Monday, Monday

Today has been a great hsing day! Woke up and played 2 phonics games with my son. Then, my son started reading the book "There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly". After he finished, he was showing me the pictures. On the back of the book, the illustrator had drawn about 18 different kinds of flies. (I never thought about there being that many!) So, we google the word "fly" and got to this cool site about bugs, www.whatsthatbug.com It's a great site bug site! Anyway, we got to see real pictures of almost all the different flies and learn something about each one. Then we went to www.enchantedlearning.com to see if they had anything on flies. While there, my son saw spiders. So, we printed off a diagram of a couple of spiders and talked about them. My son asked, "Mommy, how do spiders keep from sticking to their own webs?" Well, I didn't know, but the site had a page about spiders, and it said that spiders produce an oil on their legs that keeps them from sticking. Again, I learned something new too! Then my dd woke up, and we played 2 phonics games. She worked on Starfall.com and worked on more phonics work. Then we I showed them the Samaritans Purse website and talked to them about putting together boxes. They got really excited and started planning what we will put in the boxes. A great home learning day.

Forgetting

Here it is, six am...Yes, I am never up at this hour. But, this morning, I awoke around 3:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. Around 4:45, I decided to get out of bed and sack out on the couch. Being at my brother and sisterinlaw's house, I didn't know what I would do....When I went down, there was a book laying on the coffee table called, NightLight for Parents by James Dobson. I picked up the book and started reading....As I read God spoke, and I cried. I cried tears that had needed to come out all week. I realized I have (again!) gotten busy this week, too busy for God. I have reasons to "not have enough time." But this is no excuse! Yes, I have been taking care of 3 extra children this week. Yes, I have been pulled on in ways I haven't been used to. Yes, I tried to do it in my own strength. But, God again reaches down in His infinite and everlasting love and pulls me close. He gently whispers that He has seen me struggling all week. Why didn't I run to Him, He asks. I don't have an answer......But then I do. I thought I could do this in my own strength. I was wrong! God says to me He has what I need. All at once, I feel my inadequacy to parent, hs, be a wife, an aunt, etc. I can't do the things God has called me to without Him. If He calls me, hasn't He promised to equip me? If there is no time in my schedule for Him to equip me, then I will fall down and feel like I need to stay there. But if not for His grace, sweet grace, that picks me up when I fall. That picks me up when I've decided it's not worth me trying to get up.

Grace, grace, God's grace
Grace that is greater than all my sin.

Oct. 10, 2006

This week I am staying at my brother and sister-in-law's house, keeping their 3 dd's, while they are at a staff retreat for his job. The interesting thing is that the 2 oldest are in public school, and the the youngest is in a private pre-K. I say that it is interesting, because I am getting a taste of what it would be like to have kids in public school. Their days run like this: up at 6:45am, to get ready and have breakfast. At 7:17am, leave the house to walk to the bus stop. Arrive home at 3:30 pm. Do homework, ranging from 2 hours for the 10 yr old to 30 min. for the 7 yr old. Bedtime 8pm for 7 yr old, 9pm for 10 yr old. Whew! What a long day! (for me too!) My kids and I are used to getting up between 8 and 9 am, and leisurely starting our day. My hubbie commented yesterday that he is glad that weares hsing our kids. He has his own business, and his schedule is different every week. Some days, he is off at 5 and others, 12 noon. So, we are able to do things, as a family, all the time. He said he would hate to have to schedule our lives around jobs and school. It is truly nice having flexibility!

Playhouse

Right now, my kids are playing in their "playhouse" (two tables with a big comforter thrown over it). I can hear everything they are saying, but they think it secret and private. It is so neat to see my kids enjoying things like this, not tv, computers, or video games. "School" is done for the day. My ds has played math and language games on the computer. I read 2 books aloud to my ds and dd.(one science, one history) They spent an hour jumping on the trampoline and swinging. I helped my dd write her #'s to 50. She also learned (on a dry erase board) how to add one to any number. Then, we reviewed leter sounds. My dd and ds made a homemade pizza for lunch and my dd made a box cake for dessert tonight. Fun day today!

The Unschooling Experiment

A fun day today...Still experimenting with unschooling. It "worked" today. My ds did a math program on the computer, asked to play a letter bingo game, got me to read aloud from a historical fiction book, listened to The Long Winter on cd, caught a frog, took a nature hike with me and his ds, listened to a Bible story, did some writing practice....on his own!

During the nature hike we did something called letterboxing. It involves finding boxes hidden all over the U.S., stamping the box owner's notebook with your stamp, and using their stamp to stamp your's. I am probably not explaining it in the greatest way, but check it out.
Letterboxing...a fun new adventure. Check it out at www.letterboxing.org

Fresh Air

Today we took a little field trip to a river nearby. While hiking a nature trail, we came upon a creek. Of course the kids had to get in and play. As I watched them, it made me think, "Why don't my kids have more of these days? You know meandering through the woods, playing in the creek days." It is really my fault. I get busy doing life, school, church, coop, small group, family time, my time, etc. It seems that I have to be so purposeful about times like today. Kinda sad to me.
I chose hsing so my kids could have carefree days. But, I get sucked into the pace of society. (Go, go, go!) Todays like today make me reevaluate my time spent daily with my kids. A good thing, ya know?

It Happened Again

Staying up until midnight does not make for a chipper mommy...Today, I didn't want to get it out of bed.... Getting up late, I thought we won't have "school" today, we'll just be off. (Yes, I am still having my mind renewed about when learning actually takes place) Again, I was proven wrong.... We made it until 3 pm without any learning activities. Then, the mail came. I had ordered my ds a Star Wars spelling workbook, that he requested. So, in the excitement, he dove right in. (Reading, writing, and spelling) I also got a card game I ordered. (Geography) So, we played that. Then, I had someone forward me a free online typing program. He spent about 30 minutes on that. ( His choice) Then we did a little piano review. (My choice). Then we went outside after dinner and jumped on the trampoline. (PE) The day is still not over, I am sure we will be doing some reading outloud, Bible devotion, and who knows what....