I think this is one of my favorites!!! I two have been kinda having a mid life crisis...My son went away to school, my oldest turned 18 and is moving to school, and I turned 40!!! My oldest already informed me that she is not ready to deal with me having one...so to knock it off...I wonder where she learned such charitable kind words...Opps...
Enjoy Rachel's article...
I will admit I take a great deal of comfort in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Granted the pop song of the sixties by The Byrds, “Turn, Turn, Turn”, has diminished the power of these verses so a re-read of the actual verses from Scripture might be beneficial.
Within these words I am reassured that everything will come about in season - planting and harvesting, tears and laughter, a time for silence and a time for speaking. The Scripture even speaks of time for love and a time for war. Everything. Really, everything? No, not everything. Verse 14 instructs us more clearly, “I know that whatever God does endures forever…” I wish I had remembered this a few weeks ago.
I turned 45 this year and as is required at these important milestones in life, I took a good look at my life and took stock of what has come and gone. Unfortunately, I began this venture without proper preparation and saw only what I had missed due to my young marriage, large family and crazy choices (also known as homeschooling). My life was not at all, what I had planned when I ventured forth from my hometown. I have achieved nothing that I had my wish list as a senior in high school. My spiral went down and before I knew it, I was in the midst of a full-blown mid-life crisis. I needed to do something about this. Get a tattoo, buy a motorcycle or at least be an upstanding woman and get myself a real job!
Isn’t that the essence of a mid-life crisis? You take a good look at your life and seeing all the holes and what is missing and decide that no matter the cost, the expense or the embarrassment to self or family you will get what’s coming to you? Hollywood and made-for-TV movies will give you this impression. Sadly, for some it is true to life with 20+ year marriages dissolved and jobs abandoned as another 40-something tries to find themselves.
Lucky for me, I had neither the income nor gumption to do anything bizarre so I was left to take another look at my life, this time with a plea to God, “What am I ‘really’ missing?” This short prayer was the preparation I needed and had lacked before.
As I took a new look at my life with God’s help I could admit there is much I haven’t done, but much more has happened in my life than I could have ever expected; including the 11 children (and all that comes with that) and the homeschooling. Through God’s graciousness, I have also had a turn at a modest writing career, travels abroad and the joy and privilege of watching over and fostering several young vocations in my children. My seasons with God have been quite fruitful and full of blessings both large and small.
Moreover, I had fresh excitement and hope for the seasons yet to come. With that in mind, I have begun a new wish list, making sure to contemplatie God’s will for me and my family. My list includes the truly important things such as a stronger marriage, the patience and strength to parent healthy and holy children on through adulthood but I have also included some trivial things such as more travel and a best-selling novel to write. I realize I may never have a season as a renowned novelist or travel beyond the United States but it will remain on my list. As I turn, turn, turn through the rest of my life I am reassured by looking at what has gone past that God knows both what I want and what I truly need. My life as stolen from lyrics from another 60’s pop song this time by the Rolling Stones – You can’t always get what you want…you get what you need.
However, I won’t let that song go to my head – I’ll stick with contemplating Scripture. When I took a truly honest assessment of my life and how wonderful my life has been I needed to repent for my ingratitude. God has given me many surprises over the past 45 years, I look forward to the surprises He has in store for the next 45. “No eye has seen, no ear heard, no mind has conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Cor. 2:9)
Showing posts with label rachel watkins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rachel watkins. Show all posts
Friday, August 15, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Guest Blogger: Rachel Watkins-mother of 11 talks about Living Catholic in a Non-Catholic World ...
Rachel is a homeschooling mom of 11 great kids who writes for Catholic Exchange,Heart, Mind, and Strength, as well as others...she will be my guest blogger while I am out of town...sit back and enjoy her this week...feel free to leave comments and I will get them to her!!!
Living Catholic in a Non-Catholic World – http://www.exceptionalmarriages.com/ 7/10/07
In light of deciding to buy my planner from a Catholic company (www.family-centered.com)
***this is the planner I use too!!!
I've been thinking about what other choices I make in my life especially because I am a Catholic.
Being fully Catholic isn't easy in today's world. I know I am not the only one who struggles on the what, when, where, why, who's, etc. of daily life when trying to be as authentically Catholic as possible.
Some decisions are easy for me as I don't have struggles against addictions to drugs, alcohol, or pornography that other Catholics do. My immediate family is not a source of conflict but my extended family issues can leak in from time to time. We don't have cable, limit the access to the TV and internet in general. The malls are too far to get to on a weekly basis much less a daily basis so my kids hang out at home.
But still I wonder. Unlike Muslims, orthodox Jews or even the Mennonites who operate the farmer's market near my house, whose appearances (headdress, dresses, etc.) give clear witness to their faith is there anything I'm doing that would clearly say to someone this woman is a Catholic???
