Homeschool Mother's Journal to Wrap it Up

I've decided to take a little different route for our weekly wrap ups this summer. While we are doing a little home schooling, I thought it would be fun to warp it all up in a different way this summer;)

In my life this week...
We enjoyed our weekend "get away" at my parents:) Seeing the tall ships! The cousins together which doesn't happen enough!

These two are the cousin-twins:) They are a year apart but almost the same size. Hannah is WAY more verbal than Nate... but he keeps up with her in a lot of ways;)

And even Brian made a new little friend:) His name is Clifford, my sister's little friendly dog.


Also did some schooling... history, reading, math facts... yippeeee:) Cleaned out some of the kitchen cupboards, like weeding out all the REALLY old spices (like ones that we loved with and haven't used in years... YUCK).

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
Try it!!!

In talking to a mom just starting the "formal" years of home schooling all the possible curriculum choices can be overwhelming! You just have to try what you believe will fit your family and students best and then stick with it or adjust:)

BTW... this week Brian and I wanted to watch our annual Pride & Prejudice watching;) On a whim we thought we'd let the kids watch a little with us to see if they liked it.... we "tried it"!

They LOVED it:) We have sweet memories of Anna on the couch all (exhausted because it was WAY PAST her bedtime) excited because Mr Darcy was about to propose;) Or Chris saying out-of-the-blue that Mr Bingley's sisters were speaking poorly of Elizabeth Bennett because "they are jealous of her"! LOL... they understood and liked it. I guess there will be a few more joining us in our annual tradition;)

I am inspired by…
Sally Clarkson. Between her blog posts and many books... I am challenged to be a mom who loves the Lord and desires (and prays/teaches/models) that her children love the Lord as well. These two posts encouraged me the most this week ... "do unto others" a mother's momentary choice and 5 Principles of building strong friendships with your children.

My favorite thing this week…
While heading to the see the ships we went over a bridge and down in the river saw a barge. Chris was excited and quickly relayed to us that there was a barge on the river and that it was probably carrying coal since it was a dark, sandy-like material. Then he started sharing about what it was like to be a child who worked in the coal mines and that he wouldn't want that job.


This was awesome because earlier in the week he had learned to read the word "barge" but didn't know what one was. So we got on the computer, read a bit and looked at pictures. It was a quick, totally unplanned "lesson" but one that obviously stuck with him.We also had a history unit about the inventions of the steam engine (which used coal) and the cotton gin. While talking about the steam engines we had taken "a rabbit trail" to talk about coal mining. That stuck with Chris as well.

And then he takes these two little side lessons and applies them to looking at a barge floating down the river :) A proud home school momma moment:)


What’s working/not working for us…
Xtramath.org! The kids have a love/hate thing going on with this program! But I have seen an improvement in their math facts already. We're also working on having positive attitudes while we practice! So it's working but some days it's not just math facts we're working on :/

Things I’m working on…
First, being content in these last days before the move. And contentment begins with being thankful (thanks Ann!)

Second, not getting overwhelmed! There is a lot that needs to be done in the next few days/weeks. And I have a slight tendency to get overwhelmed.... LOL!! Not so slight!! It's just hard to think about getting one house ready to move into and another house ready to be moved OUT of.... besides the normal, everyday cleaning, cooking and child-rearing:) Thankfully, we're moving close... just to a neighboring town, not even 20 miles away!

Third, correcting the children as soon as they disobey or don't follow through with a task. Seems like we all do better when we know that there are some consequences the first time.... not the eighth when steam is coming from Momma's ears;)

We're reading…
Lydia and Chris both enjoyed reading me Good Hunting, Blue Sky this week! Lydia has also been enjoyed some Little Bear books and Chris checked out and read some Curious George books;)

Anna has been reading books from the Boxcar Children series. She really likes these books. I've been trying to get her to read some of the "living" books off some lists I have found... we'll see she's picky about her free reading selections, oh, and she's 8 :)

We are reading The Story of Eli Whitney aloud. This has been a very great man to learn about, we all think of Eli Whitney as the cotton gin inventor but it wasn't that simple... is it ever? His story is definitely one about hard work and determination!

