The Wise Little Owl

One of the books we checked out from the library this past week was a special treat. Just the Way You Are by Max Lucado is such a lovely and gentle story that illustrates God's love or us. It emphasizes that God loves us for our heart and not for our works to impress him.

It is the story of five orphans. They get word that the king is going to adopt them. They each prepare gifts for him based upon their talents, all except for one orphan who lacks any obvious talent.

If you get the opportunity to check this story out, I would highly recommend it. It is a wonderful avenue for discussion of what God is looking for in you. How simple, beautiful, and loving His fatherly relationship is with us.

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn away from it." Proverbs 22:6

When I was young, my mother took care of EVERYTHING! I did not have to make my bed, clean my room, or help around the house. My mom had it all under control. Sounds pretty sweet, right?

WRONG! The end result of doing no housekeeping as a child was being clueless once I went out on my own. I vividly remember calling my mom when I moved into my first place to ask how to cook something… A BOILED EGG!!!!

In my mother's defense, she had grown up dirt poor and had to work like a slave. She wanted better for her children. She wanted to provide them with the childhood she had missed out on herself. In hind sight, she realized that going to the other extreme was a massive mistake.

Perhaps this was a result of baby boomers taking a different parenting approach, as many of my friends have expressed similar experiences. I had a friend who actually tried to bake a meatloaf in Tupperware when she first moved out and got married. She followed her mother's recipe, but it said nothing of a METAL loaf pan. If you have never cooked, there is much to be taken for granted.

Now that I have my own child, I have vowed not to go down the same path! There is a happy middle ground to be followed. Your child shouldn't be slaving day and night taking care of the household, but they also shouldn't be totally hands-off.

My daughter has helped with chores in some ways since she could walk. This doesn't mean full-blown housework. She would put her blocks back in the bucket, as we made a game of it. She knows when she finishes with a toy or game, it is supposed to be returned where she got it.

Now that she is four, she wipes and dusts tables, vacuums the area rug, makes her bed, helps load and unload the dishwasher, helps with laundry, and a few other household tasks. Her favorite household duty is helping Mommy with dinner. The beauty of it is that she enjoys doing these things (at least for now). She likes "helping" Mommy and she learns at the same time.

By helping with "chores," children feel more a part of the household and its workings. Children learn how things work and are maintained. Through doing things like cooking, they learn measurements, mixtures, and more.

I say by the time a child can walk, there are things they can do to help maintain the household. Starting sooner rather than later will instill some routine and habits that will continue on as they grow. However, as children become more established in their ways, they will be more difficult to "train" or help learn. God tells us clearly that what we impart to our children in their youth will be with them as adults. So we must impart, among the essentials, a basic understanding of how to care for their home and themselves.

Here are some helpful items we use in our home:

As a mother who stays at home with her child AND homeschools, I have learned it is very important to have diversions and interests outside of your child and homemaking. I found that I was getting into a rut, a funk. I had finished my degree while being a stay at home mother (SAHM), which had truly been a passion of mine. But after that, I was lacking for something more.

Don't get me wrong, I love being at home with my daughter. Being a SAHM has been the best "job" I have had in my life, as well as the most rewarding. Yet, I was so involved in my child, I was losing myself. My identity was becoming obscured.

After the loss of a family member a year ago, I found a new interest. As the family gathered together, almost all of the ladies pulled out crafts to work on as they waited. I had not grown up in a "crafty" household. While my mother knew how to sew and do other craft activities, it simply was not imparted to me. I felt awkward around these women of skill. I realized that I wanted to give it a try.

Some of the ladies crocheted and some knit. My mother-in-law did both, but focused upon knitting. I decided to ask for help. She helped me learn to cast on, do the knit stitch, and to pearl. She showed me the basics and then I worked on it at home, with the help of a free website. That opened the door to a new joy and interest in my life!

I have made scarves, dishcloths, hats, and even a dress for my daughter in less than 9 months! I am working on learning new skills and making new things. My knitting is providing an inexpensive, yet beautiful way to provide gifts for others!

Knitting is just one hobby I have. Crafts are just one hobby that women may enjoy as a diversion. But knitting has taught me so many new things about myself. An old dog can learn new tricks! I have more patience and determination than I knew. I am a pretty creative person and I had forgotten that.

