A Fresh Start

Well, how has your first week of school gone?  It’s so neat to hear from so many of you on Facebook at our new page, “Maple Tree Publications”, and to see your excitement over new books, new routines, new lessons.  September is a clean slate, a new start.  I have even heard from some of you who homeschool throughout the year and still there is that air of turning over a new leaf.
 

So, I decided that we had to participate in the fervor and to take pictures so I could post pictures of the shining faces of my little cherubs.  My kids had to search for the number of their grade while we walked idyllically around the Toronto Zoo on our first day of school.  We only found a number one.  We saw the gorillas and panda bears and also saw the komodo dragon being fed and talked to the zoo keeper because no one else was there to chat with her.  We took a fun first day of school picture on the bronze statue of the komodo dragons.   It was the continuing of a tradition started a dozen years ago: if we are going to do this education thing differently, we will do it different from the start and always take a field trip on the first day of school.  All in all we had a great day. 

The drive home was quite peaceful despite the city traffic we had to drive through.  Dinner and the evening were just fine.  Then 1 am rolled around.

My head had finally just hit the pillow after staying up late to make sure I was ready for the next morning and almost simultaneously two girls stumbled bleary eyed out of their bedrooms, a bit of panic in their steps...  Sick!  It was a long night.  Our hopes of a positive start on Wednesday were dashed.  No back to normal then or Thursday.  Sigh!

I get overwhelmed at times, wishing things went better, that I was a better teacher, more organized, less impatient, less irritable, wanting to deal with kids who were always enthusiastic, who listen the first time, who don’t leave wet towels on the floor in their rooms until they stink.  Sigh.  My plans just don’t always work.  I feel like I am failing my kids.  But then when I step back and look at things with far - sighted glasses I see how far we have come and I also see so much that we have to look forward to.  It’s then that I am reminded that it isn't worth getting worried about the daily grind.  There is always time for a fresh start. 

So tomorrow, we will try again for the anticipated gentle startup that we had hoped for. I think it's going to take us a few weeks at this rate to settle in. I had hoped we would be off and running by the end of this week or at least by early next.  Sigh! One of my sickies did perk up and voluntarily did two of her math lessons this evening. Hopefully it's a sign of good things to come.

I am realizing that our real lessons are learned when the going gets tough, not so much when we get to see the Komodo Dragon keeper impart all her wisdom about her charge.  Its learning to juggle sick kids and all the other things that the day throws at me without giving up and crying…. Too often.  It’s my kids learning to help one another out when there are two of them sick and only one of me to be the nurse.  The ones who aren’t sick (yet!?) learn to step up and help with newspapers or make the meal or empty the dishwasher.  They have learned a lot this week.  They’ve practiced skills we’ve been honing for years. 

So even if I had done the best of planning for this new school year, I would not have been able to plan these lessons.  I would have avoided them.  But learning to work together in these small adversities has been a greater lesson for these first few days than if we had got all the language arts and math lessons going. – Though I am hoping that tomorrow will be the day to tackle those lessons, finally!

A word of wisdom that my pastor imparted a few weeks ago has been rolling around in my head: Courage, true, biblical courage, is never cultivated in comfort.

Mamas (and Papas and others): know that your struggles are not in vain. You are building a lasting legacy so be strong and courageous! Wishing you all the best today as you build. ;) And for many days after.

Peace,

Cori

www.mapletreepublications.ca
cori@mapletreepublications.ca

A Wild Idea...

Okay Friends,

I am going out on a limb and going to try something different this fall with the kids. I am looking for ideas, help, partners, feedback? (Please, only positive feedback as I am aware that this is a crazy idea!)

My inspirations: 1) an amazing old pastor we met that has read his entire Bible every three months... For forty years! 2) people who do extreme things to follow their passions like, for example, the authors of The Hundred Mile Diet who were so passionate about healthful eating that they only ate food that was produced within a hundred miles of their home for a whole year, and
3) a sweet homeschooling family that attended a YWAM training week where (university aged) students read the whole Bible in a week. The older children in this family, aged seven and nine, participated in the full week and read the whole Bible with the other, much older students.

So... I have been praying about doing something special with our studies that would embrace our passions as well and have been impressed with this idea: we would like to start our school year by reading the whole Bible together in chronological order. I don't think we can do it in a week but maybe in two weeks or three. Our hope is to start on September 8th.

We will take turns reading corporately, will use some audio Bible and will also do some of the reading privately (for those old enough) and maybe with other friends for a bit, too.  I think we will try to make a timeline or keep our books of centuries handy as well as maps of the holy land.  I will likely have the girls do some narrative drawings or paintings while they listen daily.  I want to keep it fairly simple though.
My understanding is that it takes about 70 hours to read the Bible in full. That means it would take about 6 hours per day if done in two weeks with lesser readings on the weekend or would take about 4 hours per day if done in three weeks with lesser readings on the weekends.

