So I have been thinking alot about all this resolution stuff I hear going around, and I for one have never really made any solid commitments one way or another on New Years day for doing or not doing anything in particular.. Did you catch that? I hope you did because I think I just confused myself! Basically what this means is I am to chicken to say or commit to something I may regret or break later, so I decided to commit to not making any resolutions I don't think I can keep. Does this mean I will make any resolutions? No, I will not, because as sure as I am that the sun will rise I am sure that as soon as I say I will or wont do something I'm gonna do or not do it. You may be lost by now, if so go back and read it again. I had to read it twice just to make sure I am making some sort of sense. If you are not lost, good for you please take a moment an explain it to us.
In lue of making "resolutions" per say, I have decided that I am going to call this my "Do Over List". Please feel free to use this term as your own. Here are some things I would like to "Do Over" this year:
Decluttering My House:
This is a very big one for me as I am a consummate collector of all things, which results in massive amounts of clutter. I tried some "decluttering" techniques last year and some of it went well, and some of it wasnt so great, therefore decluttering will be on my "Do Over List". I have huge amounts of "stuff" to go through and will depend on the Lord to help me be brutal with clutter.
Organizing my desk area:
This is a constant battle and no matter how many times I say Im going to clean it up it never gets done very well. I suppose I could blame it on the kids and the husband, but that wont fix the problem. Being totally un-organized is a sure sign of insanity, and insanity defined is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. With this in mind I will attempt a new organizational plan..not sure what it is yet, but will give whatever it happens to be a shot.
Husband Attention Time:
This is something I have had alot of trouble with recently, like say for the past couple years. It seems as though I always have time for everything BUT my husband, which should not be. Since I am homeschooling, a good part of the day consists of dealing with the inevitable " Mom, what do I do here?" questions, which is probably the bulk of the time I spend going from child to child. The other thing that tends to take my time and sap my energy is cleaning the house, or coercing the kids to do it, whatever the case may be. My husband needs to have my undivided, non-resentful attention occasionally so this is something I will be "doing Over" during the day. Pray for me.
Servant Hearted:
I really need to work on this, as I am learning I am not as Servant Hearted as I had originally thought I was. Oh I have no problem giving things, but try and volunteer me for something, watch it, your going to get hurt. This year I would like to try to serve my family and friends a bit better than I have, and not be so...so...mean, for lack of a better word, when my husband or a friend "accidentally" volunteers me for something I don't really want to do. Please pray for me..again.
I am sure if I sat and thought about it I could come up with some more things to "Do Over" this year, but I wouldn't want to overwhelm myself, or you with all the prayer requests I would be needing. By the way, I started up my Craft Business again, which without the help and prodding of my daughter, would not have gotten done, so if you don't mind, you can pray about that also:)
Happy New Years!
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Friday, December 16, 2011
Tis the Season....
So..its that time of year again, Christmas Carols and Christmas Programs, tinsel, lights, cards and of course piles of ornaments ready to go on that ever elusive "perfect" full bodied, evergreen tree. Typically, our family tradition has been to wait until the day before Christmas to set up and trim the tree and hurriedly get it decorated without staying up until 2 in the morning. This year, I dug in my heals and said No! I want a tree earlier than normal, not at the last minute.
My husband , being the wonderful husband he is, ventured out to the wilderness for a total of about 4 hours over the course of 2 days seeking *THE* tree. We all seem to have differing requirements for said tree, but we can all agree on at least one thing, it has to be fuller than lasts years. Since I happened to pick last years tree, I was rather devastated that no one appreciated my previous effort, although I would be the first one to admit that I was only willing to venture out about 20 feet from the house, hence the scrawny tree. My friends all know me as someone who instantly turns into a homebody by just adding a little cold weather and snow, so just the fact that I was even willing to walk outside last year and get a tree was a major milestone in my usual Winter routine.
So now that we are in this holding pattern waiting for a tree, I have decided I really need to get my Christmas Cards done or in the very least get them started, as Im sure everyone would enjoy getting them before Christmas at least once in a blue moon. To help me along in my endeavor are my 2 sweet daughters and this awesome 80 card, Make It Yourself set, complete with everything needed, just provide the adhesive.
I dont have alot of time this year, so I thought this would be a good way to get it all done and still have a homemade touch. After 2 hours of cleaning off the table, and finding all my assorted scissors, markers, glue and etc. I was ready to go to work. Needless to say, I did not get one single card done. Turns out there were several other things that needed my immediate attention, add to that a run to the post office and store and by the time I got home I was worn out. Being a homebody during the Winter does have its draw backs, since my days consist of sitting by the warm fire in my pajamas, homeschooling the kids, I do believe that my muscles are becoming useless. I am hoping to get some cards done by Saturday, in the mail and on the way to their final destinations in a timely manner.
