Homeschool Update...Hard Winter

I predicted last fall in a homeschool update that homeschooling this winter would be much harder since we wouldn't be able to be outside as much. Boy was I right.  Winter brought lots of yucky days stuck inside, a mildly sick but uncomfortable and tired pregnant teacher/mom, and lots of hard work to get along together inside all day every day.  But we grew together as a family and we learned LOTS. 
Before we even learned of our pregnancy with number six, we had decided that this year we would concentrate on making homeschool do-able and set goals that we could really achieve.  We would concentrate on the three R's (Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic).  We did add American History in for Bentley(11) and did a study of the fifty states with everyone.  We also added a really cool science program and of course Bible Reading/Character Studies.  On those days or weeks when we were doing our best to function we went back to Bible Reading and the three R's and many days this winter, we didn't get past that. We tried to keep extra activities to a minimum or limited to weekends so that school could be our main focus during the week.
We homeschool four to five days a week year round.  Mondays are always a lighter day when we clean house from the weekend and regroup.  Those days we sometimes enjoy art, a music study, or a documentary, usually related to something we have been studying. 

 Reading has been a huge focus and as you can see, even the littles enjoy "reading" alongside of their older siblings.  Payton (9) has logged over 2500 pages of reading for school so far, and Bentley(11), over 3000. This does not include books they read for fun which for Bentley probably equals the amount she reads for school.  Conner(7), who started out the year frustrated with reading, is now loving reading chapter books at a third to fourth grade level.  The older kids often read books related to historical periods that they are studying, and write book reports about what they have read.

Notice in all of these pictures the same little fella is always present.  I think we have another future reader on our hands! 

Math is not my favorite subject, so I have been extremely careful that we make it a focus daily.  I am not bad at it, I just don't enjoy it.  We are actually ahead in math and I am expecting all of the kids to finish math books/programs by the end of May.  The boys math books, Mathematical Reading by the Critical Thinking Co, have really challenged them in a good way and they have both excelled.  Bentley's math has been Switched On Schoolhouse, on the computer.  I don't feel as involved and the lessons are basically reading a text and answering questions.  She is doing fine but really connects better with a more hands on explanation and teaching.  We are looking carefully at what might work better for her next year and leaning towards Teaching Textbooks, which is still computer based but is taught first by a person and then each problem they miss is worked through with them so they get immediate feedback on how to do it correctly.  Bentley has tried a sample of the new curriculum online and it is wonderful to have a child old enough to provide feedback.  She is excited for Math next year.

Once we finish up everyone's Math and Bentley's history curriculum, I plan to focus more on Science and our state study for summer.  Our Science is Apologia Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day.  I love this science curriculum but it is on birds and insects and we had to stop for winter as many of our observations had flown south and experiments were no longer possible.  I am really looking forward to spending whole days on our bird and insect study and this summer it will help us return to a more outdoor and hands on approach to learning which we all love.  This summer will also be a good time to focus on Physical Education (i.e. swimming, bike riding, walking, horseback riding etc etc) and art (which will be lots of birds).  Payton is also looking forward to learning more with his dad about building things and car maintenance.  Everyone loves to cook and spend time with mommy in the kitchen so maybe a more intentional kitchen rotation would give them some great learning moments.

It is also that time to look forward towards our next school year.  We will school through the summer until the end of July when the baby is born.  We will likely take most of the month of August off and then resume school in September.  As I look ahead, much of our curriculum will change.  My preference is for all of us to do much of our learning together at different levels and this school year has given me time to follow many other homeschool moms and see what works for them.  I am also finding curriculum that will hopefully work with a new baby in the house.  Some have very detailed plans that won't require a lot of planning on my part.  Some even have Cd's of the books so that we can listen on the go or at home as I am dealing with the littles.  We will try to add back in some outside activities, such a maybe children's choir, an art class here and there etc. but we will be careful to not overdo it.  Our family time and school time has been important and we want to remain our children's primary influence and teachers.

We are happy to see glimpses of spring and look forward to returning outside for school.  We are all learning to find teaching/learning moments in the everyday and that learning does not only happen from eight to three monday thru friday but everyday, all the time we can find opportunities to listen and learn.

