Tuesday To-Do List

1. Finish 4 aprons

2. Clean out the refrigerator!

3. Finish some file folder games

4. Get file folder games laminated

5. Straighten up kitchen and wipe down counters

6. Work on December lesson plans

Not so bad unless you add the fact that I have to do all the normal things: cook meals, laundry, school, change diapers, etc

Hair Bows

Obviously with 3 girls we have an outrageous number of hair bows. They (along with headbands, rubberbands, and various clips) have taken over a drawer in the girls dresser. I can't ever seem to find the bows I am looking for!! I have seen several different ideas to store these bows. This is the one I decided to make.

Here is what it looked like before we added the bows:

And here is what it looks like now:

As you can see, though, we are completely out of room for new bows!! I bought a board that was 14 inches by 20 inches and assumed we would have atleast one ribbon length to add bows to as we buy them. Of course, Kevin thinks this means we don't need anymore bows! I think I will just have to make one for Daphne's room!!

Thoughts for Thursday

I don't regularly participate in Thoughts for Thursday (does anyone anymore?), but I decided to go for it today. I am having an inner struggle going on right now so I thought I would post about it. I am suffering from "Idle Hands syndrome."

There are a couple of verses in the Bible that touches on this. Ecclesiastes 10:18 says "If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks." Ecclesiastes 11:6 says, "Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well."

Like most moms, I have a million things to accomplish in a day, but do I do any of them? Not really. I do the basic day to day things like feed, bathe, and clothe my children. I keep the laundry caught up for the most part. We read and play together, but seriously other than that I don't do a whole lot. When we are having people over, I stress out because I have to clean the whole house all at one time. Luckily for everyone in our family we have people over about once a week, so the main floor and the basement are cleaned that often. The upstairs is totally different. It is a mess. A. BIG. FAT. MESS! There are clothes, shoes, books, hair stuff, baby stuff, bath toys, etc. all over the second floor! I just can't seem to motivate myself to go up there and tackle the mess. Just thinking about it makes me have a mini panic attack!! It is ridiculous. Funny thing is that I don't like messes and clutter, but I am so overwhelmed that I don't even know where to begin.

Besides the mess upstairs, my laundry room is a mess, my refrigerator needs to be cleaned out, the school shelves need to be purged and organized, and these are the most important things at this point. I also would love to not have to run around mad crazy before people come over! I would love some sort of organization in this house!! It is driving me crazy!!!

I guess the struggle is that I want to have a nice, clean, organized house, but I also want to enjoy my children. I want them to enjoy being young and at home with mommy. I am so thankful that I can stay home with the girls, but I don't want to waste time doing things that really are not that important.

One would think I could use their naptimes to get a few things accomplished, but nope. I usually end up blogging, watching TV (or channeling surfing), napping or reading. I'm totally being lazy! What am I doing right now while Daphne naps and Norah and Lucy are playing together? Oh, right, I am BLOGGING!!

I certainly didn't learn to be lazy from either of my parents. They are both busy doing stuff all the time. Sure they relax and watch TV or read in the evenings, but that is after my dad has worked in the yard, moved 3000 pounds of boulders, and built a trellis and my mom has made cookies for all the neighbors and everyone else she knows who might enjoy some, made dinner for someone who had a baby, made bibs and hooded bath towels, helped my grandma with stuff and babysat my niece. They deserve to sit and relax a little. I on the other hand, do not deserve it at this point.

Maybe I should start by making a master to do list (nothing like still putting things off by appearing to be productive!! Ha!) and slowly try to cross things off.

Okay, your turn. Anyone else feel like I do - or am I totally crazy? Any suggestions on how to keep up with things here and still be able to enjoy my girls?

Happy New Year!

Wow!  It's hard to believe that it is 2009!  I'm not big on New Year's resolutions, but I do have a few goals in mind for 2009.  

1. Spend more time reading my Bible in front of the girls and with the girls - so they see that it is an important part of my life.

2. I'd like to make it through the next 3 weeks of pregnancy with few issues - although my back hurts these days about 24/7.

3.  Get back into a good school routine with Norah before the baby comes - only this half of the year we will be using mostly Charlotte Mason techniques.

4. I would really like to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight and back into a good workout routine.  

5. I want to get our basement organized somehow. . .and encourage the girls to help keep it that way.  Now, it is such a mess that they don't even want to be down there. 

