Mondays are Hard

Mondays are hard--pulling yourself out of bed to get to work on time, motivating the kids to get back into morning routines, facing the disaster the house became due to the fun of the past weekend.  Mondays are usually just a bit more grumbly. 

So this Monday, here's what I'm going to do to pull myself out of the pit:

I'm going to have an extra cup of tea with real sugar and lots of cream.
I'm going to steal some of my kids Halloween candy (the chocolate, of course, not the suckers), and
I'm going to let them watch an extra cartoon while I tackle the laundry.
Most importantly, though, I plan to sit down with them after their morning baths (and at least some of the breakfast dishes are cleared), and we are going to make a big list of what we are thankful for today.  When I start listing the gifts I get to hold in my hands, I start becoming a little less overwhelmed with the mound of dishes in the sink or the hours at home that stretch before me.  There's nothing that can pull my mood up out of the ditch more than focusing on all that I have to be grateful for in my life. 

So there ya have it-- my action plan for this Monday morning.
 
And, while it does definitely have an inspirational element, it does still include candy and caffeine, as well. 

Turns out I am human, after all.   :)

Happy Monday, Friends.  (And if it's not exactly "happy," may it lat east be semi-endurable.)

From Books to Life

I am finding this to be true in our homeschooling-- if the mom is not enjoying teaching, the child will not be enjoying the learning.  When the first grader starts crying and stating emphatically, "I hate school" everytime the workbooks come to the table (a.k.a. our house two weeks ago), it should be a tip that something is amiss.  I'm afraid lately that I have slipped into drill-sergeant-paperwork-mode and have avoided the fun stuff--the science projects that are messy or the artwork that takes too much time.  Thankfully, the Parker household has self-corrected a bit last week.  We are diving back into good books, because I have learned about myself that I sincerely love literature.  I love discussing it, I love mornings cuddled on the couch reading it, and I love learning projects that stem from it.  And when I can get excited about teaching something, the entire atmosphere of our school day shifts from drudgery to anticipation.

With that in mind, here are a few glimpses into our book-learning of the past few days.  Feel free to steal any ideas that might work for your kids, too . . .  :)

Some inspirational homeschooling friends told me about Susan Bauer's The Story of the World history books.  There are several volumes that tell the history of the world in story form in Classical Educational style.  We are loving it!  We read a little bit nearly-daily in our storytime, and then we try to do a few of the activities that are listed in the activities book.  This week before Matt left we marked off the sandbox and did an archeology dig.  I buried items from the house that would give clues to how we live life.  I sprayed down the sand so that it would get hard, then armed the kids with paintbrushes and tools to dig. They kept track of where they found their items, we made a list of their discoveries, and we talked about all the things we could learn about a group of people based on the things they might leave behind. 

We found out over 25 facts about "The People of the Sandbox" from items such as a fork, coin money, a pen, a toy car, a plastic ring, and a bottle of lotion.  This was a super-fun, easy history project, and even Ava could participate--a little. 

One of my all-time favorite books is Annika's Secret Wish, by Beverly Lewis.  The pictures are beautiful and the message is powerful.  The story is based on Swedish tradition of hunting for an almond in a bowl of rice pudding on Christmas Eve.  The child who finds the almond gets a special wish.  Annika, the sister in the story, chooses to give the almond to her crippled brother Davey in hopes of bringing him joy. 

Here's our ghetto version of "an almond in homemade rice pudding": a half a walnut in some instant chocolate pudding.

I love to check out nonfiction books at the library weekly to look at during our storytime.  This week we were looking at a book on grasshoppers.  On our walk that afternoon, we just happened to catch a grasshopper, which Cade bravely and gently put into a water bottle.  We took the little guy home to our bug cage, broke out the magnifying glass and the book we had read that morning, and spent quite a bit of time observing him on the front porch.  Who knew an adult grasshopper only lives 30 days or that the one we caught was a short-horned one?  We freed him to finish out his month of life in the front yard. 

So, homeschooling moms, here's my tidbit for the week: Enjoy what you are doing. If you're not having fun, then change something. Throw out a curriculum that breeds boredom or change your daily schedule around. True, learning is not all fun and games, neither is life. Phonics needs to be practiced and math has to be drilled, but don't forget that you are instilling in them a love or a dread of learning. And maybe that should just trump the spelling lesson sometimes.  