Is that necessary? Required? Possible? Am I falling for the traps of the Pharisee's whose appearance said one thing but whose lives said another? In the gospel today, they accuse Christ of being the prince of demons because they can't see beyond the outward miracle. I only want to always see Christ clearly and witness to Him daily.
Living Catholic in a Non-Catholic World – http://www.exceptionalmarriages.com/ 7/10/07
In light of deciding to buy my planner from a Catholic company (www.family-centered.com)
***this is the planner I use too!!!
I've been thinking about what other choices I make in my life especially because I am a Catholic.
Being fully Catholic isn't easy in today's world. I know I am not the only one who struggles on the what, when, where, why, who's, etc. of daily life when trying to be as authentically Catholic as possible.
Some decisions are easy for me as I don't have struggles against addictions to drugs, alcohol, or pornography that other Catholics do. My immediate family is not a source of conflict but my extended family issues can leak in from time to time. We don't have cable, limit the access to the TV and internet in general. The malls are too far to get to on a weekly basis much less a daily basis so my kids hang out at home.
But still I wonder. Unlike Muslims, orthodox Jews or even the Mennonites who operate the farmer's market near my house, whose appearances (headdress, dresses, etc.) give clear witness to their faith is there anything I'm doing that would clearly say to someone this woman is a Catholic???
Is that necessary? Required? Possible? Am I falling for the traps of the Pharisee's whose appearance said one thing but whose lives said another? In the gospel today, they accuse Christ of being the prince of demons because they can't see beyond the outward miracle. I only want to always see Christ clearly and witness to Him daily.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Guest Blogger: Rachel Watkins-mother of 11 talks about homeschooling with little kids...
Rachel is a homeschooling mom of 11 great kids who writes for Catholic Exchange,Heart, Mind, and Strength, as well as others...she will be my guest blogger while I am out of town...sit back and enjoy her this week...feel free to leave comments and I will get them to her!!!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Guest Blogger: Rachel Watkins-mother of 11 talks about waiting for God's time...
Rachel is a homeschooling mom of 11 great kids who writes for Catholic Exchange,Heart, Mind, and Strength, as well as others...she will be my guest blogger while I am out of town...sit back and enjoy her this week...feel free to leave comments and I will get them to her!!!
This is an article that Rachel wrote awhile ago for Catholic Exchange:
Learning to Wait Well
Our three year old does not like the word ‘wait’. She dislikes the word more than even a quick ‘No’. She will display her displeasure with a pout on a good day and a stomp of the foot and shout on a bad day. So, I have adapted my reply to ‘Yes, after I have….finished this phone call, gone to the bathroom, etc..’ or ‘Yes, after you….finish your chore, pick up your toys, etc.’ If I answer her with those words she will happily, most of the time, skip off until those tasks are completed.
I, on the other hand, as an adult wait very well. RIGHT!
I am now at week 36+ of my 15th pregnancy, expecting my 11th child on earth. I have discovered, much to my displeasure and embarrassment, that I am a very poor ‘wait-er’. I am pouting, shouting (in my heart) and whining more than my 3 yr. old ever does. Now, to rationalize a bit about my challenge in waiting, I have only gone to term with one of my children. I am physically disposed to going early and, as such, received medical intervention to prevent early labor/delivery with this baby. Well, the medicine has worked wonders and I have now reached a point in my pregnancy I have not reached for over 8 years!!! Seriously. The last time I went past 36 weeks was 5 babies ago. Therefore, in my mind I am late, overdue and miserable.
So, I am not waiting well and have been telling God that over and over again. Each morning when I awake, still pregnant, I rub my sore muscles, get the forklift over to raise my whale-like body out of my bed and hope my feet land in a proper position to support my frame (not really, but it feels like that!).
Recently God decided to have a good talking to me. He didn’t appear in my room but did take over a recent prayer time to give me a bit of perspective on waiting. My waiting, with such a good ending, is small and minor in comparison to other types of waiting. For example, we have our own Greg and Lisa with a 2 year plus waiting for Lily, there are the many readers/listeners to HMS who have been waiting for resolutions to infertility, marriage problems, financial concerns, chronic illness and spiritual struggles. And throughout our faith history, we have witnesses to waiting including Monica and her rascally son Ignatius to the first, and most important waiting ever done was the entire nation of Israel – waiting and waiting and waiting for a Messiah.
My waiting pales in comparison to all of this. Therefore, until our newest baby arrives I will try my best to wait with a better attitude and realize that God is answering me just as I answer my three year old – “Yes, Rachel, you will get a new baby. When the time is perfect.”
This is an article that Rachel wrote awhile ago for Catholic Exchange:
Learning to Wait Well
Our three year old does not like the word ‘wait’. She dislikes the word more than even a quick ‘No’. She will display her displeasure with a pout on a good day and a stomp of the foot and shout on a bad day. So, I have adapted my reply to ‘Yes, after I have….finished this phone call, gone to the bathroom, etc..’ or ‘Yes, after you….finish your chore, pick up your toys, etc.’ If I answer her with those words she will happily, most of the time, skip off until those tasks are completed.
