Raising Arrows

As I emerge from the morning sickness and begin to feel well again, I thought I'd share some insights I've gleaned from the 5 times I have done this since I began homeschooling.

*First off, give yourself a break.  Morning sickness is not for the wimpy.  It takes a lot of energy to lay on a couch and try to convince yourself you will survive.  In fact, it takes a lot of energy just to make it to the couch in the first place (unless of course, you spent the night there).  So, give yourself permission to take a break from all things.

*Make meals as simple as possible, enlist someone to help you with laundry and dishes...better yet, use paper plates, cups, etc.  Get your husband to shop for you and keep the refrigerator stocked with easy snacks for you and the children.  Don't be afraid to ask for help.  You can be superwoman some other time.

*As for homeschooling, consider my post at The Homeschool Classroom on Homeschooling Year Round.  You can catch up later.  That is one of the many beauties of homeschooling ~ flexibility.  Is there really a need for you to stress right now about what is not getting done?  Think about the larger picture.  Will it really matter that you did not do 2 months worth of math with your 3rd grader when you can make up those 2 months somewhere else?  Older children can keep up with many of their studies on their own and with very little direction.  The short amount time you are sick (I know it feels like an eternity when you are in the midst of it), will even itself out in the long run.  It will be okay.  I promise.

*Avoid "Bad Mother Syndrome".  I am convinced that my children are the most unruly, my house the most messy, my world the most chaotic, and I am very, very afraid I will never, ever feel "normal" again.  It is during these times that it is most crucial for you to ask for the Lord's guidance.  Sometimes, these feelings are a good "jumping-off" point for us to truly analyze our shortcomings and those we see within our families, but we also must be aware that Satan will use these times when we are already down and out to knock us down further and convince us we are no good at this Christianity thing or this homeschooling thing.  He will put questions into our heads like:


So, even in the midst of your illness, you must ask the Lord for discernment.  Ask Him to show you TRUTH and give you the ability to PERSEVERE.

*And finally, when you do come up for air and realize the morning sickness is beginning to subside, REJOICE!  Then...

take a moment to look around you and do the next thing.  What one thing that did slip while you were "away" should be re-established right away?  Do you need to take some time to get the discipline of the children back under control?  Is your husband begging  you to clean the house and have all the laundry done up?  Is everyone hungry for some "real food?"

Do not despair...what fell apart while the couch held you hostage will not take all that long to rectify with a little bit of consistancy.

So, as a final note, let me say as someone who has survived morning sickness many times and who has homeschooled through a majority of those times, I empathize completely with your plight.  It is a very difficult place to be.  I hope you find some encouragement from my words.  And a great big cyber-hug from me to you!

Labels: Child Training, Enjoying Your Pregnancy, Homeschooling, Morning Sickness, Pregnancy

Labels: Giveaways

I mentioned in my Irish Supper post that we would be sharing our supper with some other families and planting potatoes the same day for a corporate garden.  I thought I would take a moment to share with you the awesomeness of this little community garden my friend Char planned out.


This is her detailed plan row by row.  Let me just tell you, I am soooo glad SHE is the one planning this, because just looking at this chart boggles my poor little brain!

On Wednesday, we only planted cold crops.  Into the ground went potatoes, broccoli, onions, a few heads of lettuce, and kohlrabi.  But, first we had to do some prep work.

Rows had to be staked:
















Watering systems had to be put together:



















Potato cages had to be assembled (this was a new concept to me and something Char researched long and hard.  I'm anxious to see how it works!)


















After the prep work came lots of planting and fun!  The children had a blast...all 14 of them!







The most awesome part about 3 moms and 14 children working in the garden was that as one set of children pooped out on us, the next set was ready to go.  It stayed fresh and lively and happy for all involved!

So, if you'd love to have a garden, but are worried about the work involved, why not consider gathering up a bunch of friends (or finding a friend with a garden plot already) and forming a community garden?!  It's a wonderful (and frugal) way to share resources and bounty!

Labels: Frugal Living, Gardening

I really enjoy reading in the book of James.  I have gleaned so much from that book over the years.  When Emmy died, it was the words from James 4 that gave us comfort and sparked the desire for "Be Unto Your Name" to serve as "her song." (Take a moment to listen to the song and watch our tribute to Emily.)

