HOO-HOO-HOOSIER?

This my friends, is what I have been waiting for. On May 1st I bought this piece for $60 for its storage possiblities and have had it at Linda's (painter ex·tra·or·di·naire) house waiting to be painted. I called her last month and told her I was ready and here it is. My beautiful distressed, taupe-ish Hoosier. I wanted it to store all my stamp supplies instead of the plastic drawers that have now overtaken the homeschool room/office. Almost all my stamp stuff fits in here, minus the stamps...I'll have to rethink that one.

The cabinet was cream with blue accents including handles. I think she did a beautiful job, it is beautiful and oh, so deep and full of places to store stuff.



From Wikipedia:

A Hoosier cabinet (also known as a "Hoosier") is a type of cupboard popular in the first decades of the twentieth century. Named after the Hoosier Manufacturing Co. of New Castle, Indiana, they were also made by several other companies, most also located in Indiana.

The typical Hoosier cabinet consists of three parts. The base section usually has one large compartment with a slide-out shelf, and several drawers to one side. Generally it sat on small casters. The top portion is shallower and has several smaller compartments with doors, with one of the larger lower compartments having a roll-top or tambour. The top and the bottom are joined by a pair of metal channels which serve as the guide for a sliding countertop, which usually has a pair of shallow drawers affixed to its underside. The whole assembly, with the counter retracted, is fairly shallow, about 2 feet deep; the width and height are generally about 4 feet and 6 feet respectively.

THE TRUTH ABOUT HOMESCHOOLING

This post is strictly my opinion and my experience.

The truth is I never wanted to homeschool. It was never something I thought about, not even once. When people would ask me if I was going to homeschool I would ALWAYS say I don’t plan to, but if God calls me to I will. Did I realize what I was saying at the time? No! Maybe I NEVER really thought He would call me, that is until He told me I was already called.

I’ve shared my story here

We are wrapping up our fourth year of homeschool. I don’t have a long-term plan for this and MANY people ask how long I plan to do this? This? Like it is some sort of phase I’m going through. Some in the homeschool world say you HAVE TO be committed to this for the long haul and I’m not there yet. I still take this year by year and honestly lately I want to put my kids in school EVERYDAY. Why, you ask? It is hard. Not the homeschooling part, but everything else.

Judah has been sick with ear infections for six months and wants and needs more from me than I have to give in any given day. Kaira is dealing with some issues right now, that I do not feel equipped to deal with. The atmosphere in the house because of marital issues is less than pleasant and that affects everyone. Sometimes I feel I do not have anything left to give to the two I'm supposed to be teaching. We are working on getting along with siblings, but my husband and I don't get along...I feel a little hypocritical.

I am with my kids 24 hours a day seven days a week. My house is used as a primary residence, it houses a small business and triples as a one room schoolhouse, so you can imagine the activity here. Sometimes ALL the activity becomes overwhelming and I just want a break, but there is no where to run (so to speak) and no where to hide. This is my life. I’m not unhappy with it, just overwhelmed. There are no mornings to clean the house or grocery shop. I wipe a counter while I wait for toast to pop-up or throw a load of laundry in when everyone is sitting at the table for lunch. Then my husband will ask days later how long ago did you start the washer and the answer is always the same, “I don’t know.” When my husband gets home it’s dinner time and then I usually work if I don’t pass out before I hit the computer.

Homeschooling is hard! It is not hard to teach the kids they WANT to learn and LOVE to learn. It is not hard to teach different ages at the same time. It is hard because it stretches me in ways I never imagined. It brings my character flaws, imperfections, personality idiosyncrasies and all that other stuff to light EVERY SINGLE DAY. Even writing this I want to cry and probably will before I’m done.

I am aware how much easier I have it than the homeschool moms before me and I am not minimizing their sacrifice in any way. I am just being honest. These are MY struggles right now. With four kids eight and under I am in a constant state of motion and sometimes I just want to be still. Even when I can get away for the occasional few hours by myself I am still doing something for my family or working. It is like being on a merry-go-round and not being able to stop.

