Reflection

As the year comes to an end, I like to reflect on how it has passed; did it flow the way I anticipated? Did I make positive connections with people and impact lives the way I hoped I would do? Am I where I was praying I would be career-wise or did my journey get stalled along the way? Perhaps my path was sidetracked and is taking me down a new direction? There have been ups and downs as usually expected with life, but everyone for the most part is healthy. We have been blessed in that area. Spiritually, I am closer to God and serving Him in many ways that I feel He has called me to: I am involved in the youth ministry at my church and in outreach, as well as a volunteer Christian life coach. My son's relationship with the Lord is strengthening as he becomes more involved with the youth program. He is currently a student leader and looking forward to becoming an intern next year. We are still homeschooling and he is becoming more accountable for his work as he moves into a more individualized schedule. We love doing projects and some things together, even though he does more on his own now. With my writing, I am finishing my book on Christian Leadership and mentoring youth. I hope to have that published by the end of the year. My article for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine was picked to be in their Best of the Best 2012 print edition coming out in November or December! I am also writing for Homeschool.com as a guest writer. That will be exciting! I'm looking forward to hearing from a lot of you about your homeschool stories and adventures so write in and let me hear-I'll be posting them on my site! All in all, I feel the year has progressed well, though I'm not totally where I had hoped to be, but God is in control and will bring about His plan when it is time. Meanwhile, I will be practicing patience, something I need practice at anyway! Blessings to all!

Fall is finally coming: the breezes are cooler, the leaves have put on their golden colors, and pumpkins are peeking out from neighborhood windows! Our homeschooling has undergone a few changes to adapt to interests, changing schedules, and preferred ways of learning. My son is in 7th grade and going through 'the changes' that young people go through as they near their teen years. He is trying out his independence and wants more control over his learning, so we are going to try a new system. I will do his weekly lesson plans, as usual, but instead of laying out a daily plan every morning for us to work on, he will get the whole week's lessons and do them on his own. He will choose how much he wants to do and work at his own pace. I will be around as a facilitator and we will still do bible studies together, as well as read-alouds (even though he reads from his choice of material which is currently White Fang) and various projects. We will also view some documentaries together and perform science experiments together when he likes. For the most part, he will be working at his own individual rate. If he gets it all done by Thursday, then he has Friday off for free time! This allows him to not only explore more of his interests, but it is also teaching him how to plan work schedules, how to study more effectively, and how to organized his time/manage his learning. I am excited to see how it works out but also a bit sad that as he grows older and becomes more independent, it means my role changes and he won't need me as much. No more fun little projects or unit studies, no more little boy curious and wide-eyed about the world; my little boy is growing up. Thank goodness I have my 5 yr. old grandson to enjoy those times with! :) My son still needs me, but now I will be guiding him on his journey to manhood. He is quite the leader on his football team and in church. Though I know we will have our rough spots from time to time as he struggles through that unknown territory, I know he has a heart for God and we can both look there for guidance and wisdom.