God’s Trinity and the Properties of Light

November 7, 2014

There are so many things in the spiritual realm that are difficult for us to understand. We are creatures within time. I know that sounds kind of science-fictiony, but think about it. God occupies eternity. He always was, always will be. That’s pretty hard for a person like me, with a definite life-start-day and an impending (hopefully not too soon) life-end-day. I live within time. I can see it unfold throughout history. I know when things such as wars or artistic eras began, and I know when they ended. But God looks on all of creation and its history from a vantage point outside of time.

Wow. That’s amazing to me. And it is hard for us to understand many of these things about our God. Thankfully he has given us his word as revelation to who he is. And he also has given us creation as revelation.

I love when I see metaphorical examples of the nature of God within the world.

Take, for example, light. Light is an interesting study. It is comprised of three components. The first is visible light which is the colors of the rainbow, or white light. Visible light encompasses the light waves we can see with our eyes. You know when a light is on in the dark because you can see it.

A second component of light includes light waves we cannot see. In the spectrum of light there are ultraviolet waves, microwaves, x-rays. Those we cannot see, but we can see their effects. When you go to the dentist and get an x-ray on your teeth, you sit in a chair and they throw a heavy lead drape on you. That is to protect your body from the damaging effects of the x-rays. Those wavelengths of light are so strong, they can penetrate almost anything. We in our fragile human bodies cannot even stand to look at them or they would damage our eyes.

A third component of light is its giving of heat energy. If we’re outside on a cool day, we want to stand in the sunlight instead of the shade. That’s because the light from the sun creates heat. It is something we can feel but not see. Now think about this triad of light. Light we can see, light we cannot see but can certainly feel its power, and light energy we cannot see but can feel through its warmth.

When we look at the persons of the trinity, we know that Jesus is the person who became visible to us. He stepped out of eternity to enter time for us, to be seen. It reminds me of the visible component of light. The heavenly Father cannot be seen, but we know of his immense power. We cannot behold him. He is too powerful. Sounds like the super-potent wavelengths of light, right? And we know that the Holy Spirit cannot be seen but can be felt. Just like the heat energy from light.

Can you see how this creation of light gives us a glimpse of what a trinity can be? How three can be one? We cannot fully understand the godhead, but we can capture a greater understanding of that trinity when we learn more of the creation, during which time God made the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night.

The Distractible Child

October 28, 2014

Do you have a child like this? You know, this child is excited to tell you about something new and amazing he or she just saw outside. You hear your name as they run into the house and begin telling you all about it, but after the first few words, they hit an impasse:

“Mommy, mommy, guess what? I was outside and…and… I was outside when the…the…there was a leaf that was…it was…   Are you making lunch?”

I used to take these situations from an educational point of view. I mean MY education. Listening to the unfolding of an important story (at least to my child) while he struggled to stay focused long enough to tell it built a great deal of patience on my part. And maybe some acting skills, too.

After all, you try to keep looking excitedly at that little face as their mind flows from one point to another in a seemingly haphazard way as they try to relate their news. I think I am ready for a stage production.

Living with a distractible child is a fun, challenging, and definitely humorous endeavor. But it also can be a bit frustrating.

I remember many evenings at the dinner table, happily talking with the family about our day when all of a sudden one of our children just falls off the chair. It is not like he was fidgeting or bouncing or tipping the chair.

No. One minute he was sitting still, scooping a spoonful of food into his mouth and the next minute, he was on the floor. What happened? Did the Earth suddenly tip? Did the chair lose its density and the child just fall through it?

Of course not. This child was easily distracted, wasn’t paying attention to what he was doing, and he edged his way to the end of the seat and simply fell over. Thankfully, he rarely got hurt, though the floor often got baptized in spaghetti sauce, soup, applesauce, and whatever other food item we were eating.

Needless to say, it was challenging trying to homeschool this sweet, busy one. Early on, I noticed his distractibility when at the age of three I asked him to do a simple task for me.

“Honey, please take these folded socks to your room and put them on your bed.”

He happily nodded his head, took the socks and moved through our dining room in a direct path to his room. But then he stopped. He looked up at the wall. Well, there wasn’t anything there! What caught his attention?

Oh, I know. My child is distracted by wallpaper!! The intricate designs of the old-fashioned paper in our 1950s house was so interesting to him that he instantly forgot what he was doing to stare at its fascinating presence. Never mind that he had trounced through there a hundred times a day. It was just difficult to keep a directive in his mind for very long. And, over the years, I realized that it was not intentional disobedience. He truly had a hard time staying focused.

Once he hit the elementary school years, I quickly discovered it was challenging for him to keep on task when it came to math problems. I knew he understood the material, because as I went over it with him verbally or had him do one problem for me, he would do it well.

