Harder Family

Harder Family

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Getting Ready For Another School Year

Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it wholeheartedly as though you were doing it for the Lord and not merely for people."

It's that time again when we all get ready to send our kids off to school. Although we don't send our kids off to school, we still experience the anticipation and excitement of starting school. Wayne and I find it important to give our kids the summer off - okay, we find it important to give mom (aka the teacher) the summer off. Before we start another school year, I buy the girls new school supplies and we go to Once Upon a Child to buy a couple new outfits for winter. Let's get real...I use this as an excuse to get my winter clothes shopping in before life gets crazy chaotic. Regardless, the kids get excited about school. With all my new books waiting to be cracked open and my new supplies, I'm feeling excited for school as well. 

Before we hit the books, we decided to have one more day of fun. Our friends have season passes to Great America and yesterday was bring-a-friend-for-free day. We were blessed to spend the day with some of our good friends enjoying rides at Great America. The weather was perfect (70s, sunny, and very low humidity) for our day away. 



Joella was about an inch too short for many rides, so we ended up on a lot of spinning rides.


Naomi & Sophia's first time on the Giant Drop










In attempts to "outsmart" my kids, I have devised a new system for school. Since we lost our homeschool room to make room for the boys, we had to get creative with our house. Most of the time we did group work at the kitchen table anyway, so we came up with a way for me to stay organized and not have books take over my kitchen. We found this amazing roll cart at IKEA. It fits most of the books that I will need each day to teach the kids. After we are done with school, I roll it back into my bedroom.


The best system I came up with is workstation dividers. This will eliminate the whining, "She's looking at me weird!" "Tell her to stop looking at me." If you look closely in the picture, you will notice a bright pair of ear muffs. I bought each of the girls a pair of headphones to eliminate the sounds they hear around them. It should help avoid these conversations: "She's smacking her lips, so I can't do my math." "She's humming while doing work, so I can't do my schoolwork." You get the picture. I'm praying that this system works. Each one of them can be in their own workstation around the table (so I can keep an eye on them and help them as needed), but shouldn't be distracted by those around them. 


Work stations


Privacy boards/work stations & ear muffs


Micaela and Joella's workstation (they don't fight as much, so I didn't see a need for privacy dividers - watch, that will be the fight tomorrow!)


Tomorrow is our first day of school. We have outfits laid out, my white boards are covered with the material we will cover, our books are ready, and our work stations are all set up. Lord willing, we will have another great school year. Hopefully by the start of the second semester, I will add two students to my roster. It is crazy to think that we are starting our seventh year of homeschooling!! I feel blessed and honored to help educate my children at home. You can't beat having extra time with your children since they grow up so quickly. Remind me of this when winter rolls around and we all have cabin fever!!

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Abigail and Grace have been working hard to put the final touches on the magazine they have been working on for months. Our first publication comes out in a few weeks. I have been working on last minute edits today so that I can get the magazine to the printer. If anyone is interested in a subscription, please visit: www.godgirlmagazine.com. The money from the magazine goes to support two girls in Africa: Dorothy, an orphan from Kenya; and Linda, a 5 year old from Burkina Faso. Here is a sample of the front of the magazine.


We are excited to see how God uses this magazine for His kingdom and His glory! 


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