So many thoughts about life are "a-whirling" around in my head. Where to start?
A couple of weeks ago I did some serious spring cleaning (6 month purge). I removed from our house bags and endless bags of stuff. I'm talking a MASSIVE house purge. Actually it was all good stuff. In the fall I had done a serious purge and gotten rid of the junk. What was left was the good stuff. However, I realized that just because it has value doesn't mean it needs to sit in my house collecting dust. So I got rid of our excess. I got rid of the things that while good, were beyond on needs and wants. For example I removed clothes, shoes, books, games, decorations, sheets, towels, kitchen utensils, pans, etc. If we didn't use it or if I had say 10 spatulas when I could get by with 4 I put them in my thrift pile. (Which was the size of my living room).
Now the kids can close their dresser drawers. They each have a couple pair of pants-nice ones, church ones, and jeans, 3 or 4 collared shirts, 5 or 6 t-shirts, 1 pair old tennis shoes for working, 1 pair of nice ones for regular, etc. etc. I have two brown skirts, two black skirts, 2 pairs of p.j.'s, and on and on.
"That book was nice, but gee I haven't read it again in 5 years. I think I'll give it to the thrift store for someone else to read and benefit from. That's a nice classic. It's an easy read. Not a favorite or one we really need to study. I'll chuck it and then when I need it I'll just get it from the library." Thus some of my thoughts.
I found myself desperately wanting to get rid of our excess to bless others lives. In return I found that I was freed up! I have less to dust, less to straighten, and less to put away. I'm not overwhelmed when I open a closet now. There aren't 8 extra pairs of twin sheets ready to fall on top of me since they are just shoved in the closet. I know exactly where things are. I am finding that I'm taking better care of the things I have. When it's toast I'll just replace it because I know what I actually need!
I'm not overwhelmed with cleaning. I'm freer to spend time with the kids and really play and really learn. Very empowering. I challenge anyone to see what they have in their house that they really don't need. It's like our house had a bi-pass. That drastic. Do it, I dare you. (P.S. My husband and my kiddos LOVE it, and we haven't missed a single thing yet).
Other thoughts. We recently - a month ago- stopped buying milk, bread and cereal from the store. You see I have more time and I'm not overwhelmed. So we've made lots of homemade cereal and lots of yummy whole wheat bread. I've always made hot breakfast and bread, but this is serious now! Sandwiches on home made bread, that's a new one. We are cooking a lot more things home made and we are going to the store a lot less. Olivia made home made whipping cream today just because we can.
Go green? Well, I think I might have the bug a little. Over the last three weeks we have started walking everywhere. Yep that's right. (That helps that going to the store to buy milk-who wants to carry that home?) That's including church. I need to state that we live in a very rural town. So it's not like things are super far away. Our piano teacher lives two miles out of town. I've been teasing the kids that they better work up their muscles because in a month or two we are hiking out there baby! Yesterday I had to help at a funeral and it was windy and rainy. I also had a salad with dressing to get up to the church. So I figured it I could walk then I would be able to walk in almost anything. So I did and I survived it. Go figure? Two months ago I'm sure I wouldn't thought I wouldn't have made it. So no scheduling in the treadmill to "work out" I'm just going to stop being lazy and work out all day long. "Pioneer Children Sang As They Walked and Walked and Walked....." The kids and Alex are super troopers with this as well. They think it's kind of fun. They might not have liked the rain storm yesterday though. What do you think?
I recently read a post here that has really got me thinking about the "stuff" that we surround ourselves with. I love her ideas about having kids do real life things. I'm anti-craft. I've always thought they were pointless. I'm so happy that someone is validating me!!! haha So we make, build and create things that serve a purpose in our lives. That includes real life math problems and real life books that teach real life problems. Sewing projects that are gifts. I'm loving it you know. She also has some other really good things to say. Check it out.
That's enough for now. I don't want to shock anyone. But seriously let's think about it. We are the laziest people (Americans) in the world. We drive everywhere, buy everything, do busy work worksheets, and make trinket junk. Let's ask ourselves why? We were born to create and serve. Let's remove the junk from our lives so that we can fill the full measure of creation!
Thoughts please. : )
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Week in Review: March 21-27
Family Scriptures: Jacob 1-5. Each member read personal scriptures everyday.
Weekly Scripture Memorization: D & C 18:10
Theology: Readings out of Gospel Principles.
FHE: Sermon on the Mount/Beatitudes
Family Reading: Finished Percy Jackson #4 and #5. We also listened to 2/3 of Alice in Wonderland while traveling.
Music: Daily piano practice, piano lessons. We are writing verses to Follow the Prophet for Book of Mormon prophets.
Math: Money Management Concepts. Negative and Positive Numbers with graphing. We spent a lot of time on this concept. Even Caleb was understanding it. Percentages.
Discussion Questions: Did God really harden Pharaoh's heart? What can we learn about leaders for today from the stories of the Bible? What is abortion? What is Universal Health Care?
Biology: Puppy care. We also went to a dairy and watched a calf birthed!
Biography: Several latter-day prophets.
Goals: Weekly goal planning session held.
PE: Working on the land. Picnicking. Walking everywhere in town we go. We also have taken our horse out off her winter holiday and she is being worked again.
Clubs: Clover buds, Pine Wood Derby and Activity Days.
Caleb: Caleb is making great strides in his reading. He enjoys reading out of the Book of Mormon Reader. He is still in a solid core phase however there is "an awakening" finally beginning to emerge. He is starting to ask questions and wants to do harder things.
Luke: Luke is working on A Wrinkle In Time. We released everyone from their stewardships and issued new ones. Luke is now in charge of breakfast. He is thrilled about this and his finding it easier to get up in the morning!
