Oct. 7, 2008 - Random Thoughts
As we had our basement finished this past spring, I've been meaning to get our furnace serviced and cleaned out. The technician came this morning and reported that it is unsafe to run because we have a large crack in the heat exchanger! We had it serviced about 2 years ago, so I wasn't even planning on getting it checked for a couple more years. Thankfully, we found out now and I'm glad it's still fairly warm out. Now, we have to buy a new furnace :( .
Speaking of money, are you worried about the stock market problems and other issues in the economy? Our pastor gave a great sermon on Sunday: "What Would Jesus Say: When the Dow Drops 700 Points" Hear it here.
I've been energized by politics in the last few weeks. Why? Sarah Palin, of course. She is fascinating to me. I would NEVER have the energy to do what she does, and would NEVER want to be President. I do respect her, though. I think that it's beautiful to see her care for her baby. I remember when I was pregnant with my 2nd or 3rd child being encouraged by my doctor to undergo certain tests to check for Down's Syndrome. When I declined, he said, "I think too many people think that having a Down's child means he'll be as capable as the actor on TV." I was shocked. He was telling me that any child not as "capable" as that actor should be killed! I hope Palin will help people understand the beauty in special needs kids and perhaps abortion will decrease.
I have a couple of funny connections to the Palins. I lived in Anchorage in the late 70s; my dad worked up on the North Slope. We went to Wasilla for the State Fair! Nowadays, I have some relatives (on my husband's side) who live near there. I also have an interesting connection to the Bush family. We lived in Midland, Texas right before we moved to Alaska (there's oil there too!) and went to the same church as George W. and Laura Bush. Mrs. Bush was my VBS teacher one summer!
Well, it's nap time. More random thoughts to follow. . . .
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Oct. 6, 2008 - Time for an Update
Wow! My baby will be 4 weeks old tomorrow! She's doing great. Sometimes she sleeps a longer stretch of about 4-6 hours at night (sometimes not). We finally made it back to church yesterday, so things are getting a little bit back to normal.
My mother-in-law was here for 2 1/2 weeks. It was so wonderful to have her here for so long, especially since my husband had a couple of business trips. We got a lot of household projects done, including cleaning out the refrigerators, the pantry and the laundry room; putting closet organizers in the boys' closet, the girls' closet, and the basement closets; and painting the girls' room. It's finally pink! We also have new furniture for them, which had previously been my husband's sister's furniture and then her daughter's. I'm glad that it's stayed in the family!
My mom will be here next week and will get to stay for 2 weeks. I'm hoping we'll get to do a few field trips (like the zoo and children's museum) while she's here. One thing we'll do is celebrate my 5 yo daughter's birthday at a Tea Party Restaurant (www.infiniti-tea.net)!
We didn't completely give up homeschooling during the past month. Here is what we did: 2 field trips--picking apples and a farm festival where the kids got to make a rope, grind corn, watch a sheep-herding demonstration, and see a threshing machine threshing wheat. That was neat since I grind my own wheat to make bread and it gave the kids a chance to see how the wheat berries are separated from the wheat plant.
We've been reading "Spy for the Night Riders" by Jackson, which is a historical fiction novel about Martin Luther. Next week we'll start a more intensive study about Martin Luther and the Reformation in preparation for our Reformation Party on October 31. I wrote a unit study which is posted at homeschool helper online (get it here.)
My husband is reading "Ten Peas in a Pod", a wonderful story about a family of 8 kids who traveled around the country in the earlier part of the 20th century, holding evangelistic meetings. I highly recommend it. For Bible Time we've been talking about Phil. 2:`4-15--no complaining or arguing. Our memory verse right now is Titus 2:11-12: "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age." In other words, we can be self-controlled, no excuses! I've come up with 5 rules that we need to get ingrained in ourselves: 1. Obey (right away and with a good attitude), 2. Speak nicely, 3. Work diligently, 4. No complaining, 5. No sinning when angry. Several of these are for me (I'll let you guess which ones :) ).
For history we've been studying the Mayans using Mystery of History, Story of the World, Jonathan Park "Ancient City of the Jaguar", library books, and Moody Science Video "Empty Cities". For science we're studying rainforests. We've read lots of library books and will start a lapbook tomorrow. After we're done with the Martin Luther novel, I'll start reading "The Jungle Book."
The four older kids are also back in swim lessons and two oldest in violin lessons. For math, they've been playing lots of games. I also finished reading "Little House in the Big Woods" to the girls. They're done with the lapbook booklets (which we got free from lapbook lessons); we just need to put it together now. Maybe tomorrow!
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Sep. 16, 2008 - A Name and More Pictures
Our baby is a week old today, and we finally picked a name for her! The first initial is "L"!
Here are some more pictures:
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Sep. 12, 2008 - Our New Baby!
Our new little girl was born on Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 4:25 p.m. She weighed 8 lbs. 7 oz. and was 21 in. long. We're still thinking about name. Here are a few pictures.
