Sorry, not this year!

I'm sure you do this to: the day is going really well, kids are happy, things are clean, you're feeling abnormally good and happy and so you plan big; "Sure, I could have 5 more kids! No big deal, it'd be great!" or "I can totally tackle that remodelling project without my husband, no problem!" I have had way too many of these moments recently, once of which being when I said "Let's do a homemade Christmas this year!" I must've been having a REALLY good day that day! We made big plans for a large variety of presents for the kids we could craft ourselves...the bulk of them sewing projects. I am not a real big sewer. In fact, it's been probably over 2 years since I sewed anything. And 5 years since I actually "made" anything by sewing. And, to add to that, I made this great sewing/homemade Christmas idea about 2 weeks before Christmas. I am a huge procrastinator and it usually works out for me okay, but 2 weeks and lots of huge projects to get done ONLY when the children are sleeping????

Reality hit me a few days later. I am 5 months pregnant and dead tired all the time, have a busy 14 month old baby to chase and care for, 5 other kids who need my attention and, lets face it, aren't all asleep until between 10-11pm at night!! There is no way I can sew and make a bunch of homemade gifts this year. This is NOT the year for a homemade Christmas! Once I announced such to Dave (who giggled when I told him,) I felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders! Some day we'll do a homemade Christmas...and when we do, we'll start before December even begins (good suggestion, Dave!)

A whole new meaning to "I've got a monkey on my back!"

On chilly mornings like today, I like to get a warm fire going downstairs in the family room to take the edge off of the cold and make it more inviting for kids to be able to be down there and play. This morning, after I had explained to the kids the "new and improved" chore system, Sebastian started to work on his chore (or jurisdiction) of the family room. He found a pile of monkeys and decided his little bro would look adorable with one riding on his back. I think he was right! All the kids gushed about how cute Brighton looked with the little monkey hugging his back. Brighton seems to think it's pretty fun too...he's been wearing the monkey now for almost an hour (and none of the chores are done yet, in case you are wondering....ergh.)

A monkey on his back, a brush in his hand to carry around, and some snackage in his mouth; life is good! :)

It happens so quickly!

Brighton is learning and growing so fast! He just turned 14 months old this week. He is understanding more and more every day and is just so fun and cute! Today, to distract him from something small I needed to take away from him that wasn't safe, I put a hair scrunchy on his wrist. He thought it was so fun. He kept taking it off and then bringing it to me to put back on his wrist. After my enthusiasm for how cute it was on his wrist wore off, he would have me put it on his world and then walk over to the gate at the top of the stairs "yelling" to the kids downstairs (who could not hear or see him) how cute it was on his wrist. :) Then he decided to try putting it in his little ball maze thingy. He would stuff it in (as pictured above) and then try and REALLY stuff it in there using a paint stirring stick. Then he would pull the hair scrunchy out and do it all over again. So adorable!!

Of course, once I pulled the camera out and started taking pictures of him, he was hamming it up with big cheesy grins where his eyes are all squinty and his little beaver teeth stick out of his smile. :) I didn't manage to capture one of those classic baby looks (my camera is dying I think and not doing the job it used to), but I did catch the sweet one below. :)

Brighton is a real sweetheart. He loves cuddles when he has time for them; he is a VERY busy little guy. He goes from one thing to the next to the next to the next to the next to the next to the next to the next and so on pretty much all day long! I forgot how tiring it can be to try and keep up with a busy little boy! (Just since I started writing this post he has moved on from the hair scrunchy to the window, to some cords to pull down and play with, to "mopping" and "sweeping" in the kitchen and now on to something else...) He always takes time to check in with me, though, either by talking to me and smiling or coming over for a hug. He has learned a few of the signs we have taught him. He has "eat" down pretty well (one of his favorite hobbies...), working on "more" (he usually signs "eat" for "more"...pretty much gets the same result!) and "all done" when he is, well, "all done." :) He has started bringing me things to open for him or help him with or do for him, which I think is pretty adorable and smart. :) One of his favorite things to do is just walk around holding something. He'll take a lap or two around the room with something, check on some stuff, find something new to hold and then go around again. :) Brighton brings a lot of joy and sweetness into our home and we all love him a lot!!

