Giving the Gift of Music

The kids and I had the opportunity today to share in some Christmas music with an adult foster care home ministry.  It was their Christmas party. We sang carols with them, of course, and Sister Strings and I played a couple of flute/violin duets, while Brother Brass played "Oh, Holy Night" on the piano.  This is the first time we've done something like this, and it was such a great experience for the kids to share their gifts with "the least of these."  That's what it's all about!  It was quite eye opening for them, and I think they will be very excited to do this again in the future, as we've been invited to come back for some more.  Miss Melody has already asked when we get to do it again.  She loved singing carols with them.

I was reminded today of how Christ demonstrated the epitome of humility by leaving the glory and splendor of heaven to take on human form, not to be born in the palace he deserves, mind you, but a dirty, animal- smelling stable...to be laid in their food trough (manger) for a bed.  ...And I think I deserve "stuff"... Boy, have I got a lot to learn.  It's not that "stuff" is bad, but that I think I *deserve* it sometimes... Lord, thank you for demonstrating humility, love, and how to give sacrificially.  May I never think more highly of myself than I ought!  Thank you for giving your life, so that I may live.  You truly are the King of Kings!...Like none other!

Home School Symphony-Christmas 2010

Sister Strings leads the symphony this year as "concert mistress", and she absolutely loves playing in an orchestra. It's a fairly young group this year, and they are doing pretty well for the 12 rehearsals or so they've had this year so far. She too, along with Brother Brass, has recruited mom to play in her ensemble again this year, but instead of flute/picc, mom is being greatly challenged on that French horn. :) Did I mention that horn is the hardest instrument on the planet to play? OK, that's my take on it anyways, which is why a good horn player is always in high demand. Eh, em...that probably wouldn't be me, though. LOL! You can't see me here because I'm in the way back. Try not to listen too closely for me though...I apologize in advance for the horn "blips", but at least the part was covered. :) Focus on that pretty violinist up front! :) She wouldn't have this opportunity in our public schools. They don't even teach strings in our whole county, let alone school district! ...Just another minor reason we home school.

Brother Brass' first concert-Beginning Band

Brother brass has taken up French Horn this year, forcing his mother to play along with him. :) She hasn't performed on that thing in over 20 years, but she's slowly getting back into it. LOL! (Our homeschool music group strongly encourages parental mentorship in allowing musical parents to play too, which I love!] Here's a fun beginning for Brother Brass, and I think he's starting to enjoy it. Here's his Christmas music contribuiton to y'all. *He's playing on the nice double horn...I get the student rental that's only a single horn and will be returned to the store this month. So we'll be down to only one horn here soon. I think he's ready to start some official horn lessons...maybe?

Home School Flute Choir-Christmas 2010

We tried something new this year with our homeschool music group since we had so many flutists available this year.  You've got to do *something* with all of that dynamic flute presence, right?  We don't have any alto or bass flutes yet, but it's on my wish list. :)  These girls did great for the small amount of time we had to get together for rehearsals...and, yes, that's me conducting w/ hubby behind the camera. [We really need to get a tripod someday].  The Song is Gesu Bambino by Pietro Yon (arr. M. J. Simpson). I love this song!

Reflections on Education, Faith, and God

OK, so I'm still catching on to this blogging thing, and it's proving to be sort of fun, even though I'm still such the beginner blogger.  You'll see a mix of homeschooling, family, friends, and life here, because really, it's all sort of one and the same to me.  Even though we do set aside some time on weekdays to do some formal academic work and hit the books, our learning and home education never really stops.  It all kind of meshes together, as we all experience and proceed with life's happenings and God's sovereign plans that He knew of us before we were even born.  Sometimes even *YOU* may be part of the lesson my kids are learning about at a given moment...so beware!  :)  BJU has a T-Shirt out that says, "Homeschoolers have class everywhere", and that about sums it up, even though it's a play on words.  One thing that our family has come to realize over the years is that education never stops.  Whether you're just 6 and learning to read or 75 and learning how to share your wisdom with the next generation, learning never ends.  Can you imagine how knowledgeable Adam, THE Adam of the Bible, must have become after living on this earth for 800 years??  We barely scratch the surface of one century in our lifetime, which is only a morsel of time compared to eternity.  By God's grace and mercy, I will have accomplished 4 of those decades by summer time on my 40th birthday.  Did I just say that?!  Yes, I'm turning 40 soon, but I'm actually willing to embrace it gracefully and willingly, because I like this place that I'm at so much better than when I was younger, believe it or not.

