Did I Mention I Just Had a Baby?

Recently I launched my website Marmee's Circle.  I loved creating this website and imagining how I could inspire and be inspired by women, their products and their stories.  I set out working on the website late at night while everyone slept and smiled with excitement (to myself).  Did I mention that I had just had a baby?

I didn't stop there.  I wanted a launch party where I would bring some of these awe-inspiring women together.  We had a blast looking at the fruits of our labour.  We savoured beautiful lip balms, hair pieces, paper art, knitwear and more!  I should have just sat back and savoured the taste of our efforts at connecting and sharing.  I didn't.  Instead I was inspired to have a trade show.  That is how She Made It! was born.  I wanted everyone to see what I saw and experience the talents of our little town.  Did I mention that I had just had a baby?

Then I started a second blog about homeschooling.  Oh yeah I forgot to mention, at around the same time as the baby, website, launch, and trade show decision - I made the decision to home school our son!  Wouldn't it be fun to record my trials and joys of homeschooling my "energetic" kindergartner?  Oh yeah! By now you know that I just had a baby!

Recently I sat back and I thought, "What is wrong with you?  Can't you just sit still and be bored for a while?  You know, watch your new born's hair grow, chose nail polish colours, read a magazine, brush your hair... nap... you know...just breath?"  Apparently that concept doesn't sit well with me.  For some reason God created me with a desire to create.  Whether it is a concept, website, meals, or a trade show, I was made to create.

When I feel anxious, angry, sad or frustrated, I write.  When life overwhelms me with chaos and confusion I plan events and outings.  It soothes me in a way I can't explain and brings me closer to the people I love.

Tomorrow Join me at (In)courage as a I share how God helped our family during a traumatic time.

Shhh! School has Started!

Since I made the decision to home school I have been doing a little practice teaching.  We have been working our way through the Scripture Alphabet series with Impress Your Kids and have really enjoyed it.  We save this for the end of our day, just before prayers and bedtime.  It helps the children settle down and also gives us some time to learn letters and do some crafting.

Cohen hard at work tracing letters.  I was shocked when he asked to copy what he traced on the lines below.  I love that homeschooling encourages children to take initiative and to extend their learning.

All of the children are present during these activities.   As a teacher I learned that I could expose students to subjects, topics etc... that were a little above them.  I just have to remember not to require that they demonstrate everything they are being exposed to.  We printed the letter L and searched for it on our letter bin.  Searching is a really important early skill.  Students need it to help them recognize letters as they are reading.  Here is a site that has some good activities that help with searching.  Not all the activities help with searching but most of it is useful.

This activity was great.  The children practiced important skills such as searching, printing, cutting and gluing. 

Today we were working on the letter L.  Since Impress Your Kids did not have a verse for this one, we found "Look to me and be saved..." Isaiah 45:22.  Impress Your Kids made lions out of paper plates.   I didn't have any on hand so we used paper bags.  The kids loved it.  This activity helped improve their fine motor skills and was lots of fun.  My son came up with the idea of using round stickers for eyes and putting dots in them.   I love these moments where we can just share ideas and work together.

There he is again - shirtless-boy! He gets something out of our time together.

I have been trying to home school as informally as possible.  Since my sons are high energy I keep things flowing without abrupt beginnings and endings.  We brought out the sorting toys and sorted together on the family room carpet.  I thought we were done but my son continued exploring.  He started to make patterns with the sorting toys and soon we were back to sorting with other attributes.  Through homeschooling my kids don't realize that they are "in school".  The learning is just woven into our daily lives.

I am thankful for the opportunity to home school and hope I can do it for as long as I need to!

Home (Sweet) School with Wallies

Do you want a chalkboard that is light as a feather, easy to move, and doesn't cause injuries?  Then you want a Wallies chalkboard.  These chalkboards are perfect for homeschools, offices and bedrooms.  They are easy to move and you can write on them with regular chalk.  I tired the Wallie chalkboard in different ways.  I did this while carrying my new born in a sling.  Now you know it is easy.

There was not much do in terms of perparation for these giant stickers.    You just remove them from the clear box, peel a small part off from the backing and voila you have a classroom.  I tried writing on the chalkboard right away and it was nice and smooth.  It is important to smooth the sticker out in small secitons as you work.  Also you can't use side walk chalk on these chalkboards.

My cousin took these picture.  Can you see my newborn in the sling?

MyWallie chalkboard is ready for some accessories!

These strips come in various patterns, themes, and sizes.  All you need are a pair of scissors and tape.  You can create a border that changes or have one that stays year round.

My new chalkboard from Wallies!

Wallies carries a variety of shapes and sizes. (They have the solar system, trees, animals, you name it!)  This set comes in four.  I wish I had known about these in my public teaching days!

The news is out that I am homeschooling our son for the first time.  We have a lot of work ahead of us.  Today we set up the room (see below). We also picked  a name for the school - Home (Sweet) School.  I am sure there a millions others who have picked that name.  Thank goodness Urban Bubbles sent me those chalkboards from Wallies.   It was lots of fun.  Get ready for our Home (Sweet) School tour.  So excited.

Here are some before shots:  (This room was used as a playroom/craft room for the past year.)

Now it looks like this:

My second said he wanted to model - with his shirt off. Can you see our new word wall?

Our new word wall. We will only keep new words on the board until they learn them.

I used cushions to hide my supplies and made a reading nook.  The kids started using it right away!

Storage for our stuff.  Each subject has a shelf.  I love being this organized!

Supply central!

Another place (filing cabinet) to make words.

I keep a school picture to remind me of what worked and didn't for me.

Quiet work station.

I think I'll end on a quiet note.  The way most long days at school should end. Thanks again Urban Bubbles and Wallies for making our classroom into a Home (Sweet) School!