Good Things

A Restful Christmas: How Our Family Celebrates Advent and a Book List!

2015-12-04T12:55:00.001-06:00

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It is December, the beginning of the end of the year 2015. It is also the month of Advent! For those of you unfamiliar with the term, the word "advent" literally means arrival or coming. Christmas marks the arrival of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who "being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men" for the sole purpose of "[humbling] Himself and [becoming] obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:6-8). In Church tradition, Advent consists of the four Sundays (and the weeks following them) that lead up to Christmas. It is a season of waiting then -- of anticipation for His second coming (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) and reflection on God's faithfulness through the ages (Deuteronomy 7:9; Psalm 98:2-4).

I did not grow up in a liturgical church tradition, but as an adult now I can see some of the value in it, or at least in certain aspects of it. So a few years ago, a dear, sweet mentor of mine introduced me to the idea of Advent and its celebrations, how that might look in a more Protestant culture, and how her family partook. I loved the idea and was eager to share the same types of traditions with my husband and children, so we began implementing it that very same year. Now, my family is not Catholic so how we celebrate might look different from how you celebrate or how you've seen Advent celebrated. That's because they are our traditions (now) -- this is what we do because they mean something special to us -- and if it's something you're interested in, we would encourage you to tweak and adjust to best fit your family as well. The goal being to hold Christ's first and second coming in the forefront of your minds throughout the month, so you don't lose sight of the real reason we even celebrate Christmas at all.

Family Devotions

Each year has been a little different in this arena. Most nights throughout the whole year, we gather as a family right before the kids' bedtime and read a Bible story from one of their children's Bibles, sing our family song (Psalm 23), and pray together. During Advent, we use this time to do a little more intentional study. This has looked like a borrowed, homemade devotional study, Phil Vischer's What's In the Bible? Why Do We Call It Christmas? DVD with Everyday Emmanuel activities, Truth in the Tinsel, and simple Scripture reading of Luke 2.
Last year, during the Christmas season, I finally purchased the book Jotham's Journey: A Storybook for Advent, by Arnold Ytreeide, and we are reading this for our family devotion time now. It came highly recommended from several folks that I trust very much, and now that we are reading it I can see why! It is a wonderful adventure story that paints a vivid picture of Christ's first coming from the perspective of a 10 year-old boy. It does have some intense scenes, so I am glad we waited until this year to introduce it. However, my kids are entranced as much as I am as we read, and I know it will be a treasured story for years to come.

Something we are also doing this year for family devotions is singing Christmas hymns. I've had this book for years, knowing it would be a useful resource for homeschool down the road. I let the kids take turns picking one or two carols from it each night that we then sing, in their entirety, together. They are loving it! We aren't going through the history of the songs at this point, but it's a great way to introduce these Christmas classics that are so rich in verse... you know, something a little deeper and meaningful than"Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer" and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus."
The book and songs have become a beloved fixture in our family worship!

Light the Candles

There are four or five candles that are lit, one at a time, on each Sunday during Advent. They can be colored (purple, pink, and white), or not depending on your tradition. We typically do the colors because we like to talk about the symbolism.

First Sunday

Candle of Hope (purple)

Second Sunday
Candle of Love (purple)

Third Sunday
Candle of Joy (pink)

Fourth Sunday
Candle of Peace (purple)

Christmas Day/Eve
Christ Candle (white)

I have made an advent "wreath" each year in the past, usually just by arranging some fresh evergreen and my candles on a platter. This year, I've asked my dad to fashion some nice tree limb tea light holders for me, so until he is finished with those, we are just lining the candles up along the top of our piano where my big nativity set lies and lighting them at the beginning of our family worship time.

