A Lesson in Loving Others

At the end of the sermon this morning our pastor showed a video of an 18 year old young man named Ben Comen. This boy is an inspiration.

My husband and I were so moved by this boy’s story that we shared it with our children. Ben Comen runs because he loves it. He runs with a team because the members of the team love him. Watching this group of kids love Ben made me think about something I have been wrestling with.

We have neighbors who have two boys the same ages as my girls. Her eldest boy mostly likely has Sensory Processing Disorder, SPD, like my daughter. His mom suspects that he is on the autism spectrum as well. This mom is fighting for her boy to be diagnosed and treated. Because our kids share some of the same struggles, I have been sharing resources, information, and support for this mom.

We spend most afternoons at my neighbor’s house because she and I both need another adult who understands. Sometimes things can get a little out of sorts when our kids play together, though. It can be difficult to get all four kids engaged in activities. Sometimes a sound or situation will set off one of the older kids. C5 often has hurt feelings or she and P4 get into a tussle. Although I have seen major progress over the last few months, C5 is often in tears or upset during our time with our neighbors. Yet my kids and my neighbor’s kids ask to see each other. They ask all day long. I don’t understand it since we often struggle to keep the peace.

I have been considering giving everyone a break from these play dates. I am mostly concerned that my sweet child, who is very compassionate and caring, is being forced into a situation that is not good for her. I don’t want her to resent me or to be hurt. I brought this up to my hubby, and he didn’t see anything wrong with me taking her there, but I was still struggling with it.

When I watched this video about Ben Comen, I felt the Holy Spirit assuring me that I am in the right place. My children and I are ministering to this family. In the same way that Ben’s team mates came back to finish the race with him, we are running along side this family and helping them to finish the race and not finish the race alone. I am teaching my little girl how to love other people, even people who are difficult to love.

This is one of the greatest lessons I think I can teach my children.

Summer Planning

The summer is fast approaching, and we are planning all of our summer activities now. Here are a few things that we are looking forward to.

~Camping: We love nature around here, so this is a great opportunity for our family to really enjoy hiking, fishing, swimming, and just being outside. Camping also forces us to slow down and talk to each other since we don’t have TV and computers to distract us.

~Swimming Lessons and Beach Trips: This year we are planning on taking swimming lessons all through the spring and summer to keep us fit and to learn a valuable life skill. The YMCA has lots of Open Swim time that we will also take advantage of. With great beaches near my dad, sister, and nephew, we will have many beach days, too. It is so much fun to dig and build in the sand.

~Vacation Bible School: The first time I volunteered for this I really enjoyed the kids. I am excited that my kids will have the chance to learn about God and connect with other kids. Our church has a great group of Children’s Ministries volunteers who organize a fun VBS program.

~Day Trips: We are going to visit a local farm regularly and several Audubon Society locations this summer. Hiking is a great family activity, and we spend lots of time looking at the wildlife along the way. We love adventures in our family! There are other historical locations that I am interested in visiting, too. There is truly a lot to see around here.

~Day Camp: We are considering sending our kids to camp for a week for the first time this summer. There are a couple of options for them, and one camp even has a program for A2 to attend.

~Museums: We love going to the Children’s Museum, and this summer will include a trip or two there. We will also take advantage of a local art museum that has an exhibit area for kids. I would also love to bring the kids to the Museum of Science. We might even make it to the Seuss Sculpture Garden this summer!

It will be a great summer, no doubt!

Supplimenting Your Homeschool Curriculum

It is the time of year that my husband and I discuss school. We have purchased a curriculum that we will use this coming year, but now we are deciding how we will round out our kids’ school year. We will use our curriculum to keep us focused all year, but we also plan on supplementing with interesting activities. The goal is to map out some ideas we want to try.

We have been looking at the options for classes at our local YMCA as a way to vary our kids’ experiences. The classes there are a great way to address PE and learn new skills. Our problem is deciding which classes to take. We want our children to experience many different things before they settle into focusing on one particular activity they want to pursue in depth. For example, we want them to try various sports, dance,  and swimming. The trick is getting them to try something new. When I suggested a dance class, my daughter told me that she already knew how to dance. I explained that there is much more to learn about dance, but she insisted that she simply did not need to learn anything more about dance. I also recommended other classes we could try with similar responses.

