Thursday, January 29, 2009

Slow days

Well...because of the snow, Michael being off work yesterday, and the general sense of trying to think through and write out a more organized school schedule, we have been "slow" this week with school.
Meaning... I haven't made the boys do grueling schoolwork every day, but a little here and there.
Tuesday,for example, we had our normal morning devotions and prayer time, memory verses, character studies, etc. Then I read part of Dickens' Oliver Twist, and then they did Math papers. So I guess legally (or whatever you want to call it), they had a half day.

Yesterday they worked on Language & Phonics, but they didn't even start their papers until after 3 p.m. Michael was home for most of the day except for the couple of hours he went in to Crane with his boss to work on a piece of equipment (the base was closed). So I let them wait to do those papers.

That is how it has been this week... hit and miss. But that is ok because I have been working on trying to get school organized a little better. I have been re-working our schedule to fit Ryan's preschool time into the day instead of just including him with Jonathan (as before). It seemed to work well for everyone before, but then the other day he informed me that he wanted to do school too, so of course I figured, "why not?". I didn't want to push him into doing pre-school until he was ready, and now he is ready and asking for it.

Another thing I have been working on, and Michael helped me, was to get their playroom cleaned up and put back in order. It really didn't help to send the boys in there every day and say "pick up the toys"; it overwhelmed them. It looked like a bomb had gone off in there... no kidding! Toys were practically hanging from the ceiling (well, not really but it felt that way to me!). So after a week of getting nowhere after sending them in there to do it, I decided Monday to finish the job while Michael, Justin, and Jonathan went to their Monday basketball night at church. Amidst my organizing, they walked back in the door and said that ball had been cancelled. I informed them that since I had already planned to get that room cleaned, that I was going to finish it.

So instead of leaving me there with it and traipsing off to do whatever else, he decided to help me like a good husband. It made it so much more fun. "Oops!" He would say as he chunked broken Happy Meal toys into the garbage.

The boys were supposed to stay in the living room to play, but Justin kept sneaking in there to spy on us. He is notorious for wanting to keep broken toys. "I can do something with that..." he always says. Seriously, he would keep everything and make it into a "new invention" as he puts it. We actually found one of his inventions in the deep recesses of one of their closets. It was several empty plastic bottles of various sizes taped together to look like the space shuttle. Yes, he is very entertaining, and I usually let him do that.

Anyway... I didn't mean to ramble on like this, but that is where we have been this week. Hopefully things are going back into full swing today.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Tools verses Magic Wands

Tools are very useful. If used the right way, they can fix or create things. A carpenter uses tools to build, and a plumber uses tools to fix, and a potter uses his hands (which are tools) to mold.



A magic wand performs miracles. Well... a proverbial magic wand. They really do not exist.



Home education is a tool. I am using a very beneficial tool to educate my children. I would be really naive if I thought that it was a magic wand, a fix-all tool to turn out perfect, angelic children.



I have to laugh at myself because a lot of times, I will blog about something we just learned and then my children will remind me of this very thing. For example right after I blogged about how we are teaching our children about sibling relationships, my children got into a big fuss. Nothing for me to worry about, just something we are constantly working on.



What I am getting at is that I believe education itself is a tool.... not a magic wand. I can teach until I am blue in the face, but unless it reaches their hearts... they will not conform.



Last week they learned Proverbs 1:7



"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but fools despise wisdom and instruction". May they fear the Lord and willingly receive wisdom and instruction.



May they become wise and moldable!

Paint Scraping


Josh and I (probably 1980 or so)

Josh and I April 2008



Erin and I (Nov. 2007)



I am reading Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends by the Mally siblings to the boys as part of our morning routine.



The author compared relationships to painting a house (scraping the old paint off a house before you can place a new coat of paint).

"If there are past offenses which you have never made right, you will not be able to have the right relationship with your sibling now, no matter how hard you try".

The Biblical example of Jacob and Esau was used.... how bitterness between them grew and the situation became worse with time.

"Examine yourself for any ways you may have caused bitterness in your brother or sister. Learn to look at situations from their perspective."


Some questions I asked the boys from the book:

  1. Have I hurt the through unkind words or actions?


  2. Have I lied to them or stolen from them.


  3. Have I made fun of them or teased them?


  4. Especially in front of my friends? Or their friends?


  5. Have I neglected to do something that they were expecting from me?


  6. Have I been hard to please?


  7. Have I been angry with them or lost my temper?


  8. Have I been insensitive to their feelings?


  9. Have I treated them unjustly in any way?


  10. Have I put my own friends and priorities ahead of them?


  11. Have I gossiped about them?


  12. Have I caused frustration by not noticing or praising them?


  13. Have I had a competitive spirit against them?


  14. Have I failed to fulfill something I said I would do?


  15. Have I ignored them with an attitude of unconcern?

Josh and I did a lot of arguing growing up (just as most siblings do). Poor Erin was just plain tortured since she was too little to do anything about it... bless her heart.

I wonder sometimes how much of the conflicts were MY OWN fault. Back then I just thought Josh was a "pesky little brother".

