Pictures of my Scholars

I had so much fun participating (and browsing through the other participants entries) in the NOT Back to School blog hop over at Heart of the Matter.  This week is student photo week.  I do try to take pictures of the kids on our first day of school every year but, for the blog hop I decided to try something a little different.  I wanted to see my children as they see themselves.  So, I ask them to make self portraits.  Each of them sat down in front of our full length mirrored closet doors and drew themselves as they look at the start of our 2011-2012 school year.  The results turned out super cute, as cute as any photo I could take. I also asked each of them the following three questions.

1. What are you most looking forward to this year?
2. What is your favorite subject?
3. What are you interested in learning about this year?

Their answers follow their pictures..... 

1. park days with our home school friends.

2. art

3. chocolate :)

1. writing a novel at Nanowrimo young writers program

2. writing 

3. astronomy and moor hens

1. journals

2. writing

3. the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO

1. park days

2. reading

3. astronomy and science

I admit, this is not a self-portrait of my 2 year old. I drew it, but the hands are hers.  She loves to have her hands traced and we have little outlines of them on every piece of scrap paper all over the house. :)  I guess that is what she is most interested in these days?!?!?!?

Wishing you all a joyful and productive school year!

Birthday Fun!

    So what have you been busy with this hot August weekend?  We have been celebrating.  No, not the start of school, although our first day is tomorrow.  And, not the start of Tim’s new job, though his first day is tomorrow, too.  We’ve been celebrating our baby’s birthday!!!!  Yes, though I still refer to her as “our baby,” she is two whole years old already!   On Friday, her actual birthday, we had a family party.  My parents came to party with us and we had pizza, “ducky” cake, and loads and loads of presents.  The house looked like Christmas morning with wrapping paper and toys everywhere.  On Saturday, we headed to the zoo for more family fun.   We rode all the rides, saw all our favorite animals, and got soaked in the fountains.   All in all it was a great weekend of fun and a beautiful way to celebrate the blessing of our youngest little gift from heaven.  Now, to gear up for all the firsts on Monday…..

Money matters, but not THAT much

    Tim and I got married young.  Neither of us had graduated from college.  Neither of us had much experience living on our own or supporting ourselves.  (I had had my own tiny apartment for a few months and was sort of making ends meet, if you don’t count unpaid credit card bills.  Tim lived with his parents until the day we married, except of course, for a year away at school and a year and a half in the seminary).  Neither of us was anywhere near having a career.  We were probably very naïve about the realities of adulthood and the cost of life.  We started our family less than two years into marriage.  We had another little mouth to feed.  Still, neither of us had a college degree.  Neither of us had what you could call a career yet.  I quit my job right away, but really, I wasn’t making much money anyway.   Tim went back to school when our first baby was 6 months old.  He was still working full time to support us, so finishing school took a while.  He graduated with his bachelor’s degree literally weeks before our second baby was born.  Our story sounds very irresponsible, I guess.  And, maybe from a financial stand point, it was.  Tim has struggled to support our family over the years and has worked two jobs for four years, at least, in order to allow me to stay home.  His jobs have always sort of played second fiddle to our family.  They paid the bills but were never our focus.  For that reason, the jobs never really provided much more than what we needed to pay the bills.  We’ve never had a lot of savings.  We’ve never had a lot of luxuries in life.  We’ve never had many extras.  That has really been okay.  Of course, there have always been brief moments here and there when we have wished for more money.  But, overall, I don’t think we regret any of the choices we’ve made. 
    The economy is bad now.  Everyone knows that (well, except the politicians and the mainstream media).  We have seen friends struggle.  We, too, have been are being effected.  In many ways, we’re better off than others though, not because we had more to start with or because we’ve had something to fall back on but because we didn’t and we haven’t.  We were already used to a simple life.   We’ve always made sacrifices.  We’ve always had to have priorities.  There have always been things we couldn’t do or couldn’t have because they just didn’t make the cut on the final budget.  That’s the way our life is and it is a life we are very content with. Sometimes I wonder how some other people do it, really.  I hear of people who claim to be in dire straits financially but their lifestyles don’t seem to change.  Now, obviously it is none of my business where and how people spend their money but sometimes I feel bad as I see people struggle yet see them still feel the need to keep up with others, or with the life they used to have.   I wish I could say, “It is okay to do without.  Your kids will be fine without art camp or dance class or ice skating lessons or _____ fill-in-the-blank.  Your kids will survive without organic foods.  Your family’s peace is what matters.  Trust God to provide but be willing to suffer the consequences of living within your means.  It is not so bad. “
    There are blessings in doing without.  There really are.  Tim and I have built a life together.  We have always strived to live within our means and we’ve really done pretty well with it.  We have been creative and frugal and we are proud of and grateful for what we do have.  It is not fancy but it is ours and it was earned and it was bought without putting ourselves into major debt.  Our children do not expect to have everything they want in life.  They are content with what they have.  They can see that God’s blessings are not bought at any store and that, though their friends have a lot more toys and are involved in a lot more extra-curricular activities, they have a strong family who loves them and a ton of joy and fun in their simple lives.  They do not feel they are missing out, though they do, in fact, miss out on certain things in life.  (We don’t have a Wii or any Nintendo DS’s or a flat screen t.v. or memberships to any pools or organic food in the pantry or any extra-curricular activities currently or etc….)  Our family really and truly is our focus in life and that is something we would not change for the world.   
    They say money is the root of all evil.  I am not sure that is really true but money certainly can have a greater control over us than it should.  Money can change our focus, change our priorities, change our values if we let it.  A lack of it  can fill us with worry, anxiety, and fear.  A little financial struggle in life can do wonders for our perspective.  It keeps us humble.  It keeps us grounded.  It keeps us grateful.  I’m not sure why the economy is as bad as it is (nor do I even care to find out) but I do know God is using this as an amazing opportunity to teach us so much about life and about Him and about what is really important in this world.  Lessons that will benefit us so much more in the long run than big bank accounts ever will….

