So Far, So Good!

We are into our second regular unit of our MFW curriculum and we are loving it! I have found that each 6 day unit can actually be completed in three days, of only about an hour each day. It seems to be just the right mix of seated activites that require focus and other hands-on projects. Not convinced that this particular curriculum would be an appropriate K level for everyone, but it is working great for Pre-K for Boone.

Last week's unit was all about the Sun. The activites were all about the sun and things that start with letter s. Also tied in that Jesus is like the sun because he is light, etc. There is a little section of Bible reading every day that goes along with the rest of the material. I usually read it to him while he's working on one of the worksheets and that seems to be working really well.

 Here are a couple of the activity sheets from last week. Handwriting practice and then a page to draw objects that start with S. About box #2... he was trying to think of something and said "Mommy, how about a simmerette?" I asked him what that was, thinking is was some kind of made-up animal. He said "you know, those little sticks with fire on them that people stick into their mouth and smoke comes out?" OH MY. He insisted drawing one and so, yes, my 4 year old drew a picture of a cigarette on his letter S worksheet... I had no idea he even knew cigarettes existed! One to remember... 

Made a sundial for our outside project. He did a good job checking the line every half hour and writing the new time.

Painted a sun to practice patterns.

Ninja Turtle and some kind of monkey bad guy. Not related to his Unit, but I like it.

Some worksheets from this week, "M."
I especially like box #3 where he drew my "mug" that has his photo on it. Notice the steam coming out the top because it is hot coffee. :) Box 4 is a mummy.

A very fun activity we did today was make a Moon Cake. This week's unit is all about the moon. He measured and mixed everything up, making "craters" like the moon has on its surface.

When it was done, I had him tell me how to cut it to make a half moon and crescent moon. 

Not only a fun activity, delicious too! It is really good!

 I also want to share about the math rods and accompanying book. Each color rod has a different number value and you can mix and match them to come up with the right number of units to make pictures and letters. Great beginning visual math tool!

He thinks these are really fun!












Even though we are skipping some parts of this curriculum that are too simple for him, overall, it is very fun. We're just starting to get into a groove and finding out what works best for what days, and that's going to change anyway when September comes and we get back into more organized activities. Stay tuned!

The Snowball Effect

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. 

(James 1:14-15)

What do you think of when you hear someone mention the "snowball effect?" If you are familiar with Dave Ramsey, you may think of a beneficial way to get rid of debt. This is not that type of snowball effect. I am talking about an unhealthy progression that builds slowly and ends in destruction.

 Picture a good-sized ball of snow sitting atop a mountain. This snowball is always there, calm and contained by a small barrier wall of snow. One day, the snow acting as a barrier was removed, perhaps by neglect or by direct force from an outside element. The snowball obeys the law of gravity and begins a journey down the mountain. It moves slowly at first, gently rolling along down a path, collecting more and more snow, building itself up bigger and bigger. It's increase in size is so gradual, it goes unnoticed until destruction starts to become apparent.

 The snowball travels faster and faster, getting even farther away from it's secure place of containment atop the mountain. At this point, there can be no good outcome. The force has gotten too strong and the destructive effects are out of control. It becomes an avalanche that smashes everything in it's path. Trees, animals, homes, people- any and all things of beauty and value on that hillside are in the path of what has now become an unstoppable avalanche.

The unfortunate end of the snowball is an enormous pile of useless wreckage. The material it was once composed of is still the same, but natural forces left to influence the snowball on their own have brought ruin.



 




This is an illustration of our inherent sinful nature. Our own desires are always there, but held in check. As soon as we let our resolute slip, even just a bit, they start to grow and result in sinful actions not only thought about, but acted out. If not stopped at this point, it begins a destructive progression that can lead to harm to those around us and death to everything good, which God has given us. Here are the verses this is based on once again:

 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. 

