Being Poor Sucks

I'm in a depressed mood right now and just need to whine a little. 

The charter we are with organizes great field trips.  And I can use our school funds to pay for Primus' to go.  But I have to pay out-of-pocket for myself and the siblings.  But we can't afford it! 

In a month they are doing a great field trip to a museum in the city and *everyone* will get in free.  But we *still* can't go because we can't afford the parking!  My kids are missing out on great opportunities and experiences all because we're too poor!!  I think I'm going to go cry now...

10 Reasons Why Homeschooling With A New Baby Is Going To Be Do-able

We are expecting a 4th little one to join our clan in January! 

Ever since we found out that we were pregnant, we've been enduring comments from a loved one who seems to disapprove of this pregnancy.  We've always been open to having a large family, but did not plan on even thinking about adding a fourth for another couple years.  The fact is, we're poor.  Like, really poor.  Hubby has been unemployed for 3 years and is going to school.  Not the most logical time to have another kid.  But, Heavenly Father apparently has different plans for us!

So I understand where this loved one is coming from, but what does this person expect us to do about it?  God decided to bless us with another child and He is obviously in control.  He knows the end from the beginning.  

The comments that hurt the most are the ones that question my ability as a mother to take care of 4 kids.  Yes, having 3 age 6 and under is hard.  Yes, having 4 will be harder.  But women do it all the time!  And their children not only survive, but thrive! 

Especially considering that we do homeschool, this person has questioned how I will be able to teach the older two while meeting the needs of the younger two.  So I've done a little thinking and come up with 10 reasons why things aren't going to be as hard as our loved one fears:

1) Even though we are enrolled with a charter school and have to stick to their schedule, I plan on taking advantage of the flexibility homeschoolers generally enjoy.  I don't feel bad about working through Christmas break and then instead taking those vacation days after baby Quartus is born.  I figure that our number of days worked is more important than actually sticking to the school's calendar.  This way, we'll be able to take it easy and focus on the brand new baby for a couple weeks in January.

2) Primus is very bright, responsible, and independent.  She doesn't need me sitting next to her every second in order to learn and do the things she needs to.

3) Secundus isn't in Kindergarten yet so if her schooling slides, then no sweat!  At this age, she is learning a ton through free play and casually listening in to her sister's lessons.

4) Tertius doesn't require that much attention.  I am very proud of the fact that all three of my children are very good at entertaining themselves.  The school room is full of toys and books that he can play with if I want to keep him close.  Or I can just open up the door to the backyard and set him loose in nature.  I also don't worry about him too much if he is out of my sight playing in another part of the house.  He's easy.

5) I breastfeed.  That means that for the first 4-6 months, my amount of dirty dishes that must get done during the day will not be increased in the slightest.  Plus, I don't have to spend anytime mixing and warming bottles.  Also, I can feed one-handed...and standing if needed.  So I am more than capable of nursing the baby while doing a million other things: reading a book to the kids, teaching a lesson, grabbing needed books or art supplies off the bookshelves, writing instructions on the whiteboard, even putting lunch on the table! 

6) Babies sleep a lot during the day.

7) Babies are portable.  If I need both arms free and baby isn't taking a nap, I may be able to keep him happy for long stretches in the bouncy seat or swing nearby.

8) Silver lining to unemployment: Daddy is around.  True, he will have to go to class and take time for homework.  But he will still have many free hours at home with us to help out with everything.

9) Right after moving in to the new house, I trained the kids to help start and switch the laundry.  One less thing I have to do!

10) Heavenly Father is in charge.  He wanted us to be blessed with these children.  He also wanted me to homeschool.  This fact has been confirmed to me several times as I've prayed and received Priesthood blessings.  He will sustain us and help us through.

"Educational" Videos

First Day 2012

All smiles on our first day of school!

Monday, August 13th, 2012

For our first day, we did a light load in the morning and then had some of Primus' friends from church over to party in the backyard.  We don't hang out with any homeschooling families so it was nice that the local school district didn't start until Thursday this week so our friends were home and available to have fun with us.

Substitute Teacher

Yesterday, the 4th day of our first week of school, was awful. 

Due to various reasons, I was feeling really stressed out and cranky and totally off my game.  So I didn't even attempt to do any schooling.  And the fact that I was wasting a school day this early in the year made me feel even crappier, which gave me even less motivation to do school work.  Vicious circle. 

