A little heart broken...

Last night I found out that the Friday co-op/moms group I have so raved about, counted on and sought reprieve in, has been canceled.  This Friday will be the final meeting.  The short of it is, the wonderful family who hosts it will be moving in a few months and are simply unable to continue- it just won't work for them.

I get that.  And I respect the mama for so putting her family first and doing what is absolutely best for them.  She follows Jesus daily.  Deliberately.  I still have much to learn from her, but now will not have the chance.

Honestly, I'm heart broken.  Fridays were the one day a week that I really had the chance to be around other women (or adults at all for that matter).  I have learned soooo much from them.  Wisdom just seems to pour out of these ladies each week.  Jesus is there those days.  And more over, they are some of the most lovely and wonderful women you could ever meet- genuinely caring and a total kick in the pants to top it off.  

You can see it in their children because they are all as lovely, sweet, kind and goofy as their mothers.  Not the kind of kids you're bothered by, but the kind you could love almost as much as your own.

I always left Fridays with a lighter burden.  At a time in my life that has been fairly void of hope or encouragement, these women lifted me up and gave me a break.  

To say I will miss these days would be a gross understatement.  I wept a little last night.  I suppose from fear of loosing my friends, who I mostly only saw on these days.  And more over, loosing myself.  Loosing myself to the trials and hardships of this life without that fellowship to keep me afloat.

I'm a little broken right now.

I know Jesus has bigger plans.  I KNOW that.  But sometimes, when disappointment after disappointment are heaped on your plate, you want to feel His guidance more than know it.  You want Him to fill the gaps in your aching soul more quickly.  You want answers.  You want Him to just say, "This is what I have for you next, this is what it looks like and this is when it's coming."

But if there is one thing I'm constantly reminded of, things don't happen in my timing, they happen in His.  And every time I rush ahead of him, I live to regret it in big ways.

So, I'm waiting on You, Jesus.  But just so You know, I'm pretty tired and I could really use some love and care about now.  

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

Co-op for moms

It actually isn't a co-op at all anymore.  In fact, many of us refer to it as "Jenny-School" since our lovely and sweet friend not only hosts it but teaches it and puts together all of the activities each week.  We come under the guise of having our children learn together and play but I think there is a real reason for our gathering that is less often spoken of- we want to be there.  We want to hang out and let the kids run slightly wild while we just relish in the fellowship.  It is such a sweet time to look forward to each week.

We met seldomly this summer because of vacations and activities, and I hadn't fully realized how much I missed that time until we regathered this past Friday.  By the time I left I was a little overwhelmed by the realization of what those women and the relief that comes from spending time with them, really does to me.  It is medicine for my soul.  They are such an encouraging, understanding and compassionate group of ladies.  I have joked with Jenny that this will be the boys' homeschool group until they graduate so she had better stick around here!  And although I know that won't really be the case, I so cherish the time that I have with this group right now.

I must admit that often times when I leave I do feel entirely socially awkward.  It seems that being a stay-at-home-mom has dimmed my social skills a bit and I apparently must get giddy when in the presence of other adults which leads to talking too much.  I walk away each week feeling like they must just think I am a total bozo, but somehow they always seem to genuinely welcome when I return the next week.  They baffle me, and I am so grateful for them.

Look what they did for my birthday this year (which of course I never got around to posting because the pictures were on my phone, blah, blah, blah...).  I was so stunned and humbled by their out pouring of love for me.  They had collectively planned a little party for me- their were decorations, flowers, cards, white chocolate huckleberry mouse and even lunch!

Sadly, due to an ear infection for Lion Cub I only got to be there for about a half an hour and missed the lunch, but the fact that they had done all of that for me was so beyond anything I would have ever even thought to expect!  The thought of it still honestly brings tears to my eyes.  I have never been that great at having many girl friends, so the fact that these ladies (many of whom I hadn't even known for that long) would rally around me in this way, just to make me feel special on my birthday, was (and is) beyond words!

So, needless to say, I am thrilled and blessed to once again have Fridays to look forward to!  And I just want to extend my love and thanks to these beautiful women who bring compassion, honesty, kindness and love to my life each week- they represent the definition of friendship.

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

We're back to school!

I say we are "back" but it really feels like a first in so many ways!  This is the year that I am really starting to take our schooling seriously.  Not so much for Rhythm, but more for myself!  This year is about learning but even more so it is about getting into a new routine that includes more structure and consistent set-aside school time.  I feel like I am in that transition from being a mom with young kiddos who could pretty much do whatever whenever, to becoming a mom with a homeschooler who will require goals and a routine.  It is a definite shift in our family but one that I have been looking forward to- a chapter that I am ready to open, and work hard on.

