This is how I do it

As most everyone I know has been busily preparing for school these last couple weeks, I have been preparing for another year of homeschooling my children. Oh my gosh! This is our fourth year! How on earth do I do it? Many people ask me that all the time, but especially this time of year. 

The answer is "I just do"...or sometimes it's "I don't know." Isn't that true for every parent and the things they do for their children? We all have different routines, have our kids enrolled in different activities, feed our children different food, but then different things, give them different experiences. But in the end we are doing what's right for our family. 

I could say I don't understand how you get your kids fed and dressed in time for the bus or how you have enough time to make dinner and make enough time for home work and then run off to soccer practice. Then someone may feel that I sound lazy saying that. And there comes the judgement. Aren't there enough blog posts on parents judging other parents? Yes, yes there is. So here's how I do this homeschooling thing. 

This morning I woke up around 6:30. I do my rounds on Facebook, Instagram and email. Take a shower. A little housework. My two younger kids wake up around 8 and the older two will be around 8:30. We do breakfast. We will read library books. We will do a couple other activities based on their interest. They will play. We will eat lunch. They will go outside. Little ones nap. Big ones do something quiet. (Sometimes it's minecraft, sometimes they read, sometimes they do coding, sometimes they do math apps). Dad is home from work. (He is a teacher so he's home early). We play outside. I make dinner. We spend MORE time together. We go to karate or swim or soccer or socialize! our kids with the neighbors. We hang out then go to bed. 

Yes, we have a routine just like all your public school kids need and thrive on. (Sorry, that's a little sarcastic) Everyone is always telling me that their kids need to go back to school because they need their schedule. That's nice. My kids need one too. It's just different. 

So while we try to get back into the swing of things I will also be over here managing some behavior problems, making sure my kids are being respectful and coming up with some fun things to explore. 

This is what our "homeschooling room" looks like…for now

When I started homeschooling my daughter last year I decided to clear out our dining room and install a shelf and a bulletin board.  I felt like everything needed to be neat and organized.  The bulletin board would be refreshed every week. And, of course, we would start at 8:30 and work diligently through the day.  Just like school, right? Yeah, no. It felt completely separate from where we "live." She felt like everything was forced.  That was one of the big reasons I wanted to keep her home. 

Last year started like such but turned into something much different.  I took a very laid back approach.  We played games to practice sight words. We read lots and lots of books.  Worked on math here and there.  The more I learned about unschooling, the more I stepped back and just watched learning going on.

With her entering the first grade this year, I still wanted to let learning happen.  However, I also found that learning is inspired when I set out different books, materials, or pictures.  I ended up moving our bookshelf and bulletin board into our living room.  (The bulletin board still sits for weeks without getting an update).  I also cheered it up and put all of our learning materials, art supplies, books and some toys in this space.  Pinterest not only gave me lots of ideas, but it made me feel like I could do something that was inviting and functional.  I loved looking at homeschool rooms that people put together.  Without further adieu, here's where we are right now.

This is our Reading Nook.  Lots of books, a little wooden puzzle, some music instruments, a globe, an illustrated picture of my family that I drew, and a multimedia painting I did that reads, "READ and WRITE/EXPLORE the WORLD/LISTEN to MUSIC~DANCE.

Here's our Art Wall.  I stained some railings that the builders left behind at  our house.  Then I screwed in eye screws at each end, strung some gauge wire through and used mini-clothespins to hang their art.  I love the flexibility in this.  They can change out what they want displayed whenever they wish.

Some toys. These entertain the small ones, but my big girl likes lego and a Magna-Doodle too.

                          

A bit of life and whimsy is important to me.  Plants with various creatures lurking keeps the kids entertained.  They like to move them around.

Here's what is on our bookshelf this year.  Messy, maybe.  But I love it! One shelf has a microscope, magnets, a dissectible human body, some salt dough fossils we made.  The top two have books, games, cuisenaire rods, supplies. One shelf has random objects to lend themselves to discovery or math (scale, pipe cleaners, different beads, measuring tape, shells, rocks). The bottom shelf has a lot of puzzles, MagnaTiles, sewing cards, magnetic toys.

                        

 




And this is what is looks like when you step back and are just chillin' in our living room.