Homeschool: Advent Term

Unschooling

You might be wondering how we fit our homeschool into all of this... If we're doing so many special things for the Advent season, how do we have time for our regular school work? My answer is simply, "We don't." Way back when my oldest was in kindergarten, I adopted the notion to take a full month off of school for Christmas. There are just too many extra activities, too many other THINGS, that I want to devote our time to and no matter how hard I try to fit it all in, it's just not possible. And I'm okay with that. I would rather be saturated in the season, steeped in family traditions, stimulating a spirit of goodwill, and shaping special memories with my kids. So I take more of an "un-schooling" approach to this month-long term in our homeschool. Books on every subject are always readily available around our house, and of course we are not neglecting our regular library visits. We color in Christmas coloring books, make Christmas cards, write addresses on envelopes, bake and decorate cookies, design and put together handmade gifts, and minister to our neighbors with special treats and a simple Gospel message. This year, I decided to keep math in the mix on a regular basis just so my second grader stays on top of her facts, but I left the format up to her: she can choose her regular curriculum worksheets, Xtramath (online computer drill), or brush up her rough spots with Khan Academy (online lessons). It's simple, mostly child-led, and easy for mom, which is important for my sanity during this busy time!

Morning Time

We are keeping up with our daily "circle time" (or morning time, as we call it) during this school term, but even that looks a little different. I have pegged it to our breakfast because: 1) we always eat breakfast together, and 2) at this stage it is easiest to do give group instruction (with 7-, 5-, 3-, and 1-year olds) while hands and mouths are kept busy. ;)

Normally we pray, and while the kids eat I read aloud a portion of Scripture or a short devotion and then a chapter from our family read-aloud. By then most of them are finished eating, so we do our memory work all together. This gets them up and moving around, but it keeps them engaged too. Then we sit back down and they can do their special activity books (coloring, stickers, or the like) that they use only for Morning Time, or grab a quiet busy bag or toy off the nearby shelf. While they keep their hands busy, I'll read from an "extra" book. It could be Shakespeare, hymn study, Christian hero stories, or a picture book... whatever work I have planned for that specific term. When we're done, the little ones move on to start/finish their morning chores and I keep my oldest for a few extra minutes to do map drill.

During Advent, our Morning Time table looks much the same: we begin breakfast with prayer and a devotion. I purchased Ann Voskamp's Advent book for children last year, so we are reading through it this month. Ya'll, it is wonderful!! Her poetic language is magnificent and I love how she connects some of the intricate details throughout Scripture to tell the story of Jesus. It's so neat to see arrows pointing to our Savior in places that I'd never noticed before! Some people are distracted by her style of writing, so it's not for everyone but I would at least recommend giving it a look-see. I have a few read-alouds on my list for this month. We're beginning with The Best Christmas Pageant Ever because I snagged it from my favorite used bookstore for cheap cheap cheap (BOGO Christmas books?! Can I get a "Halleluyer!") and had barely heard of it let alone read it before, so why not? We are loving it! It's pretty hilarious actually and the plot & characters are very engaging. We're set to finish it up this week, so next up is the Dickens' classic, A Christmas Carol. I also have borrowed Bambi: A Life in the Woods from our local library, so we will finish out the term reading that. I cut out our daily memory work, extra studies, and map drill, but we still do a full review on Fridays. In the future we may integrate some Christmas-specific memorization and some Christmas carol history, but not this year.

Nature Walks

One new thing I do hope to incorporate this month is a few nature walks. We do these regularly during warmer weather, but I'll be honest, I don't enjoy going outside in the cold and snow with four children in tow. Heck, I don't even like doing it on my own most of the time! It can be bitterly cold in Iowa this time of year, and with December stuck right in the middle of cold & flu season it can make for a miserable month. But I am determined to at least try to get out with them this year. We've been very careful to stock our closet with quality WARM gear to make it a little more bearable, so we're going to give it a go. There are so many wonderful things to observe outdoors during the winter! And if we
shoot low, say one or two short walks on the nicer days, maybe we can actually make it work.

Book List

By far, the reason Advent has become such a treasured pastime for me and my family, is all the BOOKS! I have mentioned a few that we have used and read during our family worship and Morning Time, so here I would like to add the lot that we are reading outside of that. I don't own a heaping ton of Christmas books (though my book addiction is slowly closing in on this season too!) so I borrow a bunch from the library; I make a list and request them all to be delivered to the one closest to my home, so I'm not scrambling all over town to find them. The books I do purchase are, by and large, used, either bought online from one of my favorite retailers or from a local used book shop. Because when you have a penchant for children's books but also have a limited income, it's important to find good deals!

