Traveling

I really wish that I had the opportunity to travel. I would love to go to Italy some day, or even Scotland. There are so many things to be experienced out there. Things like walking across the London Bridge, or visiting the Eifel Tower. The encyclopedia has so many good ideas of places to visit, only I haven't been able to figure out an easy way to pay for traveling. Guess I'll just have to let my imagination take me where I want to go. Maybe I will get to go somewhere grand one day. Better yet, maybe my children will grow up and pay my way for a great, expensive, family vacation! Do you think that will ever happen?

Camping

We just went to the most beautiful campsite I have ever been to in my life! There were miles of creek for the children to play and hike through. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking! I was having so much fun enjoying the freedoms of nature that I didn't take any pictures. Mmm. Maybe I could describe the experience. When we arrived I almost didn't want to stay at the site that my husband chose because it was the farthest from the out-house. After biting my lip, I looked up. There was a forest covered hill right in front of me, and forest beyond the campsite. This site was by far the most private one for the whole campground. There were only two other campers in the whole campground. I was truly in heaven when we chose to stay here. We had some friends come with us, and that proved to be the most fun of all. My friend and I went for the first nature walk, looking for firewood. We went into the thick forest to find many fallen trees just a few yards away from the camp. This would have been great had the men remembered to bring axes. We had a great time though eating toasted marshmallows, smores, homemade chili, baked potatoes, and some Indonesian food another friend cooked from her experiences on the mission field. The children had alot of fun being free in the forest. I am glad we went, and hope to go again next year.

Annual Assessment

Well, I did it! Or my son did I guess. We went for the annual evaluation to see if I did a good job at schooling my child for the year. He has an excellent reading level, testing 3 whole grades above average. I love the teacher that does my assessments, because my son left with such a good self-esteem. I did learn that he is not a phonetic speller. The teacher said that some people just aren't. I really don't understand. I have been teaching phonics since before I began homeschooling. This is something I will certainly be researching. It just doesn't seem right. In any case, we did a good job this year, and are greatly inspired for another year of homeschooling.

Blueberry Picking

Just think about it. The cool breeze blowing off of a pond near by. The evening sun beginning to set. Spending time chatting with some of your closest friends, while picking blueberries with your children laughing not far away. The blueberries were the biggest, juciest, ripest berries of the season. The caretaker suggested going down closer to the pond for the bigger ones. They weren't really any bigger than the ones closest to him, but I took his advise anyways since the area was much prettier than the congestion of the noisy parking lot. My children had a great time too! They had more fun giving their berries to our friends though. I didn't care, just being out picking has a certain sense of peace to it that words just can't describe. It sort of reminds you of all the things in the world that go unappreciated. Produce is readily available in the supermarkets. The general public doesn't have much time to experience harvesting crops, or sowing a garden. It really is sad. They are missing a great thing.

My Favorite Math Curriculum

I have so far used two different math curriculum's. The one I am using right now is by far my favorite. Math U See uses blocks for manipulatives. They really take the time to make sure each child really understands the math that is being learned. Algebra and fractions are not just taught as a level in math. They are integrated into every level of the curriculum so that when the student reaches the time to learn them, it won't be such a shock. Being brought up in a school system that waited until 8th or 9th grade for algebra, did make it very difficult to understand. I feel confident that my children will not experience this. One other thing that I love about this curriculum is the fact that each curriculum level comes with a DVD showing an instructor teaching each lesson. This gives the homeschool teacher the ability to observe the class with the student so that each lesson can be reinforced. I love this for the really hard concepts that I don't quite know how to get my child to understand. The instructor is great in his way of explaining to the students at their level of thinking. Over all, this is a great math program to use, and I highly recommend it to anyone in search of one that takes the time to explain each math concept until it is understood.

Five Different Ways to Show Love

Quality Time, Quantity Time, Acts of Service, Giving Gifts, and Physical Touch and Closeness. These are the five love languages according to Gary Chapman. Which of these are most important for your children? Gary Chapman says that all children under eight years old need to have all of these all the time. They don’t have any preference to any one, and prefer to have all of them met. This is a bit overwhelming. To have to give my children all of these different kinds of love seems to me allot of work! It’s a good thing children are resilient, or I would be a failure! I love Gary Chapman’s concept though. He is right. Children need lots of love, and in many different ways. This is how we impart God into their lives. God is love according to 1 John 4:16. If we can give love to our children, we are giving them God. That is deep. So even an infant can be ministered to.

I have learned through much trial and error, that children respond the best with patience and love. If you have frustration, and a quick temper, children begin to lose their self-confidence. They no longer feel like they are good enough for you. YOU are the one they most value. YOU are the biggest influence in their lives. YOU are the one they want to please. You are their image of what God wants them to be. If we as parents are not imparting God into their lives with love, what are we showing them?

Now, Gary Chapman has found five different ways to show love to a person. A child can receive any one of these and feel love. This is not so very overwhelming now, since I can choose any one of these at any time for my child. It is like having five different books to read and asking your son or daughter which book they want to read today. Of course they like them all, and would want you to read to them every single one, one right after another, and then all over again. So, which book are you going to read to your child today?

Read this Book to Get Your Child to Sleep Through the Night

Going "Baby Wise" with Gary Ezzo takes much discipline. One of my closest friends at the time my first child was born helped me get more involved with "Baby Wise". At the beginning of the book, it clearly states the importance of being flexible within the schedule of a child. It is very easy to put yourself in a box and not deviate from it. This is how babies can be deprived if parents use this technique unwisely. I myself found that it followed an already established routine that the preemie ward at the hospital started with my first born. The only thing that I did differently from the hospital that Gary Ezzo suggests, is to allow the baby to demand feed at night.

All in all, this book really helped me get comfortable in being a first time parent. I needed something that would help me feel like I was doing something right. There wasn’t very many influences in my life at the time that could look over my shoulder and cheer me on. So, fortunately, with this book in hand I took the milestones as accomplishments and kept going forward. The whole point of the book is on how to get your child sleeping at least six hours a night by a month old. It was a success on all of my children. However, on the last one, I relaxed quite a bit, since I already knew how to be a mom, and didn’t need any self-gratification. She still was able to sleep 6-8 hours a night by a month old.

This is really a great technique, if you are looking for a way to get your baby to sleep through the night.