We made it through our first week!!!

Well, today is Friday and we have our first week of school under our belt. I was hoping that all of the planning and organizing that I have done would have paid off in some way. As I looked at other schedules/calendars that some other home school moms have come up, I felt super inadequate. They were all color coded and quite complex. Some even needed a key of some sort to figure out!! Yeah, I’m not doing that. It has to be user friendly for me to even think about sticking with it. In fact, it has to be so simple that my kids can just figure out what is planned for the day and run with it. This is what I came up with.The little stars indicate that it needs to be done that day. 

Nothing fancy, but hey, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!” ;-) The girls know to find the day of the week that we are on, and mark it off as they go along. This has helped in the quest for teaching a little more independence. Yes, I like it!! It’s going to be a keeper.

The next issue I wanted to deal with before it became one this year was, “Mom, I don’t know where my math book is!” I can’t tell you how large this house seems when something has gone “missing”. We have wasted good parts of our school day just gathering supplies. So, each girl got their own tote, and all of their school books have to go right back in it after they are graded for the day. So far this has been pretty nice.

I have found that a simple $5 shoe rack from Walmart is perfect for holding all of the creative supplies.

We made a decision this year, as a family, to have the girl's alarms go off around the same time my Sweet Man’s goes off, in the hopes that everyone could see him before he goes off to work. This will hopefully aide in the fact that if we get our school work done early we might actually still have some free time left in the day to do super cool stuff…like sit on the couch and eat cookies. 

So, with all of that planning done ahead of time, was it a good week?

Day 1: Everyone woke up bright eyed and ready to face the day. I had prepared a nice healthy breakfast to enjoy while I read the devotion of the day to the girls. We are reading through ‘Talks to Girls’ published by Queen’s home school. School went pretty smoothly with everyone marking off their charts and really liking the fact that I gave them the freedom to pick the order that they were completed in. I have scheduled a break at 10:30, with a light snack and some free time play to get the wiggles out. I also need to still be able to do laundry and dishes.( Doesn't that sound fun?) Grace learned about snails and wanted to teach the other two all about them. I was super excited when I went to look for them and found them observing some snails while Grace went over everything she read. My heart melted. Loved this scene so much! It was a really sweet day…until math! That stuff’s hard...

Day 2: Alarms went off. Girls were not quite so chipper to make it downstairs. I found something really easy for breakfast…toast I think. I completely forgot about that whole break time I planned. Almost didn't make it to lunch without passing out from hunger or having a few meltdowns of sitting too long. Something was mentioned about one’s butt muscles being so sore and fingers cramping up. Sorry girls…

Day 3: Everyone slept through their alarms. EVERYONE! I’m pretty sure I told the girls they needed to put all those books BACK in their totes when they were done. My living room is starting to look like the Parent Teacher Store caught a bad virus and threw up in here. :-o We had to spend the first part of our morning putting the house back together. School work was finished…still loving the schedules!

Day 4: We had some motivation today! As soon as our school work was finished we were going on a picnic with friends! Assignments were finished in record time, house was put in order, lunch packed and we headed out for a fun afternoon of play. I fell asleep that evening on the couch while I was the subject of an art portrait. It’s weird though…my portrait kind of looks like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. I should probably start doing a better job at putting on my make up for the day. ;-)

Day 5: It took the washer/Dryer noise, an alarm, and me to arouse the girls from their slumber. Not even sure what we had for breakfast. Think it might have been a cookie. It had oatmeal and peanut butter in it though…so I guess we can still claim we’re eating healthy?? I chose Fridays to be a little bit lighter on the text book work in hopes that we could really take our time with our art. We just had a little bit of book work to get through…and I couldn't even make it. I feel asleep on the couch sometime between the spelling test and the free time buzzer. Oh yeah, those are quick girls. They aren't going to miss that free time thing anymore. They swear they almost died that day! So, Sadie has decided to elect herself as the clock watcher and make a buzzing sound when 10:30 rolls around. Isn't that lovely...

Was it a success this week? It was hard. It was long. I actually lost weight from forgetting to eat. Hey, I’ll take that!! Man, it was so worth every minute. We found out that snails return to the same place every day. We marked a few with fingernail polish so we can keep track of them. We had a mamma wren successfully hatch 6 eggs on our back porch. We observed, drew and then researched them. Did you know the Male Wren makes several nests and the Mamma gets to pick the one she likes best to lay her eggs in? Yeah, I didn't either. How sweet is that!? This week I was able to see the girls eyes light up with wonder again about the world around them. We were able to talk about God in the most unexpected times. One child would just simply blurt out a question that she had been pondering about the bible. How awesome is that!? I wouldn't give this time up for anything…although, I do believe I am going to need more coffee and perhaps a wide selection of cookies!

It's that time of year again!!