James is full of so much meat, you could literally read it over and over again and find something different each and every time.  And so much of what is contained there, I need to hear over and over again.  Like this verse:

"So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God."
James 1:19-20

Now, mind you, never in my life have I "wanted" to be slow.  I ran high hurdles in high school...slow was not a good thing there.  I was on the quiz bowl team...slow was not a good thing there.  I cook for a family of 7...slow is not a good thing there.  I hate to shop...slow is not a good thing there.  So, being slow is not really something I have found myself striving toward.

Slow *usually* equals INEFFICIENCY.  But, the Lord's wisdom is not man's wisdom, so....SLOW IS A GOOD THING (when it comes to anger, that is).

If you take your time with someone...listen to them thoroughly...wait for the right moment to speak...refrain from knee-jerk reactions...THEN, the righteousness of the Lord will be produced.  However, just because you were slow, does not mean God's righteousness will somehow magically become fast!  Remember that verse..."WAIT on the Lord" (Ps 27:14a)?  Yet another slow word!

So, I have a very simple yet profound question for you today...

Labels: Spiritual Matters

Let's just pick up where we left off in the last post on scheduling school...

We had six points to cover:
1.  Decide what subjects need to be studied by each child.

2.  Decide what subjects can be done corporately and which are independent.

3.  Figure how much time is needed for each subject.

4.  Decide an approximate start time and if you will start with corporate work or independent work.

5.  Decide if your child/children or you need tight structure or loose boundaries.

6.  Work the plan for at least a week before deciding if it works or not.
 
We covered the first three in the previous post, so let's move on to the last three.

4.  Start time and corporate versus independent - First of all, you need to go back and decide if you are routine or scheduled.

If you are routine, you won't set forth an exact school time. However, you will need to decide where school falls in your day.  Before chores?  After lunch?

If you are scheduled, you need a start time that works well with the rest of your household activities.  Early risers can start earlier and finish earlier.  Some may opt to start around 1pm so the baby and toddlers can be down for naps.  There is no rule that says school must start at 8am for every single homeschool family.  (Some families even school at night!)

Now, for corporate versus independent work being done first.  Here's a good rule of thumb to decide which needs to be done first...


This will be different for every family.  For me, I still have things that need my attention before I can focus on school, so my children start with their independent work.  That gives just enough time for me to finish those chores, check on their work and set up for corporate school work.

5.  Tight structure or loose boundaries - Once again, totally dependent on your specific family dynamics.  Structured families will be more likely to keep a tight structure while routine families will thrive with loose boundaries.  Keep in mind; however, no boundaries will have you schooling all day ending with frustrated children and a frustrated mama. {Ask me how I know ;)}

6.  Give the plan time - Just because Day 1 works beautifully and Day 2 is a nightmare does not mean the plan is a failure.  Stick to it for at least a week before deciding it needs to be changed and then don't necessarily change everything.  Consider where the day had hiccups and work on those areas rather than ditching the entire plan.

So, now it's your turn!  Got a school schedule you'd like to share?  Or maybe some posts on how you fit school into your day?  Share them here!  Add a short title/description and the URL of your blog post in the McLinky below.  You can also head over to my BlogFrog community and join the discussion there!



Setting Up a School Schedule
Part 1
This is Part 2

Labels: Homeschooling, Time Management

Last week, we talked scheduling for our To-Do List.  Now, let's add in a homeschool schedule (or routine).

OK, here's a quick run down of what we'll cover.  I'm going to go over half of these points in this post and then go through the second half in a subsequent post.  Give a shout out if you feel like I'm not giving you enough information...I'm trying to avoid being too wordy.

