Ok, I think I bit off more then I can chew. But at the same time, I feel like it's good for me. I need to grow and stretch, yet... it hurts! 5 kids, 6 and under all day long is getting a little tiring. I know some mom's do this all the time, and I'm lucky enough to only (only? ahahah) have 4 full time. This little guy I'm babysitting really is a good baby, yet I'm starting to notice that I just can't get the laundry done or meals or or or or.. on time anymore. Not that I was super at it before, but getting better. I feel like we're probably in a time of adjustment here though, and things will smooth out soon, I hope. My hubby is just about going crazy with all the chaos around here. He loves things orderly and clean, ya... not happening right now. Plus, I totally feel like I NEED to get the kids and myself out of the house everyday. Yet, I can't get anything done IN the house when we're out! So, solution? Here I sit, blogging!
Oh, very very cool. I won a pair of baby shoes online!! I can'tbelieve it!! I don't usually win things, and these shoes are sooo stinkin cute! I'm very excited!
AND, my sister had her baby last weekend, so I'm feeling like I need to be taking care of her too! Horrible birth, so much like mine with Levi... Poor girl.
To do list.
Wash dishes
Wipe down all counters and clear clutter
Wipe down cupboard fronts
Wash floor
Do about 23862378462 loads of laundry
Fold Laundry
Put laundry away (these last two seem to be a bit tricky getting done!)
Make bread
Make Pizza for supper, ham needs to be used up...
Cuddle with the kids, ready stories, ect
Spend time homeschooling
Ok, that's all the things that SHOULD be done TODAY. I don't think the bread will get done, but everything else really really needs it. There's SO MUCH more that needs attention too. I'm hoping to have a garage sale this weekend too.... call me crazy!
Later gaters
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Babysitting...
Well, I've now taken on the job of babysitting a little guy. He's 15 months old, so inbetween the ages of my two babies. Thus, part of the reason my blog is not updated.... 5 kids here, 6 and under! 3 in diapers... The past few days I've been trying to potty train Emily, she's 19 m now and seems fairly ready. My older two didn't train till near 3, so it's very new for me to try this early. So far, she's been peeing in the potty very well, so maybe we'll manage to train much sooner this time! I need to run here... I check my email and site's every day, but it seems so hard to get a chance to actually type on here. My main email-checking-time is when I nurse Nate (7m), so I only have one hand free. Laters Gaters
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
Oh my children bless me!
This morning when I sat down to check the weather online I saw that Larry had left up his morning scripture verses that he reads online. He had been reading Proverbs. I had heard a while ago an idea to read 1 chapter of Proverbs each day to your children, as there is 31 chapters, one for every day of the month. Since my children were sitting next to me practicing their reading I thought now was as good as time as ever. I wanted to explain to them why Proverbs is important, how Solomon had been given wisdom from God and much of Proverbs was writen by him. I asked them what they would do if God told them that he would give them anything in the whole world, what would they ask for. (I hadn't yet told them Solomon's response, I was curious what they would pick on their own) Kayla imediately said "God..." I thought maybe she didn't understand the question. So I asked again, a little differently and again she says "God..." So I said... "ok... so, what would you do with God then?" She just simply said "I would just sit on his lap and be with him" WOW Her heart is just to love God, I felt so blessed to have a child that feels that way towards God. I asked Levi then, not sure if he would just copy Kayla. He had his own thing. He said he would ask God to feed all the hungry people around the world so that no children felt hungry anymore" I was SO blessed by the responses of my Children. They both chose loving, over all else. They are amazing...
Friday, May 2, 2008
Reading...
I see in my first blog post I said my 6 yr old isn't reading yet. Well, he is now. Small words and easy to sound out words. He even has read words like Hungry and Smile!! I guess I was fretting. I feel so much better now that I'm seeing some results and I guess I have more time now then I did then. We're reading together most everyday and doing our homeschooling work books often. ahhh yes, I'm satisfied.
So many thoughts...
If I actually kept up my blog, I could probably get all my thoughts down, but just writing occationally, I tend to have so many "posts" in my mind that I just dont know where to start. I'll try a few brief things.
