Back At It

It is official. Our 2012-2013 homeschool year has kicked off. The boys are excited. I am jazzed. This is a journey that my children and I are taking together. Even just yesterday watching them learn together brought tears to my eyes. It was a strong affirmation that YES we are on the right path. YES this decision is still the right one.

I could say I was surprised by how well our first days went but I'm not so much surprised as I am relieved. I set fairly low expectations (in a good way). I know there is a lot for the boys to take in. Even in public and private school the first few days are all about review, going over curricula and gearing the students up. That is what the last few days has been. Gearing them up and they are right revved.

I have to say too that there has been significantly less whining and rough housing as well. The structure and routine suits the boys. They need more focus and this is going to help them get it. We are getting our groove and I already feel more confident than I did last year. Maybe I just feel more prepared (found a way to lesson plan that really works for me). 

The vision that I have for our homeschool is taking shape before me and I am loving it. In just a few days I can already tell what some ideal strategies will be for making our homeschool a successful place for learning.

Such as but not limited to:

-Doing Math and LA when Evelyn is sleeping (this requires more concentration from both the boys and myself and I don't want them to miss out on anything, plus when it comes to math manipulative time having Miss Grabby Hands napping is just wise).

-Don't force the day to start too soon. I once had this idea that I could get up by six and have school going by 8. Nope, not happening. Am I bummed? Not really. I don't mind the extra sleep, we can leisurely get up, have a nice breakfast, kids get some early morning energy out. It also makes no sense to be in the middle of things when Daddy is leaving for work. Once Daddy is gone we get ourselves started.

-Don't start the day too late. There is a fine line between too late and too soon. If we start too late the boys have lost their "school drive" and quite frankly so have I. For example we started later today so I skipped our Wind Up. That sucked and nothing else felt right or flowed. Seems as though 9:30/10 is the ideal time around here. 

-Keep activities and lessons short. I think the longest we can probably extend something is to twenty minutes, twenty-five minutes tops with a sweet spot of probably just fifteen. Anything longer than that and I have completely lost my audience. I also have to keep them engaged the whole time or I lose them. 

-Religion class will become an evening activity. I think. I am not 100% on this yet but I feel that bible readings and prayers and learning about our faith make a perfect wind down activity before bed. I like to think that filling their little heads about God and Jesus before bed will make for nice dreams. 

-Don't Cram! Ease Up! Lay Back! Don't forget that patience is a virtue. I have to constantly remind myself to be patient. The more I push the more they will push back. Knowing what and how to push something is becoming a fine art and I am becoming a skilled painter. 

-Let go of perfection. Vik likes to do goofy things when working on sheets. He likes to do it his way. It may say make an X over something but he likes to circle it instead. It won't be unusual to see an angry bird midway through a line of 5s. I know that. I accept that. That is him and I accept him unconditionally. We can work through that. 

With those observations out of the way, how about a bit of a run down of what we did during our first three days. 

Wednesday

My sister had the boys for a sleepover on Tuesday evening (she took them to a corn maze the lucky ducks!).

I picked them up Wednesday around noon and we headed home for lunch which was homemade Mac & Chz with these. Perfect right? After lunch we got a few of our plans underway. We went outside and took our 1st Day of School pix and afterwards we did a little interview of what their favorite things were. This is something I plan on doing each year with them. Here is a peak of it put together.

Then the boys got to go through their buckets. Not so fast though. It was an exercise in listening to directions. I had them pull out specific things to put into their pencil cases and look at their scribblers and binders. Kind of like Simon Says. Mamma Says find your pack of crayons. Mamma Says find your eraser. At the end each were left with a bag of smarties in the bottom. Smarties for my smarties :)

After that we looked through the variety of books we were going to learn from and I told them about the things we would be learning about. They really enjoyed getting a look at the Earth Science book. Every day now (and I am sure until we actually do it) I am asked about doing the volcano. 

That was about it for our first day. Nice and easy. See low expectations.

