Thomas: 23 Months

Inching so close to two! Thomas is starting to think he's a big boy these days. He talks and talks and talks, and his comprehension is excellent. Last week he announced, "Mama, my cracker all gone!" He loves to play outside and adores trucks--watching them, playing with them, reading about them. He starts asking "when Daddy home?" after nap and he's still a snuggle bug. Can't believe he'll be two in just a few weeks!

Thomas: 22 Months

22 months with this precious boy! These aren't the greatest pictures but they show you how busy he is...he was not going to stand and smile for the camera. ;) Thomas loves trucks, cars, and all other motor vehicles. He likes to sit in front of his window with a pile of books and watch for cars and the garbage truck. He adores his siblings and the feeling is mutual. I weaned him this month but he still loves to snuggle. He's the sweetest and the best baby forever!

November Books

In November, by Cynthia Rylant

Balloons Over Broadway, by Melissa Sweet

Cranberry Thanksgiving, by Wende and Harry Devlin

For littles: The Story of Thanksgiving, by Nancy Skarmeas

For bigs: The Thanksgiving Story, by Alice Dalgliesh

Halloween 2020

Queen Esther, Ninja, Cowgirl, Princess Jasmine, Firefighter

Organizing Your Time and Space

I recently gave a talk to our homeschool mom's group on "Organizing Your Time and Space." I'm not sure if it was helpful to anyone else, but it helped me feel more organized just writing my speaking outline. Thankful I learned from the true master, Honey a.k.a. Mom!

Organizing Your Time and Space 

I. Time 

    A. Every family is different. You will have different strengths and weaknesses, different learning styles, different needs. 

    B. Start with spending time with the Lord. Kids can join in. 

    C. My hourly schedule – may look overwhelming at first, but it shows me where my margins are. Combines my calendar and to-do list. 

        a. Leave room for margin (quiet time—first 30 minutes, reheat coffee and Instagram) 

        b. Leave room for your hobbies/interests (read, piano, out with a friend) 

        c. Date your husband and your kids (babysitting swap with a friend) 

    D. If your resources allow, get help. 

        a. Housekeeper 

        b. Grocery delivery 

        c. Babysitter one afternoon a week 

    E. Schooling 

        a. You really can’t do it all, I have tried so hard! 

        b. Play to your strengths (I’m not a nature girl, I hate history projects, love to read). 

        c. No school is perfect—private, public, home—they’ll all have gaps. 

        d. Day in, day out learning adds up to a whole lot by the year’s end. 

        e. Structure: morning time, then tutorials, after lunch is together time subjects. 

        f. In previous years I’ve done different things—all grades handwriting, all grades math, etc. Rotation Stations. 

        g. Trust in what the Lord has called you to do. 

        h. Pray for wisdom. 

    F. Take inventory 

        a. What’s working, what’s not? Possible solutions. 

        b. Write out a family mission statement—if you want—how do those priorities fit in your life? 

 II. Space 

    A. Two mantras: 

        a. Everything has a place and everything in its place. 

        b. Don’t put it down, put it away. 

    B. Teach kids to help 

         a. Laundry basket idea—gather up all you can find, a quarter to get anything back 

        b. Transfer responsibility to your child—help them develop their own plan, resort to the Mom plan when needed 

        c. 15 minute pick-up time/cleaning time 

    C. Get rid of clutter. Give away things you haven’t used in the past year. Simplify. 

    D. Cleaning routine 

        a. I have daily tasks—dust Monday, clean kitchen and baths Tuesday, floors Wednesday, wash sheets and towels Thursday. 

        b. It is easier to clean a clean house. It doesn’t take very long. 

        c. A weekly wipe-up keeps the house clean enough. 

        d. Deep cleaning—some seasons I’ve had a schedule, some seasons I just wait till something starts bothering me or I have time to scrub. 

    E. Meals routine 

        a. Let kids help in kitchen—teaching and serving opportunity! Sometimes seems more trouble than it’s worth, but say yes when you can. 

        b. Dinner short-cuts—make double batches and freeze half, use that crock pot! 

        c. Make a master grocery list. 

III. Conclusion: Grace 

    A. We all need more grace. “From His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” John 1:16         B. Ann Voskamp: Life is not an emergency, it’s a gift. 

    C. Enjoy your children. Soak up each phase. It won’t last.

Thomas: 21 Months

Thomas just keeps getting more and more fun! He still loves to snuggle, runs everywhere, and learns new words every day. Yesterday's word was "read." He kept bringing us books, climbing on our laps, and demanding, "read!" Thomas has become more adept at climbing this month and is so proud of himself. His favorite food is still graham crackers, but pizza and pasta are high on his list. He's close to giving up that morning nap and then we'll have to rearrange our school schedule a bit, but he plays well by himself and doesn't get into mischief the way some of my other children did at his age. ;) We love you, Thomas!

October Books

Just a few fall favorites to share with you today:

The Busy Little Squirrel, Nancy Tafuri

The Pumpkin Runner, Marsha Diane Arnold

Too Many Pumpkins, Linda White

Every Autumn Comes the Bear, Jim Arnosky

The Apple Pie Tree, Zoe Hall

My Clean-Enough House

We've had a housekeeper off and on since we began homeschooling. It is always a treat to have someone else clean for me! But this fall I decided that the older kids and I could take over for a while. 

I have two primary house-cleaning mantras: 

It is easy to clean a clean house. 

A weekly wipe-up keeps a clean-enough house. 