And forget tests and quizzes. It would take him up to an hour to complete a short quiz. I had to stay nearby to remind him to focus back on that paper.

I began to try to remove distractions by having him do his math quizzes in a less exciting location in the house or a place without his siblings. It didn’t work. Remember, wallpaper distracts this child!

Once I tried using one of those white, three-sided, cardboard display boards on his desk so that he wouldn’t see anything else in the room. After a few minutes, I peeked in to see how he was doing. No, of course he wasn’t working on his problems. He had his pointer finger up against the board, running the nail to the right and left over the bumps of the corrugated cardboard!

OK, NOW what? I began thinking to myself, How can a child who sits still for hours, working on an intricate Lego design not sit still for even a few minutes to complete a math quiz?

Then it hit me.

I rummaged through our arsenal of Lego models and looked for a small one. Then I pulled out a math quiz. I looked at the model instructions. There were 17 steps. I crossed off the last three math problems of the 20-problem quiz.

Then I presented my child with my idea: “I know you love to build models, so I think I have something that may help you keep your attention while you do your math work. First, complete problem number one on the quiz. Then do step one in the Lego book. Next, do math problem number two, and Lego step two. And so on.”

He smiled at me and sat down. Do you know that he completed that math quiz in 20 minutes??

Now, short of having him bring an entire box of Lego models with him to his SAT exam, I would have to work on this method and help him find other ways to keep his focus.

But this helped HIM to see that he could do it. He realized that he understood the material and could actually stay focused. He felt ABLE.

You see, he was now old enough to realize that he was distracted by things. He saw how other people could stay focused, but he had a hard time of it.

Now, this isn’t a discourse to discuss whether he should be tested or not, or whether he needed medication or not. I am writing about this to encourage you to be engaged with your children.

They know much more about what’s going on than you think they do. Your job as parent is to help them learn and grow in this world. They are your greatest mission field. After understanding who their Lord and Savior is, they then need to know how He desires to have a relationship with them. You are mentoring them on how to navigate living in this world with the gifts and challenges it brings.

One of the best ways to do that is to learn how to navigate YOUR gifts and challenges. By asking God for His strength in your weakness, you will be showing your children the greatest way to deal with any difficulty they face. Ask God for wisdom in dealing with these situations.

Spend time praying with your children, first asking them about any struggles they have and then bringing those issues to the Lord.

He can give us the creativity we need. He can give us the wisdom to walk through the challenges. Your loving Father cherishes you and wants you to walk strong!

Show that to your children by living it. That day-by-day living in the Lord, in a slow, ordinary way…facing each challenge or joy as it comes is what makes this life extraordinary!

And for Five Smart Strategies to Engage a Distracted Learner, click here.

Raising a Child Who Is Just Like Me

October 6, 2014

Have you been there? Your child has done something that is unacceptable, whether it is disobedience, pouting, unwillingness to share, or just about any other thing that grates against your being. There are just some things that are objectionable, and you are going to make sure you address those things with your child.

But as you begin to discuss this “no-no” of a behavior, sharing with your sweet child the reasons why it should be adjusted, a faint uneasiness rises up along the back of your neck. You continue to talk, but find that there is something weirdly familiar in what you are saying…

Yes…you suddenly realize that this very issue you are having with your child is due to a personality trait or character issue that you deal with, too.

You have one:  a child who is just like you.

We often think that it would be easy to live with someone just like ourselves. After all, if we like a clean, orderly house, then someone else like that will keep the house picked up, too, right?

If only everyone was just like me…

Well, I’m here to pop that bubble of wishful thinking by suggesting that it is those very people who are just like us who are the most difficult to live with. And it is very likely that you have a little person living with you right now who is a little mirror of your personality, showing you all your blemishes and quirks.

Not that this is a bad thing; in fact, it is good for us. It just isn’t the easy road.

You see, it is those children who cause the most head-butting confrontations. If you have a strong personality, then living with another strong personality can create issues. And it is quite easy for us as parents to use our position of authority to squelch that very identical trait in our children because it bothers us.

I have one of these children. This child has my personality. In some ways it is lots of fun, because we have the same sense of humor and the same way of learning and understanding information. But in other ways, it is quite the challenge. You see, I am not perfect.

There. I said it.

And I am realizing this more and more as my child with a similar personality models for me how I react to situations, how I tend to jump to conclusions, how I like to believe I’m always right…

Well, now I’ve done it. I’ve just opened up to the inter-web-world about my shortcomings. Yet, I am happy to do this. You see, my child has shown me these issues I have, and after first struggling to accept the fact that I’m not perfect (which has been a hard road), I am beginning to see how this situation is one where the Lord can better refine me.

