Just wanted to catch your attention but it's for a really good cause. Mom is a very active member of Colon Cancer Solutions. It is an awareness group in this area working hard to let everyone know that colon cancer is preventable if detected early. Some time ago, groups of people began making "Pink Glove Dances" to promote breast cancer awareness and posting them on YouTube. Mom's group decided it would be good to make a "Blue Glove Dance" (blue is the color of the colon cancer ribbon) and here it is. See if you can spot my mom and dad if you know what they look like! The man who swings his doctor's coat around while dancing is Mom's surgeon, Dr. Dunn. We praise God for him removing her cancer.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Revamping the System
No, I'm not ready to take on the state welfare and foster care systems, although both do need a considerable amount of help. What I do need to do is get my own life back in order. Tomorrow will be the last day of our fourth week of homeschooling this year. I've been tweaking our daily routine almost every day and it's burning me out quickly. On any given Monday, Wednesday or Friday, Philip's assignments include Spelling/Phonics, History and Math. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we cover Spelling/Phonics, Science and Math. Three subjects each day shouldn't last five hours for a kindergarten student, but that's the way things are going these days. It's not that I strap him to a chair for five straight hours but it's that I've tried random variations of busting through the work with Braewyn at a loss of entertaining herself; intermingling school and chores, school and errands, and school and free play time; and threatening Philip with timers, loss of toys, calling Principal Dad, and corporal punishment for active disobedience. With that said, adopting Chloe was a choice I fully participated in but she has thrown a huge wrench in the system with having to go outside to potty every few hours and whining/barking when we try to have school without her or outside with her.
Ok, no one wants to hear me whine (or bark for that matter), so moving on... I've prayed about how our day should run and I'm returning to my original thinking. I'm not a free-spirited time person. I've struggled for years with getting my housework under control and will not let our disorderly school schedule span that long. Therefore this is me putting my new schedule down in writing.
6:00am -- shower (a big one I've struggled with but if I want to feel alive I've got to begin showering every morning)
6:30am -- quiet time with the Lord (ESSENTIAL to the rest of the day going smoothly)
7:00am -- breakfast with Matthew and the kids (they wake up at 7:00am on their own)
7:30am -- get everyone dressed if finished with breakfast
8:00am -- free play (but clearly understood will end at 8:30am)
8:30am -- prayer, song and calendar time (again prayer is a necessity to get us all in the right frame of mind)
9:00am -- Spelling worksheet (it's Philip's most hated item of school so we may as well tackle it first thing); I'm allotting 25 minutes for it because any longer begins driving us both crazy
9:25am -- jump around time (we did the hokey pokey a few times last week when we reached the breaking point)
9:35am -- Phonics worksheet (he balks through it most days but wanted to tell his Wednesday night missions group it was his favorite part of school, just couldn't remember what it was called)
10:00am -- snack break (these days I'm famished by this time of day so even if the kids don't need it, the baby and I do!)
10:15am -- History or Science depending on the day (getting done in 45 minutes will require me to be fully prepared with all needed supplies)
11:00am -- Math (Philip loves it and takes him on average 10 minutes to cover 6 workbook pages)
11:30am -- We're done with school!!!!
This looks like a tight run ship which I usually don't tolerate for long. However, I am grateful for the chance to teach Philip at home and must do my best at making it work. All things of substance are rarely thrown together with little thought. If school is done before lunch, I can begin gaining my strength and determination back to keep the house in order during the afternoon and spend time just playing with my kids.
A few years ago, I was hooked on this TV show about women with life issues who went to live in an LA house, meet with life coaches, and work their problems out through activities and assignments. There have been times in my life at which I thought having a life coach sounded good. That's when I remember I do have one. His name is Jesus, and He has told me,
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)
These days, an easy yoke sounds good.
Ok, no one wants to hear me whine (or bark for that matter), so moving on... I've prayed about how our day should run and I'm returning to my original thinking. I'm not a free-spirited time person. I've struggled for years with getting my housework under control and will not let our disorderly school schedule span that long. Therefore this is me putting my new schedule down in writing.
6:00am -- shower (a big one I've struggled with but if I want to feel alive I've got to begin showering every morning)
6:30am -- quiet time with the Lord (ESSENTIAL to the rest of the day going smoothly)
7:00am -- breakfast with Matthew and the kids (they wake up at 7:00am on their own)
7:30am -- get everyone dressed if finished with breakfast
8:00am -- free play (but clearly understood will end at 8:30am)
8:30am -- prayer, song and calendar time (again prayer is a necessity to get us all in the right frame of mind)
9:00am -- Spelling worksheet (it's Philip's most hated item of school so we may as well tackle it first thing); I'm allotting 25 minutes for it because any longer begins driving us both crazy
9:25am -- jump around time (we did the hokey pokey a few times last week when we reached the breaking point)
9:35am -- Phonics worksheet (he balks through it most days but wanted to tell his Wednesday night missions group it was his favorite part of school, just couldn't remember what it was called)
10:00am -- snack break (these days I'm famished by this time of day so even if the kids don't need it, the baby and I do!)
