Really Great Reading - Really Great Lessons

I love books.  I always have.  I had lots of books growing up, but there were quite a few children's books I never read until I was much older.  This year we've been reading through the Little House series and the Chronicles of Narnia series as well as quite a few classic literature selections.  The older kids have all found book series that they enjoy.  Joy is reading Nancy Drew mysteries and the American Girl books.  Josh is reading the Hobbit series and the Hardy Boys mysteries.  Hudson has a hard time sitting still long enough to enjoy reading very much, but reads with so much expression that I like to have him read out loud as much as possible.  Bethany and Brittany read everything they can get their hands on.

There is so much to be learned from great reading.  Great literature doesn't always have to have a review paper, a vocabulary list, or a book report attached.  Great reading is its own reward.  

Of course, there are some really great books out there that teach basic concepts during their simple stories.  Eric Carle is one of the authors that I enjoy using with kindergarten and first grade students.  His books are great literature all by themselves and they teach some great concepts.  The Very Busy Spider shows the progression of a spider's web step by step.  It also teaches character traits like hard work and perseverance.  There is a series of animals and their sounds that stop by to visit the spider so you can review animals and the sounds they make along with the reading.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of my favorites.  It is a great way to show the life cycle of a butterfly.  The story also sequences the days of the week.  I like to read this book when we are learning the days of the week and their spellings.  It's fun to match the food with each day.  (yeah, I love food)  It also teaches simple counting with the caterpillar eating progressively more each day.  The kids still enjoy this fun book.  

  

What books are you reading right now?  

What books do you use to teach concepts through literature?

What is your favorite book from childhood?

I'd love to hear what you're reading. . . . 

Some Days Are Like That, Even in Australia . . . .

There are a lot of fantastic children's books that I didn't discover until I was grown up (well, high school isn't exactly grown up).  When our little high school class would have rough days our teacher would read Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.  Somewhere during the silliness of the book we forgot about our bad day and felt a kindred spirit with poor Alexander and his very bad day.  Yes, it was still a bad day, but it had gotten a little more bearable.

In the book, everything that can go wrong does go wrong and poor little Alexander longs to escape far, far away to Australia.  His mother has to remind him that some days are like that, even in Australia.  

This week was full of those kind of days.  In addition to our normal craziness this week, we've added a tremendous lack of sleep for a few of us, twelve dentist appointments, and a lot of rough school days.  Some of the bad days were my fault.  Some were out of our control.  

I've found that the best way to have a good school day is largely dependent on my level of preparedness.  Preparation for us encompasses a lot.  I don't like mess.  I have a difficult time focusing on our lesson plans if the classroom is cluttered or if I know there are dishes piled up.  I know it's silly, but being on top of the housework is a way for me to prepare for school.  

Having our lesson plans set out for the week are just a portion of having our school day well prepared.  I also need to have transitions ready, our flashcards set out, and a few other things planned for each day.  I need to have our music planned out for Bible time, materials set out for each activity, and a clear goal in mind for each day.  It is so easy to get upset with the kids when our school day goes bad, but more often than not, the fault is mine.  When I fail to plan for our school day I set them up for failure.  

When we have terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days it's easy to wish for somewhere far, far away.  When days are bad it's easy to forget God's goodness to us.  We tend to only see the bad, but God's Word tells us that,  "His mercies are new every morning."  Some days need an extra dose of mercy.  I'm so thankful I worship a God who is full of mercy.  

How Do You Tell Them Apart?

Today is the day we celebrate our girls' eighth birthday.  It's always a fun day full of pink everything. Pink donuts, pink dresses, pink cupcakes, pink wrapping paper, and at least one pink present.  Yes, pink rather rules our lives for the month of February.  Having three girls with birthdays all mixed in with Valentine's Day and we are covered in sparkly glitter and pink everything for weeks.

Twins are fascinating to most people.  The question I always hear is, "How do you tell them apart?"  Want to know the answer?  I can't, not really, at least by looking at them.  They really are identical and the people who say they can tell them apart call them by the wrong names at least as often as I do.  I have trouble remembering my kids' names even if they aren't identical.  I call Hudson, Josh and Josh, Hudson nearly as often as I confuse Bethany and Brittany.  Not a great follow up to my previous post about studying and knowing your children; right?

I can tell them apart though.  Not by looking at them.  They look completely identical.  I can tell them apart by watching them, talking to them, and knowing them.  You see, I could tell them apart before they were born.  They were different.  Very different.  Brittany has always been very energetic and excited.  Bethany has always been gentle and tender.  Yes, their DNA is identical.  Yes, they look identical.  And yet, they are very different.

God giving me two wonderful girls who are technically identical and yet so vastly different has taught me something incredible.  God doesn't want us to all be the same.  Yes, He wants us all to be like Christ, but He has made us all different.  We are different for a reason.  Bethany and Brittany each bring something unique and wonderful to our home.  Brittany definitely brings the enthusiasm and energy and it is so much fun (most days).  Bethany has a gentle, quiet, and compassionate spirit that brings calm and peace to our lives.

