Easy Way: Not Always Entertain Your Child with Busy Work.

Moments like these I feel like I have been let in on a little secret. Don't you? I love watching children in their natural state playing and perfectly content. Here my son is playing with his Batman umbrella and an old McDonalds Happy Meal box. Doesn't get any better than this on a wet cold rainy day.

It can be exhausting for moms and dads alike to be constantly trying to keep their child engaged and entertained with one thing or another, especially if you have an active child like we do. I remember as a child my mom telling me go outside or your room or something and I looking for her to give me something to do. When she didn't those were the most creative and fun times of my life. I could be anyone, live and do anything, in a world that was all my own, made by me, for me. As an adult I often find myself trying to get back to that place and when I do, that is a happy day. To be able to see your child making that world for themselves truly is a sliver of happiness in life!

 Play truly is the work of children! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and good morning Monday.

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Flu Season - Vaccine or Not?

Seems like everyone I know has been fighting flu right now with this flu epidemic. We thought our home was going to pass it up. After much debate we decided to get the flu vaccine this year. I am not real hip on vaccines, but I am not anti-vaccine as of yet. We had planned on bypassing the vaccine this year, but with the scare of Ebola hitting the states this year, regardless if it was highly unlikely to breakout and probably ridiculous for this to make us consider the vaccine, but it got the conversation started and based off the flu episode I had  two winters ago (ended up getting bronchitis and pneumonia) we went ahead and got our early this year.

When I saw so many people breaking out with the flu I was so thankful that we got our vaccine, but then I hear on the news that the flu shot was not preventing people from getting this flu. So this Sunday we were all feeling under the weather and just had the blahs! We decided not to go to the Kingdom Hall on the off chance we may be coming down with something we sure didn't want to share it with everyone. Before long our little complained of a sore and scratching throat. But he never mentioned it again. That evening he had a difficult time going to sleep, but this is nothing new with him. I must have read him ten stories from My Book of Bible Stories. Finally he went to sleep and slept very late, but I knocked it off to him staying up so late last night. Guess again. He woke up crying, which he rarely does. I felt his head and he was hot as a fire cracker. In a horse  whiny voice he croaked "my throat hurts!" I called my hubby and then phoned the doctor.

(If you have a weak stomach don't read the next paragraph)

I told my hubby I thought he had strep throat. On arrival the nurses wanted to test him for strep. She came in with two long Q-Tips to stick to the back of his throat. He was whiny because like anyone he hates when they make you gag. Not to mention is just didn't wanted to be bothered with or there for that matter. So the nurse is attempting to get the strep test done and Wesley begins to cough and in turn start to vomit. Now at this point the nurse is in his face trying to get the test done and he throws up right on her face. I remember thinking when she walked in that she should have a mask on. I felt horrible for her because I know if that was me I would have probably would have been hysterical. But that may be why I only play nurse at home to my family and not for a living. Right? Anyway, I ran the cabinet to find something for him to vomit in and she heads out of the room to do whatever she needed to do. You know they really don't make those little pink vomit things (not sure what they are called) big enough. He emptied his system there on the exam floor. As horrible as I know this all sounds the good news was he hadn't felt up to eating and only had water on his stomach.

Well the very stressful strep test came back negative. The doctor came in and examined him and asked about his symptoms and diagnosed him with the flu and ordered a flu test. Thankfully that test went off without a hitch. Little one was so worried he would be leaving to doctors office with a shot despite my many promises that there would be no shots. He was very pleased when he heard that his prescriptions were Popsicle's and chewable Tylenol. When we came home from the doctors he answered "Does this mean I don't have to do school today?" I laughed and replied: "no baby not today."  So he has been resting and watching television (some of them are educational :-D) for the past two days, in between cat naps. His fevers seemed to be breaking so I am hopeful that tomorrow he will be back to normal.

So will we get the flu vaccine again? Time will tell. Each family must make the best decision they can at the time armed with the knowledge that have at that time that is best for them.  Hope everyone has a healthy year!
A special thank you to our amazing family and friend for their well wishes, gifts and cheering up and the amazing Manager Cindy at the Harbin Clinic who gave us a ride to the doctors. Talking about patient service! Very thankful to all the health care workers that treated my little one, especially that poor nurse that took the brunt of the patient care.

