Okay: here's the order of our day as planned. This is all subject to change if it all falls apart and I realize this will not work at all. *grin*
-"3 things" Each of the kids is responsible to accomplish their "3 things" before they come to the table for breakfast: 1.Make your bed 2.Get dressed 3. Brush your teeth. We've been working on this habit this summer, and it's gone well. (Note: this is optional for the 2 little girls. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. But for my school-aged kids (because they can do it by themself!) it's mandatory.
-breakfast @ 8:30
-Bible, memory work, Composer/Picture study (@ table; 20-30 min)
-chores (20 minutes)
-History (in living room) I read aloud, the kids can play quietly (as long as they're listening!) This will likely be the time when I put a video on for the little girls. (Because yes, I am planning on a half-hour video being a part of their daily schedule.) (20-30 min)
-individual times for English with mommy (one child per day). The others will pair up as buddies during this time (20 min)
-Copywork, Math, Phonics (@ table) This is where the kids do their individual work. These are short lessons: about 10 minutes for each subject. When they are finished, they head outside to play until lunchtime. Math is usually a bit longer, and sometimes Ella will opt to break and play and then finish up her math on her quiet time.
-lunch (@ 12 or 12:30)
-chores (20 min)
-naps/quiet times (2 hours)
-Assigned reading/literature, Narrations, Handicrafts to be done throughout the rest of the day. The kids will likely read during their quiet time, narrations usually occur at a mealtime, so if we didn't get to them at lunch we'll do them over dinner, and handicrafts {for Ella: embroidery, knitting, friendship bracelets, whatever craft she's into!} will likely happen while Mark reads aloud in the evenings. {Hooray for cozy, candlelit autumn evenings of knitting with my girl while Mark reads aloud!}
Approaching our first day of school with a right spirit
Today is our first day of school. I'm in a good place right now, but I wasn't just two short days ago, and that's what I'm going to tell you about.
On Saturday Adelia was her wondrous, lively, *challenging* self. That girl. She is... three and so stubborn and willfull and passionate and defiant and just so very loud about it all. :) I love her so much and I know God has great plans for her life and all of that passion and I'm trusting Him to shape her and mold her for His purposes. But some days are just plain exhausting, aren't they? Being a mama? My goodness!
Anyway... so on Saturday she was in full defiant mode and by lunchtime we'd had two major sessions of disobedience (and a few minor ones, too) and I went from fighting back tears to a full-fledged sob session over all of it. What it all kept coming back to in my fit of tears was: HOW AM I GOING TO DO THIS?! ("this" meaning: start school on Monday). How does this kind of a morning fit into a school day? How can I be a diligent mama in training my little girl and be an attentive mama with my school-aged kids? Sigh.
Thankfully, once the girls were down I crept into my room for some daily peace and quiet, and resumed my Bible reading. I was in Psalm 99 and began journaling as I read:
The Lord reigns. Great is the Lord. Exalt him and worship him. He is holy. I was instantly reminded to take my eyes off myself and refocus them on God. So I did. I kept writing and just focused on His greatness.
Then I kept reading: "Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel was among those who called on his name; they called on the Lord and he answered them. He spoke to them..."
And God reminded me that He hears when I call upon His Name. He hears and He answers. So I called Him right on up ;) -- scribbling out prayers in my journal about all that I felt overwhelmed about. And He reminded me then of two verses-- one in Matthew where it says "do not worry about tomorrow" and another, in Philippians, I think, that says "do not be anxious about anything but in everything, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (or something. I'm paraphrasing, I'm sure.) So I asked Him to help me not to worry and to just do the *next thing*; that thing right in front of me right now, and to do it well and to trust Him for the rest of it; the stuff that comes next. I trust that He will not give me more than I can bear and that He is with me, leading me and guiding me. I asked for wisdom and strength. I specifically prayed for my girl; that God would teach her self-control and that He would help ME correct with wisdom and gentleness and in kindness.