What I'm looking for: 1) Advice, ideas, encouragement? 2) Comrades? Would anyone like to join us for encouragement, company and accountability? If you live nearby, we could meet up at a park a few days a week and read together and then take a break and play.

I am fully aware that we may not be able to fully finish this or may end up drawing it out and that we will miss many of the nuances that a slow and thoughtful read would give. On the other hand, I have found a “bird’s eye-view” very refreshing and have learned a lot from more intensive reading on my own lately.  I also realize that my younger kids will likely skip out on some reading and that's okay, too.  I figure though that we can't really go wrong by setting aside a special time to read the Bible intensively and that our reading, writing and 'rithmetic studies can't be terribly thrown off by starting a few weeks later than usual. I think that this can be a great educational experience as well a spiritual one.

Thoughts? Thanks.

Peace,

Cori

Maple Tree Publications
www.mapletreepublications.ca

mapletreepublications@sympatico.ca

905.778.9412

Seeking Discernment

We recently learned that our daughter needs to embrace a gluten free and dairy free lifestyle.  Until now I would've been one of the last people to jump on this band wagon that seems to be so prevalent now a days.  However, after seeing my daughter go through several months of pain and suffering and realizing that we had overlooked many symptoms before we started seeking medical and paramedical advice, my experience has changed my own skepticism. I have seen the need to change her diet validated by the evidence that has been presented.  This journey of the sceptic into dietary changes has reminded me of some of the key things that I learned as a student.

When I think back to my university days a few key lessons jump out at me.  One of those lessons was that we need to be very deliberate in our understanding and judgments because there's often information out there that we don't know.  I think I learned very well not to ever assume when I was in university when doing research and drawing conclusions. Very quickly I learned that if I didn't site my sources when making statements of fact I was quickly questioned and my writing lost its credibility. When that happened, I was just a lowly student with an idea that didn't necessarily stack up against all of the ideas that my professors had catalogued over the years.  I needed to make a conscious effort to find the proof for the idea I was arguing.

A second key lesson that I learned was that no matter what your position is on a particular idea or issue, there's always going to be someone with an education and a research grant who will substantiate your ideas - and especially more so now that we live in this intensely digitalization world.  So I learned to constantly question not just whether I was arguing well but was I arguing truth: "What is the root of this truth, this idea that I am espousing?  Where does my reasoning find a firm foundation?"

Both of these ideas, of substantiating my claims and using right reasoning, are ones that Charlotte Mason addressed directly nearly 100 years ago and I really appreciate her words when she speaks about the way of the will and the way of reason.

She says,

“There are two guides to moral and intellectual self-management to offer to children, which we may call 'the way of the will' and 'the way of the reason.'

The way of the will: Children should be taught, (a) to distinguish between 'I want' and 'I will.' (b) That the way to will effectively is to turn our thoughts from that which we desire but do not will. (c) That the best way to turn our thoughts is to think of or do some quite different thing, entertaining or interesting. (d) That after a little rest in this way, the will returns to its work with new vigour….

The way of reason: We teach children, too, not to 'lean (too confidently) to their own understanding'; because the function of reason is to give logical demonstration (a) of mathematical truth, (b) of an initial idea, accepted by the will. In the former case, reason is, practically, an infallible guide, but in the latter, it is not always a safe one; for, whether that idea be right or wrong, reason will confirm it by irrefragable proofs.

In other words while me must constantly exert an effort to do and think rightly, we must also recognize that our ability to reason is limited by our own understanding and so we can, of our own volition, defend and convince ourselves of ideas that are logically flawed. 

So, there is a need, both intellectually and spiritually, to find a firm foundation.  I love it that she turns us back to our Creator for this reasoning: Proverbs 3:5,6 says “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (NIV84). 

The way to guard against leaning to confidently on our own understanding: trust in the LORD with all our hearts! 

As I stumble through this life, there are many times when I will question the ideas that are presented to me and even worse, there will be many times that I embrace, without even realizing it, ideas that are flawed.  My best defense will always be to look to God for truth and knowledge on this crazy journey.  All the rest will fall into line.

Wishing you a peaceful day as you lean on the author of truth.

Blessings, Friends!

Cori

Drinking out of a Fire Hose

Well, the theme for my life lately has been balance.  I feel as though I am always struggling for balance.  Am I making sure that we get an appropriate amount of school done without making my kids feel like I am a slave driver?  Do I get enough time away or do my kids feel like I’m always gone?  Have I got enough rest and still got mount o’launder-us under control?  Are we all eating well?  Exercising? Balance seems so elusive and yet I see that there are times when it is more smooth sailing than others.