(James 1:14-15)

 Our desires + Sinful actions + Allowance to grow = Death

We have all seen this snowball effect lived out, whether it be in our own lives or the lives of those around us.  The good news is that the ugly mess of snow (and remnants of everything it crushed) can be made into a snowball once again. It cannot reconstruct itself on its own, but a powerful external force with creative capabilities can make it new again. Restored and made whole again by the one who created it in the first place. If you're in a big messy pile of ruin at the bottom of a mountain, look up and turn to the only one who can restore you to the form you were created to be. Only He can do it. 

 

 

 

Reality Strikes!

I'm not entirely sure what I expected today as we began the introduction to the year's curriculum, but I do know that is sounded more like heavenly angels singing in the background and much less like the whining that was actually taking place in the room. I already know that the most challenging part of homeschooling is going to be dealing with myself and my desire to have everything in order and done "correctly." Trying to read instructions for the steps of a project is difficult to do when you have a 4-year-old whining about why he can't get out the clay just yet and a 2.5-year-old running around the room with scissors trying to cut everything up. (Don't worry, they were safety scissors and he hasn't learned how to actually use them yet.) *Note to self- mark on next week's calendar to teach correct scissor grip to 2.5-year-old.

Thank goodness there are two intro weeks to break us all in to the routine. I learned a few things from today:

-Must do the majority of Boone's work while Lincoln is napping.
-Fun-looking supplies should be stored out of sight to avoid distractions.
-Read through the next day's lesson plan the night before.
-It is much more important to be present and interact with what they boys are currently doing than to read the manual three times while they work to make sure I'm doing everything right.
-Have cookie dough balls ready in freezer to enjoy after school time. (For me, not them!)
-Must chill out. This is Pre-K. Learning is through play, and should be fun. Grumpy mama is no fun. I don't want to be grumpy mama.

Overall, I think they enjoyed their first day, and I doubt they realized there was any significance to it. They probably just thought they were playing puzzles and coloring in the fun room I set-up for them. And that's how I hope every day will feel to them from here on out

The moment he's been waiting for! Finally got to open his alphabet puzzle!

Linc has one too! Gotta be just like big brother! Found this one in Target's $1 bin.

A Tour of Our "Homeschool" Room

I kept going back and forth about making a special room for homeschooling, and ended up going for it since we have the extra space. Not that I expect all our learning to take place in this room, but I do think it will be nice to have a home for all our curriculum and supplies. Also, with this set-up, we can just close the door if we don't always feel like putting everything away. :) So, here's a little tour of our space:

Main "learning" area

Chalkboard closet doors and shelving. Note the child-size table and chairs in the corner that Grandpa Tony made for the boys!

This half of the room is mostly a play area. I expect Lincoln to spend some time here while Boone is working at the table.

 
Gotta love the size of this room! We are so blessed to have the space to dedicate such a nice, bright space to learning. 

Closer shot of the table set-up.
This was our first little kitchen table when we got married, and I believe this is the fourth time it has been painted! I also sanded and refinished the top, because it had been demoted to the garage, and had some grease and oil spots on it. I made the little cushions for the top of the bench and it is a perfect height for little guys to sit at comfortably. The book sling on the wall will hold our books of the week and whatever else we want to keep within arms reach. Love the mickey mouse print fabric from Hobby Lobby! A bit of a design, but not too busy. 

Reading area and bulletin board.
Just a cushy spot for them to sit and have quiet reading time. We'll keep Boone's easy readers here for him to sit and read on his own. I LOVE this bulletin board! Checked prices on large ones to buy and they are super expensive! This baby cost me around $18 to make and it is HUGE! Got some Quiet Brace fiber board from Home Depot and simply covered with fabric and stapled it around the back. It was supposed to be 6" larger all the way around, but I goofed and forgot to check my fabric width, so we had to trim the board a bit. I still love it! I think it will be a great spot to hang their projects for a visual reminder of what they've been working on that week.

Re-purposed these budget Target bookshelves. Right side is mostly "school" stuff and left side is mostly play stuff. Our MFW curriculum is organized nicely in the file folder storage bin and they each have a large binder to compile their completed work. I'll probably tweak my system once we get into the swing of things to make it work better, but won't know what adjustments to make until we start, which will be soon! 

