The Momma Knows (via Mowser)

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How long has it been since you sat quietly, watched your children as they worked on an assignment, and evaluated how things are going? My word for 2012 is TRANSITION. I have felt it coming on and I’m watching it unfold, and frequently now I just have to pause… and ask myself…

Is this working?

What could we do differently?

What do I need to change so that he can be successful?

Am I showing my boys how to live, by living what I tell them to do?

Always, always take a little time to ask yourself questions. If there’s one thing I have learned in 13+ years of homeschooling is that there is always room for improvement!

So I question myself. I question my husband. I question my kids.

How are we doing?

Are you enjoying this subject, that project, Â this commitment?

Is it time to kick things up a notch, or should we let this (subject, assignment, project) go?

I have much to evaluate right now. Curriculum and assignments. My goal of keeping the house up better and planning meals and shopping only for the menu. Reading the Bible in 90 days. (Day 43 today! WOOT! WOOT!) Not spending a lot of time on the computer. Exercising every day that I’m able. Running a few times a week again. Looking at a couple of new churches. Hard stuff folks. Character stuff. Health stuff. Faith stuff.

Question yourself. Pray and ask God what it is He wants you to step up and improve upon, and set a goal (or several small interim goals) and go for it. Ask your husband what he wants you to step away from, and be ready to listen. Asking questions is only half of it. You still have to take the action when you get the answers. Â I know that for me, I often can’t see how over my head I am getting, but my husband always can and he is pretty good about pointing it out to me.

Am I taking on too much?

Am I not doing enough?

What are the non-negotiables?

Everyone has non-negotiables. Yours may be that you get up at 4am for the Good Morning Girls tweet-in, get your devo’s in early, and start your chores all before the kids get up. Or it may be that your kids get up early, knock out two subjects before breakfast, listen to classical music at lunch time, and practice piano every afternoon. They can be big, like GMG’s or small, like a single subject that your kids have struggles with. They can be ‘safe’, like no computer before school, or they can be daring, like running every morning, rain or snow.

So tell me, what are YOUR non-negotiables?

Read past ABCâ€™s of Homeschooling posts.

28 Days to Hope... A Few Days Late!

My actual kitchen sink, clean and empty

I was planning on writing more posts on this topic. I know, I was. Really! But as usual, I have begun several things at the same time, and it looks like the blog writing is suffering right now. Let me tell you how it’s going though.

28 Days. Hope for your home. I do have hope for mine, as I have been working through this handy ebook! Week One’s task was pretty basic, but still one that I struggle with. All. The. Time. Â And Week Two? Well she’s added a new task right on Day 8. Not a hard one, but one I am constantly forgetting about or putting off.

I mean really, floors? The only time I notice mine is when I walk across it, barefoot. I’m thinking that’s NOT why FlyLady tells people to get dressed and put shoes on. Â Or maybe it is?! No, probably not. Nony knows what’s up. She knows I ignore the floor. She knows that unless company’s coming, the mop is put away. And barefoot? We just don’t want to go there.

The mop is put away. Hurray! At least something is put away!! Wait, probably the wrong thing to cheer for, eh? Â

This week I was very intentional about doing the dishes– all of the dishes– every day. I loaded, and unloaded, loaded, and unloaded again, and put it all away. Well okay, I lied. I had the boys unload the dishwasher, either once or twice depending on how many loads I ran each day. I realize that the clutter and mess are on me, but I don’t live alone in this house and darnit, my sons are going to start doing something around here! They might as well start with dishes.

Dinner always brings that extra set of dishes too… you know, the stuff that either doesn’t fit or can’t GO in the dishwasher? Well I managed to tackle those too, every single evening. And it wasn’t even that hard! Â I just did them the old fashioned way, with soapy water and a dishrag, then rinsed, dried and put them away. Yes, that was an accomplishment. I’ve been known to leave them drying on a towel on the counter… for a day… or two… but other than one night last week, I haven’t done that at all. And I kept the catch-all counter mostly cleared off too!

I even swept the kitchen floor today after breakfast.

Have I mentioned that I don’t notice floors? I did? Well I sure noticed the huge pile of crap in my dustpan today, let me tell you! Dust, dried mud chunks, dog hair, cereal pieces, some random small torn pieces of paper and an old magnetic business card that fell off the fridge. No idea how long that was there. Maybe tomorrow I’ll even mop it. It looks a lot better but would benefit from some oil soap and a good scrubbing.

On to more de-crapification…

Did you know that Nony’s ebook, 28 Days to Hope For Your Home is on sale for 50% off for this month only? The subtitle is Not for the Mildly Disorganized, and I will attest to that. If you struggle with clutter and cleaning and STUFF, this book will help you start to tackle it all, one baby step at a time, and develop some new (good!) habits over the course of a month.

Paintball Anyone?

Dad's ready for anything

How do you beat the early spring cabin fever, or end of summer “I’m bored out of my mind’s”?? How do you get rid of your husband and a house full of teenagers (some of them yours even!), for the day in the process? Send them to play paintball!

We became a paint balling family about ten years ago. Maybe I should rephrase that, since I’ve never played before. My hubby gathers together as many kids as we have guns & masks for (unless they have their own, which several do), and they head up to the hills to go shoot each other with paintballs.

Even girls play! And the boys are surprised, and then impressed. Especially about our daughter J, who has been playing for years. I once overheard a friend of her brother’s tell another kid “Don’t worry about hurting J, she can take care of herself. Watch out for her!” Yep, she can be pretty brutal from what I hear.