I, on the other hand, as an adult wait very well. RIGHT!
I am now at week 36+ of my 15th pregnancy, expecting my 11th child on earth. I have discovered, much to my displeasure and embarrassment, that I am a very poor ‘wait-er’. I am pouting, shouting (in my heart) and whining more than my 3 yr. old ever does. Now, to rationalize a bit about my challenge in waiting, I have only gone to term with one of my children. I am physically disposed to going early and, as such, received medical intervention to prevent early labor/delivery with this baby. Well, the medicine has worked wonders and I have now reached a point in my pregnancy I have not reached for over 8 years!!! Seriously. The last time I went past 36 weeks was 5 babies ago. Therefore, in my mind I am late, overdue and miserable.
So, I am not waiting well and have been telling God that over and over again. Each morning when I awake, still pregnant, I rub my sore muscles, get the forklift over to raise my whale-like body out of my bed and hope my feet land in a proper position to support my frame (not really, but it feels like that!).
Recently God decided to have a good talking to me. He didn’t appear in my room but did take over a recent prayer time to give me a bit of perspective on waiting. My waiting, with such a good ending, is small and minor in comparison to other types of waiting. For example, we have our own Greg and Lisa with a 2 year plus waiting for Lily, there are the many readers/listeners to HMS who have been waiting for resolutions to infertility, marriage problems, financial concerns, chronic illness and spiritual struggles. And throughout our faith history, we have witnesses to waiting including Monica and her rascally son Ignatius to the first, and most important waiting ever done was the entire nation of Israel – waiting and waiting and waiting for a Messiah.
My waiting pales in comparison to all of this. Therefore, until our newest baby arrives I will try my best to wait with a better attitude and realize that God is answering me just as I answer my three year old – “Yes, Rachel, you will get a new baby. When the time is perfect.”
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Guest Blogger: Rachel Watkins-mother of 11 talks about homeschooling with little kids...
While I am on vacation this week...You are in for a treat everyone as I share some great insights from my friend and mentor Rachel Watkins!!!
Keeping the little ones content
One of the biggest struggles homeschooling parents face is keeping the younger one content while the older ones are learning. While the older ones have goals to meet based on state requirements, lesson plans or curriculums, the only goal for a preschooler or toddler is to have as much fun as possible. The ‘rule’ of toddler life is to go, go, go and take as many prisoners (that usually means Mom) along the way! (While I know there are some fathers out there who are the ‘teacher’ I will beg their forgiveness and just use “Mom” here for simplicity.)
Most families make use of the following:
FLEXIBILITY - When thinking of making a school schedule think of the best times for you, your stamina and the needs of the little ones. If you write the schedule with those in mind you can get more done than you think. Don’t forget to plan a snack schedule as you can get a lot accomplished with an older child while the younger one is munching next to you. When you have more than a few little ones, you may find that going to a weekly or even monthly plan is better than trying a daily one. Not knowing if the baby going to start teething, the toddler who is potty-training is miserable, etc. make a daily plan is almost impossible in my house. Instead, I make big weekly plans and monthly goals. I know I can meet (or adjust those) is much less stressful than saying I must go this and that today and today only! In a family w/ babies and toddlers today’s quickly become yesterday’s so don’t be tied to a planner that doesn’t allow for flexibility.
Also, know that you are getting more done than you think. Remember to cover the 4 R’s – reading, ‘riting, ‘rithmatic’ and religion and you are doing fine. Check out the “What Every (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) Grader Should Know series and you will probably discover that your child knows more than you remember teaching them. And having stacks and stacks of good books – both fiction and non-fiction – will go a long way to teach your kids what you yourself can’t. The computer is also a given in most homes. Having some good teaching sites bookmarked as favorites make it easier to get your kids started on learning something when it’s a rough day.
This isn’t to say that other subjects are necessary and your own state may require real, concrete proof of all subjects taught. Rather it is remind you that you need to take school just one day at a time.
CREATIVITY - Be as creative with your schedule as homeschooling allows. Perhaps getting to some subjects will take place after Dad comes home. He can play with the younger ones or listen to the older one read. Consider doing a concentrated study session on a Saturday morning. Make the most of naps to take care of the more difficult subjects (in our house it is Math). And remember – with elementary aged kids they don’t need 5 or 6 hours of school. And once you get them reading successfully they can manage to get a good number of subjects done on their own. Developing independent learners is vital to success in high school and beyond.
Older children will take turns to help care for younger ones. Some mothers use assigned times or days while other moms just ask the child who is not occupied. For example, in my family, I assign one of the older kids to be my ‘go-to girl’ or ‘go-to guy’ for a given day. So, on Monday (and only Monday), my 14 yr. old is ‘Go-To Girl’ for the whole day. She is not expected to do any school work until little ones are napping. She helps out w/ keeping them occupied, folding laundry, helping w/ dinner, anything and everything. In a word, that is her day to be my right hand gal. On the one hand, some would say, she is missing out on schoolwork. Perhaps.
