Kristy Dorminy

Today is Miss Molly’s birthday!  She was a surprise to us when I took that pregnancy test while my 5 month old was sleeping upstairs all those years ago; she continues to surprise us with her many antics. And we love her to pieces!

Thought we would re-create that precious photo…haha!

Molly seems to have been born 12, so celebrating her turning 12 today is kind of funny to me. We are happy to spend our day celebrating her life, and we pray God’s very best for her all the days of her life!

HAPPY 12TH BIRTHDAY, MOLLY-MOO!

Well, it seems as if my kids do get tired of sleeping until 10:00am and watching brainless Youtube videos and episodes of “Dance Moms.” They have been asking to start school!  They keep telling me that they are ready for a schedule, and Mack says he cannot wait to learn some History.

After sitting in my disbelief for a few hours, I decided that we would go ahead and start school Monday then!  I was planning for after Labor Day, but I mean, C’mon….if they are asking for it, I would be crazy to delay! So here we go…..

RUBY ELIZABETH, 8th grade, 13 years old; loves music and funny quotes and inspirational quotes and wrote many of them down this summer in a notebook, still likes to read, I think…haven’t seen her with many books this summer! But I feel certain she will get back into that groove once the screens go bye-bye Monday–Thursday.

MATH–Online Pre-Algebra with Dr. D, Xtramath.org daily facts practice

SCIENCE– Online Apologia General Science

HISTORY–Beautiful Feet,  Early American and World History (with sketching and watercolors)

LANGUAGE ARTS–Grammar FixIt! Book 3, Phonetic Spelling Level C, BraveWriter Readers (copywork and literary discussions), Poetry TeaTime and Nature Walks weekly, Faltering Ownership Writing Program for monthly assignments and some online writing classes as mom sees fit

BIBLE– 30 Days to Understanding Your Bible and the Bible Project Videos, personal devotion

GEOGRAPHY– Beautiful Feet, Geography through Literature (probably start 2nd semester)

ELECTIVES– Typing program, weekly piano lesson, weekly chorus lesson, home-ec (Clean your room and do your laundry and fix your own lunch, help with dinner!), sex-ed (What Are You Waiting For? by Dannah Gresh), DOGGY 101 beginning some time in late October

MOLLY LEE, 7th grade, 12 years old tomorrow, loves to play guitar and taught herself!, sleeps really late and will probably have the hardest time with our new school schedule, has enjoyed making friends at church and always seems to be planning for the next social event, enjoys playing around with make-up and straightening her 10 pounds of naturally curly hair.

MATH–Saxon 8/7, Xtramath.org daily facts practice

SCIENCE– Online Apologia General Science

HISTORY–Beautiful Feet,  Early American and World History (with sketching and watercolors)

LANGUAGE ARTS–Grammar FixIt! Book 2, Phonetic Spelling Level B, BraveWriter Readers (copywork and literary discussions), Poetry TeaTime and Nature Walks weekly, Faltering Ownership Writing Program for monthly assignments and some online writing classes as mom sees fit

BIBLE– 30 Days to Understanding Your Bible and the Bible Project Videos, personal devotion

GEOGRAPHY– Beautiful Feet, Geography through Literature (probably start 2nd semester)

ELECTIVES– Typing program, weekly piano lesson, weekly chorus lesson, home-ec (Clean your room and do your laundry and fix your own lunch, help with dinner!), sex-ed (What Are You Waiting For? by Dannah Gresh), DOGGY 101 beginning some time in late October

MACK JOSHUA, 5th grade, 10 years old; loves wrestling and learning magic tricks, is growing like a weed!, still wishes he had a brother, but is super-excited to get a dog in a couple of months and tells me often how he will make sure that the dog is his best friend and not the girls’ best friend

MATH–Saxon 6/5, Xtramath.org daily facts practice

SCIENCE–Monthly TinkerCrates

HISTORY–Beautiful Feet,  Early American and World History (with sketching and watercolors)

LANGUAGE ARTS–Grammar FixIt! Book 1, Phonetic Spelling Level A, BraveWriter Readers (copywork and literary discussions), Poetry TeaTime and Nature Walks weekly, Faltering Ownership Writing Program for monthly assignments and some online writing classes as mom sees fit