Jared: Jared is still trudging away with Peter and the Shadow Thieves. I think he is getting faster. His new stewardship is lunch specialist. His core behavior is excellent which is a miracle since only 3 months ago it was in dire straights. He has worked hard (and us!) and he has learned his limits, made adjustments and created personal systems for success.
Olivia: Olivia is almost finished with Horatio Hornblower. She's worked hard on a lengthy paper about Dolly Madison for her Commonwealth class. She is continuing to refine her home making skills. She made two hats this week. She is now dinner specialist and is excited to cook a variety of things. She attended two scholar classes.
Deanna: I didn't want to read anything but Percy Jackson to the kids! We read extra this week. We even read until 11 PM a couple of times. I finished the History of the Peloponnesian Wars by Thucydides. I'm working on some quilting projects. I am also working on several other home projects. I survived being in charge of the Pine Wood Derby and a Clover bud meeting.
Alex: He is busy hitting the campaign trail. He read Doing Business the Mormon Way. He is has listened to half of Team of Rivals a book about Abraham Lincoln. He is busy working hard for our family!
Weekly Scripture Memorization: D & C 18:10
Theology: Readings out of Gospel Principles.
FHE: Sermon on the Mount/Beatitudes
Family Reading: Finished Percy Jackson #4 and #5. We also listened to 2/3 of Alice in Wonderland while traveling.
Music: Daily piano practice, piano lessons. We are writing verses to Follow the Prophet for Book of Mormon prophets.
Math: Money Management Concepts. Negative and Positive Numbers with graphing. We spent a lot of time on this concept. Even Caleb was understanding it. Percentages.
Discussion Questions: Did God really harden Pharaoh's heart? What can we learn about leaders for today from the stories of the Bible? What is abortion? What is Universal Health Care?
Biology: Puppy care. We also went to a dairy and watched a calf birthed!
Biography: Several latter-day prophets.
Goals: Weekly goal planning session held.
PE: Working on the land. Picnicking. Walking everywhere in town we go. We also have taken our horse out off her winter holiday and she is being worked again.
Clubs: Clover buds, Pine Wood Derby and Activity Days.
Caleb: Caleb is making great strides in his reading. He enjoys reading out of the Book of Mormon Reader. He is still in a solid core phase however there is "an awakening" finally beginning to emerge. He is starting to ask questions and wants to do harder things.
Luke: Luke is working on A Wrinkle In Time. We released everyone from their stewardships and issued new ones. Luke is now in charge of breakfast. He is thrilled about this and his finding it easier to get up in the morning!
Jared: Jared is still trudging away with Peter and the Shadow Thieves. I think he is getting faster. His new stewardship is lunch specialist. His core behavior is excellent which is a miracle since only 3 months ago it was in dire straights. He has worked hard (and us!) and he has learned his limits, made adjustments and created personal systems for success.
Olivia: Olivia is almost finished with Horatio Hornblower. She's worked hard on a lengthy paper about Dolly Madison for her Commonwealth class. She is continuing to refine her home making skills. She made two hats this week. She is now dinner specialist and is excited to cook a variety of things. She attended two scholar classes.
Deanna: I didn't want to read anything but Percy Jackson to the kids! We read extra this week. We even read until 11 PM a couple of times. I finished the History of the Peloponnesian Wars by Thucydides. I'm working on some quilting projects. I am also working on several other home projects. I survived being in charge of the Pine Wood Derby and a Clover bud meeting.
Alex: He is busy hitting the campaign trail. He read Doing Business the Mormon Way. He is has listened to half of Team of Rivals a book about Abraham Lincoln. He is busy working hard for our family!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
A Spring Picnic
Today Olivia asked if we could pack a picnic and go to our land. So she packed us up a lovely lunch. We walked over there and enjoyed our 82 acres with a picnic by the slough. The water isn't turned on yet but there was still some left over water that the dogs thoroughly enjoyed playing in.
We at a very nice lunch followed by several chapters of reading in our read a loud. (Percy Jackson #5). While they played Robin Hood, Percy Jackson, Horatio Hornblower, World War II commando raids and the Horse Whisper (that was Olivia) I sat and leisurely enjoyed my "light read" of The History of the Peloponnesian Wars by Thucydides.
Truly, can life get any better? Simplicity in life pays huge dividends.
We at a very nice lunch followed by several chapters of reading in our read a loud. (Percy Jackson #5). While they played Robin Hood, Percy Jackson, Horatio Hornblower, World War II commando raids and the Horse Whisper (that was Olivia) I sat and leisurely enjoyed my "light read" of The History of the Peloponnesian Wars by Thucydides.
Truly, can life get any better? Simplicity in life pays huge dividends.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Week in Review: Missoula's Childrern Theater
Here's what I remember that we did. I'm sure I left out lots.
Scripture Study: Family: 2 Nephi 30-33, Jacob 1. Each individual read their scriptures everyday.
Weekly Scripture Memorization: Mosiah 2:17
Theology: Several chapters in Gospel Principles.
Family Read: We started and read half of Percy Jackson and The Labyrinth.
Music: Daily piano practice and piano lessons.
Math: Money management skills, addition, and fractions. Lot's of Lego's.
Cultural Arts: This week the kids tried out for the Missoula's Children Theater. They were able to each have a part in the local production of The Pied Piper. The kids worked hard all week and then performed twice on Friday.
Biography: Heber J. Grant and Ezra Taft Benson.
Goals: Weekly Goal Planning Session Held.
Projects: Dejunked more of the house. I'm amazed that we still had more to dejunk. We attended a ward social for dry-pack canning. Lot's of fun! We did some and helped a lot of others with theirs. We also helped a family move and unpack in our town as a family. Feeding puppies. Now that their is sun and most of the snow melted we are starting to plan our garden. We will be gone for a couple of weeks this summer to Washington, DC and so we are figuring out when to plant things so they aren't ready while we are gone. We've also checked out our 80 acres to see what projects we plan to do this spring and summer.
