Christmas for Boys!

So this Christmas I am considering something that will go against everything I have said in the last 5 years. I am not only eating my words but I am taking big gulp full’s of them. We are considering getting a Wii for our children.  My son is home schooled and very active.  It takes huge amounts of energy to keep him stimulated and attentive.  Sometimes I can’t seem to fill our days with enough activity.  Other days I find myself chasing him as we run up and down every wall in our house. My son needs a way to get out some energy while I continue to mother the other three or catch my breath.  

This holiday season Peace on Earth takes on a whole new meaning at our house.  Join me at Blissfully Domestic and read about my journey into video-hood!

WE Made Butter!

We made butter- yes we did!
You probably thought we had discovered a long lost treasure or something.  But making butter in this family is a big deal.  We are a family who enjoys the warm smell of baked goods in the morning and brimming biscuits in the evening.  We cannot keep butter around long enough.

So when I stumbled upon Mari-Ann's blog, Counting Coconuts and her tutorial about making butter I had to give it a try.  As we made butter we talked about things that turn from liquid to a solid and debated whether or not whip cream was a liquid or a solid. My friend also mentioned that the left over liquid was buttermilk.  I can't wait to use it in my pancakes!

In my teaching days we were always encouraged to include as many subjects in a lesson as possible and this had them all.  Here are some possible subjects you can cover with this activity:

1. Math: It took 20 minutes to make the butter by shaking it.  We discussed how long each of us should shake it.  There are a myriad of possibilities for math in this activity.  You could also discuss weight and volume.

2. Science: We kept checking to see how the whipping cream changed as we shook it.  Next time we are going to stop at every stage and record the changes we see.

3. Language: We will also write a "How To Book" on making butter.  Using words like first, then, next, finally are important.  We will include diagrams with labels.

Our friends helped us shake that Whipping cream!

Make sure you pick a container that seals!  We had a few spills.

Heaven!

Lesson learned: It's always better with butter!

Under the Umbrella

Today we continued with Impress Your Kids ABC Scriptures. As usual the kids loved the craft idea.  We used muffin liners and pipe cleaners to make umbrellas.  It was a little difficult to explain the verse for U. (Understanding is like a fountain of life to those who have it… )  The kids liked making these umbrellas and the discussion while were colouring them was great.  When I asked Cohen what the word understanding meant he said to believe something.  Pretty close!

Falling In & Wrapping Up

Fall is the spot between the rock and a hard place for me.  I enjoy the beautiful oranges, reds and yellows it produces but hate what it arrival signals- the end of summer.  More importantly preparation for icy cold cheeks, boots, and bulky jackets have me looking less than pleased.

Lately we have enjoyed warm fall days with walks on the trails outside our house.  The sun smiles with us as we walk as many places as we can.  We have also enjoyed other orange sittings with pumpkin spotted porches and scarecrow lined yards.

Fall reminds me that no matter where we are as a family you can usually find us where there is a hope of a little orange infused ray.







Here's our week:

Eggs were on sale so I froze a few - 5 dozen to be exact!

Highlights:

-Home school meet up with Shannon and Family (Who can beat great company and a trampoline?)

-Sleeping! (I'm sure my children are on their knees thanking God as we speak!)

-Staying on top of my laundry- Again! Yeah!!!

-Kiran's rainbow-fest birthday

I wish I could have:

-Not given Cohen anything rainbow!

What they learned:

They learned about the number 10.  

What I learned:

That I can and need to control the words I allow to form in my mind.  It totally changes my attitude and the mood in the home.

That's our week in a nut shell.  Hope your week was as fruitful!

Thanks to Home school Creations for hosting this blog link!

Mother's L.O.V.E

What a great day today turned out to be.  I learned so much today.  Lately I have been in a very reflective mood.  I have been wading in my pool of decisions.  At the top swimming with me are my children's needs.  I may not be the greatest friend, wife, daughter, cook, homemaker etc... right now but I know that more than anything I have to be a good mom.  When people say, "you're such a good mother." I scoff at them, roll my eyes looking into the backroom of our lives.  My thoughts swivel back and forth between the present and the stacks of chaos that I am leaning up against.

For the first time in a long time I felt a sense of pride (in a good way) about my role as a mother.  Everyone who knows me knows I struggle with yelling, gentleness and general sweetness.  The lack or abundance (regarding yelling) made me feel like I wasn't a good mom.  I wanted to join the club of good, sweet, house in order, and generally calm mothers.  I wanted my ducklings to line up in a row and my kitchen to sparkle (even with all the lights on).

