Teaching the Heart, Not the Math

I love being home with my children! I love being able to have the opportunity to teach them at home and to raise them up in the ways of the Lord. If you’ve known me for any length of time, you know that I am very passionate about homeschooling. But what about those days when homeschooling isn’t for me? We typically have at least one day a week, when the school work, the lesson plans, and the projects get tossed aside. We have to toss the Goodyear Homeschool so that we can work on a little Goodyear heart.

Wednesday was a typical day for us. We got started on our math around 9AM. Normally it takes me one hour to get math done with all the kids. The twins don’t really have a “math curriculum”, but they sort colors, count, and make patterns with our Math U See blocks. It took 1 hour and 34 minutes just to get math done with one of my older kids. This would not have been a huge problem if this child didn’t KNOW how to do the math that we were working on. His heart was in the wrong place. He wasn’t teachable Wednesday. For whatever reason his heart was up and ready for a fight, and he wanted to argue with everything that I was trying to teach him. I became quickly frustrated, and this back and forth resulted in a very long, and drug out math session.

That evening I was reflecting back on our morning math disaster when it suddenly hit me that not only was he unwilling to be taught, I wasn’t willing to teach. I had other things that needed to be done. Four other children needed to do math, PLUS the reading, English, and spelling. My heart was not in the right place. I was ready for a fight and I was going to argue back with everything that he had to say. I chose to ignore the clear heart issues we were having. My goal at that moment during that lesson veered off course. I was focused on the Math, not my child.

It’s NOT the math that matters – it’s the heart. It’s their character. I can’t teach their heart when I’m not focused on their heart. If I’m not focused on winning their heart – then there is an issue with MY heart.

Too often I forget that I am surrounded by little hearts that don’t know Christ yet. That’s my job, to show them Christ. I need to be teaching their hearts, and bringing them to scripture. We don’t do everything without arguing and complaining because mom says so – we do it because God says so.

It is easy as a homeschooler to get caught up with the academics in our home. I’m here to let you know that I fail often. I’m sure that you fail often. God gives grace! Please be encouraged as I was encouraged as you remember the patience that our Heavenly Father has with us. He is teaching us, and leading us, so that we might better serve Him. He was trying to teach me during our math lesson the other day, yet I was being unreachable. Remember their hearts when dealing with a battle of the wills. Remember their hearts when that preschooler needs a spanking – again. Remember their hearts when their toys aren’t picked up, even though you’ve told them countless times already today. Remember their hearts when the math doesn’t click. Remember their hearts when the reading doesn’t come easy. Remember their hearts when you don’t want to be respectful to your husband. Remember their hearts when you’re tired. Remember their hearts when you have dishes to do. Remember their hearts when your schedule isn’t going as planned. Remember their hearts, remember scripture, remember grace, and just simply lead them to the cross in all that you do. Nothing else matters. It’s the heart issues that count not the math. It begins with OUR hearts. Turn your heart to scripture and prayer, and He will equip you to lead theirs.

Homemade Paint results.

A few days ago we made our own homemade finger paint. The results are in.

See those paint brushes? They weren't exactly finger-paintable. We had ONE batch out of 3 turn out finger worthy. However, all of the kids preferred to use the paint brushes.

My mother-in-law said, that is normal sometimes. To make several batches of something and then they don't "set" right. I have a different recipe I'll be trying soon. Keep your eyes open for another post to see how those turned out.

Here are some of our creations!

There are quite a few different recipes out there for homemade paints. You can find them all over pinterest, or even a simple google search. Feel free to give the recipe I did a try. Several people that have tried it had no problems! Hope everyone has a blessed day! Enjoy your children!

ICE!

With the super hot temps I was trying to find something cool and fun for the kids to do (besides play on the slip and slide). So I filled our perfect cube ice trays with water. I purchased ours at Meijer for only $1.99 they are just like these. I added food coloring to some, and glitter to others. Once they were frozen I popped them out, and stored them in the freezer and made some more. This was such a simple activity and the kids had so much fun!

When the ice started to melt (which was pretty fast in 103 degree heat) I dumped all the cubes & their melted water into a bin, added a couple drops of dish soap, and gave them some straws. We now have bubble and ice play!

I think those smiles say it all! Got ice trays? Have some ice fun with your kiddos! They are also fun to hammar.

Have fun with it! Your kiddos will have a blast!

Our New Fascination With Sensory Play

We have entered into the world of "sensory" play at our house. What is sensory play? Sensory play is currently seen as one of the key areas of play for babies and young children and a crucial part of their development. Sensory play is play that involves the use of one or more of the five senses, touch, sight, smell, taste and hearing. I don't JUST have young children, however all 5 of our kiddos are really having fun! Today I'll introduce you to a fan favorite - Sensory Balloons.

I had these waiting for the kids one morning to be found as soon as they came up for breakast.

What are these? What's in them? Who's Birthday is it? Those are just a few of the questions they kept asking. I simply told them they were for them to play with. They can match them by color or by feel, or make a pattern with them.

Want to make your own? These are so simple. I got a bag of balloons for $.97 at Walmart and filled them with things I had in the house:
Rice
salt
pom poms
hair jel
water
buttons
beads

What surprised me the most was how my oldest girl responded to them. She loves them!

