The Best Salsa Recipe EVER

Wanna know the BEST salsa recipe ever?!?  I will probably NEVER buy salsa ever again.  This is AMAZING.  I got it from the Pioneer Woman website.  Here's what you need.

1 can of whole tomatoes.  Get the big can.  (Drain)

2 cans of rotel.  I usually get mild cuz the original is too hot for my sensitive pallet.  (Drain)

1 bunch of Cilantro.  Cut enough for 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup.  Chop it up.

about 1/3 onion chopped.

2 cloves of garlic, chopped.

2 juiced limes.

1/4 tsp. cumin (totally optional)

1/2 tsp salt.

1/2 tsp salt.

Here's the magical part.  Throw it all in the blender and pulse.  DO NOT BLEND/PUREE/MIX.  Pulse it.  I promise you guys that this is THE BEST salsa recipe out there,  Give it a try today!!!

Money Management

Sir Lancelot and I have tried several things to try and teach our kids about money.  The hard part is that a lot of times, things just weren't working out.  One dandelion for one penny.  1 Hour or work for x amount of money.... yes, they worked hard, but did they get paid?  Well, that's our fault.  Execution is hard for me if there isn't a system or mutual agreement between hubby and I.

We decided to try another thing.  The kids are going to try to sell... rabbits.  So far, we've had one litter with success.  We sold about 4-5 rabbits. Wahoo!  Getting the word out is hard though.  We'll probably make some signs to prop up on the street and then we might stand on the side of the road for a while to see if we can get some attention there.  It'll be work for the kids and hopefully they'll learn that in order to get money, you have to work hard, and spend money to maintain your project.

Rabbits need to eat and drink, so every morning, I go out with the kids to feed them and make sure they have enough water.  The kids will then use their earnings to buy food.  We have 3 mama rabbits who are now pregnant and should have their next litters in a few weeks.  We ran into a few hiccups though.  Rabbits need a specific diet or else they can/will eat their own babies.... that was quite the disgusting experience that happened to us one morning.  Good thing it was Lance who discovered it and not Lilian.  We hopefully have that issue ironed out, I guess we'll find out with the next litter.  (Yuck!!!  I guess that's a good science lesson.)

So far, the kids are enjoying their project.  If you're interested in a rabbit, let us know!  Haha.

Stay tuned for our first week back to homeschooling!!!

Laundry Everywhere!!!!

Throughout the summer, I have been trying so hard to get a routine down for myself and the kids.  When Dad is home, sometimes things get interrupted.  He's been so busy making our house a home and hopefully we'll be able to finish the showers and trim on the main level.  Super excited about that, but we'll see how well it goes.  With that, though, there are things that he needs help with, so "MOOOM" is a common name being called.

One of the things that I've fallen behind in was laundry.  Laundry, laundry, laundry, I could scream!  I NEEDED to find a new system.  Previously, I had a day for each person, but that amounted to several loads of laundry a day that needed to be done.  I quickly found that with Little Elf now in the picture, I need something quicker and more efficient.  So, I changed my game plan.

Monday- whites
Tuesday- Light Colors
Wednesday- Dark Colors
Thursday- Work clothes and Denim
Friday- Sheets and Towels
Saturday- anything else that needs to be done.

Some of these days also consist of diaper laundry.  We cloth diaper every day except Sunday when we go to church and the routine is a little different than the other days.  It gives me a little break and allows me to focus more on keeping the Sabbath day holy instead of worrying if the diapers are sitting a day too long.

I bought a whole bunch of these sorting hampers and I will hopefully get these kids trained to put the appropriate type of clothing into the matching hamper.

So far, it has worked immensely well.  I don't feel so burdened throughout the day to get laundry done!  It's one or two loads a day, we take a break from school or TV and fold laundry together.  That's the trick- family work (Thank you Donna Goff!)  I get my children to work with me, even the 2 year old!  We sort the clothes, fold the clothes, put the clothes away TOGETHER.  I just hope that some day, Curly Girly and Ferdinand learn that laundry isn't as hard as they make it out to be.  Haha!  For me, the stress is gone, the mountain of laundry is gone and it's a lot easier to maintain.  Of course, there are things that are going to need to be washed immediately, but that's the great thing about this system.  If that does ever happen, I just grab something else, like baby clothes, and throw them in the washer with the shirt with blood from a bloody nose on it, or the pillow case with drool spots all over.  I feel like this will continue to be a good thing for us... at least until the kids are big enough to do their own.  Wink, wink!