File Folder Addict

Above is a gorgeous picture of my file folder stash thus far. I LOVE these things! Last summer I decided to purchase some file folder activity books that you use to make your own educational file folders. Some people make their own from scratch; some people print off file folder activities from the Internet; some people buy pre-printed color file folder activity books. I am relieved that I am a part of that latter group, at least as a file folder newbie. Now that I have actually done all three options, I know the pre-printed color books are so much easier and faster to put together than the other two options.

Here are a few examples of the younger kid's file folder activities. (The one open is an activity reinforcing what an antonym is.) It takes me about 30-45 minutes to complete one of the younger kid's folders. These folders were made from these books ordered off of Amazon. They come in different grade levels. I also ordered a few other ready-made file folder activity books for the younger kids, but have yet to use them since they are not color...thus you have to take the time to color each one and THEN still put it together. I am thinking about selling those books...and now that I know which books I really like a lot (see below) I plan on purchasing some of those in other grade levels and subjects for next semester!

Here is an example of the older kid's file folders. These were made with the excellent Take It To Your Seat centers series (find link to the right under homeschool resources.) I LOVE these...VERY educational and useful. This series is my favorite. The younger kids activities use actual file folders. These ones use kids school type folders with pockets inside to hold the supplies for each activity. The folder open above is about 3 different types of poetry and contains laminated examples of poetry, spare lined paper for a rough draft of the child's original poem in one of the three styles, and worksheets to illustrate and write the final draft of the poem.

To make the folder, I simply tear out the pages along perforated lines, cut things out, glue things on the folder that might need to be attached firmly (makes the laminating look better and have less bubbles), mount components on card stock and then laminate everything that needs to be laminated (which is everything that is non-consumable papers/worksheets.) Then I cut the laminated pieces out and trim up edges, affix any velcro where necessary (mostly for the younger kid's folders) and then put the game pieces, etc in a zip-top plastic bag which I staple to the folder. Since each folder is laminated and any necessary components (cards, pieces, etc) are mounted on card stock and then laminated, I expect them to last through all of my kids!

These file folders have really helped to enrich, reinforce and introduce new ideas to our homeschool. I love that the kids can largely do them all on their own (the front cover contains the instructions and the back the answers, if necessary.) I love how organized and "together" they make me feel. :) I especially LOVE that the kids LOVE them (well, the math ones might just be a strong "like") and are very happy to do them.

Here is another place Brighton hung out this morning during school work (other than the dog.) :) This cabinet does have a child lock on it....but obviously not Brighton proof! What a cutie! He gave us all several good laughs this morning. :) And several sweet moments that melted our hearts, too. I love babies! :)

Just needed to take a little break...

While everyone was working away at their school work this morning, I looked over and saw that sweet Brighton (who got up waaaaaay too early this morning) had decided the best place to take a little rest would be on the dog. :) Willow (who is now about 7 months old) is very sweet and gentle with him and didn't seem to mind being his pillow in the least.

She especially didn't mind once she realized Brighton had brought some snacks with him! After all our years of having dogs and toddlers, I have observed that dogs REALLY like toddlers: where there are toddlers, there are usually snacks!

He's learned to be such a great little pack leader already! She got a little too close to his snacks and he gently kept her away. :)

This was all going on under our work table. :) Here is Haven showing me a pattern page she just finished. All the kids are doing really well and making great progress. Haven (who is 5) has started sounding out words better than I had anticipated. She did this pattern page all by herself where you needed to read color words (blue, green, etc) and we have not practiced that, but she sounded them all out and finished the page all by herself!

Even though a few of us have the grumpies this morning (Mom in included...), we are still trying to make the most of this beautiful, snowy, wintry day. Cute babies, nice dogs and workboxes all help with that!

Always learning!

Workbox system or no, children are learning ALL the time! As long as all of their time is not taken up by t.v., video games or texting, children are natural learners. Is the learning they do "on their own" any less valuable than learning done in a workbook or a classroom? Heck no! I would argue that learning they do on their own can actually be much more valuable. For one, the things we take the time to figure out and learn on our own and directed by ourselves, we tend to remember much more readily than facts we learned by someone else's wishing, direction and taught generally in that person's learning style not our own. The learning children do just by being curious kids can be more valuable also because that learning is incorporated and reinforced in their daily lives and activities.