6. Add Spanish lessons to the girls' schedule a couple of times a week using Foreign Language Friends.

7. Once the baby comes and we're settled into a routine, I want to bake with the girls once a week.

8. Have a tea party with the girls once a month - I would love to get a tea set to use regularly with them.

9. Survive my 30th birthday - while being pregnant - in a couple of weeks!!

10. Finally, I want to keep a photo a day blog.  We have a new camera that I am excited to learn about and I shouldn't have any reason NOT to post one picture a day.  Head over here to check out my first post!  

I'm sure I could just keep listing things, but I think 10 goals is plenty!!

Happy New Year!

Just Gathering My Thoughts

We are just a few weeks away from finishing up the homeschool curriculum that we have been using and I am trying to make a few decisions about what to do after the baby comes.  I may have mentioned this before but in the end I haven't loved the curriculum.  There is so much busy work/worksheets.  Obviously, my background in early ed was in a play-based classroom.  I want to enjoy teaching the girls and at this point, I think Norah and I both dread the table work.  I have done TONS of searching for other activities that fit with the theme, but don't require us to sit at the table.  I have cut out a number of the worksheets and made games that teach the same thing - just more fun.  It is interesting to me because My Father's World is supposedly a Charlotte Mason style of teaching, but the more I read about Charlotte Mason, the less I see the connection.  Maybe I would see it more with the older grades.

The main idea of Charlotte Mason was teaching with living books - not textbooks.  The idea is that you can teach anything (math obviously needs a supplement) by using whole books.  Table work is very limited and it is focused around the books that you are reading.  

A fellow blogger recommended 2 different books that I have read and gained quite a bit of insight.  One, which I had bought a year or so ago, is Educating the Whole-Hearted Child by Clay and Sally Clarkson, and the other is an E-Book called A Charlotte Mason Primer by Cindy Rushton.  

What I love about this style of teaching is that school happens all day, not just during "school time."  Obviously there is a set time for table work, which now I refer to as "school work."  This idea seems to imply that school only happens at the table - which is not the case.  There is also an emphasis on reading - LOTS of reading!  

Anyway, there is a lot more to it, but I have just begun my research.  I think I am going to attempt to teach with a Charlotte Mason style after the baby comes.   I still have to decide on a math curriculum - I am leaning towards Math on the Level, but still need to research this a little too.  

Doing Nothing Monday

I am REALLY lacking motivation to do anything today!!  The girls are at MDO and I have a million things I could be doing - but I'm watching Rachel Ray and blogging instead!  We have our small group Bible study at our house tonight so I cleaned the kitchen well last night.  I need to straighten up the living room and vacuum, but I also should organize the girls summer clothes that I have put away - they are just thrown in a big box.  I also need to print off pictures from, oh - the last year or so to scrapbook!  I would love to get caught up before the baby comes - is it possible?

I am totally using the excuse that I'm pregnant - I need to take it easy, right? 

Too Many Art Projects!!

Those of you who have little ones who love to make art projects - what do you do with all of them?
My girls make atleast one picture almost everyday. It can be as simple as a picture they colored or drew or it could be a collage with buttons, foam shapes, glitter, etc. I have a pile on my counter and I don't know what to do with them. I can't save every picture and my first instinct is to toss it all!
Kevin has joked before that he will have to be the one to save the girls "special" pictures and gifts because I am just not sentimental. I know I should save some of their pictures, but can't decide on which ones.

Any suggestions?

Homeschool Room - Complete, Almost!

August project (OPAM) is almost complete!! Yea! Here are the before pictures.

And with alot of help from Kevin, here are the after pictures:

My favorite thing here is the magnetic chalkboard that Kevin painted on the wall. The girls are going to LOVE it!! We had some debate about whether this wall should remain tan (it meets up with the stair well, also tan, and NO ONE wanted to paint the stairwell). I think the map really helps to bring in the other colors of the room.

Norah painted the pictures on the wall (I should probably take a close up picture to post) - they are so cute!!

We made the bulletin board that I had mentioned in my post linked above. The dresser had been used as storage in the basement for several years. I had bought it for $10 at a rummage sale before my junior year of college when I lived off campus. I think the blue and the green work great together. The drawers are filled with math manipulatives, language arts supplies, science games/toys, art supplies, etc. I was afraid Lucy would not stay out of them, but really (knock on wood) this hasn't been an issue. My white cabinet to the left is totally organized - I love it!!

