3 hours ago
When it comes to homeschooling, everything is just difficult right now.
I've been wanting to get back to writing about homeschool topics this year, but I've been avoiding it for one major reason - I'm feeling like a big homeschool failure, ever since Christmas break. We're not getting through our school days until late afternoon, it's a struggle to keep everyone on task, and yes, there have been tears.
I wanted to start out with a little bit of honesty, because it is really easy to idealize the homeschool journeys of others by what they share online. Then when we hit a rough patch, we are left feeling that we are just not good at this, or wondering if we are doing something wrong.
Our family has been doing this long enough now for me to know that eventually, this will pass. Right now I feel like homeschooling is never going to run smoothly again, that the fun will never make a reappearance. But that's just not true. The fun days come, and they go, and the hard days do too. Perseverance is a virtue, and especially when tackling something as big as your child's education.
At the beginning of the year, I got involved with helping to start a homeschool support group at my church, and one of the first subjects we tackled was finding your "why", writing a mission statement for your homeschool, something that you can go back to on the hard days.
Well, that is where our family is now, right in the middle of those hard days. Maybe you are too, so I wanted to share a little DIY homeschool workshop, something we worked through in our support group.
Below is a link to a free video by Voddie Baucham entitled "Homeschooling With Your Grandchildren In Mind", and it's all about the purpose, the foundation of this endeavor of homeschooling as Christian parents.
You can watch the video here (starting at about the 17 minute mark), and then for a DIY homeschool workshop, answer the following questions for yourself! If you can discuss with a like-minded friend, that's even better.
1. In what ways do you find yourself falling into a worldly perspective when it comes to education? (Focused on good jobs, test scores, something else?)
2. How is discipleship different than assembly-line education? What does discipleship in your homeschooling involve?
3. How do you remind yourself on a consistent basis why we do what we do?
4. Baucham says mankind is “able and obligated to discover all the things that God has created” and to know Him better as the result of that. Does that statement change how you view education? How?
5. In what ways can we apply the Great Commission in our homeschooling - through both evangelism and discipleship?
6. What do you think it looks like to homeschool from a biblical worldview?
7. Baucham says we are to “imitate what God has done through the art of every discipline, to the glory of God.” We imitate Him through the arts of:
-organizing well (philosophy/making goals),
-knowing well (grammar/memorization/reading/history),
-thinking well (rhetoric/logic),
-communicating well (writing/speaking),
-quantifying well (math),
-analyzing nature well (science),
-imitating nature well (art/music),
-living well in light of the truth we’ve learned (theology)
In Colossians 2:2-3, Paul says:
“My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
With that in mind, what are some practical ways you can make sure Christ is the center of knowledge in your homeschool?
Colossians tells us that Christ is at the basis of all wisdom and knowledge, and the goal for us as Christians is to keep Him at the center of our homeschooling, at the center of every subject. If I'm not pointing my kids back to Jesus through everything we are learning, then I am missing the point, and I'm not giving them the full "treasures of all knowledge and wisdom". Spending a little less time worrying about "getting it all done", and remembering why I'm doing this in the first place, is especially helpful for me in these dark, winter months.
Do you struggle with homeschooling during the winter?
It's never the dreaded February for me, we always have a harder time in January!
A Quote
'Which blow breaks the stone?' he asked. Then, pointing with his whip, he said 'Thee must never say, thee must never even let thyself think, "I won that soul for Christ." It is the first blow, and the last, and every one in between.'
-The "Dear Old Man", to Amy Carmichael; A Chance To Die
A Book
At the risk of being redundant, I'm going to mention the same book from which I took today's quote, A Chance To Die by Elisabeth Elliot, a biography of Amy Carmichael. This has been a fascinating book to read because I didn't know that many details of Carmichael's life. I also didn't realize how great of a writer Elisabeth Elliot was - this is the first book of hers I've read. It has given me so much to think about, and I imagine it will be mentioned in many upcoming posts, so I won't go into it too much here. But if you want to sharpen your own focus on Christ, this book holds so much inspiration.
A Bit Of Nature
It has snowed once every week or two in January, which is ideal in my book. There is always a bit of snow on the ground right now, and I enjoy that so much. Winter isn't nearly as beautiful without long-lasting snow. Every morning, as the sun comes up over the mountains in front of our house, it shines this bright golden lights, and it glints off the crystals of snow and frost that are clinging to the trees. It's like a little glimpse of Heaven to start the day.
