Oh I'm sorry, did you think this blog would be a regular thing?!!
Hi, I'm Kim, have we met?
DO YOU KNOW ME AT ALL?!!
Yes, indeed, it's been a year-and-a-half since my last blog post. Isn't THAT fancy? Well here I am wanting to say things again and so I will use my fancy blog. But first things first......
WE ARE ABOUT TO FINISH OUR 2ND YEAR OF HOMESCHOOLING!!!!!
How is that for some consistency? See? I was so busy being consistent in LIFE I neglected my fancy blog. Look at me being so consistent and together and mature and stylish and... Ok, back to the biennial post.
We, of course, are not at this point without at least one detour (again, do you know me?). After our first year at home I still felt so unsettled. We brought the kids home at 3rd and 1st grade. My oldest had completed Kinder and two years of elementary school at a private school and my middle had completed Kinder. After a long summer grappled by constant doubt and contemplation, I wearily enrolled the boys at our public school, one week prior to the start of the 2016/2017 school year. We had not yet ventured down the public school path and I constantly wrestled with the thought of choosing not to do something we had never experienced. Plus, I figured, surely they can do better than what's happening at home (which was, quite honestly, a lot of yelling and exhaustion). After eight weeks we were back home and enrolled in the classical program we attended the second half of the previous year.
We have officially fallen head over heels in love with homeschooling. After our short time at the public school I felt so renewed in my convictions and have had an air of confidence that has dramatically impacted our homeschool experience. Very rare are the moments of yelling and exhaustion. Instead we are relaxed and gentle because I know without a shadow of a doubt they are learning so much at home, even on our worst day.
My preferred methods are still evolving but for now we are following the classical method with hints of Charlotte Mason. My heart is warmed to be celebrating the end of a truly satisfying school year of gentle family life and growth. And the fun never ends with the Leheney kids! No, really, I mean NEVER. They have PLANS. So very many plans. Today they (especially my 7 year old) are set on creating a weaving loom. So we are off to search for just the right 9 sticks and dried grasses. Yes, it's exhausting. But it's equally lovely and beautiful to be able to witness their exploration of our world and hold their sweet little hands while I can.
Thanks for reading the biennial Miss Mommypants blog! Perhaps I will chime in with more things to say next week...or in 2019.
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Monday, October 5, 2015
Salad days
Some ramblings as I struggle with a cold today...
Our formal school work is on the back burner but we have done some learning today even with a sick teacher. These kids are on fire for anything related to cooking. They will grab up ingredients and start cutting and mixing (and spilling) and tasting (and spilling some more). So the "learning" that comes from all of this consists of problem solving, fine motor skills, measurement, sensory input, maybe a little chemistry, home economics, health, serving, etc. The list really does go on and on. Grayson (age 6) had a salad of romaine lettuce, mushrooms, green peppers and broccoli this morning, prepared entirely by himself. Keilan (age 8) did some work on https://www.khanacademy.org/ and some of a math work sheet. In a little while here we're going to run through flash cards and do some reading.
Many home school families would call this a successful day but I struggle very much with days like this. I tell myself that making a salad is all kinds of schooling but deep down I'm not convinced. I mean I know it's good for him and he struggles so much with fine motor, but it's a salad. I'm discouraged. I'm worried that surely we'll fall so far behind we'll never recover. I hear the voices of people in my life that I either know disapprove of our home schooling or who I suspect disapprove of our home schooling. I hear them talking to other people about how sad it is that those Leheney boys were taken out of school; that surely they need the structure of regular school more than any child. What will become of those poor children left to draw pictures of robots all day? NO really? What will become of them?!! All because I'm sick just this one day, surely we will fail. See what I do to myself?
I thank God for the gift of a new day. And I thank God for these highly creative children. And I pray that we'll be 1st and 3rd grade educated by the Spring.
Our formal school work is on the back burner but we have done some learning today even with a sick teacher. These kids are on fire for anything related to cooking. They will grab up ingredients and start cutting and mixing (and spilling) and tasting (and spilling some more). So the "learning" that comes from all of this consists of problem solving, fine motor skills, measurement, sensory input, maybe a little chemistry, home economics, health, serving, etc. The list really does go on and on. Grayson (age 6) had a salad of romaine lettuce, mushrooms, green peppers and broccoli this morning, prepared entirely by himself. Keilan (age 8) did some work on https://www.khanacademy.org/ and some of a math work sheet. In a little while here we're going to run through flash cards and do some reading.
