The Well Rounded Mama

Time With Your Kids

Thank you so much, everyone, for your comments and private emails regarding my post about the desire to talk more about parenting.  I still feel shy about it, but as I have been praying the prayer, "Lord, break my heart with the things that break yours" I always come back to parenting.  I know I struggle so much and I know that so many others also struggle with this eternally-important task.  As much as I am afraid -- I am definitely not one from drama and controversy -- I need to speak out.  There are children's hearts at stake  and I want to do all I can to play my part in living out the Titus 2 command.  Imperfect, yet heartfelt. That I can promise.  And so I begin...

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Our generation is misguided.  Somehow, we have allowed ourselves to believe that there is a debate raging.  It is a “quality versus quantity” debate regarding the time spent with our children.  The battle lines are drawn as we ask the question,  “Is the amount of time we spend with our kids that is important or is it the quality of the interaction that counts?” People choose their sides and then fight in word or deed to defend their position. Stay at home moms judge and belittle working moms for the number of hours they spend away from home.  Working mothers tout the, “all she does is sit around and eat bon bons” line. Women are naturally defensive and we feel the need to rattle off any and all reasons why we -- and the life we lead -- are “right.”

There is a fundamental problem here, moms.  There is no real answer to this debate because there is a major flaw in the question itself. It really isn’t a question at all.  Good parenting is not about quality versus quantity.  I firmly believe that you cannot have one without the other and still consider yourself to be fully engaging in the act of parenting. Quality without quantity and quantity without quality are both equally dangerous and misguided.

Let’s look at two extremes of the two sides.

“Quality Time” mom:

Mom A is adamant that it really doesn’t matter how much time she spends with her daughter as long as when they are together, they make it really special.  She loves her daughter and believes that quality relationships will be built with quality time.  Mom A works a full time job outside of the home and when she gets home at night she is either busy taking care of the home, making plans for dinner, or running her daughter to various practices and programs.  Weekends are spent on various projects around the house, visiting with friends, and trying to get in a few minutes of down time as she gears up for another work week. Mom A feels good that she is exposing her daughter to lots of things and is proud that her four year old is in ballet, takes violin lessons, is at the top of her group in swim classes, and always gets good reports from the day care center. 

As busy as Mom A and her family are, she prides herself on their two yearly vacations as family.  Two times a year they get away as a family (and often with friends) and “do it up” at places like Disney or a huge water park. Those weeks, Mom A believes, are crucial to the family relationships and she feels confident that although the family doesn’t get much time together during normal weeks, these two weeks are the roots that will nourish the family in the following months.

“Quantity of time” mom:

Mom B is in a totally different situation. She spent her childhood years dreaming of getting her MRS. degree and having babies.  She never had longings for career and status.  Being a mom is what she wanted to do.  And that was that.  Mom B now has three children, age five and under.  Parenting has been a harder task that she had anticipated, and yet, she prides herself on her commitment to her kids and her willingness to be a stay at home mom.  In order to “stay sane” she likes to keep herself busy having coffee with friends, organizing play dates, watching the Food Network, and making sure the house is clean. While she does these things, the kids stay occupied with their video games, DVD player, and toys.  In fact, they have an entire room on the other side of the house dedicated to the many toys and activities they have purchased for the kids. When her kids ask her to “do something with them” she usually says she is busy or comments about the fact that they are together all day and “Mommy needs a break.”

Hopefully it isn’t hard for you to see the severe problems in both of these situations.  Mom A has convinced herself that a few big and expensive trips will make up for all the hours that she is either at work or that her daughter is in activities. Mom B things that since she is home all day together with the kids she doesn’t have to actually engage in activities with the kids -- that’s that the video games and toys are for.  After all, she is busy keeping the house clean, right?

My point in all of this is that there really isn’t a debate.  Both quality and quantity of time are necessary parts of parenting. Mom A is deceiving herself if she truly believes that a few nice vacations and perhaps the occasional movie night is going to build a deep relationship with her daughter.  Mom B, likewise, is deceiving herself if she thinks that her title as a stay at home mom will earn the love and respect of her children. 

