Well, we are off and running this morning.  I know, it is a holiday for most of the country, but what better way to study Martin Luther King, Jr, than on his day???  Math is done, phonics is next and then we will delve into why today is a holiday! 
I finally had a decent time with the schooling this morning thanks to a baby gate!  We put Cyrus and James in their room, with a movie and all their toys, and they have done fabulously.  James is now done with lunch and down for a nap.  Cyrus is almost done with his lunch and will be ready for some quiet time, and we will do phonics when Isabelle and Isaiah finish up their lunch. 
I think the gate was a good option.
We will be starting a unit on Martin Luther King, Jr, and move into February with Black History Month.  I think I am going to have Isabelle and Isaiah make a couple of lapbooks.  Courtnay and Caleb are doing Geography, so they don't really have to do this with us. 
My goal is to have Isabelle and Isaiah done with this phonics book we are doing and then move to the next book after Naomi comes. And then by summer they will be ready to move on, and maybe Isabelle will do some other stuff during the summer to move forward, we will see, don't want to push too much.  As it stands, because I didn't do phonics with her from the beginning, she is a year behind and Isaiah, because he is so smart is a year ahead, which puts them right there together.  Makes it easier for me.  I talked with Belle and asked her if it upset her that we were having to redo some things and she said a little, but she understood, and wants to do it.  The only reason I decided to redo some phonics with her is because she was having a really hard time spelling, and I realized it was because there are sooooo many rules that she wasn't taught, because I listened to the wrong people when I started homeschooling and got the wrong books for her.  I see why phonics is soooo important.  I am learning a lot from it myself.  And will say that Saxon is the best thing that ever happened to us.  Not a lot of people like the Saxon. 

Gotta get to work! 

Homeschooling group on cafe mom asked the question "what is your favorite thing about homeschooling"?  I was super excited to answer the question, because until now I couldn't really pin point it.  I guess since Courtnay turned 15 this year I am realizing how short our time is with the kids.  I am sooo glad that I FINALLY listened to God's tug on my heart and finally started homeschooling.  Sure, I regret not having the confidence or trust in myself or mostly God before.  But now I am thrilled that we do, and my heartfelt prayer is that the kids will be blessed for being homeschooled. 

My favorite things are:
1) The time I get to spend with them before they leave the "nest". 
2) Seeing how close they are as siblings and how they interact with each other     now that they are around each other all the time.
3) Being able to choose what they will learn; the curriculum, the subject, the
    manner in which it is taught. 
4) Being able to make GOD a huge part of their lives, not just when we have
    them apart from the world.  School is 7 hrs, (regular school), that is a huge
    portion of time that the world has their influence.
5) Being able to be flexible and still do school.  Take extra time here and
    there for illnesses or holidays.
6) Enjoying days out and using them to teach the kids "real life" school.
7) The kids interacting with other children, and having to get along with              various ages.
8) The budding curiousity from the younger children in what school and
    learning is.
9) Not having to get up in the mornings and rush the kids around to get ready
    for school and rush out the door without one of them eating because they
    wouldn't move fast enough.
10) God stretching me, molding me and teaching me to be the mom and teacher
    that he wants me to be.  And finally realizing what he created me for!

Love, prayers and blessings!!!

With my beloved out of town working so much right now, I have felt like my house had turned into "the house where the crazy mother is"!!!  I love my children dearly, but there are some days I feel like they take complete control of me!  I struggled for quite a few weeks with the talking back, the sibling rivalry, the complete disobedience.  When I say I struggled, I mean, yelling fits when I finally got pushed to the edge.  I know that approach never works, but for some unknown reason that is where I ended up!!!  I know that when the yelling starts, they shut it completely off, roll their eyes and say "well, we did it, we accomplished our goal, mom is right where we want her now".  Because after these "fits" I would feel soo badly that I would apologize and sometimes let them get away with things.  GUILT!!!  UGH!!!

After finally getting so tired of how I was reacting on a consistent basis, I called my beloved crying and asking him what I was doing sooo wrong that they don't respect me.  Now, mind you, we set up this system quite some time ago, that the kids each get a warning and then 3 strikes if their behavior isn't what it needs to be.  After the 3rd strike they spend the day in their room, with only schoolwork and the bible to read, until dad gets home and can deal with them properly.  Usually a chat and, as he puts it, an exclamation point to the chat.  He is always calm about it and handles himself so well.  If dad is out of town, they are in their room until 4pm, then by then I am calm enough to talk to them and straighten this out with them.  They can then come out of their room, but are down to a 2 strike limit, if they hit those two then they are in their room for the remainder of the night, if that ends up being before dinner, they get a peanut butter sandwich. I did it, started using this system and I'll be darned if it hasn't worked!!!  No one has made it to the warning and 3 strikes yet, 2 have made it to only 1 left.  And mom is much saner and there isn't any yelling going on!!!  YEAH!!!  I feel much more in control!!! 

I love my beloved and glad that God gave him to me!!!  He is a very good man, husband, and father!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope your day is blessed beyond measure!!!

Oh my my my!!!  I am sooo tired already and it is only 1 pm here!  I am having to still go twice a week to my Dr., 20 mins to get there, for progesterone shots.  And now they have upped them to 200 cc, as they were only doing 100 cc's.  I am thankful for these shots, it means that we will have a baby, without them I could've lost another one.  But, this way we are okay.  But I am sooooo over taking time from the morning to go and get these things, it soo cuts into the school day!  I forget the appointment if it is in the afternoon, and he doesn't want to prescribe the pill, he wants to do it this way. 

So, I go and get that done this morning, and then come home to the kids not having their routines done.  I wanted to come home and start school!  They are to have their routines done by 9 am each morning.  Which I think is pretty fair!  I get them up at 7am.  We are to start school at 9 am.  I got home at 9:30.  And today is a pretty light day for them, we do Social Studies and math on Tuesdays.  So, then we had to sit in the living room for a chat, I tried to pray, but that just got side tracked with a 6 year old and 2 year old interrupting.  DS6 knows better.  Then we talked a bit about the schedule and I asked what each kiddo was planning on doing today with schoolwork,  trying to see if they remembered!   They remembered!!! 

I sat down in the homeschool room with DS6 to work on his phonics and the whole time I was working, I was getting interrupted by my sweet babies.  It was soo hard to deal with.  I am soo frustrated right now.  Then to top it off DS12 was making it 10 times worse, he was just adding to the chaos!  He and DD8 were done with their immediate work and I had them play with the littles until I was done with what I was doing.  Then by then it was lunch time and here I am writing.  I have got to work all this out and I am at a loss.  I have had the suggestion that we make a play box with puzzles and learning toys in for the 2 littles to play with while I work with the rest, but the puzzles we have are missing pieces and we cannot purchase more right now.  I am guessing that will be part of the Christmas list!  Anyway, there has to be an easier way. 

Praying that your day is going better than mine right now.  Praying that you feel God's closeness and presence in your life and day!