I hope this helps someone on their journey to creating a friendly, comfortable, learning-friendly room.

xoxo,
Carolyn

Happy Chinese New Year!

Initially we were not supposed to be home during the day to ring in the Chinese New Year.  However, my little one came down with a fever and that kept us in.  It also allowed for us to do some activities that we probably wouldn't have done otherwise.  Here's what our day looked like:

First I thought it would be fun to make a Dragon Mask since they are a huge symbol in China (helps ward off evil spirits).  My daughter didn't like the idea at first so she decided to look at some books.

Yes, The Boxcar Children & Vincent VanGogh have nothing to do with the Chinese New Year but they were on our table that morning.  The bottom two were sold to us by a door-to-door salesman when our daughter was first born.  Now they are a hit! One is a book about traditions in countries around the world and the other is a sticker book related to it.  Chinese New Year was a subject in the book so I left it out and the children did their thing.  (That's how they love to learn.  Something just happens it's way onto the table, thanks to me, and they show interest in learning about it…so much easier than forcing it down their throats.) The paint on our cardboard box dried so we got started on our Dragon Mask.

Glue, pom poms, and various geometric shapes made from construction paper.  (I have a big bag of these shapes that I cut up our first year of homeschooling and they come in so handy)

I didn't take a lot of pictures while we were getting started because I just refuse to take too many minutes behind the camera.  The only other things we used, other than the supplies shown above, were a paper plate, two large goggly eyes, a little more construction paper for the tongue, horns and teeth, plus a yellow gift bag with the top cut off for the mouth.  Here's what it looked like:

The kids drew the teeth and we glued them to the gift bag.  They also made some tubes for the horns and cut some frill into those too.  My favorite part was the awesome abstract art the designed on the side of the dragon's head to create the scales.  This happened so organically.  They also did a pattern with the pom pons on the dragon's head--awesome!

Here's one side:

 After it was complete they decided it was time to dance around while wearing it.  And, my daughter insisted on wearing her authentic Chinese dress.

One is under the mask, and both are under the blanket.  It's "PARADE TIME!"

The next craft we did was a different take on Chinese Lanterns.  I dug out some little jam jars, but any jar would work just fine.  I added some water to red acrylic paint.  I had no idea what was going to work, so you just have a find the amount that will stick to the jar but also allow a candle to glow through it nicely.  The kids only painted the inside of the jar and then they were able to decorate the outside with yellow puffy paint, glitter, black sharpie marker and some stars.

We ended the day with ordering Chinese Food from our favorite local place (also happens to be where the hubs and I met). Here's my New Year fortune:

HMMM…

After dinner, dad got in on the Dragon Mask action.  Had a little dance party and then relaxed by watching Mulan 2.  Which, by the way, has some great messages for young girls.  Here's the most hilarious part of our day:

Gong Hey Fat Choy!

xoxo,

Carolyn

I do what?!

On the eve of my 33rd birthday I thought it would be fun to reflect on some things. Some things that I never, ever thought I'd be doing in my thirties. I know, I know. Thirty-three is still so young for thirties but here it is:

1. I make my own laundry detergent. 

2. I've gave birth to a child at home. 

3. I make sushi. 

4. I'm now an introvert. Unless I drink too much. Okay, maybe only two and my former extrovert self starts gabbing and dancing. 

5. I have a green smoothie every morning. 

6.  I make Elderberry Syrup. Don't know what that is? Best go getch yourself some. 

7. We no longer have cable, but Netflix has sucked us into their endless black hole. 

8. I homeschool the children. 

9. I am still breast feeding my almost two year old. 

10. I am obsessed with using essential oils. For health. For aromatherapy. 

11. I desperately want to own a farm to raise chickens and honey bees. 

12. I am a Girl Scout leader. 

13. I went from drinking my coffee black to drinking it with cream. WTH? Who does that?!

14. I drive a minivan. 

15. I like to read Deepak Chopra books. 

16.  I'm officially addicted to Pinterest. It used to annoy the shit out of me (when I worked full-time), but now I loooove (because now I stay home + homeschool).

17. I make a mean curry. 

18. I love to create stuff. Even if my work is slightly inspired by another's. 

19. I don't shop at Wal-Mart. 

20. I went vegan, back to meat, and now vegetarian. 

21. I have some very meaningful friendships that didn't develop until after 30.

22. I just found out during Christmas that I love sewing. Gifts, clothes for the kids, pillows. Next mission is to make something for myself. 

