The first “W” to consider when you’re planing your year is “Who?”

Who are you homeschooling?  This might sound like a silly question.  The obvious answer is, “My kids of course, who else?”

But “who” are your kids? Any mom who has more than one child knows that no two children are alike.  It’s amazing how two children with the same parents can be so completely different in personality, talents, ability, and any other number of factors you might want to consider when planning your/their home school year.

Here are a few aspects of “who” your child is to consider:

“Who” do you want them to be when they grow up? This is going to have some major overlap into the “why” department, which we’ll talk about next time.  But for now, think about what the most important things you want them to know are.  If you had to narrow it down to three things you want your kids to really know when they walk out of your home after graduation, what would they be? What are the top three character qualities you want them to have?  If you have high-schoolers they might have an idea of what they want to do after they graduate.  Make sure you keep these plans in mind.

What are you child’s strengths? Make sure there’s plenty of home schooling “real estate” in your year for capitalizing on those strengths.  Sometimes we focus so much on strengthening a child’s weaknesses that we don’t help them fully develop their strengths. If you’re coming at this from a standpoint that your children were created by God as unique individuals with unique plans for their lives it makes perfect sense to spend time developing strengths.  Those strengths are there for a reason and your child will probably need them!

What are your child’s weaknesses? What are the areas that need a little attention?  Those do need attention too.  In my opinion, capitalizing on strengths takes priority over weaknesses, but that doesn’t mean ignore weaknesses.  If your child doesn’t know South America from South Africa and he’s in the 8th grade, you might want to focus on some geography this year.  Of if your child is overly shy you might want to engineer a couple social opportunities for her to work on that, with gentle instruction from mom of course.

What are your child’s interests? Like strengths, interests are something you need to highlight.  Natural writers need plenty opportunity to hone their skills and express themselves.  Science lovers might appreciate extra time to explore areas of interest, or maybe there’s a great curriculum out there all about a particular interest they have.  Maybe your jewelry loving teen can design jewelry for a small home business.  The possibilities are endless.  Bringing your child’s interests into the school day can help keep them interested and make school feel more relevant.  Not all subjects can be “fun,” but letting a child’s interests direct some of the school day can make those “less fun” subjects more tolerable.

What is your child’s personality? I used to think the whole personality type thing was a bunch of unbiblical psycho-babble made up to put people in boxes and give excuses for bad behavior.  And incorrectly used, yeah, it can go there.  But years later, as a mom of five, the youngest of who is getting ready to turn thirteen this month, I can tell you that learning about personality types and what type you and your child are can really help when it comes to understanding what makes them tick and teaching them how to relate to others.  Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your child’s personality is as helpful as knowing their strengths and weaknesses academically!

Here are some links to resources I’ve personally used about personality types from a Christian perspective since there is a lot of psychobabble out there.  I’ve seen all of the books listed at local libraries and Christian book stores.

• Personality Plus – book by Florence Littauer
• Why You Act the Way You Do -  book by Tim LaHaye
• Spirit Controlled Temperament – book by Tim LaHaye
• free online personality test from Tim LaHaye with basic explanation

What is your child’s learning style? There are three types – visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.  This is an extremely helpful thing to know.  If you have a visual learner and you buy an audio series on American History, your child is going to struggle to remember the information presented but if you have an auditory learner they’ll thrive!  That’s not to say you never use audio with a visual learner – that’s just not how life is going to work and they should be taught ways to compensate for a weakness, like taking good notes, but in general you’ll have better success if you work with your child’s learning style.  The best book I’ve read about learning styles is The Way They Learn and it’s probably at your local library.

Another “who” you’ll want to consider is:

Who will be teaching? You as mom will most likely be doing the lion’s share of teaching.  Don’t forget to take into consideration your own preferences when it comes to teaching methods and schedules – it will make your year go much smoother!  Who else might be teaching?  Will dad be helping?  Dad might not be into teaching classes per se, like math and science, but he might be more than happy to teach some practical skills.  And don’t forget about what he’s already teaching the kids!  That’s called “life skills”!

Will you be participating in any classes, co-ops, sports, music lessons, etc…?  Keep those in mind as you write out your subjects and get those time slots marked off on your calendar for the year if you know them.  If you write all those lesson/class dates on your calendar and in your planner now, at the beginning of the year, you’re much less likely to overbook yourself and your kids, and also less likely to miss appointments. So get those calendars and planners out and pencil in those commitments!  Use pencil so if dates change they can be updated.

Your turn!  Get a cup of tea,  your planners, notebooks, or whatever you use for your home school planning together and have at it!

Next time we’re going slightly out of order and talk about “Why?”

Getting ready for a new school year?

This is the first part of a seven part series on home school planning.  I’ll be posting a couple times a week so check back soon or better yet, subscribe to my RSS and you’ll be sure not to miss a post!

The “5 W’s and an H” aren’t only for kids’ writing assignments. They can help you effectively plan  out your school year whether you’re a new or experienced homeschooler.  Thinking through the questions, “Who? What? When? Where ? Why? and “How?” is a powerful tool for planning out your very first school year or your sixteenth!

