Spring Term 2015

I love homeschooling!

I love it for zillions of reasons, but for now I will focus on just a few. Specifically- I love our homeschool routine!!!!

Homeschooling, for us, is a year-round endeavor. In the spring I work hard to research the best possible curricula for the coming school year while I am in the thick of the materials bought the year before (this is so I can purchase the bulk of our homeschool items, subscriptions, and materials with our tax return). Summer is spent with fewer school subjects, mostly wrapping up anything that needs review or may have been missed. In late summer and early autumn we get back in the swing of things and start the new traditional school year*. During the holidays we have special units and change a good deal of our curriculum to fit those unit themes.

*The children may have advanced levels before this time in one subject or another, but for record-keeping purposes we do not advance their "grade" until the fall. If a child advances far enough that they are basically a year ahead, we skip a "grade" the next fall without really skipping anything, as the work was actually done the previous year.

Our typical homeschool day begins at breakfast time. The kids meet downstairs and start their breakfast notebooks (November editions pictured at top). I heard about breakfast notebooks a few years ago and fell in love with the idea! It is a really great way to teach the kids things like addresses and phone numbers (VERY important things to know!!!) and months of the year, etc. I first learned about breakfast notebooks from some friends of mine, who pointed me here. The website shows a breakfast notebook for a younger child. Currently our own breakfast notebooks have our school schedule on one page (pictured above- currently Minecraft themed), a calendar, math journal (it is more advanced calendar work), number of the day math sheet, their scripture/Article of Faith/memory work, a science unit outline and checklist, a scripture map, and then pockets for any worksheets I may add. Most of the breakfast notebook pages are in sheet protectors, and the kids just write on them in Expo markers and erase them at the end of the schoolday.  I change the breakfast notebook covers and contents, checklists, etc every so often, just to keep it fresh and fun. I try hard not to make major changes to the curriculum unless absolutely necessary, as some major changes can be the academic equivalent of changing schools.

For science we usually do unit themes, but right now we decided to dive into the Starting Point Science book and do that for the remainder of the school year (works for us!). I love it so much- I am happy we ended up doing it! I will be tracking down a volume 2, and getting the other new books in that collection as well. If my math is correct, we will finish both volumes and the other books before next school year. We basically cover about two pages per day- which is essentially one concept as part of a larger unit. I really love this, and we quickly review what we learned so far (or already knew) before moving on to the next topic. This is a wonderful opportunity for me to do a nice and thorough review of some really great basic scientific concepts! There are so many amazing articles, videos, worksheets, and more online- we supplement as we go and it seems to be working out REALLY well!

We read scriptures every day and map out where we are. We are currently reading The Book of Mormon, and we are keeping track of our reading on charts such as these. The kids love these maps, and I love them too! We have discussions on our readings, and talk about what is going on, what was learned, and our general take-aways.

We have been using Math U See for a few years now and I am VERY pleased with the curriculum. We start a new chapter by watching the DVD lesson, then we sit down and I work on the new concepts with the child. The child then does daily worksheets that help reinforce the new concept, as well as review past concepts. I allow our children to tell me when they are ready to take the chapter tests. Sometimes tests may happen on day one or two, other times it may take every worksheet in the workbook (a week), and occasionally it takes the workbook sheets and printouts from the Math U See website too. We focus on mastery, and do not move along until a score of at least 80% is achieved- however, this program is so good at teaching, building, and reinforcing math concepts- we have only had each child score that low (80%) once. Usually they pass with 95% or higher (and we have them self-correct their worksheets and exams). The Math U See program really focuses on logic building and uses word-problems at every step and every level. Word problems are the kids' favorites (a passion I never shared growing up!). Very happy, and we will continue using these math books.