BIBLE– 30 Days to Understanding Your Bible and the Bible Project Videos, personal devotion

GEOGRAPHY– Beautiful Feet, Geography through Literature (probably start 2nd semester)

ELECTIVES– wrestling lessons, home-ec (Clean your room and do your laundry and fix your own lunch, help with dinner!), sex-ed (What Are You Waiting For? by Dannah Gresh), DOGGY 101 beginning some time in late October

Ruby’s first Reader is ANNE OF GREEN GABLES. Molly’s first Reader is WONDER. And Mack’s first Reader is DANNY THE CHAMPION OF EVERYTHING. I chose these books specifically because Ruby loves Anne, I mean, who wouldn’t?!? Molly loves reading about people with special needs or with physical challenges, and when we saw the movie trailer for that book I knew she would want to read it.  And for Mack, I needed a book either about football or wrestling or at least about a BOY, so that’s why I landed on Roald Dahl’s, DANNY.

KEEPING UP WITH THE PLANS: I have a binder with monthly dividers that I will be using to keep up with our monthly writing project plans and also to record what we do each day.  Nothing fancy, but it will be a way to note our progress.  I also use the binder to house the list of books each child will be reading.  I still plan to start a construction paper chain to keep hung in the school room as a visual of our progress.

SOMETHING NEW: Last year the kids each had a small sketch book that they drew in.  We started with science pictures, but then it evolved into whatever they wanted to draw. That was ok, but this year I hope to use a sketch book and some water colors to keep them inspired during History to draw.  I don’t know exactly how this will go, but I am going to stay flexible, but intentional to have them doing something pertaining to History while I am reading aloud from our many books.

ANOTHER SOMETHING NEW: I also want to add a blog for each kid to have them type out summaries a few times a week from what they’ve read and to record “golden quotes” from their books that they don’t want to forget.  I thought it might be a good idea to have them use words to explain a new math concept since they say that if you can articulate a concept, then you probably understand it pretty well.  And of course, I would like them to use the blog for a Friday “FreeWrite,” so I can see what is on their minds or how creative they can be.

WHY: It is so important to keep my WHY in the front of my mind during home schooling.  There WILL be bad days.  There will be tears over math lessons.  There will be frustrations from everyone for various reasons, YET I cannot let the emotions and ups and downs (especially at these ages of my kids!) get me discouraged.  I tell myself regularly that I am the adult and need to act like it!  I can’t get on the rollercoaster.  I need to be steady and firm and loving and fun all at the same time.  NOT EASY. I began home schooling because I wanted to be the primary influence in my child’s life for as long as possible.  I wanted to know my kids by spending time with them, listening to them and watching them. It has been much more difficult and challenging than I ever imagined, but it has also been rewarding. I am still home schooling because I still feel called by God to it, and I enjoy being with my kids and helping them learn. And I still think it is a grand way to foster a love of learning and set my kids up for success.

So, here we go!  Our second year of homeschooling in North Carolina begins Monday. Will it be perfect? NO WAY!  Will it be hard? YES WAY! Will it be worth it? YOU BET!

 

Our curriculum has been ordered and delivered for fall 2017 at The Dorminy Academy.  I have spent time cleaning the school room. This week the kids will be tasked with making sure their desks are ready for a new beginning, and we will sign up for our online courses. We may even decorate a binder or two in preparation for our fresh start.  Each kid will need to start their own private blog for posting certain writing assignments—I am hoping this new addition will be a success! And I hope to document our year via this blog. The ups and downs. What worked and what didn’t and even pictures of some of their work.

But before we get going OFFICIALLY, I have spent time praying for God to guide me and help me prepare mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually for the new year. Ruby will be in 8th grade. Molly will be in 7th grade, and Mack is in his last year of elementary, 5th grade.  I cannot believe I am starting my 8th year of homeschooling. The Lord has helped me all along the way! I had no idea what I was getting into…and still don’t completely understand how all of this will work out, yet I know that today I am called to home school.

