Meal Planning

Once upon a time I was a very organized person....NOT!!!  I try to be, but somehow I always seem to get in my own way.  Occasionally life happening also prevents me from being organized.  One of the things that I see in REAL organized people that I admire is that they know exactly what they are having for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  When I say exactly...I mean EXACTLY. 
One day when I carved some time out of my schedule in order to "meal plan", I said to myself.  I said, "Self, haven't you done this before?  Don't you have this written down somewhere where you can just reference it?"  Sure enough, I went to the spot where I keep all my cookbooks and such. I looked into my special folder of important things about food. I realized that I had about 8 months worth of meal planning already written out on monthly calendars.  I sorted them by their season; then I studied them for a while.  That's when I noticed some sort of pattern.  I wrote that pattern down, made a few adjustments, and came up with the following plan:

SUNDAY
     Breakfast: Cereal and milk (cheerios and almond milk)
     Lunch:       Whatever my husband is wanting or what our state of the week suggests. (See                                     homeschooling posts for more info.)
     Dinner:     Whatever dessert we want.

Sunday's are crazy days in the mornings.  I usually don't eat a traditional breakfast. I put collagen and mct oil in my coffee and keep it moving.   Sunday is our only day to eat dessert, and the only day that we plan to go off (Trim Healthy Mama) plan.

MONDAY
     Breakfast:  Yogurt, Fruit, and granola
     Lunch:       Meat and cheese sandwiches and         
                                   chips/pretzels/crackers
     Dinner:       Beans
     Snack:       Boiled eggs

Sundays I try and take some beans out and put them in a pot to soak in preparation for the next day.  If I forget, I use canned beans or allow extra time for the dry beans to cook.  We may have chili or some type of soup that includes beans.
I also boil about 2 dozen eggs and keep them in the refrigerator as a snack.  When the kids start singing the hungry song but it's not time for dinner; they can have an egg or two.

Tuesday
     Breakfast:  Muffins
     Lunch:       PB and J, chips/crackers/pretzels
     Dinner:      Pasta Meal (spaghetti or fettuccine or something)
     Snack:       Fruit/Applesauce  Week 1 is usually fresh fruit.  Week 2 is usually dried fruit                                      and nuts or applesauce (I shop every 2 weeks.)

Wednesday
     Breakfast:  Cereal and Milk
     Lunch:       Fruit and dip/ Vegetables and dip
     Dinner:      Crock pot meal
     Snack:       granola bar
Thursday
     Breakfast:  Pancakes and Bacon
     Lunch:       Quesadilla/turkey roll ups and side
     Dinner:      Skillet Dinner (most recently Fish cakes, sweet potato rounds and broccoli)
     Snack:       Fruit snacks
Friday
     Breakfast:  Sausage and Eggs
     Lunch:       Soup/Salad
     Dinner:      Stir-fry and rice
     Snack:         Nuts and chocolate/candy
Saturday
     Breakfast:  Oatmeal
     Lunch:       Whatever is left in the refrigerator or pantry
     Dinner:       Same as above
     Snack:        Same as above

As you can see, this is just a guide; but it does give me something to reference.  When I want some variety I can still use this for direction in my cookbooks or even when looking back at old meal plan sheets. It allows me flexibility for the changing seasons as well.  For example, on Monday for breakfast we may have smoothies or kefir instead of fruit and yogurt.  As a snack we may have jello or something.  Still I am following a guide which helps to alleviate some stress.  In this area I found that sometimes it pays to look back in order to save time in the future! 

Thanks for joining me today!

Until next time,

Coming Soon....Letting Boys be Boys!

Snapshots of our Week

"Happy" Max

The following shots were taken at church in preparation for our Christmas cards

Breakfast: Kefir smoothie.  Which day do you think that fell on?

Our Morning Routine

One thing about having a lot of people in the house - it is important for us to have some type of formal schedule to follow.  Everyone just doing their own thing until breakfast results in chaous. I considered how we normally did things, and I watched several videos on youtube in search of the best morning routine for our family.  Finally, we had a family meeting and all agreed that the following is what our morning routine would be.