Lessons Learned From Horses

I think one of the things that you will find me saying over and over again, is that homeschooling is not just academics.  I always try to have the vision that I'm not just trying to raise "smart" children, but I'm also trying to raise children who know how to make good decisions.  Recently, Sir Lancelot and I got some new additions to our family.  Introducing Dakota and Tinker.

Dakota

For myself, these horses have become a huge motivation to get the things done to actually GET done.  Horses need time.  They need people to work with them.  They need care.  But as a mother and a homeschooler, I can't spend ALL my time with our horses.  The house needs to be cleaned, children need to be fed, clothed, loved, nurtured.  But as a family, it's been fun taking care of our horses.

Tinker

Since we've gotten the horses, it's been a little bit easier teaching that work needs to be done before play.  Yes, the kids can get distracted, bored, etc. but when I remind them that we can't do the fun stuff unless the hard stuff is done, then they get back to work pretty quickly.  I've also seen improvement in attitude- not just in the kids, but myself.  Working with our horses has taught me a little bit more about patience.  Dakota is a jumpy girl, and needs work.  Tinker is spirited, has been worked with a lot, but also hates being alone.  When you lead her, she usually tries to get you back to where she can be with Dakota, but if you get mad at a horse- it's never a good thing.  Horses need guidance and PATIENCE.  Children are the same way.  Often times they are not trying to be "naughty", they're being inquisitive, practical.... not naughty.  They need to be guided- and as a parent, I need to be patient.

Sometimes though, I need to face reality.  A lot of children's work is play.  This is Ferdinand working hard on his Math-U-See.  Haha.  Kids, especially this young, really just need to play and explore the world.  And, I have to say that I'm completely ok with that.

What planner do I use?

A Homeschool planner is essential in my opinion.  I need a planner to organize my thoughts and lesson plans for the week.  I found this really cute one on Etsy for super cheap.  A huge bonus is that you can use it over and over again.  The dates are not written in any of the months, you get to fill them in yourself.  It was TOTALLY worth the money I spent to use it, and this is the 3rd year I've used it.  LOVE IT!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/197141792/homeschool-planner-printable-set-sized

This etsy shop has so many things like weekly dockets, business planners, meals and recipes to name a few.  I love her shop and it's well worth your money!  So, if you need a planner of any kind, not just homeschool, check her out!

(No, I do not get any compensation for recommending her stuff, I just love it so much!)

May is the Month for Birthdays

Sir Lancelot turned 30 on Monday.  Thirty has never looked so good.  I'm honored to be his wife and the mother of his children.  He is such a wonderful father and a hard worker.  He is definitely the bread-winner for our home and I love him for it.  I can't wait to spend eternity with him.  Love you so much Mr. Hostetter!

Good Reads

I get a lot of comments like, "I could never homeschool."  Or, "I don't know how you do it."  Well, I have to be honest.  I don't know how I do it either.  I DO know, however, that this has been a long prayerful decision and I know that it's what Heavenly Father wants me to do.  The task is daunting.

When I first began homeschooling, I bought an all-in-one bundled curriculum.  Everything was included, everything lined out for me.  It was a blessing.  It was a wonderful beginning.  Now we're getting to the end of our second year and I've felt the need to spread my wings a little bit.  After some research, I bought some books as guidelines.  Let me tell you- I don't entirely agree with everything these authors have to say, but I have found a wealth of information and guidelines on how to organize my own homeschool and home in general.

The Well-Trained Mind- This book outlines all ages, from birth to college.  I mostly use this book as an outline.  I really like it's scope and sequence.  I'll use science as an example.  Year one- you teach about physical science.  Animals, the human body, plants.  Year two- Earth Science and Astronomy.  Magnets, space, etc.  Year three- Chemistry.  Molecules, chemical reactions, atoms, etc.  Year four- Physics.  Simple machines, sound, light, energy and power.  All of this outlined for you and then the next 4 years, when they're in 5th grade to 8th, you repeat the same year subjects but in more depth.  Genius!  On top of the core subjects, Susan Wise Bauer adds in foreign languages like latin and greek, religion, music lessons, etc.