The Lord led me to 2 Corinthians 12:15 as a foundational verse for this year: “I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls.” Just as Paul loved the Corinthians and met them with love even when he was met with judgment and criticism, I want to do the same with my kids.  They don’t usually face their work day with the greatest attitude or with excitement for grammar and math, but I have to be the mature one.  The one that shows perseverance and determination and grit. I realize that I am doing more than just teaching how to solve algebraic equations or spelling.  I am also tasked with caring for their souls.  And gladly!  That’s the kicker.

Which leads me to a few words that I hope will mark our school year:  

JOY, HUMILITY & HONOR (Romans 12)

Oh, how I hope joy will be a huge part of our days this year.  And humility is so critical in working well together day in and day out….counting others as more important than yourself. To honor others by doing things for them without complaining or griping.  There’s a lot of  “Can you grab my science binder for me?” and “Would you mind sharpening my pencil?” and even, “Would you go start lunch while we finish our grammar?” Joy, Humility and Honor…praying they fill our days!

Then, I have three statements that rose to the surface in my time with The Lord:

BE PRESENT: No social media. Keep phone in downstairs office. Hugs, eye contact, smiles and HELP them!

BE PRAYERFUL:  I heard Jim Cymbala preach a simple, yet profound sermon on prayer from John 2. Invite Jesus into everything. Tell Him your need. Obey what He tells you. Expect great things.

BE PURPOSEFUL: We have a rhythm to our day that should keep us moving towards our goals (Bible and Breakfast, Math, Reading, Writing, Geography, History on MWF, Science on T/Th, xtramath.org, phonetic zoo, grammar FixIT!, piano and chorus, personal Bible reading, and doggy 101 starts mid-October), No screens Monday-Thursday!

 

So, a great plan is laid out. Pencils are sharpened and curriculum is upstairs just waiting for us to dig in! I will continue to pray that all of our hearts will be just as prepared to walk this plan out by the grace of God.

I’ve recommended Keeping Place by Jen Pollock Michel before, and I can’t tell you how good of a book it is.  Just read it! But the other morning I awoke to plenty to do– much like everyone else in the world. My sheets needed washing, my clothes stacked on the ironing board needed to be put away, my dishwasher needed to be unloaded, and trash needed to be taken out.

And get this--all of that needed to happen BEFORE my sweet housekeeper arrived. Mack is always sure to let me know that he does not understand why in the world we have so much cleaning to do before the cleaning lady gets here.

“Straightening, Mack. We’re straightening, so she can clean.”

That explanation falls flat.

But it is true! Even if you have a cleaning service twice a month, there’s still plenty of housekeeping going on.

And I was feeling it this morning, so this quote by Jen Pollock Michel greatly encouraged me in my housekeeping. She takes us to a sad day in the life of those who loved Jesus so much.

While housekeeping is anything but fun and glamorous, it can be a “means for seeing Jesus.” I need The Lord to give me eyes to see Him in the daily, often repetitive, tasks I have been assigned. I need The Lord to give me His joy and strength and wisdom as I love my family and others through menial tasks that no one will know I ever did. Keeping house is a big deal. It takes time and great effort to keep things running smoothly in a home! And if I discount all of housekeeping as just tasks I need to check off, then I may miss Jesus in the middle of it all.

Here’s another quote from Keeping Place:

“Housekeeping points toward the thin places of daily life: where work, however monotonous and menial, becomes worship, witnessing to God’s kingdom coming and His will being done, on earth as it is in heaven.  In this sense, the effort to pour cereal and rinse one’ s bowl (even the bowl of one’s neighbor) can be a spiritual practice, preparing us for greater exertion, more heroic love……Doing the dishes is private practice with very public effects.”

House keeping actually encourages heart keeping if we let it.

Now, let me go switch that laundry and start dinner and check the mail and…..check my heart.  Happy HouseKeeping!

Sometimes the most familiar verses can fall fresh on our hearts and minds.

I love it when that happens and it has happened twice over the past couple of weeks.

The first one is Psalm 119:105, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” This whole section of Psalm 119 is amazing and ministered to me this morning.  But zeroing in on the first verse just reminded me of the peace that can be mine when I take one step in the light of God’s guidance. He doesn’t show me a 5-year-plan.  He doesn’t even give me assurance of my next breath, but He promises to always guide us—- through His Spirit and His Word.  What a comfort.