A Recommendation
Today I'm going to recommend Kay Arthur's Precepts Bible studies. If you ever get a chance to do one of these studies, jump at it! One of my friends at church leads a Precepts study each year, and I decided to try to work it into my schedule for this spring. We are doing the study on Colossians and Philemon, and we have only done the first week of lessons so far - our meeting yesterday was cancelled due to a snowstorm, so I haven't even seen the videos that go along with the study. But just this one week of study has been so rich and meaningful so far. What I love about the study is how the entire thing is focused on getting you deep into the text of the book, guiding you through the observation process - there is no fluff here. Many women's Bible studies end up being surface level, but this one is a deep dive, and I'm loving it. It's the Bible study guide I've always wanted.
A Moment Of Happiness
I find that when I think back to "moments of happiness", my mind always goes to quiet moments at home, and we have unfortunately had few of those in the opening weeks of 2022. I don't have a specific moment that stands out to me this time, just snatches of family life that are flashing into my brain - hearing Gwen singing a hymn from her room upstairs; catching Georgie asleep on the floor next to my bed in the morning and picking her up to snuggle under the covers for minute; watching the Clarice play an elaborate "cops and robbers" game on her "bouncy car", dressed up in a police uniform and all; wondering wear the boys are, and then opening their bedroom door to see them deeply focused on building Legos; picking up bits of popcorn that fall between the couch cushions while Derek and I watch a movie while the fire crackers in the woodstove. We've been out of the house too much this month, and it's made me realize again how valuable our home moments are.
In my mind, January is a month to rest and cocoon a little after the holidays. It's cold outside, and all I really want to do is curl up with a stack of books for a few hours.
So I'm left wondering, why is this January so busy? We've had hardly an time at home!
At the end of December I requested a massive stack of winter picture books from our library, with intentions of making it through them all - and we've probably only had time to read a third of them.
Since it's taking us so long to get through our books, I thought I would share our winter picture book suggestions in parts. At the rate we are going, we may not read through all of our books until spring! I'll just share the books that stand out to us as we go. So here are the books we have loved for winter so far.
Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett - Another retelling of Little Red Riding Hood by Jan Brett, but all her retellings of this classic tail are on our favorites list!
The Snowy Nap by Jan Brett - Hedgie decides he wants to see the winter, so he stays awake instead of hibernating. A very cute and cozy winter story!
The Mitten by Jan Brett - A mitten becomes a home for multiple animals that we know from Brett's other winter books. My preschoolers really loved this one especially!
The Hat by Jan Brett - An adorable story about Hedgie accidentally starting a fashion trend when a sock gets stuck on his head. Really adorable illustrations!
Why The Evergreens Keep Their Leaves by Annmarie Riley Guertin - This is a cute myth/fable, about how evergreen trees got to keep their leaves because they were kind to an injured cardinal bird. We aren't huge into mythology, but I do like to read them an occasional myth or fable that doesn't get too much into pagan gods, etc, and this one doesn't. The Frost Queen and Jack Frost appear in this story, and decide not to make the evergreens lose their leaves because of their kindness.
In The Snow: Who's Been Here? by Lindsay Barrett George - This book follows two kids exploring the woods and noticing all the signs of different animals that have been left behind. It would be a great jumping-off point for some winter nature study!
Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett - A girl starts knitting sweaters from a magic yarn box that never runs out - this story is so quirky! My kids love it every year, and we actually do see a "tree sweater" on the way to church in front of a particularly eclectic house, so that's makes this book extra fun.
Winter Sleep: A Hibernation Story by Sean Taylor and Alex Morss - A child goes with his granny to their hidden forest glade in the summer and the winter. But where did all the animals go? Lots of great info about how different animals hibernate in the back of the book!
Winter Trees by Carole Gerber - A cute picture book that highlights the different characteristics of winter trees. Great for nature study with little ones!
Katy And The Big Snow by Virginia Burton Lee - A great story about the perseverance of a snow plow named Katy.
Big Snow by Jonathan Bean - David helps his mom around the house while waiting for enough snow to cover the ground to play in. Bonus points for being written and illustrated by a homeschool alumni!
Sleep, Big Bear, Sleep by Maureen Wright - In this book, Big Bear keeps mishearing "Old Man Winter", and instead of going to sleep he drives a jeep, dives deep, etc.
Winter Story by Jill Barklem - The illustrations in this book really make it for me - the little forest creatures and their cozy underground homes are so fun to look at!
