The Fun Stuff: History, Art, Science

I just love studying the Middle Ages. This is our second run through of this time period since we switched our core curriculum to Sonlight a couple of years ago.   We're reading Robin Hood aloud, and Ethan is reading some fictional book about this time period for his literature.

I think this will be the core idea behind their fall project.  We'll brainstorm some great history projects today while we're picking up Deron from the airport.  Maybe they'll build a castle and create an information board.  Maybe we'll do some art and have a feast.  If there's food involved, the boys are in.  I can't imagine what it will be like when they're all teenagers.

I would really like to find accurate, church history for this time period. That would round out the study very nicely.

We're, also, wrapping up our first science unit of the year...Answers in Genesis: Our Universe.  Their books are amazing!  I can get all four children involved because it's a multilayered approach.  The girls are doing the same content, only a little more on their levels.  They're about to spend time building a solar system.

I love getting the art supplies out.  They will work very hard and really spend a good bit of time doing something if art is involved.  It's like they don't see it as work.  One of my pet peeves is doing the bare minimum.  I know, technically, the directions were followed, but I know what my kids are capable of.  I don't want to raise children to become adults who do the bare minimum.  Whatever they do, I want them doing it the best way they know how.

We're starting an Election 2012 Unit Study next week, and it will wrap up as they accompany us to the polls to vote in November.  We will definitely be covering the appropriate way to behave at the polls as it has certainly been an interesting couple of months in the realm of politics.

And we're doing language arts and math...every day...like it or not.  I see improvement, but they don't get as interested in these subjects.  They do it because they have to.  And they're learning steadily, climbing upward, slowly but surely, one rung at the time.

Hoping It's Enough

My OCD side is stressing.  I'm trying desperately to have a great attitude, but this week seems full of "interruptions."  All good things, but I don't enjoy being overly busy.  I know some people thrive with a full plate and a full schedule.  Being busy motivates some people, but it does not motivate me. It stresses me out.

The airport is an hour or so away.  Deron is heading to Boca Raton for an award ceremony.  I'm excited for him winning in the category of Innovation.  Anyone who knows Deron knows he if there's a will, there's a way.  His award centers around his patent.  The idea behind the patent will actually save a company millions of dollars over the course of just a few years.   He is awesome.  I wish I could've gone with him.

We're taking him to the airport today (2 1/2 hours) and picking him up tomorrow (2 1/2 more hours). I guess we'll take our schoolwork in the van.  We have a pumpkin activity day with friends this afternoon, and we have company coming in tomorrow night through Saturday.  I'm looking forward to it, but I feel stretched as far as I can comfortably stretch.  They'll probably work ahead, so they won't have much to do Friday while we have company.

I don't like them doing their schoolwork while we have company.  They get distracted, and I think they feel like they're being inspected. I don't want them feeling like they have to "perform."  We may do extra today and tomorrow and focus on reading aloud, art, music, and typing on Friday.

Writing all this down helped me to think it out.  I'm feeling a little less stressed.

I had the comment made to me, recently, "I bet you're able get so much done since you're home and all..."  I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes.

Most school days, I am teaching one or more of them for seven to eight hours, and when I'm not with one of the kids, the others are living in the house, eating constantly, doing things that will eventually require work to clean up...It's like raking leaves on a windy day or shoveling snow in a snowstorm.  The other hours I'm trying to take care of the house, trying get meals and snacks on the table, and trying to take care of all the inanimate things that cry for my attention all day long.  I'm trying to take care of myself by writing in various locations and by working out almost every day.  (I let the girls "work out" with me, and that is adorable. Really.)

This is a very unique lifestyle I have found myself in.  One that I love, most of the time.  It just takes a lot of time and a lot of effort.  All day. Every day.  It's worth it, but you have to remind yourself of that often and get your husband to remind you too, especially if you don't have many people around you who understand the ins and outs of this particular lifestyle.  There's no one around to tell you you're doing a good job because most of the time, no one really notices.  They only notice if you're not doing a very good job...that's probably very true of most moms, homeschooling or not.

Deron is amazing for my self esteem.  Sometimes, I don't see the forest for the trees, and he reminds me how pretty the leaves are. Sometimes, all I see is work.  All I see is what we haven't done.  All I see is how far we have to go.  And then I'm reminded to look back and see how far we've come.  Sometimes, I have to adjust my view and see what all we've accomplished.

So for today and tomorrow, we'll grab our books and do "car school," and we'll finish at home.  And my prayer is that it will be enough.

A sick day

I'm afraid today may be one of "those" days. A sick day.  Grace was up late with a stomach bug.  I always feel so bad for her because she can barely wake up to be sick.  It's like she gets sick while she's still sleeping.

I have a feeling we'll do a lot of reading aloud today.  A lot of cuddling on the couch.  My little, blonde princess will do a lot of resting and hopefully, getting better.

I get a bit on edge when a stomach bug begins to rear its ugly head.  It never hits just one of us.

I feel the need to sanitize.