To be perfectly honest, this first week was really hard!  Much harder than I anticipated!  Monday was darn near enough for me to put Rhythm in preschool and Lion Cub in full time daycare!  However, I took a step back, gathered my senses and gave Tuesday a second chance. It did work out better but we are definitely still adjusting!  You can read more about how it went on the boy's blog, The World According to Them.

Hop on over to The World According to Them to also hear more about everything I have planned, what our school room looks like and even take a peek at our Back to Homeschool pics!

Be sure to visit my sponsor- Marmee's Bread Market- for recipes and everything else you need to easily make fresh baked goods for your family!

"Pocketful of Pinecones" Review

Where do I even begin?  I LOVED this book so much and since finishing it (okay- so even while I was still working my way through it) I have been recommending it to nearly every mom I know, homeschooling or not!

Let me give you a little background.  Pocketful of Pinecones, by Karen Andreola, is a living book about doing nature study with your children.  What's a living book you ask?  Well, in this case, it is a book that teaches you about something (Nature Study) but it is written in novel form.  Yup, you heard me!  This book boasts a wonderful storyline that completely drew me in, while at the same time offering me tons of wonderful ideas for how to implement nature study into our lives in a very natural, Charlotte Mason style.  I very much appreciated that I was able to learn about a Charlotte Mason method in a Charlotte Mason way- which I think is hard to come by! 

Though it was set in the early 1900s I was able to instantly connect with Carol, the mother whose journal you are peering into, and learned so much from her example in not only teaching her children but raising them as well.  Karen Andreola does such a lovely job of weaving what she calls Mother Culture into the book- those things that span the test of time and all mothers can relate to.  She also reminded me of how much more work being a wife and mother was in the 20s and 30s!  Man do I ever have a renewed appreciation for my little modern conveniences that rarely used to cross my mind!

Oh and did I mention that the chapters are blissfully short, thus allowing you to actually fit them into your own little mother culture?  I loved the fact that even if I only had a couple of minutes to sneak in a little reading, I could almost always actually complete an entire chapter! 

Along with the beautiful story that Karen Andreola has woven, she rounds out the text with questions at the end of each short chapter to help you consider how you might be able to incoporate nature study into your everyday life, along with the latin names for the things discussed in the chapter.  Lovely nature poems are also sprinkled throughout the book and each chapter features exquisite hand-drawings.

I have truly found that this book has given me a fresh perspective on considering nature and on motherhood.  I spent time outdoors growing up but I was never all that particularly inquisitive about nature itself.  Now, however, I find myself noticing things that I never have before.  My renewed curiosity for the world around me is rubbing off on my children and they are beginning to make their own discoveries as well, which is so exciting to witness.  I am thrilled to be able to use these methods in our homeschool and am so glad that I discovered them so early in our homeschooling journey!

So, obviously, my recommendation would be for you to run out and purchase this book immediately!  This isn't one that you would just want to borrow from the library!  I guarantee it is a text that you will return to again and again for years to come!  Personally, I just can't wait to get my hands on a copy of the sequel, Lessons at Blackberry Inn, in which Karen Andreola continues the story and expands on Charlotte Mason's philosophies of learning in all areas, not just nature study!  Sounds like the perfect read for back-to-school!

For more information about the book you can go here and to order you can go here.  Oh, and you can visit Karen's blog here and read about all her other books and articles here a her website- Homeschool Highlights.

By the way, this is a book I purchased on my own and decided to review because of my genuine love for it!  This review is 100% my honest opinion.

Trial Week- for REAL!

Alright, so, last week's efforts to have a little trial run on our new routine ended up being completely thwarted by my ridiculous sickness.  While I am still not 100% (say maybe 85%?  Still coughing and dealing with ever-shifting ribs) but am feeling up for a second try at our trial run!

In all honesty, I knew that taking this trial run on our routine for a couple of weeks before our actual school year begins (on August 16) would be helpful, but I didn't realize that it would be vital until actually trying it today!  This new routine thing has a lot more adapting and learning involved than I had expected- and not just for me but the kiddos too!  I decided to implement Rhythm's new chores today (and let's be honest- get a little more consistent with the old ones!) and his new chore system (which will be detailed in a future post  on our family & homeschooling blog).  He eventually did complete all of them, but it took a lot of reminding, explaining and instruction.