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Sep. 6, 2008 - Updated Schedule 2008-09
After having been at this a few weeks, I've made some changes to our schedule:
Time What to do
6:00-7:00 Wake up, shower, breakfast
7:00-8:30 Morning Chores (vitamins, brush teeth, dishwasher, fold clothes, practice violin)
8:30-9:15 Bible Time (story or doctrine, read Bible, memory practice, sing, and pray)
9:15-9:45 B, J, M handwriting or copywork; B, J phonics dictation/spelling; B, J history notebook entry
9:45-10:15 M: Math (game);
T: Math (manipulatives);
W: Violin lesson;
Th: Lapbook or history project;
F: Math (living books and/or worksheets)
10:15-11:30 M: read library books or go to library;
T: read library books or science experiment;
W: Violin lesson;
Th: Swim lessons;
F: Lapbook or art
11:30-12:00 Lunch and clean up
12:00-1:00 P.E./ play outside, computer for Mom
1:00-1:15 T & R down for naps (read first)
1:15-2:30 B, J read to Mom; M phonics; read-aloud of poetry, history lesson, and novel/ biography
2:30-3:30 Quiet/ rest time
3:30-4:00 Snack and free play; W: clean up downstairs
4:00-4:30 M, T, F: Free play; W: voice lesson; Th: clean up basement
4:30-5:00 Clean up downstairs; W: voice lesson
5:00-5:30 Video and dinner prep (only educ. videos during the week)
5:30-6:30 Dinner and clean up
6:30-7:00 Family worship time
7:00-7:30 T to bed
7:30-8:15 Other kids to bed
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Sep. 5, 2008 - Our Homeschooling Week
This will be a dual entry--for this past week and for next week.
The big accomplishments this week were finishing our Desert study, finishing "Something Greater Than Gold" (biography of Eric Liddell), and starting up violin lessons again. In Bible Time we continued our reading of Jesus' life in Egermeier's Story Bible, memorized 1 Tim. 4:12, and sang "This is my Father's World."
My due date is tomorrow, so next week's plans might change! (Actually, I hope they do.)
We'll get back into our study of Mystery of History, focusing on Constantine and the Edict of Milan, as well as the Golden Age of India. We'll do some notebook pages, labeling maps, and a craft (making a shield like Constantine used in the Battle of Milvian Bridge.) The next section of the history book is about the Mayan civilization, so I decided we'd go ahead and do our Rainforest Unit Study now (and save Britain for later). I've reserved the rainforest books at the library, so next week we'll just read some of those.
For Bible Time we'll continue in Egermeier's, review 1 Tim. 4:12, and sing "You Are My All in All." My husband is reading another Sherlock Holmes book to the boys (he finished one of them this week), and I'm still reading "Little House in the Big Woods" to the girls. We'll do some more projects and lapbook mini-books for the Little House lapbook. I'll also start reading a Trailblazers book about Martin Luther (in preparation for our October Martin Luther/ Reformation/ Germany unit study).
Other "regular" things will continue (handwriting for the boys, phonics for my 4 yo, math activities).
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Sep. 5, 2008 - Deserts Unit Study and Lapbook
We have completed our unit study on Deserts. I'm glad my 7 yo son suggested it; we had a lot of fun!
First, here are some pictures of our diorama of the Sonoran Desert (of Arizona and Northern Mexico):
The four older kids chose what they wanted to make to put in the box. We have desert tortoises, a barrel cactus, saguaro cactus, tarantulas, a coyote, a wolf spider, a Gila monster, a rattlesnake, a spadefoot toad, a roadrunner, and a yucca plant complete with yucca moth and caterpillar.
For our lapbook, I received most of these ideas from Homeschoolshare and Homeschool in the Woods, as well as a great book from the library: Discovering Deserts by Ranger Rick's Nature Scope.
Our first section was all about desert animals. The boys (ages 6 and 7) did a great job writing about different animals, such as rattlesnakes, camels, yucca moths and caterpillars, desert night hunters, roadrunners, nocturnal vs. diurnal animals, desert birds, jackrabbit vs. rabbit, tarantula, desert iguana, desert tortoise, scorpions, red-tailed hawk, Gila monster, coyotes, and kangaroo rat.
We wrote about how to survive in a desert and defined vocabulary words (succulent, evaporate, erosion, drought, venom, prey, predator, irrigation, oasis, desert, nocturnal, diurnal, photosynthesis, overgraze, nomad).
The next section had four different groups of desert people and items/ animals associated with them: Bushmen, Hopi Indian, Aborigine, Tuareg. And we wrote about desert climate.
Next was a wheel that shows what happens after it rains, a comparison of the Sahara and Sonoran Deserts, a world map of deserts that my son labeled, and desert landforms.
The last section was about desert vegetation.
We did a couple of easy science experiments on evaporation and growing salt crystals.
The craft ideas came from Crafts for Kids Who are Wild About Deserts (Ross):
Here is a rattlesnake, desert skunk (with and without spray), and a coyote:
Here are the books we read:
Desert Books:
The desert alphabet book (Pallotta, Jerry)
Deserts (Brewer, Duncan)
Crafts for kids who are wild about deserts (Ross, Kathy)
Draw desert animals (DuBosque, D. C.)
In the desert (Schwartz, David M.)
