Outside my window…
Rather a gray day…not much wind at all and temps in the low 60’s. The paper says that the high today will be 82—perfect!—and then it says a lot of stuff about the government shutdown in my state.
That’s outside my window too. Do not much care for it.
…about the Norwex party that I went to last night and about changing the way that I clean my home. Old habits are very hard to break and yet…I’m still going to host a party next month!
Want to come? Email me if you’re in the area and I’ll send you an invite.
…the light at the end of a very long tunnel. Only two more days until Thursday is here, bringing with it a very, very special reunion!
…is a bit of math and smattering of spelling. We are easing our way back into a pen & paper routine, assuming I can excavate the classroom.
I am also (still) trying to decide if we want to invest in some of Andrew Pudewa’s materials. Does anyone recommend his program?
…leftover jalapeno peach dip from Sunday night, which was yummy, and a big ol’ ham that I popped into the crockpot yesterday. We got back from the beach and were greeted by the most delicious smells…
(LOVE forgetting that there’s a meal in the crockpot and coming home to the surprise.)
Really? You must know?
I’m wearing white flannel jammie bottoms with the words “snooze”, “laugh”, “lounge”, and “cozy” written on them. I am wearing two different slippers—one white, one blue—because there are three extra children sleeping in my room and it was too dark & crowded to find a matching pair.
I am also wearing a sleeveless orange polo and a sand-colored cardigan, because the air is on and sleeveless was cold.
I am not at the moment a fashion queen. I am quite cozy though, and that counts for something.
…a clean home and an organized classroom. For now, that must suffice.
…The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe with the children. I am also reading this book about John Wooden,
…to make the most of this day that God has given me. I am hoping to get a few cards in the mail and to make a meal sometime soon for a couple new moms. Finally, I am hoping to restore a damaged relationship…hoping, and praying, and trying to be at peace.
…in one ear, the chatter of my 8-year-old who is organizing the piano book shelf and needs (God love her) to talk her way through it.
…too much laundry to even be funny and bedrooms that look as if several toy bombs were detonated. I told my kids last night at evening prayer, “We are not doing anything tomorrow until those rooms are tidied up! I don’t care if President Ronald Reagan comes to the door and wants to take you all out for pizza. You’re not going!”
“He’s dead,” Jem intoned.
(He passed the test.)
“Fine. I don’t care if the actors who play Harry, Ron and Hermione show up at our door. I will tell them that you can’t go!”
They laughed but did not believe me.
(I didn’t believe me! But it was a good threat.)
…to drop off a daughter at Adventure Camp this morning—obviously she will clean when she gets back—and to piano lessons this afternoon.
…are a hot cup of coffee and my Magnificat magazine. Today’s morning prayer included this thought: “The unity for which Christ lived and died is not an abstract ideal .It is the result of hard work: suspending judgment, choosing others before self, forgiving, seeking reconciliation rather than nursing hurt pride.”
The metaphor of nursing one’s pride gave me pause because really, that is what I do. I nurse those hurt feelings like they’re an infant—I feed them, and coddle them, and hold them close.
Time to wean, I say!
…our babysitter Megan who returns from Africa next week;
…and Thursday’s much-anticipated reunion!
…Thursday’s much-anticipated reunion;
…and haircuts—gulp—for Cate and Felicity!
Yep, they said. They really do.
Pray for their mother, please, who prefers long hair, but who believes in letting kids have a choice…sometimes!
A (long-haired) little girl on her way to Adventure Camp! Is there anything sweeter than a ten-year-old? I maintain that there is not.
Happy Tuesday, everyone!
What, pray tell, is Norwex? And will it clean my house FOR me?
Hi Margaret,
I agree with you long hair is beautiful and in fact every time I see your photos I wish I had your hair! When my girls were little they had it until they begged to cut it. Then they cut it into bobs and here is the upside, it was soooo much easier to wash, comb, and dry! If they are like my girls you may be in for an endless cycle of grow it, cut it, grow it, cut it… They still do it all the time! I am the only one in the family that doesn't have the patience to grow out the bob, it's just so easy to be ready for work in the morning when I can dry my hair midwinter in 5 minutes. Still, I yearn for a long braid …someday!
Have a great day! ~Jan
Lissa, Norwex stands for "Norway Experience" (didn't know that 'til last night) and is the name of a company that sells all-natural cleaning supplies, including a totally cool microfiber cloth that you use WITHOUT SOAP or CHEMICALS or ANYTHING.
Just water.
