Brought to you by the letter ‘B’

This is a one of those waffling nothing kind of posts so feel to wander off if you get bored.Okay? But there’s a poll at the end, so skip the boring bits and go vote and comment! Oh, and did anyone notice that the last 7 posts all started with ‘B’? Or is it just me who notices things like that.

It’s 2:17 on a Friday afternoon, and I still haven’t done the dishes. Or the washing. But! I have just blitzed! the house. Well almost the whole house…I have cleaned three rooms, moved a bed, a bookcase and all the toys and vacuumed behind all the furniture in the bedrooms. You see….I’ve been creating a Play Room! No photos….because the boy is sleeping in there.

I’ve moved the single bed from R19months’ room into the big kids room. That room now has their bunks and a single bed, and a tall boy. I’ve moved all their toy drawers and boxes into R19months’ room which is now a play room except for when he is sleeping in there. The idea being that when he is big enough for a bed he’ll move in with the other two. Three kids sleeping in one room may sound crowded, but it a largeish room and if you just have the kids and their clothes it’s fine. All their toys and books will be in the other room.

So even though the rest of the house is a tip, it feels good to be clean and tidy in our bedrooms. A move around is always refreshing and inspiring. The older two are now having fun with the extra bed, and with long lost toys rediscovered.

The tidy up, clean up, get organised, get control of this disaster zone called my house bug has bitten me and I’m not finished yet! I’m taking a quick break and then it’s off to the kitchen, lounge and vacuum the rest of the carpet areas. If I have time I’ll also clean the bathroom and toilet and then I’ll feel like a million dollars ready to start the weekend!

Another piece of happiness is that we have our exemption. The one I was stressing about … That is, an exemption from the requirement to enrol E5 in a public school. So the application that I was so worried about has been approved, post dated to her birthday and has arrived a couple of weeks early. So we are officially home schooling now….the government has given us permission to teach our child. Pfft.

Oh, and in other news. I have a job interview on Wednesday. Eeeek! It’s been a while since I was in work mode… I’m planning to go back to work for a shift a week (nursing) for now, perhaps two in the future. We really could do with the extra money, and also if I leave it too much longer I will have to study again to keep my skills up to date. The advantage of nursing is that I can work shifts when D is home to look after the kids. Actually, it’s essential really….I don’t think child care centres take nearly 6 year olds! Wow. So I’m going to be working again.

I want to add a poll. Just because I can. And I’ll be the first to answer. Yes! I have secret ambitions. I’m a dreamer and I want to change the world. Or part of it at least. How about you? And don’t be shy to comment!

New blog

I’ve started a new blog: Sit Walk Sleep Rise. It’s a home schooling blog and will record our learning experiences, books we’re reading, play, adventures, whatever! It’s mostly for us and our children to look back on, (and also for me to have evidence that I have actually taught them stuff!) but may be fun for other homeschoolers or whoever to look at too. Feel free to pop over. It’s new and still needs a lot of work, so be kind now. Most of the posts are copied from here, so there’s not much new stuff yet.

God Defend Our Free Land

I have been becoming increasingly concerned with the state of affairs in our nation. After reading and about the Sex Education for Kindergarten Children in Germany (which lead me to this post worth a click too) and also the fact that it has outlawed homeschooling, I began to consider what things would be like in New Zealand if home schooling were illegal. Apart from the state already meddling in family life with the passing (despite clear opposition from the majority of Kiwi’s) of the ‘anti-smacking‘ bill, it would be a further step in the direction of state control. Maybe for now the impact on our children wouldn’t be that great (relatively speaking). But the inevitable result wouldn’t be very different from what is happening in Germany. Why do I think this? Because of similarities it seems in the philosophies of the respective governments. I thought it interesting to note the extreme state interference in the lives of it’s citizens, and it echoes of a tragic past in that nation. Does history have to repeat itself?

Shocked as I was to read about the depravity of the German educational brochures, it served to remind me that moral decline isn’t just a bit of liberal teaching here and there, or ‘innocent’ or ‘pragmatic’ movement away from the absolutes of God’s law. Once begun, it seems that the progression of evil is truly horrific and it’s a slippery slope for a nation to begin on that course of rejecting God and His Ways.

How I love our National Anthem and I’m sure I speak for the majority of New Zealander’s when I say “God defend our Free Land”!

“..if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)

Daily Routines

Ahaa…..I just had what some call a light bulb moment after reading this post from Tammy over at Just Enough and Nothing More. I was thinking along these lines just yesterday as i was considering how to develop a discipline in an area without overdoing it and ‘burning out’.