Just like God wanted us to have both of their unique personalities in our home, God wants His church to have lots of different kinds of people too.  The problem is that we tend to look around and compare ourselves.  We pick out one or two people that we consider to be the really good people and we think we should all be just like them.  I always talk too much.  Good christian ladies should be gentle and quiet; right?  The Bible says in II Corinthians 10:12 b, "but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise."  Is gentle and quiet better than happy and enthusiastic?  Is The truth is that they are both simply who God created them to be.  They each add something special to our home.
Maybe our churches would be better if we stopped comparing ourselves among ourselves and simply compared ourselves to Christ.  Perhaps instead of comparing our children to someone else's we could train them up in the way they should go.  We could help them to be who God wants them to be rather than what we want them to be.

To celebrate this wonderful birthday, I've included some of my favorite photos of the girls.

Can you tell them apart?

How I Teach . . .

How do you teach?  What curriculum do you use?  What is your daily schedule like?  Do you have school in your pajamas?  When people find out I am a homeschooler, I'm flooded with a multitude of these questions.  Of course, I love to talk about education so I'm happy to answer all of their questions.  I can go on and on about what curriculum we use.  I can tell you why we love it.  I can tell you just as much about the curriculums we don't use and why.  I can explain some of my teaching methods.  I can give you a summary of our daily schedule.  Yes, we occasionally have school in our pajamas, but not regularly.  (I think I explained pajama days in a previous post . . . . somewhere)

If you know me at all, you know I am a talker.  A friend in college once said, "Rachelle, you have an opinion about everything - what do you think?"  Yes, that accurately describes me.  I generally do have an opinion about everything and I will gladly share it with you if you ask (and sometimes even if you don't).  I can talk about teaching and literature selections and curriculum options all day.  However, I think all too often we approach education from the wrong perspective.  We, as teachers and parents, approach education from OUR perspective.  All too often we teach the way we understand a concept.  I explain it the way I understand it, but it isn't always how a student understands the information.  

There has, for many years, been a lot of discussion in education about learning styles.  We all learn things at our own pace and in our own ways.  I was amazed by my experience in the hospital.  When the twins were in the NICU the medical staff was charged with not only their care, but also my education.  They had to be sure that I understood the goals for the girls while they were in the hospital and what care the girls needed when we took them home.  They asked me several times during our stay how I was best able to learn new things.  Did I need to see it, do it, hear it, or read it?  As a teacher, I was very impressed by how thorough they were in educating me about the procedures and specific needs of the girls.  The medical field understands that we all learn differently.  Why do we as parents and teachers sometimes forget?

So much of the success of excellent teachers and successful homeschoolers hinges not on a teacher's excellent teaching, but on a teacher's excellent learning.  A teacher must be actively learning about her students each day.  I spend 24 hours a day with my students and yet, I can become so consumed with the lesson and not the student that I only teach the lesson my way and forget about how each of my students best learn and understand.  

The kids have discovered a new favorite PBS Kids show.  It is really silly.  It is called The Odd Squad.  It teaches Math concepts, which is great, but it is geared for a much younger age group than my kids.  Still, they love it.  On one episode two of the characters are discussing what kind of pet to get.  At one point one of the characters says something like 'I feel like we're having two different conversations.'  Do you ever feel like you are having two completely different conversations with someone?  You are saying one thing, but they are hearing something completely different.  Perhaps it is because we as parents and teachers think our main job is talking (did I mention I love to talk?) when our main job should be observing and listening.  The more we learn about our students, the better teacher we can be for them.  Yes, curriculum matters.  Yes, methods and materials matter too.  Connecting with a child, teaching them 'their' way and not 'my' way should matter more.

I Know I'm Not The Only One . . .

I know it, I just know it.  I know I'm not the only one.  Still, I've yet to find evidence.  I've been searching Facebook and Pinterest and Instagram looking for proof, but I've come up with nothing.  I just know that I can't be the only one.  The only one with laundry still unfolded, dishes piling up in the sink, and a complete lack of healthy organic freezer meal planned for tonight's dinner.  Or maybe I am. . . .

I must be.  Everywhere I look (on social media) there are perfectly planned, purchased, and prepared meals.  (Did you see how I alliterated that?)  All of your houses look like they should be featured in an issue of HGTV magazine.  Your children look like little angels and you're husband brought home flowers.  How can my life possible measure up?

Okay, maybe that isn't entirely true.  Still, don't you sometimes feel that way when your Facebook feed is filled with gorgeous photos, exciting announcements, and creative ideas?  It's easy to see the perfectly crafted world of social media and compare it to the sometimes less than perfect reality that is our lives.  

Here's what I think may be the problem.  I think, for the most part, you're like me.  You are careful about what you post.  You're not going to share how you failed today.  You aren't going to post pictures of your messy house.  You are going to look for absolutely the most flattering photo possible to post.  You don't want to share the difficulties of life with the entire internet.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not suggesting that you use Facebook to share your life's drama and misery with the world.  No one wants that.  Still, I think we should reconsider how our interactions on social media may discourage others.  Social media tends to read like a brag book.  I'm guilty of it myself (a lot).  I don't update my status to let everyone know that my house is a disaster and the kids are cranky and I just want to crawl back in bed.  No, I just don't update my status until I have something fabulous to share.  

