A maths leson out-and-about

I was caught out recently. We needed to go out to the shops which of course then led to a trip to the coffee shop. I usually take a book but we left it in the car by accident. So I was wondering what I could do or talk about to take advantage of the opportunity to be sitting down together with Sunshine's full attention. Then Sunshine and Sweet-pea on their own started counting the tables in the shop, which led me to asking them a string of real-life maths problems for them to solve. Ahah! maths, what a good topic. Across the counter was a row of 21 thermos cups, perfect for adding and subtracting. Here is a list of what I remember asking them.

• How many tables are free?
• If some customers came in and sat down at one of the tables, how many would be left?
• How many thermos cups are lined up on the counter?
• How many of each colour?
• If a customer came in and bought 5, how many are left?
• If another customer came in after that and bought 4, how many are left?
• Can you count backwards from 20?
• Can you count just with even numbers?
• How about counting in 10s, can you count in 10s?

I just love it when I figure out ways of teaching that aren't planned and instead just flow naturally out of our daily life.

Merry Christmas!!

I can't help it, I love Christmas. Following my last post on playing to your strengths, I thought it would be a huge bonus if I could find ways for us to learn around doing things that I love. It's fun!

So, this week, (a bit too excited as it was still October) with Christmas tunes playing, I did mostly a whole days learning from the first Christmas story.

To start we read a the story of the first Christmas (subject: english/reading). Then as a family, we drew the nativity scene, a bit of free drawing, a bit of copying from the book, but most importantly it was a family effort with crayons and textas--2 year old scribble included (subject: art). Then we learnt the first verse of Silent Night and sang it together (subjects: english/memory work and music).

 

Our family nativity artwork.

It was a bit of fun, we now have our family nativity scene up on the window for all to see who visit us, and it made me so happy when Sunshine and Sweet-pea requested we sing it again yesterday, and then today I heard Sweet-pea talking and say "the first Christmas". Of course she knew the story already, but I'd never heard her refer to it as "the first Christmas" before so that made me smile. They are learning and we are having fun at the same time.

Playing to our strengths

I could make this a really long post. But I don't want to. I just want to say, that I have leant how easy things can be if you have courage to break the mould, and play to your strengths. This was made acute to me recently when my hubby and I were asked to go on the roster for children's church. I have been involved in children's church on and off over the past 12 or so years, but since I had children of my own, I've not really wanted to. The responsibility has been too much to add to our already hectic lives, and being me (one who plays by the rules and does things because that is what is always done) being involved in children's church has almost always felt like a burden to me. But this time is different. This time my hubby is the main one responsible, and I am his trusty assistant. And would you know, being who he is, he thought why do I have to do it the way everyone else does? I don't want to. I'll do it my way.

His way was playing to his strengths. Music. He played the guitar and sang, and started teaching the children some good old Christian songs. He was himself, natural and genuine and I was impressed. Impressed at how naturally he taught, how genuine the experience was, and how joyful it was to just flow with it and not be burdened with trying to replicate what everyone else does just because I was locked into thinking that is what we had to do. It was refreshing and he did a superb job leading and I think I did a pretty good job for someone who can't sing very well!

Ignoring the folding

Last week I bribed myself with a bottle of bubbly (a treat for me!) to fold the washing that had piled up. This week I thought I'd do the same thing, but when I sat down at almost 10pm Friday night to do it, I gave up after 3 or so items. The pile is now sitting next to me and I think I will ignore it again another night.

Sidenote--I have taught my girls how to fold with me, it is a part of their home education to help me with some of the household chores. But lately I have been ignoring it. Things feel so busy even though I've spent practically the whole week at home.