The magic school bus gets all dried up : a book about deserts (Weyn, Suzanne)
Desert animals (Steele, Christy)
Desert (Star, Fleur)
Life in the desert (Legg, Gerald)
People of the deserts (Lambert, David)
Discovering deserts (Ranger Rick’s Nature Scope)
Wonders of the desert (Sabin, Louis)
Cactus desert (Silver, Donald M.)
Cactus hotel (Guiberson, Brenda Z.)
One day in the desert (George, Jean Craighead)
Alejandro's gift (Albert, Richard E.)
Way out in the desert (Marsh, T. J.)
Deserts (Mariner, Tom)
The water hole (Base, Graeme)
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Aug. 25, 2008 - Our Homeschooling Week
This week we're going to focus on finishing up our Desert Unit Study. Today we did a few crafts from the book "Crafts for Kids Who Are Crazy About Deserts." My sons made a rattlesnake and skunk, and my daughter made a coyote. My oldest son also wrote a lot about desert animals in some mini books for the lapbook we'll put together. For Bible Time this week we'll be reading about people's desert experiences. Today was Moses in the land of Midian where he was a shepherd and saw the burning bush. Tomorrow we'll read about the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years. We're continuing our memorization of the Apostle's Creed and singing "How Great Thou Art."
Here are some other things I have planned for the week: finishing our desert library books (we have LOTS!), doing a diorama of a desert landscape with animals, doing a couple of science experiments, copywork of Scripture about deserts, watching a desert video, going to a nursery to see (and maybe buy) some cactus, and finishing up our lapbook (mapping deserts around the world, graphing rainfall and temperature, comparing landforms, animals, people who live in deserts, how to survive in deserts, vegetation, etc.)
Also, my oldest son has finished up his Rod and Staff readers, so I told him he could pick a novel to read now. He picked "Sherlock Holmes!" I thought it would be too hard for him, but now I'm seeing that he is stumbling over more words, and it will be good for me to hear him read it aloud in order to help him with those.
I'm still reading the biography of Eric Liddell, and my husband is reading a different Sherlock Holmes book at night along with the book of Acts. I'll start reading "Little House in the Big Woods" to the girls at night.
For history, we'll be studying the end of the Roman Empire and about India this week with Mystery of History. There are a couple of activites to do there also, but those might have to wait until next week.
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Aug. 23, 2008 - Olympics Lapbook
Here are some pictures from the Olympics lapbook we just put together.
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Aug. 22, 2008 - Volcano
We did our volcano experiment! We were supposed to build a "mountain" of dirt around the water bottle, but the dirt in our backyard is as hard as stone right now. And I wasn't in the mood to deal with mud, so we just stuck the bottle in some clover to hold it up! Inside the water bottle was 2 T. of baking soda, a few drops of dish soap, and a few drops of red food coloring. After it was all in place, I poured some vinegar in it, and it erupted!
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Aug. 20, 2008 - Loving your Husband and Children/ Homemaking
Last night I led a session for a few women at my home about loving our husbands and children and homemaking, from Titus 2:3-5. Below is the handout we used. It was a really fun evening sharing with other women and encouraging each other in the struggles we all have in these areas. If you have other websites or ideas to share, please leave a comment!
Becoming a Woman of Influence at Home
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Titus 2:3-5 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
Proverbs 31:10-31
10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.
16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
29 "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
I. Authority of Scripture 2 Timothy 3:16-17
We believe that the best way to love our husbands and children and to be good homemakers is to follow God's way in the Bible.
II. What Do We Learn From the Proverbs 31 Woman?
She is a wife of noble character, her husband has full confidence in her, she brings him good and not harm, does all she can at home so that he is respected at the city gate. She is working at home: works with eager hands/ vigorous and strong arms, gets up while it’s still dark, not lazy, understands finances, has earnings and uses her wages to help her family and not to get things for herself, she has many homemaking skills (selects wool and flax, provides food, plants a vineyard, holds distaff and grasps spindle, makes garments and sells them, makes coverings for her bed), takes care of herself (she’s strong) and her appearance (clothed nicely), helps the poor/ministers to others. Her character: has strength and dignity, planned-up for the future, wise, teaches faithfully, not idle, fears the Lord. She’ll be praised by her husband, her children, and at the city gate.
*This is a goal to work towards; it's not something we'll be able to obtain overnight!
III. How to Love Your Husband
A. Genesis 2:18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." Great resource: Created to be his Help Meet by Debi Pearl (www.NoGreaterJoy.org). We are created to be our husband’s helper.
B. Ways to be Your Husband’s Helper: have a merry heart; be thankful, joyful, and content; be playful, available, and make love fun; submit to his authority (Eph. 5:22-24 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Col. 3:18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 1 Cor. 11:3 Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.); understand him and adapt to that understanding; serve him; be feminine (long hair?, different clothes?—but modest. Don’t cause any other men to lust); respect him; don’t do or say anything that will cause him to mistrust you; never say anything bad about him.
C. How can I Be My Husband’s Helper When He’s Such a Jerk?
From Created to be his Help Meet:
“Our obedience in the role of ‘help meet’ is not dependent on our husband’s obedience to God.”