I Need You

This morning started out like many other Mondays.  The house is a total disaster from the aftermath of a fun filled Easter Weekend. The kitchen counters and the island are piled high.  We like to eat breakfast as a family but the pancakes are running behind.  Its kind of hard to cook in a messy kitchen.  Monte needs to get off to work.  Then the kids arise irritated with tummy aches, the results of a busy day and way too much Easter candy and good food.  They fight and fuss as they get dressed and ready.  Chaos has erupted and I know that bringing order to a large family takes time and patience that I don't know if I have first thing this morning.  One of our little guys doesn't function well when the schedule gets out of wack and we are definitely moving beyond way out of wack.  I brace myself, a tantrum could erupt at any moment.  There is so much activity and noise in the morning that I rarely turn on the radio, but I desperately need K-LOVE. So I not only turn it on, but I crank it up over the screeches, the sound of the vacuum getting a chore done, and the chatter of little people finishing up breakfast.   I hear Chris Tomlin singing "I need you Lord I need you...every hour I need you."  I take a moment, I breath, and I listen.  He is here in the chaos...I just need to tell him what he already knows..."I need you Lord I need you."

I reflect on our whirlwind stressful weekend and I realize that just because he died on the cross and saved me from all of my sins his work in me is not finished.  I still need him, oh I need him, every hour I need him.  I need him for the big stuff and I need him to get me through the little stuff each and every day.  This is not too small and I am not too small...I need him and he is here. 
Peace did return, at least for the moment.  Chores got done, no tantrums erupted, and now the house is quiet as everyone takes a moment and reads from God's Word.  Today we will work to return order and tidiness to our home, get ready for the week ahead, and love each other, but I will need HIM.

This is seriously as good as the Easter Pictures get this year.  The sun was in their eyes and if one was looking the others weren't.  We gave up after I had one of those mom melt down moments.  You know the kind where your husband is looking around to make sure none of the neighbors are outside to hear your not so nice little rant about cooperating for just one good Easter Picture.

I had to throw this picture in from Palm Sunday.  My baby boy was old enough to celebrate and carry a palm branch with his big brother this year!

Finding Eggs!

And we can't forget the Resurrection Garden that we enjoyed watching grow.  The kids closed the tomb on Thursday and reopened it on Easter Sunday Morning as we celebrated with a Chocolate Cross. 

Reflections from our Resurrection Garden

"Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."  

Luke 23:34

So many things are rolling around in my head it is time to blog.  A few weeks ago I shared about some of our adoption struggles.  We have been so blessed by an outpouring of support from our friends and family with whom we are truly blessed.  I am happy to report that the last two weeks have been much less difficult.  Healing continues and will be a lifelong journey, but we are learning together to adapt and life has returned to a more peaceful normal for now.  As Resurrection Day nears we are focusing on Jesus' sacrifice for us on the cross.  I complained in my last post that in our struggle withour adopted children "some days I fail miserably trying to help repair or minimize the damage that I did not do."  I should have really said most days I fail miserably, but I was trying to be positive.  As we planted our Resurrection Garden in preparation for Easter and I placed three crosses carefully in the dirt,  I reflected that maybe, just maybe, God was teaching me a lesson.  He took on the burdens and the sins of the world, including my own.  Maybe instead of wallowing in self pity, I should be praising him.  My burden compared to his is nothing, and newsflash I don't have to carry it alone.  First of all he is walking beside me, often carrying me, and he has placed so many wonderful people in my life.  So I contribute much of the success and healing of our week to letting it go, to accepting His gift and letting Him carry what I thought was my burden.  He was just waiting.  Waiting for me to let Him have it.  Waiting for me to get it. Just waiting.

 

Resurection Garden Instructions:

(Sorry I guess I didn't take pictures of the process)

Supplies:

*Large Terra Cotta Tray, like you put under plants (we used a round plastic container from a giant cookie)

*Small Terra Cotta Pot (the tiniest size)

*Potting Soil

*Grass Seed (we got ours from the hardware store where we could purchase just a little bit by the pound)

*gravel (we stole ours from grandpa and grandma's driveway while they were gone on a trip...Thanks!)

