Fully. Rely. On. God.

Home School 2013-2014 is in full effect!  This year's theme around my home is F.R.O.G.: Fully Rely on God.

Our theme verse is:

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.

I also found a link with 40 verses all about relying on God that were so encouraging and uplifting.  These verses would also work well with this Fully Rely on God theme.

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your anxieties on him, for he cares for you! is another one of my favorites.

This year I chose a theme because I thought it would be fun to have a central focus all year long.  And since we are in the full swing of First Grade with Julia and Pre-Kindergarten for Mark, I knew it would help us all year long.

I bought some science books on frogs, and John and I are even going to take the kids to the pet store to get a pet frog named Fred.  I bought stickers, binders, calendars, word families, and other decorations all with a frog theme.

All my curriculum was mailed on Friday...Abeka, Math Saxon, and Shurley Grammar.  Right now I am in the process of doing lesson plans, creating/planning  field trips, and designing FROG binders to keep all our spelling tests, math sheets, history/science papers, grammar sheets, crafts, bible verses, and review pages.

We officially start school mid-August because I plan to be done as of June 1 (my birthday goal).  We will take 2 weeks off at Christmas time and a week off at Thanksgiving and Easter.

At first I was dreading the beginning of school but once I chose a theme, started praying about it, solicited friends help for support, joined a coop, and began shopping online I really felt ready and more excited as the days drew closer.

I know God will teach all of us something new this year about relying on Him and trusting Him with all of our hearts.  I am praying that we grow closer as a family, wiser as believers, and kinder as we learn more about all the great things God has created for us.

For all you moms out there who think home schooling might be for you I'd love to pray for you or support you in any way.  As you may know I am a teacher by trade.  I taught 3rd and 4th grade, but let me tell you, home schooling is definitely a calling.  God can equip you to do it!  I often feel ill-equipped and I have my Masters Degree!  It requires a lot of patience and creativity and the great thing about it is that you know your child best!

No matter which way you decide public school, private school, or home school being involved as much as possible in the process of your child's education is a huge plus!