What are your strategies for getting your children to try out a new sport or activity?

First photo courtesy of tiffanywashko

Second photo courtesy of lunawhimsy

Other Ways of Using Puppets in Your Homeschool

In the past I have written about the benefits of using puppets in your homeschool to encourage literacy. Here are a few other ideas for how you can use puppets to motivate your children and encourage learning in your homeschool.

~A puppet can help your younger child to develop language skills. Young children love puppets and are often willing to open up to them. Take advantage of this and have your child and tell the puppet stories. Ask your child probing questions to encourage more developed ideas.

~Your child can teach a puppet something you’ve recently learned about. For example, have your child explain a process in math or science to the puppet. The puppet can ask questions in order to encourage your child to add details to the explanation. This is a great way to assess your child’s understanding.

~If you are studying a particular historical time period, have your child make puppets that reflect the dress of the time. Then have your child create and perform a puppet show that includes historically accurate details. Music and art can be woven into the the performance as appropriate. Or your child could make puppets of a certain historical figure and have that puppet engage with the audience in character.

Try using puppets in your homeschool.

Photos courtesy of Wendy Piersall (@eMom)

Fun Homeschool Math Fact Mastery

Learning math facts is necessary to help your child solve more complicated math problems efficiently. In the past I have posted some ideas to make learning math facts fun. Here are more ways of mastering them in your homeschool without the drudgery.

~While reciting the facts, do a hand clapping game. Girls especially love these kinds of games.

~Play card games:

• Cribbage is a great one to play with children who are slightly older. You have to make sums of 21 & 15. You also have to multiply when you get the same score multiple times. You can find the rules of the game here.
• Black Jack is another game helpful in teaching addition facts. (I had a teacher who called it “21″ instead.). While playing the game, you have to find sums up to 21 quickly.

~Make flashcards, one set with the product/sum and one with the equation.

• Play “Go Fish” by matching the equation to the product/sum.
• Play “Concentration” by matching the equation to the product/sum.

~Play Soduku. You can play online here.

~Learn the doubles - 2+2, 3+3, 4+4, etc. Also focus on the the trickier facts – 5+6, 5+7, 5+8, 5+9, 6+7, 7+8, 7+9, & 8+9. You can make up songs to help remember them.

Photo courtesy of peiqianlong

Everyday Life Lessons

Some of the best lessons come from everyday life. Everyday experiences can teach our children, and us, so much. 

~ I discovered that I can insist that the children play while I have a quiet time. They complain and try to act up, but if I patiently redirect them and calmly explain what the expectations are, they will find something constructive to do. I also learned that I can be patient with them!

~ I was filling out a registration form today while A2 sat in my lap. She was able to recognize her name on the form and spell it. She also recognized my name. She was excited to see our last name and called it, “Mine.” We had a discussion about how family members share a last name.

~ A2 learned about the power of repentance and forgiveness. While we were at Mom and Me, our play group, A2 pushed some buttons that turned on the projector and lowered the screen. After a time-out, I made her apologize to the director of the program. Of course, she was promptly forgiven. It was difficult for her to apologize to another adult, but she discovered that she could do it and that resolved the problem. I think this is a powerful life lesson for her.

~ While playing in the pool, C4 learned many things. She discovered that she had to hold the watering can close to the container she was pouring the water into in order to actually fill it. She learned that the water splashes all over when you shake a container up and down. If you splash your friend without asking if it’s OK, your friend might get mad. Even though it is difficult to take turns with toys, my friends appreciate it when I share, and they even give me a turn with the tays. If you get water in your eyes, you will be fine. She discovered that certain toys float while others sink and if you add water to floating toys, they sink.

~ Before our nap today, I had the children independently looking at books, and I saw some interesting learning. C4 realized that she can read number books. She also tried out a few reading strategies we’ve been practicing including using picture clues and pushing the sounds in a word together to figure it out. A2 discovered that C4 can read certain books to her, and that it is fun.