After dinner, as I painted my toenails and wasted time on facebook, Hubby decided to sit the kids down to give them an impromptu history lesson.  I don't know if his motivation was that he is just as passionate about this homeschool journey as me and didn't want a wasted day, or if he wanted to cheer me up, or if one of the kids had asked him a history question, or if the topic just happened to be on his mind so he wanted to share.  Probably a combination of all four. 

The lesson this day was on the Presidential curse of the year zero.  Know what I'm talking about?  Every president elected in a year ending in zero dies in office. 

He brought out the whiteboard and the president flashcards and taught them about the origins of the curse and which presidents it effected.  He also talked about how it appears that Reagan had beat the curse. 

I was really impressed with how well Primus was remembering the dates of when certain presidents were elected when he was quizzing her.  Daddy is going to have to substitute more often!

School Room Organization



We've been in our new house for almost 3 months now.  One of the things about this house that really made me fall in love with it was the school room!  So here it is, all organized and ready for school to begin!

This is a view from the living room.  As you can see, there is a sliding glass door that I close and lock every night before I go to bed in case the kids wake up before me.  I do not want the boy running wild and unchecked in this room!

I love the curtains I made!  As you can see, they are USA and world maps.   I'm also proud of the art display clothes line I tacked up above the curtains.  It's very simple and practical; just my style!

This is the bookshelf to the far right in that first picture.  To the right of this picture is a sliding glass door to the backyard. 
The top shelf holds all the curriculum that we are currently using. 
The next shelf has leveled readers, chapter books, and phonics readers in that black box.  Next to that box you can see a stash of writing paper and a music kit we are excited to use this year.
The bottom shelf has a few sticker books and pop-up books.  Next to those is a box of travel brochures I got from every state in the union.
On the very top of this shelf is big construction paper and a cup of sharp pencils.

The next bookshelf has various manipulatives and toys on the bottom. 
The next shelf up holds are ridiculously huge collection of coloring books (on the right-hand side.)  Next to that is a box that holds small notebooks and various rulers and stencils.  Next to that is where we stow our small whiteboards.  Those two big binders are full of various fun workbooks that I got from the dollar store.  I tore out all the pages and put them in plastic sheet protectors so the kids can use dry-erase markers on them.
Above that we have  containers of counting bears, colored pencils, sponge stamps, and rubber stamps.  As you will notice, I used a hodge-podge of containers and just masking tape for labels.  Again, very simple and practical.  I've got no one to impress. 
On the very top are filing shelves.  Three trays are for art that needs to be hung, art that needs to be finished, and art that is intended to be gifted to various friends or relatives.  Two trays are used for construction paper and drawing paper.  One tray is used to hold some file folder games I made.  And the last tray holds curriculum that I intend to use this year, but still need to look at and prepare.

I love these plastic drawers!  They used to hold various things in my bathroom.  But the new bathroom has no place for them.  So I gladly re-purposed them for the school room! 
On top is where we keep a cup of whiteboard markers.  The top drawer holds tempera paint bottles.  The other drawers are full of various flashcards, manipulatives, and small science tools.

And here's the final bookshelf on this wall.  The top shelf holds various educational and reference books.  The bottom two shelves are full of several toys to keep the younger ones entertained.  I tried to pick things that were mildly educational.  For example, we have lacing cards and 2 different types of wooden blocks.

This wall is perpendicular to the long wall where all the bookshelves are.  As you can see, it holds our bulletin board and a modest-sized whiteboard hung at child-height. 
The rest of this wall (to the left of this picture) is being left blank in hopes that I will one day have a piano to go here. 
That window you see at the top left corner is actually a window into my laundry room.  There's also a door into the laundry room.  I love the set up of this house!!

This bookshelf lives on the wall opposite the one with all the short shelves.  You can see the doorway into my living room there to the left.  To the right of this bookshelf you can see that I have a window into my kitchen.  I'm going to say it again:  I love the way this house is set up!  I can stand at the kitchen sink doing dishes and still be able to see into the school room to supervise anything going on in there.
The top shelf holds boxes of art supplies that I do not want the kids to have unsupervised access too.  There are only so many times I can see the crayon box dumped out before I go absolutely bonkers!
The next shelf down holds curriculum that we don't need right now, but I'm not ready to pack away out of sight completely.
The bottom three shelves hold all our picture books.  On the bottom shelf, you may notice a cardboard box that holds all our cloth books.  The blue and red cardboard box in front of that is full of new-to-us picture books that we have inherited.  I want to read them all at least once before they get tucked away on the shelves. 
On the floor to the right of the bookshelf is a box with our random craft supplies.