The Daily

The homeschooling daily schedule is always a challenge to arrange each year and seems to change with the ages and stages of these kids we call our own.  This being only my second year educating my little people, I by no means claim expertise.  I also know that homeschooling is a fit for evey family like saying that all women should wear a size 4 (yeah, right).  However, I  know that since I have gained such valuable encouragement from other homeschooling moms sharing how they manage their normal days, I wanted to do the same in this post.  Hope this peek into our less-than-perfect routine is encouraging, or at least informational, for you.  :)

An Average Day

7    Kids usually wake; Mom has coffee with lots of cream and sugar. :)

7-8:30ish   Breakfast (I try to do a short spiritual devotional /prayer here), daily chores, get ready for the day, play

8:30ish   Kelty starts her Little Lincoln online
         I play intentionally with the two younger ones (blocks, cars, etc)

9:30ish   I send the two younger ones to watch the end of Sesame Street/Elmo for a 1/2 hour or so
              I work one-on-one with Kelty and her workbook--phonics, math, etc.

10ish   Storytime! (pictured above)
We have to make this an "event" to keep the two younger ones interested.  I get snacks and drinks and lots of book choices.  Right now, we are loving having this time on the front porch outside.  I generally use this time to read a chapter or two of a chapter book and also do our Bible story/Missionary story here.  We go to the library once a week and load up on tons of picture books and nonfiction books to read and learn from.  While Ava plays around us--and spills water and throws sand and disrupts often--we read for about 45 minutes.  This is a cornerstone of our home education.

  

11ish  The two younger ones play, while Kelty finishes up school work.  We do nature journaling or art or finish up workbook work. (Above is our Family Flag project we did today.)  On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, we cut ths time short to get ready to go to Cottage School at our local pulic school.  (This is a state program where she goes for two afternoons a week to do art, science, music, etc. from 12 -4 pm.) On Thursdays, we try to go to the library.

Lunch

1-3ish  Roomtime:  Ava naps while the two older ones have time in their rooms.  Kelty usually does her handwriting work here or does a journal entry during this time (if she is not at school).  They listen to an Adventure in Odyssey, sometimes watch a short movie, or quietly play together.

Afternoons are for playing ouside, riding bikes, jumping on the trampoline, going to the gym, getting dinner ready, running errands, etc.

Bedtimes are around 7:30-8ish.  We try to read for at least a half hour as a family then, too.  We love Junie B. books (so funny) and missionary/hero stories here. 

I must admit that there are moments and sometimes entire days when I question my choice to homeschool--the house stays messier, it is more to manage, it is costly in many areas, and it is definitely not the best for many families.  Yet, in the same breath I have to say that I do truly enjoy it.  I love the freedom, flexibility, and relationships it brings.  I naturally love teaching and learning and reading--and I love getting the chance to do that on a regular, intentional basis with my  kids.  I can't say that we will homeschool throughout their entire school years, but for right now, its a gift I am trying to treasure.

Nature Journaling

On Mondays, my goal in homeschooling is to have the kids and I do nature journaling together.  The concept is a Charlotte Mason idea, and you can read lots about it in Karen Andreola's book entitled The Charlotte Mason Companion.  The idea is that you send kids into nature with art supplies and fresh drawing paper.  You encourage them to observe something in nature--an animal, a plant, a rock, etc.  They draw the object with as much attention to detail and artistry as they can.  They bring the finished drawing back to the parent, and she and the child try to find out a few facts about the nature they observed.  We are using Anna Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study, a fantastic (though wordy) science resource, but you could use any children's science reference book to help.  We write the few facts on the paper, date it, and then save it to compile with the other nature journal entries.  We were graced by a mother deer and her two babies this morning in our neighor's yard, so Kelty quickly dropped everything and crouched close to them to with her box of crayons and sketch paper to draw.  She also drew some purple wildflowers and a pine tree.  I am excited about intentionally getting outside more and observing the complex, creative natural world around us.      