My husband does not understand my inner struggle. He either thinks I’m double minded or just plain crazy. He thinks homeschooling is the best for the kids, but that is where his involvement ends. My kids thrive on being at home and have excelled in ways at early ages I never thought possible. I do not run a rigid homeschool and we are not work, work, work - they have a natural love for learning and an environment in which to do so. I have also been able to see so many milestones reached that I would have missed if they were not here.

The TRUTH is I love it, not every minute of it, but for the most part. I love to teach, I get to use my creativity and be productive. Just last week we made corn syrup paintings, they were AWESOME until Kaira put hers upside down on the carpet and stepped on them, on purpose. The fun was OVER at that point and I unraveled quickly.

I’m considering preschool in the fall for the two littlest ones (I hear the gasps from the homeschool community), good thing I’m not out to win a homeschool mom of the year award. Right now I basically just want to make it through another homeschool day. If Mother’s Morning Out helps me do that with a little less stress than so be it.

I do not know what next year holds for us, let alone tomorrow. We have less than a month and a half before we finish this year and I am counting the days. I’m praying God will give me insight and wisdom on how to proceed with this High and Holy calling.

FLYING LESSON

Isabella (2nd grade) and I completed this lapbook today while the little ones were playing office. This lapbook is part of an online class that we purchased at currclick.com. We have completed classes with this professor before and have loved them. The price was right (I would have paid full price - it would have been worth every penny). The class comes complete with videos, vocabulary list, worksheets, a research guide and everything needed to make this lapbook.

We learned about Leonardo da Vinci, the Montgolfier Brothers, Sir George Cayley, Otto Lilienthal, Octave Chanute, and Dr. Samuel Pierpont Langley.

DID YOU KNOW: When Langley attempted to launch his plane, the Great Aerodrome it lurched forward and ended up in the river. Two months later, trying again, he also failed. He was riduculed in papers all over the U.S. The New York times reported that a man-carrying airplane may be built one day, but it would take engineers one to 10 million years to do it. WRONG! Just nine days later, Orville Wright made history and flew the first powered airplane.




I had purchased this video (below) at the grocery store a while back for $9.99. Of course because God orchestrated all this, the video ties in perfectly with the class.

My sister sent us a book on Leonardo Da Vinci last year which will be our prep work for the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit at the High Museum in Atlanta that we will visit soon.

I am so thankful that God directs our steps, makes resources readily available and ties it all together.

A DAY AT THE "OFFICE"

Our new "office" for the preschoolers.

Kaira's first day on the "job"

I saw this idea a while back here, but finally got around to finishing it today. It was a hit! We are on a little break from school while mommy is not feeling so well and this kept Kaira busy for at least 45 minutes today. Now Annais is playing at the "office" and putting things in envelopes and delivering mail. I love when something actually works out like you hope it will.

To complete the office I used: An old phone, bought a keyboard and mouse from Goodwill, used an old mouse pad, put several different pads of paper in the organizer, play money, envelope sized sale papers, envelopes (the remittance kind that I never use), old address labels, play money and a printout of a monitor stuck to the wall. I will add more stuff as I find it and as it is consumed. (Kaira almost used a whole pad of sticky notes today!)

P.S. One stone did make its way out the night before last. Thanks for the prayers.

EUREKA!

Photo from freedigitalphotos.net

"Eureka (Greek "I have found it") is an exclamation used as an interjection to celebrate a discovery," says Wikipedia . Okay, so “what have I found” you ask? A theme for our homeschool year. The Lord is just cool like that, He gives us what we are looking for (or need) even when we are not looking for it (or do not know that we need it). This year I was struggling to get stuff together, but this has given me the inspiration and direction I needed.

We have never had a theme for our homeschool year, but this year we do. God has continually brought Psalm 1 to mind as a theme for us this year and reminded me that I AM A TREE PLANTED BY STREAMS OF WATER and so are my children. A picture of a palm tree is what I keep seeing. I heard a pastor say once that “a palm tree can be bent, but not broken.” I grew up in Miami, Florida – I know palm trees! I have seen palm trees (still standing) after a hurricane. The storms of life will attempt to break my kids and so will their enemy, the accuser, but as trees planted by streams of water they will not be broken as long as they stay connected to the Source.

