Living in the Moment
Have you ever had one of those days when you’ve planned to get some school work done, but the kids have a completely different agenda? That was my day today. I tried devotions. I tried reading a book. I tried singing songs. It was just not going to happen today no matter what. Instead of force it, I chose to follow the lead of my kids. I find that, sometimes, there can be more learning than I could have imagined when I follow what they are doing. It is amazing to see them in action!
Today my little one was completely engrossed in a pretend play scenario and wanted nothing to do with me. I tried to engage in the game by asking questions, but I was just not invited in. (It’s sad when I’m rejected by my kiddos!) I could not find a way in. So I watched. I listened, and I learned.
Here is the scene. Earlier in the morning the kids spent a long time setting up the doll houses, cars, and little people. After we dropped my eldest off at school, my little one picked up where they had left off. The little people were driving around in their cars to go to their school. When they arrived, the people parked the cars in a parking lot. Then they had to line up. They all took turns going down the slide. They also went inside the school to play. After school was over, they went into the school bus to go home. Everyone took turns in the bathroom, and they went to bed. There was a lot of narrating of the actions like, “Back up.” I also heard, “Line up.” I heard sounds of the people eating their lunches, too.
What did I learn from observing this scenario? My little one was processing our routine. My eldest goes to a Montessori school in the morning, and the driving, parking, and lining up all relate to what our morning looks like. We also go to the playground to have lunch. There is plenty of turn taking there, and the slide is a favorite activity for the kids. We come home for naps after the playground. This was an exercise in building memory skills and “doing it myself.” I know that the routine makes sense and that someone is actually hearing me when I encourage turn taking. I also know that my little observer has taken in an incredible amount about how we do things like park the car and get ready for naps. Now I know for sure that her receptive language has really developed. It is so interesting to see this kind of play and get a glimpse of what is happening in that little mind!
Have you sat back to watch your children play independently? You might be surpirsed by what you learn from observing and what they have learned from you.
Filed under Homeschooling Life | Comments (3)Time to Connect
This is such a busy time of year for homeschoolers. The school year is just starting up, and you’re still working out the kinks, trying to find your rhythm. The kids may be reluctant to start school again or perhaps they are so excited that you can’t keep up with them. In any case, you are doing a lot right now. Do you find that it is difficult to find time for your spouse? It is so hard to do it all, and often times something has to give. I encourage you to consider a few ways to stay connected with your spouse even when it seems like there is no time.
- Have dessert or tea together after the children are in bed. This is your time to reconnect and discuss the day. It is a great stress reliever, too. The only rule is that you cannot do anything else like watch TV. It also only needs to take 5-10 minutes of your evening.
- Leave each other love notes. You can leave a note in your hubby’s brief case telling him how much you love him, or leave a note in his car to tell him that you are thinking about him. Send him an e-mail to say, “I love you.” It means a lot when you take a moment out of your day to remind your hubby that he is special to you.
- Choose a date night. You don’t have to spend a lot of money or even go anywhere fancy. The only thing that matters is that you are together. You can even have your date at home if you have to.
- Take a moment to sit outside after the children are sleeping to talk. This is a great way to spend a brisk fall evening cuddled up under the stars.
- Laugh together. Tickle each other. Tell jokes. Watch a funny TV show. Get silly. Laughter is a great way to deal with stress!
- Reminisce. Rekindling those memories helps you to feel the same way you did way back when. Look through a photo album or remind each other of stories from when you were dating.
- Do something unexpected for your spouse. Meet your hubby at the door with a long, passionate kiss. Make a special meal for your husband. Watch the football game with him. Meet him at work for a picnic lunch. It is fun to think of the possibilities!
- Give your hubby a back rub. It doesn’t take long, but he will feel more relaxed and grateful for the gesture!
- Listen to a book on cd together. You both can do other things while the book is playing (like laundry and dishes), but you will have a shared text that you can talk about. Choose something that is fun and interesting for both of you.
- Pray together. This can be intimidating if you don’t usually do it. To get you started think about making it a short time of prayer and make the prayer about praises. As you both get more comfortable, you can pray longer and about more intimate requests. You will find it amazing!
What are some ways that you and your spouse connect when you are busy?
Filed under Homeschooling Life | Comments (2)Building an Extended “Family” Network
One challenge that my family faces, and I know many other families do too, is the need for a family support system. In the past a young family lived close to grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Moms could rely on the extended family who sometimes lived with them to help out with caring for the children. These days families do not always have that kind of connection with extended family. That means that moms have to be creative about their options for child care. I think it can be a very real challenge for homeschoolers whose children do not leave home on that yellow bus in the morning allowing mom a few minutes to not worry about who is taking care of the children. It means you have to be resourceful.
