just so you don't get the wrong idea...

Let me give you another glimpse into me the mother.

Two days before Christmas, we took the kids sledding with some other families. None of those families was allowed to go down the bigger of two hills at the sledding park. I'll admit it... I thought that was sort of lame. We'd been down the big hill dozens of times with no incident. (You know what's coming, don't you? But I didn't.) I'd been hanging with Gabe on the smaller hill, then made my way over to the big one, to let Clint and the other kids know their friends wouldn't be able to join them there. Jonah was already lying in a heap on the snow, upset. He had gone off a jump, flown two feet in the air and landed on his shoulder. After checking it out, I smartly decided he was overreacting. He sat on a bench for the remaining 45 minutes or so, still upset. We took another look at it, decided it must just be bruised, and that was that. Of course, he wasn't using his arm much for the next FOUR DAYS. I still thought he was being ridiculous. Until Clint convinced me to take him to the doctor's, who sent us to the x-ray tech, who took a picture that looked an awful lot like a broken collar bone, which the doctor confirmed was in fact a fractured collar bone. Which left me feeling like that elusive mother-of-the-year award had slipped away... again.

The afternoon schedule...

...which we have NOT been keeping at all lately! And that has made our holiday season so much more enjoyable. But soon, we will be back to our routine. Every afternoon brings something different.

On MONDAYS, we stay home and enjoy unit studies together. We'll be studying inventions and inventors in January. So far this year, we've studied the ocean, wetlands, Thanksgiving and the Wampanoag Indians, and Christmas/other holiday celebrations. Here are the kids in front of a local wetland:


One of our favorite homeschooling activities is TUESDAY science club. We've joined forces with two other homeschooling families in our neighborhood. They each have a boy Jonah's age, a boy Micah's age, and a girl Autumn's age. Kind of makes me feel like someone else is watching over us! ;) For three weeks every month, each age group goes to a different home to learn about part of the animal kingdom. Then we all go on a field trip together the last week of the month. We're studying mammals in January. Here's our September field trip to a local aquarium:



WEDNESDAY is time for unit studies again.

THURSDAY, Jonah goes to his Knights of Freedom group. Basically, he gets together with other homeschooled eight to eleven year-old boys and they learn about various people. This year, his group is studying mountain men. They read one biography a month and then have weekly activities which usually relate to the person being studied. Afterwards, they play a group game and have their weekly sword fight (with swords made of water noodles.) Basically, he's in boy heaven! And while he's away, Autumn and Micah play like the best of friends.

FRIDAY is our homeschool P.E. group. A homeschooling father teaches a group of children from around the valley different games and sports. We have learned that the homeschooling community is a very generous and talented bunch!

Of course, there are ballet lessons, basketball games & practices and piano lessons scattered throughout the week. But since we have no homework (well, I guess it's all homework!), these are welcomed additions.

Daily Schedule

Several people have asked what an average day of homeschooling is like for us. Of course, no two days are exactly alike. It's part of the beauty and also the challenge of homeschooling. But I have found that an organized day makes me a happier mom and better teacher, so we lean toward the more scheduled way of doing this.

In the mornings, after we eat breakfast and the children feed the animals, I send them downstairs to start writing in their journals. This includes writing down the day's date and then writing and/or drawing about a topic (Autumn draws with a little writing, Micah does about half-and-half, and Jonah almost exclusively writes). I've started assigning topics to give them ideas, but sometimes they have other things to record. I love it when that happens! This is when I clear the breakfast mess and look over the day's lesson plans, plus take just a minute or two to get myself mentally ready to begin (i.e., eat a piece of chocolate, look at a blog, check my email; you get the idea.)

Next comes our morning devotional. This is basically a song, prayer, often a recitation of something we're memorizing, then reading scriptures. We end the devotional with a read-aloud. Currently, we're working through the Little House series. And I've learned to let the kids (this is particularly important for my boys) take out toys to build with... it helps them be better listeners!

After our devotional, we jump into our academic subjects. The exact scheduling took a couple months to work out, but our typical morning looks like this:

	Jonah	Micah	Autumn
9ish	Math	Handwriting/Silent Reading/Phonics	Phonics/ Handwriting
10ish	Handwriting/Grammar Workbooks/Spelling/Poetry Memorization (on alternate days, writing workshop)/silent reading	Math	Math/Silent Reading
11 or so	---Language Arts with Everybody---

I'm nearly always working with one child (usually on the couch) while the others are doing independent work (normally at our school table). That was truly my biggest challenge in the beginning. I felt so overwhelmed trying to teach kindergarten, first grade & third grade math lessons simultaneously!! Our schedule has saved my poor brain!

By the time we're finished with this, it's time for recess & lunch. Also, someone always finishes before it's time to move on to the next subject. During that "down-time," they either play with little brother or choose between certain independent activities. Gabe needs that time to be played with; and we need him to be happy!! Today, he was especially grumpy. On days like this, an empty room apart from where we homeschool provides the perfect sanctuary (for playing toys or, like we resorted to this morning, watching a favorite DVD.)

