One Mother's Homeschool Days and so much more

January-March 2014

Where has the time gone.  I cannot believe how little time I have to blog.  I enjoy blogging but only when it's convenient rather than MAKE time for it in the past.  Plus I love looking back and be able to see where we were and how my family has grown and changed over the months and years.  The year 2014 has been full of life and I, along with my family are trying to enjoy each and every moment!

Our academic journey

2014 brings a new year for our homeschool.  This year I am schooling 7 children.  Our son will graduate this year and we have been blessed to add our niece Mauriela to our home, family, and our homeschool.  She fits in perfectly with my 5 girls.  And she is moving along very well with her cousins. And I'm sure that when the school year is over we will be sad to see her go.  However, there is a very big possibility of her return for her next year.  Back to academics.  We are keeping quite busy with 3 of the girls doing Sonlight, and 3 of the girls doing a more eclectic version of learning which includes ambleside online and memoria press! and LOTS of books from the library.  But neither is without our favorite tool for learning - our learning journals or common place books.  Here I am sharing some photos from some of their work.

My younger girls mapped out a route for a 'mock' trip.  We printed a road map of the state of Wisconsin and they located our city, then they chose a city they'd like to 'visit' and mapped out the closest route. They said though that the coolest thing about learning map work is learning that from East to West all major highways are an even number and all major highways from North to South are even numbers.  Fun little tidbits to know!

Here are a few from my older girls.  I love seeing the creativity that comes from each of them through their journals.  They are all so different and yet the same.  Full of fun and interesting learning.

Janai preparing a keyed map of earthquake zones.

I really enjoyed our study of the Netherlands.  The internet and the library are full of wonderful information.  Youtube has an incredible amount of videos on HOW the dikes work and how they are made.  Not to mention how windmills used to be used to divert the water and how they pulled it off. Very cool stuff. 

Here are some examples of my youngest girls' entries into their journals.

Mary's earthquake zones map.  We found a really neat printable online and they choose the colors of their choice to key in geographical areas.

Goals and or Ideas...With the addition of our niece coming in our home we have enjoyed redoing the girls' room.  We found really cool bunk beds online and they work perfectly for all 6 of the girls.  We ended up purchasing a full on full and one twin over twin.  The girls love them and are always switching up their sleeping areas with each other.  One would think having 6 girls in one room would be crazy but with ALL clothing downstairs in the laundry room and a walk in closet for all their "junk" it only leaves the beds and a table in their room with plenty of space left over.

I really enjoyed…Our small taste of spring.  Next week we are expecting cold weather again.  It's been a reeeeeally long winter.

Activities...I wrote a while ago that we were hoping to join the YMCA.  Well we did and we are really enjoying our visits there.  It's about 20 miles away so our days there are limited to only two or three times a week!  With such a long winter this year the swimming pool has been a huge hit to give the kids something to do.

What mother is wondering/thinking about...

 My favorite "Kids Talk Moment" When my daughter asked me if her puppy Saphira will go to heaven and will she see her ever again!  I love the sweet faith of a child.

What's cooking...Bread!!!  Every single night I begin soaking my whole grain flour in apple cider vinegar, butter, and milk and the next morning I add the remaining ingredients.  It's not unusual for me to make our own bread but these days I have an "extra fun" toy to make it even more enjoyable.  Last month I was very blessed to be able to purchase a Nutrimill grinder.  It is fabulous.  So much quieter and more efficient than my older one.  It's definitely one of the best ones on the market.

The simple life…Fresh whole grain flour, reading, writing, & arithmetic! I love the basics! Quite often, less simply is more.

Living with gratitude...As the photos clearly show we will be adding two babies into our family this year.  We are so very excited for Robyn and Luke, and Christie and Jeff as they each bring their first babies into the world.  Such huge blessings to say the least.

Robyn and Luke are expecting a girl in April

Jeff and Christie are expecting a boy in July

Favorite "Life with Kids Moment"

Walking through the room to go to the kitchen I said to Kaydee, "Good job Kaydee, you are really flexible."  Upon entering the kitchen I saw Kaydee stirring the oatmeal on the stove!  I stopped in my tracks, turned around and said, "Oh, Emma that was you.  Great job on your flexibility."  I love having TWINS!!!

What Mother is reading

Here is a short description from amazon.  Click on the link below to read more.  It really is an enjoyable read and very informative.