But on the other hand – she is learning at my side about running a household. She is spending some time w/ me as we are making dinner together, working side-by-side. She is Lunch Lady for that day (no, I don’t insist on hairnets) and more. It is a huge help to me and fun for her. She likes the idea of playing ‘hooky’ of sorts and we’ve had some great conversations this way. She is also helping occupy the little ones and allowing me some time to help the younger ones w/ their school.
To clarify – this isn’t to say that on other days, she doesn’t help but on this one day of the week, she is my primary helper. I do the same on other days w/ all my older kids from around 8 on up. (This then means in my home that I have a ‘go-to’ kid four days a week.) Good thing, we take Fridays ‘off’.
Remember even at 5 or 6, an older sibling can be asked to build blocks with the toddler as you help an older one get started on an assignment. There are also the times/days when it is all me. I get the older ones started doing subjects that need little assistance and the day begins. All of my kids are expert at doing school on the floor because I’m down there with the little ones.
SENSITIVITY – To everyone’s needs: yours, the older kids and the younger kids. Don’t worry about what your neighbor is doing, what those in support group are doing. Just keep your eyes on your house, God’s plan for you and be sensitive to the life He has in store.
Some concrete ideas:
Books on tape for younger children. Not the longer books but those with an accompanying book. You could even ask an older child to create some of these from books you have at your own home.
Books on the tape for the older ones. They can read along with the longer books or listen to the learning tapes for states, math facts and even science stuff.
Videos and TV. These can be used for just the little ones or with the older ones for an educational moment. A nature program, history and similar. The older one is learning while the younger one is entertained. Dust off the old family videos and let the little ones watch those, let them see what their big brother looked liked when he was a baby.
Standard ‘busy’ work for younger children include:
Toys in the home, coloring books and drawing paper, puzzles, play dough, lacing beads/buttons on a string, sticker books and such like. Put these favorites into boxes or baskets and rotate them in and out of the living room or play area to keep things interesting. You can get more out of a few, real, favorites rather than an overabundance of toys that end up just dumped on the floor and never really played with.
Make use of the high chair for more than food. Let little one try to learn to sit still. High chair games can include fun with an ice cube on the tray or painting with whipped cream (I do that only on bath days!). You will spend a good deal of time bending down and picking up but you could use the exercise.
Quiet Games:
-Magazine scavenger hunt
Open any magazine and ask your toddler to find something. Look for a color or an object such as a car. Make it thematic by finding all the people or instructional by looking for things that start with a specific letter. The “Where’s Waldo”, “Look-Alikes” and “I Spy” book series offer this same advantage.
-Photo Time
Keep all those extra photos, even those slightly out of focus or duplicate shots. Every child loves to look at photos again and again. Create a basket or box full of pictures just for them.
-Write letters
Older preschoolers love giving and getting mail. Ask them to dictate a letter to you for Gramma in the next state or even the sister they share a room with. You can mail them for real or just pretend. As an older child to act as scribe and they can then practice their handwriting.
-Junk Mail
Letting them have the junk mail will create a mess on the floor for you to clean up but can sometimes give you the fifteen or twenty minutes you need to give a spelling test.
-Reading books in a new way
Every young child has a favorite book they want to hear over and over and over again (“Are You My Mother?” is a current favorite in our home.) An entertaining twist is to read the book backwards or use a different voice (baby, whisper, Martian). Read the book in your best (or worst) French accent. They will delight in hearing an old favorite in a new way.
More Active Games:
-Spin and Stop
Remember the game of Statues? In this version have the kids spin once or twice and then stop. Then ask them “Be something you see at the zoo”. You then watch and admire as they act out being a lion or bear. You can ask them to be something on a farm, in the ocean, or in the air. You can venture into inanimate objects if they understand and ask them to be something in the house, at a grocery store. How about being their favorite storybook or movie character?
-Kitchen Sink
While you need to be in the kitchen, allow them to play in the sink with bubbles and plastic cups. We sometimes avoid this as it often creates more work but when you really need time to work with an older child you can hover near the toddler and still get some work done.
-Laundry Basketball
Take some of those socks you have been trying to sort and allow the toddler to play basketball with them. A small pair being tossed about the living room can cause only minimal damage and give great fun.
Don’t forget to check out your local library for great books for games, activities and more for toddlers and younger children. One favorite is “365 TV-Free Activities You Can Do With Your Child” by Steve and Ruth Bennett, (Bob Adams, Inc. 1995).