I do want to emphasize at this point that this is not an issue about working mothers or about homeschooling mothers.  There are two women in my life that I strive to model myself after in my mothering.  One of them has seven children and has homeschooled for most of the last 15 years.  The other mother has three children and has worked, at least part time, for most of their childhood.  Both of these women are AMAZING mothers and both of them have AMAZING kids to show for it.  The thing that these two women have in common is that they both are intentional about spending time with their kids engaged in quality activities. Like I said, it isn’t an either/or debate. We, as mothers, need to invest both quantity of time and quality of time.

So how to we do this?

We have to be intentional about it.

Tomorrow I am going to share some ways that you can be intentional about spending more time with your kids and some ways that you can be sure the time you are together is meaningful and quality-filled. Time with our children needs to be plentiful, purposeful, and intentional.  Let's strive for it together.

A New Favorite

I have a new favorite photo.  My little girl -- maybe my last little girl -- who loves to grab onto the bottom of my legs and hold on for dear life as I drag her around the house trying to do whatever I need to do. Life with little ones goes so fast and I want to soak in and enjoy EVERY. SINGLE. MINUTE.  Even if it would be easier to get housework done without a 20 pound ankle weight.

My Mother's Macaroni & Cheese

 

My mother is a dump cook.  But she is a very, very good dump cook.  I am not actually sure I have ever seen her measure anything. She just throws stuff in a pot or a bowl and voila! Out comes perfection.  I LOVE my mom's food.  At college I spent many days dreaming of "mommy food."  There is something so wonderful and so comforting about foods made by mom...especially MY mom.  She cooked a lot. And when I say cooked, she really cooked.  Not like the preparing done by many people using prepackaged and frozen foods.  She did most things from scratch and although the food was basic (just the way we liked it) it was mouth-watering delicious.

So, I knew since I was in high school that the one thing I wanted from my mom for a wedding gift was a cookbook of all her recipes.  Now, I use that term lightly since she just throws in whatever is around.  But, in her love for me, she tried to watch herself and make some guesses and the result was a cookbook that she gave me on my wedding day.  I love it...it is in her handwriting and it contains my very favorite foods...spaghetti sauce, french toast, roast beef, and macaroni & cheese.  Oh that macaroni & cheese!  Heaven. On. Earth.

There is one problem though...my mom made the cookbook using a book that had reusable pages.  And over the last ten years the cookbook has been used and abused and I can barely see any of the recipes anymore.  Exhibit A:

Yea, that is no camera trick or spot focusing.  That IS my recipe for Mac & Cheese.  Kind of hard to see, huh?

And so, I have decided, to slowly start redoing these recipes (and our other family favorites) and start putting together a pictorial book for me and for my kids.  Each child will then be able to take their "mommy" food with them wherever they go.  I sure have appreciated it and I hope they will too!  And, since I will be writing them out anyway, I might as well share some of them!

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Now remember, my mom is a dump cook.  Everything is approximate and it tastes best that way!

My mom's recipe calls for 4 cups of pasta and 4 cups of cheese in a 8x10 pan.  I was only making an 8x8 pan so I went with 3 and 3. 

3 cups elbow macaroni

3 cups grated cheddar cheese

milk

flour

butter

salt & pepper

1.  Cook macaroni for half as long as directions on the box/bag call for.

2. Grease and 8x8 pan and add half the cooked macaroni.

 

3. Sift a little flour over the the macaroni (here is where her non-measurements get a little tricky.  I just do a light layer over all of it).

4.  Add salt.  Again, a little ambiguous, don't you think?  I just lightly salt at this point so that after it is cooked, people can add the salt they like. But definitely don't miss the salt...it totally brings out the flavor!

5. Add 1/3 of the cheese.

6. Add the rest of the macaroni on top.

7. Add some cut up margarine/butter (aren't her directions to die for??  I just do a few globs here and there)

8. Top with the rest of the cheese

9. If desired, sprinkle a little paprika over the top of the cheese.

10. Pour milk over the top of the cheese and macaroni until you can see it coming up the sides.   

11.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and is just beginning to brown.

12.  Serve and enjoy! (I am not sure what tastes better..the fresh out of the oven variety or the leftovers the next day!)

