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)

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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!