Confessions of a Non- Domestic Housewife

A Study in Colossians

2012-02-10T14:07:00.001-08:00

I recently started going to a Community Bible Study group in my area, and we are studying Colossians. We are only one week in, and I have already gaining so much from studying this book. I have a lot of things to share with my readers about what Christ is doing in my life through this bible study, but I thought I would start with something I read last night. I am going to quote our study book. This was in regards to the Character of a Saint. (Colossians 1:2)

“The Greek word translated holy in the NIV is the word also used for saint. It is hagios and is used 229 times to describe ordinary people in the new testament. In classical Greek, hagios indicated a person who caused awe, amazement, respect. In the adjective form it means clean. In the Greek religion it was used of the most beautiful and sacred items in a temple-things not accessible for public use, reserved for the use of the gods.

Therefore, when Paul calls the Colossians holy, or saints, he is calling them vessels cleaned and set apart for God’s pleasure and personal use.”

What an amazing statement of a group of peoples lives. That they were thought of as holy and pleasing to the Lord. To think of my life as a vessel cleaned out, set apart, and reserved for God’s personal use, is amazing. “But, I could never live a life holy and pleasing….” That’s just it, Christ is what makes us presentable. Here’s another quote from the study that says it far better than I ever could.

Our holiness, is something that God gives us as a gift. God sees us as holy because of what Jesus did on the cross to pay for our sin. God looks at you and declares you to be a person who is clean, set apart, available, and useful..”

What Christ did for me overwhelms me. The thought he looks at me, a sinner, who fails daily, and says, “You are clean, You are useful!” is so amazing. As a mother it is easy to get caught up in the life of being a mother. We make ourselves available to our children, and so often forget to make ourselves available to God. I know for me, thinking that I am useful to him when I am covered in spit up, haven’t had time to shower, still have a sink full of dishes, and lost it and yelled at the kids, is very difficult. What could he possibly need me for? So I don’t make myself available for him to use me as he see’s fit because, well, I don’t see it.

Last night, after reading this, I started thinking about a few things that God had laid on my heart to do, that I still haven’t done. I keep telling myself that I need to prepare more, and grow more in Christ. I keep feeling like I am not worthy, and thinking of people who are much better choices than me. Therefore, I haven’t done any of those things yet. So I began to pray about them, and asking God to help me with my insecurities. I want to make myself available to be used by him in anyway he sees fit.

I really love community Bible Studies. I would encourage you to see if there is one in your area, and get connected.

Welcome Buster

2012-02-08T20:20:00.001-08:00

Christopher turns 6 on the 13th. For his birthday he wanted a dog. I must be crazy, because I got him one. The house has been turned upside down as we get into the puppy groove. Christopher couldn’t be happier. I don’t think he will ever forget this birthday.

9 years old

2012-02-05T19:01:00.001-08:00

Hailey tuned 9 today. She’s such a beautiful child. inside and Out. We celebrated her birthday by having a sleepover. Hailey was able to invite two friends over. The sleepover was fun, but the girls were up til 5:45am, and this momma is not used to that. LOL.

3 Years Old

2012-02-05T18:45:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago my Sammy turned 3. He’s growing up so fast. We took him to the local science museum for his birthday, and he had a blast. He kept saying, “This is my happy birfday”.

Where did I go?

2012-01-28T18:25:00.001-08:00

I am taking a blogging break. We are finishing up our move, and things are really busy for us right now. But, I will be back.

Redefining Homeschool

2012-01-21T07:48:00.001-08:00

Things have been fairly quiet in our homeschool life. Partly because we are moving, and that takes a lot of preparation, and partly because God has really been dealing with me about how we do “school”.

First let me say that, this process of figuring out what’s best for my family has been going on all school year. But, the past couple of weeks have been a time of true reflection, and redefining. There have been lots of things that have worked great for us. The way I organized our school work is on of the things that has worked so great, that I will most likely continue to use that system even after we finish our classroom. Organizing Homeschool Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. I have loved all of the curriculum choices we have made for Hailey. Christopher is where I feel things really need to change.

I have several homeschool friend that are very strong advocates for the type of schooling that they have chosen. All of the styles above, are the ones I really LOVE. Why do I love so many different styles? That’s where the redefining comes in. I like different aspects of each of those styles. So, I began to pray about it, and try to figure out which one was right for us. The answer I got, was that none of them are right for us. Pieces of them are, but none of them are completely right. Different concepts of them are right, but not the entire thing. God has really been dealing with me about allowing him to guide our homeschool life. Not a teaching style, but, HIM! I’m not saying that he won’t lead you to follow a particular style of teaching, simply that he hasn’t led me to do so.

But, I like them all so much, and often feel like I should choose one. So, I wrote down all the things I liked about each one, and through prayer, I have been shown ways to make those things happen for my family. Through allowing Christ to guide me, and purge, and to take away things I love, and replace them with things I love better, and to redefine the way I look at education. Homeschooling has become less of an educational choice, and more of a lifestyle.

I can’t wait to see where this path will lead us, and to share more with you all.

Mental Hospital

2012-01-17T12:12:00.001-08:00

Hailey has several friends who watch iCarly. Most of these friends know and respect that I have fairly strict rules about TV shows. Sometimes for reasons that would only apply to us. I try to keep an open mind, and if there is ever a show that I have said no to, but haven’t actually watched, I will at some point try to sit down and watch at least one or two episodes. iCarly is one of those shows I said no to, yet I had not watched. Today, I decided Hailey and I would sit down together and watch an episode, and talk about it together, and make a decision about it. She was really feeling pressure to see it since several friends watch it.

We sat down, and BAM! right out of the gate they were trying to find out which mental hospital their close friend had checked themselves into. So I have to explain what a mental hospital is. Come to find out the girl checked herself into the hospital because she had kissed a boy, who then let her down. She was so mad, upset, depressed, that she felt it was best to check herself into a mental hospital. Ok, we stopped the show. I do not know how it ended, but I do know that that was pretty deep stuff, for me to explain to a soon to be 9 year old. WOW!

I know that the reality is that this situation probably happens so often now. But, it is just not age appropriate for targeted audience. Sorry, we won’t be watching anymore, and boy am I glad I watched this with her.

ps. I know that some of my readers allow their children to watch this show. I do not look down on you. This is a conviction for my family. That said I do encourage every parent to watch shows with their children to make sure that you know what they are being exposed to.

Progress

2012-01-16T07:10:00.001-08:00

2 crews came to the house and painted, and laid floors. We should be able to move in over the next 2 weeks. There is still a lot to be done. Here are some progress pictures for you.

Living room:

Kitchen:

Family Room:

Hailey’s Room:

Boys Room:

Our Room/Bathroom:

There is still so much to be done, but we are getting close. I will take more pictures once everything is settled. I can’t wait!

An Adjective is……….

2012-01-13T20:57:00.001-08:00

This explains my current frustration with homeschooling Christopher right now. Momma said there would be days like this, and my day with him has come, and stayed a while. What’s a momma to do?

Guest Post- Mesothelioma Cancer

2012-01-12T20:22:00.001-08:00

I was contacted, by a lovely lady named Heather Von St. James, a Mesothelioma Cancer survivor. Her story truly touched my heart. As a mom, I cannot imagine being told that I would not get to see my children grow up. Below is a glimpse at her story of survival. You can read more of her story, at http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/heather/

November 21, 2005. Nobody ever expects to get a cancer diagnosis, much less a diagnosis of mesothelioma cancer just three months after the birth of their child. At the age of 36, I was told I had exactly that.
Now, I've always been told that I am an incredibly optimistic person. I have always seen the glass as half full but after hearing those fateful words I knew I had a choice to make. I could sink into a pit of darkness and despair or I could stand up against the diagnosis and fight with everything I have in me. So I put on my rose colored glasses and fought for not just my life but for a life of raising my precious little girl.
I have often considered cancer to be both a curse and a blessing in my life. The cancer is obviously a horrible thing but it brought with it a new perspective about life. Without cancer I would not know that I will never allow myself to become a victim. That when times get dark, I make light of the situation. And as I fought my battle I knew that I had the ability to help others who had similar diagnoses. That I could give hope back to those people that forgot what hope is when they heard the dreadful c-word.
Through my struggles against cancer I found myself under the care of the world's leading mesothelioma doctor. It was there that I decided to nickname my tumor Punxsutawney Phil after the groundhog. I did this because my tumor was removed on Groundhog's Day in 2006. He saw his shadow and took it with him. My family and I have now renamed Groundhog's Day to Lungleavin Day. It is the celebration of my lung leaving me. Every year on the first weekend of February we celebrate Lungleavin Day like most people celebrate a birthday. Because ultimately it was a rebirth for me. It is the day I learned to conquer fear, to see the good in the worst situations, and to cling on to hope.
Most people do not truly understand mesothelioma. But those wives, husbands, and children that all fight by my side as mesothelioma warriors, I salute your bravery and bring you nothing but hope. I value every friend I have as a result of my cancer and cherish each and every one of them……………………….

https://www.facebook.com/MesotheliomaCancer

Perspective

2012-01-10T07:09:00.001-08:00

There are no words in the English dictionary that I could use to convince my two year old, that this breadstick was anything other than a snake. He was so proud of this “snake”. He carried it around and refused to eat it. Eventually I did pry it from his hands, and discarded it. But he still holds to the fact that he found a “snake” in his food.

In person the breadstick looked like nothing more than a piece of food, but in the picture you can see that it does kind of look like a reptile. I don’t know that I would have thought about it being a snake, but it certainly does not look normal. It’s all about perspective.

This how it is so many times with life. We may see what’s in front of us, and insist that it is a certain way, but, if we back up and look at the situation from a different lens, it may look different.

As mothers, it’s easy to get discouraged. sometimes all we see is, dirty diapers, dishes, laundry, back talk, fit’s, and spit up. That’s the perspective we have when we get overwhelmed. WE ALL GET OVERWHELMED! When we get overwhelmed, and remember, you will, it is important that we learn how to find that different lens to look through.

In my time as a mother, I have had my share of overwhelming moments. During those times I have found that it’s not always easy to find a different lens. Here are a few steps, and resources to help you along your way to finding a new perspective

1. PRAY!

Ask the Lord to help you find a new perspective.

"O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you."

Psalm 63:1-5

2. Read your Bible

The scripture is packed with encouraging scripture. I have found that reading the bible often helps me see things in a different way, it also helps me be more open to the voice of the Lord.

3. Read other books for encouragement. I have read a few great books lately, that have really helped me get out of a few motherhood pits.

4. Reach Out

Every mom has been overwhelmed, and I bet they can help. Seek out friend that can encourage you, and help you. Be honest. Friends can be one of your greatest assets in making it through these hard times.

5. Change things up and do something fun!

The dishes can wait, the laundry can wait, and the house can remain dirty. (they aren’t going anywhere) But, your kids are only kids once. If you don’t enjoy them now, you will miss your opportunity. It’s easy to get so overwhelmed that fun ceases to exist. You kids may be having fun, but you aren’t. Go to the park and play. YOU PLAY! Do something so crazy and fun that you can’t help but smile. Once you have had some fun, they other stuff is easier to handle.

6. Remember, you are NOT ALONE!!!

Book Review–Tell your time

2012-01-07T05:29:00.001-08:00

I read Amy Andrews book “Tell your Time” about a month ago. I had been looking for a good book to read ad several people had recommended this one. I am so glad they did.