23. Discovering my husband is truly my perfect match. 

24.  I love to garden, even if it looks like a disaster. Shit, I yield more tomatoes than a tidy garden. 

25. I swear around my kids. 

26.  I'm a closet hoarder. Isn't that how it works?

27. I use cloth diapers.

28. I shop at Aldi. They have a pretty decent organic selection. 

29. Just started making my own yogurt. Woot woot. 

30. Practice gratefulness everyday. 

A Homemade kind of Christmas

This may be a little early to plan for next Christmas, but I wanted to share all of the homemade presents I made this year.  We are on a very tight budget.  My husband is a teacher, I work part-time and we homeschool.  It's a choice we made, but I knew I had to be very thrifty this year.  I was perfectly fine with not having to fight the crowds, walk in the slush, freeze my butt off or keep track of gift receipts.  I've done homemade presents in the past, just not on this scale.  I literally made 95% of the gifts I gave, or bought items to create a kit (except one gift from Santa per child, a couple new shirts for my man, the Shutterfly calendars I make every year, and some bowls for my sister who is a grad student with bare cabinets).

Some of the presents I found on Pinterest and others I just made up.  And, let me just say, my daughter's favorite gift was the art kit I put together for her.  They loved everything though! Here's what everyone received:

To: Grandpa

My dad received a canvas painting that the oldest grandkids collaborated on.  Once that was dry I used Modge Podge to adhere the grandkids pictures inside "PAPA," which was just cut out from colored card stock.

To: My Man

 This was my attempt at art.  Paint, Modge Podge with fake sheet music and goldfish I printed off the internet, and a lyric from his favorite band.  Depressing? Romantic? I haven't decided.

To: My kids

 All my kids received shield pillows. I found the tutorial on Pinterest and they were incredibly easy for a first-timer.  Luckily I had the fabric on the front of the shield from a project I never completed.  I hit up Jo-Anne's for the fleece back and lettering on the front. Here's the tutorial from busily spinning momma, mine is a little more simplified. And if you're looking for one for easy pajama pants, use these: simplesimonandco.com

The cape I just used left-over fleece and drew one half my best cape with a circle to cut out for the head.  Once it looked good I traced it onto the fabric and the then flipped it to trace the other side.  Sorry I don't have a tutorial.  I saw it somewhere once and catalogued it into my super-mostly-forgetful-brain-that-somehow-remembered-this.

 They also received matching pajama pants (which they received on Christmas Eve), a cape made from left-over fleece (no-sewing required), and a foam sword I found a Michael's for about $4.

To: My Dear Daughter

My daughter is obsessed with art, so I put together a custom art box for her.  I chose paints, scrapbook paper, stickers, a couple of cheap stamps, ink pads from the dollar store, foam letters, glue, crazy scissors, and decorative tape.  I purchased the cardboard box from Michael's for $5 and decorated it with colored Sharpie markers. Sorry for showing my feet but I failed to edit before uploading…enjoy!

To: My sister

My sister received an infinity scarf that was finger-knitted.  I also gave these to my mom and nieces.  They take about 30 minutes and you can find many tutorials on YouTube.  The earrings were super easy to make! I've been holding onto four strands of various beads for a couple years now.  I purchased them at a flea market for a great cost and I will probably be able to make 100 pairs of earrings.  The hoop and ear piece were purchased at Michael's for under $6 (it can make 60 pairs of earrings).

To: My siblings

I made a set of coasters for my sister and brother.  My sister's had chemical elements on them to spell out "DRINKS."  Here's where I found the link for that:  myfunstudio.com

My brother also received a set with pictures of his new baby on them.  I simply made black and white copies on my printer and cut them to size.  Once the photos were the size I needed I used Modge Podge to adhere them.  After that was dry I sprayed them with a sealer two times.  So far, my brother said they work great and doesn't have any water rings on them.  YAY! (FYI: the marble tiles were purchased at Lowe's in a 9-pack for under $4)

To: My kids

The older children received a "Spy Kit." All the items for the came from the dollar store and after I did the math I think they came out to $8 per kit.  I purchased small blue tote bags and used a thick Sharpie to write "TOP SECRET: SPY KIT" on the front and a couple doodles of a magnifying glass and question marks.  Inside the bag they found black ski hats, pens, small "spy journal," mustaches and wacky glasses for disguise, I made envelopes that read "Evidence" on the the front, Q-tips & cotton balls in a zip lock bag that read "evidence gathering tools," and the dollar store had these awesome detective sets (see at the top of my picture).  One was a finger printing kit, one that let the kids put together a face for the criminal and the last had decoding markers.  Pretty cool! One of the gifts my kids received from Santa was walkie talkies so those went along great with these kits.