I have tried to be resourceful by joining mom groups and play groups and getting to know neighbors. I wanted to cultivate friendships that would give me and my family the support and companionship that we need and crave. I have asked God to live nearby dear friends. I have wanted a best friend who lived so close we could walk to their home and live life together. I have to tell you that I have been truly blessed by a family that we have gotten to really know recently and who may very well turn out to be the kind of friends I have prayed for. This family has invited us to their home to play, watched our children when our child care fell through, and prayed for us. This is the kind of friendship that I have been praying for!
I think all families need to have an extended “family” network. You need tp be able to rely on someone who lives close to you, someone who you can call on one of those days when you really need some help. You need a network of folks who will rock your babies so you can take care of yourself or who will make a meal if there is an emergency. You need friends who will watch your kids for a little while or teach you a new skill. You also need another adult to talk to during the day about everything and anything. I am talking about building a community for you and your family.
It takes time and energy to build a community these days. It means that you have to put yourself out there to meet people. I have met my closest friends at church and through mom groups. I have had to make the phone calls to invite people over to play or to meet us at the playground. I often offer to help another family our first. Building a community requires spending time together. You have to commit to taking the time to get to know these folks and offering your help even when you don’t think they will want or need your help. Add prayer to your time commitment, and you will soon find your community growing.
I hope that you take the time to build an extended family network, a community of families. You and your family will be blessed in countless ways if you do! Please tell me what you have done to build your own community.
Filed under Homeschooling Life | Comment (0)Pray and Remember Today
On this September 11th I am praying. I am praying for our troops and their families. I am praying for the families who are remembering loved ones who died on 9/11/01. I am also praying for our leaders. I am praying to remember those terrible events seven years ago. I hope you join me in my prayers. Someone on Twitter posted a link to a GodTube prayer wall. I encourage you to stop by the prayer wall. You can pray for other people’s requests or add your own. It is a truly powerful experience. Pray and remember.
Filed under Homeschooling Life | Comments (2)Commemorating 9/11 in Your Homeschool
Still fresh in my memory are the events that took place on 9/11. I remember the day clearly down to where I was when I found out about the attacks. How about you? I have been reflecting on the terrorist attacks and the fear that followed. It was an uncertain time in our history, and I feel it is important for us to honor those innocent people who died on that day in 2001 and to honor all of the people who have been defending freedom ever since.
I am going to spend some time praying tomorrow. I want to pray for the families who were most touched by the tragedies, the family members who lost their loved ones that day. I also plan to pray for our government officials to make wise decisions that will protect our citizens, our soldiers, and the innocent lives impacted by those decisions. Perhaps the most important people to pray for are our soldiers who are serving their country and their families who are waiting for their loved ones to return home safely. Will you join me in my prayers?
For some other ideas for how to commemorate the day, go to christianhomeschoolers.com. It is a resource center filled with links to help you memorialize the day.
Filed under Homeschooling Life | Comment (0)Love Your Neighbor, Officer Michael
Here is yet another post about our Make Way for Ducklings lapbook. I hope your lapbook is coming along as nicely as ours is. When we have completely constructed ours, I will post pictures.
I managed to find a Biblical connection in Make Way for Ducklings. Our memory verse this week is “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39Matthew 22:39
English: World English Bible - WEB
39 A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (The little one is memorizing “love”.) I picked this verse out because Officer Michael is so kind to the Mallard family. In the story, he goes out of his way to help the ducks by directing the traffic and calling for other police officers to stop the traffic. He didn’t have to do this; he was just treating someone else the way he wanted to be treated.
During the week, we read other Bible stories that relate to the “be kind to others theme”. The story of Ruth and Naomi is one and the other is the story of King David and Mephibosheth. I connected the theme to these other stories. We discussed how the theme applied to the memory verse. We even talked about how the verse relates to our lives.
In order to help us remember the verse, we sang it to the tune of “Frère Jacques” and “London Bridge” adding “Just like Jesus” at the end. We sang the songs throughout the day all week long. At the end of the week, the kids were able to recite their memory verses easily. They even sang the songs to Daddy.
