To Do List

***Today is Monday, Jan. 5 and I am happy to say that we were able to get done everything on our list last week. It feels so good to start a new year and begin school again with some chores accomplished.

This week is a bit out of the ordinary since my husband is off for the week. We were planning on taking the train to York for a day, but a little stomach bug has been making it through the family. As of today, only three of us including me have not had it in one way or another. Thankfully, it comes and then goes quickly. I'm still praying I don't get it. Because of the bug, I think we will be sticking closer to home for the break. We might just go for a walk at a park or something. I would also like to get out shopping.

Knowing we would be home and I would have hubby's extra hands during the break, I started a to do list of projects I want/needed done. It seems my days are so full there are things that slip through the cracks. Today we have been working hard and getting a few tasks accomplished. Once again it feels good to get things in order.

Here is my list: (I am sure we probably won't get it all done, but if we do that would be great too.)

*Clean out the garage
*Clean and organize the attic
*Hang a few pictures
*Put girls summer clothes back in bins up in the attic
*Box up old clothes to take to the Care Zone (a ministry of our church that takes people's things and gives them to people in need)
*Plan a New Year's party
*Clean out the cupboard under our stairs
*Mop the kitchen
*Wash sheets on Friday as we have friends coming on Saturday
*Sit down with hubby and go through goals and such for the new year

That is all I can think of right now. It feels good to just get it down on paper.

Thanksgiving Lapbook

I know it is almost Christmas, but I wanted to get this posted before I forget. For two weeks in November we worked on our second lapbook. This one was on Thanksgiving. Once again the kids had a blast making it. Some of the mini books they made were: comparing and contrasting our thanksgiving dinner with the one the Pilgrims and Indian's shared, definition of separatists, spelling words all relating to the first Thanksgiving, a map of the Pilgrim's journey, a picture of the Mayflower, who, what, when, where and why, and verses on being thankful. The kids were very proud of their hard work and loved showing it off.


They also enjoyed a party the day after Thanksgiving with some English friends. They shared their lapbook, read a story about Thanksgiving, made pilgrim and Indian hats, played a game and ate pumpkin cookies. All the kids had a great time. It was fun to share some of our culture and traditions.

Christmas Devotions

A couple years back the pastor at our previous church shared a Christmas tradition they did with their boys every year. It is a simple family devotion that starts on December 1 and goes up until Christmas. We tried it that first year and our kids loved it. It has become a tradition we all look forward to. I thought I would share it, because it is simple and we all love it so much.

The first thing we do is gather everyone together in our living room. We turn out all the lights, except the Christmas tree, and light a pillar candle. We put the candle on our ottoman. Next we sing a couple of Christmas carols with the kids. It usually ends up being one kid one, one traditional carol and more often than not, Jingle Bells. I think that is the kids favorite. Next we read a couple verses from the Christmas story found in different parts of the Bible (I'll post the list at the bottom). Then someone closes us in prayer. We take turns so everyone gets a turn. Everyone then gathers around the candle and holds hands. We count one-two-three and the kids all blow the candle out together. Finally, the kids run to their stockings to find their candy, which mom or dad has sneaked in earlier. It is usually just one little piece like a Hershey kiss, mint, or even an M&M. Of course, we don't want them all hopped up on sugar right before bed. This is a part of celebrating Christmas we all look forward to each year.

Here is the Scripture list.
Dec. 1 - Isaiah 7:14
Dec.2 - Isaiah 9:6-7
Dec.3 - Micah 5:2
Dec.4 - Luke 1:26-28
Dec.5 - Luke 1:29-30
Dec.6 - Luke 1: 31-33
Dec.7 - Luke 1:34-35, 37
Dec.8 - Luke 1:38
Dec.9 - Matthew 1:18-21
Dec.10 - Matthew 1:22-23
Dec.11 - Matthew 1:24-25
Dec.12 - Luke 2:1-5
Dec.13 - Luke 2:6-7
Dec.14 - Luke 2:8-9
Dec.15 - Luke 2:10-12
Dec.16 - Luke 2:13-15
Dec.17 - Luke 2:16-18
Dec.18 - Luke 2:19-20
Dec.19 - Matthew 2:1-2
Dec.20 - Matthew 2:3-6
Dec.21 - Matthew 2:7-9
Dec.22 - Matthew 2:10-12
Dec.23 - Luke 19:10
Dec.24 - John 10:10
Dec.25 - John 3:16

Plans for the Week

I really need to come up with a meal plan for this week as I need to head to the store this afternoon. I figured since I needed to do it, it would be fun to share it.