Many home school families would call this a successful day but I struggle very much with days like this. I tell myself that making a salad is all kinds of schooling but deep down I'm not convinced. I mean I know it's good for him and he struggles so much with fine motor, but it's a salad. I'm discouraged. I'm worried that surely we'll fall so far behind we'll never recover. I hear the voices of people in my life that I either know disapprove of our home schooling or who I suspect disapprove of our home schooling. I hear them talking to other people about how sad it is that those Leheney boys were taken out of school; that surely they need the structure of regular school more than any child. What will become of those poor children left to draw pictures of robots all day? NO really? What will become of them?!! All because I'm sick just this one day, surely we will fail. See what I do to myself?
I thank God for the gift of a new day. And I thank God for these highly creative children. And I pray that we'll be 1st and 3rd grade educated by the Spring.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Bird clubs and blast offs!
I actually just deleted a sentence that said today was a "somewhat mediocre day". And then I remembered that we went on this fantastically windy walk, climbed trees, collected hundreds of leaves, berries and an ear of corn left over from the combine, made "bird food" for all the birds of the world, AND started a bird-watching club. Keilan loves birds and drawing birds, much like his Grandpa Lee who paints these wonderful little birds on tree trunk slices. And after our adventure today he was inspired to start a club where his friends could come over every Saturday (I convinced him to shoot for once a month) and they could look for birds, feed birds, study birds, draw birds, play games, etc. Oh and eat popcorn. He says we should have lots of popcorn, maybe two pots. He wants the kids to bring their binoculars and bird field guides, if they have them. And he created a "chant" (because he says kids like chants) to sing at the beginning of each meeting. "Do you like the birds and bees? Come to Bird Club if you please!" So this was really special and I almost discounted it because there is no paper trail! This is a good example of how I am hard on myself. These moments are the ones we've all been missing. And our walk inspired such creativity and drive in Keilan. These are magical moments and I tried to call them mediocre because they did not occur in a classroom setting. But alas, bird club plans aside, we did some good work in the classroom as well.
This is the start of his bird club flyer.
We started the day with eggs over easy, apple cider, and cinnamon toast crunch at about 8:45. They had been awake for a while already and played upstairs until I called them for breakfast. We finished breakfast by about 9:15 and headed into the classroom. Keilan thought we could use snacks so he poured everyone a little bowl of Count Dracula (because we are big into healthy cereals). After they checked themselves in on my little school train we started with the calendar because these kids try to pretend they don't know the days of the week or months of the year which I know good and well they've learned at school (like years ago for Keilan). But when it comes time to look at the calendar...is it Tuesday? Which day comes after Tuesday? Sunday? Twelve? Lamp? Oh vey.
This may seem childish, but it's a simple way to help the boys with routine. As you can see some need this more than others.
Next, we added a stir stick to our days of school count down cups, which teaches place value, something that is appropriate for both 3rd and 1st grade. They love this. I first saw it with clear plastic pouches, but this is what I ended up throwing together. The cups are kind of a pain and I'm sure will get smashed at some point. After our basic check-in stuff, I went to the piano. Ok, don't get carried away, I don't actually play. But I know the scales well enough to plunk out some basic "circle time" tunes. So we all sang our days of the week tune from C to C at the tops of our lungs. It teaches basic scale progression too. The Leheney kids all have great pitch! Then we sang the months of the year to the tune of "Picking Up Paw Paws" and then again while I held up the flash cards, all INXS-style (except not as cool because we're picking up paw paws and all). Then we started some lesson time and seat work.
We have completed 14 actual days of "at our desks" school. We don't count co-op days and unfortunately, Lyla was sick for almost an entire week. This is an aspect of homeschooling that goes against every grain of my being. We will end up being way off from the "regular" school calendar. I thought I would be ok with that, but it really bothers me.
