Mom vs. the Dot: Making it COUNT!

  A man and his wife bought a cabin at a lake.  They had almost reached retirement, so this was their plan.  They would spend weekends there, fishing and relaxing.  Rocking on the porch and watching the sunset. One weekend, the husband decided to go up early, hoping to get a "head start" on fishing.  His wife would join him after she was done with work.  When she arrived, his car was parked near the cabin, but he was no where to be seen.  After a thorough search of the cabin, the dock, and scanning the lake, he was still absent.  She waited for an hour or two to see if he had gone on a hike in the woods.  No hiker returned that day. For days, weeks, and months the police and the foresters, firefighters and neighbors searched the woods.  They dragged the lake. He had completely vanished. People wondered what had happened - did he have a heart attack and fall in the lake?  There was no one there to hear hi...

Why, in this generation of the 20-30 somethings, are we doing these crazy things? Why have returned to having larger families? Why do we favor organic foods over all others? Why do so many families homeschool their children? In my opinion, from what I have observed, it is because we want to do it better . We don't want to settle for 2 1/2 children. We don't want to settle for truck loads of lab-based, over-processed, fake food. We don't want to settle for a one-size fits all education. We are done settling.  We want to do it better . We want to experience what is like to have large families, and we want to love on each child God blesses us with equally.  We want to help each child in our family to develop to their full potential.  We want them to be able to "discover themselves" in a safe, supportive environment.  We want to have as many as we can - we think children are great! We want to grow our own food - to experience the whole pr...

What does the public think of homeschool families? In the last few months, I have heard from a number of sources that we are considered elitists. My first reaction?  Why in the world would they think that?  We're just Average Joes. After further reflection, I realized: In attempt to defend our choice of schooling our children at home, many homeschool families develop a "thick skin" and defensive attitude, which may come off as: "We're better than you." I hope that my previous articles regarding homeschooling have not cast that light on us. If so, that was not my intent. In order to shed some light on our point of view and the way we represent homeschooling, I'd like to share what an average day is like for my family: After breakfast, we spend 1 1/2 hours doing schoolwork.  My daughter works diligently at her reading, writing, spelling and math.  My preschoolers watch videos and play games to learn their alphabet and numbers.  We ...

"Lord, why is it that we mothers feel embarrassed when our youngsters misbehave in public?  They are just being children, yet our cheeks burn with shame when they are less than perfect.  Then, to cover our embarrassment, we treat them unfairly or embarrass them. Forgive me when I react to my children in a less-than-loving way, Father.  You never withhold your love from me.  Grant me the wisdom and understanding to deal with problems before they get out of hand; to avoid the anger that clouds my good judgment. Childhood passes so quickly.  I don't want to spend it scolding and reprimanding.  Show me how to deal with my children in loving kindness, as you do, and to let them know how much they mean to me." I read A Mother's Daily Prayer Book on occasion for morning devotions.  I read a variety of books whenever I get the chance.  I need insight.  I need guidance.  Sometimes, they strike me just right, right where I am.  T...

The girls and I were watching a Steve Spangler science video this week, and I was inspired.  I usually am motivated by his videos to do some science experiments, and this particular one was so fun and easy, we actually did it! Screaming Balloons: Supplies: 1 bag 9-inch balloons Several 1/4" hex nuts Children The balloons were 20 for $1.00 at the Dollar Store.  The hex nuts were 3 cents a piece at our hardware store.  Doesn't get cheaper or easier than that. You simply place the hex nut in the mouth of the balloon, jiggle it to the bottom, blow it up and tie it shut.  Bada Bing, Bada Boom - you're ready for fun! Hand said balloon to nearest child and tell them to shake it.  If they can get the hex nut swirling around the inside of the balloon just so, it makes a wonderful car-revving "screaming" sound.  Lower pitch if slower, higher pitch if it is moving faster. A super easy object lesson if you are studying sound waves or motion. Okay...

Favorite Homeschool Helps for my Preschoolers? Hands Down, Our Top Three: Busy Beavers My three-year-old rambunctious boy's favorite video: Have Fun Teaching The Walking Song - great for getting up and moving!  My preschoolers love the "walk like a robot" part the best.  This gets my kids up and moving, from preschool to second grade.  It's fun, it's cool - and yes, even mom gets in on the action with this one.  They also have individual letter songs, exercise songs, social skills songs, and much more.  All set to dance music.   Super Simple Songs We have watched many of the videos from SSS - this one we discovered just today.  Immediately, my 3 and 4-year-olds were up and doing the motions right along with this little bird, or whatever he is.  Very engaging.  Cute, fun.  Can't beat these resources! They're all FREE, fun, educational, age-appropriate, and my kids love them. As for " preschool ," we use ...

In college, I earned a little income working in the cafeteria's dishwashing room, affectionately labeled "The Dish Pit" by all who worked there.  Mountains of dirty, smelly dishes would trundle through on a conveyor belt while we rinsed, sorted, and placed them on trays to be industrially cleaned.  After my shift, I would smell like everything the cafeteria had served that day.  Eeew!  Shower time. Silly me - I thought I would escape the dish pit after college. Now I have a dishpit in my house!  Breakfast...lunch...dinner...snacks.  Every time we eat, more and more dishes pile up by the sink.  Every time I cook dinner, the pots, pans, and baking sheets are stacked higher and higher.  Sometimes I feel like I'm doing dishes all day long.  Every day of the week.  Every week of the year.  It's a never-ending, rarely rewarding job, but it must be done. It must, or we will all lose our ever-loving minds...and our soft, smoot...