Spelling You See was a new addition this year, and one I am so happy we made! I have tried spelling lists, spelling apps, spelling this, and spelling that- and honestly none of them really spoke to my kids. I have one child who is a flashcard genius and would just drill himself until he scored perfectly- but months later when he saw the word again it was often missed. UGH! He would get so frustrated! I saw the Spelling You See program and decided to give it a try. We LOVE it! It takes just a few minutes each day, and really helps the kids learn to spell naturally. This is wonderful for my little kinesthetic learners, who learn best by doing. Now they are learning to spell by writing! We will continue this next year as well.

We have been using Getty-Dubay handwriting for a few years, and I like it a lot. It is an italic to cursive writing method, which I felt was important for them to learn. They do just a page a day. We tried other handwriting methods, and I was not as pleased with the results. These look much better. (Getting them to bring that nice penmanship outside of the workbooks is not as easy!)

Journaling started as my own way of getting Carter to overcome his fear of writing. He HATED writing. H A T E D. Never wanted any part of it! Years ago I handed him a little notebook and told him it was his daily journal. I asked him to draw me something every day. Then I asked him to write me a word (any word) each day. Then I asked him to make me lists, "What are your favorite colors?" "What are your favorite books?" Then I moved on to asking him to tell me stories, tell me about trips, dreams, experiences, etc. I did the same with Harrison, and now they pretty much write about anything. It was once my intention to correct these for grammar, spelling, etc- but I have found that the leaps their journals make from the beginning of one school year to the next- without any interference from me- are a really neat demonstration of the advancement of their language arts skills. So, for now, I do not correct them. (I do keep them and intend on showing them to their future spouses.) The journals are an excellent creative writing activity, and something the kids look forward to eagerly. Our rule in journaling: journals are personal, and we do not read another person's journal without permission. Mom always has permission- all others must ask first.

Reading is vital, and each child has 30 minutes of independent reading per day. This is in addition to any special family reading, book club/group reading, scripture reading, reading done together at the library, reading we do with siblings, reading of recipes, reading of textbooks, etc. 90% of the time the kids get to choose these books. At ANY time they are able to ask to go to the library (it is the next street over).

"Special Work" is my personal favorite thing. This is MY insert-whatever-I-want-to-do-today-here slot! We might do crafts, computer work, special worksheets, family reading (we read the unabridged A Christmas Carol every year. Why? Because I want to, and this is MY slot!), documentary viewing, an outing, yoga, dance party, trip to the store, extra science experiment, super cool math worksheet, really-whatever-I-want-goes-here thing! This gives me the freedom to be super spontaneous while giving them the heads-up that I have something planned. They know that there is something that will happen that is not on the usual schedule, but that is okay- because it is on the daily list. Freedom for me, routine for them, everyone wins.

"3rd/4th grade work" aka generic grade-level work, is different from previous years. My mother sent me these awesome Brain Quest workbooks and I LOVE THEM!!!! They are so great! Each has an entire year of curriculum-based exercises and activities in one fun book! (I literally just copied that from the cover.) This replaced our Time4Learning online work as our kids are still on an anti-computer streak (all them... I don't get it, but am happy to have something else that works!). These workbooks are a great chance for the kids to learn, review, or check their knowledge in various areas. Great stuff. This is where language arts, vocab, structured reading/writing, math skills in various forms, social studies, and generic science are all addressed and completed.

The kids practice their instruments daily. I once asked for 30 minutes but it was too much. We got down to 20 but even that was a headache and frequently missed. For us, for now, we are just 15 minute-a-day musicians. And for right now, that has to be okay. It is one of those times where I have to say, "Okay, Self- are we going to do 0 or 15?" because that is where we kept coming. So, we were honest with ourselves and just made it 15. (And now it happens!)