Then we made a book in the shape of a police officer’s hat (HT: DLTK) and glued the verse inside. We simply cut out the hat and a blank piece of paper in the same shape. I printed out the memory verse and cut it out. As my kiddo said, “We used a police officer’s hat because Officer Michael was kind to the ducks in the book. The hat helps us to remember that.”
Filed under Lapbooks | Comment (1)Homeschooling Win in California
Homeschooling Coach is glad to introduce Dad’s Corner, which includes articles written by a homeschooling dad. Dad’s Corner this week features Eric.
I wanted to bring people a quick update on the status of homeschooling in California. There is a great article in Eureka Reporter called Court reconnects with reality in homeschool reversal. The case had been centered around a mother of eight who was homeschooling. The appellate court overturned the original court decision requiring teaching certification to homeschool in California.
It is suggested that this reflects the Legislature’s understanding that numerous home schools file private school affidavits in California. This is not an unreasonable interpretation. While it is possible that some private schools with five or fewer students are, in fact, traditional private schools in which the teacher is unrelated to the students, it is much more likely that the private schools referred to by this law are home schools.
The court was out of sync with the legislature and the department of education
The Legislature is aware that homeschooling parents file affidavits as private schools, and has passed laws based on that awareness. The Department of Education has not challenged the practice, and the LAUSD has not asserted that the children of such parents are truant.
A copy of the decision can be found here.
For now the decision is a win for homeschoolers.
Filed under Dad's Corner | Comment (1)Who is in Charge Anyway?
My dear hubby, Techno Man, has the difficult job of loving me for the rest of his life. I’m not sure he knew what he was getting into when he married me. I have never hidden anything from him in the twelve years that we’ve been together, but love can be blind. Once the haze of bliss clears, reality sets in, and it is often too late to bail out! Anyway, I can be very difficult to love. I am bossy. I am moody. I am impatient. Being a perfectionist often keeps me from being able to show my loved ones grace and to forgive them. Mix that all together with how difficult it is for me to deal with change and stress and you will encounter many confrontations and difficult days.
Today happened to be just one of those difficult days because of me. I wanted to get things done my way – because isn’t my way the best way? I think so, but Techno Man doesn’t always think that, and the kids definitely think that I am crazy when I try to assert my authority. We all were in disagreement in the shoe store, no less. I must tell you that my kiddos absolutely love to go shoe shopping, and I hate shopping for shoes. This can make for a very challenging trip in and of itself. The kiddos want to try on every pair of shoes in the store and run around trying them out while I spend the time trying to rein them in and decide which shoes are the best fit at the best price. Techno Man is not usually with us on these said shoe shopping adventures, but it happened that he was around at a time when we really needed to go shoe shopping. (Mother of the Year Award: One kid was squeezing into a 13 1/2 shoe, but is actually a size 2, and the other kid was wearing a size 8, but is actually a size 9 wide. How did I miss that?)
Anyway, Techno Man and I have very different approaches to shopping in general. Usually he wants to look around and think about what he might buy. I like to get it over and done with. However, I have found in the past that this approach does not work with buying shoes for the kids. The kids are much more cooperative if I give them the time they want to “shop” their options. Being a mom, though, I am also thinking about the price, the usefulness, and the longevity of the shoes. Many times I am also on the look out for the next pair of shoes we will need in case we encounter a clearance rack. Techno Man does not know about the inner thought process of a mom because, well, he’s not a mom. Daddies don’t think about these things because mommies do that. That’s how we compliment each other.
The shopping trip went south after we tried on two or three pairs of shoes and asked if another pair came in the right size. At that point I saw the clearance rack. Lights shined on it and the heavenly music played. Yes, I was mesmerized because I saw my chance of finding a pair of snow boots for cheap! Techno Man had had it, though, once I pulled down the boots and the pair of shoes we asked for were brought to us from the back room. The melt down began. I wanted to do it my way, but Techno Man felt that the shopping trip was getting out of hand. He said I was getting us side tracked and now there were too many choices. He walked away after we exchanged words. Of course the disagreement continued once we were in the car, and it go ugly!
I really wanted to have all of the control. I am used to being the one in charge because most of the time I am. I usually go on the shoe shopping extravaganzas by myself, so I get to decide when we are finished looking at our options and if we will look at sale shoes for the next season. It is difficult for me to let someone else be in charge. I especially get frustrated with Techno Man because he doesn’t have all of the background information to make the decisions that I think are the “right” ones. The crux of the problem was that I was passing judgment on Techno Man’s ability to make decisions. Who is in charge?
