One of the many things I like about Kindergarten

When God cleans house

A month and a half ago God came over , and  gently placed me to the side and got busy at work . After Thanksgiving last year I got sick. and then I stayed sick. Then 4 weeks ago I had a hysterectomy (yes!! I said the big "H" word..shh) . So now I'm finally getting back into the swing of things,just a little bit slower. But I think that was God had intended the whole time!Man! We get so tied up and tangled up into the stresses and pressures of homeschooling and our children that our joy just gets robbed!!And I knew it was happening,I was well aware,but just like being on a fast train,you can't always just jump right off,that train is moving waaay too fast;until,God comes in and stops it for you.
So what have I fought learned ? hmm,not to yell at my kids if they aren't exactly the way I think they should be,and not to yell at my house if it's not exactly the way it should be either! I mean I love Pinterest,but my house should not look like one of those rooms on there...all the time.. I mean,I have kids!! Five of them !! And a dog,and a cat,and chickens..Yes,I tend to work better in a clean, neat environment but Better Homes and Gardens is NOT coming over at any minute to take a cover photo of my house.
I have learned to slow down with my kids,to sit down with book with them,to enjoy them. I used to start out in the mornings like a drill sergeant ,you know " Get up!!!make your bed!!!brush your teeth!!brush your hair!!unload dishes!!hurry hurry hurry hurry hurry hurry !!!" Now I'm trying not to be ran by the little numbers on that clock,I do believe children should learn to be up by a certain time,that teaches them responsibility for when they are ready to leave home. But by the time I was done spitting out orders and we would all sit down at our desks or tables I was so worn out from all the hollering ;I came to the table empty,wore out,stressed out and joy'd out! This was not God's plan for us,or me.But on those days I was too sick to get out of bed ,too sick to fix meals,clean the house,and to to be able to take care of my children I realized that it was a blessing to be able to do those things and I had taken them for granted . When I wake up each morning I'm still a little slow,so there's no hurrying around here,it gives me time to remember the joy of having my children here with me,and in return they have joy of being with their momma again,and they too are grateful for all the things I did for them that they took for granted as well.They have been more helpful,which is always an automatic "A" in my gradebook :)
When God comes in and cleans house,it's not always a cup of tea,but in the end,theres nothing sweeter !

When all else ' fails ' ..believe..

I would have loved to have seen the look on some peoples faces when they heard I was becoming a homeschooling mamma  I admit..I was NOT an 'a' student, or a 'b' student,okay I never made the honor roll....EVER. I was that disheveled student.Yep! That was me!So many times my homework would be left at home with the company of my lunch....on the bar in my kitchen.The two of them saw more of each other than I of them in all of my 12 years of school. There is one teacher I remember ,one teacher of whom I thought at the time had allowed me to graduate only out of pity.You know ,sort of 'helped ' me to graduation. I really thought that he just didn't want to see me end up back in class the following year,sitting in a desk..in his classroom.....again. Just because I ..for the life of me,just could not get ,adjectives,adverbs,sentence dissection and so on and so forth..Looking back in retrospect ,you know,I think it was because he believed in me,beyond simple phrases,and verbs,beyond a grade,he saw me.

There are many homeschooling parents that have this belief that homeschooling is the  preferred method of education in Gods eyes .I however,do not believe this.I believe that there are some really really great God fearing teachers out there.And while our public schools and sadly even private schools may be morally corrupt ,I do not believe this to be so in the hearts of every teacher.Today who I am as a homeschooling mom/teacher has been greatly impacted by some of my teachers,whether it was my all so helpful English teacher of my senior year,or that elementary Librarian ... ooh boy was she something!!! Of whom almost 25 years later she still keeps in touch with her students!! Love that !! Every time I pick up a book to have story time with my children I somehow channel this great story teller that when she read...you LISTENED!! Crossed legs,heads up ,mouths opened ,and eyes set a gaze a group of children sat ,half circle. I do not think there ever was a time she had to stop in the middle of a story to fuss at wrestles children no,we were part of an exciting escape that she so eloquently ushered us into,known as story time! When she read,she made Goldilocks and the Three Bears sound like the greatest adventure ever told! She,believed in her students.She,was involved with her students.She,cared. She looked beyond our grades or our struggles whether or not we were a 'a' student or not,but she saw our capabilities!

