Counting by Fives

This is an activity that my son enjoyed a lot, so I thought I would share. We started using this when he was five years old, doing kindergarten work. He could count by fives perfectly, but I wanted to make sure that he could recognize the numbers as well. I printed out the numbers 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100 fairly large on cardstock paper. I then cut them into little squares. I gave them to him all mixed up, and had him put them in the correct order. For beginning learners, you can start with half of the numbers, and then add the second half once your child gets those down. I cannot stress how helpful this is when learning about money, and counting nickels! We coincidentally did this shortly before the "nickels" section in his time and money book came up.

We also used the same concept with recognizing the months and days of the week. Simple enough, and it's fun, too!

Fa La La La La, La La La La

My son, Thomas, participates in choir, which is a small group from nearby Liberty Academy, along with other homeschoolers. Liberty Academy is a small private school that uses ACE curriculum and it's a great, affordable alternative for parents who work and can't (or don't want to?) homeschool. The choir teacher, Patricia, is a DEAR, SWEET friend that Thomas absolutely adores. I learned this because I noticed that after each choir practice, he would talk to her. About anything. One day he told her about his loose tooth. He just isn't like that with most people at ALL. So she is a very special person. As a matter of fact, it is Patricia's church that we visit at Christmas time to see their special choir/orchestra program, "Rejoice! It's Christmas!" And it was this program that helped my son learn about the plan of salvation. (She bawled when I told her about him accepting Christ!)

Anyway, Thomas is the youngest singer by a year. He looks so little up there. Anna, who is even smaller, was supposed to sing, but after being sick in the fall she decided to wait until spring to join the choir and perform. (The truth is that she doesn't like sharing the stage with others, so we will see what happens when she is asked to perform this spring!) They both love singing, and even though they sometimes say, "I don't want to go to choir!" they find themselves giggling when I catch them singing their songs around the house. They are not children's songs, so it's really neat that they have the opportunity to learn these songs and get to sing them with other children/ young adults.

This picture shows Thomas and who he calls his "best friend," Nolan. Nolan is eight years older than Thomas, and another homeschooler. The age difference doesn't matter, though, and they have learned a lot from each other!

My Five Year-Old Genius

My daughter just turned five in November. She has always had incredible insight, even on things that I did not "teach" her. So we started kindergarten when she was 4, and take it slowly since we aren't stuck in "grade levels." In her math book yesterday, she had this problem:

If you have 4 pennies, could you buy all of this candy? (Five pieces of candy are shown.) "No," she says. (It is already stated that one piece of candy costs one cent).

"How many could you buy?" I innocently ask.

"Well," she responded, "you could get none, or 1, or 2, or 3, all the way up to 4."

My face just froze and I dropped my head and laughed. Another great answer from my insightful five year-old. And THAT'S why I homeschool!

Christmas Eve

Since the kids are 5 and 6 now, we are able to do more things together and start Christmas traditions that they are involved in. Of course, we went to the Christmas Eve candlelight/communion service. This was Thomas' first communion after asking Jesus into his heart so it was a special moment for that reason as well. When we got home, we made cookies with the Christmas cookie cutters so that we could leave Santa fresh, homemade cookies. (They were organic as well!) We had fun decorating them with different colored frosting. In this picture, you can tell how excited the kids are that it is Christmas Eve and Santa will be coming soon!!

P.S. My daughter decided one day to put a tattoo on her head, so imagine how delighted I was that all of her pictures have a mark on her forehead! :o(

Santa Claus Came to Town!

Every year in Anthony, the city puts up the "Santa House" in front of the shops on Main Street. It's just a little house that looks like a living room inside where Santa sits and waits for children to visit. Every year since his birth, it's been the same ol' thing... my son won't go near Santa. Well, I take that back, we got a picture of him one year, but he looked terrified in the picture. So this year I had no idea what would happen. I knew how excited he was to see Santa, but I figured he would balk once we set foot in the house. He even knew what to tell him he wanted: Star Wars Legos.