10:15am -- History or Science depending on the day (getting done in 45 minutes will require me to be fully prepared with all needed supplies)
11:00am -- Math (Philip loves it and takes him on average 10 minutes to cover 6 workbook pages)
11:30am -- We're done with school!!!!
This looks like a tight run ship which I usually don't tolerate for long. However, I am grateful for the chance to teach Philip at home and must do my best at making it work. All things of substance are rarely thrown together with little thought. If school is done before lunch, I can begin gaining my strength and determination back to keep the house in order during the afternoon and spend time just playing with my kids.
A few years ago, I was hooked on this TV show about women with life issues who went to live in an LA house, meet with life coaches, and work their problems out through activities and assignments. There have been times in my life at which I thought having a life coach sounded good. That's when I remember I do have one. His name is Jesus, and He has told me,
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)
These days, an easy yoke sounds good.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Brooks Family Training Facility
Some of you might remember the BBFF, well I'm pleased to announce we've opened up a new branch of our company entitled Brooks Family Training Facility. Some people joke about having their husbands or wives trained. I don't buy into that and actually think it to be demeaning. I hope Matthew's not plotting my training schedule and I'm surely not doing so to him but instead seeking to become a better wife and helpmate to him. However, the Lord has blessed us with two precious children and another to arrive in the spring. As we believe these little ones to be from Him, I find God's advice most comforting when seeking to raise them to know Him. A particular verse I take to heart is Proverbs 22:6,
"Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not go from it."
Training has come to my mind a lot this week as we finished our second week of school. We decided to up the fun level (er, crazy level) and adopt a puppy from the pound this week too. Her name is Chloe and she's a 2 1/2 month old Blue Heeler. Having Chloe has brought back many happy memories of my childhood dog Sparky whom we adopted from the pound when I was 10 and passed away a few years before Matthew and I married. However having a puppy in the house brings about another complete level of training. Here's the list rolling around in my brain of the training which is going on in our home these days.
"Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not go from it."
Training has come to my mind a lot this week as we finished our second week of school. We decided to up the fun level (er, crazy level) and adopt a puppy from the pound this week too. Her name is Chloe and she's a 2 1/2 month old Blue Heeler. Having Chloe has brought back many happy memories of my childhood dog Sparky whom we adopted from the pound when I was 10 and passed away a few years before Matthew and I married. However having a puppy in the house brings about another complete level of training. Here's the list rolling around in my brain of the training which is going on in our home these days.
- Me getting up on time in order to have a quiet time before the house wakes up (failing currently)
- Philip and Braewyn not watching TV before breakfast and school
- Philip staying focused on his school work
- Me trying to find a schedule for his subjects which isn't cumbersome to either of us
- Braewyn being told to play independently or color quietly during school time
- Chloe being housebroken (actually going well; using puppy pads or crate when not able to walk her outside)
- Chloe staying down from jumping and nipping (Braewyn says, "She's eating me!")
- Chloe to stop chewing the fireplace rocks and furniture
- Philip and Braewyn to stop running past Chloe which makes her think they're playing and she begins nipping
- Me at getting my mind around preparing meals for my family when I have no appetite (due to being 11 weeks pregnant)
- Me at finding a desire to fold clothes, wash dishes, clean bathrooms, (fill in the blank with ANY housework)
- Philip and Braewyn at completing chores (unloading the dishwasher, folding towels, cleaning their rooms)
- Me getting enough rest and even remembering that I am pregnant (aside from the appetite and digestion issues)
I suppose that is enough of an exhaustive list for now. And to think we're adding another human in March! However by then Chloe will be at a different behavior level (we pray!) and the baby comes out relatively motionless. I told Ruth Ann today that Chloe is like a crawling toddler who really has the ability to destroy things. Our newborn won't be destroying anything other than diapers at first! I would say my good night's rest too but I'm not finding that very common these days anyway.
Here's our sweet little rambunctious pup.
Saturday, August 07, 2010
Back to School
This week has been long but fulfilling at the same time. Monday was Philip's first day of Kindergarten! It wasn't as much of a milestone as for families who send their little ones into the "real world" of public school as we were together all day, but it did help me realize my children are growing and changing more everyday. We began the morning with prayer, a hymn, calendar time and pledges. I decided that we'll say our pledges (to the American flag, the Christian flag, and the Bible) only on Mondays to keep it from becoming too repetitive.