Once I have my stack of books in hand, I pull out my Christmas wrapping paper and get busy wrapping! Each book gets wrapped individually, numbered (1-25) and placed in a basket just for Advent reading. The kids then take turns each day unwrapping the book for the day and we snuggle on the couch or wherever and read together. Some days are allotted more than one book because there are just SO many great ones that it's hard for me to limit our options to only twenty-five. The kids don't seem to mind. ;) So these are the books that we're reading this year. It does vary a bit year-to-year, except for the ones that belong to our family's collection -- those are the tried and true-blue favorites! Now without further ado... my Top Ten, followed by the rest of the basket's contents (in no particular order):

Advent Book List

A Christmas Tapestry, by Patricia Polacco

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, by Susan Wojciechowski

One Wintry Night, by Ruth Bell Graham

The Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry

The Little Match Girl, by Hans Christian Anderson

The Tale of the Three Trees, by Angela Elwell Hunt

An Orange for Frankie, by Patricia Polacco

Night Tree, by Eve Bunting

The Legend of the Candy Cane, by Lori Walburg

Christmas Day in the Morning, by Pearl S. Buck

The Birds of Bethlehem, by Tomie dePaola
The Christmas Candle, by Richard Paul Evans
Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree, by Robert Barry
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree: an Appalachian Story, by Gloria Houston
Christmas Cricket, by Eve Bunting
Christmas in the Barn, by Margaret Wise Brown
Gifts of the Heart, by Patricia Polacco
It's Snowing!, by Gail Gibbons
Jacob's Gift, by Max Lucado
The Legend of the Christmas Rose, by William H. Hooks
Saint Nicholas, by Ann Tompert
Song of the Stars: a Christmas Story, by Sally Lloyd-Jones
Tacky's Christmas, by Helen Lester
This is the Stable, by Cynthia Cotten
Toot & Puddle: I'll be Home for Christmas, by Holly Hobbie
The Twelve Days of Christmas, by Jan Brett
The Crippled Lamb, by Max Lucado
The Legend of the Poinsettia, by Tomie dePaola
Humphrey's First Christmas, by Carol Heyer
The Big Snow, by Berta & Elmer Hader
The Wild Christmas Reindeer, by Jan Brett
White Snow Bright Snow, by Alvin Tresselt
A Shepherd's Gift, by Mary Calhoun
How the Grinch Stole Christmas, by Dr. Seuss
The Jacket I Wear in the Snow, by Shirley Neitzel
The Snowman, by Raymond Briggs
The Berenstain Bears Meet Santa Bear, by Stan & Jan Berenstain
A Very Marley Christmas, by John Grogan
Mickey's Christmas Carol, (by Disney)
Board Books:
Christmas in the Manger, by Nola Buck
What Am I? Christmas, (author unknown)
Look Who's Jolly, (author unknown)
Baby's First Nativity, (author unknown)
Christmas Peekaboo!, (DK publishing)

I hope this gives you a good starting place! Remember to check out your local library and favorite used bookstores first, whether local or online. There is typically a high turnover for holiday books, so you should be able to grab a few great bargains to get you started on your own Advent library collection. Happy reading!

Community Outreach

In years past, we have made conscious efforts to get out into our neighborhood and community and reach out our hands with goodwill and kindness and the Gospel during the month of December. We have participated in simple random acts of kindness, non-profit and food bank donations, Operation Christmas Child shoebox parties, and the like, but I was convicted this year to take a step back from these activities. Don't get me wrong, these are all admirable, kind-hearted, and even critical things to do! Many ministries rely on this "season of giving," when people are feeling a bit more generous than other months through the year, to bolster their efforts and make a greater dent in fulfilling their outreaches' needs. And if you participate in some of these activities, please do not stop! Supporting missions in your community and abroad are incredibly important and the impact they can have for the Gospel is far-reaching. But my husband and I have decided that for our family, the best coarse of action is to spread our outreach across the full year instead of localizing the majority of our efforts, both physically and financially, to a single month. There are a myriad of opportunities to give or get involved at any given time, and when we allow ourselves the freedom to choose our involvement as occasion or need arises and as the Spirit leads, I think we can be more effective in our chosen partnerships. So, setting aside the "burden" to do ALL the things, we are able to then devote more of our time now to training our mindset to be one that is focused and intentional with the Gospel continuously. Because as we set our minds on things above (Colossians 3:2) and the return of our coming King, we align our wills with His and are more prepared to DO the thing He calls us to.