Free Range Learning presents eye-opening data about the meaning and importance of natural learning. This data-from neurologists, child development specialists, anthropologists, educators, historians and business innovators-turns many current assumptions about school-based education upside down. The book's factual approach is balanced by quotes and stories from over 100...to read more about Free Range Learning go HERE

Some photos to share.  I've said it a million times.  I love looking at their faces and seeing the interest they show while reading a good book or having an interesting conservation.  They engage themselves fully and it makes me feel like I'm doing my job.  The job I've assigned to myself years ago -  to give them the gift of loving to learn.  Not just 'doing something' because they have to but because they want to.  And of course it helps a ton when the work they are required to do is interesting and not boring and dry.

Some random pics from our "school days"

Tips or advice.  My kids love the library.  We always have.  But what I love is watching my kids choose what interests them.  Of course they have their "required" assignments of reading and study but seeing them in their element is what brings my joy.  Joy in knowing they are pursuing their loves and interests.  Not just with books.  But life in general.  Then I try to feed that passion if I can.  

While I'm speaking of books!  I love using whole, living books to learn from.  The stories are enjoyed while at the same time facts are learned.  And having them journal their reading and learning is the icing on the cake.  Truly brings home a lesson.

Pictured below are a pile of books belonging to my 13 year old daughter.  She is really, really interested in midwifery!  That's what makes being a parent fun.  Is watching their children grow into themselves through their loves and passions.  And a plus is that through homeschooling they also have the benefit of time on their side.  It's so great that they finish their assignments in good time because then they have the time to pursue their own interests and passions and don't have to worry about keeping up with dead lines and assignments from outside sources. 

Praying for...My kids as they work through our loss.  How do I even express the sorrow and sadness of our last weekend.  Our sweet puppy was caught in a trap near our home.  We were hoping that it was one of those things where the vet would clean her up and send her home but we were sadly mistaken.  The end result was we had to put her down.  My heart was broken for our puppy and especially so for my kids.  They were so attached to Saphira and our weekend was full of more tears, hugs, and cuddles than we've ever had before.

A couple kids got up early the next morning and this photo pretty much shows how our weekend was spent.  The girls especially just wanted/needed to be held.  It's Tuesday and and we are just now starting to see things turn around with them.  It was a very difficult time!  Saphira will be extremely missed.  She was basically our first dog so she was much loved.

We snapped a photo of Saphira on the way to the vet.  She was so calm.  Poor little thing.

One Mother's Homeschool Days

For October 2013

Our Academic Journey

Because as we all know learning never really ENDS but there does come an end to certain terms of study.  In our case everyone is now finished with their Sonlight.  Having begun in January and ending the year a week, two weeks, or three weeks ago depending on the kid!  From now until sometime early next year our schedule will look slightly different than it did over the last year. I began Living Books Curriculum with my two youngest and Makenzie decided she wanted to move on to her next year of Sonlight rather than waiting until January! (I secretly think she is hoping to avoid doing Latin! Not so!)

Continuing our Math (everyday)
Latin and French (everyday instead of only once or twice a week)

Copy Work (everyday)
Literature (everyday)

History, Geography, Nature/Science/Poetry/Art/Music once or twice each week

A couple learning journal photos: Parts of a flower and Johanne Sabastian Bach

It's amazing to me that once the reading 'clicks' how quickly a child can breeze through a book.  Mary is doing very well with her reading and is nearly finished with her McGuffey third reader! Her favorite readers are the Pathway readers!  

When one twin does math the other does math! Definitely two peas in a pod!

Tips or Advice-There is just something special about reading aloud to your kids.  If I could offer one word of advice I would say, especially at this time of year and all the wonderful choices of Christmas stories that you choose one and snuggle down with your loved ones and enjoy some special time together.  I'm sure including some cups of hot cocoa will bring it all full circle!

Goals and or Ideas-My goal is to have ALL my Christmas shopping done by Black Friday.  No, I do NOT go shopping on that day and I don't think I have ever gone on that day so how do I finish so soon?  Online shopping!  It is the BEST.  I've done it for many years and I love it.  The best part of all is that I rarely have to endure any shopping except for groceries.  And much of the time daddy does it for me after work while he is still in town.  I simply love winter time and the slow flow of life!

I really enjoyed a 3 day weekend away with our daughter Kim.  She had to work in an out of town store a couple weeks ago. Her company paid for the hotel and travel expenses.  The hotel was great! Kim had to work all three days which pretty much left me to myself but HELLLLLLOOOO, wasn't that the idea in the first place?  I missed my family here at home I have to admit but spending alone time with Kim and also by myself was great!  I shopped, read, worked out, watched a couple movies, and played beauty shop for a couple of hours messing with my hair and face.  Which by the way, is something I NEVER hardly ever do.  Probably because there is no time, hence, my time in front of the hotel mirror.