Putting in the Garden -The Play Of Childhood Is Work

We are all very excited to actually be working on our little farm again. The past few years there has been so much going on that it has been hit and miss and with me not working secularly now some of the ideas I have always had for our Littlefoot Farm may actually be in grasp. I just hope the energy and the finances will be there to get it all accomplished. I wish I could harness some of my little’s energy and zap it into me somehow. What I would do for some of that! Could you imagine if that was possible? Oh if only.

 The hubby tilled up our first phase summer garden spot Sunday afternoon, which I thought was never going to happen because the tiller was giving trouble, but after about four hours of labor hubby finally got it run. Could you imagine the days before with had motorized equipment. No wonder those generations were so fit looking, they worked their tails off for sure. I just can’t imagine things like cutting a thick tree down with a handsaw or ax and then the task of actually cutting it into logs and then splitting the logs  and having to do it to survive all winter long, keeping the fire going. Makes me remember the time we got iced in at my sister-n-laws. The power went out, but thankfully she had a fireplace. We dragged the mattress into the living room to sleep. My hubby got the fire going and all night long every time he would get almost to sleep his sister would get cold and he was off outside to get wood. He kept that fire going all night and was so exhausted the next day. We still laugh about that night. I don’t know if too many of us could now adapt to the days without electric, running water, motor powered equipment. Which raises the question would we want to? I know I enjoy it when we go camping, but not sure if I would like it permanently or not.

 Monday the little and I spent the morning reading books, doing a few fun “school” activities and doing some house chores as we have a busy week and company visiting our congregation this week. In the afternoon we raked the garden and got out all the grass clumps. We have so missed our vegetable garden and not putting it in the grass came back stronger since it didn’t get dug up last two year. Thankfully we have a tiller. I loved that I am seeing so many earth worms. Our seed collection got moldy so tomorrow I am heading out to collect some new seeds and maybe some plants.  In addition we have our first meeting with our local homeschool collaborative on Tuesday which I am anxiously anticipating. I am hoping it will be a good addition to our school program and that my little likes it. I dread going grocery shopping, but that is a must on the list as well. So busy, busy….

(Left, Bug Hunting with Snoopy)

 

The weather is so beautiful her in the North Georgia foothills right now. You just want to be outdoors all day. I love how beautiful all the dogwoods are and my iris are starting to bloom that my momma gave me. I saw the most beautiful snowball bush I have ever seen yesterday. We enjoyed a salad and some homemade pizza on the deck last night and when it got dark we had a movie night featuring: “Mars Needs Mom”, which is a really cute movie, and ate some chocolate covered strawberries I made. I will tell you, that is my kind of dessert right there!

Our little is so excited about the garden. He seems to not remember our gardens from when he was a baby and toddler. Yesterday he asked “does this mean I am a real farmer now?” I told him yes and he started jumping up and yelling: “YEAH!” He worked all afternoon in the garden yesterday and was back at it again today with me. I love his work ethic. “The play of childhood is work.” –Lacey

 

Can Your Baby Really Read?

Can your baby really read? No really, I am asking you. I bought a program I saw on one of those info commercials when my little was just a babe. I was so excited and bought into all the hype and actually imagined that I was giving my child advantage on life he would be off doing algebraic equations while everyone in his future Kindergarten class was drawing snakes shaped likes S’s. In reality, I would put the DVD’s in and show him the flashcards just as the directions said, every day. Sit there with him doing it with him and trying to get him excited about it.  I did this for nearly two years, but my kiddo never read the first word. I just didn’t get it. I saw the videos with toddlers and preschoolers reading, so why wasn’t my little? Was he just bored with it? Could he read and not able to tell us? Did he have a learning disability? Was he not as bright as these kids on the television? Had I been ripped off on some phony system? You can’t help but to wonder why one thing can work for one person and not another.

My little is a very bright, intelligent, active and happy boy who loves books and wants to read. I frankly think the program that we tried and failed with as a baby was boring. He was always more interested in what was going on around him than what was on the tube, although at first it was new and appealing, but like any old toy after a while it lost its appeal. But my gut feeling as to why the program didn’t work for was that my child was just not really ready yet. How so? Recently I read an article by Sarah Bernard about research that points to changes in the belief system of literacy development.  Bernard quoted Martha Bridge Denckia, director of development cognitive neurology at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and neurology professor at John Hopkins University: “The past decade has seen tremendous push for earlier and earlier emphasis on reading skills.” Denckia has studied reading acquisition for forty years further was quoted stating: “It’s well meaning, but possibly not good for a significant subset of children.” Further reading of Bernard’s article lead me to conclude that there was absolutely nothing wrong with my little guy’s ability to learn to read he was just not ready yet.

