Well, last year Anna and Bryan started in different schools.  Bryan is starting his semester in a private school in Puerto Rico.  Anna was going to begin her 8th grade in a charter school here in Texas.

Well, the story changed with Anna.  When she was going to start in the Charter School, she had to take a STAAR placement test to see if she could pass to the 8th grade after being homeschooled for 4 years.  Well, it was without no surprise that her scores in the test were very high and she was immediately admitted to the 8th grade.  Homeschooling works!

But in November 2015, when I lost my teaching job at the charter school, I withdrew Anna from there.  And we started homeschooling again.  This experience helped Anna appreciate more her homeschooling.  We started with the Alpha & Omega lifepacs again this past Monday and she has been working diligently.

So, Joyful Christian Homeschool is still in business.  And, God willing,  it will continue to do so for a long time.  So cheers for our new semester!

May this be our prayer every day of this new year.  We wish all of our readers lots of blessings, health, love for teaching and learning.  From our family to yours: Happy New Year 2016!

Photo courtesy of Facebook’s Christian Today:

https://www.facebook.com/ChristianTodayInternational/?fref=ts

From our Homeschool to yours:

Have a Merry Christmas!  God Bless You

 Anna, Midna & Lauriann

Now that I started teaching again in a traditional school, I got melancholic about homeschooling.  There are so many kids with different needs.  Some kids learn fast; but there are others that take their time in the learning process.  They need individual work.  Here in Texas there is a time frame called the YAGS.  It tells how much time the lessons have to be taught.  We have to follow those standards.  But working with the YAGS time frame doesn’t work for some kids.

But I understand that many parents don’t think that they are capable of teaching their kids.  In many states, many Hispanic parents didn’t have the chance to study in their homelands.  The reality is that going to school is not obligated in many Latin American countries.  That’s why there are so many illiterate immigrants in the United States.  They come to the U.S.A. to seek opportunities for growth and education.

That’s one of the reasons why traditional school will still be an option specially for the Hispanic immigrants.  It’s not their fault; it’s their countries government’s fault.  If a government keeps the people ignorant; it’s easier to control the masses.

It’s sad but it’s true.  We can’t blame the immigrants for taking risks on trying to cross the borders seeking better lives for themselves.  I know I wouldn’t be so brave.  I’m just lucky that I was born an american citizen.  But I have known personally many immigrants that fight hard to get at least a decent education.  My fourth graders are part of them; even if some of them still don’t realize it.  Hopefully, they will soon thank their lucky starts to be where they are.

Even with these mishaps, I still believe in homeschooling the kids. We can’t treat all the kids the same way.  Each one of them is unique in their own way.  They learn different, perceive in different ways.  But I still got to use the YAGS, the TEKS and everything that the government wants.  Hopefully some of those kids will do well in the STAAR.  But life doesn’t work that way.

(Drawing by Anna Lorraine)

It’s a been a bittersweet semester.  These months have been a challenge.  Knowing that this is our last semester as a homeschool has made us feel sad.  One of the disadvantages of financial problems is having to take life changing decisions.  When we started homeschooling our children; it was because we planned to stay where we are and confront the situation how it was.  But when tough decisions have to be made like emigration to have a better life, then the situation changes drastically.

God willing, Anna and I will emigrate to the U.S.A. during this summer because the financial situation in Puerto Rico is intolerable.  We will prosper financially because a job as a teacher will be waiting for me in TX, God willing,  But the disadvantage will be that I won’t be able to continue homeschooling Anna and Brian.  They will be joining regular schools for next semester.  Brian will go to a private school starting in August; he is already enrolled.  And Anna will be joining another school in TX possibly Faith Family Academy or another one if we decide to change our decision at the last moment.  God knows what is going to happen.  We just let God take the last decision because many things have to happen first but He is in control.

The important thing is that we are still together; we are still family and God will keep us together in spirit even each of us are apart.  That’s one of the wonderful advantages of loving each other.  What we have taught our children will stay in their hearts forever.  The memories, the lessons, the laughs, the tears…even the bad experiences….all is a part of this amazing journey called life.

We teach our kids to love God above all and love their neighbor as they love themselves: that’s real education.  The goal is to teach our children to be grateful to God, useful to society and hopeful about their future.  God is still in control.

Do I still believe in homeschooling?  YES!!  It’s the best way of educating your kids.  If I could start homeschooling again, I would a thousand times more.  No regrets.  But sometimes life happens….AND I will keep being a part of my child’s education ALWAYS.

Obviously this will not be the last update of this blog.  I will be keep posting educational issues that may arise because: I’m still a teacher.  I’m still a parent and what may bother me could bother you too.  Thank you for keep reading and I sincerely apologize for the lack of updates.  Hopefully, that won’t happen again.  Let the journey continue and God Bless us all!

Our first week of homeschooling in this new year 2015 has been very blessed. The only sad part was putting away the Christmas decorations from the classroom. Kids really love Christmas; but what option did we have? Valentine’s Day!!

We put up the Valentine’s decorations already! Lots of red hearts surround us while we give lessons about: farms, yards, r-controlled vowels, finger puppets and paper tractors. Our Bible lesson this week was God’s promise of a Savior for humanity.
Brian has progressed in reading but he still struggles. Phonemic awareness has kicked in but all he needs is lots of practice. Never get discouraged if you have a struggling learner. Go step by step and you’ll see the progress. God Bless You!

From our homeschool to yours: we wish you a blessed new year 2015!  We’ve been enjoying a peaceful Christmas season.  While in the U.S.A. the Christmas celebration ends tomorrow; here in Puerto Rico the celebration continues until January 6 “Three King’s Day”.  Our kids love that traditional day; they get more gifts!

Our second semester will begin in January 12; to give the kids time to enjoy what’s left of the first week of January.  But we are very excited to see what our new semester brings.  Have a safe celebration tonight and remember that God has to be always first in our lives.  Happy New Year!!

We’re just one week away to celebrate our birthdays:  Anna and me.  This week we celebrated Grandma’s birthday.  That day we would’ve wanted to go to a field trip but it was a holiday and our car was in need of some repairs.  That doesn’t mean that we won’t have a field trip this semester.  The semester will be over on the second week of December, God willing and we still have to enjoy a trip before the year ends.

Meanwhile, Anna decided to start her Science Fair project which consists of her thematic solar system for this semester.  Photos of her project will be posted when it’s finished and ready for display.  We still haven’t decided what Brian will do for his project but I guess it’ll be a surprise.

November is a very special month; not only for the birthdays but because we give thanks to the Lord.  He has been good to us in the midst of all the trials.  Even if we had been without transportation, work has been slow, expenses have been overwhelming….God has provided us and He will continue to guide us through this journey called “life”.

We give thanks for one more year of life and we celebrate during this next week with joy in our hearts.  We never lose; we always gain: hope, experience, grace & love.

God Bless You!