I can now happily agree with Jacob when I say that this is the child God has graciously given me….truly a blessing in so many ways, including showing me my selfishness.

I am grateful for this. Though I still realize that this child may be the one who could be the most difficult to raise…the one who tends to push my buttons…I am learning to respond more graciously. I am learning to have to ask forgiveness for things that I would not have seen as clearly. I am learning to discipline from God’s vantage point, wanting this child to grow in wisdom, rather than disciplining from my vantage point, just wanting peace.

So if you are blessed with a little “mini-me” in your home, rejoice in it. God has lovingly given you an opportunity to grow in maturity as you parent this little one. You will reap the blessings by looking for the strengths in this personality and aiding him or her (and yourself) in identifying the potential negatives that may come with the package.

I realize now that I am not always right. I realize now that my child is not always right. And we both are identifying that we need to continually, prayerfully ask the Lord to show us how to respond to each other with love.

More importantly, I need to remember that I am the parent. I am supposed to be the one to model godly living to my child. I won’t always do this perfectly, but knowing this will keep me on my knees. I can approach my child with better understanding and love as we both come to the Lord for His forgiveness and blessing.

And that means we will be drawn closer together, too. What a privilege!

Think about that as you go about your week, and have an extraordinary day!

~Sherri

Why Wiggling, Jumping, and Running are the Next “New” Topic in Education

August 26, 2014

For those of you who have little ones, you know immediately what I’m talking about, don’t you? Children and movement are almost synonyms. Place a child in a classroom environment, and that need to wiggle becomes even more evident.

As homeschoolers, we may not be requiring our children to sit at a desk all day, moving only when they are called on, but it is important for us to remember that their “need for speed” is real.

It makes sense that they are this way. Their bodies are in full-on growth mode. The cells of their muscles, bones, skin, and nerves are constantly dividing, reforming, building. That means that they need to be using their continually changing body to strengthen it and help it to correctly form.

Image Courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

The need for students to move is becoming a hot topic in the school systems. More and more children are given labels of suspected ADHD, because they regularly have difficulty paying attention in class. And with mandatory attendance and pre-K or younger classes meeting for longer periods of time, children are expected to sit for much longer times at much younger ages.

School systems are discovering that children aren’t moving enough, and it is beginning to be a problem.

Well, if you have your children at home, why is this important for you to know?

It’s simple.

As homeschoolers, it is so easy to fall in to the classroom model, where we give our children desk work or require them to recite facts to us while we stand at our white board.

Now that form of learning in itself is not bad. In fact, I did this with my kids often. But I had to constantly remind myself that they regularly needed to move. They actually learned better while they were moving.

Why is that? Well, without getting all biological on you, the brain connects experiences together, taking in what is thought and felt, along with all the other senses at that moment.

Have you ever walked into a store and smelled something that instantly brought you back to a moment in time? A vivid memory? That is because your brain connected that sensory stimulus with the thing you were doing or the place you were visiting. Our brains are amazingly designed.

Combine this phenomenon with the need for children to use their pent up energy with their high metabolic rate, and you can use their need to move as a learning tool!

Children actually learn better when they can move. Some days I would have my children spout out their multiplication tables as they hopped on a hopscotch drawing on the sidewalk (remember those?). You can build an indoor obstacle course for them to move through as they tell you what you just read in history.

Image Courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

While we had read-alouds, I would let little ones sit quietly on the floor and roll a ball back and forth or stack blocks. As their ears were listening to my words, their eyes were observing the placement of the blocks, precariously stacked. Their arms were tensing as they carefully placed the next block on top. And they remembered the story. I would occasionally stop reading to ask them questions, and they never missed a beat.

But when I required them to be still (when they were feeling wiggly), I had a much harder time getting them to respond to questions after I read.

There is a definite connection with movement and learning.

So let them move! Be creative to help them feed that need to stimulate their muscle cells WHILE they stimulate their brain cells. You will be enhancing their ability to learn.

And they will have fun!

Industriousness and Four Coffee Mugs

August 11, 2014

Industriousness.

What a word. It came into my head this morning when I was reading Proverbs. I didn’t actually read that word but rather, I read the opposite character quality:

“The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway.” Proverbs 15:19

The way of a sluggard. A sluggard’s ways are not industrious.

Industrious…why do I consider that a Biblical word. Perhaps because it’s not a word we use in regular conversation.

“Well, I thought I would take the industrious road today and see how much work I can complete without being overcome by rabbit trails.”

“She is such an industrious worker; I never see her sitting still.”