This book was short, and to the point. Yet powerful and life changing. in one chapter she wrote,

“Whether it’s an inability to say no, the fear of missing something, the need to keep up with the Joneses, or just careless planning, many of us are masters at committing to things that sound good, but do not get us closer to our life’s finished picture. Frankly, if they’re not moving us in our intended direction, they’re a waste of time, no matter how amazing they are.”

This is not a new concept but the way it was presented has really clicked with me, and completely changed the way I look at things.

Not only does Amy take you step by step through her scheduling process, she gives you the materials to make it happen. You can print the forms to go along with the book on her website. (links are at the bottom of this post) I have not used her forms as of yet, though I plan to, yet this book has helped me in more ways than I can count.

Tell your time comes in the form of an e-book, and is available for all types of e-readers, or you can simply read it on your computer. You can purchase this book for $2.99.

Click the links below for more information, or to purchase your copy today.

-About the Author

-About the book

-To purchase the book

-To print the forms for the book

Written Expression

2012-01-04T10:49:00.001-08:00

I came across this post from 2010, while I was transferring my other blog to this one. I had a discussion with a lady just the other day about this subject, so I thought I would go ahead and post this as a current post, so that she can read it. I hope that this helps you, if your child struggles with Written Expression.

Hailey has been having some difficulty getting up to speed with Written Expression. I posted week before last that we had hit a bump in the road. Actually, I think I have created the bump. I couldn’t understand why a child that is so smart, couldn’t put together a simple sentence, or make up a story. We tried several different approaches to try and help with this like; Writing Prompts, Spoken Dictation, I would write as she made up the story, Work Sheets, etc. None of those have seemed to work. Out of frustration, I pushed her harder to succeed at this and got a result I wasn’t expecting. She completely shut down. It got to the point where she couldn’t even count. That’s when I decided to take a break.

Hailey was ahead in most all of her school subjects so we have been working on making things more fun. We did a Unit Study on Australia, and we have been memorizing her Math Facts. The time I would have spent arguing with her about why she can’t seem to get her work done, I have spent researching how to make accommodations for her, and how to help her with Written Expression.

Today, I read a great blog post by Penny from A Mom’s View of ADHD. She addresses this exact issue. If you are having these problems with your child, take a look at the links on her blog.

How to answer the “what is it” question in regards to Chiari malformation, and Syringomyelia

2012-01-04T10:14:00.001-08:00

When the words, “Chiari Malformation and Syringomyelia” came out of the neurologists mouth I couldn't believe my ears. I had him repeat it several times, and then I had him write it down. Now it runs of my tongue with ease. Whenever I tell someone that Hailey has this they have the same reaction I did. It’s funny how that happens. I like to compare it to my three year old. When I hear him speak I understand everything he says. It’s very clear to me. Why? I am around it every day, and have learned to recognize his dialect. I often become frustrated when other people don’t understand him. It is wrong of me to expect them to recognize what he is saying. His speech is unclear and many of them are hearing it for the first time. That’s how it is when we begin talking about our children’s medical conditions.

It is important that we as parents be able to give a simple and clear explanation of what we are talking about. The best way to do that is to educate ourselves. Though often hard to find when first looking, there are many wonderful web sites to aid in our gaining knowledge of both of these medical conditions. At the bottom of this post you will find a few links that I have found useful in gaining knowledge.
If you or your child or family member has just been diagnosed you may find it helpful to order this free information packet from the ASAP. I just received my packet and found it very helpful. You can request your packet from HERE. It is easy to get overwhelmed as you learn more. Make sure that you get involved with a support group. It is so comforting to hear from people that are dealing with CM & SM on a daily basis. There are a few great groups on Yahoo Groups. I personally enjoy the pediatrics forum on the ASAP site.

Web sites I find helpful
*The American Syringomyelia & Chiari Alliance Project, Inc. (ASAP)
*The Chiari Institute
*Chiari Connection International (CCI)
*Chiari One
*National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
*Mason's Mission

Combination of blogs

2012-01-04T07:24:00.001-08:00

This week I will be completing the combination of this blog and the blog I kept to document Hailey’s medical journey. I hope to do a complete overhaul of how this blog is set up this year, so that I can better serve my readers, and keep it up for myself. Combining the blogs means that there will be a lot of post coming all at once, and that it will be things that happened in the past. Please bare with me.

Attachment success

2012-01-02T06:09:00.001-08:00

When you adopt an older child from an orphanage, or foster care, there is always the chance that that child will have attachment issues. It takes work to help that child form appropriate attachments, and can be very disheartening to the adoptive mother. Hailey has Reactive Attachment Disorder. We have been working on her healing for many years now, and are finally at a place where I believe we are seeing her heal.

Yesterday she gave me two songs she wrote that tell me she is healing.

“I love my family no matter what, because I love Christopher, Sammy, Liam, Mom, Dad, so much,”

“As long as we are together as a family and loving each other, life will be in good shape.”

I’ve cried all morning. Tears of joy. My heart is full.

Hello?

2011-12-31T06:44:00.001-08:00

We are renovating our house, and getting ready for school to start back. I simply haven’t had the time to blog. I should be back after the new year.

Christmas Joys

2011-12-26T07:09:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas. I am always taken back with how blessed we truly are. I hope everyone of you had a great Christmas as well.

Moments to Remember

2011-12-18T06:45:00.001-08:00

Moments to Remember was developed as a simple way to look back on our week as homeschoolers and find photos that encompass the memories we want to remember.

The week may have been tough, there may have been more bumps than smiles, but in the end these are the moments that keep us going, the ones we need to remember.

I know I already posted our trip to the “Reindeer Farm”, but when I think back on this past week, one moment truly stood out to me, and this photo captures that moment.

In this photo Hailey was playing what Christopher wanted to play. That doesn’t happen often (due to age). I was watching them play, and giggle, and get along. I was so thankful for the opportunity to keep them home with me, and experience this memory.

Christmas Tree Farm

2011-12-17T18:56:00.001-08:00

About 7:30 Wednesday morning my children were coached into singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer at the top of their lungs in anticipation of our field trip to what they call. “The reindeer farm.” None of the participants in this trip had ever been before so we really had no clue what to expect. We were so pleased, and the kids had a blast.

What we learned:

“Reindeer grow one set of antlers per year. That set of antlers usually falls off in January, then they start growing a new set.
The purpose of tying the trees to steaks.
The proper name for a Christmas tree (Evergreen)
How trees pollinate

What we did:

Went on a hay ride (no hay haha)
Saw, and learned about reindeer
Took pictures
Listened to a story
Played hide and seek in the trees
Learned about Evergreens, and growing trees
Got a souvenir

Special Needs Homeschooling- Choosing the Right Curriculum

2011-12-15T00:40:00.000-08:00

Q: How do you choose the right Curriculum for your Special Needs Children?

A: When we first started homeschooling three years ago, I had a lot of well meaning people give me advice in this area. Even though I had been homeschooled, I was still afraid I was going to choose the wrong thing. It wasn’t until this year that I really felt comfortable choosing a curriculum for my kids.

What changed? I started to realize that while it is wonderful to choose a teaching style, (Classical, Eclectic, Montessori, Charlotte Mason, Textbook, Unschool) one style didn’t work for my kids, or me. It is easy for someone to say, “Classical Education, all the way, no exceptions”, when their child doesn't have special challenges. But I had to realize that I am doing this so that my children can receive an education tailored to their needs.

Over the course of two years I really had an awesome opportunity to observe the way my daughter learns. (I am still figuring this out about my son) I am a very by the book person, so a boxed curriculum worked great for me and the way my mind worked, but Hailey ~~HATES, LOATHES,MAKES HER VOMIT,~~ Let’s just say sheet work does not work for her. Also, she really needs (demands) one on one teaching. She also thrives on structure. So this year when I sat down to choose her curriculum I took it step by step.

I prayed that God would guide me.
I sat down and thought about what things worked, what things didn’t work, and what I thought her learning style was. If your child is coming from public school you may not know this, but I bet you can think about what struggles your child had in school. Also, if they are coming out of public school, you may need to do a bit of de-schooling. During that time you can learn what makes your child tick, and asses their educational needs. It is important to note that your child may have several different learning styles, Hailey learns different subjects in different ways.
I took it subject by subject, and nailed down what I thought her learning style was for that subject and chose curriculum accordingly.
I remained flexible. (a work in progress for me) Sure I chose a curriculum I thought would work great, and for the most part it all has worked great. But, not everything was a good fit, so we moved on and kept going. I didn’t allow that to stop us.
Last, but not least, I sat down with my husband and nailed down our main goals for homeschooling.

What does #5 have to do with choosing a curriculum? EVERYTHING! We all enter into homeschooling on different levels, and with different goals. Is it your goal that your children will all be spelling bee champions? Then you will have to tailor your curriculum to make that possible. Are you homeschooling, because of religious reasons? Then you will most likely want to choose a bible based curriculum. Do you want your child to explore learning in natural environments? Then you will probably like Un-Schooling, or Charlotte Mason. Are you homeschooling because your child CAN learn, but wasn’t learning in Public School, or maybe the supports were not available for them? Again, that will play a part in your curriculum choices. Does that make since?

So in a nutshell-

Take the time to observe, how your child learns, and choose accordingly.
Remain Flexible.
Don’t compare to others, they may not be in your situation.
Take breaks to re-asses when something isn’t working out.
Remember why you chose to Homeschool.
Let God lead you.

Piano Recital

2011-12-14T06:28:00.000-08:00

Hailey had her first piano recital. I was so proud of her. She did an awesome job. At first she was shy and was going to play a piece with her teacher, but the day of the recital, she decided she would play by herself. “Go Hailey”!

Play Dough Fun

2011-12-13T18:36:00.001-08:00

Blend Tree, & Pinging Multiplication

2011-12-13T18:02:00.001-08:00

This month we are kind of doing light schooling. I decided to create these visual aids to help with a few things we are working on. Christopher is working on Blends right now, so each day he decorates his tree with different blends, and we work on them together. Hailey is working on memorizing her Multiplication facts, so each day we put a different set on the Penguin, and she calls out the answers throughout the day.

I got the felt tree and penguin at the Dollar Tree, and I cut out felt circles from felt I had on hand. Here’s a closer look.

No I didn’t forget

2011-12-08T04:31:00.000-08:00

I know today I am supposed to so my special Needs Homeschooling post. I didn’t forget. I do however, regret to tell you that I will not have one for this week.

Tuesday night Liam got sick. I took him to the ER Wednesday morning because he was not holding down liquids. I was afraid he was getting dehydrated. It turns out there was a virus going around. He is still not eating any solid foods, but he is nursing, and keeping it down.

Needless to say, mamma is tired.

We Got It!!!!!!

2011-12-06T14:19:00.001-08:00

I know things have been slow on the blog lately. It’s not for a lack of things to share, but because we have been preoccupied. We closed on the new house December 1st, and began renovations the next day. We feel so blessed to be able to provide our children with this home. We have lived in an apartment for 5 years now. This is my Christmas gift.

I was not sure how the kids would respond, but we put them to work, and they really took ownership. That being said, any move at all is hard for Hailey, and she is happy, but having a hard time. Please say a prayer for her.

Heroes & Villains of the Bible- Book Review

2011-12-02T20:15:00.001-08:00

"Being a hero isn't about capes, or special powers, or being faster than a speeding bullet--it's about choosing to follow God."

I’m always wary of books like these, because they often distort the stories, and confuse my concrete thinkers. However, I had heard several other mom’s rave about this book. I had just found a great bible study about hero’s, so my hope was that this book would be a great addition to that. Guess what? It has been the perfect addition.

