Mom vs. the Dot: Making it COUNT!

As our daughter finishes up her second grade year, I begin to stress and worry about next year.  In Pennsylvania, elementary students are tested in 3rd and 5th grade against state standards. Other moms tell me their 1st graders don't get recess because they've got to hit the books.  Second graders are made to learn learn learn at school, and then finish up the day with an hour of homework.  I began to wonder if I wasn't cramming enough into our daughter's head here at home. Homeschoolers tend to be more easygoing when it comes to school workloads.  We favor play and reading over boring, repetitive, or forced learning any day.  But I wonder if what I am doing is enough.  She really hates writing and that is something I know her peers do all day long.  They're good at it.  They can whip out sentences and paragraphs like nobody's business.  Spelling words?  No problem.  They've been at it since first grade.  They're profess...

This week, while reading Home Sweet Home-school by Sue Maakestad, I ran across a rather remarkable story about a woman in dire circumstances and her prayers to God for help.  I could hardly wait to share it with you! ----- "This is the story of a woman who was stranded in her home during a devastating flood. As the storm pounded the valley, the floodwaters rose higher and covered her front porch.  A man on a horse came by and offered her a ride.  She said no, she was asking God to deliver her from the storm. The waters inundated the bottom floor and she went upstairs and sat on the roof of the porch.  A man came by in a rowboat when the water was at the eaves and told her to climb in.  She gave him the same answer. She had climbed to her last perch on the roof when a guy in a helicopter offered her a lift and she turned him down.  The she cried out to God, 'Where are you, Lord?  I asked you to deliver me from the storm and nothing has h...

I have a hard time watching this video, but I have posted it to illustrate a point. Every parent comes to a crossroads in their child-raising adventure when this question must be considered: To Spank or Not to Spank? When our daughters misbehave, they respond well to time-outs or loss of video game/tv time.  End of story.  Fairly easy discipline. Enter our three-year-old boy.  I think he has been getting into trouble since he could move.  Walking and running have increased his mahem-making ability a hundred fold.  He has an internal magnet that leads him to trouble.  This weekend, I went to pick up my daughter from musical practice at a local church.  My two littles and I snuck in to watch the end of practice and then my boy shot past us - by the time I took my little girl's hand and exited the performance area, he was out of sight.  I didn't panic because he does this almost every week.  He always turns up, but searching for him t...

"You Need To Change Me!!"  This is my morning alarm. I wrestle my way out of the blankets, stumble to the bathroom, laugh at my sleep-induced hairstyle and go downstairs to do the dirty work.  For a moment, I take in the sight of my frowsy-haired children snuggled up on the couch.  Aren't they cute?  I love those little people. Before my feet hit the living room carpet, I am greeted by my darling children in a chorus of: "He stinks!" "You need to change him!" "Chocolate milk!" Sigh.    This morning, I recommended the following greetings as alternatives to their usual ones. Dear, sweet children, why don't you try a different morning greeting, such as: "I love you mama!" "Good morning mama!" "I'm happy to see you mama!" "Can I make you breakfast, mama?"  And they laughed at me. I don't understand -  we listen to Christian kids' songs on cd, ...

Do you remember when Walmart first installed the self-checkout lines?  They were so cool! Over a decade ago, I went with my future husband to pick up a few items at Walmart and had a funny surprise:  while I was waiting for him to check out his purchases, I leaned up against the checkout area.  When he placed his purchase there, the machine loudly declared, "UNEXPECTED ITEM!"  Josh looked at me with a funny grin on his face and said, "Yep - You're my unexpected item!"  He realized all the items had specific weights and my leaning on the scale (of which I was unaware) caused the alarm to go off. Neither one of us expected to find the perfect match, yet there we were! As married life has progressed, I've heard the mental shout of "UNEXPECTED ITEM" many times.  After two years of marriage, we decided it was time to try to have a baby.  When the baby came, it was an Unexpected Item.  I thought having a baby meant having a sweet little someone...

Yesterday, we tried to kick the winter doldrum blahs by creating our own icy fun.  At first check of the thermometer, I read 2 degrees.  That was perfect for creating our own ice using our giant outdoor freezer: the back porch. I rounded up some cupcake pans and gathered applesauce and ice cream cups that had been washed and saved for a rainy day. Each child was given their own cups to fill with water and decorate. They placed small toys, food coloring, and glitter in each cup to their own specifications. We placed them outside to freeze, and I expected them to be ready by lunch. As luck would have it, in a matter of 2 hours, the temperature had gone up 31 degrees and the sun had appeared, shining full force to melt the ice.  Well, that's not what I was expecting. I went and retrieved our experiment from the back porch, then popped it in my freezer.  They cups aren't very deep, so we waited about an hour.  We ate lunch and finished school, t...

Valentine's day meant a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese and had a homeschool Valentine's Day party.  And no school.  How much fun was that?  The germs must've been flying at one or both of those events because 48 hours later (the incubation period for germs), we were in the emergency room with our son, who was puking up neon green fluid.  We didn't think that was normal, so we took him to the professionals. Would you believe that my coat and his, and my purse, received the full force of the voms upon entering the ER?  A passer-by took one look at me and exclaimed, "You need HELP!"  Yes I do, lady - truer words have never been spoken.   We were triaged and taken right to an exam room - the one good thing could come from such an entrance.  Then followed a 5-hour stint of poking, prodding and testing the poor boy to find out what was happening in his little body.  On Monday, our son seemed to be back to health, so I decided ...