks up when I lie on my back, but during the rest of the day, it sort of hides. (To clarify, my stomach doesn’t hide - just the womb. LOL)

I have my maternity clothes ready to go. I ordered some new things online. I hope they won’t make me look too hideous this time around. Fortunately, this was the first time I could buy tall maternity pants. What a relief!  I still wear my regular shirts, and I can comfortably button at least three pairs of my non-maternity pants, but that won’t last much longer. I recently got out my box of stored maternity clothes and made a ‘keep’ pile and a ‘give-away’ pile. It is funny how the pants style has changed so much in just six years – not only the legs, but the back pockets of jeans. I had a great laugh at myself when I tried on some of my old maternity mom-jeans. If you think regular mom-jeans are bad, you should have seen these! The scariest thing is that they are in the ‘keep’ pile until I have the energy to go shopping for a  couple more pairs in a nearby city. To my knowledge, there are ZERO places to buy maternity clothes locally. Sad, really. What do pregnant women do?

We stopped at a furniture store last night to look at their rocker/recliners. The one I used for my last baby was a very old chair that came from my grandparents. Years ago, we dragged the matching one to the end of the road on Big Garbage Day after one of the kids threw up on it. Both chairs were worn out anyway. I didn’t find a new one that I liked, but we only went to one place. There is lots of time. Then again, it’s hard to believe that in only a few short weeks, I will be half-way through this pregnancy. Yikes!

I have a new extra-tall bed rail ready for our king-size bed, and I bought new foam wedges for nursing in bed. These are two of my most needed baby items. My wish list also includes new slings, a wrap-around nursing pillow, a dresser for baby clothes, etc.

My eight-year-old daughter is knitting a blanket for the new baby. At first, she chose pink yarn, but she was encouraged to get white in case it’s not a girl! I’ll take a boy and/or a girl, but she would LOVE to have a sister. After all, when we thought she was getting a girl kitten, it turned out to be a boy when we took her to get spayed. LOL

This has been by far my most difficult pregnancy – both physically and emotionally.

Emotionally: Pregnancy following miscarriage is extremely stressful. I never expected it to be so hard. I also have worries of my husband’s job insecurity and the threat of moving hanging over my head.

Physically: I  am thankful that the 24-hour morning sickness began to slowly ease at 11 weeks, and the last couple weeks have been much better. It was a rough first trimester. In the fall, I was feeling quite well most of the time, but within just a couple weeks of the pregnancy, the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome that I have battled since I was sixteen years old kicked in big time. I didn’t expect to have such debilitating fatigue with this pregnancy. I am particularly grateful for two things in this regard:

#1 I had the house renovations and house cleaning completely ready just days before I became pregnant. That makes me feel sooooooo much better, because even though I can’t keep up, and I am getting behind with the housekeeping, it is not as overwhelming as it would have been. I pray for strength to be able to cope if we have to move, and also for the basic nesting that I need to do.

#2 As always, I am very thankful for our homeschooling method. It has been so flexible over the many years of ups and downs with my health. The three oldest children are capable of doing their schoolwork with minimum or even no help from me if necessary. I do not fret over my five-year-old because I know there is lots of time, and as long as he continues to learn a little phonics and math facts here and there, he will do just as well as his brothers and sister. There were many times I was physically unable to put much into homeschooling over the years, yet the children are doing great.

I haven’t been very chatty on my blog lately because I am just too tired. I have mostly been posting links and quotes with the occasional commentary.

One interesting change in my lifestyle has occurred after an appointment with another naturopath. I have searched for health answers since I was a teenager. I have tried many, many things – sometimes with good results, but most of the time, nothing helped. During the past few months, I have been desperate to find answers. I don’t know if this time will make the difference, but I am giving it my full effort, even if it kills me. So, with the goal of achieving better health, I have gone vegan! In the past, I was familiar with the vegetable juicing and vegetable smoothies and nut milk and all, but I have never completely eliminated meat/fish/eggs/dairy at the same time before (still using butter). I am also doing no-sugar again. It has been eighteen days, and I have seen no improvement, and unfortunately some negative effects. I will stick with it religiously for a while yet, and I hope to keep at least some of the new habits for the rest of my life. The children have been doing great as well. They are not eating vegan or even vegetarian, but their diets have improved greatly with a salad almost every day and no junk – yet. Over the years, we have gone through many times of eating healthy and eating poorly. I have always found it very discouraging when a strict healthy diet did nothing for my health. Hopefully, this time will be different.