I am so thankful for God's word and how instructive it is. I was reminded that day- in just a few short verses- of the truth. I needed to take my eyes off of myself and the circumstances of how impossible things seemed today. I needed to refocus my heart and mind toward thankfulness and praise (the Psalms are so great for this!) and I needed to be reminded not to be anxious, but to call on God and trust in Him to answer. It just righted my whole attitude, that time with Jesus. I know it will be challenging, this day. But I know He is good and He is with me and I trust Him with all of it.
I'll post tomorrow on the flow of our day, (and, ahem- quite possibly how well that didn't work for us!) and will follow in the days to come with our chore chart and all the things Michelle requested. ;)
Love to you all...
On Saturday Adelia was her wondrous, lively, *challenging* self. That girl. She is... three and so stubborn and willfull and passionate and defiant and just so very loud about it all. :) I love her so much and I know God has great plans for her life and all of that passion and I'm trusting Him to shape her and mold her for His purposes. But some days are just plain exhausting, aren't they? Being a mama? My goodness!
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| my beautiful girl in a (rare) moment of stillness: at the zoo, holding a small bird |
Anyway... so on Saturday she was in full defiant mode and by lunchtime we'd had two major sessions of disobedience (and a few minor ones, too) and I went from fighting back tears to a full-fledged sob session over all of it. What it all kept coming back to in my fit of tears was: HOW AM I GOING TO DO THIS?! ("this" meaning: start school on Monday). How does this kind of a morning fit into a school day? How can I be a diligent mama in training my little girl and be an attentive mama with my school-aged kids? Sigh.
Thankfully, once the girls were down I crept into my room for some daily peace and quiet, and resumed my Bible reading. I was in Psalm 99 and began journaling as I read:
The Lord reigns. Great is the Lord. Exalt him and worship him. He is holy. I was instantly reminded to take my eyes off myself and refocus them on God. So I did. I kept writing and just focused on His greatness.
Then I kept reading: "Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel was among those who called on his name; they called on the Lord and he answered them. He spoke to them..."
And God reminded me that He hears when I call upon His Name. He hears and He answers. So I called Him right on up ;) -- scribbling out prayers in my journal about all that I felt overwhelmed about. And He reminded me then of two verses-- one in Matthew where it says "do not worry about tomorrow" and another, in Philippians, I think, that says "do not be anxious about anything but in everything, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (or something. I'm paraphrasing, I'm sure.) So I asked Him to help me not to worry and to just do the *next thing*; that thing right in front of me right now, and to do it well and to trust Him for the rest of it; the stuff that comes next. I trust that He will not give me more than I can bear and that He is with me, leading me and guiding me. I asked for wisdom and strength. I specifically prayed for my girl; that God would teach her self-control and that He would help ME correct with wisdom and gentleness and in kindness.
I am so thankful for God's word and how instructive it is. I was reminded that day- in just a few short verses- of the truth. I needed to take my eyes off of myself and the circumstances of how impossible things seemed today. I needed to refocus my heart and mind toward thankfulness and praise (the Psalms are so great for this!) and I needed to be reminded not to be anxious, but to call on God and trust in Him to answer. It just righted my whole attitude, that time with Jesus. I know it will be challenging, this day. But I know He is good and He is with me and I trust Him with all of it.
Amen. Here's to a great first day!Know that the Lord is God.It is he who made us, and we are his;we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgivingand his courts with praise;give thanks to him and praise his name.For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100:3-5
I'll post tomorrow on the flow of our day, (and, ahem- quite possibly how well that didn't work for us!) and will follow in the days to come with our chore chart and all the things Michelle requested. ;)
Love to you all...
Canning
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| first pickings from our garden~ and purple beans! |
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| my wonderful helpers! |
In later years I remember our home: the laundry room full of ripening fruit; all laid out carefully on newspaper on the floor. I remember our kitchen all a bustle as my mom canned the same things her mother had canned. I remember how excited she would get-- we would all get-- when those jars sealed.
