Pure Inspiration

Wow! Getting ready for school and wrapping up the summer...quite honestly I've been a bit overwhelmed. My sis-in-law Tina shared these beautiful pictures with me and added a ray of sunshine in my crazy life. I love to look at the way she organized her school shelves!! From what she's told me, organization makes inspiring her kids a lot easier. Enjoy!

Back to School

I have previously mentioned I am MENTALLY ready for school to start but I'm not quite physically ready. So I thought I would make a shopping list with you and you can add your ideas. I have purchased my "curriculum" so-to-speak which I'd be happy to share and would love to find out what works for you as well. But first I would like to make a list of all the crafty supplies and activities I will need to keep little hands busy while I read them from classics that will help build their character! I already bought or have:

pencils
crayons
markers
colored pencils
glue
glue sticks
water colors
rulers
scissors
lined paper
blank paper
construction paper

I need to buy (or collect):

hat looms
(I have loads of yarn already)
Lincoln Logs
Legos
another set of Tinker Toys (more means less fighting ; )
feathers
buttons
ribbon
(add beans and pasta which I already have)
beads
string (for bead geckos)

What else do I need? Any ideas?

Love of Learning

I attended the next class at Classic Books & Gifts with Victoria Hatch about the Love of Learning Phase. I now have a new positive affirmation (or an old one reborn ; )...

I AM a FUN mom!

Mostly the class was a great review for me but I thought I would share some of the golden nuggets I took home with me. Probably the most important one was that I felt liberated from the idea that I have to drill knowledge into my children. I can stop being scared that they won't learn academic skills. If I can give them a solid Core and Love of Learning Phase, I am giving them a strong foundation that will act as a spring board to future academic learning. Victoria shared wonderful examples of "playing" school and I walked away with an excitement to learn and play WITH my children.

Another topic I have a new perspective on is the binder and the compass. Victoria explained that she allows her children to decorate their own binder and then supplies them with page protectors so they can display their work. For projects that don't fit in page protectors, someone suggested taking pictures and displaying them in a scrapbook-like fashion in their binders.

The compass is a tool children can add to their binders to help them remember what things they want to learn. I interviewed my kids last year and asked their interests but simply putting that list in their binders will empower them to make great choices with their time.

With this paradigm shift, I feel mentally prepared to offer my children quality Core and Love of Learning phases.

Yet Another Word On Chores

Here's the latest ah-ha from our now not-so-new work system. First of all, it's working! For the last two weeks...get this...I haven't mopped the floor!!! My 8-year old does it, not only really well, but VOLUNTARILY. That's right, he picks it!...I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

My latest lesson has been to help the children do their chores first and then get mine done. It's rather discouraging to work all morning (only some of the mornings : ) with the kids doing things the long way, only to have more of my own chores to do after. BUT I see (now that my son mops : ) it won't be for long!

At a class on the Core Phase* at Classic Books & Gifts, Gaylene Victoria Hatch shared something that really help me. She said people often ask, "How can I expect to teach my children perseverance and quality work if I allow them in Core Phase and Love of Learning* to explore as long as they want and never force them to follow through with their studies?" She said it is while teaching them to work (chores, service projects, etc.) that you can teach them what a quality job is. Then when they become scholars they will know what is required of them to achieve quality academic work.

*Core and Love of Learning Phases are discussed in A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-first Century by Oliver DeMille...a must-read if you haven't done so yet!)

So as I teach my children how to clean a toilet (over and over again), I can see the quality of their work improving, slowly albeit, but improving nonetheless. Also when I get impatient or frustrated with the process, I remind myself that this is my job! I signed up for this, so why not enjoy it? That's the next thing on my list ; ) Have fun doing chores...I'll let you know how that goes!

The Constitution

Aahhh summer! We celebrated 12 wonderful years being married, took a trip without kids (now that's inspiring!! ; ), enjoyed guests in our home, had a mini family reunion...we've been busy!

Just wanted to post a great idea I heard at the Liber Community Series Training I attended at the beginning of this month. We read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution for our book group for our last meeting. I realized I lack the language skills to just read it. It must be studied to fully understand. One suggestion that LEMI gives to reach this understanding is to rewrite the document in your own words. You don't have to improve on the language or make it flowery, as a matter of fact being overly concerned about your writing detracts from the purpose. Simply rewrite the document sentence by sentence so that you capture the meaning in words you can relate to and in essence you will "own" the idea. It is an excellent way to digest concepts that seem difficult to comprehend.

One training participant shared that she did this with the Constitution at dinnertime. Every night they would take a section of this document and rewrite it on a white board for a mealtime activity. What better way to get you and your children familiar with the most important ingredient to maintaining our freedom. A great resource to consult in this practice is called The Making of America by Cleon Skousen. He breaks the Constitution down clause by clause and discusses the meaning, pertinent quotes from the Founding Fathers and the history behind each section.

Enjoy becoming aquainted with what has made our country great!