PE: We have made a new goal to walk everywhere we can and we have for one week now! Lots of walk to the school for play practice. Lots of ping pong and some Wii Cardio.
Caleb: Caleb's reading is really taking off! We reading the Book of Mormon Reader daily. He played numerous phonics games with me this week. He has worked hard on his math this week and can add things much quicker now.
Luke: He continue to have a goal to read easier books this weeks to get his fluency up before he settled into a big book again. He read numerous Magic Tree House books. He also worked hard on a his long story and wrote another chapter in it. He had a love of learning fetish with World War II.
Jared: He also continued to work on Peter and the Shadow Thieves. He's been reading to Caleb. Jared also spend much of the week working on a a complicated motor kit. He did get it done and it's pretty neat.
Olivia: She is still working on 1776 and The Scarlet Letter. She attended a local book club with me. She attended one of her scholar classes. She also is consistently writing in her journal everyday. She had the homemaking bug this week. She is continues hard at work doing some crocheting and looming projects. Her hands are never idle in the car. She made numerous things in the kitchen this week including homemade granola.
Deanna: Read in The History of the Pelopannesian Wars by Thucydides. I finished The Home Ranch by Ralph Moody and attended a book club. I'm still writing in my journal everyday and reading at least one conference talk a day. I went to the temple this week. I spent a lot of time on Family History research. I am also cutting quilt blocks for a quilt I'm making for our bed. We conintued to do well with our on our goal not to buy bread, cereal or milk from the store. I've made a lot of wheat bread. It's yummy though and we can't get enough.
Alex: Alex worked. Read lots of conferences addresses. He is listening to a book called Team of Rivals about Abraham Lincoln. He is finished reading How to Talk to Anyone by Larry King. He is still working on his campaign. He is working on a college level course for further education in his insurance field.
Scripture Study: Family: 2 Nephi 30-33, Jacob 1. Each individual read their scriptures everyday.
Weekly Scripture Memorization: Mosiah 2:17
Theology: Several chapters in Gospel Principles.
Family Read: We started and read half of Percy Jackson and The Labyrinth.
Music: Daily piano practice and piano lessons.
Math: Money management skills, addition, and fractions. Lot's of Lego's.
Cultural Arts: This week the kids tried out for the Missoula's Children Theater. They were able to each have a part in the local production of The Pied Piper. The kids worked hard all week and then performed twice on Friday.
Biography: Heber J. Grant and Ezra Taft Benson.
Goals: Weekly Goal Planning Session Held.
Projects: Dejunked more of the house. I'm amazed that we still had more to dejunk. We attended a ward social for dry-pack canning. Lot's of fun! We did some and helped a lot of others with theirs. We also helped a family move and unpack in our town as a family. Feeding puppies. Now that their is sun and most of the snow melted we are starting to plan our garden. We will be gone for a couple of weeks this summer to Washington, DC and so we are figuring out when to plant things so they aren't ready while we are gone. We've also checked out our 80 acres to see what projects we plan to do this spring and summer.
PE: We have made a new goal to walk everywhere we can and we have for one week now! Lots of walk to the school for play practice. Lots of ping pong and some Wii Cardio.
Caleb: Caleb's reading is really taking off! We reading the Book of Mormon Reader daily. He played numerous phonics games with me this week. He has worked hard on his math this week and can add things much quicker now.
Luke: He continue to have a goal to read easier books this weeks to get his fluency up before he settled into a big book again. He read numerous Magic Tree House books. He also worked hard on a his long story and wrote another chapter in it. He had a love of learning fetish with World War II.
Jared: He also continued to work on Peter and the Shadow Thieves. He's been reading to Caleb. Jared also spend much of the week working on a a complicated motor kit. He did get it done and it's pretty neat.
Olivia: She is still working on 1776 and The Scarlet Letter. She attended a local book club with me. She attended one of her scholar classes. She also is consistently writing in her journal everyday. She had the homemaking bug this week. She is continues hard at work doing some crocheting and looming projects. Her hands are never idle in the car. She made numerous things in the kitchen this week including homemade granola.
Deanna: Read in The History of the Pelopannesian Wars by Thucydides. I finished The Home Ranch by Ralph Moody and attended a book club. I'm still writing in my journal everyday and reading at least one conference talk a day. I went to the temple this week. I spent a lot of time on Family History research. I am also cutting quilt blocks for a quilt I'm making for our bed. We conintued to do well with our on our goal not to buy bread, cereal or milk from the store. I've made a lot of wheat bread. It's yummy though and we can't get enough.
Alex: Alex worked. Read lots of conferences addresses. He is listening to a book called Team of Rivals about Abraham Lincoln. He is finished reading How to Talk to Anyone by Larry King. He is still working on his campaign. He is working on a college level course for further education in his insurance field.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Week in Review- March 7-13
Here's what I remember that we did. I'm sure I left out lots.
Scripture Study: Family: 2 Nephi 26-29. Each individual read their scriptures everyday.
Weekly Scripture Memorization: 1 Timothy 3:5
Theology: Several chapters in Gospel Principles.
Family Read: We read and finished The Bronze Bow. (World History)
Music: Daily piano practice and piano lessons.
History: Moses, The Spinx and the Jewish Calender.
Math: Money management skills, addition, and fractions. We also had lots and lots of Lego play going on this week. Caleb finally was able to follow the directions and built some of his own.
Science: Walking on the moon, gravity, periodic table, day of of the Creation and the Theory of Evolution.
FHE: Faith and the Story of David and Goliath by Caleb.
Club: Had Cub Scouts, scholar school and 4-H.
Games: Cashflow for Kids and Uno.
Goals: Weekly Goal Planning Session Held.
Projects: Dejunked the rest of the house (6 month purge)
PE: The Snow is melting and we can see the ground! We are playing outside a lot now. Lots of ping pong and some Wii Cardio.