  This time of year I get all giddy with excitement. Stores are packed full of school supplies at an unbelievably low price. With prices so low it makes complete sense to buy 24 glue sticks to add to the 24 I bought last year and didn't need. ;-)

  I love the fact that it feels like a clean slate. Another year to ‘work the kinks out’ and try to actually make a schedule that I can follow, and work more individually with each child focusing more on strengths and weaknesses. There are composers that I want to study, canvases to paint, nature to observe, draw and then study, bible passages to memorize and meditate on…oh yeah…math and grammar too. :-o

  As I’m bouncing around the house in my giddy state, I can see a tinge of fear in my girls’ eyes. It’s not that they don’t love school supplies, schedules or learning; it’s the fact that they don’t want to lose their mom and gain a school teacher again. We've had such a fun summer hanging out and just enjoying each other…they don’t want to give that up! Past experiences have led them to understand that something happens to Mom after she sees Facebook posts or hears how awesome someone’s school day has gone, and we have yet to have breakfast or feed the dogs…let alone even look at a school book. Insecurities pop up that I must not be measuring up. I start sending up little distress signal prayers “Lord, are you sure you think I can do this? I mean, I’m still not exactly sure how to do some of those math problems, and if it weren't for Google I could never even answer half of the girls’ questions!” And then the Lord ever so gently reminds me that He has given me this most rewarding job of training little hearts for Him, He won’t leave me to figure it out alone.

  Training children to be a light in this dark and dying world takes time. Time that can’t be scheduled or shopped for. It takes an understanding on my part that when the Holy Spirit is moving in one of my girls, I need to put my schedule/agenda for the day aside and not get in the way of the work the Lord is doing. Wow, that is a hard one for me. I love lists, but I love marking them off even more!

   Moms, go easy on yourself this school year. The days might be long, but the years are short.

So here’s to a year full of glue sticks, unrealistic schedules and a joy that comes from knowing that the Lord doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called!

It all started with a sandwich bag

I took the girls on a picnic today, and we had a lovely time. We couldn't find a trash can to throw our leftover lunch away, so we loaded it all back into our bag. We did find a fountain to play in, and a mound to climb. There were also several antique stores that we took our time looking through. After we returned home, and I was cleaning out our bag, I came across several plastic sandwich bags and was reminded of a conversation that took place several years ago.

My sister and I were working away, canning produce in her kitchen. I didn't have any children yet, and hers were scattered throughout the house playing with a kitchen set, Lego's and reading books. We got on a conversation about my Grandmother, and how she saved everything. "She even washes out her plastic sandwich bags and reuses them!", my sister said. At the time I couldn't figure out why one would do such a thing. I don't think Walmart has ever run out of them, and they are only a couple of bucks for a whole box of them. I just kept thinking what a waste of time that must be.

Through the summer, our family has been really enjoying watching the TV series, The Waltons. I love the fact that the values that I am trying to teach the girls during the day, are being reinforced at night while we are watching this show. I love how connected they were as a family.  I love how frugal they are, and how they "make do" with what they have. This series is set in the depression era, when families had very little money to use to buy the things they needed to survive. The women worked extra hard to pinch pennies, and reuse what they could. Perhaps they even washed out used sandwich bags. I get convicted watching this show though, and realize what a big consumer I am.  If I run out of one thing, say ketchup, I think a whole grocery shopping trip is in order. Not just for ketchup...you know how you find all kinds of things you forgot you "needed" while at the store? That simple trip for a $2 bottle of ketchup quickly can turn into a $75 trip. Who knew ketchup could blow the budget? ;-)

Today, as I stared at the used sandwich bags, I missed my Grandmother. I missed the wealth of knowledge she must have had to be able to stretch money, to make things homemade, and to reminisce about how it must have been growing up in that era.  Families working together to survive, and having fun all the while doing it. Evenings spent spread out on a covered porch hearing about each other's day. I know it must have been hard, but as my sweet girls and I sat on the lawn having a picnic beside a busy street, I couldn't help but look in the cars that drove past. I would say ninety percent of the children in the cars had headphones on, or were holding some kind of game device.

We have gained so much as a society since "The Walton" days...but I feel that we have lost so much more.

I washed out those sandwich bags today, and I thought about how wise my Grandmother was the whole time.

Wordless Wednesday (A Sunday Drive)

Camp and a Boxer

This past week two of my girls headed off to Wilderness Christian camp for an awesome adventure of their own. 

They had so much fun and are already planning for next year. This was Princess #2 's first time without me. I was a little worried on how she would do, but she did great! Today we were talking about what some of her favorite things about the camp were..."Mom, their cookers totally make the best food EVER!! They had mac n cheese AND pizza!!" ...I got a kick out of that.

With two children away at camp, that left 3 days of one on one time with my youngest little Princess. A very rare thing. I had a few things planned for us to do together that I knew she would enjoy, but kept them a surprise until the girls were dropped off at camp. I sure didn't want one of them to hear about the things I had planned and then decide to not go to camp. That would be my luck for sure. 

To give you a little background on Princess #3. She has had a huge fascination with dogs from the moment she could express her thoughts. In fact, there have been times I was concerned she might be part dog. She went through that whole peeing on the carpet stage, chewed on things, and even crawled around panting and barking like a dog. Eventually I had to tell her to stop, for not ONLY did she do this at home, but wherever the mood struck her to do so. People stare enough at moms who have their kids at the store during school hours, I don't need more stares.