By now, you're probably sorry you (or someone else!) asked. And, because this post seems WAY too long already, I'll share our afternoon schedule tomorrow.

blog change

Sometime in early June, we'll be changing the name of our blog, because someone new is coming to join our family. We'll wait until it's official, and then plan to change to sevenredheads. [And that will be this blog's final name. :)]

Also, I want to tell my family and Clint's thank you for their prayers and their fasting so that this little one could stay with me. Several weeks ago, we thought we had lost our growing little baby, and I am humbled by the answer Heavenly Father chose to give to our prayers. I felt I would have accepted if He'd said no, but I also tasted the difficulty and sadness that would have resulted. My heart aches for those who have experienced miscarriage, and also rejoices in the tender mercies of my Heavenly Father.

A happy 9th birthday

For weeks before his birthday, Jonah had been asking if cousins would be coming to visit. He wanted someone to drive for hours on end to be with him on his special day. And I kept telling him, "No, I really don't think anyone has plans to visit us then." But a couple nights before his birthday, my older sister Lavender called. "Do you mind if we come to visit?" We never mind if anyone comes to visit. Moving away from your whole family does that to a person. And so they hopped in their car the very next day and arrived at night, with hours to spare before his big day. We all had so much fun together.



We had to go to a walking trail beside the river, so he could test out his new r/c boat. The most special part to me was watching as he let his cousins and siblings take turns driving the boat, too. Jonah's growing and he has more moments of feeling frustrated with our crazy family, but inside he's the same as always. He never finishes his basketball snacks, or his scouting treats or any other kind of goodie... he always comes home with enough for Autumn & Micah. I love that about him. Anyway...

Right as we were about finished with the birthday cake, the power went out. And it stayed that way until the middle of the night. The kids felt scared about about the idea of sleeping upstairs in dark bedrooms, until someone came up with the idea of a slumber party on the floor of the living room. So 6 very excited children (Gabe was banished to the crib) eagerly set up beds, the fire was turned on and Auntie Lavender read and read and read some more (hoping someone would nod off, but there was way too much excitement for that!) And finally, the grown-ups left (after a few pictures) and it was the perfect end to a perfect birthday for a practically perfect kid.

homeschooling: the promised update

After returning home from kindergarten, I could always be found scooping up my stuffed animals and dolls by the armful. We would make the trek, out of the toy cupboard or my bedroom, down the stairs and into the family room. There, rows of chairs and pillows awaited my toys. Only they weren't toys anymore; they were my students. And, armed with chalk and eraser, I taught them my day's lessons. My siblings had long since abandoned the idea of playing school with me, coming to the sad realization that the teacher's position was permanently occupied. This may have disappointed me for a moment, but I eventually found their replacements just as cute, and ever-more attentive.

My eventual decision to major in early childhood/elementary education came as no surprise to my family. And, to be honest, I was reluctant to seriously consider homeschooling our children in large part because I knew I would really enjoy it. I didn't want to make this huge decision , which would impact our children for better or worse, for any selfish reason. In the end, my love of teaching was not a factor when the actual decision-making happened. And, yet, I have to admit how truly naive I was...

The transition to homeschooling has been noteable. Those first few Friday nights, I eagerly flung myself on my bed soon after tucking in the kids(a complete exaggeration, since I had nowhere near the energy to be eager or the strength to fling anything! Plus, I am certain it was my blessed husband that did the tucking those nights.) I have shed countless tears over new curriculum, crazy daily schedules, and feelings of inadequacy. And, yet, somewhere along the way, this new lifestyle has become our lifestyle; this crazy new way of life, our life. And, even though we've only been at it 2 months and 10 days (who's counting??), some beautiful things are happening. Friendships are being rekindled (the best, sibling kind), little one is thriving, olders are learning to nurture, I've come closer to becoming a patient mama, and learning seems to be enjoyable (although no one's made that crazy admission yet!)

So, that's the general update. We're working, we're striving, we're not giving up. And sometime soon, I'll give you more details of this, our crazy wonderful new life. That is, if you haven't all been replaced by dolls....

Happy Birthday Baby

The past month and a half have been a blur. The start of our homeschooling adventure has been filled with excitement, frustration, challenge and success. It has been all-consuming, which has left no time for this blog. I'm finally coming up for air and plan to start a series of posts that will give you an up-close look into what homeschooling is... in our family.

But, for now, we're backtracking. Because my baby turned two a couple of weeks into the school year. And that is something worth documenting!

Gabe & big sis helping to make his favorite treat, cookies. Love that the shot captured his miscalculation.


present opening... playdough and tools from big brothers

candy from Daddy...that was a hit


a snuggly kitty from big sister


this cake may be a bit ug, but it was all he talked about for weeks afterwards...his "choo choo bir-day"


and a little candle-licking

Thanks for all the happiness & joy you bring us, angel boy. We love you!! (But PLEASE stop growing so fast.)