Christmas and New Year's

Except for Caleb and I both being sick on Christmas day, we had a great holiday season. Of course, most of our learning centered around Christmas, and one book we focused on was "Clown of God" by Tomie dePaulo. It's part of our Five in a Row curriculum and using that as a springboard we also learned about Italy and treatment of the elderly. We had Gracie fairly young, and in addition to both sets of grandparents, she also has 3 great-grandmothers and one great-grandfather. My grandmother is the oldest at 89, and showing consideration  towards elderly people is something that really applies to her life, but isn't always easy for a kid to understand. The manners book I mentioned in my last post has a section devoted to relationships with the elderly, and we used that to start our discussions.

After that, we just made stuff! I was extra glad to have Gracie home to enjoy all the craftiness. The great thing about kids is how much they enjoy simple things. One of the things that intimidated me before I started homeschooling was how I was going to think up enough nifty crafts. But one afternoon we made paper snowflakes and Gracie remarked over and over how cool they were. All it took was some paper and scissors, and my kids had hours of fun. Plus my windows looked really cute. We also made some angels for the tree, super smell-good applesauce ornaments, lots of coloring pages, and of course COOKIES!! Here are some pictures:


                                       I know, I know. Caleb+ Scissors= Scary. But it went ok.

 These are the applesauce ornaments-

                                       

The cookies went like this:

                                       And here's Luke just cause I feel bad about leaving him out...

This week has been spent trying to re-group from Christmas. My house still looks like a bomb went off and we are trying to find spots to keep all the new toys. "School" will start up again next week, and in the meantime I've been asking myself what I hope to accomplish in the New Year. I'm not completely sure what the answer is, but I have a few ideas....

1) Responsibility!
Over the summer, Gracie had a list of chores to complete throughout the day. It went well at first, then she started dragging her feet. And whining. And taking four hours to wipe the bathroom sink. Then we started homeschooling, and it was really eating into our lesson time. I finally scrapped it. But now she's had a few months to get adjusted to school, and the chores are coming back. She's about to turn seven, and she really needs to develop some maturity and be more responsible for her belongings and her time. She's also moving up to the next age group at piano lessons, and it's going to be a little tougher. I think it will be good for her to have to work a little harder.

2) No more whining!
This kind of goes along with the responsibility. The past two months, Gracie has gotten into the habit of whining about school work. Seriously? She has three worksheets a day (phonics, Bible, math) and the rest of the time she doesn't even know we're doing "school". But she whines about the worksheets, especially phonics. At first I was going easy, giving her breaks.I didn't want her to get a "bad taste in her mouth" about school, but now I'm over it. Suck it up kiddo.

3) Find some more friends!
I know what you're thinking- "I knew it! homeschoolers have no friends!" not true. Gracie has friends. But I would like her to make a few more, and it would be a plus if they were also homeschooled. We've honestly put ourselves out there- gone to park day, rollerskating days, a field trip, and a monthly class at the Wetlands- and we still haven't managed to make any solid friendships. Rollerskating, for example, was all older kids. Nobody seemed to show up at the park. I've been friendly to other moms, but it's been HARD. Hard, because they've already done this, and have their group of friends established. They don't "need" us. Hard, because homeschoolers convene from all over, and a few nice people I've met live pretty far away. Hard, because some mornings Gracie insists on walking like a velociraptor in public.
I have wondered if I made a mistake by not joining the co-op...but then I think of all the extra pressure it would have been, and I know I couldn't have handled it this year. MAYBE next year...

Looking over this list, it seems like I'm making all the goals for Gracie, as if she is solely responsible for how school goes. For any of this to be accomplished, I have to not be lazy, be well-prepared, be consistent. Really, any goal I have for Gracie is also a goal for myself. Except the whining. That's her problem.

So overall, I would just like to develop some more routine and structure, while still remaining relaxed. Luke has really started settling into a schedule lately, and I think now things might start to run more smoothly. Christmas was a much-needed break, and now I'm itching to get going again!

Minding Your Manners

Ok, I am going to sound like an old grandma here...but kids today have absolutely no manners. I'm not talking about which fork to use- that's etiquette, and I'm not too worried about that. I'm talking about basic please-and-thank-yous, excuse me's, common courtesy. I can't tell you how many times I'm out in public and I see kids being just plain obnoxious. Running through stores, bumping into people (I told you I would sound like a grandma),whining for things they want, and interrupting their parents while they talk to someone. This is exactly how I don't want my kids to act.

My son is the worst offender. He wakes up about 7 every morning, marches out into the living room, and names his demands. "I want apple juice and Cheerios!" he doesn't even say good morning. One time he left out "I want" and simply declared, "Apple Juice!" Then as I am pouring the apple juice, he demands it four more times. Another obstacle to good manners is his complete lack of volume control. This morning in ShopRite he shouted, "Do you hear that OLD LADY laughing?" Yes, and now I SEE her giving us dirty looks...

The good news is, Caleb's lack of manners stems from his age. With time and training, he will learn not to behave that way. What bothers me are the older kids who still act like Caleb. This is not from immaturity, but from a lack of respect. I want my kids to be respectful. I don't want a bunch of self-centered brats. We live in a society of entitlists who don't think they or their kids should have to defer to anyone. Their kids are better than others and they don't need to say sorry if they knock mine over on the playground, or excuse me if they walk on my heel while they are texting. They seem to think practicing some manners would reveal some sort of character weakness, but in reality, the opposite is true. Manners show you are strong enough to put others first.

This is one area Jeremiah and I try to emphasize a lot with our kids. As six and three-yr-olds, we don't expect them to be the picture of perfect manners, but we do expect them to be courteous.That's why when I found a library book this morning called "Everyday Graces: A Child's Book of Good Manners", I was pretty psyched. It's a collection of poems, excerpts from stories, and even Bible verses, all teaching a lesson about manners. Some of the authors quoted are: Mark Twain, L.M. Montgomery,Robert Louis Stevenson, and C.S. Lewis, and some of the chapters include: Honoring Your Mother and Father, Helping Out at Home, Kind Words, Taming the Tongue, Befriending the Elderly, and lots lots more. I am definitely going to get my own copy and incorporate it into our lessons.

And, before you write me off as completely antiquated, the back cover says, "It's also a book of manners for rock stars"-Bono