“Who?”

The obvious answer to “Who?” is, “Well, my children of course!”  But beyond the obvious “who” question is “Who are your kids?” The beauty of homeschooling is that you can take into account “who” your kids are.  Take some time to think about or determine their learning styles, personalities, readiness levels, special needs, talent and interests.

Also, ask “who” will be teaching. You as mom will most likely be doing the lion’s share of schooling but there may be others in the mix.  Is your husband willing to teach a subject?  Don’t forget that “Life Skills” is a subject!  Your husband may not be into teaching math or history, but does he have a skill or hobby that the kids can get in on?  More “whos” may include co-ops, friends, other relatives… anyone who will end up contributing to your child’s formal or informal education this year.

“What?”

There are many “whats” to think of:

What subjects will you be teaching this year?

What subjects might need a little more focus that last year? 

What will you need?  This is a good time to make a list to prepare for those awesome “back-to-school” sales that will be coming soon.

Also, what do you already have on hand?  Do you have leftover supplies or materials from last year you can use up, or maybe a stash from last year’s sales?  Stocking up at those “back-to-school” sales can be a great way to save money, but not if you forget about your stash and end up buying duplicates! (experience talking)

If you are a new homeschooler, what are your state requirements?  Each state has its own list of required subjects, days or hours of instruction time, record keeping requirements etc…  It’s best to know about them before you get far in your planning.

“When?”

Here’s where we think about schedules. What do you want the year’s schedule to look like?  Learn about different school year models – traditional school year with the summers off, four weeks on and one week off, three months on and one month off, year round… there are so many ways to schedule a year.  Think about what would work well for your family, keeping in mind any state requirements that might restrict your choices.

Also, think about your weekly schedule.  Does the typical Monday through Friday school week work just fine or would something different suit your family better.  This year our school week is Tuesday through Saturday because of Dad’s work schedule so he can have more time with the kids on his days off.  Homeschooling gives  you this flexibility!

And of course, don’t forget your daily schedule.  Some families like fairly well scheduled days, some like lots of flexibility.  Look at which subjects you’ll be covering and think about how much time you think the kids should be spending on them on a daily basis.  Of course none of this is set in stone but it’s nice to have a starting point.

“Where?”

Where will your primary instruction take place?  Will you have a room pretty much dedicated as a “school room” or does the dining room table work nicely? 

Where would be a good place to do those messy projects that need space and time to complete.  Your dining room table might not be the best place for those!

Will you let the kids have their own spots for quiet study, whether it’s the family room, the basement, their bedrooms, or even the garden?  Take some time to set up these spaces for optimal learning. We generally work and learn best in quiet, uncluttered places with what we need close at hand.

Will you be participating in activities outside your home like co-ops, nature centers, libraries, or a friend’s house?

“Why?”

Does your home school have a “mission statement”?  It should!  You don’t necessarily need a formal mission statement all typed out and signed, but you do need to know “why” you’re homeschooling. For one thing, when curious friends and family ask, “Why are you doing that?” it helps to have a ready answer rather than standing there saying “Well…. um….” and trying to figure out why in the world you are homeschooling, especially if you’re having a bad day!  On a more serious note, you may be called to give your reasons to authorities, or other possibly-not-so-friendly people.  Knowing your “whys” will make this experience much less traumatic.

Thinking about why you’re homeschooling is also a good tool for evaluating your other “w’s.” It’s good to know why you’re homeschooling a particular child, especially if you start to struggle with that child midyear.  Similarly it’s good to ask yourself why you’re teaching particular subjects, using particular materials, following a certain schedule…  You may run across an item and think “Hey, that doesn’t really fit in with why we homeschool!” and save yourself much frustration. It might also lead you to a resource, a schedule, or a method that better fits what you’re really trying to accomplish.

“How?”

So many teaching methods, so little time! Traditional school-at-home, unschooling, relaxed schooling, Charlotte Mason, Classical, Eclectic…  Investigate lots of different methods.  Books, websites, and magazine articles abound on different homeschooling methods and it’s interesting reading!  Pick a method that fits your child’s learning style, your teaching style, your child’s readiness, personality, what your end goal of education is…  If you’re just starting out, just pick what sounds good and if it doesn’t work out as well as you’d like, you can always tweak or change next year!  If you’ve been homeschooling for awhile, do you need to re-evaluate based on changes in your family, teaching more children, special needs, or maturity levels?

Once you’ve decided on your method, look at the different curricula out there.  Some can be adapted to many different methods, some can’t.  This is where being able to talk to a seasoned homeschooler comes in so handy!  There are local and online support groups, forums, and e-mail lists where you can ask other moms about particular methods and curriculum and get invaluable input.

Thinking through the 5 W’s and an H, just like you tell your children to, can help you plan your best year yet and help you enjoy the journey of the 2010-2011 school year.

In the next article I’ll talk about the first “W” – “Who?”

