Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool

I was thinking how no one was going to notice all the little things I did to get ready for Christmas morning. No one is going to recognize my thoughtfulness in wrapping the silly little things in their stockings so they have things to unwrap while they wait for grandparents to arrive and settle in on Christmas morning. They won’t appreciate the organization and lists to make sure everyone has the same number of gifts so no one feels left out as we go round and open the gifts on Christmas morning. No one is going to say thanks for making sure Christmas Eve dinner is all planned so we can get to the Christmas Eve service. No one is going to stop and realize that everyone got their own favorite treats in their stocking, just that they are happy to get what was in their own. I doubt anyone will thank me for organizing the gifts so everyone can find theirs or that I planned the order of gifts for optimal happiness. 😊 They will just be happy. And that was the point, to make them happy, not to get the thank you.

I may not be wiping down the counters or the mirrors for the millionth time for their happiness, but just because it needs to be done, and I can do it. It makes me happy to keep the home in order and moving along, even if no one notices the multitude of little things that us moms (and dads) constantly do to keep life happy for our families. No one says thank you when groceries need to be put away. No one says thanks for getting the bills paid. Our kids live in a bit of ignorance when it comes to the many blessings they receive from having you as their mother or father or grandparent to take care of them.

I know it’s easy to sigh and wonder why they can’t keep their fingers off the mirrors, but it’s also a joy to do it with a heart of gratitude. There’s a verse in Proverbs that goes something like this: The stable is clean where there are no oxen. I’m thankful my home is full, even if that means there is always something to be wiped from the counters.

And it’s a glimpse at the Father’s heart. He sends the rain on the righteous and the unrighteous, meeting their basic needs. The sun rises to give us all light and heat each day. It sets to give us rest. Jesus healed even the ungrateful ones. It pleases the Father to care for His children. It pleases the Father to care for His creation, even when they don’t recognize it. And I wonder how many “little things” I miss that my good Father is doing for me.

You know how good it feels when someone does notice and stops to say thanks. We should give that gift to our good Father. And when the bad stuff happens, when the problems pile up, instead of complaining as if God is laying down on the job, it should remind us of all the things we’ve neglected being thankful for, and we should rejoice. It should wake us up to thanksgiving and praise. Problems are temporary, but the love of our Father is for all eternity.

Easy Peasy is the curriculum I nearly talked myself out of using many times. I’m so glad I didn’t listen.

Poetry? Surely my active, ADHD, hyperlexic son would hate poetry. But we stuck with it and Mr. David’s videos became one of my son’s favorite EP memories. He even recognized several poems in other contexts. I’m so glad we stuck with it.

Such hard reading assignments! No way will he enjoy archaic language and long chapters – in first and second grade? But we stuck with it. And his vocabulary blossomed. And his comprehension grew. And he liked it.

But having him restate what happened in the chapter? No way. And I wish we had stuck with it. By fifth grade I learned that one of the best ways to help a hyperlexic learner (or any learner for that matter) with comprehension is to have them restate what happened often in a reading passage. It increases speaking skills, articulation, summarization, comprehension, visualization, and application skills.

Heidi? No way will my son enjoy a book about a sweet little girl. But I stuck with it and he loved it. In fact he shivered with excitement at some parts, laughed out loud at others, and tears welled up when the grandfather reconciled with God.

Swiss Family Robinson? No way! It’s boring and scientific and wordy. But I stuck with it. And he liked it. He still has his diorama he made of the island.

And I can’t count the times I thought this about a science lesson or a history lesson. “He’s not going to like this…” and he loves it.

But the biggest surprise of all was Penrod. Reading about an irreverent, irrepressible, impulsive, indolent, and irascible boy was one thing I don’t think my own incorrigible imp of a son needs to do. It’s bad enough reading “Calvin and Hobbes!” But he laughed and laughed through the chapters. So did I! And right when I thought there was no hope for Penrod, we meet his great-aunt. Her wisdom in raising wild boys gave me such hope and encouragement. I’m so very, very glad we didn’t listen to myself talk us out of this experience.

-By EP user Beth Swan

Thank you to everyone who has given donations to my family. I realized that I hadn’t been sending thank you notes. I always write a thank you note to anyone who donates to the site, but because the donations to my family were mixed up with the registrations to My EP, those didn’t get notes. I’ve gotten the system straightened out so that everyone gets a thank you note now. So, sorry if you weren’t personally thanked, but we do receive all your gifts and we are grateful for your love and support. We don’t have any paid work. Your donations are what the Lord is using to provide for our family.

I also wanted to say that there are three new books coming soon. I will hopefully have the links up by next week.

1. I have the next Good Morning, Lord! book ready. It’s the lessons from the book of Exodus. Genesis is already available.
2. I wrote a very short choose-your-own adventure type book. Let’s say it’s for around ages 8 – 11. You are on a mission trip to build a greenhouse in a Roma community in the Republic of North Macedonia. My husband and I were church planters there years back. In the book are some of our color photos from our time there. It’s called “Acknowledge Him in All Your Ways.” You’ll find the right path if you chose to trust God is in control and use His Word to guide you. 🙂
3. The big news is that I have a new novel ready. I wrote in back in January of 2021 and have been working on editing it, on and off all year. It’s called The Trumpet and the Swan. I will tell you more about it at the release, but I will say that it is another end times story, but this one is set in modern day. It’s not trying to predict anything because that would defeat the purpose. The point of the book is that you don’t need to know everything, you just need to know Jesus. It’s teaching having a relationship with Jesus, walking with Him. Hopefully it’s just as engaging as The King Will Make a Way.

Once I get all the work done to get these published, I will work on getting them on the site somewhere as well. The Good Morning lessons can be found here. The Trumpet and the Swan will be available in hardcover. The King Will Make a Way is available in hardcover now!

Updated: The books are out. Find them here.

We hold three competitions throughout the year: science, history, writing. Homeschool students age 8 – 17 can participate alone or in groups. Winners get a certificate in the mail and an award check!

In the fall, we run the science fair (running now through November 15th). Students conduct experiments and produce a slide presentation showing their procedure, data, and conclusions.

EP Science Fair

 

In the winter, we run a history video competition. Students choose a topic, maybe a person or event, and teach others about what they learned through their research by making a video of them acting the part or by developing a documentary-style video. We’ve even had some Lego animated videos.

EP History Alive!

In the spring, we run our short story contest, the most popular.

EP Short Story Contest

Toad Hunting

Lilies on the Mississippi

My family has made up a bunch of t-shirts just for fun, for ourselves. My ten-year-old uploaded them to the print-on-demand site we use for EP and our family bought some for ourselves. We get attention for our Bible verse shirts, but my husband and I get SOOOO many comments about our “I love my husband” and “I love my wife” shirts.

Anyway, that inspired these new EP designs. I also made one with “The King Will Make a Way” and a quote from my new novel, “Fear God and nothing else. Love God and everybody else.”