Thursday

This was our first full day. The first day where we would really get into things. Some started smoothly, some rockier but everything we started we finished. We began with our Wind Up. Some people call this Circle Time or Gathering Time or Calendar Time. I'll have to do a post on that itself someday soon. 

Snack time followed our Wind Up. Then we got into our Social Studies unit "Who I Am/Where I Am" with a little project I picked up from pinterest. I look forward to sharing it when it is finished. Next we started our History unit about Dinosaurs. I am basing this unit off of the Magic Treehouse Book Dinosaurs Before Dark. We will be taking info from the book, fact checking it, doing some timelines, some colouring, some flow charts.

After that we took a walk around our neighbourhood (which isn't out of the ordinary but did serve a greater purpose in this instance).  We capped off our day with some math. I made a last minute change to my math curriculum plans and will have to fill you in more on that later too. 

Friday

As I said before we skipped out circle time and were behind all day. Evelyn slept quite poorly last night and was quite cranky all day with a very short nap which meant a lot of our plans for the day wouldn't get done. Really the only thing we did do was some more activities for our "Who I Am/Where I Am". Today I printed off the map of our neighbourhood and we traced out the route we walked yesterday. This whole unit is for them to develop a greater understanding of where and who they are in the world which will lead nicely into our October unit on Maps/Globes/Compass. 

We didn't hit math today or science or history BUT there in lies the beauty of this whole homeschool thing. IT DOESN'T MATTER. We will do the things we missed very casually over the weekend and be back on pace on Monday without feeling like we didn't get a break or feeling like we got behind. 

Next week is going to be a big week. A full week. This is where the testing of ourselves starts. Testing the limits, boundaries, strengths and weakness of our own person. It is also where the learning really begins. It is where happiness will be shared. 

And then there were four...

We are a very happy family of five. Each member of our family has a special role to play. When one person is missing we feel it. I am aware of the missing presence all the time.

This week we are down one kiddo. Viktor is out at my parents' farm for a week of swimming lessons. He is having a blast and my mum keeps me informed with emails and pictures and a nightly phone call. It is his second year doing this and next year in all likelihood Max will also be going as well.

My mum has all sorts of things planned for him. She gave him his first wallet and after each swimming lesson he gets to pick a treat with the $2 she gives him. My mum is also a fanatic about kids having little jobs so no doubt he has all sorts of little chores for him to do. One of his favourites from last year was setting the sun tea outside to steep. Last night he got to mow the lawn with my Dad. Who knows what else they will be up to. I do know though that he will come home taller, smarter, wiser, stronger and somehow older.

That all being said we are now down to four. It's quiet. Really quiet. Even though Max and Evelyn are still around to make a kaffufel taking one kid away really cuts down on the noise factor. They don't play together the same way as Max and Vik do although Evelyn tries to play with her brother. Max also forgets how much littler his sister is and I have to remind him he can't be rough like when playing with Vik.

It is also nice that everyone gets a bit of a change for the week. Max is enjoying the extra Mama cuddles. He also likes getting to pick what to watch while I do my daily workout (Viktor usually picks all Angry Birds, today Max got Batman cartoons). Even Evelyn is getting more one on one time with me. She didn't know what to do with herself while Max had a nap and she had free reign of the toys.

I miss my boy. I miss his hugs. I miss his helping hands. I miss his smiles. I don't miss the whining, but other than that I miss everything else. I am counting down until he comes home on Sunday. He will be so proud to show me the things he has learned. I am excited to see what stories he has for me. I am very grateful that my parents give him this opportunity and these memories.

I don't like being only four. I anxiously wait to be five of us again. Once my boy is back home I will be my happy self again without a piece of my heart missing.

Nature Project: Week Three

So, here we are, three weeks into the nature project. Surprise, surprise, we are still rolling.

