Apologia Give-Away

Love science?  Check this out!!!

http://www.homeschoolingunscripted.com/exploring-creation-with-biology-giveaway/?subscribe=success#blog_subscription-2

We have used Apologia Science for several years and have so appreciated the use of the scientific method along with the in depth study of the material.  It is worth looking into!!!

Why do I Home School?

o                                            Tomi, this may seem a bit odd, but I've actually been wondering why you do homeschool your kids. Oh, I can think of a lot of reasons, but...I'd be interested in knowing yours - I'm sure you've thought it out well & prayed over it thoroughly.  As I know you have other places to invest your abundant spare time (!), if you have already written something on this, or have a link that gives a fairly representative explanation, I'd appreciate it.

Why do I homeschool?  I really do love that question and have been asked this many times over the past 15 years.  This year I will be graduating my oldest daughter, and yes, from home school!!  It truly seems surreal that I have arrived at this place when I began this journey. 

I remember the question, I remember my replay – “Tomi, will you consider home schooling our children?” Darrell asked.  “NO!” came my immediate reply.  “Well, would you pray about it?” he responded.  “NO!” I came back at him.  We were both products of the public education system and home school to me, at the time, was a bunch of mammoth sized families that all wore jumpers, bobby socks and in some cases head coverings.  That was so not my style!! (No offense to my now large family friends who might wear jumpers, bobby socks and the occasional head covering!!)  He then very graciously gave me all the reasons he wanted me to think about home schooling. 

.          He worked for American Airlines and his seniority, though good, was nowhere near what it needed to be for him to get school breaks off.  This would certainly put a damper on our number one goal – a healthy, loving family.

.          He was a boy who had a very hard time in school.  He was never taught to read properly and with his parent’s divorce in 1^st grade, it left him with little desire to excel in his studies.

.          His desire for our children was to raise leaders, not followers and felt this gave them a head start in that direction.

What else could I say to that, but yes, I would pray.  God soon began to surround Bethany and I with friends who homeschooled their children.  I made my 1^st trek to the home school book fair and met 6 year olds who could serve customers with confidence and a smile.  I saw students who were well behaved, attentive and looking for ways to serve and help others.  Why wouldn’t I want this for my children?  Suddenly, this became more about their character than their education, even though that was still a high priority. 

As I began to pray, I asked God what would my goals be for homeschooling my children.  I began to list them out and soon discovered that these goals though not impossible would be difficult to meet in a public school setting.

1.      My children would love to learn – this included loving the learning process.

2.      My children would see learning as something to last a life time, not just for a season of time in their life.

3.      My children could learn at their own pace.  Excelling in areas they were passionate and able to diligently work through the things they found more challenging or cumbersome.

4.      My children could pursue their passions and spend time delving into the things that made them tick!

5.      My children would learn character through some of the following practices –

a.      Ability to self teach – not expecting others to do the teaching for them but learning the skills of learning.

b.      Diligence – time management and timely goals

c.       Initiative – not working for a grade but for the sake of learning

d.      Self- Control – when mom was busy with others, waiting patiently for their questions to be answered.

e.      Patience – as they were to help the younger ones learn what they had previously learned.

f.        That life was not only about book learning but that learning also was about their hearts, their dreams, God’s Word, Will and Direction. 

Year 1 began with a contingency; I would homeschool for a year and reevaluate the next year to see if this was going to work out or not.  Year 2 came and even though it had been challenging because after all, we all begin with an ideal, then we meet up with the real, the mundane of day to day, and sometimes the two can really clash, I had to determine what things I would hang onto and what things I would let go of. 

Each year held something new, a new baby,a new job for dad, a new curriculum, a new homeschool group, a new opportunity for ministry or even a new place to learn.  With each year came many, many adjustments, some years we had to back off the “busy” work and hone in on the practical parts of running a home and family, one year God asked me to dedicate our studies to math and creative writing, leaving grammar and spelling behind.  My fears were challenged and my faith increased as I saw my children thrive, excel and grow as I pressed into the ONE who knows all, especially all about my children!  He knows what they need and how they need to learn.

When Bethany came home declaring that she was going to be Governor of Texas someday, I immediately knew she would enter the public school around the junior high years so she could take on student government.  I didn’t’ realize God would provide another means, through home school speech and debate, she has been equipped, challenged and submersed into a world of political junkies who challenge what she believes and helps her to refine her abilities to communicate in a gentle yet firm means. 