Keeping the little ones content
One of the biggest struggles homeschooling parents face is keeping the younger one content while the older ones are learning. While the older ones have goals to meet based on state requirements, lesson plans or curriculums, the only goal for a preschooler or toddler is to have as much fun as possible. The ‘rule’ of toddler life is to go, go, go and take as many prisoners (that usually means Mom) along the way! (While I know there are some fathers out there who are the ‘teacher’ I will beg their forgiveness and just use “Mom” here for simplicity.)
Most families make use of the following:
FLEXIBILITY - When thinking of making a school schedule think of the best times for you, your stamina and the needs of the little ones. If you write the schedule with those in mind you can get more done than you think. Don’t forget to plan a snack schedule as you can get a lot accomplished with an older child while the younger one is munching next to you. When you have more than a few little ones, you may find that going to a weekly or even monthly plan is better than trying a daily one. Not knowing if the baby going to start teething, the toddler who is potty-training is miserable, etc. make a daily plan is almost impossible in my house. Instead, I make big weekly plans and monthly goals. I know I can meet (or adjust those) is much less stressful than saying I must go this and that today and today only! In a family w/ babies and toddlers today’s quickly become yesterday’s so don’t be tied to a planner that doesn’t allow for flexibility.
Also, know that you are getting more done than you think. Remember to cover the 4 R’s – reading, ‘riting, ‘rithmatic’ and religion and you are doing fine. Check out the “What Every (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) Grader Should Know series and you will probably discover that your child knows more than you remember teaching them. And having stacks and stacks of good books – both fiction and non-fiction – will go a long way to teach your kids what you yourself can’t. The computer is also a given in most homes. Having some good teaching sites bookmarked as favorites make it easier to get your kids started on learning something when it’s a rough day.
This isn’t to say that other subjects are necessary and your own state may require real, concrete proof of all subjects taught. Rather it is remind you that you need to take school just one day at a time.
CREATIVITY - Be as creative with your schedule as homeschooling allows. Perhaps getting to some subjects will take place after Dad comes home. He can play with the younger ones or listen to the older one read. Consider doing a concentrated study session on a Saturday morning. Make the most of naps to take care of the more difficult subjects (in our house it is Math). And remember – with elementary aged kids they don’t need 5 or 6 hours of school. And once you get them reading successfully they can manage to get a good number of subjects done on their own. Developing independent learners is vital to success in high school and beyond.
Older children will take turns to help care for younger ones. Some mothers use assigned times or days while other moms just ask the child who is not occupied. For example, in my family, I assign one of the older kids to be my ‘go-to girl’ or ‘go-to guy’ for a given day. So, on Monday (and only Monday), my 14 yr. old is ‘Go-To Girl’ for the whole day. She is not expected to do any school work until little ones are napping. She helps out w/ keeping them occupied, folding laundry, helping w/ dinner, anything and everything. In a word, that is her day to be my right hand gal. On the one hand, some would say, she is missing out on schoolwork. Perhaps.
But on the other hand – she is learning at my side about running a household. She is spending some time w/ me as we are making dinner together, working side-by-side. She is Lunch Lady for that day (no, I don’t insist on hairnets) and more. It is a huge help to me and fun for her. She likes the idea of playing ‘hooky’ of sorts and we’ve had some great conversations this way. She is also helping occupy the little ones and allowing me some time to help the younger ones w/ their school.
To clarify – this isn’t to say that on other days, she doesn’t help but on this one day of the week, she is my primary helper. I do the same on other days w/ all my older kids from around 8 on up. (This then means in my home that I have a ‘go-to’ kid four days a week.) Good thing, we take Fridays ‘off’.
Remember even at 5 or 6, an older sibling can be asked to build blocks with the toddler as you help an older one get started on an assignment. There are also the times/days when it is all me. I get the older ones started doing subjects that need little assistance and the day begins. All of my kids are expert at doing school on the floor because I’m down there with the little ones.
SENSITIVITY – To everyone’s needs: yours, the older kids and the younger kids. Don’t worry about what your neighbor is doing, what those in support group are doing. Just keep your eyes on your house, God’s plan for you and be sensitive to the life He has in store.
Some concrete ideas:
Books on tape for younger children. Not the longer books but those with an accompanying book. You could even ask an older child to create some of these from books you have at your own home.
Books on the tape for the older ones. They can read along with the longer books or listen to the learning tapes for states, math facts and even science stuff.
Videos and TV. These can be used for just the little ones or with the older ones for an educational moment. A nature program, history and similar. The older one is learning while the younger one is entertained. Dust off the old family videos and let the little ones watch those, let them see what their big brother looked liked when he was a baby.
Standard ‘busy’ work for younger children include:
Toys in the home, coloring books and drawing paper, puzzles, play dough, lacing beads/buttons on a string, sticker books and such like. Put these favorites into boxes or baskets and rotate them in and out of the living room or play area to keep things interesting. You can get more out of a few, real, favorites rather than an overabundance of toys that end up just dumped on the floor and never really played with.