I was reminded that when I first walked in to counseling I had so much anxiety, so many questions and not many answers.  She reminded me that the larger the circle of looking out into the future, the stronger anxiety grows in my heart. I have to bring that lens back into the present and stay dependent on The Lord.  It’s then I sense my anxieties dying because I am not trying to figure out (read: CONTROL) my future.

Trust grows in the tiny steps of putting one foot in front of the other.

Sometimes it seems I am taking leaps and have such clarity that I am joyfully jumping into my next steps.

Other times, I am not sure of anything.  However, that doesn’t change the truth that God is always with me. Shuffling my feet into the next bit of light is ok sometimes. God’s Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.  I can trust Him. His eye is always on me. He does all things well. He is good. Perfect even.

So leap and jump if that is where He has you! Step confidently if that happens to be where you are. And shuffle if that is all you have to offer.  Just don’t stop believing His Word. It’s a lamp for your feet and a light on your path.

(This little post got longer than intended so I will share my other “familiar falls fresh” verse next time.)

The church is having VBS this week for the elementary kids and the youth are having “Uptown Showdown.” There are teams and games and fun and sweat! Lots of sweat!  It’s kind of neat being in the city for church!

My kids are enjoying every minute of their time with friends and are learning more about Jesus, too. I am so thankful for the leaders that give of their time and energy…in particular, the youth leaders. These kids are competing in games each night AND being taught from God’s Word.  The energy needed to motivate and keep these youth engaged and having a blast is far beyond my capacity.  I am so thankful that there are leaders that love this age group and are pouring themselves out for my kids.

I was reading in 2 Corinthians this morning and came to chapter 12, verse 15.  Paul loved the Corinthian church despite the challenges they brought into his life. Here is the verse that struck a chord in my heart….

” I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls….”

Personally, I prayed that the Lord would help me to spend my money and my time for others….specifically my three kids as we are together day in and day out.  It is easy to buy them what they need or want.  It is harder to give them undivided attention to listen to their ramblings about whatever they want to talk about.  Harder to give of myself for someone else’s soul, but that is what Jesus did for me.

Then, I prayed for the youth leaders and interns and VBS teachers that are gladly expending their time and energy for all those kids.  It is a blessing to my family!

The Lord graciously allowed me to meet a counselor while we were visiting the first church we tried here in our new city.  She has been such a help to me in so many ways, and I don’t want to forget what she has taught me.

Two main coping skills rise to the top when I think of the most helpful things I have learned and practiced—1) floating cloud that I let pass right on by and 2) a purple house.

Let me explain.

First of all, I am an intuitive feeler.  I am extremely aware of my feelings, and I am very sensitive to my surroundings.  I pick up on what might be coming before others do.  Josh might feel the wind from a hurricane, but I feel the wind from a butterfly flapping its wings. The positive of this is that I can sense when something is up with someone in our family or I might have a check in my spirit about someone that Josh doesn’t, and in the past I have proven to be a pretty good read on people. Thankfully, Josh values my input and doesn’t just think I am crazy when I tell him my thoughts. As far as my feelings go, I can really share and share and share some more and sometimes sharing feelings is great and sometimes sharing feelings gets me nowhere except more sad or more distraught.

Enter the cloud.

My counselor said that when I have these feelings of sadness or loneliness or whatever the feeling might be, I could picture it like a cloud floating by.  I notice it.  I observe it and can even say to myself, “I know you are there, cloud of sadness. I see you, but I am not going to do anything with you…you can just float right on by.”  And I can visualize the cloud floating by.  I might pray, turn on praise music, or go do laundry or read a book.  What I don’t do is rehearse that sadness, make a list of why I am sad, plan my conversation with Josh about what I should do about my sadness, etc. You get the point.  And it may sound silly to you. That’s ok.  It totally has worked for me many times.  I’ve realized that after a few times of doing that with my floating cloud of sadness (or whatever else I may be feeling), it doesn’t grow into this big conversation with no solution or answer.  It stays between God and me, and I build up some resiliency. Not everything that goes on in my mind must be shared verbally.  I know, crazy, right???!??

