College or not?

An article I read this morning on homeschoolers and college mused that perhaps some Gen Z (huh, that was news to me....those born 1995 til present) may forgo college to pursue a shorter path to a job they may already know will provide job satisfaction. True? False?

Either way- its an interesting read-
(Just a little chat with my college president.....)

schooling sick.....

So how do I fare when we're all sick and thrown a curveball of a week? I want to be flexible but I hear this ticking clock in my head....sche-dule, sche-dule, sche-dule.....

Ugh, the tick of death in the sick week!

We have found ourselves battling sickness for 2 long weeks- nothing life shattering, but life affecting.....so we roll with it.

Reading history all huddled in my bed with kleenexes as blankets.
Only read alouds on the couch one day.
Math once or twice.
Reading lessons once or twice.

It would be my undoing if I don't stop and consider my why in the midst of my what. Then I can push through to how.

Why are we home educating in the first place?
What are my obstacles presently?
How are we going to learn through this process?

We learn sacrifice. patience. compassion. grace.
All of us.

uniterrupted days

These days we are living life uninterrupted. Back to blogging in the new year....

Merry Christmas!

Rest Time...

Remember the days when our babies were little? I was actually bored- stuck at the house so often and feeling like I couldn't wait for the next phase...


Fast forward 8 years, here we are, 3 Marys and only one napping, and occasionally at best, and I still only sometimes remember rest time! Why is this? Life functions so much better for all of us when we stop to rest.


Why do I forget and forgo an hour of rest.....

1) They are playing outside- this feels like a great reason most of the time. They are fully engrossed in their games and I want them to enjoy being outdoors and playing creatively. Its often the time of day, after lunch, that their little bodies need to run and play freely. Often times I forget to watch the clock and I pay for it later because without a doubt some one is melting down by 3

2) I've planned poorly- I have left things undone and need to use "rest time" to make up for my missteps. This one is truly difficult for me- I realize I've put other items ahead of what's best for us- and as a result, I end up schlepping my kids around town trying to catch up on life.

3) Friends- I still struggle with this one- I'm immensely extroverted so when my girls get a chance to have a playdate during the beautiful hour of rest, do I think twice? Rarely- I choose friends over rest. Again, a good thing but not always best for our family.

I'm realizing that more and more my choices for how we spend our time can nourish their little bodies or frazzle them. I hope to show them flexibility,and generosity in how we spend our time.

But today, when its the first time we've had rest time all week- I'm just plain thankful for for doors, beds, blankets and candles. Amen.

Making it Real

I don't like dirt.

I'm not the kid who grew up digging hours on end and loved to puddle jump. I don't like movies where people are dirty. (Sometimes period pieces are really hard for me.) I definitely don't do pirates....yuck. So I'm continually shocked and pleasantly surprised when I come across books that challenge that part of me.

One of my favorite parts of homeschooling is how we are able to read so many great books! Growing up I was not a reader. I loathed being told what and when to read a classic. I cared not if it were a great book. I'd rather make my own choices, thank you, and that choice was to not read. Why such a rebellious little non-reader I wonder?

About a year and a half ago I picked up Little House in the Big Woods. I was hesitant because the Little House series are beloved and revered by many. But so many friends love these and have read them with their kids I just figured I should. So I tried. We got through the first book but it didn't capture our hearts like it had those around us.


So as I started Farmer Boy, I quickly put it down. The girls weren't enthralled. We put that on hold for about a 14 months. Last month we picked it back up and they are loving it. For her birthday, we gave Middle The World of Little House. This book brings to life so many aspects of each book of the series. There are layouts of farm houses and explanations. There are numerous recipes.



One Sunday evening, we read a chapter describing Almanzo's family's Sunday routines and there was a description of pancakes.....After checking Middle's companion we found a recipe and my husband gave it a whirl. These pancakes were hands down the best I've ever had. They were incredible. We enjoyed them Almanzo style- drizzled with Molasses and butter. They were divine!


So thankful that this homeschooling journey continues to expand my horizons! And now I guess I can handle dirt....if its between the pages of a book!

Culture According to Ouiser Boudreaux

I love Steel Magnolias. I wore out a VHS at my grandparents house growing up because I'd watch it every single time I was at their house. I have almost the entire movie memorized- I can break out into a spontaneous diabetic seizure like nobody's business. (I've in turn learned to offer OJ). I love each of the characters, but near and dear to my heart is Ouiser (a variation from Louisa) Boudreaux. She is a wise-cracking southern woman who holds nothing back.