This year has been pretty much the same as previous years, too much to do, and what seems like not enough time to do it. It is so easy to get overwhelmed and feel like nothing is getting done, or getting done the *right* way. Occasionally I seem to forget the reason I celebrate personally and our family collectively. If I'm truthful with myself though, its not about when I get a tree, when I get the cards done or what I get or what I give, its all about what God gave us, a perfect gift, the gift of his only Son. So while I panic over trees, cards and finances, I will push it aside and remember what My God did for me and for the world on that first Christmas morning, and I will pray that others will also remember, the perfect gift given on that day so long ago.
God Bless you always and Merry Christmas!
 |
| My pile of Christmas ornaments |
My husband , being the wonderful husband he is, ventured out to the wilderness for a total of about 4 hours over the course of 2 days seeking *THE* tree. We all seem to have differing requirements for said tree, but we can all agree on at least one thing, it has to be fuller than lasts years. Since I happened to pick last years tree, I was rather devastated that no one appreciated my previous effort, although I would be the first one to admit that I was only willing to venture out about 20 feet from the house, hence the scrawny tree. My friends all know me as someone who instantly turns into a homebody by just adding a little cold weather and snow, so just the fact that I was even willing to walk outside last year and get a tree was a major milestone in my usual Winter routine.
So now that we are in this holding pattern waiting for a tree, I have decided I really need to get my Christmas Cards done or in the very least get them started, as Im sure everyone would enjoy getting them before Christmas at least once in a blue moon. To help me along in my endeavor are my 2 sweet daughters and this awesome 80 card, Make It Yourself set, complete with everything needed, just provide the adhesive.
 |
| Christmas Card Set |
I dont have alot of time this year, so I thought this would be a good way to get it all done and still have a homemade touch. After 2 hours of cleaning off the table, and finding all my assorted scissors, markers, glue and etc. I was ready to go to work. Needless to say, I did not get one single card done. Turns out there were several other things that needed my immediate attention, add to that a run to the post office and store and by the time I got home I was worn out. Being a homebody during the Winter does have its draw backs, since my days consist of sitting by the warm fire in my pajamas, homeschooling the kids, I do believe that my muscles are becoming useless. I am hoping to get some cards done by Saturday, in the mail and on the way to their final destinations in a timely manner.
This year has been pretty much the same as previous years, too much to do, and what seems like not enough time to do it. It is so easy to get overwhelmed and feel like nothing is getting done, or getting done the *right* way. Occasionally I seem to forget the reason I celebrate personally and our family collectively. If I'm truthful with myself though, its not about when I get a tree, when I get the cards done or what I get or what I give, its all about what God gave us, a perfect gift, the gift of his only Son. So while I panic over trees, cards and finances, I will push it aside and remember what My God did for me and for the world on that first Christmas morning, and I will pray that others will also remember, the perfect gift given on that day so long ago.
God Bless you always and Merry Christmas!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
A Change Of Pace....
The week before last, the children started resisting our typical homeschool day, with groans and feet dragging. This year has been going so well, that it took me slightly by surprise that they would suddenly begin to debate the usefulness of Fractions and Vocabulary and Bible Study. By the end of that particular week, I was frustrated and so were they, so I , in my infinite wisdom, decided without any forewarning, to "do something different". I thought about it all weekend, talked about it with several people and came up with a plan to make the little twirps "grateful" for all those worksheets and spelling tests. Little did I know, by the end of this school week, "I" would be even more grateful then they were.
The week started out typical enough, with our usual Bible study time, and after that, there was little resemblance to worksheets or your normal school type of work. Monday we did "Property Management and Design" this is a fancy name for splitting wood and stacking it. Talk about hard work! I must be really out of shape because by the time we were done I was ready to take a nap...I suddenly had a little bit more compassion for my kids who have to stack wood and my husband who has to split it. I'm typically wandering around talking about how much I do, however its not near as physically draining as carrying and stacking wood. Good thing I have teenage boys to help out.
On Tuesday we learned about " Wild Game Processing and packaging" that stands for cutting up the elk and putting it in the fridge. It can also be Home Economics, but for my purposes I wanted a more professional term. We only process wild game once a year, unless I can talk my husband into taking it to the Banderobs, and usually it is a deer, so its really hard to remember how to cut them up. After many many hours of cutting, wrapping, hand cramps, back aches, and tears we FINALLY finished. That was the LONGEST school day ever, and not one I would like to repeat anytime soon.