The last few entries of their breakfast journals list recess and snack/talk time. You might think, "What the heck is that listed for?!" Good question, glad you asked. Honestly, those are listed because they are important. Yes, my kids are home all day... always here... every day... all the time... never gone... but still, it is important for us to talk about things: news, current events, common interests, thoughts, plans, ideas, etc. Why? The conversational skills of American youth are becoming increasingly concerning, especially with the development of handheld technology and the cultural acceptance of public/private/anytime screen-time. Social skills are on the decline. Children need to learn to have face to face conversations, and here at home is a wonderful place for them to practice those skills. And recess? Great things come from recess- especially in a community with a lot of other homeschoolers! (Just today the kids ran around outside with kids their same ages- all of whom are also homeschooled. It was a little neighborhood gathering!)

And that is our homeschool!

I love it. I feel like this is an excellent groove for us, and I am very happy with it! 

Taste the rainbow!

I love science. LOVE IT! I generally get my curriculum formed around the same time that I buy all my materials for the year- thus insuring I will have everything I need for the year to come. I do my homeschool shopping around the time we get our tax return (great investment!) but this year I realized we are pretty much out of materials and new subjects to cover! What should I do?

Drum roll!!! 

I found this awesome Starting Point Science book in my bookcase. I have so many science materials- this sweet little book was missed! I am SO happy I found it because it covers a lot of really great and important simple topics (allowing me to go more in-depth if I choose- but still covering the basics! Great for reviewing past things as well!) and even has some really simple experiments that we can do with objects laying around the house (today we demonstrated how rainbows are formed using a glass of water, some sunshine, and a piece of white paper).

The boys and I read the Rainbows section of the Starting Point Science book (this particular book is a collection of other science books), and then we watched this video of Bill Nye discussing colors and light. We then watched this really adorable video all about Roy G. Biv. I used the whiteboard to write out ROYGBIV and we discussed the spectrum. The boys then colored some rainbows.

We were about to break for snack time when the boys requested we make ROYGBIV rainbow juice. We looked around the kitchen and pantry and gathered fruits representing the various colors. It was really fun to watch them discuss what fruits or veggies should represent each color! "No, let's not do a banana for yellow. Let's use a lemon!" "How about a Cutie orange instead of a navel orange?"

We juiced their creation and they were thrilled to report it was the best juice they have EVER had! Haha, little hams!

Imaginary Captive

There are so many things I feel obligated to do (or not do) based solely on my personality. For example- I feel this compelling need to sign up for things, and then when the time comes to do them my introvertedness (yes, Spellcheck, that is a word) occasionally takes over and I bail. Not only do I bail but I feel a huge amount of incredibly heavy guilt over the whole thing, shame for my decision to pass on whatever was going on, and a private resolution to do better next time accompanying some kind of personal challenge (over which I mentally obsess). The process leaves me feeling like crap.

Today my husband and I were discussing this when I had an ah-ha moment.

There is something I have an opportunity to do, always sorta thought I wanted to do, I am fully capable of doing, and signed up to do- but when push comes to shove- I have not been doing.

Why?

I do not really want to do this thing at all.

At all.
I want to quit.

/GASP!!!!!!

NO QUITTING ALLOWED, MISSY! (This is my personality talking... usually followed by A, B, C invented reasons for why quitting is not allowed.)

For SO LONG I did not quit. I prolonged, dragged, pushed, made excuses... but not quit.

Until today.

Why?

I made a decision.

I will no longer be held captive by my personality. 

I will not stay uncomfortable just because I am used to the feeling.

It was quite freeing, last week, to write my resolution to do yoga. Writing it out and sharing it with the world was so against my nature- but doing it felt great.

Quitting this thing felt great.

I wish I had known I could do this! How many awful books have I MADE myself finish? How many hours of sleep have I missed because I MADE myself clean, or study, or socialize? How many times have I basically punished myself for ridiculous (and self-invented) reasons?

I am stepping outside of the box I created for myself, and it is a good thing. The box was imaginary, and was holding me back from some pretty awesome experiences. (For others, it may be the opposite problem. It may be a challenge to stay in, or get motivated, or finish projects, etc.) For me, breaking out of this imaginary personality box means I am being kinder to myself. I am allowing me to verbally express my thoughts more openly, and acknowledging my personal boundaries and limits (realizing those change from time to time, season to season, and that is okay).