In the last two weeks, I feel like I’ve been completely toppled off of my teeter –totter.  Preparing for the great and crazy “conference season” always does that to me.  This is part of the balancing act, too: expecting to be knocked off kilter during seasons when the wind is blowing particularly hard and there is much to be done.  I have to remember to just get back up again.

A thought to share: it does get easier, this habit building thing.  The more I practice, the more I can find a groove that is slowly being dug in the tracks of my well-worn road of life.  I am reminded that Charlotte Mason writes a lot about building good habits and how they keep us from being run off of the rails of our lives.  I am still learning!  My kids are still learning. 

Are you striving for balance?  Keep up the fight!  It will become easier as time goes on. Remember that the bigger the chunk is that you bite off, the longer it will take to digest it.  If you want to gain more balance in your life, start with little bite-sized chunks and be content to make small gains.  Do you want to be healthier?  Start by adding exercise to your school routine once or twice a week.  Do you feel over-run by the noise of your busy home?  Set a timer once a day for 15 minutes of mommy time that can’t be interrupted so that you can read. (When my little cherubs interrupt this sacred pause, I often reset the clock.)  Know that we are all in this struggle together.  For me, right now, the struggle for health centres around getting a better sleep routine.  Conference season = drinking out of a fire hose of intensity so I need to learn to turn it off by 11pm.  That’s not been happening lately!  (So I’d better wrap this musing up soon.)

But first, I want to wish you all well as you strive for balance in your own life and the season you are facing. 

And if you find yourself at a homeschool conference in the near future, check and see if Maple Tree is there and come have a little visit Under the Maple Tree.  It’s always so much better to see people in real life rather than virtually.  I can’t wait to share with you some of the exciting new books that we have and some of the yummy seminars that I am pumped up about sharing with you.  I’m sticking to conferences in Ontario this year (= struggle for balance, remember?) so if you are out of my range then feel free to call or drop me a note to chat about life or books or homeschoolish kind of things.  All that is for later though – I’d better get some rest! 

Blessings,

Cori

www.mapletreepublications.ca

Monday Morning...

It was one of those mornings here.  I was frustrated, feeling inadequate.  I set my alarm early to get the best start: to read my Bible and do a bit of planning and maybe even do a bit of exercise before the masses required my involvement.  Suddenly though it was 9am, breakfast was still in the works, the kitchen a mess and the dining room table strewn with bits of oatmeal, a dry half of a sticky bagel and several school books, including my lesson planner!  Who got into that?  Well, my diligent older students had looked through the planner and were asking for work that I hadn’t prepared yet.  My younger more playful kids were trying to figure out how to sneak out into the new snow before they had to attack their work without me noticing. 

Do you ever feel like there’s so much to do that you don’t know where to start?  That was my morning.  In fact, I often feel that way. 

Then a sweet friend texted.  She reminded me to pace myself, that I wasn’t expected to get it all done before noon on Monday.  I don’t expect that of the kids; I don’t expect it of anyone else.  Why would I expect it of me?  In fact, I get over excited about all that I want to get done so often and with so much more than just school assignments.  I wish I had blogged more, I want to fix so many things on my website, I want my storage room to be at least passable, if not somewhat tidy.  I have so many ideas about how I could better serve the Awana programme which I run at our church. Sigh.

But then, I remember that there are 25 hours in a day on Mars.  If God wanted us to fit more into a day he would have made us Martians. 

I am reminded that there are a few things that I do need to do a better job at fitting into my overcrowded schedule.  I need to take the time to prioritize, to play, to pray. 

God, in his infinite wisdom, ordained 24 hours for each day that I am alive.  He wants me to spend those 24 wisely each day, to prioritize.  I need to respect that limitation that He has placed on me and make sure that I am a good steward of that gift of time that I have been given.  When I think of it that way, I realize that I have often misspent my time.  Have I spent it on useless things, or on things that have eternal value?  On running myself to exhaustion or on taking care of own body, getting the rest, rejuvenation, and nourishment that I need to be able to care for my family and others?  On connecting to Him and His life-giving Word or on things that might be very good but aren’t necessarily the right things for me to pursue right now?

It’s often hard for me to stop and play.  I know that I tend to be driven.  I know that it is a common personality trait for us homeschooling moms.  I get up in the morning with a long to do list and am not good at taking the time to stop and take in a new card trick or piano tune that one of my young performers wants to share.  Why do I sigh and reluctantly sit for a game of Skipbo when the world isn’t going to end if the chores get put off a bit longer?  If I put my time into perspective and start to pursue God’s priorities, I know that relationships are far more important that lessons checked off on a planner or chores completed to perfection.  The moments that impact my family are the ones that draw us together, and play time is a key part of that. 

