Thank Goodness She has No Working Knowledge of Shivs - Also, Here's a Phonics Download (Free)

Today I was supposed to go to church with my family. (I know, I'm as surprised as you are that I don't actually burst into flames when I enter a place of worship, but there it is.) Instead, I woke up with the intestinal flu (So, maybe it is ill-advised for me to attempt to enter a religious building and this was me receiving that message loud and clear. Hm.). It was Scout Sunday, so Hunny took the boys and went to church without me. They all looked very cute in their scout uniforms, but since I was dashing for the bathroom as they were exiting the premises, I did not get a picture of the adorableness. That might make me a bad mom, but my laundry thanks me.

Since I was essentially chained to the toilet all day, I decided to try my hand at being a good mom, and do some phonics lessons with Ms. Thang. She just turned 4, but she's known most of the letter sounds since she was 2, and lately has taken to reading 3 letter words. (Yes, I said 3 letter, not 4 letter. See, I'm an excellent parent.) So, I figured it was time to start actually trying to teach her something since she seems to be ready for more formal instruction. With my other 2 children, I've taught them to read using the book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and while it's a bit boring, and dry, it's inexpensive and it has produced very effective readers. You can't argue a whole lot with results. I've used this a little bit with Ms. Thang, but she doesn't really like it. I've also downloaded some apps to my iPhone that she really likes, and she seems to respond to this better. She loves the starfall phonics app. (You can use the same program for free on the computer, but she can manipulate the touch screen on my phone better, so I decided it was worth the cost of the app.) She's also done really well with the Bob books reading apps. Seeing how well she responded to those, I was pretty excited when I discovered that Funnix is hosting a free giveaway of their award-winning reading program right now, through 2/16/12.

I figured that there wouldn't be a better price than free, and decided to download the program. The Funnix program is similar to Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons, but it's computer based, and I thought that my daughter might prefer it. It turns out I was correct. We've done 4 lessons with Funnix so far, and she really likes the computer based lessons. I'm still engaged with her for each lesson, as I listen to her side of the interaction and make sure that she's following through the way that she's supposed to and that she's enunciating the sounds as she's meant to. The program also comes with a teacher's guide which includes placement tests if your child is beyond the beginning lessons, and a set of worksheets to go along with each lesson. All in all, the free download includes 2 years worth of reading instruction. Now, that's a bargain!

Anyway, here's where the amusing story portion of the blog, where you're grateful that you're not me enters the picture.  Or maybe that was when I talked about the intestinal flu.  Whatever.  This morning, I thought I'd sit down with Ms. Thang and do some work with her with the Funnix program. All was going swimmingly. Ms. Thang was engaged, she was performing the exercises well for the lessons. I was impressed with how quickly she was breezing through. We made it to the worksheet portion of the lesson and that's when it happened. The phone rang. I answered it and had to pause the lesson. Ms. Thang poked me a couple of times. Then she said, “Mommy. I'm ready to do this part, now.” Then, she made loud noises. Then... Well, then she stabbed me with her pencil.

So, on the plus side, I'm glad that she likes her reading lessons that much. On the other hand, I am a little concerned that her response to me stopping is to stab me. Fortunately, she didn't have a good angle and it didn't actually hurt me, and I'm pretty sure the offense won't be repeated since she howled like she was the stabbing victim when I stopped the lesson completely and sent her to her room for a time-out. Thank goodness we didn't spend much time studying the shiv display when we toured the state penitentiary this past summer or I could be in real trouble, eh?

Get Over It Check Up - Where am I?

   So, it's been more than 2 weeks since the start of the new year and my blog about wanting to get my life in order. How am I doing? Well, I had some pretty tall orders to fill, and contrary to what you might imagine, my silence (lack of blogging) is not an indication that I haven't accomplished anything. No, I'm not 100% on top of all of my semi-resolutions. But, I have made some huge strides that I'm really proud of. I wanted to write more, and although they haven't made it to the publishing point, I have been writing more. I just haven't had time to get the posts up. I'll be working on that in the coming weeks, and I hope to be posting something for you to read at least twice a week. I know that's a lot less than my previous high output blogging, but I'm not getting paid right now, and I've barely got time for this, so you get what you get.

