How to Home School With a Baby In the House

With some creativity and a lot of flexibility, it can be done.

(Psst... push play to see video.)

What to do with baby when you want to read-

I laughed at myself for naming one of my posts, "How to Homeschool With a Baby in The House".  I'd really like to read the "e-how" article on that one, too, if someone ever gets it figured out.    I am just kidding.   The truth is that I don't think there is a magic plan, but here are a few of our strategies:

•  I Adjusted our schedule to be more of a checklist than a rigid grid of times and subjects.  That allows us to flex around baby's schedule and mood
•  Teach the most "mommy-intensive"subjects during nap time
• Set aside one day a week for focused, uninterrupted study time without baby.  (On that day, my fabulous mom takes baby for the day.  It is a special day for both of them, and we are able to get a little more done.)
• Be creative.
• Be flexible.

 Homeschool looks different than it did before baby, but we are still learning and growing. There is no secret to it.  Like everything else, we just have to keep moving forward.  

However, in the midst of it, I try to remember the lessons that are unique to this season.  My girls are learning  to be kind when their baby sister colors on their math work or patient when mom is busy.  They are learning how to love a little person even when she is making life more challenging.  These lessons are as important as page 53 in the language arts book or lesson 90 in Saxon Math.  In fact, these character lessons are at the very heart of our choice to home school.

Baby A teaching the girls.

So, things may get a little crazy, but by the end of the week we have completed all of our  lessons- even some eternal ones, hopefully!

Camping Out at "Half-Way There"

     When I am standing on the shore opposite of the promise, there is a choice.  I can settle here, or I can cross over.  The choice seems simple on the surface.    Why would I settle for something less when I know "the more" has already been promised to me, if I just keep going?

     Today, I find myself camped out at "half-way there", and I want to stay.  It is not amazing, but it is not awful either.  I have worked hard to get here.  However, my wise pastor challenged us this morning to open ourselves to being changed.  He said, "Just because you are comfortable, does not mean that you are not in a desert."  As he spoke I leaned forward, feeling the sand shift beneath my feet.  
     God made a promise to Abraham to settle his people west of the Jordan River.  He was to give them a land to call their own that was flowing with milk and honey, a place where the roots of a nation could go down deep into the soil and raise up from it generations and generations of faithful people. 
      In Joshua 1, God's people stand on the edge of the promise.  Their new leader, Joshua, listens as God directs his way:  "Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them.  I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses."  God goes on to say, "Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go."  And He concludes with the promise, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” 
    Joshua clutches hard onto the promises of God, and steadies his gaze on the path forward.  Then, he faithfully leads God's people across the Jordan and into the land God had given them.

    God has a promise land for me as well.  I have walked long in pursuit of it. My  eyes fix hard on the path for a time, but then I shift and look to the left or to the right.  I get weary and set up camp.   
    When I am honest about this land of "half-way there", I see that the joy is thin here.  In this land, hard words fly, and peace is a struggle.  The voice of God is so very, very soft.  I strain to hear it, but then I lose my focus.  The effort is too much.  This place makes family hard and purpose blurred.  No, this land is not awful.  We can make it here.  But I have been given the promise of more.  

    I do not want to raise a family here in the desert.  I want to push on towards the land of "more".  So once again I stand, take a hold of my Fathers hand, and ask for his spirit to lead me on from this place.  This is the hard path of complete submission to God.  The strain of releasing control, pulls hard against me, but the promise pulls harder.  The call of joy is echoing.

 Psalm 16:11

You make known to me the path of life;

    in your presence there is fullness of joy;

    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.   

    

1 Peter 2:9  But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

Have you gotten stuck in the land of "half-way there"?  What helped you to start moving forward again?  I'd love to hear your comments.  :)

The Frugal Hoosier... or something like that

If you are a fan of the TV show, The Middle, you know the Frugal Hoosier.  The Frugal Hoosier is the scratch and dent grocery Frankie Heck shops at.  (I loooove The Middle!)  I laughed so hard the first time it was mentioned in the show.  Bargains is our local version of the Frugal Hoosier.

    Twenty years ago, I would not even buy generic spaghetti sauce. The thought of eating it made me gag.  Flash forward two decades and five kids later, and now, I buy generic stuff all the time, and I love shopping at Bargains.  In fact, I get a little giddy as I fire up the mini-van and head out for my monthly shopping trip there.  It's true; there is a slight odor, and some items are a bit grimy.  (I never leave there without giving my hands a thorough dowsing of hand sanitizer.)  But, oh, what wonderful treasures I find!  Kashi cereal for $1.89 a box, Power Bars at 10 for a $1, Pepperidge Farm bread for $1.35 a loaf...the list goes on.  It's amazing. 