Keilan did some math that was pretty challenging for him due to his focus issues. He had to use a grocery list of items with prices and determine how much individual bills would cost in total. Oh boy. He finished two of the four "bills". He knows decimal place value and how to add, easily. But he struggles so very severely to put the pencil to paper and stay on task. He continued the work sheet with some place value drills and multiple choice questions. He then went up to the landing and read from his Magic Tree House book, A Place for Pandas for about 30 minutes. He's really proud of himself for getting through another chapter today and seems to be enjoying the story. Keilan also did some language arts work today practicing capitalization rules and declarative and interrogative sentences. Honestly, we've been doing this for a while now and he's bored with it. I stopped him half way through and moved him onto some writing practice. He's learning cursive and had a wonderful head start last year at school so I'm pleased with how he's doing but he still needs regular practice. Then my dear Keilan drew a really cool picture of some sort of robot creature.
Grayson also did some math work today. His math is very easy for him and I struggle to keep his attention as well. We're talking pictures of 2 bears plus a picture of 1 bear equals how many bears? This kid can do advanced math in his head so I struggle as to where to draw the line with him. I hesitate to move him ahead because I know the basics are important. It was suggested to me that I give him some of the tests to help determine what he is capable of, so at some point next week I hope to do that. After his math work we did some one-on-one phonics work. I really love this time with Grayson. We have been working on short and long vowel sounds and consonant blends. And today we worked on the two vowel rule (when two vowels are together the second vowel is silent). I sit criss-cross on the floor and he sits in my lap and we do a little call and response through his phonics reader. He does a great job with all of the sounds and stays so focused. I love being able to kiss his cheek or give him a loving squeeze once in a while. And I think it helps him to stay on task. Pretty magical for a Mama to be able to do this at 11am with her 6 year old. Grayson went back to his desk and did a phonics work sheet on today's lesson and a language arts work sheet which focused on some basic word recognition. Lastly, Grayson and I sat down together in the family room (while Keilan was reading) and he read a story to me from his reader that corresponds with his weekly phonics and language arts lessons. He really likes the simple stories (usually there is some sort of mess, which is what Grayson lives for) and is reading well. Slowly, but carefully and well. Grayson's curriculum does not utilize the dolch sight words, but has weekly spelling lists which don't begin for several more months. Since his reading is still so slow, I will start reviewing the dolch list with him next week.
So for today, this is it. This is our best work! :) Next up we have dinner prep, some chores around the house and then Awana right after dinner. A pleasantly full day!
PS-one last thing. The pretend play is through the roof! Both boys have struggled with pretend play both in coming up with scenarios and in just choosing to do pretend play at all. Before we started school today the kids all sat on the floor making "rockets" out of a little Velcro popcicle sticks set I made for Lyla. The boys make such intricate things with those sticks! They were really playing hard, calling out "5-4-3-2-1 BLAST OFF!", making rocket noises and all that jazz. This is the stuff that warms my heart.
This is the start of his bird club flyer.
We started the day with eggs over easy, apple cider, and cinnamon toast crunch at about 8:45. They had been awake for a while already and played upstairs until I called them for breakfast. We finished breakfast by about 9:15 and headed into the classroom. Keilan thought we could use snacks so he poured everyone a little bowl of Count Dracula (because we are big into healthy cereals). After they checked themselves in on my little school train we started with the calendar because these kids try to pretend they don't know the days of the week or months of the year which I know good and well they've learned at school (like years ago for Keilan). But when it comes time to look at the calendar...is it Tuesday? Which day comes after Tuesday? Sunday? Twelve? Lamp? Oh vey.
This may seem childish, but it's a simple way to help the boys with routine. As you can see some need this more than others.
Next, we added a stir stick to our days of school count down cups, which teaches place value, something that is appropriate for both 3rd and 1st grade. They love this. I first saw it with clear plastic pouches, but this is what I ended up throwing together. The cups are kind of a pain and I'm sure will get smashed at some point. After our basic check-in stuff, I went to the piano. Ok, don't get carried away, I don't actually play. But I know the scales well enough to plunk out some basic "circle time" tunes. So we all sang our days of the week tune from C to C at the tops of our lungs. It teaches basic scale progression too. The Leheney kids all have great pitch! Then we sang the months of the year to the tune of "Picking Up Paw Paws" and then again while I held up the flash cards, all INXS-style (except not as cool because we're picking up paw paws and all). Then we started some lesson time and seat work.