Finally, I need to pray more.  I need to pray in the moment; I need to pray in private; I need to pray when I am perplexed or happy or upset.  I need to take the time to quiet my heart so that I can wait on the Lord and learn His priorities so that I can pursue what He wants me to run after and have confidence in cutting out so many of the busying activities that only serve to pull me away from what I should be doing. 

Friends, as we embark on another day, I wish you moments to play and to pray and the wisdom to seek His priorities for your days.  I wish you peace that transcends the usual Monday morning rush.

Peace and blessings,

Cori

www.mapletreepublications.ca

Method to this Madness

I don’t usually take the time to blog during daylight hours, certainly not in the morning.  Morning is our time of concentrated learning.  We have a routine that we follow and this year we have really been enjoying our learning times in the morning.  This week is a bit more relaxed though and so I thought I would take a few minutes to write. 

This week has become a tradition in the Dean house: it’s “January Reno Week”.  Over the past few years our good daddy has booked a week off in January to be Mr. Fixit.  He usually takes the time to catch up on the “Honey Do” list and to focus on one area of the house that needs some special attention.  This year it is some much needed repairs to our basement bathroom, specifically a leaky shower.  Big job.

It’s nice that some of the girls are now old enough that they can be quite involved in the project and as such we have modified their school schedules for this week.  So, as I write, one daughter is downstairs helping with and learning about plumbing, another is writing a letter to Grandma, and another is making cookies to bring to Awana on Wednesday night.  The little one is creating her daily painted masterpiece.  Peaceful. 

As I enjoy this relaxed learning time I have been reflecting on our goals for the year.  You see, every year in the Dean home we make learning goals.  I have noticed over the past few years a divergence between our long term goals (about things like virtue, compassion, and work ethic) and our yearly short term goals (about things like math and spelling and science).  So this year we decided on four subjects that we thought would best integrate the short term and long term goals…

This year all of our learning is focused on these four topics: love for God, love for family, love for others, and love for learning.  So while writing to Grandma will fulfill the need for writing, spelling and grammar lessons, it is most importantly a means of loving others.  While painting is a wonderful creative thing for a preschooler to do, it is primarily a manifestation of the beauty that they Creator has instilled in the heart of a child.  We learn to love God by all that is beautiful in this world.  Learning plumbing is very useful life skill but is above all a method of being able to love and care for our family.

So, while not all days have this relaxed pace, and while it’s not all roses, (We have had the chance to learn about reacting with grace when our beads spill all over the floor this morning!) we are enjoying the day to day method to this madness.  It reminds me of what I have been reading in Charlotte Mason’s books lately…

“Method implies two things – a way to an end, and step-by-step progress in that way.  Further, the following of a method implies an idea, a mental image, of the end or object to be arrived at.  What do you propose that education shall effect in and for your child?  Again, method is natural; easy, yielding, unobtrusive, simple as the ways of Nature herself; yet, watchful, careful, all-pervading, all-compelling.  Method, with the end of education in view, presses the most unlikely matters into service to bring about that end; but with no more tiresome mechanism that the sun employs when it makes the winds to blow and the waters to flow only by shining.” (Home Education, p. 8)

Friends, what do you purpose that education shall effect in and for your child?  I hope that as you search out your purpose in education that you will find it as natural to learn together as a family as it is to enjoy the sun on your faces.  We continue to strive for this depth and this simplicity rolled into one.

Have a great week!

Cori

www.mapletreepublications.ca

Perspective

So many of you have asked about our daughter that I realize that it is time to update you. 

Just reading over my musings of a year ago, I realize how I still get so relentlessly caught up in the mundane and overwhelmed by things that are so transient.  (This week, in addition to life’s everyday blunders and the usual financial frustrations, we have been dealing with BOTH fleas and lice in the Dean household.  When will “normal” arrive, please, Lord?!)

I have been feeling sorry for myself, wishing someone would step up to this plate that I have been given and run the race for me for a little while.  My husband and I have spent the week going to bed sore and exhausted, hoping for relief the next day but finding a new set of challenges with each morning: the dog gets out of the yard AGAIN, a computer crashes and people treat us like we are carrying the plague.  I think that it is the stress of it all that made us turn our backs on the fact that that nasty cold was creeping into the house as well.  Par for the course. 