I love to talk about parenting (but am often scared to)

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am passionate about parenting.  I am pretty sure that I could talk about it all day, every day.  I love to talk about the hows, the whys, the do’s, the don’ts and everything in between.  If there is one subject that can get me excited as the cliche kid in a candy store, it is parenting. 

However, I don’t often talk about it.  Well, I do, but if you realized the TINY fraction of time I talk about versus the time I think about it/want to talk about it, I really can say I rarely do it.  It is a like a fire burning inside of me and yet I have so few people and so few places where sharing is possible/appropriate.  I want to share, but I don't. I suppose the reason is because, well, I am scared.

At first I was scared because I didn’t have kids.  Sure, I worked in professional childcare (with high potential/underachieving teens and then later with international students).  Sure, I had a degree in psychology and was one class short of a certificate in youth ministry. Sure, I had a lot of ideas about parenting and child-rearing and have read countless books (some of which I agreed with and some that I did not). Without the experience, though, I was afraid that no one would want to listen to anything I had to say.

Then I had a baby.  And I was still scared to talk about parenting.  The few times I did open my mouth I was met with stares that said, “Ahem, yea, you have one little kid and your parenting ideals won’t stand the test of time or the test of the two-year-old will.” I was smack dab in the middle of using my parenting philosophy on my own child, and even though I was feeling successful and proud, I knew that most people thought it was just a matter of time before I changed my tune. I often heard the comments, “You sure are lucky to have a daughter that is so good.  Just wait until the next one!” or “You’re in for a hellion next time!” or my personal favorite, “No one gets that lucky twice.”

And then I had another baby.  And another.  And another.  And while each child has had a different personality, we have worked hard to apply our parenting philosophies and intentions to each of the kids in a way that would best meet the needs of that individual.  And you know what?  It seems to be working.  Our kids are far from perfect, but we are pleased.  Jason and I are working as a team to intentionally raise these young ones in a way that will prepare them to enter the world as responsible, kind, informed, and loving young adults. Jason and I have spent many, many hours about our parenting philosophy and ideals and 95% of the time we are on the exact same page (the remaining 5% most often relates to me being overly uptight about noise and messes and him being the cool dad who doesn’t mind cleaning up the tornado that follows the kids around).  A lot of talk and a lot of action...and we are seeing the results.

So here we are, seven years and four kids into this journey and I still want to talk about parenting. I want to talk about the passion of my heart.  I want to share the things that are working with us, the things that we want to improve upon, and the ways we seek to fully embrace this amazing and totally chaotic time in our lives.  I want so much to help other young mothers in this journey.  I want to remind them that this time in our lives is hard. It may be is tiring and filled with snot, spilled milk, and tears (the kids’ and ours!) and yet, it is eternally significant.  What I do (or don’t do) really does matter.  It does make a difference.  It it something worth talking about, striving for, praying through, and improving upon.

I’ll let you in on a secret, though.  I am still scared.  I am still scared of offending people.  I am still afraid that people will see me as arrogant, misinformed, “lucky,” stupid, mean to my kids, and selfish. I am afraid that people will think we believe that our way is the only way to do things.  I am afraid that my heart for helping other moms will, in effect, hurt others.  I am also afraid that people will think that we have the perfect kids or that I am a perfect mom.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I am just a mom with four little kids who wants to be better every day and who wants other moms to strive for the same.

And so, with much hesitation,I think I will start sharing more....a little more in depth and more often than I have in the past.  If nothing else, it will be good for my kids to be able to read someday.  They will one day be able to see that the choices we made and the struggles we encountered were real, and that we sought God’s wisdom and strength as we worked through them.  I hope though, that it can be more than that.  I hope that something I say can be of some use and/or encouragement to other mothers out there. I want women to know that they are not alone. I also want them to know that it truly is possible to enjoy this time of life, even amongst the endless piles of laundry, food that has to be scraped off the floor, and the unwritten toddler/preschooler rule that states that mom is not allowed to sit down for more than 2.5 seconds before another demand request is made.


