One of those days

Today was one of those days. Truly, nothing awful happened. I was just annoyed. It was nothing that an epic sized caramel classic lite couldn't fix.

Sometimes the monotony of motherhood can be a little much. It just seemed that what I do doesn't matter. Why do they need me so much? Why do they always run to me with a problem, even if their father is sitting right there? Don't they see that I just got the kitchen clean and now they want something to eat? I have to wash all of Anna's undies again because she can't figure out the potty situation. It is not fair that I am stuck here folding laundry while my husband gets to talk to other adults and use his brain all day. And so on and so on. When I told Mark that I need to go to Friedrich's by myself with a good book after supper, he immediately said OK (with a very concerned look in his eyes). I guess they prayed for me while I was gone.

For the past couple years, I have been trying to focus on this: "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." - Philippians 4:8 When I let little annoyances grow into big lies, I go back to this verse. On these days, I know that it is a battle for my mind. I tell myself to focus on the truth.

What I do does matter, very much so. They run to me because I am the mom. I take care of them, nurture them, and guide them. I am molding their souls as I take care of their everyday needs. That is my job, a very high calling. That is something to think about. That is honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, excellent, and praise worthy.

Baby Love

Meet Cora and her cousin Sydney. Don't you just love them? Cora is three months older than Sydney, but Cora is small in size and Sydney is big in size so it works out.

Cora is a lot of fun right now. She explores everywhere, always with a big cheesy grin on her face. I often think of how blessed she is to have 5 people who absolutely adore her. She is getting ready to leave the baby stage, and I am going to greatly miss it.

Prayer for daily work

O Lord our heavenly Father, by whose providence the duties of men are variously ordered: Grant to us all the spirit to labour heartily to do our work in our several stations, in serving one Master and looking for one reward. Teach us to put to good account whatever talents thou hast lent to us, and enable us to redeem our time by patience and zeal; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.



From The Book of Common Prayer, 1962

The Littles: Part 2

I know you are waiting with great anticipation to discover just what kind of activities may keep a toddler and preschooler busy for a few minutes...

A key part of our homeschool experience is establishing a routine for the little girls to know that it is "school time." That means giving them something to do, so they feel like they are participating in something special also. At the beginning of the year I make a list of activities for them. Then every week when I make out our schedule for the week, I write in what their activity for that day will be. I simply work my way down the list and then back to the top again. Having a set list that I systematically work through reduces the stress and thinking. To qualify for the list, the activity must be something special that only I have access to, and something they can do themselves.

The list for this past year was:

*Pattern blocks - a handy dandy math manipulative

*Create a Picture - an old Discovery Toys product where they piece together squares like a puzzle to form a house

*Play Doh

*Puzzles

*Playful Shapes - another Discovery Toys product similar to tangrams but for younger kids

*Water color painting

*Bendaroos - those infomercial bendy sticks

*Cut pictures from magazines and glue them on construction paper

*Linking cubes - yet another math manipulative

This is what my counter looked like after a morning of school when the activity was water color painting.


What do you do to keep your littles busy?

The Littles: Part 1

People often ask me what I do with the little girls while I school Madeline. My first instinct is to say that I lock them in a closet. But I don't know if they would think that is funny or appalling.

The first thing we do for school is have "table time." We all sit at the dining room table to read our Bible lesson, pray, work on scripture memory,and sing. Then Lydia and Anna go to the small kitchen table for their "activity." They work on their activity for however long they like. Some days they may be there for two minutes, other days they will be occupied for forty minutes. When they are done with their activity, they go down to the play room in the basement to play. They are suppose to stay down there until I call them for snack time. During this time, I do the most intensive school work with Madeline: math and classical conversations. After snack, we do our language arts work while the littles run around. During the littles' nap time in the afternoon, we do history or science. Lydia often joins us for this because it is mainly reading good stories.

I wish I could say that it always works out as nice as it sounds here. It doesn't. Often times, I teach while nursing Cora or mediating a brawl between Lydia and Anna. However, the little girls know what the routine is and know when they should be busy. By following this routine of starting the day, they do give Mommy and Madeline time to get some of the "hard stuff" done like math and memory work. After that, it is easy to get Madeline started on a worksheet or self directed study while I tend to other motherly duties. Hence, home centered education is centered around our home and all its lovely inhabitants.

(Be sure to check in tomorrow for more discussion on just what the "activity" for the littles may be. I need your help.)