I guess when you get to this point, you begin to realize that this planet we live on for such a brief amount of time is not really all that permanent.  As Christians, it is not our home; it should not be the main focus of our hearts.  Sure, many of us enjoy the pleasures and blessings that the Lord provides while we're here (which I'm so very thankful for -especially this time of year around Thanksgiving, because I'm not one who likes to "rough it" :), but the only place that we will truly find real comfort, hope, peace, joy, and life to the fullest is in our eternal hope and promise which comes by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.  Heaven is our true home and the place in which we will one day spend eternity...ETERNITY folks! Not just a few decades or even 8 centuries!... if we are *truly* one of His.  He has us here on this earth still for only one purpose, and that is to glorify Him.  It is His purpose that we will enjoy Him forever, if we are believers.  It is not necessarily his purpose here on this earth for us to be comfortable all the time or to have OUR way in things.  In fact, sometimes I believe he allows for our discomfort in order to shape us (or those around us) more into his likeness for His glory and His good in order to advance His kingdom and plan.  By faith, I believe that there is much more purpose to what I do here on this earth for the short time I exist here than I'm even aware of.  Eternal purpose that may stretch into generations to come (I'm thinking possible great-great-great grandchildren...).  Purpose that gives life, breath, reason, and drive as to why we continue to home educate and why I embrace motherhood and the work that goes along with it so deeply.  This *IS* my calling and my "career" during this season of life, and I've learned to be very thankful for it.  I see it as an act of worship to my Lord.  And trust me when I say, I'm no June Cleaver! (I guess you have to be almost 40 or older to know what I'm talking about there! LOL.)  I'm not naturally the domestic type, and some days require me to press on more than others, but nonetheless, it is what I do. My heart is in my home and calling as wife, mother, and Christian...because of HIM.  This also doesn't mean that I don't enjoy hobbies and other interests in life.  It's a matter of priorities, I guess.

We home educate our kids for so many reasons that have accumulated and grown over time now, but one of those primary reasons is because Heaven is our goal in the education process, not Harvard.  Now I have nothing against higher learning institutions and ambitions, mind you, (besides the fact that some of them are completely opposed to the purpose of our existence as Christians and directly contrast the Word of God in every way imaginable...but that's another post), but our main goal in raising our children is to raise and train them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord...in ALL subjects (math: God's order; science: the study of God's creation; history: the study of His providence and plan throughout time, pointing to Christ; English: God's gift of language and communication)...because we believe that wisdom is just as much a part of education as knowledge, and BOTH begin with the fear of the Lord.  We strongly believe in Christian education, not in order to hide in a bubble and avoid worldliness, as some may presume, but rather just the opposite...to train for combat in such an environment.  There is a French proverb that says, "Learning is not wisdom any more than cloth is clothes." 

We do not believe in sending out soldiers into the battlefield before they are equipped with the proper weapons in which to do battle ...spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically.  Although I know some may disagree with me, I don't believe God has called small, immature children to be missionaries, apart from their parents, for hours on end daily, until they are first made to be disciples of the master of their soul.  Training and discipling takes time and deliberate effort.  Not just once or twice/week.  Not just in a reactive sense when life's circumstances force us to respond.  But rather in a pro-active sense of embracing what's out there in the real world with a mentor/leader/parent by your side to walk you through it in a way that would cause you to deliberately think biblically about such matters.  We call this worldview training.  Discipleship. This is why we home school.  There's a very deliberate agenda behind our parenting, and home education is just part of it.  It's not perfect, mind you, and neither are we (far from it actually),  but for *us*, it's the best model of education that we have come across so far in order to accomplish these goals that the Lord has laid upon our hearts.  We started this journey in 2002, and we are committed to it, by God's grace, until our kids graduate. If we were not homeschooling, then we would work hard to find a means in which they would still be provided with a Christian education, one way or another in their youth.  It is our conviction to do so.  This is not just a preference. It's not because we just don't like those public schools. Quite simply, public schools do not provide a Christian education (in fact, it's just the opposite), so therefore they are not an option for us.  Keeping this in mind is what helps me to persevere when those rough days emerge, and they do.  It's also what makes me feel blessed and fulfilled when the Lord allows us to see small glimpses of the fruit of our labor from time to time.  It's certainly nothing that I can do within my own strength, and I'm sure I've made a lot of blips along the way, but as I reflect back on the 8 years that we have been at this thing called homeschooling and  the 15 years of the endeavor that we call parenting, I've come to realize that the Lord never ever leaves me or forsakes me to do these tasks by myself.  He's ALWAYS with me, even when I'm not consciously aware of His presence.  In fact, His strength is made perfect in my weaknesses, of which there are many.  It is only when I trust Him and walk in obedience to His calling that I can hope to find a measure of success in life...success as defined by Him in His Word according to His will.  Success that leads to eternal vision and victory.  My best life is NOT "now", as I've heard it said by some famous speakers/writers, but rather my best life is yet to come!  I would encourage all of you to walk with the King daily in the light of His eternal glory and promise, especially as we celebrate "God with us" during this Christmas season and every season, as THAT is what the ancients were commended for in Hebrews 11:1 when it says, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (NIV)

By grace, through faith, in Christ...alone.  It is the very essence of why I bother to breathe daily and why life, including education, is all inclusive in that everything we do from day to day is an expression of who we trust and the object of our faith, which must be God Himself if we call ourselves believers.  Faith destroys self-sufficiency.  The reward of faith?  God!  We get God!  There's nothing greater!