“You have two choices. You can doubt God and say, ‘I know God does not expect me to honor this mean man.’ Or, you can say, ‘God, I know your Word teaches me to be a woman who is there to help all my husbands’ desires and dreams. Make me that woman.’ God made you to fulfill this eternal vision. Until you embrace that divine plan for your life, your life will never make sense. You will always be struggling. When you can finally let go and believe God, life will become so simple that you won’t have to wonder what you should do. You will know. This eternal vision will change your mind, thus changing your actions, and, most importantly, it will change your reactions. Ask God for the wisdom to become the very best help meet.”
D. Three Types of Men and Ways to Adapt to Your Husband’s Type:
1. Mr. Command Man
2. Mr. Visionary
3. Mr. Steady
**Find an excerpt of Chapter 8 here.
E. Work on Becoming Best Friends with Your Husband.
Another great book is Passionate Housewives Desperate for God by Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald. Quote from pp. 114-15:
“Today’s wives are told they cannot expect their husbands to be their best friends or to meet all of their needs. We are encouraged to seek out women friends who can share our woes, listen to our marital problems, and commiserate over the difficulties of bringing up children. We’re supposed to schedule time to just “hang out,” spending money or dishing out the latest “news” over a cup of coffee. Of course, there is a place for relationships between women, but these cannot be based upon gossip, family disloyalty, shared bitterness, or unwholesome intimacy.”
F. Assignments for Loving Your Husband
From p. 123 in Created to Be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl:
Monday: Write three new things that you will add to your life that will cause you to become more precious to your husband.
Tuesday: List three things that you can do that will be a help to him.
Wednesday: Write down three things you can do that will be an encouragement to him.
Thursday: Jot down three things about your appearance that you can change, which he is sure to like.
Friday: List three things that you can do to your house that will please him.
Saturday: Write three things you can do (for example, intimate time together) that will make him feel like he is THE MAN.
Sunday: Plan three ways you can respond to him in front of others that will show a heart of respect and honor toward him.
Another assignment can be found at Nancy Leigh DeMoss’s Revive Our Hearts website: 30-Day Husband Encouragement Challenge for Wives.
IV. How to Love Your Children
A. The Best Way? Love your husband/ their dad! See above.
B. Teach Them About God
Deut. 6:5-7 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Eph. 6:4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
How? Don’t rely on church, Sunday School, Awana, BSF, etc. You (and your husband, hopefully) should read through the Bible with them (try one chapter or a few verses each night before bed when they turn 1 year old), use a devotional guide (see church library for lots of ideas—I like Leading Little Ones to God by M. Schoolland), memorize verses together as a family (start at age 3 or 4), learn a hymn or praise song every week, pray for them aloud every night and teach them to pray, read books/ biographies to help the understand godly character, worship at church together as a family. Also, read and study the Bible yourself and pray daily!
C. Discipline Your Children As God’s Word Says
Prov. 22:15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.
Prov. 13:24 He who spares the rod hates his son,
but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.
Prov. 29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom,
But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother. (NASB)
Col. 3:20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
Heb. 12:11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Prov. 23:13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you punish him with the rod, he will not die.
Prov. 19:18 Discipline your son, for in that there is hope;
do not be a willing party to his death.
Prov. 29:17 Discipline your son, and he will give you peace;
he will bring delight to your soul.
Eph. 6:1, 4 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Along with the “rod” (negative discipline), they need the “reproof”: use God’s Word to teach them why what they are doing is wrong. Help them to examine their own hearts to discover their motives. And have them practice doing it the right way.
Ginger Plowman’s resources (such as “Wise Words for Moms”) are wonderful (GingerPlowman.com). Get downloads of her seminars “Reaching the Heart of Your Child,” “Taming the Tongue,” and “The Bottom Line” from BestChristianConferences.com.
D. Don’t Provoke Your Children to Anger
Eph. 6:4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Col. 3:21 Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
A great resource for this topic is Lou Priolo’s book The Heart of Anger. Here are 25 different ways that parents can provoke their children to anger (see the book for further explanations):
Lack of marital harmony
Establishing and maintaining a child-centered home
Modeling sinful anger
Habitually disciplining while angry
Scolding
Being inconsistent with discipline
Having double standards
Being legalistic
Not admitting you’re wrong and not asking for forgiveness
Constantly finding fault
Parents reversing God-given roles
Not listening to your child’s opinion or taking his “side of the story” seriously
Comparing them to others
Not making time “just to talk”
Not praising or encouraging your child
Failing to keep your promises
Chastening in front of others
Not allowing enough freedom
Allowing too much freedom
Mocking your child
Abusing them physically
Ridiculing or name-calling
Unrealistic expectations
Practicing favoritism
Child training with worldly methodologies inconsistent with God’s Word
E. Basics
1. Have good schedules/ routines for eating and sleeping. (I like Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Weisbluth, latest version.)
2. Very little screen time (includes TV, video, video games, computer).
3. Healthy food.
4. Read aloud a lot!
5. Protect them—be careful whom you leave them with.
6. Provide lots of free imaginative play and outdoor play. (A great book is Susan Shaeffer MacCauley’s book For the Children’s Sake.)
V. Be a Worker at Home
Titus 2:4-5 Then they can train the younger women . . .to be busy at home (NIV), homemakers (NKJV), working at home (ESV), keepers at home (KJV), workers at home (NASB), keep a good house (Message), work in their homes (NLT).
