Archives for April 2010

Homeschooling with a Newborn

sleepingWhen my husband went back to work, we officially had 8 days to go to satisfy our state required 180 days of school.  However, I really wanted to complete all of our current curriculum and have closure to our school year –which was equal to 4 weeks worth of lessons.

I had already worked hard on getting all of the lesson planning finished and materials gathered as much as possible before the baby arrived.  It was sort of like planning for a maternity leave – only there was no substitute to call!  (Okay, daddy did sub a few times while he was off and we team taught for a little bit before he returned to work.  He did an excellent job =)  )

Now, it is just me, attempting to complete our school year with five little ones – a 2nd grader, Kindergartner, preschooler, toddler, and 2 1/2 week old infant.

So far, my goal has been to ease into school, taking two days (just mornings basically) to complete what we use to accomplish all in one day (usually all morning and some time in the afternoon).  This means that it will be taking us twice as long, 40 days to get through 20 days of actual school!  If we happen to occasionally get a full day in,  I will consider it to be a great feat!  Breaking the days up and stretching them out seems overwhelming, but it is making school with a newborn manageable.  That is what counts.  My kids don’t deserve to have a crazed mommy pulling her hair out each day!

With a newborn in tow, God is having me revisit a word I don’t often like – flexibility.  Taking two days per school day is a start.   However, I have to be flexible, not only about how much we accomplish each day and when we may actual complete this school year, but I also have to be flexible with our normal routines – when we school during the day and how we accomplish typical learning tasks.  Here are a few examples…

-taking advantage of doing hands on projects while our newborn takes a good nap
-having kids read to me or complete some work with mom as I hold a calm or semi-sleeping baby
-focusing on trying to have kids do their independent work from their workboxes as I nurse or try to console a crying, fussy baby
-asking the oldest two children to take turns playing and reading with our toddler (Since our 2 year old is use to being the baby, she seems to be experiencing greater difficulty than the other children with the adjustment to being a big sister- and having less one on one time with me.)
-being willing to read aloud stories and history as I’m nursing
-allowing time for older siblings to be around their new brother.  This might take the form of them doing their schoolwork nearby or just talking, holding, and bonding with him.

homeschooling with newborn

Also, I’ve determined that if a day is extremely trying now and then, I want to be able to throw out the academics, turn on the music (my kids love to sing and dance), play games, go outside, get out the paints, have a tea party, etc.  Yes, we will still get to the ‘school’ stuff, but we are a family first and life with a newborn is demanding – an adjustment for everyone in the home =)

As  our newborn is able to stay awake longer, we will also have to incorporate the use of our infant swing, use the play-mat and bouncy seat more, institute pack in play time, etc.  Babies grow and change quickly and we’ll have to be willing to adapt right along with our new little guy!  God has placed him in our family and I am so thankful for this opportunity to be bent and stretched.

For more thoughts on homeschooling with a newborn, you may wish to read this blog entry posted by another homeschooling mom of 6.

A Day in the Life with a Newborn +4

Warning:  This post was written by a sleep deprived mother of 5.  Proceed at your own risk of encountering incoherent thoughts and run-on sentences.

Day one of being home alone with all five precious kiddos brought this…

the good

  • Our oldest got all of her work with mom and independent schoolwork completed.  (amidst cries from her youngest sibling)
  • Our preschooler didn’t argue about going to his room for ‘rest’ time. (It was amazing!) He played contentedly for a long time – building with blocks, constructing with Super Structs, and playing with his cars and trains.
  • I think I experienced a couple of 5 minute naps in the late afternoon, in between each time the newborn’s pacifier came out.
  • I was able to sneak a leftover chocolate frosted cupcake without any of the kids noticing.  (Any mother can see the importance of this, right?)

the bad

  • I left the school/playroom to attend to our newest little one.  I returned 5-10 minutes later only to find toys strewn all over the floor –See Exhibit A, below. (At least they were educational games and they were learning – Yes?  No?  Okay, this may just be wishful thinking. It is more likely that the toddler just dumped them out.)

toys)

  • While I was reading aloud to the older children and holding our newborn (who was refusing to nap anywhere other than in Mommy’s arms), our toddler got into the pantry, took out some cereal, and was proceeding to locate a bowl for it.  I told her no and I removed the cereal box from her hand.  She then threw the bowl and began to run away from me, throwing toys, a book, anything she could get her little hands on. (Ahh, the joy of having a dearly loved, spunky, red headed two year old…)

and the just plain ugly.