Caleb: Caleb's reading is really taking off! We have settled in to reading the Book of Mormon Reader. He likes that better (and so do I!) than the Step Into Reading Books. We take turns reading a picture each. He worked hard on his math this week and learned to do missing addends in additions.
Luke: He had a goal to read easier books this weeks to get his fluency up before he settled into a big book again. He hasn't found "just the right one" yet any way. So this week he read numerous Magic Tree House books for fun and he had a lot of fun reading them! He was absorbed with Cash Flow for Kids this week and spend a lot of time on that. (math) He started his pinewood derby car.
Jared: He read and finished another Junior Jedi Chapter book. He also continued to work on Peter and the Shadow Thieves. He had fun working on lots of fractions with me. He started his pinewood derby car.
Olivia: She is still working on 1776 and The Scarlet Letter. She also read two Little Britches books for fun. She'd already read the series a couple of years ago. I think they are her favorite. He She attended two scholar classes. She also is consistently writing in her journal everyday. She had the homemaking bug this week. She sewed some on her baby quilt she's making. She is also hard at work doing some crocheting and looming projects. Her hands are never idle in the car. She also figured out how to do some scrap booking things on her blog with her Adobe Photoshop program. She made numerous things in the kitchen this week including homemade corn and wheat flakes and doughnuts. I've just need to get her to clean up after her self!
Deanna: Read in The History of the Pelopannesian Wars by Thucydides and read The Furies by Aeschylus. (a Greek play) I'm still writing in my journal everyday and reading at least one conference talk a day. Went to the temple this week. I spent a lot of time on Family History research. I also have cut out over 200 quilt blocks for a quilt I'm making for our bed.
Alex: Alex worked. Read lots of conferences addresses. Finished an Alex Rider book and he is listening to a book called Team of Rivals about Abraham Lincoln. He is reading How to Talk to Anyone by Larry King. He is still working on his campaign. He is working on a college level course for further education in his insurance field. Went to the temple.
Scripture Study: Family: 2 Nephi 26-29. Each individual read their scriptures everyday.
Weekly Scripture Memorization: 1 Timothy 3:5
Theology: Several chapters in Gospel Principles.
Family Read: We read and finished The Bronze Bow. (World History)
Music: Daily piano practice and piano lessons.
History: Moses, The Spinx and the Jewish Calender.
Math: Money management skills, addition, and fractions. We also had lots and lots of Lego play going on this week. Caleb finally was able to follow the directions and built some of his own.
Science: Walking on the moon, gravity, periodic table, day of of the Creation and the Theory of Evolution.
FHE: Faith and the Story of David and Goliath by Caleb.
Club: Had Cub Scouts, scholar school and 4-H.
Games: Cashflow for Kids and Uno.
Goals: Weekly Goal Planning Session Held.
Projects: Dejunked the rest of the house (6 month purge)
PE: The Snow is melting and we can see the ground! We are playing outside a lot now. Lots of ping pong and some Wii Cardio.
Caleb: Caleb's reading is really taking off! We have settled in to reading the Book of Mormon Reader. He likes that better (and so do I!) than the Step Into Reading Books. We take turns reading a picture each. He worked hard on his math this week and learned to do missing addends in additions.
Luke: He had a goal to read easier books this weeks to get his fluency up before he settled into a big book again. He hasn't found "just the right one" yet any way. So this week he read numerous Magic Tree House books for fun and he had a lot of fun reading them! He was absorbed with Cash Flow for Kids this week and spend a lot of time on that. (math) He started his pinewood derby car.
Jared: He read and finished another Junior Jedi Chapter book. He also continued to work on Peter and the Shadow Thieves. He had fun working on lots of fractions with me. He started his pinewood derby car.
Olivia: She is still working on 1776 and The Scarlet Letter. She also read two Little Britches books for fun. She'd already read the series a couple of years ago. I think they are her favorite. He She attended two scholar classes. She also is consistently writing in her journal everyday. She had the homemaking bug this week. She sewed some on her baby quilt she's making. She is also hard at work doing some crocheting and looming projects. Her hands are never idle in the car. She also figured out how to do some scrap booking things on her blog with her Adobe Photoshop program. She made numerous things in the kitchen this week including homemade corn and wheat flakes and doughnuts. I've just need to get her to clean up after her self!
Deanna: Read in The History of the Pelopannesian Wars by Thucydides and read The Furies by Aeschylus. (a Greek play) I'm still writing in my journal everyday and reading at least one conference talk a day. Went to the temple this week. I spent a lot of time on Family History research. I also have cut out over 200 quilt blocks for a quilt I'm making for our bed.
Alex: Alex worked. Read lots of conferences addresses. Finished an Alex Rider book and he is listening to a book called Team of Rivals about Abraham Lincoln. He is reading How to Talk to Anyone by Larry King. He is still working on his campaign. He is working on a college level course for further education in his insurance field. Went to the temple.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Geography
For several years I've been meaning to place a world map on our kitchen table and cover it with clear vinyl. I finally made a stop at the fabric store (I don't go there very often you see) and purchased the vinyl. The kids love it! We have already had some great discussions during meals about the world at large, current events and history. It's a great item for the Leadership Education home. What other things like this have you done to your home?
Math Resource
See Inside Math: Internet Referenced by Peter TallantMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
My new favorite math resource! Every major math concept is taught simply. This book is busy, but it's so detailed that you can take a short section and work out problems on a wipe board with your kids.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Our Days Now
So I thought I'd break down what our days look like now that we have been off the conveyor belt for two and half months. Who-rah!
Our "day" actually starts on Sunday night when we have a family meeting. We each review the goals we made last week and we each set a couple of goals for the coming week. All goals are completely up to the family member. No pressure or expectation to do anything. If they may be struggling with a goal we help them set a simpler goal if it was something important to them.