1.  Decide what subjects need to be studied by each child.


2.  Decide what subjects can be done corporately and which are independent.


3.  Figure how much time is needed for each subject.


4.  Decide an approximate start time and if you will start with corporate work or independent work.


5.  Decide if your child/children or you need tight structure or loose boundaries.


6.  Work the plan for at least a week before deciding if it works or not.


1.  Each child's subjects - Say you have 2 elementary aged children you are schooling and a preschooler you would like to work with on the side.  Your list is going to include all 3 children and the subjects for each child.  It might (and I use that term loosely!) look something like this:

Child #1 -Bible, Math, Grammar, History (we use Sonlight), Spelling (we use Phonetic Zoo), Science
Child #2 - Bible, Math, Handwriting, Grammar, History, Science
Child #3 - Bible, Counting, Letter recognition, Crafts
{you can see more links to the curriculum we use on my Homeschooling Mother page.}

2.  Corporate versus Independent - This will depend heavily on your curriculum...and you.  Do you like to be hands on with everything?  Can you handle that?  Do your children like working together on most subjects?  Do you prefer they work on their own as much as possible?

Once you've decided which subjects you'd like to have everyone do together and which ones you'd like to have done independently, write a "C" or an "I" next to that subject on your list.  Make sure if you don't have curriculum on hand that lends itself to those choices, that you spend some time shopping around for what you are looking for.

3.  How much time - Be honest with yourself here.  Based on past experience (or the experiences of homeschool moms you trust), how much time does each subject REALLY take.

Next to each subject for each child, write an approximate amount of time it takes them to complete that subject.  Here's an example of what my list would like thus far for Child #1:

Child #1
Bible (I) - 15 mins
Math (I) - 30 mins
Grammar (I) - 20 mins
History (C) - 45 mins
Spelling (I) - 15 mins
Science (C) - 15 mins

Now, you have to decide if each subject needs to be covered every single day.  My quick answer is NO.  I'll explain how I would separate out the subjects I listed in point 1, but what you have to decide for your family is which subjects hold the most weight and which subjects will be done just as well when not done every day.

Bible - every day
Math - every day
Handwriting - every day
Grammar - every day
History - 3x a week with independent History readers done every day
Spelling - every day
Science - 3x a week
Counting - 3x a week
Letter Recognition - every day

Now, on a sheet of paper, plug in your subjects by days.  Your every day subjects are no-brainers.  You'll plug those in Monday through Friday.  Your 3, 2, and 1 day a week subjects will need to be added after that.

Take into consideration which days are typically the busiest for you.  Don't overschedule yourself on those days.  And there is no rule that says 3 day a week subjects must be done on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Be flexible and creative.

So, now you have something that looks like this:
Homeschool Schedule Temp1

Next post we'll discuss start times, structure, and working the plan.

If you'd like, head over to my blog frog community and let me know where you have found struggles and successes in setting up a homeschooling schedule.

Setting Up a School Schedule
This is Part 1
Part 2 - Coming Soon!

Labels: Homeschooling, Time Management

This past October I was in my hometown for the annual Oktoberfest.  A booth with little girl bows caught my eye and I stopped to peruse the cute little bows.  The woman behind the booth suddenly said, "Hi Amy!"  My un-observant self was totally caught off guard until I realized I had gone to high school with her!

Laura is now a stay at home mother of two little girls, Morgan (11) and Jordan (5).  She loves to craft, so when it came to having two girls and hair accessories being so expensive and hard to find exactly what you need, she decided to make her own (a woman after my own heart!).


Her girls are the inspiration for her creations and are constantly giving her ideas for new additions to her etsy shop: Bibidy Bobidy Bowtique.  Her bows are always hand sewn for durability and made from quality grossgrain ribbon.  And besides that, they are oh so cute!






And Laura doesn't just do hairbows, she also does tutus and beaded socks!  Such adorable things!



So, you can see why I am so excited to be able to offer a giveaway of Laura's Bibidy Bobidy Bowtique creations!

Wondering what you'll get if you win this giveaway?  How about this:


What do you have to do to win?  It's easy and there's lots of ways to enter!

1.  Leave a comment. (1 entry)


2.  Facebook, Tweet, Blog this giveaway (1 entry per day per place)


3.  Buy something from Bibidy Bobidy Bowtique (5 entries)

Good luck!  Giveaway ends Friday, March 19th at midnight CST.

Disclosure: I received hairbows & a pair of socks for my 5 year old from Bibidy Bobidy Bowtique.

Labels: Giveaways