Projects

Warning: long post!!!

So for those of you who don't know and actually care (lol) we have decided to homeschool our children. Let me go ahead and answer a few questions before I continue. 

1)How long? I don't know! Maybe we will only homeschool for a year and find out it doesn't work for us. Maybe it will be a few years. Maybe it will be until they graduate high school. I don't know. And I don't think that is an important thing to know right now. It is completely overwhelming to think about me teaching my children high school subjects...eek! So I am just taking it one year at a time. 

2) Aren't you worried about socializing your children? YES!!! I am worried about a lot of things. I agonized over this decision for a long time. I researched, thought and prayed about this. And the truth is there are 101 reasons to homeschool your children. There are also 101 reasons to send your children to public or private school. So this is not a cut and dry subject (also please know I don't care to debate this subject. I want you to choose what is best for your family. Our answers to that question may look different and that is OK!!!!) At the end of the day it really excited me to try this. I will do the best I can knowing I will fall short in some areas. And remember answer 1? I am not tied to this forever. If this isn't a good fit we move on. That is incredibly freeing! 

Wow this is going to be a long post. 

Ok moving on. 

Today was a no nap day. Do your kids ever have those days? You just know nap time is failing? Well that was today. And instead of fighting it I embraced it and decided it was time for a homeschool "project" as I like to call them. 

I needed to have something all of the kids could participate in. I decided an art one bc we haven't done one in a while. How about car painting?!?! The boys love cars and it will be a great way to incorporate art. I originally thought about doing it at the table but realized Colt wouldn't really get to participate. So I took a deep breath and did it on the kitchen floor. I told the kids the rules (stay on paper, no throwing the cars) and let them loose. 

So fun!!! I was thrilled that they all enjoyed it so much. They did great following the rules...even Colt! 

They then tested the waters by getting their hands and feet painty. 

Now about this time I was obviously a bit distracted with the hands and feet painting. Colt decided to use his speedy quick ninja moves to drive his tractor on me...

Now I need to clear up a misconception about me. People seem to think messes don't stress me out at all and I welcome them with open arms. While it is true some messes don't stress me out (spilled drinks, some sensory things,ect.,,) some very much do. And about this time I. Was. Feeling. It. 

So I took a deep breath and told myself "it's only paint. It can clean up." But looking around I honestly didn't know how that was going to happen. How was this going to not turn into a giant disaster? I tackled Pierce first and just wiped his feet off with a wipe, took off his clothes and diaper and sent him to the tub. I then did the same to the other 2. Then I had a brilliant idea (if I do say so myself). I put the cars and paint buckets in the tub and asked the kids to help me clean them up. They thought it was a great idea and loved being able to help!

While they got started I quickly ripped off the paper and wiped down the floor. Good as new!

Then I rinsed our clothes out in the sink next to them and stain sticked everything. And the paint all came out! Phew!!! The kids loved playing in the tub and helping clean up. They did a great job!

The best part? It took all afternoon! It was a great project and one that makes me so excited to be homeschooling! I am looking forward to many more "projects". And while it's true I loved doing these things before I decided to hs I love having a clear vision as to why I am doing it and being more intentional and consistent. 

Also here is the end paper. I love how it turned out!

The kids kept saying, "Dad is going to love this." Weeeell...your dad puts up with my crazy antics not sure he loves them! Lol!!! 

Thanks for always supporting me Dan! You are the best!!!

Anyway, look forward to more blog posts of "projects" as I navigate this whole new world of homeschooling!

Bunny's Monster

One day while getting ready for Christmas Saffryn tells me she wants to get special bunny some Christmas presents. My heart was filled with joy. She is so sweet and this just reminded me how young she still is. Then my practical side took over and I thought...ya no way are we spending money on my daughter's stuffed animal. After a few minutes I thought of a different solution. What if we made special bunny something for Christmas? Saffryn was overjoyed with this idea.

So one afternoon while the boys were sleeping I talked to Saffryn about what she wanted to make. She said Bunny would love a ballerina or a princess. So I pulled out some of our art supplies (craft sticks, tape, scissors, glue, glitter, feathers, ribbons, paper and markers). In my head I pictured using the craft sticks to make a stick person then decorating it using our other materials. Before I told her my idea I decided I wanted to see what her ideas were first. So I laid the materials out and told her she could go ahead and make her gifts.

