Having "school" out and about

We finished school in record time this afternoon so we went to Hobby Lobby to get some school supplies for tomorrow. I never really realized what a wealth of learning there was there. lol

Boo worked on fractions, percentages, addition, subtraction, and multiplication AND ended up with a cute stuffed toy! A lady let us in front of her in line and after double questioning if she was sure, we proceeded. Boo had already estimated her price by getting out $5.00 (the price of the item was $4.99). Then we had a discussion about tax (ours is HIGH, 9.25%) and the fact that she would need almost fifty cents more. After seeing her face fall ($5.00 was about all she had), I remembered that wonderful thing from Hobby Lobby called the 40% coupon. I had just used my phone to buy mine so I gave it to her and told her she got 40% off. I watched the wheels turn as she thought out loud "five dollars, 5x4 is 20, add a zero, that's two dollars...THREE DOLLARS! I have more than enough!"

She proudly put her toy, her coupon and her dollar, seven quarters and three dimes on the counter and waited. Of course, her total was $3.27 so she rustled in her bag for another quarter and came out with two dimes. I quickly pulled her two dimes together with the other three and pulled a quarter down. "Oh, I see what you did there," she said. "Yes, now you have $3.25," I told her. She proudly produced two pennies from her little bag and handed them to the cashier (who has known her since infancy). Then she turned to the sweet lady behind her her and smiled. "Sorry that took so long," she said. "We are homeschooled now and everything is a learning experience." The sweet lady behind us looked at her and said, "Good for you. That's how EVERYONE should be." I was so proud of her response.

Later we went to Sam's for some groceries and stopped to have a snack. A gentleman came by and spoke to the girls fussing over them (it happens a lot, they are REALLY pretty). He asked Boo how old she was and she told him she was eight. He commented that she was very small for eight (she is). To which SHE replied, "I'm actually almost nine. I've always been small; I was born very, very, very early. It's called premature." He laughed and asked her if she was in school. She looked at me like, "poor man, he just asked the silliest question." THEN she looked at him and said, "Of course I'm in school. I'm homeschooled. We are ALWAYS in school."

I think this might have been one of my proudest homeschool mom moments yet. :)

 

(Kadoodle designed the above graphic. It is Psalm 32:8)

Sticks and Stones

Today we had a little object lesson about words. I thought I would share. One of the reasons many parents choose to pull their children out of school and home school them is bullying. Unfortunately, we live in a fallen world and kids can, indeed, be cruel. One of the things we love so much about home schooling is that our oldest child is no longer experiencing that on a daily basis for being short, young or smart. I hate to hear about a child I love going through difficult times because of the opinion of others in regards to their hair, skin, clothing, weight, etc. I hate to hear children make fun of each other.

 

Recently, I discovered an amazing resource for my budding tween (yes, as much as I hate it, statistically, she IS a tween and is beginning to exhibit many typical "tween" traits). A friend told us about an event called Secret Keeper Girl, LIVE! and they went last year. We are planning on going this fall. I highly encourage any mom of girls ages 9-12 to check it out. www.secretkeepergirl.com

 

We read Dannah Gresh's book, "How to Keep the Little in Your Girl" as well. (Pick up your own copy here, http://purefreedom.org/bookSixWays.htm) Dannah's book is about teaching young girls self esteem in Jesus. She focuses on three things: purity, modesty, and a healthy body image. After all, we ARE all made in the image and likeness of our Holy Father and when we hate our bodies, what does that say for our image of HIM? Anyway, it was part of what spurred us on in our decision to homeschool. If you have boys, check out her book, "How to Keep the Good in Your Boy" because it is an excellent resource as well. (http://purefreedom.org/bookSixWaysBoys.htm)

 

Anyway, I digress. Our object lesson. Last night after a little disagreement our middle child quoted, "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me." I stopped her. I explained to her that words could hurt more than sticks and stones ever did. I explained (as best I could) that while bruises and bones heal, a deep down hurt that came from evil speaking could do more long term damage than any stick ever could. She seemed to get it, but then again, she's only six (almost) so I wasn't sure.

 

 

 So this morning we took a paper plate and turned it upside down (the other side has Easter eggs on it and wouldn't show as well, hey, we're frugal.). Then I gave Kadoodle a small tube of toothpaste and told her to squeeze it onto the plate.