Now with that said, we have chosen to participate in a couple of activities this month, including a nursing home outreach with our church and Christmas caroling with our homeschool co-op. We don't have to remove ourselves completely to have peace. ;) But you do what's right for your family.

These are the things that form the spine of our family's Advent traditions. There are, of course, other activities that we like to do... like movie nights, Polar Express night, or own very own Night Tree! But at least you have a taste now, and hopefully some ideas of how to make the Christmas season more meaningful for your own family.

Merry Christmas!

A Personality By Any Other Name Wouldn’t Be As Sweet

2015-08-18T11:58:00.000-05:00

Rose Far And Wide by Ave Lainesaar

I’ve been AWOL for a while now, dipping deep into the well of family life, getting caught up in life’s happenings, that I haven’t checked in on the blog for a loooong time. But it’s okay. I’m okay. You’re okay. We’re all gonna be OK.

It’s been an incredible summer and I’m all too sorry to see it go. There seems to be so much more I wanted to do: experiences I wanted to share, memories I wanted to make. Yes, we started school on Monday. Strangely, I’m kind of all set on the planning side of things, but I’m just not mentally ready to transition back to “school mode.” So in one last ditch effort to postpone the inevitable, I want to share a bit about my summer. Perhaps if I keep talking about summer, it will stick around longer? (See how many times you can spot the word “summer” in this post!)

I started this summer well organized and ready. I prepped a summer binder stocked with monthly calendars clearly labeled with all our family’s pre-scheduled activities, daily schedule, cleaning schedule, chore assignments and rotations, summer rules and discipline strategies, personal goals, summer reading program papers including book lists and reading logs, a simple sort of “bucket list” of fun places to visit in our fine state, fitness forms and menu plans for myself. This baby was well oiled and rip-roaring to go! And I used it… for about two weeks. Maybe two and a half. It was a beautiful creation and wonderfully handy, but I just didn’t use it! Why?!

Well, one of my personal goals this summer was to implement some time for Mother Culture. If you’re not familiar with this Charlotte Mason concept, basically it’s about making time for Mom to personally engage in learning through literature — for me, this equated to just about 30 minutes to quietly read to myself during my kids’ afternoon quiet time. Miss Mason encouraged moms to always have three books going at a time: an easy read (novel), moderately easy read, and a difficult (stiff) read. As I have not been able to complete a book on my own in under 12 months for the last 7 years, I jumped on this idea! It wasn’t difficult to find material. I have a plethora of written treasures patiently waiting on my bookshelves. So I made my book list, downloaded audiobooks, and plotted my priorities.

One of the books I chose, a "moderate read” on my list (though it really was rather easy), is If I’m Diapering a Watermelon, Then Where’d I Leave the Baby? by Carol Barnier. It is hilarious and I felt like she was writing directly to ME… How’d she get inside my head anyway? I mean, she described me to a T! Remember my post on Driven Distraction? Yeah. Totally me. Basically, this book was written for the highly distracted mom — a “how-to” of sorts, you could say. She very empathetically describes the personality and sort of inner-workings of said woman, and she gives many tips and tricks on how to make it work FOR you & not against you (which is tricky business, I tell you!) I saturated myself in her wisdom, gleaned all I could of her practical advice, and contemplated her rich (and hysterical) thoughts on just what it’s like to live life as a distracted mom. I took so many great things away from this book! But perhaps the greatest is a deeper understanding of who I am & who God created me to be. How incredibly freeing it is when you can finally understand that you are who you are and it’s okay to be that way... Not that we should stay that way, because we should always be growing in our walks and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us into the image of God (Romans 12:1-2). But this little bit of acceptance -- I cannot even begin to express the joy it brings!