A House United:Changing Children's Hearts and Behaviors by Teaching Self-Government- What a title!  So far, I have really enjoyed this book.  I just started it, but I can already recommend it to families who may struggle with communication.  Right now, Nicholeen Peck recommends having a family vision and mission.  Vision is the "what" and the mission is the "How."  I will have to give a more in-depth review of this book when I finish it.  So far, it's pretty fascinating.

Parenting with Love and Logic- some may have heard of love and logic.  Sir Lancelot took a couple courses in College to renew his teaching license.  Their main focus is teaching children responsibility.  One thing I got from them is that a lot of times, parents make their children's problems, their problem.  The moment you raise your voice, you have made it your problem.  "Mom! I can't! I won't! I don't want to!" Instead of responding with a yell back or upset tone, you simply state, "I'm sorry you feel that way." etc.  Another thing that I've learned it that children respond better when they feel they have a say in their situations.  Give them a choice.  This has especially worked well with Ferdinand.  He's one stubborn little boy, and won't eat his food a lot of times.  We give him the choice to eat his food, or he can sit on his bed for a little bit.  One day, he refused to eat so we said, "You can eat your food or you can sit on your bed."  He chose to sit on his bed.  After whining a few minutes, he comes out of this room and says, "ummm.... I want to try my food now."  Problem solved.  He made a choice, which led to him making an even better choice AND it didn't become a power struggle between child and parents.

A Thomas Jefferson Education- Teaching a Generation of Leaders For The Twety-First Century- Another mouthful.  This was probably the most controversial of the books I've read.  It works for some families, but not so much for others.  Oliver Van DeMille's "vision" is to inspire children and read classics.  Read, read, read.  You can learn mathematics, grammar, life long lessons through reading classics.  When he says classics, he doesn't just mean Plato, Shakespeare, and the Bible.  He inludes Newton, Einstein, Darwin, Freud, Galileo, Copernicus, etc.  I imagine a lot of these classics may be hard to read.  I may not agree with reading Newton to my elementary aged child, but the biggest thing I got from reading this book was that you have GOT to inspire.  How many of us remember what we learned in school?  Honestly... what do you remember from your 7th grade english class?  I don't remember much because I was just going through the motions.  However, I DO remember my research about children and ADHD, anxiety, essential oils, supplements, animals, biology, botany, WWII, Schindler's List, Hans Christian Anderson, Goats, (yes goats....) and even some truly controversial subjects, etc.  Why would anyone do this?  For me, I was intrigued, inspired, and I wanted to know.  Any doctor studies day in and day out... why?  Because they want to know how to help.  They're inspired.  Any lawyer studies government.  Why?  Because they're inspired.  Get my drift?  Children are the same.  They need to have a small fire lit, even if it's barely burning, you are to be their mentor and turn that flicker into a bonfire.  This is something from this book that I agree with 100%.  Anything that your children are interested in, grab that idea and run with it.  Take them to the library, watch documentaries, there is a wealth of information out there.  Curly girly is obsessed with the ocean.  She knows so much about these little water animals and I never would have found out about them without first reading or watching about it.  A lot of it is very fascinating!

The Book of Mormon- Probably the most important book that I've read.  None of these other books matter if it wasn't for the time that I spend in this single book.  Spending time with God, praying and studying His word, is what keeps me going with homeschool.  These little Spirits that have been entrusted to me need the best mom that they can have and I'm honored to be that person.  I know for myself, that I can't do any of this without the influence of the Spirit.  I need that Spirit, I need to always be on a spiritual "high" if you will, if I am to guide my children to be functional adults.  I'm not perfect, but I do try to do what is best for my kids.

