Mom vs. the Dot: Making it COUNT!

Some of you may wonder what we really do in homeschool.  My first post didn't give you much indication, except that I've tried to instill a good ethic in our kids. Usually, we do 3 or more subjects.  Math, reading, writing (the 3 R's). Singapore math and computer games for review. The Reading Lesson (for Hulk Boy grade 1) Pick something interesting to read (everyone else) Picture journal entries (this is a big hit!)  We try to do an art project each month.   Here are some self-portraits I think   turned out well. We also have workbooks for grammar (Daily Grammar), Bible (A Reason for), and spelling (A Reason For).  We do those on alternating days so as not to burn out the kids or me!  We are also trying out Life of Fred books.  We made it through Apples together and are now working on Australia. Everything else is bonus. We watch JellyTelly for devotions. We sing all sorts of songs - from goofy to worship....

Here are a few pics from our first day of school.  These tell a much better story than my foggy memory could put together. We have kept the subjects light, had plenty of time outdoors, and a few field trips!  It all began with pancakes.  Really!  As I rushed around making sure everything was ready, my 10-year-old requested pancakes for breakfast, to make the first day of school really special.  I took the bait.  "Ok- but you have to make them."  And she did! I'm trying to work on learning independence, time management, and new skills.  Cooking is high on the list.  The girls now know how to make brownies, scrambled eggs, five-minute rice, pancakes and grilled cheese sandwiches.  Also, microwave quesadillas and popcorn (of course!). Doing chores without complaining is going to be another biggie this year.  Can you believe the girls asked to sweep out the carport?  Instead of saying, "No - I'm going to do this....

All summer long, I tried to relax and enjoy the days as they went by. Unfortunately, against my will, every day was so chock-full of business, I have a hard time enjoying it.  Instead, I just tried to survive. Okay - well this day at the park was nice.  I enjoyed a walk with my kids and dog.  It was a beautiful day, but it was blisteringly hot.  I was trying to fit in some fun before an hour-long practice with my VBS kids worship team and another hour of practice for our skits last Wednesday. In spring, I scheduled our church's Camp Out VBS mid-August, thinking this would give me a leisurely amount of time to plan, organize, and execute VBS.  How hard could it be?  After an entire summer of shopping, meetings, planning, decorating and stress...I have decided to try again next year, only in June.  I will say that God blessed my feeble efforts with over 20 willing volunteers and 27 wonderful children who came to join in the fun.  They hea...

Have you ever taught a child to swim? I have attempted it. I also recall taking swimming lessons at the "Y" various times growing up.  That summer when I was in kindergarten, and then the mandatory 4th-grade swim sessions.  In the winter.  Our hair froze into icicles on the return trip to school every day. When we moved four years ago, it was with joyous anticipation that each summer would be spent swimming in our above-ground pool.  We would have a blast!  I would teach each of the children to swim, being proficient in the art of swimming myself, I thought it would be a piece of cake. This is the first summer that Shop Girl and Hulk Boy are just barely tall enough to reach the bottom of the pool on tiptoes while stretching their necks as far as they can to breathe in air.  Almost 4 feet tall, tipping their faces just above the surface for oxygen.  They have informed me they don't need floaties anymore. I have tried to teach them a fe...

A few weeks ago, my husband spotted a nest in a bush in our yard.  The bird had built it low enough that the kids could see it every day.  We took daily pictures and watched them grow. We went from three cute little blue eggs to... "Eew!"  "They look gross!"  "Like fuzzy meat blobs." "Oooh! They're getting more feathers!"  "Look!  They're getting feathers on their wings." "Feed me!  Feed me!  Feed me!"  Boy, that looked familiar - that mama bird ran for worms to feed her little birdies as often as I feel like I'm running to the grocery store for my little flock. "Uh-oh - they're getting bigger.  They hardly fit in the nest."  My husband and I knew what would happen next, but this was a first time for the kids.  I wanted to wait and see how they reacted to the next phase of little birdie development. Here they are, ready to pop out of the nest! And then, it ...