1. We Must Become Content in This Role
1 Tim. 6:6-8 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
Phil. 4:11 I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
Heb. 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
A great book to read on this subject is Passionate Housewives, Desperate for God by Chancy and MacDonald. A quote from p. 47:
“Christian women must reject any distorted view of the modern housewife—whether it be the miserable household drudge; the fanatical, sock-matching wonder-woman; the child-centered, worn out soccer mom; or the deceptive, apron-wearing vixen. When we consistently renew our minds by absorbing Scripture and by passionately embracing the sacred calling God has truly given us as women, we will refute the perverted image of the desperate housewife by believing His promises and showing the world there is something better for which we can truly be passionate!”
2. Meals
Plan ahead, make extra and freeze, use crock-pot (can put the stuff in the night before), plan out monthly or seasonal menus (“think once and write it down”—Kym Wright), have a pre-printed grocery list, e-mealz.com, have a stocked pantry and fridge/freezer, organize a recipe binder or notebook of recipes you use (not hope to use).
3. Organizing
Simplify—throw or give away what you aren’t using.
Mail—try to touch each piece only once, have folders labeled to file away (e.g. Coupons, Read Later, File Later, Husband, Bills to Pay, Need to Answer, Fliers and Coupons that Expire This Week), have shredder/trash/recycle box nearby.
Bills—do as many automatic and/or online as possible, have certain days each month that you pay the others, have a chart of every bill and mark it off as you pay (so you won’t miss any).
Calendar—paper, online, pda. Just use it!
MotivatedMoms.com—if you need help with scheduling what to do each day.
OrganizingPro.com—free articles and downloads
4. Cleaning
Schedule it—choose one: once a week, one day upstairs and another day downstairs, a different room every day.
Learn how to clean—FlyLady.com, TheCleanTeam.com
Use safe cleaners—Like Shaklee, so your kids can hang around you or do it themselves. Search internet for recipes to make your own.
Teach kids—to clean as soon as they are able
Get help—be creative (share with a friend, make some money so you can afford a maid, etc.)
5. Home Business
Make sure God, husband, and children come first.
Research well before investing.
Get your husband’s advice and approval.
6. Learning New Skills
Set goals (e.g. learn one major skill every year, such as sewing or quilting, canning or baking your own bread, gardening).
Get with other women to learn, find a mentor.
7. Practicing Hospitality
1 Pet. 4:9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
Rom. 12:13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
It’s ok to start small and simply. Set a goal, such as inviting one single person or a family every two months.
Get the house ready, plan the meal, and just do it!
Good book—Karen Ehman’s A Life that Says Welcome: Simple Ways to Open Your Heart and Home to Others.
8. Saving Money
Amy Dacyczyn’s Tightwad Gazette and Jonni McCoy Miserly Moms.
Freecycle.org (give away or get things for free)
Local Library
HillbillyHousewife.com, BabyCheapskate.com
Internet has tons of free stuff
Food co-ops
Coupons—find a system to organize them.
Bulk stores like Sam’s and Costco, discount stores like Garden Fresh and Aldi
9. Don’t “leave home” by phone, email, blogging, chat rooms, etc.
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Aug. 19, 2008 - Our Homeschooling Week
We didn't quite get to everything last week, as usual. One morning we spent cleaning out our mini-van because my husband was picking up our new (used) vehicle that evening. So, the next morning I spent reading the owner's manual! Now, our whole family (when the baby arrives) will be able to fit in one car. Yeah! And, yes, we have 6 car seats!
I also had an appointment with a nutritionist. Our youngest (22 months) is very small for his age. Everything possibly physically wrong with him has been ruled out, so we all think he's just not getting enough calories. I'll share some of what I learned at a later post. And, I had an OB appointment. As I am now over 35, they want to do non-stress tests at all these later appointments. (I'm at 37 weeks today!) They simply check the baby's heart rate every time he or she moves. If it accelerates, they think that's a good sign. I don't mind these non-invasive tests. It helps me feel better about things, too. But the appointments are longer, so I have a wonderful lady who's been coming over to play with the kids so I don't have to bring them along.
This week:
We'll finish up our study on volcanoes. We read another book, saw a DVD, and did a notebook page on them yesterday. Tomorrow, we'll make a volcano using baking soda and vinegar (and red food coloring, of course!)
We started learning the Apostle's Creed and will make a copy of it into an ancient manuscript (soaking it in tea and letting it dry). We're also learning the hymn "The Old Rugged Cross."
We've been watching the Olympics. I have all the lapbook stuff cut out, so hopefully we will get to that before they end on Sunday. My oldest son has also been pushing us to do our Family Olympics (I'll report on it when we do it!) I've been thoroughly enjoying reading about Eric Liddell.
We're still reading about deserts, too. And I think we'll get to the pages about St. Valentine in Mystery of History this week. I have a couple of library books about him, too
My husband finished reading Where the Red Fern Grows and has started a Sherlock Holmes mystery book now.
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Aug. 15, 2008 - How to help "late bloomers"
I love the answers that Laurie Bluedorn (see www.triviumpursuit.com) gave a questioner about her "late bloomer." She has given me permission to reprint it here (or you may see it at her website here).