I haven’t been doing too much during the past few months except trying to cope. One helpful thing has been our amazing winter! I have never seen a winter with such little snow and such great weather. We are having another sunny day, and the forecast is amazing! I haven’t had the strength to enjoy being outside, but in many ways, the weather has been very encouraging.

Hmmm… what else would you like to know?

Category: Baby #6, Facebook, Food, Homeschooling Academics, Journal 2010, Miscarriage, Parenting Attachment, Parenting Breastfeeding, Parenting Pregnancy, Parenting Sleep Sharing | 3 Comments »
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carol | March 5, 2010

Reading to Kids a Crucial Tool in English Language Development
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100216142334.htm

“Children learning English ‘need someone to show them the letters, teach them the letter sounds, play with letter magnets on the fridge.’”

“‘We have found that in English, you need a rich home literacy environment. It’s absolutely necessary…’”

“‘In English, having someone read to you frequently as a child-explaining what the meaning of words are and playing around with the letters-makes a big difference as to whether you will become a good reader…’”

“‘Without that learning support and because of the inconsistencies of English orthography, English-speaking children run the risk of falling behind at least two years in terms of their reading skill when compared to children learning to read in languages with a direct relationship between letters and sounds…’”

“‘Reading to your children is vital, as is specific exercises and games to teach them letter names and sounds…’”

Category: Homeschooling Academics, Public School | No Comments »
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carol | February 17, 2010

Fewer than half of children read fiction as books are abandoned for the internet
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1251610/Less-half-children.html#ixzz0flgJFrJs

“Less than half of children aged between nine and 14 read fiction more than once a month…”

“The findings showed that daily reading sessions boosted children’s scores in all areas, including knowledge and understanding of the world, as well as literacy and maths.”

“Children who were read to daily also outscored their classmates, on average, in assessments of their social, emotional, physical and creative development.”

Category: Books, Movies, Television, Homeschooling Academics, Public School | No Comments »
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carol | December 23, 2009

GOD REST YE MERRY, GENTLEMEN
http://nethymnal.org/htm/g/o/godrest.htm
God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay,
Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day;
To save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy;
O tidings of comfort and joy.

O HOLY NIGHT
http://nethymnal.org/htm/o/h/oholynit.htm
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.

ANGELS FROM THE REALMS OF GLORY
http://nethymnal.org/htm/a/f/afrglory.htm
Sinners, wrung with true repentance,
Doomed for guilt to endless pains,
Justice now revokes the sentence,
Mercy calls you; break your chains.

O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL
http://nethymnal.org/htm/o/c/ocomocom.htm
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

COME THOU LONG EXPECTED JESUS
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free:
From our fears and sins release us;
Let us find our rest in Thee.

SILENT NIGHT
Silent night, Holy night
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace.

STAR OF THE EAST
We may read, we may learn, from His birth to His grave,
The teachings of peace and of love;
For this is the King Who is mighty to save;
His grace and His love we may prove.

Category: Christianity, Depression, Freedom, Holidays, Homeschooling Academics, Music, Parenting Discipline, Quotes | No Comments »
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carol | December 23, 2009

Superintendent Garrett Suggests “Monitoring” of Homeschoolers
http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/il/200912140.asp

“HSLDA Senior Counsel Scott Woodruff recently wrote this letter to the editor of the Centralia Sentinel,” in reply to an article that suggested that the newspaper, “‘would like to see more monitoring of homeschooled students…’”

“Presumably Garrett envisions that homeschooled students would be monitored by public school teachers. According to large-scale scientific studies, students being monitored by public school teachers (i.e., public school students) score at the 50th percentile, on average, on standardized tests. But homeschooled students score at the 83rd percentile. The remarkable scores of homeschooled students would need to come down 33 percentile points to equal the scores of students already being monitored by public school teachers…”

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carol | December 21, 2009

My eleven-year-old son enjoys watching Glenn Beck with me. Tonight, we were watching the show, but you could tell it was pre-recorded. On his way out of the room, B11 said, “Tell me when he’s done with this interview and gets the chalkboard out.”

