Slacker Mom, Slacker Teacher

This morning I read a wonderful blog post http://dailydwelling.com/the-best-discipline .  It really opened my eyes to see that I am a slacker mom and slacker teacher. 

I am totally disorganized.  I also think I have Attention Deficit.  These are not great things to be when it comes to being a mom and teacher.  

At the end of every day, I struggle with the fact that really, in all those hours, I have accomplished very little, especially when it comes to our homeschool.  And I have to face the fact that I am the one who is causing this, not the students.

My teenage son is a "reluctant learner".  He's very intelligent, but just doesn't get much work done.  I have to really stay on him for him to stay "on task".  And do I do that?  No.  I'm floating around doing umpteen other things besides teaching school:  laundry, dishes, sending out packages from my Etsy business, checking the computer, etc.  Meanwhile, he's wasting time doing everything but his work.  We are like parallel teacher and student, never meeting at all.  And that is just sad.

My girls pretty much get their work done on their own, with very little input from me.  They are able to stay on task while my son and I drift aimlessly from one thing to another.

I cannot expect something from my son that I myself am not able to do. 

It is me that needs to change before I can help him to change.

I am taking this issue to prayer, because I feel so weak in this area, so without self-discipline.  And I need to acquire it quickly, as I have so few years left to help my son to learn.

I plan to work with him, too, by admitting that I, too, have a problem focusing, setting goals and accomplishing them, especially when it is something I don't like to do.

I need to set a good example to my children, not only in learning self-discipline, but how I go about it.  They need to see my struggles and how I try to overcome them.  And maybe together we can become the homeschool I know we can and should be.

Surviving Daylight Savings

I did it.  I survived the first week of Daylight Savings Time.  Surviving Daylight Savings is so exhausting, I must say.  I still feel like a zombie, wandering aimlessly through the day.  


For instance, on Monday, it took a pry bar to get my eyes open.  Now mind you, we homeschool, so I didn't have to be up to meet any time deadlines but my own.  But still, starting homeschool at 10:00 a.m. can really put you behind the whole day.  I decided to just accept the fact that Monday would be a "wasted" day and try not to stress out about all the things I wasn't accomplishing.  And pray without ceasing!


And did you notice how long the evening seemed this week?  It seemed that after dinner, it took forever to reach bedtime.  I just gave up and went to bed to get it over with instead of waiting for it to come to me!


And if you take medication like I do, especially one that has to be taken at the same time every day, (and I mean on the dot), this week can be an exercise in math skills.  My phone alarm would go off at 7:00 p.m. when I am scheduled to take it, but it would really only be 6:00 (pre-Daylight Savings).  So I would have to set the timer for 50 minutes and take it then.  Then the next day, I would set it for 45 minutes and so on and so forth.  Even with all that, I am still struggling.


I feel bad for Moms with babies that eat every 3-4 hours.  Just when you have their schedule all down pat, here comes Daylight Savings time to mess it up.  I used to use the method that I use for my medication to try and ease my babies back into a schedule.


But, all in all, I survived Daylight Savings.  I'm still feeling a little bleary-eyed and sort of in a fog, but it's getting better every day.  And a gorgeous day like today helps a lot.  I think I'll sit out on my deck for a bit today and enjoy Spring bursting at its seams.


God bless you and please, I love to hear from you!  Feel free to leave a comment.  I try to respond to each and every one!

Day Gone Wrong

Yup, today was a day gone wrong.  I should have known from the moment I opened my eyes.  My broken crown tooth was hurting and I got up late.  I went downstairs and found a big puddle outside the catbox. There was a sinkful of dishes needing to be loaded in the dishwasher.


After loading laundry into the washer, my daughter and I put an exercise DVD into the player and began to do the wretched thing.  A few minutes into it, our ancient old dog decided to have some sort of seizure where he ran around at 100 miles per hour all the while bumping into the walls and anything else in his way.


So we had to stop the video and I had to hold the dog so he wouldn't hurt himself.  Twenty minutes later he lay down and went to sleep, thank goodness, poor thing.  I then tried to gulp down some breakfast and begin some sort of homeschool.  


Next came a quick lunch and then a trip to our local Registry of Motor Vehicles.  You see, I happened to notice on Monday that my license had expired  three weeks ago on my birthday.  Now, I did try to renew it that very afternoon, but when I went in, there was a huge crowd and they were all holding the same renewal paper I had.  So, I thought, I'll try again tomorrow.


So, I had planned to be there this morning, but the doggie incident kind of scrapped my plans.  Anyway, I arrived at the RMV at 1:45 and saw that I had 20 people in front of me after looking at my paper with my number to be served.  Only I hadn't noticed that there was an I in front of 172.  And that there was also an A172, D172, etc.  


So, I took a seat on the hard wooden bench and got ready to wait.  At that time, I recalled how I had gulped down a large glass of iced tea at lunch before arriving at the RMV.  Big mistake.  No bathrooms.  Finally, after exactly one hour, I made my way to the window, looked in the vision machine, took my picture, signed away and paid my $50 and then left that place as quick as I could.


On the way home later, we stopped to vote in the primary.  It was my daughter's first time voting and we were both excited about that. Until we got to the table and found that she was not on the voter list even though she registered this past summer.  So that meant that all the elderly ladies working the polls had to figure out what happened.     Not to mention that they couldn't find my name either, but that was due to the fact that our itty bitty town had been split into two precincts, and both were voting from the same elementary school gym.  Does that make sense?  


So, finally, I voted, and then my daughter finished all her paperwork to allow her to actually vote.  I even took a picture of her outside next to the "vote here" sign.  


And now, after reading my post, I feel a little sheepish calling it a "day gone wrong".  It ended up being an all right day and one we probably won't forget for a while.