1.  Grooming and getting dressed
2.  Clean your Zone
3.  Quiet time
4.  Act of Kindness
5.  Exercise
6.  Breakfast
7.  Read/Go to the "circle" and play

The kids are allowed to wake up as early as they would like; but (other than to say good morning, grab a book or two to read, and use the restroom) they may not leave their beds until 8:00.  I have said to them, more than once, that my "on light" does not work before 8:30; meaning that I do not have to be available for service until my morning things are complete...which is typically at about 8:30.

During that first 30 minutes of the day they are to greet me and the others who are awake and, as quietly as possible, begin their morning routines.

1.  Personal Grooming and getting dressed is pretty self explanatory.  Wash faces, brush teeth, change from pj's to clothes if it's not their bath/shower day.  If it is their bath/shower day, they can go ahead and include that as part of their personal grooming.

2.  Zones:  our home is divided into 8 zones.  Each person in the house (except my husband) has an area that they are responsible for keeping clean.  This must be done BEFORE they may eat breakfast.

3.  Quiet Time:  Most of the kids have a Bible or some type of "Jesus" book to read or study the pictures of as an act of devotion to God.  They must go to a quiet place with their books, and/or journals and have a time to be quiet, think about God and pray.

4.  Act of Kindness:  We have an ongoing kindness contest.  I have blogged about this before, but basically they earn tickets (it used to be beads) for doing kind things or saying kind things to/for others.  This also should be done before breakfast.

5.  Exercise:  Right now we do Cosmic Kids on Amazon Prime.  Its a yoga and story time for kids.  We love it!

6.  Breakfast:  We eat! Immediately after exercising, its time for breakfast.  If their chores are not finished, they pray with us for breakfast and then leave to finish their routines.

7.  Read/Go to the "circle and play".  Those who have not spent time reading something for 20 minutes, other than their Bibles, read.  Those who have read may go outside and play "in the circle" (my line of sight from the dining room window) until time for school.

Do you have a mourning routine?  Having this plan has worked wonders in keeping the peace in our home.  I am sure that having some sort of plan will bless your home as well.

Below are a few snapshots of our morning...in no particular order.

Sir putting things away.

Rayanna enjoying her cinnamon muffin for breakfast.

Aaliyah making her bed.

Annas reading with Cassidy.

Devoionne having quiet time.

Until next time,

Reading Issues

It's a wonderful experience and a gift to teach your child to read...when they finally realize that they can read.  The process in and of itself can actually be quite frustrating, challenging, frustrating, and boring, ...and frustrating.  Yes, you read that correctly!  Frustrating. Challenging. Boring.   Frustrating!!!

Get used to saying the same things over, and over, and over, and over again.

I mentioned in a previous post that I keep some clay dough or a stress ball handy when teaching a child to read.  Sometimes I even play sudoku, or knit while a child is reading to me. (Remember: I am not a naturally patient person.) These things help me to both stay awake and keep calm, and it seems to take the pressure off of them because they think I am not really listening. The step from reading "bat" to "bait" is a giant one.  Larger still is the leap from reading their Abeka (reading) book to reading things in their natural environment, or even just reading for pleasure.
  
I am currently working with 7 kids at 7 different levels of reading; which is quite interesting. SIDE NOTE: I have discovered that I can learn a lot about how the child will approach things in life by how they deal with the issue of reading.  One of my children immediately tested their new knowledge out in their environment each step of the way.  Another of my children was reading for nearly 2  years before they began to pick up books, other than the mandatory one for school, and read it because they could.  Another wants to read their OWN Bible and a book about law...they don't know how to read!...They are learning fast; but it will be a long while before they are ready for 4th grade and college level books! He doesn't know that, and doesn't care.  He asks me at least once a week if he is ready yet.  Gotta love that kid!

One of my sister's kids will attempt to read anything...they used to only be accurate about 30% of the time; but that didn't deter them from trying.  One of them didn't bother trying, and the other only read things that were far beneath their grade level of reading.