Anyway, I just think that it's ok to have some washing piled up. I mean, we have clean clothes to wear, my children are looked after, the house is mostly clean and in order, and we are getting through each day. I have time to spend with my darlings and that is what matters. I may look back on this period and think yes, I had a lot of washing waiting to be folded, but I will also look back and think of all the fun times we spent watching movies together, playing games, reading books, cooking, breastfeeding, changing nappies, trying to get Flopsy to smile etc., and at the moment that feels like time much better spent than folding the washing :)

Life through my children's eyes

Sometimes I like to think through the events of the day through the eyes of  my children. I will pick one of them and then replay some of the conversations and things that we did, imagining I was the little innocent he/she is, and wonder what it was like for them. What did he or she experience? What must he or she been thinking or feeling? I imagine being small, behaving as he or she did, responding to me or what we were doing or seeing. Was I  respecting and valuing them and what he or she had to say or was I in a rush, not listening to them?

It is an interesting thing to do. Often it is fun, and more often than not it softens me more towards them. It reminds me to view them as real individuals with feelings and ideas and personalities that are young and innocent and vulnerable. Little grown-ups in the making, worthy of respect and time and love from their mum.

Friday fun

A new favourite ritual for us on Fridays is to head to Gloria Jeans coffee shop with my 4 darlings and read a Beatrix Potter classic to them. I did it mostly for me to begin with, to feel like we were being productive whilst doing something I loved (drinking coffee). I didn't think my darlings liked the story time all that much until one week recently they said something like, "where is the book mum? I want a story", that I discovered they actually enjoyed hearing a story. It is hard sometimes. Sometimes I have to talk loud and quickly and sometimes Sunshine has to hold the book up for Sweet-pea and Harrison to look at while I'm feeding Flopsy and reading it out. But it is fun, and it is something I now look forward to each week we are free... Coffee with my darlings (and a Beatrix Potter classic).

And upon leaving we usually end up with some lovely comments about what a good job I'm doing and really, we can all do with hearing more of that when we are working so hard as mums!

Do you want to know what I'm excited about?

Handwriting! ...and teaching cursive handwriting to my children. ...and maybe even to me?!

I initially downloaded the Victorian cursive font from our state government education department's website and was making worksheets for my children to copy and learn. I liked the new way they were teaching letters such as b which was more like the old loopy version they taught like 50 years ago than the ugly 'modern' cursive I was taught. I have nice handwriting, but I spent time making it neat and pretty, but I would love to have gorgeous handwriting. So we have been working off my personally made worksheets but I wasn't happy with the progress and I realised, "hey, I'm homeschooling, I don't have to do things like everyone else who is at school in my state".

Enter Handwriting Without Tears curriculum. It is not expensive (yay!) and will ultimately teach a gorgeous cursive style that in time, my daughters will love to scrawl notes to their husbands in and my son will love to write loving notes to his wife in. And maybe, my husband will one day love to receive notes from me in ;) ... So I ordered two books to get cracking in. I'm excited that I will have something that my children can pick up each day and work in without me having to do any prework. It is sorted, tested and should work. So, hopefully the children love it too. Will be kind of annoying if they don't ;)

One downside was the cost. Shipping from the US is expensive! Frustrating that things cost so much to post to us here in little Oz...

One thing is for certain

I can not manage 2 blogs. It remains to be seen if I can manage 1, but 2, certainly not. So I have decided to post my homeschool posts here with anything else I decide to blog about and just manage this one blog. Maybe then it won't seem like such a big task and I will be able to handle it. We will see... so anyway, that's what I'm doing :)

I have a baby!

She is cute and squishy and over 3 months old. I will call her Flopsy on this blog after Peter Rabbit's sister bunny. It seems fitting, as she is so relaxed. We also affectionately call her Paleo baby, because she is our first official paleo baby and by golly she is an awesome baby. Firstly she was born quickly - in only 3 hours (thankyou Lord!) and in her 3 months she has been the most relaxed baby, almost never crying. The other night she cried. I almost didn't know what to do, a long shower calmed her down (I think that is her happy place ;) She has been amazing and of course big siblings help. They help rock her to sleep when I'm busy with dinner or chores and entertain her by dancing around and being another face in her sweet eyes.

