My Family's Homeschooling Journey

When fine tuning our homeschooling for this school year, I wanted to change the role media plays within my home.  I wanted the children to have a more active role if and when media is being used.  Of course, we enjoy a movie together as a family and so forth, but for the most part I wanted them engaged physically or mentally in some way.  I am so proud of myself for finding what really works great for us and then making new changes.

 I now let my children watch the show Word World a few days a week.  This show really gets my children thinking and Caleb likes to make it a fun learning opportunity.  He has paper to write down the spelling words that he learns as he is watching this show.  I love that he is so excited to show me what words he has just learned to spell and we just discuss some of the similarities, differences, and sound out the words together.  A lot of fun!  During this time I am getting a head start on lunch.  They are enjoying their Language Tree French DVD as well.  It is something that my son has wanted to learn since we are part French and have family who speak fluently, including my grandmother who lives near us.  It is amazing to be able to do this together and it is a great refresher course for me as well. 

Some days we have an audiobook or church/uplifting music (which is played everyday) playing while our family completes family chores.  It just puts my children including myself in the mood and can make it a better experience.  When I do not have one of these options during family chores we actually just talk about what is on their mind.  I really enjoy being able to discuss things with my children and I believe that they are starting to enjoy as well.  Also when it is quiet you can really think out loud and not be disrupted during your thought process.  It has become something that I am really trying to create more of  in our home because the twins are really needing it with always wanting to overpower one another.

The computer for me is something that I want my children learning when using and I am glad that my son enjoys his Brain Pop Jr. subscription, Reading Eggs subscription, Star Fall and a few other websites that are used with having an active participation.  This is another thing that is allowed for them a few days a week for a certain period of time.

Reading, reading and more reading is a lot of what we do, besides working hard and then playing together as a family.  We read classics from every subject you can think of.  I have learned that a great education can be pretty simple when you think about it.  It consists of reading about a topic, writing about that topic, discussing what you have just learned from your reading and what you wrote and then doing projects pertaining to the topic.  Then you do these things over and over again.  It is working well and even more so since we read many classics.

Our journey will always change according to my children changing, but at least for this year I know this is working for us.

One thing that will not change is that we are always working on and building upon our Core Phase.  Focusing on important values of right and wrong, true and false, good and bad, family values including religious, relationships, responsibilities, the value of hard work, and accountability.  These things right here are truly priceless.

                                           

Love Is Patient, Love Is Kind

Every day that I wake up is another day I have a chance to keep improving myself!  This is exciting, for I am an imperfect being.  I am a child of a loving Heavenly Father who loves me very much.  With that said I never want to wake up and forget to love thy neighbor.  Three very simple words with a way more powerful meaning.  As a human we all make mistakes and I am not excluded from this.  We all learn from them and hopefully become better people in the process.  At least this is what I strive for each day.  Every day I want to become a better wife, mother, daughter, granddaughter, sister, friend and person in general.  I do not want to lose sight of this goal no matter what situation I am faced with. 

No one said that LOVE would be easy 100% of the time, even when it comes to loving yourself.  One thing I do know is that Love is Love, as you would not give up on yourself or others.  I want my family and friends near and far to know that I love each of them and would never give up on them.  This is something I am trying to instill in my children along with always reminding myself along our way.  My blog address came to me because I really want to merrily go along with whatever is thrown my way in life. So let's all remember that love is patient and love is kind!

 

Preparing For Our School Year And Letting This Ship Sail

Another school year will soon begin. Technically that is, since we belong to a charter school.  Last year was our first year of both charter and Leadership Education.  It has definitely been a blessing for my family.  My son has an amazing Educational Specialist who comes to our home once a month and at times twice a month and not once have I felt weird or out of place for using the philosophy of Leadership Education.

I am so excited for this school year as I have made a few changes for my children as well as myself and I am finishing up making our living room and kitchen perfect for us.  I wanted to redo these two rooms for the simple fact that my children and I do a lot of schooling in these rooms.  This has given me a reason to finally finish decorating and making our rooms both beautiful and cozy with a purpose in my mind. I am not finished, but am almost there.

After reading a blog from a lady who uses Leadership Education in her home, I decided to add what is called "sharing what's mine."  The only difference is that I will be calling this "momma's corner."  What this basically entails is that I will set aside one part of each school day to sharing/ teaching to my children something that I would want them to learn right along with me.  What a great idea! My focus will be on Social Studies and Fine Arts.  I am so excited and this will be a fun adventure for my family.  Our circle time will be changed around a little bit and I already have our list of classics for the year. I was given a new set of chore cards from a friend of mine that will work out great for all three of my children and am setting this up as well.  My kids love family work. When we work hard, we get to play hard.

I am ready to board this ship and see where it takes us!!!

 

Oh, How I love my Crock Pot, Frugal Meals, and Freezer Cooking!

Every day I love to wake up with having a plan.  Knowing what my family's meals for the day are going to be is always part of that plan.  When it was just my son and husband, I felt like I could do it all.  Then our twin girls came along and let's just say it totally took getting used to.  Schedules were off balance and it never seemed like there was enough time in each day. 

Well I'm glad to say that I was able to get into the swing of things and with our family decision of myself staying home with the kids and then also homeschooling our children, I couldn't help but kick it into high gear.  I began on my frugal journey when it came to the food in our household and have not looked back.  Every week I am finding even more ways to save money on certain items.