Yesterday, in the midst of it all, we were brought back to the basics.  (We will conquer the fleas and the lice.  I’ve never dealt with fleas before but have with lice, it’s a lot of work but we know how to overcome it.  The colds will move on, eventually the bills will be paid and our friends won’t be afraid to see us.)  On the other hand, there we were on the floor of the little girls’ bedroom dealing with a tantrum, not the everyday grumpiness that you occasionally encounter but a full out kicking and screaming 3 year old.  And then she went pale, her eyes rolled back and the screaming eased.  My baby nearly fainted.  Now to most this would be happy justice for a kid that had cried it out.  For us fainting can be life threatening.

Suddenly lice, fleas, colds, and harsh words from friends didn’t seem so important.  Surviving the moment was all that we had. 

Now, as soon as the spell overcame her, she started to recover.  She certainly had lost the wind in her sails but she came back to us.  The normal procedure for days like this with a girl with a heart condition like ours has been to see the doctor immediately (get to the ER!) which has resulted in one weekend stay at the hospital so far.  The thing is that our most recent visits to our local paediatric cardiologist and to Sick Kids confirmed that our prayers are working, her heart is holding out and is more stable than they had originally anticipated.  Praise the Lord!  That being the case, we are now told that the pacemaker won’t be inserted into her heart until they see some quantifiable difference in the testing that they do or until this “starts to affect her quality of life”, meaning until dizziness leads to actual fainting.  We do hope to see our doctor this week but for now are closely monitoring her and seeking your prayers.

All of this has brought back some much needed perspective: God is in control.

            “I am the LORD, and there is no other;

            apart from me there is no God.
            I will strengthen you,
            though you have not acknowledged me,
            so that from the rising of the sun
            to the place of its setting
            men may know that there is none besides me.
            I am the LORD, and there is no other.
            I form the light and create darkness,
            I bring prosperity and create disaster;
            I, the LORD, do all these things.” – Isaiah 45:5-7

He allows us to go through the things that he does because He trusts that we will come out on the other side closer to Him and more able to be all that He wants us to be.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” – James 1:2-4

Friends, my family and I have so appreciated your kind words, your prayers and your inquiries about our daughter that show that you care.  They have made such a difference to us.  Please do continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers as we journey along this crazy road.  It has made a difference as she had gone a full year now without need for pacemaker surgery and we hope that she will be able to go longer and grow more in order to better be ready for the hardware that is best suited to her needs.

Thanks,

Cori

Maple Tree Publications

www.mapletreepublications.ca 

On Becoming Far-Sighted

Dear Friends,

I thought I would take a {quick} break from my planning.  I’ve spent my evening getting ready to participate in an Awana Children’s Ministry conference at the end of this month.  This will be the second time that I have been to this conference and this year I will be presenting two new workshops called “What is a Biblical Education?” and “Day by Day and Side by Side”.  Even though I do get nervous and pretty perfectionist about my preparations I am really looking forward to sharing some of the new things I have been learning and pondering.

At the encouragement of our local Awana missionary, I picked up a copy of Raising  Modern Day Joseph by Larry Fowler and tonight I got to curl up with a good book to do some “work”.  (This is one of the reasons that I love my job: reading is a requirement!)  I am only part way through it but I am feeling challenged already.

The author asked this question, “What do you want to be able to say about your children when they are thirty?”  Good question…

I think that as homeschooling parents we often consider ourselves more intentional than our counterparts that don’t spend hours mulling over lessons plans and curriculum choices.  But do we often look at our children’s education with such far-sighted lenses?

This was a great reminder to me that I really do need to remember to live beyond just this moment and to think of what the long term goals are that I have when I am educating my kids.  Charlotte Mason stressed that an education was so much more than simply the cramming of much knowledge into a little mind but that equally important was the motivation for learning and the habits that were formed along the way.

Diana Waring recently reminded me in a talk that she did (Thank you Lord for seminars on CD!) that biblical education is a blend of knowledge, piety and morality.  To be truly educated we must be assimilating knowledge in accordance with our relationship with the God of the universe and our love for Him and we must apply that love and knowledge to the world around us, learning to live in a way that is fitting for a child of The King.

I still have so much to learn in this respect but my husband and I have put some thought into what we want to be able to say about these children of ours when they are thirty and, so far, it looks something like this, “It is our hope and prayer that our daughters will become lovers of God and of their families, women of strong character who are contributors to family, church and society, who are unwavering in their faith and able to share it with and defend it to others.” 

Tall order, I know.  And I do struggle with the notion of expecting something of them that I don’t always see in myself.  I guess this is better to be called a hope, a prayer, than an expectation.  But without a plan, as we know, we will never get anywhere.  I like the quote that I read in the book this evening, an excerpt from a poem by Longfellow,

            I shot an arrow into the air,

            It fell to earth, I knew not where.

Without intentionality in our efforts to rightly guide these precious treasures in the path that they should go we can only be sure that we won’t know where they will end up. 