So one afternoon we went, and he went right up to Santa, sat on his lap and had an entire conversation with him! I was dumfounded. I was in tears as I took pictures. This is a huge milestone for him, and just another sign that he is growing up FAST!

Now, my daughter was another story. While SHE is usually very friendly and talkative, she took the back seat this time and wouldn't go up to Santa. We left the little house, and she decided once she knew what she wanted, she would go back and visit with him. So a couple of days later, we returned with a card for Santa that told him exactly what she wanted. Also, Thomas wrote down the specific Star Wars Legos he wanted: the Imperial Landing Craft.

Since this was a HUGE milestone and I was SO proud of him, of course I HAD to make sure he got the ONE thing he asked for. I also got what my daughter asked for, and both turned out to be their favorite gifts. It's ironic, considering this is the year that we started to wean them from Santa. This is probably the last year for my son, as he will be 7 next Christmas. And I'm sure once we tell him about Santa, he won't be able to keep the news from his little sister. They each got a couple of gifts from Santa, and the rest were from me. Usually almost all is from Santa, and I can never remember what is from Santa and what is from me. What a mess!

Snow, Snow, Snow

Since my internet went down for well over a week (thanks AT&T) I'm behind on posting, but we have lots of fun stuff to share. First of all, the SNOW we have gotten in KS so far! Holy moly! Our first snow fell on December 15, 2007. Before that, we had ice that was kind of a pain for a few days, but nothing catastrophic. On December 21, it probably reached 60 degrees that day. We went in to my son's choir program around 6:30 pm, and when we came out, we could tell that the temperature had dropped a LOT. I had planned on making the hour long drive to Wichita the next morning, but lots of people grumbled about the snow forecast and said I would probably end up in a ditch- along with them- because they had to go to Wichita as well.

Now, when you live in Georgia, and they forecast snow, they are about 20% correct. But in Kansas, when they say it's gonna snow- it's gonna snow. I think this is because there is nothing really stopping a storm from plowing through our flat lands, but in GA they deal with the gulf stream air and never know how it will play with the other weather systems coming in.

I went to bed that night, and something woke me up. I could hear the wind howling outside. I just kept hoping it was JUST wind. I would not get up to check. I kept waking up. The wind was MAD. Finally, when it was a decent hour, I looked out the window. Not only was the snow coming in sideways- it had already covered everything in sight. The snow did not stop until 5 pm that day- just as predicted. It went from coming down sideways, to nothing. Absolutely peaceful. But cold. The snowdrifts were over four feet, and there were patches that barely had anything. Dogs lost their legs in the snow! Our screened porch on the second floor did not keep the snow out- it was covered as well. Luckily, they are pretty quick to clear the roads in Kansas, so I was able to make it to Wichita the next day. I HAD to. Santa was not done shopping, and this was a VERY important year as you will read in our Visit to Santa coming up next!

P.S. Two days after Christmas we got a beautiful snow that fell peacefully from the sky. It was so pretty. Now THAT is the snow we need!

Child-like Faith

So often as "moms at home" we think about the great things we are doing for our kids by keeping them at home. Does it ever occur to you the benefit you receive from staying home with your child(ren)? One day I was on my way to choir, which my children attend every Wednesday. It's only about 10 miles away, but there is nothing much but flat, Kansas farmland between here and there. So lots of thoughts can "come through" during this drive! Anyway, it occurred to me that my kids are giving me a HUGE gift by being at home with me. It is something God must know that I need: a child-like faith.

I feel this so strongly, that I believe that the entire reason that we are supposed to keep our children at home is not only to remind us to have faith like a child, but to raise godly children as well. It is a two-way relationship that God intended for us to have as parents. That is why the Bible does not say, "put your children in day care and school all day so that you can get away from them and have some 'me' time."

Parents today are disconnected from their children, which obviously affects their children. But the effect on parents is not so well noted. Every day, I get to see a faith through eyes that are so pure, so innocent, and so believing, that it reminds me, this is the faith that I am supposed to have. They do not question Noah and his ark, they do not wonder if the disciples took Jesus' body away, and they know without a shadow of a doubt that if they pray to ask Jesus into their hearts, He will enter. I cannot imagine not getting this beautiful gift every day. And as natural as their faith comes, it is certainly not natural for me after the world got ahold of me. I'm starting to understand the phrase, "live in the world, but not of the world." It's making a whole lotta sense right now!