Homeschooling. We're doing half of gr1 this year and half next year with our 6 yr old. I'm amazing how little I'm doing and how much he's learning. Now, he is in kindergarten part time (just for fun) so he is learning there too. One of the gr1 mom's told me that her kids are actually behind him. But, that whole class is behind, I guess it's a hard class. Now, I had been tossing the idea up of just keeping him in school, he could be with his friends and have fun. And I'm so glad that I explored that idea. I think as parents we need to look at the whole picture, not just our ideals. I see some really good things about going to school. I just don't think I see it that way for MY kid. I think I've already blogged on that though. All this to say, I'm feeling more solid in my resolve to homeschool. I don't like the pressure of school at such a young age and it hasn't been good for his attidude.
My kids are so funny. Emily just cracks me up. She's got so much joy wrapped up inside her, I hope she never looses that. Today she was very proud of herself. I had sat down with her and looked through some books then gone into our other living room and sat with the older kids for a few minutes. Usually she just follows me where ever I go. She didn't this time, I sat with them enjoying the moment of not having her climb all over me, wipping snott on me and squeeling in my ear. Then I started to wonder, are those books really keeping her this happy for that long? We're talking maybe 5 minutes, which is a very long time for a 1 yr old! I kept thinking she would just walk in any minute, but still, totally quiet. Weird. Warning bells going off... Then I heard Nate crying, he'd been sleeping in the bassinette in that room. Ok... now I know she went over there and woke him up, I'd better go check, since I KNOW she's not reading books (duh). Me, being silly and trying to do too many things at once, had left out our hooked on phonics kit (which I never use btw, someone gave it to us, is it good?)and she had taken everything out!! A huge mess everywhere, including one of the tapes being unwound all over the living room floor! Her name means "Industrious" . It suits her... Truly, I feel like I just walk around after her and clean up in the wake of Tornado Emily. She's just so darn cute while she does it too.
Levi taken to thanking me that I'm alive. His best friends mother passed away in January. It didn't really seem to affect him that much as he only saw her a few times, they mostly played at school together. He went to her funeral with us but it still didn't seem to affect him much. I think it's starting to sink in. I feel so sad for his little friend. My heart just breaks for him.... It just doesn't seem fair.... I am glad that Levi is aproching this all with a thankful heart. Pray for this little guy if you think of it.
More rambling thoughts. This apple I'm eating tastes discusting. I've got a terrible cold right now, perhaps the apple is fine and it's just screwing up my taste.
Nate. He's 5 months old now, well, almost. I've felt so tired and worn down that I've almost considered quitting breastfeeding. Now, if you know me, you would know how shocking that is. I believe in natural! I'm all for babies nursing till they're 2, it's a wonderful bonding moment. But I've just had two babies in two years. I'm so tired. I'm so done. I feel like I'm spread so thin. So for now, I'm taking it one feeding at a time. I know I would always regret it if I stopped. I just wish I could feel ahead, instead of behind. I think on that note, I'll go fold some laundry. This has been lovely, writing for a bit. The big kids are outside on the trampoline and the babies are sleeping, at the same time, a miracle. Oh, Kayla's just come in fussing... *sigh*
Homeschooling. We're doing half of gr1 this year and half next year with our 6 yr old. I'm amazing how little I'm doing and how much he's learning. Now, he is in kindergarten part time (just for fun) so he is learning there too. One of the gr1 mom's told me that her kids are actually behind him. But, that whole class is behind, I guess it's a hard class. Now, I had been tossing the idea up of just keeping him in school, he could be with his friends and have fun. And I'm so glad that I explored that idea. I think as parents we need to look at the whole picture, not just our ideals. I see some really good things about going to school. I just don't think I see it that way for MY kid. I think I've already blogged on that though. All this to say, I'm feeling more solid in my resolve to homeschool. I don't like the pressure of school at such a young age and it hasn't been good for his attidude.