The rest of the week was a little more mellow, we learned "organizational skills"(that means we cleaned the house), they learned the art of "Laving" ( that means laundry), and then on test day, which is usually a Friday , we continued practicing what we had learned that week.
The whole week I was hoping I would make the kids more grateful for our typical homeschool day and I don't know if I accomplished that, but I DO know that I am more grateful for it and will do alot less whining about it in the future, hopefully they will to. By the end of the week I was totally exhausted and absolutely thrilled to have just gotten through it. Im not so sure we will do that again for a while, even though I know it was very good for us to be able to accomplish what we did. For now though, if you know of any big extravagant terms for things you would call chores, let me know, Im always on the lookout for suggestions
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Homeschooling for the hopeless..The adventure continues....
Thank goodness for one of my FAVORITE home school groups on Facebook! Without them I would be relegated to actually WRITING everything down that the kids are doing this year. Don't get me wrong, writing, with a pencil/pen and paper, is a skill everyone should learn, but lets face it, in this day and age of technology its so much faster to simply type it into a software program, set it to print and Viola! instant report cards or whatever your mind can imagine. If I had to write down everything we are doing this year, Im certain nothing would get done. In the past month, since we started our school year, I have managed to keep better track of lessons and grades and assignments then ever before, all thanks to a free computer program called "Homeschool Tracker".
One of my biggest failings as a homeschooler is not keeping accurate records and with this little piece of awesomeness, its easy. Just pick a subject add a description, put in the score and time and your good to go! My next biggest failing is not being consistent, it seems no matter what, life happens, and with our family it almost always manages to derail us from our ultimate goal of finishing out the year with a good record of learning, or in the very least, something to show for it. This program also helps me to be consistant because its always there and I can see the schedule and say "wow, forgot about that one, glad I entered that in last week". If your interest is piqued, take a look, it will definitely be worth your while.
Our first month has been rife with small setbacks and I am thankful that they aren't big ones. I scheduled everything so tight it actually squeaks if you listen close. Fortunately, we have managed to follow my schedule without to many issues, and although we have dropped Spanish, for lack of interest, I'm pretty sure we will try again at some other time or maybe try French. The only other thing I have done differently this year is the heavy reliance on Netflix streaming videos and rentals for educational material. If you have never looked at Netflix as a source for educational videos, you should try it some time. Occasionally the information will be biased toward a world view that is different than mine, however those are few as I am very selective about what we watch. An example of our VRS (that's short for "Video Reliance Syndrome"), we recently watched The Last of the Mohicans. Now I guess you are wondering, what possible educational purpose could that have. Well let me tell you, first off, its a classic written by James Fenimore Cooper. Now as much as I appreciate the classics, sometimes they are darn near impossible to read because of all the humongous words. All you have to do is read the first chapter to realize the authors back then have something we don't seem to have now, a large vocabulary. Even though the movie is more recent then the novel, you can actually follow along without having to have a Masters in english literature. This is very appealing to me and alot more understandable to my young audience. One of the biggest reasons we watched it is we are currently studying that time period in history and I want them to enjoy learning about it. I know its mainly entertainment, but you can get a real sense of what it may have been like back then in a very graphic way.
As you can see, even entertaining movies can be educational.......at least that's what I keep telling myself and my kids, and anyone who asks me "so what are you doing this year to educate your children?".
One of my biggest failings as a homeschooler is not keeping accurate records and with this little piece of awesomeness, its easy. Just pick a subject add a description, put in the score and time and your good to go! My next biggest failing is not being consistent, it seems no matter what, life happens, and with our family it almost always manages to derail us from our ultimate goal of finishing out the year with a good record of learning, or in the very least, something to show for it. This program also helps me to be consistant because its always there and I can see the schedule and say "wow, forgot about that one, glad I entered that in last week". If your interest is piqued, take a look, it will definitely be worth your while.
Our first month has been rife with small setbacks and I am thankful that they aren't big ones. I scheduled everything so tight it actually squeaks if you listen close. Fortunately, we have managed to follow my schedule without to many issues, and although we have dropped Spanish, for lack of interest, I'm pretty sure we will try again at some other time or maybe try French. The only other thing I have done differently this year is the heavy reliance on Netflix streaming videos and rentals for educational material. If you have never looked at Netflix as a source for educational videos, you should try it some time. Occasionally the information will be biased toward a world view that is different than mine, however those are few as I am very selective about what we watch. An example of our VRS (that's short for "Video Reliance Syndrome"), we recently watched The Last of the Mohicans. Now I guess you are wondering, what possible educational purpose could that have. Well let me tell you, first off, its a classic written by James Fenimore Cooper. Now as much as I appreciate the classics, sometimes they are darn near impossible to read because of all the humongous words. All you have to do is read the first chapter to realize the authors back then have something we don't seem to have now, a large vocabulary. Even though the movie is more recent then the novel, you can actually follow along without having to have a Masters in english literature. This is very appealing to me and alot more understandable to my young audience. One of the biggest reasons we watched it is we are currently studying that time period in history and I want them to enjoy learning about it. I know its mainly entertainment, but you can get a real sense of what it may have been like back then in a very graphic way.