Monday - Turkey Poppy seed casserole (with leftover Thanksgiving turkey), corn, salad and bread
Tuesday - Chicken Enchiladas in the crockpot
Wednesday - Pork Chop with rice
Thursday - Belgium Waffles and scrambled eggs
Friday - Homemade Pesto Pizza
Saturday - "Date Night" for mom and dad (it's been four months, so we are looking forward to it) The kids will have chicken nuggets or mac-n-cheese


Boy, I feel so good once I get it all written down.

Other plans I have for the week include wrapping Christmas gifts with hubby tonight to get them in the mail for America by the end of the week, ordering a few gifts online, finding a picture for our Christmas cards, start getting Christmas decorations out, find all our Christmas books and watch a friends little boy on Thursday. I am such a list person. I love to write it all down and I especially love to cross it off.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY...

Outside my window... I see and hear house Sparrows as they roost in the hedge outside my living room window.

I am thinking... about what I can do with my kids this afternoon to keep them busy and out of trouble.

I am thankful for... the safe delivery of a healthy baby boy our close friends had yesterday.

From the learning rooms... beginning a Thanksgiving unit study and working on a Thanksgiving lapbook.

From the kitchen... spaghetti casserole (for the friends who just had the baby) and tacos for us.

I am wearing... comfy jeans, white long sleeve T with gray T over, and bare feet.

I am creating... a Christmas calendar for gifts for the grandparents.

I am going... out tomorrow night for a girls night out at a pub that does stone baked pizzas.

I am reading... Making Life Work by Bill Hybels and Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver

I am hoping... to get to bed earlier tonight.

I am hearing... my boys giggle as they wrestle in the family room.

Around the house... some cleaning needs to get done after a busy weekend.

One of my favorite things... chocolate in the afternoon when all my kids are either resting or sleeping.

A few plans for the rest of the week: planning a Thanksgiving party for the day after Thanksgiving. The kids will invite some of their English friends, show them their lapbook and tell them about Thanksgiving and how we celebrate it. Working on the Christmas calendar. To plan a time to get a photo for Christmas cards.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

(my youngest and the joy he is to our family)

Visit Peggy's and see more Simple Woman's Daybooks.

Thankful Tree

Since November is here, we wanted to focus once again on being thankful. Last year, we made a thankful turkey. Each evening, as a family, we would all go around and share something we were thankful for. We would then write them on feathers, we made from construction paper and tape them on to our turkey. We all really enjoyed this time as a family. It gave us a good reason to think back over our day and remember something to be thankful for.

We decided to do it again this year, only we aren't doing a turkey. This year, after reading other blogs, we decided to do a "Thankful Tree." The verse we are using from Colossians 2:6-7 says, "continue to live in Christ, rooted and built up in him..., and overflowing with thankfulness." We chose this verse because like a tree has roots that drive deep for nourishment, so we need to press on with Christ and have our roots deep into him to live the life He wants us to live. We also need to remember to overflow with thankfulness. After all, we truly have much to be thankful for.

Can you imagine how full of leaves our tree will be by the time Thanksgiving arrives?


Here is a picture of the kids with last years "Thankful Turkey."

Apple Lapbook

A while back I did a little apple unit study with the kids. We read some books on apples, picked apples from our own apple tree and made a big pot of apple sauce. We also did our very first lap book. We did our lapbook on Johnny Appleseed. The kids loved doing the lapbook. After we finished our lapbook, they kept talking about all the things they want to make lapbook about. I can't find file folders over here, so we used some cheap folders that I could find. They didn't work very well in my opinion because they were so thin. I did, however, ask my sister to buy me some and ship them to me. Now I have the real thing and am ready to do our next lapbook. I am planning a Thanksgiving one now. Hopefully we will be starting it late this week or next week.