My kids are so funny. Emily just cracks me up. She's got so much joy wrapped up inside her, I hope she never looses that. Today she was very proud of herself. I had sat down with her and looked through some books then gone into our other living room and sat with the older kids for a few minutes. Usually she just follows me where ever I go. She didn't this time, I sat with them enjoying the moment of not having her climb all over me, wipping snott on me and squeeling in my ear. Then I started to wonder, are those books really keeping her this happy for that long? We're talking maybe 5 minutes, which is a very long time for a 1 yr old! I kept thinking she would just walk in any minute, but still, totally quiet. Weird. Warning bells going off... Then I heard Nate crying, he'd been sleeping in the bassinette in that room. Ok... now I know she went over there and woke him up, I'd better go check, since I KNOW she's not reading books (duh). Me, being silly and trying to do too many things at once, had left out our hooked on phonics kit (which I never use btw, someone gave it to us, is it good?)and she had taken everything out!! A huge mess everywhere, including one of the tapes being unwound all over the living room floor! Her name means "Industrious" . It suits her... Truly, I feel like I just walk around after her and clean up in the wake of Tornado Emily. She's just so darn cute while she does it too.
Levi taken to thanking me that I'm alive. His best friends mother passed away in January. It didn't really seem to affect him that much as he only saw her a few times, they mostly played at school together. He went to her funeral with us but it still didn't seem to affect him much. I think it's starting to sink in. I feel so sad for his little friend. My heart just breaks for him.... It just doesn't seem fair.... I am glad that Levi is aproching this all with a thankful heart. Pray for this little guy if you think of it.
More rambling thoughts. This apple I'm eating tastes discusting. I've got a terrible cold right now, perhaps the apple is fine and it's just screwing up my taste.
Nate. He's 5 months old now, well, almost. I've felt so tired and worn down that I've almost considered quitting breastfeeding. Now, if you know me, you would know how shocking that is. I believe in natural! I'm all for babies nursing till they're 2, it's a wonderful bonding moment. But I've just had two babies in two years. I'm so tired. I'm so done. I feel like I'm spread so thin. So for now, I'm taking it one feeding at a time. I know I would always regret it if I stopped. I just wish I could feel ahead, instead of behind. I think on that note, I'll go fold some laundry. This has been lovely, writing for a bit. The big kids are outside on the trampoline and the babies are sleeping, at the same time, a miracle. Oh, Kayla's just come in fussing... *sigh*
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Sick
Yeah, I got it. The cold of colds... it stinks.. well, no, actually, since I can't smell anything, I guess it can't really stink. I've writen ever so many blog posts in my mind and for some reason I feel almost like I'm accomplishing homework by getting them writen out on here. My cousin's blog has reinspired me. I'm not sure that would make him happy though. Well, I think this is it. My head hurts too much and Emily is screaming. Perhaps something interesting later. ahh life.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Funny Kids...
I over heard a conversation between Levi (6) and Kayla (5). Levi pulled out a Veggie Tales puzzle to work on, Kayla walks up and asks if she can help him with it, he says no. She says "But I really want to do some of it with you!" He replys "No, cause I really wanna do it on my own!" She says "ok... what would you like me to do, the big pickle, or the people" He says "oh, the pickle..." She's learned how to manage him I guess!
I've been organizing my pantry here today. I'm somebody that actually likes things SUPER organized, but because it does take so much work to get it that way, it's less then organized. Does that make sence? It's like my goals are too high, so I don't even try... Anyways, I'm trying to line my pantry up with my personal goals for it, lol ... So far, it's coming. I've most things where I want them, and with a nice lable on them on the shelf front so it stays that way. But, my labeling came to and end when I ran out of the tape to attach my labels. Levi had got a hold of my tape and was making grand creations with it....
Emily's (14 months) is finally getting serious about getting teeth. Untill now she's had 3, which took GREAT amounts of pain and suffering for months to produce. She's been the hardest teether I've had yet. Well, now she's working 6 teeth through at once! Maybe 7, one I can't quite tell because it's right next to another one. But all 4 molars are coming through at once. She's dealing with it much better though, then when the first ones came in, amazingly enough. Still, she's on the fussy side and is up some at night, but not like all night and super cranky all day.
I still have more thoughts on the whole homeschooling thing... I just need to get a quiet moment to write them down. Right now, it's not! And I shouldn't even be writing as much as I am, being that I hae 1 hour till supper time (it's in the oven thankfully, lasagna) and I still have the kitchen covered with the cupboard contents. Now to go rescue the screaming Emily. She was suppose to be napping...