As you can see, even entertaining movies can be educational.......at least that's what I keep telling myself and my kids, and anyone who asks me "so what are you doing this year to educate your children?".
Friday, July 8, 2011
Happy Fourth Of July From Idaho
This year we were invited to celebrate Independence Day with several other families from our church. Now usually when you think of a church outing you would think nice, mellow people, everyone relaxing, kids playing quietly, maybe some hymn music playing in the background. Not so with our little group of party goers! The email I received stated this:
Happy 4th of July,
Just a couple of things in preparation for our celebration this afternoon.
Just a couple of things in preparation for our celebration this afternoon.
- Parking... please drive on in to the house, unload, and then either you, I or John will take your vehicle back up the hill and park on the taxiway. The trail down to the house has been trimmed, so its not quite like a jungle. Consider it your very infrequent opportunity to enjoy valet parking .
- We intend on celebrating our liberty by exercising our 2nd amendment rights to own and bear arms. We will have a range of sorts set up away from things... so bring your firearms that you are itching to shoot... ammo would be good too.
- Fireworks. Feel free to bring fireworks if you would like. When it is about dark we will restrain the children... with force if necessary... and combine our forces for a firework show!!
Soooo, with these guidelines in mind, we loaded the Suburban and went on our way to what was sure to be an awesome party, loaded with food and fun. Instead of writing about it though, I am piling on the pictures and yes, some videos of the action. Hope everyone had a great 4th, I know we did
And then, let the shooting begin!
And then there were fireworks, nothing like a little total chaos to end the day !
The children ran around lighting everything they could get their hands on.
I have lots and lots of pictures of the action and want to thank the
Primers for having us out to celebrate with them, and on that note,
Happy Independence Day America !!!!!
P.S. I will be uploading videos to Facebook in the near future so keep and eye for that!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
The Saga of The Never-ending Project.....Part 1
Ever feel like what should have been a quick and easy project has turned into something else?? Well thats whats been going on at my house for the past couple months. In March, despite several warnings that "goats can read", we decided to take the giant leap of buying meat goats and chickens to help supplement our normal food shopping. I mean really, with hamburger going over 3 bucks a pound and a dozen eggs topping out at 2 dollars , it only makes sense to try and be more self-sufficient in someway, why not meat and eggs? Our intentions were of course pure, provide for our family, reduce our monthly food costs, eat healthier, all good principles, principles worth exploring. So, first things first. As with any animal project, you should make sure you have shelter and a fenced in area, after all, these animals will be providing you with food, they should have proper homes. Everyone tried their hand at ideas for the new goat pen and chicken hutch and in a short amount of time we had enough designs to begin implementing our building plans. First though, we had to go pick up our does. We opted for a shelter built into an old chain link dog kennel that we had received from someone my husband knows.
 |
| Dog Kennel with built in shelter |
Dale and the girls drove over by Cataldo to pick up our breeder does so that we could start our own little mini-farm. When they arrived home, they had the cutest little girl goats! They were very very upset about having to leave their previous life. The boys carried them into their new home and wow did they raise a ruckus! You would have thought we were killing them the way they were screaming, silly goats. The girls named them Claire Bear and Chloe.
 |
| Chloe is in the red and Claire is in the green |
At this point we had already started the bigger pen for the wethers and the buck we would be picking up in the next couple weeks. Here are some pictures:
 |
| floor foundation |
 |
| Joshua Helping |
 |
| Hand mixed concrete pour |
 |
| finished floor joist system We finished the foundation and floor joists all in one day which in itself was a minor miracle as it hadn't stopped raining for at least a month. The ground was totally soggy, like an over full sponge that can't take anymore water..squish squish squish. A short side note for you: I don't know if you can tell or not, but my husband is a contractor....this goat barn is very very well built and will not be going anywhere, EVER. I think it would take a major earthquake to move this thing. Anyway we got enough of the goat barn done to be able to pick up the 3 wether goats and a baby buck for our breeding stock. I cant seem to find any pictures at the moment oh well. We have been working on the goat barn/ chicken pen off and on for 2 months now. The chickens are very happy running around the yard eating bugs and mice, and the goats stripped every branch they had in their pen. The baby chicks are still in a tub, being way to small to let out to roam right now, and all is well on our mini farm. The chicken coop part of the barn is in the process of being built and is moving right along. We painted the floor a white vinyl paint to make rinsing off easier. At this moment we have 49 animals if you count the dog, cats and horses, oh wait we have a turtle also, that makes 50! |
Part 2 Coming soon...