Our Learning Room

When we moved into our house two years ago, I was excited because it had a dining room as well as an eat in kitchen. I thought it would be great to have a dining room to have the extra space to have people over for dinner. We do have friends over occasionally, a few times a month. It has taken us two months to figure out that the dining room is wasted space in our home. This summer my husband and I were talking and he said, " I think we should use the dining room for school." I was totally thinking, "why didn't I ever think of that." Up until this year, we have been using the kitchen table. This means that we have to cart all of our books from the cupboard in the family room to the table each day and return them all when we are done. We also have to clear off the table for lunch even if the kids aren't finished with their work. It took me a couple days to wrap my head around the idea of using the dining room as a "learning room" (as we are calling it). I just had to process and put some plans together on how it would work. Then I got to work getting it all sorted out. I even cleaned out a couple of the drawers so we could use them for paper, markers and such. I am so glad we realized we had a wasted space in our home and that we did something about it. It would have been sad to have wasted it for the whole time we are in this house. Here are some pictures of our learning room.

This is the learning room neatly set up.

I bought the magazine boxes at a stationary store. I love them because they are bigger than most magazine boxes. They are also paper boxes, so the kids had fun putting their name on, coloring and decorating their box. Each of the boys have their own for their books. I also have one for my teacher manuals and books I use for all of them.

This is the way it looks most days and for most of the week. I try to pick it up at least twice a week and for the weekend. It is so nice to have our own space where we can leave things out if needed.

Observation

Today as I was sitting at the table with the boys doing their table-work, I noticed that my two year old daughter kept insisting on sitting on my lap. She really is good though and she likes to take the colored pencils and/or pens and draw on paper I give her and sometimes in her brother's books. As I thought about it more, I came to the realization that everyday when we are doing table-work, she is found in my lap. I wondered to myself, "why is she choosing to sit on my lap instead of being out playing, watching TV or getting into trouble?" As I thought about it, my thoughts took me back to this time last fall and even the previous spring. She would have been somewhere between 8-14 months old. When she woke up from her morning nap, she would sit on my lap while I worked with the boys on their table-work. She is doing it now, because that is what she remembers about school and thinks that is the best place to be. At times this irritates me a bit because it is more difficult to see around her and to write, but as I reflect on her little habit and the reasons she does it, I am very thankful that she desires to be close to me and it is a little bonding time for the two of us. That, and it keeps her out of trouble.

Rest Time

When I meet new people for the first time or when I am hanging out with friends, I am frequently asked the question, "How do you do it (all)?" They say this in reference to having six kids under eight and home schooling them. In my head, I usually laugh at this question, because my life at home is way more chaotic than the way they are seeing it at the moment. I am can definitely put on a good show, sometimes. Aren't we all good at making our life look fine on the outside, when in reality on the inside we are feeling crazy, stressed, lonely, sad or overwhelmed?

Well, one of the ways that I stay sane is nap time/rest time every afternoon. Even if the kids seem like they don't need it. I do! When the clock hits two, everyone heads upstairs. The girls and the baby take a nap for a couple of hours, although I believe the time is shortening for the girls. The boys head to their rooms for rest time for one hour. They are allowed to read or play quietly. When they have gotten too loud, I have been known to rush to their rooms and demand them each to their own beds with books only. After I finish feeding the baby and laying him down (during which time, I have been known to fall asleep), I come downstairs have my quiet time, sleep, read, catch up on some chores, check blogs or pick up toys . This time in the afternoon is invaluable for me. After a morning of meeting all the demands of my children, trying to keep the house semi clean, preparing two meals, and doing school, I live for rest time. It is a time where I recharge, refocus and prepare for the afternoon and evening.

I would strongly recommend rest time to all those with children at home even if they have given up napping. If you have older children who aren't used to rest time, try it a little at a time. I would start with 15 minutes in their rooms and build up to whatever time you feel you need for yourself. It has become such a routine for us that all I have to say is rest time and everyone heads upstairs. Sometimes I wonder where a child is after lunch and I will find them in their rooms ready for rest time. Even though my kids won't admit it, they value rest time too. They each need a break from each other and some quiet time as well. As I have said before I need it.