 

A Day of Quiet

My husband gave me an amazing gift on Saturday--an entire day to myself. I packed up books and my journal and Ipod and headed down to the Broadmoor. For the slim fee of the tip I had to pay to valet park my car, I got an entire day surrounded by lush beauty-- green lawns, overflowing flower pots, a lake with swans, quiet benches, and the Rocky mountains as a backdrop. It was the perfect setting for a day of "solitude", a day of quiet reflection for me. I read, I wrote, I drank evian water (because that's the only water the rich people drink), I relaxed in the lounge chairs by the lake. It was such a heavenly break from my normal life of activity with three small children. Its amazing what you can hear and experience when you have the gift of silence--for more than the 30 minutes while everyone is napping. I reconnected with the heart of God and re calibrated my perspective of life and how I am living it. I ended the day with a hike up Waldo Canyon that I have wanted to do since we moved here 4 years ago. I drove back into the driveway that evening at 5 o'clock, shirt sweaty from the hike, hands full of tote bags and a Mcdonald's $1 tea cup, and mind and heart more at peace than they've been in a while.

And, yes, I'm a dork and took pictures of it.




Oh, and hey, don't tell the rich folks this, but Kroger water taste just as good as Evian. :)

The Grocery Game

When I had a friend tell me she feeds her family of five on $300 a month, I thought I would jump in to the way she grocery shops. She uses The Grocery Game. You pay about $15 for two months for two stores in your area. Weekly you log on to their site and they will tell you where the best deals are and give you free coupons. The idea is that you stockpile the cheapest items and build your own "store" at home. If you follow their concept, you will spend about the same amount for 12 weeks, then should start drastically reducing your grocery bill. We are only on week three but have really enjoyed trying to save at the grocery store. We print the list and mark what we are going to get, then Matt takes Cade and hits Safeway with his list, and I take the girls to City Market with ours. Each of us saves about 50% on the total bill each time. We are spending the same (or a little more), but getting tons more food. I could see how in a few weeks, we really will have built a stockpile of food at home. You can try it for the first four weeks free. It IS MORE WORK, but I figure it's better than me going out and getting a part time job, right? Anyway, just a money-saving tip I thought I would throw your way. :)

Tea Party!

To celebrate Kelty's Sixth Birthday, we hosted a dress-up tea party this morning from 10-12 at our house. We had six little girls come, complete in fancy garb and a plethora of jewelry. Amid giggles and crafts, we had a blast celebrating Kelty in total girly fashion.

The tea party set-up on the back porch. I broke out all of my "real" teacups which I have collected over the years (per inspiration from my own mom).

We did a fruit-flower-kabob centerpiece. I roughly copied the idea from a magazine I saw recently. Kelty had a fun time this morning stringing the fruit on the kabob skewers.

The Crafts: I bought some flip-flops and some metal hair clasps from Hobby Lobby, along with lots of fake flowers, buttons, and two boas (that we cut up for the material). Each girl decorated a pair of flip-flops and two fancy hair pins, while the adults hot-glued like crazy.

Matt was a real trooper in the midst of all this girliness. He took care of Ava, cleaned the dishes, and hot-glued pink feathered flip-flops like a true crafty-man.

Matt made this charming hair pin for little Ava. He didn't want her to feel left out. Thankfully, my precious friend Paige took Cade to play with her son Josh during the party. I don't think he would've been into the sparkly hairbows, anyway. :)

The girls.

I have fabulous friends! This is Heather helping Kelty with her flip-flops, and I also had another mom-friend, Pippi, who made three gorgeously decorated cakes (vegan, too!). Heather and Pippi both stayed and helped during the party, while Paige helped with Cade. (I am so fortunate to have these women in my life.)


Flip-flops--the final product. Plenty of Bling.

The Tea Party. (Isn't that cake precious?!)

The presents . . . lots of generous gifts.


This is a purse that Heather and her daughter Gracie sewed together for Kelty. They even sewed a horse on the back! It's made from a pair of jeans. So Cute!

All the girls.

We played a game of Pictionary after the presents, which seemed to be a hit. (And check out all the new bows . . .)

We also went out on the trampoline and played a few games of the standard "Popcorn," along with a game of "Copycat" where the girls got to show off their moves. It was so fun to watch everyone bouncing in their fancy outfits.

Kelty's turn in Copycat.

