The Simple Life at Home

Today's "Heart of the Matter" topic is Tried and True Recipes. Gosh, I feel like I've posted so many recipes here already that I don't know if I should just go back to one of those or if I should figure out something new to share.

Well, since I have church today (yep, church on Friday here in Qatar!) and I'm teaching and I have no curriculum so I have to go in early to prepare, I'm going to go back to some I've already shared. Perhaps it will be new to you.

Roast Sticky Chicken

4 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. paprika, 1 tsp. cayenne pepper, 1 tsp. onion powder, 1 tsp. thyme, 1 tsp. white pepper, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, 1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 cup chopped onions

1 large roasting chicken

Rinse & dry chicken. Combine spices and mix well; rub onto chicken, both inside and out. Place chicken in a large, resealable bag and chill overnight. Place in shallow pan and roast uncovered at 250 degrees for 5 hours. After the first hour, baste every half hour with the pan juices.

(Notes: Though the results will be best if the chicken is allowed to rest overnight with the spices, you can get away with doing it just prior to cooking. Also, be forewarned, the spices will turn into a nice, dark crust on the chicken, prompting any guests to tell you you've burned your chicken, but they are in for a surprise - the skin is delicious and the meat is juicy and tender.)

I hope you enjoy it! Be sure to check out other tried and true recipes at The Heart of the Matter!

Today's Heart of the Matter topic is what makes Hubby a good husband and father. Easy!!

First, let me introduce you. Since I am forbidden from posting a picture of him online (let's just say he has privacy issues), I am posting a picture of someone else whom Hubby has described as not as good looking as himself.

Yes, ladies, that's right. The year Hubby turned 40, George Clooney also turned 40. Hubby came home after making a grocery run for me one night (during which he caught sight of this magazine cover) and said to me, "Do I look as bad as George Clooney?"

(Insert pause here for time for me to think.) "No, honey. You are MUCH better looking than George Clooney."

So, you ladies will just have to use your imagination and know that my husband is oh-so-much better looking than George Clooney.

But besides his devastatingly handsome face, he has qualities which are much, much more important. Let me tell you about him.

Hubby is such a hard worker. He works hard day in and day out to provide for us. And, as is true with many homeschooling families, that's even harder when you've made the choice for one parent to stay home in order to homeschool. Let's face it - this is not a one-income world anymore. While we were still in the States, he often didn't return home until 8 pm. Now that we've moved to Qatar, he's home earlier, but only because he's at his desk hard at work at 6:30 a.m.

Even when he's home, he is working hard. This is a man who barely knows the meaning of the word rest. He often steps in and helps out with the dishes or the mopping when he sees that I'm behind.

He chooses family above all else. There are men out there who opt to spend their free time on the golf course or hanging out with friends. Hubby always chooses to be home with the kids and I. Now, I'm not saying that he shouldn't have time to enjoy himself - actually, I wish he would take a little time off now and then. But his primary desire is to be with us. That feels really nice.

He leads our family spiritually. By reading the Bible to us and discussing it with us, by encouraging us to always choose what would please God, by leading us in prayer. I know that he is constantly thinking of how to make our family more like Christ.

He is loyal. I know that I can trust that he will never say anything about me, nor do anything to me, that would intentionally hurt me. I never have to worry about what he's saying about me behind my back, even as a joke.

He wants the best for us. This sums it all up. He takes care of us and wants us to be our best.

Thank you, Hubby! You are the best and we love you. Happy Father's Day!

Ah, scheduling.

The bane of the homeschool mother's existence.

I have heard from so many women how difficult it is to get a workable schedule. There are just so many things to do - both academically, extra-curricularly (is that a word?), and in just living life.

The schedule I'm describing below is the one that we roughly followed while living in the States. I'm still working on figuring out a schedule here.

First off, we homeschool through the summer. I know for some of you that seems like I'm torturing my kids, but remember that we lived in Miami - hot city. So we would take our long vacation from Thanksgiving to New Year's. We found that there is so much fun stuff to do during that time that we wanted to be able to really enjoy the season. Plus it was too hot to do much in the summer, so that time was well-used to continue our schoolwork. Lesson: Don't be tied to the traditional school schedule. You have the freedom to arrange things how it works for you.

Secondly, we only did school four days a week. This allowed us one extra day a week to do errands, attend a homeschool support group, and get what needed done done. We still finished our weekly assignments, we just did a little more every day to get that extra day off. Lesson: Having that extra school-free day scheduled in gave us freedom to not worry that everything else was intruding on our school life. You know that stuff comes up. Just plan for it.

Thirdly, we don't use clocks and set class times for our schooling. Most families I know don't, but some people come into homeschooling thinking this is the way to go. We work on something until it's done and then move on. History might take 10 minutes, math an hour. We just go through our assignments for the day and when it's done, it's done. Lesson: Don't try to fill your lessons with unnecessary fluff, just to make it an hour for each course. It's a waste of your time and your child's interest.

