Mommy and Me

Mommy and Me
Sharing life with you is fullfilling

Friday, August 7, 2015

Our first week of school

This week has been exactly the challenge I thought it would be.  It is great that I know what to expect from my children,  I know that Caeden will show extreme excitement about something and then extreme aversion to following the instructions of the leader (a trait I pray he can work out before his adult life) and that his attention is usually not on his assignment though he is so smart he could have them finished in minutes if he could focus his pencil on the paper.
I know that Sapphira thinks it is funny to give the wrong answer even when she knows the right one, thus making it hard to know if she does or does not truly understand the subject matter.
I know that moo moo is totally jealous of anyone getting my attention and has to be treated as much like the other children as possible plus lots of cuddles and snacks and drinks when I am attempting to educate his brother and sister.
I know these things.... but I don't know how to change them or work with or around them.  I fear Caeden will go so slowly that he will grow even more bored with math and stay in 2nd grade level long into 3rd grade simply because after answering a question he forgets to write down the answer. That he will hate me for pushing him so hard to read and write and spell when they are such monumental educational foundations.
I don't know how to express to my daughter that giving the wrong answer to gain mommy's attention (because Caeden demands so much of it to get through a task) will not help her.
I don't know how to settle moo moo down and help him feel loved and not pushed out when keeping him on my lap is such a distraction for his siblings.
We made progress yesterday in all areas.  It took Caeden longer to do his spelling but considerably less time to write in his journal.  And he was on a roll with math so I know beyond a doubt he understands it, he just needs to write down the answers.  
Sapphira finally started showing me she does know her shapes and colors pulling out a blue crayon for the color of her bed in a drawing she was making and telling me her bed was blue, and later saying that my legs made a square the way I was sitting, and she was correct.
Micah's nap time has sorted it's self out after 3 days of him demanding not to sleep when I put him in his crib and didn't return for him until long after his brother fell asleep and he was threatening to wake him up. He now naps during the second part of our school day,  and he is awake when the other children lay down for their own naps.  This gives me no break but it allows me to focus on cuddling my moo moo without distraction and educating Caeden and Fia without his distraction.
The best part of this school year is that while I face these age and personality issues I am not faced with figuring out each day and it's activities week by week.  We have a very direct comprehensive school schedule that is both flexible and easy to follow so I can make my day flow amazingly well regardless of the challenges I come across.
As stressful as homeschooling your child can be (what no one told you that part?) It is also amazing to be responsible for their every achievement and discovery, to see their faces light up when they finally understand something.  And most of all to watch them grow in character and size at the same time.

Monday, August 3, 2015

Homemade vanilla yogurt!

I heard recently that you could make your own yogurt and nearly flipped my lid... what a profound idea!  It never even occurred to me that it was possible!

I am currently making my 3rd batch. Batch number one was sweetened with honey.. yummy but my husband was not completely in love with the flavor of honey in his yogurt.
Batch number 2 was sweetened with homemade vanilla extract and sugar.  It was delicious I must say, but not as sweet as the store bought and therefore my nearly two year old didn't devour it as fast, so batch number three I have added an extra bit of sugar to sweeten it more... I am excited to see how it tastes!

I promise to put instructions on this blog just as soon as I have perfected my process but in the mean time believe me when I say this is ridiculously easy to make, simple and healthy eating for the whole family!

Good morning!

Believe it or not it is 4 am and I am totally awake!  This is my new wake up time as we are starting school.  No my husband doesn't wake up for another 2 hours, my children may be up in 2.5-3 hours, but I am up now.
Why? Because I am excited to start the school year out right.  Over the summer my husband had several occasions at work that gave him extra time, and required him to wake up at 4 am,  I always get up to prepare him a breakfast and lunch and then do my bible study, and I found that on the days he woke up at 4am, I was much more prepared for the children when they woke up.  My day flowed so much smother and I got a lot more done as well as spent quality time with my family, all good things!
Today is Caeden's first day of 2nd grade, and Sapphira's first day of preschool.  I am seriously excited to be starting this year out!
Caeden was apprehensive about school last year and I worried he would struggle against me when we started again,  but he is excited too!  Sapphira loves school and is excited to do anything related to it as well.  We even bought Micah a set of large crayons and a notebook to color in, last year toward the end he was adamant that he had school work to do with us so he got to color and was happy to join us!
I am hoping to post more each day as we travel through the school year, but we shall see. .. I have so far, not been a reliable blogger. 
As we begin school we are going to be focusing on attentiveness and frontiersman.  Caeden is especially excited to learn about tracking animals and we will be going on a family nature hike this weekend, Caeden will have the opportunity to earn his meal by collecting animal "furs" (pictures of animals). 
Let's get started! Not a moment to lose!