We have completed 14 actual days of "at our desks" school. We don't count co-op days and unfortunately, Lyla was sick for almost an entire week. This is an aspect of homeschooling that goes against every grain of my being. We will end up being way off from the "regular" school calendar. I thought I would be ok with that, but it really bothers me.
Keilan did some math that was pretty challenging for him due to his focus issues. He had to use a grocery list of items with prices and determine how much individual bills would cost in total. Oh boy. He finished two of the four "bills". He knows decimal place value and how to add, easily. But he struggles so very severely to put the pencil to paper and stay on task. He continued the work sheet with some place value drills and multiple choice questions. He then went up to the landing and read from his Magic Tree House book, A Place for Pandas for about 30 minutes. He's really proud of himself for getting through another chapter today and seems to be enjoying the story. Keilan also did some language arts work today practicing capitalization rules and declarative and interrogative sentences. Honestly, we've been doing this for a while now and he's bored with it. I stopped him half way through and moved him onto some writing practice. He's learning cursive and had a wonderful head start last year at school so I'm pleased with how he's doing but he still needs regular practice. Then my dear Keilan drew a really cool picture of some sort of robot creature.
Grayson also did some math work today. His math is very easy for him and I struggle to keep his attention as well. We're talking pictures of 2 bears plus a picture of 1 bear equals how many bears? This kid can do advanced math in his head so I struggle as to where to draw the line with him. I hesitate to move him ahead because I know the basics are important. It was suggested to me that I give him some of the tests to help determine what he is capable of, so at some point next week I hope to do that. After his math work we did some one-on-one phonics work. I really love this time with Grayson. We have been working on short and long vowel sounds and consonant blends. And today we worked on the two vowel rule (when two vowels are together the second vowel is silent). I sit criss-cross on the floor and he sits in my lap and we do a little call and response through his phonics reader. He does a great job with all of the sounds and stays so focused. I love being able to kiss his cheek or give him a loving squeeze once in a while. And I think it helps him to stay on task. Pretty magical for a Mama to be able to do this at 11am with her 6 year old. Grayson went back to his desk and did a phonics work sheet on today's lesson and a language arts work sheet which focused on some basic word recognition. Lastly, Grayson and I sat down together in the family room (while Keilan was reading) and he read a story to me from his reader that corresponds with his weekly phonics and language arts lessons. He really likes the simple stories (usually there is some sort of mess, which is what Grayson lives for) and is reading well. Slowly, but carefully and well. Grayson's curriculum does not utilize the dolch sight words, but has weekly spelling lists which don't begin for several more months. Since his reading is still so slow, I will start reviewing the dolch list with him next week.
So for today, this is it. This is our best work! :) Next up we have dinner prep, some chores around the house and then Awana right after dinner. A pleasantly full day!
PS-one last thing. The pretend play is through the roof! Both boys have struggled with pretend play both in coming up with scenarios and in just choosing to do pretend play at all. Before we started school today the kids all sat on the floor making "rockets" out of a little Velcro popcicle sticks set I made for Lyla. The boys make such intricate things with those sticks! They were really playing hard, calling out "5-4-3-2-1 BLAST OFF!", making rocket noises and all that jazz. This is the stuff that warms my heart.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Well this is embarrassing.
Hi! It's me again, two years later, trying to be a blogger. This time as a home school Mama! Hoping to check in from time to time and give a summary of our school day or maybe school week based on my history of total failure at blogging. It will be mostly self-serving as an outlet to really spell out what we did and hopefully sleep better knowing we are really learning things. And if it helps someone in their journey at the same time, then that would be wonderful!