So it's tradition, why I do what I do. It's why we have a garden and it's why we preserve. And I've come to appreciate it so much. It is truly satisfying to plant a garden from seed, tend it and watch it grow, and then harvest it and eat from that garden throughout the year. We nowhere near put up enough food to last us through the fall and winter months. Maybe someday, but for the time being that's not our goal. But it is important to me to keep that tradition of my mom and my grandma, to be good stewards of the land God has given to us- even in our own back yard, to teach my children to garden and preserve food, and to take advantage of the opportunity to work alongside one another toward a common goal.
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| the beans we canned last night- Mark and I sat in the kitchen and waited until we heard the last jar seal |
Our lesson plan: {sample page}
Someone asked to see my lesson plan, so here is a sample of one of our weekly plans:
Let's see if any explanation is required on this:
*This is week 8 of our 36-week schedule. Basically, I just took a thorough look at each of the kids' books ahead of time, and divvied up the lessons I wanted to cover over the 36 weeks we'll be doing school.
*The symbols represent each of the school-aged kids- it was just easier and took less space this way. [Ella is the flower; Isaac, the star; and Isaias, the diamond-thing.] Anything that does not have a symbol is something we all do together.
*The reason I chose this format is simply because my goal was to get each week onto one page. (Success!)
*This is a really full week of school for us. Most weeks Mark has a day off, and on those days the only school subjects we tackle are Nature Study and English (he wanted to continue the kids' one-on-one English time and have the opportunity to do it with them.) So, usually we truly only have a 4-day school week with Saturdays being the "catch-up" day.
I don't think having everything planned out so completely is necessary for every homeschooling family. But it helps ME; and it has benefitted our family. I have found that the more organized I am upfront, there's less of the frenzied decision-making I have to do throughout our days-- (Ella sitting at the table waiting for me to tell her what she's supposed to do next, but I'm changing a diaper and then I have to deal with a correction issue and aack!... there Ella (or Isaac or Isaias) sits, waiting on me.) This solves that connundrum for us. Our weekly schedule will be available for the kids to see and they will know what needs to be accomplished that day and will be able to roll with our school schedule if I'm not available at any given moment because I'm tending to the little girls.
It's also helpful in that I know that planning it all out this way means that we will get through all that I want to get through in our school year. Instead of the other alternative- one I'm all too familiar with- of... getting to the end of the year but only being 1/3 of the way through a book! ;)
If you have any questions about anything you see on the schedule, feel free to ask in the comments and I'll respond. :)
In addition to this schedule, I have a chore chart posted up on the fridge for the kids, a "master binder" for the year, and an "order/flow of our school day" listed for my own brain that I'll consult for the first couple of weeks until we get into a good routine and it's second-nature to me and I won't need the list anymore. :) If anyone is interested in seeing any of those things, let me know and I'll post pictures or the list.
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| [I truly hope you can see that. It took me about 30 minutes to even figure out how to add that onto the blog!] |
Let's see if any explanation is required on this:
*This is week 8 of our 36-week schedule. Basically, I just took a thorough look at each of the kids' books ahead of time, and divvied up the lessons I wanted to cover over the 36 weeks we'll be doing school.
*The symbols represent each of the school-aged kids- it was just easier and took less space this way. [Ella is the flower; Isaac, the star; and Isaias, the diamond-thing.] Anything that does not have a symbol is something we all do together.
*The reason I chose this format is simply because my goal was to get each week onto one page. (Success!)
*This is a really full week of school for us. Most weeks Mark has a day off, and on those days the only school subjects we tackle are Nature Study and English (he wanted to continue the kids' one-on-one English time and have the opportunity to do it with them.) So, usually we truly only have a 4-day school week with Saturdays being the "catch-up" day.