These books are just the beginning of my journey.  I'm sure I'll always be reading something about how to be a better parent or have a more organized home.  But that's the joy of it.  There's always something to learn and through example, my children will realize that the world is full of things to explore and figure out.  I'm not shooting for mediocrity.  I'm shooting for the best people they can become.  I want my children to be problem-solvers, active members in their community, happy and honest parents, but the way that I see it, it begins with ME.

Work and Play

Whenever Dad is home, we try to spend as much time with him as we can.  The past while, he's been putting up a fence around our yard.

 

 

These kids just love working with their dad.  They even make a few dollars.  I can't wait for the fence to be finished!  It's almost there!

Math-U-See may have lost some spark to it, but it's still working for us.  I just think Curly Girly doesn't like math as much as reading.  She loves using the manipulatives, but if the lessons go longer than 20 minutes, she starts getting really bored, distracted and it takes her a long time to do her worksheets.  So, we try to make the lessons a little shorter, then on to bigger better things like Charlotte's Web.

Little Elf just keeps getting bigger and bigger.  She's learned how to roll over, so most of the time, I find her like this, with a big wet spot on the ground from her drool.  I'm pretty good at remembering to put a blanket under her, but it escaped from my mind this time when I took the picture.  Tummy time is getting better, now that I think she's realized that there's so much to look at and "get to".  She's reaching for toys and loves her rattles.  I love this age!

Curly Girly's Birthday

Ever since Christmas, Curly Girly has been excitedly anticipating her birthday.  About a week ago, she asked Sir Lancelot, "How many more days til my birthday?" To which he responded, "5 more days."  Her eyes lit up and she says, "Oh, I'm going to start getting exciting!"  She's a hoot!

She had a good day.  We woke her up and sang happy birthday.  We had cereal for breakfast, pancakes for lunch, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner- with green beans.  What an amazing combo, let me tell ya!  Then we had cake and ice cream and opened her presents.  I can't believe my oldest is now 6 years old.

Happy Birthday Curly Girly!  We love you with all of our hearts!!!  XOXOXO!!!

What happened this week?

Every Monday evening, we gather together as a family to spend time with each other.  We call it Family Home Evening.  We sing songs, we pray, and we talk and teach our children about important things.  A while ago, I mentioned that we talked about emergency preparedness.  This week, we added a few more things to our 72-hour kits.  Pocket knives, fishing line, hooks, and bait, chapstick, sunscreen and other things.  Lance found some really cool whistles online.  They can open up to store matches.  Curly Girly was able to get 15 matches into her whistle.

I also did a little rearranging.  Costco had some large maps and I finally got around to putting them up.  Once we get a homeschool room, they'll be relocated, but for now, I think this is suitable.  CG loves asking where Grandma's and Grandpa's, aunts and uncles are.  We also learned a little bit about Egypt, so we looked that up on the map as well. (Don't mind the half eaten apple on my kitchen table... life happens)

Underneath the maps, we have a calendar.  The kids love putting the weather cards on each day.  At the end of each month, I plan on making a grid and learning about how to make a chart.

Little Elf is 4 months old today.  She's getting way too big, too fast.  It's been so fun seeing her little personality come out.

Tomorrow is Curly Girly's birthday.  I'll be sure to post pictures!

Ferdinand's Preschool Program

Last week of preschool for us!  Last night, Ferdinand performed as a monkey from the jungle in the last song they sang as a class.  I have to admit that I am excited to be able to let them sleep in, without having to yell, "Get up, ya lazy bums!" like my father did growing up.  Haha.  So proud of my little boy and the progress he's made this last school year!

A big shoutout to his teacher's Mrs. Campbell and Miss Vivian.  Ferdinand and I loved working with you this year!  It was a pleasure for sure!

New Beginnings Began a Little Late

I'm super excited to announce that we have actually done some formal learning.  It's been a while and the kids are a little distracted from all the lack of structure, but after Monday and today, I feel like our homeschool structure will come easily. 

 

Curly Girly and I finished level one of All About Reading and we are now moving forward to level two.  She was so excited to put those last few stickers on her progress sheet and put them into her notebook.  She also got a Certificate of Completion.

