The Jobe Journal

It has, without a doubt, been an incredible first 9 weeks of school. We’ve been studying Tapestry of Grace Year 1 in our co-op, and I’m shocked with how much we’ve covered in just 9 weeks. We’ve studied ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and the history of the Hebrew people. The children have read about and studied the Jewish holidays, the tabernacle, passover and focused on creation, Moses, Abraham and Noah. They’ve read through the first three books of the Bible. I must say, studying these books within their historical context has been eye-opening. I wonder how many times I’ve read about the exodus of the Hebrew people out of Egypt. This time I felt as if I was there. I struggled with their rebellious nature. I identified with it. I thanked the Lord for their history and wrestled with it being mine. (more on this later)

The very week we  read about the passover and tabernacle, we were able to participate in a tabernacle exhibit/presentation as well as attend the ballet “Deliver Us” by our favorite dance company, Ballet Magnificat! – all in one day. Pictures speak louder than words about the awesomeness of these two events…

Pictured above is a small scale model of the tabernacle, the high priest, our group in front of the holy of holies, table of showbread, incense, and the Ten Commandments. God was very specific in his instructions for the tabernacle. In the past, I skimmed as I read all the many details of its construction and use, dimensions, purpose, etc. However, this setup informed the Israelites that they could only come to Him in the way he commanded.  I don’t think any of us will soon forget the smell of incense that burned as we listened to tabernacle presentation. As we sang and the smells surrounded me, I tried to picture the altar of sacrifice… and the blood and ceremony that would entail.

And then later that night, our group travelled an hour away to watch the story of Israelites’ freedom from oppression. While slaves in Egypt, they were given a powerful leader, Moses, who was chosen by God to lead them out of their captivity.

He spoke to Pharoah, but Pharoah refused to release God’s people… until the plaque of death took the life of his son.

The plaque of death passed over the homes of the Israelites. They were instructed to paint their doorposts with the blood of a sacrificed lamb… and that blood spared the lives of their sons.

After the powerful passover scene of the ballet, I expected to see the deliverance… the exodus… the march through the Red Sea. However, Ballet Magnificat! instead portrayed the crucifixion of our Lord. I fought the tears and held my breath as I watched.

And then a company member spoke. “You may wonder why we went from the passover to the crucifixion of Christ. God commanded blood for the forgiveness of sins. The Israelites were in bondage and they received deliverance from Egypt. The spirit of death passed over their households because of the blood of the sacrificed lamb. Jesus Christ is our passover lamb. He is our deliverer from the bondage we have to sin. The story of the Israelites is also our story. Christ is our deliverer.”

And as he spoke, I thought about the tabernacle. God was specific with the way in which He was to be worshipped then, and he is specific now. The Israelites could only come to Him in the way He prescribed, and we can only come to Him one way now – through Jesus Christ.

“We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. …By one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. …And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.” (Hebrews 10:10, 14, 18)

On the way home from the ballet, I listened to a van full of girls sing “Give me Jesus.” Many of them take choir together so they beautifully sang in harmony. I thanked God for the way He orchestrated our day. I prayed it meant half as much to the children as it did to me and a question interrupted my thoughts. “Mrs Jobe,” asked one of the girls. “Do you think God possibly put together this field trip just for us? I mean what would the chances really be of seeing a Tabernacle display and then a ballet on Exodus just as we’ve finished studying this?”

I answered truthfully, “Yes. I have no doubt God put this day together for us!”

And then the girls continued in their song:

Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus.
You can have all this world,
Just give me Jesus.

I listened and wept tears of thankfulness. Because I have Jesus, I can enter the holy of holies. The animal sacrifices of the Israelites were temporary. When new sins were committed, new animals were killed. Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, came as the ultimate and last sacrifice for humanity when He offered up His life.

Thank you, Jesus, for a powerful visual reminder of what you came to earth to do!

For the past several years we’ve attempted studying a Classical curriculum called Tapestry of Grace. Regretfully, this very rich and thorough material has been little more than a reading list for our family. Good intentions are there, but I simply don’t have time to engage my high schoolers in Socratic discussions in literature, history and philosophy and simultaneously teach my younger children to read, spell and perform basic math operations. Thus, we’ve read some Tapestry recommended books while many books, those that demand explanation and discussion, have collected dust on my overflowing bookshelves.