I am setting my fears aside and choosing to write about parenting, but please know this:

1.  I don’t believe that our way is the only way. I have friends who I respect and women I admire who choose to approach parenting from a very different perspective.  I am not saying that every way is right, but I am also not saying only one way is right.

2. I believe that there are biblical parenting issues and personal preference parenting issues.  There is a difference.

3.  I firmly believe the the words of Proverbs 22:15: “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child...” That is to say that I do not believe that kids are capable of being perfectly behaved and/or making wise choices at all times. However, I DO believe that kids can must learn to be obedient, kind, thoughtful, respectful, and self-controlled and it is the parents duty to model and teach these behaviors.

4. I don’t believe that parenting is always instinctual or that it comes naturally for every person.  Just like playing a musical instrument or having any sense of direction is not natural for me, parenting may not be natural for you.  With enough time, effort, and determination anyone can play a musical instrument and anyone can be a great parent.  Some people just have to work harder than others. This may be due to many reasons, including a poor example from one's own parents.

5. I don’t think mothers go into this role with a realistic enough picture of what it is going to be like. Part of this is due to starry-eyed naivete and some of it is due to the utter failure of older women to live out Titus 2:3-5.

6. I approach parenting from a conservative Christian perspective.  Those who are not believers would have no reason to agree with me in many areas of parenting. I understand and respect that.

7. I make mistakes.  ALL. THE. TIME.

A Third of the Way There

When I chose my Word for the Year -- RUN -- it was a proactive choice.  Unlike years past, when I felt "the word chose me", I really wanted to choose a word that I could DO something with.  A word that would inspire me, push me, and make me take the desires and plans in my heart and run with them. Most of my life has been spent living the quote,

"The road to laziness, unfulfilled dreams, guilt, frustration, the status quo, ___________ (you fill in the blank with an appropriate word) is paved with good intentions."

Intentions get us nowhere, except perhaps to feeling good that we thought we would like to change/do something/be better.  But if we never do anything about those "desires," they really just do us a disservice. Without action, the intentions of our heart mean nothing.  I had to really embrace this truth.  Satan would love us to think that wanting to do the right thing is enough. And for so long, in so many areas, I have let myself rest in the fact that I want to change. And that is gotten me....absolutely nowhere.

So as I chose the word RUN this year, I was making a conscious choice that I would move from desire and intention into ACTION. There were (are) a number of areas that I wanted to target. I am taking them one or two at a time so as to not burn out. As I find consistency in those areas I can add in more.  I will RUN this year.  I will fight to be who I long to be.  I will trust in the strength and wisdom that God provides for me.  If I want to run, how much more does God long to see me live out HIs heart in my life?

All of that was just an intro to say that I am one third of the way through Reading the Bible in 90 days!  Before the new year, I saw it mentioned on a few blogs.  Since saturating myself in the Word was a desperate cry of my heart, this seemed a great way to do it. I was very dehydrated as far as time in the Word goes. I knew I needed to be refreshed but never really had a plan and a purpose in it.  Therefore, it never happened.  I had a number of experiences, too, when I was praying to God, seeking His will in my life, and rather than giving me the answers/direction I wanted, I just felt his voice saying to me, "Saturate yourself in the word."  And that is what I really wanted -- I wanted to let the "Word of Christ richly dwell within me."

And here I am -- one month later -- seven chapters into 2 Chronicles and in awe of the magnificence of the living Word. It hasn't always been easy, but I have seen some amazing benefits of reading the Word like this. Here are a few reasons why this has been a positive experience:

1. When you are reading large portions of Scripture like this, you can't miss a day.  Well you can, but it is then awfully hard to catch up!  With normal "Read through the Bible in a Year" programs, missing a day (about 3 chapters) is no big deal.  The problem is, one day turns into two, and two into three, and so on.  And then most people quit.  With this program, for me, skipping is just not an option.

2. When you read at this speed, the unifying themes of the Word are more clearly seen. You see the same commands, problems, sin, and triumphs repeat themselves over and over again.  You get to take a step back and see Scripture in the larger picture -- as a whole.  It is a completely different view!