Not only did I receive a beautiful gift of personal freedom, but I was also deeply challenged. So many times I (and I’m sure many of you) have looked at and studied the examples of Mary and Martha in Scripture (Luke 10:38-42, specifically), and I’ve always viewed myself as a Martha. I’m a mom of four young ones. There’s simply too much to do to be still and sit there! I’m constantly working, working, working, setting things in order, taking care of messy kids, cleaning a messy house, too busy to just sit and be at the feet of Jesus. I have to at least fold laundry or sort mail or organize my contacts on my phone while I sit. It’s all about the multi-tasking, baby! Carol brings the Biblical sisters out again for examination in the last chapter of her book, and for the first time I was able to see a bit of Mary in myself. Now, I’m not all there. (Ha! in more ways than one, to be sure.) But it’s like I’m seeing myself through different glasses now.

"We need to be reminded that every gift comes with responsibilities and that every responsibility comes with a gift. If we only see the work, we’ve missed the best part.

If you find yourself truly at odds with something in your life, step back for a moment and see if you can’t find a new lens, one that finds the gifts in your circumstances instead of all the challenges. Aren’t you glad that this is exactly how God see us?” (p. 83, If I’m Diapering a Watermelon, Then Where’d I Leave the Baby?)

And it clicked. As a highly distracted, unregimented person, I have resorted to controlling my environment (physical things, i.e. organization) to compensate for my lack of mental organization. This can give the appearance of “having it all together” (*cough* Martha *cough* summer binder) and is, apparently, often perceived by others as such, but it is merely a facade — a white wash over the jumbled, tumble-down "mess" that is my interior. I have embraced, or rather clung to, this exterior structure and regiment as a sort of means to atone for my true personal “deficit." But there is still a part of me that longs to be able to be fulfilled in my natural, albeit sometime chaotic, tendencies (hello, Mary). I am still trying to figure this out. It is an ever back-and-forth song and dance between the two, and I struggle to find the balance.

I’ve been tapping into the different personality assessments out there lately — I can’t remember all the varieties out there right now as there are far too many! — but I think I’m gaining a little insight as I read & listen. I VERY much identify with this particular book on an almost cellular level. I mean, she nailed it! So I think that this highly distractible character is truly me. However, it is when I am under STRESS that I resort to the polar opposite: structure, regiment, orientation toward tasks, etc. This can be external stress (usually) or even internal stress, because somehow my natural tendencies can even overwhelm me sometimes causing me to retreat into the stronghold of order.

It’s all so confusing to unfold… My personality is so stinking complex! A virtual origami of personalities. Shoot. But I am vastly grateful for the assistance in learning more about myself thus far. (Thank you, Carol Barnier!) And I’m even more thankful for the peace and joy that my own acceptance of God’s acceptance brings! It’s been a long time coming. Thank you, Jesus!

Glosser Chronicles: Summertime Review

2014-09-29T09:00:00.000-05:00

Well, if you follow my blog at all, you know that I've taken the last three months off from my monthly reviews to soak up the summer with my husband & kids while we adjust to being a family of six! Then last month we started our new school year, so my last few posts centered around homeschool. I hope you enjoyed the peek into our family's education! If you missed it, you can catch up here.

But now the summer months are over and autumn's official beginning has taken its place. While we transition to a new season, it sounds like a good time to reflect back on the past few months and thank God for the many blessings He so richly bestowed on us this summer! Sit back, relax, and prepare for a multitude of photos as you ride along down Nostalgia Lane with me.

I have to begin this photo series with the biggest event our summer: the addition of our sixth family member (seventh if you believe in dog-children)! Madelyn Chara Glosser was born to us Tuesday, June 17th. And our world will forever be changed for the better.
(I posted a blurb about her on Facebook, which I will share below.)

Pictured here visiting her Great-Grandpa George
for the first time. (He is my paternal grandfather,
whose wife Madelyn was named after.)

The newest member of our family joined us on Tuesday, June 17, 2014, at 11:20pm. Weighing in at 7lbs, 13oz, and measuring 20in long, she's the second largest baby of our four. Labor & delivery was THE BEST experience we've ever had thanks to, literally, my team of helpers. My husband, mom, and 3 sisters (one joining us via Facetime in Reno, NV) were my incredible support team who I am intensely thankful for. In fact, my midwife wants to hire them to be at all her births! :)

