Our second day began at around 1am, when my 2 year old woke up screaming. He is a fantastic sleeper, so this was alarming. Since all three kids share a sleep room, we opted for bringing him into our bed so that he could keep us awake instead of them. He tossed, and turned, and spun. A few times, I had to move some of his body parts away from my face just so I could breathe. Needless to say, by 4am, we were over it. My husband went to put him back in his crib to no avail. The screams could've woken up the entire neighborhood. Back to our bed we go. We have a rule in our house where sleep is the primary goal. It doesn't matter how or where it happens. We will do whatever needs to be done for the highest number of people to get the most amount of sleep. Normally, that means that all three kids sleep in their own bed and my husband snuggles me. But on rare occasions, it might mean one of the kids ends up on the bean bag or in our bed.
I have a hard time going back to sleep after being awakened, so I decided to go be productive with my awake time. I took my laptop and went to the sofa. From 5am to 8am, I was able to catch up on many tasks I've been wanting to complete. Overall, it was a blessing in disguise.
When the first child woke up at 8am, I was not ready. I realized we didn't have everything we needed for breakfast, so I asked him to come with me to the store. In the time it took me to sneak into my closet to get dressed, two more kids woke up. Needless to say, I ended up taking all three kids to Publix to let my husband sleep alone for an extra hour.
I have a hard time going back to sleep after being awakened, so I decided to go be productive with my awake time. I took my laptop and went to the sofa. From 5am to 8am, I was able to catch up on many tasks I've been wanting to complete. Overall, it was a blessing in disguise.
When the first child woke up at 8am, I was not ready. I realized we didn't have everything we needed for breakfast, so I asked him to come with me to the store. In the time it took me to sneak into my closet to get dressed, two more kids woke up. Needless to say, I ended up taking all three kids to Publix to let my husband sleep alone for an extra hour.
We returned from the store and ate breakfast as a family. At our house, breakfast should really qualify as a subject. Our deepest, most sincere conversations and best learning happen around that table. As we ate, I read the parable of the Good Samaritan out of Luke chapter 10. We spoke of kindness and the different attitudes people have in response to those in need. All of us reflected on our own past feelings and behaviors and brainstormed better ways to live up to the Good Samaritan attitude Jesus so loved in our own lives. |
One of the practical ways we have been growing in kindness this year is by depositing gems into our "Kindness Jar." We had been struggling in the area of sibling harmony for a while so we implemented this system on Monday and have been speaking of kindness all week. I used a bag of gems left over from a recent party and a small mason jar. The kids get to put a gem inside the mason jar each time I catch them doing something kind, because we treasure kindness and because our love for one another is what makes us rich. When the jar is filled, they will get $5 to spend as they wish. They can split it or they can agree on how to spend it. I figured by the time the jar is full, they will be able to handle showing kindness to each other as they decide what to do with money. Or at least, it will be a good test.
[Our family takes pride in being intrinsically motivated, meaning we don't punish or reward much. We teach our kids God's Word, our blueprint for life, and set high expectations. When the kids fall short we let them experience natural consequences, then we extend grace to them and offer more instruction. At times yes, they need to be disciplined, and often times we do reward, but we don't manipulate nor coerce. It's just not the way God deals with us. Our goal is to model our parenting after the way God parents us. We try our best to emulate the Father in how we deal with our children: Clear instruction, undeserved grace, true forgiveness, showers of blessing, natural consequences as punishment.]
Because the kids have a clear understanding that attitude and intention matter far more than behavior, I'm confident the Kindness Jar will work. We had a serious discussion about doing things just for a gem and not from the heart. I assure you I know my kids well enough to spot hypocrisy from a mile away. Even though, if I ever do, I may let them get away with it and wait for them to come repent. They know God is interested in their hearts. They know actions are worth nothing without love.
Honestly, the jar has helped us increase the kindness. I feel like it has helped to remind them to be kind more often. However, I can't really tell if it has reduced sibling spats yet. We'll see.
After breakfast, I took the kids outside to ride their bikes. I've learned they need to engage in a physical activity before they are ready to focus. The kids rode their bikes for a few minutes while I made up some chalk games on the driveway. Without sleep, my creativity is questionable, so the "games" were really just addition equations for Joa and "ar" words for Zia. Of course, if it has to do with being outdoors and using colorful chalk, it's a WIN in their book. I timed Joa as he worked on his sums, and I shouted words for Zia to hop to. Good times. When I could no longer bear the heat, we went inside the house for some writing practice.
[Our family takes pride in being intrinsically motivated, meaning we don't punish or reward much. We teach our kids God's Word, our blueprint for life, and set high expectations. When the kids fall short we let them experience natural consequences, then we extend grace to them and offer more instruction. At times yes, they need to be disciplined, and often times we do reward, but we don't manipulate nor coerce. It's just not the way God deals with us. Our goal is to model our parenting after the way God parents us. We try our best to emulate the Father in how we deal with our children: Clear instruction, undeserved grace, true forgiveness, showers of blessing, natural consequences as punishment.]