Don't get me wrong. This box allowed me to do some pretty awesome things. I have read Heart of Darkness and Moby Dick, and I have a really great GPA from my University. My life-goal of memorizing all of Shakespere's sonnets is going well, and I can recite many without any difficulty. My house is pretty much always clean, and my kids are at-or-above grade-level in their homeschool lessons. There are times when my particular personality comes in handy, and that is neat. (Especially if anyone nearby needs soup, babysitting, or help of any kind. I just jump in without thinking twice!) However- there are times when I need to "lighten up" too (And mostly, any lightening needs to be in the load I place upon my own shoulders.) and I need to work on that.

This week, I actually told a friend I would not be calling her because I was "feeling a bit too introverted" that day- but I told her I would catch up with her soon. Was she angry? Did she freak out and hate me? No! Actually, she admitted she had days like that too! It was wonderful for me to be able to be honest with my friend, and I am sure she appreciated my honesty too.

I credit a large part of this discovery to the yoga I have been doing each day. Yes- even though my writing is a bit late- my resolution is still intact. Yoga every single day. DONE. This week I actually managed more time than last! I averaged 51 minutes per day. Not too shabby- especially considering I have been feeling under the weather.

This has been almost 20 days now I have done daily yoga sessions. While muscle memory is allowing me to slip into positions that once took years to reach, my practice is (and always will be) a work in progress. Reaching this point so quickly caused a minor dilemma: do I dip my toe into more advanced poses, or should I stay where I am? A great thing about yoga: you push yourself without realizing you are pushing, if only because it feels pretty awesome to do so.

It is not going to kill me to take my inversions away from the wall, and it is not going to kill me to step outside of my personality. 

This week's highlights:

Pose: Butterfly Pose Baddha konasana. This pose just called to me- especially on the days I felt the ickiest. I allowed myself extra time here, and it felt wonderful. It was only later I thought to look it up and check out all of the physical benefits. Excellent stuff for when you are feeling yucky.

Video of the week: This is a hard one! I did three videos this week, and I have to say I loved them all! I followed the winner of last week again, and I also did this practice and really enjoyed that too! However, if I had to pick a super favorite it would be this short practice for headache relief. I had a headache and it was gone after this little session- so I highly recommend it! Give it a try if your head is aching!

Best sequence/additions: This Yin practice was really awesome, and hit the spot for what I needed this week. Yin Yoga has never been my favorite... ever... but I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was extremely enjoyable.

Physical benefits: I started feeling under the weather earlier this week- but the severity and duration have not been bad at all! My inversions are going much better- Kurt has been working with me on unsupported headstands. Love! -4 lbs.

This week's soundtrack song: U2 In a Little While 

Resolutions

My resolution started around Christmas. I knew what I wanted to do, but was pretty scared.

I have pretty much always stuck to resolutions that involved me *NOT* doing something: giving up something, stopping something, etc. And honestly, my resolution success rate is pretty high! (Like when I resolved to give up Tom Cruise movies in 2013! No, really, that actually happened....) Mostly my resolutions have already been things I have resolved NOT to do/see/be a part of. So, when it comes time to officially "do" them starting New Year- it is easy mode.

This was the first one I ever made that actually made me take some kind of action... no more "not" doing something... this one MAKES me do something.

Yoga. Daily.

For those few interested in WHY I chose this, here is a history...

I have practiced yoga for years. I started when I was 14 or 15- in my room with my Seventeen magazine (or was it Cosmo? Don't judge... whatever.) and I started doing yoga by practicing the poses in the diagrams listed on those glossy pages situated between perfume ads. I picked up a few videos along the way and did yoga in a few gyms, Churches, dance studios, and homes with friends etc. When I lived in Saratoga Springs a free yoga class was offered each week and I loved it! I would go and felt amazing. I tried to do "yogalates" but hated it (it was there I got my first taste of "yoga" versus "exercising and calling it yoga because there are a few asanas and stretching involved between pushups".... just loved that regular hatha yoga class. Had a few mats, had a few outfits, kept going to class and doing home practices between classes. My first inversion was in that little hatha yoga class. I was terrified and thrilled! I DID IT!

