A Peek at Our Everyday Schedule

People have asked when I do all the other stuff that moms have to do, so I'm sharing how I do things.

The kids have daily chores that they have to complete before school--get dressed, brush teeth, clean room, etc. They also have a "morning chore" that changes each week--set and clear the table for meals; empty the dishwasher; load the dishwasher; and swish and swipe the kid bathroom.

I also have a helper chart. This rotates between the kids and allows them to help me whenever I need help--getting diapers, fetching other things, fixing meals, being the leader, etc.

Monday is when sheets and towels go in the laundry. Now you might think this is gross, but I don't change sheets every week. I do the girls one week then the boys the next. Making beds is my least favorite job and there is no way I'm going to put sheets on 5 beds every week! Tuesday is laundry day for Jonathan and me. I'll fold our clothes that night or the next night while watching my one and only show--Heroes. (I have to watch it on-line because we don't have TV). Wednesday is a no laundry day. Thursday I wash the kid's clothes. I also have the kids take turns helping me with this chore. They bring me the baskets and help sort, then they help hang up wet clothes on the drying rack. On Friday it is also their job to sort the dry clothes into individual baskets (each kid has a collapsible basket for clean clothes). Then everyone is responsible for folding and putting away their own clothes. Friday and Saturday are catch-up days for laundry. I'll wash the dog stuff and any kitchen towels/washcloths. Saturday is usually our big chore day--bathrooms, floors, dusting and fingerprints, etc. When all the chores are done, the kids are rewarded with computer time.

During quiet time the kids take turns spending time with me. Each day it is a different kid's turn. They get 10 minutes to do whatever they want and then they join their siblings for books or resting in bed and I get time to myself. Time to myself is usually a nap or reading. This is my solution for spending one-on-one time with my kids. They look forward to their turn (especially Ephram).

After the kids are in bed is when I get most of my own stuff done--planning, grocery shopping (unless Jonathan is home on a Monday afternoon or Friday then I'll go during the day), computer time, reading, etc.

I hope that covers everything.

A Peek at Our Homeschool Week

Here's a little view of what our homeschool schedule looks like and lists of the curriculum we use.

Unfortunately we don't have a school room, so school is at the kitchen table. I try to do as much as I can as a whole group, but there are times when I have to teach one-on-one. During those times the kids who aren't working with me have things that they need to do--math or reading game/activity, math or reading worksheet/workbook, and journal/writing activity. For each item, they can earn a minute of computer time. I've found that this helps to keep them at the table and keeps the toys out of school time. When they think they can play, it is harder for them to focus. I teach the 4 oldest kids and Faythe hangs out with us playing with school toys or coloring.

School is Monday through Thursday with Friday being a catch-up day or project day or field trip day. We try to start school between 8:30 and 9:00, break for snack at 10:00 and end around 12:00 for lunch.

I decided to split up subjects so that I could focus on them for longer periods of time. I felt that I had to rush my teaching when I was teaching math everyday or phonics everyday. This way I can spend longer with each kid and go into more detail.

Braedi starts each school day with Spelling Power. On Monday and Wednesday we do math. I use Saxon and other workbooks and activities. After math we do writing. I use The Complete Writer from The Well Trained Mind. Whatever time that is left is used for our KONOS unit studies. We are currently studying animals.

On Tuesday and Thursday we do reading. I use a lot of different stuff--The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading from The Well Trained Mind, Drawn into the Heart of Reading, My Father's World, Explode the Code, books, and some of my own stuff (I used to teach K and 1st grade and still have a lot of stuff). Then we do grammar. I use First Language Lessons from The Well Trained Mind. After grammar we'll do a little handwriting practice. I like Handwriting Without Tears. And any time left over is spent on KONOS.




We have quiet time (books or resting in bed) for an hour at 1:00, then our afternoon activities start at 2:00 or 2:30 and go to 4:00ish.

Our afternoon activities go like this: Monday--library, Tuesday--history co-op with one other family using Story of the World from The Well Trained Mind, Wednesday--art and music co-op with two other families, and Thursday--PE co-op with about 6 other families. We stay busy, but there is still a lot of down time for other activities. I love the flexibility of homeschooling and I love that I know other homeschooling families that we can do stuff with.

