Typical Tuesday

I see a lot of blogs on "a day with so many children and our routine" and I love seeing how other homeschool families incorporate various ages, and schedules!

Today was going so well I decided to do our "Typical Tuesday" day.  Every day of the week is a little different, but we keep a flexible routine going.  Some days we have lessons, sports, music, library, field trips, etc, so we are flexible for what is needed in our day!

This year we embarked on a new journey of homeschooling a group of children!  This has been great for me because it has forced me into a good routine, meal plan, and keeps me from getting lazy.  It's a full time job from home that I get to do with my family.

Today went along the lines of this:

7:00 am:  I woke up!  This is my wake up time no matter what so I can get up, dressed, and breakfast before everyone shows up at 7:30.  Today, however, my husband was up early and made us delicious breakfast burritos!!

I was awfully motivated because I finally got my chart ready for my NO SPEND challenge, I was able to get my devotions done first thing (Luke 12:6-7 was definitely what I needed today), Zealed up, and had a wonderful breakfast ready!  Days like this I'm so thankful that my husband had a good day, and we all got off to a great start!

7:30: The additional children show up at my door, and they enjoy breakfast with us.  I love doing this, because it keeps us all on the same meals, snacks, and schedule for food throughout the day.

8:00: Everyone has finished eating, MY kids are finally dressed, the youngest has gone potty (yay, no accident this morning), and it's time for cleaning up.

Now everyone works together to get all the clothes, toys, and trash off the floors so I can sweep up everything.  While they are doing this, the kitchen is also being straightened up from breakfast so we can start setting up school.

Samuel also practices piano first thing so he doesn't forget during the day.  House filled with music, cleaning accomplished, great way to start a morning!

8:30: The house is looking pretty clean because we all worked so well together today!!  Time for shoes, and coats, and playing outside to burn off the morning excitement energy.

While everyone plays outside, I get my time with Mira as well as prepping all our classwork for the day. I am SO thankful that our curriculum comes preset, days labeled, and extremely organized.  This saves me tons of time and energy.  I go to the cubby boxes and pull off the top sheets for today.  I do a quick double check to make sure I have the right reading books, and get ready for school!

9:00: PreK and Preschool.  This is a start time every day for the younger crew.  They do better in the mornings, and they are focused!  After playing in the sun they were all being sweet, happy, sharing, and kind during their hands on activity.  They did a great job coloring, flashcards, stories, and working together today.

While Prek and Preschool were busy, my mom had the K/1st graders working on their Life of Fred Math (for fun review) and some of their handwriting practice.

10:00: By this time, the younger crew has finished school and playing, so they go back outside to run til lunch time!  Now the younger kids are busy playing, I bring in the 2nd graders to work on their NEW math books!!  They were so excited they finished their 2A books, so today was a fresh excitement over the 2B books.  They diligently worked on their Math until it was time to go back outside.

11:00 Now I have lunch fully prepped, in the oven (because I was working on prep while they did Math).  I love cooking and prepping while I can talk to them about their lesson at the kitchen table, and they are independent enough to handle it well.

The kids were falling behind in our Banks of Plum Creek book, so while they were climbing trees, they listened while my mom read to them.  Looking out and watching 3 kids in a tree, and the rest quietly playing while we did story time was wonderful!  They retained the story and asked questions and loved it all!

12:00: Lunch is finally done cooking!  Today was Meatloaf, Potatoes, and Broccoli (according to our meal plan).  This meal plan I found was preset completely.  Comes with shopping list, recipes, and 6 week meal rotation for Breakfast, Lunch, and Snacks.  This lets me follow a list, and not have to spend hours thinking and planning and finding variety...it's all done for me! I found it here and I love how easy it is to follow!  It's kid friendly, easy, and affordable!

12:30: By this time, everyone has eaten and now it's time to catch up on our Kids Baking Championship!  My cousin started off on this season, so every Tuesday we watch the Monday night recording of the show, and it has made some fun additions and ideas to our weekly cooking class with homeschooling!  The children have thoroughly enjoyed learning and seeing how other children can bake!

1:15: The show is finished, and now the younger half (K and under) go lay down for naptimes.  I tell them all do a one hour quiet time, and most of the time they all sleep!  This is my "mommy breathing" time.  I can do nothing, and my house stays quiet!

My mom decided to do the 2nd grade work today focusing on handwriting, and Bible while I got my quiet time.  Then after that I step in and finish off with our history and science.  Atoms, molecules, state history.. it's so much fun!