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: I have a boy who manifests several of the following behaviors:
1) Hates to hold a pencil and / or has terrible handwriting.
2) Isn’t motivated.
3) Does the minimum required -- seems lazy.
4) Wanders around with seemingly nothing to do.
5) Has to be continually reminded.
6) Doesn’t read much.
7) Doesn’t like academics.
8) No project appeals to him.
9) Has a narrow field of interests.
10) Has a short attention span.
11) Often seems “hyper.”
12) Always has to be doing something with his hands or his feet.
13) Doesn't want to do any of the things I suggest
14) If enrolled in a classroom school he might be "labeled."
What do I do with this boy? I feel very frustrated.
A.J.
Answer:
Here are a few suggestions:
1) Keep him away from television, movies, computer games, music that contains any kind of a syncopated beat, sugar and caffeine, and allow him only supervised contact with peers.
2) Make him repeat back to you what you’ve told him to do
3) Work with him until you’re satisfied with his obedience. This is of the utmost importance.
4) Make a list of the things he needs to accomplish each day, and have him check them off as he does them, and hold him accountable daily.
5) Wait until age 8 or 9 before teaching him to read. Don’t start academics until age 11. (See our article on "A Suggested Course of Study" in Volume II of our magazine.) Read to him at least two hours each day. If he hates to write, allow him to dictate to you his letters and journal entries, or use a tape recorder.
6) Make use of the child’s one or two chief interests. Use it as an avenue to other things. (e.g. Link guns to the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution to principles of sound government) Get him started in his own business which involves his interests. For example, if the child's interest is fencing you might suggest that he give fencing lessons to other children, develop a web page on fencing, write a newsletter on fencing, do a display at the library on fencing, write an introductory booklet on fencing, produce fencing equipment, do a fencing seminar for 4-H. He can become the homeschooling expert on fencing.
7) Give him lots of physical work to do — regular household chores and special jobs. But don’t dump it all on him at once — he probably is the kind of person who is easily overwhelmed and frustrated. Break everything down into parts and mete them out one or two at a time. Use a chart to keep him accountable.
8) If possible, move to the country so you can raise animals and there will be more outside work to perform (raise rabbits, goats, or chickens, display these projects at the fair, obedience train your dog and show at fairs, raise earthworms to sell or for your garden, raise berries to sell or barter, raise some specialty animal such as a certain breed of horse, and become the local expert on that breed, have him practice carpentry skills by rebuilding a small shed or outbuilding).
9) Get the child involved in some kind of community service (visit the nursing home every week for one hour, cook meals for the elderly, do repair work for the elderly, pick up the trash around your neighborhood, make small wooden toys and give them to children in the hospital, make greeting cards and give them away, write letters to relatives or others).
10) If possible, Dad can take him to work once or twice a week.
11) Do unit studies instead of the traditional textbook approach to academics.
12) Get involved in history reenactments (Civil War, Buckskinners, Medieval, WWII), make costumes and equipment, attend events.
13) Teach him to hunt and fish.
14) Get him a good mountain bike so he can explore.
15) Keep the child on a regular schedule (flexible, but regular)
16) This suggestion we list last, but is really our first: the child should be part of your daily family Bible studies led by the Father.
Sometimes, if the child persists in refusing to be interested, you must insist. The key to all this is to recognize early on that your child is one of these "late bloomers." You don't want to wake up to this fact when the child is 17 or 18 and has already developed numerous unprofitable habits and wasteful ways of thinking. Motivating a 17 year old is much more difficult than motivating a 10 year old. Molding a 17 year old is much more difficult than molding a 10 year old.
With any child you must build a solid foundation before you begin academics. With a "late bloomer" the foundation takes longer to build and more patience must be used because the bricks tend to be less than square. But, trust me, by the mercy of God, if you persist, the structure that is built on this foundation will be worth all the blood, sweat, and prayers.
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Aug. 14, 2008 - A Veggie Venture
Here's another neat blog--this one is dedicated to making something different with vegetables everyday. There is an A-Z feature at the top to look up recipes for a particular veggie. We definitely need to have more veggies at our house!
http://kitchen-parade-veggieventure.blogspot.com/
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Aug. 14, 2008 - Crock-pot Blog
What a fun idea. This lady has cooked in her crock-pot every day of 2008! I'm going to try to use my crock-pot once a week. I've never had much luck with the recipes I've tried. But maybe I'll find some good ones here:
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
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Aug. 14, 2008 - Contest to win TOS Planner
If you need a great homeschool planner, you might win one here! Check it out.
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Aug. 12, 2008 - Answers to questions
My friend Jennifer asked me the following questions regarding my previous post:
Gena,
I like this post. Thanks for sharing what you'll be doing! It's very inspiring to me! But, one question? How do you find the time to do all this? Do you stay home a lot? Does the structure help keep things mellow with the kids while you're in your last few weeks of pregnancy? And what do you do with the girls when they get tired of or aren't interested in what you're doing? (I'm not quite sure how to handle that now, since I don't want to be a "Nazi Mom" anymore!) Oh well, I guess that was more than one question! Ha, ha! Please help me!!