Hero’s & Villains takes stories straight from the scripture, and categorizes them into Hero, or Villain. After you read a short passage of scripture, you read a short little devotion focusing on what a true hero is.

We are still using this along with our study, and the kids are loving it! I would absolutely recommend this book if you are looking to enhance your kids Bible study time.

Special Needs Homeschooling- Surviving Doctors Appointments

2011-11-30T19:52:00.001-08:00

Q: How do you get it all done, with all those doctors appointments?

A: Usually when I get asked this question it is specific to school work. I don’t think anyone is crazy enough to think I get other stuff done. HAHA

It is true that everyone has to deal with doctors appointments. However for us, and many other special needs families they seem in excess. The easiest way for me to answer this is to give you a bit of history. History that has led us to where we are now.

Let me start by giving you our list of Doctors and Specialist.

Pediatrician – x4 kids
Dentist – x 3 kids
Pediatric Neurologist – x 1 child
Pediatric Neurosurgeon – x 1 child
Psychologist – x 2 kids
Psychiatrist – x 2 kids
Therapist – x 2 kids
Occupational Therapist – x 1 child
Physical Therapist – x 1 child
Pediatric Ophthalmologist – x 3 kids
Urologist – x 1 child
Allergist – x 1 child
Pulmonologist – x 1 child
Speech Therapist – x 1 child
ENT – x 1 child
Dermatologist – x 1 child
ER Staff (LOL)- x 4 kids
OBGYN – x any unborn children

Not to mention appointments for my husband and myself, and all the other non-Doctors appointments we had/have. At one point last year there was 3 months where we had no less than 3 appointments a week, and often more. Things were stressful, and hard. Were it not for an incredibly supportive, and helpful family, I don’t know how we would have done it. We have always managed to get school done, but it has not always been easy. Even now when I look back to years past I ask myself the same question as everyone else. But there is not simple answer.

This year we have managed to significantly reduce our number of appointments, and I will talk more about that in a bit, but first I want to give you some ideas of things I have found helpful to have on hand on Doctor/Appointment days.

A sitter for any child unrelated to the appointment when able helps a lot. I found that Grandparents often enjoy getting to spend time with just one child, or only a few children (if you have a lot) when they can. It gives them a special chance to get to know that child. I also found that Grandparents, Aunts, and Sitters, are often willing to help your child complete simple school assignments, and usually enjoy it. We however are often unable to make a sitter happen so with us they come.
Mother’s Day Out, or Public Pre-school programs. Last year we were fortunate to have found a wonderful Mother’s Day Out program for my then four year old son. (an answer to prayers, and a God led decision) I found that making appointments for my daughter, or my youngest boys while Christopher was at MDO, was a great solution to the issue of stressing him out with multiple doctors appointments. Often times public preschool has a lot to offer your child depending on the child's disability. If your child needs speech, OT, ABA, or PT they can often receive those services while attending school. That alone could cut out the amount of appointments needed. (I will address the subject of keeping them home and not sending them in a later post)
Portable Educational Activities- There have always been educational things I bring with us to appointment. I have found many of these things helpful for entertainment when I know there may be a long wait. Some of those things include; Leap Frog Leapster, iPhone/iPod Touch with educational apps. Sheet Work, Chapter Books, Themed or Unit study picture books, Flash Cards, File Folder Games, Listening Books, and Pre-school Packs.
Taking Advantage of “ON” days- There are many days when one or both of the children have what I call “ON” days. These are days when they are focused, and calm. On these days we are able to complete several days worth of school work. I do take advantage of these days.

There are so many ideas I could give you about surviving doctors appointments. I tried to give you only the things we have found to work for us. I hope you find the information helpful, and if you would like additional ideas, please e-mail me, and ask.

I have stated many times that this is our best year of Homeschooling. That is LARGELY due to the reduced number of Appointments. As we began to approach this school year my Husband and I had several hard decisions to make. We had even considered putting the kids in public school. We ALL needed a break. So we prayed, and we prayed, and we prayed some more. I begged for a year of rest, and for Christ to guide my steps so that could happen. He did just that. The kids still have issues, however they are both at the best place health wise that they have ever been. This has helped us to cut out several appointments. We have also been blessed with several awesome Therapists who have worked with us to maximize the time spent in their office so that we can come less often. Hailey’s PT worked with us on things we could do at home to help Hailey. And through the help of Online resources, Books, Google university, and friends, we have been able to also do OT at home. (this is a child by child circumstance, and a decision that should only be made through prayer, and doctors approval.)

I am so thankful for this year of rest. When you deal with Disabilities there are no certainties from day to day. We could all wake up tomorrow, and BAM, something could happen that is beyond our control. I savor every moment, Day, Week, Month, and year where we can make strides that bring us closer as a family, and closer to making headway with the kids. Sometimes those strides come in the form of rest, sometimes they come in the form of MANY Doctor’s appointments.

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1Thessalonians 5:18

Science Center Field Trip

2011-11-30T14:08:00.001-08:00

I love that a friend can call me up and say, “Hey, we are going to the local science museum, to change things up a bit. Do you want to come?” and I can go. We had a great time, and actually got a membership, so I envision several learning trips in the near future.

Laying on a bed of nails:

Balance:

Levers:

Wind:

Color and Lights: (This was Sammy’s favorite thing)

Toddler Time & Water Play:

Building a Bridge:

Visual Perception:

Dinosaurs:

Looking in a Microscope:

Hurricane:

Snow, Ice Fishing, and just plain Fun:

Speechless

2011-11-28T05:12:00.001-08:00

Sandra Peoples is a pastors wife, and the mother of a child who has Autism. I have followed her blog Heart For Him, for many years now, and have always found great encouragement in her words. Tomorrow, Sandra launches her first e-book, Speechless, Finding God’s Grace through my son’s Autism. OK, so many of you know that I am an Autism bookaholic, and so you are not surprised that I am getting this book, but I wanted to ask that you read this book also. It is rare that you find a book on disabilities that is totally Christ centered. I know that you would learn and grow, even if you do not have a child with Autism.

In preparation for the book release, Sandra has asked that people pray for these specific things.

For parents of special needs children- Pray they will be encouraged, knowing they are not alone and that God's perfect plan for them is the "Plan B" situation they are now experiencing.
For extended families of special needs children- Pray they will be encouraged to get in the messiness of everyday life with their child with special needs, and I pray they will love unconditionally.
For friends of parents who have special needs children- Pray they will say something (even if it may be the "wrong thing" at the time). Pray they will give big hope and little hope to their friends.
For churches ministering to children with special needs- Pray that having a "behind the scenes" look at our story will help them understand how to better serve the growing number of special needs individuals and their families.

Please join me in praying for these special families, and be sure to purchase her book tomorrow. If you know someone who needs to read this book, purchase a copy for them as well.

For more information visit: Heart for Him, The Ministry Site of Sandra Peoples

Special Needs Homeschooling- Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T06:20:00.001-08:00

Homeschooling with or without special needs presents many challenges. I have enjoyed writing about them (haha), however, I felt like I should write about thankfulness since it is Thanksgiving and all.

Here is a list of a few reasons why I am thankful to be able to homeschool my SN children.

I get to spend time with my kids
I don’t have to fight for services needed
I get to work with my kids on a one on one level, they would not get that in Public or Private school
I can tailor their curriculum to fit their needs
In Public school “off” days are not forgiven or accepted, at home I can see that they need a break and take it
I get to experience firsts
I don’t have to worry about getting an IEP, or “team” meetings, or being denied, or being held back
There is no homework, so they can spend time with their father
I can work on OT needs when needed and however needed without having to get permission
I can set them up for success in social situations, instead of knowing they will fail
If we want to go on a field trip we can, and I don’t have to make sure my kids have an aid with them
If they need to see a specialist, or a therapist, we can go whenever there is an appointment, and I don’t have to worry about truancy
I don’t have to ask permission to eat lunch with them, so food allergies are controlled by me
I don’t have to fight for roles
I can hug them as needed (even when not needed) this is vital to helping Hailey heal from her RAD

There are many, many reasons why we homeschool, I tried to narrow down a few that pertained to special needs. The most important thing for me is that I get to spend time with my kids.

Why are you thankful for special needs homeschooling?

3 Thanksgiving Crafts

2011-11-23T11:17:00.001-08:00

Whipped Pumpkin Pie

Items Needed:

Construction Paper
Glue
Shaving Cream
Scissors
Pumpkin pie Print out from Homeschool Creations Thanksgiving Pack

Instructions:

Cut out Pumpkin Pie and glue it to a sheet of Construction Paper
Mix 1/2 Glue, 1/2 Shaving cream, and let your child spread it on the Pie to make Whipped Cream
Hang and Smile ;)

Thankful Turkey

Items Needed:

Brown Construction Paper
Paint Samples
White Copy Paper
Glitter Glue or Googly Eyes
Orange Construction Paper
Scissors
Glue
Ink Pen

Instructions:

Cut a nose, and cut out the Turkey’s body (free hand)
Have your child write down things they are thankful for on the paint samples
Glue the Turkey’s body onto your white piece of paper, then glue the paint samples underneath the body to look like feathers
Glue nose, and eyes onto the head

Items Needed:

Paint
Paintbrush
Paper
Hand (lol)

Instructions:

Paint the palm of your child's hand the color you want the face to be
For the pilgrim paint your child’s fingers black, and for the Native American, paint each finger a different color.
Do not paint the thumbs
Stamp hands on paper
After the paint dries you can go back and paint on the face, and the desired details

Need a Last Minute Christmas gift?

2011-11-23T06:51:00.001-08:00

My Mom ordered Little Passports for my kids, and we couldn’t be more pleased. The kids are so excited to receive their packages in the mail each month. This is the perfect gift for any child.

What is it?

Little Passports is a month by month adventure that your children go on around the world with character’s Sam and Sofia. The first month your child will receive the cute little suitcase in the photo above. Inside the suitcase they will find,

A letter from Sofia and Sam
A photo of Sam and Sofia on their Magic Scooter
World wall map
Travel passport
Fun stickers
Activity sheet
Access to online games and activities with our boarding pass

Each additional month your child will receive a package in the mail containing:

A letter addressed to your child from Sam and Sofia,
Fun souvenirs,
An activity sheet,
A photo from the country,
A passport stamp and a map marker,
A suitcase sticker,
A collectible boarding pass to access more online games and activities.

You won’t regret getting this for your child. If you do purchase this for your children, please list me as the referring Agent. My name is Angela Jacks.

Here are a few video’s of my children enjoying their package. I apologize that it is not all in one video, we had baby difficulties.

The Yellow Bead

2011-11-21T05:57:00.001-08:00

I had just gotten the older boys down for bed and was about to sit down and FINALLY eat my supper, when Hailey came waling down the hall saying she had something important to tell me. “What?”, I said with a sigh. I was not expecting the bombshell she was about to disclose.

Me- “What? You are supposed to be in your room”.

Hailey- “Umm, there’s a bead in my ear.”

Me- “A what?!!!!”

Hailey - “A Bead and it hurts.”

Me- Checking to see that there was in fact a plastic yellow bead in my 8 year olds ear. (exactly like the picture only yellow) “OH MY GOODNESS! Why did you put a bead in your ear?!?!?!

Hailey- “I didn’t I just felt my ear and there was a yellow bead in it.”

Now I have heard of denial, but this was more than I could take. I mean really, when was the last time you put your finger in your ear, and felt a bead, and knew the color?

My husband chimes in, “So how did it get there?”

Hailey- “I’m telling you I HAVE NO IDEA!”