Last year I knew something had to change with our homeschooling. Four out of six of my children had moved beyond the early years where I felt comfortable “sticking with the basics” and “dropping the extras.” The problem was, they simply lacked the motivation to study the more difficult subjects. Don’t get me wrong. My children are excellent students, but tackling high-school-level courses was just plain hard for them. No longer did my bragging on them to dad and grandma provide extrinsic motivation and the intrinsic motivation for Algebra and Literature Analysis just wasn’t there.

In our small town, we do have a high school learning co-op that is excellent. However, I could not justify spending two days a week driving around town during school hours for two children. While my high schoolers would benefit for sure, the other four would be stuck in the van. Not good.

So, my husband I began praying. Should we put our three grade-school/jr. high – aged children at our local Classical private school so I could have more time for my older children? Should we investigate the many online high-school options? Could we possibly find ways to help our older children “own” their education and become intrinsically motivated, even with those harder courses? None of these options were bad ones, but the expense of private school or multiple online classes seemed prohibitive. My high schoolers love home schooling but they admitted that they struggled to memorize vocabulary and study history when their musical instruments, hobbies or even their little sister continually called their name.

Over several months, the Lord put together a new adventure for our family. Several friends of mine were experiencing the same homeschooling frustrations. Out of that, a new idea was born… a Tapestry of Grace co-op! Two of my friends had used the curriculum with more success than I, but they both agreed discussing the material in a group would be extremely beneficial. For me, having ALL my children engaged in age-appropriate classes was important. So, this year, once a week, all of our children head to our church for a 5-hour co-op. Esther loves her new preschool classes. Sarah is delighted to not only discuss history and literature, but to have art, science and Latin. My twins are dialectics (junior high) and they now have motivation to finish the history and literature selections as well as memorize their Geography. After all, they will discuss everything in class! Anna and Christina are writing essays and participating in excellent Socratic discussions. Knowing they must come prepared on Mondays is making a huge difference!

The other day, I found this on our coffee table in the den:

I consider pyramid sketchings during free time a good thing And there is more…

Last weekend,I requested the children watch an ancient history documentary during our family movie time. Yes, they groaned. But… after turning it off because it was getting late, Nathan requested to wake up early so he could finish it

Our geography teachers have been using wipe on/wipe off maps of ancient Africa. My non-geography (in the past) girls asked if it would be too expensive for me to purchase a set of these maps so they can practice at home. (I said yes, of course!)

Bethany met two friends at the library today so she could work on a bonus history assignment.

The only down side so far is that my natural self is a bit lazy. With all this accountability comes work at home. Yes, we are having to get up a little earlier so we can get this work done! However, this is exactly the change I felt was needed last year.

I am excited about this new learning adventure with some very special people. There is much, much to learn, and we’re off to a great start!

Other than a few ballet posts, I’ve been pretty quiet this summer. That is not because we’ve not been living life What a wonderful summer this has been! One of the most exciting “time consumers” of this season has been a new Tapestry of Grace co-op I’ve helped organize. Tapestry of Grace (ToG) is a Classical curriculum that I’ve used sporadically over the past few years. I love it! However, a good Classical curriculum must utilize Socratic discussion, and that is where I’ve failed. Our new co-op will change all that. I’m so excited. There are 13 families participating and I know it is going to be a fantastic year! All ages (preschool through high school) are included. The enrollment is closed for this year because the structure demands a planning weekend to organize. While the tuition is free, all participating parents must teach and assist the classes. Yet, it has all come together and I am so excited about our new academic learning adventure.

These pictures are primarily for those trying to get their notebooks organized for our co-op. I stayed up until 3 am last night putting 5 of these together (only because I was determined they’d be done before Daniel and I leave for a conference.) Some of the structure I adapted from Marcia Somerville’s training talks. Keep in mind this is not THE only way to do this, but if it helps – go for it!

So, I basically divided the SAP’s into the 9 weeks and printed all the geography and evaluations for the first unit. I put them behind the 1-9 tabs. In the past, I’ve found if don’t assemble all the papers the children need, I end up skipping them. It seems it should only take 5 minutes to make a copy… but those 5 minuts have been the end of our school day at times. The geography maps could go behind the #1-9 as well, but I separated them because I liked the way the sleeves looked in their own section. I did clearly label on each sleeve what week each map would be used. Also, the #1-9 is new for me this year. In the past, I’d file each sheet behind subjects. The problem I found was that my children misfiled them. I like the idea of all the sheets for each week being in one place.