 One of the things I planned was a trip to the  pound to play with the dogs. NOT TO BUY ONE...just play. I know, we have our own. But they pretty much just eat and poop in the garage. Clover likes to follow me on walks or runs, but doesn't see the point in playing fetch, or any other games for that matter. 

She was so thrilled. First we visited the puppy room, and loved on all the delicious smelling pups.

Then we visited the kitten room and played with them. We both agreed that they weren't  as exciting as those adorable puppies. They wouldn't bring us a ball or anything. ;-) Next we headed into the adult dog area...where our hearts were completely broken. It was so hard to see all of those adult dogs shaking in fear, and not have someone to call their own. We stopped at each cage, chatted with each one, and loved on them for a bit. Yes, this took a long time...but we were in no hurry. I think we were there almost 3 hours!

 Princess #3 knew that we weren't getting one, and she was fine with that. She never even asked. But as a Mom who knows that her dream is to grow up and be an agility dog trainer, and then have a little 6 week old puppy actually playing fetch with her already at her young age, it got me thinking. What a wonderful project it would be for her, if she had a puppy that she could already train. A puppy that she could call her own. A puppy to follow her around the yard during morning chores, to tell secrets to, to share a popsicle and maybe even a comfy blanket with.

It takes a strong woman to say no to that. 

It takes a strong woman to walk away from so many homeless animals and not offer them the life of their dreams, a place to call home and a little girl to love. It also takes a woman with a good memory. Puppies are destructive. They can wreak total havoc on your carpet/possessions. 

I am neither one of those things. I stink at that whole strong woman stuff, and I can't remember what I have told the girls to do five minutes after the fact. It's normally clean their room though, so I will just spout that off periodically throughout the day just in case I have forgotten to do so when I planned on it.   So, after permission from Sweet Man and a trip to vet, we brought this little girl home.

Princess #3 named her Tootsie Roll. She is a boxer and  is extremely intelligent, at which the other dogs are a little nervous about, and has an overactive bladder! Who knew a dog so little could pee so much??

After we picked the other two girls up from camp, we let them tell us all about their adventures BEFORE Princess #3 was able to tell about her week. They were all so excited to share. It was a really neat time for us parents to just listen in the front seat.

We made a quick trip to the library and picked up puppy training books/videos, and books all about boxer puppies. We have all completely fallen in love with this new piece of fur on the farm. I think this was the perfect summer project, much better than video and computer games!

Sometimes I am so glad that I am not a strong woman. ;-)...And that I have such an amazing Sweet Man that allows us to have little "projects" like this.

Disney 20012

Six days in Disney World are kind of hard to post about. Not because there isn't enough to say, but because there is way too much to say, and it is hard to know where to start. Every time you turn around in Disney there is something awesome to see or do!

Our hotel was definitely on top of the most awesome things on this trip. We stayed at the Disney Boardwalk. It was amazing. Several swimming pools, awesome rooms, being able to walk over to Epcot, ducks to feed, an awesome night life with magic shows, ice cream shops, people who park your car and carry your luggage...and then wait around staring at you.

 Oh...guess you are supposed to tip for that stuff. :-o

 In Disney we saw several 3D shows,

 Some even had a ride with a game to go with it. :-)

 Staying at Boardwalk gives you the advantage of taking a ferry to several of the Disney Kingdoms.

 Or you could take the bus if you wish.

 Everywhere you looked, there were neat things to take a picture in front of.

 There were cars to drive, and all 3 girls are convinced they are good drivers now. Don't think they realize that the real road doesn't have that big steel strip running down the middle to keep you in your lane. ;-)

 Princess #2 volunteering for one of the magic shows on the boardwalk.

 What a fun pool this was to cool off in.

 There were aquariums,

 Animals!!!!!!,

 Drums to play,

 Things to dig in,

 Games that taught you how to save money and invest for retirement. RETIREMENT??? I guess it's never too early to learn. ;-)

 And drinks! Did you know it's hot in Florida in May? 

It was a wonderful trip. One of the neatest things about being on a vacation like this, is the freedom to just enjoy your children. I normally am so busy with chores that I have to make a conscious effort to "play" with the girls. Not here! It was full on fun together. Kind of hard to come back to cooking and cleaning every day after all of that fun. ;-)

A day in St. Augustine

We made it home from our Disney adventures early Sunday morning. We had a blast! We chose to drive the fourteen hour drive for two reasons: My Dad is not a fan of flying, and I LOVE to look at scenery. One of the most amazing things I saw on our drive was this....

We left at 3a.m. on Friday morning. Can you say coffee??

On our trip down, we stopped at St. Augustine for a night, and enjoyed several things that city had to offer. We climbed their light house...visited the gift shop and found fudge, so Princess #1 and I climbed it again. 

I LOVE light houses! I want one. ;-)

 We took a horse drawn carriage tour through the town, and were told the history and some interesting facts about this neat area.

 We visited some pretty neat gardens, and a boat museum. 

 They also had a really neat fort, and water! I just LOVE water!

Add some shopping, and a whole lot of eating, and the day was over. But not before I found this super neat sign for my front porch.

This was a super long day, but very fun!