So, exactly what kinds of strides have I made? I'm so glad you asked! I wanted to improve the way we do school around here. One of the reasons I love homeschooling so much is because I get to make learning fun for my kids. I get to challenge them at a pace that suits their abilities and in a style which suits their natural learning tendencies. But, sometimes, when everything is a crazy mess, it's hard to find the energy to do a full day of school. As I explained in my previous post, it isn't that the kids were doing nothing at all, but more that we weren't doing the things that I really wanted to do. They were doing more online lessons, and book work, less hands on fun stuff. I don't really want to do school at home. If that were my goal, then I might as well sign them up for an education at the nearest public school. It isn't about that for me. I want to engage their brains and develop a love of learning and a desire for discovery. That's what has been lacking. Of course it's important that they learn the fundamentals. It's important that they be able to read and write and communicate intelligently. But, it's more critical for me, that they want to know how things work and why things happen and that they learn to seek that knowledge for themselves. One of the things that has been so hard for me lately is doing science experiments and history projects with them. These are things that I want them to be excited about. Yet, I've not been in my groove and able to take an active role in that part of their education. Well, 2012 is the year of the get over it, remember? So, I sat down and I wrote out 6 weeks of lesson plans, and I included science experiments almost every day and little fun additions to our history curriculum. It's just the push I need. I needed that extra impetus of, “It's on the calendar. Let's get this done.” Now, school is happening every day. Not just the fundamentals, but the FUN stuff, too. Just like the kids enjoy. They love it, and I do, too. The other day, we made supersaturated solutions out of both borax and epsom salts, then made crystal shapes on pipe cleaners to compare the different crystalline shapes. The same day, we built a Lego volcano and then erupted it with baking soda and vinegar to simulate the volcanic eruption on the island of Thera, near Crete, which is speculated might have caused the decline of the Minoan civilization. I think it's safe to say that, we're back on track with our school plans.

Along with a better organized school day, we've brought back my favorite discipline system, ever. It's a gentle discipline system, which I call the behavior ladder. We have a printed copy of the house rules posted. Each child has a chart with 6 levels, and a picture of themselves with a magnet that moves up and down the ladder based on behavior. Breaking a house rule moves the child one rung down the ladder, completing a chore moves the child one rung up the ladder. Each rung of the ladder has a different set of privileges, with thinking time and chores only on level 1, and full privileges on level 6. If the child completes 5 days out of the 7 day week on the top 3 rungs of the behavior ladder, s/he earns a weekend reward. If the child completes all of his/her chores for at least 5 days out of the week, s/he earns a commission at the end of the week. (In our house that's $1 for each year of age. My 3 yo earns $3, the 6yo earns $6, etc...) It sounds complicated, but it really isn't the hardest part of the whole system is deciding what the privileges, rewards, and chores were for each kid. They love this system, and I love it, too. There is no complaining about completing chores, no one wonders where they are behavior-wise, and the whole house just runs a lot more smoothly. If you are struggling with discipline and tired of it, I cannot recommend enough that you check out the behavior ladder to see if it is a fit for your family. So, I'm totally on track with that goal for the year of the get over it. Go me.

Along with a 6 week supply of lesson plans and the reintroduction of the behavior ladder have come some bits and pieces of organization. I am still struggling with getting back to the gym. I want to do it, but life hasn't cooperated. Instead of simplifying I seem determined to take on new projects. I took a position as an administrator for one of the homeschool co-ops that I'm involved with, in addition to offereing 2 classes there for the spring semester. By far, however, the biggest impediment to further organization has been the addition of our newest family member, Mr. Harrelson. He is only the sweetest, most adorable, smartest dog, ever. Not that I'm biased. Mr. Harrelson is an 8 month old yellow lab/golden retriever mix. We are continually amazed by his intelligence. He's also still a puppy. A puppy that weighs as much as my 6 year old. It makes for some exciting moments. Plus, we're still adjusting to being dog people. We haven't been dog people in a very long time, and never so completely, unabashedly, head-over-heels in love with a mutt that we'd call ourselves that, even if we were. Also, although my genius puppy has made huge strides since he came to live here, he's still learning the ropes, and training a new dog is a project that takes a lot of time and consistency. He's amazing, but it still takes time. It's kind of like adding a toddler to the house. Except he's housebroken.

Anyway, there you have it. That's where I'm at so far. I'm nowhere near where I intend to be, but I'm making strides in the right direction, and I don't think you can ask me for too much more. What about you? Where are you on your journey in the year of the get over it? Are you making strides? We all just have to be where we are, but baby steps are better than no steps. So, how about it?   

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Happy 2012 - The Year of the Get Over It...

   We rang in the new year last night. It's 2012, a brand new year with a fresh start for everyone. (Also a gory end sometime in December, if Hollywood and that ancient Mayan calendar deal are to be believed, but ya know, whatever. Let's focus on the positive, here.) Anyway, I never do anything for New Year's Eve. Last night was no exception. We watched a movie with the kids and then, once they were in bed, watched a grown up movie all by ourselves. (I know, party animals, right?) Once the movie was over, we went to bed. It was roughly 11:45pm. We didn't even acknowledge the impending shift in dates on the calendar. In fact, at the exact moment that the calendar flipped, I'm pretty sure I was in the middle of a rant about the obnoxious odors one might experience as a result of one's spouse having consumed Chipotle shrimp tacos at some previous point and gagging and fanning my face theatrically. (You weren't there. Trust me. The face fanning, no matter what Hunny says was not theatrical.) Some moments later, we heard our neighbors setting off fireworks and realized that it was, by all appearances, 2012. At approximately 12:04am, I held my breath, leaned into the noxious cloud of shrimp taco fumes, and risked a belated quick smooch with my husband. I can only pray that my activities at midnight will not actually have any bearing on what the rest of the year will hold.