I've been organizing my pantry here today. I'm somebody that actually likes things SUPER organized, but because it does take so much work to get it that way, it's less then organized. Does that make sence? It's like my goals are too high, so I don't even try... Anyways, I'm trying to line my pantry up with my personal goals for it, lol ... So far, it's coming. I've most things where I want them, and with a nice lable on them on the shelf front so it stays that way. But, my labeling came to and end when I ran out of the tape to attach my labels. Levi had got a hold of my tape and was making grand creations with it....
Emily's (14 months) is finally getting serious about getting teeth. Untill now she's had 3, which took GREAT amounts of pain and suffering for months to produce. She's been the hardest teether I've had yet. Well, now she's working 6 teeth through at once! Maybe 7, one I can't quite tell because it's right next to another one. But all 4 molars are coming through at once. She's dealing with it much better though, then when the first ones came in, amazingly enough. Still, she's on the fussy side and is up some at night, but not like all night and super cranky all day.
I still have more thoughts on the whole homeschooling thing... I just need to get a quiet moment to write them down. Right now, it's not! And I shouldn't even be writing as much as I am, being that I hae 1 hour till supper time (it's in the oven thankfully, lasagna) and I still have the kitchen covered with the cupboard contents. Now to go rescue the screaming Emily. She was suppose to be napping...
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Larry is home!
Yes, he's home and I'm so glad! I will be honest though... It's not like I was *happy* to see him go, but the change of pace at home here is nice. I hung out at my parents place more and make very lazy suppers. I did laundry till 11 something at night once too! I watched chick flicks over and over again, ones that he would have groaned at and made fun of. All that to say, there are fun things that you can do on your own! It IS nice to have him home now. Besides, the water lines are frozen and the garbage needs to be taken out. hahaha
I just watched the end of a favorite movie. The kind where the perfect couple get together, and kiss at the end. Levi was watching it with me and says "oh... they're in love..." I guess he's watched a few chick flicks with me, hahaha Then he goes on to say "Mommy, you and Daddy used to do that. You did that only once, then you learned better cause you got sick and you wont do THAT anymore!!!" TOO FUNNY! I guess he hasn't seen us kiss in a while... I really laugh at the conclusion our kids come up with. It's true that what we do tells them more then what we say.
Kayla just asked me "Mom, how come Emily can move so fast when she doesn't even have any candy?" Yes, our Emily is a busy one!
Bed time... Ok, why does bedtime have to be so crazy? We have a routine, and a regular bedtime, which helps, but they constantly attempt to break every rule. It was worse without a routine though. I say get in to bed... they run to the bathroom... I say go pee, they jump into bed and read a book... I say read a book before bed... They play with toys... I just don't get it! It's not like they're even doing bad things, just not what they're suppose to be doing. And I don't even care if they mix the routine up, but usually they go back and do something again or whatever. Then there's always the bed time snack and drink they beg for, even if we ate supper late and they just finished. They always assure me that they really are starving already. Enough.
I just watched the end of a favorite movie. The kind where the perfect couple get together, and kiss at the end. Levi was watching it with me and says "oh... they're in love..." I guess he's watched a few chick flicks with me, hahaha Then he goes on to say "Mommy, you and Daddy used to do that. You did that only once, then you learned better cause you got sick and you wont do THAT anymore!!!" TOO FUNNY! I guess he hasn't seen us kiss in a while... I really laugh at the conclusion our kids come up with. It's true that what we do tells them more then what we say.
Kayla just asked me "Mom, how come Emily can move so fast when she doesn't even have any candy?" Yes, our Emily is a busy one!
Bed time... Ok, why does bedtime have to be so crazy? We have a routine, and a regular bedtime, which helps, but they constantly attempt to break every rule. It was worse without a routine though. I say get in to bed... they run to the bathroom... I say go pee, they jump into bed and read a book... I say read a book before bed... They play with toys... I just don't get it! It's not like they're even doing bad things, just not what they're suppose to be doing. And I don't even care if they mix the routine up, but usually they go back and do something again or whatever. Then there's always the bed time snack and drink they beg for, even if we ate supper late and they just finished. They always assure me that they really are starving already. Enough.
Monday, January 28, 2008
What I did today...