I learned that some students are early readers as early as age three. I know I was an early reader. I was reading prior to entering kindergarten. I also remember my peers not being able too yet. But we all eventually get there with the right variables and desire, no? Some might not learn till their nine, but that is okay too. The lesson is that earlier is not always better. I mean seriously, is there a cutoff time where if you don’t learn to read by THIS age than that’s it, you’re doomed to be illiterate.  I mean if the grocery store opens at 8 am do you have to get there at 8 am? What if you decided to go to the museum and learn some history, stop at the park and go for a walk and visit a friend who shows you the newest additions to their fossil collection, than you go grocery shopping and it’s now 8 pm. Did this hurt anything? Actually if you had gotten your groceries first and went and did all those things your groceries would have probably spoiled waiting in the car. :D No, going later didn’t hurt anything. Early isn’t always better. Ever heard of better late than never (I always hated that saying, but hey it goes with what I am saying).  We are all people who are unique and different and have different styles of learning and timeframes in which we learn. Some of us are morning people, some of us are night owls, which is better? Point being our children are natural learners and no doubt, like the sponges for knowledge they are, soon in their own time they will read. They may not be a baby and reading the Great Gatsby, but they may be eight and enjoying some of Uncle Jeremey’s old batman comic books.

So where is my five year old in reading? Well every day after dad leaves for work he brings me a stack of books he wants me to read to him. So a good part of our day is spent reading. He absolutely loves the Bible to be read to him and really gets into it and ask a lot of questions. He loves memorizing quotes from different characters we read about.  His favorite stories so far are the story of Jacob and Esau from the Bible and the Book Lentil.  He would go to the library everyday if there was one closer to our farm, but we still manage to go usually 1-3 times a week and have a wonderful collection of books in our home library as well as electronic books and books on DVD. He loves the reading activities at the library, especially the reading tutor dog. Can he read yet? No, but I know at the rate he is going with the love he has from reading and learning that in no time he will be.

 

Special thanks Kristie Lynn for sharing the referenced article with me.

 To read more from the referenced article please visit: http://www.edutopia.org/brain-research-reading-instruction-literacy

Keeping up with the Curriculum

(Above, Found bird nest in our grill. Little loved all the speckles)

When I was pregnant with our little my hubby said: "I want our boy to be home schooled." At first I laughed. I had always had a career and didn't see myself being able to balance working full-time and work a secular job. But the more we talked about it the more I realized it was a good idea, although at the time I had no idea how we would accomplish such a big task.

(Left, Little loves puzzles)

I don't know about you, but I tend to over think things. Sometimes I make life a lot more complicated than it really is. It kind of like when you car breaks down and you don't yet know what is wrong with it, and you think the absolute worse. You've been sitting there waiting on a tow truck for two hours and before you know it you've determine you might as well scarp the car because you just know it's the engine and the tow truck driver says ma'am are you sure it's not just out of gas. And you remember you had been going over your to do list in your head and forgot all about checking the fuel gauge as you drove past five gas stations. Yes, well we have all been there in one scenario or another. At least I hope I am not the only one!?!  Well that is what I did with home school. I spent nearly five years research home education until I figured out that it wasn't about textbooks, schoolrooms, worksheets, test and grades It's about learning. It's about life. It's about happiness.

So what about keeping up with curriculum? Yes, it is hard to keep up with it all. But in a totally different way than I ever thought. My child has so many interest that we are trying to keep up with that sometimes it is difficult to keep up with it all, but it is awesome. I am amazed everyday that this amazing five year old has so much desire to learn and it just keeps growing. I think about all the planning and time that goes into creating textbooks and curriculum when the school could just stop and listen to their students every child would have a love for learner and they would have created lifetime learners. Children have a unique curiosity that is a true and legitimate curriculum.

(Below, Little Finger painting)

Today's Top 10 Questions from a 5 Year Old

 

 

 

I read somewhere that the average 4 year old asks over 400 questions per day. I have no doubt that is true. Here is a list of the top 10 questions my 5 year old asked me today.

1.       What is that private thing that I came out of when I was a baby?

                Answer: It’s called a vagina.

                                He replies: Ha-ha that is sooooo funny.

2.       Mom do boys have vaginas too?

 Answer: No only girls have them.

                                He replies: That is too funny.