Reflecting on the day, I see how much my children learn by simply living life!

Photo courtesy of christine [cbszeto]

I Need to Temper My Temper

Patience is required for parenting and definitely necessary when you homeschool your kids. How is that I don’t have ANY patience these days? I have to find a way to change that. My fuse blows often enough that I think that the kids are getting suspicious about whether I truly am sorry for yelling yet again. I don’t know why I do it because it really is the least effective method of motivating the children to do anything.

I have a plan, though.

1. I will take the advice that I read in a devotion from Proverbs 31 Ministries today. It helped me to think about what is behind my anger, and maybe it will help you, too.
2. I will go to bed earlier so I get enough rest.
3. I will have my quiet time in the morning. I have been spending time with God at night, but I think I need to start the day with God.
4. As I learned at Mom to Mom, I will distinguish between childhood irresponsibility and willful disobedience. They are not the same and should not be treated the same way.
5. I will find a more effective way of transitioning my children from one thing to another. That is when they fall apart most often.
6. I will pray in the moment and take time to listen to what God has to say.

How do you get through the day without losing your temper?

Photo courtesy of hampdenarchy

Homeschool Conference Encouragement

Today we went to the homeschool conference! It was so good to be able to attend a couple of workshops and shop for curriculum with my hubby. Sometimes it feels like the kids are all my responsibility so it helps to have hubby with me to make big decisions like what homeschool curriculum we should use.

God is so faithful and He provides exactly what we need. I have been feeling a bit discouraged latley because of the naysayers out there who give me a difficult time about homeschooling. Everyone has an opinion about how I should educate my kids. I really should be used to that, though. Doesn’t that start when your first baby is born and everyone tells you how you should raise your kids? I got used to that so I know that I can get used to the judgment about my kids’ socialization education.

One of the speakers today gave a great tip that I have to share with you. Perhaps you already do this, but I think it is important enough to repeat. Write down a homeschool mission statement and plan. Why are you homeschooling? Who teaches the children which subjects? What will the children learn? You get the idea. The point of doing that is that you may need that information at some point in time. Your school district may ask for that kind of information. Your family and friends might continually ask you those questions. Or you and your spouse might need to be reminded of the answers to those questions when you feel discouraged or frustrated. It is the single most important tip I came away from the conference with today!

I look forward to sharing a few more gems with you from the confernce in the next few posts!

Photo courtesy of mp_eds

US Geography Ideas for Your Homeschool

I recently posted about a funny song to teach US geography. Here are a few other US geography ideas for your homeschool.

~ Mom is Teaching has a link to an interactive US map that you might be interested in using with your children. I tried it out myself and had a lot of fun with it!

~ We have a US map puzzle that names the state and capital when you place the piece in. This is great for those kids who love doing puzzles. The multisensory nature of this puzzle makes it easier for children to remember the states and capitals.

~ We have flashcards for the United States with information about each state listed on the back of the card. You could make your own flashcards, but make them more like baseball cards. Research each of the states and record important information on the backs of the cards.

~ Make tourist brochures for the states that it would be most appropriate to vacation in. Include a map of the state and information about things important to tourists in it. You can even include photos of great places to visit.

~ Create a topographical map for a state. Use a large piece of cardboard as the base to draw the state on and make the topographical features with air drying clay. Paint the features, too. Create a key for your map.

Have fun learning US geography together!

Heeding Advice

We are in the process of planning school for the fall. C4 is starting Kindergarten and A2 is starting preschool this year. This is an exciting time, but it is also a bit stressful. Of course we want to do what is best for our children. We also want to do what is best for each of us and for our family as a whole.

Right now we are wavering about whether or not homeschooling is the best choice for us this coming fall. The outside world is making me question what is right for our kids. Have you had this problem before? I keep reminding myself that I have to keep focused on what we think is best and to take only the advice that is reasonable. It is so hard to not be swayed by other people’s opinions and it is hard to discern when we should heed someone’s advice.

How do you discern what advice is worth listening to? How do you know that your decisions are the right ones for your family?