Margin

It is funny that I am taking about margin when this week I have felt that I have had none. What is margin? Margin is leaving a little bit of room all around your paper or in the case of life living a bit of room to just be. Our culture would have us running from one thing to another with barely time to breathe. This weekend was one of those for us. So much so that my DH suggest we create margin and not go to our class tonight. Now our class is really good and I am sure we will miss some good stuff but tonight we needed margin. It is nice. I have clean clothes, papers graded, and a clean kitchen to start off the week.

This year I have enjoyed listening to different podcasts when I am walking or driving. One preacher I like to listen to is Andy Stanley from Northpoint in Atlanta. Two challenges that he has talked about in his sermons I have been working on this year. I am not successful in either but am see progress periodically. The first is margin in relation to work. His challenge is to see what are you good at and what does your work specifically need you to do and be good at. Also what are you doing that you don't need to be doing? This semester I have not been as stressed as last semester. 1. I do all my planning at school and it is helping I am now able to reuse material from last year. 2. I am making my papers easier to grade so I am more efficient in grading. 3. I am setting boundaries with my students and am not accepting late work like I did before. I still bring work home but not as much which has given me more time for my family and getting our family ready for our new adventure in the coming future. It is not a perfect system but getting better.

The other challenge is taken from Nehemiah. He was asked by Sanballet, the bad guy of the story, and his friends to met them in a field to discuss some things. Nehemiah 6:3 is his response. He says "I am doing a great work and I cannot come down." Right now my great work is my family and our preparation for missions. It gives me a standard to help me say no to those things that are not good for our family at this time. Some weeks we do a good job and other weeks like this past one not so good.

Right now I need margin more than ever. It is in margin that I have time to sit at Jesus' feet. It is in margin that you have time to cuddle and read with your kids. It is in margin where we are still enough to hear God's voice. It is in margin where relationships grow. Even Jesus had margin when he went away to pray and or withdrew with just his disciples.

Dear God, Thank you for the time you have given me each day. Thank you that you have given me enough time to do the things I need to do. Help me to make wise choices on what to do and what not to do. May time with you be a priority. Amen

Working Together

Not long ago my daughter came up with a new version of roses are red... It goes like this. Roses are red. Violets are blue. Our family works together and so should you. The poem made me smile. One of our goals as a family is to work together. In this season of our family working together is a must. Everyone has a part in making this family work from putting away their clothes to helping get breakfast or supper on the table.

A fun way to encourage working together for our family is by using a timer. I will make a list of things that I need help with such as dishes, bathrooms and sometimes even making muffins for the next day's breakfast. We then set the timer for 15 or 30 minutes depending on how much needs done and work hard until the time goes off. What ever is left, I will continue doing but so far we seem to be able to get the list completed.

Teacher Tuesday

Well, I am trying something new. It is called Teacher Tuesday. I am going to try every Tuesday to post some type of teacher tip or story. These posts will come from my experiences as a mom who has homeschooled and is now back teaching high schoolers. So here is my first one.

One of the biggest things I have learned as a teacher is to be a student of my students. How do they learn? What are they like? What is keeping them from learning? What is the best way to encourage them? I teach 7 classes of the same thing over a period of two days. No two classes are the same. Some classes are more interactive and mostly teach themselves. Other classes need to be drawn out with questions and encouragement. Other classes could care less and can't wait for the bell to ring. When I first started teaching I taught how I was most comfortable teaching which didn't always bring success to my students. It is true I need to find my style and students also need to learn to adapt to different styles but if I never meet them where they are at they will never get where I want them to be. Relationship is key. A positive environment is a must. Loving learning yourself helps too. Some students I have yet to figure out how to motivate. On the other hand, I was reminded this week of how good it feels to see your students have success when they have worked hard and done their best.

I have been studying my own children. We are hoping to homeschool again next year. It won't be the same as before. My children are in different stages. I also see teaching methods that adapt more to them as learners. One of my children loves projects. I hate projects but we will do more projects because this helps her show us her creativity in what she has learned. My other child likes challenges. I am hoping to find him different problems to solve each week that keep him on his toes. We will do many of the same things we did before such the same math books and lots of reading aloud and alone. But this time I think I will be more student centered than curriculum centered.

A Season for Gardening

I have been exploring other blogs lately and enjoyed reading about gardening and friendship at Leaving a Legacy. It reminded me of how thankful I am for the friends God has sent my way.

I thought I would also add my first picture. My kids and I were at the Botanical Gardens yesterday taking some fun pictures.