3. With massive amounts of the Word coming in such a short time, it is much harder to distance yourself from the stories.  I have spent a month reading about horrific wars, famine, greed, sin, overwhelming grace, love, and humility.  I can't read for 10 minutes and step away. I often find myself really trying to come to grips with the horror of death and disease that was a daily plight of the Israelite people.  We think our world is going through hard times now -- but then -- oh my!

I can't wait to continue in my journey!  I am excited to move into the books of poetry and see the heart of David and the prophets pour out.  After reading Genesis - 2 Chronicles, I am humbled and heavy-hearted over the sin of the Israelite people.  I am also heavy-hearted over my own sin and lack of repentance.  But as I move into new books I am anxiously awaiting the promises of the hope in God, the praises of His people, the cry of repentance from Isaiah and Jeremiah, and the blessings of obedience for the Israelites. Oh...I can't wait!

My Little Girl is Seven!

 

It is so hard to comprehend the fact that I have a SEVEN year old.  On the one hand it seems like just yesterday that I brought her into the world, and on the other hand, we have done so much and been so many places that it seems like she has been with us forever!  What I do know is that the last seven years have been so incredibly amazing...thanks to this little one and her siblings that followed.  Being a mom -- while being tiring, frustrating, overwhelming, time-consuming, and heart-wrenching -- is the most amazing, laughter-filled, encouraging, awe-inspiring, and humbling thing I have ever done.  There really are no words to describe it.  It took us a number of years and three miscarriages to get to this little lady.  And she has brought SO MUCH into our lives.  We are so very blessed!  HERE is a really long account of the little girls real birthday!

And now I have a mommy confession to make.  Up until this year, I have successfully talked Alaina out of a friend party every year.  I know.  I am bad.  I am horrible.  And I am selfish.  One, I want to celebrate as a family all alone and two, friend parties scare me.  The planning and the prep are just fine, but the actual running of the shin dig?  Well that's another story! Each year she mentions a  party and while I never say no, I always manage to find some other idea that I know she can't resist.  And so, for seven years, I have never had to throw a birthday party for a room full of girls.  Sure, we have had families come over and celebrate with us but that is totally different than invitations, decorations, and food!  But this year, Alaina really wanted a party and my mommy guilt set in (even as I offered her some other tempting options) and I finally said, "Let's do it."

I asked her what kind of party she wanted (I really needed a theme to work with) and she settled on a little bakery. So we  made some invitations and I knew there was no backing out! Because I work best under pressure, I really didn't have any solid plans until....oh, about two days before the event.  And I had no plans for decorations until....oh, about four hours before the event.  Yea, me and procrastination go hand in hand.  That said, I DO think things turned out great and Alaina said many times yesterday, "This is the BEST birthday EVER!"  I am SO glad my little girl loved her big day!

We had four activities:  we made chef hats, we put together cookies in a jar (for the girls to take home), they got to throw plates of whipped cream at Jason (Alaina's request!), and we decorated cookies. Then there were cupcakes (white cake with seven minute frosting) and Fanta Floats and lots of giggles and playing and being girls!

 
 

Last Week In Pictures

Here are some pictures from last week...another great week of school.  Another 5 days to enjoy being with my kids, seeing them learn, seeing them struggle (and overcome!) and hearing the giggles and the questions and the outlandish statements.  I LOVE these little people!

Levi playing with dominoes (scanning, counting, and matching)

We are waiting on Alaina's new math book to arrive so in the meantime, we are taking some time to learn about different kinds of graphs and charts and the information we can get from them.  We did bar graphs, pie charts, and line graphs. It's interesting to me how much I learn and understand when I try to teach.  Obviously, I know how to read a graph.  But when I had to explain it to someone else, it made me have to put words to their differences and when you would want to use each.  For example, bar graphs show relationship of items/amounts,  line graphs show change in items/amounts, and pie charts show percentage of items/amounts. 

A throwback to eight grade English!  To this day I still have, "Lolly lolly lolly get your adverbs here" running through my head! Alaina needed to work on parts of speech and truly understanding them, so I downloaded some Schoolhouse Rock from iTunes and then we read stories and worked on identifying parts of speech. (Language arts).

I made a "finish the word" game for Caleb to help him see how the same letters can form different words and also so he could pay close attention to ending sounds in words.