 

Math-U-See is also going well.  The very first lesson talks about place value.  CG loves using the manipulatives.  We have single green "units", blue "tens," and red "hundreds".  The instructor from the CD makes her laugh.  He talks about how the "teen" numbers are super tricky.  So to help remember how to "see" it, we will call them, "onety-one, onety two, onety three, etc."  So when I help her count, I remind her that the "ty" means "ten."  I think after a week or so, we'll get it down.  So far, it's been really nice to put aside only 10-20 minutes just for math.  After today's lesson she finally said the magic words, "Math is fun!!!"  Hallelujah!!!

 

As a family we chose to read Charlotte's Web by E.B. White.  It's a personal favorite and I've been impressed that Curly Girly is really good at knowing what is going on in the story.  We've reached the part where Wilbur finds out the farmer's plans to butcher him (it's a cruel world) and Charlotte then says that she will find a way to save him if she can.  This is a wonderful book, and I'm so glad that we are reading it together as a family.

Ferdinand will be finishing his last week of preschool this week.  Little Treasures has been a blessing this year and I've been very impressed with his teachers.  His speech has greatly improved and he has made some great friends that I hope will be able to come play one of these days.  There is a small program tonight so I will be sure to post pictures.  Stay tuned for those!

1st Grade Reading List

Spring time is the perfect time to come up with your next year's curriculum.  I've been doing a lot of digging and if you've been following my blog, you'll know that I've come up with a few things for language arts, math, and piano lessons.  Lately, I've been trying to come up with a list of books that I can read to the kids.  A lot of them are classics and I'm super excited about that.  I remember reading The Hobbit with my mom at a young age, and what I want my children to remember are the good times you can have as we read together.

It's a lengthy list, so bear with me.  Here we go:
Green Eggs and Ham
Chester
Goodnight Moon
Sammy the Seal
Nate the Great
The Cat in the Hat
Danny and the Dinosaur
Amanda Pig and Her Brother Oliver
Little Bear
Amelia Bedelia
The Bravest Dog Ever
Curious George
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
Henry and Mudge, The First Book
Mr. Putter & Tabby Pour the Tea
Floss
Frog and Toad are Friends
Angus and the Ducks
George and Martha
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Swimmy
Little Red Hen
Poky Little Puppy
The Egg
Harold and the Purple Crayon
Madeline
Harry the Dirty Dog
Caps for Sale
Stone Soup
A Chair for My Mother
Bread and Jam for Frances
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
Horton Hatches the Egg
Where the Wild Things Are
Emperor's New Clothes
Corduroy
A New Coat for Anna
The Little Engine That Could
The Bears on Hemlock Mountain
Doctor De Soto
Billy & Blaze
Millions of Cats
Velveteen Rabbit (abridged)
Thunder Cake
Andy and the Lion
And to think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street
The Story of Ferdinand
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Polar Express, The
Miss Rumphius
Story of Babar, The
Strega Nona
Blueberries for Sal
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Little House, The
Story About Ping
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
The Ox-Cart Man
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
John Henry
Flat Stanley
Make Way for Ducklings
If I Ran the Zoo
Tikki Tikki Tembo
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale
Little Red Riding Hood
Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
St. George and the Dragon
Librarian Who Measured the Eart
Charlotte's Web
The Trumpet of the Swan
Chronicles of Narnia
Any of the Ramona books
Pippi Longstocking
Dr. Seuss books
Eric Carl Books
(I hope I didn't repeat any)

I have a confession.  I love books.  I love old books, new books, picture books, and classic books.  But the problem is that I love OWNING the books I love.  I have issues with libraries.  They're good for when you want to read a book that you've never read before, but if you love the book- you can't keep it.  My point is: I probably spend way too much money on books.  Haha!

Some of these books that I listed, I haven't actually read myself, but the great thing about homeschool, is that you get to broaden your own horizons.  One of the great myths about homeschooling is that you HAVE to know things yourself in order to teach it.  How many times are we teachers of something and we actually learn more from the students?  I feel the exact same thing when I think about homeschooling.  If I don't know a thing about a certain subject, I simply say, "Hey let's learn about this subject together."  Heavenly Father never meant for us to stop learning.  He wants us to learn regardless of our age or profession.  Isn't that wonderful?!?