But then I began to think about what that word actually means. In the Proverbs verse, it is paired with the opposite character: the way of the sluggard versus the path of the upright.

We so often mentally define industrious with accomplishing tasks, doing a successful job, never sitting, never pausing, continually moving.

But I think that this word has greater meaning for us (and me!). It’s more about having an outlook of shunning laziness, about wanting to make the best use of my time, about having a heart for working towards a goal rather than checking things off a list.

I walked by my bed this morning and noticed how my nightstand had become overrun with books, torn-out magazine articles, pens, four coffee mugs (don’t judge), and assorted odds and ends.

I stopped there and realized that I could walk past it, forcefully blinding my eye to it, or take just 5 minutes to straighten it up, move things to their correct locations in the house, and make it more orderly. It was a small thing. But I couldn’t believe how, within that pause, I struggled to just close my eyes to it. I’ll tackle it later. I have so much to do that is more urgent.

Then that word came into my head….Industrious.

With a slightly rebellious sigh, I went over to the nightstand and in exactly 5 minutes I cleaned and straightened that little spot in my house before any phone call or emergency request from a child could stop me.

Wow. That felt great. No, my house is not in order…at least not to the Martha-Stewart-magazine-standards I subconsciously try to meet. But it is important for us to maintain control over the things that God has entrusted to us. So cleaning that nightstand was more about me having a heart for working towards the goal of keeping my home in order. Well, what does this all have to do with industriousness?

It’s just this. Though being industrious can involve working diligently, it is not referring to someone who is in constant motion. Proverbs says that a sluggard’s ways are counter to the path of the upright. So I want to behave like the upright. That means that I should be using my time in the best way that I can. That means it will often involve diving into a project or a regular task whether I “feel like it” or not. That means that though sometimes I don’t want to do what I know I should (“Okay everyone, time for school today!”), I know that I am called to behave in an upright manner and should do it. It meets the goals that my husband and I have established for our children and our household.

But here’s the rub: Just because we dive into a task, doesn’t mean that we will be successful at it or that we will complete it in the way WE WANT TO SEE IT DONE.

Industriousness has more to do with our attitudes than with what we complete.

It has to do with our desire to make the best use of our time. And sometimes that means we complete lots of tasks, while other times it means that we just faithfully move forward, still unable to check anything off our list. It is a heart thing.

So on this Monday morning, as you face all that you have ahead of you, I encourage you to do it with a heart for industriousness. As one who is upright. As one who is NOT a sluggard. You are not a whirlwind, spinning around the house without even stopping to grab a cup of tea. You are a sweet, amazing one who is faithfully trying to move forward with the tasks you have, sometimes sitting to regroup and refresh, other times feeling like you are moving backwards, but ALWAYS working toward the goals God has set before you.

Have an extraordinary day!

Sherri

To the mom who feels she has lost her identity

July 10, 2014

I see you. Hiding behind your messy bangs. You are wearing that big comfy shirt and some leggings. No worries…you aren’t going anywhere today. You only had enough time this morning to brush your teeth, pull your hair up into a pony tail and throw your bedspread over the sheets on the bed.

Now that it’s “made,” you can dump washed laundry on it to fold after breakfast.

You wake up to calls of “Mommy!” You answer the phone as, “Yes, this is Mrs. (insert your last name).”

You are your husband’s wife. Your children’s mom. The lady with the kids that actually brings them to the grocery store with her.

There is no extra time in your day (or money) for getting a manicure. Forget the gym. Maybe you can do a few jumping jacks at naptime. Or maybe not. Sweeping floors counts as cardio, doesn’t it?

What happened? You remember five years ago (or a decade or two ago) that you answered to your first name. You had shaved legs, a nice haircut with maybe some highlights, a workout regimen that may have included biking or swimming or tennis.

Now look at you. Who are you? No one calls you by your first name anymore. Do you feel lost?

I know. I’ve been there.

I went from working at an awesome job to being the mother of four children in just six short years. The transformation was not gradual, but it kind of hit me in the face. And I thought I would never see that pre-child woman again.

Are you with me?

Well, several years ago, I was sitting in this sort of fog, looking around at my situation and feeling a bit, well, less-than-enthused. It was a morning that I remember vividly because for some strange reason, all my children slept in (and by slept in, I mean sleeping past 6:30AM). I was spending some time reading my Bible and just calling out to the Lord, asking him, “Who am I?” “Is this what I am going to be/do for the rest of eternity?”

Don’t get me wrong. I always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, I loved my husband; I loved my children. I just lost sight of the “me” part. It seemed that I was always doing things for everyone else.

As I was praying, I began to realize something. I was praying to a God who SOUGHT ME OUT. He loved me more than I could even comprehend. I was his! And He went on to bless me with so many amazing things: my marriage, my children, my life.