Man oh man, am I ever glad that I did it today and NOT on our first morning of school!!  We have two whole weeks for him to get used to what his morning is supposed to run like and what is expected of him, before we get down and dirty with our curriculum!  I had toyed with the idea of starting our school year earlier (mostly from just being anxious!), even in just small amounts, but now I am really glad that we have two weeks left to get everything completely organized, our new routine in motion (which I will be posting on after we actually try it and make any necessary tweaks), and both of us sufficiently pumped up for school!

So all in all, from the outside, it would probably look like Day #1 of Trial Run week is shaping up as a fail, I am quite pleased with our progress!  I did manage to get out of bed by 7:15 (aiming for 6:45 tomorrow!), Rhythm did complete all his chores, I did complete dinner preparations by 1:30pm (crockpot and side salad), I did do a load of laundry, and I did get one out of two bathrooms cleaned!  OH- AND- I'm getting in a blog post!!!  While it isn't everything on my list, it is a far cry from nothing!  Tomorrow can only get better, right?!

Oh, and I did consider posting our menu for this week, but taking into account that pretty much everything in our lives that I had planned for last week got shifted to this week, there really isn't anything different to post!  I will, however, be getting around to posting those recipes I promised (and hopefully our monthly meal plan by the end of the week)!

And with that, I'll leave you with some recent cuteness!

The "trial run" week

Alright- a little update first off.  Friday morning I woke up essentially feeling like I was dying and decided we were going to have to divert some of the money that would otherwise be going towards bills to get me into urgent care.  First off they took my blood pressure and the nurse though something was wrong with the machine because it read at 91/53.  She checked it again and there was very little change.  A nurse friend of mine later told me that I was 2 points away from being admitted to the hospital and I run a pretty high risk of sepsis.  Fun.  So far I have been dizzy a few times but all in all, seem to be alright.

After an x-ray and an albuteral nebulizer treatment (and lots of comments about how horrible I sounded and how terribly sick I was) the doctor finally agreed that it was, indeed, pneumonia.  So he put me on two more antibiotics to try to cover the full range of what is plaguing me and he gave me an inhaler so I can actually breathe!.  All that to say, that I am glad I finally got treated for real and my prognosis is about another two weeks of fatigue, coughing and shortness of breath, but the "gunk" should go away in the next couple of days.  Oh- and I'm not contagious!  Just in case you know me in real life you don't have to run scared!

Anyhoo!  I have been working very hard over the last few weeks to get things organized for fall (and really, for our life in general!).  I still have a bit left to do but am at a place where I think it would be smart to give it a trial run.  So, this week we will be testing out the new routine I have been working on along with a light school schedule and early-prep on almost all of our meals and snacks.  Once I get the schedule fully tweaked I will be posting it for you all to see and possibly glean from (or laugh at- whichever suits your fancy), and I will also be doing quite a few menu-planning and recipe posts, including pre-prepped breakfast and lunch ideas!  So, stay tuned!  It should be a great week!

Off the Grid!

Well, we are going to head out camping in a few days so I just wanted to let you know that I will be off the grid for a while!  My greatest hope is that I will be able to 1.) find my camera and 2.) that Blogger will start allowing me to upload pictures again so that I can share our adventure when I get back!

Until then, for anyone interested, I just did a BIG post about my plans for homeschool preschool this fall over on R-Man's blog: The World According to R-Man.  So hop on over there and let me know what you think!

Down on the Farm!

This past weekend we finally decided to visit a local farm (Spokane Family Farm) that produces the BEST milk you will ever taste!  Their emphasis on quality, sustainability and genuine care for their animals in unmatched!  This farm has been up and running for about a year and a half and this amazing couple does all the work (or very nearly!!) themselves!  The husband (Mike) milks their 30 cows (all of whom have actual names) twice a day, and bottles 500 gallons of milk every other day, while the wife (Trish) mucks pens, cares for the calves and all the other animals, AND takes care of the two little boys they still have at home (they have 7 kids in total).  Talk about AMAZING!  (I know I am using a lot of exclamation points here, but bear with me because each one of them is deserved!)