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Random thoughts......
This past week was a rough one. Usually I would have been helping out with our churches VBS program, but I was not feeling well and decided to wait till the end of the week to help. As I was sitting around in my very quiet home (all or most of the kids were helping out with VBS this week), I decided to read a book called the" Fruit Of Her Hands" by Nancy Wilson, its about respect and the Christian woman. I never thought I had a problem with respect, until I read this book. It was harsh ! Some of the things I have said and done have not been very respectful. This is a hard thing to find out. I think I knew some of it in the back of my mind, but had not made the connections between my dis-respect and the way my kids are dis-respectful. While reading the book I made some resolutions to practice respecting, in particular my husband. I also realized that my lack of respect was a direct result of my not trusting God. All this time, I was fairly certain that trusting God was not an issue for me, but it is. He either is who he says he is or he is not. I believe he is exactly who he claims to be, and that I CAN trust him with the issues in my life. This is almost always easier to say then to do. We show it everyday in different ways and in different areas of life. It reminds me of a poem I once read called Let Go and let God, because if we don't trust him how can we let go? I have been so angry with my husband over things that are big and small and it is ALL because I did not trust God ! Not only that, if I didn't trust God how in the world was I ever going to trust my husband the way I should???? The bible commands me to be respectful to my husband, regardless of whether I think he deserves it or not. This flies in the face of currant societal norms, and is very difficult when there is no trust. The point of all this is if you truly, truly trust God the way you should as a Christian, then respect will not be so difficult because you KNOW God is concerned with your everyday journey. You KNOW he is kind and compassionate. You CAN trust him with your marriage, husband, children, work, friends, your LIFE!! So, Let Go and Let God!
LET GO AND LET GOD! | |
with tears for us to mend, |
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Once Upon a Time.....
These words are the beginning of your typical fairy tale. Well my week was anything but a nice sweet fairy tale. This is life, no one said it would be easy, at least for me. Everywhere I turn there seems to be some sort of struggle over any number of things. I spent the majority of my weekend upset and angry, and not getting any sleep. I didn't want to be angry, but I was, and it was a real struggle. I also had a yard sale this weekend, so you can add tired onto the list. On the second day of my yard sale, I wasn't feeling well, so I sat in my vehicle the whole time, only occasionally crawling out to visit with someone who had stopped. This week didn't start out much better. Monday had its own troubles and today has started out that way, (I don't think I want to do the checkbook or bills anymore) so the tone has been set. Tuesday was actually very productive as I was able to have the whole day to organize my office space. It is now nice and neat and you can see the floor! As always though, I managed to forget to do something. I must have early onset Alzheimers, as sometimes I cant seem to remember to do the smallest things, like take out something for dinner.
On the blessing side of things, I'm not angry anymore so I am getting much more sleep, and with the sleep and rest, I'm not as tired, and I feel better. Another blessing, I have a checkbook that I can mess up, some people don't have one right now. I have a house that can get messed up and cleaned, another thing some people don't have right now, and I have a fridge that has food in it that I can forget to take out for dinner.
All in all comparatively speaking, I have a great life, a great husband, and a great family. I should remember my blessings instead of complaining about my struggles, which are many. I am hoping that this week will get better somewhere along the way, after all there is only 2 more days to it. Maybe I should go take something out of the freezer for dinner, then get some laundry started, then get my living room straight. All the school books (and most of the other books in the house) are on the living room floor and stacks. I managed to get most of it sorted on Sunday, but when I went and cleaned the office/computer space yesterday, I found a bunch of things I forgot I had, things my children will wish I never found I'm sure.
I think that we will be ready to start school next week, hopefully. I am feeling excitement and dread all at the same time. Excitement, because we are starting a new year, dread because I know my kids will most likely give me a hard time. Our homeschool life is never easy. There is always some sort of struggle going on the whole time. No matter how prepared I am, there always seems to be something. The blessing side of this, I live in a country where I can still homeschool my kids, some people do not have that option.
This is my reality, even though my life doesn't always seem as pretty as someone else's , Jesus still loves me and my family, even if we don't have the perfect home, the perfect homeschool, the perfect menu plan, God has the perfect plan for us, always.