Today I felt different.  I spent the day at a new friend's house with her children (who are also home schooled.)  What a treat for our family.  We were immediately put at ease and our children played very well together.  Because there were very few discipline issues (thanks to the trampoline, healthy snacks, and great parenting (you go Shannon)), I could focus on being a mom.  I know discipline is part of motherhood.  At times it feels like that is all I do.  At the end of the day there is little room for anything else.  Today I discovered what a good mother feels like.

It is a realization that:

you are determined to put your children above your own comfort.

your ducklings depend on you not just for food and housing but for smiles and laughter.

your smile and laughter (even due to a whoopee cushion- thanks Susana!) creates so many strings of giggles.

your body was made to hold, heal, hear them through the waves of life

a day of  laundry, (warm) ovens, videos, every toy out of place shows that love is written on the walls of your home

it takes a village of families to raise your children- and thank God for that!

Today when I looked at my children I saw that they are so easily inspired to love and their hearts stretched while my touch softened.

Homeschool Co-op

Since deciding to home school I struggled with the idea that my son would miss the interaction he had with the children in our community.  Yesterday I took all four children to the co-op meeting for the first time.  I was worried that there wouldn't be enough structure for him.  To be honest I didn't know what to expect and I didn't expect much.

Well I was pleasantly surprised.  This week's focus was on the heart.  (Initially I thought this was going to right over Cohen's newly 5 year old brain.)

 There were about six stations where children learned various things about the heart:
1. They learned that the heart is pump and got to pump "blood" from one bottle to the next.
2. They got to learn about how the lungs and the heart work together with our blood cells.  (I was surprised how focused Cohen was for this bit.)  I thought for sure it would be too much and he would lose interest.
3.  They learned that their heart is the size is their fist and got to locate the heart.
4.  Cohen got to listen to an adult and a child's heart thanks to a parent (who is a doctor) and could let 6 children listen at once.
5.  This parent also brought in a model of a heart. Cohen really liked opening this model and seeing the inside of the heart.
6.  Children also got to learn the difference between a valentine heart and their heart.
7. Cohen's favourite: Smelling, seeing and touching a real cow's heart!  Thanks to another parent!

That is a REAL cow's heart Cohen is touching!

Initially I thought that this segment was going to be too much for the kids and they would misbehave.  Cohen was very well behaved and didn't blink throughout the entire explanation of how the heart works.  I realized that this is what was missing for him at school.  He needed a challenge.  In order to stay focused he needs to learn things that are new and interactive.  How blessed we are to find this home school co-op!

Highlights:

-Home school Co-op: Who can beat a real live cow's heart.

-MOPS started!  It was great.

-I PUT ALL MY LAUNDRY AWAY!

-Slept 

What's That? (What you might have heard if you were a fly on the wall.)

-"Mama I love you very much.  You are a good cook and maker." ( I needed those words this week!)

I wish I could have:

-Let sleeping dogs lie!

What they learned:

They learned a whole lot about the heart and blood cells.  We also learned about community helpers.

What I learned:

I learned that I love being with my children even though it totally exhausts me.  I also learned that a good night's sleep is essential!

That's our week in a nut shell.  Hope your week was as fruitful!

Thanks to Home school Creations for hosting this blog link!

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Sleeping Mommy & The Beast Day 1

I can only imagine!

On my other blog I started a sleep challenge.  I want to see if more sleep means a better mood, better day and of course a better mommy.  I set a bedtime (for myself) for 11:00 PM.  It is 10:38 right now so I am hopping I can stick to my timeline.

Last night I got to bed at midnight.  I slept until 7:00 and actually felt like getting out of bed.  I had lots of energy so we walked to the library ( a 30 minute walk each way).  It was great to walk on our trail filled with colour, foliage and life.  The air seemed cleaner and I was able to keep a pretty good pace.  I even tolerated the constant chatter from my eldest.

We enjoyed a day at the community centre filled with the gym, library and more gym time.  I even looked forward to the walk home.  I had the energy to make dinner and serve it on time! I got to read them 2 stories before dinner and put everyone to bed on time.  Maybe there is more to this sleep thing.

As far as homeschooling goes- I found that I didn't feel as irritable throughout the morning and early afternoon.  I was actually interested in answering the millions of questions my son had and I managed to play basket ball with my sons.  Stop laughing!  I used to be somewhat athletic you know! Again, maybe there is more to this sleep thing.

Anyone have any sleeping tips for me for the rest of the week?  (I signed out a book - A Good Night's Sleep.  I am not sure how helpful it will be.)  For the record, I found that the library could have used more books on sleep for adults alongside the ones about babies and sleep!