A Beka Language 4 Writing samples

A Beka English/Language is set up a little different from BJU.  The writing units from which this is taken is quite long.  The writing section is basically section 1(out of 4) of the whole book, which includes 6 units:  Recognizing and Writing Good Sentences, Punctuating Your Writing, Capitalizing Important Words, Writing Letters, Something to Write About, and The Writing Process...102 pages to be exact.  Here are samples from the last 2 units within this section:

Click to enlarge...

BJU English 6 writing samples

Some fellow homeschooling friends of mine wanted to see a sample lesson of how BJU writing is set up.  We homeschoolers like to see thorough samples before we buy, and the online samples given to us in BJU English only show some brief grammar teaching.  So here ya go ladies!  This is from the 6th grade English, chapter 12, lesson 111-117.  The other elementary grades are set up similarly, but with grade appropriate content and expectations.  This blog is proving to be quite useful! :)

Resale Finds

I love it when I find great books to add to our home library!  I got all of these for under $10! One of them is by Buddy Davis from the Creation Museum, and another is a reprint of a 1910 Classic by James Otis called Mary of Pymouth.  This book is also reprinted and used by A Beka as one of their novels in their reading program.  My copy is by Lost Classics book comapany.  After studying so many home school catalogs over the years, it's amazing how quickly I can spy a good popular homeschooling book in a book store...even a resale one. :) OK, probably only the fellow homeschoolers will appreciate these types of posts...

ACE 11th grade U.S. History Samples

I'm already beginning to collect curriculum for next year, can you believe it?  Well, when you come across an unbeatable deal, one must snatch it up, right?  I got our 11th grade ACE U.S. History PACES used, but in like new condition, for a great deal.  They are in perfect condition, actually- no writing at all.  I thought I'd post some samples for those other homeschoolers out there who have been longing to see samples of this newly updated course.  Sister Strings will be using this for next year along with adding in some historical fiction and biographies to go along.  Here are some samples.  The samples are not that great, but you can get a general idea of how colorful and informative these newer PACES are.  I just randomly picked some pages for you to see.  Have a look:

Flutist or Flautist? That is the question.

Obviously I play the flute..No mystery there. I've played since I was 12.  I'm a flute player that calls herself a flutist, and when I speak to other flutists, they don't even blink at the word.  I find it funny that the only time I receive corrections on this word are from folks who don't play the flute. LOL!  It makes me chuckle, but I can totally understand the confusion out there, since there are so many musical terms that we use from other foreign languages, especially Italian, which is where the word "flautista" comes from.  In the words of my most favorite flutist that I have been listening to since I was 12 and who I consider to be the authority on the matter..."I am a flute player, not a flautist.  I don't have a flaut, and I've never flauted." (Sir James Galway)

You will see and hear both ways, due to the fact that the British still refer to a flute player as a flautist (Italian root with an English suffix), just as they also have other spellings/pronunciations for many, many other English words.  But since I'm from America, I will stick with the American English terminology...FLUTIST...just as I refer to "measures" in a piece of music and not "bars."

If you'd like to learn more about this, here's an interesting article about it, written by a famous flutist:

http://www.fenwicksmith.com/miscellany_flautist.html

I love studying this sort of stuff.  It intrigues me.  Linguistics was one of my favorite classes in college.  Didn't know that about me, did ya? (I see you all rolling your eyes! LOL!)

Living history and science

Even when on vacation we continue to learn. Here are some recent examples of IRL history and science while away on a trip to Mackinac Island over the summer. The blog photos of my kids on the side bar are on the fairy ride over to the island.

 Us in front of Fort Mackinac.  The huge climb up in the background makes us look like we're leaning...or it could be my er...um..photographer? And, yes, we did make that climb!

 This is after the cannon demonstration.  Good thing we plugged our ears!

 We got to march with the soldiers.  They had all the folks in the front row line up to march in step with them.  It was tough keeping up with all of those left/right/about face type orders and still stay in line with a group of 50 other "soldiers."  The kids thought it would be easy. HA!

 One of the reasons my oldest insists on learning French instead of Spanish is because of our neighbor across the border-Canada.  It is not unusual to see this image up here, especially when on the Great Lakes.

And this is what we found under the steps of the log cabin that we stayed in.  Of course, everyone knows Daddy's favorite bug spray is 409-the household cleaner.  Works like a charm every time.  And of course we all know that Daddy loves to dissect the spider and insect nests that we capture.  I opt to do the photography for these adventures.  Who says that hands-on learning doesn't happen around here for us textbook folks?

