By Design

That seems to have been my mantra for school this year…..by design. I am referring to how God designed our children right from the get go. And how if we would really pay attention, we could see it so clearly in everyday little things, thereby saving us LOADS of frustration and money and time.

Frustration because we try to put information into their little heads in a way that may make sense to us, or worked for us, but by design, is not being filtered correctly.

Money as we spend precious resources on products that appeal to US or that we think will be the best savings because you can use for ALL the kids! Wrong- been there, done that. What works for one does not always work for another. Go ahead and spend the extra money now and get what the child needs because you are going to anyways. Either now or in 6 years after you beat your head against the wall, and I do not mean the proverbial wall.

Time- the obvious. We waste time. Our most precious resource. Don’t fight, resist or deny the way God designed your kids. Study the different ways children learn and retain information. Honestly, the longer I homeschool, the less I know! I am still learning so much about how children learn. I wish I had some years back. Hind sight doesn’t need to be everything. Observe your children.

Let me tell you what I observed this week in math class. Oh, math class. With this unnamed child, I swear I am beating my head against the wall. Not that he can’t get algebra. He is very bright. Gets it. ( we are in Saxon Algebra 1). He questions EVERYTHING…he gets hung up on details. Little things in the word stories that DO NOT MATTER WHATSOEVER SO JUST DO THE PROBLEM….whew…..ok..We have gone past the silly questions like “why does it have to be an x, why can’t it be j?”…that was so last year. Now it is more like…”who sat down and figured this out? Why? didn’t they have jobs?  Can’t I do it this way? see. mom I did it this way and it worked so why won’t it work every-time?” and on and on and on and on. Very good questions. Very creative. I have nurtured him and taught him to question everything. Don’t believe just because someone said it. I am paying for those golden nuggets every day! I am not a math person. I can flub  and act my way through Algebra 2. But I have paid through the nose for the extra teacher solution manuals, I have studied in the late night hours for the next day, I have gone into the bathroom to practice acting confident so they don’t spot weakness (anyone who has four boys understands this!). But I don’t care about this stuff and I don’t know all the answers to the thousands of questions I face everyday.

Which leads to another son who had math class. Show him the formula. Show him what problems go with that formula. Write the formula. Replace the formula with numbers. Solve. Do this. Do that. Done. No questions asked. Done. Done well. Pride in accomplishment.

           

And here is where design comes in: can you tell which one is the United States Marine and which one wants to be a detective more than anything in the world??? Can you see what was already instilled and yes, even installed in them since they were created? I am telling you, this knowledge is the only thing that saves my sanity on a daily basis!!!!

Blessings,

Shannon

Top 10 List of Things to be Thankful for After Reading Little House Books

 

Okay, we have just published the first Pocket of Time in the Little House series. More will be coming. But after reading about this life, it makes one thankful for being born at the time we were born in! Here is our list of things we are most thankful for having after reading these books:

10. butter that comes in 4 neatly packaged stick. I don’t do churning

9. mattresses- proper ones, not the ones you have to stuff with hay, to be beaten and taken out to dry daily

8. our bathrooms- IN the house

7. internet- we need news NOW, not two months from now

6. grocery stores- they do all the storin’ up for the winter!

5.  urbinization- we have yet to see a bear!

4. meat that comes in those cute little packages- without a face and fur!

3. modern horse power- Nascar fans know what I am talking about!!!! ( Go Jeff!)

2. razors- no wonder there were so many big foot sightings!

1. our church- we are debating if we could sit at home and stare at our families all day.

note from Kelly- (In the little house books…on Sunday all the children were allowed to do was sit in a chair.  There was to be no laughing no loud talking…only listening when stories were being read or told.  There was no playing, no cooking….very old testament!!  Very strict rules on sunday…oh my)

 There were many others, such as running water, washing machines, refrigerators, on and on it could go. This might make a good activity when the kids are reading the book. Keep a journal of the things that are different and/or you are thankful that they are!

Please feel free to add to our list. I am sure we missed some good stuff!

`Shannon

What TAGS OF TIME Look Like

If you wondered what our newest product Tags of Time look like, here are some pictures of  a set of Tags from The Courage of Sarah Noble. These little chapter tags are such a great way to work with memory, comprehension and accountability!! Please pass the word along!

 Available Tags of Time:

      

Visit our website to order these Tags and to see our Pocket of Time products!!

www.fortunatelyforyoubooks.com

Shannon

Copywork for February

The homeschooling world has fallen in love with copywork these last few years. Charlotte Mason knew what she was talking about all those years ago. We are getting back to basics and learning to adapt our curriculum to fit the child’s mind. Copywork is a fantastic approach for teaching observation, attention to detail, penmanship, and giving quotes to a child that they would never have come across any other way. Hanging in my own son’s bedroom are quotes they have read as result of copywork. Fortunately For You Books puts out a wonderful Pocket of Copywork every month, thanks to the effort of Kelly. She has a great eye for finding quotes children will be drawn to and finding that perfect balance of length and substance for elementary level children.

This month the theme is love…what else can you have in February??!!! But the fantastic thing about this Pocket is it covers not only the love for our family, our friends and our Lord, but also love for our country as Presidents Day and two of our greatest president’s birthdays are this month. What a clever way to mix the two!

Check out our website to purchase this months edition of Copywork.

www.fortunatelyforyoubooks.com

~Shannon

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

 

We now have SO many emails and sign ups for our newsletter that we had to go to Constant Contact as our mail distributor. And we are not talking the FREE 100 addresses program. We are talking having to PAY! And we do not mind in the least. We are more than happy to have this wonderful business grow and expand and need to include extra costs in our budget to meet the ever changing needs of our customers. Thank you to all who have forwarded our address and site to your friends. You are the best  advertisement we can have! Keep passing on the site and this blog address. We have a wonderful list of products that will be released this spring. Right now we are working on a unit study for The Secret Garden. We also have many Pockets of Time and Pockets of Copywork coming out. Little House fans should keep a close eye out for our emails. Spiderwick fan? Our collection is complete!! Patricia St. John collector? Keep checking for a release date!

So, congratulations to FFYB for making one more step in reaching more people with reading tools. And thanks to all you who help us water the seeds for a love of reading in your child.