I don't think having everything planned out so completely is necessary for every homeschooling family. But it helps ME; and it has benefitted our family. I have found that the more organized I am upfront, there's less of the frenzied decision-making I have to do throughout our days-- (Ella sitting at the table waiting for me to tell her what she's supposed to do next, but I'm changing a diaper and then I have to deal with a correction issue and aack!... there Ella (or Isaac or Isaias) sits, waiting on me.) This solves that connundrum for us. Our weekly schedule will be available for the kids to see and they will know what needs to be accomplished that day and will be able to roll with our school schedule if I'm not available at any given moment because I'm tending to the little girls.
It's also helpful in that I know that planning it all out this way means that we will get through all that I want to get through in our school year. Instead of the other alternative- one I'm all too familiar with- of... getting to the end of the year but only being 1/3 of the way through a book! ;)
If you have any questions about anything you see on the schedule, feel free to ask in the comments and I'll respond. :)
In addition to this schedule, I have a chore chart posted up on the fridge for the kids, a "master binder" for the year, and an "order/flow of our school day" listed for my own brain that I'll consult for the first couple of weeks until we get into a good routine and it's second-nature to me and I won't need the list anymore. :) If anyone is interested in seeing any of those things, let me know and I'll post pictures or the list.
Thoughts on the start of a new school year
In just one more week we'll start school again at our house. We are all very much looking forward to it! So much careful planning has gone into selecting books, choosing curriculum and creating lessons, but really all of that takes a back seat to what is forefront on my mind as we enter this school year.
Academics are always second to our main goal of guiding our kids to love God and to love their neighbor. That's what we really care about around here. And so we read the Bible every day and we talk about what we've read. We memorize verses together-- because what we learn about God fuels our worship of Him. We pray together and we point out things He has made or what He has done and we get excited about those things together. We talk about things we have read or seen or heard and we pull those things into the context of what He says about them; what He would call us to do in that situation as followers of Jesus.
The second part of that verse~ that part about loving your neighbor? That begins right here, too. God has given us a rich environment to learn how to love our neighbor because we've got a lot of neighbors (we call them siblings ;)) right here under one roof! Each of us- Mark and I included- have unique personalities, preferences, quirks, and sins that make life full of opportunities for growth in loving your neighbor.
Proverbs 16:9 says "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."
I want that verse to be on the forefront of my mind in the days and months ahead. While I have planned our course for the year, it is the Lord who will determine our steps. I want to hold my own plans loosely and be willing to adapt to the ways in which He will guide our steps each day.
This is a constant struggle for me. I always have a plan and I want to move on it, and now! Perhaps a plan of mine is that I would like to move from the breakfast table and begin chores at such-and-such-a-time, but then that plan is interrupted by one of the kids doing something or saying something that I have to do something about. Honestly, my initial response is usually grumpiness. (While I don't always verbalize it this way, my thoughts might be: This isn't the plan! This interruption isn't accommodating my timeline or my list of things to accomplish right now. If we don't get this done right now, we'll be behind in our next task!)
I want to enter this year with eyes to see those "interruptions" as God determining our steps and our course of study. He knows exactly what we all need and how we might best grow, and I trust Him to do it. In the example above of getting-interrupted-during-our-transition-from-breakfast-to-chores, I need to trust that He has something far more important to accomplish in that moment than what was on my schedule. Maybe what He wants in that moment is my obedience to Him in a right response of gentleness, patience and self-control. Maybe what He wants is time taken for an expression of love and/or forgiveness in a sibling relationship.
My prayer is that I would rest in His sovereign purposes-- being completed in me and in our home, in the lives of our kids-- *through* the interruptions, the distractions, the messes. I want to embrace the opportunities He brings to stop and close my planner- so to speak- in order to correct or nurture or explain or take time for a much-needed hug or a conversation or simply to stop and rest in the delight of that moment, to be silly and laugh together a little longer or to take time to carefully and diligently discipline, rather than reacting in anger or impatience.