This year, I am not using a integrated curriculum but subjects from different publishers. For writing and reading, we're using the American Language Series workbooks I purchased at Children's Books (a fabulous local home school supply warehouse!). They are colorfully illustrated workbooks which focus on phonics and handwriting. There is also a little reader which accompanies it. Philip has proudly been reading a one-page story (4-6 lines) each day. It's exciting to see him growing in his reading skills without feeling overwhelmed by tackling a whole book. The one problem with this series is that the phonics lesson is 5 pages long (most of which involved him 'x'-ing off the pictures which start with the designated sounds) and the handwriting lesson being a front and back page of copying letter combinations. All week (as we do this each day), I've been trying to run phonics and handwriting back to back, getting it all done in a solid hour. As the week went on and Philip got S-L-O-W-E-R each day with it and after talking to a friend who is a kindergarten teacher about the attention span of average 5-year-olds, I've decided to split these lessons up next week with some form of physical activity.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we have science which is coming from an Usborne Books Science Activities book. Tuesday we learned some properities of water (i.e. how water takes the form of its container, how it only flows down, how it doesn't change quantity between different shaped containers) and on Thursday we discovered which items float and which things sink. Science is Philip's favorite subject right now as it's all hands on.
We're also studying math using a great program called Math-U-See. There's a workbook but also a DVD with 5 minute lesson introductions and manipulative blocks which are a hit since Philip is a lego fanatic. For history, I found a great program called "History for Little Pilgrims". There's a text book, instruction book and coloring book. The best thing is that it focuses on history from the point of how God's Kingdom has grown through time. The keypoint for this first week was teaching the student that Jesus Christ is the central figure in ALL OF HISTORY! Everything prior to Jesus' birth looked forward to Him and everything since is reflective of His life. What a great truth to begin planting in a 5-year-old mind.
We'll begin attending Bible Study Fellowship later in September. It's a complex Bible study for me, but also the children's program is designed in such a way to teach the little ones the same content in a fashion suited for them. This year we will study through the book of Isaiah. Can't say that I can think of any other children's program which teaches Isaiah. It's surely to be a great experience for all of us.
I pray now for stamina to keep us motivated through the school year. There is much work ahead but much fun too. We'll throw in some field trips and with the school year also comes a renewed love of Saturday mornings and snuggling with Daddy!
This year, I am not using a integrated curriculum but subjects from different publishers. For writing and reading, we're using the American Language Series workbooks I purchased at Children's Books (a fabulous local home school supply warehouse!). They are colorfully illustrated workbooks which focus on phonics and handwriting. There is also a little reader which accompanies it. Philip has proudly been reading a one-page story (4-6 lines) each day. It's exciting to see him growing in his reading skills without feeling overwhelmed by tackling a whole book. The one problem with this series is that the phonics lesson is 5 pages long (most of which involved him 'x'-ing off the pictures which start with the designated sounds) and the handwriting lesson being a front and back page of copying letter combinations. All week (as we do this each day), I've been trying to run phonics and handwriting back to back, getting it all done in a solid hour. As the week went on and Philip got S-L-O-W-E-R each day with it and after talking to a friend who is a kindergarten teacher about the attention span of average 5-year-olds, I've decided to split these lessons up next week with some form of physical activity.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we have science which is coming from an Usborne Books Science Activities book. Tuesday we learned some properities of water (i.e. how water takes the form of its container, how it only flows down, how it doesn't change quantity between different shaped containers) and on Thursday we discovered which items float and which things sink. Science is Philip's favorite subject right now as it's all hands on.
We're also studying math using a great program called Math-U-See. There's a workbook but also a DVD with 5 minute lesson introductions and manipulative blocks which are a hit since Philip is a lego fanatic. For history, I found a great program called "History for Little Pilgrims". There's a text book, instruction book and coloring book. The best thing is that it focuses on history from the point of how God's Kingdom has grown through time. The keypoint for this first week was teaching the student that Jesus Christ is the central figure in ALL OF HISTORY! Everything prior to Jesus' birth looked forward to Him and everything since is reflective of His life. What a great truth to begin planting in a 5-year-old mind.
We'll begin attending Bible Study Fellowship later in September. It's a complex Bible study for me, but also the children's program is designed in such a way to teach the little ones the same content in a fashion suited for them. This year we will study through the book of Isaiah. Can't say that I can think of any other children's program which teaches Isaiah. It's surely to be a great experience for all of us.
I pray now for stamina to keep us motivated through the school year. There is much work ahead but much fun too. We'll throw in some field trips and with the school year also comes a renewed love of Saturday mornings and snuggling with Daddy!
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