I get lots of "wow, are they all yours?" comments in the shops and I love it. Really love it. I swan around with them like the proud mother duck with them following after me. Yep, I think they are pretty cute, which explains why I have a million of them. But honestly, this time around has probably been the easiest of all. I just don't have much spare time ;) yeah... kind of don't have much spare time at all.

Put it out there

Or as I really think of it... ask God for it. He knows us and He wants to give us good gifts. I believe that all good things are from God. I believe that God is my father, in heaven yes, and all powerful. I am His child and just like Westley wants to give our children good gifts, God also wants to give me good gifts.

We have experienced many times in our lives where God has blessed us with material things we need or just plain want, but I have a fresh example in my mind which is why I am writing this specifically now... Here is my story...

When I was pregnant with Sunshine, we totally splashed out on an expensive stroller. I loved it, I still love it - three children on it is still going strong. One of the wisest things we purchased. At the time, the stroller came with a basinette/carry cot attachment but at a sweet $200 on top of the $600+ we were already forking out, seemed too much for us so I went without it. I wanted one, but we just could not justify the expense. Then with each additional child I would think about it, and think, "maybe we could get one now?" but no, we just couldn't do it. Never-the-less I enjoyed what I had and loved my beautiful stroller. I didn't think of myself as lacking or anything, I just tried to make the most of what I had and I knew I was blessed with what I had.

Earlier in this pregnancy I decided to check out ebay - maybe I could pick one up cheap?? I also started to think about a basinette for the first time too... so I would roam through ebay for both items. Dreaming... nothing really stood out to me, and I'm not really a person for second hand items when I don't know the person it's coming from either (one of my quirks). But God knew what I wanted. He knew the desire of my heart.

A month or two later and I get a random text message from a great friend who I don't see often...

"are you still a mountain buggyer? I got the basinette attachment this time around for [her third child] and found it fab ... Would you like mine if you don't have? X". 

It turns out that this attachment, is also certified by the makers for use as a basinette as well as a carrycot for the stroller (so covers both my wants). Amazing! It is in excellent, brilliant, superb, wonderful condition and I am over the moon to finally have my 'nice to have', after all these years. This was no coincidence. This was God giving me good gifts that He knew I wanted. I'm almost bawling now... :( tears of joy ;) ...

So I wanted to encourage you all out there, if there is something you need, something you want, no matter how 'material' it may seem. Why not take it to God, put it out there :)

Family business

Did you know that 99% of small businesses fail? Did you know that a large contributing factor to this statistic is a failure to adequately plan. This was one of the first facts I learnt in my high school business studies class.

A love for business was born in me back then which I have not been able to shake since. 14 years later, I have graduated from a degree in business, only my role now is in our home, not out running a business.

Since graduating, I've spent quite a lot of time feeling stupid for holding our family up financially, by investing in an [expensive] education that we can't use to better our financial position. What a waste of time and money I've thought. But do you know what I'm now learning? This degree has taught me plenty for running a successful household and managing money. See, I'm starting to see that families are not all that dissimilar to a small business.

You have the CEO (the husband), the leader of the whole company. The Managing Director (me - the wife) who oversees the day-to-day running of the household. The CFO (someone who controls the finances, in charge of the budget and paying the bills). Money comes in (income or profits) and money goes out (expenses). A place (home) is required for the base operations to take place in. The company (family) has a vision, where they want to be, and a core service offering: providing a nurturing place to support, strengthen and encourage people (children), a platform from which to propel them into the world to achieve all that God has planned for them. Running a successful family requires intense management of resources, money, time and energy; and significant collaboration between the senior management team (husband and wife).

Back to my introductory statement, many small businesses fail for lack of planning. I wonder if this can be true for families also. Many families, while still together, may not achieve all they could or want to for lack of planning. Planning keeps you focused, on track and working together. Planning creates a peace around achieving goals. It increases success and the beauty is that it comes in all shapes and sizes. I like plans and I think they are important. Can you tell? ;)

Anyway, I wanted to encourage all the wives (and mums) out there. If you are a wife or a mum, your role is incredibly valuable, you are also a Managing Director with the potential to have a very successful business!