I may put a zippered plastic sleeve in the front with pencils, erasers, a small ruler, dry erase marker, etc.

Hope this helps some of you ToG moms! Happy planning!

I’m just three days shy of one month with no blogging updates. I don’t have writer’s block. Everything is ok. I am just ending the month of madness – and I’m not talking about basketball.

Since Easter we have:

Visited family in Greensboro

Danced in a ballet recital

Celebrated Christina’s 14th birthday at Carowinds

Continued with church activities including youth, worship practice (Daniel), MOPS mentoring (me) and babysitting (girls) and hosting small group

Endured end-of-grade testing

Played in the end-of-year band concert

Celebrated Mother’s Day

Wrapped up co-op classes, including the two classes I taught

Secured a braces date for Nathan

Continued private music lessons and ballet

Delivered a few meals to friends recovering from illness

Continued with swim practice for Nathan

Cheered Anna on as she got her learner’s permit

Exercise myself with some consistency

Gone to Carowinds again!

Met with a planning team for some educational classes for next school year several times.

Cleaned out our attic (a huge undertaking for a busy month! But yeah! So glad it’s done before it’s too hot to work up there!)

Celebrated the graduates of our homeschool group

Rejoiced in the marriage of two dear friends

May events still to come:

A piano recital for Christina

A tonsillectomy for Nathan

A huge dance recital for Bethany and Anna

A birthday for Daniel’s

And then, finally, summer

For the past several years, May has been exceptionally busy. Every class has an end-of-the-year recital or party. We must test the children. Folks graduate. We celebrate. And I end the month a little tired but so thankful; thankful for the academic and spiritual growth of my children; thankful for our church family; thankful for teachers investing in my children’s lives; thankful for dear ones graduating; thankful for the blessings of homeschooling; thankful for God’s grace throughout another school year and thankful for the summer weeks ahead.

This is Jim Weiss and he a phenomenal story teller! He narrates our history CDs, The Story of the World. Several days a week, my younger children listen to the CDs and then we discuss the stories. For Bethany and Sarah, my auditory learners, these CDs are gold. They love listening to them and really retain most of what they hear.

After we arrived at the homeschool conference today, we had a few minutes to shop the exhibit hall before it was “officially” opened. I stopped by Greathall Productions because I saw these beautiful CD sets that my children enjoy so nicely displayed, and Mr. Weiss introduced himself. Immediately, Sarah said, “Hey, you sound really familiar!” I smiled. Jim smiled. I whispered to him, “Say Story of the World volume 3.” He did. Sarah then went a little bonkers. Let me just tell you, she could not have been more thrilled had she met anyone in Hollywood. “It’s really fun to meet the man that reads Story of the World! We listen to you all the time!!!! This is so amazing!” And she ran off to find Bethany. “Bethany, you’ll never believe who I met! Come, now!”

Bethany accompanied Sarah to Jim Weiss’s booth and said, “Go ahead, say it!”

“Story of the World, Volume 3,” replied Mr. Weiss and Bethany covered her mouth in pure amazement.

Mr. Weiss, I am sure was feeling pretty good about his fame in the Jobe house until Anna came along. “Say it again,” begged Sarah and Bethany in unison!

“Story of the World,” replied this very fun and patient man. Anna then replied, “That is cool! Ya know, your narrating voice is much less annoying than what is used in most homeschool curriculum. It’s nice to meet you.“

Mr. Weiss really laughed with Anna’s response. “Thanks, I think!” was his reply.

Jim Weiss is anything but “less-annoying!” Stories come alive with his narrations! His voice has been a part of our audio library for over a decade! I have a feeling every time we hear him begin a chapter of Story of the World, we’ll smile as we remember meeting him in person!

I don’t often post about our homeschooling curriculum or routines. Because schooling is such an ordinary part of our day, it seems a little boring or un-postworthy. However, since I’ve had some folks ask me to post more about homeschooling, I thought I’d write about one of my favorite subjects – writing! The following transpired today – an opportunity to teach my  youngest school-aged child, who happens to be my only reluctant writer, a little about paragraph construction.