Week day: Alex and I drag ourselves out of bed at 7 AM. Yes, I know that's late, but we are working on it. But we are always up by then. We both read our scriptures, journal, read some conference talks (aka devotionals) and ponder until about 8 or 8:15.
Olivia get up at 7 also and her stewardship is breakfast. She's only been doing it for two months. She'll get another one in a couple of months. We've always had hot breakfast at our house. So she makes hot breakfast. She can make ANYTHING. She is totally cooking self-sufficient. Today she made homemade buttermilk pancakes with a special homemade butter syrup. Yummy!
In the mean time Jared's up and in the shower. He's read his scriptures and practiced his piano by 8:30.
Luke drags him self up by 8. He gets ready for the day and reads his scriptures. Sometimes he practices the piano and sometimes he doesn't do that until the afternoon.
Caleb wakes up at a different time everyday. He usually shows up to breakfast in shorts. He's in core phase. And being around him for 5 minutes you know it! He's obliviously happy with his life.
At 8:30 everyone has to report to breakfast deslobbed for the day and ready to go. After breakfast (during too) we have scripture study and usually a very lengthy discussion about something we read. Then we practice our scripture memorization for the week. We review our goals for the week. After family prayers Alex leaves for the day.
The boys finish their chores and brush their teeth. Then I usually spend a couple of hours with the boys reading books, playing games, or whatever they want. I usually try to spend some time with each one individually learning whatever they want. Usually the older boys will sit in front of our "love of learning" bookshelf and pull off random books and read about anything they want. (We call this "structure time, not content." Regulary one of the boys makes a goal to "do 30 minutes-or however long-of structure time, not content"). They'll spread all over the room and have books everywhere and hop from book to book. They usually can't wait to tell me what they learned. Sometimes we'll put an event or a person on our huge time line that takes up our entire library room. I've changed our family reading to the library room instead of the living room. This has been good because there are lots of things to do and we can really quickly look up something on the computer if we don't understand what we read or we want to see more pictures or whatever. Today we looked up to see when the Hebrew month Nisan was. Very cool you know.
In the meantime Olivia disappears for the day and reads and reads and reads and then writes essays in between. She only shows up at meal time or to walk to our land and check the horses.
Luke is in charge of lunch and so he prepares it for everyone. I still have to help him with it depending on what it is.
After lunch on two days we have to rush off to a scholar school/play date and piano lessons. We are gone for several hours on those days. When we come back from them the kids usually play outside until dinner. (I'm in charge of dinner, but Olivia usually shows up and cooks half of it because she just loves to cook). During lunch we have a big ole' discussion out of the Gospel Principles book about some theology topic. The kids enjoy our discussions and they don't let me forget to do this!
On the other days the kids just keep reading. Jared spends time with Caleb. Jared's stewardship is to mentor Caleb and so he'll usually do it then. We'll play more games or read more books. It just depends on their mood. There is more individual time in the afternoon then in the morning. Who ever didn't practice the piano by breakfast usually does it in the afternoon. Luke sometimes needs reminded to practice, but he does it willingly. They all practice and take piano willingly. I take lessons and practice right along side of them so I think playing the piano is like reading your scriptures-you just do it and don't think about whether you want to do it or not. Family culture?
There is no "school's out time." There is no magical, "Oh, now we get to watch a movie." We just keep on reading and keep on playing. The kids can play 30 min of the Wii in the afternoon-sometimes. They have to stand up and they have to cardio things like boxing.
During dinner we pull out a discussion question and have a big discussion about current events, theology or past history situations. This time is when Alex really gets to talk with the kids about what they think. After dinner if Alex is home we play ping pong while the kids do the dishes. If Alex was home for dinner he usually has to leave for somewhere else so he doesn't stay long. After dinner they play. Sometimes they read (okay a lot of the time). Sometimes we play more games. Sometimes I read more to them. Sometimes we go somewhere.
Caleb pretty much plays hard all day long. He can sort of last through parts of our family reading time. He does like reading to me and so he always sits down to do that. If Caleb has a whole day of playing games and/or playing dress up (dress up as a knight, or Native American or a Roman) he considers the day a success. Today he was in the bath tub for almost 2 hours. He also played play dough for an hour. He's just silly and happy.
We usually put the kids to bed around 9:30. Olivia stays up late reading. She doesn't have a bedtime because she's a scholar. (You wouldn't think an 11 year could study for 8+ hours a day, but she does. And she reads hard things). Luke lies in bed for 1 1/2 hours before he falls asleep. The kids all listen to books on tape or music as the go to sleep. Alex and I usually don't get to sleep until 11.
We stay busy enough with outside things though. It seems like we are gone somewhere for the afternoon or the evening. The kids have piano lessons, 4-H, Cub scouts, scholar school/social play date, and I have things regularly too.
Anyway. There you go. My kids always tell me, "I love my love mom! Thanks for home schooling me." When we drive by the school they say, "I'm so glad I'm home mom. " They've also told me many times that they feel sorry for those kids that have to go to school. "Maybe some day their mommies will let them come home."
Oh, today their piano teacher said, "You kids are always reading such big books!"
We love learning at home and we're happy. : )
Our "day" actually starts on Sunday night when we have a family meeting. We each review the goals we made last week and we each set a couple of goals for the coming week. All goals are completely up to the family member. No pressure or expectation to do anything. If they may be struggling with a goal we help them set a simpler goal if it was something important to them.
Week day: Alex and I drag ourselves out of bed at 7 AM. Yes, I know that's late, but we are working on it. But we are always up by then. We both read our scriptures, journal, read some conference talks (aka devotionals) and ponder until about 8 or 8:15.