Could you use some comic relief these days? This Monday at Mom’s No Chaos Zone I’ll be starting a new feature called “don’t ask Monday.”  Think homeschooling is only for the super-organized, “has it all together” mom?  Ha!  Come see the true confessions of a slightly scatterbrained mom and her like-minded family. Make sure you leave a comment letting me know what you think of this new addition! See you Monday!
photo credit: Luciano Meirelles

Carol Topp is hosting a fun Homeschooling Blog Carnival.

Check out all the posts on the topic “All Things Austen”!   Thanks Carol, for including my post “A Great Reader?” It makes me want to celebrate with tea!

“Miss Bennet despises cards!  She’s a great reader and takes no pleasure in anything else!”

Our whole family can recite pretty much the entire script of the BBC/A&E version of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.  Our son Isaac has a curious obsession with the movie and gets to watch part of it daily as a reward for meeting some basic behavior and hygiene requirements.  As a result, we’ve literally watched Pride and Prejudice over a hundred times.  We find ourselves quoting this movie at the oddest times – part of the quirkiness of our family.

Not too long ago I was hanging out in my favorite chair reading while the kids were horsing around in the same room.  I don’t know quite what they were doing because I was… well… reading.  All of a sudden I hear a voice pipe up in a British accent, “Mom despises cards!  She’s a great reader and takes no pleasure in anything else!” followed by a gaggle of giggles.  Ahem? The kids seemed to think it was quite amusing.  I wasn’t quite as entertained by the “random” quote from P&P.  It reminded me of something a speaker at our local home school conference said: “If you can’t say Amen, say Ouch!”

Things had been super-busy and pretty stressful due to some health issues of our special needs guy Isaac and related financial pressures.  If I wasn’t cooking, cleaning, teaching, running to various doctors’ offices, or nursing a sick, often uncooperative teenager, I was usually reading – either a good book or on my computer.  It was my way of escaping the stress.

Nothing was/is wrong with using a good book to unwind of course, but I was taking it a bit far.  I couldn’t remember the last time I played a game with the kids, went outdoors to watch them ride their bikes, or took them on a picnic.  Since all of their ages are double digit now, it wasn’t a huge deal, but I felt the poke of the “great reader” remark – a friendly “Hey mom, are you going to join in the fun right in front of you or keep your head buried in your fantasy world forever?”

It’s so easy to zone out, especially when there are so many great books and so little time!  But make sure you spend some time with those kiddos – even if (maybe especially if) they’re teenagers and don’t really “need” you to play around with them like the littlies do. (though I’m not certain they ever outgrow that need!)  Maybe you can read one of those great books aloud to them!   There are so many great authors to pick from… Dickens, Tolkein, Wilder, and of course… Austen. = )

ps — Pride and Prejudice is NOT on the agenda for a read aloud.  If I started reading it after everyone here has seen the movie over a hundred times I think I’d be immediately tarred and feathered.  Persuasion may be on the agenda this year.  And if anyone knows of an exceptional Jane Austen biography I’d love to hear about it!

Who says gingerbread houses are just for Christmas?

We bought a few on clearance after the holidays and the kids were itching to “do something fun” so we broke them out.  This is my 19yo daughter in a particularly silly moment.

Hooray for after Christmas sales!  Hey, this is better than the time my younger daughter “somehow” got wrapped from head to toe in green tinsel…

It’s HOT here in Kansas!  I loved making ice cream in a bag with the kids when they were young.  They still like to make it every so often, even though they’re “too old.” (ha)  Here’s a fun video on how to make ice cream in a bag.  It’s quick, easy, and I like this particular recipe because you don’t have to go and buy anything special like heavy cream.  Give it a try with the kiddos this summer!

We’re on week two of our four-week break.  I need to get some planning done for the coming year.  Do you do your planning planning for the school year over the summer?  Do you work on it throughout the summer, leave it till the last week or so, or avoid summer planning all together?

I’d love to hear your answers for a project I’m working on!

Reading the Bible and praying more is right at the top of Christian womens’ goals and resolutions lists, up there with getting organized and losing weight.  Unfortunately, just like organizing and weight loss aspirations, our best plans and intentions to have daily devotions or quiet times tend to fizzle a few weeks into the year.  What happens?  We’re convinced of the value of spending time getting to know our God through His word.  We’re convinced of the power of prayer in our lives and others’.  How does something this important and desirable keep slipping through the cracks in our days?

One of the ways we unintentionally keep something from happening is making it too difficult or complicated.  Do you admire a friend who is able to read her Bible an hour or two a day?  Or a friend who studies Greek daily?  A favorite author who writes about watching the sun rise as she prays over her day?  All of these things may be good, but do they work for you at this point of your life?  Maybe you have three small children running around and 1 – 2 hours of uninterrupted reading time just isn’t going to happen.  Maybe you are anything but a morning person.  In your mind is anything less than your “ideal” quiet time not worth doing?  In other words, are you making it more difficult than it needs to be?

All you really need to have your quiet time are three things:  A time, a place, and your “stuff” – your Bible and anything else you’re planning to read.  Place and “stuff” are pretty straightforward.  You need a place to sit and read and something to read of course.  Where we usually get messed up is time.  We usually know “what” we want to do, it’s the “when” we have a problem with, as in the “when” just not happening!