Fast forward to my time at the U of U. By this time I had experienced so many different kinds of "yoga" I was pretty sure I knew what it was... but I was dead wrong. The yoga instructor teaching my yoga class on campus was AMAZING. It was the first time I ever did 90 minute practices (longest had been an hour), and the class introduced us to even more types of yoga. CRAZY AWESOME FABULOUS. It was there I mastered my Ujjayi breath, learned to step out of my comfort zone, realized the correlation between yoga and just about everything else in life, and found my personal yoga-nemesis (if such a thing were actually exist): yin yoga. 

When we left campus and moved to Reno I found an AWESOME studio called Yoga Loka. I signed up for unlimited yoga and went as often as possible, and even signed up for special classes to learn more about various types of yoga. Had to stop when Kurt's work schedule got more crazy, but we were members of a local tennis club with a yoga instructor who was pretty good as well, and they had a childcare center there so I could bring the kids. Got pregnant with FinaFee and did prenatal yoga, and loved that. It was in Reno that I met my soul-mat: the Manduka Black Mat Pro (extra long, because I am 5'11" and wanted more space). I love that mat so much, if I wasn't married I would marry it. I learned that the mat can really make a difference. (I donated my other mats. I will never need another mat again! No I am not paid to say this- it really is just that awesome. If you have knee issues at all- look them up.) 

Moved to Iowa. I started doing yoga a LOT more often. I remember bringing Fina home from the NICU, and grabbing my mat and a blanket and going outside, I did sun salutations to the sunset. It was awesome- in the sense that it was awe-inspiring. When I was later with Fina at Blank Children's Hospital I did yoga in Fina's MRI waiting room... it was one of the times I could not help but cry in my pose.. I remember crying like a baby in downward dog... makes sense now... wow. Our time in Iowa was by far the hardest emotional time of my entire life (thus far) and I know yoga helped me stay grounded. While in Iowa I continued to practice at home (thank you, Yoga Journal and GaiamTV) but did not go to classes (this is my own fault. I didn't even try the classes at the Y- I had already made up my mind that I would hate them, so didn't bother. There were classes available at studios in Des Moines, but I just couldn't justify the drive). I was invited to teach a yoga class for a local studio, and had started researching yoga training when we moved.

Moving to Nauvoo actually halted my practice for a long time (I suppose in the scheme of life a year isn't "a long time" - but in my yoga life, it has been the longest I have ever gone without practicing). I got busy with school, homeschool, dig, pageant, etc. Just sorta fell out of it. My Yoga Journal would keep coming, but often went unopened (shame!) and I found that my health and wellbeing were out of balance. My spirituality increased exponentially, but my physical health was being neglected. I noticed it about a week before General Conference, and decided to make changes. Then, General Conference solidified my decision, and I was able to lose about 8 pounds and was feeling good about the path I was treading (And then the holidays happened... and we just won't discuss the peppermint bark my mother brought for me....or the cookies... or the other candy... we just won't go there...). At the end of the year I had gained (really putting myself out there now!) 16 pounds. NOT okay.

So, I knew I wanted to be healthier. Not thinner, per se- I mean, that would be cool too- but my main concern is for HEALTH. It was then I realized I needed to get out my mat!

So... there you have it.

Every day I will be doing yoga. Even if it is just a few sun salutations. Even if it is a single pose, held for 90 minutes... because sometimes that is what has to happen... My goals are to have a nice fat 90 minute practice at least once a week (I would love more, but homeschooling 3 kids and having a husband who works more than 60 hours a week makes that a bit tricky- but you've gotta work with whatcha got!), a *gulp* yin practice once a week, and to go with whatever I feel drawn to in between.