Let's get to the point of this post.  What problems have I encountered while teaching my children, and now my sister's kids to read? Continue reading to find out.

For a long time Aaliyah was content to listen to me read.  When we began to learn her alphabet and blends and such; she didn't really get motivated to do so until one day her baby sister (who was playing next to us while we were having our lesson) answered a question before she did.  From that day forward she was motivated to step up her game.  I was motivated to keep baby sister close by while teaching.  We have encountered 2 notable challenges while teaching Aaliyah to read.
1.  Defrentiating "b" from "d".  I dealt with this issue by pointing it out to her, and using the clever little trick my friend, Jolene recommended to me.  watch video here
2.  Mirror reading and writing. This is when a child see things out of order or backwards; just like things in a mirror would be.  I used to think that Aaliyah had a touch of dyslexia; but her comprehension is great, so that ruled dyslexia out.  This issue is present not only in her reading and writing, but also in math. For the most part, this is not an issue any more as they apparently grow out of it.  learn more here

Cassidy could read for almost 2 years before SHE knew she could read.  This precious girl is on her own time table with just about everything she does.  Some things she does early.  ( I.E. She taught herself to tie her own shoes.  She potty trained  herself before she was two.)   Other things...not so much. (I.E. Reading on her own)  The most notable issue with Cassidy's reading, other than her reading for fun, is also the mirror reading/writing that I mentioned with Aaliyah.  She is aware of the issue, so she most often self corrects.

Raymond DeSean:  Raymond was the first one to really enjoy 100 Easy Lessons that I mentioned in a previous post.  He was reading Bob books on his own by the age of 3.  Life happened and his previously diligent mother began to slack.  Too many days off has amounted to us virtually starting the reading process over.  We are now reading those same Bob books again...about 2 years later; but with greater proficiency and understanding.  I'm o.k. with that.  I am very grateful that he does not have the mirror reading issue, or any other issue sometimes present in children.

Rayanna:  This little girls LOVES books!!!  She gets upset when it is not her "school day" and she doesn't get to read with Mama from her "school books" which are kept at school in her special spot.  I rotate them out every month so that she has a new set of about 20 books to enjoy.  I sometimes have the bigger girls read with her; but usually from one of the books she and I have already read together. We are now in the process of learning vowels.  I'll let you know how her reading progresses and whether she loves to read, or prefers to be read to.

Building on another man's foundation

I am currently homeschooling my sister's kids.  I must say that reading is the most difficult skill to teach a child when they have learned things from someone else a different way.

With one child I thought their vision was a problem, so I had it tested.  No problems.  
I began to think that maybe this child was just being lazy; but I have come to learn through research that all of the cousins were taught to read by memorization and not phonics.  The major problem with this method (as far as I am concerned) is that when new words are before them; they guess instead of reading the word.  They have no tools in their tool belt to figure out what the word really says; whereas phonics gives kids the keys to deconstruct the word in order to figure it out.

Annas is 10 years old and in the fourth grade.  She is currently reading through the third grade level books.  To be honest, I wanted to put her back into the second grade level books; but didn't want to embarrass her (her sister is in the second grade).  She is reading the third grade level books; but I limit her to reading only one story and a poem (when applicable) in her Abeka books so she doesn't zoom through them in order to catch up with her 4th grade cousin.  She and Aaliyah are reading the Little House in the Big Woods series together aloud.  This is to allow her to hear more closely what she should sound like when reading.  I am comfortable with this because I trust Aaliyah to help her gently, and because Annas is a better math student than Aaliyah and helps Aaliyah out in that subject in school.  They help each other out and thus no one gets the big head.
When we started in June, she couldn't read through a page without making SEVERAL mistakes.  So many that it was painful for both of us because I demanded her to re-read each word correctly.  We read together today, and I am so proud to report that she only made three mistakes in the whole story which was several pages long.  She also read with emotion.  Proud Auntie Moment!