My Classroom

There once was a classroom in Clearwater,
It was much loved by my sons and my daughter(s),
They would go there each day,
Make a mess with their play,
And never clean up like they ought-er.

So, I went there to plan for our year,
And I could not believe all their gear,
It was scattered around,
Oh, the stuff that I found!
It would never come clean was my fear!

Still, I jumped in with both of my feet,
I cleaned up until it was neat,
I worked very hard,
While they played in the yard,
And now I deserve a big treat!

School will be starting in one week,
The classroom? I won’t let the kids peek,
It looks really great,
But they’ll just have to wait
“Cause if it gets messed up now, I will freak!

 

 

I am linking to the "Not" Back to School blog hop at Heart of the Matter.  Be sure to head over and check out lots of other classrooms too!

Monkey see, monkey do

    I’ve spent a lot of time this summer reading about educational theories and philosophies.  I have spent a lot of time learning about how kids learn and thinking about how kids think.  I have discovered, in my extensive reading, that most of the popular and not-so-popular educational philosophies out there start from the same point.  Every “expert” acknowledges that lots and lots of learning happens way before the traditional school age of 4 or 5 years old.  They all seem to agree that children learn naturally in the early years, that children are curious beings capable of taking in and processing enormous amounts of information and stimulus from their very first days on the planet.  From there, the experts go in a million different directions.  But in the beginning of life, most experts admit that children learn an awful lot by observation and imitation. 
    Now, as I read all this this summer, the truth of it was blossoming right before my eyes.  My youngest child, at nearly two years old, is displaying a learning phenomenon my mother always referred to as “monkey see, monkey do”.  I’m sure the experts have a much more clinical term for it.  My mom’s terminology fits well though.  My adorable little genius has been watching all the “big people” around her and has become a perfect little mimic of it all.  When I talk on the phone, she has to talk on the phone.  When I cook dinner, she climbs up on a chair next to the counter and stirs and chops with her little plastic spoons and forks.  When her 6 year old brother plays with his action figures, staging elaborate battles between the “good guys” and the “bad guys”, she grabs a “man-man” (her name for any plastic man toy) and makes him yell and pounce on the enemy.  When her 8 year old sister plays baby dolls, she will run to get a doll of her own, wrap it up in a blanket, and feed it with a plastic baby bottle.  When her 10 year old brother goes outside to ride his bike, she wants to follow.  She knows to put a helmet on and buckle it under her chin, then she will sit on her little push along bike and head off down the sidewalk after big brother.  When her 12 ½ year old sister curls up with a good book, she will find a comfy pillow, pull a board book off the shelf, and bury her nose in it.  She tries jumping when they jump, she sings all the silly little songs I sing to her, she repeats everything she hears.
    It is all so cute, and so frightening.  Watching my little one copy everything she sees reminds me, over and over again, of how impressionable our children are.  How observant they are- they don’t miss a thing, and how, at least, in the early years, they look to us as the experts.  The beauty of it is we are able to pass along our values, modeling a Christian life and imparting beliefs and virtues we want our children to have.  The fear-inducing reality is, of course, that we also pass on our areas of weakness and our vices. 
    While the youngest is just now picking up all sorts of fun new skills.  Her siblings have already learned a lot in life.  Unfortunately some of the things they have practically perfected are a tendency towards minimalism, negativity, and impatience.  I can’t help but recognize my own struggles in them.  They learned many of their bad habits the same way their little sister is picking up her ever-growing vocabulary and her ability to quote movie lines so well.  They watched the “big people” around them, and I, the most prominent “big person” in their lives, tend to be a little minimalist, a little negative, and at times, a little impatient.
    Now, I may not be an expert with my own educational philosophy but I can’t help but wonder if God is using my children to teach me (again!).  It seems He has been sending me a message this summer, a little reminder, of how important it is to strive each day to walk closer to Him and to fight the temptation to sin because little eyes are always watching…..watching and learning. 