I also involve myself in blogging (as you see), reading, writing, Bible study, and more. But the moral of the story is that I had to remind myself that I am an interesting person outside of being a SAHM. Woman are amazing, multi-talented, and incredibly strong. We must remember to take breaks and find the joy that exists even beyond our beautiful children or we may just forget who we really are!

Helpful Links:

Learn to knit with free online knitting videos!

KnittingHelp.com

Become a part of a knitting & crocheting community with thousands of FREE patterns and resource!

Ravelry

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann, Phyllis Haddox, and Elaine Bruner

I stumbled upon this book and read reviews regarding its effectiveness. Many found this book to be quite useful, so I decided to purchase it and give it a try. We are only at the beginning, but I find the book to be an effective way to work on letter sounds, writing, and linking it together to begin to read!

The book works on very simple principles and is quite easy to follow. There is no real planning involved, as even what you say during the lesson is scripted! All you need is the book, a pencil, and some lined writing paper.

The beauty is that it only takes about fifteen minutes each day, is easy to implement, and is an affordable way to teach your young child to read. If you have a child with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), it works well because the time working on it is very minimal. Also, you can use it in a variety of locations, if your child needs to move around and doesn't like sitting at the kitchen table each time.

If the paper and pencil are a little boring for your child, you may try the chalk lap boards available at teaching supply stores. They are under $5 and your child can use colored chalk to increase their interest. It has been so easy and portable; we have done a daily lesson in the car (with Daddy driving of course).

If you feel your child is interested in learning to read, give this book a try! I imagine you will not be disappointed!

Deciding upon the appropriate curriculum or curricula for any child is a difficult task. There is much to be considered from the quality of the product(s) to the world view of the creator of the product. But if you are blessed by a child with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), you have other consideration to factor into your decision.

My child learns through movement, also called the kinesthetic learning style. While most schools focus upon auditory or visual learning styles, kinesthetic learners are quite common. Consider that 1 in 20 people have SPD and many, if not most, are kinesthetic learners. It would seem schools are missing a large segment of people with a specific learning style.

However, at home, we are able to adapt and accommodate to learning differences easier than a teacher in a class with many diverse students. The quandary is how we implement learning in the home for a child or children who learn in different ways, especially kinesthetically! Trust me, having looked at ready-made, full curricula, it is apparent that there is no one size fits all plan out there, and certainly not for SPD children. So what do I do?

Well, I have been researching homeschool materials like a mad woman! The things I take into consideration include the subject, the product, price, ease of use, preparation involved in implementing it, approach, reputation, and customer reviews. Because one curriculum will not work for us, I go subject by subject and product by product considering all the factors. This has been quite time consuming.

I plan on attending a homeschool exposition at the end of the month. Prior to attending, I am researching various products based upon all the factors I have listed above and then I will speak with representatives at the expo. I hope to view the products first hand and ask questions relevant to my child and SPD.

I am starting to make decisions regarding which methods I think will be most useful for our family and some of the top product choices. I will update as I make progress on my search for the right learning materials!

This is a running list of selection we have made for readings. Often, I will jot down a few thoughts about the selection and keep them compiled here. I use a 1-5 "owl" system. 1 owl bing the worst and 5 being the best.

Classics

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

By Lewis Carrol

Illustrations by Helen Oxenbury

We found a wonderful version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It is the original Lewis Carrol story, but with lovely, more modern, and colorful illustrations. It makes for a wonderful read aloud story because the illustrations are so interesting as well. The other versions (more original), have occasional illustrations done in black and white and were not very clear in paperback. This version of the classic is engaging for the young reader.

The only drawback in this stoy is that some language and ideas are not quite appropriate for a preschooler. Not anything racy or adult, just language a little more course than we like. However, it was easy for me to edit or address with my daughter. I used them as teachable moments for appropriate language and/or behavior.

The Secret Garden

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By Frances Hodgson Burnett, Adapted by James Howe

This is a part of the Stepping Stones series of classic chapter books which have been adapted for younger or independent readers. This version is certainly shorter than the original version by Burnett, however it is long on appeal. It is light on illustrations and the illustrations are black and white, yet they are frequent enough and well done to pique the interest of a younger child. It kept the attention of my four year old daughter and certainly sparked her imagination.