Devorionne is in the second grade. This child LOVES, LOVES, LOVES books! Problem? She would "read" a book and the story she "read" would be totally different than the one the author wrote.  This did not bother her at all; but it frustrated me greatly.  What did I do?  I took her back to books that were easy for her and made her read them to me correctly and v e r y, V E R Y   S L O W L Y ( think drunk person on muscle relaxers) before she could move on to grade level books.  I also used blend, dipthong, and word flashcards with her to improve her accuracy.  I am extremely proud of her progress.  I think the one thing that helped her most was having her read aloud to me slowly.  Devorionne is probably my sharpest student.  She is a very fast learner and enjoys school tremendously.

Sir (Devorionte): Where do I start with this one?  ...From the begining. We went back to K-5 books with Sir.  He is Devorionne's twin (2nd grade); but struggled a lot in public school on every level; not because he has any mental issues; but because he is all boy, and sitting in a classroom is the last place he should be...especially after he has eaten any sugar products.  Initially he was really upset that He and Raymond DeSean were reading buddies.  I only work with R. DeSean about 3 days a week though, so they are no longer at the same level. To date, Sir has completed all of the K-5 program and is now at the end of his second, first grade book.  Sir has just realized (as of 2 weeks ago) that he can read and he is really accelerating fast!   We read together today and I only had to remind him twice - as opposed to every other word- about the 2 vowel rule.  (How many vowels are in that word?  What are they?  I need to hear the name of the one first in line when you read the word.) PAM! (Proud Auntie Moment).

In about 20 years or so when these young people are experiencing success in their lives, I will be proud that I had a part in leading them on the path to success.  Very few people worth mentioning became successful without a love of learning.  Fewer still love learning who are not great readers.  I love being a part of their journey!

Coming Soon: Our Morning routine

Until Next Time,

Teaching Reading

Teaching Reading...where do I begin?

Many years ago I taught a class of Kindergartners and first graders.  Knowing what I know now, I feel sorry for each of those children.  I was not a great teacher.  I hate paperwork, and I am not naturally a very creative or imaginative person...which should be pre-requisites for working with that age group.  Nevertheless, I like to think that what I lacked in technique, I made up for with love and effort.

Why do I mention this?  I mention it because the school  I taught at used ABEKA for their reading curricula.  I LOVE ABEKA; but it was not what I used for my firstborn. 

Some time after my very brief teaching career,  we moved to Arkansas.  When we first arrived, Aaliyah was only about 11 months old.  Our reading program at that point was my reading to her daily.  We spent hours at our local library and we received free books monthly through Dolly Partons Imagination Library program. 
When we were ready for "real" school, I began to seek out options for our curriculum. I made it a matter of prayer because, of course, funding for the education of our 4 and 2 year old was not in the budget. While cleaning out the church nursery I found a set of Hooked on Phonics books.  Later, I went to our local library and found that what I lacked, they had available for me to check out.  Voila!  Our reading program officially began with Hooked on Phonics and some alphabet flashcards from the dollar store. 

When it was time for me to teach Cassidy how to read I had acquired some teaching materials as well as talked to some of my homeschooling friends.  Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons was the hot topic at the time.  I LOVE Goodwill and resale shops.  I found a copy of 100 Easy Lessons at one of them for $1.00, so I decided to give it a try.

It seemed to be working well.  Cassidy was excited to learn to read and I noticed that Little Man (AKA Bubba, or Raymond DeSean) became curious as we read.  I began to make sure he was near us while we worked on Cassidy's reading. 

Time passed. I officially started Bubba on 100 Easy Lessons at 3 years old, but soon 100 easy lessons wasn't  so easy...somewhere around lesson 60 it became a chore.  By this time Aaliyah was using ABEKA and I had been introduced to Ebay.  I ordered all the Abeka readers from K-5 to 5th grade for about $100 (some new and some gently used) and we switched everyone over to Abeka.

I have incorporated a few tips and tricks for (hopefully) helping my children become great readers. I try to combine the things we learned from all three of the methods above, and to incorporate a few things I've noticed that work well for us. Are you curious to know what those things are?

Here we go!