Anyone want to join me in this goal? ;)
Academics are always second to our main goal of guiding our kids to love God and to love their neighbor. That's what we really care about around here. And so we read the Bible every day and we talk about what we've read. We memorize verses together-- because what we learn about God fuels our worship of Him. We pray together and we point out things He has made or what He has done and we get excited about those things together. We talk about things we have read or seen or heard and we pull those things into the context of what He says about them; what He would call us to do in that situation as followers of Jesus.
The second part of that verse~ that part about loving your neighbor? That begins right here, too. God has given us a rich environment to learn how to love our neighbor because we've got a lot of neighbors (we call them siblings ;)) right here under one roof! Each of us- Mark and I included- have unique personalities, preferences, quirks, and sins that make life full of opportunities for growth in loving your neighbor.
Proverbs 16:9 says "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."
I want that verse to be on the forefront of my mind in the days and months ahead. While I have planned our course for the year, it is the Lord who will determine our steps. I want to hold my own plans loosely and be willing to adapt to the ways in which He will guide our steps each day.
This is a constant struggle for me. I always have a plan and I want to move on it, and now! Perhaps a plan of mine is that I would like to move from the breakfast table and begin chores at such-and-such-a-time, but then that plan is interrupted by one of the kids doing something or saying something that I have to do something about. Honestly, my initial response is usually grumpiness. (While I don't always verbalize it this way, my thoughts might be: This isn't the plan! This interruption isn't accommodating my timeline or my list of things to accomplish right now. If we don't get this done right now, we'll be behind in our next task!)
I want to enter this year with eyes to see those "interruptions" as God determining our steps and our course of study. He knows exactly what we all need and how we might best grow, and I trust Him to do it. In the example above of getting-interrupted-during-our-transition-from-breakfast-to-chores, I need to trust that He has something far more important to accomplish in that moment than what was on my schedule. Maybe what He wants in that moment is my obedience to Him in a right response of gentleness, patience and self-control. Maybe what He wants is time taken for an expression of love and/or forgiveness in a sibling relationship.
My prayer is that I would rest in His sovereign purposes-- being completed in me and in our home, in the lives of our kids-- *through* the interruptions, the distractions, the messes. I want to embrace the opportunities He brings to stop and close my planner- so to speak- in order to correct or nurture or explain or take time for a much-needed hug or a conversation or simply to stop and rest in the delight of that moment, to be silly and laugh together a little longer or to take time to carefully and diligently discipline, rather than reacting in anger or impatience.
Anyone want to join me in this goal? ;)
Rhubarb Sauce
Some people complain about having too much zucchini in their garden. I used to, too, until we stopped growing it. (There are only so many uses for zucchini, people.)
What I've got a lot of is rhubarb. It positively thrives in our garden. I peeked inside there this morning and I swear those stalks are tree-like in nature: very tall and sturdy!
I knew that I needed to harvest it, and soon. Last year I tried to freeze pieces of rhubarb and then use it throughout the year in crisps/pies, but I wasn't happy with the consistency (kind of squeaky/rubbery... ew). So... this morning I decided to use up that rhubarb in the form of sauce!
I expected it to be a little jam-like... but it reminded me so much more of applesauce! My kids all had a bowl-full for lunch and I plan to thaw it and serve it up throughout the year as I would applesauce, or use it for muffins or as a sauce over pancakes or waffles or ice cream. Yum!
What I've got a lot of is rhubarb. It positively thrives in our garden. I peeked inside there this morning and I swear those stalks are tree-like in nature: very tall and sturdy!
Rhubarb Sauce
~Wash stalks and cut into chunks. (8-10 cups worth)~Heat 1 cup of sugar* and 1/2 cup water to boiling, stir to dissolve sugar~Add rhubarb~Simmer 10 min. or until rhubarb is tender~Cool~Puree (my kids don't like chunks)
~Freeze
*you can add more sugar if you want it sweeter
I expected it to be a little jam-like... but it reminded me so much more of applesauce! My kids all had a bowl-full for lunch and I plan to thaw it and serve it up throughout the year as I would applesauce, or use it for muffins or as a sauce over pancakes or waffles or ice cream. Yum!