You don't realize when you're a homeschool family just how very, very much you put off while educating and caring for your children. Some families may be able to do it all.  We are not one of those families. Honestly, I am just not one of those moms. We school from about 10:00 - 1:00 every weekday, leaving little time for anything else.  Afternoon and evening activities fill several nights a week.  Work and church fill every weekend. Two of our activities ended this month and I feel like I can breathe again. This morning, my wonderful mother-in-law whisked my children away for a day of fun with their cousins.  I felt slightly guilty for not going, because I love spending time with my family. Waving goodbye to the happy minivan load of people, I turned around and entered my house.  When you're going full-tilt all school year, you may not notice things accumulating like...6 months of mail piled up or that you've put off scheduling your personal...

Do anyone else's group shots look like this?  This is as good as it gets with us.   Not perfect, but better. This is my motto.  At one time in my life, I considered myself a perfectionist.  That was when I was the only person in my life.  I ate a healthy diet, I was in good physical shape, I had a super-healthy devotional life, and enjoyed my work.  I shared an apartment with a college friend, it was always perfectly clean.  My laundry was always done in one or two loads.  I bought a small bag full of groceries and it would last me a whole week.  I went on bike rides and joined a fitness club - I thought that was perfection.  But there was something I didn't know.   I didn't know how empty and lonely life could be when I was by myself.   And how quiet. I may have been teaching a classroom full of kids, but none of them were my own . I lived close to my family, but I didn't have one of my own.  Most of ...

It has been a long time since I've updated you on Art Girl's progress, so it's time! Actually, we had sort of a breakthrough day this past week.  It's all about Raising the Bar. After testing last spring , I decided to just buy the next level of homeschool books and proceed along the same path we had been taking. I was unsatisfied post-testing because we had no diagnosis, but I still knew there were some things about the way she learns that were not addressed.  They were not even a concern on the educational psychologist's radar.  She said to practice writing more and work on spelling.  Well...DUH! (Can I say that?  Is that too 90's?  Well, I was a teen in the 90's, so I'm owning it. I may even throw in a "Holy Cow!") There were also concerns about math, not being able to memorize, not understanding directions, shutting down in the middle of lessons...my list went on and on, but they were not convinced there was a serious enoug...

Slowly, it's dawning on me. We are moving on to bigger things.  I don't know if these things bigger and better , exactly.  Not yet.  Just a few years ago, I posted Superhero Undies in the Toilet and The Boo Boo Sock . When we moved in to this house, we had to put a step ladder up in the bathrooms so they could reach the sink. We devoted an entire downstairs room to toys and play, because that's what the kids were doing at ages 1, 2, and 5. The kids are now 5, 6 and 9 going on 5, 7 and 10 very, very soon (Hulk Boy's not 6 'til August). Whew!  Those 4 years flew by in an exhausting, busy blur. I once a shared with a friend that all of motherhood feels like a stone being "washed" in the ocean.  It rolls back and forth with the tides and the turbulent breakwaters, and finally ends up on the beach. After a quick breath of respite, the water comes back and pulls it back in the ocean.  Into the turbulence and the deep water.  The brin...

Has anyone else had to deal with statements like that this week?  Here are some sound bytes from our week so far: "I kicked him on the eye on accident," yelled Shopgirl in desperate attempt to erase the one millionth entry from the Hurt Hulk Boy Again Hall of Fame. Sigh. There's a lot of sighing that goes on in motherhood, I've found. It's time to head out the door.  All kids have miraculously found their boots, coats, hats, and gloves AND have put them on their bodies (be still my heart) and then comes that last-minute statement: "Where is my Star Wars shirt?  It's Star Wars night at our after-school program." Really?  You couldn't have mentioned that yesterday, or even this morning perhaps?  If you asked 5 minutes ago , we could have dug through your shirt drawer and threw something on.  Time's up.  Sorry - what you have on will have to do.  We're late (again!).  Let's go!! Sigh. We've had all mornin...

In the last month or so, everything spun wildly out of control.  Crazy-fast, extremely crammed, not a moment to think of anything except completing the next task.  The kids, on the other hand, had a great time! I'm not exactly sure how that happens.  We homeschool, so I set our schedule.  We keep our "out of home" activities pretty limited - two evening activities a week, and church activities on Sundays. All the extra Christmas shopping, baking, present coordinating, buying, wrapping and hiding might have done it.  We only baked one batch of cookies.  I sent only a few Christmas cards.  We went to only one Christmas party...but it all adds up.  Every time I sat down with the thought of writing a blog, there was something else that would come up. Things like Shop Girl's hair being caught on the water spout of the tub during bath time.  Shrieks of "Cut it off!  Cut it off!" could be heard throughout the house.   (...