I’m good at this, which can be easily demonstrated by my short lived exercise campaign which started here and ended about 4 weeks later. I go so hard at it that I can’t maintain the energy required. The motivation wanes and I stop.

The post mentioned talks about doing a little of something everyday to keep the engine idling so that you’re already in the groove when inspiration/energy/passion strikes. This is a great lesson for me. In my tendency to go into something full bore, I run out of steam and rarely carry things through to a life habit or completed project.

I really don’t want to do this with my kids. I like what Tammy says:

The “idling” activities are like that. “Just come outside and play. Just do any one of your workbooks you want to, any page, any number of problems. Just sit with me while I read this outloud for two pages. No requirement to finish. No requirement to do “good”. Just do. Idle.”

There’s something to be said for having daily disciplines in place. Things that after a while become the thread of your life. The greater overall vision for my life will only be achieved by including these daily little things. For example, fit and healthy will only come about by a daily practise of a little exercise; Clean uncluttered simple home will only come about by a daily/regular habit of tidying up and getting rid of stuff we’re not using. But rather than trying to completely revolutionise my life in a day, I should just daily do something small whether I feel like it or not, and just maybe one day the inspiration will strike to do something amazing, and I’ll have the drive to get it done.

I Spy

Today in the car, E4 and I played our first game of I Spy. We had each taken a few turns and guessed each others. It was E4’s turn. She was saying the sound of the beginning of her word rather than the name of the letter so I took the opportunity to match the sounds to the letters. For example she’d say “something beginning with sss” so I would say” “Thats the letter S, something beginning with S. The sound is sss”

“I spy with my little eye, something beginning with fffff” she said.

I guessed a number of things like, fast cars, funny faces and so on. Finally I said “Fingers!”

E4 replied “No Mum, that’s uncorrect. There are lots of big ones around and it’s something for when you want to take a picture of something”

“Ahhhh” I said “Photos!”

We finished

I have just finished reading aloud The Magician’s Nephew by CS Lewis. It was the first chapter book E’s listened to, and it was great! She’s a little young really, and I think she missed a lot of the story, but she’s loved our reading times, and now we’ve started on The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

I’m so glad we attempted it because now I can have fun reading with her all those great books of childhood. When we’ve finished with The Chronicles of Narnia, I’ve got my eyes on some of Roald Dahl’s works, especially Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG.

My head is full of new ideas.

I love it that when you read something, it gives you thoughts you’ve never thought of before. That sounds silly doesn’t it, but really…I can almost feel my brain working and it hasn’t done much of that these last few years I’m sorry to say. It feels nice to make it think.

Things that are in my head are based around what I have been reading these last few days. I’ve just devoured When You Rise Up by RC Sproul Jr. I found it challenging, inspiring and it also confirmed in my mind many of the reasons I have decided to home school. There are a few paragraphs in the book that I disagree with (theology stuff) but overall sound and given me heaps to think about. I say “I have decided to home school” not because it has been only my decision, but because D is far less concerned with the details of it and much less analytical than I am. He’s happy enough to go with a conviction just because he thinks it’s the best thing to do. I however have felt the need to explore our conviction and know Why we do what we do. I think some of that will make a more quality decision and not something that is just a phase or a whim, and also, knowing the why’s will help me answer those who question. (Being the one who tends towards ‘people pleasing’ and wanting to blend in and all…I find it hard already when people ask when E’s going to start school. Being clear on why we are not sending her to school will help me answer that one.)

I never intended this to be a home schooling blog, and yet here I go again prattling on about it. I am finding that home educating and simply parenting, in my mind are becoming more and more the same thing. So much so that I don’t even want to use the terms home schooling or home education because it’s like saying water swimming. (OK…if that one doesn’t make sense, you’ll just have to gloss over it because although there is a point there, I’m finding it hard to make! It is late after all.) When I first considered home schooling probably 18 months to 2 years ago I used to say to myself and in conversation “Oh, I’m considering home schooling but I’m not sure that I’m cut out to home school” and now I see how I thought so differently then.

It just seems so normal to me now to keep my children at home and live life with them, teaching them as we go. Now I think that any parent is actually qualified to educate their children. Our parenthood; that in itself qualifies us. I see my children differently too. I am appreciating them for the blessings that they are to us and the incredible privilege and responsibility it is to have them in our family. I want to enjoy being with them (don’t get me wrong, I already do enjoy being with them) more and more. There seems to be something in our culture that tells us kids are an inconvenience and so often you hear mothers say they can’t wait to send them off to school. To me there is something very wrong in our families (and society as a whole) if that’s how mothers are feeling consistently. Of course we all have our days when we’d like some time away from them, but I’m talking about the pattern of our lives.