The path is long from finished in our journey of parenting and educating but it is my hope and prayer that, with God’s help, if we keep those long term goals in mind, we will have a better chance of answering that question with confidence someday: “My daughter is 30 today and she is all that I every imagined that God would want for her to be!”

What are your hopes, Friends, for your children?  What to you want to be able to say about them when they are beyond these intensive years in your care?

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Cori

Maple Tree Publications

www.mapletreepublications.ca 

Of Life and Laundry Lines

How is it that summer is whisking by so quickly?  I feel like just yesterday we were finishing up our last lessons of this and that, and that now it will only be a few days before we will be working in earnest to prepare to get back to the regular school-year routine!

I hope that most of you are now enjoying a break from the rhythm of the school year. I know that I am. It has taken these wonderful little packages of a few minutes snatched here and there, peaceful moments in which to realize that it was a pretty stressful year in the Dean house: serious health concerns, busy days with a routine that some times wants to eat me up, the ups and downs of living in a family, the challenging tightrope walk of trying to integrate business with family and still maintain normalcy and to keep my priorities straight.

We have already enjoyed a lot of much needed break time, recovery time, after a very busy conference season and have felt very refreshed but do you, like me, find that even the breaks takes a lot of work?  It seemed like a week of camping required 10 days of intensive prep and now, several days of recovery.

Yesterday, as we unpacked, cleaned and did the laundry, I was enjoying the return to my simple place under the laundry tree.  I love snatching these moments with you here “Under the Maple Tree” but I feel like my laundry line is my measuring device for balance in my own little life: when I can stand under the blossoms of the crabapple tree and hang and take in our fresh garments I feel like time has slowed down.  That is when I am not living at the pace of technology. 

It is when life is rushed and there isn’t time that we throw a load in the washer and then the dryer (and then more often than not, deposit it in a heap on the landing upstairs waiting for some magical laundry fairy to come and fold it).  When there is time for the details, time for the catching up and for keeping up, a margin for error in a marginless world, it is then that I find myself fussing over straight lines of lights, brights and darks. While little streams of light peak around and through the branches to gently caress linens that flap in the breeze.

So while fun busyness of beach days and visits and play helps to refresh our school year busyness of a different sort, I am so happy too for the “unbusy” moments when I can just peacefully hang out the laundry. 

Wishing you restful, peaceful moments this week, Friends!

Blessings,

Cori

This isn't my full-time job...

I told that to a dad that I spoke to at a homeschool meeting that I had the honour to be the guest speaker at this week.  He was asking, the way that dads do, about the business of speaking at conferences and meetings and selling books.  What’s my website like?  How do I market the books that I write and publish?  What is my target audience?  Etc.

The thing is: I love my job.  I love to write.  I love to pour over scripture and find a nugget of truth that I can apply practically to my little world “under the maple tree”.  I love chatting with all of you on the phone, in person at meetings and conferences, and virtually here on line.  I even like balancing the books and working through all of the tedium of invoicing and such (maybe that’s because there really isn’t too much of it.)  J  I’m starting to like packaging up books as I imagine that I am building little fortresses for these little treasures as I send them out to do battle with the postal system.  (It’s like a game of Tetris to create just the right package so that the books don’t slide around or get dinged and my sweet customers don’t have to feel the heavy burden of expensive packaging and inflated shipping prices.)

But this isn’t my full time job.  I told that to this dad that I was chatting with.  “After all, this isn’t my full-time job.  I already have a full-time job.”  His eyes bulged.  “You have another job?!”  “Of course I do!  I am a wife and mom that home educates her kids.  It doesn’t pay well but it’s a full time job.”  And really, it’s a lie to say that it doesn’t pay well.  The truth of the matter is that it doesn’t pay the same as another professional teacher might make but it is a job none the less that I do take quite seriously.

Of course, being a homeschooling dad, he knew.  He nodded.  It’s true.  My priority should be my full time job.  After all, while I could invest 40 hours a week (or more!) into Maple Tree, which I would really love, I would quickly lose track of my first career choice, my first work priority.  So while I do hope to see myself working at this job full time by the time my last little cherub graduates from her homeschooling experience, more than that I look forward to the pay off then, when, God willing, we can enjoy a strong family relationship built over many years of living this crazy life together and can see our young women out in the world living the lives that God created them to live. 

I know a lot of you mamas are in this same boat, living the daily insanity of full time wife and mama and teacher.  (And that teacher job on top of the others is a really real job!)  Many of you are working away at your own home businesses, at jobs away from the home or even at other jobs that are just as taxing but also don’t pay in dollars and cents.  I have talked to you homeschoolers who are bus drivers, full time professional nurses, Usborne consultants, dance teachers and volunteer ministry coordinators.  Kudos to you! 