Trying Again

Okay, so my hope and dreams of keeping up on two blogs are not really coming true (as I am sure you can see.) I really do desire to keep up on this blog a little more than I have. Lots and lots of ideas of what to blog here run through my mind constantly. It is just getting to the computer and writing it all down that I struggle with. I am pretty sure the whole six kid thing has something to do with that. I have been having a difficult time getting done all I want to lately. I feel as though I am running non-stop. I do stop somewhere between ten and eleven each night to fall into bed. My goal then is to stay awake while my husband prays for us. I usually do fall asleep though. Bless his heart though, he doesn't give up and he continues to pray for us each night. It also makes me thankful that we are praying to a God who never falls asleep on us.

So, today I am back today to try it again. Hopefully it won't be three months until I write again. If anyone is still reading this blog, thank you!

Thoughts on Learning

Having grown up in the public school system, most of the ways I view learning and education come from there. Therefore my ideas of how I should home educate my children come from my past in the public school system as well. I have to some degree felt that if I didn't have workbooks or at least some sort of curriculum then my kids wouldn't learn the right things at the right time. At times, I get stressed out by comparing what my kids are learning in relation to the public school children. I also get stressed out if we don't finish our books before we end school or if the kids skip a day in a particular lesson. These are not the reasons we chose to home school. One of the reasons was the freedom in educating our children. But, I need to daily remind myself to not compare what other kids (home schooled or public schooled) are learning and stand in awe of the things my children are learning.

My oldest is quite a reader. He will sit down and read anything. I am just amazed at his comprehension at only eight years old. We have been blessed with the opportunity to live in England for five years for my husband's job. There have been times that I wouldn't have called it a blessing, but now I so cherish the experience it has been for our family. My children have been exposed to so much in our time here. The British History they are learning is incredible. Every place we visit from countries, towns, museums, and castles, I try to buy books that tell about the place or time in history. My children love these books and have read many of them even before I have. I am so shocked sometimes when they will blurt out some fact of British history that was unknown to me. This weekend we did a bus tour of London and really enjoyed it. On Sunday, we visited Windsor to go to Windsor Castle. We weren't able to go in though, because George W. Bush was there having tea with the Queen. How cool is that? We actually saw his helicopter. Anyways, as we were standing around hoping to see the President, we were looking at a statue and my oldest said, "that's Queen Victoria." I am sure he knows more about her than I do. Here I stand amazed at how our children learn and are influenced when we provide them with great books, take them to interesting places and also when we take the time to talk with them about the things we see and read about. They are little sponges.

These are the times that I remember why we are home schooling and that learning occurs in so many more ways and places than I would have ever thought. Just because they aren't using a curriculum or sitting in a classroom doesn't mean they aren't learning.

Dreaming of a Simple Life

Lately I find myself thinking about living a more simple life. Just this week I have realized that "stuff" stresses me out. It seems as though I am always picking up, putting away and organizing or trying to organize our "stuff." This in itself is a full time job. And frankly, I have better things to be doing with my time. By living my life so focused on my stuff, I am missing opportunities to be with my kids. I also feel that my stuff has come in the way of my relationship with God. I can be so focused on the messes around me that I can't enter into communion with God. My stuff distracts me from the things that really matter.

I have always detested clutter. I am also not a very sentimental person so I don't tend to keep things for that reason. About four times a year I take bags of stuff to centre at church that gives it to people that need it. This week I decided I want to get a little more serious about going through our house and looking at things with a different set of eyes. I want to get rid of the extra, the unnecessary, and the items that I have just kept because we have always had them. I have already cleaned out three bags of clothes this week. Saturday is claimed declutter/clean out day in our household. I am quite looking forward to it.

My hope is that by clearing out the unnecessary I would be less distracted and become more focused on growing in my relationship with Jesus, my husband and my children.