I found myself face-to-face with this online form of bragging just a little over a month ago on our anniversary.  My sweetheart had poinsettias delivered as a surprise.  I love poinsettias.  We had a Christmas wedding.  I love red.  They were perfect flowers.  Wonderful!!!  I had something to tell my Facebook friends (a.k.a. bragging).  I posted this photo to my page.  Yes, my husband had sent me flowers (although technically they really aren't flowers) and they were gorgeous.  Wait!  What Had I Done?!?!?!  I had posted a picture of my filthy house.  Yes.  Filthy!  Don't you see it?  In the sink.  There is a dirty plate.  I can't let anyone know that I allow dirty plates in my house.  I actually thought about removing the photo.  Instead, I did the mature thing.  I immediately wrote a comment about how I was terribly embarrassed by the dirty dishes in the sink.  Really?  I can't let anyone know that I use dishes and that they get dirty?  Then, I started to really consider what I was posting and why.

I had an unwritten rule from the time I signed up for all this online stuff.  I was not going to use it as a platform to gossip or complain.  I still think those are really good rules.  The Bible talks a lot about murmuring and complaining.  I'm still determined to not complain.  I just want to try to be a little more honest.  Not too long ago there was a 'no makeup' challenge circulating where people took selfies without makeup on.  I wonder what would happen if we did the same with our reality.  Be a little more honest about things online.  Post a photo of our less than perfect days.  Brag on God for helping us even though we really messed up.   I wonder how much it would encourage others to simply see us being real and understand that God doesn't expect perfection because God "knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust."

Wait . . . Was That A Compliment?

If you have kids, especially if you have more than is considered 'normal', you've heard the comments.  

Wow!  You have your hands full.

Are they ALL yours?

Better you than me.

I bet you're busy.

These are the people who make comments to your face.  I've also heard the whispers as we go by.  For a long time it did bother me, but I've come to realize that these comments are not intended to be hurtful or awkward.  People simply don't know how to respond to a 'large' family.  (I don't consider 5 kids to be a large family, but apparently quite a few people would disagree with me)  Many people just want to say something and don't know what to say.  They may not intend to be unkind, they just can't think of what to say.  

The one that caught me off guard was this past week.  I heard the same comment four times and each time it strikes fear in my heart.  My instant thought was, "This can't be good."  We are walking along, minding our own business (for the most part), doing our regular errands, dentist appointments, etc . . .   Out of nowhere, I hear someone say, "you must be a homeschool family."  What could they mean?  Do I look as exhausted as I feel?  That must be it.  

Of course, this week, the comments were all positive.  Someone mentioned how well the kids were behaving.  Someone else commented on their curiosity about everything and how we discussed the things they were asking about rather than dismissing their questions.  Someone else noted how well mannered they were and how well they were getting along with each other and spoke respectfully to the adults they were addressing.  (Yes, I did a little happy dance inside over that one).

I've heard the awkward comments and I can live with those.  It's those, "Wow, Mama, you're doing a great job" comments that really encourage my heart.  Could I be terribly honest with you for just a moment?  Just for me.  If you read this blog post.  Would you go out of your way this week to encourage a Mama that you know?  She doesn't have to be a perfect mama.  Let's face it - those don't actually exist.  She may not discipline like you would or keep a perfectly clean house (like some of us ;), but she needs an encouraging word and you can give it.  You can encourage a Mama who needs to know her hard work is worth it.  Look for reasons to praise and encourage others!  

Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.

- Proverbs 3:27

Audible.com

Technology in the classroom . . . . there are excellent arguments both pro and con when it comes to the use of technology in the classroom.  I am a tech nerd at heart which makes me fall well on the side of pro-technology.  We use lots of great new technology on a regular basis.  I've long been a fan of Kindle (and Amazon in general).  With our homeschool providing us with a few iPads a few years ago and my own smart phone and computer, we have multiple ways to access our Kindle books.   For my workouts (which are few and far between) I discovered whisper-sync for Audible and Kindle books.  It's been wonderful.

We have lots of fun Scholastic audiobooks in our classroom.  I enjoy turning on an audiobook while I step away from the classroom to prepare lunch.  It is a wonderful way to infuse literature and provides an easy transition time.  Recently, I decided to give Audible.com a try after I was unable to find an audio cd for a book.  I was looking for the American Girls series on CD because I had seen them on a homeschool Facebook page.  Sure enough, they had American Girls books.  It's not that my girls can't read the books independently.  It's just that audiobooks are so much fun.  There are several studies showing the value of audiobooks for developing reading skills, reading comprehension, and especially expression in oral reading.

I was thrilled to find a few Apologia textbooks on Audibles.  I've also found several readers and biographies that we have on our reading schedule.  The girls are loving the American Girl Books and the boys are enjoying the Hobbit.   I must say there is one audiobook that stands out above the rest.  If you only sign up for the trial period (which includes a free title) and never get another book, I highly recommend that you check out the BBC dramatization of the Chronicles of Narnia series.  It is spectacularly done.  We have thoroughly enjoyed it.