2:00: Naptime is over and now it's OUTSIDE TIME!  Everyone gets to run, play, explore, and thoroughly enjoy the sunshine and warm weather for today!

While they are playing, it's time to rotate laundry, sweep again, dishes cycled, and do another quick "declutter" for the afternoon.

4:00: Dinner prep time!  Everyone gets to come inside, watch a history movie, read books, puzzles, and calm down a little while I figure out what to prepare for dinner.

5:00: Kids are being fed, Samuel is ready to go to basketball game and piano, and soon everyone else gets to go home!!

The rest of the evening I get to watch Samuel play basketball, then go to piano lessons just in time to get home for stories and bed!  The other kids get a good evening with daddy, while I embrace my special Samuel time.

I love days like today!  The sun is out, my energy is good! (thanks to ZEAL!), everyone has been in a good mood, and everything is flowing perfect!

Now, not every day is like this, so I deeply cherish the days it is :)  IN between all of that is baby snuggles (because if she's not in her wrap with me she gets sad), toddler hugs (because I'm HIS mommy), and lots of other amazing moments!

Days like this is why I love and cherish my homeschooling.  I get an amazing day, full of amazing kids, and it's done in a way and schedule that fits our family perfectly.


Here is a short video entailing some of our sweet memories from today :)
 Typical Tuesday!

Tye Dye Day!!

This last summer we started these weekly "Home school meetups" for the sake of sanity! (mostly for us moms) and it has become quite the event now!

What started off as two moms desperately needing another mom friend ended up this epic adventure!  We decided to try to do a weekly activity that's fun for kids (ages 2-8) that takes an hour or less so us moms can talk while the kids do something fun.  They get to play with their friends, moms get a "break" (kinda) and all is well with our sanity.

This week was Tye Dye day!  Now, I was doing educational activities ALL year, but now I'm opting for semi-educational and lots of fun!!!  Because, face it, we "educate" all the time and everyone needs fun in their lives.

Tye Dye day is in short, kids making patterns by tying their shirts, and adding LOTS of fun colors and dye to create their masterpieces. 

This is my first time dying shirts since elementary, so my memory is not great.  All in all we had a great time working with colors, dying everything (so glad it was nice enough to be outdoors), and creating a fun shirt that will remind us of the great memories we made with our friends that day.

All in all I love these sweet days and reminders of just how important it is to have those breaks!  I'm so thankful for our friends that started off just another person, and now we have a whole group that has bonded and become close!

Here's some of the pictures of our fun! ( I apologize, I am not good at adding pictures yet so they are a little crazy)

Why we love to Homeschool

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So, I say a lot "this is why I love homeschool!".  Thinking through today (especially this rainy gloomy weather) has me going even more on "why do I really love homeschool?"

Yesterday I came across a quote by Martin Luther King Jr:

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”

Do I love that my older children are in a grumpy mood and don't want to cooperate today?  Do I love that my toddler decided to tear up the Kindergarten papers?  Do I love that my baby decided to be the center of attention so I had to do everything one handed?  Do I love that my laundry is still not put away from 3 days ago? Do I love that we had to write a letter S five times, and that no one was in the mood for Math?

No, those are not the reasons I love it.  Those are the days I want to gift them off to a full time school so I can take a break!

The reasons like today though remind me again why I truly love what I do.

Today I watched as my two year old learned a new shape and glued 20 of his favorite hearts onto a paper for the first time.  Today, I watched two boys that do not get along well, work together in order to make a pie for history. Today I watched them try their first piece of Horehound Candy (like we had read in their book). Today I watched as two girls became friends.  Today I got to snuggle my baby while I cooked lunch and taught classes.  Today I watched my children work, cooperate, learn, and grow together!

I do love that my kids academically are ahead of their peers, I do enjoy teaching, and I do love homeschooling.  But more important than ALL of that... I love watching my children grow, mature, and learn, and love on a daily basis.  Even on the hard days, those little things are why I love what I do.

Daily I get to study the Bible with my children. Daily I get to be there are they build and create new things.  Daily I get to help them cook, grow, experiment, and play!

I also like that when my hands on child doesn't need a paper that day, we don't.  I love that when my paperwork-loving child needs more, we do!  I love seeing them explore in and out of their comfort zones socially and academically.  I love being involved with my children's lives in all the areas!  I also love the flexibility to do more (like music lessons, horse lessons, basketball) and more!

Growing our children's character is the MOST important thing as a parent we can do.  This is above all why I truly love doing what I do.

3 John 1:4:  I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

Volcano Baking Event!