Sister Strings~ spring recital 2010

Thought I'd attempt to share a little clip of Sister Strings (SS) in her last violin recital. (This uploading videos "thing" is new for me).  Her violin teacher is accompanying her in the background, but I didn't get a picture of her this time.  SS is currently working on a new, challenging piece for district high school S&E coming in Feb. 2011.  As a 10th grader, she will not only play her piece for the judge, but she will be asked to play several scales from memory in several octaves.  She received a division 1 rating at both district and state S&E last year as a 9th grader, which was good preparation for the increased pressure to perform well this year for 10th and beyond.  The expectations increase in level of difficulty with each grade level.  We are not in it so much for the competitive aspect of it, however, but both the challenge of performing before adjudicators who will evaluate your performance as well as the opportunity to perform makes for a wonderful growing experience for any musician.  For all of you friends and family who rarely get to see her perform, here's a glimpse of where she was at as of last spring.  This year she is currently acting as "concert mistress" of her home school symphony, and she absolutely LOVES it!  It's really helping to build more confidence and boldness in her playing. 

Handel's Messiah-Hallelujah Chorus surprise!

Dressed as average, every day shoppers, these professional opera singers break out in song and praise to our Lord with this majestic piece of music, filling a shopping mall with the meaning of Christmas.  What a great way to make use of that fabulous organ in the middle of Macy's!  And how awesome it would have been to be in the middle of all of that!  Very cool!  My Dad sent this to me.  Take a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp_RHnQ-jgU&feature=player_embedded

Writing and grammar adjustments

Since Brother Brass does SO WELL with his subjects in which the BJU teacher, Mrs. Vick, teaches him online, I've decided to have him do their 8th grade grammar/writing course as well.  It's only a semester-long course, which will allow for me to have some wiggle room concerning working more on his writing skills.  I was going to ditch grammar altogether for this year, in an effort to accomplish this goal, but I think he still needs it. The program we were currently using, ACE, is a full English curriculum, and is very thorough.  However, I want him doing a little more with writing for this year in order to rev it up for high school which is fast approaching.  I'm hoping BJU will provide what I'm looking for in terms of more consistent writing projects in addition to our other writing curriculm, which entails Hands On Essays http://www.handsonessays.com/  and Wordsmith http://www.commonsensepress.com/ .  When I reflect upon some of the best writing that Brother Brass has accomplished in his past, it was during his 4th grade year, when he used BJU's English DVD teacher.  I'm hoping it will still have the same effect on him, now that he's in 8th.  There's just something about that Mrs. Vick...maybe it's because she's ALWAYS so patient and gentle with him. 

In the meantime, he has just completed his first full official 5 paragraph expository essay.  HOE also includes a video teacher with very short, creative lessons that really helps the kids to get a sense of the 5 paragraph essay flow.  He's still working on being more creative with his wording and complex sentence structure, but at least he's beginning to really sense the flow and structure of writing.  Next he will do a descriptive essay.  He is starting to figure out that the more he writes regularly, getting more practice time in with bite-sized chunks, the easier it gets.  This is why I think he needs a more consistent writing program that will have him writing something meaningful all the time, rather than only when writing is scheduled into the English program. 

All I can say is...God bless Mrs. Vick and the other video teachers that we bring into our home to help us educate our children!  They have been such a blessing to our homeschool off and on over the years, and I have never regreted the times that we have used them.  Some may think they are too pricey, and I totally understand the need to put food on the table as a priority, but I guess I see it as being cheaper than a private Christian school, a personal tutor, or a couple of car payments...or some of the other frivilous, temporal things that we humans sometimes spend our money on.  I guess I see our children's education as an investment that has eternal value (not that it's *necessary* to spend a fortune, mind you), which leads to the reasons why we homeschool...but that's another post.  During this season of thanksgiving, I'm just very thankful for all of the tools that are out there to make home education doable for almost anyone and everyone. 

Our School Rooms

Our main school area, which is also our main book/supply storage area as well, is the den.  It is the first room on the right when you enter our home.  Just across the foyer is the formal dining room, which also serves as a school area as well, but it can also be used to dine in when we need it.  Of course, the kids all have a small desk in their bedrooms as well that they like to study at on occasion when in need of some peace and quiet.

Blog Beginnings

Well, here it is!  My first attempt at sharing a portion of my life and journey with others out there in cyber world who care to know anything about my musings and daily life...otherwise known to me as "Nancy's Notes."  These are my notes that work together to make the music in my life into something that I hope will be a blessing to those who read and will honor my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

My husband is the "techie" around here, and it is a miracle that I have figured out this much on my own in order to blog. So please forgive any unusually strange things that may appear and disappear from this blog while I try to figure it all out. Enjoy!