1.  We learn letter recognition and word recognition simultaneously...with an emphasis on the vowels.

                a.)  I teach the 5 vowels first, then move on to letters which are     
                       common in three letter words.  (***Details below)

                b.) Once they master their vowels, we begin to make words...even if
                      they don't know EVERY letter/sound.

                c.) We sing our words instead of saying them.  This helps them to
                      hear the word more easily instead of hearing "broken" words. I
                      sometimes use refrigerator magnet alphabet or alphabet puzzle

I created this to be used with the chips
just like the consonant map
pictured above and below.

                      pieces to spell words. Bubba likes to drive his toy car under the "road words" and sing 
                      the sounds as he drives.
               

               ***A

This is Mr. A.  Say, Hello to Mr. A! Mr. A likes to say (short a sound). Mr. A likes to say (short a sound). What does Mr. A say? 
Say his favorite sound quietly.
Now say it loud!
 Sometimes Mr. A wears a hat. 
Sometimes he wears a smile. (Vowel marking symbols )
 What's his name?  (Long a sound)
What does he say? (Short a sound)

We are doing this right now with Rayanna. She is only 2; but she is holding books right side up consistently and running her finger under words as she "reads".


I continue by teaching them that every letter has a name and a sound, but vowels are special. Only the vowels get to say their own names in words.  When two vowels are present I need to hear the name of the first vowel as you say the word.

Teaching Long and Short vowel words

My "n" book at the library
We focus on a problem sound
each week with
these books at the library.

Notice this word has how many vowels?  That's right it has 2 vowels.  What are they?  Look at the first vowel.  He is wearing a hat.  That gives us a clue.  He is going to get to say his name in this work.  Look at the second vowel.  The second vowel is sad.  Why?  He doesn't get to talk this time. He has to wait for a word where he is first in line in order to speak.
If the child does not acknowledge the 2 vowel rule, I ask them to count the vowels and remind them of the rule. I sometimes sit up extra straight and salute as a hint to give respect to the  "Mr." (long sound) Vowel.

Below you will see pics of us using some of our reading tools.
1.  Consonant mat
2.  Vowel mat
3.  Special sound mat (common blends, digraphs and diphthongs)
4.  Red, white and blue discs
5.  Alphabet manipulatives (abc magnets or puzzle pieces)
6.  ABEKA  books

Our read alouds in the morning. We just finished Prince Warriors and are beginning Charlotte's Web.
Aaliyah has chosen to continue the Prince Warrior Series.

7.  Bob books
8.  My "alphabet" books at the library (pictured above)

Covering the sounds he knows.

printed from this website

Book for the month of September

Added just because she's cute!

Coming Soon...Addressing reading issues/problems. b vs. d and mirror imaging.

Until next time,

Why Homeschool?

The Basics
Not pictured is her penmanship

Recently I posted here about what we do for school each day at home.  Once again, I feel I have put the cart before the horse.  Today I would like to share with you why we chose to homeschool our children.  First, and foremost, let me insert this disclaimer...I know that EVERY parent cannot homeschool their child(ren).  There are a number of reasons why a parent or parents would choose not to homeschool.  I feel that my having the option to homeschool is a blessing and a privilege.

Even as I write this, I know that some of you are thinking that teaching your own children would be akin to taking a trip to a certain HOT place everyday. As much as I LOVE teaching; there are days when I lack patience, or they lack the will to work.  On such days I try to have a stress ball (usually in the form of play dough 😉) handy to manipulate in order to keep me calm; or we put off for tomorrow what will cause a problem for the rest of their lives.  Meaning, it is more important that Mommy does not get frustrated and project that emotion onto my children. It is imperative that they don't associate my negative feelings in the moment with the act of learning and be mentally crippled forever.

So...

Why do I homeschool when education in America is free?

1.  I homeschool because, contrary to what  has been said, the best things in life often are NOT free.
     Many have commented negatively on the state of our public schools.  I live in a small town.  I truly believe that I could place my children in our one public school and they would do fine academically. Why? Because I am a very involved parent and I would make sure that they did their best.

