A Homeschool Day in the Life...

I've been reading quite a few "Day in the Life" blogs by fellow homeschooling moms (and a few dads).  While I'm tempted to share a "perfect" day in my life as a homeschooling mom, I suddenly realize there is no such thing.  My best intentions are often dashed by the wayside of the freight train called Real Life.  And no two days really look the same.  So here goes- a random day in my homeschool life with two girls, 5 and 18 months, though a fairly typical Thursday.

Thursday-

4:30 am- Baby-Rain wakes up and snuggles up in bed with me and Daddy
5:30 am- Daddy gets up with baby - I roll over with a pillow over my head
6:30 am- I get up so my husband can get ready for work.
7:00 am- Dad leaves for work.  I pour my second cup of coffee.  Read books with baby, try to get caught up on chores.
7:30-8:00 am- Grace-Girl rolls out of bed.  Not literally, as it is a six foot drop to the floor.  Blurry-eyed, wanting to snuggle on the couch.  All.  Day.  Long.
8:15 am- We girls manage to sit down for breakfast.  No one in this family does well without food.
8:30 am- Bible Reading and Calendar- we rotate a few different kids' devotional books.  We also work on our memory verse, which is posted by our calendar, here in the kitchen.  We review the season, month, year, days of the week, day of the month... etc.  Then we talk about our daily schedule.  I do all this while my older daughter eats because she is incredibly SLOW and I get tired of waiting for her to finish.
9:15 am- Chores- This includes getting dressed, tidying up room, brushing hair and teeth, etc.  But we also include things like, "be a cheerful helper."  Many tears are shed at our house over hair brushing.  Note to self: it grows back.  Cut it off.
10:00 am- Toddler Storytime at our local library is the one activity we do that centers around my younger daughter.  As a homeschool family we easily haul 25 books a week from the library (the kids are still pretty young- I'm sure this number will rise). I go online to order most of what I want to bring home, then we pick out a few at the library.
11:00 am- As I'm checking out the pile of books we're hauling home and re-connecting with a friend I haven't seen in awhile, Baby Rain is methodically pulling books off the reserve shelf and removing the name labels from each book.
11:20 am- Thankful for the rice cakes I keep in the van for moments like this 7 minute ride from the library to the house.  It seems more like an hour with all that screeching.
11:45 am- Lunch. Usually left-overs.  Baby fell asleep in the car, so she's down for her nap.
12:10 pm- Read a bunch of new library books with Grace-girl.  This is one of my favorite things about Thursdays!
1:00 pm- Quiet Time.  We monitor TV time carefully at our house (we don't actually have a television, just our computer)- but today Grace-girl gets about an hour of Backyardigans while I catch up on napping and an episode of Downton Abbey on my Kindle Fire.  That's right.  I'm being completely honest, here.
2:00 pm- Impromptu reading lesson with Grace-girl.  Reviewing digraphs and blends (sh, th, ch, wh)
2:15 pm- Baby-rain wakes up- snack-time.
2:30 pm- Piano lesson with me.  Finding middle "c," learning about octaves and playing a tune by ear (Mary Had a Little Lamb).
2:40 pm- music lessons evolve into dancing around the living room with some latin dance cd (thanks, Dora)
3:00 pm- Get Outside.  We pull weeds and jump on the trampoline until daddy gets home, and to heck with the mess in the house.  The girls like to get as dirty as possible, so I let them.
4:30 pm- Daddy gets home- girls head to the bathtub- we all prepare for our evening.
5:30 pm- Dinner
7:00 pm- Baby Rain in bed
8:00 pm- Grace-girl in bed
*whew*  Each day is a little different, but somehow we find a rhythm through it all.  And it's usually not the one I thought it would be when I planned our schedule in August.  Enjoy the things that make your family special!  And guard your quiet time.  :)

When does mommy read?