This is my school table.  It's pretty ancient.  Hubby remembers being little and laying underneath it and drawing on the wood (naughty boy!)  I think it was even old already at that point.  It actually used to be a coffee table.  It was so short that poor Primus couldn't fit her knees underneath when she sat in a little chair.  That's why we did most of our schooling at the kitchen table or on our laps on the couch last year. 
This year I finally asked my father-in-law to put longer legs on it.  So much better now!

FHE: Temples

This is what I pulled together at the last minute last week.  It actually was basically the sunbeam lesson I had given the Sunday before so all the materials were still sitting in my church bag. 

Theme: Temples

Pictures Needed:  Any pictures of temples that you have lying around.  I liked showing them a mix of temples they recognize as well as temples they haven't seen before. 

Discussion: The temple is the House of the Lord.  That phrase is written on the outside of every temple.  Temples are special places where families can be sealed for eternity.  People wear white when they go inside to help us remember that we need to be clean and pure.

Child Involvement: I wrote the following questions on long strips of white fabric.  The kids picked one at a time and we discussed the answer.  Then the girls enjoyed wearing the fabric around their necks like scarves. 
*Do we yell or whisper in the temple?
*What can you do to prepare to go to the temple?
*The temple is the House of who?
*What color clothes do we wear in the temple?
*Can families be together forever?
*What can you do in the temple when you grow up?
*How does the temple make you feel?

Personal Application:  We talk often about the fact that Daddy and Mommy were married in the temple so the kids are "born in the covenant."  So we brought that up again and then talked about when Grandma and Grandpa and Daddy got sealed about 2 years ago. 

New Routine: Revision

Quiet time is a bust.  Tertius doesn't take naps so he spent "quiet time" terrorizing his sisters.  And apparently Secundus doesn't understand what, "Stay in your bed and look at books until the timer goes off" means. 

So "quiet time" is just an hour of me feeling guilty and selfish for ignoring them.  Plus, I got to thinking... once school starts, we will have an activity of some sort almost every morning for a couple hours before lunch.  There is no way that we will complete all of our school work before leaving for our activity.  So then if we always come home, eat lunch, and then immediately go to quiet time, then it will be 2 o'clock before we get back to school work.  I see that as a lot of time wasted in the middle of the day. 

I'm thinking that this is what we will do instead of a set "quiet time:"

After lunch will be Relaxed Reading time.  Me and the kids will get comfortable on the couch or on my lap in my rocking chair and I will read books aloud.  Or Primus will practice reading books aloud to us.  These books may be stories that we just wanted to hear.  Or, more likely, I will use this time to read books that go along with the science or history subjects we are studying.  Or they may be stories we plan on doing enrichment activities with for Language Arts.  Also, depending on what's going on, Primus may occasionally use this time to do independent work in another area while I read stories to the younger ones. 

I know I can't expect Tertius to sit still with us the entire time.  He's a very active boy!  But I do think it is important to encourage him and having a set time each day will be beneficial.  Relaxed Reading time each day will go as long as we have the attention span and desire for.  Then we will get back to school work. 

As for my computer time?  Well, I will just have to do without for a few more hours.  I can sneak in a few minutes while the kids play after school/before dinner.  I can also sneak in a few more minutes before I go to bed.  But I've got to be sure and go to bed no later than 10pm- no matter what is happening in facebookland!

FHE: Prophets and Apostles

I've said it a million times and I'll say it again (for hopefully the last time): My family has got to get in the habit of Family Home Evening every week!  When we do succeed, I'll try to post about it here.  So this is what we did last week:

Theme: Prophets and Apostles

Pictures needed: A) Current 12 Apostles from the latest conference-issue of the Ensign 
B) Painting of Jesus ordaining the original 12

Discussion: They are called of God.  They help lead the Church.  The testify of Christ.

Child Involvement:  Primus read out loud the names of all the current apostles.  Secundus counted out loud how many apostles there are/were.  (We were disappointed to realize that the copy of picture B that we have-from the Gospel Art Picture Kit-does not show all 12)

Personal Application:  Last Sunday I happened to attend another ward, to support a friend that was doing a fifth-Sunday presentation.  I was shocked and excited when I walked into Sacrament Meeting late and found that Elder L. Tom Perry just happened to be in town and was speaking that day.  Afterwards, of course everyone wanted to shake his hand.  I was hesitant to go get in line because I wasn't sure it was appropriate-almost seems that treating him like a celebrity would be showing disrespect to the sacred nature of his calling.  But then my friend went up so I followed her.