Will I continue to homeschool all my children through their high school graduation?  I don’t know, I have learned not to say, “NO!” to God or my husband, but "I will pray about it!!"

Tournament Results

We had such a great time at the Tyler Tournament!! Every day began with worship and a fresh word for the students and their parents. Such a sweet reminder of why we do what we do. Below are the results for all 5 of my children.

Tyler Tournament Jarrell Family Results

Bethany Jarrell
Original Oratory – 2nd Place – National Qualified (NITOC)
Apologetics – 3rd Place
Extemporaneous – 4th Place – National Qualified (NITOC)
Parliamentary Debate – 5th place – National Qualified (PITOC)
Lincoln Douglas Debate – 6th Place – National Qualified (NITOC)
(Bethany has previously qualified for Nationals in Impromptu)(NITOC)

Bailey & Isaac Jarrell
Duo Interpretation – 3rd Place – National Qualified (NITOC)
(Bailey has previously qualified for Nationals(NITOC)in Impromptu)

Isaac Jarrell
Humorous Interpretation – 3rd Place – National Qualified (NITOC)

Ethan & Noah Jarrell
Duo Interpretation – 3rd Place
Ethan and Noah competed for the 1st time and didn’t place in their individual events but won 3rd place for their duo!! I was so proud of them because after the 1st day they never wanted to speak in public again, but after day two and having a crowd laugh at their duo, they thought it was SO FUN!!!!

We have another tournament in April where Bethany will try to qualify in Apologetics and Bailey is working on her Persuasive. If they qualify they will go to NITOC (nationals) in all the events they went out for.

Discipline

My daughter's essay - I thought it was worth sharing!!

Discipline
Prompt: Do people need discipline to achieve freedom?
There seems to be a negative connotation with the word ‘discipline’ in today’s society. Many people equate discipline with rigorous and legalistic rules and regulations on behavior patterns and habits. However, what many people fail to realize is that the greatest amount of freedom is only attainable through discipline.
Before I move on to how discipline achieves freedom, I would like to dispel a few myths concerning the definitions of discipline and freedom. Many people connect discipline with punishment. As a child, parents use punishments to discipline their child into following proper behavior patterns. This is a good thing; but when the child grows into adulthood, many never move out of that childish phase and begin to see that the true definition of discipline is not punishment, rather it is following behavior patterns that allow for success, growth, productivity, and essentially: their personal freedom. Similarly, people believe that absolute freedom is being able to act without restraint and not have to answer for the consequences, either good or bad, of such actions. This seems to be the antithesis of discipline, but when closely examined, one can recognize this as a fallacy in the mindset to which society clings. Freedom could be defined as unrestraint, but because this leads us to undesirable ends, a re-definition is required. Freedom is the ability to act without infringing upon the rights of others. This thought was first supported by John Locke, an American Philosopher, and has been shown to be a more widely acceptable definition.
Where do these two ideas connect? How does discipline lead to freedom? To put it simply, discipline is the ability to act within proper behavior patterns such as honesty, reliability, productivity and creativity. When one acts without restraint, more than one person is harmed because that definition of freedom does not account for the consequences of actions. When one acts with discipline, the product is a freedom as defined by Locke and allows the person to play upon their strengths and become a more effectual and impactful individual, achieving a greater sense of freedom than the concept of unrestraint could ever comprehend.
What is a practical application of discipline leading to freedom? All through history, there have been a plethora of instances where true discipline led to true freedom. Take for example, the American Revolution: the founding fathers were in pursuit of freedom from Britain and it was only through disciplining themselves and their followers that freedom was attained from the motherland and in the process, found freedom in themselves to live purposeful and impactful lives.
Nothing is more tragic than watching an individual failing to realize their full potential and robbing themselves of a bright and influential future because they refused to discipline themselves. Let us strive to prevent others from accepting the current mindset that discipline is punishment and freedom is a lack of restraint, and help them to connect to the idea that they can live impactful lives when choosing to discipline themselves and ultimately achieve a lasting freedom.

A Trip to Narnia

January 3rd we began our second venture into the world of Narnia – to once again enter the world of Aslan with the four Pevensie children and meet many of the fanciful beasts and citizens of Narnia. Last year we met the Great Lion and His love for His creation, we experienced His power of redemption and restoration through the ancient writings inscribed on the stone table as His blameless lifeblood was given willingly in lieu of a guilty soul. We witnessed the death of the White Witch and the restoration of Christmas to a land once covered with ice and stone. Hope once again filled the land as the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve ruled with truth and grace.