He called me by my name.

He called me….by….my….name.

So why was I feeling lost? Why did I feel like I had no identity?

It was my perspective. So many of my days had been filled with the immediate needs of our household. I had to put some of the previous activities of my life to the side, but I did that for a better occupation!

I realized that the “loss” of those activities I had before marriage and children were not losses at all. They were things I did to fill my days because I had extra time to serve myself. I now had a higher calling. I was privileged to serve my husband and my children.

Now, don’t get me wrong (again!). I am not glorifying  putting ourselves down and not caring for ourselves. I feel that taking care of ourselves is an important responsibility we have to ourselves and our family. We are charged to maintain good health. So it is important to take time for rest, for exercise, and for that occasional mani/pedi if the opportunity presents itself.

But our FOCUS cannot be on those things. I don’t want my kids to grow up and remember me by saying, “Wow. Mom always had perfect nails, played a mean game of squash, and could carry on a hyper-intelligent conversation.”

I want them to remember me as someone who showed God’s love to them. Who modeled selflessness while realizing her special place as daughter-of-the-King. Who was beautiful inside and out. It is a maturation as we walk through these responsibilities in life. Like the development of a beautiful flower. Small, insignificant, unnoticed at first. Then slowly those brightly colored petals begin to emerge and then fully open to display breath-taking beauty.

Yes, that is who I am.

That is who YOU are.

You have not lost your identity. You may have just misplaced it a bit. If you have given your life to Christ, you know you have the significance of a daughter of the Creator of the Universe and everything else in existence. And you have work to do. Glorious work.

Work that involves growing in wisdom. Work that involves training your children in the Lord’s ways. Work that involves building up your spouse as the two of you walk as one.

It isn’t easy. And some days it is DEFINITELY not glamorous! But it is worthy. YOU are worthy.

The God of all Creation sent His son to die and conquer death for you! That is your amazing identity!

And sometimes that identity comes with a few highlights in your hair and a soak in the tub, and sometimes it doesn’t. Understanding that truth is how we can change our perspective from the day-to-day and move it to the eternal!

Have an extraordinary day!

~Sherri

The Homeschool Empty Nest

June 30, 2014

I know many of you saw this title and thought to yourselves, I don’t need to read that. I won’t be finished homeschooling until 100 years from now. But something made you read the post anyway… We have to believe that there is an end to this, right? A goal to reach?

Believe me. When my children were in their elementary years, I would uneasily peer down the seemingly endless road ahead of us and then sigh.

Deep breath.

You can do this….No, I’m not sure I can.

Well, just keep going this year and we’ll see about next year.

That’s the kind of conversation I would have in my mind. And it always seemed to be during that long never-ending-desert-like-expanse of time between Christmas Break and Spring Break.

I get it now.

We had just come off of a fun, but busy rest. We were facing a long stretch of months without a break in sight, and the pressure to really get some intense work done was strong. This is the time of year when the lessons are past the introductory level, and the coursework gets deeper. This is the time when your students lose the excitement of the newness of the school year, and it just seems like endless work. This is the time when you just do a quick internetsearchfor the prices of private schools in your area…

Just checking. Not really serious. (Or was I?)

Well, I am writing this post after seeing it through those moments each year. I have walked, skipped, dragged, struggled through year after year and I am actually standing at the finish line, having graduated our last child after this 21-year journey.

I have done the cheering. I have done the celebrating. I vicariously threw my teacher’s version of that last mortar board at graduation as my daughter threw hers. I DID feel like I was graduating, too.

Well, as most high school seniors can attest, the most common question that they get from adults is, “What are you going to do next year?” “What does the rest of your life look like?”

Let me tell you. THAT was the most common question I received last year, too.

“Well, Sherri, now that your last child is graduating, what’s next for you?”

It is kind of like that empty nest cliché that happens to parents when their last child leaves the house. My occupation of the last two decades has ended. There is an empty nest in my day.

As homeschoolers, we really don’t think about that while we are ‘in the trenches’ of teaching, raising our children, doing our everyday responsibilities. But it WILL come.

So I thought I would give you some hints about how to begin approaching this next chapter in your life. It is something to begin thinking about, because I have found that many moms reach this stage and, after that emotional high of the finish line (followed by desires to purge old textbooks and sleep in just once or twice), just don’t know what to do with themselves.

First, realize that this transition often occurs gradually. As your children enter their last years of high school, they become more and more independent. You should be encouraging them to take ownership of their studies, making them a part of the planning of their school years. Ideally, they will need you less and less in their day-to-day responsibilities.

