Two Things...

First:

I love this time of year! Spring is coming! March is almost here! There are so many things to look forward to... flowers, gardens, leaves on the trees, baby animals, chickens laying again!

Even though the kids have been pretty sick, they are all enjoying the sudden rise in temperatures outside. Keep in mind that they are out with their rabbits and mini horse everyday, rain or shine. It's so nice that they don't have to get all bundled up just to go out to do their chores. I've even caught them sneaking outside, math books in hand, to sit out on the trampoline and soak up the sun while they do their home work!

I am looking forward to our move too! That was supposed to happen this week, but a bout with pneumonia has kept me in bed this week, hence all the recent posts and blog changes I am sooo looking forward to getting our pasture up and getting our horses on our property!

I have finally reached the point to where I feel comfortable posting pictures of the house. I figure you all know it's a work in progress and I hope you won't judge me to harshly on the house. We bought it for it's potential, not for it's current state.

At the risk of sounding like a sappy movie, I am... blissful. I am happy and content. Okay, so I'm not really content because I am so full of anticipation for what this new season has in store for my family that I can hardly sit still.

Second:

With Every Drop of Blood

James and Christopher Collier

We just finished a fantastic historical novel about the Civil War era. It tells a story from from the perspective of a 14-yr-old southern boy, right at the end of the war. He is helping to haul supplies to the Confederate Army when he is capture by a black Yankee Private. There was enough action to keep all of my children drawn in, but it was still mild enough that I didn't feel like I was corrupting young minds. I read it out loud to all of my school aged children; 7-12 yrs old

*NOTE*
Some of the language made me quite uncomfortable because I not only had to say the "N" word out loud but had to explain to my children what it meant (racism is beyond their comprehension). There is a very well worded forward about the history of that word and why the author, though uncomfortable with it, chose to include it in the reading.

WaVaHo Field trip!

For those of you who don't know... (drum roll please...) we HOME SCHOOL! (Gasp!) I know, I know. but don't worry... it's perfectly legal and we DO socialize. One of the things we do for school is a weekly History Co-op. This is where all the stir crazy homeschooling moms get their kids together and have hands-on activities that have to do with the history subject for the year. (As if schooling our children and regular household chores wasn't enough right?) Any way, this year is all about American History. So, our entire group of homeschoolers went on a field trip to Dobbs Park last Tuesday, to visit their Native American History Center.

This is what happened while we were there...

Even Abbie got in on the fun!!!

The director of the Center had a nice activity planned for the kids.

When the kiddos were done slathering paint on their sticks (and in some cases themselves) they were given a tour of the History center and then we went outside to eat under the pavilion. Sorry there are no pictures of this, I had left my camera inside.

Many thanks to April for arranging everything! All the kids had a blast making their coup sticks and sand art! I tried to get more pictures of the older kids but they all came out really blurry.

Home schooling at it's best!

We belong to an LDS homeschool History group. January's theme was China...yes we're running

a little late on our project. Any way one of the Ladies had a great idea for doing Chinese Dragons as a project!

We used copies of a dragon face and glued them to brown paper bags. Then we made scales with construction paper on the sides. I let the older kids have a lot more room for creativity and they all did great jobs! The really cool thing about this project is that it directly co insides with an art project from our K12 program so we get credit for our time spent. Yeah!
This month is Africa. I'm not in charge of any of the projects but maybe I can get some good pics of our group and give you a better idea of what we do. The kiddies really love the things we do with this group!

Malachi was so excited when I handed him a screw driver so that he could "fix" a kitchen timer that had stopped working. Every thing is schooling for us. He didn't actually fix the timer but he was able to take it apart and look inside it. He also figured out why it had stopped working. Apparently a piece had broken inside the timer... Who knew? We were all actually impressed with how many springs, coils and other parts go into one tiny kitchen timer!

My very favorite thing about Homeschooling is that every one is included. Here is Abbie right in the middle of the scissors and glue and paper. Happily watching all of the chaos! Its what she lives with! This is not a bad thing! Any one who talks to my Hannah (2) is so impressed by the things she says and what she knows. I have never had a lesson on colors or shapes with her, yet she knows them. She still needs some work on her letters but that will come too. She was raised the exact same way that Abbie is growing up. In the middle of a learning environment. When Abbie is two she will most likely know all of the things that Hannah does now simply because she is in the middle of it every day!

Homeschooling s not about sitting a bunch of children down and forcing them to learn. It's about making life an educational experience. When we go to the zoo the kids take turns using the map and leading the group. When we're grocery shopping I show the children how to pick out meat and fresh produce. Then we compare prices. Rose and Sarah round to the nearest dollar and help keep track of how much is spent. All of this is learning.

Sure we do book work...lots of it. But the important thing to keep in mind is that as a parent you are "schooling" your children constantly. At the park, on a hike, at the store or even in the home... you just have to decided what lessons you want your children to learn! :)

A day in the life...

I home school. Not the traditional "no-books-make-up-your-own-curriculum". Can you imagine that with MY husband? No way. We do an Online Charter School. I jokingly say "All the work is done for us... except the teaching."