I laughed at myself, today, when I realized I have a book hidden in every room of this house.  You never know when you might have a moment to escape!  I spend a lot of time talking on this blog about what I'm reading to my kids.  Well, here's what I am reading these days:

• In the Bathroom:  There's always a Time magazine or National Geographic nearby when I need my space.  However, this week I've found myself reviewing an old favorite:  Dr. Sears' The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby form Birth to Age Two.  It's such a great book!  I know I can look it up online, but sometimes it's nice to look in a book.
• In Bed: I've been keeping my Kindle by my bed.  Currently I'm reading Dan Brown's new book.  It's all fun, people.  I don't believe a word of it.  :)
• By the couch: I'm catching up on a book I should have read a long time ago.  It's called Ptarmigan Telegraph.  It's about the history of Christian radio station KICY, in Nome, AK.  My maternal grandfather was instrumental in starting the station, so it's fun to read about it.
• In the office:  It's all business in here.  If I have a moment to read when I'm not at the computer, I'm reviewing the book I'm using to teach June to read, The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading.  I don't use it as a textbook, more just a guide.  Works great for me!  Or I'm checking in with other homeschooling books I like (check out my homeschooling tab on this blog)
• In the kitchen: I'm always reading a cookbook or two.  The Vegetarian Epicure, or The Super Baby Food book.  Of course, my Bible lives in the kitchen, too and I steal my moments with it, when I am able.

 What are you reading, friends?  I'd love to hear what reading material sits by your bed, or on your kitchen table.

Epiphany- or "Christmas ain't over yet..."

This past fall I decided we were going to celebrate "Epiphany" this year.  Also known as 3 King's Day, Epiphany is rarely celebrated in our country, but still widely known other places.  Epiphany means (among other things) "sudden appearance" or "divine manifestation."  Epiphany falls on January 6, 12 days following Christmas Day, and is now celebrated as the day the wise-men apparently made their appearance in Bethlehem to visit the Christ Child.  We know now that it probably wasn't until a few years later that the wise men actually came to Judea, but this is still a fun holiday to celebrate. 

 In our little homeschool classroom, I've been using Epiphany as an excuse to get back on track with school this winter.  There is an urban legend that tells us the 12 Days of Christmas song (counting the 12 days leading up to Epiphany) is really a subversive song describing basic Christian doctrine.  Whether it is or not, this is a great opportunity to teach little ones about the Christian faith.   After taking too much time off for holiday travel, I needed some inspiration.  So, here's what we've been doing:

• Studying the basic tenets of our faith using the song (and the book, above).  We've been learning that a Partridge in a Pear Tree can also symbolize Jesus on the Cross... so on and so forth.
• After we sadly demolished our Christmas tree (a New Year's tradition we have involving a bonfire), we began to create an ornament for each of the 12 Days of Christmas to hang on our little lemon tree (you could use a branch or houseplant, too).  For example, we made a little scroll with four birds on it to symbolize the 4 calling birds (symbolizing Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and their gospel stories).
• There is a ton of material online to help teach the subject of the 3 Wise Men, including the great story of Artaban, the 4th Wise-man, who was waylaid in his journey by people who needed his help.  We've been using his story to learn about ways we can help others in need.  The Russian folk tale of Babushka (top of the page) is another great story relating to the same concept. 
• This has been a great opportunity to review the numbers (forward and backward) 1-12 and practice writing them!  We're also revisiting the calendar as we count the days to Epiphany.  We could add in some astronomy, too, but I didn't get that organized this year.
• Finally, we plan to end our study of the 12 Days and Epiphany with a little 3 Kings party!  We'll dress up as kings and queens, have a picnic (indoors) of travel food like hummus, dried fruit, etc. and we'll act out the story of the wise-men greeting the Christ-child.  We'll make sparkly stars to take home as a reminder of the journey the wise-men took and we might even do a little map of our trip (if I get motivated).  The children will leave with small gifts.  

Do you celebrate Epiphany?  What does your tradition look like?  How do you extend your holidays to last a little longer?  How do you teach your children about faith?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!  Blessings~ Tori

Little Star

This seems to be my week for book reviews (check out my other blog)- which I would happily do anytime, by the way!  Part of living a "Barefoot" life, one that thrives on intention, creativity and community, is reading lots of books!  The latest book from Anthony DeStefano reminds me that Christmas is just around the corner.  We adore Christmas at our house, so I'm always happy to find a new book to add to our Christmas book box. 