And so after several attempts to remove the bead from both her Father, and Myself, and after calling everyone, because I must have people laugh with me, (If you don’t laugh, you will lose your mind) we decided to take her to the ER. With a few sucks with the sucker the bead was out and we headed home.

I laughed so hard I almost peed in my pants when Hailey decided she was going to tell what happened.

Hailey - “You see, here’s what happened, There was a yellow bead on my pillow when I laid down, then it just got in my ear. When I felt it in there I put my finger in my ear and it was there.”

Me – “So you laid your head down and the bead just jumped in there?”

Hailey - “Yep, that’s what happened.”

HAHAHAHAHAHA Apparently we have jumping beads in this house.

Our trip to the Dentist

2011-11-19T05:56:00.001-08:00

Is that not the scariest thing you’ve ever seen? We haven’t taken DD to the Orthodontist yet, but according to the Dentist she has both a cross bite, and an under bite. This stretching of the jaw is usually the most affective treatment. I had a friend once who had one of these. Every day she would have to turn a key stretching her jaw. I think I will faint if I am asked to turn a key daily in Hailey’s mouth. Now I have to make an appointment with an Orthodontist. There goes her car money (lol!)

SOTW Ancient Times – Chapter 5

2011-11-18T09:01:00.001-08:00

The first Samarian Dictator

This was a pretty short chapter. But we did enjoy an activity.

What we learned:

What a Military Dictatorship is
The name of the two rivers that Mesopotamia is between
Who was Sargon
The Name of Sargon’s empire
Why we needed a name seal
Located Sumer on our Map

What we did:

Naturally we did map work. Mesopotamia was not actually on our map. (go figure) The kids enjoyed looking for the area it was in, and seeing who was the closest. I then showed them where it was on the map. (even though it wasn’t actually there)

We attempted to make name stamps out of clay. Even though we followed the directions they didn’t work very well as stamps. The kids had fun anyway.

There was also a coloring page of Sargon that the kids each colored, as well as a Word Search containing Sumerian Inventions.

Other Resources:

Special Needs Homeschool – Difficulties and Accommodations

2011-11-16T20:37:00.001-08:00

I can’t tell you the amount of times I have heard, “But they look so normal”, “What’s wrong with them? They look fine”, “But he doesn’t look like he has Autism”, “She looks like a normal little girl”. Yes, if I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times. When I took Christopher for his IEP evaluation, (back when I thought he had to go to public school to get services) a really kind lady sat down with me and explained to me that I was going to have to fight for the services that my children needed, because they “look normal”. It really is a shame that people have such a stereotype of what someone with a disability should look like. I hate it, but for readers sake, I am going go ahead and let you know the specific disabilities that we face, what that looks like for schooling, and a few accommodations we use.

(All diagnoses are linked to an explanation of the condition. It would take me a while to list out every symptom we face, so I hope that if you aren’t familiar with a DX you will take the time to look it up. )

My daughter, beautiful child inside and out. Charming, talkative, friendly, tender hearted. She comes with a list, as do most.

Chiari Malformation 1
Syringomyelia
Amblyopia (lazy eye), Farsightedness, Strabismus (wondering eye), Plain old poor eye sight.
Reactive Attachment Disorder
ADHD
Early On-set Bipolar Disorder
Co-Morbid to something Conditions (big ole list)

Our school struggles seem to change. Last year was our hardest year yet. This year we seem to be making headway. However, tomorrow we could all wake up with a new challenge. So, for the sake of having something to write about later (haha) I am going to focus on Hailey’s struggles so far this year.

Vision- This is an on going struggle. Hailey does not see 3D, often has blurred vision, her eyes get tired easily because they have to work REALLY hard. Her vision is often changing, sometimes getting better, and sometimes getting worse. She has trouble tracking, so she often skips around in her reading, making worksheets difficult at times. Fine motor skills like, cutting, gluing, coloring, etc. are often a challenge. Hailey rubs her eyes a lot making her glasses dirty, so we often have to stop and clean her glasses. The most common accommodations we make for her vision is, Making sure she has a lot of light, tracking strips, at home vision therapy, less work sheets, glass cleaner on hand and ready, regular breaks, raised lined paper, bigger and often darker print for books, Book light.
Chiari Malformation, and Syringomyelia- Most recently this has caused Hailey head aches when looking up, and back and neck aches. SO, looking at the white board, looking down at her paper for to long, sitting in one spot for to long, looking up at a computer screen, all hurt her. Accommodations include, A laptop so that the screen is at her level, and can be moved, no white board instruction unless she is standing, and the option to read while sitting on her bean bag.
Attention/Anxiety/Sensory- This is a hard one. We go through different levels with all of these. Currently Hailey is Medication free, and so keeping these things under control has been a challenge, however she is doing better then expected. She struggles with staying focused on what we are doing, and her anxiety causes her to obsess over a particular subject, or thought. If we have an activity outside of the home, it is difficult for her to focus on anything else. Having 2 toddlers running around has been particularly challenging for her. The TV, dishwasher, washing machine, babies crying, me teaching her brother, the phone ringing are all very distracting to her. Obsessing over one topic often hinders her ability to focus on school work. Her anxiety often causes her to become over emotional, and irrational. Our most common accommodations at this point are: Redirection, Redirection, Redirection, Headphones, Ear Plugs, More hands on and teacher involved curriculum choices, Chewing Gum, Erasable ink pens, Portable CD player, lot’s of breaks, fidgets, Redirection, Redirection, Redirection. :)

My oldest son. Funny, intelligent, handsome, loving, silly. He also comes with a list.

Christopher is in Kindergarten this year. Last year I didn’t know what to do with him. We were in the process of getting his DX. I put him in Mother’s Day Out. It was really good for him and me. This year he is schooling at home, and I am still figuring out what things he struggles with as far as school goes, and what accommodations he needs. (I’ve had 3 years to figure Hailey out) He seems to be way more complicated then Hailey. ‘That was my disclaimer to the following information.’ :)

1. Sensory- This seems to be one of the biggest struggles for him. Christopher is both Tactile Defensive, and Sensory Seeking. He crashes, wiggles, flips, leans on the table, hangs upside-down in his seat, stands up then sits down, stands up then sits down, runs into people, get’s up from his seat and flips down the hall, lays on his paper, bounces, and so on…… But, let him get a little glue on his finger and it’s freak out central. There’s really no consistency to his behavior in regards to SPD. He also has noise sensitivity, I have to be aware of the lights, smells, and noises in the room, as these things could send him into meltdown mode. Sure it may seem like he is pitching a fit because something didn’t go his way (which he often does), but rest assured if I take time and pay attention to what is going on in his surroundings, I can avoid several meltdowns.

2. Attention- This goes hand in hand with SPD. Again, he NEVER SIT’S STILL, NEVER! He loses focus on a subject quickly. His first and last name has 16 total letters, we rarely make it through writing it because he loses interest. Counting to 100, same thing. When he loses interest he become silly, saying things like, 1,2,3,cat,7,8,bologna on your head with ketchup on top. He’s actually really intelligent, and is ready academically to move up to first grade in many subjects, but it’s so hard to get him to focus that I haven’t moved him up. Having the toddlers does contribute some to his focus issue, as well as a distracting environment. Oh, and lest I not forget about blurting. When Christopher is thinking about something, or distracted by something said, or thought, he will often interrupt loudly blurting out whatever it is he was thinking about. Accommodations? No I didn’t forget. (LOL) I’m sure in years to come I will have a better handle on what accommodations need to be made for Christopher. But for now I am still learning with him, and trying out different things. He does have a set of head phones that he uses with a CD Player, We have a weighted neck wrap that we use to try to calm him down. We use deep pressure to help him focus, and we take lot’s of breaks, and laugh a lot. (if I didn’t I would lose my mind)

3. PDD-NOS or ASD – The biggest school related issues that this causes is, SPD, Attention, Meltdowns, irrational need for perfection, followed by intense anger when things don’t go his way. We already talked about SPD, and Attention issues, now let’s talk about Meltdowns, and Perfection. Meltdowns happen often, and sometimes without warning. It affects his schooling because if he is in meltdown mode, there’s no way we are doing school. For more information about meltdowns, click this link- Meltdowns I would say the thing that get’s me the most frustrated is Christopher’s unwavering need for things to go exactly as he planned. Let’s say he is coloring a picture, and he accidentally get’s a blue mark on a section that was going to be red, he would then proceed to cry, flap, crunch up the paper, and refuse to color anymore. Or, like right now he has it in his mind that he needs to draw his letters, so no matter what I say, that is what he is going to do. Really there is NOTHING I could do to change his mind, or make him understand that it’s ok to mess up, and to compromise. As far as accommodations go, there have been no real tangible items that I have found particularly helpful. I am just studying a lot, praying, and moving on.

Whew! That was difficult for me to write. I know I have left so much out, but I hope that I was able to give you a small glance into our life of Special needs Homeschooling. There are so many different needs a person could have, and just because they aren’t seen, doesn’t mean they aren’t there.

If you are a homeschool mom struggling, with or without special needs, let me encourage you by saying this. Last year was a horrible year for us, but this year, despite all of the changes has been a wonderful year. I’m so glad I chose to continue on our Homeschool journey. EVERYONE has at least one bad year, day, month, or hour, where they wonder if they can do it anymore. STOP, BREATH, and RE-ASSESS. Decide what it is that is making it go so wrong, and then try to figure out how you can fix it. Most of all PRAY! God is the only one who can give true peace to the weary soul.

Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

Natural Air Freshener

2011-11-11T15:44:00.001-08:00

I can’t even begin to tell you how many different types of air fresheners I have used. Most of them have been unplugged within hours due to allergies. I had started using the plug ins from Bath and Body works, and for along time they didn’t seem to bother anyone, yet for some reason this last batch had all of our allergies kicking it in high gear. So, away they went. *sob* *sob*

I love for my home to have a nice scent. Air fresheners are not necessary, but when you smell stinky kid breath, and poopy diapers all day, it’s kind of nice. The other day on pinterest I was reminded of an age old trick of boiling cinnamon. I happened to have purchased some stick from the Dollar Tree earlier that day for a craft. I started thinking that it probably wouldn’t bother our allergies, so I gave it a try. Let me tell you was such a nice, and light scent. My kids loved it too. When my husband arrived home from work, he said that the house smelled like Christmas without the pine. I am so pleased, and can’t wait to try other recipe’s.

Special Needs Homeschooling- Housework

2011-11-10T07:34:00.000-08:00

Shortly after writing yesterday’s post, I went to the restroom and came out to find this. I thought that would be a great way to answer the question, “How do you do it all?” I DON’T!!!!!!!

At any given moment there are 3-4 loads of laundry to be done despite doing multiple loads a day. I probably do 4 loads of dishes a day, and that does not always get done in a timely manner. Every time I get the boys room cleaned they go and do something like, dump muffin mix all over the floor. HAHA. Laundry is rarely put away, because I loath doing it. We do have chores as a part of our routine, and I don’t keep a nasty house, but it is simply not possible for me to keep up, and to keep my kids at home, and happy. There are certain aspects of our routine that are more important to our sanity than working myself to the bone keeping a spotless house.

So what does that have to do with Homeschooling Special Needs children? Well, we get school done at the cost of delayed housework, so I don’t do it all, I choose what is most important at that moment. If we are doing school work and having fun, then all of a sudden we are having a meltdown because I am also trying to do laundry, and dishes, and the sound of the dishwasher is to much, the dishwasher will be turned off, and we will probably end up with a full sink because of the delay.

We currently live in a small apartment, (moving soon) so school happens out in the open at our teeny tiny dining room table.

