His Masterpiece

Spring Flowers, Princess 2012

"Let God's big had close gently over yours. With His help, even the discouraging scribbles of your life can become a masterpiece. Nothing would delight a Father's heart more." ~ Joni Earackson Tada   

The verse with this is: "I know that you can do all things; no plan of Yours can be thwarted." Job 42:2

Sometimes it's really overwhelming to homeschool.  Sometimes it's extremely overwhelming to homeschool kids who don't learn the same way we've learned...who might be more right brained than we are or who look at life completely differently than we do.  My Princess is like this.  She said to me last night when struggling over an easy reader that she picked out, "books hate me."  Now, my left-brained mommy voice kicked in and I told her that books are inanimate objects and cannot have feelings, but she was convinced last night that reading is evil and it's not for her.  I've had this battle with her for a long time.  Some days she loves to pick up a book and try to sound out the words, and other days it's a battle just to look at one.   Can I blame her?  She's 13 and reads at an early 2nd grade level.  Her dyslexia is a daily battle.  Her self-esteem is a daily battle.  She writes and draws like a kindergartener.  She can't put together a sentence on paper without an incredible amount of help and frustration.  It's in these moments that I have to remember that God created her and is helping her.  It might not be on her timetable (or mine), but He knows what He's doing and what she's capable of.  So I have to allow the scribblings of her life to become her masterpiece.  One day at a time.  We might not get everything accomplished in this next year that I want to accomplish, but slow and steady wins the race.  We are HIS masterpiece, so I must trust the Master to perfect that which He began. 

Why Mosaic?

My name is Cindy and I’m a curriculum junkie!  Yup, it’s true.  In my homeschooling journey, which began in 2000, I have purchased many different types of curriculum for my four children (ages 19, 17, 15 and 13) in our quest to learn at home.  You see, what I didn’t realize when we began formal school instruction at home was that each child has their own learning style and what works for one child may not work for another.  In trying to make my round pegs fit into square holes, I discovered that what I had purchased wasn’t working and that my children didn’t enjoy their homeschooling as much as I did.  After several thousands of dollars (gasp!) spent and countless tears, I finally broke away from the cookie cutter mentality that I had developed and realized that what Mom likes may not work for what my dear blessings needed.

A little about us… My oldest daughter (I’ll call her “EC”, age 19) graduated from our home high school in June of 2011.  She is now entering her 2nd year of college (as of this writing) and is doing excellently in a lecture hall setting.  My son (he likes his nickname, Luigi, age 17) was my first clue that what EC loved in school wasn’t necessarily what he would enjoy.  Luigi has OCD/Anxiety disorder and has dyslexia and dyscalcula.  He was misdiagnosed by a well-meaning preschool teacher as having ADHD but he wasn’t formally tested until 2009.  He’s a very visual learner who thrives when he can draw and be creative too.  My next son (who likes his nickname, Mario, age 15) has been riding his older brother’s bandwagon since they’re both close in age.  Although he’s two years younger they do a lot of the same work and share a lot of activities.  While Luigi excels at video games and computing, Mario is the one with a knack for statistics and justice.  He’s harder to teach at home because he often thinks he knows it all already (yeah, me!).  Finally, my youngest is Princess.  She’s 13 and has a public school skill level of around 2nd grade due to severe dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalcula, visual and auditory processing disorders.  She has been my biggest challenge and my biggest source of frustration when it comes to the homeschooling experience and community.   She has a wonderful imagination and is very sensitive to others, but she also battles with insecurity and has to fight daily to keep up with her peers in the neighborhood.  However, I know that she was a gift to us and I look forward to seeing her blossom into everything she was created to be.

Why Mosaic?  When you look at a mosaic piece from a distance you simply see a beautiful picture.  However, as you step closer to the art  you come to realize that the artist used many different sizes, shapes and colors of tiles or glass to create his finished masterpiece.  Homeschooling is much like a mosaic at times.  From a distance it seems like it’s as simple as doing “school at home” or that everyone has the same end results in mind.  However, when you step closer in you can see that each child is unique, even "flawed", and has his or her own set of needs, learning styles and calling in life.  This blog was created with the hopes that maybe, just maybe, some other mom or family can avoid some of the pitfalls that I’ve been trapped in while educating my children.  Thanks for stopping by and for taking the time to look around.  Please feel free to message me or leave a comment and please check back often or join my RSS feed or email list.