I'm sure you've had days like this!  Please share yours by commenting below.  I'd love to hear your stories!

Conquering Clutter Challenge 3 - Mission Accomplished

Wow, I thought I'd never finish with this last challenge!  But, boy, am I thrilled with the results.  I can't wait to start creating in my new clean space.  To remind you of what this sewing space looked like before, here's the photo:

There it is, in all its glory.  First thing I had to do was to find a home for my items I'm going to sell in my new Etsy shop called Cottage Garden Vintage, opening soon.  That was easier said than done.  I had to clear a big shelf for those.  So, those things on that shelf had to find a new home.  They were mostly older homeschool books that I had tried to sell previously on Ebay, so I had to make the executive decision to donate them.
I then put all my assorted sewing supplies in the drawers they belonged in, as well as thread, pin cushions and measuring tapes.  Patterns were placed back in their file boxes.  
I put up the curtains that had been draped over my serger and actually opened my serger after ? years.  Wow!  
Other random items either found a new home, were tossed in the trash or were donated.
And now, for the final reveal.  Brace yourselves!

Isn't that beautiful?  I think so.  
I hope this gives you the inspiration to begin your own conquering clutter challenge.  
I know I am looking for my next challenge to share with you.  Stay tuned and God bless you!

Movies: To Be or Not to Be

Yesterday, I had a discussion with my 16 year old son about action/adventure movies he wants to see, either at the theater or on DVD like "The Hunger Games", "G.I. Joe, Rise of the Cobra", "Transformers" or "Contagion" for example.
So I looked to my favorite Christian review sites:  Common Sense Media and Plugged In to check and see if he might be able to view any of those movies.  I was shocked to see what was in these films in terms of language, sexual situations/innuendo and violence.  
Now, I try to not to be puritanical in deciding what is appropriate for him, but where does a Christian parent draw the line?  Five swear words?  Ten?  None?  And which words should I let pass?
How many sexual references do I allow?  How many violent acts?
Is there nothing for him (and for that matter, other Christian/homeschool families) between "Cinderella" and "Battle LA"?  Should we just give up and wait for a decent film to come out?
He (and our family) really enjoyed "National Treasure", "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and the "Narnia" films.  But that's all we've been able to watch that is appealing to him.
Are we the only family struggling with this?  Is it worse because we homeschool and so the harshness of life seems more harsh?  Trying to stick with Christian values, yet trying to find something entertaining to watch, is definitely a huge challenge.
I would love to hear from you with suggestions for movies for Christian families.  If I hear from enough readers, I will put together a movie list in a future post.
God bless you and thanks for reading my blog.

Conquering Clutter Challenge 2 - Completed

Finally, I have completed challenge 2.  And it certainly was a challenge finding the time to get it done.  Where did all these books come from? 

 First things to go were the piano books.  Unfortunately, the piano is to the left of the bench and so all the books migrate to the homeschool area.  I went through those and relegated them to another shelf. 
Kitty tents and tubes were put out for the cats to play with. 
Art supplies and general school supplies went into a basket on another shelf.
I then separated each child's books into what they were using at this time.  The "maybe" books or the "next year" books were packed into a labeled box that is now stored with other homeschool items not currently being used.
I also put all my teacher's books, answer keys and lesson plans together.
I think standing the books on end will make it easier to find what we are looking for rather than digging through stacks every day.  
It doesn't look as nice as I wanted it to, but it will work for now.  I'm looking for an inexpensive book shelf for all these things, but our budget is super-tight right now.  So here is the after:

Now, if I can just get my students to keep it looking this way, it would be great!
Please join me in my next challenge which will be posted this week!

The Hardest Part of Homeschooling Is.....

I have come to the conclusion that the hardest part of homeschooling is...the end.  The time when your child has finished all their homeschooling goals and has to move on in their life.  
All those years of being so close to your child and then you have to send them out into the "real" world.  Driving, working, going to college--it all seems to come at one time and seems more overwhelming to a homeschooler and a homeschooling mom.
Do you just force them out and hope they survive?  Do you help them gradually assimilate?
My thoughts are that one baby step at a time is the best process.  Say, a part-time job to begin with.  Then, save some money to get their license and buy a car.  Perhaps at the same time, taking a few online college courses to get their feet wet.  
Let them feel it out and find out how comfortable they are with all these changes.  Don't push them to make major decisions they are not ready for.  We've been by their side for 18 some-odd years and we need to be there now.  They are like hothouse flowers--you can't just put them out in the ground and expect them to bloom without a little help.  
Have frequent talks about how they're feeling about all the changes and be a sounding board for their concerns.  
But encourage them to move forward.  I know it's sad, but we must help them become strong adults, looking foward with excitement to the future but at their own pace.  Don't rush them now after all these  wonderful years of homeschooling.
I would love to hear your comments on this article!

Homeschool Doldrums

Since Christmas and New Years, I'm having a hard time getting our homeschool back on track.  As a matter of fact, I'm having a hard time getting anything back on track.  Our Christmas decorations are still up!
We are at least getting a lesson of math in each day, but beyond that, it's a struggle.  Yesterday we started using the book "Take Ten for Writers" by Bonnie Neubauer which uses fun writing prompts with a ten minute time limit. That was fun!  Even I wrote one with the kids.  Just needed to get something down on paper instead of using a keyboard!
I also found "The Way Things Work" by David Macaulay at our local thrift store to use for science until we get back on track with our regular science.
Trying also to get back on schedule with the Sonlight Read-a-Louds.  I'm almost caught up in "Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze" by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis.  We are using the Eastern Hemisphere core by Sonlight.
But that's all we've been doing--oh, and a little of the literature from A Beka's "Of People".
So, I think it's time for the teacher (me!) to make myself focus and get serious again about homeschooling and I think in that way, my 3 students will follow my lead.