Here is a common scenario.  We hear that waking up early to have our quiet time is the best way to go so that’s what we shoot for.  If you’re an “early riser” this can work great, but for the rest of us…  Tell me if this sounds familiar:  You wake up later than you planned (again) and you resolve to get on track and have your quiet time later that morning.  Then “something” happens and you have to put it off until lunch.  Lunchtime ends up being taken up with “something” else and you figure maybe in the afternoon you’ll catch a little time.  Guess what… “something” keeps happening until you’re laying in bed wondering what happened to your quiet time.

So if you don’t get up early in the morning is all lost?  Not at all!  Look at your day and pick the best time that works for you.  Don’t worry about your friend, your favorite author’s schedule, or what you’ve heard is “most spiritual.”  What time of your day tends to be the least hectic and most likely to be somewhat quiet?  The kids’ nap time?   While dinner is in the oven?  My best time is right before bedtime!  It’s quiet, there’s nowhere I have to be, and everyone else is in bed too.  Be creative!  What’s important isn’t the time of day you pick, it’s that you pick a time that works best for your current schedule and that you guard it from invading “somethings”.  The “best” time for your quiet time is the time you can realistically make it happen!  You might have to experiment a bit to find the best time.  Also, have your place picked out and your “stuff” where it needs to be so looking for your Bible and a pen doesn’t end up being a “something” that comes up!

So how long should your quiet time be?  Again, look at what works for you.  I’d love to have two hours a day but in this season of my life when I have four kids, one with special needs, two hours isn’t going to happen on a typical day.  God knows your circumstances and responsibilities – He created your family!  Do what you realistically can.  You can probably get 20 – 30 minutes into your day.  Some days you’ll have more time, some days you’ll have less.  If you can’t find even 20 – 30 minutes, take a look at some other activities you find time for like checking e-mail, web surfing, Facebook, telephone calls, reading…  We make time for these things without thinking twice about it.  Not trying to be legalistic… just something to think about!

It’s not too late to get your prayer and Bible reading resolutions and goals back on track.  Sit down and take a few moments to think about what the best time is for you and make a plan of attack!

Do you need a little more help?  Check out my e-book package Night Owl Devotions, written by a night owl, to night owls who have a hard time making consistent quiet times happen.

Commenter #4, you are our winner. .. That would be Jennifer!  You win a free ticket to the Ultimate Homeschool Expo!  I’ll e-mail you with details.

If you didn’t win you might still want to check it out — I know you’ll love it and come away encouraged and armed for another year.  You can find all the details here at the Ultimate Homeschooling Expo site.

There’s a change of venue for Mom’s No Chaos Zone’s Thursday Challenge this week!  This Challenge is just for my homeschooling readers.  To participate, leave a comment to this post telling me your top three favorite things about homeschooling!  The school year is coming to a close and it’s easy to get tired.  Thinking of your favorite things will help you finish strong!

At midnight tonight, April 29th, comments will close and I’ll randomly pick a winner who will receive a FREE ticket to the Ultimate Homeschool Expo!

If you don’t know what the Ultimate Homeschool Expo is, check it out here.  It’s truly ultimate!  Imagine a homeschool conference that doesn’t involve travel, packed parking lots, having to find someone to watch the kids, having to choose between workshops, buying workshop audios you want to listen to again, or crowds. (I happen to like the homeschooler mob experience but not everyone does.<g>)  Participants also get a virtual goodie bag with all sorts of great free stuff from speakers, including me!

Let the fun begin!  What are your three favorite things about homeschooling?

—– Comments are now closed!  I will post the winner this afternoon (April 30).  Thanks everyone who participated!!!

DaisyChain has a new look!  What do you think?

Yes, things are looking pretty funky!  I’m updating my theme so please excuse the mess!  Things should look “normal” shortly.

Things have been really quite here lately.  I’ve been taking a break due to a family illness but plan to get things back on track here and with the newsletter now!  Thank you SO much to everyone who has sent little encouraging notes!

I enjoyed “meeting” many of you at Cindy Rushton’s Home School Expo preview chat and workshop.  I’m going to be doing another workshop during Expo week – “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – 15 years of Homeschooling in Review.”  To learn more about the Ultimate Homeschool Expo, click here.

Also, stay tuned for a contest to win a FREE ticket to the expo!

Jenn = )

The Thursday challenge this week is going to be about spring cleaning and we have a really great prize a copy of Marica Wilwerding’s awesome new e-book The Spring Tea Planner so you can plan a celebration for all your hard work or just have a fun and educational time with the kids!  This is a really great book – to learn more, check out my review of The Spring Tea Planner!

What are you waiting for?  Get going! = )  Go to Mom’s No Chaos Zone and check it out!

Family meal times are a great way for your family to connect at the beginning or end of the day. Unfortunately the dining room table can be a major clutter-catcher. How is your dining room table looking? Take some time today to clear it off and make it a pleasant place to have dinner tonight. If your table is already clean kick it up a notch and find something attractive for a table decoration. You don’t have to spend any money. If you’re lucky enough to have some blooming flowers already, pick some and put them in a pretty vase or a quart sized canning jar. (we use both!) Or recycle some decor from storage. Your imagination is the only limit!