At the end of last week's post I noted that the sun would be the focus, and boy did we get a lot of sun this past week. Despite the constant applying of sunscreen we are all rocking a nice tan. On Saturday we were out and about and it was HOT! On Sunday we celebrated Canada Day at the beach and it was HOTTER! On Monday we went for a lovely hike in the woods where it was EVEN HOTTER even with the threat of a thunderstorm. Would you believe that on Tuesday the mercury rose even higher to +40 humidex range? Well, believe it, and at that point we said to heck with going anywhere or doing anything except set up the A/C.

Then, on Wednesday, our day to enjoy the sun and look for other things in nature enjoying the sun, it rained. I welcomed the rain though. The earth needed it. The boys saw the cracks in the dry mud on our hike. They saw the leaves drying. I needed the rain too. It was unbearably hot. The rain cooled down the day and cooled the night even more so.

We also had a nature activity yesterday that didn't come from any book. It was a lesson that only nature could teach on it's own time. It is a lesson of the Circle of Life (sorry couldn't resist). My husband discovered late Tuesday night that my pet turtle of 23 years had died. Wednesday morning, although rainy, necessitated the disposing of his remains. We drove out to a river and my husband gently eased him into the water and in seconds the current grabbed him and took him down stream. I am sure he has provided back to the earth by now. I will miss you old pal.

I must say I smiled at the level of irony when I read the part of the activity asking about if the children could spy a reptile and it goes on to explain about reptiles. Why yes, yes they did spy a reptile. Yet not quite the context I am positive the author was suggesting.

Now. Back to the Sun.

Fun Fact! What is the Sun? It's a STAR! It is the closest to star to Earth and is in precisely the exact spot it needs to be as all life on Earth pretty much hinges on the Sun.

Tonight after Daddy gets home we will go on a bike ride. It wasn't near as hot today as earlier this week and with dusk nearing the Sun will soon be gone for the night. I think the Sun Seeking might need a do over. Perhaps a stroll tomorrow, or even just sitting in the back yard can bring some surprising things.

Next week I hope to have a special treat for our activity.
Two Words: Field Trip.
One Word: Butterflies.

Nature Project: Week Two

Welcome back to Week 2 of our Year Long Nature Project. This weeks activity was called "Antics". As I am sure you can guess it was all about Ants.

We started by reading the chapter together which had some interesting bits of information. Here are a few things that we learned:

-An entomologist is a scientist who studies bugs
-A true bug is an animal that can pierce and suck (mosquito was given as an example)
-Ants are part of the insect family (and NOT a true bug)
-Ants have three body parts (head, thorax, and abdomen)
-Ants have six legs

The main activity of this week was observing how ants operate. That proved to be a bit of a challenge. Not in that we couldn't find Ants to observe but if you can picture a bunch of Ants scurrying around? Yeah, that was my kids. You have to sit still to observe.

Nevertheless we still got to see some Ants in action. We crushed up some crackers and placed them outside of the Ant hill in one of my front flower beds. A few Ants came out, gave things a sniff, but then didn't seem very interested. My husband suggested something sweeter so I had some leftover french toast from breaky. They didn't seem to hot on that either.

I was beginning to wonder if maybe we had disturbed their home too much and were more vested in fixing their home than gathering food. BUT then I saw an Ant. He was carrying a dead bug. Then we saw another Ant, also carrying a different dead bug. I think our Ants are on an Antkins (haha, Atkins) diet. They don't like the carbs. They are carnivores.

I was able to snag a picture of an Ant walking over the crackers but none took the bait.

At least we saw an Ant carrying something. 

The Q & A this weeks was asking how Ants smell. We discovered how Ants use two little Antennae to smell with. It was too bad we didn't get to observe much as the main activity outlined was to set out food, and a little enclosed space (with twigs) and watch how the Ants create a scent trail. If the boys were a few years older they probably would have been able to grasp the idea much better.

Overall we had a great time outside. The boys were sure up to their own little Antics :)

Up Next Week: THE SUN!