Switchin' it up a bit

I have not posted to this blog in a REALLY long time, obviously. Plenty of things cross my mind and I think "ah, I should write a blog post about that..." and then someone spills milk on the floor and life goes on. I think the problem is I feel like I have to polish up each post in such a way that it takes hours to write one. Well, no more! I have decided that this will be the place for my "brain dumps" and they will not always be very polished, but maybe they will entertain you, at the least. We are soon to begin the journey of homeschooling, so I hope to share a lot about our experiences in the future. Most of our curriculum is purchased and waiting. We chose to go with My Father's World Kindergarten and teach it to Boone as a K4, more like pre-K. All of the preschool / pre-K stuff we looked at was way too easy and we thought it would bore him to no end, so we decided to confuse ourselves and go into the K curriculum for our little smartie pants. This makes us wonder what we will do the following year.... look into that when we get there, I suppose. 

I Want Immediate Results

I like to see immediate results. 

The thought of starting a new eating and exercise plan that would require weeks upon weeks to get to my goal was overwhelming. Eh… “Pass the brownies! Gimme some of those leftover Christmas cookies while you're at it!” That’s why I talked about it and thought about it and wished for motivation for quite a while before actually doing anything about it. I justified my poor food choices and lack of exercise with thoughts like “I’m not overweight” and “I look ok, I’m thinner than most other Americans.” The problem was the motivation behind this wish was purely an appearance-related one. I wanted to look a little better. Fit into smaller jeans. Who doesn’t want that? Health wasn’t really figured into the equation. I didn’t stop and think about the internal working systems of my body and was mainly concerned with the outward appearance. A shallow goal is not one that will endure the test of time. Or dessert.

So, still thinking superficially, I started to track my calories and exercise most days. I joined a gym near to my house that is quite nice. Thinking about small goals, I thought of my journey on a week-by-week basis. Only weighing in weekly, I found motivation by picturing stepping on the scale Sunday morning and knowing how good it would feel to see progress. I’ve done it before, so I knew I could lose easily if I stuck to the plan. Well, 4 days of no-sugar-induced migraine made for a pretty lousy week. (Be thankful you were not around me in that time! Wow…) I made it through the withdrawal period though, and lost over a pound that first week. That’s pretty good for my 5’3” frame. 

I’m nearly three weeks in now and have lost around 3 pounds, but I’m sure I’ve gained muscle in this time too, so I’m looking and feeling a lot better! It dawned on me yesterday that I am not having the 3pm grump slump every day. You know, that time of day where you need something… Coffee? Chocolate? Carbs with lots and lots of refined sugars? Anything with caffeine or sugar RIGHT NOW please or else I may start screaming at my children oh my goodness someone please help ME the monster is coming out!!! I attribute the junk food and extra sugar I was eating to this grump slump. So glad it’s gone! 

Even though I am getting up at 5am or 5:30am most days to workout, pushing my body and eating many less calories, I have MORE energy than before. More patience with my family. Many less mood swings. Less headaches. I am appreciating food for what it can do for my body and my health instead of just finding something to shove in my mouth during the 3pm grump slump. 

I highly recommend Ken Davis’ book “Fully Alive: A Journey That Will Change Your Life.” He talks a lot in there about his journey from obesity to health and the change it has made in his life. It is an easy read and very inspirational. A main point of his is treating our bodies as God wants us to treat them- God has given us these bodies and we should take care of them in order to live our lives as fully as possibly and to accomplish what His purpose is for us on this earth. How can we live our lives to the glory of God if we are walking around in bodies that have become weak and lethargic (and in my case, moody!) from lack of exercise and healthy fuel?

So where does this leave me right now? I’d like to lose 5 more pounds or so, but the number on the scale is not paramount to my success. I just want to continually seek health. I want it to be my family’s lifestyle and I want to help other people do the same thing. I’m finding lots of new healthy recipes and I’m looking into the benefits of juicing (and other ways to trick my kids into consuming vegetables.) Stay tuned to hear more about that.

The purpose of sharing this is to give encouragement to any of you reading this who may be in the same place. The hardest part is getting started and committing to change. It’s worth it though. Very well worth it.