Deep down I want my husband to be the head of the household since the Bible tells us that that is his place (Ephesians 5:23Ephesians 5:23
English: World English Bible - WEB
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, and Christ also is the head of the assembly, being himself the savior of the body.). I just can’t seem to let go enough to let him have that place. I need to let this man who loves me (despite the fact that I am so difficult to love) lead our family. He is a Godly man. He is a loving husband and father. He can make good decisions. (He married me, didn’t he?!) I need to let him be in charge – at least once in a while!
Filed under Homeschooling Life | Comment (1)Lord, help me to let go of the control that I so desperately seek and allow my husband be the head of our home. Teach me to be a wife who can love, support, and encourage my husband as he leads our family.
Mallard Math
We have practiced our math skills in a variety of ways through Make Way for Ducklings. There are a few mathematical possibilities in this particular book that you might find helpful if you are also working on this particular lapbook.
Since there are eight ducklings in the book, we have practiced counting the number eight. Since my kiddos are kinesthetic learners, I need to incorparate manipulatives into our math work, and a great manipulative for this particular lesson is plastic Easter eggs. First, we sorted the eight eggs by color and counted how many eggs there were of each color. We compared which color we had more and less of. We also dabbled in addition and subtraction by adding one more egg and removing one egg. After all of that manipulative work, we made a counting book with the numbers 1-8. It’s a graduated page book. On each page the children drew the amount of eggs that correlate with the number on the page. Creating this book is also a great way to address the unique the needs of kinesthetic learners since there is a lot of interaction involved – turning the pages, drawing the eggs, counting the eggs, and coloring the eggs. My children needed a bit of guidance with staying focused on the task, but overall, this was a hit!
We also used the song “Five Little Ducks” to talk about counting backwards from 5. We used it as a finger play while I a read a great picture book of the song, Five Little Ducks illustrated by Ivan Bates. They really love this song and adding a kinesthetic piece to it just makes it more engaging. Having the visuals (pictures) also makes the song more interesting. Lessons are so much more dynamic when you weave multiple disciplines together.
Get cracking on your math skills, homeschoolers!
Filed under How to, Lapbooks | Comment (0)I’ve Been Tagged!
I was tagged for this meme by Little Cottage School on the Prairie. The rules are stated below:
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks you possess.
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.
My six quirks:
1. My first quirk is that I am very particular about the way my sheets and blankets are kept on my bed. They have to be straight and covering the bed just right. If they are askew or upside down or inside out, I just can’t sleep. I insist that my hubby and I fix the bedding so it is just right every night. Mind you I don’t make my bed every day. I suppose making the bed might fix the bedding issue at night, but our mornings are so crazy that it seems impossible to find the time to make the bed. I guess that for now we make the bed before we go to bed. Yes, I agree that it is silly!
2. Another quirk of mine is that I have to have coffee every morning. It has gotten to the point that I cannot skip a morning because I get a headache. That being said, I am very picky about my coffee. I like it strong. I prefer particular brands like Peet’s or Starbucks. These days, though, we are a little more budget minded so I also like Trader Joe’s Colombian and French Roast coffee.
3. I am a choco-holic! There is no question about it. Not a day goes by that I miss out on eating some divine chocolate. I love super dark chocolate, and it is even better with peanut butter. Mmm..I am imagining taking a bite right now! I gave chocolate up for Lent this year, and I was so miserable. Boy did I pray during those 40 days!
4. I am a recovering perfectionist. It’s not worth doing something if you are not going to do it right, and my way is the best way to do it. I am desperately trying to let go of this idea, but even when I am refraining from taking over to do something the “right” way, I am biting my tongue and thinking about how I really do know the answers. Alas, I am trying to find the perfect way to recover from my perfectionism…
5. I need a schedule. I don’t mean that it is nice to have a schedule or that it helps me stay on target. I mean that I am completely lost and out of sorts without a schedule. Mind you that the schedule is flexible when the need arises, but things have to happen at roughly the same time every day. My inner clock knows when it is time to eat, get dressed, nap, and the like. I fall apart when I do not follow my schedule, and my kids do, too.
6. I am not the most diligent housekeeper, but I insist on having the kitchen clean. I mean as clean as I can get it with two small children, a dog, and a husband in the house! I want the counters clean and the table washed. Sweeping is a must. What really drives me nuts is finding remnants of food left in the sink waiting to go down the garbage disposal. Why is it waiting anyway?
There, now you know a lot more useless information about me.
Next I need to tag six people to follow suit and post about their quirks.
Filed under Homeschooling Life | Comments (2)