Time to Reconnect! Time to Enjoy!

But first... a few pictures taken at a recent milking by my sweet friend, Denae.

Isaac and Angel

Josiah milking

If all goes well, we will be on Christmas break as of this upcoming Friday! That is a big IF, though. I have a pretty large amount of reading (lots of our schooling is me reading to the boys), and some other things to sort of "smash" into the week. Hopefully, I will soon be on my way to building a candy land with the kids, baking treats, finishing up on some Christmas gifts for the kids, going around and visiting friends and family members who I feel like I never get to catch up with, and having some UNO attack marathons with the boys. I can feel it in my bones...a break from the normal structure of our schooling routine is coming.

In homeschooling this year, we have attempted to work ahead so that we really would not have any make up days after going to Peru for about a month. Turns out, all of my efforts have actually just caught us up with where we would have been had we began school when most kids do. We started our school year a few weeks after the mid- August norm. Schooling two children in two different grades made it more impossible than I expected to work ahead. Along the road of teaching a 1st grader, 3rd grader, and a 3 year old at home this year, I have learned some things that will make next year a whole lot smoother. We have combined up on some of our chapter book reading, science, and the rich history that is provided in our Sonlight curiculum. Obviously, our boys are on two different pages on their personal reading, handwriting, math, and language arts. The other subjects we can all work on and learn on as a family team. Love that.

While we are in Peru we will be simply hanging out and getting to know our daughter. That will mean a lot of down time and it will be perfect for doing a little math and reading here and there. God knew what was coming and we do our best, though at times we fail, to keep what God calls priority at the top of our list. Plus, no math book could make up for the rich cultural, historical, and scientific knowledge our kids can soak up while we are in Amazonas Peru, amongst the other amazing history of Peru we will get to discover while in Lima. I am beyond excited about visiting some museums in Lima with tons of Incan artifacts and information (Not to mention the Incan market- SQEEEEE!). Hopefully we will be able to take an Amazon River tour, visit the Iquitos market, and their amazing nature preserves, butterfly sanctuary, and open zoo, where monkeys wonder freely around.

Truly, I am finding myself morphing more and more away from the pressure of meeting some state yearly requirements for my kids according to their supposed expected grade level, anyway. Both of my older boys are at least a year ahead in regards to their reading level and math ability, but none of that means much in the whole scheme of life. When kids gain a love for reading, and a curiosity for discovering, you cannot contain all that they desire to grow and learn in. This type environment spurns kids way beyond the borders of grades and expectations into a real passion for reaching out, and a knowledge of a great big world full of incredible things.  For me, that still means structure and goals...That and books, books, books. However, I am finding looking at teaching them in the light of achieving some state standard as only a restriction and pressure. It keeps school as being viewed as a chore by my kids, and not an adventure. That's disheartening, as that hunger for discovery and adventure is one reason I desire to homeschool. I realize so many things require work to learn and achieve- and I'm not discrediting that. Our kids have structured schooling 4-5 days a week, and they aren't going to always love that. I can't live on my feelings, and I'm not teaching my children to. I am, though, desiring to release some of the pressure I believe I carry, and have put on my children in my over zealousness to ensure that they are on target, or above, in what they can do, and know in comparison with other kids their age. It's natural to have that as a parent. However, all kids are different and achieve and master skills at different points. With love, diligence and a fun learning environment, kids are way more teachable than with the burden of matching up. I'm not there yet. Yes, I'm truly still figuring all of this out.  I still choose to use a curiculum and that probably won't change. That gives us guidelines, and goals- and me direction.  I still use math books and workbooks. But most of our learning comes from me reading to the boys, and their personal reading. I stay on task in these departments. What's changing in me, is I am attempting to roll away the idea that my kid needs to write, read, and work out math problems in comparison with some other child! As long as my kids are steadily growing, working, and discovering with clear goals in sight, and being taught to follow Jesus and His Word, they will have all they need to accomplish anything God might lead them to do. I believe in them. I stand on God's Word, and am excited to see what they grow up to be.

We are all pretty much eager for a break from this normal structure, though. Man, oh, man. I want to play, cook, and enjoy for a few weeks with my boys. I have found in my own life, when I push and push myself to work ahead taking little breaks over a prolonged period, I get very irritable and short. It's a cycle on which every human eventually crashes. After finally realizing the root of my grouchiness once again, a little rest is in order. Josiah and Isaac need a few weeks to run and play, and I want to join them. Don't get me wrong. We enjoy homeschooling. The last few weeks have brought us quickly into being burned out- though.



 It is a hard medium to meet as a homeschool mom. I teach my boys and have other household tasks to stay on top of. It is so easy to get caught up in the demands, and forget to connect outside of this check off list. It is very important and something I have to be deliberate about. Yes, when I'm reading to my boys, we are spending time together...but all of that other stuff like tickle wars and hide and seek and playing pretend... those are all just as important. Those playful, fun things, are what keep us refreshed. So yeah. Hopefully, at the end of this week I am going to be diving in to some full time-play time. YEE-HAW! I'm thinking living room camp outs, smores, us baking treats as a family and delivering them to neighbors....Pictures to come!