PS-I will totally post and update about my Mommy Command Center. It's so much better now. :)
PS-I will totally post and update about my Mommy Command Center. It's so much better now. :)
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Bone Broth
Well here it is March already and we sure have taken a beating this winter. If your household looks anything like mine someone in your family had influenza back in December, maybe some RSV in January, strep in February (February Fun!) and now enters the dragging head cold. And if your brain looks anything like mine you are swirling with thoughts of de-cluttering, spring cleaning, prepping for garage sales, organizing, DIY projects, gardening, painting....and you can't do any of it! Brain is revving on overdrive but body wants to stay under the covers and watch TLC. This is simply not working. My brain has plans and it needs my body...rightnow. And don't even talk to me about the snow. Oh dear Lord the snow. The SNOW!!!!!
Let's calm down and focus on what we CAN do. We can rest. We can drown ourselves in fluid (non-alcoholic, I know it's mothergrabbin snowing AGAIN but alcohol will not make your cold go away. That's for later.). Lastly, we can treat our bodies to broth. I'm not talking about cracking open a can of Swanson's or even the fancy boxed organic stuff. I'm talking about rolling up your sleeves and throwing a chicken in a pot broth. There are loads of great tutorials on how to do it (though do we really need a tutorial? Get a chicken <free range, organic please>...get a pot...fill it with water...cook it all day). But if you prefer directions follow the how-to here: http://wellnessmama.com/5888/how-to-make-bone-broth-tutorial/
I like to crack it open to help release all of the goodness from the bones. You can see all that glorious fat at the surface of the water. Goooooodness.
Some of you already make bone broth and broth-based soups and maybe even regularly (go you!). Did you ever feel guilty about all of the fat in a home made broth? Don't. This stuff is pure gold for your gut, immune system and brain. Here's a great article that explains why: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/12/16/bone-broth-benefits.aspx
So go get a chicken, throw it in a pot of water and feel better! You'll be back to drowning your polar vortex sorrows over wine in no time.
Let's calm down and focus on what we CAN do. We can rest. We can drown ourselves in fluid (non-alcoholic, I know it's mothergrabbin snowing AGAIN but alcohol will not make your cold go away. That's for later.). Lastly, we can treat our bodies to broth. I'm not talking about cracking open a can of Swanson's or even the fancy boxed organic stuff. I'm talking about rolling up your sleeves and throwing a chicken in a pot broth. There are loads of great tutorials on how to do it (though do we really need a tutorial? Get a chicken <free range, organic please>...get a pot...fill it with water...cook it all day). But if you prefer directions follow the how-to here: http://wellnessmama.com/5888/how-to-make-bone-broth-tutorial/
I like to crack it open to help release all of the goodness from the bones. You can see all that glorious fat at the surface of the water. Goooooodness.
Some of you already make bone broth and broth-based soups and maybe even regularly (go you!). Did you ever feel guilty about all of the fat in a home made broth? Don't. This stuff is pure gold for your gut, immune system and brain. Here's a great article that explains why: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/12/16/bone-broth-benefits.aspx
So go get a chicken, throw it in a pot of water and feel better! You'll be back to drowning your polar vortex sorrows over wine in no time.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
It's been a while! Hoping to get some consistency with my little blog this year. Merry Christmas to you and your family! Looking forward to sharing lots more with you in 2014!
Friday, November 4, 2011
Crinkle-cut goodness
While you anxiously await the unveiling of my new Mommy Command Center, I thought I would share with you a delicoius little snack I made for the boys and I today. The punkies have been bugging me for tater tots and since we try to buy mostly organic and the organic tater tots are on the pricey side, I decided to try to whip up a little something out of actual potatoes.
I started by peeling three organic potatoes.
Then I sliced them up with my Pampered Chef crinkle-cut tool.
Drizzled with olive oil & sea salt.
And a capful of apple cider to help give them a bit of color and crispiness.
Baked them at 425 degrees tossing frequently until they were all yummed up and ready to eat!
They were delish, and most importantly the punkies approved! Buh-bye fancy-pants organic tater tots! (:
I started by peeling three organic potatoes.
Then I sliced them up with my Pampered Chef crinkle-cut tool.
Drizzled with olive oil & sea salt.
And a capful of apple cider to help give them a bit of color and crispiness.
Baked them at 425 degrees tossing frequently until they were all yummed up and ready to eat!
They were delish, and most importantly the punkies approved! Buh-bye fancy-pants organic tater tots! (:
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