I've added a link to their site in my original post and no, you still have to do the wiping down yourself. 🙂
My oldest girl wants a bob too!!! What's up with these girls??? I've been dragging my feet on it, but I guess I should just go ahead and do it.
That very same quote jumped out at me this morning too. Been thinking on that all morning.
I just gave Anna a bob cut and poor Therese, the baby, needs to be taken to a professional to repair what I did to her hair!
LOVE Norwex and IEW!! Please dont tell the IEW people about me but I never even peeked at the big pkg and just bought the lesson plans for the American History writing program. I have taught the program for 5 years. It is sort of like a Betty Crocker cake mix for writing. . .just add this, and this stir and cook. Viola! Lovely cake that most people love. I think it does a wonderful job of taking the fear out of writing and really empowering the student to write. The History lessons start off very easy, descriptive adjectives (sort of like MadLibs!). The students are quite proud of their work. It does get much harder throughout the year but they make wonderful progress. It is a bit of writing but we only meet once a week and I think that it is perfect for the right ages. There is plenty of work to do thorough out the week. I have learned plenty through teaching it and if you decide to do it, I would be happy to give you a few pointers. I like opening the class up to others, it is very easy to have more students and they do add to the dynamics of the class. I have had up to 12 at a time but wouldn't recommend a large group of boys! The lesson plans tell you everything but plenty of room for teacher creativity. The biggest time commitment is grading the papers.
Norwex. . .wow oh wow! I was sold on it when my 5 year old cleaned all the glass doors and did a fantastic job. My 16 yr old son actually does the mopping cheerfully because he thinks that the mop works so well. It takes him about a 1/3 of the time as the old mop. I only have the mop, the cloth, window polisher and dusting mit. If I could only buy one thing, it would be the window cloth kit. We have tons of windows and I am sort of anal about hand prints and smudges. With lots of littles, you can imagine how often this needs to be done. A simple chore for a 5 yr old of wiping the windows with these cloths for 5 minutes a day really makes a difference!
Sorry for the long post!
should of proofread my post. My repetitive word usage and lack of paragraph break is not IEW ! My little window washer was begging me for something fun to do and I was rushed!
Oh Leslie, that's okay. : )
And thank you for the recommendations!
Your girls just want to copy my girls cute cuts!
(although, none of mine wanted it done!!)
I have heard many good things about Andrew Pudewa. However, I have also had to try fixing the bad habits and poor education of homeschooled children who have been led by their parents through his programme. I don't think that is the fault of the programme, but the way in which it can be taught without insight on the part of the parent/teacher, so the children end up with technical knowledge but none of the substance of true comprehension to put it all together. This of course is a problem with any boxed curriculum.
I wish you much joy for Thursday and many blessings regarding your damaged relationship. God be with you.
I'm a Norwex convert, too. I've always disliked cleaner 'smells' … some give me an instant headache. Norwex window cloths are THE BEST!! Since my kids do the bathrooms, we have quite a few of the cleaning products and I don't have to worry about over-use of chemicals. Also really like the floor mops; works great on laminate/vinyl/tile.
We use quite a bit of IEW: Phonetic Zoo, SWI, SICC-A, Ancient History. My daughter will be using Myths, Fables, Fairy Tales this coming year. I highly recommend. Phonetic Zoo is the easiest to implement; the other programs will take a bit of pre-work for the teacher, especially if you haven't used the writing programs before. However, my favorite part of the writing programs is that there is a check list for corrections. I always had such a hard time correcting (I'd over-correct for their age) the kids' work before starting IEW materials.
I also recommend IEW. It's worked best for me the years I was in a co-op. No matter how good my intentions or schedule, I've never managed to finish a year on my own.
I strongly agree to limit the number of boys in a group, though. One year we had a co-op with 5 2nd graders (I didn't help with that group) and 16 4th-8th graders. Misbehavior (noise, disrespect for the teacher–moms took turns)was a chronic issue. The group was probably too big, but the behavior was personality driven, too–not too many surprises about which kids acted up. And for some reason the older ones were often the biggest problems!
We used the student writing intensive, which was great because for some lessons we could watch the dvd together. Overall it was laid out well. Having a co-op meant I followed up with my children throughout the week. Homework was to be handed in and/or read aloud to the group (we wanted to work on presentation skills).
Last year I used the ancient history lessons, but didn't get far. This year I'm planning to co-op with one other family. (Fables and Fun for the 2nd-4th graders, not sure yet what to use for the 6th graders).We accomplished a lot in the big co-op but families are in different situations right now, and I am satisfied to have some help with teaching and accountability.