blog ~ faith ~ family ~ heartlife
I honestly feel as though I need to write to every single person I’ve ever had a conversation with on the topic of parenting and ask them to please please grapple with the question it took me 25 years (+) to ask, and to watch the 26 minute message that opened up the answer which is linked at the end of this post.
So this letter is my start point for that 🙂
Continue reading “After 25 years I finally asked…”
I’ve heard many a message on the words “train up a child in the way he should go” and “teach these words of mine to your children“, and Commandment number 5 which is: “honour your father and mother“. There has been much pontificating on the presumed promises and even on how adults are to honour their parents so that things will go well for them…for us… and I suspect in generations gone by, Commandment number 5 was fairly drilled into children… dare I recal – pretty sure I did a bit of that too.
:'(
But.
Continue reading “System: not solo”
This is a bit of a cheats post I suppose. Instead of stories, examples or home-grown parables I’m just posting a list of questions and a couple of Scriptures to help parents of teens/young adults discern when to speak and when to keep silent in their young people’s lives.
Obviously there’s a great deal of difference between situations – and not all these questions are applicable to all scenarios, but maybe something will click and be of help…. a 12 year old, or a 22 year old living in the parents’ home, a 22 year old whose behaviour/choices are affecting younger siblings, a 22 year old living away from home or a 22 year old that is married.
Continue reading “Teens & Transitions #2”
We have 7 amazing kids. Except I falter at calling them kids anymore since 6 of them are adults between the ages of 19-29 (well almost 29. Make that 28 and 11/12ths).
I LOVE this phase of ‘parenting’ so much. (I used to think the newborn stage was my favourite – but maybe this is. Which’d be awesome since this phase lasts now till I croak it.) Part of why I love this phase so much is because the work is ‘done’ and I get to enjoy them all in a different way to before… alongside them as much as they welcome me – with different senses of freedom for each than when they were smaller.
Continue reading “Teens and transitions #1”
Thirty years (almost) of mothering has produced a set of rhythms… they took a long time to emerge, a bit longer to be noticed and a bit longer still to be anticipated and ‘readied’ for.
The early years of having children is a massive shift on its own – but in the next few years where they head into school life, patterns emerge, are acclimatised to, other new elements are incorporated and so it goes on. If there were no rhythms, we couldn’t add keep adapting.
Continue reading “Rhythms and ripples”
For to which of His children did God ever say:
1 “You’re driving me nuts”
2 “I’m going to leave you behind”
3 “What do you WANT?!?!”
4 “Shut up”
5 “I cannot believe you just did that”
6 “Stop asking so many questions”
7 “What’s wrong with you”
8 “Leave me alone”
9 “I can’t believe I have to _____”
10 “Not again”
Frustrations 1:1-10
The woman described in Proverbs 31 brings anything and everything between motivation and interest to sighs and groans of loathing. This will depend on the age and season of the woman and her experience of marriage and family – but mainly it will depend on the way she has perceived the passage to have been taught. This little offering of mine is to share some thoughts as I see the chapter in question…
Continue reading ““That” woman!”
These articles are for those who either currently home school, are considering home schooling, are curious about the WA curriculum or who have teens they’re not sure how best to see through the upper school years. They are not intended to convince anyone of my own preferences – just to share information. We’ve had 4 kids complete Year 12 in school, 1 who left at the end of Year 10 to do an apprenticeship, and 2 who began home schooling in Years 10 and 2.
1. W.A. – some year 11/12 Home Ed options.
I spent a good deal of time in our first year of home schooling (2015) researching ideas to round out our year 10 daughters education/experience/resume and plan for her upper school years.
Here is some of what I found….
2. W.A. – Curriculum mind map outline F-10 in ONE page
I don’t actually hate the curriculum and am more schoolish in my thinking possibly than many of you (again due to having had kids in school for 22 years) so this post is for those of you who do use it, or at least would like to have an overview of it… This screenshot is of a mind-map I made in my first year of Home Ed as I wanted to see if it all actually made sense… did the learning areas have a flow?… Did they build?… Was it random? Turns out it does flow, does build and isn’t random….
Follow here to read more and download the map.
3. Regarding Moderator Meetings
Home-educating friends – I know I come across a bit militant on this topic from time to time but having come out of 20 years schooling into the freedom of homeschooling – it really bothers me when, in particular new home-school parents feel as though they don’t have the freedoms that they actually do… In my own quest for clarity, I put together a document that distils the requirements of the School Education Act (law) and the Home Education Policy (which should not exceed the law).
Continue reading here.
4. Alternative Education for Years 11-12
If you have kids soon to be in the years 11-12 age bracket – the Department of Training and Workforce Development provide a host of very viable and affordable options to staying in school. Kids can leave school at the end of year 10, while still in the compulsory school-age bracket, as long as they’re in a situation that is of equal or more benefit to being in school – work or training can both qualify – there just needs to be an arrangement in place with an employer/trainer and the Education Department. Keep reading and find relevant links here.
I’ve always been a fan of lists and charts, and over a couple of decades of making them have come to realise a few things.
Continue reading “My 6 most useful charts in 20+ years of parenting”
Overwhelm.
1. I would have been about 25 years old, mother to two bambinos, the day I sat on the floor crying in my first build-up of overwhelm, pleading with God to send someone to help me. There was a knock on the door and – actually – no. There was no knock on the door. There was no immediate MaryPoppins-like visitation. But God did hear my cry.
Continue reading “When mum is overwhelmed”