Through groggy eyes and an unguarded tongue, mommy’s impatience made appearances off and on throughout the day.

Be completely humble and gentle.
Be patient, bearing with one another in love. (Ephesians 4:2)

(Yes, even when I’m tired… Ouch.)

In addition, we are also seeing much more of this

laundry(in lingering piles)

and this

clock

(Yes, that says AM. It could start with a 1,2, or 3.  We’ve seen them all!)


which, of course, means a lot less sleep!

But…. it is soooo worth it for this little blessing!
new little one

(In a blink of an eye, this stage will pass quickly.)

So, guard your heart and mind, mama.  Stay in the Word.  Pray for daily, hourly, and minute by minute doses of wisdom, grace, and strength.  Consider His faithfulness.

I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you.
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.  (Isaiah 41:10)

Bonding With Baby

DSC_0923 (2)
My precious little one, I’m a little busy right now…

-caressing your smooth sweet baby skin,
-smelling your newborn baby hair,
-holding onto your two little feet and long skinny toes,
-looking in awe at your two small hands and tiny fingers grasping onto mine,
-watching you stretch and uncurl your long skinny legs,
-running my fingers through the ends of your fine baby hair,
-tracing the outside edge of your perfectly formed ears,
-feeling you lean against me, knowing you feel loved and safe, as you lay your head on my shoulder and rest your arm on my neck,
-marveling at God’s Hand in the creation of you.

For you created my inmost being.
       You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
       Your works are wonderful,
       I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
       when I was made in the secret place.
       When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
       All the days ordained for me
       were written in your book
       before one of them came to be.

(Psalm 139:13-16)

I’m thanking God for you, little one.

A Little Easter Crafting

completed easter bags lamb finger puppet

Our two oldest girls and I have just started to do some hand sewing using felt.  It is a great material for beginners to use!  We have been using My First Sewing Book: Hand Sewing by Winky Cherry, which I highly recommend, to learn basic hand sewing techniques and to learn to make some felt stuffed animals.

So, when I came across a post at Sewing School about these cute felt Easter bags, I immediately knew that it would have to be our next project.  The original idea for the bags comes from a book by Kata Golda called Hand Stitched Felt.  I am thinking if the projects in the book are similar to this one, we will have to go invest in it!

The girls absolutely loved the process and the end product turned out great as well!  Take a peek!  In the pictures, you will see four bags.  Our kindergartner sewed one for herself.  I made a bag for our toddler.  Our oldest daughter (a second grader) made a bag for herself AND one for her preschool aged brother.  These were fun and easy for beginners to complete and take pride in!

sewing the easter bags1sewing the easter bags2

We did decide to make a lamb finger puppet instead of the bunny puppet. (That is just our family’s preference, as we tend to focus on Christ, His sacrifice, and the Resurrection around Easter time instead of the ‘Easter bunny’.) We encouraged the girls to recite memory verses with their ‘lamb of God’ finger puppets.  Also, one chose to use her bag at Good Friday services to hold a small Bible.  The other decided to use her bag to hold some crayons and paper.

sewing the lamb puppets

We just had the picture from Sewing School to go by, so I had to come up with measurements, etc. on my own.  It wasn’t too difficult to do.

For the Easter bag:
Fold a 9 by 12 inch piece of felt in half, placing the folded edge at the bottom.  Cut a two inch strip from one side.  (This strip can be used as one the handles.)  From a coordinating color, cut a pocket shape and another 2 by 12 inch strip (for the second handle).  Pin the pocket onto the piece to be used for the bag.  Sew.  Pin the side edges of your bag, with the pocket now on the inside.  Sew.  Flip the bag inside out so that your pocket is now on the outside.  Fold your two 2 by 12 inch strips lengthwise and pin.  Sew.  Pin the newly formed handles to the outside of your bag.  Make several X stitches to firmly secure the handles to the bag.

easter bag pieceseaster sewing project

For the lamb finger puppet:
Cut two 3 inch by 3 5/8 inch pieces of white felt.  Also cut a small tail and a shape as seen below for the ears.  Cut a small oval face shape from light pink, tan, peach, or gray felt.  Sew the tail to one of the white rectangles.  Sew the face to the other white rectangle.  Sew the mouth, nose, and eyes onto the face (or draw with permanent marker).  Insert the ear piece at the top, between the two pieces of rectangular felt.  Pin to secure.  Sew around the edges of the rectangle pieces, leaving an opening at  the very bottom.  Voila!  A lamb finger puppet to make a home inside the pocket of your Easter bag!

lamb pieces

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