A little shape time for Caleb

A quick little "follow the path" maze I made for the boys..helping the little piggy find its way home.  (tracking and fine motor skills)

Alphabet time for Levi

Cutting practice is one of Caleb's favorite activities, so we do it 3 or 4 times a week.  I just draw different paths to cut on various kinds of paper (cardstock here). I can't believe how much his fine motor control has improved!

I have been working with Levi on senses and understanding how they work individually and how they work together.  We did various activities like playing "I Spy," doing a hearing test, smelling foods while blindfolded, and the kids' favorite, a blind taste test. (Science for Levi, but everyone else joined in).

Now that Alaina has button sewing almost perfected, we moved on to backstitch.  She's a natural! (domestic education, fine motor skills)

We are continuing our study of Kenya with lots of stories, interesting info, and some fun projects.  Here the kids are "hiding in the jungle" with the African tribal masks they made.

So, as you can see, we are still having lots of fun together, and hopefully learning a lot along the way. But most of all, at this age, I want to instill in them a love of learning and a curiosity about the world around them.  I want them to love to learn.  If I can develop that in them, then it doesn't matter where we live, where they school, or who teaches them...the love of learning will be there and they can take that love and discover and uncover anything they want!

The Best...or the Craziest

So the other night we were declared "the best parents in the world."  Well, to be honest, Jason was declared "the best dad in the world" but I will do my best to ignore the apparent oversight and trust that my kids DO realize that I had something to do with the day. 

So, back to being the best.  Our kids think we are. I suspect some adults would think we are the craziest.  You decide...

It all started with a cupcake.

I saw some photos of a family movie night on another blog and I just ADORED the cupcakes she made for special treats.  And I LOVED that they looked really easy...as well as totally amazing. We're a huge spaghetti loving family and after seeing a few other people try the rockin' cupcakes, I knew I wanted to try.

I'm not a huge fan of family movie nights, though.  One, our kids are still just too little to sit through a movie and actually watch (Katie especially thinks that everyone is just waiting to be jumped on.)  Two, I understand that watching a movie could be relaxing, but I like our family nights to be DOING something together...interacting...playing...laughing.  

That said, I decided I would come up with some fun activities with the theme of spaghetti.  We would then eat a yummy spaghetti dinner and enjoy the special dessert.

First game up: find the buttons in the spaghetti bowl.

Miss Katelynn's turn

And after her mess, the kids decided to help clean up

And then in the next moment, all plans for other games and activities flew out the window.  Jason had an idea and was armed with a bowl of spaghetti.

 

Next up...Alaina

And then the Beaver

And then the little princess

 

And they loved eating the mess...and begging for more

 

More "cleaning"

And they were a mess.  And the room was a mess.  And we were declared the best parents in the world.  Oh wait, that was just Jason. I don't get any words of affirmation for doing my very best to not say a word about the mess or the length of time it would take me to clean it up or about the other games and activities I had planned. Doesn't matter...they had fun.

And then I got the joy of throwing spaghetti in his face.  He didn't dare return the gesture.  I can dish it out but I can't take it.

And then the hour and a half cleaning party began while the kids played in the bath and I worked on the spaghetti dinner. New noodles, of course.  And these yummy breadsticks.

So...are we the best or the craziest.

Perhaps a little of both.

Good thing we don't have carpet.   

It was too long for Facebook

I tried to post on Facebook, but apparently my wordiness this Wednesday morning surpasses the character limit for status updates.  So here you go...

I will cherish today. It is the only one I have.  I want to soak up all that it has to offer...all the snuggles, all the kisses, all the teachable moments.  I have been given a gift to raise these four children.  They look to me to provide a living example of all I try to teach them. They need to SEE love and selflessness in action.  They need to HEAR kind and healing words spoken.  They need to FEEL my arms around them and feel kisses on their foreheads. They need to SMELL and TASTE good food that is made with love and that will fill their tummies. They need to KNOW that I truly believe that being a mother is the best thing in the entire world. This may be the hardest job I have ever done but there is none more important.