Remember to give yourself the credit of time and energy to make your first jobs first and the others to fall into line behind.  I wish for you the peace of heart to be able to prioritize first that which you feel is the right thing to do for your family (whether that is homeschooling or not) and let the money worry about itself.  I know that many of us add a small business or part or full time job on as punctuation to an already busy schedule to help make ends meet but may I encourage you to trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path. (Proverbs 3:4,5)  Remember that he has said that he will provide all of your needs. (Philippians 4:19)  Do what you know to be right for your family and let the money follow, not lead you.

I have to daily do this, as I think that I have missed writing deadlines, haven’t blogged in a month or haven’t balanced the books for a couple of conferences.  Yikes!  Thank you all for your grace as I have been absent from my little soap box under the maple tree.  I will pop in and out, as I can, when the reading and math lessons get done and when we aren’t chasing our crazy dog through the woods, since I miss my time here with you.

Blessings in your busy days, Friends!

Cori

I Yelled at the Dog Today

I didn't just yell, I stomped and raved and shouted about how I hated her.  I didn't just scream at her in the privacy of my home (I've never been good at hiding my emotions), I took her to the park with my kids and their friends and my ever so graceful friend.  (How did you have so much grace for today Sarah?)  And the rest of my day was defined by my loosing my temper with my dog. 

Why is it that I thought it reasonable to scream at my dog for her horrible behaviour.  I never would have screamed, "I hate you" at my kids or my husband!  How is it that I reverted to the form of a two year old having a tantrum on the floor at the goading of a great big doesn't-know-any-better-yet puppy?

Perhaps much of this is not just because of one dumb puppy's behaviour but becasue of my own.  Staying up late at night to prepare to speak at several upcoming homeschool conferences and homeschool meetings has left me exhausted as the culmination of my work is played out in my preparation for the first conference coming up this weekend.  Sigh, have I played the fraud, pretending to be the homeschooler who can lead other homeschoolers into educational bliss?  

My consolation is this: homeschooling isn’t for perfect parents.

I have to constantly remind myself that we decided to homeschool because we thought it was the best thing for our family not because we came to some sort of realization that we were perfect parents and teachers.

I think that my only success in homeschooling is knowing that I am forgiven.  That is really the only way to hold my head up in light of all my failings.  To know that my redemption is in the sacrifice of Christ makes it easier to hold my children accountable, even as I fail.  How often do I ask them to do as I say and not as I do, since essentially we are all learning to walk in the likeness of Christ day by day and side by side.

And, I guess my learning today should include finding the wisdom to head to bead earlier so that my family, my friends, and even my dog don't have to feel the wrath of Mama again tomorrow.

Good night, All!

Cori  

Counting Our Blessings...

Dear Friends, 

I wouldn't normally forward you a letter that I had already sent to a friend privately but I hope she will excuse me as I thought it the best way to share my heart and our circumstances with you...

Crazy days! Our recent days have been dominated by a weekend in the hospital for our youngest daughter (and I - Cori). She was experiencing chest pains (and still is a bit) but was otherwise healthy and happy which made it much more bearable. We realized on Friday morning that her complaints were consistently about pain in her chest. Before that we'd thought that we were responding to the usual bout of two year old nicks and scrapes. So, (on Friday morning) I called her paediatric cardiologist and asked for advice. He advised seeing our family doctor who wasn't available. We knew that, regardless of where we went, saying to any doctor, apart from him, that our two year old with a heart condition was having chest pain would get us sent to the ER. So we went to the ER and were soon admitted. They decided to do 48 hours of monitoring. Really they didn't have the right equipment needed to monitor her specific condition or someone with expertise on her needs. So it was a lot of calling Sick Kids in Toronto for advice and such. In short, our little girl's heart rate is irregular and low which they said was not critical right now but is consistent with someone with her condition.

They released us today and we were home early after noon with the plan to get to see her paediatric cardiologist tomorrow (please pray this will happen) so that he can properly monitor her and can compare her condition now to his previous notes on her. He is a good Christian man but rather tight lipped with information and obviously very busy so hard to get a hold of. (We are really hoping and praying that he will monitor her now rather than in six weeks when he is supposed to see her next.)

So, again we covet your prayers for our girl.

Otherwise, we are in good spirits, not wanting to compare ourselves but having seen so many kids recently in much worse shape. I've been inspired by a family who's daughter has been a the brink of death since before Christmas and the way that they praise God daily in their Facebook updates.