*large round rock (yep grandpa and grandmas flower bed)

*twigs to make crosses (we hot glued ours) Make sure to make them long enough to go into the dirt as far as you can so they don't fall over, especially when the cat visits the garden.

 

Lay the small terra cotta pot on it's side in the middle of your tray.  Pile potting soil around and over it.  Place the gravel in the front of the opening of your tomb and place the large round rock beside the opening.  Sprinkle grass seed on your soil and water lots.  Grass starts to grow in just a few days.  The flowers in the picture are a pot of purple flowers one of the boys planted at Sunday School.  They are just sitting behind the garden but you could possibly plant  flowers in your garden as well.

Here is the link to my pinterest board where the idea came from.

**Enjoy**

 



 

In God's Will is Not Always the Easiest Place to Be

My blogging has been a bit infrequent for a while and I really miss it.  Blogging is like keeping a journal often celebrating the triumphs of our family or our homeschooling.  But I have been consumed by things that I don't know how or if I want to share but somehow I feel the need to free my heart.  I have written this post four times, each time erasing or leaving it in my drafts box.  It is just too raw and painful.  When we are further on the other side I hope that I can share more about the journey and what we have learned.

Looking at our family from the outside in it appears that we have it all together. We have all of our five little ducklings in a row walking through the hall at church and out and about. They are polite, well behaved (most of the time), and we generally appear to have it all under control. Yes we struggle with the same behaviors everyone else does at certain times in each child's life but you would think that with child number six on the way, we would about have this parenting thing licked. Dear friends you are sorely mistaken. When we fostered and eventually adopted the parenting rug was pulled out from under us. The rules were changed. Things that are supposed to work, that have worked for us in the past, don't work for our children who have experienced trauma in their past and now loss and no one seems to have the magic answer to helping our children heal.  We struggle daily running different sets of rules and guidelines for different children to meet everyone's needs to feel safe and to keep peace in our home.  Some days it is exhausting and some days I fail miserably trying to help repair or minimize the damage that I did not do.  We are making slow but steady progress but the learning curve seems very steep.
God spent some time working on me this past week.  We hit what felt like rock bottom and sometimes that is what it takes to make a change.  I realized that no matter what kind of day anyone else is having I can only control me and sometimes I didn't feel very in control.  Now pregnancy hormones do not help this any, but that is no excuse...I just have to work harder.  God has placed some wonderful adoptive mommas in my path this week and I have been given hope and I have realized that I am not alone with my struggle or my feelings.  I have to be realistic and realize that there will be days that I cannot humanly meet my children's emotional needs but I can meet their physical needs with as much kindness and love as I can muster and God will have to take care of the rest.
All of our children are such a blessing to our family and I know that we were the ones that signed up for this.   Life may have been easier the way it was but it was also emptier and in God's Will is the best (not always the easiest) place to be. I know that God brought us on this journey and he will bring us through as His family.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Learning From Those Who Have Gone Before Us

^"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 urge 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."

Titus 2:3-5

 

^{As a mother, you expect love for your children and your family to come naturally and most days it does .  But there are those times when you have been stuck inside for days because of eleven inches of snow, everyone is bickering and just downright mean to each other, you are fresh out of creative ideas to keep five children occupied, you are pregnant, tired and weary, the kitchen is a mess, your baby boy has taken to climbing atop everything and trips to the E.R. flash through your mind, and their is yet another storm with more snow and possible power outages on the horizon.  It is hard to admit but those days the love doesn't come as naturally.  Titus 2 tells us that we need to learn to "love our husbands and children, to be self controlled and pure, busy at home, kind and subject to our husbands."  So it doesn't just come naturally and its not just me that has to work some days at loving my husband and children, controlling my temper and not yelling at my children (or my husband), not being lazy by sitting on the computer instead of cleaning my kitchen, and listening to my husband who only wants what is best for our family.  This passage talks about learning from the older women, who can teach us what is good.}
 