On the blessing side of things, I'm not angry anymore so I am getting much more sleep, and with the sleep and rest, I'm not as tired, and I feel better. Another blessing, I have a checkbook that I can mess up, some people don't have one right now. I have a house that can get messed up and cleaned, another thing some people don't have right now, and I have a fridge that has food in it that I can forget to take out for dinner.
All in all comparatively speaking, I have a great life, a great husband, and a great family. I should remember my blessings instead of complaining about my struggles, which are many. I am hoping that this week will get better somewhere along the way, after all there is only 2 more days to it. Maybe I should go take something out of the freezer for dinner, then get some laundry started, then get my living room straight. All the school books (and most of the other books in the house) are on the living room floor and stacks. I managed to get most of it sorted on Sunday, but when I went and cleaned the office/computer space yesterday, I found a bunch of things I forgot I had, things my children will wish I never found I'm sure.
I think that we will be ready to start school next week, hopefully. I am feeling excitement and dread all at the same time. Excitement, because we are starting a new year, dread because I know my kids will most likely give me a hard time. Our homeschool life is never easy. There is always some sort of struggle going on the whole time. No matter how prepared I am, there always seems to be something. The blessing side of this, I live in a country where I can still homeschool my kids, some people do not have that option.
This is my reality, even though my life doesn't always seem as pretty as someone else's , Jesus still loves me and my family, even if we don't have the perfect home, the perfect homeschool, the perfect menu plan, God has the perfect plan for us, always.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Its that time of year ... School Time!
And of course I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do this year...again. I am so glad I am a homeschooler though, as the options and choices are wide open. I have several stacks of school books in my living room (you know how I love to stack) that need to be gone through and either discarded, passed on or used this year. Unfortunately, because I am so unorganized, this task may take several days, days which I wont be able to do anything else I have on my never ending list of projects. School is supposed to start in a couple weeks though, so it needs to be done.
I am not a very good homeschooler, but I do have a pretty good idea what I will be doing, so that is a big plus, however I do not have a set curriculum that I use all the time, so it is up to me how to put it all together. I have several Bible study books to choose from so that is an easy fix, and a video Math curriculum I can use. I'm still debating on what to do with English, but I am leaning toward some type of Literature with books I already have on hand. I have a list of reading material I received from a friend, so will probably pick a couple books from it.
Okay, so that leaves Art, Music, Science, Writing, Home Economics, Physical Ed.and the list goes on. Okay one at a time, Art, I know a lady here in town that does pottery, that might be an option, but I also just talked to a nice lady who wants to maybe do watercolor painting, so will have to check with that. Next is Music, the 2 youngest are already taking piano lessons, and the next oldest girl wants to learn flute. She might have to pick something else, as the Lady who was going to teach her is pregnant and busy with several children of her own.
Alrighty then, the next item on the list is Science. This also may be an easy fix, as I wont teach anything except Creation Science and I have a Large book complete with cutouts and quizzes and reading ect. that the kids liked before, but Im not sure where it is, one of those things that I will have to try and find in the next couple weeks. I'm absolutely positive it is in some stack somewhere.
Okay onto the next item, Writing, and I am wondering if that could include blogging, and or forums, notepad on the computer, or only handwriting with a pencil and paper. I think I will incorporate the writing in with the English Lit. this year and make it Creative writing in any format they choose. I don't want them to be on the computer alot though, so the majority of it will be with good old paper and pencil, this should be fun.
Home Economics, Definition: Don't burn the house down. Oh I know it can mean other things also, like don't cut off your fingers with the extremely sharp rotary cutter, don't use the 40$ Gingers on paper, make sure to clean up the large spill on the kitchen floor before someone breaks their neck, the list goes on and on. This is the funnest class to have as far as Im concerned. I have a really nice curriculum set for it and I think we will be definitely be using it this year at some point.
Im down to the wire, my last thing to decide on, Physical Education. I did not do well with this class when I was growing up in public school, you would think it would be easy, but it wasn't for me. I was never very athletic and always picked last, ect. Im not sure what to do with this one other than trampoline time, or something along those lines. I think there may be some type of curriculum to go along with it, but I have no idea what it is. So looks like they will be spending alot of time riding bikes up and down the driveway and jumping on the trampoline, at least until the snow starts flying. Maybe an exercise video or something during the Winter months.