B11 also enjoyed reading Sarah Palin’s book, Going Rogue. He was the first in the family to finish it.

Category: Books, Movies, Television, Homeschooling Academics, Parenting General, Politics, Politics Sarah Palin | No Comments »
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carol | December 18, 2009

The Known Universe by AMNH

“He stretches out the north over empty space;
He hangs the earth on nothing.”
Job 26:7

“If heaven above can be measured,
And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,
I will also cast off all the seed of Israel
For all that they have done, says the LORD.”
Jeremiah 31:37

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
John 1:1-5

CREATOR OF THE WORLD, TO THEE
http://nethymnal.org/htm/c/o/w/cow2thee.htm

Creator of the world, to Thee
And endless rest of joy belongs;
And heavenly choirs are ever free
To sing on high their festal songs.

But we are fallen creatures here,
Where pain and sorrow daily come;
And how can we in exile drear
Sing out, as they, sweet songs of Home?

O Father, who dost promise still
That they who mourn shall blessèd be,
Grant us to weep for deeds of ill
That banish us so long from Thee.

But weeping, grant us faith to rest
In hope upon Thy loving care;
Till Thou restore us, with the blest,
Their songs of praise in Heav’n to share.

To Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
The God Whom Heav’n and earth adore,
From men and from the angel host
Be praise and glory evermore.

Category: Christianity, Depression, Homeschooling Academics, Music, Out of this World, Quotes | No Comments »
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carol | December 10, 2009

The Twelve Doctrines of Christmas

If you haven’t grown up Presbyterian, you might not recognize or understand the terms mentioned in the above song. I added some definitions from Wikipedia (not the best source, but it gives you the idea.)

Doctrine of Perspicuity ~ The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture, is the Scripture itself; and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any scripture (which is not manifold, but one), it may be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly.

Dichotomy ~ The belief that humans consist of a soul and a body.

Hypostatic Union ~ A technical term in Christian theology employed in mainstream Christology to describe the presence of both human and divine natures in Jesus Christ. The Gospel of John 10:37-38 quotes Jesus as follows: “…that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”

Forensic Justification ~ God’s act of declaring or making a sinner righteous before God.

Five Points of Calvinism ~

1. Total depravity ~ As a consequence of the Fall of Man, every person born into the world is enslaved to the service of sin and, apart from the efficacious or prevenient grace of God, is utterly unable to choose to follow God or choose to accept salvation as it is freely offered.

2. Unconditional election ~ Before God created the world, he chose to save some people according to his own purposes and apart from any conditions related to those persons.

3. Limited atonement ~ Jesus Christ’s substitutionary atonement on the cross is limited in scope to those who are predestined unto salvation and its primary benefits are not given to all of humanity but rather just believers.

4. Irresistible grace ~ The saving grace of God is effectually applied to those whom He has determined to save (the elect) and, in God’s timing, overcomes their resistance to obeying the call of the gospel, bringing them to a saving faith in Christ.

5. Perseverance of the saints ~ None who are truly saved can be condemned for their sins or finally fall away from the faith.

Amillennialism ~ The thousand years mentioned in Revelation 20 is a symbolic number, not a literal description; that the millennium has already begun and is identical with the current church age, (or more rarely, that it ended with the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 — see Preterism). Amillennialism holds that while Christ’s reign during the millennium is spiritual in nature, at the end of the church age, Christ will return in final judgment and establish permanent physical reign.

