The Homeschool Mother's Journal & Giveaway

Here is a little bit of what has been going on with us the past two months:

In our life:

The first theme in our lives lately is BABY. We are all about the Baby around here these days. (Yes, there is spit up all over my arm; I didn't realize that until later.) I, personally, could do nothing but STARE and GRIN at him all day long.

Do you blame me?

I love this picture Ryan took because it really shows what our lives are like right now. I was under the covers, reading a book to Sissy. And Baby is between us, content as can be, with the covers up to his chin, his little face peeking under the book at the camera. He's just always right there in the mix.

The other theme of the past two weeks has been "wrapping things up." With the end of every activity ending, I feel that much lighter. I am relieved to be jumping into the car less and less. Co-op, Awanas, art class, preschool, and soccer are all finished. One more ballet class. My 7 year old will continue to have track practice for awhile, but this is very laid-back/non-mandatory.

Awanas Awards Ceremony

last soccer game this season for Sis

last soccer game this season for Dash

Questions I have:
How does my family continue at this pace we've been living? How does everyone/anyone do it? How can you find the perfect combination of activities to stimulate, challenge, and prepare your child without giving up your family time and sanity? Are my children just going to remember their mom constantly declaring, "Let's go! Come on! We're late! Hurry! Now!!!" So what has been on our minds lately is how to achieve a pace that we are more comfortable with. It's hard to know what has to be sacrificed.

I'm Reading:
7 by Jen Hatmaker. I absolutely loved it. My favorite genre of books to read is modern autobiography, and my 2nd favorite genre is Christian advice/encouragement so this is the perfect combination. I'm encouraging my husband to start reading it because I think everyone should read it.

I am reading The Explosive Child by Ross W. Greene. Child #2 is responsible for this coming up in the reading list.

I told Ryan that now I understand how he feels about watching Illinois games with the kids. Because this week the kids and I watched an episode of Little House on the Prairie together for the first time! :) I started reading the series with them recently, and they love it! We did Little House in the Big Woods partly as an audiobook in the car and partly read at home (because it was too frustrating for them to wait until we were in the car again to find out what happens next). We are almost through Little House on the Prairie, and they ask constantly to read more. I had always looked forward to reading the series to my daughter, so I am thrilled that the boys are so into it. They talk about it all of the time - my dream come true!


In our homeschool:

My 7 year old's Thinking Skills class had been preparing for their play this semester. He was a knight.

They performed it the night of the highschool drama class play.

Tornado has taken two art classes this semester. One weekly art class was for any child with special needs in the community. This was sponsored by Community Connections, which has really been a blessing to us. They are growing and really offering a lot of possibilities for our kids. The other art class was once a week at our homeschool co-op. He really enjoyed this, too! On the last days of both classes, the kids all had a chance to display their art for everyone to admire.

 his clay Perry the Platypus

The Little House books have also triggered more of an interest in their Lincoln Logs. I realized how little they had ever played with them because I had to really give them instructions on how to make it work. This is a nice challenge for them to figure out. They also love playing "Little House on the Prairie." They have these long pretend sessions, including Baby Brother in the role of Baby Carrie. And the other day I was the neighbor Mr. Edwards, but I think I overplayed it by singing "Old Dan Tucker" one too many times for their liking.

Quotes to share:

My 5 year old, regarding my elliptical trainer: "Why did you buy this if you're never going to use it?" Ouch.

I was telling the kids a story and referred to "my brother, Matt." My 7 year old said, "Why did you say it like that? I know who Matt is." Then a few seconds later, he added, "That was weird."

I'm grateful for: (continuing on toward my goal of 1,000 gifts...#381-400

our new Ikea organizational furniture, a nice weekend in Dallas, art classes, Community Connections, my son's very fun birthday party, my kids' co-op teachers, our co-op leaders, my daughter's preschool teachers, the sweet friends she made this year, my new phone, my baby's smiles, my baby's giggles, a fun end-of-the-year homeschool party, our upcoming backyard project, my upcoming trip adventure, my dad who loaned us his trailer this week and then hauled off some junk for us, my mom for cooking for us on Mothers' Day, Mexican food, the huge mess currently in my hallway that signifies an hour of fun pretend play by my kids, greens from my dad's garden

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share:

I am hosting a giveaway for Rudi's Organic bread. This includes 2 free loaves of bread and a bunch of art supplies. The only requirement for entering is leaving a comment. Click here to enter!

The Homeschool Mother's Journal

Weekly Wrap-Up