Mike comes from three generations of dairy farmers and is so skilled and knowledgeable at what he does that he has actual taught the inspectors of their farm a few things along the way!  Mike is so knowledgeable, in fact, that he very consciously made the decision to not certify his farm as organic.  Being such a small farm, he understood that they simply would not be able to survive if they were forced to sit by and watch as sick cow die instead of treating her with antibiotics.  Instead, he is able to avoid many problems by quickly recognizing issues at their onset since he and his wife have such a close relationship with their cows, thus allowing them to make necessary changes and focus on prevention, then if need be, administer antibiotics.  Any cow treated with antibiotics is kept out of rotation until they are completely free of the drugs, but their life is graciously spared.  These cows are genuinely a part of the family!

In reality the product this farm is turning out is actually higher in quality and purity than organic milk anyway!  Right off the line the milk is immediately chilled to halt the growth of bacteria and then put through a pasturization process that only heats the milk 45 additional degrees above what it is when it is pumped from the cows- thus allowing the bad bacteria to be eliminated but the good bacteria and cultures to remain.

Mike and Trish also only sell their milk in its whole, non-homogenized form.  As Trish put it, milk only comes out of the cow in two forms- cream and skim, anything else is just computerized.  Mike and Trish suggest that if you would rather not drink the milk whole you can put it into a jar with a spigot (such as an iced-tea jar), which allows you to drink the skim milk and save the cream for making things like butter and ice-cream!  I typically drink it whole (since it's so darn delicious and I need the fat!) but would also love to start making things from the cream as they suggest!

Another cool thing is that the water they use to clean the holding tank is also the water they use to heat the pasturization machine (sorry- forgot the name!) and it is then passed into the barrel (I know there is a different and better word for it- forgive me!) that the cows drink from!  Talk about sustainable!  These people have thought of everything!

This family was truly inspirational to be around and talk to!  In fact, our family and the other family that we toured with actually ended up staying at the farm till 8:30pm (the tour was at 5:00pm) just talking, sharing and learning from the remarkable people!  Trish is passionate and full of knowledge herself on a whole plethora of topics.  I just want to apprentice under her to get a real crash course in good, old-fashioned homemaking!  She makes nearly everything from scratch (I am hoping to take a yogurt and cheese making class from her this summer!), homeschools her kids, seems to truly have her feet on the ground and her priorities in order, and so much more!

Being with this family on their precious little farm has only deepened my desire to move to the country- especially after seeing how much R-Man LOVED the experience!  The next day he kept asking if we were going back to the farm!  Which brings me to the really fun part- check out the rest of our pictures!

The "Wanna-be-Country" version of me, feeding a calf!  Woohoo!

Jer and Lion Cub

R-Man and his very good friend L- He thinks he is going to marry her someday... I'm okay with that! (Her mama is one of my best friends and my doula- so, I know she would have my grandbabies naturally!  Hehe!)

R-Man, L & N- checking out the cows- this one was only a week and a half old!!

R-Man trying to ride a donkey with the help of our friend Mr. C!

He was soon bucked off!

Cute donkeys just walk freely around the farm!

Tried to let Lion Cub take a ride too, but he freaked!

What R-Man really wanted to do was ride one of their horses!  Someday we'll have some buddy!

Collecting eggs from the hen house (I really want one of these!  Fresh eggs daily- sounds great!  Now I just have to convince the hubs!)!

Petting the bunny!

Hmmm... can you tell he's from the city?  L was actually the first one to do this and R-Man quickly followed suit!  So funny!

Mike and Trish have recently signed with a distributor which is taking their milk farther than they were able to themselves.  So, if you live in Washington, Idaho or Montana (maybe Oregon too- I can't remember!) you should seriously be on the look-out for it on your grocery store shelves!  It is the one with the black top and is typically found in the natural foods section.  It costs $4.99 a gallon (which is actually cheaper than organic even though its better!), or $3.50 (or 3 for $10) if you live locally and are able to pick it up from the farm.  (Speaking of which, I am working on putting together a small co-op of families to purchase the milk directly from the farm with. So, if you are local, shoot me an e-mail and I can give you more specifics!)

You can find this amazing farm online here and also on Facebook.  I truly believe that you can't find better milk, probably in this whole country (and I'm not exaggerating!), so if you come across it, be sure to pick up a gallon to not only support this amazing family but to also nourish your family the best way possible!

"Homeschooling for the Rest of Us" Review

Publisher Summary:  Homeschooling parents often face immense pressure and unrealistic expectations. Chances are you are feeling this pressure--and this book is for you!

In its pages you'll find support, encouragement and affirming stories and practical ideas from dozens of everyday families--families like you who successfully deal with cluttered schedules, academic struggles, sibling squabbles, and other real-life issues. Instead of learning a one-size-fits-all approach, discover how to evaluate your own family's strengths and weaknesses and set your own goals for success.

