I'm sick

Being a mom and being sick is probably the worst thing ever. I've been sick with a cold now for three days and it is progressively getting worse. It's days like this that I wish I had a blow gun and had good aim.

.....I wake up to pitter patter, pitter patter. Then all of a sudden a small, but anvil like hand hits my face with a loud "moooooooom". This would be a perfect time to pull out my hidden away but easily accessible blow gun. I pull it out, the ammo being tiny arrows, tip filled with tranquilizer. Shwoosh ting. One child down. One child to go. Then the eldest child rushes in,  jumps on my bed, and another tiny arrow flys through my little blow gun and now both children are down. At least that's what happened in my day dream.....

But unlike my day dream, that fist really did hit my face. And I really had to get up, more like drag myself out of bed. Walk into the kitchen with both children under my feet almost taking me out because my head is so fuzzy and I can't really tell where I am or where I am going. Both children yelling at me to get them food, making the sinus headache I woke up with much more intense. I then pursue to haphazardly throw cereal into bowls, pour milk, turn on a movie, and head back to bed to try and get more rest before they finish eating and get bored.

I think that like the workplace moms should get sick days. Days when you are so sick that you can't function. You call into the workplace and take a sick day, thus giving you the day off and some much needed rest. Right? Anybody with me?

But alas, there is no such number, and no such day. We moms have to trudge through the day whether we feel good or not. There are no sick days, vacation days, or paid time off. But fortunately there is a trade off. You get to experience moments of pure joy. Even though this morning was really hard. And I felt horrible and the kids didn't care. There was a moment where my 3 year old Miss E came and wrapped her arms around me and said "I love you mommy! sorry you don't feel good." Those are the moments that make everything right in the world. So I thank my Heavenly Father for the opportunities to experience sorrow so that I might feel joy, sickness so that I might have health.

Wishing you all good health
Meg

What is equal?

Ok so I just need to rant for a second. There is so much going on in this world about equal rights and the right to choose. But what does that mean? I do not agree with gay marriage, and I never will. I do not support abortion, and I never will. I do not agree with making bathrooms unisex, and I never will. I don't agree with murder, and I never will. The list goes on. However. That does not mean that I think less of those people who are gay, or that are in a gay marriage. Or that I think less of someone who has had an abortion. It is possible to love someone and not agree. I do it all the time within my own family, with my husband, and with his family. I also do not agree with drug use, and I never will. I have had friends and family members that have abused drugs, and I at one point in my life used drugs. But I have a different life now and make different choices. But I don't agree with it and it's hard to watch someone make the choice to use, however, I still love them. 

So why is it that in this world and in this day and age that we can't agree to disagree and still be friends? What is wrong with that? Why is it that people that disagree with gay marriage or abortion are ridiculous and clouded by religious convictions? Why can't I disagree with you? Why do you feel the need to make me feel bad for what I believe in? Isn't that the opposite of equality? You want to make your decision but no one can disagree with you....that doesn't make any sense to me. I get that everyone wants to be right, or fight for what they believe in. But when someone comes against your belief then they are hypocrites or misguided? I don't think so. I have the right to believe what I want. And so does everyone else. 

I believe we were sent to this earth to be tried and tested to be proved worthy to enter the presence of God again someday. One of the things God commanded us to do when he sent us here is to love one another. And I believe that wholeheartedly. I think we should all love each other. But that doesn't mean we have to agree. And that surely doesn't mean we even have to believe in the same things. But don't hate me or get mad at me because we believe in different things. Because I'm not going to do that to you.

There is not a single person in this entire world that is the same as another person. We are all different. Have different wants, needs, dreams, talents, and abilities. So that by definition isn't equal. Or fair. I really wish that I could sing. I want that ability so badly. It will never happen for me. This life is not fair, nor is it equal. And it shouldn't be. Satan would like us to believe that we all deserve and need the same things. But that just isn't true. My needs are completely different than a mans, than my husbands, than my friends, than my sisters, or than my mothers. If everyone was the same it would be incredibly boring. So I'm grateful to my Heavenly Father that he made us all different. 

I am imperfect and have made a lot of choices in my life that I am not proud of. Choices that I feel have given me the ability to have compassion for those that make different choices than me. Or understanding for people that are just different than I am. For that I am really grateful. Knowledge brings understanding. With that we should take the time to get to know one another. To understand each other. To become friends. So that we can help one another through the hard things in life. To show one another compassion when life gets hard and things aren't in our favor. That is what this life is about. 

End of Rant.
Meg

This is a great info graphic that also sums up Montessori really well, much better than I can do.

Montessori Part 1

So I said that I would talk about the two different types of education that I am using to homeschool my kids with. This is kind of a huge task. Mostly because I've read soooo many books, articles, and blogs dedicated to this very subject and to try and condense it into a blog post seems almost impossible. So I will do my best. But I think I will split it up into a series to give myself some breathing room since there is so much information.

What is Montessori? 

