Listen to the children

Received this from my mom.  Not sure you wrote it.  Hung it on my refrigerator and I believe it help my whole family on listening.  Hope it touches you, as it has touched my heart and soul.

Listen to the children

Take a moment to listen today
To what your children are trying to say.
Listen today, whatever you do,
Or they won't be there to listen to you.

Listen to their problems, listen to their needs.
Praise their smallest triumphs, praise their smallest deeds.
Tolerate their chatter, amplify their laughter;
Find out what's the matter, find out what they're after

But tell them that you love them, every single night,
And though you scold them, make sure you hold them
And tell them everything's all right.

If we tell our children, all the bad in them we see,
They'll grow up exactly how we hoped they'd never be.
But if we tell our children we're so proud they wear our name,
They'll grow up believing they're winners in the game.

Take a moment  to listen today
To what your children are trying to say;
Listen today, whatever you do,
And they will come back to listen to you.

Our Kids In School - Longer Days?

Is sending our children to school for longer days the answer to America competing with the rest of the world. 

I have volunteered in the public school system for several years.  The classrooms had 27-32 kids to one adult, and on occasion a parent volunteer would come in to help out.  Classrooms get out of control fast, no matter what grade it is.  Most elementary schools assign students to classroom, not by their academic work.  What I mean is, you can have students at all different levels in math, reading in one room.  If you don't have students not getting what your teaching, the others complain it's to easy and are bored. BEING HELD BACK!!  So much for the No Child Left Behind. 

I don't think sending our sons and daughters to school for longer days or more days will work.  I believe if we build more schools, hire more qualified teachers, get the class sizes down, and have two teachers in a classroom for math and reading/english will do more good.

What do you think?

To Home School or Not

To home school your child, is a big decision. There is a lot to think about.

There are many faces to homeschooling; meaning parents home school for different reasons. It can be for religious reasons, child has a medical condition, over crowded schools, flexible schedule, less stress, one on one attention, and you get more work done in the same amount of time.

I have been home schooling, for six years. Started with my oldest coming home from school in six grade and told me she had enough. My husband and I, understood what she was going through and were willing to home school.

We used the Abeka Academy program for grades 6 - 8. Abeka Academy is a private school in Florida, which offers a home school program. They have a couple different programs to pick from. Personally, we liked the DVD complete grade level package. It was great has a parent, to get everything we needed; DVD class lessons, textbooks, test, quizzes, and answers.

My daughter currently goes to public high school, but she never steps foot in a public school. Some public schools now have online home school programs. It's just like regular go to a building high school, but it is done on-line. And it's FREE!!

Check your school district to see if they have a home school program. Also, check into other districts within your state. Some schools will accept kids from other districts. You may have to do some paperwork.

Home schooling for us, has been a positive one. At times it is hard, being parent and teacher. Being organized and having your child excited about it is very important. It really helped us, having a child wanting to be home schooled.

Have you ever heard the saying? God made us different for a reason. If we were all the same, live would be boring.

I ask this, because in your decision making you need to keep this in mind. Home schooling isn't for everyone and public/private school isn't for everyone.

My children are a perfect example. I have one child that prefers being home schooled and an other that goes to regular public school.

Here are some organizations that I have used for home schooling:

Abeka Academy

Christian Liberty Press

Insight School of Washington

Home School Organization