Have you been to Webkinz World?

Oh, my, has the Webkinz craze hit our house! My first description of these cute little animals is "Beanie Babies on crack" and I bet the Beanie Baby folks are hating life right now that they didn't think to add the computer component to their little guys. I mean really, are the Webkinz anything new besides the fact that they provide online access to children to play interactively with their Webkinz and even their friends' Webkinz? They are just stuffed animals, just like the Beanie Babies. It is AMAZING what people will think of just to get people to buy more stuff!

If you don't know what Webkinz are, they are stuffed animals that come with a special tag. When you get home, you use the code from your tag to register online, where your Webkinz gets a room, and where you can earn money to buy clothes, furniture, and other goodies. They are virtual goodies, and they are bought with "Kinz Cash." You can invite your friends' Webkinz over to your room, and even meet kids you don't know and play with them online. It is actually a really great learning experience for kids, and while I hate that it initially encourages consumerism, it really teaches them the value of things when they spend or save their Kinz Cash. It is also a way for kids to show their generosity. My son earns money and then sends gifts (virtually) to his friends or sisters. It's so sweet!

Here comes the mom in me.... I didn't just go out and buy my kids stuffed animals. They earned them. We developed a point system, and they got so many points for doing certain things. We were dealing with first time obedience, so every time they did something the first time I asked, they got a point. They also got points for feeding the dog, cleaning up, helping with dinner, and keeping their rooms clean. Once they earned 25 points, they could buy a Webkinz. They each received their first Webkinz "free" as a gift from their dad at the zoo. They also both received one as a gift. The final three were earned. They are not allowed to get more than 5, and they knew this going into it. Which is fine for them, because they got turned on to Build-a-Bear and now they want accessories for their animals! Yikes!

Anyway, if you haven't looked past the craziness of Webkinz, check it out as a learning tool for children. My daughter just turned 5 and is able to work with the website fairly well even though she is just in the beginning stages of reading. The website is http://www.webkinz.com/ and they make GREAT Christmas gifts. You can't buy them at the website, but you can see more about the process. You can buy them locally, on eBay, or Google "Webkinz" and I'm sure you will find some online stores! Here is our Webkinz family:

A New Christmas Tradition

Now that my kids are getting older, I feel like we are able to do more fun projects and really start some family traditions at Christmas time. About a month ago, we ran across a gingerbread house kit where everything is provided and you just build it and decorate it yourself. Last year, we got together with our homeschool group and made little houses out of graham crackers, and that was fun, too. Each child brought a bag of candy, so we had enough variety to decorate the houses. I hope to organize that this year, and if so I will take pictures of those houses to share.

The kids had fun with this one, and it is so cute. With the candies that were provided, it would be difficult to make a bad looking house. It's just so colorful and cheerful. Hopefully it will survive the year and we will be able to use it again, but I've seen the dog eyeing it. We'll see!

My Baby Turns 5!

I am still not over the shock that my "baby" turned 5 last month. We celebrated her birthday while we were out of town for Thanksgiving, and my sister gave her a Strawberry Shortcake party. It was a lot of fun! Anna is a bright little girl. We started kindergarten with her a year early, and she started reading when she was 4. She is a wonderful artist and some of her artwork amazes me. I'm so glad I get to stay home with her and enjoy her all day!

Sharing Good News

I've got so many things to share, as I've gotten behind on posting. But this one is very important, and I wanted to share it first.

Friday night my kids and I went to our friends' Christmas program which was in Wichita- an hour away from our home. It was very nice, as it always is, and I remember thinking how exceptionally long the pastor's message was at the end. If you had never heard how to pray and receive Christ, you definitely would remember when he was done! I really wanted to leave, as we still had to drive home. But God said, "Stay."