Both of my older children have sensory processing issues. The dining room/classroom is pushed up against the kitchen, making it impossible to not hear the dishwasher, Washing Machine, and dryer going. And so brings forth challenge of “doing it all”. And so I don’t!

You may be sitting there thinking, “But I thought children with Autism, ADHD, and the like, thrived in an orderly environment,?” They do!

Insert confession here> There are days when we “take a break” and get the house back in working order. It’s not the ideal scenario, and I am constantly attempting to improve my time management so that I can get it done, but I will say, pausing a load of dishes and letting the sink pile up so that I can create educational success for my children, is worth it.

I’m not giving you a license to live in filth. Remember, your children (any children) thrive in an orderly environment. But let’s face the facts. Many children with special needs have sensory issues, so the next time school is going well, and then all of a sudden it’s not, take a look at your surroundings. What is going on? Is the dishwasher running? What about the washing machine? TV? Go ahead and let yourself and your child off the hook, and turn it all off. Who known's, you might just be able to accomplish several days worth of school work in one sitting. That could come in handy for those days where formal schooling is just not happening.

So in short, we struggle with sensory issues. I make accommodations at the expense of other things not getting done. Relax, peace is more important than an empty sink!

Isaiah 54:10

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Sensory Possessing is a real struggle for our family and for many other families. Here are some links to a few great articles highlighting the struggle with SPD. If you are not familiar with SPD, you may find the information interesting.

I hope you somehow found encouragement in my post. I am certainly not a wordsmith, but if you stay tuned I will do my best to be open and honest about things that are hard for most to talk about.

Homeschooling with Special Needs

2011-11-09T19:34:00.001-08:00

I was recently told that I make life look easy. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! No really that’s what she said. The comment got me thinking about a post series I read from My Two Happy Homeschoolers, about homeschooling with Autism. In these posts she gave a real and candid look at Homeschooling with Autism. It’s easy to look at blogs, and wonder how in the world they have it together all of the time, but the truth is, it’s just a blog. Just a few pictures of the finished product. A look at all of the things we want you to know. It’s what you don’t see before and after those pictures are taken that is ‘Real Life’. LOL! On a blog we want to put our best foot forward, which often makes things seem almost angelic.

There’s nothing wrong with putting your best foot forward, and I’ll be honest with you, it helps me to see things come together so nicely in a blog post. I often return to blog posts when I am questioning my decision to homeschool. It really helps inspire me, and remind me that we are accomplishing something, ANYTHING! The problem is that as mothers it’s also helpful for us to realize that other families struggle, fight, give up, cry, feel lost, etc. It’s helpful so that we know we are not alone, and so that we can encourage one another out of experience, and love.

Here is a quote taken from My Two Happy Homeschooler’s that I think pretty much clears it up how most special needs families feel when reading blogs,

“For the longest time, in our pre-diagnosis days, I would read about these perfect little homeschooling families, and I'd sit back and wonder, how come my homeschool days didn't look like theirs?? How come every time I was fun and creative my son would end up in tears? How come every time I followed his lead, he'd end up melting down? How come he couldn't sit still or be quiet? Or look at me when I was teaching him? How come he would become distracted by the smallest thing and couldn't get back on track? How come homeschooling him wasn't as fun as I thought it would be?”

As you can see the view from outside is great, but often times we need someone to be COMPLETELY honest. It’s hard for me to be candid about our struggles, but in the next few posts, I am going to give it a shot. I hope I can encourage you to know what another family struggles with, and how we cope.

When I sat down to do this post, I began to think of all the questions I have received about homeschooling with Special Needs. (or really homeschooling in general) I will try my best to answer these questions.

How do you do it all?
How do you get your kids to sit at the table and do school?
How do you handle the distraction of having a baby and a toddler while homeschooling?
Does the noise not bother your son?
How do you get any school done with all those Dr. appointments?
We struggle to get out of the house, how do you do it?
Do you ever need a break?
How do you get breaks?
What accommodations do you recommend or have in place?
How do you control your temper, do your kids not push to complete frustration?
Your kids seem to have adjusted well, how do you get them to behave in public?
How do you find friends who understand your children’s needs.?
I would have never guessed that your children have special needs, What does that look like for your family?
How do you choose a curriculum that fits your child’s needs?

This list could go on forever, but I think I have highlighted the most frequently asked questions. I hope you find the information in the upcoming posts informative and helpful. These posts will come every Thursday until I’ve answered all of the questions.

Facebook

2011-11-09T05:57:00.001-08:00

Are you following me on Facebook? If your not, I wanted to let you know that over the next few months I will be posting ideas on different subjects. Each week will feature a different theme. Be sure to check the page daily for new ideas. Here’s the line up.

Math
Ideas for the Babies
Montessori
Geography
Organization
DIY/Frugal Decorating

Click the picture below to automatically be connected to the Facebook page.

Healthy Teeth Unit

2011-11-06T06:25:00.000-08:00

This was the week for last minute Unit studies. The kids love when I do them, but I usually miss awesome ideas because I have thrown them together. And so is the story with this unit. Due to all that Halloween candy I thought it was a good time to talk about healthy teeth.

What we did:

Talked about brushing our teeth 2 times a day.
Completed this small writing unit from What the Teacher Wants

(This unit contains teeth writing pages that focus on, finding the mistakes in a sentence, and writing it correctly, Writing Facts, Parts of a letter, poetry, writing sequence)

Practiced proper brushing techniques -this was fun, I participated so I couldn’t get pictures, I brushed my teeth, and they copied what I did.
They made some ‘Sad teeth’, ‘Happy teeth’ pictures. I got this idea from 2 Teaching Mommies.
We watched an episode of Sid the Science Kid about teeth.

Click this link to view our past Tooth activities.

Candy Unit

2011-11-05T06:15:00.000-07:00

Tuesday I decided to do a candy Unit study. (got to get use out of ALL that candy.) This unit was mainly for Christopher, but Hailey participated, and even helped me teach a few concepts.

For this unit we:

Used the Candy Preschool Pack from 1+1+1=1
Made a Candy Graph
Tallied up the candy to see who had the most (newly taught skill)
Sorted candy into categories
Learned about Fair Share

Pumpkin Graphing

2011-11-04T17:42:00.001-07:00

While I was uploading a few pictures, I realized I had not posted one of our Pumpkin Activities. I figured better late then never.

I printed this pumpkin graphing game from 2 Teaching Mommies. This was the first time Christopher had ever done graphing, and he caught on really quick.

My Baby Boy is 1!!!!!!!!

2011-11-03T05:47:00.001-07:00

If you watch Little Einstein you know what is going through my head. “I cannot believe it!” Just incase a few of you have no idea what I’m talking about, listen closely to this clip to how that phrase is said.

My baby is 1!!!!!

My Deleted Files

2011-11-02T06:49:00.001-07:00

I received an e-mail telling me that none of my files were working, so they couldn’t get my pintables'. Upon investigation, I found out that I had failed to sign into my file sharing account in x amount of days, and that caused them to delete ALL of my files. I am working on getting them back up, but it may take a while as I am also really busy with non blog related things. I will let you know when they are back up. Sorry for any inconvenience this causes.

Book Review- The Blessing

2011-10-31T08:07:00.001-07:00

I typically love every book written by Gary Smally. So it should be no surprise that I chose to review this book. I also love Parenting books (yep I’m one of those). I thought for sure I would love this book.

The book is broken down into the following parts:

Why Is The Blessing So Important?
Understanding The Blessing
When The Blessing Doesn’t Happen
Living The Blessing Challenge

There is a lot of good information written throughout the entire book. But I had a really hard time reading it. At the beginning of the book the authors wrote about what the biblical blessing was, and while they were writing they talked briefly about Attachment Disorders. I was taken back when they stated that an Attachment Disorder could be cured simply by receiving “The Blessing” from their parents. Having 2 adopted children with attachment issues, I know that it takes more that a few simple words etc. to help a child heal from attachment issues. Every child is different and has a different level of things to overcome in regards to attachment. Now, I am the first to agree that GOD in all his power is able to heal ALL people, with just one word. But I just had a hard time getting past the way attachment disorders were portrayed in this book.

That being said, The Blessing is a good book with good intentions, it just fell short, and hit a nerve.

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Craft day and Friends

2011-10-28T06:43:00.001-07:00

This year has been so different for us than past homeschool years. By far I would say this is the best year yet. Why? Because we have developed a group of friends. I recently read a quote which said, “Kids don’t need socialization, they need true friends”. The same can be said of Mom.

Monday we met with a group of homeschoolers for a craft day. We have been on several field trips together this year, and it has been great. While we were there a few of the ladies were talking, and I heard them talking about the children’s differences. I was so blessed to realize that I had found a group of ladies who looked at my children the same as all the other children, and were willing to make accommodations as necessary.

If someone were to ask me this year, what it took to make it through homeschooling, I would say, “A support group”.

Here are a few pictures of our little get together.

All I want for Christmas….

2011-10-27T19:39:00.001-07:00

We have lived in an apartment for nearly 5 years. Now we have 4 kids, and I am ready for a house. We have been looking, and stumbled across this house in a great part of town, right around the corner from a friend. We put in a bid, and we won. Now we are in the last part of trying to make this place our home. We are simply waiting for the appraisal to go through, then we will set a closing date. We are very excited, and I can’t wait to share the renovations as they take place.

Pumpkin Eye Spy

2011-10-21T05:17:00.001-07:00

I put together this eye spy jar for Sammy. Really it’s more like a Busy Jar. I used erasers from the Dollar Spot at Target. Sammy loves finding the pumpkin erasers, and pretending to count. For an extra activity for the bigger kids, I let them try to count and guess how many of each thing there was in the jar, then we dumped it into the rice bin and started counting to see if our predictions were correct.

Pumpkin Rice Bin

2011-10-19T19:01:00.001-07:00

I made this Pumpkin Rice bin for Sammy so that he wouldn’t feel left out of our pumpkin activities one day. Most of the activities that day were for the older kids. I was surprised that Hailey and Christopher wanted to play with it as well. Lot’s of fun for everyone.

Pumpkin Gospel

2011-10-19T05:29:00.000-07:00

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:16

This year we have been teaching the kids about what Halloween is really about. They have heard lot’s of different things, and opinions, and they were getting confused. They had heard that Halloween was the devil’s holiday, and then also heard that it wasn’t, so I really wanted to take the time this year and teach them.

We began by reading a book that my Dad had called, “Halloween is it for real?” This is an awesome book. It starts from the beginning of how Halloween really started, and takes them to “All Hallows Eve”, and back to how it is celebrated today. The book then talks about how we can use this holiday to share Jesus Christ with other’s.

The cover of the book we have looks different. It was given to my Dad in 1983, but it is the same author, so I assume it’s the same book.

After we read this book, we sat down as a family and talked about it. We answered any questions they had, and talked about the ways that our family can share the love of Jesus this year. Then we did the Pumpkin Gospel craft from 1+1+1=1. We really enjoyed teaching the kids about this holiday, and teaching them about ways they can share the love of Christ.

Pumpkin Predictions

2011-10-18T08:21:00.000-07:00

The kids had a great time making predictions about their pumpkins. I loved how I was able to do school and include each of my children, even though they are all different ages.

For this lesson we used the Pumpkin observation sheet from 2 Teaching Mommies

Jack-O-Lantern Craft

2011-10-16T19:59:00.001-07:00

This was a fun, simple, and cheap craft.

Items needed:

Toilet Paper Roll
Scissors
Paint & Brush
Flameless Candle

(I got a 3 pack of flameless candles at the Dollar Tree)

Directions:

Paint toilet paper roll
Cut out face
Sit toilet paper roll on top of the flameless candle and turn it on.

