We were at a local festival when the girls were ages 4 and 5. The fire department had set up their truck for kids to see, as well as one of their “practicing” tools, a trailer that had an alarm and emitted smoke so kids could practice getting out. Even though Daddy went through it with them, this created fear in my girls for weeks after because it was so real. They were afraid our house would catch on fire.

Miranda is reading a biography for a book report on Eleanor Roosevelt right now. One of the things that stood out to her was that both of Eleanor’s parents died while she was only 5 years old. Last night, Miranda had trouble sleeping because she was afraid that something was going to happen to Mom and Dad.

When our kids experience fear, we do what we can to comfort them. However, I can still remember being a child and lying in bed with my fears. Even when Mom left the room, I still felt fear. She may have comforted me with her presence, but as soon as she was gone, fear returned. It is impossible as a parent to remove the fear, so what we try to do instead is to build their trust.

For me, it is important that their trust be in Someone who will never fail them. I could try to convince them that Mommy and Daddy will never let anything happen to them, but what if something DOES happen? I can’t promise them that our house will never catch on fire. I can’t promise them that Mom and Dad will live forever. But what I can promise is that if those things happen, they need to put their trust in the One who loves them more than I can. I can reassure my children that we will do everything we can to protect them, but that we are still human. If they are putting their trust in Mom or Dad, we can disappoint them. If they are trusting in God, they can always trust that His way is right.

So when I leave the room, they probably still have to fight their fears, but I know I’ve given them the tool they need to fight them. (And I return to my room and pray like crazy for God to comfort them and help them sleep!)

We even used these a couple of weeks ago for a review contest. I printed out a division worksheet for Miranda, and a subtraction sheet for Clare. I was able to choose the amount of problems on the page and the numbers that made up the facts (Clare needs help memorizing the upper teen subtraction families, so I told the program to only generate facts that began with 14-15-16-17-18-19-20). The good thing is that I can print several pages with the same criteria, and none of them will be exactly the same because each time I generate a new page, it chooses the facts at random.

The site has practice for fractions, greater/less than, money, percents, place value, skip counting (counting by 2′s, 5′s, etc.) and the list goes on. You also have the option to print an answer key when you print their blank worksheet, which makes it all the faster for grading!

If you want a little extra practice for your child in elementary math, go check out Math-aids.com!

A few Saturdays ago, we woke up to a chilly morning. So chilly that I had to go to the storage bins to begin the seasonal clothes switch. I went through the size for each child, and not surprisingly, Miranda and Grant were the ones in need of certain clothes. Clare and Elsie are usually pretty well taken care of with their passed-down clothes and any clearance specials I happen to find the year before. I told Jason that I was going to have to find jeans/pants for Miranda, and both pants and shirts for Grant.

He informed me that one of our favorite neighborhoods was having their community yard sale that day, but said since we were getting such a late start we were probably out of luck. We had only been to a few sales when I found the perfect sale. They had lots of little boy clothes in great condition that fit Grant perfectly. He is now stocked up for the winter, and I only paid $.50-$1 for each piece.

Later on that day, we were able to get several pairs of brand name jeans for Miranda in 2 sizes for this year and next.

I thought it was pretty amazing that by late afternoon, God had completely provided most all of my kids clothing needs for the rest of the year. Now…I really need to find some good deals on shoes for Clare’s long, skinny feet!

Sorry I didn’t get a picture, but it really just looked like a bunch of fruit cut up. And you could really use any type of fruit–this is just what I had available.

2 small apples

2 bananas

1 T sugar

Lemon (or lemon juice)

Cube the fruit into a medium sized bowl. Sprinkle sugar over top. Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice over top of fruit and sugar. Stir until all fruit is well coated. This made enough for 5 of us to have a generous portion of fruit salad.

Rigidly structured vs. Get to it when I can

I certainly think it is wise to have a schedule to keep yourself on track, but I also know that I do have other responsibilities to take care of. If I try to keep a rigid schedule, I will almost always end up discouraged. This is an area that also depends on grade level. When I first start my kids in “pre-school”, I take a much more relaxed approach. I don’t have a curriculum, and I don’t set lesson plans. I simply get to it on the days I have spare time, and we do as much as they can handle in one sitting. If I don’t find time on a particular day, then I don’t stress about it. And if their attention span is only good for 5 minutes one day, then that’s okay. I’m not trying to turn them into a genius at age 4. Even though I follow a curriculum beginning in Kindergarten, I still am very relaxed with our scheduling. In our state, there are no specific requirements for kindergarten, and I don’t even have to send in reports until 1st grade. So as long as they are learning the needed information, I don’t worry when we only make 4 days instead of 5 in a week. I am learning that I must increase structure each time they move to a higher grade though. Once they hit 2nd grade in the curriculum I use, there is enough work to keep them busy for a couple hours a day (in addition to my teaching time). If I set a flexible schedule, it helps me AND the kids get work done.