Make use of the high chair for more than food. Let little one try to learn to sit still. High chair games can include fun with an ice cube on the tray or painting with whipped cream (I do that only on bath days!). You will spend a good deal of time bending down and picking up but you could use the exercise.
Quiet Games:
-Magazine scavenger hunt
Open any magazine and ask your toddler to find something. Look for a color or an object such as a car. Make it thematic by finding all the people or instructional by looking for things that start with a specific letter. The “Where’s Waldo”, “Look-Alikes” and “I Spy” book series offer this same advantage.
-Photo Time
Keep all those extra photos, even those slightly out of focus or duplicate shots. Every child loves to look at photos again and again. Create a basket or box full of pictures just for them.
-Write letters
Older preschoolers love giving and getting mail. Ask them to dictate a letter to you for Gramma in the next state or even the sister they share a room with. You can mail them for real or just pretend. As an older child to act as scribe and they can then practice their handwriting.
-Junk Mail
Letting them have the junk mail will create a mess on the floor for you to clean up but can sometimes give you the fifteen or twenty minutes you need to give a spelling test.
-Reading books in a new way
Every young child has a favorite book they want to hear over and over and over again (“Are You My Mother?” is a current favorite in our home.) An entertaining twist is to read the book backwards or use a different voice (baby, whisper, Martian). Read the book in your best (or worst) French accent. They will delight in hearing an old favorite in a new way.
More Active Games:
-Spin and Stop
Remember the game of Statues? In this version have the kids spin once or twice and then stop. Then ask them “Be something you see at the zoo”. You then watch and admire as they act out being a lion or bear. You can ask them to be something on a farm, in the ocean, or in the air. You can venture into inanimate objects if they understand and ask them to be something in the house, at a grocery store. How about being their favorite storybook or movie character?
-Kitchen Sink
While you need to be in the kitchen, allow them to play in the sink with bubbles and plastic cups. We sometimes avoid this as it often creates more work but when you really need time to work with an older child you can hover near the toddler and still get some work done.
-Laundry Basketball
Take some of those socks you have been trying to sort and allow the toddler to play basketball with them. A small pair being tossed about the living room can cause only minimal damage and give great fun.
Don’t forget to check out your local library for great books for games, activities and more for toddlers and younger children. One favorite is “365 TV-Free Activities You Can Do With Your Child” by Steve and Ruth Bennett, (Bob Adams, Inc. 1995).
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Guest Blogger: Rachel Watkins-mother of 11 talks about why to homeschool...
Rachel is a homeschooling mom of 11 great kids who writes for Catholic Exchange,Heart, Mind, and Strength, as well as others...she will be my guest blogger while I am out of town...sit back and enjoy her this week...feel free to leave comments and I will get them to her!!!
August is here and many parents, self-included, are beginning to think about the upcoming school year. If you are not yet, take a trip to a local big box store or turn on the television because the commercials are running and the shelves are full of pencils and paper.
While many parents have already made the decision, the tuition payment mailed and the school list downloaded, some parents are still deciding about where their little angel will go. Many parents are considering making that flight from the nest a quick hop to the kitchen table. Are you one of those parents? Are you thinking about homeschooling? If you are, you have many questions. Over the years, there has been a huge increase in the number of companies, programs and websites (including Catholic Exchange) there to help you out.
Our own decision to homeschool, now over 12 years ago, was made in the spur of the moment. We could no longer afford our local parochial school due to my husband’s recent job loss and our local public school was not even an option. What do we do? When approached by a local Catholic family about homeschooling our first thought was “Do Catholics do that?” When assured that they do, we did not hesitate to join in but did so more as lemmings than as thoughtful parents. We ran, as it were, into the ocean and it was only by God’s grace that we didn’t drown. We did not ask enough questions as we started and our first year was not as easy as it could have been. Our first student, our oldest daughter was spared any lasting damage due to the fact that we were only doing first grade. In an attempt to help prevent a false start to what will probably be the best adventure your family will ever have here is some basic information.
Who is doing it? Every religion, race and income level is homeschooling - the rich and famous, and low-income anonymous, from senators and movie stars to carpenters and car mechanics. Parents in every walk of life have decided that their children’s education is too important to hand off to anyone else.
Why would you want to? The pioneers in homeschooling may have felt that homeschooling as their only choice for their children. However, many parents deciding to homeschool today have made it their first choice; some with children still too young to even attend school. Moreover, parents who continue to homeschool child after child, year after year do so because they know it the best choice for their family.
Homeschooling gives a family freedom, flexibility and autonomy that no other education system can. Homeschooling parents and their children will talk about fine-tuning their programs to fit their unique family situation or individual child’s needs. A school board does not decide a homeschooling family’s calendar so the curriculum can vary from child to child, year to year. It is school in pajamas and field trips every week. It is involvement in local theater groups and reading every book out loud. It is the friendships that develop within the home and across the country. It is toddlers under foot and teenagers helping teach their younger sibling how to read. You can make daily Mass, First Fridays, enjoy prayer before school and during school. Discussions about God are not forbidden but encouraged and there is no concern about separation between church and state because there can be no dividing a family from its faith. Every homeschooling family will give you a unique reason why they homeschool but the common thread through each family is love for their child.