Encouraging words for Christian mothers

Westley read this to me on 28 March 2006 and I wrote it down. It has been a huge source of encouragement to me over the past six years and I thought it may encourage some other mums out there. They are direct quotes from Rick Joyner in the "The Great Liberation" in the Morning Star Journal Vol. 15. No.4.

• "Our children have a greater calling than Solomon: they are called to reign with Christ. Therefore, every mother of a christian child is a true "queen mother"."
• "What women are called to do in the home, in intercession, and teaching children, is far more important than going out and making money."
• "It is said that our basic character traits are set by the time we are four years old. Therefore, this is when teaching and instruction are most critical. The mothers teaching has its greatest impact on the child during these most formative years, and this can have the greatest impact on the course of a person's life."

I hope they bring encouragment to you too!

The simple woman's daybook

This is my first daybook entry... I spotted these first on another blog and enjoyed reading them, so I thought you might enjoy reading mine...

Outside my window...
it is gloomy and cool. This has been a weird summer, but nice.

I am thinking...
that I should really read more Beatrix Potter to the girls.

I am thankful...
it is Friday. A restful day and we have no pressure on us for today except dancing for the girls this afternoon.

In the kitchen...
it is a mess :( oh my goodness, I haven't thought much about food for today. Probably gluten-free sausages as they are a hit with Mr Harrison. I got our groceries delivered this week and it was brilliant! While slightly more expensive, I enjoyed just ordering the seasonal box of vegetables and fruit so I didn't have to make decisions. Last night we had steak and stir-fried red and green capsicum and onions with a splash of tamari. It was so good, minimal fuss and I so would not have picked those veges up on my own, so it is nice to have the decision made for me :) 

I am wearing...
my pyjamas... I said it was a restful day today ;)

I am creating...
my first daybook entry ;) but I here is where I tell you that I've got grand plans for a patchwork quilt for mine & Westley's bed. I bought the beautiful fabric at a store that was closing down so it was half price. I've not made a quilt before, but I just want a basic square design. I'm hoping I can figure it out. I borrowed a book at the library which has been helpful so far. I have washed and ironed the fabric and bought the thread. Maybe I will progress more on the weekend as I really want it done before my new babe arrives.

I am going...
to get out of my pyjamas and let Sunshine have the computer.

I am reading...

• Rachel's Garden by Marta Perry. It is an Amish fiction story, I read the first one, Leah's Choice and really enjoyed the 'clean' romance and learning about Amish life.
• Hypnobirthing The Mongan Method by Marie Mongan thanks to a kind friend who gave it to me. I have read it before, most of it twice, but need a refresher so I can be a confident, calm birther by June ;)
• I'm also following the 100 days Essential Jesus bible reading plan in the YouVersion app in my iPhone. I've found it great for giving me snippets of gold to think about (and therefore retain!) as some days are just a few verses. 

I am hoping...
For more energy so I can achieve all I want to achieve around the home.

I am looking forward to...
my first yoga class at the gym tomorrow and dinner with two girlfriends friends who I have not seen in a long time! Oh, and it's Friday so Escape to the Country is on - I love watching and dreaming about living in a snug cottage in the English countryside.   

I am learning...
to teach Sunshine to read. This is the first time I've gone through this as Sunshine is our first to enter our home education program ;), it has been a journey but this week we hit a milestone and Sunshine read her first book. I'm stoked!

Around the house...
I have been working on the laundry! Sorting it out, making it tidy, getting the huge pile of dirty things down. My huge win this week was figuring out how to re-jig the small room to permanently accommodate our clothes horse so hubby can have his office looking clean and inspiring again.

I am pondering...
the time... good grief! what happened to my morning?

