Fabulous 4-H

     A few months back we let Silas join our local 4-H club. It has been wonderful for him! I'd always thought this club was just for children who wanted to show their farm animals at the fair. I discovered that simply wasn't true. You name it, and they probably have it. A child has pick of many topics to explore: photography, forestry, sewing, oral presentations, shooting, cooking, gardening, debate, pet care, bicycle safety, modeling, raising livestock...there are literally hundreds of things included. Silas has done fish identification, bait casting, oral presentations, and is about to begin growing his own pumpkins and watermelons. He's only been in this club for a few months!
     He loves working hard so that he can earn his ribbons. Until you're nine, you only get a participation ribbon. After that, a child can actually place in competitions. Silas hasn't been bothered by it though. He works just as hard as his older club members. I would even venture to say he is more dedicated than some. This club is all about helping and teaching kids to be hardworking, respectful, and responsible adults when they grow up. I believe that this is a solid program, and I highly recommend it. It is not time consuming, and children can prepare and practice everything from home. There is one meeting per month and there are usually a few hours set aside every now and then for the club members to come and present their stuff that they have studied, practiced, or put together.
     Recently, Silas prepared and presented an oral presentation that he had put together on the water cycle. He developed a huge interest in this topic during one of our homeschool units that we were studying. Considering that he is only six years old, and that this was his first presentation, I feel like he did a great job. Shortly afterwards, he was asked to give his presentation again at our county's Cattleman Association dinner/meeting. In the video you can tell that he is extremely nervous (though he handled dropping his visuals well), but he did great. He only forgot to present a couple of...um...minor details. You can hear his grandma and baby sister in the background, but I think you can still hear him....

Oh, and check out that eye contact!



 



Our Calling to Homeschool: How It All Began

     When Silas was almost three, my husband and I started thinking very seriously about where he would go to school. We didn't live in the school district that we wanted to send him to, and moving wouldn't work for us at the time. So, we looked into a private school. I interviewed someone at that school and loved it. I just knew it was right for us. Upon seeing the price tag though, I knew that it was NOT in our budget. Still, I thought this was God's will. So, I knew He would provide a way. We prayed for about two years, but that door never opened.
     Then I decided to homeschool Silas just for preschool. I really enjoyed it! After a while, I started thinking about what it would be like to homeschool all the way through. I had mentioned it to Matt, and he wasn't keen on the idea. He thought it sounded weird. We didn't know anyone who had homeschooled. I began to really pray about it, and by the end of that school year things changed. Matt had seen how much Silas had learned and enjoyed it. Together, after much discussion and research, we decided to give it another year.
     Although the curriculum we had used for Silas was a really strong one, it moved a little too fast for us. Plus, the workload was a bit heavy. So, we went on a search for one that fit our family the best. I wanted one that gave us time to do more than just math and grammar, and still have time for other things in the afternoon. Boy did I find one! 
     At a homeschool conference, a very sweet acquaintance passed by at a booth that I was visiting. She sat down with me for over half an hour and told me about this curriculum that she had used with her children. She showed me through the books and told me of her family's experiences with it. I was sold and will always be thankful that she took the time to tell me how the Lord had blessed her family with this curriculum. The Word of God is woven into every subject, and most everything is hands on. We love that! .
     After using this for a couple of months, we all decided that homeschooling would be permanent in our family. Every single member of the family was getting involved in the projects and experiments. We were all learning so much.
     That was the point everything hit me. I became thankful that we didn't live in our preferred school district. I became thankful that we couldn't afford private school. And I became thankful that God knew the plans he had for us. He had brought us to this point through circumstances that I had viewed as obstacles. I was SO wrong, and I am SO glad that I was.
     I know that God has different plans and gives different convictions to people in all areas: careers, amount of children, which church to attend, what area to serve, etc. What I love is how He says that if we delight in Him, He will give us the desires of our hearts. He has changed so many of my desires. I love that! I think about how miserable it would be if God didn't line up my desires to match His. I want to please God in every part of my life. Right now, I see that my place here in our home, with all our little ones, and with us homeschooling them, is right where God wants me. It is His desire for me, and so it is my desire.






And now for some pictures....

This is Camden using M&Ms to do his counting and colors. He loves all of the candy counting books! The Reese's Pieces Counting by Fives book is his favorite.

My boys are making bird feeders while learning about birds. We will go into much more detail on birds next year .

This is Silas doing an experiment on things that mixed with water and stayed together, and things that could be separated again. Plus, he learned the proper terminology. Yes, I know he's not wearing a shirt. We homeschool. We don't have to be properly dressed in our classroom. We'll work on modesty another day. Ha!

Here they are studying electricity. Their good ol' Dad leads most of the experiments! By the way, you see Camden learning right here along Silas. He's learning what he can at his level of cognition. I love this! He feels included. Plus, when it's his turn to learn it, he will be way ahead of the game.

We used frozen corndog bites to work with Camden with his alphabet. Then we baked them and ate them. We can often be found using food to teach or reinforce. Yum!

I'm beyond glad that I get to be a part of all this!