Anthropomorphism ~ refers to the perception of a divine being or beings in human form, or the recognition of human qualities in these beings

Tetragrammaton ~ The Hebrew term for the name of the god of Israel in the Hebrew Bible.

95 Theses ~ written by Martin Luther in 1517 and are widely regarded as the primary catalyst for the Protestant Reformation

Note: I believe in Paedobaptism as opposed to Credobaptism.

Paedobaptism ~ Christian religious practice of baptising infants or young children. Infants or young children may be baptized upon request of a parent who professes faith.

Credobaptism ~ A person is baptized on the basis of his or her profession of faith in Jesus Christ and as admission into a local community of faith.

Salvific Monergism ~ God through the Holy Spirit works to effectually bring about the salvation of individuals through spiritual regeneration without cooperation from the individual.

Supralapsarianism ~ The view that God’s decrees of election and reprobation logically preceded the decree of the fall while infralapsarianism (also called postlapsarianism and sublapsarianism) asserts that God’s decrees of election and reprobation logically succeeded the decree of the fall.

Category: Books, Movies, Television, Christianity, Freedom, Holidays, Homeschooling Academics, Music | 3 Comments »
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carol | December 3, 2009

Fifteen Years Later: Home-Educated Canadian Adults
Synopsis
http://www.hslda.ca/cche_research/2009StudySynopsis.pdf

Fifteen Years Later: Home-Educated Canadian Adults
Full study:
http://www.hslda.ca/cche_research/2009Study.pdf

Home Education in Canada: A Report on the Pan-Canadian Study on Home Education 2003
Synopsis
http://www.hslda.ca/cche_research/SummaryFinal.pdf

Hat Tip:
New Study: Home-Educated Canadian Adults Excel
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/dec/09120305.html

“A new study released yesterday by the Canadian Centre for Home Education (CCHE) reveals that home-educated adults in Canada excel in all measured areas of adult life, including education level, religious observance, civic and community participation, life satisfaction, and income.”

“The results were astounding…”

“The study found that, when measured against the Canadian average, home-educated adults were more socially engaged and almost twice as likely to have voted in a federal election. Their average income was higher, with more self-reliant sources of income, such as investments and self-employment. In fact, of all respondents, there were no cases of government support as the primary source of income.”

“The respondents were happier in their work and about their lives in general. They also have more varied recreational pursuits. The study notes, for example, that the respondents ‘were much more likely than the comparable population to have read books and attended concerts of classical music or theatrical performances.’ Overall, when reflecting on the value of being home-educated, most felt that it was an advantage in their adult life.”

Category: Homeschooling Academics, Homeschooling Activities, Homeschooling Controversy, Public School | No Comments »
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carol | November 6, 2009

Second expert calls for school starting age to be raised to six
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1225357/Second-expert-calls-school-starting-age-raised-six.html#ixzz0W59zw2YY

“The school starting age should be raised to six to help eradicate illiteracy.”

Related:
http://parentingfreedom.com/2009/10/22/introducing-children-at-the-age-of-five-into-the-structure-and-discipline-of-a-classroom-could-even-be-harmful/

But don’t they know? School isn’t about literacy. It’s about babysitting :-/ (and indoctrination *gasp*).

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carol | October 23, 2009

In grade eleven, two weeks after his sixteenth birthday, my oldest son completed The Mechanical Universe (university freshman physics text). He began Saxon Math 5/4 at age 7 1/2, and did every question in every Saxon Math book, including 6/5, 7/6, 8/7, Algebra 1/2, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Advanced Math (Trigonometry), Calculus, and he just completed The Mechanical Universe (Physics). He is now starting Beyond The Mechanical Universe. He expects to finish it by the end of grade eleven and begin Chemical Principles (university freshman text) next summer before grade twelve. He has had no teacher except the textbooks.