Tuesday, Thomas read from his phonics Bible the story of Adam and Eve. We discussed the implications of what they had done, what it meant for us today, and I was able to tie it to the things the pastor said Friday night. I did not want to push, so I simply said, "one day when you're ready, you will pray the sinner's prayer and ask Jesus into your heart."

That night, Thomas kept coming out of his bed for one reason or another. Finally, close to midnight, he came to my bedroom in tears. I asked what was wrong, to which he replied, "I'm ready! I'm afraid, Mommy. I want to go to heaven!"

Because Anna was sick and lying next to me asleep in the bed, we went back to his bedroom and sat under his space rocket bunk bed. The string of Christmas tree lights gave the perfect lighting to this very special moment. We talked, and then prayed. Thomas asked Jesus into his heart!

I am so excited about this decision, and want to tell everyone. He has always had such a special little heart, and I know that God is going to use him in a mighty way! If you would like to share your little one's story, please feel free to comment. I love hearing good news!

What are we passing down to our kids?

Because we spend more time with our kids- in many of our cases, FULL time with our children- we must be VERY aware of the negative behaviors we have that they are going to pick up on. We can fool ourselves into believing that we are doing well enough if we don't use curse words, or avoid certain discussions in front of our kids. But that is obvious behavior, and not what I'm talking about. Grab a cup of coffee, and take a seat. It's time to get real.

I know you are perfect. I know you would never do the things I have done. But just for fun, let's propose that we all make mistakes, we all have baggage, and every once and a while, that baggage rears it's ugly head. Have you ever yelled at your kids? Ever thrown anything? Do they see you procrastinating? Do you have a bad habit like smoking? Do you suffer from anxiety or panic attacks? Are you depressed? Do you eat junk food all day? Do you see where I'm going?

Everything we say and do affects our children, and not always for the better. I have been a mom for 6 years and 7 months, and I JUST learned what that really means. It means that I have a lot of changing to do, and that I am extremely fortunate to have the very best tools available to me to help me change my negative behaviors.

Before I introduce the tools, I want to share how all of this came to me. First, I recognized that I have many faults that I'm just not happy with. Second, I wondered how to fix them. On some level, I thought, "I am the way I am because God made me that way." But that was a cop out. Third, I prayed about them. Once God saw that I was ready to hear what I needed to hear, He provided a solution. One day I went to the computer and received an email that changed my life.

This email came at the RIGHT time, after I had already recognized my faults, wanted to fix them, and prayed about them. Had any of these things not happened, I don't think I would have been ready for the information that came my way. Isn't it funny how these things happen?

The email was from Mike Brescia, with Think Right Now! International. I had never heard of Mike, nor had I ever searched out self-help or personal development products. I don't know why I never did, because I certainly needed them! His line of products are designed to help you with anything and everything you could possibly struggle with. To learn more about the products, click on the link above.

The reason I wanted to talk about this in my blog is because we are THE biggest influence on our children. Period. As my children get older I see myself in them, the good and the bad. And it's not too late to work on the bad before it gets out of hand. My main priority as they grow and mature is to keep them close and have a good relationship with them so that they can talk to me about absolutely anything. My personality flaws were not going to work toward that end, so it is MY responsibility to fix that. I am also mentioning it here because so far the products I've used have been HIGHLY effective. As busy moms, these tools are absolutely the BEST on the market. You simply play the CD's in the background and go about your day. They are not lecture or how-to audios, they simply improve your thought patterns as they relate to the issue you want to improve. All you do is listen!

I hope and pray that someone comes across this post who is ready to learn this information. Is it you? No matter where you are in your journey, remember that your kids deserve the very best mom or dad that you can possibly be. And never forget that you are passing down to them everything that they witness. Can you say that it's all good?

Soft Star Shoes

I was just doing some work on my website (I had LOTS of things to update!) and just got a reminder about these amazing shoes and wanted to mention them. They are a little costly, but quality is important to me, so I know there are others out there who feel the same way! I have been extremely happy with the qualiy of Soft Star Shoes, and I am saving up to buy myself some slippers. I'm hoping Santa will bring me some for Christmas.