Wintercake by Lynne Rae Perkins - The animals are celebrating a holiday, and Thomas loses his ingredients. Along the way to finding them, they make a new friend. My kids enjoyed the subtle humor in this one, and I enjoyed the good vocabulary words worked into the text.
You know the thing I love about picture books? They are an easy win. We like reading chapter books too, but especially during busy months, it can be slow getting through them. But the kids and I can sit down with picture books over lunch, enjoy 4 or 5 stories all at once in the span of 20 minutes, and I am left feeling like we've accomplished something good together.
I'll leave you with this great quote I found about reading aloud:
"The fire of literacy is created by the emotional sparks between a child, a book, and the person reading. It isn't achieved by the book alone, nor by the child alone, nor by the adult who's reading aloud-it's the relationship winding between all three, bringing them together in easy harmony.”
— Mem Fox
Only around half of the books we've read have made the list thus far, and I expect we'll have at least one more post coming of cozy winter picture books, so stay tuned!
This morning in my Bible reading, I read this verse:
"...Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel - and God knew."
Exodus 2:23-25
That last part really stood out to me today - God knew. It wasn't that He didn't know before and now He did, it wasn't that He forgot and then remembered. He always knows, He always remembers. Another version, instead of "knew", says He "acknowledged them". He marked His covenant with the Israelites in His mind - our God who is always faithful to His covenants, though we never are. He saw their suffering, and He knew.
How grateful I am that He is a God who knows, who sees, who keeps His covenant when we are faithless, who is always good and worthy of our trust.
"It is good indeed that God remembers His covenants. We are a forgetful people who fall short in our commitments, but the Lord never fails to keep His promises. From our perspective, He may seem slow in doing so, but rest assured that He will always keep His covenant words. If we trust in Him, we can count on Him today to save us and to give us many more blessings besides."-Tabletalk Magazine, January 2022
Note: Sometimes I make sharing things on this blog too complicated - sometimes I want to write about something I read in my devotions, or a quick point that's on my mind, but it feels too short for a post. But what's wrong with short posts, anyway? So I might just stick those short things in a quick "Morning Thoughts" post in the future. Hence the "Vol. 1".
Confession: I am currently recovering from a MAJOR reading rut.
Fortunately, the New Year is a great time to come out of a reading rut - there are so many fun reading challenges that start in January, and I am refocusing what I want out of my reading life and setting some reading goals for the New Year. Let's forget about what's behind and press on, yes?
My Reading Goals
In 2022 I would like to have more discipline in my reading, particularly in practicing self-control and not starting so many books at once. I am not going to make myself start and finish one book at a time, because I have found that is a good way to get myself into a reading rut (because if I'm not enjoying the book, I won't read at all), but I also get myself into ruts when I start too many books at once (decision fatigue). I think that generally, having around 3-4 books going at once would be a good balance - a nonfiction and fiction on audio, and a nonfiction and fiction in physical format.
My other goals involve diving deeper into history topics I am interested in, reading books that will be edifying in serving my family, and not wasting my time on books that are not working for me. I would also like to start to whittle down my unread bookshelf by reading more of the books that I already own.
With those goals in mind, I chose one primary reading challenge, and a possibly secondary challenge to attempt in 2022!
5x5 Reading Challenge
I am part of the Schole Sisters group on Mighty Networks, and I occasionally listen to the podcast. Last January I heard about the 5x5 challenge, so this will be my second attempt at completing it. The idea is to pick five categories for your reading, and then read five books within each of those categories over the course of the year, for a total of 25 books.
I love the idea of this because I have set my own personal study projects in the past anyway, and it's amazing how much you learn when you decide to intentionally read several books on the same topic. However, this challenge was also intimidating for me last year, because I filled in my categories with meatier books - and then when my brain was just tired, or I was having an emotional week (as happened often last year), I just couldn't handle heavy, serious reading. I am going to attempt to keep some of my book picks easier this year, so I don't lose steam.
Here are my categories and tentative picks so far - I will fill in the rest of my books as I go.
World War One - Yes, I am still reading about World War One! I read hardly any WW1 books last year, so I wanted to continue this category and get to some of the books I never finished.
-Dead Wake by Erik Larson - A story about the sinking of the Lusitania, a tragedy which contributed to American interest in possible involvement in WW1.
-The Myth Of The Great War by John Mosier - This one looks interesting because of his semi-controversial idea that the war was mismanaged, and it was a good thing the Americans came in and ended it. I'm curious to see how he supports his arguments.
-The Guns Of August by Barbara Tuchman - Everyone says this one is a must read.
