Assessing November

November and December are historically our worst homeschooling months. I pretty much know they will be far under par compared to my usual expectations. Even though I know that it's OK, and that we will end the year just about exactly where I would like to, I can't help but feel the pressure come this time of year. Since November is the time of year for us to have many extra family get-togethers, get things prepared for Christmas, practice extra for the early December recitals and concerts, celebrate 3 of the 5 kids' birthdays, and have Thanksgiving, we forgo the typical schedule and checklists more often than not. As you can see in the picture, we started off the month of November going on a trip to Branson to get us all geared up for the holidays.

Losing some of the structure and normalcy during these months, and replacing it with a lot of family fun and holiday traditions makes January something to really look forward to. I certainly come "back to work" with a new excitement, ready to take on any challenge. So, I try to just enjoy the change and then be ready to dive back into the routine at the new year. I try. It's not easy though. The loss of structure brings with it some of the downfalls of summer break... kids getting to bed too late, a bit more bickering, and some frustrated mom moments in the chaos. But all in all, it is the way our school year usually goes. And real life is what we're really all about, isn't it?

So, until January, enjoy... making and decorating cookies, snuggling together to look at big beautiful picture books about the nativity, being Santa, helping little ones work on their handmade gifts, taking that holiday family picture, making red and green paper chains, encouraging the little maestros as they nervously prepare for recitals, sewing those Christmas pageant costumes, drinking hot apple cider and hot chocolate around the Christmas tree, visiting Grandma & Grandpa, listening to the Chipmunks Christmas CD over and over again, reminiscing of holidays past, and telling your wide-eyed 3 year about baby Jesus. There's really nothing better than that... not even homeschool.

Good reminders in a bad economy

We read Smart Money by Jerry & Ramona Tuma years ago. It's the best book I've ever seen on how our personalities and marriage dynamics relate to our views on money, saving, and spending. My husband pulled out the book to look for a quote for one of his school papers, and we ended up going for a stroll down memory lane. It's amazing what a difference a decade or so makes in your understanding. It was definitely worth going through again, under new, completely different circumstances than when we first read it.

While we were in smart money mode, I pulled one of those "someday Ill go through this with the kids" books off of my bookshelf. Money Matter for Kids by Larry Burkett seems like it's going to be a great find to go through with the kiddos. I've been talking with the kids a lot about using wisdom in finance lately because of the current financial mess that's on the news every day lately. Kurt is reading to us, since we didn't want to miss out on his perspective on the topic. So far, the book is extremely biblical and really speaks to the heart of the matter. In just the first chapter, the kids learned that everything is God's, what stewardship means, to trust God, spend time with Him, and give Him our hearts, about procrastination, how money gets its' value, responsibility, and the rewards of an obedient life. There are breaks in the lesson for jokes and trivia to keep the kids' attention.

Favorite Thanksgiving Books

Here are my favorite books for this time of year for elementary level kids...

Stories of the Pilgrims by M. B. Pumphrey (Christian Liberty Press)

The Landing of the Pilgrims by J. Daugherty (A Landmark Book)

Squanto Friend of the Pilgrims by C. R. Bulla

The Pilgrims of Plimoth by Marcia Sewall

Sarah Morton's Day (A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl) by Kate Waters

has real photographs of the outdoor living museum in Plymouth

Historic Communities A Child's Day by Kalman & Everts

1621 A New Look at Thanksgiving by Grace & Bruchac (National Geographic)

also has photographs from the Plimouth Plantation

A vocabulary lesson

I'm anxious for the day that I can post about some deep theological truth I've found. I've got more questions about doctrine right now than answers. I am looking forward to being able to share some of my theological discoveries in upcoming posts, but for now I'm going to keep my theo-ramblings to myself. Believe me, it's better that way for now.

In lieu of a revelation from God, I've decided to pass along some silly things I find myself learning from my 12 & 14 year old sweethearts. Now, since the kids are home schooled and unsocialized, they shouldn't really know anything culturally relevant, you know (absolutely meant to be tongue in cheek!). Somehow we seem get more than enough exposure to the trends of the present day. Whether that is a good thing or not remains to be seen. But I have to admit, I rather enjoy hearing the cute words that the kids add to our family's vocabulary by picking up on the new words that are created within the preteen and teen subculture.