This morning, after the mail arrived and before I could throw it in the recycling bin, Sarah enthusiastically grabbed the Spring American Girl catalog. “Oh, Mom, you MUST see the doll I want for my birthday!!!!” Now, Sarah’s birthday is 5 months away and there is no hope of her receiving such an expensive item before then, but I humored her and looked at this object of her longing. “Why do you want her?” I asked. Sarah then began reciting a list of qualities that made the doll, Elizabeth, exceptional… and I decided to make the most of her enthusiasm.

I asked Sarah to write a paragraph explaining why she wanted this doll. Normally, any writing assignment causes her to groan, but this time she willingly got right to it! (I think she thought perhaps she could convince me to get her doll a little early!) There was only one problem. Sarah really doesn’t know how to write a paragraph. She has done a fair amount of copy work but not much creative writing and so far no reports.

After about 5 minutes, Sarah handed me her paper and this is what it said:

I want Elizabeth because

1. She is so pritey.

2. I have wonted one forever.

3. Her hair is so, so, so pritey.

4. Her dress is pritey.

5. And last but not lest, her hat is pritey.

Yes, that was the “paragraph.” The misspelled words aren’t typos. That is exactly what she wrote.

In the past, the above would have caused me to panic. Other than correcting the spelling of “wonted,”  “pritey” and “lest,” I would be at a loss on how to go about editing. Thanks to two years of teaching concepts of IEW (The Institute for Excellence in Writing), I had fun with this! In about 15 minutes, Sarah had her first lesson on paragraph construction.

The first thing I did was asked her to brainstorm some synonyms for “pretty”. She easily came up with “lovely,” “beautiful” and “gorgeous.” Next I explained that she should not use “so” at all because it is boring. We talked about words to describe “pretty” and she thought of “exceptionally,” “very,” and “extremely.” I then asked Sarah if she could think of other words for “want” and she replied “desire” and “long for.” As Sarah said each word, I wrote them down.

After brainstorming better vocabulary, I asked her what she wished to communicate – the main idea. She easily answered, “I want Elizabeth!” I explained that needed to be her topic sentence and that the last sentence needed to repeat the main idea. “After all, if you don’t tell me again, I might forget and get you a pet frog,” I told her. After some giggles, we then wrote her list into a paragraph with her dictating and me writing. This is what she composed (with my suggestion to incorporate our vocabulary lists):

I hope to own Elizabeth, an American Girl doll, because she is lovely. All my life, I have longed for her. Not only is her hair beautiful , but her dress, which is adorned with flowers and ribbons, is gorgeous. I also like her hat. For my 9th birthday, I hope to receive Elizabeth.

I guided her with her verbs, explaining “receive” is better than “get,” and “adorned” better than “has.” We discussed in detail the importance of the topic and closing sentences and that key words in the topic must be reflected in the clincher – “own/receive” and “doll/Elizabeth.”

After I wrote the dictated paragraph, she copied it. Tomorrow, I will call out the paragraph, and she will write it from memory. (Great for spelling and punctuation.) Yes, hopefully after tomorrow she’ll know how to spell “pretty.” By the way, her mispelling it “pritey” was a great opportunity to review long vowel rules and how they don’t apply in this situation.

This lesson took about 15 minutes and taught many valuable beginning composition skills. We’ll practice this skill with many, many subjects over the coming months.

To review: Basically, brainstorm an outline for a paragraph. Write a topic sentence. Repeat the key words of the topic sentence in the closing sentence. Identify verbs. Make them stronger. Identify nouns and brainstorm adjectives. Can you think of an adverb? Later add clauses and vary sentence openers. (Sarah isn’t quite ready for that yet.) Write for the child a dictated paragraph. Have him copy it. The next day, dictate it to him as he writes. Review the topic/closing sentences. Review strong verbs, adjectives, adverbs or any other stylistic techniques learned.

I wish when my older children were young, I had IEW materials to guide me through the process of teaching writing. Starting with the simple concept of key word outlines (which basically is what Sarah made in her list), students are systematically taught structure and style. Every writing technique, once taught, is reviewed and required. Once you know the process of teaching through the various units, you can apply the concepts and take advantage of moments such as I had today.