Now, I know that not every student embraces this transition, and they still need your guidance (and gentle prodding!). But your students should begin to realize that they are approaching adulthood as they move through the high school years, and it is your job to help them become self-directed.

So as your last child gets to his or her junior or senior year, there should be a bit more free time in your schedule. You may still be needed for “shuttle service” to and from classes, sports, or work, but your mental requirements should be less.

This is the time to begin discovering what your work will be. For some, it is helping out their older children with grandkids (a labor of love and a privilege!). For others, it might be working part time to help with the finances. Still others will begin to pursue ministry within their church, supporting other moms or homeschoolers.

As I have traveled throughout the U.S. and have talked with homeschool families, I see a common characteristic: they all are industrious; they all think outside the box; they all love to serve.

Those three distinctives are part of what makes homeschoolers so amazing! With those characteristics, realize that you can do just about anything – and do it well.

Begin to explore what God would have you to do in the next chapter of your life. And you can do that as your last ones get into those high school years. As your teens are working to discover what God has for THEM in the next part of their lives, you are walking alongside them doing the same thing for your life. Spend time praying for their future – spend time praying for yours. Pray WITH them about this. You will be showing them that there is always a purpose in our lives, there is always an occupation. We should always avoid being idle, because God wants us to be busy with the work of the Kingdom.

If you are in the middle (or at the beginning) of your homeschool marathon, don’t look at homeschooling as a sideline of something to do until you can get to the REAL ministry of life. Right where you are now is exactly where God wants you. You ARE doing ministry; the best mission field, the best occupation one can have. And when that occupation ends, you will find something else to fill your time. You will have amazing skills that you learned while managing your home and homeschool. I have always said that homeschool parents are some of the smartest folks I know!

So you don’t have to worry about what will come next. You just need to do what is before you today, then next week, then the month after that, and before you know it, you will find yourself on the other end of that homeschool finish line, ready to take on that next event!

I am now on the sidelines cheering you on! You can do this. You are making an amazing difference, and though you may not be able to see it as you place one foot in front of the other, I can see from the sidelines that you are moving forward, completing the BEST run of your life!

Doing the ordinary is what makes us extraordinary! ~Sherri

Homeschoolers’ Most Challenging Spaces to Fill on College Applications – Part II – Leadership

June 17, 2014

In a previous post I introduced one of the two spaces that can be challenging to answer when a homeschooled student fills out a college application. You can read that post here.

Like the first space, the second one is only challenging because most of us aren’t aware of it. But with advanced notice and preparation, it is an easy space to not only fill but also to become a place for your homeschooler to shine.

The space is often called “positions of leadership,” asking students to list opportunities they have had to lead groups of people or to direct projects and activities.

It is likely that your student is already doing things that he or she can enter in this space. But knowing that this spot needs to be filled will give your student an opportunity to really stand out.

How, you say?

Well, first think about what your student is already doing. Does he play a sport? Did she go on a mission trip? In any of these activities, were they coordinating projects, leading, or training others? Keep a running list of these.

This blank spot also gives you an opportunity to think outside the box when you plan your high school course work for your students. With the flexibility in a homeschooler’s schedule, you can let him or her explore something they love to do or discover a new interest. So brainstorm with them…what do they love to do for fun? Do they like sports, video games, crafting, making movies, art, music? Think about encouraging them to do something creative in those areas. If they like crafts, they can put together a summer craft camp for younger students (either paid or as a ministry). If they enjoy studying film, why not have them create a film club? As “president” of their club (give the club an official name), they can coordinate monthly meetings where students gather together to watch a film and then spend time discussing the themes, cinematography, and other components of that film. How about organizing a fund-raiser for a worthy cause that is important to them?

Image courtesy Freeimages.com

All of these endeavors require leadership and coordination. And those are the traits that colleges are looking for. Additionally, if you plan ahead, many of these activities can either coordinate with coursework for school or can even qualify as a course in themselves. The film club, for example, can coincide with a literature study if the films are dramatizations of the books your student is reading for a literature course.

And if you have a student who is not college-directed, you can see how these endeavors will also be beneficial for them in whatever they do. By providing opportunities for your students to have leadership positions, you are preparing them to be leaders in their community – those who will be proactive when they see a need – those who will step up and serve others.

So don’t be concerned about your students being unprepared to enter a college environment or the career world. As homeschoolers, we aren’t just training them to get a good score on their SAT exams; we are working to help them become mature young men and women, ready to become godly leaders and servants within our community. By giving them lots of opportunities and exposure to lead and coordinate projects, we are mentoring them through this awesome process so that they will be prepared for whatever God has for them as adults!

