It's not all smiles & happy hearts. The moments get intense when Raymond just simply does not want to do what he does not want to do.... but what precious opportunities I'm getting!! I'm getting to COACH him through without a lot of high stress pressure. I can just get alongside him and sometimes firmly - sometimes gently coach him to either push through hard things, to go lay down for a break or to breathe and pray.... whichever I discern is needed in that moment. It's an honor.
I'm doing it wrong a lot. I am raising my voice way too much to all 3 of them. There's some really deep work going on in me to keep control of myself and not match their intensity of emotion. We've got a long way to go :) but we've come so far!!
Raymond wrote his first "short stories" with illustration in his journal this week thanks to some encouragement from a friend and they turned out so cute! I loved his use of dialogue. I meant to get a picture of his illustration but didn't.
The usual desk work is going as quick as usual except we are hung up on math because over CHristmas break he "lost" the 7 and 6 multiples. We have to drill in them each day to build up his confidence again! We will get there - no worries. I am recognizing that in homeschooling in every season, some subjects are higher on quality & quantity. They never have equal attention or excellence. I love being able to be flexible to that. I shouldn't expect equal time / quality work across the board in every subject in every season. So our history/ science is certainly thriving right now - which means other areas have to give a little (math and spelling) and it's ALL good! :)
In cubscouts, Raymond has been working on his soap carvings. At home he uses a wooden knife but he used his first "real" knife at the cubscout meeting.
Annabelle still seems most interested in painting than anything else at the desk which is fine with me. We do all her "learning" away from the desk right now. So whatever keeps her happy & quiet at the desk is fine!
Evelyn is reading lots of words! and is progressing well! :) She is just a sponge and is such a good listener/watcher. We are learning the 10 commandments with cool handmovements we learned years ago and she has been the first to pick up on them and remember them each time. She is SO cute and powerful when she prays. I can often find her with a "Jesus book" (one of our many devos) just sitting "reading". What a sweet & discerning heart she has.
Cutie pie Raymond Rooks:
A friend messaged me and said, "random question but do you have any good movement CDs you do with the girls?".... and that question encouraged me to make sure I'm still using those preschool CDs with my girls! God does that a lot! A "random" question by a friend is a nudge for me to do something or to do not something. GOd uses friends a lot in homeschooling!! The girls were SO happy to bring out their "bible school music" again. I can't believe I had forgotten about the importance of these ones. I have to remind myself these girlies are in "preschool" and even though they follow a lot of what I do with Raymond --- I gotta remember to do more preschool things with them! Here they are doing the all time favorite "little birdie"
And today we had a really really great day together. We took a field trip to the aquarium and it was really great. We had a PERFECT spot on the ferry to be able to see / watch and not have to get out. No dolphins but we did enjoy the beautiful blue sky and sparkly water.
At the aquarium - turtles seemed to be the hit of the day. These 2 were so funny the way they stuck together. Next time we go we have to figure out if they are mother/son or what. That 2nd one wouldn't leave her back leg.
They always love the touch tank
ANd we loved watching the eel right there by the window and "Sheldon" the sea turtle. Right when we got into the building, they started a lesson on sea turtles so it was perfect timing. I took some good notes to talk more about it next week. They really did a great job and it was very interesting & interactive! We have a membership to the aquarium - I need to use this resource a LOT more! They are experts and are happy to teach! Why haven't I do this more?! :)
Raymond touching sharks:
AND this is a very non "school" related lesson we are learning but I LOVE IT! They are learning to sit through a meal patiently! They are doing SO MUCH BETTER at going out to eat. Thank you Lord! :) It has been much more enjoyable and relaxing and they are learning to just "be" and talk and enjoy the time together.
Finally, thanks to MomMom & Papa's constant generosity, we got RR signed up for Tae Kwon Do. I LOVE these instructors/community and tae kwon do itself. I see this being a great positive outlet for Raymond to learn to be physical but under control. To be respectful & disciplined. We are really really looking forward to this. and I LOVE seeing him so excited for it! I haven't seen him this excited about an activity yet. Yay!
I'm doing it wrong a lot. I am raising my voice way too much to all 3 of them. There's some really deep work going on in me to keep control of myself and not match their intensity of emotion. We've got a long way to go :) but we've come so far!!