10 Ways We're Refueling This Fall

Sometimes, we need to switch things up a bit around the house when the weather gets a little cooler and the holidays start coming up over the horizon.  The kids and I get a little restless.  These are a few of the things I do to keep things calm.

1. I tweak our fall schedule.  I feel refreshed when I address the gaps in our scheduling.  I don't feel as overwhelmed when I need to go to Plan B because there is a Plan B more or less.

2. More art.  I love art lessons with the kids.  I forgot how much I loved art in middle/high school.  I forgot about creativity and losing yourself in your piece.  We do a lot of chalk pastel drawings because it's such a forgiving medium, and the kids can create some great stuff!  It's a bit messy, but it's lot of fun. During the fall, we'll create fallish masterpieces. My favorite pastel tutorial site is located at Hodgepodge.

3. Head to the corn maze.  Our local corn maze offers discounted pricing certain days during October. The kids love it.  I love it.  We all love being outside doing a little something different.  We don't really get into trick or treating. No one does it in our neighborhood.  It's not like it was when I was a kid.  We generally let the kids dress up and head to the Corn Maze so they don't miss out on dressing up.  Although, the girls and Daniel tend to dress up all year long, so I don't know why I worry about them missing out on it.

4. If we need a change of scenery, I take the kids and their school work and go out to our church.  We may pack up and head to the library one day.  Sometimes, we get more done in less time when we switch up our schooling location.

5. Go outside.  Take a walk.  Have a picnic in the front yard and read the current read aloud during the kids' lunch.  I do this a lot, and I eat my lunch solo during the kids' quiet time.

6. Music.  Turn on some quiet music.  Sometimes, it distracts them from their need to be noisy.  Some days, it seems like they just need some sort of noise, and if there is none, they make their own.

7. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and watch the kids play outside.  Stop and pray for them.

8. Pick a project.  I'm planning to have the kids do a fall project.  Let them pick a topic, give them guidelines, and let them loose.

9. Have an apple or a pumpkin day. We read stories, do a craft or art project, and make some sort of goody in the kitchen.  The boys participate but I'm afraid their days of being interested in that sort of thing are coming to a close.  They still like the art and the food though.

10.  We'll have a game afternoon and a movie marathon at some point.  Popular games, at this point, are Phase 10, Checkers, and Uno.  They also like to hook my laptop up to the TV and take turns playing Angry Birds.  We may make smores and drink apple cider.

Traditions can be what makes memories.  I, intentionally, want to help my family make memories.  When they're grown, with a family of the own, I want them to look back and say with a smile, "Every fall, we would_______as a family."

What I Know Now

What do I know?

A whole lot less than I used to think I knew.  What's the poem about the wise old bird?

A wise old owl sat in an oak.

The more he heard, the less he spoke.

The less he spoke, the more he heard.

Why aren't we all like that wise, old bird?

Seriously, I think about that poem often.  I'm a mom with young children who are growing up quickly.  I know a few things, but not much.  I'm learning.  Always and constantly learning. Learning to study my children and look to the Lord for His direction. Learning that as soon as I know something about my kids, something changes.  They change.  They grow.  Circumstances change.  Their needs change.

I know that I have to pray more. Teach my children more.  Give them my time more.  Beg God for wisdom more.

Other than that, I'm not quite sure what I know.

*This afternoon, I decided to link up with Sarah Mae's What I Know Now!

Art: My New Favorite!

We did these last year when we were completing Apologia's Exploring Creation with Zoology 1 Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day.  Daniel did two because his first nest ended up looking like chocolate chip cookies.  He was going for speckled...

Can you guess whose nest is the pink one?  Hannah's (5yo) is the top left. Grace's (3yo at the time) is the middle left. We did fall trees yesterday.  That's Hannah with her fall tree masterpiece.

We'll be doing apple trees and pumpkin patches pretty soon.

Ethan: Growth of an Oldest Child

Ethan is nine years old...nine and a half almost.  He's in this stage of really growing, and I'm not just talking about his height.

(Although the pediatrician said if he continues at the rate he's growing now, he'll be a good 6'3" or 6'4".  His feet are as big as mine, and I'm pretty sure he'll be one of the kids whose body will eventually have to catch up with his shoe size.)

But I'm talking about his person.  It seems like we've entered a stage where he is part boy turning into part young man.  I think it's hard on him.  He's my one who would much rather be where the adults are talking than where the kids are playing.  My sister-in-law told me not to worry.  He'd be an adult a lot longer than he'd be a kid.

He's my one with the idea that he can play around and pick on his siblings, but nobody else can.  He's my one who will drop everything to help his sister who is deathly afraid of spiders, all while trying not to laugh at her incessant, blood-curdling screams.

He's my one who works very methodically.  He does a great job at the things I ask him to do, but he takes his time.  That little trait sorta drives me batty, but I desperately want to be the mom he needs me to be.

So for now, as he grows, I purpose to:


Be there for him.

Listen to him.

Not compare him to anyone else.

Help him however I can.

Love him.

Pray for him. Always.