I am reading a book I swiped from Brian's pastoral library called Great Women of the Christian Faith by Edith Deen. I have been surprised how much I have liked these short stories of some of the most ordinary and extraordinary women. I should have swiped it earlier:)

Oh, and I've also started working my way through my World Religions textbook that I'll be instructing online in the fall. Yikes... August is fast approaching.

I’m cooking…
Whatever I can find on sale:) And lots of cookies!!

Just hoping our cookie sheets find a very accessible new place at the new house!! They don't stay idle very long around here:)

I’m grateful for…
My husband!!

We hit the 10 year mark this week:) 10 Years!! It just doesn't seem possible that we've been married that long! He is a great, honorable, hard-working man who loves his family and provides everything we need and then some;) He adores his kiddos and is always willing to eat leftovers for lunch:)

This photo is such a fun moment!! The kids and I had been watching some educational videos on You Tube and then they asked for a "silly cat" video. They were laughing soo hard:)

When Brian came home they wanted to show him the video:) It was precious to see them all laughing at the videos together;) Silly, but it's soo fun and important to laugh together;)

I’m praying for…
Patience! And soft, kind, gentle words and spirit when correcting.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…
Gotta love summer... a little schooling outside

 and reading Popsicle jokes!!

Linking up to Homeschool Mother's Journal , Moments to Remember and Weekly Wrap-Up.

Seeing Tall Ships

As I mentioned in previous posts, last weekend we ventured a visit to my parents! They had just opened their pool and the kids were dying to go!

We also were looking forward to visiting with my parents and getting away for a little bit:) It was nice that my brother and his wife as well as my sister and her little family were able to come over to visit and swim with us too;)

My parents were excited about an event in a neighboring city that they thought the kids would like!

So we found ourselves among the Tall Ships at OPSail 2012;)

It was a pretty warm day so we didn't last very long:/ But we still saw some amazing ships, got to learn a bit about life in the early 1800's and enjoyed some time together:)

{pretty}

{happy}

I was happy that we got to board over 3 or 4 of the ships. Because we went early there were few lines. Each ship was very similar and also uniquely different. The Indonesian ship was the first we got to board and you can see in the mast all the different carvings in the wood.... stunning!

The home schooling momma came out in me when I realized aboard the Coast Guard Eagle they were celebrating the anniversary of the War of 1812. I was able to get some information I hope to use with the kids when we study this time period and event in a few weeks;)


Nate getting a ride from Daddy:)

{funny}

Being home schooled one of the first things the kids mention that they don't get to do (like public school kids) is ride a bus.... LOL!! It's just something about the big yellow land-boat that attracts kids;) Or maybe it's wanting to be like their friends who ride daily:)

So they were really excited about riding the bus to the event... gotta like free public transportation.

Pey clowning around in the hammocks;)

{real}

It was a hot morning! I think our car thermostat read 95 as we headed home! Poor Chris was zonked in the sun... he got really sleepy and lethargic. Thankfully Grammie had packed us some juice boxes and that perked him up a bit to play a couple of games;)

Nate tried too;)

We left for the quick trip to my parents after our early Saturday yard sale morning!! That is a whole post in itself... LOL!!

Then we ate a big lunch, packed up our stuff for 24 hours (which always seems like the same amount of stuff for a week) and jumped in the van!

I had tried to call our young neighbor but I couldn't get in touch with her about feeding the cats:(

And sometime Sunday afternoon, I realized that I hadn't made alternate plans to feed them while we were away:(  I make a horrible pet owner :(

Thankfully we were home a few hours after that realization. And the cats had been fed PLENTY on Saturday morning starting just before 6am and lasting until the kids stocked up their food bowls as we headed out the door.

Don't you know when we pulled into the driveway the kitties were waiting for us.... told us off a little for leaving them without food or someone to come by to pet them.