The Name:
She gets her namesake from my paternal grandmother, one of the most breathtakingly beautiful women of God I have ever ever had the pleasure to know. She has been an inspiration to me in many areas of my life and a pillar to my spiritual walk. Her death when I was in sixth grade was a pivotal time for me and a driving force that finally sent me running to the loving arms of Jesus. I pray that our little Madelyn will love the Lord & serve Him all the days of her life as my Grandma Madelyn did.
A note about her middle name, Chara, (pronouced kar'-uh): The Greek word chara means "joy" and is from my personal devotions in the days following the hard news that she was transverse & then breech in my eighth month of pregnancy. The Lord led me to John 16 & Luke 11 where I was encouraged in the Spirit to simply remember to ASK. I was worried and frustrated and had completely neglected asking my most gracious heavenly Father for a good outcome & a healthy baby! Now I know that God's will is perfect, but, as I so often do, I had placed my own will above His. I had to surrender to Him and take comfort in the fact that He gives GOOD gifts to His children! It only when I had surrendered my will that His Holy Spirit brought me such amazing peace and comfort... and gave us our baby's middle name: Chara (John 16:24). Madelyn is a beauty and a blessing! And I can honestly testify that our joy is indeed full.

June is insanity at our house. No joke. You know the definition of insanity, right? It's "doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results." Well, apparently, that's our approach to family planning, because all but ONE of our kids was born in June. Oh, and it's also the month of my birthday... aaand our wedding anniversary. So yeah. Kind of busy. It wasn't on purpose, but it certainly would appear to be "something utterly foolish or unreasonable."

But you know what? June is a big party! We get to celebrate the precious lives of three of the most amazing people this world has ever known AND the union of a certain super handsome, unbelievably gifted, agape loving man to this certain goofy, giggly girl. And I get to blow out candles and eat cake. We may be utterly exhausted come July 1st, but who can complain? June rocks!

Berry picking and nature centers were top picks for summer fun this year. I am so thankful we have such a fantastic U-pick farm not-too-far from home! We had PERFECT weather (for the first time ever?!) so we spent the morning out there and loaded up on blueberries... that will hopefully last us through the winter. My husband's been begging (politely) for a blueberry pie ever since!
We also enjoyed a splendid day at a nature center near our home where we learned about local habitats and wildlife. We'll definitely be revisiting soon!

We followed up our nature exploration with a picnic lunch and some "beach" time just down the road from the nature center. (In Iowa, that means lakeshore.) The kids LOVE anything involving dirt, so the majority of the afternoon was spent digging in the sand. :) However, I do have one little fish that enjoys the water very much, so she spent a lot of time going back and forth getting the best of both worlds.

My grandpa lives on a farm down in southern Iowa, so when harvest time came my dad drove down, picked some sweet corn, and carted it back here for us. Yep, my grandpa still farms -- at the ripe age of 86 & still going strong!
Even though this year with the new baby wasn't a great time for corn-picking, I tried to involved them in the shucking process. (You can imagine how well that went.) Actually, my oldest did very well & persevered even when she thought she'd had enough! That may have had something to do with the quarters I promised for every bag she shucked... Shhh!! There's a place for bribery in parenting, I tell you.
I have so many great memories of times spent growing up down on the farm. I hope to impart the same sweet fondness of the country to my kids!

Mmmm. Some Sunday mornings we like to do Dunkin'. Because they're donuts, people. And we're donut people.

Some of my favorite highlights of the entire summer were spent with our families. Have I mentioned how incredibly blessed we are to have both sets of grandparents and {most} aunts & uncles within a short driving distance? Much leisure time was spent with them: popping by Dairy Queen on a whim some hot summer evening for a frozen treat and chasing bubbles, snuggled up on the couch reading a good book, family night dinners with games & great conversation. It's absolutely wonderful.
But I would be remiss not to mention the fantastic time we spent with our far-away-family! My older sister and her family (including my only niece and nephew) came to Des Moines to spend over a week with us. We had a blast soaking up every ounce of time we could with them before bidding adieu. We miss them every day but are thankful for the delightful memories created this summer!

This summer was one of frosty heat. Ok, mostly heat. So we cooled off the way many families do... in the water! With so many littles and no swimmers (yet), we don't do the public pool much, but we do enjoy our share of backyard water play!
And as a special treat, we attended the Frozen festivities at Barnes & Noble one evening. It was a pajama story time, complete with make-your-own snowflakes & face paint!