The point is that this year I have a resolution, and I am going to share it. I LOVE resolutions, but was not willing to share it before now. No way. Too scared. What if I don't actually accomplish this? Then I will have failed. And if I tell anyone, then all of the world will know I failed. I will be a FAILURE. It was not until I took a fun little personality quiz and saw that the INFJ resolution outcome was: will not tell the resolution for fear of discovery of failure. Pfft. Stupid accurate personality typing.

Here's the thing though. I am more than my personality type. I am more than my fears. I am more than the poor food choices and health choices I made in 2015 (or for years before then). I am more than that. And you know... I want to talk about it. I want to share what it is like. I want to share my journey. Why? Partly so I will be able to look back on it, and partly because there is a microscopic chance it might impact someone else too. Mostly it is to tell the universe that I am seriously ready for this- and I want it to happen. I am not afraid.

I was meditating on this the other day, and I realized that this is one of those moments where I have absolutely no idea as to what the outcome this action will bring. While I am sure there will be physical benefits (I have already lost 2 pounds), I cannot help but wonder what kinds of spiritual, emotional, and mental benefits will come as well! That is exciting!!!! So, I want to be able to document the process- not to hold myself accountable (I do that well enough on my own)- but to remember what I was experiencing along this journey.

I am really excited. It has been a little over a week (I started before New Year), and I am already able to do poses that had once taken me a year to perform (thank you, muscle memory! WOOHOO!) and I am feeling really great about this. I did my first headstand inversion tonight- with the support of a wall. I had not done a headstand in close to 3 years! But you know what? Tonight was actually the longest and most comfortable I have ever held a headstand, and I was even feeling good enough to float without the support of the wall for some of the time! My heart was so happy!!!!

The week's highlights:

Pose: Best headstand EVER! By that I mean I was happy and comfortable in the pose!

Best video I did this week: here. This class had foot massages! 90 minutes. Totally awesome.
Best sequence/additions: here. I loved the affirmations of each pose.
Physical benefits: Increased flexibility already. Had that lovely post-workout light-sore feeling all week. -2 lbs.
This week's soundtrack song: Shake It OFF! Letting go of my fears!

Living the dream!!!

My view, as I type this.

Today I realized I am living the dream.

I am sitting in my nice warm house. It's a wonderful, quirky, special old house. And the view? It doesn't get better!!!

I have three amazing children. Carter talks (we were once told he would not), writes stories, has a beautiful desire for justice and equality, and even at the age of 9 has a wildly fantastic imagination. Harrison is empathetic, creative, brilliant, and one of the most friendly people I know, with an insatiable desire to learn new skills each day. Seraphina is alive (we thank God for this every single day!)- she is smart, happy, and so adorable, we don't remember what life was like BFee.

I get to stay home! I get to bake any time I want. I get to sew any time I choose. I get to homeschool my amazing kids and offer them such a unique educational experience, custom fit to their ability levels and learning styles! I get to buy groceries, make dinners, and feed my family whatever I want. I get to clean my house and make it beautiful and welcoming. I get to see my friends, call my mom, and take day trips whenever I want.

I am married to the perfect man for me, who loves our children wholly and their mother passionately. He loves his job and (97% of the time) comes home happy- fulfilled at work and excited to come home. He is hard working, determined, and visionary. 

I get to read whatever I want, whenever I want. I get to snuggle my fuzzy kitty cats. I get to game on our well-built (thanks to Kurt) computers. I get to visit the Temple, go to the fudge shop, or visit the library just by taking a few steps out my door.

I have a degree in a field that inspires me. I have friends that help me grow as a person. As a woman in America, I have so much freedom in what I do and choose to be. I am free to attend the Church of my choice, voice my opinions, educate my children, and visit places in the community without fear for my life or safety. If a member or my family is injured- we have access to immediate life-saving medical attention. 

I am living the dream!

Do I feel like this every moment of every day?

No.