I'm so excited about this list!  I don't even know where to begin.  I'm always open to suggestions, too, so if you have a book that you just LOVE and would be appropriate for a 1st grader, let me know!!!

Math-U-See

I personally enjoy math, but finding a curriculum to teach math has proved difficult.  Curly Girly started Saxon math (http://www.christianbook.com/page/homeschool/math/saxon-math) in Kindergarten and it was really fun.  She loved playing with the manipulatives, which consisted of pattern blocks, teddy bear counters, linking cubes, tangrams, and all sorts of different, colorful things.  Then, the next year we started Saxon Math 1.  It became a drag.  Where did the manipulatives go?  We weren't hardly using them anymore.  Sure, we're learning how to count with pennies, dimes, and nickels (who doesn't like money?!?), but slowly and painfully, Curly Girly was losing the spark of discovery.

So, what did we do?  We started researching again.  What curriculum is fun?  and uses manipulatives?  We ended up choosing Math-U-See.

Math-U-See is a mastery approach to math.  It does not go by grade levels, but rather, the level at which your child is ready to learn.  If they simply aren't getting multiplication, you could be working on those lessons for weeks at a time.  And for those others who's math concepts come easily, you could work on one lesson in a day.  I loved this idea so much.  It is much better suited to our needs than the spiral approach that Saxon uses.

I can't wait to dive in.  I'm debating if I want to be one of those lame moms who "schools" during the summer or not.  Curly girly has been begging to do school, but I'm still kind of in newborn stage and recovering from all these bugs that we've been getting.  We simply just haven't gotten to it.  I have all these great ideas that I want to implement, but I think Math-U-See is the one I'm most excited about.  We'll have to see.  Ferdinand only has 2 weeks of preschool left, so perhaps when he is home for good, we'll get started and take breaks when the occasions call for it.  I'll definitely keep you updated with what I decide in a later post!

(If you would like to explore Math-U-See some more, please visit their website at www.mathusee.com)

Image taken from (https://www.google.com/search?q=Math+u+see+alpha&safe=active&espv=2&biw=1440&bih=775&site=webhp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjz2MmAxarMAhUN-mMKHVsBA8YQ_AUIBygC#imgrc=SnJIUyZdaw5OcM%3A)

April Showers

It seems like when it rains, it pours.  I have been pulled every which way and have had way too many trials that I'd care to take on, but there is finally some light at the end of the tunnel.

After my first little sickness, I got sick again with a cold for several days.  When mom is sick, the house get's neglected and kids get super bored.  We got snowed on, and since I wasn't feeling well, the kids stayed inside because I had no energy to deal with snow clothes and messes.  Plus, it was an awful muddy mess at our house since we just built a house.  My van got stuck, 6 inches deep, in mud.  Fun stuff! NOT!

So what did we do?  We strung beads onto yarn.

Obviously, The Sprite had a blast.  Her favorite part was rolling them onto the floor and throwing them at her brother.

Ferdinand enjoyed putting several beads on at once.  He was pretty good at it.  I think his motor skills are improving.

Curly Girly loved doing patterns.  She mostly wanted to make sure she got ALL the beads of the same color.  Heaven forbid her siblings take them!

We also learned about emergency preparedness.  The kids had fun putting bandaids, gloves, gauze, alchohol swabs, etc into their own little baggies.  We also gave them their own backpack for their 72-hour kits.  It's important to tell the little ones about what to do if there ever were an emergency.

Homeschool isn't just learning academics.  It's teaching them about life.

Home Education Council of America- Family Work

The past couple of weeks, I have been a little "missing in action."  I have 2 reasons for that.  Reason #1- I got really sick with a clogged milk duct.  No bueno.  No fun.  Reason #2- because I was sick, I decided to attend a "Homeschool Bootcamp" from a website called www.hecoa.com.  So what is HECOA?

HECOA is pronounced heck-oh-uh.  It stands for Home Education Council of America.  It is a place you can go to watch webinars and all sorts of different resources for either veteran and/or beginner homeschoolers.  They have a wealth of information.  I have a basic membership, which means that I can only watch the webinars live and sometimes they offer a 24-hour replay window.  If I want to go back and see all of them, I'd have to purchase a higher level membership.