Well Montessori was an actual person. Her name was Maria Montessori. She was born August 31, 1870 and died on May 6, 1952. She was a physician and an educator. She started her work in education with mentally disabled children. In 1906 she opened the Casa die Bambini, or the Children's House. She was asked to oversee low income children that basically had nowhere else to go while their parents worked. She had developed materials working with the disabled children that she also included in the casa. And she added other work including care of self and care of environment. The ages of the children varied from 2-7. Over time she made observations about the age groups. When the children were given free choice of what to do they chose practical activities over toys that were given to them. She eventually replaced all the over-sized furniture with child sized furniture that was light weight so they could independently move them wherever they chose to. And also added low shelves so that the children could easily access the child sized materials. She felt that through the children's independent work they would gain  greater levels of understanding and self motivation. In her book she outlines a typical day 

http://www.lightwayschools.org/3-years---6-years.php

• 9–10. Entrance. Greeting. Inspection as to personal cleanliness. Exercises of practical life; helping one another to take off and put on the aprons. Going over the room to see that everything is dusted and in order. Language: Conversation period: Children give an account of the events of the day before. Religious exercises.
• 10–11. Intellectual exercises. Objective lessons interrupted by short rest periods. Nomenclature, Sense exercises.
• 11–11:30. Simple gymnastics: Ordinary movements done gracefully, normal position of the body, walking, marching in line, salutations, movements for attention, placing of objects gracefully.
• 11:30–12. Luncheon: Short prayer.
• 12–1. Free games.
• 1–2. Directed games, if possible, in the open air. During this period the older children in turn go through with the exercises of practical life, cleaning the room, dusting, putting the material in order. General inspection for cleanliness: Conversation.
• 2–3. Manual work. Clay modelling, design, etc.
• 3–4. Collective gymnastics and songs, if possible in the open air. Exercises to develop forethought: Visiting, and caring for, the plants and animals. 

Montessori also believed in treating children as individuals, which she believed would yield greater learning and achieving higher potential. 

She eventually added more and more to her educational method further enriching the child in all aspects of education. She felt independence was the aim of education and that the teachers role was to be an observer. Through her observations she found innate characteristics which she defined as human tendencies.

• Abstraction
• Activity
• Communication
• Exactness
• Exploration
• Manipulation
• Order
• Orientation
• Repetition
• Self-Perfection
• Work

She describes these tendencies as the driving force behind each stage of development in a child.

So that was a "brief" overview of who she was and how she developed The Montessori Approach. My next post will talk about the prepared environment and the planes of development. And all of this information is really dry and boring and so I apologize. But the results of all this information in a functioning classroom or in a homeschool environment are fascinating and really exciting to see. 

So stay tuned.....

Meg

Okay so it's been awhile...

We are still trying to get the hang of this whole schedule thing. I have never lived by a schedule in my entire life. It is a foreign concept for me. But a necessary one as we embark on the adventure called homeschooling. I spent most of December and part of January coming up with my plan. That included everything. Cleaning, cooking, homeschool, activities...everything. I am still working out the kinks and trying to banish old habits. I'm trying not to be too hard on myself because I don't want to get overwhelmed. But this crap is hard. I know people who thrive off "the schedule", and while I feel it is necessary for us, I think most of these people are insane. And can we talk about when things come up that aren't in the schedule for a second. What the freak are you suppose to do about that? I seriously will just sit and stare because it isn't in the schedule. I really truly do not know how to cope. Whereas, before the schedule, it didn't matter, because we did whatever whenever. So this foreign thing that creeps up, the "change" in my day, it's really throwing me off my game. It's kind of one of those things I try to ignore and hope it goes away. To give you an example of how ridiculous this is for me, on Sundays we will sometimes go up and spend Sunday dinner with my in-laws. Well my sister-in-law called while I was in the middle of making lunch asking if she could come pick the girls up to make cupcakes. No big deal right? Hahaha. The following really happened.
My husband asks me "so is that ok?"
Me: "yeah it's ok" (in my head...no it's not okay that wasn't part of the plan today. Eat lunch, take naps, get ready, go up eat dinner)
Husband: "are you sure that's ok? (Noticing my irritability) "when can she come get them?"
Me: "I don't know I'm making lunch" "Miss M needs a nap"
Husband: "So do you want her to take a nap here or can she take one at my moms"
Me: "I don't know, I can't think right now" (meanwhile my head is exploding because something other than "my plan" might be happening soon, trying not to freak out)
Husband: (trying to get an answer out of me so he can get his sister off the phone) "So what do you want to do"
Me: "I don't know just let me make lunch"
Husband: "She'll call you back"

I know you are all rolling your eyes and laughing at how ridiculous that is, and honestly it is ridiculous. But as I said this schedule thing is new to me, and I have never been one to do something without going full force, I'm all or nothing. So I'm working on trying to find the balance. What does that mean to me and my family? I will have to get back to you on that one as I am still trying to get passed the unexpected.

Things with school have been going ok. Definitely not what I picture every day when I wake up. I wake up with that triumphant horn playing in the background and me riding through the day on my gallant steed. Everything going according to plans of course. And ending the day with a harp making the most beautiful sounds and a muse telling me I did a great job. Yep that never happened. And never does. As soon as my feet hit the ground my day starts falling apart with my children screaming (literally) mooooooooooom! Moooooom! Maaaahmaaaaa!