My Opinion:  I thought that this was a very good, practical book.  In fact, I have already recommended it to a number of IRL friends- especially those who are wrestling with the decision to homeschool or how to make it work in their family.   Sonya Haskins does a nice job of addressing the realities of homeschooling and what it can look like for your family- completely unique!

Along with her emphasis on finding the right fit for you, however, she also gives some simple, guiding principles to help you find your niche.  Chapters cover everything from allowing your homeschool to focus on developing positive relationships within your family, to routines and schedules, to extra-curriculars, to dealing with relatives, and even dealing with a messy home!  I appreciated Mrs. Haskin's honesty and boiled-down approach to getting rolling with homeschooling.  The book was very readable and only 172 pages- which I also appreciated!

You can purchase Homeschooling for the Rest of Us right here.

This book was provided by Bethany House publishers for honest review.

Fave Finds this week!

So, I seem to go through cycles of either being really good at keeping up on blogging or really good at keeping up on other people's blogs.  Can you tell which mode I am currently in?!  Um yeah- need to work on that!  I have been so bogged down by life lately that it just seems easier to follow everyone else's than post about my own.

I do have plans to remedy this situation, one of which involves following the advice from We Are That Family (her name is escaping me- so sorry!) in her Works For Me Wednesday Post this week- she bulk blogs.  We are not just talking any old bulk blogging though, she actually seems to get away to put posts in her queue (side note- isn't that the mostly silly-spelled word: queue?  What were they thinking?)!  Hmmmm... I hear Starbucks and blogging calling my name!  I may need to go into negotiations with the hubs!

Want to see some of the other beautiful and wonderful things I have recently found?  Ok- here goes!

This meal planner from 733!  Isn't it just beautiful?!  It make me want to meal plan!

Or this shirt from The Pleated Poppy!  I want need to make this!  She also does the coolest posts every week of what she has worn for the last week (What I Wore Wednesday)- she has the chic-est wardrobe!  (Envy and drool!)

Or how about these bea-u-ti-ful flowers from Diamonds, Fur and Laundry?!  Can you see a pattern developing recently with the flowers?!

Or check out this mama's labels at Just Divine Style!  Check out her laundry room?!  Who would have ever thunk to pretty up your laundry room like that?!  Well, apparently she did and I want need to copy her!  I could always use a little more beauty in my life!

This mama at Whippy Cake has the most beautiful (there's that word again!) hair accessories and hair idea for women (not just little girls!)!

Then on the learning side of things, here is a great post with links to a bunch of Summer Reading Programs for the kiddos.

And last, but not least (and my favorite!), Carisa from 1+1+1=1 has recently released her brand new core home-preschool curriculum that is entirely based on scripture called Raising Rockstars Preschool!  I am so excited about this and have been busily preparing her printables as she releases the new ones each week!  Normally I would blog about this on R-Man's blog (The World According to R-Man) and I will definitely be going more in depth about it over there, but I am so excited to be using this new curriculum starting next fall that I just had to share it with all of you!

So, what do you think?  Have you made any fabulous finds lately?  I would love to hear!  If you head over and check out any of the links above it would also be great if you let them know I was the one who sent you!

More to come soon... just as soon as I can work out that bulk blogging thing!

LIVE BLOGGING- Early Childhood Education w/ Susan Evans

Early Childhood Education

w/ Susan Evans

of Hands on Learning

I have been meaning to write this post for more than a month now (since the homeschool conference I attended), and even though it is late I wanted to make sure to not let it slip by!

At the Inland Northwest Homeschool Conference I went to Susan Evans' workshop on Early Childhood Education.  My oh my, was it filled good with good ideas!  And is she ever filled with energy!  You can tell why her children must just LOVE to learn!  She is a former middle school drama teacher and she is filled with all the flair and spunk of one!

Susan is very into making learning alive!  She emphasizes the use of voices when reading and puppets to drive home ideas.  Some of her ideas were very simple, such as making sure to add measuring cups & spoons to water or sand play areas.  She feels it is important to make learning accessible to children, such as mounting a Magna Doodle to the wall at kid height to allow for spontaneous fine motor development.  She credits that very thing with her children's early abilities to write clearly.

One idea that I never would have thought of, but have been trying with Lion Cub, is simply going through a set of basic alphabet flash cards and making the letter sounds of each (not the name).  She said that this simple practice of exposing the letter sounds to them at such an early age helped her children to read very early, without much effort.  I am not a huge fan of flash cards, but I figure as long as it is interesting to him and not a burden I might as well give it a shot!