When you’re done, go to Mom’s No Chaos Zone and post a comment to today’s Thursday Challenge post.   If you have a blog feel free to post pictures and links. At midnight tonight (March 4th) I’ll pick out one commenter to receive a Night Owl Devotions package. I can’t wait to hear about what you do!

Have fun!!!

In general I can’t stand video games but somehow a wii made it into our house this year. We have some pretty strict limitations on use… only after school AND chores are done can the wii be used, and ONLY for the time alloted.  Only fairly active games are allowed – no sit on the rump and stare at the screen type games and no blood/gore/carnage.

I recently read on a blog about how a mom was using the kids’ wii to lose some weight and get in better shape with the Wii active program/game.   I had a little extra Christmas money left over so I grabbed one.  I am SO SORE! Amazing how a video game can actually give you a good workout.   Who knew?

This week I’m making a focused effort to get back into the habit of daily read-alouds.  Somehow we let read-alouds fall by the wayside as the kids started getting older and our oldest graduated last year.  I sure miss our daily reading time and so do the kids – yes, our teenage kids! Where did I ever get the idea they were too old?  Now, the only question is what to read?

“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” – Mark Twain

Check out Mom’s No Chaos Zone’s Ugly Frog Contest.  The rules are simple.  Look over your to-do list and pick out the worst item on there – the one that you’ve been putting off because it’s tedious, messy, stressful… you know the one!  Now DO that to-do!  Just dive in and start, and don’t stop till its done!  When you’re done, go back to Mom’s No Chaos Zone and follow the directions to enter the contest.

Two winners will receive my brand new audio workshop “Morning, Noon, and Night,  Balancing your Busy, Sometimes Chaotic Life While Doing what Really Matters.”  This audio is for Christian moms who are wanting to manage their days gracefully.

Deadline for entries is tonight at midnight.  I’ll announce the winner on Mom’s No Chaos Zone tomorrow!

Have Fun!

You know you’re a homeschooler when you ponder whether or not planning your daughter’s high school course of study is considered “work” and should be done on Sunday or not…

Wow – even more reason to celebrate this week!  My oldest daughter is now certified to teach piano through Simply Music, which she is thrilled about.  This week is also the A Year That Counts women’s expo and I have my first ever workshop!  Whoohoo!

We’re back to school after a week’s break.  I love the “four weeks on, one week off” schedule.  Always a break to look forward to, but the breaks aren’t long enough to get bored or forget everything we just learned.

Still doing the “defining terms” series at Mom’s No Chaos Zone.  The most recent post is “balance” or “life balance” – what in the world I mean when I say it and why it is a biblical concept, not just a goofy pop psychology notion.

Come visit me at the A Year that Counts expo!  My workshop is “Morning, Noon, and Night – Balancing this Busy, Sometimes Chaotic Life While Doing what Really Matters!”  and I’m including worksheets, and other free goodies for expo participants!  You can learn more about the expo here!

What a Sunday.  Church, business meeting, boys’ chess tournament, our family’s version of the Super Bowl (Dad vs The Kids on the wii) and pizza.  Fun!

What wasn’t quite as amusing is my hair story… to celebrate finishing the recording of my workshop for Cindy Rushton’s upcoming women’s expo, I decided to do my hair.  I’ve been using henna to tint my hair since college.  Henna makes your hair fabulously soft and shiny, and if you like red tinted hair it’s a great coloring too.  Unfortunately something went terribly wrong this time.

The first clue something was wrong was when I looked at the mixing dish on the way to rinse the henna out and the leftover henna was an odd dark teal color.  Then when I rinsed my hair out the water was the same color.   Nervoulsly blow drying my hair I noticed that when the light hit my hair just right….. you can fill in rest…. teal!  It was like some demented holographic sticker – the ones that change color as you tilt the surface at different angles.

The solution to my problem was almost as ridiculous as my hair itself – a 50/50 mixture of molasses and baking soda smeared on my hair and left till it was dry.  At least my hair isn’t algae green anymore… I think the kids would have a hard time concentrating on lessons today…

Debating on whether or not to try again tonight…..

This week at Mom’s No Chaos Zone I’m going to be defining some terms – like what in the world I mean when I throw around words like “time management”, “manager of the home”, “priorities”, and “balance.”   These words are used so often and in so many different ways they start to lose their meaning.  This week we’ll talk about what they mean and why it even matters.

I love it when the seed catalogs start coming in!  I’m making my gardening plans already.