Year Long Nature Project

If you read this post you would have seen me mention an upcoming project. It is now the time to reveal. The project is based on this book...

 I purchased i love dirt: 52 activities to help you & your kids discover the wonders of nature last year from amazon and when it arrived I immediately loved it. Too bad it then went into my bookshelf and I sort of half forgot about it. The forward by Richard Louv discusses how many children today spend too much time indoors, between school, after school activities, computer time and television time. At the heart of it is the fact that natural outdoor free play is beneficial to a child both mentally and physically. There has been extensive research into the benefits of natural free play. The introduction speaks the same message as the forward in encouraging and promoting the ease of getting outdoors and interacting with the natural world around us. 

A few weeks ago I was shifting some books around and i love dirt sparked my interest again. I decided that seeing as how the book contains 52 activities (52 weeks in the year, coincidence???) and it is spread over the 4 seasons that it would make a great annual project. A regular thang. Each chapter is a new activity to immerse yourself in nature and to further appreciate it. There are also mini facts and ideas on how to broaden the activity in fun and creative ways. I looked at the calendar and it seemed only perfect to begin this project on the first day of summer, the summer solstice. 

Yesterday the solstice arrived as did our first project. Even though it was a mostly gloomy and rainy day I made it a promise to myself that rain or shine we would get out there and nature it up. So nature it up we did. 

Seeing has how the title of the book is i love dirt it was only fitting that our first activity was all about dirt. The author, Jennifer Ward, tells parents in this chapter all about the importance of getting dirty. She explains that dirt and mud are a great way to be creative and encourages parents to set aside specific outfits for playing in dirt and mud so as not to fear the mess. 

There are suggestions to make hills, walls, holes, shapes etc. She suggests adding water. What happens when you add water to dirt? Of course mud comes next with mud pies and painting with mud. While yesterday may have been our activity day I can see some definite dirt play coming up in the rest of the week. 

So outside we went with some digging tools and toys to play in the dirt...

And what did we find???

We found some roots growing up in the middle of the backyard. 

Obviously from the trees at the side of the yard but still on odd place to spring up. 

We also found an earthworm. We gently picked him up and placed him in another spot. 

This week's fact was about what makes up dirt. We learned (well I already knew but you get my drift) that dirt is a mix of broken rocks and broken down plant matter. I expanded on the fact that some dirt is more clay based and stickier while other dirt is more sand based and drier. Our own back yard is pretty much a black dirt mud hole so it was the perfect place :)

Overall, I would have to say that I forgot how something so simple as digging in the dirt could be so interesting. We also found a bug in there and other bits of things. Vik began imagining digging underground tunnels that he could walk inside and big holes underground. I'm sure those brain seeds were planted last week when we watched Planet Earth: Caves.

Since my plan is for this to be a weekly thing we will be exploring our next chapter next Wednesday then blogging about it on Thursday. Please be sure to check back in for next week's i love dirt activity. 

Evelyn Turns One!

A year ago today I received a most amazing Mother's Day gift. On this day I was holding my brand new baby girl in my arms. Cuddling her. Loving her. Taking in every little sweet detail of her. Family and friends trickled in and out of my room and it pained me to have to relinquish her to anyone else. Daddy brought the boys by and it felt perfect having my little family together. A few days later we were released to go home and start a new kind of normal as a family now of five.

We celebrated her birthday this past Sunday with a lovely tea party. A few close friends, my parents and my sister were in attendance. I put on a spread that is reminiscent of a high tea with sweets, breads,  sandwiches, and some fruit and veggies to round it out. I had three teas offered (Organic Breakfast, Birthday Cake and Life Long Ooling) all from Davids Tea. Evelyn received some very lovely gifts including some very pretty outfits, a ball, a ride on toy and a tea set (got to get them young).