To: Moms, Grandma, Sister & Aunt

These were a very last-minute gift that I whipped up.  I purchased one yard of ivory fabric and one of the red/ivory.  I cut them into various sizes and used all of my fabric to make a total of six hand towels. Before I sewed them together I used a fine tip Sharpie and drew little Christmas inspired doodles on them.  Under each drawing I wrote a little phrase. (i.e. "Be Merry," "Shine," "Let It Snow," "Give Love," "Celebrate") Then I sewed them together and wrapped with twine.

To: My Rainbow Guy

Again, another last-minute gift.  My son is OBSESSED with rainbows and told me on Christmas Eve he wanted Santa to bring him "Rainbow People." I knew I bought these wooden pegs for something! Pulled out my beautiful Sharpies and got busy.  He loved them, but even though they went in his stocking he somehow knows I made them.

I also made a fishing set for my son, but for the life of me I cannot get it to upload. Also, something that wasn't a big hit was the "Fort Kit" I made for my oldest son. Ya win some, ya lose some! This was tons of fun and really didn't consume a lot of my time.  I probably got everything done sometime after Thanksgiving until Christmas.  I procrastinate like it's my business.  

Get in my belly! I mean, my freezer.

Two years ago I FINALLY realized that I needed to start canning and freezing some of the food that is grown in our garden.  I'm not sure why it took me so long but I love it! My first year we canned tomatoes, pasta sauce, salsa, peaches and applesauce.  This year I just have canned salsa, but plenty of frozen tomatoes, corn, peaches and tomato juice.  In additions to the madness of canning, I decided to make 16 freezer meals in one day.  I was worried it would consume my entire day but it only took two hours of active time.  Here's how my day went:

First, we had a 9 a.m. soccer game so I threw a pork roast in the crock pot and seasoned it with salt, pepper and green chiles.  By the time we got home it was lunch time and the two oldest children had a birthday party to go to at 1.  The baby went down for his nap and I got busy.

Two roasting chickens were purchased for $9 and they were coated with olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.  Both went in the oven at 425 degrees for 30  minutes to brown the skin.  Next, I lowered the heat to 385 and baked for 2 hours.

While those were roasting I started browning two and a half pounds of ground beef.  The other two and  a half pounds were used for meatballs.  I purchased this five pound package for $11.  All of the browned beef had about 1 1/2 cups of salsa, a teaspoon of garlic powder, a teaspoon of cumin and a tablespoon of chili powder added.  This was cut into four portions to be used in chili, tacos, or nachos.  The meatballs were made with about a cup of panko crumbs, half cup of Parmesean cheese, a tablespoon of Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and three eggs.  I ended up with around 30 meatballs.

All the meatballs were cooked while the chickens were roasting.  I could only fit in one tray at a time for about 35 minutes each.  While all of this was cooking I shredded the pork roast and split into two different bags.  One had BBQ sauce added for sandwiches and the other had salsa verde added to make pork carnitas.  I then put my feet up for a while and once the chickens were finished I shredded them.  I divided it amongst five freezer bags.  Three were solely the shredded chicken for soup, tacos, chicken salad. The other two were mixed with a concoction of a cup of salsa and half a block of cream cheese.  I heated those two ingredients in a pan and poured it over the shredded chicken.  Those two bags will be used to stuff tortillas for the most AMAZING chicken enchiladas.  (All you do is stuff slightly warmed corn tortillas, roll 'em up and place in a baking pan, top with mild enchilada sauce, sprinkle with Mexican cheese and bake for 25 minutes at 350)

The following day I put a pot roast in the crock pot with 4 cloves of garlic a little water and seasoned with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.  It was later shredded and divided into two freezer bags, one for soup and the other for beef sandwiches.  That's it! These will all make great starter meals for the busy nights during the week this fall for my family of five.  Next, I will work on my vegetarian freezer meals...corn chowder, black bean burgers, veggie fritters!