I had a hard time seeing past my annoyances instead of looking through his lenses. Had I asked myself some of the questions above, maybe I would have been a better sister to him and perhaps I would have been much kinder and attentive to him. To be honest, I probably would not have cared. That is really sad.

We are also learning about humility. Being humble and unselfishness go hand in hand with learning how to have good sibling relationships... putting others above ourselves.

The boys are really young, but they had to answer yes to several of the questions (as did I thinking about my sibling relationships). May the Lord help us to reach their hearts in this area!

George Washington's Rules of Civility: Rule 21

Today we talked about Rule 21: "Reproach none for the Infirmities of Nature, nor Delight to put them that have in mind thereof."

I was explaining what this means, so I asked the boys if they knew what "handi-cap" means....

Jonathan said, "A hat?"

It took me a minute to figure out why he said that...it makes sense doesn't it? :-)

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Carnivorous Plants!




Today we planted Justin's carnivorous plant seeds (he received from Papa & Grammy for Christmas.. thanks!).



His kit included the Trumpet, pitcher, and cobra lilies, temperature sundew plants, and the venus fly trap.

Here are a couple of videos of how they "catch" their prey..... the boys are hoping their plants will grow so they can feed them bugs. Ryan asked me if they ate candy canes. :-)

The kit included seeds for both winter and spring seasons. I don't have much of a green thumb... I hope these will work!

The last video shows a mouse "slipping" into a Nepenthes carnivorous plant.

The plant secrets a fluid that attracts "meat". The bug or animal then slips and then cannot get out (a lot of slippery fluid inside!).
The insect or animal then dies, and the plant feeds off the meat. Pretty gross!!!
We also watched a video that showed the remains of a mouse inside it (bones were gone!), but it is just disgusting so I didn't post it. Of course the boys loved it.



Monday, January 12, 2009

Manners, George Washington's way




I have been trying to decide the best way to teach the boys some old- fashioned manners. This has been long in coming, but I really wasn't sure about how to go about it (besides nagging them which is very unfruitful to do to any male... young or old).




Last week I revisited George Washington's rules of civility (which we occasionally use for copy-work), and started teaching them. Today we actually practiced some of them which was very fun for the boys.




I really don't know when we will see the fruits of them, and I hope they will remember and practice them on their own.




What is the purpose of good manners? Respecting others! Is that Biblical? I'd say so...




Philippians 2:3-4 (King James Version)
3Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
4Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.



Thursday, January 8, 2009

Pilgrim's Progress


Today the boys listened to "The Dangerous Journey" (a children's online audio-picture book about Pilgrim's Progress). They LOVED it!


Pilgrim's Progress was always one of my favorites, and it has had a huge impact on my life. Because of that, I feel that it is important for my children to hear and understand.

I will never forget the "narrow way" and "Mr. Wordly Wise".

Recently, I have had several opportunities to discuss apologetics with non-believers.
When someone tries to twist Scripture, tries to entice me into thinking it is ok to sin, or tempts me to question my beliefs even though I know their "wisdom" does not match up with Scripture.

"For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, 'He catches the wise in their own craftiness'; and again, 'The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.'" 1 Corinthians 3:19-20

I want my boys to be clad with the armour of God so that they can defend themselves against the wiles of the devil. In my opinion, the earlier... the better! Pilgrim's Progress is a good companion to the Bible I think!

Creation Science

I love studying Creation Science, so I was very pleased to find the Answers in Genesis website!
They have a lot of learning resources for children, including some great videos that the kids can watch. You could literally spend several hours just studying the information they have on their site. There are a lot of neat things about animals too!


One of the videos was called "One Big Adventure: Six Short Days" which discussed the six days of creation and gave a little bit of apologetics for discussion.

Two notable things mentioned were the following:

1. Everything does not "tend to" order, but to disorder. Evolution teaches the opposite (disorder evolves to order). The example of a house of cards was given and shown that even though you build it orderly, it always falls (being a housewife, I kept thinking about how this applies to my housework ha!).

2. We are to use God's Word to interpret evidence,and not use man's opinion to interpret.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Seventeen Year Cicadas

Today Justin and I read a story in his ABeka reader about seventeen year Cicadas, so we looked up this YouTube video. Pretty fascinating!

(By the way... We find the shells of Cicadas on trees all the time, so the boys know exactly what these are! Of course they are not ALL the seventeen year ones, because there are obviously different types.)

Monday, January 5, 2009

Back to Business

Today was our first school day of the New Year. I have so many plans, and I am very excited about some of the "new" things I want to do with the boys (more about those later!).

I found a cute calendar kit at Dollar Tree for the boys to color the pages and place stickers for the months, days, birthdays, etc.
Jonathan colored January, and Ryan colored February (Justin had other projects going on and wasn't as interested). While the boys were doing seatwork, Ryan and I spent time working on adding dates and stickers. It is a time-consuming project, but we had fun.
Ryan's page


Ryan adding stickers to February



Really proud of himself (and I enjoyed the cuddle more than anything!)

I finished writing in the dates and events, but we were only able to get up to March "stickered". Like I said, it's time-consuming!