This story is about a little star who struggles to be noticed by the other stars until one day he, the unlikely hero, notices the One, an unlikely savior.  Little Star recognizes that greatness is not determined by your size or importance, but by who you are born to be, and he gets to reap the benefit of that lesson. It is nice to find a unique Christmas book with such a great lesson to learn.

I enjoyed the idea of this book, though the illustrations unevenly alternate between looking old-fashioned-dark and overly-cartoonish.  Maybe they are just not my style.  DeStefano attempts to weave a tale of triumph that resonates in some parts but is sidetracked in others ("twinkle-talk"?) by some awkward moments (I doubt a star would keep a baby warm) and formulaic plotting.

My resident children's book expert (4 year old daughter) seemed unimpressed and did not ask to read it again, though we did our usual "unpacking" of the story, which she enjoyed.

All in all I think it is a sweet, fairly biblically accurate book, and I know it will make a great gift under the tree for the little book lover in your life.

Do you have a Tiger inside?

Yesterday I chased my daughter around the house, trying to trap her under a plastic laundry basket.  She insisted that she was a tiger who needed to be caged.  The growling, showing of claws and pouncing verified her identity.  She was clearly seeking a safe place to feel "tiger-ish," but I don't want her to be caged... I want her to be free.  How to do I teach my daughter that her "tiger" feelings are ok? 

I've been blessed with a kid who has a lot of feelings.  Or that's how we describe it.  Some would say she's also a "sensitive" child.  This means we encounter lots of tantrums, some harsh words and actions that require tough consequences, and an overabundance of goofy fun!  Knowing that soon she'll be sharing her life with a baby sister, we've been encountering more than the usual outbursts from our deep feeler.  We've just finished a little homeschooling unit about Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) in which we also discussed trees, family trees and lots of other fun stuff.  Our last "fruit" we studied was "self-control." 

Here are some things I used to discuss self-control with my almost-four-year-old:

• In preparation I found this great behavior template from the NASP (National Association of School Psychologists) about teaching young children self-control that helped me think about what exactly I wanted to teach and how I would teach it.
• We listened to The Music Machine song about self-control.  We've been adding a new song for each "fruit" and discussing what they mean.
• We read the book "Emily's Tiger" by Miriam Latimer.  This is a great Barefoot Book about learning self-control and understanding your feelings before they control you!  We talked about some of the coping skills Emily's grandmother helped her learn.  And she saw that there are safe people in your life who want to help you learn to cope.  Another great book about self-control is "Pinkalicious" by Elizabeth and Victoria Kann (not a Barefoot Book).  It's more about controlling your desires than your feelings, but still great.  We also discussed Adam and Eve in the garden and their lack of self-control when faced with temptation.
• I helped my daughter make little monster faces, each expressing different feelings.  We talked about what her body feels like when she's feeling these different things and then we hung them up on the back of her door in her room.  When I send her to her room to take some space (not a time-out- it's not a punishment, just a chance for her to calm down), she can look at her monsters and decide how she's feeling (happy, sad, angry, lonely, etc.).  Then we can discuss what happened with a better point of reference.
• Of course we did actual school work!   Careful cutting and pasting, working with her writing and reading, and math skills all require great self-control and discipline.

How do you handle the issue of self-control in your family?  I'd love to hear more ideas, as I'm sure the topic is far from exhausted in our house!

If you haven't read it, yet...

This is an amazing book! The Jesus Storybook Bible is a great Bible for kids of all ages (my mom loves it as does my 3 year old). Whether you read the Bible for the cultural experience or because of your faith, this is a great addition to your bookshelf! Sally Lloyd Jones is a wonderful storyteller and gives these classic Bible stories a twist that is irresistibly fun and easy to read. Artist Jago maintains cultural accuracy (sometimes hard to find in Bible books for kids) with a beautiful color palette and style that holds the attention of even more rambunctious toddlers. Good news- The Jesus Storybook Bible is being re-released as a deluxe edition with an audio cd featuring David Suchet. Some samples are available on the website. There are some publicity contests going on, so check it out on the website and join in! If I win I promise to share with you all!