What a memory! These are those events that are precious to look back on and remember. I love having a little girl like Kelty to celebrate, and I loved watching her get to share this tea party with her sweet little friends. Oh, man, I'm gonna miss these days!

Here is the short video of the Happy Birthday Song . . .

Six Years Ago Two Days Ago . . .

. . . Kelty Parker joined our family. At nearly midnight in Hickory, NC, we were surprised and blessed by a healthy baby girl. As I look back over her six years of life, I am amazed not only by her own growth into this complex, beautiful little girl, but I am astounded by my own growth as a mother and a person, as well. She has taught me so much, and continues to do so today. I love and am challenged by her passion, her creativity, her intense emotion, her artistry, her sense of others, her deep compassion, and her desire for justice. I can't wait to see how she will impact the world in the future. She is such a gift to our family, and it has been such an honor to mother her and learn her over the past six years.


I copied my friend Anna's birthday idea and set a fun table for breakfast. Kelty had the "red plate" (a tradition in my family for any special occasion), and a flower card that had some special descriptions of what Matt and I see in her. (K-Kind, E-Entertaining, L-Laughs a lot, T-Trustworthy, Y-Yearns to do good.)

The Menu: pancakes, bananas, syrup, and apple juice.


The gifts: Art supplies and a package of Twizzlers.


That night we had a special birthday dinner of her favorites: Two different kinds of Mac-n-Cheese, Corn on the Cob, and Pickles. Lots of pickles.


Dessert was a brownie sundae with lots of extra cherries on top.

Give Me a Little Shuga's

One of the highlights of my week is our date night on Monday evenings. I so look forward to shedding the "mom uniform" of comfy clothes with kid-stains from the day and donning one of my few halfway-hip outfits. I love the drive down to Colorado Springs (about 30 minutes away)with Matt talking in the car--uninterrupted by juice requests from the backseat or kid music on the radio. I love being "off-duty" from bedtime routines for one evening, and I love being just a wife. Date nights are such an investment--in time, in money, in our schedule. But I so value the romance it reminds me of and the connection it speaks into our marriage--especially during a season where it seems so much is pulling us in different directions. (And thankfully, Aunt Cassie is a huge help in the arena of babysitting--an invaluable gift to us and our kids.)

One of our favorite "finds" of late is pictured above. It's an artsy place downtown called Shuga's (Turn right on Cimarron until you hit Cascade, then turn right again. It's on the right a few miles down, for you Woodland Park'ers who are interested.) It is a renovated house that is now a bar/coffeeshop/healthy gourmet cafe. It has so much character, fantastic coffee, and a killer wrap that we usually split. We can get out of there with more than an hour of rich conversation, dinner and coffee for about 12 bucks. Some of our other favorite date night outings: Sushi and a movie at the $1.50 ghetto-theatre, coffee or a drink at the outside bar at The Broadmoor, appetizers and drinks outside at Nosh downtown, or the ever-romantic running-errands without the chaotic addition of three little people. Whatever we do, date nights are always one of my favorite few hours of any week.

Spring Campout

Here are some pictures from my grand idea to have a campout on the trampoline last week. I tend to make big creative promises to my kids before I think through all the details. Details like. . .
- that the night I promised to do the campout Matt had to work, so I was on my own
- that it turns like negative 20 after the sun goes down in the CO mountains this time of year
- that we couldn't find any normal flashlights that worked and were stuck with a firetruck light that needed someone to constantly push down the button to get one of the two bulbs to faintly function.
-that dragging all the crap necessary for a campout, along with a 20-month old, out to the trampoline is really quite a workout for the ol' mom.

BUT, for all the difficult, practical details, I must admit, we had a fabulous time.


We brought out tons of blankets and sleeping bags and stuffed animals.


Ava hung with us for about 30 minutes, then we put her to bed inside and drug the monitor out to the porch so we could hear her.


No good campout is complete without snacks: homemade popcorn, juice, and break-and-bake cookies that I still managed to mess up by burning the snot out of.

By the light of the dinky firetruck flashlight, we read an ever-entertaining Junie B. Jones (Barbara Park) book.


We only lasted until about 9 pm, at which point we all opted for the warmer comfort of our own beds. The perks of camping in your own backyard.