We don't accomplish everything I set out to every day. There is never enough time in the day. I always feel I am falling short. But I have to remember that the goal isn't to check things off the check list. It's to have a full life. And that my friends is something I can say is checked off. I have a very full and blessed life. I have beautiful, funny, smart kids who keep me going everyday. I have a hardworking, supportive, and loving husband. All of which not everyone can say they have. So I thank my Heavenly Father for all my blessings!!! There are many.

So with that I leave you with a video I made mostly of my cute kids.

Thanks for stopping by.
Meg

The why

I thought I would put my thoughts together of the reasons I am homeschooling.  Before I get started I just want to say that you may or may not agree with the things I say and that's ok. I don't expect everyone or anyone to have the same opinion as mine. That being said here it is.

When I had my first baby, Miss E, everything terrible in this world terrified me. But more than that I was terrified for my daughter to grow up in the craziness. So it got me thinking about how I could help her and teach her and give her that foundation to have the best shot at life. I don't think anyone else has different thoughts when they have children but I wanted to have a say.  So what did that mean for me? Well at that point I wasn't sure. 

I have a cousin that he and his wife had decided that they were going to homeschool their kids.  I thought it was fantastic. And empowering. There isn't a whole lot you can control in this life except your choices. And that is the only way you can make things in your life turn out the closest to how you want it to. There are things that are out of our control and those things are what our Heavenly Father wants for us. But for the most part we make the decisions that shape our lives. My point is that I didn't want to leave the welfare of my children up to anyone but me. I know them and their needs better than anyone else. So I started reading about homeschooling. Blog after blog. Website after website. I asked my cousins what type of homeschool model they were using. She referred me to a Jeffersonian Education. She told me to check the book out at the library. I went ahead and ordered a used copy off Amazon. I love Amazon. Anyway, the principles in that book made sense to me. If you are interested check the website here http://www.tjed.org. This is their basic model for education but the website and book go into more detail.

1. Classics, Not Textbooks
2. Mentors, Not Professors
3. Inspire, Not Require
4. Structure Time, Not Content
5. Simplicity, Not Complexity
6. Quality, Not Conformity
7. You, Not Them

When I sat and thought about that I was like...YEAH! This is what I want for my kids. To learn to think for themselves and not be swayed by others. To love to learn and always continue to learn and become the person they were born to be. 

But there were some things I didn't totally agree with. I didn't feel comfortable not "educating" until they were older. But as I continue to learn about homeschooling making a custom fit is the whole point and the idea behind homeschooling. Applying what does and doesn't work for your family. In any case I kept searching. 

I kept reading about Montessori. So I started to dive in and get familiar with it. Montessori struck a chord with me. It was a kind of ah-ha moment for me. I felt like this was it. So then my mission became how do I do this. I started reading everything I could on Montessori. Books, websites, blogs, everything. The process was a lot more complicated for me than it needed to be. I thought I could learn everything I needed to without purchasing any manuals or recommended books. Boy I was so dead wrong. I eventually bought all the recommended reading. And I lucked out and found some free manuals. But if I would have just done that to begin with all the information that's out there would have made sense a lot faster than it did. But I finally have a solid foundation in all things Montessori.

During all my Montessori research and reading I stumbled across another type of education called Waldorf. I instantly fell in love. It spoke to me on so many levels. It was just as magical as Montessori but in different aspects. They spoke the same language but in different ways I knew the two would marry perfectly. It's still a work in progress and will always be a work in progress but I feel really confident and satisfied with my decision to homeschool and in my choices of education.  There are some instances where I feel I am in over my head and feel overwhelmed and there are others where I see the fruits of my labor and I know down in the deepest part of me that it was the right decision.

Until we meet again
Meg

Beginning

So it's the start of a new year. And with that comes the excitement of starting a new plan, or perhaps just starting over. I have admired all my friends who diligently keep up with their blogs. Documenting their little families history page by page. I find it magical. I have tried so many times to start a blog. But inevitably it only lasts a couple entries and then fizzles out. So I'm focusing instead on the process versus having a "blog". I am dedicating one hour each week to writing on this thing. It may turn into more since I am homeschooling the kiddos and I most definitely want to keep track of our goings on. But I'm not going to put pressure on myself to do anymore than one hour per week.

So the reason for my blog post today is that I FINISHED my home school schedule and curriculum for the next semester. This is from scratch people. Well ok, not from scratch per say, but I am not following anyones's curriculum. I have spent the past two years almost now dedicated to reading gobs of home school blogs, websites, styles of education, you name it, I've probably read about it. But I've settled on two styles of education. Montessori and Waldorf. Don't ask me why. That can be another day. But I have yet to stumble across another home school family that is incorporating both. So in some aspects I'm a lone soldier. But that's ok, I've never been the type of person to go with the flow.

This is a new adventure for me, and I'm all in. There are a lot of reasons why I decided to home school but that again will be an entire post by itself. So I hope you enjoy the journey with me. I'm writing this like people are reading it. Haha. If you think it they will come.....

Until next time
Meg