My second son began Saxon Math 5/4 as soon as he turned seven at the beginning of grade two. At this point, he has completed every problem in Saxon Math 5/4, 6/5, 7/6, and 8/7 and he is within days of finishing Saxon Algebra 1/2. He studies the lessons without a teacher and completely works the problems himself. He just turned eleven and is in the sixth grade.

http://parentingfreedom.com/math/

http://parentingfreedom.com/2009/02/28/math-method-explained/

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carol | October 22, 2009

I agree with this study, especially because I have a 5-year-old that is my fourth child. He plays, plays, plays, and we do very little schooling yet.

Cambridge Study Says 5-year-olds Too Young To Start School
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/oct/09102105.html

“A study of primary education by Cambridge University recommends that formal schooling of children should begin at the age of six, a year later than the present norm in the UK…”

“No evidence suggesting formal teaching environments benefited young children…”

“Introducing children at the age of five into the structure and discipline of a classroom could even be harmful…”

“‘If they are already failing by the age of four-and-a-half or five it’s going to be quite difficult to get them back into the system again. They are not going to learn to read, write and add up if you have alienated them,’ Pugh said.”

“The report recommends that children up to the age of six should instead continue the more informal, play-based education typically found in nurseries…”

“Other studies have found marked negative effects from the introduction of 3 to 5 year olds to formal schooling, including brain chemistry damage, aggression, negative social and emotional development, and illness.”

Category: Homeschooling Academics, Homeschooling Activities, Homeschooling Controversy, Public School | 1 Comment »
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carol | October 13, 2009

“Does God exist?” — Social campaign on education (TV commercial)

Hat Tip: http://www.jillstanek.com/

Category: Christianity, Homeschooling Academics, Homeschooling Controversy, Public School | 1 Comment »
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carol | September 20, 2009

One in six first-year university students will not make the grade
http://www.canadaeast.com/news/article/797738

“‘It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be,’ said the 17-year-old English student at the University of Toronto. ‘High schools don’t prepare you very well for lectures ’cause they really spoon feed you’.'”

“‘They speak very slowly and put everything on the board, and you copy it down and you know exactly what they want you to know, whereas here it’s a lecture, and for an hour a guy’s talking and you’re like, ‘Oh My … I don’t know what to write’.'”

“Students and professors argue high schools don’t adequately prepare teens for one of the most stressful transition periods they will face – their first year of university. And about one in six students never complete their studies.”

“About 14 per cent of first-year students drop out…”

“55 per cent of university professors and librarians said first-year students were less prepared than students just three years earlier.”

“Respondents reported a decline in students’ writing and numeric skills, an over-reliance on Internet resources, lower maturity levels, and an expectation of success without the requisite effort…”

“…Professors say many first-year students just aren’t adequately prepared…”

“About one-third of students find their studies ‘really stressful,’ partly because they are not accustomed to the academic rigours of university…”

“‘High schools have really laxed off in terms of requiring performance of a certain standard and have handed out rather high grades for low effort, so (students) come to university expecting the same to be repeated…’”

“‘Doing everything yourself is the biggest stress and the homesickness,’ she said. ‘I didn’t realize what a huge blow not having my mom there every day would be…’ But moving to a university closer to home has crossed her mind.”

Category: Homeschooling Academics, Public School | No Comments »
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carol | September 17, 2009

Grade 3 (Complete list HERE)
The Indian in the Cupboard (1980) ~ Lynne Reid Banks
The Return of the Indian (1985) ~ Lynne Reid Banks
The Secret of the Indian (1989) ~ Lynne Reid Banks
The Mystery of the Cupboard (1992) ~ Lynne Reid Banks
The Key to the Indian (1998) ~ Lynne Reid Banks
Pollyanna
Rebecca Of Sunnybrook Farm
Little Women
New King James Version Princess Bible: Imitation Leather – Lavender
New King James Version Audio Bible

Grade 6 (Complete list HERE)
The Prince and the Pauper
The Red Badge of Courage
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
I Want to Go Home
New King James Version Audio Bible

Grade 11 (Complete list HERE)
A Christian Manifesto
Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto
New King James Version Audio Bible

Books for Me:
Well… my interests include topics I don’t discuss on my blog. A lot of learning, questioning, and being challenged.

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