Prayers for Rick Warren and Family

April 7, 2013Uncategorizeddepression, mental illness, Rick Warren, suicideHeather Walton

Mental illness is no respecter of persons. It doesn’t care how good or godly one’s family is. The enemy came to steal, kill, and destroy, and mental illness is one way he does this.

Rick Warren is the pastor of Saddleback Church in California, which is the eighth largest church in America. Warren authored the best selling devotional book, The Purpose-Driven Life, which I found to be life-changing.

One might expect someone like Warren to have a near-perfect family. However, Warren’s son, Matthew, 27, took his life yesterday after a lifelong battle with depression. What a tragedy this family is going through and has gone through for Matthew’s entire life! I really feel for them. I have been through depression and I know how serious it can be. But I can’t imagine battling it for 27 years.

I also know what it’s like to have children with special needs. I know how much of an impact it can have on a family. Though the Warrens are in intense pain right now–unimaginable pain–their pain didn’t start yesterday. I know they have struggled for 27 years with the pain of watching their son battle an unseen enemy and with the family dynamics that come from having a child with special needs.

Here is a link to the letter Warren wrote to his congregation concerning his son’s death: http://twitpic.com/chhl8v

I will be praying for the Warren family. I also will be praying for people I know who battle with mental illness. Will you please join me?

Lessons from Spring Break

April 4, 2013Transition to Homeschooling from Full-Time TeachingEducation, HomeschoolHeather Walton

Today I took the boys downtown to go to the science center. I was bummed when I started to park and realized that I’d forgotten my purse, which meant we couldn’t park anywhere within a reasonable walking distance and we didn’t have our membership card. Then I remembered that there are some very nice playgrounds near the river, so we went there instead. We had a fabulous time, unhurried by the demands of the regular school year schedule.

Hanging out with my kids this week has confirmed my decision to return to homeschooling. I have enjoyed having the time and energy to play games, take them places, and just listen to them. Even though I have a job that gives me 16 weeks off each year, I still feel like I miss out on so much with my kids. I realize that homeschooling has its own challenges, but I sure am looking forward to spending quality AND quantity time together. spring break 13 1

ADHD–Medicate to educate?

April 1, 2013Special Needs HomeschoolingADHD, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Education, homeschooling, Learning styles, Special educationHeather Walton

I’m not against medicating for ADHD. I am opposed to it, however, as a way to keep children in educational situations that don’t work for them. That’s a major reason why I’m returning to home education. I’ve had two of my children diagnosed with ADHD in the past couple of months (one of them just today) and I want to provide them with a more individualized education that considers their personal learning styles, talents, and bents. I don’t want to medicate them in order to have to sit still for 7 hours a day learning in a way that doesn’t fit their learning style. I want them to love learning, not dread it. One day recently, my 6 year old came home from kindergarten and said, “Mommy, I HATE learning! Learning is boring!” What a heartbreaking thing to hear from anyone, especially a Kindergartener! I’m a teacher, and I know how hard teachers work to provide lessons, so that makes it even more heartbreaking for me. I’m confident that I can reverse my son’s opinion of learning as I provide an atmosphere more conducive to him.

My Journey Away From Homeschooling … And Back Again

March 29, 2013Special Needs Homeschooling, Transition to Homeschooling from Full-Time Teaching, Trusting GodEducation, Homeschool, Learning disability, Special needsHeather Walton

I homeschooled for 5 1/2 years before calling it quits. I loved it at first, and felt called by God to do it. But it was hard, especially with a child with ADHD. I got burned out. I remember leaving the kitchen table to put in a load of laundry while the girls were doing their work at the table. I’d come back and they’d have run out the back door to play. Not just once … this was the kind of thing that happened regularly. Eventually I got burned out because I began homeschooling in my own very limited strength, rather than depending on God’s endless strength. I was tired and I had two babies, and I felt like I just couldn’t do it anymore. So, rather than getting first-time obedience from my children, and rather than seeking God’s strength, I sent them to school.

It’s been five years since I made that decision. In the meantime I got my Master’s degree in education, worked part-time at a couple of part-time programs for homeschoolers, and worked for two years as a special education teacher. It’s interesting that I struggled to educate my own special needs child, but I decided to teach other people’s special needs children.

What’s even more interesting are the reasons I’m returning to homeschooling. First, it’s time to go back and fix the problems in my relationship with my children that caused me to quit homeschooling the first time. (Amazingly, sending them to school did not fix the problems, as I had thought it would.) Second, my 6 year old has been diagnosed with ADHD. His teacher says it will be very hard for him to be successful in the 1st grade because there will be 24 kids in the class and he needs more attention than he will get. My boys go to a Christian school that is not equipped to deal with attention issues or learning disabilities.

So now I want to establish the proper relationship with my kids and give them the BEST possible education. I know the importance of individual attention and individual education. Even though most teachers are fabulous people who want to give the best to their students, it’s so hard to give your best to 24 students! I absolutely believe homeschooling can be the BEST educational choice.

Another goal I have is to help other people to be able to homeschool their children through difficult circumstances, like ADHD, behavior issues, and learning disabilities. I want to help people not to give up, like I did the first time. I don’t know exactly how God wants to use my experiences, but I trust that He does.

I’m looking forward to homeschooling in the power of the Holy Spirit this time!

A New Perspective and a New Venture

March 24, 2013Special Needs Homeschooling, Transition to Homeschooling from Full-Time Teachingcottage schools, homeschoolingHeather Walton

After two years of teaching public school and a couple of years of prep-work that came before, I am making a radical change after this school year. I am going to teach part-time at a cottage school so I can homeschool three of my children. This has been one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made, because I absolutely love my teaching job. But I love my family more, so after spending a couple of years giving my best to other people’s kids, it’s time to give my best to my own kids.