Fire Station Field Trip

2011-10-15T05:51:00.001-07:00

Last week was Fire Safety awareness week. Since I have now find myself to be the leader of field trips in my small group of friends, I thought it would be fun to go to the fire station. It was so much fun!

Just look at that awesome looking group of homeschool children. The best part is that not seen in this picture, you will find 2 babies, 2 two year olds, a 3 year old, and only 5 mamma’s.

I was very blessed on this trip (post to come). One of the blessings was that I was stroller less, and my wrap had baby food all over it, so one of my friends offered to wear Liam for me. It was so sweet, and he slept the whole time.

Pinned it, Did it!

2011-10-14T06:06:00.001-07:00

I thoroughly enjoyed pinning on Pinterest. It has given me so many ideas, and helped me keep those ideas in one place. I have noticed several posts lately about things people found on pintrest, so I thought it would be fun to do a post (at least once a month) featuring things I pinned on pinterest and actually did. Here go’s, I will post 2 at a time; (click on the picture for the source)

A Beautiful Baptism

2011-10-11T06:39:00.001-07:00

They said to Him, “We are able.” So Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized…

Mark 10:39

I’ll never forget the day Hailey asked Jesus into her heart. She had just come to live with us, and had not heard much about Jesus before. We had been taking the kids to church, and Hailey wanted to know who they were talking about. I sat with her in my lap telling her about Jesus, and reading to her from the word. She had brought up a few things that had happened in her life, and I was able to tell her of a God who heals all hurt, a God who will never leave her, a God who when all else fails, and everyone is against you, will stand by your side. I told her of times when he had been there for me when I felt alone. We talked about him dying on the cross for our sins.

Hailey is not the first child I have had the opportunity to share the gospel with, but she is by far the first child to ask me such complex questions. She is a very deep and concrete thinker. It was challenging to explain to a concrete thinker how we believe in a God we cannot see, or why things happened to her in her short life. We literally talked for hours about the things of God. We even talked about the Santa (lie) vs. the Jesus (truth). It was amazing, and eye opening for me. I always kept things very simple in my time serving in children’s ministry, I just assumed that at that age, they were only going to understand a little. But, Hailey showed me that is not always the case. It was vital for someone to sit down and go deep into the word with Hailey who was only 5. During our conversation, I questioned myself many times about whether or not I was getting to deep, but you know what? After hours of talking and explaining, and reading to her out of the word, Hailey stopped looked at me and said, “so how do I get Jesus in my heart?” So we prayed. She has served him ever since. And I mean really served him.

About a month ago we had begun attending a church. Really God led us there. They had set up a baptism service, and the children’s leader talked with the kids about what baptism was all about. Though Hailey had been taught about baptism, it was explained to her in such a way that really clicked in her head. Before we could even get home she was begging to get baptized. I was shocked when I asked her why she wanted to get baptized, and she gave me this long and complex, (again deep) answer. I could not in good conscience deny her this opportunity. And there you have Hailey was baptized, and it was BEAUTIFUL! I cried the whole time. I am so proud of her, and I know that she is going to do great things in her life. She already has!

BFIAR- Caps for Sal

2011-10-10T17:19:00.001-07:00

I just realized that I had not done a post on our Caps for Sal row, so here it is.

As always, we read the book. This particular book was read over, and over, and over, and over again. They liked it so much that they could even recite it almost word for word.

Christopher completed these awesome printables that Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations. They were perfect for my kindergarten student.

I found these hats 1/2 off at the dollar Tree. That’s right they were $0.50 each. The kids had so much fun wearing the hat’s and pretending to be the peddler. I wish you could hear Sammy saying through his paci, “Caps, Caps for sale, fifty cents a cap!”

That’s all for that Row. We kept it simple, but it was still somehow the most fun so far.

The Ministry of LEGOS

2011-10-07T13:57:00.001-07:00

With Christmas just around the corner, many of you will be looking for a way for your children to give back. There are many great things that they could do, but I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you a ministry created by a young buy in Honduras.

LEGOS of LOVE

In 2010 this Aiden Waits had an idea. You see, just like most American boys his age, he loves LEGOS. He likes to build and create, and is very proud to show off what he has made, and thought up. If you have boys, I’m sure your house is blessed with Lego’s. Well, Aiden lives in Honduras with his family. They serve as Missionaries with Reach Out Honduras Ministries. Aiden began to think of ways he could serve along with his parents. I’m sure he tossed around many ideas before God laid it on his heart to share his love for Lego’s with the children of Puerto Lempira Honduras.

In the spring of 2010 Aiden launched his ministry and began collecting LEGOS. After month of collecting, and receiving many donations from the US, Aiden was able to give small bags of LEGOS to the children in his town for Christmas. Some of these children had never played with LEGOS before. Aiden stated that it was “AWESOME, to see their faces light up.” Aiden used this ministry to share the love of Christ in an unconventional way. It has opened many doors for him and his family to share the love of Christ.

Click the link below to read the full story, and view photo’s of this ministry in action:

http://reachouthonduras.org/2011/01/04/feelin-the-love-lego-style/

Aiden’s is excited about continuing this ministry this Christmas. To donate LEGOS send them to Reach Out Honduras, P.O. Box 2993, McKinney, Texas 75070. This would be a great opportunity for your children to share something they love with those less fortunate.

Year Round Homeschooling- Part 2

2011-10-05T12:58:00.001-07:00

As promised, here is our Families' Pros and Cons when it comes to Homeschooling year round.

Cons:

For our family there are only a few Cons, really there’s just not very much bad about year round Homeschooling.

I like the extra time to plan for the next year
Our cover school keeps 180 days of records, and so it’s hard to adapt a year round schedule to that kids of grading setup.
Occasionally the kids will be in a higher grade than their peers, so that makes it confusing when activities are broken into grades, and not ages.
I have to start planning the next curriculum while still completing the current curriculum.

Pro’s:

My kids thrive on a schedule. Year round schooling makes it easier for my to keep a set schedule. Even if we only do “light” schooling in the summer, they still have the expectation of the school schedule.
To much down time is no good for my kids, and usually get’s them in trouble.
We don’t have to do MONTH’s worth of review, because my kids will not have forgotten the information during the summer.
Having children with “Special Powers” means that there could be a number of days where traditional learning is just not possible, and we may need to take a small break. Year round schooling means that I can do that without worrying that I won’t have time to get the work done.
If my children are not “getting” a concept, we can slow down and work at their pace without falling behind. Likewise, if we need to speed up we do.
Schooling year round gives you more time to focus on a special interest.
My kids are not self entertainers so, I spend much of the summer trying to figure out how to entertain them, and we all end up frustrated and bored. Or, we spend WAY to much money on activities just trying to get through the summer.
Last but not least, it fit’s with our philosophy of learning, “ We want them to experience education through all aspects of life, and not solely through a textbook.” Since we believe that learning is a whole life experience, it makes since for us to do year round schooling. Schooling for us is not necessarily formal, and summertime opens up a lot of field trip opportunities.

So that about sums it up for us. I have enjoyed sharing our thoughts on year round homeschooling, an I hope you can take something from this post, however, I did want to make sure that you know that what is right for my family may not be what’s right for yours.

An Odd yet Frequent Question

2011-10-03T13:11:00.001-07:00

I get asked asked a question often that seems odd to me, but I guess in a way I understand. I was asked this question recently, and then I heard a hear wrenching story about an unwanted child, and it got me thinking. So what is the question? “If you had known about all of the health needs, and mental health needs of H & C would you still have adopted them?”

Every time I am asked this, I always say well, yes! But I am also stunned that people even ask this. It is kind of offensive. I’m perplexed that this is how people think. I mean, there are no guarantees that the child you gave birth to won’t have health issues, or mental health issues. If you knew that when your child was 6 he would develop a Brain condition and require surgery after surgery, would you still choose to have that child? When you give birth to a child, you have no way of knowing if they will develop Autism, or have ADHD, or develop seizures, or the many of unknown possibilities. You just take them as they come, and do your best to be the best parent you can be, and rely heavily on the Lord to get you all through. You love that child, because they are your child! It should be no different with an adopted child!

So in short, I may not have known about all the “issues” that would arise, but I did know some, and I would do all over again, because when God leads a child to your home, they are your child no matter how they got there.

SOTW Ancient Times- Chapter 4

2011-10-03T03:50:00.000-07:00

Mummies!!!!!!!!!!!!

We had a blast learning about Mummies. Christopher thinks they are awesome, and calls the zombie mummies, and Hailey thinks the whole thing is “REALLY GROSS!!!”

What we learned:

Why Mummies were made
How Mummies were made
What is “The Old Kingdom of Egypt”
The meaning of BC or BCE when it comes to dates
How we count dates
We talked about a timeline
Who was Cheops
The set up of the coffins
We located Cairo Egypt on the map
The Great Pyramid
How many Pyramids were built
What is a Sphinx

Activities:

As always we did our map work

The kids wrapped each other in toilet paper to look like a Mummy

After this we prepared Apple Pie Mummies

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/games/interactiveadventures/tomb-unknown-mummy/
Mummies Around the world
Lot’s of Mummy Resources' and games
Preserve apple slices (We still plan on doing this activity, I will add pictures when we do)

After all of these Mummy activities, we talked about The Great Pyramid. The kids made sugar cube Pyramids. At first the had a hard time figuring out how to make them 3D. Hailey took on an extra project, and tried to create a Sphinx.

We watched this documentary about The Great Pyramid

Johnny Appleseed/Ten Apples up on Top

2011-10-02T07:22:00.001-07:00

Last week was Johnny Appleseeds birthday. Naturally we studied apples. We used the book Ten Apples up on Top. (We Rowed it)

Here’s what we did:

We tried stacking Apples

Christopher completed several Apple themed worksheets

Worksheets found at:

2 Teaching Mommas

Lightning Bug Literacy

The kids made these awesome apple trees using their hands and feet.

Christopher worked with Water Colors and Shading

Last, but not least, we went on an awesome fieldtrip to an Apple orchard

My Memories Giveaway Results

2011-09-30T12:33:00.001-07:00

Congratulations Jenifer, I hope you enjoy this program

Jennifer said...

I subscribed to your blog

I will e-mail you with the details.

Fall Reading Challenge “11

2011-09-28T06:21:00.001-07:00

I’m excited to be participating in this reading challenge. I recently posted a list of book that I am reading. I’m sad to say that I have only completed 2 of those books. Several of those books are books that are set up to read one chapter a day. I will still be completing those books, but as for general reading books, I am going to narrow down the list. For this challenge, I am going to break down my books into categories. I will blog about each book as I finish them, and if I add a book for whatever reason. This challenge lasts from September 23rd, through December 21st

General Reading

A Day at a Time

Chapter Book to read to the kids

There, that ought to keep me busy. Even though the challenge has already begun, it’s not to late to join in. Visit http://callapidderdays.com/2011/09/fall-into-reading-2011-start-reading.html to enter the challenge.

Happy Reading!

Year Round School Part 1

2011-09-24T18:54:00.001-07:00

This is our third year homeschooling, and we have typically followed whatever schedule the local public school is on. However, I have always liked the idea of a year round schedule. Until this year, I have not made that happen. We always take off in the summer. Summer for us while fun, has always left us counting down the days until school starts back. (we start counting in June) The kids always ask to start school back WAY earlier than I had planned, so this year I went ahead and decided to start year round schooling.