Now, you'll have to let me know how up to date we are in the new slang arena. For all I (and my kiddos) know, we could be speaking from the "what's not" side of the "what's hot, what's not" list. We may be way behind. Feel free to point it out in a comment to this post. I would love to hear if I'm completely making a fool of myself! I'd also love to hear any other words we may want to add to our silly times as we hang out here together every day in our sometimes deep and sometimes completely goofy HOMEschool. This post will also serve to let the grandmas and moms with little ones out there know what's going on in our world here. This is some of the fun stuff of having kids the age I do right now.

So here goes... we've been using this one for a while, so it may not be that trendy anymore, but it's an easy one to implement...

Coolio... it's just a basic substitute for cool... You can say it relaxed like "cool' eeo" with a soft calm voice reminiscent of a 70's hippie kicked back in a bean bag chair, or you can say it with excitement about something you are really and truly impressed with... "cool ee Oohhh!" (the last Ohhhh is said sing-song like the ding dong of a doorbell)

Is this helpful information?

Own or Owned... this is what you are doing if you have mastered something or if something has got the best of you (ie: "I owned that math lesson" means it was easy for me; "You owned that, Mom" means good job, Mom).
Ownage... When you do well at something you get to yell, "Ownage!". This means I owned that.
Purely owned or pure ownage is shortened to Pown or Pownage... This is even better than "owning" something... purely owning is a step above! (ie: "I powned you in that game. "Pownage!" is used to declare a great victory)

Good to know, huh?

Chillax... This one's easy... "chill out" plus "relax"... This is a good one for when you really want to tell your kids to stop nagging you about something. Love to use their slang against them... hee hee.

Hope this is useful information for ya! Let me know your new vocabulary words!

Supreme & Sovereign God

Project Day

After an extra long weekend of family visiting and celebrating an early Thanksgiving, the kids were in project mood today. Mondays are already hard enough to tackle, but after a weekend full of fun with cousins, they were especially resistant to the normal routine. I had extra cleaning up to do, so I left the kiddos to their own to spend time productively.



Andrew decided that he had had enough of a broken bunk bed ladder. He took matters into his own hands and got out the power drill (yes... a little scary!), screws, hammer, and super glue (for good measure?). I suspected that the ladder pieces would still be on my floor when Kurt came home from work, but to my surprise he came through some early struggles with the rungs not wanting to stick, and completed the job. He was so proud! And I was proud too.

Sydney knew that she wanted to great straight to work on her Christmas sewing. She made homemade gifts for the whole family last year, and she's busy at work again this year. What a little sweetie. She loves to give.

Austin went after the basketball hoop. I guess the basket was crooked. Of course, that was news to me. But the boys were getting annoyed by an uneven hoop. So, he went out in the cold and went to work on fixing that. That only makes sense since he was the toddler who would arrange his toys in a perfect line. He loves orderliness.

Great baby book

Over 14 years of motherhood I've heard and read a lot of advice about babies. It can get confusing sorting through all of the opinions, for sure. Sleeping Through the Night... How Infants, Toddlers, and Their Parents Can Get A Good Night's Sleep by Jodi A. Mindell, Ph.D. has been one of the most valuable finds I've come across in my search for good information. The author explains the science behind sleep patterns and habits. She goes through the different stages and ages of a baby and toddler, which gives an idea of what to expect from the varying times in your baby's first few years.

I didn't find this book until just before having baby #4, and I wished that it had been around before baby #1. I sure could have used it back then. I skimmed it again before having my last baby and just pulled it back out a few weeks ago to reread the sections pertinent to Tessa's present needs.

The tips and advice in this book are invaluable! If you don't like structure and routine, this book is probably not for you. But if you want to be sure that your baby is resting completely and securely; and you want to feel less like a zombie, then this book is a great source to go through. I highly recommend it.