Our children are God's and not our own and as such he doesn't owe us another day with them but trusts us with their upbringing. Amazing, eh? In addition to that it was just so nice to have time to just spoil my girlie and to cuddle her lots and to play only with her, not something we do often. As well, we have just been so blessed by friends and family and neighbours who took the kids, shoveled the drive, fed us, walked the dog, delivered the newspapers, brought tea for us and activity pages for the princess when she wasn't allowed to move. Amazed by God's provision in only 48 hours.

So anyway, we request your prayers for the days ahead and will keep you posted. Pray that we will be able to ride this storm with strength (physical, emotional and spiritual) and faith.

"You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light." Psalm 18:28

Many blessings,

Cori and the rest of the Dean Clan

Why We Deliver Newspapers

Okay, by now you know that I am one of those life is learning and learning is life types of people but I still do firmly believe in the need for structured learning.  Our school day does require a lot of routine – though I do shudder at strict scheduling.  I guess I am still trying to find the happy medium after all these years.  Underneath all of the second guessing and the “planning for success” though, my hubby and I have confidence in our underlying goal as parents for our kids education: it is our desire to raise our children up to be all that God made them to be, vibrant well-educated women who have a passion for God and a love for people and who use their unique gifts and talents to both pursue that passion and love but also to provide for the needs of their own families now and in the future.

So how does that translate into the nitty gritty of the day to day?  Well, of course we want for our kids to learn to read and write and do their ‘rithmetic.  We want them to be versed in sciences and history and geography but we also want more.  We want them to have strong characters, to be able to work hard and to work smart.  We want them to graduate from this homeschool not only with academic skill but with life skills.

Hence the newspaper route, a rather routine part of our week but a key learning time, too.

First, the things that we dislike about it.  The biggest downer is the sheer volume of junk mail!  It is indicative of a society that bases values on what you can get rather than what you have to give, that makes success equal to having more toys.  It is also so wasteful and a horrible travesty in term of the environmental bludgeoning that each newspapers delivers.

Secondly, I live with a house full of readers and players and creators – but not terribly athletic folks.  We love to be outdoors, but for some young souls that doesn’t mean being out doors with a cart full of newspapers.  The work is hard and it isn’t all that much fun.

In comparison to these though there are many great reasons that we have embraced that have helped both parents and children to overcome the negatives of the newspaper route.

We, like many homeschoolers, live on a rather restrictive one-income budget, so we told the kids when they were all very young that when they started to wanting expensive toys that they’d better get themselves a job.  For our oldest that came at nine years of age.  She wanted a video game player and so she got a job delivering newspapers and earned the money she needed for the toys she wanted.

Having a paper route has been a great way to get physical exercise that aspiring cooks, mad scientists and generally non-athletic types have needed.  My kids are getting paid to be physically active rather than me having to pay for them to do so.

It gives a much needed breath of fresh air even on those rainy days when we would have hidden inside.  We only deliver two days a week but it’s nice to know that there are those required days to get out in the most dull weeks when it is easier to just get cooped up.

The kids have spending money that they wouldn’t otherwise have been able to have when mommy and daddy are trying to stay within a missionary budget.

No only that, they have learned first hand about giving, saving and spending, key principles that aren’t as easy to internalize when the money you are giving away has been given to you to give.  They have learned to tenderheartedly share from their own resources and to plan for the future as well.

They have learned work ethic.  We’d rather that our children learn, while they are young, that they need to submit to the authority of a boss than to struggle with the idea later in their adult years when their income is no longer discretionary.  Not only that but they are learning that, even on the days that you don’t want to do it, you still need to get the job done on time.  They are learning stick-to-it-iveness.  They are learning the value of a job well done. 

They are also learning valuable character qualities as they strive to “do all things without arguing or complaining”.  They are learning to work together on tasks and to get along and to help out, to love and to be gentle and to be kind as they work side by side.  They are learning, albeit slowly, to sing a happy song even when their heart feels grumpy.

They are learning to smile and to look adults in the eye rather than to avert their eyes and turn up their iPods as so many young people are apt to do while out and about.

They are also learning to be safe and smart.  As they get older, each of my children earns the ability and privilege to do more in their little business, going from being the youngest, two year old, who gets to take newspapers from our dining area to the front porch and under Mom’s supervision to the front door of each of our next door neighbours, to the oldest who is able to go door to door out of Mom’s sight, walking on the road without supervision.  They are learning how to stay safe when they meet up with people they don’t know.

I guess the minor part of their learning would be the opportunity to think logically about optimizing the walk on their route, the calculating and planning that they do as they earn and save for special purchases, the reading that they do while they should be stuffing fliers. 

Newspapers are much more than a chance to make a buck or two in our house – though that doesn’t hurt either.  Newspapers are a key part of our educational journey.

I hope that you enjoy the ever so routine moments in your days this week Friends!

Peace,

Cori