Learning Laundry Day!

I have been trying to teach my kids some life skills, to ease my load (Laundry/haha), make them into great and responsible human beings, help them feel success in accomplishment, and to give them the opportunity to learn service and helping other. Ok Lesson 1: Laundry! They were actually so excited to be a part of the learning process and it wasn't me telling them what to do, it was me showing them a new skill and that excited them. Before I knew it I was giving them a pop quiz on which button to push for what? What soap goes in where? How to sort certain colors of clothes? They were thirsting for this knowledge and it was fun and a game! Of course this may wear off down the road, but it is nice to know that they will have this skill for a lifetime if they need it (at least the basics right?). So before I knew it they were gathering all there infamous stuffed animals to throw them through a wash and dry cycle on their own to see how clean they would look in the end! It's so great to see the excitement on their faces for something that we have thrown on our "To-Do List!" Next Lesson might have to be how fun it is to clean a toilet! What do you think can they handle that excitement? I think so!

Babysitting = RESPONSIBILITY

My kids are obsessed with their stuffed animals and this is just a small portion of the ones we own. They love to take them everywhere, trips out of town, in the car, to the park, to friends houses, needless to say we have had our fair share of arguments about these animals especially the giant ones. They all have their own names. I love the creativeness and imagination that goes into each of their stuffed animals names and playtime with them. The boys and I get along best when we both respect each other and when they show me obedience, first off! Of course that's probably how most people get along the best I would guess. Anyway they were being very responsible and I could hear them instigating an idea to gather all of their stuffed animals and drag them downstairs to watch a movie with them. Only they were acting like they were babysitting/in charge of all the animals and asked each animal if they thought that would be fun! Usually (the Old Me) I am driven crazy by the fact that they drag them all over my house and leave the mess scattered. But, something felt different this time and I think its because we are on a mentor/student level and not a teacher/student level. I feel that they are showing more responsibility so I overheard the boys say, "Lets ask mom if thats okay if we take the animals down so they can watch a movie." Wow, can you say magic to my ears! I was amazed at the difference in my mood because of the responsibility and respect that I felt from my 5 and 7 year olds. I pleasantly answered them "Yes, and maybe if you practice babysitting the animals then you can get better and babysit the girls when your a little older." They thought that was great and I was able to continue my day without an argument (so far, fingers crossed) we are taking this one moment at a time. But I like what I'm seeing so far!

Math before breakfast!

So Gabe woke up happy today and was really helpful with Grace and the other kids. I told him we need to do something fun today! I said we need to eat breakfast first. He said, "No, I want to do some math first." How could I turn that down, when a kid is so excited to do Math that he turns down breakfast first thing. The night before his dad taught him and his brother how to do double digit addition. Needless to say they both thought it was pretty cool. Kids are so thirsty for new knowledge we just have to keep them connected to the excitement of it and not ruin it by making it something they have to do. Everything works better and smoother when it is the kids idea to learn and improve. Since I'm new to the home education thing, I keep thinking that everything has to be structured and orderly (my old thinking sometimes kicks in), then I just have to take a step back and take things slower and they seem to work out better when I'm not as hard on myself or my high expectations. It's hard to be a beginner at something and face that your a beginner, when you already want to be great and know all the answers. I'm learning to have patience for myself. My husband is extremely supportive and helpful even though he is probably wishing I was great already also. Don't worry I will become great along side my children and that will be an even greater accomplishment than I could even expect in the beginning.

Home Education here we come!

After moving Gabe to a new school in first grade, and seeing how this new school handled a nervous first grader who decided to walk straight back home even before school started. (Very stern, controlling, threatening, and not giving the understanding, attention, affection he needed being the new nervous kid.) As parents we felt like it was only in their hands and we had no say how they handled the situation because it was their school and how they ran things there. My little boys life flashed forward and I could see how forcing him to do things could turn him into an intelligent rebellious kid. (We already see pattern of him getting bored because things are too easy). Everyone needs love, understanding and free agency, even 7 yr olds. We decided to take Gabe out of public school and start Home Education. (Note: we had considered this in the past, but this kind of forced us into action.) I am excited about it but, I am also very intimidated by this challenge. My husband is amazingly qualified for the quest. I feel the only thing I have to offer my kids that are not a prerequisite in school, are maybe some virtues that come easier to me naturally. I don't know, but I guess we will work together and come up with something that works for us and for our kids. My husband keeps telling me its not about the prerequisites its about the virtues so I guess (maybe I am overqualified haha) I am in the middle of reading the TJED book and I really like their look on education. We will most likely implement that and a few other things we have come a-crossed to develop the kind of home education program that fits us as a family.