Gypsy dress up!

Activities-Nothing in particular but in our house activities of some sort are buzzing around me all the time.  Kids are never without ideas when it comes to thinking up of things to do with their time.  Our days include the following in no particular order and no particular person: baking a treat, chores, wii,  drawing/painting a picture, singing, playing the piano, practicing yoga, zumba, games, hanging upside down on the pull bar, weight lifting, scrap booking, sewing, crafting, dress up, hair styling, girls doing each others hair and with 6 girls in the house there is ALWAYS some kind of primping going on. And this is just a few of the indoor activities!  And the list goes on.......

What mother is reading: I've had my NOOK for a couple of weeks and really enjoying it.  I am in the process of reading Mama's Bible (about a family going west on the Oregon Trail.) right now and look forward to choosing one of the many titles I've got on it.  I downloaded the amazon reading app on it which is where most of my books are from.  I am amazed at how many .99 books one can find there! But as a family read aloud we have begun Treasures in the Snow!  Awesome winter time/Christmas book!

What mother is wondering/thinking about: The question is what isn't mother thinking about?  It is that time of year.  With Thanksgiving and Christmas on the horizon we also have 8 birthdays coming up from December 8th to January 6th.  To put it one way..... I feel so very blessed!

Favorite "Life with Kids Moment" and/or favorite "Kids Talk Moment"

A favorite kids moment was when Kim was upstairs getting ready for work and Mary slammed the stair door shut.  But why would that be funny?  Well, because the door had no handle on either side meaning Kim was stuck upstairs!  I called Kim on her phone to give her a heads up so she can plan an escape route in order to not be late for work.  Next thing we hear her running through the hallway and down the stairs yelling "NO, NO, NO I have to leave for work in 5 minutes.  What am I going to do?" The scene unfolded with kids on one side of the door trying unsuccessfully to help her escape and Kim on the other side freaking out about being late to work.  I really think it was a "Had to be there" thing to really appreciate the humor in it.  Gregg saved the day by eventually prying it open with a knife and telling his sisters in his most bossy, manly voice to STOP CLOSING THE STAIR DOOR!

A favorite life with kids talk: Some of the kids were talking about atoms and eventually the conversation gravitated to HOW you should say the word 'atom.'  Is it pronounced ADAM, or would you say ATOM emphasizing the T? The conversation went on and on until one of them decided it was time to move on and said, "Besides, who sits around all day talking about atoms anyway?"  Emma's reply: HOMESCHOOLERS!

Praying for Gregg and the healing of his eye after surgery.  He has keratoconus in both eyes and we were so blessed that the surgery on his right eye went well.  After a couple of months of healing we will have his other eye done.  So far the doctor is well pleased with his healing and we pray it will continue to do so!

What's cooking: Bread, rice, beans mostly.  And lots of blueberry muffins!  I found an awesome bread machine at a thrift store for only 10.00.  What a deal.  I would rather NOT use a machine for my bread but sometimes life just says I need to!  The crock pot is getting used much more with the onset of cooler weather and waffles for dinner made from my homemade whole grain waffle mix!

The simple life works great for me.  Once the weather cools off my (our) favorite thing to do is stay home and enjoy reading the warmth of a cozy fire and lots of together time.  To me the simple life means: basic and nutritious dinners, tea parties with hot cocoa, reading out loud to family, playing games, and limiting computer/movie time!  Thank goodness for passwords!

Living with gratitude: This may seem a silly thing but I'm loving my Nook tablet HD.  True, it's not an iPad, nor is it the biggest of the nook tablets but I am loving my little, itty, bitty Nook that has my favorite app.  The Kindle app where most of my books are through!  But at the end of the day my gratitude will always be for my children, husband, home, and faith.  They surpass ANY and ALL of the toys available in the world.

Fun photos to share-My girls have decided they love shooting the bow!  I would love the opportunity to have them take some lessons.  I'll have to look into that!

More than enough pumpkins!

One Mother's Homeschool Days

First 2 weeks of September 2013

Our academic journey

Since we school year round our lesson year doesn't necessarily end or begin at a certain time of the year.  Mostly it depends on what is happening in our lives at any given time.  Because as we all know - living is learning.  That's why I like to create 36 week schedules because we can easily stay on top of what we are doing without really losing where we are at. When the current 36 weeks are complete we take a small breath and ease our way into the next 36 week schedule.  That said, we are now in week 33 of Sonlight.  