I really can't possibly cover all of her amazing ideas in this little post, but I sincerely encourage you to visit her website, Hand on Learning, for a whole host of ideas for not only early childhood education but well into the elementary years as well! The site itself isn't much to look at, but don't let it fool you- it is FULL of good information if you just look around!

I also want to extend a huge thanks to Susan for a great workshop and look forward to learning more from her in the future!

Simply Charlotte Mason- All Day CM review

Okay- I promised this review to you guys a while ago, so I figured that I should probably get around to finally posting it! 

About a month ago I bought a few homeschooling resources with a bit of our tax return and the All Day Charlotte Mason Seminar on DVD from SimplyCharlotteMason.com was one of them.  I purchased the set that had four DVDs for the seminar, including Laying Down the Rails (which is all about establishing habits), along with the Laying Down the Rails book and the guided seminar notebook to take down my own notes in.  I plan to review the Laying Down the Rails portion at a later date, once I have finished the book (it is rather large!).

I thought that this seminar and accompanying notebook were extremely well prepared and thought out.  The seminar is long (hence the three DVDs) but is extremely thorough in covering how Charlotte Mason suggests you teach each subject for a full education- everything from the core subjects to extra-curriculars. 

Sonya Shaffer (the speaker and creator of the workshop) is engaging to listen to and uses many direct quotes from Charlotte's works.  She uses Charlotte's methods throughout the workshop to teach the listeners in order to give an even better understanding of the how-tos of the Charlotte Mason process, which I found to be inventive and helpful.  I thought her teaching style was very effective and I came away from (watching) the seminar feeling as though I had actually been there, and now have a much better understanding of Charlotte Mason and the realities of using this method.

The package was a bit on the spendy side but a resource I am sure I will return to over and over again through our homeschooling years, and am confident that it was a wise purchase and helpful addition to my teaching library.  I plan to use a mixture of Charlotte Mason and Unit Studies and this DVD definitely helped me get a better grasp on where we are headed and what it will look eventually like.  I recommend this set to all moms using or planning on using this approach in their homeschool, and if you are a local friend you are more than welcome to borrow it!

Please note that this post was not sponsored by or affiliated with SimplyCharlotteMason.com in any way.  All materials were purchased at my expense and my honest opinions were given.

So.... live blogging...

...didn't really work for me.  I found it to be a distraction and a hassle when I just really wanted to soak up everything from the conference. So, as you may have noticed, I stopped!  I loved the idea of it to begin with, but when it came right down to it I just felt like I didn't have enough time to put up quality, well thought out posts.

With that said, there is still a ton of stuff I want to share with you all about this conference.  I walked away feeling refreshed and re-inspired!  As Lorri Flem said (who actually read my blog last night, by the way!!!  AAAAAH!!  And she commented!!  I feel tremendously honored and humbled!), I am equipped to make the changes that are needed in my home, now I just need to do it! 

So, until I have the chance to sit down and really give you guys the meat of how the Lord impacted me this weekend, and it really was incredible, I want to encourage all of you to go over and check out Lorrie's Teach Magazine.  I am confident that you all will glean as much from her teachings (magazine, books and MP3s/CDs) as I have this weekend!  And hey, the magazine is even on same right now, so why not get a subscription while you're there?!  I did yesterday and am so excited to have such a wonderful resource at my finger tips!

Oh, and by the way, Lorrie is not paying me to say these things!  I was just so clearly spoken to through her workshops this weekend that I really want all of you to have that same opportunity!

More to come hopefully in the next day or so!

LIVE BLOGGING- Remember Why to Revitalize Today w/ Lorrie Flem

For details about this LIVE BLOGGING event (The Inland Northwest Homeschool Conference), see this post!

Remember Why to Revitalize Today

w/ Lorrie Flem 

of Teach Magazine

Wow- what another great session!  Lorrie Flem is such a wonderful picture of Jesus!  Her words are gentle, loving and poignant!  This workshop was mostly about the unexpected rewards of homeschooling- particularly the deep relationships you are able to grow with your children and the way you are able to disciple them on a daily basis.

She strongly emphasized bringing your children alongside you to teach them and not letting a curriculum dominate your homeschool.  The academics are important, but not the main focus of teaching your kids at home.  Lorrie pointed out again and again how Jesus taught.  He said, "follow me."  He wanted his disciples to learn by the way he lived, to learn alongside him, day in and day out.  What a perfect example of how we are to teach our children!