Reaching Out

I have so many things that I need to get done each day. The necessities like; schooling the kids, laundry, preparing and cleaning up after three meals, my quiet time, keeping the house clean and orderly and so on. This doesn't even include the things I would like to get done each day like; time to myself, reading to the kids, computer time, or a shower (I suppose this could be a need). I rarely sit down. The needs of my life can be all-consuming. Each day I find myself so focused on getting done all the needs and wants done that I start to live life in survival mode. I find myself so consumed with all that is going on in the walls of my house that I forget to look outside those walls to the people around me and their needs. Right now I have a number of friends and some family members who have some big challenges in their lives. How do I best help them? They have all been the focus of my prayers lately, but I wonder if I could do more. God has blessed me with six great kids and a wonderful husband and I know they need to be my number one priority. I also know they are my first ministry at this stage of my life, but sometimes I wonder if I can do more. Sometimes I feel as if my husband and children being my first priority can be an excuse for me to not reach out to others.

How can I, a home school mother of six kids, look beyond my own household and help those around me? How can I show Christ's love to a dying world? How can I show my kids that more in life matters than the things of our own family? How can I help them have a passion for the lost people of the world? These are the desires of my heart and I believe the desires of God's heart as well.

I want to have open eyes to see those around me and their needs. I want to be willing to sacrifice my time and agenda to those around me when they are in need. I desire to be ever-attentive and sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading and directing me to people who have a need I can help with. And if nothing else, I can pray for the ones the Spirit brings to mind.

Pure Delight

Today I took a break and headed outside with my children. I feel so refreshed by the laughter and excitement of my kids and the beautiful sunshine. I do enjoy the outdoors, but I rarely venture out with my kids. It always seems I have too much to accomplish inside to take a break and head out. I find it much easier to just send the kids out because that gives me a few minutes on my own to get a few things done. But, today was different. We all went out, even the baby in the front pack. The kids rode their bikes and scooters and I just walked and pushed dd2 on her bike. It was delightful.

As I sit here now and reflect, I think about how much I love my kids and truly delight in them. I have to admit, though, that I am often distracted by all the things that need to get done and I push my kids aside to tend to my own agenda. This is not how I want to live or how I want my kids to view me. In years to come, I don't want my kids saying, "my mom is a very good cook or baker" or "my mom keeps our house very clean and neat", but "we really don't know her and she doesn't really know us." That puts a fear in me. More than anything else, I want my kids to know they are special and I love them each for the person they are. Just as God delights in us, I want to delight in my children.

Lord, when life is so busy all around me, please help me to see my children through your eyes. Help me to take time out of my agenda and focus, listen or just watch my children and delight in them. Help me to show them how much they are loved by my smile, my touch and my words. Amen

Rebel

I admit it, deep down inside I am a REBEL. My husband certainly knows and I am sure my parents have known it for a long time. I started a new schedule in the fall. I figured I needed a way to put priority on the things which needed priority. For me, I don't think there is any other way to have somewhat of an organized, running household of eight than to have a schedule. Just last week I updated the schedule a bit. I changed things around a bit and added a few things. I was very excited to start the new schedule on Monday. Well, yesterday I figured out a little about my rebellion. After only two days of doing the new schedule, I found my self rebelling against it. Was I really rebelling against myself? This is crazy. Not only did I make the schedule myself, choosing what things needed to be a priority, but I changed it this week to reflect the way we have been doing it since the fall. Now it is just correct on paper. But as of yesterday, I didn't want to do things that way. My schedule told me what I needed to be doing and I didn't want to do it. So, for some of yesterday, I didn't . I am a crazy nut, Steve even agreed.

I have to remind myself today that my schedule is a tool and not a slave driver. I also have to remember that I am the one that put the schedule in place for the good of our family and it was working for us. I need to get rid of the mentality of "if someone/something says I need to do it this way, than I don't want to." And I have to gain the mentality of "if it is a good thing, or something to bless me or my family, why not?" I am in no means saying we should do all things that are "good." Personal boundaries definitely come into play. In my relation to my schedule though, I believe that God is a God of order and he has blessed me with my schedule. Why shouldn't I use it.

Blog Experiment

Okay, this blog is totally an experiment to see if I can manage a home school blog. The name is even a trial. Do you like it? Any other ideas? I just pulled that one from you know where. I seriously don't know how much I will post here. For my more up-to-date blog posts go here .

First Blog

This is my first post from my Blogger blog. Welcome. Let's see how well I can keep this up to date.