Before I send you to learn more, I wanted to ask you a question. Have you taught your children about the value of quality, and why it is important that we support US manufacturers as much as possible? My children are 5 (birthday last week!) and 6, and they are already getting that education by being home with me. I'll never forget the conversation we had at Taco Bell when my son said that the next time we went to Taco Bell he was going to get a kid's meal because he liked the toy. (As if we don't have 500 similar toys floating around our house already!) We get kids' meals at McDonalds, because it just makes sense, but I *despise* the toys that come with them!! Anyway, I explained that we would NOT be getting the meal just for the toy because there were poor children in China that were working their fingers to the bones for that little toy that is going to end up in the trash, taking up landfill space! It went something like that, so I'm thinking it was probably "that time of the month!" Anyway, you get the idea. We really need to think about our shopping experiences and what we are teaching our children through them.

Long story short, Soft Star Shoes are made in the US and last forever. That is a good sign. I would rather put my money into products like theirs, and honestly, I realize that if everyone were like me, our economy would plummet. So would China's! :o)

Thanksgiving Activities

We just arrived in Atlanta today, about 1,000 miles from home. And I can see the unused Thanksgiving projects that have been waiting for us to use since LAST Thanksgiving tucked away in our craft cabinet back home in Kansas. I am kicking myself. You know how you are driving further away from home, knowing that you forgot to pack something, and wishing you could just figure out what it is so you can move on to thinking about something else? Sigh. At least I didn't forget something that we can't live without!

Anyway, we will still be doing something for Thanksgiving. I brought some reading, handwriting, and math work to complete. And for Thanksgiving we will probably make our "Tree of Thanks" which is a brown tree with trunk and limbs. We make colorful leaves and write something on each leaf that we are thankful for. One thing that I like to remember is to be thankful all year. We do a pretty good job of this. But Thanksgiving is a yearly reminder for me to keep this up. Thankfully (see, I'm good!) my kids are still pretty thankful for the little things. I love how they get so excited! I see other kids who think they are too good for things. They can't enjoy the little things and can't even stop to say "thank you" when they have received a gift. These are the same kids who rip through their toys on Christmas day without even looking at them and get to the end, looking for more. If your child is like this, what can you do to help him appreciate what he has received?

Feel free to share what you will be doing this Thanksgiving. Maybe it will give us an idea for another project to do together.

The week after we returned from our trip, I got out our "Trees of Thanks". Here they are!

Veteran's Day

We have a very patriotic town, which maybe is typical for small towns. American flags adorned main street yesterday and today, and many houses displayed their flags as well. As I ran a quick errand and passed by Municipal Hall, I could tell something was happening. After enquiring, I found out that every Veteran's Day, the older school children do a report and display on either a family member who is/was a veteran, or someone else they know. The younger kids sing, and there is a speech. So Thomas, Anna, and I made our way, they on their bikes, me on my shoes, up to Municipal Hall. It was a very emotional tribute to those who have served, as each branch of the military had veterans who stood to receive an American flag from a child. But I came away with one thing I will never forget.

In the speech, Randy, one of our postal workers, provided statistics for how many people served in our military during each war, compared to the population of the time. By far, there are MUCH fewer serving the military today even though our population has exploded. What does that say about us? While many would blame the Iraq war and our poor leadership, it isn't that. Have we lost our patriotism? Are our children growing up to become apathetic? What exactly is it?

More than once I have looked at my son and teared up imagining him serving in the military and putting his life at risk. But today I reminded myself that if that is what God calls him to do when he grows up, there is nothing I can say or do to change his mind. After all, someone has to serve, and I know my son would be a good soldier and an excellent leader.

I remember reading an article recently about the "education" that schooled children receive in public school. It stated that the job most frequently taken by a public high school graduate was...get this...a Wal-mart employee! I don't know how true that is, and I wish I could remember where I found the article, but that would explain where all our would-have-been soldiers are- working at Wal-mart!

To those brave men and women who have served our country, and those currently serving, I offer a very gracious thank you on behalf of my children and me. The fact that we can homeschool without our government knocking down our doors makes me very grateful for the soldiers who have provided this freedom and the many other freedoms we enjoy.

THANK YOU!!!