Recently I started making homemade flour tortillas along with refried beans.  You save so much on both of these items and they taste so much better as well.  I use the crock pot more.  I love the smells in my house when there is food in my crock pot and not to mention the low energy it uses. 

What's for dinner?  Well, I am so glad that you asked.  My family is having homemade meatballs for a yummy spaghetti dinner.  My kids never say no to spaghetti.

Crock Pot Meatballs:

1 1/2 lbs. ground meat mixture (whatever you like in your meatballs)
1/2 to 3/4 cup of Italian or plain bread crumbs
1 tbs. black pepper (add amount to your liking)
2 tbs. Mrs. Dash Tomato Basil Garlic seasoning blend salt-free
1tbs. minced garlic or garlic powder (use what you have on hand)
1 cup chopped white onion (any amount or type of onion is fine, make it to your liking)
1 to 2 eggs to help hold your mixture

You can add anything you like to your meatball mixture.  This is a just a base recipe.  I change mine up all the time.  You will layer the meatballs after you have mixed your mixture up really well and then pour over either homemade pasta sauce or a homemade sauce.  Set your crock pot on low or to cook 4 to 6 hours.  Every crock pot is different.  You can tell when the meatballs are finished.  Cook some noodles and add a salad or any veggies you want for a side dish along with some garlic bread.  Voila! You have dinner.

Core Phase Working in my Home

Today was one of those days that I am already looking back at and know that Core Phase is definitely in motion with all three of my children.  We started a nightly family meeting just last night, thank you to a friend and mentor of mine and am so glad we did.  Our meeting is just to inform and go over with the children what we will be doing the next day.  There was nothing to think about when we all woke up because the children already knew that their dad would leave for work while we were eating breakfast and that we would be deep cleaning the kitchen and bathroom, along with reading our family classic Pinocchio  and various other tasks.  My son did not ask me what is next or when could he have his free play.  There was no need to, because we already had our family meeting. 


My kids are learning the value of hard work and why work comes before play.  My oldest Caleb takes pride in  his cleaning jobs and does not want to have to clean the same thing twice.  I don't blame him, so hopefully he always thinks like this.  By the time they have play it feels great because they have already done some work.  I love that learning has become part of their play.

 Kylie and Caylee like to see what I am reading  or writing about and will go to their bookshelves and grab flash cards, books, paper or whatever they feel they need to come sit by me and work as well.  I absolutely love it because I am inspiring, not requiring them.  Now, Caleb is a few years older and he just amazes me with all he picks up and chooses to do for his own personal study, which really is part of his play.  In our house we structure time out for each day, but do not fill it with their content.  This has helped my children  right now in these early years to start realizing that they are in charge of their own education.  The same goes for me.  I work on my personal study as well.  Right now I am finishing up Anne of Green Gables and have started writing a paper.  I am not doing this for a class, just for my own personal study. 


What can I say other than it feels so right and great in my home right now.  My children will be building on from this Core Phase for the rest of their lives and I am glad to guide and mentor them in having a great foundation, along with adding onto mine as well.

Making slime at the Library

 

 

Work And Play, More Than It Seems

So many things to get done on a daily basis and just like in my last post, I totally slow down for a short time of the day to read and study the scriptures along with prayer times.  I enjoy this time very much and it helps me get through the day.

There are chores that have to get done, organization within the home, cooking, coupons to sort through, reading, my personal learning, exercise and of course we have to fit in play and a lot more.  Children need to know how to work hard and how to play.  Yes, everyone in my house has chores to contribute with helping not only our family, but themselves.  We always here about those young adults who have recently left home and are on their own and cannot even wash a load of laundry.  These simple, but very necessary tasks must be taught and valued ourselves. 

Yes,  I am such the busy body.  I always have things that I want to accomplish and get done.  Some of this includes my personal learning.  Right now I am reading a classic to help inspire myself and my children with Mathematics.  It is actually a fascinating subject all around and there are many parts of math  that we use on a daily basis. 

One thing with Leadership Education and homeschooling is that my children can learn about any topics that they choose and I am alright with it.  Why wait?  If I want to learn about something I get some classics to help teach and guide me and just dive in.

Our kitchen is where most of this learning happens. I get so excited knowing that just from me sitting and reasding or having personal study time, my children go to our homeschooling shelves and reach for books, flash cards, activity worksheets, projects and even come up with ideas and many questions just from seeing their mommy at the kitchen table.  So pleasing and comforting to me.

Learning has become a major part of play in our house many days out of the week and I would not change this for anything!!!

 

At night, Caleb likes to lay down while I read a classic aloud and Woody must be next to him!

 

Kylie and Caylee enjoying some outside play with their animals!

 

 

 

 

Slow Down At Least For The Scriptures

My daily life is always busy.  Life in the fast lane of a very outgoing son and twin girls.  They sure never miss a beat.  I am happy to be their mother and would not change it for the world, but it does not mean that at times I do not get overwhelmed.  During this past General Conference for church, I felt that so many of the talks were meant just for my ears.  I love how under the guidance from our Father in Heaven, the leaders in my church can convey messages of so many meanings to each of us as individuals.  One of the many messages that I took dear to my heart was on finding a way to hear our children in the way that they need.  How I speak to one of my children may not be how I need to speak to the other.  This goes with our childrens emotional, physical, educational and spiritual needs.  It totally resonated in my heart and mind.  Sometimes that tiny whisper is all one needs to hear.  One thing that is helping me on a daily basis is my daily prayers and scripture study.  During both of these times I am able to slow down.  I am able to slow down and really search out what is needed in my life at those very moments.