A few years ago, I panicked as every curriculum seemed to instruct, “Have your child write a report…” and not only did my children have no idea how to go about doing so, I struggled to teach them. Now those same children are writing essays beautifully! Structure begins with good paragraphs. Children who can write  paragraphs well can write reports and essays, which are just collections of paragraphs. Students who can write essays, can then write research reports, which are simply essays strung together. Thus, good paragraph construction can not be over-emphasized. And, when children are beginning writers, they need not be left to themselves. Some of my children, at  very young ages, could write pages and pages of stories or letters. However, their writing, just because they filled space, really was no better than Sarah’s. All children need to be directed in being concise, choosing words carefully and following structure. I find, especially until about 6th grade, they do best if I set aside a few minutes and write with them. By junior high, they are able to be more independent.

I hope this might encourage some of you who may be stuck in stressed- out- about- teaching- writing land. I am just beginning with Sarah, but I have no doubt that with the systematic instruction of IEW materials, she will quickly be writing strong paragraphs.

Andrew Pudewa, founder of IEW, is my hero. I get to see him next week at the SouthEast Homeschool Convention and I just might ask for his autograph

Thursday night of last week, I “lost it.” When things get hectic, I usually turn on auto-pilot and “do the next thing.” But I’ve done the next thing and the next and next with very little down-time for so long, that I just couldn’t hold it together any longer. My husband, who had noticed a change within me, lovingly inquired and asked how he could help. He mentioned we could make changes in our schooling or get some help or let some things go, but one thing was certain… he missed my “passionate and optimistic spirit.” With those words coming from the one who knows me best, I began to sob because I missed those qualities about myself too.

My head ached from stress, I’m sure, and the events of the next 48 hours filled me with dread. I’d signed up not only to attend, but drive my 12-passenger van to Raleigh for Sally Clarkson’s Mom Heart Conference. I’ll admit that as I looked at the work that always piles after a busy school week, I wanted only a nap and a magic wand. I did not want to subject my friends to my downcast disposition. Daniel prayed for me – that I would gain perspective and that the Lord would reveal himself to me and my heart would be encouraged.

And God did just that!

I can’t possibly write all the truths I brought home with me. Sally told story after story and I could relate to each and every one. She even told one of her son ten years ago – her then 11-year-old Nathan. Yes, I have an 11-year-old Nathan too, and as she described so beautifully a poignant moment of his childhood and her privilege in sharing it with him, I was touched. I don’t want to miss life changing opportunities with my children. I want to stop and pray with them. I want to watch sunsets. I want to live out Deuteronomy 6:4-9:

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.^{[a] 5} Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Sally shared scripture after scripture. Her husband, Clay, led us in worship. My friends and I prayed and discussed

such important truths! I felt a sisterhood with the precious friends who attended with me. As I listened and prayed and worshiped, the Holy Spirit convicted me of some areas in my life that have become “cluttered.” Just as I can not concentrate with a cluttered house, I can not grow spiritually with a cluttered soul. And this weekend, the Lord told me to put away my to-do list and do the next thing His way. This “next thing” is to focus totally and completely on my first love. I am responsible only for my relationship with Him… not even for the outcome of my children! That is His job and he is oh so faithful!

Sally asked, “What is robbing you of your life, energy and victory?” We must guard our passion! Anything that robs us of our passion for God, must be removed from our lives. We can’t pass on to our children what we do not possess.

I want to love my God, my husband and my children with a whole heart. I want to be “thoroughly alive” with the love of Christ. And this weekend, I received a precious gift – time to sit and soak up words of truth, time to be still and time to enjoy fellowship with my sisters in Christ.

I left home Friday a little directionless and depressed. I came home different – eager to give each of my precious children and my husband love from my heart that is overflowing with encouragement and thankfulness. As I pulled into our driveway on Saturday night, I was greeted by my yippee yorkie and wonderful family. As my two youngest fought over first hugs, I smiled. As my oldest showed me her speech that she composed without my assistance, I smiled more. The house was picked up. The aroma of homemade pizza and bread filled the kitchen. Such tasks, though not an expectation, blessed me! Bethany reported, “Anna was really awesome this weekend, Mom!” Her words were music to my ears! My son showed me a gold coin his daddy gave him. Esther gave me kisses. Could this have been the same home and people I left on Thursday? Really, not much had changed, but my heart had and that made all the difference. My husband took one look at me and knew that God had answered his prayer for me. His optimistic and passionate wife need no longer be missed!

Sally reminded me that my mom heart matters. When it is full of Christ, I am able to minister. I must guard it carefully and keep it that way. My friends and I unanimously agreed that the Whole Heart Conference needs to be an annual event for us. Next year, join us if you can!

