Ambitious April

Road Hazard

Road Hazard

Reaching out
For comfort, for warmth
Chest bared, heart wide-open
I lay before you
Waiting
Vulnerable
You casually step over me
So not to trip

~April Mitchell
©July 1, 2008

Friday, July 18, 2008

Unraveling
by April Mitchell

I don’t unravel
I am the helper- the friend-the one who rescues
Others unraveling around me
They gush threads of hurt, and lost hope, and misunderstanding before me
I wind their strings up and tuck them in neatly
“There that’s better.”
I help them mend the broken threads and hem the tears
“See, everything will be ok, your alright, I am here for you.”
Then in the middle of this room
In front of everyone
I am unraveling
They do not notice
As bits of me fall away
And I am frantically trying to keep myself together
It is taking so much of me, so very much of me, to not let them see
I can’t let them see the ME- that is unraveling
Just pick up the pieces- I tell myself
Stuff them anywhere
As long as no ones knows
Everything will be fine…
Right?

Homeschool Helper Online

Don't let the simplicity and ads on this side fool you. Homeschool Helper Online is a "Must Add to your Favorites" site. The Unit studies resources and the Lapbooks alone make this a valuable site to have on hand.

Check out the Plant Lapbook, for a great Spring/Summer project.

Idaho Distance Education Academy

The boys are enrolled in a Public Charter School for homeschooling families. Idaho Distance Education Academy www.idahoidea.org.

They have a catalog that I can order curriculum and school supplies from. I get about $3500 for all the boys for the school year to spend on the catalog items or for outside lessons (like music or gymnastics) or for field-trips, museums passes, etc. We have a nice teacher names Kendal Fleshman that helps us if we need it. I am in charge of coming up with my own lesson plans. I can use what ever I want to teach the boys, even if I did not buy it from the catalog. As long as I am meeting State Standards. So there is a great deal of flexibility for me as a homeschooling parent.

I submit a Progress Update once a month, outlining briefly what we have learned and give the boys a number grade to show how they are doing. Two times a year we have Portfolio Conferences with our teacher Kendal. We have to show to show between 5 and 6 work samples for each subject they are taking that year. These samples must match up to State Standards. The boys also take all the same testing a public schooled child in Idaho would take. These include the ISAT's, DMA (Direct Math Assessment), DWA (Direct Writing Assessment), and IRI's (Idaho Reading Indicator). We have enjoyed using the school to help with our homeschooling.

My least favorite thing about the school is having to do the Monthly Progress Updates. I just hate paperwork and having to type out what we have done into a form, after I have already done lesson plans, is just a pain to me.

My favorite thing is all the resources we have available to us. They offer us many free services that we would not be able to afford otherwise. Like subscriptions to Discovery Education Streaming and Science and Brain Pop. They have a library were I can borrow various books and homeschooling resources, things the Public Library does not have.

Also having Kendal there to consult with if I ever got stuck or need advice is a real stress reliever. She is just as invested in our children's education as we are. She is sweet and does not hound or invade our personal lives, but lets me homeschool and is there for us if needed. She does send out reminders and things but they are not invasive at all.

We considered leaving the school next year and doing our own thing, just for a change of pace. The boys were sad and said they would "miss Kendal". They really look forward to showing her their Portfolio's and seeing her during testing and our visits to the IDEA Center in Boise. So we are staying in to continue to take advantage of this great opportunity that is IDEA.

Here is a photo of Kendal and the boys after IRI's and our Portfolio Conference.

Use Me Lord

I love this song. Sometimes I feel like I don't serve others enough; between homeschooling and regular family activities-where do I find the time? When the boys were younger I started to pray, everyday, that God would use me to serve others. I began to look for small ways to serve others around me; Brownies to a neighbor, letting someone cut in line or just smiling. Service does not always have to be some huge life altering task you have performed, it is often just simple day to day blessings that you give to those around you. I still pray that prayer and God has truly opened up opportunities for me to serve that fit into my life.

Along with serving others, God has taught me how to let others serve me. I am so bad at accepting help, but getting better at receiving it graciously. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign of humility. It allows others the chance to love you more greatly and in profound and meaningful ways.

I can honestly say the people I love the most are those I have served. Sometimes I did not love them right away, but I learned to love them through the service I gave them.

"And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." Mosiah 2:17