Deciding to homeschool your child is hard. While some families do, it from the start others may decide to later in, their child’s schooling because of bad experiences, difficult schooling situations or at the child’s request. More and more families decide to begin during the socially awkward middle school years or in high school when a good high school just is not available.
However, being a Catholic homeschooler is not as hard as it once was or is it seen as anything too odd. While parents, friend and neighbors might be surprised by your decision to do it, they will not say as many once did, “Is that legal?” If is announced today, while they might not fully support you, they have surely heard of it.
How do you even get started? Once the decision is made to do it, the work really begins. Every state has their own regulations. Contacting your local school board or the Home School Legal Defense Assoc. is the first step to get the information you need to get started. Once clear on the local requirements, you then get to decide on the very unique way your family will homeschool.
School at home can come from a box with detailed lesson plans, deadlines for work and consultants or advisors at the other end of a telephone line for assistance. Programs like this include Mother of Divine Grace, Seton Home School or Kolbe Academy. For other families school takes place in front of the computer with lessons sent for each child and work accomplished throughout the week or day and then sent back. On-line courses can come from Angelicum Academy or secular programs such as K12. There are the families who pick and choose from a variety of curriculum providers, too many to even list, to create their own packages while some just pick and choose from the local library. Then there are the families who do some of everything listed above depending on the child and their needs and skills.
There are as many ways to homeschool your Catholic family as there are Catholic families. Embracing your role as the primary and sole educator of your family allows you to choose what type of program fits your needs best. This is important to remember because you want to avoid anyone who would tell you what you must do in order to be a ‘good’ Catholic.
The decision on how to homeschool, within local requirements, remains up to you as parents. You will begin to read, investigate and talk to other homeschooler, your local librarians and God. Remembering to place Him first in your home school is vital to its success and survival.
Does it work? Absolutely! If your family is called to homeschool and you do it with conviction, planning and commitment, your children and family will thrive. Home schooled children are successful in their endeavors winning national competitions such as the National Scripps Spelling Bee and National Geographic Geography Bee. Homeschool students have won admission to such academic powerhouses as Yale and Harvard and spots at the Naval Academy and West Point. They are impressive on standardized tests and in essay contests across the nation. Even more impressive is that, more often than not, their homeschool experience has formed them into young adults who love the Church, learning and their families. They head out of the house for colleges, vocational schools or right into jobs with a formation that cannot be duplicated in any other setting. By God’s inspiration, most Catholic homeschool parents are as concerned about forming saints as much as they are in forming scholars.
If you are considering homeschooling your family, pray about how you envision your new roles as both parent and teachers. How you have seen your child succeed and what causes them frustration? What did you, yourself like about school? Don’t think about homeschooling them forever, just for this year. Creating small, reachable goals is necessary as is daily prayer and a good sense of humor. Investigate if there are other homeschoolers in your area and parish. A quick call to the rectory and visit to your local library will let you know. Finding some support, either locally or through the Internet will make a world of difference for the parents and the child.
Making the decision to homeschool is rarely easy but be assured that you are not the first family to do so and will surely not be the last. You may feel as if you don’t have a clue what you are doing but even veterans can feel the same way. We get comfort from remembering that if God has called us to homeschool, we can rely on His grace to do so. We stand strong in the knowledge that God always knows what He is doing, all the time, even when we don’t.
August is here and many parents, self-included, are beginning to think about the upcoming school year. If you are not yet, take a trip to a local big box store or turn on the television because the commercials are running and the shelves are full of pencils and paper.
While many parents have already made the decision, the tuition payment mailed and the school list downloaded, some parents are still deciding about where their little angel will go. Many parents are considering making that flight from the nest a quick hop to the kitchen table. Are you one of those parents? Are you thinking about homeschooling? If you are, you have many questions. Over the years, there has been a huge increase in the number of companies, programs and websites (including Catholic Exchange) there to help you out.
Our own decision to homeschool, now over 12 years ago, was made in the spur of the moment. We could no longer afford our local parochial school due to my husband’s recent job loss and our local public school was not even an option. What do we do? When approached by a local Catholic family about homeschooling our first thought was “Do Catholics do that?” When assured that they do, we did not hesitate to join in but did so more as lemmings than as thoughtful parents. We ran, as it were, into the ocean and it was only by God’s grace that we didn’t drown. We did not ask enough questions as we started and our first year was not as easy as it could have been. Our first student, our oldest daughter was spared any lasting damage due to the fact that we were only doing first grade. In an attempt to help prevent a false start to what will probably be the best adventure your family will ever have here is some basic information.