Lorrie emphasized that as a homeschooling mother, my children, my home and my husband are my job.  Much more than that, they are worth my time it takes to bring them alongside me.  Even if it may seem like it is frustrating and time consuming, that longer amount of time is the time it is supposed to take because this is the way the Lord has for me to teach my kids!  What a fresh perspective!  When you reset your mind to think through those lenses it makes the day's tasks seem much more manageable and joyful!

I am really looking forward to the other workshops Lorrie has to offer throughout the conference!

Want to follow more LIVE BLOGGING about the Inland Northwest Homeschool Conference?  Be sure to visit Dawn @ 5 Kids and Dog and Katey @ Crazy Homeschool Mama!

LIVE BLOGGING- Welcome to the Zoo w/Lorrie Flem

 
For details about this LIVE BLOGGING event (The Inland Northwest Homeschool Conference), see this post!

Welcome to the Zoo

multi-level homeschooling made easy

w/ Lorrie Flem 

of Teach Magazine

What a fantastic kick off to the conference- complete with a few comical mix-ups to keep things interesting!  To begin with, there were some problems getting Lorrie’s powerpoint to work, which they eventually did get resolved!  Then she actually began her diligence seminar (which sounds great!), but none the less, the wrong one!  Too funny- what great character she has!  She simply laughed at herself, picked up the right set of notes and began again!  Then, someone turned all the lights off!  Once again, she was incredibly good humored!

All that aside, what a great seminar!  Lorrie covered, from the broad to the specific, ways that you can easily eliminate stress from your homeschooling day while teaching many children at different levels.

The two major things that Lorrie focused on were Obedience and Responsibility, noting that if you have done a thorough job of teaching obedience before the age of 7, then from that age on you can better teach responsibility and a love to obey.  These are the most important ways to teach your children and in turn help yourself!

I had heard something similar before, but Lorrie hit on the four principles that George Washington’s mother taught him to help him obey:

• Completely
• Respectfully
• Immediately
• Joyfully

Aren’t those telling?  I know that isn’t how obedience looks in my house a lot of the time!  What great tools to keep in mind (I feel a craft project coming on... these words need to be displayed prominently in my home!)!

I think one of the biggest things Lorrie said that stuck with me is that often times things we are having to work on in our children are things the Lord is actually working on in us!  How true is that?!!  She said that, possibly, if you are dealing with obedience issues in one of your children, you are actually having trouble obeying the Lord as well.  The same goes for dawdling and a whole host of other issues!

I love Lorrie’s spirit, attitude and fresh perspective and am very much looking forward to the upcoming sessions she is teaching!  Until then...

Want to follow more LIVE BLOGGING about the Inland Northwest Homeschool Conference?  Be sure to visit Dawn @ 5 Kids and Dog and Katey @ Crazy Homeschool Mama!

So Excited! Homeschooling conference starts tomorrow!

So, I have known for a while now that I would be attending the Inland Northwest Homeschool Conference.  That in and of itself was enough to thrill me beyond all understanding!  I mean, nearly two full days to myself, spent just listening to adults, with no interruptions, and even having the ability to pee without company... anytime I please?!  Shear Bliss!

But it get's better!  Today, a fellow blogging, homeschooling and Bible in 90 Days online friend, Dawn from 5 Kids and A Dog, contacted me about live blogging the conference with her and Katey from Crazy Homeschool Mama.  How cool is that?!

Basically, Dawn has it all worked out so that we can get access to the wifi network of the church hosting the conference, so we will be posting about each workshop we go to and linking between our blogs!  There are some awesome sounding workshops and speakers scheduled that I am just so pumped to hear, and EVEN BETTER (is that even possible?) I get to meet, in the flesh, these two wonderful ladies!

The conference starts tomorrow (Friday) at 2:00 PST, so you can be expecting my first post around 3:45 PST!  Be sure to stop by and check out all the awesome stuff we are learning throughout the rest of the day and all day on Saturday!  It should be a great time of fellowship and learning!!

A few resources you might enjoy...

The other day I mentioned that I am working on my goals for the new year and since then I have found a few wonderful posts that I just wanted to draw everyone's attention to!

First of all, Carisa at 1+1+1=1 recently asked what kind of schedules people keep (or try to) for their homeschooling day and life in general and the outpouring of response she has received in comments has been invaluable!  So, don't just read this post (cause it won't be all that helpful- besides being reassuring that a seasoned homeschool mom has schedule issues!), but actually go and pour over the comments!  I am still working through them and have already gotten soooo many great ideas!