Daily Yoga...Cosmo Kids on Amazon

The table is set and ready for a days work on the Basics.

It is my opinion that the lack of parental involvement is one of the main reasons why our schools are failing our children, not the lack of teacher involvement.

2.  I homeschool because I am more concerned about my children's world view than ensuring that they have the ability to read, write, and pass tests well. It would be impossible, for legal reasons, for 99% of teachers today to impart the values and perspectives that I want to be a part of the person I desire my children to become.   Not only would the teachers not be able to contribute to the views I feel they need; but also, I would be fighting against the negative things and ideas they would pick up from their classmates as well.

3.  The last reason I will mention today is that I homeschool because no one in the world cares more about the success of my children than I do.  For the most part, I know their strengths and weaknesses.  I know their interests and disinterests. I know the vices they are prone to fall victim to.  I also know the society that we live in today, and as kindly as I can possibly say this, I will.

School field trip

1.) The enemy will use whatever he can to exploit our children.
2.) Racism and bigotry are still active in our classrooms today.
3.) Bullying is an issue that is alive and well. 
4.)Elitism and favoritism are also.

These are concerns that my children will not face as children at school.  

This months book

I pray daily that God will give me wisdom to know what I need to focus on for them, and to help me give them the tools they will need to have success AND integrity in their lives ahead.  I don't think anyone else will seek the face of God more fervently about the future of our precious children than their parents do.  These are the reasons we are a homeschooling family.



(Coming soon...Tips and Tricks I use when Teaching Reading.)


Until Next Time,

Homeschooling 202: Part 2

I'm back.  I have a few moments to myself, so I thought I would attempt to finish out this topic.  I ended the last post with our second grade work and curriculum.  Our last grade is fourth grade.  My daughter Aaliyah and my other niece are both in the fourth grade.

Fourth Grade:
I continue with the before mentioned curricula for reading (Abeka), Penmanship (Handwriting without Tears), and math (Math Lessons for a Living Education).  I would like to add that last year I used Saxon for math...which I love; but felt would be too time consuming for our family this year.  I feel I get the same quality in less time with Math Lessons for a Living Education...and it has more personality built into the curriculum.
We all do geography together.  Science for them is Zoology 1.  I am currently allowing them to listen in and participate minimally with the second graders as we do grammar until their books arrive.  I have been watching and reading reviews about Writers in Residence and am excited about beginning this new grammar program with them.

Below you will see our schedule for the week.  Please know that this is a map for us.  It is a rare that we are able to follow it strictly, but it is always best to have a vision for each day.

Homeschooling 202: Part 1

Our Summer has ended for us a little earlier than usual.  Normally, I stop for a break after the girls's birthdays (mid-June) until Bubba's birthday (September 2).  This year I decided to start the same day as our local public schools, August 13th.  We have guests and I needed a little more order in our day.  What better way to establish it!  Added bonus:  My sister's kiddos get to experience being homeschooled, and my kids have some competition in class.  My current classroom consists of our little one, Rayanna (age 2), Raymond DeSean (Age 4 and soon will be 5), Cassidy, my nephew and his twin sister (all age 7), my daughter Aaliyah and my niece (both age 9 and in the fourth grade).

Once we decided to start early I began ordering the supplies and books that we were lacking for the year.  They began arriving and I could barely contain myself!  There's nothing like the wonderful smell of new books!  (side note) One of my favorite places to go for thinking time is Barnes and Nobles.  Just walking in the door relaxes me!

Cozy corner in the right...notice our "class pet"  has found her spot.

I thought I would share with you today what we are using for curriculum.   I have watched hundreds (no exaggeration) of youtube videos and reviews and believe that I have selected the items that will work best FOR US!  I emphasize the  FOR US because every family is different.  Every child's needs  and learning style is different.  The curriculu I have chosen offers something for all the needs and styles represented in our home.

Pre-School:
Rayanna is only 2 years old; but she LOVES books and baby dolls!!!  I have chosen for her the Before Five in a row program and we have incorporated some aspects of an interactive notebook.  She has her very own little corner with books, manipulates, puzzles, finger paints, and such.