A life of purpose

 
    A few weeks ago, my girls and I watched "The Sound of Music".  We love that movie and have watched it together countless times.  Even after viewing it so many times though, there was something new that struck me this time.  Captain Von Trapp, while talking to his new fiancée, the Baroness, says, “Activity suggests a life filled with purpose.”  That Captain is as wise as he is dashing!  He is explaining why he attends party after party in the city when he is really much happier out in the country in his own home.  I could relate, not because I have a beautiful estate out in the country where I like to relax after weeks of partying but because as I look around me at other people and their busy, seemingly exciting, lives and I compare them to my own life of changing diapers, refereeing childish arguments, and trying to stay on top of the inevitable messes in my house, well… I can see his point.   I’ve been pondering the Captain’s bit of wisdom for weeks now, looking at my life.  I have to remind myself, often that God has blessed me with this life, with a vocation to marriage and motherhood and that this is what my life means.  This is where I serve God and find holiness.  It may not be exciting, but it does have meaning.  It is in wiping the table over and over that I learn persistence.  It is in changing diapers that I learn selflessness.  It is in sacrificing salon trips and manicures that I learn detachment and gratitude for what I do have.  It is in refereeing my children’s disagreements that I learn patience and mercy. 
    I continue to struggle some days, wishing the activities of my life suggested more meaning, but at the same time trying to find peace in the purpose my life does have.  My husband says, "Sometimes activity distracts one from their purpose in life."   Maybe he is even wiser than the good Captain in "The Sound of Music".  For, it is a life of repetition and monotony that all great holy monasteries and convents encourage.  It was lives of sacrifice and uniformity that led some of the greatest saints to heaven.  Perhaps my life of monotony and repetition will lead me there as well...

School Year's Resolutions

    Last weekend I was blessed with the opportunity to attend the Immaculate Heart of Mary home school conference in Tampa.  A good friend of mine was one of the organizers and she had expressed the desire to schedule the conference earlier in the year next time around.  Ideally, March or April, at the very latest June, to give us all the chance to plan ahead a little more.  I, for one, thought the timing was perfect though.  I was glad to have the inspirational and encouraging words of all the talented speakers so close to the start of our school year.  It was just what I needed to give me the confidence and motivation to begin another year of teaching my kids. 
    One thing that came up in the talks was the idea of setting goals.  I have done that the last few years but this year I decided to try a new approach to goal setting.  All of my goals in the past have been for my children, things like memorize the times tables, master long division, or write a report a month on a different saint. This year, I am going to make a list of goals for me, as their mother and teacher.  A list of “school year’s resolutions” for our upcoming year.    So here goes:  This year I resolve to:

• Read aloud to the children everyday without fail.

• Make our learning space a place of beauty with great religious artwork, classical music, more poetry, and, most importantly, a peaceful, patient attitude.

• Take the children to daily Mass at least once a week.

• Spend more time talking to my children and listening to them, and less time worrying about providing perfectly planned out lessons and fail-proof curriculum choices.

• Focus more on what my children are learning and less on whether they can get perfect scores on their workbook pages.  I’ve noticed the two are not synonymous, often my children will ace a workbook activity only to be clueless about the skill it meant to impart. 

• Let my children make mistakes and try new things without feeling the need to step in, remembering they will learn from their mistakes and even more so, from the opportunity to work things out in their own way.

• We started out last year with critical thinking activities every Wednesday.  By the end of the year the kids called it “game day” instead of critical thinking, whatever it's called we will continue our Wednesday activities.  Teaching my children to think is the best thing I can do.  BTW, they, scored off the charts for research skills on their annual testing- game day worked!

• A few years ago, before baby #5 was born, we used to take nature walks once a week.  We did not keep journals or take notes along the way we just walked and talked and enjoy the scenes around us.  Sometimes we stopped to watch an animal or listen to a bird, but there was nothing formal about it.  Weekly nature walks are back this year!

There may be more but for now…that’s a start…