Well, since I have the time... hahaha, ok, yeah, I don't have the time... But I'm bord, so I'm taking the time. Ok ok, what I was gonna say is, since I have the time (not) and this blog is kinda novel, I'm gonna post again today!
I washed our duvet today!! Yes, I did! Ok, this may shock some people, but I have not washed it before. I've washed the cover, and aired the duvet out, but not washed the duvet itself. So I did a little research online to see if I could, then went ahead and dumped in the washing machine! This is what the tag said "PROFESSIONALLY DRY CLEAN Brush with a soft brush between professional dry cleanings. Under NO circumstances should you vacuum, beat (I have), wash or attempt your own dry cleaning." HA! Well, I'm not sure why it's so bad to, it turned out great (till it explodes in our bed, hahaha) and according to most online, it's how most people clean thiers! I did use zero to clean it though, instead of regular soap.
So, today seemed like a bum day as far as major accomplishments, but I comfort (haha) myself with the clean duvet... The grand total for today was, washing the sheets, duvet cover and duvet. Vacuuming the kitchen floor (which already needs it again) . Picking up misc. toys. Nursing, a lot. Cuddling Emily, she's getting 5 new teeth, good grief... Making a dr's app. for Levi. Hmmm, and making this blog!
I also ordered a good food box. It's this neat thing my sister is organizing. You order either a large or small box. It contains fresh fruits and veggies, bought at a bulk produce place and you get them for about half price. It's kinda neat. I'm giving it a try. The only thing is, that you don't know what you get, till you get it. A few things will be in every box, but after that it's just whatever was a good deal. More info on her blog though.
Well, I think I should call it a night. I'm SO tired. I still need to pray with my big kids, Nate has just started crying again too, must be time to nurse!
I'm really looking forward to Larry getting home tomorrow... He's weather bound at his dad's place one more night. Chow :)
I washed our duvet today!! Yes, I did! Ok, this may shock some people, but I have not washed it before. I've washed the cover, and aired the duvet out, but not washed the duvet itself. So I did a little research online to see if I could, then went ahead and dumped in the washing machine! This is what the tag said "PROFESSIONALLY DRY CLEAN Brush with a soft brush between professional dry cleanings. Under NO circumstances should you vacuum, beat (I have), wash or attempt your own dry cleaning." HA! Well, I'm not sure why it's so bad to, it turned out great (till it explodes in our bed, hahaha) and according to most online, it's how most people clean thiers! I did use zero to clean it though, instead of regular soap.
So, today seemed like a bum day as far as major accomplishments, but I comfort (haha) myself with the clean duvet... The grand total for today was, washing the sheets, duvet cover and duvet. Vacuuming the kitchen floor (which already needs it again) . Picking up misc. toys. Nursing, a lot. Cuddling Emily, she's getting 5 new teeth, good grief... Making a dr's app. for Levi. Hmmm, and making this blog!
I also ordered a good food box. It's this neat thing my sister is organizing. You order either a large or small box. It contains fresh fruits and veggies, bought at a bulk produce place and you get them for about half price. It's kinda neat. I'm giving it a try. The only thing is, that you don't know what you get, till you get it. A few things will be in every box, but after that it's just whatever was a good deal. More info on her blog though.
Well, I think I should call it a night. I'm SO tired. I still need to pray with my big kids, Nate has just started crying again too, must be time to nurse!
I'm really looking forward to Larry getting home tomorrow... He's weather bound at his dad's place one more night. Chow :)
Trying out blogging eh?
I laugh at myself. Writing in a blog, what next? Sometimes I just have the need to vent about things. What things? Homeschooling... Homebirthing... God... Church... and many others, but those are my big ones. So here goes.