-A World Undone by G. J. Meyer - A WW1 book that I never finished because it's such a heavy read, but it's also the best play-by-play of WW1 I've found.
-The Unknowns by Patrick K. O'Donnel - A book about the men that were pallbearers for the "Unknown Soldier".
Winston Churchill - I think Churchill is a really fascinating character, and I've become particularly interested in leaders who were under-appreciated in their time, but whose contributions to history are seen more clearly in retrospect. Churchill is one of those.
-Darkest Hour by Anthony McCarton - The movie was so good, why not try the book?
-The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson - Larson writes such great nonfiction, I knew I had to read this one.
-The Great Republic by Winston Churchill - This is a history of America written by Churchill himself, which I thought would be an interesting angle on this category.
-Never Give In! The Best Of Winston Churchill's Speeches - This is a book which will probably be read in snatches throughout the course of the year.
-Churchill and Orwell by Thomas E. Ricks - A side-by-side biography of these two contemporaries.
Homemaking - I'm excited about this category for encouragement to make our home a happy and peaceful place.
-The Life-Giving Home by Sally and Sarah Clarkson - Confession: I tried to read this book years ago, and I couldn't get through it. I know everyone loves it so much, but I have a very hard time getting through Sarah Clarkson's writing! Sally is okay, but Sarah...it's hard to explain. I am going to attempt it again though.
-For The Family's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay - I've heard good things.
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Other picks to be determined.
Classics - I have an ongoing quest to read classics that I've never read. There are just so many classic books, aren't there?
-The Grapes Of Wrath by John Steinbeck - I loved East Of Eden, I'm curious if I'll like The Grapes Of Wrath (I feel like alot of people don't).
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I have no other solid picks for this category, I'll just fill them in as the mood strikes me.
Biographies - I've toyed with whether to keep this category to biographies in general, or missionary biographies in particular - I think I'll just see how my reading year shapes up. For now, it's a general category.
- A Chance To Die by Elisabeth Elliot - A biography of Amy Carmichael. I already started this one, and it's so well done. I can't wait to finish it!
-Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand - This one has been on my list for a while.
-The Autobiography of Theodore Roosevelt - Very curious to read this one - Teddy Roosevelt was such an interesting president.
-As Always, Julia by Joan Reardon - This is somewhat biographical - it's about the letters Julia Child wrote to her lifelong penpal, Avis.
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Other book possibilities to be determined.
I'm really hoping I can finish the challenge this year! Typically I read 45-60 books each year, so including these 25 books shouldn't be a problem, but I have always had troubles with "to-be-read" lists. I'm a chronic mood reader, but the idea is to develop some discipline and be intentional with my reading. I will try to post occasional updates on how my challenge is going!
My Secondary Challenge, And A Fiction TBR
The other reading challenge I am toying with attempting is the G3 reading challenge. I just came across this one last week, and I liked the categories, some of which would overlap with my 5x5 challenge anyway. So while I'm not picking specific books for this challenge, it's in the back of my mind.
Of course I have a ton of Christian Living/devotional books on my TBR shelf, and I expect to read several in 2022, but I won't list those here since I am not picking those based on any sort of category.
And just for fun, these are some of the fiction books I hope to get to this year! Most of these are books that have been on my shelf for a while, and they need to get read!
Finish the Wingfeather Saga.
Finish the Penderwick Series.
Have you read any of these books? Are you doing any reading challenges in 2022?
My life has been taken over by photo books.
I had grand plans for this week, to spend a bunch time reading and planning for the new year. I was going to sort out my personal goals, and get organized for an amazing start to the spring semester of our homeschool.
I just had that one little photo project to do first. Should be able to get it done in a day, clean up my Christmas decorations the next day, and then have the rest of the week to let my inner planning nerd out!
Well, that is not how it's gone. Instead, I've been staring at my computer screen for 8 hours every day this week. I have bloodshot eyes - literally, there was a big bloody spot in the corner of my eye when I woke up this morning - and I still have to finalize the books today before I can get them ordered. I severely underestimated how much time it would take to put together even basic photo books for five kids.
So if you need me, I'll just be over here, hyped up on coffee, eyes drooping, promising myself that this year I'm going to add photos to the kids' photo books at the end of each month, instead of killing myself sorting through a year's worth of photos all at once. At least his experience has led to a solid New Year's resolution.
But before I get back to the grind and make my eyes bleed more, a chatty blog post is in order.