Paintball is *NOT* a cheap hobby, but it is one which can get almost the entire family involved. Our younger guys like to shoot the paintball guns at targets in the yard, and D1 has gotten to ride along when they go play in the hills. Daddy made him stay in the truck bed, so he wouldn’t get shot, BUT gave him a paintball gun so he could take shots at everyone if they were close enough. He had a great time, and guess who he got in the shoulder? Daddy!

I feel I must provide another disclaimer: Yes, guns can be dangerous, but only as dangerous as the person handling them. Paintball guns shoot balls of paint, not bullets. Paintball is a relatively safe sport, provided caution is used and safeguards are used correctly. EVERYONE wears a helmet/face mask with eye protection. Even in hot weather they all usually wear long pants and sleeves (camouflage is optional). Yes, if you get hit it hurts. It leaves a paintball sized welt that goes away between a few hours & a few days later. It’s also a LOT of fun and gets the kids out hiking, running, and active.

Paintball welt-affectionately known as a beesting

Even the kids who’d rather sit and exercise their thumbs on the XBox controller. It is a great remedy if you’re a dad who just doesn’t connect with your teenagers, or you aren’t sure WHAT TO DO WITH THEM. This gives you common ground, and fun! I am not sanctioning violence against your children. Just good, clean fun.

Taking your kids out and shooting them could be fun too, but you know what they say about paybacks!Â Â ;)

Read past ABCâ€™s of Homeschooling posts.

28 Days to a New Outlook

So yesterday was day one. Easy peasy. One new habit that isn’t totally new, but I’m not the most consistent. I need to do it. Every. Day. Sometimes twice a day. As I said before, we are often a two load a day dishes family. It’s not something I enjoy, because really, I hate doing the dishes.

This 28 day series I’m doing, usingÂ 28 Days to Hope For Your Home, is about recognizing that I have a problem. Okay, I have several problems. I collect clutter, then I don’t want to deal with the clutter, then I don’t know what to do with the clutter. That’s three things but really it boils down to one: I am lazy.

Nony the Slob calls this process “de-slobification”. Some friends (LynnÂ and Heidi) and I were chatting on Twitter about a month ago, and the term we used was de-crapification. I think I like that term better. (Does this term offend you? I’m sorry, but I call it like I see it. Don’t judge me. I still love Jesus.)

The de-crapification of my life commences now.

Areas that I know I need to work on are all based on my habits:

HousekeepingÂ

routine cleaning/pickup daily preventing clutter before it starts folding and putting away laundry as it comes out of the dryer doing all of the dishes rather than waiting to put the extras in the next load

Health

get back to running 3-5 times a week put myself on an elimination diet to find out what foods I am sensitive to, and then put myself on a healthy eating plan that excludes those foods! keep a daily food and exercise log

Blogging

set a post schedule in advance and stick to it set aside days/times for writing and for social media minimize other electronic commitments

Through beginning to work on building good habits in these areas, I should be able to begin to take control of my life! There are just too many areas where I tend to either over-do or ignore, depending on the situation.

And do I think I will actually post every single day for the 28 days? I have no idea. Don’t hold it against me if I’m not able to. My goal is to have a life outside of my computer screen… so maybe, maybe not. We’ll see. And with these lofty goals, I am beginning to think maybe I should start a new blog just for them!

Now through February 28th,Â 28 Days to Hope For Your HomeÂ is 50% off! Get this ebook and give yourself some hope for YOUR home!

28 Days to Hope for Your Home isÂ notÂ a guide to getting your home completely organized in a month.Â Based on the experienceÂ I have gained during my personal deslobification process, this e-book is a guide to developing basic habits that other people seem to know (but people like us donâ€™t).

If you follow the instructions for each day,Â you will learn new habits and change your thinking about your home.Â Through personal experience (the best teacher), you willÂ understand the basics of keeping your home out of Disaster Status.

You will have hope.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of this ebook. I will receive a small commission if you click over and make a purchase through one of my links.

8 Ways to Strengthen Observational Skills

1. Give a preview. Tell them briefly what the scenario is (say, a night time owl hike) and give them a list of concepts or things to look for (sounds, locations, and vocabulary)

2. Give them tools. A clipboard, pen, paper, and a magnifying glass are an open invitation for observation! A digital camera allows instant recording and further examination.

3. Make predictions. In the scientific method, this is called creating a hypothesis. Have them guess what it will be like, write it down, and then they will be tuned into looking for what they are hoping to see.

4. Get outside (the comfort zone). When anyone goes outside of their comfort zone, whether that is just the balancing on top of a fence, or hiking to the top of a mountain, senses are heightened. They will take it all in!

5. Go multisensory. Some people learn through sight, others through touch, and still others have to physically manipulate their world. Do it. Try new things.

6. Disprove something. Nothing gets kids fired up like trying to prove that an idea is wrong! Countering theories and arguments are a favorite pastime of kids in the 9-14 year age range. Turn those sometimes dicey attitudes to be used for good, and you will have active participants (as in #3.)

7. Try it blind. Or deaf. Drop one sense, and see what happens with the others. Taking away their sense of sight will force them to become more observant through sound, smell, and touch.

8. Walk in someone else’s shoes. Exchange your own life for someone else’s. Have them trade lives with someone, historical or fictional, and then record it. This is great for video!

Read past ABC’s of Homeschooling posts.

I Recommend

My Current Reading List

Quietly Questioning

So tell me, what are YOUR non-negotiables?

28 Days to Hope... A Few Days Late!

Paintball Anyone?

28 Days to a New Outlook

Now through February 28th,Â 28 Days to Hope For Your HomeÂ is 50% off! Get this ebook and give yourself some hope for YOUR home!

You will have hope.

8 Ways to Strengthen Observational Skills

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