Back in the Swing of Things

I never intended to take three weeks off of school. But with Jason home for the break it was just too nice being a family and being able to go and do whatever we wanted.  We enjoyed a glorious three weeks doing lots of cooking, fun activities, great day trips, and lots of snuggle time. I have a little guilt about not doing "school" -- but not to much! Home education extends much farther than planned "school" time.   It was a great mental break for me -- just not having to worry about planning and prepping.

This week we were back into things full force, though. I'm really happy with the balance we have found in our homeschooling schedule and I am really looking forward to this semester.  Each of the kids are blossoming in their own special ways and it is so fun to see.

Here is our first week back in pictures.  A few things to note:

1. I apologize for the picture quality.  My camera is almost completely dead and one of its most frustrating ailments is that my automatic focus no longer works.  Manual focus + moving kids just don't mix. I am hoping that someone can bring me a new camera from the States!

2. Although it looks like we just do "fun" stuff, we also do more "regular" schooling activities like reading together, math work, Bible time, etc.  I just usually share pictures of some of the extras and/or the way we beef up what we are doing because that is what people seem to be looking for.  I get emails all the time asking about what kinds of activities they can do with their kids.

3.  You will also notice that we do things that are really about home education, not just home school.  We want to educate the entire child and that involves more than typical academic subjects.

4. Levi wears his basketball outfit any chance he gets.  The moment it is dry on the line he pulls it down and changes.  Therefore 75% of pictures of him show him wearing his too-small outfit.

Matching upper and lower case letter (aassessing Caleb's recognition of letters as well as engaging him in searching/scanning)

Block towers (demonstrating cuteness to the total extreme)

Putting together a pasta alphabet (scanning and searching as well as a great fine motor skill activity)

Making life-size versions of themselves (Levi is learning body parts -- elbows, shoulders, ankles, etc. so all of the kids did a bunch of body related activities together.  I like using the older ones to help the little ones in what they are learning).  

Getting ready to teach Alaina how to sew on buttons (and knot/finish them at the end). (Domestic arts as well as fine motor skills)

Not bad for her first try!

Chocolate pie making (I think I would just rather eat her! She is so delicious!)

Alphabet puzzle (learning to recognize lowercase letters)

I just gave Alaina some colored papers and some scissors and told her to make a flower.  I just love seeing her creativity explode. Can you see the "storm" she created with the dark cloud and rain? (art, creative thinking, tactile work)

Matching numbers to animals (counting, pairing items with numerals, indulging his undying love for all animals)

Later in the week he used the same animal sheet and counted off the animals using an abacus. (Counting, tactile stimulation, object to number correlation)

Drawing family pictures (working on drawing people with specific features, showing relationship between size)

Estimation and measurement of water (Measuring, guestimation, sensory activity)

A new verse for this week (Bible, memorization skills).  We have also started on the catechism for young children.

It just makes me smile (Levi had a pictorial list of all the features he had to include on his person)

Caleb and Levi got to make their own sandwiches for the first time (I will not raise boys who don't know their way around a kitchen...and you've got to start simple!  It's not that I think men need to be fabulous cooks or that cooking should be part of their family responsibility -- though if they enjoy it, it can be -- but they DO need to know the basics.  I worked with a teenage boy once who was supposed to be helping me in the kitchen.  I gave him the easy task of making buttered toast.  A few minutes later I smelled a burning smell and realized that he was buttering the bread before it went into the toaster! So come on moms...let's save our future daughter in laws the nightmare of a helpless man in the kitchen!)

Many tears were shed over this writing assignment (her attention span does not last longer than about ten minutes and this was easily a 30 minute assignment.) (Language arts expository writing).

In Social Studies/Science we continued on our trip around the world, this time landing us in Kenya.  We're excited for the next few weeks as we learn about African animals, the Kenyan people, and the ways that we can be involved in helping the poor and needy (we're already donating money to the Kenyakidscan feeding program and we are looking into sponsoring a child through Compassion International or World Vision).

And for my own brain stimulation I tried my first Sudoku puzzles (while I am waiting on the kids to finish up assignments).  I can see why people say these things are addicting! 

So that's it...our first week back.  Feels SO good to be back in the swing of things!