Thank You, Freaks

Madagascar 2 - "Thank You Freaks"

It's been four days since the OCHEC convention (Oklahoma Christian Home Educator's Consociation), and I have been chomping at the bit to have a chance to go to our local used curriculum store, Bibliomania. It is closed on Sundays & Mondays, and we went to the funeral of a dear sweet friend on Tuesday. So today was the first chance I had to go there. Despite the fact that it was after 1:00, and my kids were sleep-deprived and already acting like monkeys, I went and looked for the three sets of curriculum I had chosen.

Now keep in mind this is a consignment shop for homeschooling curriculum. Imagine walls & shelves bursting at the seams with books and boxes and packages and kits and zip-loc bags--all of which have been used. So it's not exactly the QuikTrip of bookstores. I asked for the phonics kit, "Sing Spell Read & Write". Since I don't know what is supposed to be in the kit, I felt a bit uneasy as the wonderful and eccentric store owner, Sue, floats from place to place looking for the books that go in the kit, answers the phone, talks to herself, tells a few stories, and gets excited as she finds each missing piece.

Also keep in mind that there is not a restroom in this store. Not even a private employee restroom, because if there was, I know Sue would be so kind and let my children use it. Something happens to my children's bladders as we walk in the door of the place. Every single time we've been there, they have the urge to go within 5 minutes. This coming from the kid who NEVER needs to go when it is my idea. Since the phonics scavenger hunt took a little too long, someone had an accident and we had to go home. Good time for a nap, I thought. So we went home emptyhanded, cleaned up, laid down (but never slept) for 1.5 hours.

An hour before closing we return to find Sue on the phone and at least 5 phonics kits she has dug out that are now complete! I have my choice of quality and price. This is a consignment store, so anything over a year old is discounted according to its age. While she's on the phone, I locate my math curriculum, Math U See Primer. The great thing is, she keeps finding older copies of things and lowering the price while I'm standing there!

Lastly, I remember to ask about Konos. A friend of mine, Vicky Stone, from the UCO BSU was at the Konos booth at OCHEC. She walked me through the whole curriculum and all its parts. She told me how she uses it with her children, and which parts she likes. It is a huge set of curriculum, but will last for over two years. I hope I still like it by then! I am looking forward to this part probably the most. It is based on character qualities, and then uses unit studies for each character quality. For example, the first one is Attentiveness. In this unit, you study the parts of the body used in being attentive--the eyes & ears; and people in history who were attentive, Lewis & Clark. And for the Patience unit, you study the growth of plants, the rising of bread with yeast, and so on. Science, social studies, history, biology, etc., are all taught right along with Christian values.

We got in & out of the store in about 30 minutes with a box of books and several stories of the homeschooler's football team. (Sue's son is one of the best [insert a football player's position here] in the state, and they've beat Union JV several times.) Now for more about OCHEC!

The best part of OCHEC for me (there were a lot of great parts, but I really want to share this one), was the keynote speakers. These are godly men who are pioneers in the homeschooling movement. By "pioneers," I mean they home schooled their kids in the 80's when it wasn't cool, and had little resources, curriculum or support, and paved the way for the rest of us who like the idea, but probably wouldn't stake our family's income on it (a.k.a. "Freaks"! This really is a term of endearment--see previous post.)

(By the way, the majority of the people I saw at this convention were 30-somethings who dressed trend-ily, and just looked to me like they were Baptist. Hairpins & denim skirts not required!) Ha! Yes, that came out of nowhere!

One speaker was David Quine. He spoke on Becoming “By Faith” Families. More on him later. But the 1st speaker was Steve Demme, of Math U See. One thing I remember that he said was that Christian parents need to be real and teach their children how to deal with guilt. Teach them to memorize 1 John 1: 9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." God doesn't stay mad at us, the way I stay mad at my kids for making a mess or breaking something. He forgives us, forgets it, throws our sin into the sea of forgetfulness "and puts up a 'no fishing' sign."

Steve said that his wife confronted him once and said he had an anger problem. He eventually dealt with this and went to each of his sons to ask forgiveness. He asked them if he had ever scared them because of his anger. They recounted several situations, and they together worked through them. Despite the pain of these conversations, he asked for and received his sons' forgiveness. He said this was one of the darkest and most painful times of his life.

Many years later, two of his sons were with him, speaking at a conference. During a Q & A time, someone asked his son Ethan, "What was it about your parents' life and example that led you to trust in Christ?" His son answered, "When my dad apologized to me and asked for my forgiveness, I knew his faith was real." Steve recounted how if he had not gone through that most painful time in his life, it could have cost his son his faith & eternity. Being real with each other and our kids. According to Steve Demme, this is what homeschooling--and life--should be about.

Now I have all this curriculum and can't wait to dig into it. But I think if I read my Bible everyday, and teach it to my kids, together we will learn everything we need to know.