Our children recently started watching Kids Baking Championship because their cousin Dylin is on there!  They have been rooting, cheering, and learning as they watch the episodes and they want to learn to do fun baking challenges too.  This last week, the show had a Volcano Baking Challenge, which our boys LOVED!  So what did we do?  Make our own of course.

We found a fairly easy recipe (because I am not a good baker and even worse decorator), that we could make and have fun with.  The boys spent the morning baking the cakes and getting them ready to cool and decorate in the afternoon with friends.

They picked some fun flavors too, just like the kids on the show did!  Pineapple cake, Coconut cake, and Red Velvet for Lava!  Chocolate icing was a MUST for all that dirt and mud on the volcano.  We found a few dinosaurs, colored icing (for lava flow), and some pretty tropic flowers to add in as well.
Because the age groups are 3-8, our cakes are not nearly as "pretty" but they were definitely fun!  We took a bundt cake, and two round cakes to stack, covered in frosting, and added our decorations.

What is a volcano project without smoke and lava??

I was so glad our local grocery store had Dry Ice!!  It made it a fun science project too as we learned about Dry Ice, and how it works, and how to be safe around it.  The first volcano did not erupt as planned, but we loved the bubbly red colors and smoke.  The second one was just smoke (dry ice and warm water), so it was the most edible.  The last one we did Lemon juice, red coloring, and baking soda for an erupting volcano!!!

At the end of the day, the kids had fun, they got to do a fun baking event (which makes us appreciate even more the talent of the kids on the show), and learned a bit about volcanoes too!

Family, Fun, Friends, and Fellowship makes for a perfect day :)

Fitness and Family! Set the Example

If someone asked me "do you like to work out?" I would laugh.  I truly hate working out!  It's so much easier to just watch Netflix, Disney Jr with kids, take it easy!  As a homeschool mom, I don't even have to get the kids out of the house to do school....laziness is easy to kick into gear for me.

You know those awesome goals I started?  Yeah, well Fitness is a HUGE one for me!!  I struggle with keeping in shape.  The day I left the Army I promised myself to NEVER work out again.  I despise it.  Well, as my kids grow older, what kind of example do I want to set for them?  I don't want my kids watching 5 hours of television, so why would I do that?  I don't want my children playing on videogames all day, so why would I?  I do not want my children to ever use laziness as a reason to not accomplish greatness in their life!!

1) Zeal!

Zeal is the amazing nutrition drink that gets me going every morning!!  I had to use it for a couple of months before I noticed a big difference.  My body had so much junk to cleanse out, but once it did, WOW, what a difference it made!  It took me some time and life style changes of eating healthier as a family, but Zeal kept my sugar cravings down, energy up, and the kids too.

No more worrying about if my kids have all their nutrition and all those tummy problems my kids struggled with... gone now!  All those attention issues?? Gone!  Yeah, Zeal made a difference for us!

Once my nutrition was up... next step going to happen!

2) Working out!

I do not like to work out.  I also suffer from some bad hip issues so I am unable to run consistently, or do anything impact and stressful.  I would see those friends run 5K, 10K, marathons, triathalons, and I would say "wow, I could never do that."  Pity parties are done now!  Can't is NOT a word I am going to let myself use anymore.

Camp Gladiator (CG) is a big step for me!  A group of other moms and people that keep me accountable!  Those days I don't want to work out, and just sit in my PJ's... not happening now!  I love that it's the most uplifting, energetic, encouraging group to work with.  Every single person is at a different fitness level, age, background, but we do have one thing in common:  We want to see a difference in our health!!

Fitbit!  Ok, so "everybody" has one now.  So my husband got me one for Christmas so I could be one of the cool kids!  Ha ha.  One great feature on the Fitbit is that I set myself a personal goal.  When I want to just sit and watch TV, there goes my Fitbit reminding me that I need to keep myself accountable.  It also lets my friends and I challenge each other!!  This week we had a good group going, and we push each other to do better, but from the comforts of wherever we are.  We don't have to take time to rush away from family in order to keep accountable, we do it all day long and keep each other motivated!

3) Kids.  My children now see these changes, and they want to be accomplishing things too!  The two older children now do sports, horse lessons, and constantly try to "outrun" me with my challenges.

Set the example and BE the example you want your children to follow!!
I don't want my daughter to look back and see a lazy mom who struggled with bipolar, chronic fatigue, depression, anxiety, and excuses.  I want my daughter to see a mom who kept going, kept positive, and became the best ME I can be!

 

Why I love music!