Olivia get up at 7 also and her stewardship is breakfast. She's only been doing it for two months. She'll get another one in a couple of months. We've always had hot breakfast at our house. So she makes hot breakfast. She can make ANYTHING. She is totally cooking self-sufficient. Today she made homemade buttermilk pancakes with a special homemade butter syrup. Yummy!
In the mean time Jared's up and in the shower. He's read his scriptures and practiced his piano by 8:30.
Luke drags him self up by 8. He gets ready for the day and reads his scriptures. Sometimes he practices the piano and sometimes he doesn't do that until the afternoon.
Caleb wakes up at a different time everyday. He usually shows up to breakfast in shorts. He's in core phase. And being around him for 5 minutes you know it! He's obliviously happy with his life.
At 8:30 everyone has to report to breakfast deslobbed for the day and ready to go. After breakfast (during too) we have scripture study and usually a very lengthy discussion about something we read. Then we practice our scripture memorization for the week. We review our goals for the week. After family prayers Alex leaves for the day.
The boys finish their chores and brush their teeth. Then I usually spend a couple of hours with the boys reading books, playing games, or whatever they want. I usually try to spend some time with each one individually learning whatever they want. Usually the older boys will sit in front of our "love of learning" bookshelf and pull off random books and read about anything they want. (We call this "structure time, not content." Regulary one of the boys makes a goal to "do 30 minutes-or however long-of structure time, not content"). They'll spread all over the room and have books everywhere and hop from book to book. They usually can't wait to tell me what they learned. Sometimes we'll put an event or a person on our huge time line that takes up our entire library room. I've changed our family reading to the library room instead of the living room. This has been good because there are lots of things to do and we can really quickly look up something on the computer if we don't understand what we read or we want to see more pictures or whatever. Today we looked up to see when the Hebrew month Nisan was. Very cool you know.
In the meantime Olivia disappears for the day and reads and reads and reads and then writes essays in between. She only shows up at meal time or to walk to our land and check the horses.
Luke is in charge of lunch and so he prepares it for everyone. I still have to help him with it depending on what it is.
After lunch on two days we have to rush off to a scholar school/play date and piano lessons. We are gone for several hours on those days. When we come back from them the kids usually play outside until dinner. (I'm in charge of dinner, but Olivia usually shows up and cooks half of it because she just loves to cook). During lunch we have a big ole' discussion out of the Gospel Principles book about some theology topic. The kids enjoy our discussions and they don't let me forget to do this!
On the other days the kids just keep reading. Jared spends time with Caleb. Jared's stewardship is to mentor Caleb and so he'll usually do it then. We'll play more games or read more books. It just depends on their mood. There is more individual time in the afternoon then in the morning. Who ever didn't practice the piano by breakfast usually does it in the afternoon. Luke sometimes needs reminded to practice, but he does it willingly. They all practice and take piano willingly. I take lessons and practice right along side of them so I think playing the piano is like reading your scriptures-you just do it and don't think about whether you want to do it or not. Family culture?
There is no "school's out time." There is no magical, "Oh, now we get to watch a movie." We just keep on reading and keep on playing. The kids can play 30 min of the Wii in the afternoon-sometimes. They have to stand up and they have to cardio things like boxing.
During dinner we pull out a discussion question and have a big discussion about current events, theology or past history situations. This time is when Alex really gets to talk with the kids about what they think. After dinner if Alex is home we play ping pong while the kids do the dishes. If Alex was home for dinner he usually has to leave for somewhere else so he doesn't stay long. After dinner they play. Sometimes they read (okay a lot of the time). Sometimes we play more games. Sometimes I read more to them. Sometimes we go somewhere.
Caleb pretty much plays hard all day long. He can sort of last through parts of our family reading time. He does like reading to me and so he always sits down to do that. If Caleb has a whole day of playing games and/or playing dress up (dress up as a knight, or Native American or a Roman) he considers the day a success. Today he was in the bath tub for almost 2 hours. He also played play dough for an hour. He's just silly and happy.
We usually put the kids to bed around 9:30. Olivia stays up late reading. She doesn't have a bedtime because she's a scholar. (You wouldn't think an 11 year could study for 8+ hours a day, but she does. And she reads hard things). Luke lies in bed for 1 1/2 hours before he falls asleep. The kids all listen to books on tape or music as the go to sleep. Alex and I usually don't get to sleep until 11.
We stay busy enough with outside things though. It seems like we are gone somewhere for the afternoon or the evening. The kids have piano lessons, 4-H, Cub scouts, scholar school/social play date, and I have things regularly too.
Anyway. There you go. My kids always tell me, "I love my love mom! Thanks for home schooling me." When we drive by the school they say, "I'm so glad I'm home mom. " They've also told me many times that they feel sorry for those kids that have to go to school. "Maybe some day their mommies will let them come home."
Oh, today their piano teacher said, "You kids are always reading such big books!"
We love learning at home and we're happy. : )
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Week in Review: 1st Week of March
Scripture Study: Family: 2 Nephi 19-25. Each individual read their scriptures everyday.
Weekly Scripture Memorization: D & C 4:4
Theology: Several chapters in Gospel Principles.
Discussion Question: Was it fair for God to give to opposing laws in the Garden of Eden? What is Zion? What should we give back to the Lord? What are the benefits of exercise?
Family Read: We finished Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse, an abridged version of Wizard of Oz, and started The Bronze Bow.
Music: Daily piano practice. (Piano lessons canceled this week).
History/Biography: Lorenzo Snow, Archimedes, and Hitler.
FHE: Service and visiting the elderly.
Club: Had Cub Scouts and Girls Activity Day.
Math: Geometric solids and their properties, money management skills, and basic math drills.
Games: Cashflow for Kids, Apples to Apples, Jr, Stratego, Yahtzee and Scrabble.
Goals: Weekly Goal Planning Session Held.