Yesterday my husband and I reminisced about the day I spent in labour. That day we started out with some shopping at 9 am for things to put in my hospital bag. After dropping off our boys at their Granny's we went to Babies R Us and ended up making a registry for the free bag of goodies (yup, that's procrastination for you, making a registry WHILE in labour). We walked around and popped into various eclectic stores (something you can't do with two rowdy boys). Then we had a lovely afternoon lunch date with each other to eat some spicy wings and chimichangas then for dessert I had a massive Dairy Queen Banana Split Blizzard (that's all some serious labour fuel there). After a bit more shopping and then a warm bath I finally decided I had walked enough. Only for the hospital to tell me to walk more. Evelyn was born May 8th, 2011 at 12:29 am at 6 lbs 11 oz. I had an amazingly easy labour (med free/intervention free) and was no worse for wear. I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

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My how this year has gone by. Too fast in my opinion. I have enjoyed my time at home so much. Even to the point where I made the decision mid mat leave that I would not be returning to work. The dynamic of my family shifted and the bond with my children became greater and I was feeling a stride I hadn't felt in years. I don't mess with the Universe. When in line, I don't shake it up.

So fast forward that year to now. Evelyn has grown. She walks! She babbles. Shakes her head no. Points to what she wants. Loves music (listening to and making it). Equally loves dancing. Wraps everyone in this family around her little finger every single day. What a little personality she is developing. A lot of sweet with a little bit of sass in there too. What can I say, she is like her mamma! We continue to be amazed by her every day.

                                                                 

 

                                                                

Besides walking and almost talking Evelyn is getting a nice set of chompers (4 on top and 1 on the way, 3 on the bottom and 2 on the way). She is quite a little vacuum with food. Evelyn continues to enjoy nursing for food and for comfort but baby girl can pack away a meal of steak and corn and potato when she wants. She is also now figuring out the sippy cup so I am foreseeing in a few months that we will begin to wean out full nursing sessions. I don't think about that though. We will cross those bridges when they come.

Evelyn has had a few adventures over the past year. She has been to our favourite lake several times. Visited my parents' farm on a number of occasions. Attended a homeschool conference with Daddy and I. And most recently Evelyn and I jetted off to Toronto to meet some exceptionally amazing friends.

Over the past year her and I have made some discoveries together. Like how awesome baby wearing is. I invested an Ergo carrier which is amazing, then I added a gauze wrap and most recently a Baby Hawk Mei Tai. LOVE BABY WEARING! We also stumbled into cloth diapering (well more like fell into the gaping black hole of cloth diapering). While it has it's drawbacks I am still happily spraying poopy diapers and washing and drying and stuffing them. It's the fluffy bum, either you get it or you don't.

We also discovered Baby Legs, knock off Robeez, Amber Teething Necklaces, JuJuBe diaper bags, Liv & Lily, Kalo Clips, Boogie Wipes and so so so so much more. Really, I have no idea how many fun and interesting things I have found, maybe it's having a girl or maybe it's having an online village of mothers that enable purchases of every kind. I guess I'll never know.

So here we are now. That first year is behind us. A year of many wonderful things. I can only anticipate on the edge of my seat the things my family will experience from this point forward. We have done some wonderful celebrating so far. This past year deserves it. Not only did baby girl grow but our family did as well, physically, mentally and emotionally.

Today, Evelyn's actual birthday, Daddy's parents are coming over for a BBQ and cake. Which means I need to tidy the house (again) and actually make a cake. Greek (one of my favs) is on the menu tonight. There will be laughter and celebrating. YAY Evelyn is ONE!!! On this day I am very very very happy.

Instinctual Parenting

Don’t let his sad look fool you. “Puppy” is quite happy in his FuzziBunz.

In addition to wearing cloth diapers, Puppy has also been carried in a wrap style carrier, swaddled and breastfed. All of this has been done by my 5 and a half year old son of his own devices (imagination). Well, I put the FuzziBunz on the stuffed dog, but he asked for a diaper and a busted snap FB was all I had.