We use a curriculum (Sonlight) which provides weekly lesson plans, but if yours doesn't provide this, you can simply sit down at the beginning of the week and plan out what needs to be done for the week. I've tried all different variations of this theme - doing all math one day and all science another, letting my kids work through the assignment list at their own pace, etc..

So here's a small peak at what our day looks like:

We begin school around 9 am. This follows breakfast and chores. We start off reading the Bible and praying together, then I do the readings for history. Then we will do a quiz on the previous day's history. Then they do their math. They are responsible for checking their own work and correcting it (through the help of their curriculum Teaching Textbooks). Then they alternate between their reading assignment and science, each taking a turn with the reading book. Usually one will finish before the other, so while they are waiting their turn for the next project they work on either grammar or vocabulary. Then we will have a time when I read aloud an assigned novel which goes with what we are studying in history. Right now they are working on research projects, so I give them time for that. Occasionally we will go through a few lessons of Rosetta Stone for our foreign language.

We usually finish up around 12:30, they have lunch. After lunch they go to their rooms and spend an hour alone. I think we all need this break from each other since we are together 24/7. Then they have the afternoon free to enjoy. They may read, do games, draw, play video games, go online, etc.

Next year, it looks like I'll be enrolling them in an online school. Hubby and I both feel that they need more structure and, while they won't be attending private school this year (hooray!!) they may next year. Putting them in a setting where they have more accountability and structure will be a good way to prepare them for a more traditional school setting, I think.

So that's a pretty basic outline of our schedule - from the big picture to the daily nitty-gritty. Be sure to visit The Heart of the Matter to get a look at how other people are doing it. There's millions of ways, trust me!

I would say that the concern over a child's socialization is the number two reason, behind lack of confidence in themselves as teachers, why people tell me they can't homeschool.

The sad thing is that this is such a prevalent misconception about homeschoolers. Most homeschool parents bend over backwards to make sure that their children are well-socialized. But the bigger question remains what is socialization exactly? And what part should it play in our child-rearing?

Wikipedia defines it as, "Socialization is the process by which humans or animals learn the values, norms and culture of their particular society. They learn to conform to the way of life in their society."

Basically socialization is the process by which our children learn to be healthy, productive, responsible members of society. Now, do I want my children to be socialized by other children their age - immature, cruel children often. Or do I want my children to learn how to be a happy and healthy adult from other happy and healthy adults? I would much rather be the overseer of who is teaching my children the "values, norms and culture" by which they will live their lives, than turn that task over to any random child who happens to be assigned to their class.

All this is not to say that I think we should keep children away from other kids or even away from those who have different opinions than ourselves. But we need to be able to be there to offer guidance and feedback. We need to protect and shelter our children from those who would, unthinkingly, hurt our children's tender spirits and faith.

Now that I have that off my chest, I'll step down off my soapbox and share ways that we have provided opportunities for our children to interact with other kids their ages. Having just moved to Doha, Qatar we are right now in a bit of a lull as we are still trying to get settled in, but I'm sure that we'll be getting in the swing of things soon.

* Church - this has always been the basis of our social lives, even before we had children. Sunday school classes, youth groups, retreats, social activities - these are all opportunities for our children to spend time with mostly like-valued children.

* Homeschool Groups - We have belonged to numerous homeschool groups over the past 9 years of homeschooling. Some have been warm and welcoming, others have been difficult to break into because of cliques. It can be hard, but with persistence you can find a group that is right for your which will bless both you as a parent and your children.

* Sports - Neither of my children has a competitive bone in their body. We are not into team sports, though we have given it a try with soccer and basketball. However we eventually settled on karate. Though they were in a large group of kids who they made friends with, karate served to give them physical activity, but in a way in which they were really competing against themselves.

* Enrichment Classes - Throughout their homeschooling lives, my children have always participated in some type of enrichment classes. Whether it was through a co-op put together casually by a few moms, a huge homeschool program, or courses offered by local parks, they have found both education and friendship here.

* Neighbors - I know that for some people, neighborhood children can pose a problem. But I see them as an opportunity. Be the kind of mom who opens up her home, where all the kids want to hang out. You'll not only be there to guide the conversation and activity, you'll also get to see your child and be able to be a blessing to those children in the neighborhood who don't have a strong relationship with their own parents.

Those are the main areas where we have found social opportunities for our children. They are both happy, well-adjusted children who are comfortable both with children their own age as well as adults. Think about it - when was the last time you were confined to being friends solely with people your own age and socio-economic background? I would wager it was in school. Homeschooling opens up the world to your kids, allowing them to take part in all the normal activities that they will participate in as adults. It also provides them with the opportunity to observe YOU as you go about your life ~ all the little things you do in your effort to honor God as you go through your day.

That's real socialization.