One thing I’m going to grow for sure this year is calendula.  Calendula is also called pot marigold but is no relation.  It’s about the same color as marigolds, in all shades of yellow and orange, but the flowers are more daisy-like.  Last year I went to make my favorite calendula lotion and found I was out of dried calendula!  Well, one can’t make calendula lotion without calendula so I went hunting for some.  The only nice calendula I could find was being sold at ridiculous prices (ok, I’m a cheapskate!) so I went without my lotion. = (

Calendula is super easy to grow.  It will grow in just about any soil, even our clay soil here in Kansas as long as it gets a reasonable amount of water.  It’s not terribly picky about sunshine either as long as it isn’t in full shade and doesn’t get buggy.  Actually, some veggie gardeners plant them to deter bugs.  (haven’t tried it – I will this year though!)  Calendula blooms just about all late spring and summer, till first frost.  In the hottest part of the year it might slow down, but will perk back up as the summer heat subsides.  If you deadhead or pick the flowers it will bloom more.  And you will want to pick those flowers!  They can be used for my favorite lotion of course, but also to give color to salads, as a dye plant, and as an informal cut flower.  If you’re into herbs, the flowers are also medicinal, usually used for skin problems and inflammation.

If you’re wanting to give calendula a try, start looking for your seeds!  If you’re wanting to grow for lotions or medicinal purposes, get calendula officinalis, not a hybrid.   Starting the seeds 6-8 weeks before your average last frost date will give you nice little seedlings to plant when the danger of frost is over.  You can also direct-seed after the last frost but the plants will take longer to bloom.  Have fun!

It is SO cold here in Kansas!  We’ve dropped to below zero the last several nights and that’s NOT counting the wind chill!  Today’s high is a whopping 4 degrees. Tonight is supposed to get to -9 then it’s supposed to start warming  up, maybe all the way past freezing… break out the suntan lotion, it’s going to be a heat wave!

With it too cold to even go outside and throw snow at each other, I’ve been trying to come up with ways to keep the natives from getting too restless.  This afternoon I think we’re going to make some popcorn balls.  Grandpa’s Popcorn Balls from allrecipes.com is our family favorite!

Youngest kiddo is using the time to work on his stop-motion videos.  He’s getting pretty good at them and keeps bugging us to let him put them on YouTube.. links may be forthcoming.  Oldest daughter is studying studying studying her Simply Music teacher’s training stuff.  She is almost ready to start teaching.  Yay!!! Free music lessons for the others!  She’s looking forward to using them as guinea pigs.  She wants me to take lessons from her too…. but I am the most musically UNtalented person on the planet and don’t want to make her feel like a bad teacher when six months from now I still make people’s ears bleed when I practice.  At least she’s not wanting to give me voice lessons…………  That could lead to prosecution by neighbors.

How are you keeping your kiddos warm and occupied?

We’ve really have a lot of snow for the time of year!  My daughter made the biggest snowman yesterday — look at the top of the page to see it.  I don’t know how she did it – it was as big as she is, but then again I shouldn’t be surprised….she never does anything by halves.  She’s my “go big or go home” girl.

I found a really cool video on making snow ice cream!  I’m hoping it snows again soon so we can make some.  I always made snow ice cream growing up – it’s one of my favorite memories.

Christmas is almost here!  If you need a quick gift and like to crochet, (or would like to learn) crochet washcloths are perfect.  Washcloths are a fun project for beginners and children since they are small and “doable.”  Every time I give these as gifts people go crazy over them.  They can be used as either dishcloths or face cloths… probably either one or the other – not BOTH!   Many times I will roll up three and tie them with raffia as a hostess gift.  This year I’m bundling them with some homemade soap that a friend and I made this fall and scented candles.  Think spa night!

Crochet wash cloths are SO easy, even for a beginner.  Since they are so simple you can work on them while you’re on the phone, watching a movie, or chatting with a friend.  Since it’s a small project they are portable enough to take to a doctor’s appointment for the waiting room, when you take the kids to music lessons or sports practice….

All you need to get started is a ball of yarn and a crochet hook!  Make sure you get 100% cotton yarn.  Cotton yarn is the only yarn that is soft and absorbent enough to make a good wash cloth.  A “K” size crochet hook works nicely but you can use a “J” or a “L” in a pinch. (this will make the cloth a little smaller or larger but that’s ok)

Directions:
Chain 23
Row 1: Turn, skip the first chain and single crochet to the end of the row.  Chain one and turn.
Row 2:  Single crochet to the end of the row, chain 1 and turn again.
Repeat row 2 till the washcloth is square, then crochet one more row.  This is because when it shrinks it will shorten up a bit.
Use a tapestry needle to weave in loose ends.  When you weave in the loose ends, bring your needle through several stitches one way, then bring it back a few so the tail doubles over on itself.  This will keep the tail from coming out and hanging loose when it goes through the wash.
The cloth may look just a little big and “loose” but when it is washed it will shrink, tightening up the stitches.

If you’re a newbie to crochet (like if you don’t know what in the world I mean by “chain 23″), YouTube has many crochet tutorial videos like this one that will help you learn!

I love it when a science project finds us.  On the way down to the basement to rotate laundry a few weeks ago I found a snake laying halfway down the stairs.

It was a miserable critter – skinny, getting ready to shed, and a dust bunny was stuck to its head.  My younger daughter has been wanting a pet snake for the last several months so I scooped snakey up and into an aquarium it went.  She (we really don’t know if it’s a “she” or not, that’s what my daughter decided it should be) is feeling much better after a few good meals and a shed.  My daughter named her Cleopatra.