The drawback of this version is the length. If you are using the Classical approach to homeschooling, then certainly this abridged version will not do, as only full length versions are suggested. But i found that because we are early on in the process and my child is young, this version worked just fine. She enjoyed it so much that I am certain we will address the full lngth story in the future.

Marry Poppins

Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. Proverbs 19:20 NIV

One of the most beautiful aspects of homeschooling is learning as parents. God provides us with endless methods to learn and grow, including through our own children! We learn from our children, through their experiences, how to be patient, see the world through small eyes, and to look for the joy in each day (among many other priceless lessons). We learn more about ourselves through the process. However, a part of the process can be frustrations or stumbling blocks.

Something we have discovered through the homeschooling process is that difficulties give us an opportunity to try a new approach. One approach we have found effective is allowing the child to be the "teacher." Essentially, this process is the transformation of knowledge into instruction. My daughter has fallen in love with this concept.

When we reach a wall in our learning together, I will ask her to gather "her pupils" or I will act as her student. We pull out paper or her easel and she demonstrates something she knows or is working on learning to her class of stuffed animals or baby dolls. She will explain the process or item very carefully to her students, which is quite adorable and useful at the same time!

Some of her "lessons" include teaching numbers, letters, words, telling stories, drawing, or how to make shapes. To a four year old, the experience is quite empowering and reinforces that which she is learning. If she gets stuck, she often asks her assistant "Mommy" to help her out. I know my daughter appreciate being able to express herself, be creative, be the leader, and to role play.

If things are a bit stale or stagnant, try letting your child teach you for a while, you may learn something new in the process!

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. Genesis 1:31 NIV

God has blessed us with a beautiful world from which we can grow and learn. In our family, we find that the out-of-doors is an essential part of the homeschooling process. We not only take advantage of nature in its pure form, but we also interject some of the items we learn with within the home into the beautiful, outdoor classroom.

Initially, our outdoor classroom is the world at large without the addition of what man has created. There is certainly no need for store-bought equipment to enjoy oneself while outside. In fact, imagination and a love of nature can be born simply by engaging in the world around you without the use of structures, toys, or equipment. Every insect, tree, flower, blade of grass, animal, or changing weather pattern provides a myriad of lessons.

But beyond this wealth of knowledge, there is much to be gained by rethinking conventional ideas of how things should be played with and where with which a child should play them. Our current society has created a culture which tends to imprison the child within the home whether for safety, because of busy schedules, convenience, or to focus upon rigorous learning schedules. Whatever the reasons, our society is desperately in need of a return to a more active and outdoor lifestyle, especially for children.

Because a parent at home engaging their child each day might be interested in inspiring more interest outdoors or simply wants to switch up the way they do things, I have listed a few ways we have been able to this. Essentially, almost anything you do inside the house can be done outside in the fresh air from reading, prayer, and worship to work, play, and learning.

Here are just samplings of ways we try to think outside of the box of convention:

• Bring the easel outside- your child will enjoy an abundance of inspiration from God's creation.
  
• Lunch on the lawn- there is nothing like enjoying the blessing of a good meal in the fresh outdoor air (it is easy clean-up too).
  
• Finger painting on the driveway- again, there is no better inspiration than God's own coloring book and children appreciate the freedom of being creative without worrying about messes. Simply roll or place paper on the driveway, set out the pots of paint, and let your child enjoy!
  
• Create a zoo or safari- no need to leave the home for an animal adventure! Let your child pull out some of the abundance of stuffed animals he or she has acquired and set up vignettes of animals in the grass. Bright sunshine kills dust mites on stuffed animals and a new adventure will give new life and joy to stuffed animals. You can use cardboard boxes or shoe boxes as cages or platforms. You may also scatter them about for a more natural "habitat" for a safari.
  
• Beans and rice, very nice- Drag out some of the dried products in your cupboard like rice and/or beans, pour them in bowl or basins and grab some measuring cups and spoons. Your child will adore scooping and pouring and it provides a learning opportunity for basic measurements like ¼, ½, ¾, and 1 cup. Doing this outside allows for calm and focus and most importantly an easy clean up!
  
• Plastic toys will weather the storm- Any plastic toys will fare well outside. Don't hesitate to bring a box of Duplos or Legos outside for play on the driveway. If there are many pieces, spread a blanket to maintain a boundary to aid with clean-up. Your child will appreciate the new setting for play and it may reignite interest in a toy long forgotten.