 

 

Then I gave it to Boo and told her to do the same. Then I took a crack at it.

 

 

Then after we had all squeezed, I looked at them and told them to put the toothpaste back into the tube. They giggled. I didn't. Then they realized I wasn't kidding. Kadoodle gave it a try and really thought she could do it. She succeeded in smearing the toothpaste all over the plate. "Ack!" I said. "Now it's even worse!" Again, more giggling. Then I looked at them both and explained that when we speak ugly to others, it's like squeezing the tube of toothpaste. The words come out, but they can't go back in and when we try, the mess just gets bigger. Then we sat down and discussed what Jesus wants us to do with our words. Not only was it a good lesson for them, but for me as well. I am preparing to begin an endeavor that will challenge me on many levels and each challenge will bring a choice as to how I respond with my words. My theme verse is as follows.

 

Revelations for a Friday

I got a lovely surprise last week. My parents came in from Indiana for a surprise visit. They were here for almost a week. Which means we had to do school each day with them present. I got my first experience of what it was like to do that (surprisingly easy). We did really well. But beyond that, I got the greatest compliment on our day off this week. More about that later.

 

We had A LOT of family in from out of town this past week. In addition to my parents from Indiana, Hubby's dad finally finished his contract up North and was able to move here to be with Mom full time. He brought HIS mom to live in a nearby assisted living facility. Because Grammy was moving into town, Grandpa's brother from Northern CA, his sister from mid-CA, and his sister from MD all came to town to help settle their mom. So, Grandpa is finally here (haven't seen him since June), Grammy is finally here (haven't seen her in over a year), two great aunts and a great uncle are visiting AND Grandma and Papaw are visiting. I am amazed we got school done at all! In the midst of that we had a big party for Nayney's third birthday, mine and Hubby's 17th anniversary and Grandpa's retirement party. We even managed to mix in a little lesson on
Christopher Columbus while making breakfast for Papaw!

 

 

Yes, that is an egg standing on its end on our kitchen counter. No, it is not hardboiled and no, it is not supported by anything. It comes from an old story about Christopher Columbus and goes right along with the entire homeschooling concept...

 

 

I was asked at the retirement party why we decided to homeschool. Of course, if you have read my blog, I started this adventure with the reasons why we decided this was what is best for us. But this time I was asked by a family member who happens to be a brick and mortar teacher. What to say? How to answer? Hmmm...

 

I began by giving our reasons (they haven't changed) and got interrupted by a child. I dealt with that. Then we went on for a few more minutes before I got interrupted by a child. Dealt with that. A few more minutes of talking before I, yes, you guessed it, got interrupted by a child. Don't get me wrong. My children weren't interrupting an adult conversation (not that they don't do that on occasion). They were just being children at play who occasionally had to be redirected, corrected, kept safe, disciplined, or just generally taken care of in the way one takes care of small children. By the time we were done, I was exhausted, but still felt like I had a good time and that Hubby had gotten plenty of "grown up talk" with his dad and other relatives. I wondered later if I had messed up the conversation. I wonder sometimes what others think of the way we parent our children. I wonder sometimes how we measure up to others. I know we aren't supposed to do that, but we do. A friend recently told me that she doesn't read blogs because she has a tendency to try to measure herself against the blogger's parenting or homeschooling or housekeeping style. I get that. I also get that this business of parenting while homeschooling can be a challenge and a blessing. Someone posted this on facebook today and I loved it...

 

 

I totally agree!! But homeschooling my kids has done some other amazing things for me. I got this message from one of the aunts after she went home... "Really enjoyed spending time with you, Bill, and the girls! You & Bill are a great compliment to each other and you are raising 3 beautiful girls! I like your parenting skills that I observed this past weekend! Miss ya!" Wow! Talk about a compliment! It really made my "we're running late so let's get busy" morning shine!

 

Then of course, there was an added benefit. Even with my precious parents here, my girls were constantly crawling into my lap to snuggle, stopping to give me a hug or kiss, or coming to me first with every need. To some, that might seem like a trial, but to me it is nectar. To know that my children know that Mommy is their first stop for comfort and necessities is a great blessing to me. It is yet another reason why I do what I do. It is why I love what I do!

 

Oh! And I got a little something extra this week...a new pair of shoes. Maybe ACTUALLY homeschooling in my high heels isn't such an improbability after all! :)