Tips or advice

Something I have learned from having a large family is learning to roll.  I'm sure even if your family isn't as large as ours is you still know how to do that!  The thing with me is is that it seems I am always rolling.  Jumping up, rolling, and jumping up again.  And on and on.  With families, there is always something to roll with and the better us moms can do that the better.  I kind of think it's "yoga for the mind" since your mind is constantly being stretched.  How about you?  Can you roll?

Goals/Aspirations/Ideas

Our family has decided that we want to give pressure canning a try.  I've canned tons of fruit, quick breads, and jam but never have used my pressure cooker.  This fall, according to daddy we plan on canning 100 lbs of potatoes.  On top of that we want to try canning chili, beans, and spaghetti sauce. The girls are going to jump back into drying some fruits and making fruit leather.  Wish me luck.

I really enjoyed

Spending a day at the range with my girls.  Attending the range often for practice and hands on learning has brought both confidence and increased ability in their training.  I have listed what I believe are 5 of the most important rules to remember when handling them.  These 5 "must be's" cannot be drilled home enough.  Drill, drill, drill!  My girls have experience in the use of firearms and each time we go I see their abilities and skills sharpen. 

Teaching personal responsibility.  The five most important "knows' for gun safety.

Activities

We had a fun day trip to Madison to meet up with two of my sisters, a niece, and my mom!  They were in Iowa visiting a sister and we decided to meet up halfway for lunch and to hang out for a few hours.  It was a ton of fun!

 Dad, mom, and 7 of our kiddos!

 My niece Gaila and Kimmy.  They haven't seen one another in like 10 years!

What mother is reading

Sometimes I actually surprise my self and pick up a book to read "just for fun" and this week I have been reading the Home to Hickory Hollow by Beverly Lewis.

What mother is thinking/wondering about

Planning a small getaway for our anniversary which is the 19th.  Not sure what we will do yet but I can guarantee you that I am thinking/wondering about it!  It's wonderful having an adult daughter in the home who is willing to take over for a couple of days.  (Thanks Kim)  Hopefully I'll figure something
out soon.

Favorite 'life with kids' moment
mommy/makenzie moment

Praying

I love having a prayer journal.  Or in reality, it's a list I keep with me both on my phone and on paper with specifics on what and who to pray for.  It helps so much to keep up with both my personal prayers and prayers for that of my loved ones.  Key work - "specific" because when I feel like I am targeting something in general in my prayers it makes me feel a closeness to the Lord and I almost feel like I am more inspired this way!  I will share though that I am directly praying for Pres. Obama.  Because at this critical time he really, really, needs some inspiration from above.  And I have to say that I almost pity him for being in the situation he is in.  So thankful it isn't me!

What's cooking?

Lots of egg dishes.  Mainly quiches.  So easy and so good for you.  The picture shows my 5 gallon bucket that I make my pancake mix in.  I found writing the directions on the bucket makes for easy mixing for the kids.  Waffles and pancakes are a favorite anytime of day around here.  Leftover waffles are the best.  Some of the kids will simply eat them like bread.
12 cups flour-I use whatever flour I have on hand and I usually triple the recipe.  Buckwheat, wheat, spelt, unbleached white flour, cornmeal and rice are my usual choices.
2 T. salt
3/4 cup baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
4 cups powdered milk-I do not use this.  Instead I use milk in replacement for the liquid which would be one cup.
Mix all ingredients together well and store in airtight container. Use recipe below to mix.

Simple highlight of my weeks

Mary and I found this hoodie at the thrift store.  To many, DUKE has no meaning but to my daughter Kim who recently lost her dog Duke it means a lot.  She was so excited with my find! 

 Living with Gratitude
So very thankful for some friends who invited us to come pick up some felled trees from a storm.  They also allowed us to cut down some others as well.  Our woodshed is nearly finished and it's only September.  We had an OOPS moment this week.  One of the trees we were cutting down ended up landing on our truck! THAT was a complete bummer!  Damage wasn't too bad but still it hurts!

Fun photos to share

Our last time at the lake for the year.  At least for swimming!

 Drinking the colors of the rainbow.  Isn't it pretty?  For this recipe I juiced beets, carrots, apples, cucumbers, lemons, pears, ginger, and spinach.  A tip - adding lemons is key in being able to enjoy this mixture.  Otherwise, when juicing beets one gets the idea you are eating dirt!  The lemons mask it well.