Ouiser on culture:

"I do not see plays, because I can nap at home for free.
And I don't see movies 'cause they're trash,
and they got nothin' but naked people in 'em!
And I don't read books, 'cause if they're any good,
're gonna make 'em into a miniseries. "

Well I love Ouiser's take on many things, but here is where we part company.

This morning for our little Christmas Tradition of holiday theater, we ventured uptown to see Junie B. Jones, Jingle Bells Batman Smells...... Each year in December we fight the morning traffic to enjoy the theater company and its latest holiday offering....


I love the time we have for field trips....which leads me to consider extra curricular activities. Our girls are now an age where each of them could be involved in something every season of the year.

But when it comes to our own extra-curricular choices, how do we make our decisions?

Clearly there are the usual variables....

Finances- our first stop- does it make sense financially to commit to something for the girls? I'm surprised at how quickly this all adds up!

Time- How does it affect our day? Dinner time? Weekends?

Family- How does it pull us each into different directions? Would we be divided a lot of our days to make these possible....

Because homeschooling leaves lots of time (theoretically) for extra-curricular activities and I do hope to regularly schedule "friend-time" I have noticed my idol of "the extra". My husband and I grew up quite differently in this regard- he was a very talented Art Education major but did not take his first art class until 9th grade. I on the other hand was on the swim team at age 4, pottery class at 7, soccer and basketball at in first grade, cheerleading by 4th grade, drama in middle school, choir.....the list goes on. His parents made the best choices for his family; mine the best for ours. Both sacrificed a great deal for their decisions- Again, just as there is no right way to school a child, there is on right way to approach the extras....

However, this has caused disagreement in our hearts on how best to handle the extras. I'm thankful for his leadership in this area- He is guiding us toward moderation and responsibility given our portion- So where have we landed?

We've subdivided the areas of enrichment....For our family it happens to look like this, for now at least.....
Tier 1: Art/Music
Tier 2: Dance, Gymnastics, Sports, Camps, Etc

That helps us to determine how we will spread our resources. This year we have decided to let each girl participate in one paid "extra" per school year and one camp in the summer. Additionally, we have allotted a piano component for our oldest. (Choir was free so that was an easy option! We were thrilled!)

This fall, Middle and Mini were balancing on beams and jumping into the cheese pit at our local Y's gymnastics center while Mild was with me in the stands or running laps with me on the track. This January, the tide turns and our oldest will have her chance. She's starting Musical Theater. She cannot wait for her first play (debut is in June....). I loved listening to her dream aloud as we waited for Junie B to take the stage...

It was bittersweet to have to tell my littles that they weren't able to participate in ballet this Spring as they had hoped- as much as I wanted to make it work, it just didn't- Sweet little Middle Mary was tearful but respectful. I wish so much I could always give them everything but the lesson learned today was better.

To wait, to take turns. To rejoice with her sister when its her turn to shine. For that I'm thankful-

So, Ouiser and I, we agree on some things (like the minimum definition of a gentleman...something about dishes and sinks...wink!), but I for one cannot wait to see my girl on the stage!

Christmas Movies that Make our List

So my first thought- keep routine happening....yeah, we're not doing that so well- partly because in our MFW curriculum we've hit a section on states and we focus on one state a day- To me, this is not enjoyable- it feels more like busy work. I miss our reading! To be honest, I did not plan ahead and select books from the library that go along with our states. There are loads of suggestions but the books aren't always in the library......so, I'm jumping ahead this week and maybe we'll catch up on our state sheets another time-

We are focusing a great deal on the Nutcracker for our music enrichment. That's been a hit!

We've also begun our Christmas movies....
Christmas Movies for our family in no particular order....

1. ELF
2. Charlie Brown's Christmas
3. Prep and Landing
4. Home Alone
5. The Polar Express
6. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
7. Miracle on 34th Street
8. Merry Christmas, Olivia
9. Its a Wonderful Life
10. A Christmas Carol

some for my enjoyment
1. Shop around the Corner
2. The Christmas Story
3. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

These will be included over the next few weeks..... Happy Christmas to us!