We do stay home a lot. If we don't, practically nothing gets done! I follow the schedule listed here, to the best of our ability. Having 5 little kids really can throw a schedule off, though! They really need the structure and routine, and so do I. It helps not only with the final weeks of pregnancy, but all year through. That's why we don't stop "schooling" during the summer. (But please notice that I allow for lots of free play for them, too.)
A lot of times, my 1 yo and 3 yo aren't involved with what we're doing. They're pretty good about playing alone for short periods of time. Our morning lessons really aren't that long. In the schedule I allow for longer times, but doing a page of handwriting lasts about 5-10 minutes. The dictation lasts about 3 minutes, and doing a history notebooking page about 10 minutes (unless they decide to get fancy in their drawings.) It definitely gets more complicated when we do art, lapbooks, science experiments, etc. My 1 yo always messes with us when we do those things!
I do a lot of reading, listening to them read aloud, and work with 4 yo on phonics when the 2 younger ones are sleeping for naptime. (Even if the 3 yo doesn't sleep, she has to stay in her room for naptime.) By the way, this afternoon time (from 1:15-2:30 p.m.) takes place on my bed. The three older kids and I sit there to read together, and then they leave for "quiet time" while I stay there to rest. If my 4 yo doesn't want to sit and listen to the read-alouds of history or novels, she just gets down to play in my room or the adjoining sitting room.
I've been pretty worthless after 2:30 in the afternoon lately, not even having the energy to fix dinner most nights. So, I'm glad we get most of our work done before then! Hope that answers your questions!
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Aug. 11, 2008 - Our Homeschooling Week
I thought I'd try something new and share the plans I have for each week.
Bible Time--Egermeier's Story Bible (reading about Jesus' life and miracles), memorize 2 Thess. 3:3 ("But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one."), memorize "Great is Thy Faithfulness", concentrated prayer for Chinese people and the persecuted church there.
Handwriting--boys continue with cursive, 4 yo with her printing book (Handwriting Without Tears)
Phonics--boys continue with dictation/spelling, 4 yo with 1st 8 phonograms and reading first 10 words (TATRAS)
Read to me--boys in their Rod and Staff readers
History--Pompeii and volcanoes, read from Mystery of History, library books, make a volcano experiment, watch Volcano video, do a notebook page about Pompeii, a map page where volcanoes are around the world, and a science experiment page. If time, study Apostle's Creed. Work on memorizing it next week.
Math--Battleship and puzzles, clock, 100 chart (skip counting)
Unit studies--Olympics (read aloud biography of Eric Liddell; work on lapbook pages, free from homeschoolshare.com; watch some on TV; do a family Olympics next Saturday)
and Deserts (read library books)
Field Trip--Lake County Discovery Museum, forest preserve there too.
Read-alouds--Egermeier's Story Bible; NIV Bible (book of Acts); Poetry Anthology; Biography of Eric Liddell (Benge); Mystery of History; library books on Pompeii; volcanoes, and deserts; Where the Red Fern Grows
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Aug. 9, 2008 - Pictures
Here are some more cute pictures I wanted to share.
Fun at the County Fair:
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Aug. 9, 2008 - Oceans unit study and lapbook
We've come to the end of our Oceans unit study. There were still a few things that we didn't do, but it's time to move on. (Now we're studying the Olympics and Deserts.)
Here are some of the things we did:
Read many books (listed below),
Read "Pagoo" (Holling), a living book about a hermit crab living in the ocean,
Field Trips to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and a local pet store (where we saw hermit crabs),
Science experiments from Bill Nye's Ocean book,
Crafts, including making ocean dioramas (from Crafts for Kids Wild About Oceans),
Lapbook (materials from Hands of a Child, internet, and other places)
Dioramas:
Shedd Aquarium Dolphin Show:
Lapbook:
Books we read about oceans:
Pagoo (Holling)
Crafts for kids who are wild about oceans (Ross, Kathy)
A walk on the Great Barrier Reef (Arnold, Caroline)
Amazing whales! (Thomson, Sarah L)
Amazing sharks! (Thomson, Sarah L.)
Under the sea 1, 2, 3 : counting ocean life (Knox, Barbara)
Bill Nye the science guy's big blue ocean (Nye, Bill)
Draw! ocean animals (DuBosque, D. C.)
I wonder why the sea is salty, and other questions about the oceans (Ganeri, Anita)
Sharks [video] (Kratt Brothers)
Finding Nemo [DVD]
The magic school bus on the ocean floor (Cole, Joanna)
Into the sea (Guiberson, Brenda Z)
Big blue whale (Davies, Nicola)
What lives in a shell? (Zoehfeld, Kathleen Weidner)
Manatee winter (Zoehfeld, Kathleen Weidner)
Giant of the sea : a story of a sperm whale (Raff, Courtney Granet)
Dancing on the sand : a story of an Atlantic blue crab (Hollenbeck, Kathleen M.)