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The girls are going to Grandma's house for birthday fun tonight (for Gwen's birthday - she just turned 9! Remember when I had her in an ambulance?). Whenever some of the kids are gone doing something fun, we try to have a movie night or go out to dinner with the other kids, so I'm trying to think of a movie the boys would like to watch.
We just finished watching Star Wars with our big kids on New Year's Eve, and I'm happy to report that they seemed to like it. Derek could care less whether the kids like Star Wars, but I have some big Star Wars fans on my side of the family, so I decided we needed to watch the movies with the kids at some point. I was completely thrown for a loop, because they kids were not bothered at all by the parts I thought would disturb them, but we had some emotions over scenes that I wouldn't have thought twice about. Movies are kind of a minefield for this current age group. At least for us. I never quite know what things are going to bother the kids and what things won't.
We also rung in the New Year with about 8 inches of snow, which was so badly needed. We actually had a couple grass fires last week, before the snow. Fires in December. That never happens around here, but we've had a winter drought for months now, to the point where we now have to be worried about fires. So it was a relief to finally get some moisture!
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Going back a little further, our Christmas was lovely, and I got some really interesting gifts this year. My whole family really tried to think outside the box, and I love the things they picked! The kids got me a variety of candy, notebooks, pens, and embroidery floss (I'm finally getting into embroidery after procrastinating for two years). And Derek got me a great planner, books, a cross stitch kit, and a carved candle - which is so cool, but hard to explain - see above photo. I'm too scared to burn it! And of course, my favorite gift:
The first rule of the Sweet Baby Gang is that we don't talk about the Sweet Baby Gang.
Everyone else seemed to like their gifts too - Derek's big gift was a Kindle Paperwhite. This gift was possibly a little self-serving on my part, because this way when Derek reads at night, I don't have to cover my head with a pillow to block the light.
We also got the little girls Calico Critters. We tried getting Gwen Calico Critter when she was 4 or 5, but she really didn't get into them at all. I was heartbroken...that may be a little dramatic, but I was bummed anyway....because I thought they were so incredibly cute! Somewhere along the way we gave away her un-played-with Critters, and I forgot about them until I realized I needed to even out the Christmas presents for the little girls, and Calico Critters fit the bill. This time I sat down and played Critters with the girls for a while, and lo and behold, they spent the rest of Christmas week playing with them! I guess they just needed me to show them how.
Thankfully the week after Christmas was much more peaceful than the week after New Year's so I worked halfway through this book then. The Wingfeather Saga really is a good series, and fantasy series are always so cozy for winter. I'm enjoying it so much.
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A couple nights ago I went out to dinner with someone at church, and it started to snow. With the lights in town, it was so pretty and peaceful. I'm telling you all this basically just so I can show you the photos - it was so Christmas-y, and technically I guess it was still part of the Christmas season if we're looking at the traditional church calendar.
Next week the kids' Awana group starts back up, and I'm looking forward to resuming date nights with Derek. We've had hardly any time to just hang out together lately, so getting back to routines in January will be a good thing.
Speaking of routines, I need to go finish this cursed photo project so I can get back to my own routines. I have plans to do a quick grocery shopping trip this weekend, and to finally sit down and at least do the bare minimum of homeschool planning before we start back up again - but none of that will happen if I don't get these photo books ordered! I have my eyedrops and my coffee at the ready. Wish me luck.
How was your New Year's? Have you had time for New Year planning yet?
Happy New Year, friends! Every year I do one of these recaps, and it's always a good exercise for me to see our whole year laid out like this. There are always so many things I forget about until I'm sitting down to write about it.
This year, overall, was happy, and it wasn't because all was right with the world. This year's news cycle was almost as stressful as 2020, when I sit down and think about it objectively. I didn't even avoid the news, but it was a peaceful year internally all the same.
I think with more time on my hands, I spent more time this year pondering my own tasks, the things the Lord has given me. To raise my kids. To love my husband. To run my household well, to be an encouragement to my friends and family, to honor the Lord with everything I'm doing. I've faced my own selfishness this year in a way I haven't in the past, and while it was painful in some ways to consider past mistakes, the Lord's grace to me was ever more evident. He's been working hard on me this year, readjusting my priorities, and even when it hurt a little, it's been sweet.
January
-I gave up social media, with the intention of it being a long-term thing. This ended up being a really great thing for me all through 2021, and especially in January with the hectic state of things in the nation.
-I took a reader survey from you all, and you gave me some amazing ideas of topics to tackle! At the time, my emotions were too raw from 2020 to get into any sticky topics, but I might have to revisit that survey again for ideas.