Projects: Dejunked the closets, bedrooms and library room. (6 month purge) We are also still the proud parents of 8 strong healthy puppies. It's been an interesting experience!
Caleb: Focused on reading and doing chores. Caleb read numerous Step in to Reading books to me this week. (I don't' like 90% of these books. I need to find better books!). He responded well to each of us taking turns reading a line. He wants to be reading a lot more now so that's good!
Luke: Finished reading Ranger's Apprentice. He has such a hard time finishing book (true love of learning attribute) so he was excited to have finished this. He loved this book. He's been reading numerous other things since then trying to find just the right book to read.
Jared:He officially graduated from Core Phase! He has improved his behavior tremendously. We are so proud of him. His official stewardship is to mentor Caleb in reading everyday. He has taken this responsibility seriously and has read to Caleb for several hours. Aren't we sneaky? Guess who's fluency is gaining speed? Jared also read a Jr. Jedi Chapter book. Not my first choice but he's been glued to it. He's already half way through a second one. He also enjoyed some sessions of "Structure Time Not Content" and really enjoyed them! He reported back about all kinds of things he'd learned.
Olivia: She is still working on 1776 and The Scarlet Letter. She also read several Jr. Biographies of Revolutionary War women, two Little House on the Prairie books, and she also started and read 1/2 of Little Britches again. She only attended one of her scholar classes because one was cancelled. She also attended a dance class at the Commonwealth school. She also is consitantly writing in her journal everyday.
Deanna: Read Emily of New Moon, A Swiftly Turning Planet, A Circle of Quiet, finished Approaching Zion and started The Home Ranch. It seems like I'm missing one. I'm still writing in my journal everyday and reading at least one conference talk a day. We went to the temple this week. I also wrote an essay. Had my first camp meeting-I'm also the Ward Girls Camp Director this year.
Alex: Alex worked, read lots of conferences addresses, listening to an Alex Rider book, reading in several random books, spend some time on his campaign (meeting lots of people), studied up on our current legislator's voting record, participated in another military honor guard at a funeral (he does numerous through out the year) and taking a college level course for further education in his insurance field. That's a good list for this week.
Weekly Scripture Memorization: D & C 4:4
Theology: Several chapters in Gospel Principles.
Discussion Question: Was it fair for God to give to opposing laws in the Garden of Eden? What is Zion? What should we give back to the Lord? What are the benefits of exercise?
Family Read: We finished Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse, an abridged version of Wizard of Oz, and started The Bronze Bow.
Music: Daily piano practice. (Piano lessons canceled this week).
History/Biography: Lorenzo Snow, Archimedes, and Hitler.
FHE: Service and visiting the elderly.
Club: Had Cub Scouts and Girls Activity Day.
Math: Geometric solids and their properties, money management skills, and basic math drills.
Games: Cashflow for Kids, Apples to Apples, Jr, Stratego, Yahtzee and Scrabble.
Goals: Weekly Goal Planning Session Held.
Projects: Dejunked the closets, bedrooms and library room. (6 month purge) We are also still the proud parents of 8 strong healthy puppies. It's been an interesting experience!
Caleb: Focused on reading and doing chores. Caleb read numerous Step in to Reading books to me this week. (I don't' like 90% of these books. I need to find better books!). He responded well to each of us taking turns reading a line. He wants to be reading a lot more now so that's good!
Luke: Finished reading Ranger's Apprentice. He has such a hard time finishing book (true love of learning attribute) so he was excited to have finished this. He loved this book. He's been reading numerous other things since then trying to find just the right book to read.
Jared:He officially graduated from Core Phase! He has improved his behavior tremendously. We are so proud of him. His official stewardship is to mentor Caleb in reading everyday. He has taken this responsibility seriously and has read to Caleb for several hours. Aren't we sneaky? Guess who's fluency is gaining speed? Jared also read a Jr. Jedi Chapter book. Not my first choice but he's been glued to it. He's already half way through a second one. He also enjoyed some sessions of "Structure Time Not Content" and really enjoyed them! He reported back about all kinds of things he'd learned.
Olivia: She is still working on 1776 and The Scarlet Letter. She also read several Jr. Biographies of Revolutionary War women, two Little House on the Prairie books, and she also started and read 1/2 of Little Britches again. She only attended one of her scholar classes because one was cancelled. She also attended a dance class at the Commonwealth school. She also is consitantly writing in her journal everyday.
Deanna: Read Emily of New Moon, A Swiftly Turning Planet, A Circle of Quiet, finished Approaching Zion and started The Home Ranch. It seems like I'm missing one. I'm still writing in my journal everyday and reading at least one conference talk a day. We went to the temple this week. I also wrote an essay. Had my first camp meeting-I'm also the Ward Girls Camp Director this year.
Alex: Alex worked, read lots of conferences addresses, listening to an Alex Rider book, reading in several random books, spend some time on his campaign (meeting lots of people), studied up on our current legislator's voting record, participated in another military honor guard at a funeral (he does numerous through out the year) and taking a college level course for further education in his insurance field. That's a good list for this week.
Friday, March 5, 2010
"Doing" Math
Here is my latest post on TJED Trenches:
It seems that in leadership education that there are some subjects that just come easily. Or at least they come easily in our house. Religion, history, literature and even writing are all easy it seems, at least you know how to do it anyway. So what about math?
A really great resource that I use in our home to help us know and understand math is the book Inteligro Math: The Holistic Approach to Math and Science for the New Millennium by Tiffany Rhoades Earl. Earl is the co-founder of the LEMI projects that many of you are aware of. I'm going to break down her key points now in hopes that it will help all of you in teaching math at your home.
1. TRUTH: The primary purpose of math and science is to discover truth. We can measure truth by comparing it against our core book. So the first great place to start your math and science quest is in daily immersing yourself in your core book. (Click here to read a post about core books). When you study your core book look for patterns and laws.