One of my favorite things...
pretty much all things Peter Rabbit (by Beatrix Potter). Sweet stories, and I love that Harrison has been asking for the Peter Rabbit dvd to go on regularly, and the Peter Rabbit book because I am hopeing he will love the sweet stories and drawings too!

A few plans for the rest of the week...
back to the gym baby! ...and normal, normal life. Ballet this afternoon, and a few errands tomorrow and girls night out dinner tomorrow. Should make church on Sunday. Next week I will see another close friend I have not seen in about a year. Oh and the new homeschool playgroup I have started attending. I'm looking forward to that! It is so nice to be around other people in person who have made the same educational choices as me.

You can find out more about participating in The simple woman's daybook, by clicking here.

I joined a gym!

Guess what friends? I joined a gym for the first time in my life. It had always been a luxury out of my reach but I was finally able to justify it, so yay! I can get fit. I've been feeling like my body is falling apart and I know that I am in my prime. 30 years old, I should be looking my best, feeling my best and it ain't no excuse for me to think that I'm into my fourth pregnancy in six years. Pregnancy or no pregnancy, I'm 30 and I want to feel like it. So I bit the bullet (while the joining fee was zero) and signed myself up for 12 months. I found a good women's gym five minutes down the road that had a good atmosphere (I have to want to go there!).

I have a bit of experience with exercising while pregnant so I'm not going to do anything crazily intense, my intentions are to just walk on the treadmill a few times a week, maybe some light weights on my arms and a weekly yoga class (or two). I'm excited! Excited to feel good and hopefully I will be in my best state to give birth in June... and get back in shape again after my post-birth rest is over. I'm also hoping this will provide me with peaceful time each day just to myself, sowing into my health, which I am also hoping, will make me a better wife and Mum.

Hopscotching the lesson away

Sunshine and Sweet-pea were asking me about hopscotch and showing me how they try to play it on the tiles inside the house. That got me thinking, why not give them some chalk to draw on the concrete, we could have our own hopscotch going on and they could get some exercise and turn it into a bit of a lesson. So that is what we did!

I didn't really have any learning objectives set, I know that Sunshine could always do with reinforcing her number writing so I knew she was going to write her own numbers. They both tried to draw the squares but it didn't work out so well so I did that bit and wrote the numbers for Sweet-pea (but she had to tell me which ones to write). As I they were doing it, I realised they were refining they're coordination (we introduced the pebble throw to skip blocks).

Once they were tired and ready to go inside, Sunshine insisted on drawing  a picture of it on paper and writing about it. So we rolled in some copywork to the activity also (I wrote a sentence about it for Sweet-pea which she copied over and Sunshine composed a very long sentence which I wrote out for her to copy). Turned into quite a big lesson which all enjoyed!

I have news!

So, it's been a long time... but I have been busy. Busy growing a baby! We have a baby girl due in June. My first winter baby. It is a bit weird, I didn't really think of myself as having four children and being at home to raise and educate them (a nice sized university bill will testify to my plans of a lucrative career climbing the corporate ladder!). So I am still figuring out what this life of mine has for me when I spent so many years working towards a life that contradicts what I actually want to do now that I'm here. I know for sure I want to be here with my children but what does that mean? What does that mean for me in 15 or 20 years? I don't know... Something for another post. But what I do know now is that I love babies. I love my children and I am excited to have a million of them and raise them and educate them with Westley. Okay, well, maybe not a million, but four or five would be ace ;)

Long time no speak...

I guess here is where I tell you that I'm not really a writer. It doesn't come naturally to me. Westley is a born-writer, but me, no, no, no. So it is kind of weird that I have a blog. I know. Doesn't make sense, but I guess that is me, I am full of inconsistencies. Hmm... I guess that is all I'll say on that ;)


Anyway, I just know that I am learning all the time. My family is growing and I am changing all the time and sometimes it is nice to document these things and I kind of think that maybe if I share something I learn then the road for someone else might be easier. I know that my road has been easier because of other people who have shared their learnings with me. So I hope that you will feel better off for reading my posts. However infrequent my posts become at times :)