^{My grandparents raised six children in the very home we live in and we are currently pregnant with our sixth.  When my grandmother was still living, we only had two children and no aspiring dreams to become a large family.  If I had only known...I have a million questions for her now.  How she did it, what she did right and what she wished she had done differently.  I feel like a kindred spirit.  If only I had another moment with her so that she could teach me all of her tricks.  Now, when it is too late, I am ready to listen.  There are many moments in this old house when I feel her very presence and encouragement and I know that she is looking down from heaven and is proud of me.}
 

^{In church so many of the older ladies have been encouraging to us and our large family.  They often comment on how much they enjoy watching our parade.  They compliment when our children are well behaved and encourage when little ones squirm.  One special lady in particular has taken an interest in watching our family grow.  She raised six children of her own and I would expect that much of her advice would mirror that of my grandmothers.  Last week she shared some special words of wisdom as I and another mother stood and drank it all in.  She told me that these are the best days of my life and to cherish every moment with my children.  She told me that I would be very tired and that my husband should be tired too if he wasn't already.  She told me that my house would never be clean and that advice given to her was to buy dimmer light bulbs, which I think is an excellent idea.  In other words let it go.  Enjoy this time because it will be gone before we know it and we will be looking back at this time with fond memories.  So now I know...this is as good as it gets this side of Heaven.  I am going to work hard to learn to love my husband and children, to have self control and be pure, to work hard in my home, and to listen to my husband who works hard to raise this brood right alongside of me.  Even though it is hard to admit, I am becoming an older woman who also needs to encourage those younger mothers and teach them that love does not always come naturally and they are not alone in their struggles
. 
So today we tidy the house, put some more soup in the crock-pot, sip some more hot chocolate, play another board game, snuggle up to a good movie, and watch the snowfall again.  There will still be dirty diapers, arguing children, a dirty kitchen, and all of the chaos that large family life brings but this time, mommy will keep reminding herself  to cherish these moments with my babies because  a wise woman taught me that there is nothing better this side of heaven than our greatest blessings, our children.}

Happy Birthday Conner

Seven years ago today at 9:12 p.m. Conner was brought into this world by a very special lady, his birth mother.  As adoptive parents it feels a bit strange because we have no memories of that day, no stories to tell about his coming into this world.  On May 15, 2012 at six years old Conner and his sister were adopted into our family and although our journey, and his, has not always been easy we are blessed to be a part of his life.

I always have said Conner is one of the bravest kids I know.  Starting over at four and a half years old isn't easy and he has met each new experience head on with a smile and giggle.  Conner adores his siblings and loves all of our extended and church family.

We plan to take Conner out on a mommy and daddy only date to the restaurant of his choice, KFC, which brings back good memories from the days he spent with his birth mom. This will give him some special time with just us to celebrate his day and share old and make new memories.  Cake and Ice Cream will follow with the rest of the family along with a special gift.  We love you Conner and hope today is special.  Happy Birthday!!!!

Feast of St. Valentine

This week the kids and I studied the origins of Valentines day and counted down the days until our Feast of St. Valentine.  We focused on God's love for us and each day in February tore off a heart with a verse about love and read it as a family.

We spent the last few days making hearts, decorating and making plans for our feast.

Today we cooked, all day.  Each child had their hand in at least a few of the menu items.  Our menu was marinated grilled pork loin.  Our marinate consisted of oil, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, parsley, salt and pepper.  We marinated for about six hours.  My boys (Daddy and Payton) grilled and they were perfect.  Very Very Very yummy.  The kids even deliberated and said that they were better than my chicken strips which rate at the top of all time favorite meals and not one kid asked for ketchup (a staple at our house).  They were the star of the evening, even over sugar cookies!

Our salad had heart shaped carrots and cucumbers along with a copy cat Olive Garden Dressing.

 

Zwiebach, mashed potatoes, and green beans rounded out the meal served on mommy's barely used china and Great Grandma's table cloth with Valentine napkins.  Using things from my grandma on special occasions make me feel like she is still with us and I love that.

Dessert was heart shaped sugar cookies made and decorated by the kids.

We had a fun Valentines Day...cooking, learning, and working together.

Happy Feast of St. Valentine!