-I started organizing photo projects, my kids' drawings, and a home organizer planner. Maybe I'll do a post soon about how that all went.
-My parents started to get into snowmobiling, and we got to try out snowmobiles for the first time at their house!
-We spent alot of time at home and with family in January, and it was lovely.
On The Blog: A Happy Review Of A Rough Year
February
-Wyatt turned 10 years old! We did a special Nerf war party for him.
-We let Wyatt get his first pet, a betta fish.
-We had a sweet Valentine's Day with the kids, and I prepared little goody bags for them.
-I tried doing monthly book recap videos, but I didn't really make that stick. I may try videos again in the future, but I kind of hate watching myself on video, even though I recognize I could use the speaking practice.
-Rush Limbaugh died, and I honestly found myself missing his take on all the news events of 2021.
-We made tie-dye shirts for neon night at Awana.
-I had friends over for a brunch and tie-dye project of our own, and it was really fun to do a craft project together.
-We went snowmobiling on a mountain pass with my parents, and it was so much fun!
-I started reading up on frugality, which was an interesting project until it was quickly foiled by my books being due back at the library.
On The Blog: What's Changed Since I Quit Instagram, What I Learned From Rush About Living Well
March
-We started using latch hook kits during our read-alouds, and it was a great way to keep the kids' hands busy.
-Gwen became very interested in reading about Annie Oakley, and it was fun to find books about her!
-I started teaching the kids a bit of Shakespeare, and they caught on quicker than I thought. I also planned a Resurrection Day unit study that was a highlight of the homeschool year.
-We had some good snows in March, including one two-foot storm, and we took a homeschool snow day. I also started reading The Wingfeather Saga during a snowstorm in March. We also had some beautiful, warm days too.
-I started organizing a homeschool park/hiking group with some of my friends, and we got together multiple times a month all year!
-We got a nasty cold, which was not Covid, proving that people do still get regular old colds which are no big deal.
-The kids built a wooden car (Wyatt), and cardboard box cars for an Awana derby night. It was really fun! Gwen won a prize for her adorable car design.
-I patched the kids jeans for the first time, part of my quest to be more frugal.
On The Blog: How I Manage A Typical Homeschool Day
April
-We visited my childhood friends who own a ranch, and it was a wonderful time as always. It was also a particularly beautiful spring day, which got me in the mood for summer!
-Clyde turned 7 years old! He lost his first upper tooth.
-I got very introspective without social media to distract me.
-We did all the Easter activities - coloring eggs, resurrection rolls, paper "stained glass" crosses - before celebrating Resurrection Day with family!
-We had a "decades night" at Awana - the girls dressed up like the '80's, and the boys did a '50's look.
-Derek's brother and sister-in-law came to visit from out east, and we went out for hiking and dinner!
-Derek got a new job! Still in accounting, and still working from home, but the new environment and new challenges were a blessing.
-More much-needed snow!
On The Blog: What to Consider Before Joining A Homeschool Co-op
May
-At the end of April and in May, our school subjects slowed down quite a bit as we finished lessons for the year, so we worked on some special studies, including joining an online nature art club. We also did a state history study that was enjoyable for all of us.
-We celebrated a rainy, quiet Mother's Day, which ended up being just what I needed.
-We had Derek's mom over to show us some of the kids' genealogy on his side - it was so interesting for them, and I hope we can do it again this year!
-We did a "homeschool field day" and my mom's house to finish out the homeschool year!
-They lifted the mask mandate in our area, and I put away our masks mostly for good! Happy to report that I haven't worn one hardly anywhere since (except the doctor's office, because they won't let me in without one, and that's one place we do have to go).
-We celebrated my mom's birthday at Chuck E. Cheese, which is an arcade and pizza place that the kids love!
-We also took a weekend field trip with the kids as our last field trip of the year, to a local historic fort. The kids loved it way more than I thought they would!
-On Memorial Day weekend, we took a last-minute road trip to visit some of the National Parks in Utah. It was really beautiful and memorable!
-Our poor old dog got another tumor on his leg, and we had to take him for surgery to get it removed. He is such a puppy about going to the vet, and it made me so sad. I don't think we ever found out if it was malignant, but he seems to be doing fine now.
On The Blog: Why We Keep A Traditional School Schedule
June
-In June we went on a camping trip with my family, at a KOA with a huge slide! We also visited my grandpa in the same weekend, and it was really fun for all of us.
-We had a family campfire on Father's Day!