 I'm glad I didn't pass up the opportunity!  He was genuinely kind and loving and happy to be with the Saints.  A few minutes later he happened to walk past the bench where I was standing with my friend and I got to shake his hand a second time.  As he walked past I stuck out my hand and asked, "Do I get a second shake?"  I don't know if he remembered me, but he responded, "Of course!" 

Another friend from the other ward in the building told me later that Elder Perry came into the Primary room and expressed his love for the children and told the kids that the Prophet wanted him to come to the Primary and tell them that President Monson loves them, too. 

So I was able to share all this with my kids and bare testimony to them.  They thought it was so cool that Mommy had such an experience. 

Video:  We watched L. Tom Perry's testimony from Special Witnesses of Christ.

Coloring Page:  They worked on this while we watched the video.  I found a page that had drawings of the prophets Moses, Nephi, Noah, and Joseph Smith to color from a sharing-time idea manual I was given.  It also had a place for the girls to draw a picture of the current prophet, President Monson.

Counting

It is amazing how much the younger children pick up just by observing the older ones. Everyone said that's what happens, but it's still pretty cool to witness it myself. (And it's another reason I love homeschool! The younger ones will be at such an advantage academically just by being around when the older ones are learning!)

Today this observation is focused on Tertius. He's just over 2 years old and he already knows all the basic colors and can count to 11. I didn't sit down and teach him this! He just figured it out on his own!

He loves to point out colors everywhere. And it's really cute when he counts because he'll count up to 11 and then start repeating, "10, 11, 10, 11, 10, 11..." Apparently it's time to teach him what comes next.

Country Flashcards

I found this free resource on a page sharing different Olympics lesson plans.  We haven't been watching the Olympics, but I think these country flag flashcards will be great to use throughout the year.

http://www.knowledgequestmaps.com/Expedition-Earth-flashcards.pdf

Free Read! Build! Write! Resources

I just found this cool resource.  I think Secundus will have fun using these this year.

http://www.freehomeschooldeals.com/free-read-build-write-mats-number-word-printables-more/

There is a nice big list of vocabulary word cardss to go along with the mats.  There are words to go along with different themes and even words to go along with several specific stories.  There is even a collection of Star Wars vocab cards!

1 More Week!

School starts on August 13th!  Considering we spent this summer moving into a new house and I spent lots of my time napping and feeling sick (yep, little #4 is on the way!) we didn't do much academics.  We also got WAY off our habits of early-to-bed-and-early-to-rise (by "we" I mean "me.")  So it's time we get back into a schedule. 
Like I eluded to, lots of things need to change to get us all back into school-mode.  So here's a small list I came up with.  My goal is to start this plan this coming Monday.  That will give everyone a week to get used to it so Monday the 13th isn't as big of a shock.

- 7:45pm kid's bedtime.  "Toilet, Teeth, Sleepers." That was the chant my parents used when I was growing up.  Those things will be followed by one or two bedtime stories.  Then it's family scripture reading and prayer.  Then off to bed.  This isn't much different than we've been doing all summer.  The hard part is going to be finally sleep-training Tertius.  That boy needs to learn how to go to sleep in his own bed before 10pm!

- Clean the table and start the dishwasher before I go to bed.  This is worst, most embarrassing thing to admit.  We have never been good about taking care of the dirty dishes and wiping off the table before going to bed.  It's a wonder that we've never had issues with ants!  So this has definitely got to finally change.  And I hate waking up to a dirty kitchen table.  When the table is gross, I'm more inclined to let the kids eat at the small table in the living room in the morning.  And then I complain about there being spilled milk and crumbs on the carpet...

- 10pm bedtime for me. I really should go to bed even earlier than this, but I've gotta be realistic here.

- 6:30am I wake up.  I'll spend the morning doing scripture study and preparing any last-minute lesson plans.

-7am kids wake up.  This is the time they usually get up naturally.  We'll do prayer and scripture memorization.  Then it's time for breakfast. 

- After lunch is Quiet Time.  During "quiet time," the kids can sleep or just sit in their beds reading books.  This is the only time during the day that I will allow myself to get on the computer.  This one is going to be the hardest adjustment!

- Media Allowance will be reinstated.  The girls will not be awarded their movie allowance until after all their assigned school work is completed.  During this first adjustment week/last week of summer, their assigned school work will simply consist of 2 pages from their workbooks they've been doing this summer.

Wish me luck!