Next- this is a link I found in Carisa's comments and as soon as I went to this blog I was hooked!  It is called Raising Olives and I literally think that I could spend the next week just trying to digest all of the amazing wisdom and information she pours out in her blog!  So good!  I am very happy to add this blog to my reader!  She has got awesome ideas on everything from family worship, to scheduling, to appropriate chores for different ages! A gold mine!

In other thoughts, I watched Julie & Julia last weekend (just be posting that you probably all know what I am about to write), and of course, like any serious female blogger, I couldn't help but be inspired and ready to blog up a storm!  I love that Julie's blog was so focused and vibrant!  And although I am opening a new blogging project at the beginning of the year (as I have been teasing you all for weeks) I still seek greater direction and purpose for this blog! 

I am considering giving myself some sort of challenge- not as lofty as Julie's (since it would never work with these kiddos) but something that would drive me to accomplish and give me fuel to write. I have a few ideas floating around in my head (one that would be totally awesome if a particular company comes through on a review product for me!) but I would love to hear your ideas too!  Jen @ Momma Blogs A Lot also had some ideas on this topic!

That's all for now!  Have a happy weekend!

I can't believe I won!!

I have won a few things I have entered in bloggy contests but for the most part it is a big zilcho!  This weekend, however, I was shocked and elated to find out that I won an ENTIRE YEAR of Itty Bitty Bookworm curriculum from Homeschool Creations!  EEEEEEEK!!!!  I am sooooo stinkin' excited!!!!

Check out Jolanthe's Blog (she just won a Homeschool Blogging award!  And yes, I voted for her!):



And of course I will be blogging about my win on R-Man's blog as we begin to use the curriculum in January! 

Thanks again Jolanthe- such a huge blessing for a mama who can't afford much of anything right now!

Our best Totschool Week Yet!

Wow- what a week for Tot School! We did so many great activities that I recently got off the web (namely at 1+1+1=1 and Totally Tots) and Roman LOVED them! (Check out this site for some really helpful ideas and explanation of tot-trays- the main idea we were running with this week) Every activity was a hit with him and many of them he put his own spin on which was so fun to see!

W started off the week with color hopscotch. We set pieces of construction paper all around the living room and I told Roman to jump on the color when I called it out. I quickly learned that my wording seriously influenced the outcome of this activity- you see, all Roman wanted to do was jump over the colors and never really stopped to listen what I was telling him!
However, as soon as I told him that I wanted him to find the color I called out and just stand on it, he did MUCH better. At that point we started to have much for fun and he actually concentrated on what we were doing!
He also had fun adding his tractor to this activity! He decided to drive his tractor to the colors I called out, and when we were done he picked up every color with his tractor and brought it to me. We will definitely be doing this activity again and will probably try different versions as well (such as numbers, letters and shapes). I also want to eventually buy colored foam sheets to use instead of the construction paper so that they will hold up a little better.
Painting was another first for us this week and also a HUGE hit! Roman got to wear one of daddy's shirts (which he kept on all day!) and loved showing off his art work!
Later in the week he had a lot of fun working with paste and turning his painting into a birthday card for daddy. I printed some birthday related clip art off the internet and he pasted them on the card, that he then proudly presented to daddy with a rousing toddler rendition of "Happy Birthday to You!"
We worked on the Letter V worksheet I made for him (the letter with pictures of words that begin with that letter) and he tolerated it, however quickly moved on to other things. This is a hit and miss activity- he likes it more some weeks than others.
We laced shape cards that I made out of cardstock for him. They quickly became flying numchucks though in his crazy little toddler hands, so we moved on!
The bean bowl was a huge hit- I mean HUGE! To start with he helped me pour an assortment of beans and lentils into a large bowl (super cheap at Walmart). I then hid a bunch of small cars in the bean for him to fish through and find. He loved running his fingers through them to find his prizes.
Once he had re-hidden and found the cars himself a few times he wanted to move onto stirring so he went and found a whisk and stirred those beans for probably a half and hour! It was just so much fun to him! On another day I gave him a funnel and a cup to work with in the bowl along with whisk, which we also immensely enjoyed.
We beaded pipe cleaners another day. He was surprisingly better at this than I had anticipated him being, after he started concentrating- at first he just wanted to fill up with truck and trailer with beads!
This week I am looking forward to adding cutting, sorting, and more counting and letter activities. Should be another great week!