-I started buying flowers to plant in front of our house again.
-We did some grammar review for Wyatt's 4th grade standardized testing, which proved mostly useless since it wasn't on the test anyway. He did quite well, for the record. I didn't need to be worried.
-We enjoyed hiking and fishing at a nearby state park (a couple different times).
-We celebrated my birthday, and I went to our state's homeschool conference with my sister!
-We enjoyed more park days and splash pads with family and homeschool friends.
On The Blog: Why You Should Go To A Homeschool Conference
July
-We had a quiet few weeks in June and July, and it was really pretty restful overall.
-We celebrated the 4th of July starting on the 3rd, with a trip to the zoo, and then we met up with my family for fireworks. On the actual 4th, we had hamburgers at my house with the family, and we listened to a bunch of stories of my dad's childhood, and told a few of our own. Then we let the kids do sparklers outside, because for the first time in years there was no fire ban on the 4th! It was a really great celebration this year.
-I had a bit of an epiphany about forgiveness, and it really changed a relationship situation I was struggling with.
-Derek and I went on an anniversary overnight trip, and it was a really nice getaway for us.
-The wildflowers were in full force, and I started thinking ahead to the start of the school year.
-We did more hiking and campfires and fishing! We also started making plans for a fall trip with friends.
On The Blog: My Beauty Favorites For Summer, Life Without Instagram - Six Month Update, Visiting Utah National Parks With Kids
August
-We went swimming a few times, once with my sister, with friends, and just as a family! The kids are getting so much better at swimming this year.
-The two little girls got their first haircut! I decided to trim a few of Georgie's curls that had grown out unevenly, and Clarice and Gwen insisted I trim their hair too. It was especially scary for me to trim Clarice's hair, because it's grown out so perfectly and I didn't want to mess up her curls! But it turned out alright.
-We visited my grandma's mountain cabin for a weekend, after having to postpone it from our original June plan. We went fishing and played card games - it was a refreshing and sweet visit!
-The kids had a cousins sleepover at Grandma's house, and they had a great time feeding the horses and hiking to a rope swing up on the mountain.
-We took the kids out to a movie, which is a rare enough occurrence that it's worth noting. We saw the Paw Patrol movie! It was cute.
-As a last hoorah before school started, we took the kids to a local amusement park! Since it's a smaller park, we were able to ride so many rides. Derek and I might have got a little sick, but we all had a wonderful time!
-I put some serious effort into organizing a couple year's worth of photos - it felt so good to get it done! I hope I can be better about getting our albums caught up in 2022.
-Some friends and I decided to re-read Jane Eyre, and I created a Pinterest board for inspiration.
-We started school, trying to get a couple weeks of work in before our September trip.
-My pastor's wife asked me earlier in the summer to help start a homeschool support group at our church, and we had our first meeting in August!
On The Blog: A Minimalist Approach To Morning Time
September
-We took a trip to the Ark Encounter in Kentucky! We had asked some of our good friends if they would be interested in going out there with us, since I would have to drive out alone and Derek would fly to meet us. We were so excited that they were able to make it work! It was a fantastic trip, and a wonderful memory with our dear friends.
-As soon as we returned from Kentucky, we came down with a cold-like illness, and soon enough tested positive for C-19. In retrospect, I have some doubts about the accuracy of the test. But regardless, we hunkered down at home for a couple weeks, and I'm glad it's over with.
-The three big kids started soccer, and I could really tell how much they're skills have grown by the end of the season.
-Derek and I spent a weekend chopping up a big tree that fell over the river on my parent's property - free firewood! We also got our wood stove problems figured out. We were having problems with smoke filling the house whenever we tried to light a fire, and it was because the air wasn't drawing properly - having a proper wood stove is more technical than I originally guessed. But we added additional pipe to the top of the chimney, and it is now fully usable this winter.
-We celebrated Clarice's birthday at the end of September! We went to the zoo on her actual birthday, and accidentally discovered that if you come to the zoo on your birthday, you get a coupon for an impressively big ice cream cone - for free! So now all the kids want to go to the zoo on their birthdays.
On The Blog: Lived In
October
-I took on a huge project in October and decided to attempt, again, a 31 Day Blogging Challenge. I am happy to report that for the first time, I completed it! I blogged every day in October, and there are lots of good posts from that month - you can click here to read them all!
-We went to the pumpkin patch and corn maze twice, once with our homeschool friend group, and once by ourselves! It was fun both times. The kids loved competing to see who could find their way through the maze first.