Well, this is my plan, hopefully I will be able to stick to it. I seem to get really lazy right around Thanksgiving and Christmas, and sometimes it takes a real effort to get started again after all the vacation time. Im not a really good homeschooler like some of my friends are, as I have a tendency to be lazy and the un-organized bit doesn't help either. Sometimes it just seems like to much and I dont want to be bothered, but I usually start out doing okay. I keep hoping to find some kind of Coop, where people with special talents are willing to share with the rest of us. As for me, I will give our Homeschool year to the Lord, in the hope that he will help us get through it as Philippians 4:13 says, with this is mind we will continue striving toward the goal, alternately standing and falling as we go, hopefully standing more than falling. Now that I write that though maybe I should include falling as a good thing, as in falling on my knees and begging God for mercy when it seems to hard to go on, or maybe first thing in the morning I should start begging!
I am not a very good homeschooler, but I do have a pretty good idea what I will be doing, so that is a big plus, however I do not have a set curriculum that I use all the time, so it is up to me how to put it all together. I have several Bible study books to choose from so that is an easy fix, and a video Math curriculum I can use. I'm still debating on what to do with English, but I am leaning toward some type of Literature with books I already have on hand. I have a list of reading material I received from a friend, so will probably pick a couple books from it.
Okay, so that leaves Art, Music, Science, Writing, Home Economics, Physical Ed.and the list goes on. Okay one at a time, Art, I know a lady here in town that does pottery, that might be an option, but I also just talked to a nice lady who wants to maybe do watercolor painting, so will have to check with that. Next is Music, the 2 youngest are already taking piano lessons, and the next oldest girl wants to learn flute. She might have to pick something else, as the Lady who was going to teach her is pregnant and busy with several children of her own.
Alrighty then, the next item on the list is Science. This also may be an easy fix, as I wont teach anything except Creation Science and I have a Large book complete with cutouts and quizzes and reading ect. that the kids liked before, but Im not sure where it is, one of those things that I will have to try and find in the next couple weeks. I'm absolutely positive it is in some stack somewhere.
Okay onto the next item, Writing, and I am wondering if that could include blogging, and or forums, notepad on the computer, or only handwriting with a pencil and paper. I think I will incorporate the writing in with the English Lit. this year and make it Creative writing in any format they choose. I don't want them to be on the computer alot though, so the majority of it will be with good old paper and pencil, this should be fun.
Home Economics, Definition: Don't burn the house down. Oh I know it can mean other things also, like don't cut off your fingers with the extremely sharp rotary cutter, don't use the 40$ Gingers on paper, make sure to clean up the large spill on the kitchen floor before someone breaks their neck, the list goes on and on. This is the funnest class to have as far as Im concerned. I have a really nice curriculum set for it and I think we will be definitely be using it this year at some point.
Im down to the wire, my last thing to decide on, Physical Education. I did not do well with this class when I was growing up in public school, you would think it would be easy, but it wasn't for me. I was never very athletic and always picked last, ect. Im not sure what to do with this one other than trampoline time, or something along those lines. I think there may be some type of curriculum to go along with it, but I have no idea what it is. So looks like they will be spending alot of time riding bikes up and down the driveway and jumping on the trampoline, at least until the snow starts flying. Maybe an exercise video or something during the Winter months.
Well, this is my plan, hopefully I will be able to stick to it. I seem to get really lazy right around Thanksgiving and Christmas, and sometimes it takes a real effort to get started again after all the vacation time. Im not a really good homeschooler like some of my friends are, as I have a tendency to be lazy and the un-organized bit doesn't help either. Sometimes it just seems like to much and I dont want to be bothered, but I usually start out doing okay. I keep hoping to find some kind of Coop, where people with special talents are willing to share with the rest of us. As for me, I will give our Homeschool year to the Lord, in the hope that he will help us get through it as Philippians 4:13 says, with this is mind we will continue striving toward the goal, alternately standing and falling as we go, hopefully standing more than falling. Now that I write that though maybe I should include falling as a good thing, as in falling on my knees and begging God for mercy when it seems to hard to go on, or maybe first thing in the morning I should start begging!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Silverwood Adventure...
The day dawned bright and early , the promise of an adventure on the horizon .The kids roused themselves from sleep excited for what lie ahead. Everyone cooperated fully and the car was loaded with the various items needed for a long day of fun at Silverwood Theme park. We left the house at 8am for the 3 hour drive to the land of awesomeness . We sang songs and held hands, we giggled and laughed as the excitement grew more intense. We picked up the older boys at Post Falls and quickly incorporated them into our pleasant outing. We arrived at the park in high spirits and made our way to the front gate fully enjoying each other, smiling and happy waving at people as we walked by. I know everyone was saying, what a pleasant family, how can we be just like them! Once inside, we had a great time together, riding rides, swimming, and playing games. The children were all so cheerful and sweet, each thinking of the other above himself, helpful and gentle in all their actions. I was so proud of the way they got along together. We had a simply marvelous time!
At least that is how it was supposed to be.........