Part of the fun is that I usually go with good friends.  We head out early on a Saturday and make it a girl's day.    We laugh and take turns hunting out the bargains.   I love doing life with these gals.  Most of us are stay-at-home moms, trying to stretch one income to cover all the needs of our large families.   When other ladies are heading over to the mall to freshen up their wardrobe, we are digging through boxes of canned goods looking for the ones with the fewest dents... and having fun doing it.  We know this is just a season, and we all feel so blessed to be home with our kids as they grow.  One day I may go back to shopping at a nice clean grocery store and start buying Prego again.  Then I will come home and join my friends for a cup of tea.   We will sit on my porch and reminisce  about the good old days when our homes where wild with children and we had Saturday excursions to Bargains.

   
*If I have sold you on Bargains, here is a place to go for more info.

Is our marriage doomed because we fight?

     My man and I have been working through some issues lately.  I guess it would be more accurate to say that I have been working through issues, and my husband is plodding through them with me.  I have a love hate relationship with seasons like these:  seasons where everything seems to be hard, and emotions are raw.  I hate these seasons for obvious reasons.  They are hard.  I love them because I know it will end; and when it does, it will produce something good.  When my darling husband and I throw down and really battle through the tough spots, ultimately, our marriage is refreshed and made stronger.  It is strengthened, rather than destroyed, because we have committed to stay and fight.  

     Reggie Joiner and Carey Nieuwhof's book, Parenting Beyond Your Capacity says, “Every family fights, but there is a world of difference between when you fight with someone and when you fight for someone,” [p. 101]  Families are messy.  Marriage is messy, but when you have chosen to fight for your spouse difficulties become the rich, black soil of real growth.  

     My marriage has faced some dark days.  There have been some hard battles fought here, and I believe that it is because of them, rather than in spite of them, that my husband and I are so deeply in love.

     If you are in one of those tough seasons, I encourage you to fight for your beloved.  Don't let issues go unresolved or hurts fester.  Battle through them. Don't accept a luke-warm marriage.  Fight for a great one!  It is worth it.

From HK to the other kids of the world

My sweet HK came home from church and typed out this post.  She says she is writing a book to tell other kids about Jesus.  So, today I have invited her to be my "guest blogger".  

THE FAITH OF A CHRISTIAN BY HK  TO THE OTHER KIDS OF THE WORLD

      A Childs relationship with God is strong. and a child like me may have such a strong relationship with Jesus that they may have an experience in their life that an adult has NEVER had before. But you are never too old or young to have a relationship with JESUS. I am 8 and I already have a very strong relationship with Jesus. Being a Christian means to me a lot.  It means to believe in him to talk to him and to truly love him.   When I am happy I thank him for what he has given me.  When I am sad, he cheers me up.  He is with me every day and he is close. Being Christian is about faith, love, Honor, trust and kindness. Jesus loves every one of his children and he always will.  

Little People, Big Faith

In my last post, I was sentimental about our baby losing her first tooth.  Sometime after I wrote that post, my girls came to me with a request.  I encouraged them to pray about it and left it at that.  The answer to their prayers came in the form of a 7lb baby girl.  God gave them a new, little sister to love and adore.

So, little E's first lost tooth was not truly the last of the first lost teeth.  No, the tooth fairy will be flying by here for at least 8 more years.  Life's funny!

Just when I start to figure the whole thing out, the game completely changes.  My man and I were done with babies.  Sleeping through the night suited me quite well.  So, why did I tell my kids to pray about having another sibling.  Simply, because the one thing I truly want in life is to do God's will.  I fall remarkably short of following Him perfectly, but I do desire His will more than anything .  I did not tell the girls to pray as a way of writing them off.  I told them that if God wanted us to have another baby, then I would be happy to receive it.  It would just require God to be very clear because my plans were heading in a different direction.  He was was clear.   Six months after the girls started praying, their prayers were answered.  Surprise!  

Baby A is the cooing, giggling reminder to my children that their God hears their prayers.  What a precious way for the Lord to speak!  

Now we have a boisterous family of seven. Our days (and nights)  are radically different than they were 2 years ago.  There are cheerios on the floor again and a ginormous excersaucer consuming our living room.   I can not make a trip to the grocery store without at least one comment from a perfect stranger regarding my small army of children.  And frankly, I am quite proud of them.  They are each so spunky and different.  They bring deep joy to my days!

Psalm 127:3  Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him.

The Last of the Firsts

Our baby lost her first tooth.

 It wiggled for about 2 weeks.  

Then at last it came out!  A very proud day. 

 The letter to the Tooth Fairy was composed,

 and placed under the pillow.  

Her older sister walked her through the whole protocol.  She obviously has a lot of experience in the area.

 Little E heard rumors from the older kids that mom is the Tooth Fairy, but she knows better. 

"Because", she retorted...  "if Mom is the Tooth Fairy, then how would she fit under my pillow?"  

Apparently, that little magical gal did come last night. Just as E had hoped.  We all woke up very early this morning to the excited shouts of a little girl who found a treat tucked under her pillow.

 Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man.
  ~Rabindranath Tagore