3.       When was the television invented?

Answer: good question, let’s look it up. (The answer was actually more complicated than I ever imagined)

                He replies: Whoa, that a long time ago. That’s funny, right!?!

4.       Can we eat our own poop?

(The mom in me wants to just yell, NO! But the teacher in me knows this is a good question)

Answer: Yes you can, but it is a waste product that can make you sick, even by just eating a little bit can make you sick.

                Reply: -Breaks out in laughter- (and….leads into the next question)

5.       Can guinea pigs eat their own poop?

Answer: Some animals do eat their own poop, but this is because they need to in order to fully digest it. So sometimes guinea pigs do eat it for the nutrition that is still in it.

                Reply: Whoa that is so funny.  –Giggles--

6.       Why do we have wrinkles on our fingers?

(Had to look to see what he was talking about)

Answer: Those are called joints. They help us to move our hands and be able to grasps things.

                Reply: Oh, cool. That’s why I can use tools so good.

7.       Why do you make so much dust when you are cooking?

Answer: That is steam. Steam is water that vaporized and helps to heat the food so that it cooks.

                Reply: Oh neat! J

8.       Are all fruits and vegetables healthy?

Answer: Yes, they all have different nutrients and vitamins in them that make us strong and healthy so that is why it’s good to eat different kinds.

Reply: EVEN CUCUMBERS, TOMATOES, BANANAS AND CARROTS? (Those are his favorite!)

Answer: Yes, those are very healthy!

9.       What is a whirlpool in a river?

Answer: its water that is rotating really fast and typically objects are drawn into it. It happens sometimes when water called currents is moving in opposite direction as each other and they meet and cause a whirlpool.

                Reply: That takes stuff in the river and drags it down to the bottom.

10.   Do Rhino’s eat their own poop? (Seriously, another poop question!?!)

Answer: (Had to look this one up) Yes, Rhino’s do eat their own poop.

Reply: That’s so gross –laughing his head off-

So there is some of the questions my little has asked today. Share some of your kids funny and interesting questions.

The Toddler Years

With the encouragement of others against my gut I placed my little guy in a local government funded (I paid, but some parents got to use the daycare services free paid by the government) daycare. The thought of doing so made me so nervous and out of sorts. But wasn’t this normal to ship your kids off to daycare? For me it didn’t feel natural, but my toddler loved it. He made friends, did arts and crafts, brought home things he made for mom and dad, was taking naps, which reaffirmed that everyone else was right and I was wrong.  This perceived thought led me to making my next big mistake.

Welcome to the Big City

 picture courtesy of: en.wikipedia.org

My baby was doing so well and he had started nursing less and less at a year and half old I got an infection which forced me to stop nursing and I felt a need to help my hubby pay the bills. Under the false reality that my child was in the best place he could be I took a big city job. I never realized how miserable this would make our family. I felt like I lost the connection with my son the moment I made that terrible decision. I stopped nursing and at the same time took a job that required that I had to take him to his grandparents, still asleep to his grandparents house at 5 am, I would carpool with the hubby to the city to work all day and fight traffic to and from, not getting home usually till 8 or 9 pm in the evening.

While we were at work my parents got to wake up with my little boy, dress him, feed him, play with him. Then they would take him to daycare where he would spend 4-7 hours of his day. Then my parents had the pleasure of picking him up, getting him a snack, asking him how his day was, watching him grow, feeding him dinner, playing with him, bathing him, changing his clothes and putting him to bed. By the time we got home usually my baby was asleep. This was our schedule pretty much 6 days a week, except my hubby got to be off with our son on Saturday. My child withdrew from me. He barely spoke to me. He wouldn’t come to me, he would barely look at me. He expressed in his own way that he was angry with me.  I was heartbroken, but still unclear what do and was advised it was just an adjustment and it would straighten itself out. As weeks of this turned into months this pain in my heart became unbearable. It had destroyed the connection I had with my baby, to the point I wondered if he would ever forgive me and/or reconnect with me. In addition, the strain started to affect my marriage as well. We barely spoke to and from work and I usually cried to and from because I missed my baby. My husband told asked me one day: “why are you doing this?”  I confessed that I would rather live in a tent in the woods then spend another week away from my child. He said: “Let’s get you out of the city”.  Almost overnight I was presented with a business offer in our local town and I accepted and put my notice in. Finally I was out, finally I could reconnect. I hoped it wasn’t too late.