For example, "God said, Let there be light; and there was light." Here's the pattern: God's spoken work= (equals) action. Action=Light. God's Word=Light. a=b,b=c, and a=c.
2. LOGIC: In order to come to truth you must be able to reason. Being able to follow a line of logic is a necessity to keeping our freedom. We can not allow ourselves to be led down a path by others only to find out they have tricked us into their way of thinking. We need to sharpen our reasoning skills. She lists three ways:
1. Increase the difficulty of your reading material.
2. Play an instrument. She says, "Playing a musical instrument requires the association, recognition and command of patterns. Not only does playing an instrument well require both sides of the brain, but it also develops reasoning because of the patterns involved." As a student of the piano I vouch for the innumerable patterns in music.
3. Don't close your eyes to the obvious. She states that sometimes, "social mores blind us to the truth all around us." Look for the obvious that others may be missing.
3. READ ORIGINAL WORKS. In order to learn how scientists and mathematicians arrived at their discoveries it is helpful to read their own works. At the very least learn about them. In my on personal education I have found reading about scientists and mathematicians chronologically is the most logical and helpful. (This makes sense in every field. Read history and literature in the order that it unfolded). Here are links to famous scientists and mathematicians.
4. NEWTONIAN MATH. This is where Saxon Math (or Singapore, Life of Fred, Right Start, etc.) comes in. Newtonian math is how we measure and compute both the quantity and the quality of our findings.
5. THE INTELIGRO METHOD. The old way was the scientific method. Here's the new way:
1. Notice a problem or roadblock
2. The Heart: Be Interested-Care Enough to Have Initiative
3. Use Spiritual Eyes to Name the Real Problem. Notice patterns. Notice what others may be missing. Notice symptoms to the problem. Ponder, think.
4. Ask questions
5. Spiritual Creation. Brainstorm for answers
6. Choose the best options
7. Physical Creation. Implement your ideas
8. Implement
9. Evaluate
10. Make adjustments or changes. Go back to #5
6. INTELIGRO MATH AT HOME. Teach truth. Read your core book as a family. Set up environments where kids can ask questions and explore. Teach children to own and solve their own problems. Play musical instruments. Use Newtonian math helps. Lots of hands on projects.
I've included her basic ideas in hopes that it can jump start the math and science processes in your home. Don't forget to read those living math and science books! Here are some links (A and B) to math lists.
It seems that in leadership education that there are some subjects that just come easily. Or at least they come easily in our house. Religion, history, literature and even writing are all easy it seems, at least you know how to do it anyway. So what about math?
A really great resource that I use in our home to help us know and understand math is the book Inteligro Math: The Holistic Approach to Math and Science for the New Millennium by Tiffany Rhoades Earl. Earl is the co-founder of the LEMI projects that many of you are aware of. I'm going to break down her key points now in hopes that it will help all of you in teaching math at your home.
1. TRUTH: The primary purpose of math and science is to discover truth. We can measure truth by comparing it against our core book. So the first great place to start your math and science quest is in daily immersing yourself in your core book. (Click here to read a post about core books). When you study your core book look for patterns and laws.
For example, "God said, Let there be light; and there was light." Here's the pattern: God's spoken work= (equals) action. Action=Light. God's Word=Light. a=b,b=c, and a=c.
2. LOGIC: In order to come to truth you must be able to reason. Being able to follow a line of logic is a necessity to keeping our freedom. We can not allow ourselves to be led down a path by others only to find out they have tricked us into their way of thinking. We need to sharpen our reasoning skills. She lists three ways:
1. Increase the difficulty of your reading material.
2. Play an instrument. She says, "Playing a musical instrument requires the association, recognition and command of patterns. Not only does playing an instrument well require both sides of the brain, but it also develops reasoning because of the patterns involved." As a student of the piano I vouch for the innumerable patterns in music.
3. Don't close your eyes to the obvious. She states that sometimes, "social mores blind us to the truth all around us." Look for the obvious that others may be missing.
3. READ ORIGINAL WORKS. In order to learn how scientists and mathematicians arrived at their discoveries it is helpful to read their own works. At the very least learn about them. In my on personal education I have found reading about scientists and mathematicians chronologically is the most logical and helpful. (This makes sense in every field. Read history and literature in the order that it unfolded). Here are links to famous scientists and mathematicians.
4. NEWTONIAN MATH. This is where Saxon Math (or Singapore, Life of Fred, Right Start, etc.) comes in. Newtonian math is how we measure and compute both the quantity and the quality of our findings.
5. THE INTELIGRO METHOD. The old way was the scientific method. Here's the new way:
1. Notice a problem or roadblock
2. The Heart: Be Interested-Care Enough to Have Initiative
3. Use Spiritual Eyes to Name the Real Problem. Notice patterns. Notice what others may be missing. Notice symptoms to the problem. Ponder, think.
4. Ask questions
5. Spiritual Creation. Brainstorm for answers
6. Choose the best options
7. Physical Creation. Implement your ideas
8. Implement
9. Evaluate
10. Make adjustments or changes. Go back to #5
6. INTELIGRO MATH AT HOME. Teach truth. Read your core book as a family. Set up environments where kids can ask questions and explore. Teach children to own and solve their own problems. Play musical instruments. Use Newtonian math helps. Lots of hands on projects.
I've included her basic ideas in hopes that it can jump start the math and science processes in your home. Don't forget to read those living math and science books! Here are some links (A and B) to math lists.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
A House of Reading
I haven't been posting much. What have we been up to? Lots and lots of reading! We were fortunate this week to not have to leave our house. Several of our regular commitments were canceled for this week. The kids have maximized this time and have all done some serious reading. It is so nice to see them on the couch, on the floor, on their beds, in the library room, on my bed, all of them curled up reading. It's wonderful to see them finding their own personal joy in reading great books. I hope they continue!
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