Let me explain what I mean when I say flexible schedule. I have a time set for school to begin, for snack break, for lunch break, and for getting back in the classroom after lunch. Depending on the day, those times can fluctuate as much as 30 minutes to an hour. Rarely do our days work like clockwork. My start time is 10 AM. This is simply a meter to let me know how I’m doing in my daily schedule. Today, we actually started at 9:40, which let me know that I’m doing okay on time. On Wednesday, we didn’t get into the classroom until 10:20. When I start after 10, I know that I’ve got to keep things moving or we’ll have a late day (These are NOT good for concentration!). My goal is to give them a snack around 11, and let them take 5-10 minutes to relax and clear their minds. If I’m right in the middle of teaching an arithmetic lesson at 11, I don’t stop everything for snack break. I finish up the lesson, talk through the directions on their papers, then hand out snack. There have even been days when we work right through snack break. One day this week we were supposed to take Daddy a lunch at work, then head to the grocery store afterwards. I knew that this would take up a chunk of at least 2 hours, and that they would have to eat before we left the house. We skipped snack and stopped for lunch at 11:30. We stick to a routine as much as possible, and when there is good reason to deviate from that, I don’t let it bother me.

I know there are many things that will affect my schedule. My workload outside of school is only one part of the equation. Sometimes the kids just wake up in that wrong sort of mood and I know this is going to be one of those days I feel constantly behind. Sometimes, we have had company the night before and their rooms are hazard zones. I would rather them get things in order before going downstairs to spend several hours in the school room. Sometimes, Mommy gets on the phone with Grandma and talks too long. It is a constant learning process for me to find that balance between being too rigid, and too flexible. I just keep an eye on the goals and timelines I set at the beginning of the year and make sure I stay close to those. There are times when I have gotten up in the morning, surveyed the situation (attitudes, workloads, other responsibilities), and cancelled school for that day. This is what I mean by flexible schedule.

How do you keep yourself motivated to stay on track? Do you follow a tough schedule or do you allow flexibility?

Here’s what I got on my last trip to Office Max.

I started out with $14.99 in rewards from last months purchases. (This is basically like a merchandise credit that can be used on anything in the store.) Then once that was deducted, I paid $6.30 for the items you see in the picture. The good thing about this purchase is that the cost of the two reams of paper will be credited back to me in rewards for next month (almost $14).

$6.30 is not a bad price to pay for 2 reams of paper, 5 notebooks, a box of chalk, and a good stapler (I have fought with a cheapie stapler that jams every other use for quite a while. Now I have a good basic stapler that actually works.)

Have you gotten any good deals on school supplies this year?

Breakfast Yogurt (This is actually a combination of things listed below. Yogurt with bran flakes and a tablespoon of strawberry freezer jam.)

1. Parfaits   Paying for these at McDonalds or Chick Fila can be expensive, but making your own at home is cheap and versatile. Layer vanilla yogurt with any variety of fruit and granola, place it in a clear cup, and you’ve just made a parfait for half the price of the restaurant kind. (Ok. The clear cup is optional but you get the point.)
2. Smoothies   Another obvious use for yogurt, but one that disguises the taste for those who don’t like yogurt. I just pour equal amounts of frozen fruit and yogurt into the blender, add enough fruit juice to make a smoothie consistency and pour into cups with a straw. Here’s the really good thing about making smoothies this way: you can add bits of mild vegetables to these and no one is the wiser! I have added zucchini and squash to smoothies and no one could taste them.
3. Dips   We use yogurt as a dip for fruit and graham crackers.
4. Toppings   When given the choice, my kids will 70% of the time choose yogurt over syrup for pancakes and waffles.
5. Popsicles   I don’t buy individual kid yogurts very often, like the ones in the plastic tubes, but when I do we make popsicles. Just put them in the freezer and voila! Instant popsicles. You can also make your own by combining plain yogurt and juice like I posted last fall.
6. Ice Cream   Let the yogurt become the ice cream! And I’m not talking about “frozen yogurt” in a cone–I’m talking plain or vanilla yogurt scooped into bowls. Let the kids top it with cookie crumbles, chocolate syrup, or crushed candy (like M & Ms or Reese’s). Hey, some of these options are healthy…and some are not.
7. Oatmeal   Around here, I usually make flavored oatmeal from scratch. If we find a good sale, I buy the instant packets for a treat, but most of the time we flavor our own. Adding yogurt, along with fruit, can make the oatmeal very creamy, without adding tons of sugar.
8. Snack   From the time my kids were just learning to eat solid foods, this has been one of the favorite ways to enjoy yogurt. Mix the plain kind with flavored applesauce! Since I buy the Mott’s applesauces with no added sugar, this snack is sugar free. If the yogurt is a little too tart this way, you could always add a touch of sugar and it is still a healthy snack. (Along the same lines, I have made freezer jam with strawberries and blueberries the last couple of years. While this does have sugar, just a tablespoon of the jam flavors the yogurt.)
9. Yogurt Drinks   I know you can buy these in the store-the individual sized bottles of runny yogurt which come in handy for lunch boxes and on the go snacks. But my problem with these is the high sugar content. So we make our own version by simply whisking together flavored yogurt and milk. Even if I use the very sweetened yogurt, I am diluting it with milk.
10. Cereal   I try to keep milk in the refrigerator, but there are times {ahem, last week} that I do run out. Sometimes I even forget I’m out of milk until the cereal is already poured into bowls. In this case, they either eat it dry, or we use yogurt in place of the milk. This is very similar to #1, the parfait, but serves a different purpose. In this case, the yogurt becomes the dairy in our breakfast. We’ve used Honey Bunches of Oats, Fruity Pebbles, Raisin Bran, and Quaker Oatmeal Squares (broken up) on top.