OUTDOORS! That's why we love the summer. So much to be done in the midst of God's glorious creation! We drink it up 'til we're full to the brim with summer goodness, and it lasts us through the frigid winter long enough to soak up the spring rains.

Oh... how did this get in here? And who are these weirdos? ;) Eh, this is just how we do.

I had the joy of passing down a summer tradition to my family this year. Snookies is one of those community landmarks and one of my favorite places to dip my finger (and tongue, as it were) in summer's sweetness. I used to frequent it with my besties in the "good ol' days," and now I hope to do the same with my kiddos!

My summer could never be complete without at least one trip to the Iowa State Fair. It is for sure one of the best summer pastimes! I think it improves every year, too. They have a magnificent team working year-round to make certain that "Nothing Compares." I think they've nailed it!
This year's visit actually corresponded with our first day of school and, not-so-coincidentally, the Fair's Homeschool Day! The kids explored and discovered many different things about Iowa culture, including agriculture, sustainability, leisure activities, and the arts. There were many many hands-on opportunities, and the girls even milked a cow!

August just wouldn't be August without Dows Corn Days. I've been going since I was a little (and I mean little!) girl. It's a simple farming community sweet corn and watermelon smorgasbord, but it excites me every year and I'm so glad I can pass on the tradition!

Well, I hope you've enjoyed the trip down Memory Lane with me! Truthfully, August & September have hit me like a ton of bricks as we've been dealing with what seems like difficulty after hardship after grueling challenge. So I needed this more than anyone. It has been both refreshing and encouraging to review what Good Things God has given us, and my soul feels uplifted! This was just the boost I needed. Thank you, Jesus!

"Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning."

-- James 1:16-17 (NKJV)

What did you do this summer? Have you taken a moment to thank the Lord for the Good Things He's given you?

Get Organized! Using Workboxes for your Homeschool

2014-09-02T10:22:00.001-05:00

We've been using workboxes in our homeschool for two years, and they've been extremely helpful in keeping me organized and helping us stay on task through the homeschool day. They have also been useful to promote independent learning with my first-grader this year (which enables me to spend more time with the three littler ones)!

I LOVE this system and I've received a few questions about it, so I wanted to share with you all how we use them in our homeschool. I'm a visual learner and I know there are more of you out there like me, but sometimes photos just aren't thorough enough for me. I benefit greatly from someone walking me through something and showing me how to do it or at least how they do it so I have a better idea of where to start. For this reason, I put together a video tutorial! Now, this is my first video ever, so please be gracious. It's far from perfect. :) However, if you bear with me, I hope you will have a better understanding of Sue Patrick's system and maybe even walk away with some ideas of how to make it work for your family. I broke it up into two videos so you wouldn't get too bored. ;)

In the first video, I share with you exactly what is "The Workbox System." It's mostly informational, but very important if you want to give workboxes a try. After I talk about Sue Patrick & her work a bit, I show you our workbox carts and introduce how they work.

In part two, I walk you through how I set up for each day the night before and get our workboxes ready to go!

Here are some links for things I mentioned in the videos (some are affiliate links):

Sue Patrick's Workbox System: A User's Guide
Ten Drawer Cart
Calendar Notebook
Elementary Daily Learning Notebook
Velcro dots
Task Cards
Subject TRIO

If you would like access to my own subject/activity cards, shoot me a comment and I'd be happy to share my link! I'm also happy to answer any questions you may have.

For more information on this system, or to order Sue Patrick's ebook, go here.

To look at my other homeschool posts, look here:
Our Curriculum, 2014-2015
Tour Our Homeschool Room
First Day of School, 2014-2015
Our Typical Homeschool Day

Have fun discovering this new way to organize your homeschool days!

Do you use workboxes in your homeschool? Have you modified them at all to fit your family? Share in the comments below!

Breaking Dawn: A Mommy's Midnight Musing

2014-08-31T08:10:00.000-05:00

Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one. - Dr. Seuss

But if it's not, I'd be okay with it. It's been quite a night...