New Rule and Punishment

As one of my new year's resolutions, I wanted to help the kids behave better. I know that this kind of goes against the usual resolution of making myself a better person, but it will make our home a happier place, and it is a way for me to help the kids make and accomplish goals. I didn't want to make a whole bunch of changes all at once so I decided to work on one thing at a time (one thing per month). I talked to the kids and decided that our first new rule would be "I will not use my body to get what I want." My main purposes were to get them to use their words with each other and show respect to others and feel empathy. They agreed that they didn't like it when others pushed or hit to get what they wanted and they would be willing to follow the rule. We talked about ways to solve problems without using our bodies and they all signed the rule (kind of like a contract). Then they came up with the punishment--5 push-ups. Whenever they used their body, they would have to do 5 push-ups and then apologize. No warnings!

Their form isn't perfect, but it's getting better.
Now for the cute part. . .Faythe couldn't be left out. Whenever one of her siblings had to do 5 push-ups, she would get down on the floor and do some, too.

PS When I mentioned what I want to work on for this month (using a polite voice), Corbin went UH-OH!

Dinner and a show!

Obedient Husband I Am Not

Ashlee has been asking me to do a couple of posts on my schooling and my recent cardiac issues. Unfortunately, I've always had a strong rebellious streak, so this post will have nothing to do with those topics.


Dinner First!

I got a bit creative tonight making my own dinner. I couldn't decide what I wanted when Ashlee was making her dinner so I got to make my own. I'm calling it a spicy pan fried halibut sandwich with avocado lime sauce. I started by looking at a pan fried fish recipe and thinking: Well, that looks boring. So I closed the cookbook and did my own thing. It was REALLY GOOD! So good, in fact, that I took a picture...

I'd eat it again if I could.

On With The Show!

The show for tonight is a KSTDT segment. (That stands for Kids Say The Darnedest Things) The following are a few specimens over the last couple of days or so:

1) Corbin: What's dad doing?

Ashlee: Sauteing some stuff and wishing he had a wok.

Corbin: But we already had a walk today!

2) Dyllan: I'm afraid of the dark at night. But during the day, I'm not afraid of the dark.

3) I was studying at a table we have in our bedroom, and suddenly a little sing-song voice lilted out of our bathroom...

Ephram: "I'm going pooooooo-oooooooop. I'm going pooooooo-ooooooooop. One. two. three...." the counting continues up to eleven (which he says in a squeaky, high-pitched voice. Then followed some incoherent babbling.... "eight. nine. ten. eleven!!!" (I'm guessing that the babbling was some debate about the accuracy of the first count.) A brief silence was suddenly interrupted by, "SOMEBODY WIPE MY BOTTOM!!!"

I laughed so hard I cried, and fortunately (or unfortunately if you're sick) I didn't get any pictures.

The Race

Christy and I decided to register for a race in hopes that the commitment would help us get out and exercise. It worked. Knowing that I was going to be running in a 5K, got me out of the house 3 times a week. It even pushed me to run farther than I normally do.

A couple of weeks before the race, my knees started hurting. They do that a lot. It could be because I didn't stretch good enough, or because I was running on the sidewalk instead of in the dirt, or because I needed new shoes. I hoped it was one of the first two and tried stretching better and finding more opportunities to run in the dirt. But, when my hip started hurting, too, I knew it was my shoes. A week before the race I was still training in my old shoes and limping half way through my run.

I decided to make a trip to my favorite running shoe store--The Runner's Den on 16th Street between Glendale and Bethany Home. (Now maybe you can see why I was hoping to put it off until after the race.) They have fitted me for shoes in the past and have helped me find ones that give me the right support. The guy who helped me said I would be OK to run in my new shoes for a 5K, but if I was doing a marathon not to even try.

I went out the next morning in my new shoes to try them out and try to break them in a little. My hip didn't hurt, but my knee still did. I just knew that I'd have to take it a little easy of the race.