She pretends they are people, or airplanes, or animals, etc. When she walks into our kitchen (which is where they have been the last few days) she immediately starts looking for the balloons.

She is our child with an autistic spectrum disorder. Autism has a BROAD spectrum. While she is on the "higher functioning" end of the spectrum she still has a lot of delays, quirks, and social issues.

Given her reaction to the balloons. I have been inspired to provide our children with a lot more opportunities for sensory inspired play. Looking forward to sharing our fun with you guys!

Week 15 is Underway!

It's MONDAY! Did anyone else have a super challenging day? Between toilet training B2 and M2, keeping B5's new attitude and bay, and working diligently on teaching A7 a new math lesson, today has been EXHAUSTING! I can not think of anything else I would rather be doing though. Week 15 started out well. We are ALMOST HALFWAY through our school year. A7 is flying through his math book, and 2nd grade is going MUCH easier than 1st grade! He is also being a great Big Brother and teaching B2 and M2 all kinds of useful activities - like how to play with Nuts N Bolts! B5 has had quite the attitude lately, so we are working more on heart issues this week. However she did enjoy writing out some spelling words in a pan of sand today. Not to mention she gave me a pleasant surprise when she flowed right through her reading lessons without many stumbles at all. The heart issues, still need lots of work though! H4 is my most eager student. She is loving Kindergarten! (except the writing activities)Just as soon as she finished her work, she was practically begging for more stuff to do! (I wonder how long this will last?) This week she is focusing on the letter J. Today we made "J-Jaguars" and "j-jelly fish". She loved doing this activity! Fun alphabet crafts can be found here. M2 and B2 had a pretty leisure day in tot school. Basically some color sorting/ pinching/gripping/ and a prep for preschool video. All in all we had a great day. Of course we had our normal daily bumbs - girls fighting, babies stripping, Aaron negotiating for some playtime outside, instead of school work, typical every day things! I'm blessed beyond measure to be given the opportunity to stay home with my children. They are my ministry right now, and I take this job very seriously. My heart leaps for joy each day as we go through this adventure!

Our new Tot Tool

There is a awesome blog that features lots of super cool tot tools, AKA Tools For Tots . The moms that created these super cool ideas have been blessed with creativity that I just do NOT possess. However I feel like my brain goes in a thousand different directions when I walk into a Dollar Store trying to come up with a new tool to use on the kiddos. I was in Target last week and in their "Dollar Spot" they had fall decorations. I found a packet of 60 mini pumpkin erasers. I had NO clue what I would do with them but figured I could come up with something. Then the same evening I was at the Dollar Tree, and came across a 7 day pill holder. My brain started churning and I came up with a great idea! I combined a pill holder, pumpkin erasers, and my label maker and created our own tot tool! I made 10 labels - #'s 1-10. Then H4 opens the pill holder labeled "1" and puts in, one pumpkin, then closes it. Next she will open pill holder "2" and put in two pumpkins, and continue to do so until they are all done. Then she dumps them out, and does it all over again. She loved it! She had a new math tool that also helped her with her motor skills!

1st week of co-op Fall 2010!

Well the first day of our homeschool co-op finally arrived! The kids have been so anxious and excited for it to begin! Our year-round homeschool has been in session since May, so they were MORE than ready for some social interaction with friends. I welcome the new busier schedule with open arms. Who doesn't need more of a challenge in their week to get the school work done? I'm teaching In My Heart, 3 grade levels of explode the code, 3 grade levels of math, 3 grade levels of handwriting, 2 levels in history and science, 2 spelling programs, oh and the twins are beginning tot school, as well as beginning to use the potty! So, in the midst of all of that, we get to crunch our 5 days of work into 4. However we love love love our co-op family and I REALLY do welcome it with open arms. This year A7 has moved up to the 2nd grade level, B4 is still participating in K-1st grade classes, and I opted to let H4 do another year in pre-K. I think she can handle most of the K activities, however for the Teacher's sake, it's a big different in a 4year old Kindergartner, and a 7year old 1st grader. I am playing a new role in the co-op this year in that I am TEACHING! For those that have done this forever it might not seem like a big deal, but children that aren't mine, terrify me. However I know God has a plan, and I can get through this! The problem is that I am the world's worst procrastinator! For instance, right now it's after 4PM on a Sunday, and I'm just now preparing our lessons for the school day that starts tomorrow at 8AM, which means I'm usually preparing our co-op lessons, at 10PM on Wednesdays, and co-op starts around 9 on Thursdays. But as I said, God has a plan, and I know that He is MORE than able to see it through!

Now onto the classes that the kiddos are taking:
A7: Apples, Legos, Cooking, and Invetions
B5: Apples, Magic School Bus, Kinder-Art, Math Fun
H4: Pre-K
B2: Toddler Activities
M2: Toddler Activities
MY schedule: Toddlers; Teaching; Teacher's Aid; then Toddlers again!

Our Thursdays will be hectic, crazy, and a bit rushed. However it's a must for us! We gotta get them socialized as much as possible right?!? ;)

Adventures in Homeschooling Week 12

Sorry these are late! I should have posted this Friday!