We’ve been learning a lot about native snakes and caring for them.  We think Cleopatra is a western rat snake.  I can’t believe how fast she’s growing!  She took a couple weeks to tame down but she still shakes her tail at us sometimes.  A neat thing about rat snakes is that they shake their tails like rattlesnakes (minus the rattle) and when they do it in dry leaves, or on newspaper in an aquarium, they sound just like a rattler.  It was pretty unnerving the first time I went to pick her up and she did that!

Capture my Heart, O Lord!  Retreat Starts Tomorrow Evening!

Tomorrow Cindy Rushton’s virtual retreat Capture My Heart, O Lord! begins.  Cindy’s retreats are always worth making time for, so go check it out!  You can listen to the live conference for FREE!  You can also buy a ticket which gives you access to the membership site, replays of the conference audio sessions, additional audios, and all sorts of free goodies.

Another reason to take a peek is Cindy is going to be giving away some “pre-release” copies of my own Night Owl Devotions, so if you were wanting a copy before everyone else and for free, make sure to drop by!  Here’s the lineup – yes, these are the FREE live sessions!…

Thursday, December 10, 2009:

7PM CST

Lord, I NEED Time with YOU! with Cindy Rushton

Friday, December 11, 2009:

10AM CST

Martha, Martha! Conquering the Distractions that Take Your Heart Captive! With Cindy Rushton

2PM CST

Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone With Felice Gerwitz

Saturday, December 12, 2009:

10AM CST

Lord, Give Me an Uncluttered and Focused Heart with Cindy Rushton

If you go by the website to check it out now there’s a free preview audio Lord, Capture My Heart by Beth Jones.

Getting the finishing touches put on my mini-e-book Night Owl Devotions.  Here’s a sneak  peek from the contents:

The “5:00 Club”

Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor’s Quiet Time

Giving Your Best

God is Still Awake at 10:00

Who hoo hooooo Needs Night Owl Devotions?

A Disclaimer and Gentle Admonition to Night Owls

Night Owl Devotions – The Basics

Get Ready, Get Set, Go

Extras/Variations

The Night Owl Express

Follow up – Not Just Night Time

Lather, Rinse, Repeat

A Handful of Helpful Resources

Here’s great crock pot recipe in our home… I just love using the crock pot when it starts getting cold outside.  A simmering fragrant crock pot makes the whole house cozy somehow.  We got a nice turkey breast and I wanted a low-hassle way to prepare it so I tried this, based on a recipe from

allrecipes.com.  The original recipe called for onion soup mix but I didn’t have any so I basically made my own. It was SO easy and turned out absolutely wonderful!  The kids all went crazy over it.

Super Easy Crockpot Turkey Breast

1 turkey breast

1/2 c. flour

2T. onion powder

1t. salt

1t. pepper

Rinse turkey breast.  Mix flour, onion powder, salt and pepper.  Rub down the entire turkey breast with the flour mixture including cavity, inside neck, and under the skin.  Put in crockpot and cook on high for 90 minutes then reduce to low and cook around 10 hours depending on size of turkey breast.  Use meat thermometer to determine if done.

Original recipe can be found at http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Turkey-Breast/Detail.aspx

Some sort of virus is among us.  Me and our oldest son has it so far.  I’m drinking a big mug of my favorite lemonade brew:

Juice of 1 lemon or 2-3 T lemon juice (organic and no sulfites)

1 T honey

1/4 t. finely ground red pepper

hot water to fill mug

Add all to large mug and stir.  The heat and pepper helps open your sinuses and soothes itchy, burning throats.  The honey is just plain good and I hear it helps sooth throats too.

Back to my mug….

Check out the winner of the fall decorating contest at GirlTalk, complete with photos and instructions!  Very cool.

(crossposted on Mom’s No Chaos Zone)

I’ve been asked about read-aloud books for kiddos several times over the last few weeks.  Here are our family’s favorites.  All of these are the original unabridged versions.  The abridged ones, especially Disney versions just *aren’t* the same.  We’ve read these when our kids ranged from three years old on up.  Of course a 16yo is going to “get more” from these books than a preschooler, but you’d be surprised how much the little ones end up catching on to.  Our youngest can remember things from Charles Dickens stories that I’d never have guessed.  In no particular order:

• The Hobbit — JRR Tolkien
• The Lord of the Rings books (Fellowship of the Ring, Two Towers, Return of the King) — JRR Tolkien
• Great Expectations — Charles Dickens
• A Christmas Carol — Charles Dickens
• Stepping Heavenward — E Prentiss
• The Jungle Books (vol I and II) — Rudyard Kipling
• Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner — AA Milne (again, NOT the Disney versions)
• Thomas the Tank Engine — Rev W Awdry
• Anything by Beatrix Potter!
• James Herriot’s Treasury for Children

The gals at Girltalk recently had a fall decorating ideas contest on their blog.  You can see the runners up here including photos and instructions for the projects.  Today when I go shopping I’m going to pick up a few pumpkins for the carved pumpkin project.  There is also a really creative idea for candle holders made from jars and recycled tea bags – who knew?