Homeschooling is most on my mind lately. I think I really suck at it, don't tell my ... umm, well, certain family members, they think I suck at it too!! haha Well, honestly, I'm not all that worried about sucking at it at this point, but I'm thinking I should probably get much butt in gear soon. But, there in lies part of my dilemma... I feel like I believe in two very different types of homeschooling. Once again I find myself wanting to straddle both sides of a very wide fence. There are they ultra relaxed unschoolers, that believe that mainly school is just taking a closer look at the real life around us. Well, that's a bit of a sterio type, but, that's my take on it. Then there's the super-homeschoolers that do everything right and are ready to enter college at age 9. Yes, ha, ok, at bit of an extreme there too. I can tell you honestly, that I have family members that sit on both sides of these fences, I'm blessed to be able to observe them. But where do I fit in to all that? I had rather hoped I would be a bit of a super mom and have my kids reading early, which I don't really agree with, but would kinda enjoy the ooooo's and ahhhh's over my kids being so "smart" (btw, early reading doesn't mean your child is smarter...It all tends to even out). But, here I sit. My 6 yr old is not reading yet. He maybe could, if we tried a little harder, but, HE does NOT want to try harder!! He wants to play! He wants to shoot guns, build lego, jump around and make loud fart sounds with his mouth behind our backs hoping to scare us! He's all boy. And many many studies say to not push boy's, they'll get it much better if you wait. My personal belief is to surround them with a rich learning environment, but not necessarily book work, and then they'll suddenly "get" it. I know, this sounds an aweful lot like unschooling...But, I really don't like the looks of many of the unschoolers I see to be honest. I see a lot of undisciplined (not behavior discipline, lifestyle) children, who really aren't learning all that much from they're environment, who wear pajama's all day, eat at random times and go to bed once they're exhausted, not at a bed time. Now, I can't say that I really think it's horrible to be that way, but what I will say, is that isn't what I want for my children. I think those types of unschoolers can still become wonderful hard working adults. I just don't want that for MY children. I feel like I struggle with an undisciplined lifestyle myself and I would like my children to have the advantage of some for themselves. But, is a disciplined lifestyle all it's chalked up to be anyways?? *sigh* dilemma dilemma... Really, there's no way of knowing. It's probably more about personality type then anything. I just have felt embarrassed when I couldn't get my meals on time, or or or... oh something. So right now, I feel like I do generally try very hard (for me) to have some discipline, it's just not really IN me very much. But, it is SOME, truly! Anyways, back to homeschooling. I'm at a point right now, with my children that I should be teaching them more, at least giving them that blissful learning environment I desire. It takes a lot of effort to teach, without uhh... teaching... I want the best for my kids, not to just float through life, I really do want to teach them. But, what? How? I do believe in education, and having well educated children. I want my kids to be able to pursue whatever they desire, having a high school diploma is important to me for that reason. So as much as I want them to be able to learn at their own pace, I don't want them to be behind either. Yes, straddling the fence.
So, what AM I doing?? We read, a fair bit. We're working on the Narnia Chronicles right now, they love it. We do math, but not much book work. More so just the math that naturally occurs every day. For example- "Kids, we're having company for supper, there's going to be 3 extra people, how many plates will we need on the table?" Then we'll say it in math terms "ok, so that means 4+3 =7, good!" They're getting good at addition in 10 and under. I really want them to feel comfortable in that area before moving on. We also talk about science things, how things are made, how things work, ect. Larry's good with letting the kids discover in the shop and figure things out. So, all in all, I personally feel we're actually doing ok with them. But so many people disagree, because.. they don't yet read! I think they'll read just fine, soon, and they'll enjoy it, because it wont be a battle. They love books now, so I think reading won't be an issue. I just get so tired of defending myself sometimes.... Then I question...
The one thing I really believe in, which we are doing, is enforcing chores. I think it's vital during childhood. No, not for free labor (although my 5 yr old thinks that the only reason I had children is so I had someone to vacuum the floor!! hahahaha! Without them, my floor wouldn't need so much vacuuming!) . But I believe that it's very important to teach children chores to build self esteem (being an essential part of a household) and self worth (they can do a very good job with simple chores and thus believing they are good at something!). I think it's important to learn to be responsible for yourself too, not relying on everyone else to carry you through life. Well, I should go, put a few of my beliefs into practice. There's so much more on this subject, I'm sure I poorly expressed myself. Somehow, we'll make it through homeschooling, unless, they go to school... which is a whole 'nuther post!