Here are some Questions I have encountered, and answers about year round schooling:

What type of schedule do you follow? Year round schooling in homeschool may look different for many different families as it yields itself to whatever schedule works best for your family. We have planned a 6 week on, 1 week off, 12 week on 1 week off, type of schedule. However, that is subject to change depending on vacations, and field trips.
Do your kids ever get SICK of doing school? Do yours? On benefit of year round schooling is that we have the freedom to speed up, or slow down as needed. If the kids are having an extra tuff day, we take a break. That said, kids are kids, and you so need to maintain some sort of learning environment even if they don’t know it’s learning. (LOL)
Do your kids feel left out in the summer? This is our first official year using this schedule. But, I know my kids are not left out of summer activities. Most kids spend much of their summer vacation watching TV, vegging on the couch, bored and unproductive. My kids will enjoy studying artists, going on field trips, doing science experiments, and things like that. Oh, and I bet there are plenty of public school kids that will be joining in on our “learning” fun.
Don’t you need a break? YES! everyone needs a break! I get this question often. I think what people don’t get about year round schooling, is that there are LOT’s of breaks, we just spread our breaks out to more convenient times.

I also get asked a lot about my Pro’s and Con’s, list. I will post the pro’s and con’s list for our family in Part 2.

My Memories Suite Giveaway!

2011-09-21T20:48:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, you enjoyed my review of My Memories Suite, Digital Scrapbooking program. If you missed it, please go back and read it. Here’s the link; REVEIW

Today, I am excited to tell you that they have generously offered to give one of my readers a FREE copy of this software. In addition to this, they are also offering a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - $20 value!) to ALL of my readers! Isn’t that awesome?

Here’s how:

Buy It

If you’d rather not wait to see if you win, you can purchase the software at www.MyMemories.com. Remember they are giving ALL of my readers a $10 discount and a $10 Coupon for their store. All you have to do is use the code: STMMMS37852 to get your discount. Feel free to share this code with whomever you think would enjoy this program.

Win It

Mandatory Entry: Visit My Memories Suite Store, to take a look at some great scrapbooking items, and then leave a comment letting me know the name of your favorite item!

After you do that, you can gain some extra entries by doing any of the following, remember to leave an extra comment for each item so they will count as entries...

If you subscribe to Confessions of a Non-Domestic Housewife , give yourself an extra entry!
If you follow @ConfessionsOAND on Twitter
If you follow Confession of a Non-Domestic Housewife on Facebook, give yourself an extra entry!
If you LIKE My Memories Suite on Facebook, give yourself an extra entry!

I will select one winner using Random.org, so be sure you leave a separate comment for each entry, I will also be moderating comments to check that your entries are valid-please be honest!

Contest ENDS September 30, 2011. Winner will be announced here, and emailed (your email MUST be in each comment). Winner must reply to my email within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen.

Review- My Memories Suite

2011-09-21T12:20:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago I was contacted by My Memories about reviewing and giving away this wonderful digital scrapbooking program. I have be creating digital scrapbook pages for years now, so I decided to give the program a try. I also knew that there were several of my readers that would love a free copy of this program.

Review:

The initial download of My Memories Suite went well, without any glitches, so I was able to start using the program immediately. At first there was a small learning curve for me, because I am used to using Photoshop. That said, the layout of this site is very simple. Had I not had to re-train my mind, this would have been a synch. My 8 year old daughter was able to create a photo book using the pre made templates offered. She was so excited to have created such a beautiful book.

This program has many great features, and is so easy to use. It has tons of great templates, papers, embellishments, Fonts, etc. That are already built in the program for those in a time crunch. Or maybe you are a person who loves the thought of those cute coffee table books but you simply do not have the time to create them. This program is perfect for you, all you have to do is drag and drop your photo’s on a pre-made layout. It is advanced enough so you could also easily create your own pages.

With this program you can create,

Photo Books
Scrapbook Pages
Mugs
Calendars
Greeting Cards
Post Cards

And much more…

This program is a keeper and well worth the money. Check it out at, http://www.mymemories.com

Want it for FREE? Be sure to check out tomorrows post!

Zoo Field Trip

2011-09-15T19:45:00.000-07:00

We went on our first field trip of this school year. There were several other Homechool families there, and we had a blast.

Hello Fun!

2011-09-14T19:28:00.001-07:00

On The Fence

2011-09-14T06:58:00.001-07:00

If you like this blog, please help me by clicking the photo above to vote for this blog. I’m not looking to be on the top, I just want to be listed.

Review- A Young Scholar's Guide to Composers

2011-09-10T17:30:00.001-07:00

This year I decided to have Hailey take piano lessons. Her teacher is an old soul. An extremely classically minded person. I noticed that she was playing a “Go Fish” game with Hailey, using cards she had made featuring classical composers. Hailey seemed really interested, so I decided I would do a study of composers this year. Needless to say I was excided when I was asked to review A Young Scholar’s Guide to Composers from Bright Ideas Press.

A Young Scholar’s Guide to Composers is a 32 week multi-level study of composers intended for grades 4-8 (The lessons in this book were easy to adapt to teach my third grader, and could be adapted for even younger grades)

This program includes:

32 Weekly Lessons
26 Bios of Famous Composers
6 Eras of Music Explained
Easy-to-Use Comparative Timeline
Easy-to-Use Maps
Composer Info-Cards & Game Directions
Note-taking Pages
Quizzes
Answer Keys
Listening Suggestions
Intricate Coloring Pages
Resource Books

Each week you study a different composer, listening to his music and learning about his life. Click the link below to view a sample lesson http://brightideaspress.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/a-young-scholars-guide-to-composers-sample-opt.pdf

We found the lesson plans easy to follow, and the information given about each composer was just enough as to not overwhelm Hailey. We did not purchase music from each composer, but found some great resources on YouTube.

You can purchase this book from Timberdoodle.com for $31.50, that’s $3.45 cheaper than most other places. Timber doodle also offers other music resources for Homeschoolers.

http://www.timberdoodle.com/homeschooling_music_s/32.htm

Final Thoughts:

We have been using this as a curriculum for two weeks now, and we have thoroughly enjoyed it. Hailey told me she loved the music we have listened to, and has now decided she want to be a composer when she grows up. As stated before, we found the lessons easy to use and to adapt as needed. We loved the coloring pages, and the map work. This book gets a high recommendation from me, and we are going to continue using it this year as we study composers.

For more great Homeschool Recourses visit:

As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team I received a free copy of A Young Scholar's Guide to Composers in exchange for a frank and unbiased review.

SOTW Ancient Times- Chapter 3

2011-09-08T19:59:00.001-07:00

For this lesson we used the Story of the World, Ancient times chapter book and Activity book.

What we Learned:

Hieroglyphs and Cuneiform (the first writings)
Why we may need to write things down
Located Sumer on the map
The Meaning of the word “Hippopotamus”. (River Horse)
The meaning of the word “Mesopotamia” (Between two rivers)
How clay tablets were made
About Reed Paper the Egyptians called Papyrus
The evolution of writings (Stone, Clay, Paper & Ink)

Our Activities:

The kids continue to enjoy the wall map.

The kids had a blast creating these clay tablets. The above photo says Mom. It is written using the Cuneiform alphabet.

Our local library had this awesome Hieroglyph Stamp set. I was so excited to find it. I was not about to attempt having them carve the drawings into stone LOL!

Each child took turns stamping their name using the stamps. They were amazed at how many pictures were used to create their name.

What am I reading these days?

2011-09-07T05:48:00.001-07:00

I love to read. I usually have at least 3 books going at the same time. Right now I am reading the 3 book at the top. The bottom 3 are the next set I will be reading.

SOTW Ancient Times- Chapter 2

2011-08-31T05:11:00.001-07:00

This year we are using The Story of the World Ancient times with the kids for History. We are moving slowly through the book, and working on some of the activities. The first activity we did came from Chapter 2.

What we learned:

About the first Egyptians.
That Egypt is in Africa
That the Nile river flows from the Mediterranean Sea through Egypt.
That the Nile river floods every year
That the farmers were prepared for the floods and used it to their advantage
Were Africa, The Mediterranean Sea, and the Nile River were on the map
Osiris and Set
That the Egyptians beloved in lot’s of different god’s, but we serve the only true God
What Myth is

Our activities:

The kids did a bit of geography by finding, Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Nile river on the map.

Using the instructions in The Story of the World Ancient Times activity guide, we made this model of the Nile river.

During the time that the Nile flooded the Egyptians went to higher ground.

We used aluminum foil to line the bottom of the Nile, the the kids took turns flooding it.

Potty Training Blues

2011-08-28T10:42:00.001-07:00

After seeing Sammy age 2 run into the living room, pull off his pull up, and get himself a new one, I decided it was time to potty train him. So I went to the store and purchased some undies, and some plastic training pants. When I woke up this morning I was all geared up for a day of potty training. I put the undies on Sammy and told him he was a big boy now, and explained about the potty process. And we began.

It’s a little after noon, a trip to the bathroom every 30 minutes, and 5 pairs of undies later, I’m pooped! I think I need to re-think this.

Teaching a Child to Read- Part 2

2011-08-24T03:28:00.000-07:00

So if Suzie can read at 3, why can’t Johnny?

Some kids read early and others don’t. I don’t believe you should push a child to read at an early age. It’s so easy to compare one child to another. I know for me, I follow several blogs where their children are reading at very young ages. Comparing only makes you frustrated, or feel insecure. (ha-ha speaking to the choir.) One of the big problems in today's society is that we expect All children to learn the same, and at the same pace. As a rule of thumb for me, if your child is not reading or showing interest in reading by age 6, you may want to push a little. (baring no special needs are present)

Really 3 is an unrealistic age to expect a child to be reading, but some kids are ready. If a child is ready, PLEASE do not hold that child back! “But how do I know they are ready?”

Here are a few readiness signs to look for. If you think your child is ready, but resists learning, chances are they are not ready. You should just keep reading to them, and engaging them in pre-reading activities.

Readiness Signs

Your child pretends to read books
Your child knows the sounds letters make
Your child notices words in their environment, signs, TV show names, store names, cereal boxes, etc.
Your child knows where the words are on a page in a book
Your child knows that we read from left to right
Your child can retell a story you read in his/her own words
Your child holds book the proper way
Your child recognizes his/her own name and other familiar names or words {mom, dad, siblings, etc.}
Your child shows an interest in writing
Your child understands rhyming words
Your child understands beginning sounds
Your child is interested in learning to read!

Keep in mind that your child may do everything on this list, and still not be ready. If you find that to be the case, do not be discouraged, just keep trying, and having fun!

Here are a few sites that help with reading readiness:

Happy Reading

Teaching a Child to Read- Part 1

2011-08-23T05:51:00.000-07:00

I am currently teaching my second child to read. I taught my first to read with the help of public school kindergarten. She picked up reading so quickly, and was reading on a first grade level before the third month of Kindy. My son on the other hand has shown signs of being ready to read for a while. But he’s not learning as quickly as I had hoped. I began asking around for advice and I came to this conclusion…….

Everyone has an opinion based on what was successful for their child, but very few are the same. There are no RIGHT or WRONG ways to teach reading-every child is different and every teacher/parent is different. What works for your child, may not work for mine. We can all take ideas from one another. But if Johnny if reading The Magic Tree House at age 3, and Suzie is struggling to read Wig on a Pig at age 5, it’s fine! The important thing is that the child learns to read, and that we take the time to teach them.

So what if your child goes to public school?

While I was asking around for advice, I was told something that struck my the wrong way. A wonderful lady told me that she was glad she never had to worry about teaching her children to read. They go to public school, and have always learned to read there.