Hair Day: Photos
Here are some recent photos from our most recent Hair day, which is a day in which all we do is wash and style Adelia's hair. ;) Adelia loves Hair day because she gets to watch lots of videos and eat lots of snacks, and basically gets waited on all day long by her siblings: they bring snacks, drinks, and movies upon her request.
The first thing I did was give her a bath and condition her previous style: which was mostly braids (with a few cornrows along the front). I got her hair all wet and we lathered conditioner on it, rinsed some of it out, and then towel-dried it. Then I sat on our bed with the little girls and they watched a movie while I started taking the braids out. Ella joined me a bit later, and she worked one side while I worked the other side.
After our morning sessions (30 minutes on my bed, another hour on the couch), the kids all played outside, we had lunch, Adelia napped, and then we resumed braid-removal after she woke up.
I am so very thankful for Ella's help. She works diligently, enjoys doing it *and* it saves me a lot of time!
Adelia has been blessed with a beautiful head of hair. So much hair. :) I love it.
In the photo above, Ella is still removing braids on her side while I've started sectioning out my side for the next style. It probably took us about 2 1/2 hours total to get her braids out, with both of us working at it.
We took another break for playtime, then dinner, and then I set to work on the new style.
I did flat-twists on the front (parted in the middle with eight sections across the hairline), and then tried a new technique called African Hair Threading (tutorial here). I am so thankful for video tutorials. It was actually very easy to do and she ended up with these thick, boingy curls. Very cute. This was much quicker than braiding or cornrowing, and will take very little time to take out, which is a huge bonus.
I have no idea how long these will stay in, though, or what they will even look like once she's slept on them (I'll post updates in the comments for anyone who is interested). I'm hoping I can get 2 weeks out of this style, but I'm sure I'll have to pull it back in order to keep it in that long.
Snacks today: pistachios, string cheese, and fruit leather. (Always she requests the fruit leather.)
Videos today: Good Morning Maisy, Elmo's World, Psalty.
Best helpers: Ella, for braid removal. And Mark, for lots of books and songs for distraction during the after-dinner hours.
New hair tools: Tangle Tamer brush, weaving thread, and new rat-tail combs. Good purchases, all. I was particularly pleased with the brush-- it really worked to remove tangles and it didn't bother Adelia at all. Also, she thought the brush was cute and was able to use it herself which she's never been able to do before.
The first thing I did was give her a bath and condition her previous style: which was mostly braids (with a few cornrows along the front). I got her hair all wet and we lathered conditioner on it, rinsed some of it out, and then towel-dried it. Then I sat on our bed with the little girls and they watched a movie while I started taking the braids out. Ella joined me a bit later, and she worked one side while I worked the other side.
After our morning sessions (30 minutes on my bed, another hour on the couch), the kids all played outside, we had lunch, Adelia napped, and then we resumed braid-removal after she woke up.
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| {Photo: in progress} |
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| {Photo: So that you can get an adequate picture of what we're dealing with.} |
In the photo above, Ella is still removing braids on her side while I've started sectioning out my side for the next style. It probably took us about 2 1/2 hours total to get her braids out, with both of us working at it.
We took another break for playtime, then dinner, and then I set to work on the new style.
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| {Photo: pajama break! New style almost done} |
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| {Photo: finally done! I think it took me about 2 hours to put this style in.} |
* * *
Snacks today: pistachios, string cheese, and fruit leather. (Always she requests the fruit leather.)
Videos today: Good Morning Maisy, Elmo's World, Psalty.
Best helpers: Ella, for braid removal. And Mark, for lots of books and songs for distraction during the after-dinner hours.
New hair tools: Tangle Tamer brush, weaving thread, and new rat-tail combs. Good purchases, all. I was particularly pleased with the brush-- it really worked to remove tangles and it didn't bother Adelia at all. Also, she thought the brush was cute and was able to use it herself which she's never been able to do before.
