Dealing with Grief - intro

Although I'm not exactly sure how to begin this, I have really felt called over the past few weeks to write a series of posts dealing with "dealing with grief." I am certainly no expert but I do hope and pray that by sharing my process, someone else might possibly be able to deal with their own grief or help someone that may be grieving.

I will start by saying that the process of grieving for my dad actually began two and a half years ago. We found out he had colon cancer only six short months after my father-in-law passed away after his battle with colon cancer. The blessing that came from this very sad time is that I was able to see that I probably would not have my dad much longer. I was able to spend time with him, laugh with him, and ask his forgiveness for my adolescent years (among other things). I realize not everyone has the opportunity to do that, but more on that in a different post.

When my father-in-law passed away, I found a book on grieving written for children. I would say that in addition to prayer and loving, supportive friends and family, this book helped me much more than I would have ever expected. Not sure what my children got out of it, but I am a totally different person because of it. It is called Tear Soup and it has helped me understand grief so much better than any "grown up" book I've ever read on grief. More on this in future posts as well.

May the Lord Bless You!
theresesophia

Prayers of Gratitude

When I last posted (almost a month ago), I had no idea that my dad would pass away only two short weeks later. While this has been a heartbreaking time for the whole family, we have been carried in prayer.


I want to thank each of you who posted here and prayed for us. I also want to thank Mary at evlogia for this beautiful post that united orthodox christian women from several countries in prayer for my dad. At one of the darkest moments of my life, I was shone the light of Christ through this wonderful gift. Unfortunately, I have found no words which can express the depth of my gratitude to Mary, and to each of you who prayed and have been praying for my dad and our family.


To each of you, my prayer is that God may bless you abundantly for your commitment to prayer. I pray that the Lord will bless you and keep you, and I pray that, regardless of your struggles, you will receive Christ's peace, which surpasses all understanding.






And to my sweet daddy, may your memory be eternal!!! I love you!!!

St. Nektarios, Pray for us!

For those of you who don't know, my dad has been battling cancer for two and a half years now. He has fought long and hard. With God's blessing we have had him for at least a year longer than what we expected. He has been able to play golf and work in the rose garden he loves so dearly. Unfortunately, his body is tiring and hospice has begun.

I come before you this evening to humbly ask for prayers on behalf of my dad and my children. I would be so grateful if you would pray that we all experience Christ's peace at this difficult time.

In love and recovery,
ThereO

Homeschool - The High School Edition

This year of homeschooling presents me with a new challenge.  My challenge... to homeschool a high schooler.  YIKES!  

We began by looking at a list of typical high school offerings from which Princess indicated her preferences.  Although her list has changed some since our initial meeting, here is what we ended up with for her freshman year...

Math - Pre-Algebra/Algebra using Singapore and Keys to Algebra  

P. E. - This credit will be met through ballet classes and a local co-op class

Science - Astronomy using mostly "living books" such as The Right Stuff, John Glenn, and A Brief History in Time (to name a few).  We will also use some texts, such as Apologia's Astronomy to supplement her studies.

Literature - World Literature using "living books" such as The Good Earth

The Poisonwood Bible,  and Night (to  name just a few).

Social Studies - World Geography using Geography Songs and the internet, she will be responsible for creating a notebook/lapbook of each country documenting the most important information of that country.

Social Studies - World History tied in nicely to World Geography and World Literature.  For this course, she will add to her notebook/lapbook of each country by documenting the countries' history timeline.

Foreign Language - Will either be Greek or Swedish... it's still a toss up at this point.  Hopefully she will decide by Monday which is when she will begin her foreign language study.

Elective - Fine Arts Study, not a "formal" class but will incorporate our study of artists, musical instruments, nature journaling, co-op, and a variety of other things we will be doing such as knitting.

Writing - Creative Writing will be the focus of study this year.  Princess should be able to demonstrate different styles of writing to express her knowledge gained in the "world studies" and astronomy.