Over a thousand years have passed in Narnia since we were last here, the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve have long since been transported back to the land of England and left Narnia to be ruled by a new people known as the Telmarines. The talking beasts have retreated into themselves and the citizens of Narnia live hiding in the woods. They are once again in bondage to their fears, circumstances and living a life of survival while trying to believe the stories of the ancient children and their Aslan who came in and saved their world.

To be invited back into the world of Narnia is both a gift and a privilege. It is an opportunity to learn new lessons for ourselves and the responsibility to communicate the message of hope, love, courage and obedience to those who choose to allow Narnia to be a stop on their daily journey through life. A few of the lessons I learned along the way will forever mark my life and help me to encourage others on the rode they travel.

As we enter into Narnia we sense that Aslan is ever present and yet unseen. Our stage is a splash of yellow, brown and gold, each color catching the light and giving the sense of an open field but with a closer look you see eyes looking straight at you, always seeing, and always knowing. Today in my world I have the splashes of color all around me reminding me of the joys, trials and dailyness of life and yet when I look closely at all the things these colors represent I can see the face of my God, always seeing and always knowing. Lord, today, give me eyes to see You in the colors of my life.

One encounter with a Narnian will forever make you a believer, where once he had only heard the tales of talking animals, giants and dwarfs, so once was the tale of Aslan simply a story. A prince with a purpose to make a change to his world heard the stories and was willing to take the risk of believing. Upon encountering a living breathing Narnian, how could he not believe in the truth that Aslan was real? Daily I encounter real lives that have been touched, changed and freed by Jesus, how then can I doubt His existence. How then can I not believe He is there for me?

Back in the land they once ruled, four children return to a different world. A world that no longer reflects the one they left; no longer filled with the familiar faces, sights or sounds; one that is now foreign to them and beyond their understanding. Fear begins to grip their hearts, wandering lost and without a sense of direction, with no sign of Aslan could they begin to find their way? Would any of them choose to believe and to follow by faith? Without the Word of God as our guide, we tend to wander down paths without direction, lost, looking for our purpose and wondering what our destination might be. God’s word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. As Aslan breathed life on the four children so we have the Holy Spirit who infuses us with power and courage to face the battles we must face.

As a part of the make-up team that brought the characters to life, I was able to see the transformation that each character would go through to become a walking, talking Narnian. Each character brought to life with hair, costume, make-up, dialogue and a vision from the inside out of who they would be. The gift of make-up would transform a small boy into a warrior mouse or a quiet young lady into a rather grumpy bear. Suddenly, they became a part of the tale, a part of the magic of the land, an integral part of the whole of the story.

Some of my favorite transformations occurred with my own children as I watched two of them stretch to portray the opposite of who they truly were created to be. One child who learned a little bit more about having fun and embracing freedom in each area of life. Another who delights in being the storyteller take a back seat so others could have their turn in the storytelling role. While another one found that telling a story and telling it well was hard work. And I learned that when asked to take on something well out of my skill set (being a make-up artist) can be fun and fulfilling when it isn’t about what I can’t do; but, about the opportunity to learn, pray and grow in new areas with the rest of the storytelling team.

My journey into Narnia had many more life lessons, like spirit gum is a sticky mess, glitter gets on everything and doesn’t want to come out, a story worth telling is worth telling well and life couldn’t get any sweeter than doing it with people you love. However, the greatest lesson I took from this encounter with Narnia was that above all else the real King of Narnia forever wants me to trust in His goodness, His love and His plan for my life, even when the trees are unfamiliar and the way unclear.

We said good-bye to Narnia last night with laughter and a few tears we had a grand adventure. Carrying the lessons of our heart into the future with new friends, shared experiences and some new skills under our belts we head out into a greater adventure still

Artisan Center Theater, Les Mis, Madame Thenardier 7/2/10.AVI

Isaac's rehearsal for Gavroche in Les Misrables

The prince of fools - a tough word but sometimes the truth hurts!

The danger to America is not Barack Obama, but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the presidency. It will be easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to an electorate willing to have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails us. Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The republic can survive a Barack Obama. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president. ...Author Unknown

Thought for the Day

He loves us. Love does not mean making much of us or making life easy. It means making us able to enjoy making much of Him forever - no matter what the cost.