The morning of the race, I picked up Christy and we headed to the race. It was out here in Surprise. We got our numbers and stuff and started warming up. There were a lot of people. I couldn't believe how many kids there were. There were even a few moms pushing strollers. One of the stoller pushing moms and I were pacing (is that the right term?) each other the last half. She would pass me and then I would pass her and so on. But, when the finish line was in sight and she passed me, I thought to myself "I can't let someone pushing a stroller beat me," so I picked up the pace and passed her one last time. I finished before her, but as Jonathan pointed out I didn't beat her.

It was fun to race. I finished 68th out of 137 racers with a time of 31:06. I think that was pretty good for a first time. Now I have a time to beat the next time I run and yes, there will be a next time. Who wants to join me?

Quote of the Week #2

This isn't a quote, but a story. It's one of Aesop's fables and is kind of long, but I want to share the whole thing.

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The Bundle of Sticks

A father had a family of six children: three boys and three girls. They were very noisy children, for they spent most of each day quarrelling with each other. That day, the house was particularly noisy.

Jacob was angry with Emily for eating the last piece of toast. "You already had two pieces of toast and I only had one piece. It is not fair!" he complained.

"You always get whatever you want, Jacob. You never leave anything for the rest of us!" she yelled back.

Sally stamped her feet because Martha was playing with Sally's favorite doll. "You have the doll I always play with! You know that she is my favorite, Martha! I refuse to play dolls with you if you keep taking the best doll!"

"Well, I don't want to play dolls with you anyway," Martha shouted back. "Your are so bossy!"

Eric yelled at Simon because Simon was humming the same tune over and over again. "I am trying to read," Eric complained, "and you are humming just to annoy me. Stop humming, or I am going to tell Dad!"

Simon gave Eric a mean look. "I will do whatever I want to do," he snapped. "You are not Mom or Dad. You can't tell me what to do!"

The children's father was sad that his children could not get along. So he told them to come outside into their front yard. He asked each of the them to pick up a few sticks and bring them to him. He tide all of the sticks into one bundle and gave the bundle to Eric. "Try to break it in half," he commanded.

Eric tried with all his might, but he could not break the bundle. The father gave the bundle of sticks to Martha, but she could not break it, either. Each of the six children tried to break the bundle, but they could not.

Then the father untied the bundle and divided the sticks among his children. "Now try to break the sticks one by one," he ordered. The children easily snapped the sticks in half.

"Children," their father said, "do you not see that when you agree with each other and get along together, our family will be impossible to break apart? The bundle of all the sticks was impossible to break. But the single sticks were easy to snap. When you argue and bicker and quarrel, you will be weak, like the single sticks. We cannot have a strong, happy family if each one of you is selfish and looks out only for his own interests. You must learn to agree with each other and help each other so that you we may have a strong family. If you continue to fight and quarrel, you will be weak like one single stick."
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This is one of the stories that we were reading for a grammar excersise. (The kids were supposed to find the pronouns in the story.) When the kids in the story were fighting I asked the kids if it sounded familiar. Sure the words were a little different, but I hear my kids talking like that on a regular basis.

When I got to the part about Eric not being able to break the bundle, Corbin said that he could do it. Wanting to make him understand the point I decided to do the same experiement. I grabbed a handful of toothpicks and tied them with a rubber band. I gave the bundle to Corbin and to his surprise he coudn't break it. Then I gave it to Braedi and Dyllan and Ephram with the same results. Corbin even tried again.

I continued with the story. When the father untied his bundle, I did the same and gave them each one toothpick and they could easily break it apart.

I have heard stories similar to this, but never one pertaining the family. I can't believe how strong the spirit was as I finished reading the story. I was crying and the kids had tears in their eyes. I tried to explain to the kids that this is what Jonathan and I are always telling them. How fighting with each other and being selfish brings the wrong spirit into our home. How even when the outside world is trying to beat them down they should always be able to come home and feel loved. We talked about who would want our family to be broken and ways that it happens.

I made a new bundle of toothpicks and taped it to the freezer where they could all see it. I told them that I hoped that whenever they saw it, it would remind them about how thier actions affect how strong or how weak our family is.