Today at lunch I told the kids our theme for the upcoming year and Isabella said, “That was our verse yesterday at camp.” I went to the car and got their “newsletter”, published by the campers and the verse of the day was:

He is like a tree planted by water that sends out its roots by the stream and does not fear when heat comes for its leaves became green and it is not anxious in the year of drought for it does not cease to bear fruit. Jeremiah 17:8

I could teach, on that verse alone, for the entire year.

What a foundation my kids will gain from Psalm 1 as they begin to understand who God has called them to be. We will be doing the following:

• Memorizing Psalm 1
• Meditating on Psalm 1 and understanding its meaning in our lives and the lives of others around us
• Decorating with palm trees (they have some cute blow up ones from orientaltrading.com) – this is for fun…gotta have fun!
• Making trees which will bear fruit – as the kids apply what they learn and begin incorporating it into their lives they will get flowers for their trees (I will not set it up as a competition, but as encouragement to each other)
• Use the theme to incorporate all academic activities – math, science, history, art, music and language arts

I am excited about this and think it will be a fruitful year for all of us.

Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

Thank you Lord for speaking truth to my heart to help me teach my kids more about you.

Teach them to your children and to their children after them. 10 Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, "Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children. Deuteronomy 4:9-10

18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth. Deuteronomy 11:18-21

WHY I HOMESCHOOL

Getting ready for Judah's arrival has reminded me of preparing the last couple of weeks for Kaira. God was doing some pretty big things in my heart just before she arrived. Only God could change my life so dramatically two weeks before giving birth to my third child and keep me in His perfect peace. Here is part of the story...

The last two weeks of my pregnancy with Kaira (September 2006) the Lord began to speak to me about homeschooling and I was receptive, so I know it was Him. I had never planned to homeschool (unless the Lord called me to do it I would always say when asked) and it really was NOT something I had a desire to do. But you know when the Lord begins to change your heart and stir your spirit, EVERYTHING CHANGES and in this case it changed FAST.

For a period of about three weeks early in the pregnancy I kept running into women, friends and strangers, who were referring to mothering as “fun” – not a word I would have used to describe it. I began to ask God to show me the fun in mothering. What I realized is that the enemy had, from the time of Isabella’s birth, stolen my joy. Jesus clearly states that the enemy comes to seek, kill and destroy, but He came so that I may have life and have it to the full. Little by little God was replacing lies with His truth. He began to give me revelation of the gift that my children were. Psalms 127:3 became truth for me. It is hard to put into words, but the fulfillment of that promise brought me great comfort and hope that I had not had before.

Isabella and Annais were enrolled in preschool at the time and I looked forward to those two days alone. As in years past I could not wait for school to start, but this time once school started something had changed, I was not so eager to see them go and wondered what they were learning especially when them came home and I only heard bits and pieces. God used several events to remind me that He had a plan for my children’s lives and showed me that I was the best one to guide them on His path. He had instructed me and taught me the way I should go and He wanted me to teach my children. As I mentioned I never saw myself as a homeschooling mom, but always said if the Lord called me to it, I would. The first thing he said to me was, “You are their mother, and you are called”. That was all I needed to seek Him whole heartedly in the area of homeschooling.

A week after Kaira was born the Lord clearly spoke to me in the bathroom at Waffle House of all places. He said, “Invest and I will bless.” I knew what He was referring to my relationship with my husband and homeschooling my children. He just did not give me a time frame. Then through a series of divine appointments I began to gain a deep confidence in my ability to do what the Lord had called me to do. He says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” I had been thoroughly equipped for this and I was to use His word as a basis to teach my children. I have watched Him repeatedly bless my minimal, but obedient efforts to educate my children. He has upheld His part of that deal – as I obey Him, He blesses our homeschool.

I pulled both my kids out of preschool that November, two months after Kaira’s birth, which was God’s time because I had planned on leaving them in until at least Christmas and maybe even year end.

During a conversation with another homeschooling mom while asking her about curriculum she told me she prays about what to teach her son. What? Amazing! Right then and there God gave me a revelation: If He knows the plans He has for my children and I ask Him what to teach them their education will be in His perfect will and time for their lives. I will be coaching them towards their God given destiny. What an awesome privilege and partnership.