On another visit, she told me that she could sense I had done some growing and maturing over our time together.  She called it radical acceptance.  There were some things in my life that I could not change…and I had gotten to the point that I had surrendered more than ever to the fact that God has a much better plan for me than I could ever dream up on my own.  Praying looked more like sitting before the Lord than asking for anything in particular.  Just sitting in His presence, trusting Him more and more.  Instead of wringing my hands before Him, they were open and laying in my lap. Nothing to do. Nothing to ask for. She gave an illustration about a purple house.

Suppose you find a house that is perfect for you and your family.  Exactly what you would want in all ways….except for the fact that it is purple.  You tell your real estate agent that you will buy this house as long as it is painted a different color for you.  You go to the closing, you sign the contract and get the keys to your new house.  You drive over with excitement in your heart, only to find that the house is still purple (forget the whole contract should have said it would be painted business….Josh couldn’t quite get past this part…but just go with me). Sooooo, you have choices.  You can go crazy-mad and call your agent and bless her out for not taking care of this.  You can cry and sulk and whine as you look at the purple house you just bought.  You can sue the previous owners.

Or you can get the house painted.

Radical acceptance. It helps us move forward.  We have to be mature enough to reign in our emotions (let the clouds float on by) and deal with reality.

So there you have it, two coping skills that have been a help to me.  Maybe they’ll be a help to you as well!

I have been planning for the new school year.  There is no set time that I start planning; I just write down ideas all year long… curriculum I would like to check out, books I want my kids to read, as well as what hasn’t worked well for our family so that I won’t try it again.

The most recent planning session included a list of ideas that would be great to implement to let me know, as the mom/teacher, that we are indeed making progress and learning!  Here are some things on that list:

1 -Keep a binder for all math tests and grades. That is pretty straight forward and boring, but the tests and numbers don’t lie when it comes to math.

2 -Make a paper chain of all the books read throughout the year.  Each child could have their own color assigned to the chain.  Ruby books- purple, Molly books- green, Mack books- blue and family read aloud books- yellow.  I think it would be encouraging to watch it grow and keep us challenged.

3 -Possibly have each child start their own private blog on wordpress where they can make entries of written narrations from books they are reading, explain a newly mastered math concept in words, and include “golden quotes” from their books, etc.  Lots of possibilities with this idea! Videos can even be posted from piano recitals, choir performances or when Molly plays guitar with the youth group. Field trip and vacation pictures and favorite assignments could also be posted.

4 -History Timeline kept up by the kids

5-Geography maps posted in the school room and completed!

6 -Woodcock-Johnson end-of-the-year test results, of course.

So planning while keeping these things in mind is very helpful for me. I enjoyed receiving our chat books in the mail and seeing all the documentation of our schooling.  There are so many things we do and learn, and yet at times I feel like we aren’t doing much at all, but having tangible things to look at and read help encourage me along the way. And I think it helps the kids, too.

The one area I am a bit stumped on is Ruby’s 8th grade science. Apologia is the science curriculum we have been using as a family, and I want to let Ruby take an online course for General Science with an Apologia teacher…but it is about $400.  Maybe that is totally worth it…I am just not quite ready to jump all-in on that one yet.  I welcome any input from friends who may be reading this. I think I have the rest figured out and hope to share more about our curriculum soon!

I don’t just sort of recommend this book.  I strongly recommend this book–like in a click on over to amazon.com and get this book to your door asap kind of way.

I know I am not the only one who has a love/hate relationship with their phone! It holds our calendars, our workouts, our GPS, our precious photographs, our close friends’ numbers, our libraries, and endless access to “news” feeds that keep us entertained and distracted.

12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You was an amazing read, full of challenging thoughts and questions.  This isn’t a book that makes you feel like a loser for wasting so much of your life on your phone, but rather asks bigger questions about God and how glorifying Him is so much greater, and reminding us that HE is so much more worthy of our time and attention. But that we won’t be disciplined and godly by accident or chance. It will take work.  Intentionality.  Throwing off those things that so easily encumber.