The Importance of Helping Our Kids See God in Science

June 11, 2014

I love talking with high school students.  They are at an age where so many possibilities exist in their lives, and they begin to take all of the information learned during their younger years and start to discuss it, think about it, own it.  They are not afraid to ask the hard questions because they have an honest desire to learn and understand.

This makes for interesting discussions.  If you have a high school student in your home, no doubt you know what I’m talking about.  The conversation often begins about 10:30 PM, right as I am getting ready for bed.  It usually starts with, “Hey, Mom.  What do you think about…?”

I have learned that this means I am going to be up for at least another hour talking about world views, the plot of a movie, or why people behave the way they do.  Even though it is late, I love it!  We all know how essential it is to discuss important issues with our children, and it is so much more effective when they bring up the questions.

This is one of the reasons I am so passionate about studying the sciences.  As students learn more about the created world, they begin to see its intricacies and how these show us the character of our amazing Creator.

Historically, many of the great scientists understood this well.  From Nicolaus Copernicus to Isaac Newton, their drive to study the world around them was significantly fueled by their desire to learn more about our God.  Copernicus was determined to pursue more research about our solar system because the accepted earth-centered system of his day bothered him.  He thought God would not have designed such an awkward system and believed the more elegant sun-centered system fit into a more orderly design.

And the field of marine biology is no different!  My experiences as a marine biologist have given me greater appreciation for some of the fascinating creatures which exist in our world and the environments in which they live.

Take, for example, horseshoe crabs.  These creatures have no claws and are not even technically crabs.  But they are fascinating creatures!  Scientists call them “living fossils” because horseshoe crab fossils have been found in layers of the earth representing supposedly millions of years in age.  Yet throughout all of these layers, they have not changed in appearance.  This fact is a significant stumbling block for evolutionary theory which suggests that creatures this “old” should have been affected by natural selection in order to evolve with their changing environments.

Horseshoe crabs are considered to be quite low on the evolutionary tree; some research shows that their genetic makeup is very similar to the scorpion genome.  Yet they have an ability that even humans do not have.  Special cells in their blood (amoebocytes) are able to produce a clotting agent which will attach to dangerous bacteria (gram-negative bacteria), keeping the bacteria from infecting the horseshoe crab.  These dangerous bacteria naturally occur in the air we breathe and the water we drink.  We even have them in our intestines!  But if they enter our blood stream because of a major trauma or even when we receive a shot, they can cause fatal fevers.  Today, scientists use the specialized cells in horseshoe crab blood to aid in the identification of these dangerous bacteria.  If you have ever received an antibiotic or had surgery, you have benefited from the horseshoe crab’s “advanced” ability to detect harmful bacteria.

Not only do we see glimpses of the complexities of created organisms, the oceans of the world can also teach us about how the world itself was created.  Scientists agree that the earth is made of large masses of rock (called plates) which form a large puzzle around our spherical earth.  Some of these massive plates carry the world’s continents while others lie below the ocean floor.  It is also known that these plates move.  Some move closer together, creating mountains and volcanoes, while others shift away from one another, creating more ocean floor.  Many scientists believe that these movements are slow and uniform, moving only a few centimeters each year.  But in 2005, something amazing occurred.  Within a period of days, a thirty-five mile rift occurred in a desert of Ethiopia.

Image courtesy of NASA

This crack was up to 20 feet wide in some spots.  An effect of volcanic activity and plate movement beneath the rift, it resulted in the birth of what is now agreed to be a new ocean basin.  This means a new sea is forming in our world!  And it likely will not take “millions of years” to take shape.

Because scientists witnessed this amazing phenomenon, they now can say that seafloor ridges (locations where two of the earth’s plates meet) can tear open in just a few days instead of millions of years!  What an amazing testimony to the fact that it does not require necessarily millions of years for the oceans to form (and creatures to fill them!).

This is me walking down into the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Another amazing rift!

As we study more about ocean environments, we also learn how all of the habitats on earth are affected by each other.  One of the most amazing salt water environments is an estuary.  An estuary is an area where a fresh water river empties into an ocean or sea.  Ocean tides and river flow bring nutrients to the estuary, making it a highly productive area.  The creatures living there use the nutrients to produce so much food that the excess flows out to the ocean, providing food for other ocean environments.  Much of the ocean is dependent on the estuary “leftovers” and would not be able to sustain life without it.  Just like what Copernicus believed, the oceans of our world are so interconnected that there is a perceivable design in their arrangement.

Estuary

It should make sense, then, that incidents in one part of the world can have an impact on other areas.  As we have seen from the past oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, this accident had far-reaching effects on many ocean environments, impacting the area’s food supply, economics and even politics.

Why do we need to learn about our oceans and our world?  Because we live here.  We have been given the responsibility to subdue the earth and be good stewards of it.