Sitting at a ladies tea that December I listened to the speaker share everything she knew about tea and the history of tea. Coupled with her knowledge of tea was her knowledge of history and how it related to tea. I began to think about my lack of historical knowledge, the fact that I had dropped out of school and the Lord spoke to me. “Mari,” he said, “you had so much going on in your life as a child you could not retain all the things you were being taught, but I am going to give you a second chance with your children.” I could feel the tears fill my eyes and my heart swell with gratefulness. Psalm 103:4-5 says “Who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.”

Just before I got pregnant with Kaira I got on my knees and prayed that the Lord would give me an insatiable hunger for His word, He did and it has been an amazing journey. I have been truly transformed by the renewing of my mind which has graced me to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. That day was preparation for a time such as this, so I would clearly know and be able to test through His word all that He has been speaking to my heart and spirit.

God showed me that this was His plan all along, but being the loving and gracious Father He is He was patient with me. He carried me on a path of healing and brought me to a place of rest before He revealed His plan. He brought me to a place emotionally and spiritually to receive the gift.

People tend to think that homeschooling is something only some people can do and I am here to tell you that it is something that is proof positive for me, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". There is nothing special about me, I am just obeying my Father and He's doing the rest. The most work that has had to be done in our homeschool has been in my heart, actions and attitudes. I have had to give up my ideas of how things should be and submit to His. I have had to have my mind renewed and still do in His truth and let go of the lies. I have had to give up things that worked against me and family and submit to His ways. It is a continual learning process. The more I teach my children, the more I learn about the faithfulness of God to love me so much He will not leave me this way.

This song really speaks to the change that took place for me as He prepared me for His plan.

READY FOR YOU BY KUTLESS

HELP NEEDED FROM THE 50 STATES

I have been doing a 50 state study with Isabella this year for first grade. I have been looking for ways to get postcards from the 50 states and so far we do not have many - this is where you come in. If you are willing to send a postcard from your state or any that you visit to Isabella, please click on my profile and email me. I thought this would be a great time to do this so she would receive postcards during the first few transitional weeks when baby comes home. I will only respond to emails from people I have corresponded with in the past. If you have friends that would like to participate let me know before they email me, so I do not delete the email.

Thank you for your help.

GETTIN' READY FOR BABY

Besides the fact that it looks like Babies R' Us threw up all over our house we have been making preparations for Judah since the two lines appeared on the stick in the Walgreens restroom; preparing our hearts that is.

These are some things I have done with the kids:

1) SIBLING CLASSES - Isabella and Annais both attended a sibling class at the hospital, which were wonderful and I highly recommend. It was also a day for them to be alone with mommy or daddy and have lunch at a tea room because we all love a good tea time.

2) PRAY FOR THE BABY TOGETHER - This is something the kids started at the beginning of the pregnancy, which has just been so precious to hear and watch.

3) READ CHILDREN'S BOOKS ABOUT PREGNANCY, EXPECTING BABY OR BIG BROTHER/SISTER BOOKS - I scanned content before reading to the kids, not all of these books ended with a positive message. I do not mind some negative behavior as long as there is a positive conclusion.

4) PROJECTS - Isabella and Annais made lapbooks* as the big brother/sister which included the following:

• Babies in the bible and the meaning of their names


• Drawings of what they think Judah will look like


• Their footprint next to a baby's footprint


• Letters to Judah (picture below)


• A chart to record their birth statistics and Judah's for comparison


• A drawing of our family now and after Judah is born


• Certificates from their sibling classes

This is the cover to Isabella's lapbook and her letter to Judah, she is telling him how her rest time was "their" playtime. She would lay on my belly and he would kick her in the head, she loved it.



This is Annais' cover for his lapbook and his letter (written by his teacher) to Judah.



A lot of the stuff in these lapbooks came from lapbooklessons.com you have to sign-up to view the materials and these can be found under prince/princess missions.

*What is a lapbook you ask?

From BellaOnline:

A lapbook is a hands-on tool that you can use with your children in place of worksheets or other monotonous learning tools. It can be used for ages preschool through high school and can be used with any subject matter!