Ephesians 5:19 - Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

Music for me is probably the most influential thing in my life.  It allows me to express my emotions more clearly, allows me to vent my frustration, or reduce my anxiety by playing.  As a child, music was fun for me!  I loved listening to concerts, watching adults play, singing in church, etc.  I started playing piano and then over the years added a multitude of instruments, including violin, flute, organ, accordion, and many more.  This was a way to keep me busy, engaged, and accomplish something productive.  

Psalms 71:23 - My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed

I never became the next Mozart, or famous musician, but as an adult I can play in church, teach others, and enjoy it with my children and family.  Music is a talent that I feel I can effectively share with my children and others as well.  It has become a way for me to serve in church ministry, and others.

The other day I came across an article that went through the science of WHY music is so great for children!  I am a HUGE advocate for music and children.  I loved Kindermusick classes when our kids were younger, and I am constantly finding ways to implement it strongly into our home school and daily activities.  I know it doesn't "make you smarter" but I found it helped our children be happier when there was happy music, and they learned quicker when things were put to music.  All children I know love music!

This article about music  I found just confirmed the many reasons I love to teach and play music.  It saddens me that SO many children are never able to learn music, or even are exposed to good music in any way.

Colossians 3:16 - Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Music sets the mood for my day, the atmosphere of our home, and so much more!!  I am very particular about the music in our home because ALL music has major effects on our bodies, mind, and spirit.

I could go on all day about the importance of good quality and uplifting music, (like the great music aired on Heaven 88.7) but that is a rant for another day.  For today I will say how thankful I am that God blessed me with parents who were willing to invest their time, money, and lives to allow me to learn music that I can now pass down to my children.

When we wake up all grumpy and angsty attitudes, the first thing that helps me get my mind right is turning on the radio (computer) to Heaven 88.7 so my home is filled with peaceful, Godly music!  That allows my head to focus enough to dig into my Bible and get even more from it than I would otherwise.

Music is not without its sacrifice, but it is a lifelong skill that will help improve your children mentally, emotionally, and socially.  It allows them to accomplish great things with challenging themselves.  It allows them to learn how to work in groups with other musicians and students.  It also allows them to find a way to channel their feelings and emotions in a healthy way!

This last week my son and I were able to play a song for church.  Although it was short, and simple, I cannot help but be overwhelmed with the fact that God is allowing my children to grow up serving Him in a small way too! I am so glad that Samuel has a great teacher that keeps the focus on God for his music as he grows up.

I have also taught music for the last 10 years off and on, and I am thrilled that this part of my life is getting back together! (after taking breaks to have children)  A new generation of young musicians to be trained in music for God.  On top of all the other perks of them getting good memory, good focus, good confidence, good patience....and so much more!

I am thankful for a church that is helping to form the next generation by teaching Patch the Pirate, Bible verses, and good example with orchestra and special music!  All children can learn to play and serve, it's up to us as parents to support that and get behind it!  When our children are learning good Godly music to sing it reinforces life long principles that they will forever remember!  I love it when my children break out singing to their favorite song they learned in Sunday School, or Patch Clubs and it keeps their mind focused on God.

Parents, even if you do not play or listen to music GET YOUR KIDS INVOLVED!!!  It is a skill that is quickly becoming a lost art in this world.  So many take music and pervert it or no longer even learn it at all.  Get involved with your family, and make the changes to see how music can change your life for the best!

Our children are too precious for the world to steal with their music and lies!  Make the difference for your family.

Psalms 127:3 - Lo, children [are] an heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward.

Birthday Boy turned 6!

Wow!  Six years already??

I very much remember six years ago having my first baby and being scared to death!  I was responsible for another human being??  I felt barely able to be responsible for myself.

Psalms 127:3 - Lo, children [are] an heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward.

I cannot believe how much has changed the last six years.  Becoming a mother changed me so much.  I went from highly unstable, over emotional, and struggled to commit to anything long term to a mom who feels stable, committed, and going strong!  So much of that was having to be responsible for another person and put all my focus into him!

Samuel was my easy baby, snuggled great, potty trained easily, talked early, walked early, and is a sweet-hearted child.

I love watching him grown and learn and he LOVES to learn!  Seeing things through the eyes of my son changes the world.  He is peaceful, happy, loving, kind, and makes friends with everyone.  He is smart, focused, and love to learn every new thing from horses, to basketball, to piano... nothing stops this kid!  My heart's desire is that as he grows he continues to be an example!

1 Timothy 4:12 - Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

I am also so thankful for the amazing friends he has made over the last few years.  The families have become dear to us, and we love our friends and family!