We are raised in a society that really only values tangible education: grades, papers, tests and degrees are all ways we validate learning in our society. Parents think they need to get their 3 year olds a workbook and flash cards or they will never learn their colors. Parents feel pressured to put their little 4 year olds in comprehensive pre-school programs or they will never learn their letters and thus will flunk out of kindergarten. Schools are now sending tiny little children in early grade school, who are in school all day long, home with homework every night. Kids are required to do more standardized tests to "prove" how much their school has taught them. Pressure, pressure, pressure. Work, work, work. Results, results, results. Has all this improved the over-all education and intelligence levels of your average American? No, actually it hasn't. But we still push and still pressure and still load our kids down with more and more work.

I am so thankful to have the freedom to homeschool my children. We have largely been "unschoolers" up until this point and I have seen my children learn and grow and attain knowledge I never would have even thought to direct them in learning! And, honestly, they know a lot more about certain subjects (paleontology and other sciences for instance) than I ever learned in school or had the opportunity to learn about. For the most part, my children are free to learn as much as they want and as thoroughly and in depth as they desire. They have learned history, geography, spelling, reading (yes, how to read and the love of it), many sciences and some math all on their own basically. I have kids who devour every book or magazine that enters this house...and redevour them again and again. I have kids who do things like make a life-size replica of a baby woolly mammoth (skeletal system, organs, skin) for fun. I have kids who work well together and know how to get along with little kids, older kids and adults. I have kids who are able to just be kids and not worry about trying to be little adults. Would I have kids like this if they had gone to public school? Maybe...though they wouldn't have as much time to explore the world and the amazing things in it there are to learn and I seriously doubt they would feel as free to just be kids. Learning is more than rote memorization of facts; it is the igniting of a fire and a desire to learn more...not just about math, spelling or geography; about anything and everything a mind can come up with and enrich a life. The goal here is to help each child be confident in their abilities (and in gaining any abilities they so choose or need), be confident in who they are (a divine child of a loving God), be a good addition to the world (loving, empathetic, helpful, giving, able to solve problems in productive ways, willing, etc), be awesome parents and spouses (or at least have been given the tools to become such), and be obedient sons and daughters of God. For us, all these things are accomplished in homeschooling.

This post kinda turned into a "pro-homeschool" type of post that I had not really intended. Do I think homeschooling is right for everyone? Heck no. It's not right for every kid or every family. Yes, we need public school in our society and I doubt we will ever not need it. I do wish they would make the changes in public schools that researchers have been telling them for years that they need to change, but I doubt that is going to happen in the next 10, 20 or maybe even 30 years. Thus, I am very thankful for the freedom I have to choose homeschooling for my children and my family. It is a wonderful lifestyle that includes too much noise ALL DAY LONG, too much mess ALL DAY LONG, and way too many bonding, growing and learning opportunities than any one family should be allowed to have. :)

More thoughts on the Workbox system

Here we are about a week later and still loving the Workboxes! I love the organization of the kid's work and how we all know what we need to accomplish that day. I love that they know when the bins are empty, they are free for the rest of the day. I am free as well: free from guilt! For years I have wondered and worried and stressed about what we were NOT getting done each day. Now, it's all neatly laid out every morning and when that work is done, I know that we have accomplished all we needed to for "school" that day! It has lifted this huge weight off of my shoulders in another way as well...for years I have been buying homeschooling materials that we have never gotten around to using and now we are fully utilizing them! That was money well spent, not wasted! I also really enjoy coming up with things to put in the bins. I haven't gotten super creative yet (other than printing off some holiday themed fun sheets) but each day every child has at least a few fun and educational activities in their bins. I am looking forward to a few new homeschool purchases this next semester and it will be nice to know exactly what type of activity it needs to be (mostly child directed, reinforcing some skill/knowledge base and can generally fit in a bin.) I am also appreciating the way I can hold myself accountable as well as my kids. Before, I would have them do some work or study something and there was not a lot of follow-through or follow-up on my part because everything seemed pretty open-ended. Now I check their work every night before I refill their bins. If they got some things wrong consistently or if they did not complete something as I had asked, I put a note on it and put it back into their bins. Now they have motivation to get things done correctly and completely the first time around since they know that if they don't, it will add to their work the next day. It is also helping me to do something I have not been good at and that is making the kids do a bit of rote practice and memorization for things that need it like math, handwriting and spelling.


The only down side I see of this new system so far is all the paper we are using! I make lots of copies and print outs to fill the bins. But we recycle and buy cheap computer paper at Sam's Club, so I guess it's not that big of a downside! :) The other thing I don't like is having to block a window with the bins. At least they are clear and let in light in....they just block my view! In our next house we will have a dedicated "school room." Then I will be in Heaven! :)