We had a discussion about this at the dinner table last night.  Josh asked a question to the kids that he has asked me often….”What is good about social media, The Facebook and The Instagram?”  (my kids know how to get on my Instagram and can with my permission)

We get to see what everyone else is doing.

We see funny memes.

We stay “in the know” with our Georgia friends.

I added that I run across interesting articles, read news, and get inspired by what other homeschool families are doing.  And in that same vein, I run across stupid articles, am overwhelmed with the horrible news of the day, and get overwhelmed at all the neat stuff every other homeschool family is doing and all that we are not doing.

So, basically, for our family, we are a nosey bunch and like to see what others are doing. Nothing really GOOD comes from it, per se. Or at least the overwhelming majority of the reasons we are on social media aren’t ones that are amazingly godly and useful. It’s like Tony Reinke says in the book.  We have FOMO.  Fear of missing out.  “FOMO was Satan’s first tactic to sabotage our relationship with God, and it worked. And it still does.” Rienke writes (page 158).

That quote took me back to my quiet time this morning from 2 Corinthians 11:3, “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”  This was Paul writing to the church at Corinth many, many years before the iPhone arrived on the scene.  So the phone isn’t evil, of course, but as humans, we have evil tendencies. The Corinthian church was being distracted by false teachers. I get distracted by social media. It isn’t so much what we get distracted BY, but what we are being led astray FROM that is so sad.  “…the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”

As I read, I was convicted and inspired to live for more. I have posted at times in order to not be forgotten by my “friends” on social media. We moved away from our city of 15 years of living, so will people still think of us? remember our family? Maybe I will just post and post and post some more to make sure they don’t. So silly, really.  I think our move here to Charlotte has social media leaving me more lonely than ever.  I see pictures of what old friends in GA are doing, but I no longer see them regularly.  I’m no longer an active part of their routines.  Then, here in Charlotte, I haven’t really found community yet.  I’ve met lovely people, and I am sure that community is being built in ways I can’t see even now through our interactions.  However, the Lord has allowed me to see and feel the loneliness and its connection to this cyber world. I am thankful for the loneliness.  It’s drawn me closer to my ever-present Friend, Jesus.  He never leaves me. What a comfort. He is the only one worthy of my unhindered devotion. So what does that look like for me? This 40 year old woman, married for over 16 years, raising and home schooling a 13, 11 and 10 year old in this new place and season of life?

What I don’t want to do is stare into the glowing rectangle in hopes of not missing out and in hopes of keeping everyone “in the know” with my family happenings. Obviously, I would miss out on so much going on in my own home with those I love the most. Being obsessed with maintaining a social media presence would dim my ability to see and enjoy God’s creation. Reinke says, “We inevitably grow blind to creation’s wonders when our attention is fixed on our attempt to craft the next scene in our ‘incessant autobiography.’ ” YIKES.

By the end of the book, Tony Reinke knew many people would be wondering what it looks like to live lives of devotion to Jesus amid so many distractions at our fingertips. What exactly do I do with all of this information?  What should I do with my phone?

He doesn’t tell you what to do, but I promise you that this book inspires you to think long and hard about your phone usage. Here’s one of my favorite quotes from the book:

“So what sort of freaks of self-control must we become to resist the well-engineered marshmallow of distraction? Freaks who believe in 2 Corinthians 4:18, who ‘look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.’ “

What his wife said as she reached 9 months of “social media sobriety” rang in my heart with great conviction– “Compulsive social-media habits are a bad trade: your present moment in exchange for an endless series of someone else’s past moments.”

So I would like to end my review of this book with an apology.  I am sorry for the shallow, self-exalting posts I have posted before on Instagram or Facebook.  For every time I have posted out of self-pity or low self-esteem, I am sorry.  I don’t want to waste any more of your time.  I want The Lord to refine any of my future use on my phone or any screen, for His great glory.  That’s what is so amazing about Him.  He can redeem broken lives, wasted time and resources, missed opportunities, or anything else you humbly bring to Him.  THANKS BE TO GOD FOR HIS INDESCRIBABLE GIFT!

Now go order this book. 🙂