If these are the runners up I can’t wait to see the winner, which will be posted tomorrow!

(crossposted on Mom’s No Chaos Zone)

Sometimes I post about things I’m on top of and feel like I can be a good example of, and other times…… I’m giving myself a much needed reminder. The latter is the case with “Good Morning.”

I am NOT a morning person by nature. When I was younger and had summers free I’d always end up staying up until 4:00 in the morning and wake up around noon. I loved that schedule (much more than my parents did) and probably would now. When I traveled to Bulgaria which has an 8 hour time difference I felt great! I’m sure there is a great scientific explanation about body clocks and such that explains why I work that way but for all practical purposes it doesn’t really matter. I’ve tried and tried using various methods to become a “morning person” and it just hasn’t worked out.

So what’s a mom to do? Unless we decide to make our families run according to our own preferred sleep cycles, which isn’t very practical, are we just stuck? Do our families just need to learn to “deal with it”? That isn’t very practical OR very loving…

I may never be a “morning person” but I have learned a few tricks to make my mornings work better. I’ve shared these tips before and I’ll share a few here:

- Go to bed around the same time every night. Ok, in the real world this won’t work all the time, but do it as much as possible.

- Make sure your bedroom is a pleasant place to wake up. Waking up in a chaos zone does absolutely nothing for your energy level or attitude. Keep your bedroom clean and organized enough that you don’t feel stressed out looking at it.

- Have something in view that makes you smile. I learned this trick way back when I was a teenager and my grandmother put cuttings from the wild rosebush in her yard in a small jar by my bed.

- Have a morning routine. Having a little track to run on as you roll out of bed helps get you going. Don’t make your morning routine a huge to-do list. Just list the things you need to do in the morning to get yourself started on the right foot… self care like brushing your hair, washing your face, taking your vitamins, quiet time…. and having your first words to whoever your see first be “good morning” are good starters.

- Don’t eat junk at night. This is a biggie for me. If I decide to have a little snack at night it needs to be something healthy and light. If I eat (or drink) junk I will invariably wake up crabby and tired for half the morning.

If you’re like me you have a huge “to-do” list, written or mental, with items from “clean out the van” to “pick up hubby’s shaving cream” to “plan Junior’s high school course of study.” With our mile-long to-do’s its easy to run all day and drop into bed thinking “Did I get *anything* done today?”

There is an easy trick I learned to stop the “I didn’t get anything done” feeling. Grab a piece of paper and a pen…. I’m waaaaiiiiting……

Ok, think about the day and all the “stuff” that’s going to happen, might happen, hopefully won’t happen etc… Now think, “OK, if this day gets totally derailed, what are the *three things* that, if I did them, I could say this day wasn’t a total wash?” What are three things that would make this an acceptably productive day if they got done?

Now write them down!!! Don’t keep it in your head. Put your piece of paper whether its a notebook or the back of a napkin you wiped PBJ off the preschooler with and put where you will see it, and see it repeatedly. When you get these things done, cross them off, check them off, highlight them… whatever makes you think “whoohoo! got that one!” when you see it.

If you do this every day, three things add up quickly. Of course these three things won’t be the only things that get done 99% of the time, but they are intentional items that you decided were most important. If you keep these lists of three together and look at them at the end of the week, you’ll be sure to say “Wow! I got stuff done this week!”

Give it a try and let me know how it works for you!

I am really enjoying Cindy Rushton’s series on being a Proverbs 31 mom. Cindy is always so encouraging! Check it out at www.blogtalkradio.com/Mom-to-Mom-Radio-Show !

When things are tough it’s so easy to wake up in the morning tired and discouraged and trudge through the morning spreading around that mood around. When your face is one of the first things your kids see in the morning, what they see is going to influence what kind of day they have…..and what kind of day THEY have influences what kind of day YOU have. (do I hear an Amen sisters?)

Your kids (and your hubby) need to see your smile in the morning. They need to hear “Good morning!” instead of “uummpffffgggghhhrrr” or “Who spilled milk on the counter again?!” or “Get your fanny out of that bed. Do you know what time it is?!”

Do whatever it takes. Leave an encouraging memory verse or quote written on a pretty card on your bedside table or on your bathroom mirror. Take a moment to write a few things you are thankful for in your journal. Above all else, pray for your attitude to reflect God’s love and patience.

When I take the time to do this (some weeks are better than others…. ahem) it makes SUCH a difference in what kind of day our family has. In tough times especially your kids need your smile and kind words.

So tomorrow morning…. let the first thing your hubby and kids see of you is your smile. And let the first words they hear from you be “Good Morning.”

A friend just told me about this site: handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/

I have Anna Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study and have been wanting to get more mileage out of it. This blog is absolutely beautiful and just as useful as it is beautiful with its Outdoor Hour Challenges that pretty much make up a (free!) curriculum around the Handbook of Nature Study. You can even see how other users are doing the challenges. Very cool! We are going to start using this tomorrow!

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