By that I mean that everything gets a quick clean once a week. Our rental house isn't very big and it doesn't take long. One day a week we dry dust with a Swiffer duster, one day a week we clean bathrooms and the kitchen, and one day a week we vacuum the whole house and mop the kitchen and bathrooms. I don't currently have a deep-cleaning schedule. If something starts looking really dirty or I have some extra time, I can scrub at whatever has caught my attention. If we miss something, we'll get to it the next week. 

I'm sure I'll have a housekeeper again in the future, but for now it feels good to be responsible for my own house again. :)

Thomas: 20 Months

At 20 months, Thomas won't hold still for a picture. He still adores books, also trucks ("Zoom!") and Jacob's old Batcave and action figures ("BatBat"). He loves his Mama, and this month Daddy has started getting hugs, too. Thomas's favorite foods are graham crackers, pizza, and any kind of meat. He likes most fruits and very few vegetables. Thomas tries out new words every day, and has started combining words into phrases. He likes to put on shoes because he knows then we are going outside. He throws himself on the floor and screams when he doesn't get his way. Sorry, buster, you're the youngest of five--we've seen plenty of tantrums and one has yet to be effective. Ever. Ask your brother and sisters. ;) Thomas is still the cutest baby ever and I guess someday soon we will graduate him to toddler status...but he'll always be the baby!

The Chosen

 

The Gent and I are particular about what we watch. We want what we watch to be excellent--in the content and in the artistry. So many shows just aren't worth our time. And we often find the "Christian" shows are not well-made. But we recently streamed The Chosen and we both loved it. Beautifully done, made you think, entertaining, and made me want to pick up my Bible and dive deeper. I highly recommend it and you can stream it for free from their website. We are excited for season two to begin filming!

What You Do Best

It is so easy to be overwhelmed by ALL THE THINGS YOU MUST DO when you're a mom, and it really piles on when you are the teacher, too! This year I'm really focusing on what our family does well and what we enjoy and letting the rest go. This is the beauty of homeschooling.

We love read-alouds. We all like our math program. We love studying history. We are pretty good at science experiments. 

I always think we should be outside more, but in reality Mama doesn't like bugs, snakes, and mud. I never do the projects that go along with our history curriculum. Making dioramas and mummifying a chicken is just not for me.

So I don't get to all the things. I bake my own bread, but I buy the pre-washed salad. It is all a balance.

We do the essentials every day (math and language arts), then use the time that remains to do the things we enjoy. All the minutes and days and weeks add up to lots of learning--I'm always amazed when I look back at the end of the year and see all the ways we grew in knowledge together.

Play to your strengths, friends!

What's In the Book Box: September

I refill our read-aloud book basket at the beginning of each month, and I thought this school year I'd try to pull together some collections of stories with a common thread. For September, which for us is a month of settling in to our school and activity routine, I chose books about home and family and sibling relationships--books that evoke some warm fuzzies and have lots of beautiful illustrations. These all make great bedtime stories. Daddy usually does the bedtime reading around here. He will read one of these picture books, and then a chapter from a longer read-aloud (currently The Jungle Book). I read a picture book during our school Wonder Hour, and then read from a chapter book before quiet time. Thomas brings us books to read all day long, and our kids know that if at all possible, if they bring their Daddy or me a book and ask us to read it, we will. :) 

All the Beatrix Potter stories

Maple, Lori Nichols

Maple and Willow, Lori Nichols

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Judith Viorst

The Golden Plate, Bernadette Watts

The Family Under the Moon, Nancy Jewell

Ox-Cart Man, Donald Hall

Miss Rumphius, Barbara Cooney

My Great-Aunt Arizona, Gloria Houston

The Little House, Virginia Lee Burton

I Like to Be Little, Charlotte Zolotow

On Mother's Lap, Ann Herbert Scott

Treasury for Children, James Herriot

Roxaboxen, Alice McLerran

Bedtime for Frances, Russell Hoban (and all the Frances books)

Julius, the Baby of the World, Kevin Henkes

A House is a House for Me, Mary Ann Hoberman

Coat of Many Colors, Dolly Parton

Do You Know What I'll Do, Charlotte Zolotow

The Complete Brambly Hedge, Jill Barklem

First Day of School 2020

Monday was our first day of school. We are starting a bit early this year so we can take time off when we move and maybe do some traveling. We've finished up our first week and it feels good to be back in our routine and learning together! Some days may seem long, but teaching my kiddos really is the best job in the world. 

Nora: kindergarten

Annie: 4th grade

Sophie: 2nd grade

Jacob: 4th grade

my students!

 

Thomas: 19 Months

Thomas was not interested in posing for any pictures--he wanted to run through the grass and walk up and down the stairs with Daddy. We all adore this baby boy. Sometimes he feels a bit smothered by his siblings, I think. ;) At 19 months, Thomas continues to love being outside and reading books. Some current favorites are The Very Busy Spider and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See. He is cutting his one year old molars. He's still nursing 3-4 times a day, and taking two naps. We're going to keep up that morning nap as long as possible; it makes school with the big kids easier. Thomas loves chicken, sweet potatoes, and strawberries. He also really loves his mama. He's my snuggle-buddy, and I'm soaking it up while it lasts. His hair is growing (and curling) and that little dimple has us all cooing over him!

 

Lake Time!

Much thanks to Aunt Gigi and Uncle B for hosting us for boatloads of fun at the lake!

 

VBS with Honey and Poppa

Of all the Covid-related cancellations, I think my kids were the saddest about Vacation Bible School. Honey and Poppa came to the rescue with cousin VBS! The kiddos had a blast learning about how Jesus' power pulls us through. Thanks, Honey and Poppa, for transforming our basement into the best VBS yet!