While 9 credits does seem to be a zealous undertaking for a freshman, so much of it works nicely together.  We may postpone foreign language until next year but for now, we will give it all go.  Say lots of prayers for us!!!

In love and recovery,

ThereO

Priceless!

For those who know Sugar Cake in person, you will understand how truly priceless this is.

We have joined a homeschooling co-op this year which consists of an enrichment period followed by a physical education period.  During the first class of physical education, Sugar Cake's teacher discussed the importance of coordination, making sure eyes were working with hands, feet were working together, and so on.  For about 20 minutes, they discussed the importance of coordination.  At the end of the discussion, the teacher asked for examples of coordination, Sugar Cake is about to come apart she is raising her hand so high to be called upon.  The teacher, excited by my baby girl's eagerness, calls upon her and Sugar Cake explains "My shirt is coordinated with my shorts!"  ...Well, yes, of course!!!

In love, recovery, and laughter,

ThereO

Many Years, Princess!!!

Our beautiful Princess is 15 today.  What a wonderful honor it is to be your "mama".  I love you more than life itself!!!  

Many blessings to you on this very special day.  And may your year be filled with blessings every single day.  Many years, dear one!

And a blessed feast day to all!

In love and recovery,

ThereO

Homeschool - The Weekly Curriculum Edition

Our schedule is set and we've reviewed the core (daily) curricula. Our weekly studies will be done once a week following our core studies.

Here is what we will be doing on a weekly basis...

Monday - History... Story of the World (4) We will read one chapter, complete one activity

and there will be a selection of additional reading from which the kids can

choose one to read later in the day.

Physical Education... Although the credits for this subject will be met through the

physical activities (ballet, hockey, etc) we will also study the rules for a

different sport each month and we will be learning an exercise a week (for

example - sit ups, jumping jacks, and such).

Grammar... our main spine for grammar will be First Language Lessons (3). We will

complete one lesson each week. Additionally, the kids will be responsible

for one lesson a week in their Grammar Practice work books. We also have

games that we will add to the agenda this year.

Tuesday - Physics... Christian Kids Explore Physics. We will complete one lesson each week.

We also have a physics lab kit that we will complete.

Geography... for geography, we will focus on countries and where they exist on the

earth. Using Geography Songs as our main resource, we will add in books and games to each country.

Computer... we will also be learning about computers and programming. Since I

know absolutely nothing we will all be learning to together. The main

books we will utilized will be Computers Simplified, Alice Chapter, Scratch Programming for Teens, and Lego NXT Zoo.

Wednesday - Nature... for this topic we will be using Nature in a Nutshell, which consists of 10 minute nature activities.  We will also be using the Christian Liberty Nature Readers.  Each will be assigned a reading passage in the appropriate level reader which will then be narrated.

Logic... Each week we will do one lesson in The Fallacy Detective.  

Thursday - Art... we do not have a specific curriculum for art although we will be using "What Makes a _____ a ______" as a spine.  Each month we will look at an artist's work, read about the artist, complete a lapbook about the artist and color/paint a replica of the artist's work.

Citizenship... although our previous studies have focused on characteristics of good citizens, I purchased  "Citizenship Activities" which is full of activities about voting, elections, and other citizenship responsibilities.

Friday - Music... This year's music curriculum is one I have made for studying muscial instruments.  We will look at a different instrument each week, listening to a recording of that instrument.

Life Skills... Each month we will focus on a different life skill.  Some things we will be learning include - knitting, finances, cooking, sewing, woodworking, auto upkeep (I do have one that will be learning to drive next year...YIKES!!!), gardening and home maintenance.  Obviously, we won't be able to cover any of these topics in depth but my hope is that they will learn enough to spark their interests in these areas.  

That wraps up our weekly topics.  Next homeschool post will focus on the plans for my HIGH SCHOOLER!!!  YIKES X3!!!

In love and recovery,

ThereO