This is the one area that is not quite complete. I bought the little bookshelf and Norah picked out the little green basket. In the basket are the books that go along with our current theme - farm animals right now. The other books will be rotated with books from the 4 boxes in our storage room. Ultimately, my sister-in-law, Denise, is going to paint a mural in this area but she is a busy lady. She owns her own foreign language school and just started her new school year. She is going to come down sometime in October to get started. The rocking chair will go back to the baby room when Lucy moves out. My mom and I are going to make a couple of floor pillows with the same fabric used for the bulletin board. We also may bring the girls' beanbag chairs down.

That's that! Now that I feel so much more organized, it is time to start getting ready for my September OPAM - garage sale!!

Getting My Thoughts Straight

Our official first day of school is going to be Tuesday, Sept. 2. In my mind I thought I had 2 weeks to get finish getting stuff together, then it dawned on me that the 2nd is next Tuesday! We are going to have school on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings. The girls go to Mother's Day Out on Mondays and we have Bible study at church on Wednesday mornings.

At this point our morning schedule will look like this:
8:30 Chore Can
9:00 Morning Devotions - this will be when we read a page from here or something topical like these
9:15 Reading Lesson (Lucy will work with a toddler activity bag)
9:45 Science topic and lesson that goes with it for the day (could be math, art, Bible, music, etc.)
10:15 Outside/Free Play

Thursday during Lucy's naptime, Norah and I will have a cooking lesson.

The rest of our day will be normal lunch, nap and playtime, but I will occasionally incorporate some structured activities as needed. Usually from the time the girls wake up until about 5 they play very well together (or separately, but in the same room). Around 5 they are READY for Kevin to come home (which is around 6) and I am usually working on dinner so we often have major FREAK-OUT time! In the laundry room I have a drawer of fun items to pull out if/when this happens - things like bingo dabbers, play-doh, watercolors, markers.

We are going to have family time devotions at dinner time. I bought this so the girls can be coloring a picture when Kevin gets home and as he is reading the scripture that is referenced on their picture. Kevin and I agreed that it is important to read out of an actual Bible to the girls instead of just picture Bibles all the time (which we will still do sometimes at bedtime). We also felt like they need something (a coloring page) to help them picture what Kevin is reading about and I just think Lucy needs something to do while he is reading. Each scripture is only a few verses to a chapter - at the most.

The curriculum that we are using, My Father's World, lists several books that go with each topic so throughout a week, we will read the extra books at various times (naptime, bedtime, times they are extra snuggly).

Obviously we won't always stick to the times exactly, but this will be a guide. I do want some flexibility (since Norah is still just 4 - and not technically in kindergarten) to meet friends at the park so we can always skip the chore can and save our morning devotions for naptime. Then we could be done with school by 9:30 and have plenty of time to play with friends!

After rereading this - it seems like a lot, but I think on a day to day basis it won't seem so bad!! We'll see!!

Homeschool To Do List

Since this is my first "official" year to homeschool, I sort of feel unorganized and unprepared. I have ideas of what I want to do and how I want to do it, but I haven't put everything together in my head yet. Sprittibee has put together a to-do list and has challenged others to do the same and link to each other's blogs.
Here's my list (I'm sure I will have things to add):
1. Finish redecorating the basement/playroom/homeschool room. Most of the painting is finished - mostly hanging things on the wall.
2. Reorganize school things - most of it is in one cabinet, but we have added a dresser (I know, not your usual piece of furniture for a basement) that we had in storage. It should hold a lot of things: art supplies, math toys/manipulatives, science materials, etc.
3. Put together a generic schedule
4. Decide what to do when we finish My Father's World (we started early because Norah was so excited, so we will be finished with this curriculum by Christmas). With the baby coming in January, I don't want to wait until the last minute to make a decision.
5. Put together some toddler activity boxes for Lucy - to keep her busy when Norah needs some 1-on-1 time with her reading/writing lessons.
6. Plan some field trips
7. Possibly put together a pre-k/kindergarten co-op - maybe P.E. or heath related
8. Make final decision on book for family devotions - I got a couple of great suggestions, I just have to decide