Hmmm… I highly value the help I received from Hailey’s Kindergarten teacher when I was teaching her to read. And like wise, Hailey’s teacher highly valued the help she received from me. It is true, a child can certainly learn to read, and learn to read well in public school. But, when a child’s parent’s partner with the teacher in this effort, the child is more likely to develop a LOVE for reading, because they see how important it is for their parents as well as their teachers. Plus, your child’s teacher is trying to teach 25 kids to read. I’m certain she would appreciate the help!

Happy Reading!

Join me tomorrow for part 2 of this series, as we discuss Reading Readiness Signs.

Homemade Lava Lamps

2011-08-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

Homemade Lava Lamps, are so much fun to make. If you want to impress your kids, this how!

Supplies Needed:

Clear bottle
Cooking Oil
Water
Food Coloring
Alka-Seltzer

Directions:

Fill the bottle with water and oil as shown in the picture.

Add food coloring as desired. (If you add drops slowly, they will sit on the top of the oil. then you can squeeze a bunch of drops in and the color will drop to the water. This is a great way to talk about weight.)

Add one Alka-Seltzer and prepare to impress your kids!

BFIAR- Blueberries for Sal

2011-08-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

We LOVED rowing this book. I was surprised the kids liked it so much, but we ended up reading it multiple times a day. Here are some of the activities we did to go along with this book.

Christopher worked on basic Addition concepts. I would tell him to put 4 blueberries in the pail. Then I would say, “Sal picked 1 more blueberry, how many blueberries does Sal have now?” After he answered I would say, “right 4+1=5”, and so on and so on. When we were finished I asked him to glue 3 blueberries on the pail and write the number 3 in the box.

Sammy Made a “B” using Blueberries.

We painted a picture of Blueberries. Then Christopher counted how many blueberries were in the basket.

Both of the boys enjoyed working this puzzle, and learning about bears.

Christopher worked on Beginning letter sounds, and handwriting using the pintables’ from Homeschool Creations.

All of the kids made this painting of paw prints on blueberry hill.

The kids enjoyed a blueberry smoothie, that they each made.

BFIAR- Homeschool Creations

2011-08-18T08:05:00.001-07:00

If you are using BFIAR, I want to suggest these awesome pintables' from Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations. She really did an amazing Job. Perfect for incorporating my Kindergartener.

Spelling Word Puzzle

2011-08-17T19:44:00.001-07:00

A Spelling Word Puzzle is a great way to engage older elementary learners. Plus, they are easy and cheap to make. I actually made this one for free.

I purchased a table top pocket chart for $1 at target, and these strips were in each slot. I cut them in half and wrote a spelling word on each strip.

Next, I ripped each peace in half, and then mixed them up.

Hailey had a lot of fun putting each word together.

This could be done using index card, construction paper, notebook paper, copy paper, puzzle pieces, and much more.

Why we Homeschool

2011-08-16T05:17:00.001-07:00

We homeschool, because we believe it is what God has instructed us to do. There are many things that led us to that decision, and through prayerful consideration, and many hours on our faces before the Lord we feel confident that this is what we are supposed to do. While homeschooling is what’s best for our family, it may not be what’s best for yours. I do strongly advocate homeschooling, but if that is not what God has planned for your family, you shouldn’t do it.

When we first started homeschooling, we began putting together a list of reason why we homeschool. This list has grown and changed throughout the years, and will continue to grow and change in years to come. But, our ending goals will remain the same.

We want to educate and provide for our children, Body, Soul, Mind, and Spirit. We believe that is best achieved for us at home. We want them to experience education through all aspects of life, and not solely through a textbook. We want them to have the opportunity to explore nature, go on field trips, do service projects, Science experiments, Play, and the many, many other educational avenues homeschooling opens up for my family.

Having children with “Special Needs” is another one of the many reasons this is the right choice for us. Certainly there are many challenges we face on a daily bases, however the challenges they face at home are far less than the challenges they we face in public school. At home I can provide all, and any accommodation needed. At home if something is not working, I can change it without having a “team meeting”, and waiting 3 months to see the change happen. AT home I can teach social skills. At home I can provide many OT opportunities, at home if we have a meltdown we can deal with it, and I don’t have to go to the principles office. At home I have the freedom to take them to the doctor and I don’t have to worry about getting and excuse, or them meeting their excuse limit, and no longer being excused. I home I can love them all day long, and give them one on one attention as needed.

And last, but not least, we believe it is our responsibility to protect their hearts. That is best done for us at home.

I recently read an education philosophy that was so elegantly written, and wholly fits with our beliefs. If you care to take a look click the like below,

http://www.allofakindfamily.com/?page_id=1266

The Camels Nose

2011-08-14T05:53:00.000-07:00

One cold night, as an Arab sat in his tent, a camel gently thrust his nose under the flap and looked in. "Master," he said, "let me put my nose in your tent. It's cold and stormy out here." "By all means," said the Arab, "and welcome" as he turned over and went to sleep.

A little later the Arab awoke to find that the camel had not only put his nose in the tent but his head and neck also. The camel, who had been turning his head from side to side, said, "I will take but little more room if I place my forelegs within the tent. It is difficult standing out here." "Yes, you may put your forelegs within," said the Arab, moving a little to make room, for the tent was small.

Finally, the camel said, "May I not stand wholly inside? I keep the tent open by standing as I do." "Yes, yes," said the Arab. "Come wholly inside. Perhaps it will be better for both of us." So the camel crowded in. The Arab with difficulty in the crowded quarters again went to sleep. When he woke up the next time, he was outside in the cold and the camel had the tent to himself.

Author unknown

This wonderful story was in Hailey’s Language book. The same day that we read this we had been talking about movie choices, friend choices, and the like. This was a great story to help drive home the point that if you let bad things in, little by little, they will take over.

American Girl Doll Club

2011-08-13T04:25:00.001-07:00

Hailey will be in an American Girl Doll Club. Each month will be focused on a different doll, and once a month they will have a “party” around that doll. We are hosting the party about Samantha. I NEED IDEAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Need I say More?

2011-08-12T09:45:00.001-07:00

I Support You

2011-08-11T11:21:00.001-07:00

Our family has been blessed to have many obstacles along our journey. It is not often easy to consider these obstacles a blessing, or to find joy in them. I was recently convicted by the Lord to use our obstacles to bless, and minister to others who have, or are going through these same things. It’s hard to be candid when it comes to medical, or mental health issues, but I want all of my readers to know that I am here for support if you need it. I am going to make a list of things our family has has, or is facing. I hope that I can be a blessing to your family through our obstacles.

(Each photo will be linked to a place on the web where you can find information about each thing)

Adoption?

2011-08-09T07:02:00.001-07:00

The other day I posted a story about my sweet Hailey and a book we had read. Much to my surprise I received a few negative comments. One comment in particular really got me thinking. The comment; “I do not believe that someone else is ever better than the birth parent, and that you would try to take the place of that child’s mom is appalling. I do not agree with adoption!” Anonymous

Okay, first, I absolutely believe that every birth parent has a special place in each child's heart. In a perfect world each birth parent would take responsibility for their child and love them unconditionally. They would make every effort to take care of that child, and they would be a family. But we do not live in a perfect world. So, if there were no option for adoption, what would these children have? Well, in countries where adoption is not widely practiced, the children are placed in orphanages, or left on the streets to fend for themselves.

Every adoptive parent has their own journey. There are many different things that lead them to that decision. Not all are pure, but most are. Our story will not look the same as another persons. But one thing remains the same, (at least for most) Their families have been blessed beyond belief. I can’t tell another persons story, but I can tell mine.

My children were in the foster care system for many reasons. For their privacy those will remain with me, but I assure you there was a reason. They were both born into a home where there mother could not take care of them. Once in the foster care system they had many homes (or places to stay). It’s incredibly hard to place sibling groups where both children have special needs. Plus there are very few people who desire to adopt an older child. Most are looking for 2 and under. When God led them to our home they had already been passed up several times because of those issues. We were so thankful to God that we were able to offer these beautiful children a place to call home. To keep them together. Had we not accepted God’s call for us, and not adopted them, where would they be? What would have happened to them? Would they still be together? Would anyone have taken the time to take care of my sweet babies needs, or would they have been considered bad kids and pushed aside? I will never know the answers to these questions, and I am glad of that. For so many the outcome is less than desirable.

I am forever thankful to God for leading us on this journey, and I could not imagine life without my babies. If I lose you as a reader because of that so be it. I’m really not concerned about that. I keep this blog because I enjoy it. I will not apologize for loving my children with all of my heart, and desiring that they love me. I will not apologize for offering them the best care that I can give them (care they would not have gotten otherwise), and I will not apologize for believing in adoption. Adoption, when led by the hand of God, is the most beautiful blessing you can receive. I love my children, and that’s what they are, “My Children”.

Homeschool week 2? The one with all the organizing

2011-08-07T05:04:00.000-07:00

This week was very relaxed. We were recovering from our vacation. The kids did some school, but not really on our regular schedule. Here’s an individual look at what we did. (no pics sorry)

Me: I spent the week organizing the boys room, the school stuff, menu’s, the pantry, and the refrigerator. I got the kids bookshelf put together. We have TONS of books. I love it. I also spent sometime getting to know a new friend.

Hailey: Hailey begged to do math nearly everyday. Not just one lesson, but I would have to start saying no to math so we could do other things. She finished up a Junie B. Jones book, and completed some language lessons. We went to the splash pad, and she had lunch with her best friend.

Christopher: Christopher worked on reading this week. He seems to be doing well on his word families, but he guesses mostly. He knows all of his letter sounds, but he just wants to guess. He started a new medication and finally slept through the night. He also went to the splash pad.

Sammy: Sammy sis not want to do Tot School this week. I got a set of jungle animals from the dollar tree, and all he wanted to do was play with those. So we worked on pronouncing the names of those animals. He is still having trouble with pronouncing his words, but I think it’s just his age.

Liam: Well Liam in a nut shell is rotten!

That pretty much wraps it up for us.

The Train to Somewhere

2011-08-05T16:57:00.001-07:00

I ran across a book sale at Books-A-Million the other day. They had a bunch of books on sale for about 3.00 plus they were BOGO. If you didn’t already know, I have a slight obsession with children’s books. So, I picked some up.

One of the books I picked up was called, “The Train to somewhere”. I had never read the book, but it was on the Living History book list.

This morning I decided to read aloud to the kids. (bare with me, this is not a book review) I started reading about a little orphan girl and some other kids that were going to be traveling by train from New York to cities in the west, hoping that they would be adopted. After the first couple of pages I wondered if I should keep reading, or stop, because this was really hitting home. I reluctantly kept reading. It went on to tell about one girl that was waiting for her mom at every stop, because her mom told here she would be back for her. Not only was her mom not at any of the stops, nobody picked her to be adopted. She went on to the last stop alone. I continued to read with tear filled eyes, and a blubbering mouth as the little girl got of the train in a little town called “somewhere”. She saw an older couple standing there. She was kind of sad because it wasn’t her mother, but also because she didn’t think they would want her. (they were wanting a boy) Well, they did want her, and the little lady said something like, “I bet we weren’t what you wanted, but if you give us a chance, you may find that there are better things then what we want.” The little girl hugged her, and she went with them, and they lived happily ever after.

After sobbing my way through the story, Hailey hugged me and said, “I’m glad God gave me you! You are so much better then my mother. That story helped me not miss her as much, and it’s true what she said, There are better things than what we think we want. YOU!” I am still crying about it now. Adoption is so wonderful.