No primitive schooling for us... We have a school room that is equipped with three computers (networked of course) and entire wall of school supplies. Unless I am changing a diaper or trying to spend time with another child I am at this computer. Looking up assignments, marking attendance, giving a lesson, recording grades, etc... Sometimes, I even bring my lunch to my desk (a BIG rule breaker) just so I can glance over the next lesson I am supposed to give.

I don't know how or why I do it....Well I guess that's not true. I do it only with the Lord's help and guidance. I do it because I feel it's my calling. Don't get me wrong. I don't think that everyone can or should home school. I just know that I can and I should. You can give your children a good education and spiritual knowledge whether they are in public, private, parochial, or home school. It all depends on parental and teacher involvement.

So, I thought that some people might be wondering what a day looks like for us. (okay, I know because so many people have asked)

A general day goes something like this:
7:30- get up get showered and blah, blah, blah...
9:00- chores, Maggie goes down for morning nap, baby gets fed (at the computer) and I review the days assignments.
10 or 10:30- (if we're lucky) 4 oldest on math, Gabie on busy work or with Hannah(snacking if they want) Maggie get's up somewhere around here
11:30 or 12:00- (depending on how many questions I have answered for math...or if we get stuck on something) Sarah on Lang Arts with me, Rose on Lit, and the boys go play with the little ones, baby fed again
1:00- lunch
1:30 or 2:00- (most likely 2:30) Ammon on Reading lesson with me, Sarah on break with others, Rose on Lang skills, Maggie screaming her darling little head off in the new cage... I mean playpen!
3:00-Rose on Spelling (except on Fridays), Sarah reading/phonics with me, feed baby, Maggie down for afternoon nap, Hannah and Gabie quiet time. (hopefully)
4:00-Malachi Phonics with me, Rose on Test Readiness
5:00-Boys on Lang Arts with me, I remember that I haven't started dinner...John gets home. 6:00-Feed baby
6:30 or 7:00- Eat dinner (Most often made with Johns help!) give spelling test or lesson that was forgotten or replaced with something else such as story for Hannah, diaper time, washing/folding laundry, etc...etc...etc..., feed dog, let dog out
8:00- bed time (ha ha ha) but really, scripture/prayer, baths (only when absolutely necessary), pjs
9:00- lots of giggles and whispers, baby crying...needs fed! Journaling/blogging, check email, plan for next day, put phone on hook, Let dog in, turn off downstairs lights, lock up
9:30- silence...
Some where (normally Saturdays) I throw in History, Art, and Science. These are my kids’ favorite subjects though, so it's not so hard to squeeze in an entire unit in one day.

The reason I plan for so much time to sleep is because I don't get it... I have a newborn, or kids that puke, or one with nightmares...there’s always something :)

This is NOT set in stone! Many times this doesn't even begin to look like a day for us. There are many times when I just throw my plans right out the window and we go for a walk, to the park, or just play in our side yard. Lots of times I'll put a movie on in the middle of the day for no reason other than the fact that the kids want to watch one.

Every other Tuesday the girls have achievement and Many times Nana comes by to take a couple kidos off my hands, to help them with make-up or extra study time...I think she just likes the excuse to be around them...Thanks Nana! :)

See, here's the thing about home schooling...It teaches the kids to be flexible. No matter what "school" you choose, as long as you teach them the life skills that they need, you're children will be just fine. I love my children. I love to spend time with them. I love to watch them learn. It's amazing to see those gears going at lightning speed. To watch eyes light up the first time they sound out a word thrills me! It's hard to explain really.

What's it like having 8 kids?

Many people have asked me..."Whats it like having eight kids?" My answer always depends on my mood. Some times I reply with "I love it!" others it's "Busy!" Often I reply with "Exausting!" But that's just how being a mother is, isn't it? It's wonderful, amazing, busy, exausting, and fufilling. It's being lonely and, at the same time, desperate for your own space. It's wanting silence and then crying all day when the kids are away. I'ts never ever getting to go to the restroom alone and a life full of dishes and laundry.

But it's something much more. It's a million kisses and hugs. It's giggles and toothless grins. It's the pride you feel when you watch your child accomplish something that you've taught them. It's the joy in knowing that long after you are gone there will be someone (a part of you) living on.
You see, What I've learned most about having a lage family is that for double the work load of the "average" sized family we quadruple the joy.

Sure, there are times when I day dream about sending all of the older kids to school and the little ones off to preschool. But what would I actually gain? I might gain peace of mind temporarily but I would loose a million opportunities to show my children how much I love them. I would loose precious opportunities to teach them the values and morals that I want them to have in their adult lives. I would also loose those memories. I hardly think the memory of a perfectly clean bathroom is one that I would treasure over that of my 9-yr-old finally getting a math concept we'd been working on for 2 weeks. I know that I don't always do it right. But even if I fail 50 times out of 100 that's still 50 times that Ive suceeded in teaching them what they are supposed to know.

So here I sit at 9:30 at night with all of my children in bed. Rambling about my feelings about being a mother. Why? To be honest, I'm not even sure if any one will even read this...I don't do much reading of other people's bloggs. I'm just doing this as kind of an "addition" to my journaling. I want to leave behind the knowledge that I gain through out my life. Almost in hopes of helping another young mother, perhaps one day my own daughter.