So,teachers,whether homeschooling parent,or school teacher,believe in your children. Chances are if your frustrated with them they are too. Be patient,look beyond the grade,and see the struggle that they are having.There are so many pressures on a homeschooling parent,and there are so many times I see the opportunity to get frustrated .But when I see my child struggling I remember not so long ago I was in their spot,and so I take the opportunity to encourage them.  Encourage your children,they are so much more than a grade,and what they mean to us and God far exceeds any grade that they can receive. Let us not label our kids by an 'a' or 'b' student. Because believe it or not children hate to disappoint anyone, especially, especially,their parents..

I am so glad my Heavenly Father believed in me,He believes in me even when I don't believe in myself. He loves me,He died for me,and because of that I can walk through failure with confidence! Because I fail. I fail every day,Im not an 'A' Christian. I'm a failing student with a whole lot of Grace that has graduated me to Glory!So now I'm a forgiven,loved and confident child of God!   

And on this day....

 Poor Brayden...


Ice Skating....or not.

OOOOH..Samantha! Had to hurt !

But not Mary Elizabeth! Oh no,shes got it ALL under control.. ( the little princess!)

Note; that crate that shes so beautifully and articulately posing on...
Yeah,shes supposed to be pushing it around the ice ;) 

Whats been going on?

So much has been going on this past month!! Aaaahh!! I think my head is still spinning,okay,so heres the downlow on the downloads ( hehe) ..The little kiddies were enjoying their Thanksgiving break and crafts..shown here <--- ..Even sweet little Lola Bear ^  However two days later sweet little Lola Bear got really sick !!  :( :( then it sent our little break in a sorrowful down spin ,lots of little sad faces and scary moments! But 6 days  and a HUGE vet bill later our Lola came home !!!

The pitter patter of little feet

               

           What an unusual picture, I know! But this,this is what I get. Sitting at my desk trying to do a hundred

million things,in my small 20 minute lunch break that I have when I can quietly sneak upstairs. But like clockwork the minute I sit down ready to fiercely attack my to do list here they come one by one back into the schoolroom! Im like..wha ha ha uttt! I just left them downstairs everyone content with sandwich and Waltons! So now,though ,here they stand, right on top of my to do list ! So why one might ask, are they standing on top of my desk ? Well they were looking for a book. But I think they were looking to drive me nuts. I just keep telling myself ,what drives me nuts today,will be greatly missed ....one day. 

Today however,was not that day .  

So whose recipe is it anyway?

         
Being a momma of five you have to be creative when trying to keep the little ones busy while working with the older ones. But lately,It seems all the rabbits up my momma sleeve have all gone into hiding!But today however I learned that sometimes you have to change the "recipe" up a bit,you don't always need new recipes just make changes to the one you already have!  For example just because the directions on the little ones page says color the picture,who says you can't color,cut it up and  AND paste it back together on construction paper! See I am homeschool  savvy! I can keep those little boogers busy on the their little table right beside my desk by getting them to glue all sorts of things that we borrow and copy from my kindergartners activity books!There are mornings that I do still scour the internet and Pinterest for free print outs for preschoolers and find some really great things,and when I come across things we've  already done,we just redo them in a different way! I mean I have to apply this concept in my kitchen(my husband grew up on cornbread and hot sauce!) ,so why not in my homeschool!I apply this to my older ones as well ,change something if it doesnt work for you,add something if its missing,. I came across a really great recipe for chicken tortilla soup over the weekend I followed it just as the recipe called,corn tortillas and all! Now,knowing ,I really don't like corn tortillas,I just had to be follow-along Fannie , I used them instead of changing it to flour tortillas... yeah,next time...flour tortillas ! Remember you don't always have to be the blue,orange,green,or red crayon in the crayon box,you can be the summer sky orange,or the twinkling tiptoe blue ;)                                                  

So this is the paper we swiped
kindly borrowed from my kindergartner,
does she not just have such neat handwriting !
and some mad cursive skilz..and to think
my family was worried she would't learn..ha!
Okay,back to the recipe,it calls for just coloring..that is so boring !

So to keep thing 1 and thing 2 busy while the tween and I battled out History,
I changed the recipe ;)