What this shows though is how much of an impact our choice in parenting styles can have on our children and possibly how they choose to parent. In the classic monkey see monkey do style my children are following in my steps (and sometimes right on my heels). I certainly hope they pick up a few tricks from me and they won’t be saying to their spouses “can you believe my mother did............”. I also hope that they make their choices informed and not just because it is the status quo. 

We seem to be in a social shift where parenting is concerned. Old ideas and new products are both beginning to co-exist in harmony. Some of these seemingly new parenting ideas are old school and I mean ooooooollllldddd school. Some are cultural and are making their way into more mainstream society. 

Just for the record and to put it out there here are a few of the things that I do:

Breastfeed (because it is FREE)

Baby Wear (because it works for us)

Co-Sleep (its called survival people)

Cloth Diaper (because it is cute and the investment pays off down the road)

Delay Vaccination (because I forget to make appointments and get behind)

Swaddle (because it works for Evelyn)

Use a Stroller (having 3 kids means carting around lots of crap)

Baby Led Weaning (I’m too lazy to feed with a spoon all the time)

Purees (because I like puddings and yogurt and applesauce too)

Homeschool (because that is what our lifestyle and feelings dictate)

In addition to those things I am trying to become more aware of preservatives and additives in food as well as chemicals in household products. In a way I am trying to green us up a little bit but it has more to do with health than the environment. I am also learning more about alternative medicine which I believe has many advantages however I am not opposed to some good old big pharma when it is called for. 

For how I choose to do things there are a variety of terms but none of them seem to fit quite right. Some of these things are termed as “attachment parenting” (AP) however there is sometimes confusion between a physical attachment being required in order to form an emotional attachment. I don’t like to say “natural parenting” either as that can bring up the green parenting movement as well. 

In most cases any of these schisms within the style itself are created by narrow-mindedness. The formula feeding mother looked down upon by the AP crowd or the disposable diapering parent being rejected by the green group. It takes many different folks to make the world go around and not one person can do everything. I don’t have to ban vaccines to be a natural parent and I don’t have to ditch the stroller to be an attachment parent. Don’t even get me started on the hairsplitting terms in the pregnancy and birthing world. Oy vey. 

Perhaps what I will call it is Instinctual Parenting. The things we do that feel most right to us as mothers. The things that our babies guide us to do as what is best for them. Using our instincts, common sense right? I may have some smart aleck reasons for why I do what I do but at the core it is all about instinct. 

Tough thing is though that many of these common sense and instinctual ways of parenting have been taken from mothers and turned into parenting philosophies. A revered professional  or celebrity  will write a book about said common sense. Saying this way is right and that way is wrong. Then before you know it you have bestseller written all over it and mums everywhere questioning if their choice is the right choice. Ferber, Sears and Spock anyone? 

Read all the books you want but be willing to pick and choose. Don’t pigeon hole yourself. I’ve always been a middle road and moderation kind of gal so why should my parenting style be any different. Sometimes a situation calls for one way or another. I have to be adaptable. I have to use my instincts. Then when you have more than one you are thrown another curveball because what worked on your first may not work on your second (eg. the boys were neither swaddled or had soothers but baby girl can’t get enough of either).

Whatever parenting choices a person makes though please keep in mind that the choices you make today can affect the choices your children make tomorrow (both figuratively and literally). I can only hope that I am raising understanding and supportive fathers and strong and confident mothers. 

Viktor doesn’t breastfeed Puppy anymore, apparently he is eating real food now. Whether that is a point in his development (realizing he can’t breastfeed) or just seeing that Evelyn is feeding less and eating more, I don’t know. Either way I could only assume that Puppy is going the baby led weaning route mixed with some purees. For now Puppy also co-sleeps.  I think Puppy will be co sleeping for a while yet. No word though on the potty training but once puppy doesn’t need that FuzziBunz anymore I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it. I doubt it will be covered by warranty. I’m sure by that point though Evelyn will have a doll or two in need of a cloth diaper. 

Until next time, regardless of how you parent, be happy and confident in the choices you have made. I know I am.