But if we all sat down and listed our blessings- even if they are as simple as, "I have food in my pantry and a dinner plan for tonight," "I have two arms, two legs, and two working eyes and ears," or "I have the most amazing memories!" it really can help put things in perspective. I am not talking about going through the motions. I am talking about putting ourselves in someone else's shoes, and outwardly observing our lives as the blessings they really are.

I had originally sat down and written a second part to my "living the dream" segment. Item for item it was all the negative things that I could say about each thing I had listed as being something I loved and as a blessing. Yes, I have sweet kitties- but they have times where they fight and make me want to pull my hair out, they are expensive, they shed, they make me obsessively vacuum, they require vet visits and flea treatments. Yeah, I get to homeschool my kids- but there are times where I Google boarding schools and imagine how quiet things would be if they were all off at Hogwarts and I had time alone! There are days where I have to call another homeschooling mom, and cry- actually cry- because things are going so poorly in a certain subject or a certain topic. It did not take long before listing these negative aspects started to depress me... you know, life is not easy... for anyone.

So why is this living the dream?

Because this was always my dream.

I always wanted to live in Nauvoo. From the moment I first visited here in 2001, I was passionate about this amazing city. Now that I am here and part of this amazing community, I am living the dream.

I always wanted romance. My truck is running better than it has in years. I am married to a truly great man.

I always wanted to be a mother. I have loved children, and babysat and nannied for years and years. I desired to have kids, and from our third date Kurt knew I wanted the option to stay home and raise my children full time. I get to do that- I am a mother, a wife, and a homemaker (bonus points that my kids and husband are generally pretty awesome)- I am living the dream.

I have freedom. My time is truly mine. Sure, I have priorities and I have to-do lists- but I also have the freedom to completely scrap them all. We homeschool year round and even on most holidays, so I have the option to randomly take days, weeks, or even months off. Because of Flylady the house is nearly always clean and orderly without much effort, so I could literally take whole days and do whatever I want. I don't- because it's not really in my nature- but I have the freedom to, and really all I want is the option. Living the dream!

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and I know my life has meaning, purpose, and value- just as your life does! Any time I struggle with something- no matter what- I have resources and people there to help me. Prayer, scriptures, Visiting and Home Teachers, local Church leadership- all there any time. Uplifting messages, inspiring magazines, enlightening books and speeches- all available online for free. I also have the extremely rare privilege of living across from a Temple. In most religions featuring sacred structures, living in such a proximity would be reserved for leaders, elite, or wealthy individuals of the community. I am none of those things, and still I get to live a stones throw from sacred ground. I am living the dream!

Thanksgiving can be an amazing time of year, but it can also be a really difficult time for a great many people. Daily struggles are very real. Burdens, trials, and hardship are something that touch all of us. My prayer is that this Thanksgiving, we are all able to reach deep within ourselves, and grasp onto the goodness in our lives. Hold on to the light and beauty all around. Search for things that are pleasing, and bring real joy. Find peace in the present. Share goodness.

Novemburrrrrr!

It is already chilly here! I love it!!!

Okay, on the the subject at hand: November Homeschooling!

We homeschool year-round, with a lighter load in the summer and then we COMPLETELY switch gears in November and December.

Why?

This last week was a really good reminder... sit back and let me tell you about it...

Usually I start our holiday homeschooling in October. (I give Halloween a few weeks.) It starts mid-October and basically I start small and grow from there. When I say we do holiday things, here is what I mean:

• I put little Halloween stickers or graphics on just about everything...
• I choose reading material that has to do with Halloween, silly spooks, or trick or treating...
• I do language arts activities that are themed for Halloween...
• We increase our crafts and art by about 500%, and all of them are around fall or Halloween themes... 
• Pretty much ANYTHING we do, say, write, or make has to do with the season or Halloween...

Did I do that this year?
No.

We were in SUCH a great groove I just kept truckin'...

But the kids had NONE of it.