This is a lapbook Isabella and I made which includes detailed pictures of the baby month-by-month that we cut out of the magazine they gave me at the doctor's office. We tracked baby's progress month-by-month, Isabella would write three things that were growing, changing or developing in Judah during that month and we would watch a video here - I would screen before watching with children, there are some parts I would fast forward. It was amazing footage and facts, I often found myself tearing up at the sheer beauty and miracle of it all. Isabella was just excited that she has fallopian tubes!





5 - SHOPPING - Took the kids shopping and they all picked out a gift for Judah.

6 - T-SHIRTS - As a gift from Judah they each got a big brother/sister shirt to wear to the hospital. I found the cutest shirts for only $12.99/each and they arrived in two days at cookiebabyinc.com.

What are some things your family does to get ready for baby? We'd love your thoughts and suggestions too!

THE SWAP

15 HOMESCHOOL MOMS + 15 ACTIVITIES =

HOURS OF LEARNING FOR OUR LITTLE ONES

Tonight I hosted a preschool activity bag swap and it was a hit. It was like Christmas morning as we watched awesome activities being placed in our boxes made by other moms. Each of us was responsible for making 15 of one activity. So, when everyone left tonight they had 15 different activities for their younger children to do while they school their older children, make dinner, talk on the phone (hahahaha) or sit down with a cup of tea. These are also great to throw in a bag to take to doctor's appointments or church.

Check out activitybags.com for complete details about how to host your own swap. I have already made some for my kids and they are great. All activities fit in a gallon size, zipper-top, freezer bag and have instructions on the outside. All activities are easy enough for the preschooler to do on their own. The ladies who came up with this concept are brilliant in my opinion.

Some of the activities are: TEXTURE RUBBING, ABC PUZZLE, HIDDEN TREASURE, CLIP THE SQUARE AND TEAR IT UP. They teach skills such as creativity, texture awareness, letter recognition, matching upper & lowercase letters, sorting by color, abc order, observation skills, sorting, fine motor and developing finger muscles (pre-writing). Photos of sample bags

Ten of the 15 moms were able to come to the actual swap tonight and we enjoyed fellowship, tea and treats. There were two different homeschool groups represented and some personal friends. It is awesome to see so many women come together with a common goal and have fun and fellowship at the same time.

I would love to do this again, but as an outreach for missionary families, for moms with lots of kids, or as shower gifts.

Seriously, if you have kids check out the site, it will be worth your time!

SOMETHING REALLY DIFFERENT

This is not my typical kind of post, but these days are not typical kind of days. I may be nesting months before I should, but I am trying to de-clutter and organize the house prior to baby number four arriving. The GREAT news is I am doing all this in a peaceful and relaxed manner, not in my previous perfectionist and obsessive way. I am able to enjoy this pregnancy so much more than I have been able to in the past because I REST and it is wonderful and I am at peace with all the REST I am doing.

Although I am resting A LOT (ask my husband and kids) I am still able to get some things done...like organize the homeschool room.

Here are pictures of my wonderful new homemade organizers:

On the top right are cereal box magazine organizers and the red boxes are bulk, Ramen noodle boxes that I spray painted with paint I found in the garage.

Close-up of my bulk, Ramen noodle box spray painted and labeled. This one holds ABC books and other alphabet activities.

A close up of cereal box magazine (or book) organizers. Of these I am most proud since these usually cost several dollars a piece, my cost - $0.

Side-view of cereal box organizer.

This is the closet - truth be told 75% of the stuff in here is my stamping/scrapbooking stuff, which often comes in handy for homeschooling.

My only bookshelves in the room and they need to be utilized to the fullest, so they MUST be organized.

I do not want to mislead you, we do not use our homeschool room, well at least not for homeschooling. There is no way it would be this neat if it was used everyday. We opt for the kitchen table or couch for two reasons 1) my youngest sleeps in there (I moved the pack n' play that sits in the middle of the room for the pictures) 2) my little one is like a tornado when we are in there. We used to have a table in the middle of the room where now said pack n' play sits and do everything in there, but right now it just does not work. Maybe one day we will make it back in there.