Things I Wish I Didn't Have to Say

STOOOOOOOPPPPP!

  

(This is how seriously I am taken around here.)

Things I Should Not Have to Say:

1. Please stop blowing your nose on the bulletin. (Said to my 8-yr. old during the evening worship service. His defense? "I didn't want to get up to get a tissue. That would be a distraction." And all the crinkling while you snot all over the preacher your father's outline is not?)
2. Do not stick rabbit food up your nose. (Said to the 2-yr. old after he had been sneezing for two days. We thought he had a cold. He kept saying, "Bunny rabbit hurt my nose." An especially explosive sneeze proved he was [sort of] right.)
3. Do not spray Febreze air freshener in your eyes. (Said to the same 2-yr. old who had to be taken to the Walmart bathroom to have his very red and very swollen face thoroughly rinsed and scrubbed.)
4. Do not squirt alcohol swimmer's ear drops up your baby sister's nose. (Said to a 5-yr. old after we had to call Poison Control and make an emergency run to Walmart for some saline to re-irrigate baby's nostrils.)
5. I don't have time to cut your toenails. Put some socks on. (The 8-yr. old. And, come to think of it, one of the 5-yr. olds.)
6. When I say, "Tighten your seatbelt," I do not mean for you to tighten it so much that you are crying because you can't breathe. (The 6-yr. old.)
7. Do not lick the dog. (ALL of them. Seriously.)
8. Do not lick the shopping cart.
9. Do not lick the van.
10. Really? You're still licking????

"How long will you say these things, and the words of your mouth be a great wind?"

(Job 8:2, Bildad to Job, taken greatly out of context yet somehow fitting...)

Anyone else?

Motivation for Monday

"Your mother must have been a very original woman!" said the lady listening interestingly. "I would like to have known her. The perfect idea of educating a child out of one book and doing all that!"

"Oh, but the book was the Bible, you know," explained the young student.

~ from Ladybird, by Grace Livingston Hill

Working on history craft with Lily

 

Summer

One thing we love (perhaps that's a little too strong - "happily endure"?) about Staunton is the summer ... oddly enough. I would normally advise anyone traveling to Virginia to pick fall or winter or spring to come, but we've been surprised by charm even in the midst of summer. While it has gotten hot (and Very Good Friends Russ and Kathy -- how'd you like those Capital Letters, Kath? -- arrived just in time to help us install our mega window-unit air conditioning), the breezes are constant, the nights are beginning to cool (and it's still August!), and there are enough water spots to cool us down on the hottest days.

We've explored around and found lakes and ponds and dams and the swimming pool of some friends. We've been enjoying ending Mondays at our friends' pool. Granted, most of the time is spent helping children overcome their fear of water (and get their suits on) and keeping babies occupied, but the kids eagerly look forward to Mondays and brag all week about what kind of swimming they're going to try.

And there's been other water play ... a canner full of water and a spray bottle provided almost an entire afternoon's entertainment.

Miriam and Jonathan

(And when it's not your turn with the spray bottle, just go ahead and dump a water bottle down her back...)

Miriam and Abraham

Eden, Ben, and Lily

Some of us just watch the goings-on.

David Bianca (the bunny) and his/her? paper towel

Salem and Maverick

Salem

But the real trick is when Papa gets home from work...luring him out of the van so you can douse him.

Jonathan and Ethan

And then when it's time to come inside, everyone is STARVING (because water can make you SOOOO HUNGRRRRYYYYY MOOOOOM). We eat lots, and then we play some more.

Gideon, taken by Benjamin

And it turns out summer's not so bad after all.

Friends don't let friends eat twinkies...

...but corn on the cob is OK.

Salem

School with Littles

I am taking a break from our regularly-scheduled school day (har, har, hee hee hee, snort, whoo-wee that's a good one!) to ... well, to take a break.

I **had** planned to have an actual planning session for this first day of school. I got about 5 minutes into looking at the books and promptly took a nap. Seriously. It was Saturday afternoon, and that couch is THAT comfortable.

Anyway. One of my sisters refers to me as an "unschooler." I'm not, and the negative publicity unschoolers have garnered for themselves (people, if you homeschool, STAY OUT of the media! They will not make you look good!) makes me even more hesitant to be so labeled.

That being said, it is true that I do not use a boxed curriculum. We choose material based on what we think our kids need to know (no to sex ed: hello, you have seven siblings -- yes to catechism memorization), what is written for independent learners, and what we can afford.

I am learning to smile when someone tells me what WONDERFUL material or program they are using. That is wonderful - to find something that works for your child(ren) and you. But I am also learning to be happy with what we are doing ... because it works well for us. It does! And when I stop believing that and buy into whatever program is a miracle for so-and-so -- just because they love it so and not because we have deemed it to be appropriate for us -- well, that's just more money down the drain. I end up with expensive books taking up precious shelf space and not being used.

It helps incredibly to have a husband who cheers me on and keeps the iced coffee supply flowing.

Today I decided to do my schedule backwards. Instead of writing it down and schooling according to it, I decided to plunge ahead in schooling and write down what we did - after the fact.

Here's how it looks so far. Ignore the details and just look at the groupings of kids:

EVERYBODY:
First Language Lessons lesson 4 (proper nouns)
"Holy, Holy, Holy"
Catechism review

BEN & LILY:
Mystery of History lesson 3
Stuart Little chs. 1-3

ABRAHAM, MIRIAM, EDEN, (and it ended up being JONATHAN, too):
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons lesson 3
Read 3 storybooks to them (anybody else sick of The Hungry Little Caterpillar?)

BENJAMIN:
Math-U-See 26D-F
Trumpet of the Swan ch. 17
Handwriting-2 pgs.

LILY:
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons lesson 87
Handwriting-2 pgs.

LILY, ABRAHAM, MIRIAM, EDEN
Math-U-See 1A-B

Six different groupings for five kids???

This has been the trick today: trying to occupy children while other children are "learning." Of course, it's ALL learning: "Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life" (Charlotte Mason). But that atmosphere is severely marred when your little brother sticks stamps on your paper or uses the glue stick to attach your artwork to the bottom of the chair or when your twin 6-mos. old siblings eat your drawing (really, I have no shortage of examples).

I feel like I need about 10 more hours of sleep and 10 more cups of coffee to handle the constant energy-zapping. Meals? Laundry? Diapers?

HA!!

The absolutely most helpful thing I've done is to keep Jonathan (2 yr. old Chief Troublemaker) by my side the entire time (except Nap Time WHICH I LOVE). He has been happier and I've been more productive, not having to unclog the toilet and all (unsupervised 2-yr. olds are SO. DESTRUCTIVELY. INVENTIVE).

Fresh air is good, too.

The other helpful thing has been the ongoing cups of coffee. Which probably explains all the capital letters.

I'm winding down the school day (this means children are now up from naps and I feel like I need to go down). Mt. Laundry still needs to be folded and put away, and supper won't fix itself.

But we're One Day Down!!

Like Brother, Like Sister

Salem

And that, my friends, is the trouble with twins.

Detox

Sunday we were served dinner at the home of some friends. The hostess was explaining to the children how water is so very good for you and flushes your body of toxins.

On Monday, I made a quiche for lunch. I decided to use up the rest of the pizza fixin's from the weekend. Chicken, cheeses, and tomato went in the quiche. "Tomatoes? TOMATOES???? Ewww! Do we HAVE to eat the tomatoes?"

"You do if you want dessert," I responded.

Abraham (5) took a big bite of his quiche and then hollered, "QUICK! Get me some water! I need to flush this poison from my body!"

Thanks, Midge. My kids now eagerly drink water to counter their mother's cooking.