The truth is a much harder pill to swallow. I will not go into details on this post, as I don't really want to be a whiner, however I will say, it did not go as well as I thought or even wished it would have. We did manage to have fun for the most part, but we need some work as a family on how to get along a little better or we will never go on vacation together, ever.
Like a friend of mine said, today is a new day, with no mistakes in it, so there is hope. That is a very very good thing to know.
At least that is how it was supposed to be.........
The truth is a much harder pill to swallow. I will not go into details on this post, as I don't really want to be a whiner, however I will say, it did not go as well as I thought or even wished it would have. We did manage to have fun for the most part, but we need some work as a family on how to get along a little better or we will never go on vacation together, ever.
Like a friend of mine said, today is a new day, with no mistakes in it, so there is hope. That is a very very good thing to know.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Help! Im not Organized!
This will be my first attempt at any type of Blogging.
It seemed that organization would be a good topic for my first post, as I am probably the most unorganized person I know, and this seems to be the problem I am dealing with at the moment.
Oh I have friends that are really good at it, but for some reason I just can't seem to get the hang of it. Coming from a long line of collectors has been a severe damper to any type of organizational skills I may have at one time been able to cultivate. My mother is a collector, my Grandmother was a collector, and her mother before her, and so on. With those type of odds, I would be surprised if I ever accomplish any organization at all.
Fortunately for me, I have a close friend that LOVES to be organized. She is a source of inspiration to me (even though I tend to zone out whenever anyone says anything about getting rid of my considerable amount of STUFF.) I always manage to come back to earth and listen at some point, but I'm sure she can remember seeing a glazed look in my eye a time or two when talking about seasonal clothing or getting rid of stuff in my attic.
She did come over once to help with my attic. It was brutal! I haven't been able to go up there since to organize, as I'm afraid I may find things that I know I should just get rid of.
With all that being said, I finally came to the realization the other day, that I cant take it with me, and after I'm gone no one will want it. It was very hard for me to think my things may not be important to anyone but myself. I asked my kids for 2 things each that they would want from my considerable amount of stuff (since I have 6 kids that adds up to at least 12 things I wouldn't have to get rid of, which helps the appease collector in me). Surprisingly, they all mentioned things that were actually practical. I was amazed that not one of my girls asked for my sewing things. One of them did ask for my clown collection.
Right now I am working on organizing Winter clothing. I ordered 24, 18 gallon containers in a variety of colors hoping for inspiration. I thought red and orange for summer and fall, pink and green for spring and blue for winter. I will be surprised if I manage to get it all the containers, let alone color coordinated to a specific season.
Right now I only have the pink ones (the boys are not happy) and I'm trying to decide how to use my 24 containers to organize the large amount of clothing I have scattered throughout the house and I think I may try to use them for other things also, like my sons baseball memorabilia, or things I got them while I was in Australia, or years and years of accumulated birthday cards. The possibilities are endless! Actually, maybe I wont have to get rid of anything! I can organize it ALL In my new containers! Cool!
It seemed that organization would be a good topic for my first post, as I am probably the most unorganized person I know, and this seems to be the problem I am dealing with at the moment.
Oh I have friends that are really good at it, but for some reason I just can't seem to get the hang of it. Coming from a long line of collectors has been a severe damper to any type of organizational skills I may have at one time been able to cultivate. My mother is a collector, my Grandmother was a collector, and her mother before her, and so on. With those type of odds, I would be surprised if I ever accomplish any organization at all.
Fortunately for me, I have a close friend that LOVES to be organized. She is a source of inspiration to me (even though I tend to zone out whenever anyone says anything about getting rid of my considerable amount of STUFF.) I always manage to come back to earth and listen at some point, but I'm sure she can remember seeing a glazed look in my eye a time or two when talking about seasonal clothing or getting rid of stuff in my attic.
 |
| My Attic |
With all that being said, I finally came to the realization the other day, that I cant take it with me, and after I'm gone no one will want it. It was very hard for me to think my things may not be important to anyone but myself. I asked my kids for 2 things each that they would want from my considerable amount of stuff (since I have 6 kids that adds up to at least 12 things I wouldn't have to get rid of, which helps the appease collector in me). Surprisingly, they all mentioned things that were actually practical. I was amazed that not one of my girls asked for my sewing things. One of them did ask for my clown collection.
Right now I am working on organizing Winter clothing. I ordered 24, 18 gallon containers in a variety of colors hoping for inspiration. I thought red and orange for summer and fall, pink and green for spring and blue for winter. I will be surprised if I manage to get it all the containers, let alone color coordinated to a specific season.
 | |||||
| Pink Containers |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)