They hosted an "Ultimate Homeschool Bootcamp" the past couple weeks.  The awesome thing was that I could watch it from my home computer or iPad.  I didn't have to get any babysitters, it was all from the comfort of my own home.  This bootcamp was mostly geared towards the newbie homeschooling moms/dads.  We are almost complete with our 2nd year of homeschool and I still consider myself "new."

One of the ladies who spoke was named Donna Goff.  She talked a lot about family life and the Charlotte Mason method of homeschool.  I was completely drawn to how she taught.  She referred back to the day of when you had to milk your cows every morning, get the eggs from the chickens, grow your own produce, make your own cheese, yogurt, bread and all these things that we take advantage of whenever we go to the grocery store.  She said there is a disconnect sometimes between generations.  Our generation "lacks" the ability to do family work.  Family work is the ability to guide children to do the hard things in the home.  Cleaning, chores, WORK.  Parents show their kids once, and then expect the child to do it perfectly from that time forward.  Children are not mimi-adults.  They require time, patience, and a good role model.

When she talked about family work, I said to myself, "that's something I want to do."  Many times, and I know I have fallen under this category, we expect our 4 year old to do something that we have only shown them what to do once.  For example, put their laundry away.  We sort the clothes, we fold them, and then we put them into their drawers.  Well, I asked Ferdinand to put his clothes away, expecting him to neatly put them into the drawer.  What happened later, he had put his pants in his sister's pants drawer, and put mismatched socks into his sock drawer.  What Donna Goff talks about is that we are creatures of habit.  Work WITH your children, day after day, week after week, month after month, and they will, out of habit, do things correctly, the way you showed them.  It takes consistency, and it may take years for them to get it down, but isn't that was parenting is?  It's not just babysitting on a daily basis.  Parenting is love, year in and year out, guidance, nurture, cultivating, etc.  You're goal is to get them ready for society, for life, and success.  And you only have about 18 years to do it.  Start when they are young.

I don't know why this was so hard to understand before.  I was and am so used to doing things myself.  So, starting yesterday, we did laundry together, we cleaned rooms together and we scrubbed toilets together.  I love this new way of "homeschool."  It's not just academics that I teach.  It's teaching my children how to conquer the hard things and enjoy family life.  Yes, it was hard to take a few more minutes to guide them through the process, but teaching them now will save me a lot of headache and heartache later on.

So, Donna Goff, thank you for your webinar session.  From now on, our "home-ec" class will consist of working together, no matter the age, and creating good habits of cleanliness and a sense of pride and responsibility in our family work.

Why do I use Faber?

I've gotten several requests to share why I use Faber for teaching piano lessons.  I'm not against Alfred, Schaum, John Thompson or any other methods out there, but through my college training, I found that Faber was easy to use, especially for the young mind.  When thinking of how to write this post, I thought of 3 main reasons why I choose to use Faber above any other method.

Reason #1.  You are exploring the highs and lows of the piano.  You are using several fingers on the same note.  You are breaking through the mind frame that the piano only consists of one hand position.  So often, when I get students, they are SO focused on middle C.  Both thumbs on middle C, religiously.  For me, personally, this drives me crazy!!!  The piano is not like a flute or any other wind or brass instrument.  You can and WILL use several fingers on the same note, especially middle C.  It is a chore to get that past minds that are so focused on using the 5 fingers in the same position throughout an entire lesson book.

Reason #2.  The pace is slower than normal.  This is great for young minds as well.  I would not recommend using these books for anyone older than 8 years old.  8 year old's are able to grasp concepts at a significantly quicker rate than a 6 year old can.  However, if you have a child who is good with tempo, knows how to count to 10, and knows his/her alphabet, I find that Faber is an excellent starter method.  It's meant for younger kids.  I started the piano when I was 4.  Notes were confusing at first because my mind did not make sense of the fact that if the note goes up on the paper, the note goes up on the piano.  Faber slowly goes through these small steps in such a way that it's fun, engaging, and makes sense to either right or left brained kids.