Homeschooling is most on my mind lately. I think I really suck at it, don't tell my ... umm, well, certain family members, they think I suck at it too!! haha Well, honestly, I'm not all that worried about sucking at it at this point, but I'm thinking I should probably get much butt in gear soon. But, there in lies part of my dilemma... I feel like I believe in two very different types of homeschooling. Once again I find myself wanting to straddle both sides of a very wide fence. There are they ultra relaxed unschoolers, that believe that mainly school is just taking a closer look at the real life around us. Well, that's a bit of a sterio type, but, that's my take on it. Then there's the super-homeschoolers that do everything right and are ready to enter college at age 9. Yes, ha, ok, at bit of an extreme there too. I can tell you honestly, that I have family members that sit on both sides of these fences, I'm blessed to be able to observe them. But where do I fit in to all that? I had rather hoped I would be a bit of a super mom and have my kids reading early, which I don't really agree with, but would kinda enjoy the ooooo's and ahhhh's over my kids being so "smart" (btw, early reading doesn't mean your child is smarter...It all tends to even out). But, here I sit. My 6 yr old is not reading yet. He maybe could, if we tried a little harder, but, HE does NOT want to try harder!! He wants to play! He wants to shoot guns, build lego, jump around and make loud fart sounds with his mouth behind our backs hoping to scare us! He's all boy. And many many studies say to not push boy's, they'll get it much better if you wait. My personal belief is to surround them with a rich learning environment, but not necessarily book work, and then they'll suddenly "get" it. I know, this sounds an aweful lot like unschooling...But, I really don't like the looks of many of the unschoolers I see to be honest. I see a lot of undisciplined (not behavior discipline, lifestyle) children, who really aren't learning all that much from they're environment, who wear pajama's all day, eat at random times and go to bed once they're exhausted, not at a bed time. Now, I can't say that I really think it's horrible to be that way, but what I will say, is that isn't what I want for my children. I think those types of unschoolers can still become wonderful hard working adults. I just don't want that for MY children. I feel like I struggle with an undisciplined lifestyle myself and I would like my children to have the advantage of some for themselves. But, is a disciplined lifestyle all it's chalked up to be anyways?? *sigh* dilemma dilemma... Really, there's no way of knowing. It's probably more about personality type then anything. I just have felt embarrassed when I couldn't get my meals on time, or or or... oh something. So right now, I feel like I do generally try very hard (for me) to have some discipline, it's just not really IN me very much. But, it is SOME, truly! Anyways, back to homeschooling. I'm at a point right now, with my children that I should be teaching them more, at least giving them that blissful learning environment I desire. It takes a lot of effort to teach, without uhh... teaching... I want the best for my kids, not to just float through life, I really do want to teach them. But, what? How? I do believe in education, and having well educated children. I want my kids to be able to pursue whatever they desire, having a high school diploma is important to me for that reason. So as much as I want them to be able to learn at their own pace, I don't want them to be behind either. Yes, straddling the fence.
So, what AM I doing?? We read, a fair bit. We're working on the Narnia Chronicles right now, they love it. We do math, but not much book work. More so just the math that naturally occurs every day. For example- "Kids, we're having company for supper, there's going to be 3 extra people, how many plates will we need on the table?" Then we'll say it in math terms "ok, so that means 4+3 =7, good!" They're getting good at addition in 10 and under. I really want them to feel comfortable in that area before moving on. We also talk about science things, how things are made, how things work, ect. Larry's good with letting the kids discover in the shop and figure things out. So, all in all, I personally feel we're actually doing ok with them. But so many people disagree, because.. they don't yet read! I think they'll read just fine, soon, and they'll enjoy it, because it wont be a battle. They love books now, so I think reading won't be an issue. I just get so tired of defending myself sometimes.... Then I question...
The one thing I really believe in, which we are doing, is enforcing chores. I think it's vital during childhood. No, not for free labor (although my 5 yr old thinks that the only reason I had children is so I had someone to vacuum the floor!! hahahaha! Without them, my floor wouldn't need so much vacuuming!) . But I believe that it's very important to teach children chores to build self esteem (being an essential part of a household) and self worth (they can do a very good job with simple chores and thus believing they are good at something!). I think it's important to learn to be responsible for yourself too, not relying on everyone else to carry you through life. Well, I should go, put a few of my beliefs into practice. There's so much more on this subject, I'm sure I poorly expressed myself. Somehow, we'll make it through homeschooling, unless, they go to school... which is a whole 'nuther post!
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