By the end of the month- just a few days before Halloween- my kids were bonkers. They tried hard but just could NOT sit still, could NOT focus, could NOT pay attention- it was a homeschool headache! I reached out to my dear friend, Brandi (a very zen homeschooling guru), and she summed up my issue in just one sentence, "It's all the excitement of Halloween!!!"

She was right.

So- we are going back to the original plan. Honestly I thought my kids had "grown out" of holiday madness, but apparently not!!! 

It it would have saved me a lot of stress to just go back to doing what I used to do... why fix something that isn't broken!? (Remember that next year, Self!)

November and December are a different story. I
have thought and prayed about this over the years, and even though my content has differed each year- the theme has always been the same. November was about American history, and December was focused on Advent.

I have decided to change November.

Why? Because November WAS broken.

The anthropologist in me has a lot of problems with the traditional stories that go along with the First Thanksgiving (and much of American history... but I digress). My children are eager learners, and I do not want to teach them something "historical" that is actually historically inaccurate. Without going deeply into it- a lot of the current representation of early American history is grossly distorted, and I refuse to teach it to my offspring. When they are older, we will dive into America's history- the good, the bad, and the ugly- with accuracy. But for now I will spare my children the horror of what actually happened when various waves of settlers arrived. I am not doing this to be unAmerican- I am as American as apple pie (if it is gluten free...) and I adore our great nation! I just do not want my kids to be disillusioned. (I sure was! "What do you mean they weren't friends!?!?!?!?!")


November will now be built upon the theme of gratitude. We will be teaching the kids about Thanksgiving- as a holiday celebrating things for which we are grateful- and we will discuss the settling of America as it comes. I will gently correct misinformation we come across, and we will be researching topics together- so they can see the differences between scholarly research versus adorably-illustrated-yet-completely-inaccurate-children's books. Yes, I understand this might seem strange- but I figure it is better to teach them the truth the first time, than make them recite, write, review, repeat, and regurgitate complete nonsense. (All that said, they will probably watch the Charlie Brown special on the Mayflower... but that is as close to foofoo as we will get.)

Here are a few of the things we will be doing in November:  *I will not be using ALL things from each site, but here is a quick guide of the direction I am heading.

• The Thanks Giving Tree- a beautiful printable with scriptures we will read daily. 
• Thanksgiving Interactive Sites, including:
• Plimoth Plantation Website- games, activities, and more
• Thanksgiving Games for Kids- random games for fun
• The First Thanksgiving- Scholastic website for kids with videos, timeline, and teacher/student resources
• EnchantedLearning- fun worksheets and crafts
• Thanksgiving Activities and Printables- more worksheets (the kids get at least 1 per day)
• Reading Library books- we will be continuing to visit the library for story hour, and we will be checking out books on the subjects of Thanksgiving, gratitude, autumn, and if I am feeling up to it- Christmas ones here and there too... =)
• Gratitude Journals- the boys usually journal in their notebooks, but these are a neat chance to add scripture and a spirit of gratitude as well. There is some tracing work in here too, so we will be using that instead of our usual Getty-Dubay Handwriting books.
• Spelling You See
• Math-U-See
• Independent Reading- the children get to choose their own books and read during this time each day.

Next month we will be diving into our Advent study- and it is our busiest month ever. Exciting! I love this time of year!!!

**Photo from SouthPark

Happy Halloween!

We had a really great Halloweekend! Well, sorta. HAHA!

Trick or treating was on Thursday night. I am pretty happy they held it Thursday because I ended up waking that night with a really icky bug- and was sick the whole weekend! But that did not stop the kids from having fun with daddy!!! (And now that it is Monday, Fina and Carter are sick as well- icky!)

Batman, Robin, and Doc McStuffins!
After a bit of Trick or Treating- all they really wanted to do was sit on the porch and pass out candy to the rest of the kids!

While Fina and I were taking naps, Kurt took the boys outside for lots of fun in the leaves!