Amazing dolphins! (Thomson, Sarah L)
A home in the coral reef (Taylor-Butler, Christine)
My first book about fish (Einhorn, Kama)
Surprising sharks (Davies, Nicola)
Octopus' den (Langeland, Deirdre)
One tiny turtle (Davies, Nicola)
Orca Song (Michael C. Armour)
Baby Beluga (Raffi)
In the Ocean (Maurice Pledger)
Primates, Insect-Eaters, and Baleen Whales (Encyclopedia of the Animal World)
Whales (Scholastic, A Firs Discovery Book)
Dolly Dolphin Can’t Stop Clicking (Matt Mitter)
Sea Lion Roars (C. Drew Lamm)
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Aug. 3, 2008 - Olympics
I always enjoy the Olympics. I've been thinking about doing a unit study or lapbook with the kids about it, but since we haven't finished our Ocean study, I've been holding back on buying anything. However, I just discovered a free one here! There are some wonderful ideas about mapping, researching an Olympian, studying nutrition, graphing a country's medals, etc. Another great thing I hadn't thought about was to read a biography about Eric Liddell. (And maybe watch "The Chariots of Fire." I'll have to re-watch it to see if it's appropriate for my kids, though.)
Now, since we don't have cable, I'll have to see if we can even watch the Oympics on our TV with our silly little antenna!
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Jul. 31, 2008 - Visiting the Library
I received the following email a couple of days ago:
I just found your blog a couple days
ago. I have really enjoyed reading it, and I really appreciate all the
information you share about homeschooling. I am planning on homeschooling my three kids, 4 (soon to be 5), 3 and 1. I had a question about how you handle library trips.
I got the impression that you visit the library fairly often and I was just
wondering how you did it! I would really like to go every week but just one
visit knocks me out and I don't look forward to going back. My four year old really enjoys the library now and knows her way around quite well, but my three year old has such a hard time being quiet and calm. He doesn't usually have such a hard time, but for some reason the library bring it out of him! My youngest doesn't seem to mind, but we'll see how long that lasts. Do you have any tips for occupying the younger ones, or getting all the books you need while still attending to the needs of all your children? We're hoping to add to our family in the future as well, as God so decides to bless us, so I know I need to become used to library trips with little ones. I would appreciate any insight you have!
Here are a couple of ideas. First, I rarely look for books while I am there anymore. I almost always request them online from home. They collect them all for me (even getting them from other libraries) and hold them at the front desk. I can just pick them up and walk straight to the check-out line with them.
Second, I always bring a stroller for the younger one(s). That way we can walk around if we need to or if I am going to the shelf and looking through some books. There are times when we are doing a particular unit study where I'll figure out the call numbers ahead of time, and we'll head to that section of the shelves to quickly pick out some books on that subject.
Third, many libraries have a separate floor (like the bottom floor) which is just the children's section. (Our main library isn't like that, but the other two that we go to sometimes are.) If your kids can't be quiet yet and you are always concerned about them disturbing other library patrons, try to find a library where it's ok for them to be louder. But, teach them not to run or pull books off the shelves!
I hope that helps. Sometimes, it's just another training session that we have to continually go through until they finally learn!
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Jul. 30, 2008 - Beginning to Homeschool
I've had some people ask me about beginning homeschooling lately, so I put together the following list, which I hope will be useful:
Beginning Homeschooling:
1. www.iche.org (Illinois Christian Home Educators)—request a beginner’s packet from them (only for Illinois residents). There are other useful links on their site (such as to different curriculum vendors). Also have a sample letter for withdrawing a child from public school (in Illinois).
2. www.hslda.org (Home School Legal Defense Assn.)—find out what the homeschool laws are for each state (or country)
3. www.youcanhomeschool.org Gives lots of answers, explains a little about the different methods of homeschooling (traditional textbook approach, classical, unit study, Charlotte Mason, unschooling). Then you can do more searches on each method to learn more.
4. www.homeschoolblogger.com Get encouragement from fellow homeschoolers. My blog is www.homeschoolblogger.com/genamayo
5. My favorite books and resources:
For the Children’s Sake (Susan Schaeffer MacCauley)
Ruth Beechick’s 3 small books (one on reading, one on language, one on math)
Teaching the Trivium (Bluedorn) www.triviumpursuit.com Especially the article on “Ten Things to Do Before Age 10” and the one on the historical teaching of math.
A Charlotte Mason Companion and A Pocketful of Pinecones (Karen Andreola)
Homeschooling With a Meek and Quiet Spirit (Teri Maxwell)
Magazine: The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
6. The resources I use for preschool and K-2nd grade are:
Handwriting Without Tears for handwriting, TATRAS for phonics, McGuffey and Rod & Staff Bible readers for read-aloud practice, Egermeier’s Story Bible and Leading Little Ones to God for Bible Time, Family Math (Stenmark) and A Easy Start in Arithmetic (Beechick) for math, Answers in Genesis (answersingenesis.com) for science materials (I love Answers Magazine), Story of the World and Mystery of History for history, and lots of free resources from the internet and library. I am waiting until age 10 to begin formal math and science, grammar, Latin, and logic.
Homeschooling Sites:
For notebooking and lapbooking ideas: www.homeschoolshare.com http://www.homeschoolhelperonline.com http://lapbooklessons.ning.com/ www.donnayoung.org http://www.notebookingpages.com/ www.handsofachild.com www.knowledgeboxcentral.com http://www.liveandlearnpress.com/index.php www.currclick.com www.notebookingnook.com