There’s so much more rolling around in my brain, but not formed into words yet. I’m sure there’ll be more on this subject.

Snowflake and Cookies

E4 loves to draw and/or write, and apart from starting to write lots of letters, most of her drawings are rather abstract. Here’s her latest drawing of a cat. She’s been watching an animated Stuart Little DVD and there’s a “learn to draw’ session on the special features. It shows you step by step how to draw Snowflake the cat. It’s the proud mother speaking here, but I think she did a great job. It’s made me wonder that maybe I just need to get her going by showing her how to draw certain things.

The other day she spent about an hour sitting quietly making these play dough cookies. She had such fun putting colourful heart stickers on the top which was entirely her idea and something I’d never have thought of. (After all, stickers don’t go on play dough, stickers go on paper don’t you know!)

We wrapped them up to keep them fresh and showed them to Daddy when he got home. The large one on the left hand side is especially for him. It was in the shape of a heart, but was a bit over handled.

Here I am

Did you miss me? huh? huh?

Nothing’s wrong. Just busy.

So a quick update:

• E is over her ear infection after we ended up starting antibiotics. She still can’t hear perfectly, so I really hope that clears up soon.
• D is looking for a new job
• B is fine…funny, cute, busy, noisy, messy
• R is now grabbing for toys, and showing an interest in trying to roll over (long way yet), and has started sort of sleeping through. (from 10pm till 5:30am and then back to sleep until around 8am)
• And me….well, thinking of doing a mini makeover in our kitchen and/or bedroom, haven’t exercised for a couple of weeks and feeling rather fat and grouchy about being fat and sick of not fitting my nice clothes, and still excited about home schooling, have a friends’ 2 kids here today, so I’m seeing what it’s like to have 5.

A rambly post about work and play and a whole lot of nonsense.

This whole Home Schooling thing has changed the way I approach my parenting. I’m not sure exactly what the turning point was or what made it happen, but lately I’ve become quite excited about the future, and hopeful for good times for our family.

Some of it is that in discovering that just because there are professional teachers out there it doesn’t mean I’m incapable of teaching my children (and that just because you can buy bread or pasta or crumpets, it also doesn’t mean I’m incapable of making them!). This has given me a confidence boost and I now take a greater ownership of all aspects of my children’s lives. As a result, I’m more mindful of how we do our day, what we talk about, and what I want them to learn.

In thinking about our days, I decided that if we are to do a good job of home schooling, something has to change. Not major things, just more predictability about our day. I have been thinking a lot about daily routines and I know that my children respond well to a planned/moving forward kind of day compared to the random/reactive day.

So often I find myself grumbling “Aaarrrgghhh…..the kids keep interrupting my housework!!” (or whatever else it is I want to do) and it struck me the other day that I have it all around the wrong way. Wouldn’t it be better to bemoan the fact that my housework is getting in the way of raising the children?? I’ve become so intent of late on getting things done and lost sight of the fact that it’s not the most important thing in my day. I don’t think the two are mutually exclusive, and I think that the day to day housework is an important part of the children’s day too. However, I tend to want everything to be done before we embark on something else. This is because of my mother’s insistence that we work first and play later. This is fine when you have a finite list of things which have to be done, but when you’re talking about being in charge of the house which has been sadly neglected for ages and there’s always something to be done. The work part could go on forever! And, as we all know, housework is really never done, so that leaves me always busy with something and when the kids want to do something with me, I’m always telling them ‘Just a minute’.

This has all lead me to consider that I’m just expecting too much to happen in a day. I’m going to try to forget about all but essential chores for the time being and try to learn how to have fun with my kids again.

I though it would be helpful to implement some sort of routine into our weekdays. Not a by the clock schedule, but more a predictable rhythm to the day so we all know what happens next. So if I plan what’s going to happen, I’m more likely to sit down and do something with them, or go out side and play with them. Hopefully it will all end up being more efficient too, because I won’t be feeling all interrupted all the time because the kids will know that there is work time and play time.

Oh, flip, listen to me… I’m such a controlly, legalistic, ten steps to a happier home, try harder and it will get better kind of person! I can see myself giving myself some more rules to live by here in this. Blah. Think I’m getting tired. I am wondering though… Are all daughters destined to become so much like their mothers? Arrrggghhhhh!