Who is doing it? Every religion, race and income level is homeschooling - the rich and famous, and low-income anonymous, from senators and movie stars to carpenters and car mechanics. Parents in every walk of life have decided that their children’s education is too important to hand off to anyone else.
Why would you want to? The pioneers in homeschooling may have felt that homeschooling as their only choice for their children. However, many parents deciding to homeschool today have made it their first choice; some with children still too young to even attend school. Moreover, parents who continue to homeschool child after child, year after year do so because they know it the best choice for their family.
Homeschooling gives a family freedom, flexibility and autonomy that no other education system can. Homeschooling parents and their children will talk about fine-tuning their programs to fit their unique family situation or individual child’s needs. A school board does not decide a homeschooling family’s calendar so the curriculum can vary from child to child, year to year. It is school in pajamas and field trips every week. It is involvement in local theater groups and reading every book out loud. It is the friendships that develop within the home and across the country. It is toddlers under foot and teenagers helping teach their younger sibling how to read. You can make daily Mass, First Fridays, enjoy prayer before school and during school. Discussions about God are not forbidden but encouraged and there is no concern about separation between church and state because there can be no dividing a family from its faith. Every homeschooling family will give you a unique reason why they homeschool but the common thread through each family is love for their child.
Deciding to homeschool your child is hard. While some families do, it from the start others may decide to later in, their child’s schooling because of bad experiences, difficult schooling situations or at the child’s request. More and more families decide to begin during the socially awkward middle school years or in high school when a good high school just is not available.
However, being a Catholic homeschooler is not as hard as it once was or is it seen as anything too odd. While parents, friend and neighbors might be surprised by your decision to do it, they will not say as many once did, “Is that legal?” If is announced today, while they might not fully support you, they have surely heard of it.
How do you even get started? Once the decision is made to do it, the work really begins. Every state has their own regulations. Contacting your local school board or the Home School Legal Defense Assoc. is the first step to get the information you need to get started. Once clear on the local requirements, you then get to decide on the very unique way your family will homeschool.
School at home can come from a box with detailed lesson plans, deadlines for work and consultants or advisors at the other end of a telephone line for assistance. Programs like this include Mother of Divine Grace, Seton Home School or Kolbe Academy. For other families school takes place in front of the computer with lessons sent for each child and work accomplished throughout the week or day and then sent back. On-line courses can come from Angelicum Academy or secular programs such as K12. There are the families who pick and choose from a variety of curriculum providers, too many to even list, to create their own packages while some just pick and choose from the local library. Then there are the families who do some of everything listed above depending on the child and their needs and skills.
There are as many ways to homeschool your Catholic family as there are Catholic families. Embracing your role as the primary and sole educator of your family allows you to choose what type of program fits your needs best. This is important to remember because you want to avoid anyone who would tell you what you must do in order to be a ‘good’ Catholic.
The decision on how to homeschool, within local requirements, remains up to you as parents. You will begin to read, investigate and talk to other homeschooler, your local librarians and God. Remembering to place Him first in your home school is vital to its success and survival.
Does it work? Absolutely! If your family is called to homeschool and you do it with conviction, planning and commitment, your children and family will thrive. Home schooled children are successful in their endeavors winning national competitions such as the National Scripps Spelling Bee and National Geographic Geography Bee. Homeschool students have won admission to such academic powerhouses as Yale and Harvard and spots at the Naval Academy and West Point. They are impressive on standardized tests and in essay contests across the nation. Even more impressive is that, more often than not, their homeschool experience has formed them into young adults who love the Church, learning and their families. They head out of the house for colleges, vocational schools or right into jobs with a formation that cannot be duplicated in any other setting. By God’s inspiration, most Catholic homeschool parents are as concerned about forming saints as much as they are in forming scholars.
If you are considering homeschooling your family, pray about how you envision your new roles as both parent and teachers. How you have seen your child succeed and what causes them frustration? What did you, yourself like about school? Don’t think about homeschooling them forever, just for this year. Creating small, reachable goals is necessary as is daily prayer and a good sense of humor. Investigate if there are other homeschoolers in your area and parish. A quick call to the rectory and visit to your local library will let you know. Finding some support, either locally or through the Internet will make a world of difference for the parents and the child.
Making the decision to homeschool is rarely easy but be assured that you are not the first family to do so and will surely not be the last. You may feel as if you don’t have a clue what you are doing but even veterans can feel the same way. We get comfort from remembering that if God has called us to homeschool, we can rely on His grace to do so. We stand strong in the knowledge that God always knows what He is doing, all the time, even when we don’t.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Going on vacation...Lucky you-Guest Blogger!!!
I am having a great friend and mentor Rachel Watkins post for me this week...she is the mother of 11 (who are these crazy people?) and homeschooler!!! She has written for Heart, Mind & Strength, Catholic Exchange, as well as others. She has agreed to share some of her "stuff" with us...enjoy your week with real writing!!!
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