Learning About Indians

                                                         

We are blessed to live in an area with lots of great resources. Although our town is pretty small, we have a lot of wonderful state parks and farms. Most of our activities and field trips this year have been free. These resources have been especially helpful this year because they cover what we are working on in Prairie Primer.

 I have been behind in sharing all of the fun activities we have done this year. For the next few weeks I am going to share with you these activities. I encourage you to look around your town and see if there are resources that you might be missing.

Learning About Indians

           We visited  Rick Evans Grandview Prairie, where we learned about Indians.

 

 The teacher is helping us make an Indian lapbook.  

We also made a plant press.

We learned that Indians used rocks to hit other rocks into the shape of an arrow.

Nothing is more fun than hitting a rock!

Because there was so much planned on the field trip, we had to finish some things at home. 

We whittled soap into various shapes. 

With the soap we had left we made reconstituted soap*. I let the children pick various essential oils to use for smell. As you can tell, they turned their soap into snowmen.

*You can make soap by putting soap gratings in a bowl and pouring a little hot water over the soap. The hot water will melt the soap and make it almost like a dough. At this point you can add essential oils or herbs if you would like to do so. You can form the soap into a shape or even use cookie cutters. It makes a really nice gift.

Yes, You Can Be the “Excellent Wife”

        

                                    Yes, You Can Be the “Excellent Wife”   

This Wednesday, I will start a series on Proverbs 31 entitled, “Yes, You Can Be the ‘Excellent Wife.’”

This is a topic I have been studying a great deal lately since I am also helping to teach it in a girls’ class on Sunday afternoons.

I have noticed by talking with various women and reading numerous books that the Proverbs 31 woman always seems to be put on a pedestal. She is thought to be on a higher level than a normal woman can attain. 

I disagree!

I have re-read all of Proverbs 31 with different glasses. I have looked at each verse from the perspective of my modern day life and realized some things that I do are like the Proverbs 31 woman. I also discovered some things that could easily be my goals for the new year. So I hope you will join me in this study, “Yes, You Can Be the ‘Excellent Wife.”

Guest Post

          I am so honored and excited to be guest posting at Teach Beside Me today!!

          From Closet to a Homeschool Room

                                                    

             Click here to read!

I Am The Avocado Mom

I read an article this week in which a mom felt judged by another mom who was feeding her child an avocado at the mall. http://momastery.com/blog/2014/01/07/quit-pointing-avocado/

As I read the article I started thinking that a lot of people probably think of me as the avocado mom. Our family chooses to do things the more natural way. We are trying to take out foods from our diets that contain artificial additives and dyes.  I also make my own cleaning products and we use essential oils for various reasons. 

 But…. that is what we as a family choose to do.  

I promise I am not judging your choices and I really do not care if you feed your children pizza at the mall. 

However, I have been on the other end of “the look.”  I have been criticized by the “pizza mom.”  I have heard her say, “Give those poor children candy.  They are just children.  Don’t be so strict.”

My children are very sensitive to red dye.  We have just recently found out they are sensitive to other dyes as well. We have to be very strict with what they eat. There was a time when I could just let them have M&Ms for a fun treat. But recently my 10 year old came to me and said that he can tell he feels horrible when he eats food dyes and would like to find alternatives. 

I remember the first time that we were going to make alternate arrangements. We were going to an activity and I bought the kids organic juice to take with them. I was afraid to let them take it because I did not want people to think we were trying to be special. I even asked my husband if I should make them drink it in the kitchen so no one else could see them. He told me not to be silly and that it would be fine.  I will admit I spent most of the time trying to get them to hurry, while I worried about who would see them.  Although no one said anything, I still felt uncomfortable. The point I want to make is that I felt I was going to be judged because of my choices. I guess no matter what side you are on, you will feel judged.

I post things on Facebook about red dye, essential oils, and natural homemade cleaners. I am not doing that to judge the choices that you are making. I do that to defend the choices I am making. I believe if people read what I post, they will see there are reasons for my choices and maybe they won’t think I am strange. 

I think we as moms are just trying to do the best we know how to do with the special set of circumstances we are given for our particular families.  

Fun on the Farm

We are blessed to live in an area with lots of great resources. Although our town is pretty small, we have a lot of wonderful state parks and farms. Most of our activities and field trips this year have been free. These resources have been especially helpful this year because they cover what we are working on in Prairie Primer.

 I have been behind in sharing all of the fun activities we have done this year. For the next few weeks I am going to share with you these activities. I encourage you to look around your town and see if there are resources that you might be missing.

We visited a farm in October. The farm had a great big tree house in which the boys played. They also made up a play with the other kids in our co-op and performed it for the parents as we ate lunch. 

They fed chickens.

They hugged chickens.

They fed goats. 

The boys had a great time running and playing in the field.

The boys also got to pick out a pumpkin to take home.

They had a great time on the farm!

How to Have a More Productive Day.

Routines are very important. Even if you do nothing else all day, routines help you feel grounded and accomplished. 

After reading several blogs and books touting the wonders of a routine, I decided to start one in January, 2013. 

·         Why I needed a daily routine:

1)      I wanted to start and end my day with a plan already in place.

2)      It freed my mind to focus on other things.

·        What daily routines I have:

1)      Morning Routine

2)      Afternoon Routine

3)      Night Routine

4)      Homeschool Routine

5)      Children’s Routine

(The boys’ routine is posted in the hall. It helps them to be able to do things on their own and to keep focused. )

·        How I decided what to include in my daily routine:

1)      I made a list of what I thought would be great to accomplish every day.

My list includes things such as:

Bible Study

Prayer

Exercise

Laundry

Family Time

Reading a book

2)      Then I decided when it would be the easiest to accomplish each thing.  For instance, I knew I wanted to pray every morning and read a Psalm or Proverb so I assigned that to my   morning routine.                           

3)      Then I figured out how long it would take for me to accomplish my goals that I had set and adjusted my bedtime and wake up time accordingly.

·        How my days have changed:

1.      I am more intentional with my day.

2.      I get more accomplished.

3.      I have more energy.

4.      I have more patience.

5.      Our home is more peaceful.

6.      Our home has more consistency.

7.      Our home is more organized.

Extra Tips:

·        It is good to add fun and/or relaxing things to your routines.  For instance, I found that stretching a few minutes when I wake up and before going to sleep really makes me feel good.  So I added that to my routine. I also have lots of books that I want to read, so I added a few minutes of reading time each day. 

·        Make sure to write your routines and keep them in a place that you will see them. This will get you in the habit of doing it every day.

·        Try to schedule the same routine around the same time each day. This will help with consistency.

·        If you have a baby or toddler, you can still have a routine.  You just might have to be more flexible with it. I always felt better having a plan in place when I had little ones, even if I could not follow my plan exactly. You can add activities such as :

1.      Reading a book to your child

2.      Playing together with toys

3.      Free play

4.      Mommy/baby exercises

5.      Craft/or bake with your child

I am glad I decided to add daily routines in my day. Even when I do not get around to my to-do list for the day, I know I have accomplished a lot just by completing my daily routines. Also, with routines you are also living each day to its fullest potential!

What are some activities you will add to your routine?

Start Managing Your Time Wisely in the New Year

I am guest posting today at  R16:16.