Why we choose to homeschool

Last spring my husband and I made the decision that we would give homeschooling a try for our daughter who was suppose to be entering kindergarten and our two younger sons.  It was not an easy decision but it made sense for our family.  This is not meant to offend anyone else and their decisions that they make for their family.  I don't claim to be a better parent for homeschooling and I don't think you are any less of a parent for not.  However, I am finding that I'm getting questioned by quite a few people on whether or not she will attend school this coming fall.  The answer is "no." I usually give very vague reasons, not because I don't have specific ones but I'm hesitant to open up about it to people who choose mainstream.  I NEVER want anyone to feel like I'm a superior parent or that I'm judging them for sending their kids to school because I don't (even though I am under a microscope).  Also, whenever I'm asked how homeschooling is going, I tend to keep it short and sweet.  Although once my short and sweet answer has been completed, I'm usually told a very long explanation of how their child(ren) love school and how awesome it is to shoo them off for the day and how much they are learning and how they just love their teacher and have so many friends and so on.  This is all great and I wish nothing but the best for every child, but they don't want to really hear any details of our schooling.  Which is fine, but it also doesn't necessarily mean I want to hear theirs.  Homeschooling is definitely not for everyone, and by no means is this meant to say everyone should do it.  Maybe it will make someone begin to wonder if they can do it, but my sole intention is to shed light on why we decided what we did.  Additionally, all of this questioning just really lit a fire in me to write all the reasons we do what we do.  My reasons were different a year ago than they are now and I expect them to keep evolving.  Let it be known that we may not homeschool FOREVER, but this is why we do NOW:

1. I worked for the first four years of my first child's little life in a job that I didn't like.  I missed A LOT and now I have the opportunity to stay home and they are only mine for a short period of time.  Selfish? Maybe, but I like being around them.
2. My child wants to stay home. She really does not like the idea of going to school at this point. My children are friends and have a desire to be around each other.  Yes, they fight but it's very minimal.
3. No limitations or rules.
4. We believe in our children's creativity more than anyone else ever will. I want to be able to provide the outlets needed for them to build on it.
5. I love my children more than anyone else. They will receive the best love and encouragement right here in our home.
6. If they want to learn about dinosaurs, we learn about dinosaurs. Their interests determine our lessons.
7. Letting them follow their own sleep schedule.  Sleeping in so I can get things done and staying up late to look at the stars or hang out with dad longer.
8. Learning through lots of play.
9. We can take a day(s) off whenever we want.
10. I get to witness the first time they read, write and so much more!
11. No unhealthy competition between other kids or parents.
12. Finding a learning lesson in nearly everything.  Every opportunity there is to add or count or problem solve, we usually take advantage.
13. They get more of a say in their education. I never really enjoyed books I was forced to read.
14. Open-ended crafts are SO much more fun.
15. We go places when everyone else is at school and work.
16. Kids can make their own lunch.
17. We don't have to scurry out the door for anything.
18. Going outside whenever we feel like it.
19. We don't have to fight about homework or what they can or can't wear.
20. No stressful tests to worry about.
21. They get to hang on to their innocence a little bit longer...I hope. :)
22. They are able to to socialize with all types and ages of people.
23. The educator to student ratio is ideal.
24. I don't have to beg to hear about how their day was.
25. No worries on who is affecting their self-image.
26. Peace of mind that they are safe from a lot of things.
27. I have no teachers to blame for how their education turns out.
28. Freedom to go where we want, when we want. 
29. We don't have to be confined to a routine.
30. They won't be exposed to many things that I think can wait.  Commercialism, bad attitudes, bullying.

Often times people assume that you must have to be wealthy to homeschool. That is not the case.  I was laid off a little over two years ago from a job that I was earning over $50,000 a year. Although I received unemployment benefits for the first year we are now living off of my husband's teacher salary (yes, he's a teacher). I also work about 16 hours a week to add a little more to our finances. We may not buy the fancy boxed curriculum but we go to the library and the internet provides so many free resources. Believe me, homeschooling can be done on a budget and a good attitude.