Anyway, sometime in the wee hours, I woke up and started to contemplate the new year. Certainly 2011 was kind of a stinker. I mean, we had dead relatives, sick relatives, Hunny almost died and we've spent the last 5 months learning to manage his dead pancreas, I lost my freelance writing job... I don't think I'm going to miss 2011 much at all. Frankly, 2011 can be filed away as a rather unpleasant memory, and the sooner the better. Good riddance. But, 2012 is upon us. It's all new and shiny. I never make New Year's resolutions. Mostly because I get all pissy with myself for trying to be all controlling, and like 2 weeks in I’m all “Who does she think she is? She can't tell me what to do!” Which makes no sense, and frankly, confuses even me, but it's the truth. So, generally, I'm anti resolution. But, as I looked around in the wee hours, and took stock at all of the huge changes we've been through this past year, I thought about where I am and where I'd like to be. I thought about how things don't happen unless you make them happen, except life, which continues to happen all around you, whether you want it to or not. So, it seems that the only sensible solution is to make a plan. It's perhaps a bit cliched that all of these decisions occurred on the dawn of the new year, but there it is. One good thing that did happen in 2011 is that I started to get my weight and fitness under control. I ended the year 41 lbs lighter than I started it. I'd like to continue to see those numbers go down and my fitness levels go up, but since Hunny's diagnosis I've only been maintaining because I've very much felt that I couldn't handle one more point of focus without needing the nice doctors in white coats bring me the comfy jacket that lets me hug myself. Sometimes it's necessary to take a break. I'm happy report that I didn't gain during my break, but I haven't really lost any more either. I've been thinking for awhile that I need to get back to the gym, get my butt back in gear, but I haven't done it. Why not start that over with the new year? It's not like a better time is going to present itself. Then there's school. We're a homeschooling family. For the most part, I feel like I do a good job with my children. They are ahead of grade level in pretty much every subject, and I'm very happy with the choices I've made for their curricula. The problem is, for the last few months, I've been so caught up in crisis mode, learning about and coping with Hunny's diagnosis with type 1 diabetes, that while we've done school, and the kids are still okay, I haven't been nearly as organized or as hands on as I'd prefer to be. Back in the first year that I was homeschooling, I listened to a woman talk about her experiences homeschooling. She'd been homeschooling for many years, and had taught all 7 of her children. They had all gone on to successful careers in their chosen professions, and were doing quite well. But, what stuck with me most was when she talked about her husband being disabled, and that she had had to just basically abandon schoolwork with them for a year or more, in favor of caring for him. But, she said, they did just fine. Her point was not to get caught up in worrying over the day to day, it's the big picture that matters, and they will do okay as long as you give them the tools to succeed. I try to hang onto that, because especially over the past couple of months, I haven't always had the energy to be the best teacher every single day. There have been days when I've let them do the bulk of their learning online, and days when we've just read a book here and there. But, even though I know they will be okay, I would like to be the teacher that they deserve. So, why not make a new plan for a new year and commit to doing better in that area, too? Then there's the dreaded housework. Look. I'm not a housekeeper. I don't mind doing housework, but in general, I have better things to do. As a result, things around here are either immaculate, or a pigsty. True story. If I'm on my game, I keep things pretty well cycled through, and I keep things checked off my list. (Of course, those are my things. At any given time the hubs and the kids may or may not be included under the umbrella of order. Turds.) But, especially when I am feeling emotionally drained, housework is either all I focus on, or it gets shoved to the back burner. I used to have a schedule of things. Every day I did a different room and at the end of the week everything was still pretty clean. There were no giant messes in general, because I kept things done up from day to day. Somewhere between one emergency with my mom or another, I let that go, and it has not worked out well for me. I need to bring that back so I'm not killing myself to do everything all at once. I also need to get my kids back on their discipline charts. Those were fantastic tools for eliciting the type of behavior that I wanted to see in my children, and in maintaining order, but again, I let it slide in all the chaos. Then there's this blog. When I was getting paid to write? I wrote all of the time. Now that it's just because? Well, who has the time for that? And yet people keep telling me that they love reading my blog or that they think I should write more because they love to read what I have to say on facebook. It's a bit of guilt since I haven't posted a blog in well over a month. I need to update my blog more frequently. I also need to do a little more writing in general. The thing required of me to get this done, is simply to commit the time and energy. So, essentially, all of this boils down to getting a handle on all of my emotional ups and downs and forcing myself to take a more organized approach to life. I have the tools to do this. Why not do it now? A better time is not going to present itself, and besides, if those Mayans are correct, I only have the next 11 months to do it in anyway. Might as well give it a shot, right? So here's to 2012. May I get a handle on my crazy and succeed in getting some organization back into my life. Bad things happen. I can't let them keep me from functioning. I still have 3 kids to take care of and a life to lead. The world does not stop turning just because I'm too emotionally drained to deal with it. Happy freaking new year, people. Things are about to change around here.  Let's get over it and move forward.