-The big kids continued on with their soccer games, and the grandparents were able to watch their games or practices!
-We went on a gorgeous leaf hike with our good friends, and took a bunch of leaf-pile pictures.
-We were able to finally enjoy Awana nights again, after missing much of September. Derek and I resumed our weekly Awana night dates!
-We had a field trip to a historical farm and museum with our homeschool friends!
-I got a Reformation Day unit study guide, and the kids and I had a ton of Reformation Day fun.
-We celebrated Georgiana's 4th birthday! We took another trip to the zoo for more ice cream.
On The Blog: 31 Days Of Blogging (All Posts), Searching For A Signature Dish, What We're Doing For Reformation Day This Year, What I've Learned Homeschooling Multiple Kids
November
-November started with hunting season, and Derek got a deer! That's more meat for our freezer.
-I started a "Thanksgiving tree" with our kids to focus on gratitude in November. We all loved it! We also read a ton of Thanksgiving picture books.
-Wyatt and Gwen participated in a unique field trip where they "ran the world" for a day. I volunteered and was assigned to consult for the delegates from Russia. Gwen worked in Canada selling pop and snacks, and Wyatt worked as a manufacturer in China. It was so interesting for them to learn a little about economics from a global perspective, especially with supply chain issues in the news.
-As the big kids finished soccer, the little girls started ballet. They loved it while it lasted! We had to drop out of the class a little early, but I loved getting the chance to see them in their sweet outfits.
-Derek's brother and sister in law came back in town briefly for a family funeral, so it was nice to see them while they were here.
-We started reading 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea with the kids, after watching the movie. The language is so difficult, but they were really enjoying it before our break! I promised them an under-the-sea party if we finish it, so we'll start it up again in January.
-We got lots of great visits in with friends - a fall party with our homeschool group, a zoo day, and a chance to babysit for my friend that turned into a fun playdate for the kids!
-We enjoyed Thanksgiving with my family - we were actually sick, but it turns out everyone in my extended family was sick at the same time, so we figured it couldn't hurt to go ahead with Thanksgiving!
-The weekend after Thanksgiving we set up our Christmas tree!
On The Blog: Our Thanksgiving Tree, Thanksgiving Picture Books We Love
December
-December started off with lots of parties! We went miniature golfing with Derek's coworkers for a Christmas party of sorts.
-We went to a "trail of lights" with my family for my dad's 60th birthday! It was truly a perfect night for it, with warm enough weather that we didn't even have to wear our snow clothes. We went out for pie afterward.
-We had a Christmas party for our Sunday school class that was a ton of fun, as always, and a "secret sister" Christmas exchange with the ladies in our class.
-My grandpa turned 85 years old, and we went to a wonderful birthday party that my Grandma Juanita threw for him! It was a perfect visit, I thought.
-We had Christmas with my mom's side of the family at my grandma's house, and I finally got to meet my new little second-cousin, and found out another cousin is having a baby next year!
-It finally snowed! December is awfully late for a first snow around here, and it wasn't much, but my kids made the most of it.
-I took photos of our Christmas decorations, for the first time in this "new" house.
-We went on Christmas break, Georgiana got an ear infection, and I had to do a last minute Christmas shopping trip for things I forgot. It put a damper on our baking week - but somehow we squeezed it all in!
-We had Christmas Eve with both sides of the family, and it was lovely!
-Christmas morning was relaxing and magical. The kids loved their presents, and played with their toys all day. My parents stopped by for lunch!
-We celebrated Gwen and Derek's birthday, and it was Derek's 40th! We will have a party for him in January, but of course we spent their actual birthday at the zoo. More ice cream! We also decided, on the spur of the moment, to go to a movie, and we saw Encanto in the theater. There was alot of fairytale magic in it, which I'm generally okay with - there was one part that seemed a little too much like a magic spell, but other than that, it was really cute!
-We celebrated New Year's Eve by watching Star Wars with the big kids! This is their first time seeing the original trilogy. They were unsure with Episode 4, but by Episode 6 they were into it!
On The Blog: Christmas Picture Books We Love, Spicy Mocha Recipe - A Caribou Coffee Dupe, Hope (Some Christmas Thoughts)
A year of personal peace was badly needed with all the turmoil going on in the world, and I think the Lord was gracious enough to give me that. I'm so thankful for everything we were able to do together this year, for the memories we made, and the lessons I learned along the way. I can't wait to see what 2022 has in store - and whether good or bad, it's ever a comfort to know we are right in His hands.
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