Looking back and seeing how scared I was at the beginning, and how far he has come.  It amazes me daily that God has allowed me to raise a precious child for Him.  I pray daily that Samuel will grow up and serve and love God with all his heart.

We are not just raising children, but we are raising the next generation!  Susanna Wesley is one of my favorite mothers to look to.  She may not have realized how much she would impact the world by how she raised her children, but she did!  I may not be a professional in anything, or amazing or life changing to the world, but I can be life changing to my children who can go out and be incredible!

I love you Samuel and cannot wait to see how much your life will become!!

Starting off my New Year the RIGHT way!

Happy New Years!

Last year my life was going badly, and I realized I needed to make some big changes!  I was always trying to improve, but struggled to implement it.  I found the word BALANCE last year and started balancing out 7 areas of my life and saw HUGE progress!!

This year, I feel so much more balanced, but am still struggling, so this year my word is ROOTED!  I struggle the most with staying consistent with my personal Bible time.  It's so easy to do family devotions, Bible classes, kids memory verses, etc, and never have time for my personal Bible time.  This year I am determined that with God's help I will not only become more balanced, but also rooted deeply in what God has for me.

My big areas to balance and continue to grow in:
1) Faith- I want to stay strong in my PERSONAL Bible time and grow more as a Christian
2) Family- I want to trust God for what my family needs as a whole, and not just want is most comfortable for myself
3) Friends- I want to continue to grow in my Christian friendships and encourage each other daily!
4) Finance- I want to stick to my budget and start cutting out unnecessary spending!!
5) Field- I want to pray that God allows the right balance of my work to stay balanced with my other needs.  I am excited for the job that this new year will hold! (more details at a later date)
6) Fitness- I want to stay faithful to my new CG workout group, continue with my Zeal, and also accomplish a 5K this year!
7) Fun- I want to enjoy life and continue to have fun with what I do, as well as plan for new fun trips and events with others!

Last year I had these same 7 F's, but different goals.  I am so excited for what this New Year holds!

Now, onto the next part of our New Years for school!
The month of December was filled with so much stuff!!!  We had Christmas parties, friends, cookies, presents, advent tree... we did SO much!  With homeschooling we did not do a heavy month of school because we did so much Christmas fun :)

The downside to that was the day after Christmas we had a house full of kids with the blues.  The hype was done, the fun was over... now what??    I know a lot of people love Christmas break (and of course I do too) but I feel that our break was mostly the month of December doing all that fun stuff.

This year I kicked back into school immediately after Christmas and it was wonderful!  This allowed us to get back into a good routine and schedule which helped to counter act that hard hit of blues after the holiday hype.

And onto my own struggles for this New Year.

I am struggling hard this year with PPD (post pardum depression)  I struggle with this every child, but now I KNOW what it is, so I can look out for it better.  Keeping into a routine forces me up and going even on the days I want to run and hide.  When I feel my anxiety creep up, I have friends I can count on to help.  I have an amazing family that understands this and supports and helps out a lot!

As a first time mom I didn't noticed the PPD as much, by child number 4, there is no break!  You can't sleep when the baby does, you can't rest, and everyone needs mommy!!  I am learning to take those much needed "mommy self care time" so I can be there for my family.

I have to remember I'm not being a bad mom because I am drained and depressed, but I will be a bad mom if I fail to acknowledge and help myself get better!

1. Have a GOOD support group!!  I cannot express enough how amazing my friends and church family are!
2. Don't hide.  As much as I want to curl up and hide, I'm thankful to have a routine that keeps me involved with others, so I don't spiral down worse.
3. Not being afraid to ask for help.  With my other children I was afraid to let people see how bad I felt.  Now, I know that asking for help actually gets help!
4. Taking care of myself!  I started doing workout groups (awesome motivation and encouragement from others), keeping my nutrition up (COULD NOT do it with my Zeal and great menu plan!), getting sleep (also thankful for an amazing husband who helps with baby at night), and keeping my MIND right!!

God's grace gets me through the mental, Zeal helps me physically, and friends help me emotionally!  So thankful for all the love, support, and encouragement.  I'm glad I know what to look for, and to understand that it's normal, and it ends in its season.  These days I take it easy, stay in our routine, and don't overschedule myself.  This is also why it is SO important to me to have my own personal devotion time.  I need to be rooted and growing in God's word for MYSELF, especially during the struggles of Post Pardum

Let's go 2017!!  Stay in God's word and don't let myself fall away!!