From the complexities of the small horseshoe crab to the large-scale effects of a multi-faceted estuary, the marine environments and creatures of our world are amazing to study, help us to see order on earth, and point us and our students to the great Creator!

This should give you plenty to talk about with your students in the late hours of the evening!

Homeschoolers’ Most Challenging Spaces to Fill on College Applications

June 3, 2014

Our family has done this college application thing four times, now. And it has been a challenging four times. As homeschool parents, we carry the roles of instructor, principal, and guidance counselor. Now don’t let that sentence scare you. I have found that students in public schools (and even in many private schools) have to navigate the whole college application process on their own, too. There is little help with the details available to them.

But as parents taking an active role in our teen’s education, if we have a teen that is college-directed, we need to be informed about what to expect in the application process and how to be prepared for it.

Having done this for four of my children, as well as helping some of them transfer schools and others apply for graduate programs, I have seen a pattern in many of the college applications that I feel we all need a “heads-up” on.

You know. Before I throw the football at you, I say, “Head’s up!” so you are prepared to catch it.

Well, “Head’s up!” A college application is coming! But you don’t have to worry. It isn’t impossible to help your teen navigate it, and if you are prepared to fill in the required blanks, you will make the job much easier, aiding your teen in creating an application that helps him or her to shine.

Interestingly, I have found that there are two spaces on most college applications that take homeschooled students by surprise. It’s not because they cannot fill in those spaces; it’s just that they weren’t preparing to, and they either have to scramble at the last minute (not recommended, especially since they are likely very busy), wrack their brains to remember things they can add (and probably forget some), or leave them blank (not ever a good idea on an application – except for the space asking if you have ever committed a felony!).

If you know these spaces are coming, you can plan ahead of time. Now, because I want to cover some other college application helps, too, I will address one issue in this post and talk about the other one in the next post.

First, if you have any idea which college your teen is considering, go ahead and go to their website and print out an application (yes, even if your student is in 9th grade – it is a good idea to see what colleges are expecting). Now, as far as I know, all colleges want you to fill in your application on line, but the college sites I have seen also offer an opportunity to print out an application for you to do a “rough draft.” If not, it may be possible for you to scroll through the application questions so you can get an idea of what you will need to provide in the future.

Even if your teen is not sure which college to attend, it is still a good exercise to take a look at any college application to get a general idea of what to expect.

You will, of course, find the requisite personal information, academic information, and a list of clubs and extracurricular activities. But often they will have an additional space requesting “Honors and Awards.”

What? You have homeschooled this child. There are no award ceremonies in your home. The dynamics of a homeschool program don’t usually lend themselves to awards like “First Place in School-wide Essay Contest” or “Top Ten GPA in Graduating Class.”

Don’t worry. If you know of this possibility ahead of time, you can plan for it, exposing your teen to opportunities where he or she can gain notable awards. And if your teen is going to be a senior NEXT YEAR, you can still think back over his or her high school experience and try to remember what was earned.

Homeschoolers definitely are notable. They stand out in a crowd. They are innovators, thinking outside the box. They are problem solvers. There is no difficulty in showing a possession of character and notability. You see, that is what this application blank is looking for… something the student has done that is exemplary. So you need to be looking for those opportunities while your student is in high school.

Now, the colleges are not looking for awards earned in elementary or middle school; they just want high school honors. So if your teen is in a sport, pay special attention to any awards they earn: ribbons, best improved, etc. If they enter a science fair or art show and earn an award, make sure you take note of that.

How about if they work at a part time job and earn some recognition? Write that down.

Keep a running list of Honors and Awards in your student’s high school portfolio. Make sure they are aware of this list and have them try to compile it through their high school years. Write down anything that might be a possibility; you can pare it down later if you need to. But it is much easier to remove information than wrack your brain trying to remember it.

And this activity will be beneficial to your teen in another way: it will be helpful in composing a resume, something all students likely will have to do some time in high school or later.

So as your teen enters high school, just open a spread sheet, save a word file, or keep a small notepad with the title “Honors and Awards.” Then, at the end of each year as you are wrapping up their curricula and packing things away, you can add their accomplishments to this list, slowly compiling information that will benefit them as they complete high school and continue on to college or a career or whatever else God has in their future!

Now don’t fret. I know as you walk along with your children through these high school years, it can seem daunting. God has got this. Rely on Him to provide the opportunities for each of your children. Allow them to pursue their interests, and you will be amazed how those awards and honors will pile up!

Just go about your days, faithfully doing what is before you with a small peek at what is ahead. The ordinary daily stuff is what makes the extraordinary!

~Sherri Here is post number two!