Reason #3. Tempo is taught more profoundly.  Instead of using 1-2-3-4 (although they don't necessarily condemn it) quarter notes are 1, half notes are 1-2, dotted half notes are 1-2-3 and whole notes are 1-2-3-4.  So when you have a passage that is 4/4 with 4 quarter notes are are counting 1-1-1-1, instead of 1-2-3-4.  If you have two half notes you will proceed to count 1-2, 1-2. instead of 1-2-3-4.  As a young child I got SO confused with the ones, twos, threes, fours, and all those "in betweens".  I love this because you are focusing on the VALUE of the note.

So, this is my preferred method.  If I am teaching a brand new student, this is my go-to.  If I am getting a student who is already familiar with another method, then I usually try to stick with what they know and supplement with Faber.  What can I say?  I'm a Faber fan.  :)

If you are interested in buying Faber, they are available through Amazon for pretty cheap.

Homeschooling With a Newborn

I get it... Newborns are hard!  But something that I didn't realize that might be a little more difficult is homeschooling with a newborn baby.  With all the stops and goes, feedings, naps, crying, diaper changes, and more feedings, pumping sessions, ALL THIS STUFF and on top of it trying to get Math, Language Arts, Music, Art, Science, History packed into one day... I have to be honest.... we haven't done ANY homeschool since baby was born.  There were a few days when my mom was here to help for a few weeks, that we did some formal school, but it didn't last very long.

One day, overwhelmed and feeling guilty, I asked a homeschool group online, "How in the world do you do this?!?"  One lady referred me to this.  http://www.lovetolearn.net/most-important-homeschool-lesson  And what exactly is this?  It's called "The Baby IS the Lesson."

Sure, formal education is important.  But it's also important to not run faster than you have strength.  The guilt lifted off my shoulders.  Right now, during these few months, I've been teaching my children a very valuable indispensable lesson through EXAMPLE.  Teaching how to care for another human being, being selfless with things like giving time to read a book, cleaning up spit up, changing clothes, wiping boogers and tears and countless other things.

So, let's talk realistically.  Curly Girly will be six years old in May.  Technically, she won't be in 1st grade until fall.  I COULD even hold her back another year if I really wanted to and do another year of Kindergarten.  This means, she'll be ready to learn how to read, add, subtract, learn how to spell and learn different reading rules throughout the 1st grade year.  Well, I think we're quite ahead of the game... She can do most if not all of those things listed.  Turn the lens toward Ferdinand, who is only four years old, turning five in December.  He'll be entering Pre-Kindergarten.  Learning the letters of the alphabet, sounds, shapes, colors, etc.  Again, I think we're on track.  There's plenty of work to be done with both of them, but I'm not worried.  We aren't behind in anything.

So what's the moral of our blog post today?  Each day is valuable.  Each day my little scientists with their white lab coats and safety goggles are observing what mom thinks is important.  What are my actions saying to them?  What are they learning through their observations?  I definitely hope and pray the lesson they learn is that MOM loves her family and that they know that THEY are LOVED.

The Best Thing About Homeschool Is...

Homeschooling has its perks.  I love being able to see my children's progress.  Curly Girly's eyes glow with anticipation as we learn new concepts.  She reads from the scriptures every night and she's at the point where we don't hardly need to help her anymore.  I owe the credit to All About Reading.  If you need a supplement or full out curriculum, check it out at https://www.allaboutlearningpress.com

Another thing I love is that you can get them started at any age.  The Sprite has recently showed interest in coloring, like her big sister.  I showed her how to hold a pencil while coloring and while she isn't doing it the best in the picture below, she's now holding it like an adult.  She's 2!  I see another artist in the making.

I'm not sure if we'll continue to do notebooking or not in this fashion.  I love the idea of the 3-ringed binder with tabs separating the different subjects we cover.  I think it will be fun for Curly Girly and Ferdinand to see their work that they've done throughout the year.

With a newborn baby, I've really tried to implement lessons on how important parenting is.  Babies take lots of time and I hope that as they grow older, they will know how important a calling it is to be fathers and mothers.  I'm not perfect, and I'm pretty sure my children know that, but the absolute best thing about homeschooling is that we get to learn and grow together.  I love learning from my kids.  The best lessons to be learned are from the mouths of babes.