“I came that they might have life and have it to the full.” -John 10:10

“It seems to me that we can never give up longing and wishing while we are thoroughly alive. There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good and we must hunger after them.” – George Eliot

Today we toured the Natural Science Center of Greensboro to see the Bodies Revealed exhibit. Because I was unsure how my sensitive girls would handle viewing the bodies, I had an escape plan (the zoo.) However, all the children were fascinated with the exhibit and found it very educational. Photography was prohibited so I have no pictures. However, I do have some fun photos to share of the museum and zoo which we enjoyed afterward.

Sally Clarkson is one of my favorite authors and speakers. I think this is the third time I’ve mentioned this on my blog. Several years ago, a group of ladies met in my home as we spent two years reading and discussing Educating the Wholehearted Child. We learned so much as we read Sally’s encouraging advice to home schooling mothers. I cherish those memories.

Sally once was a speaker at the NCHE Conference, our state’s annual homeschooling conference. Not only did I attend all her sessions, but I bought all her talks on cd and listened to them, lent them to friends, and again, was encouraged. At the same conference, I picked up her then new book, The Mission of Motherhood. I enjoyed it so much, I proceeded to buy 20 copies to give to every new mommy I knew. To this day, it is my favorite mommy book. No rules. No parenting philosophies. Just encouragement.

Her newest book, Dancing With the Father, was a Christmas gift that I bought myself. When ordering Odyssey CD’s and my husband’s Bible from Family Christian Stores, I couldn’t resist slipping in this one special mommy book just for me.

So… I am thrilled that Sally will be in Durham, NC for a Mom Heart Conference March 4-5th. It’s important to be reminded that motherhood is a high calling. When I am struggling with my mission of being a mother, Sally reminds me to turn to Jesus. The more I do so and the more I pray for wisdom, the more I enjoy and cherish each moment I have with my children.

I can think of no better winter get-away than a Mom Heart Conference. You can read about it by clicking the icon below. I am going to try to attend! Let me know if you are too!

Thoughtful Thursdays… I am not sure how our home school co-op came up with such an alliterative name for our weekly classes, but I do know that for me, surviving Thursdays takes thought – and a great deal of it!

The packing alone is a monumental task! Thursday mornings I assemble my classroom materials for the two writing classes I teach, get Esther dressed for ballet, and then proceed to feed everyone breakfast and pack seven lunches and two dinners. The children must remember their notebooks for writing, dance clothes (which include multiple shoes, leotards, tights and hair pins), and their music for band as well as their instruments. Christina teaches a few little girls a hand- sewing class so she brings her supplies for that.  Bethany, Nathan and Sarah take track after ballet while the older girls go to Appalachian State University and participate in a science lab. Thus track clothes and lab notebooks must be remembered as well.  Track ends at 7:00. Lab ends at 8:00.  It is a full day that includes writing, art, dance, band, track and a science lab! Our 12- passenger van is packed as if we are taking a trip off the mountain!

While I teach my first writing class, Anna and Christina babysit Esther for me. During my second class, Esther takes pre-ballet and she just loves it! I am so thankful she can participate in an enjoyable activity while I am away from her. All week long she talks about “my baway cwass with Miss Webecca!”. I’m so proud of her for paying attention and learning because she is the youngest little dancer in the group. I’ve never had one of my toddlers take a class so this is a new experience for me too! After my second writing class, I take Esther home while my other children take either band or art. She is able to get a much needed one- hour nap before I must chauffeur dancers from one church to another. My vehicle has been named “The Ballet Bus” because it is full to the max at 3:30 on Thursdays, transporting ballerinas!

Dinner on Thursdays is squeezed into the hour most of us wait for lab to end. Thankfully, it’s family night at Earth Fare so for just ten dollars, I can feed Daniel and me and all my track stars eat free! You can’t beat that for organic and healthy food for eight!

I won’t lie. By Thursday evenings, I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck. I am seriously tired.  The thought occurs to me, “Maybe next year we’ll give Thoughtful Thursdays a rest!” We unload the van. The children put their things away and they smile. “Thank you, Mama. Thursdays are so special. We love taking classes and seeing our friends,” I hear as I tuck tired dancers, runners, artists and musicians in bed.

The children are right. Thursdays are special. As I put my feet up and breath a sigh of relief, I make a mental note to go to bed a little earlier next Wednesday night. Thursdays require thought for sure, but the effort is well worth it!