Now you can see why we go through yogurt so fast. We use it for everything!!!

What is the one food your kids miss if you forget to buy it at the grocery store?

A plan for those who say, “Help! I want to homeschool, but I don’t feel comfortable teaching my kids academic subjects.”

There are so many advertisements on tv, in magazines, and even on the sidebar of internet sites I visit, for homeschooling options that do all the teaching FOR you! These are actually an extension of public schools, and everything you need is provided for you. Since you already pay for these options with your taxes, you can take advantage of these programs without paying tuition, book fees, etc. There are so many advantages with this type of schooling. Your child has a teacher assigned to him or her, just as they would in a brick and mortar school. The child’s hours and grades are recorded for you. Their standardized tests are included, and all you have to do is take them to the set location to be tested. It is basically like being enrolled in the public school system, but your child does all the work at home.

A plan for those who say, “Okay, I think I’m ready to teach my kids. Now how do I choose from the thousands of options out there?”

Pick a company that has been around for several years, and has a great track record. As you look through catalogs and curriculum samples, look for a publisher that offers all subjects you need to teach. Many companies will even give discounts when you purchase entire student or teacher kits for a particular grade level. You can see many examples of curriculum online, but there is nothing like flipping through the books in person. Try to find a convention, display meeting, or a bookstore that carries the products, so you can actually SEE what you are purchasing. You can ask lots of questions at these kinds of meetings as well. Of course the representatives will try to sell you on their product, but if you go armed with questions and lists of  must-haves, you should be able to make an informed decision.

A plan for those who say, “I’m pretty confident in my own ability to teach. I know what my kids need to learn and am ready to find the best products for them.”

Once you are at this stage, you have SO MANY options! Each curriculum provider is known for certain strengths and weaknesses. This is where you really need to find an exhibit hall at a convention somewhere and spend a few hours (or days) perusing all the materials. Listen to their sales pitch, flip through their materials, ask other homeschoolers, then it is up to you to make the decision. You may choose arithmetic from a particular publisher, but prefer to get your language arts from another. This does require a little extra time and effort on your part, both in the selection process AND in preparation for teaching, until you get used to each curriculum’s methods. This option may also be more expensive since you are picking and choosing only portions of a curriculum, without those kit discounts.

I fall somewhere in between plan 2 and 3. I was homeschooled for 7 years (grades 6-12) so I have some experience there. I went to a Christian college that is home to a major textbook publisher, and I did my student teaching in their academy with their materials, so I have some experience there. And I now have about 4 years of experience teaching my own kids at home. Still I get very overwhelmed by the many choices available to homeschoolers. I attended a major homeschool convention a couple of years ago and spent more than a few hours walking through aisles of booths and displays. I scoped it all out, paid careful attention to a few curriculum choices I wanted to consider, but went away determined to stick with plan #2. I still order an entire kit from one publisher. Now that my kids are 3rd and 4th graders, I am seriously considering trying out a couple of those other options next year, but the majority of my curriculum will probably still come from one place.

Remember these are just my opinions. I’d love to hear from you–tell me how you make your curriculum choice!

I’m not an adventurous salad eater. I don’t really care for fruit on lettuce, and I can’t stand raw onions. I’m really picky about salad dressings too. So I have my normal salad narrowed down, and I eat it the same way every time with Hidden Valley Ranch at home, or  Bleu Cheese if I’m at a restaurant that makes it fresh.

But lately, I’ve been trying to make myself eat more salads so I get more veggies in my diet. I’m bored with the norm. So I’ve found a variation that I love. Here it is for anyone who is interested. The taco sauce and sour cream become the dressing, so I don’t have to use ranch or any other dressing.

Lettuce, Black Beans, Sour Cream, Taco Sauce, Cheddar, and a few Tortilla Chips crushed on top.(Listed like a nutrition label where the largest amount is lettuce and the chips are least)

Simple. Nutritious. And this picky salad eater loves it!

Taco Salad in reverse order

“Mom, I know we are here together all day, but I miss you. You are so busy with the new house that I haven’t gotten to spend any time with you.”

This made me feel sad, that I have not given her the individual attention she would like to have from me. But it also gave me a little bit of happiness, that my daughter desires that time with me in the first place.

And I have tried to make more time in the midst of all the busy-ness to talk with all the kids, to let them sit on my lap for a few minutes, to let them even help with a job I’m working on (even if I have to re-do it later). There are reasons for the busy-ness, and it won’t last forever, but in the meantime I want to make sure my kids know they are more important than material things.