You know she never asked me for my opinion. She jumped right in and started cutting, taping and creating. She worked ALL afternoon on her project. When she was done I was completely blown away! I asked her to tell me about Bunny's gift and she said it was a monster!





Me: "I didn't know Bunny liked monsters."
Saffryn very emphatically: "Oh yes mom. She LOVES monsters."
Haha

But seriously is this not the coolest thing. The orange part on top is the hair. The two dots on the top left are the eyes and the purple is the mouth. The yellow is the body. It looks just like a monster! Her creativity astounds me. This is so much better than my lame stick figures would have been. And she was so proud. She did it all by herself. I literally did not touch one part of it.





This picture is to show you the size by comparing it to a craft stick. It is HUGE! I just love it so much. I want to save it forever.

But the project is not done yet! We had to wrap it for Bunny of course!!! So I cut some manageable squares of wrapping paper and then let Saffryn do the rest.




There she is busy wrapping away. In the end she made Bunny 3 gifts: a monster, some Christmas trees using craft sticks and a telescope she taped together.




There is her finished product. She even made some name tags for the gifts. This was her project though and through and I could not be happier that I got out of her way!!!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Tis The Season

For CANDY CANES!!!

Mmm...enjoy! 

The King

We just got back from a long vacation over Thanksgiving. I had intended on doing several posts from that trip. BUT since I have somehow lost my camera (UGH...why do I have to be such a scatterbrain all the time. Seriously frustrated with myself) those wont be happening. But I do want to remember some conversations Saffryn and I had before we went on our trip because they are priceless.

We were planning (and made) several stops on our way to see family over Thanksgiving. One of them was in Memphis, Tennessee. Yup that's right, Graceland!!!

I knew the kids would not care about it very much, but I thought maybe if we got really excited about it before hand it would help them be patient while we toured the mansion. So that's what we did. We listened to Elvis and told the kids we were going to visit his house. It started working and the kids thought it was going to be pretty cool...

Saffryn a couple of days before we left, "We are going to Elvis' house!!! We get to meet him, too."
Oh dear...we had never specifically said we WEREN'T going to meet him and it never occurred to me to tell her otherwise.
Me very tentatively: "Well...no we aren't going to meet him at his house."
Saffryn: "Why?"
Me: "Well...because he died."
Saffryn does an audible gasp as this registers. Pure shock across her face. "Mom, who knows about this?"
Me: "Well....everyone."
Saffryn: "Do my friends?"
Me: "I dont know about them. But most grown ups know about it."
Saffryn's face is just so sad looking. "Mom I am going to miss him."
Don't we all....don't we all.

Saffryn: "Does Elvis remember meeting us?"
Me: "We never met Elvis."
Saffryn: "Then how do we know him?"
Me: "He is a rockstar and we know him, but he never knew us."
Saffryn perplexed: "So if Elvis isn't going to be at his house how do we get in?"
Me: "His family said we could go in and see his house."
Saffryn: "Oh!" Satisfied and like a lightbulb went off. "So his family will be there and we will meet them."
Me: "Uhhhhh. No. They wont be there but they said we could go in and look at his house. That was very kind of them."
Saffryn again looking perplexed drops it for a bit while she ponders this over. Never realized how weird this all sounded until she started asking these questions. Lol.

Later in the day...

S: "How did Elvis die?"
Me: "His heart stopped beating."
S: "Why?"
Me: "He got sick and his heart stopped beating."
S forlorn again: "I am going to miss him so much."

While watching a video of Elvis performing...
S: "Why does he do that weird shaky thing with his legs?"
Hahaha! That is only his trademark move...

S: "Will you please tell Dad that Elvis died."
M: "He already knows. Elvis died a long time ago."
S: "But my friends don't know."
M: "They will know if a grown up tells them."
S looking very proud: "Ya. Me and Pierce know cause you telled us."

The first thing Saffryn does when we get to Graceland as we are purchasing tickets is turns around to the lady behind us and in a very serious and sad voice she says, "Elvis died."

So in this news worthy post just in case you missed it...Elvis has died and we all miss him!!!