It was a fun and productive week - with lots of help from MomMom!!! :)
Honestly, we never really bonded in learning when Raymond was in school. The last thing he wanted to do at night/weekends was talk about school or learn anything with me. Some families can make it work and their kiddos are just hungry for more more more info.... but Raymond was DONE after a full public school day and just wanted to play and be free! But NOW - I'm getting such great opportunities to connect things for him and to watch God open up his mind/heart/eyes. It is FUN! and I LOVE learning and I have loved learning all of this information as an adult!
In history, we are finishing up our section on the first pilgrims / Mayflower / Plymouth Plantation. In the Rush Revere book (which we loved!) there was a layout of the first plantation. MomMom was looking up information about our ancestors right when we were reading this book and at the same time we were reading about Stephen Hopkins - she came across his name as being the boss of our ancestor. How cool!!! So our great great great (some #) grandfather whose name is Edward Doty was a servant to Stephen Hopkins who we had been reading about. It was a great real life connection to history for Raymond and we loved learning more about Doty & these first pilgrims. This is really fun for ALL of us!! :) We definitely all love history more each month.
Raymond wrote his first "short stories" with illustration in his journal this week thanks to some encouragement from a friend and they turned out so cute! I loved his use of dialogue. I meant to get a picture of his illustration but didn't.
The usual desk work is going as quick as usual except we are hung up on math because over CHristmas break he "lost" the 7 and 6 multiples. We have to drill in them each day to build up his confidence again! We will get there - no worries. I am recognizing that in homeschooling in every season, some subjects are higher on quality & quantity. They never have equal attention or excellence. I love being able to be flexible to that. I shouldn't expect equal time / quality work across the board in every subject in every season. So our history/ science is certainly thriving right now - which means other areas have to give a little (math and spelling) and it's ALL good! :)
In cubscouts, Raymond has been working on his soap carvings. At home he uses a wooden knife but he used his first "real" knife at the cubscout meeting.
Evelyn is reading lots of words! and is progressing well! :) She is just a sponge and is such a good listener/watcher. We are learning the 10 commandments with cool handmovements we learned years ago and she has been the first to pick up on them and remember them each time. She is SO cute and powerful when she prays. I can often find her with a "Jesus book" (one of our many devos) just sitting "reading". What a sweet & discerning heart she has.
Cutie pie Raymond Rooks:
A friend messaged me and said, "random question but do you have any good movement CDs you do with the girls?".... and that question encouraged me to make sure I'm still using those preschool CDs with my girls! God does that a lot! A "random" question by a friend is a nudge for me to do something or to do not something. GOd uses friends a lot in homeschooling!! The girls were SO happy to bring out their "bible school music" again. I can't believe I had forgotten about the importance of these ones. I have to remind myself these girlies are in "preschool" and even though they follow a lot of what I do with Raymond --- I gotta remember to do more preschool things with them! Here they are doing the all time favorite "little birdie"
And today we had a really really great day together. We took a field trip to the aquarium and it was really great. We had a PERFECT spot on the ferry to be able to see / watch and not have to get out. No dolphins but we did enjoy the beautiful blue sky and sparkly water.
At the aquarium - turtles seemed to be the hit of the day. These 2 were so funny the way they stuck together. Next time we go we have to figure out if they are mother/son or what. That 2nd one wouldn't leave her back leg.
They always love the touch tank
ANd we loved watching the eel right there by the window and "Sheldon" the sea turtle. Right when we got into the building, they started a lesson on sea turtles so it was perfect timing. I took some good notes to talk more about it next week. They really did a great job and it was very interesting & interactive! We have a membership to the aquarium - I need to use this resource a LOT more! They are experts and are happy to teach! Why haven't I do this more?! :)
AND this is a very non "school" related lesson we are learning but I LOVE IT! They are learning to sit through a meal patiently! They are doing SO MUCH BETTER at going out to eat. Thank you Lord! :) It has been much more enjoyable and relaxing and they are learning to just "be" and talk and enjoy the time together.
Finally, thanks to MomMom & Papa's constant generosity, we got RR signed up for Tae Kwon Do. I LOVE these instructors/community and tae kwon do itself. I see this being a great positive outlet for Raymond to learn to be physical but under control. To be respectful & disciplined. We are really really looking forward to this. and I LOVE seeing him so excited for it! I haven't seen him this excited about an activity yet. Yay!
There's just so much to be thankful for!
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