Because the kids have a clear understanding that attitude and intention matter far more than behavior, I'm confident the Kindness Jar will work. We had a serious discussion about doing things just for a gem and not from the heart. I assure you I know my kids well enough to spot hypocrisy from a mile away. Even though, if I ever do, I may let them get away with it and wait for them to come repent. They know God is interested in their hearts. They know actions are worth nothing without love.
Honestly, the jar has helped us increase the kindness. I feel like it has helped to remind them to be kind more often. However, I can't really tell if it has reduced sibling spats yet. We'll see.
After breakfast, I took the kids outside to ride their bikes. I've learned they need to engage in a physical activity before they are ready to focus. The kids rode their bikes for a few minutes while I made up some chalk games on the driveway. Without sleep, my creativity is questionable, so the "games" were really just addition equations for Joa and "ar" words for Zia. Of course, if it has to do with being outdoors and using colorful chalk, it's a WIN in their book. I timed Joa as he worked on his sums, and I shouted words for Zia to hop to. Good times. When I could no longer bear the heat, we went inside the house for some writing practice.
Day 1 was a day for me to establish the tone and set expectations, day 2 was a great day for them to reflect on their academic identity and establish goals. We sat at the table and made lists of character traits we each wanted to exhibit. When each child had at least 10 adjectives or goals, we got the lap top out and visited the wordle website. We typed in their names, the meaning of their names, and the words they came up with. We had some fun choosing color combinations and font styles and came up with these beautiful prints.
The two goals of the wordle prints are to be a source of encouragement for the kids and to keep them focused. Write the vision and make it plain. These frames contain their vision for this year. Having them on their desktop for daily viewing will motivate them to accomplish those goals. Among the lessons we learned during this activity were adjectives, verbs, goal setting, speaking life, faith, typing, color mixing, and text direction.
After finishing our prints, we reviewed some more math. I gave Joa a quick mini-lesson on place value and had him express values using numbers, base ten pictures, and words. Zia simply had to write the number I dictated.
After finishing our prints, we reviewed some more math. I gave Joa a quick mini-lesson on place value and had him express values using numbers, base ten pictures, and words. Zia simply had to write the number I dictated.
At the end of the first day, the kids told me their favorite part of the day was making the self-portraits, which was huge because previously they haven't expressed much interest in arts and crafts. Last night, I found some more art to add to their day since they enjoyed it. I found this name art idea online and decided to give it a Grandparent's Day spin.
I have to admit that I really dislike decorating with projects. I don't mind a few here and there that are made specifically for decorating, but I can't stand a refrigerator full of macaroni crafts. To make everyone happy, about a year ago I came up with a brilliant plan, if I may say so myself. We make crafts with a purpose. #purposedrivenlearning Sometimes the purpose is just to indulge our creative side for no other reason than we enjoy it. Most times, though, the purpose is to share it with someone else. When we make things for others, I take a photograph for our records and then pass the love along. This weekend it's Grandparent's Day, therefore our crafts and writing prompts this week, will revolve around the 'holiday.' Since our kids are blessed with 2 generations or grandparents on my side and 3 generations on my husband's side, they have a total of 9 grandparents to make gifts for. That's a lot! We will spread the projects throughout the week and hopefully complete them all on time.
After crafting, we took a lunch break and snuggled up for our read aloud time. We're still reading a random array of books we have left over from last season until we can go to the library tomorrow.
I have to admit that I really dislike decorating with projects. I don't mind a few here and there that are made specifically for decorating, but I can't stand a refrigerator full of macaroni crafts. To make everyone happy, about a year ago I came up with a brilliant plan, if I may say so myself. We make crafts with a purpose. #purposedrivenlearning Sometimes the purpose is just to indulge our creative side for no other reason than we enjoy it. Most times, though, the purpose is to share it with someone else. When we make things for others, I take a photograph for our records and then pass the love along. This weekend it's Grandparent's Day, therefore our crafts and writing prompts this week, will revolve around the 'holiday.' Since our kids are blessed with 2 generations or grandparents on my side and 3 generations on my husband's side, they have a total of 9 grandparents to make gifts for. That's a lot! We will spread the projects throughout the week and hopefully complete them all on time.
After crafting, we took a lunch break and snuggled up for our read aloud time. We're still reading a random array of books we have left over from last season until we can go to the library tomorrow.
After we read, it was off to football practice at one of the local schools for my little man and ballet class for my princess. After ballet, Zia and I stopped by the store for a few school supplies. We also stopped by the new Kirklands that just opened up in our town where I gave her a quick lesson on art, scents, home decor, manners, and budgets (Ha!). Of course, my little nature lover made me stop and stare at the sky for a few minutes (one of the qualities I love most about her! She makes me slow down and appreciate the little things).
Overall, I'd say we managed to miraculously redeem our crazy morning and salvage the day. It was not at all what I had planned, but FLEXIBILITY is a key factor in this unschooling world I've learned to love so much.
Overall, I'd say we managed to miraculously redeem our crazy morning and salvage the day. It was not at all what I had planned, but FLEXIBILITY is a key factor in this unschooling world I've learned to love so much.