Oh and they had caught their first bird while we were away :(

Funny how these "strays" have become soo loyal to us!!

Nate's Strange Fear & in the Pool with Uncle Eric

I wondered what Nate's reaction to the water was going to be this year. At the end of last summer he had just started to want to get into the water and swim around close to us with floaties. Thankfully he didn't mind the floaties at all this year... he gladly played with them on near the pool:)

The biggest surprise was his reactions to when Uncle Eric would swim under the water.

And the he really started hollering and getting fussy.

This is what he was seeing.... Chris and Lydia standing on Uncle Eric who was under the water.


That made him really upset.

Uncle Eric made the comment that he felt loved that someone cared for his safety as he wrestled with the middle two kiddos.

Something tells me, though, that he had JUST as much fun as they did:)

More Wordless Wednesday at  NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom,  Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

and Live and Love...Out Loud !!!

Tiny Talk Tuesday - Picture Captions

Using pictures to speak this week....
as we recover from a great and needed trip to see my parents:)

As soon as he stops spraying me in the face, I'm getting him back.

whooop, whooop! I have the ball;)

Riding on a School Bus!!!! (so excited!!!)

A school bus? Is that what we're on?

This is harder than it looks.

Don't you want one of my apple slices? I didn't lick it before I offered it?.... see Mom, I'm sharing :)

And now it's your turn:

It's Worth It!

Motherhood is HARD.

Throw in all the normal responsibilities we have daily... keeping the house (or at least trying), cooking meals, keeping the kids safe and clean, teaching,  encouraging and shaping their little hearts which is all about TIME.

And then the extra stresses... knowing we need to have a house packed soon, preparing for another school year and a climbing 2 yr old into everything!!!



Sometimes the burden becomes heavy... it feels like too much to handle. These last few weeks I have been there.

The burdens of trying to balance it all  and wanting the ideal of enjoying this sweet stage in my children, modeling Christ's love to them and living the blessing of being at home with them ... left me drained... tired... sick... almost feeling depressed... I just felt like I couldn't do it all.

I honestly wanted to "get away"!!  Just somewhere for a bit where I wasn't needed every second... and not just to get away from doing things for my family but to not have the responsibility for their well-being.... just for a bit!! Heck, even a trip to Walmart alone sounded like an exotic vacation:)

Finally, I was able to share my heart with my husband.... who understood it as being a need and not just me complaining. And we have had an almost relaxing weekend where I did get some precious moments of "nothing I HAD to do" (there is always plenty to do!!! ).

And this week I had some moments with my mom on the phone. I didn't mean to share my struggles with her... she already has plenty on her plate right now. But her words hit me and comforted me... right where I needed.

Me : Mom, I am sorry I am sharing all this. I really didn't mean to and don't want to stress you out.

Mom: No, it's not a stress. It's actually a reminder of how I used to feel. I had you 4 children and the daycare kids. Kids all day at home with me and I remember feeling the same burdens and wanting to get away.

Me: Really?

Mom: Yes..... but Kelly, it's all worth it!

WOW! Here is a mother who about 25 years ago stayed home with a house full of kids... some hers, some not. And she felt the SAME way.... but she could look back and then to the present to see that her time at home even amidst the struggles and strain of being at home all day was "worth it"! And she is reaping some of the benefits of her time since she enjoys great relationships with ALL of her 4 grown up children and gets to be the Grammie of 6 grandchildren!

We know that this motherhood journey (whether we stay at home or not) is tough. But we also know when we pour our lives out for our kids, serving them joyfully, teaching them diligently and correcting them gently that our time is not wasted.

We know that it's worth it!!! Really, deep down I do!

I just needed to be reminded..... again!

To be encouraged to go back into the thick of mothering with a servant's heart willing to do what is necessary for my kids because it is worth it!

It is hard... but it is worth it!

Linking up to Moments to Remember!! Hoping that it can be an encouragement to others as it has been to me. And the sweet moments from the pictures.... that can be sweet moments or stresses... depending on MY heart !