K-5:
Raymond DeSean is four, but will be 5 years old soon.  He is in to all things police officer!  For Kindergarten and first grade I focus primarily on Reading, Penmanship, and Math.  Everything else is Extra and only done when we have time on our hands...or if his siblings choose to share their knowledge with him.  Reading:  We use the Abeka reading program for Kindergarten and supplement with Bob Books when appropriate/as needed.  He enjoys finishing a book all by himself.  The Bob Books give him that experience.  For writing, I use Handwriting without tears.  Math Lessons for a Living Education is our favorite Math program.  He is currently on about day 26 in the Level 1 Book.

First Grade:

Bieroks from Kansas

My Nephew is doing first grade reading and penmanship; but second grade math. Also, I add grammar and geography into the mix (more about what I use for this in the second grade section of this post).  I continue with the Abeka all the way through fifth grade in reading with all of the children.  I usually find the readers on ebay or amazon.  I continue with the Handwriting Without Tears program until the child has finished each one through the second cursive book.  I had Cassidy and Bubba (Raymond DeSean) do the My First School Book twice ( the first time using sheet protectors and dry erase markers).

Second Grade:

The cook

Cassidy and my niece are both seven years old and doing second grade work.  This is the year in which I add science into the mix.  Reading, penmanship, and math are continued with the same programs.  Geography for us consists of us checking out the State books from the library.  We study one a week.  Our favorite thing to do in geography is to put a star sticker on our wall map by the capital of the state that we finish  and to cook a food (fourth grade home economics lesson *wink*) famous in that state.  Kansas State Food  I also add this to our grammar program.

I guess this post will have to be a part one and two because life is calling me away.

Until next time,



   

UP : The Queen of Multi-tasking

A couple of weeks ago at one of our church's LAFs (Lighthouse After-church fellowship), one of our ladies called me the "queen of multi-tasking".  I took that as a compliment.  One of the gifts of being a woman is being able to do many things at once.  I believe girls are born with this God-given ability for many reasons.  Men, on the other hand, do not frequently posses this gift. 

This was illustrated most vividly to me at clean-up time in my classroom during my brief time as a Christian School teacher.  I had a class of Kindergartners and first graders.  Free time was over and cleanup time had begun.  I stood by and watched as the girls grabbed piles of blocks and dumped them at once.  The boys grabbed one block at a time and tossed it into the bucket. The girls grabbed 3 or 4 books to put away. The boys grabbed them one by one and shoved them onto the book shelf.

Another example that comes to mind is that of the typical fast food eatery.  Most of the time when you go through the drive through a woman is taking your order, getting drinks, filling orders,  and taking money.  If, by chance, a man does help you...he may get drinks also, or take money; but I have never seen him do more than that simultaneously.

From Pajamas to uniform almost everyday.  Raymond D. is a lover
of Justice and fast cars...think corvette

So what's the challenge? For me, it is to not multi-task so much; but rather to stop and focus on my loved ones.  I already practice this with my husband some (...wink); but I can get away with it more with my children.  Sometimes I just need to stop all the busyness and focus on them individually.  Look them in the eye, listen to their dreams, play a game with them, jump on the trampoline, etc.  I have been told by seasoned mothers to let the housework wait and focus on what matters; but that is somewhat hard to do at times.  Laundry does matter. A clean house does matter.  Contrary to what my kids think, Mama taking a shower/bath does matter! It is so true, however, that in a few years, My family won't remember whether the house was dusted weekly or not.  They will remember the time we build a puzzle together, or that Mama did a flip on the trampoline (wishful thinking here), or played bad guys and cops (I am always the bad guy, and he is always the police officer).

Us attempting to save a baby opossum that Raymond D. brought to me one morning.  The dogs found the mama and babies earlier that morning, I guess.  Mama and one baby survived...for a while.  Aaliyah wants to be a vet someday and was thrilled to "help" this one.

Until Next Time,