A late start for sleep around midnight insured a tired morning to follow, but I was surprised to wake much earlier than expected when Madelyn needed a diaper change at 1 am. And of course she was wide-awake after that. (Could this have anything to do with my rare non-decaf coffee treat at 4:00 that afternoon?) So I lay with her and nursed her on one side, and we both fell asleep. Fast forward a bit to 3:30 am when M is getting restless again. I slide her over and roll over myself to nurse her on the other side, but she won't latch & then projectile vomits all. over. my side of the bed. Nice. I mop up, lay down cloth, remove both if our pjs, change another diaper, burp baby well, wrap her up and lay her in her bed before returning to my resting spot. But neither of us can get comfortable and the dog is busy shaking her head over an itchy ear in the next room. It's now 4:15 and we're both still restless. I cave. I pick up Madelyn, swaddle her tight and attempt to nurse again to fill that emptied belly. This time I'm sitting up. I read an article on exercise & hormone balance on my phone. I must post this to Facebook. Click. 4:30 rolls in as I type this. Husband is snoring, baby is lolling off to dream land. And I am awake. Now I have to pee and am starting to feel hot. Did I turn the air back on before turning in for the night? It was such a cool evening. Get up one more time to check... and turn it on. Ahh. It's Sunday: the Day of Rest. Back to bed I go. 6:30 alarms are going to come all too quickly. Good morning mommies of the world. Happy Sunday.

Our Typical Homeschool Day, 2014-2015

2014-08-28T05:30:00.000-05:00

The final week of iHomeschool Network's "Not" Back-to-School Blog Hop is here! So take a seat, grab a cuppa, and join us for a day in the life of this homeschool family!

"Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire."

This famous quote by the poet, Yeats, inspires me. It extinguishes all the formality & drudgery that can be associated with traditional learning and kindles the excitement and passion that I desire to be the trademark of my children's learning. It's what drives me to teach my kids every day.

Don't misunderstand, I know plenty of excellent teachers that work in the traditional school setting and do an amazing job at making learning a fun adventure! (I'm sure they would agree with this quote as well!) However, I love the freedom that comes with homeschool. We are not bound to a particular district, a building, a room, a desk. I have a "superintendent" (my husband) that is on the same page with me 100% of the time, because we took the time to saturate our decisions in prayer, lay out short term and long term goals for each of our children, and he inquires of our progress daily so we can discuss any changes that may need to be made. He does not micromanage but is a constant encouragement & pillar of Biblical wisdom and strength. If we have a disagreement, we can sit down together over coffee and pour over Scripture til we are pointed in the right direction... together. I have freedom to choose our curriculum (praise the Lord!!), to alter it as I see fit, and formulate a scope & sequence suitable for each one of my children so they can learn at their own pace, in their own way. We schedule field trips and outdoor activities, playgroups, and co-ops. But we are free to be flexible -- changing our plans at a minute's notice because the baby got sick this morning or there's a need in our extended family or attitudes need adjusting so we focus on training good character & instilling good habits instead of doing the day's "book work." It's something I'm even willing to fight for. As William Wallace so memorably said (albeit in a slightly different context ;)), "FREEEEEDOM!!!!!" And I love it.

With this freedom, you can imagine that not every day looks the same for us. As we add more precious babies to our crew through the years, I'm finding that it's much more difficult to hold to a rigid schedule. So we roll with it. Each day flows a little differently, but they are usually fluid nonetheless. With a general plan and some preparation, we can easily move from one thing to the next, embracing the bumps along the way without completely giving in to them and losing focus altogether. No, I am not perfect, nor are my children, nor is our schooling. But every difficult day leads to an easier future, even if it is not the day immediately following. And that's okay. Great comfort is steeped in the words, "...for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:11-13)

Our Schedule

Still, I'd like to share what a typical day looks like in our homeschool (and I use the word "typical" loosely). Walk with me...

7-7:30 a.m. Children are waking, Mom nurses baby
8-8:30 a.m. Breakfast/Bible reading
8:30 a.m. Morning chores
9:30-10 a.m. Begin school day
11:30-1:00 p.m. Lunch/Bible reading/Finish up school work, if necessary
1-2:00 p.m. Free time, Afternoon clean-up
2-4:00 p.m. Naps/Quiet time
4-5:00 p.m. Reading/Free time, Mom nurses baby & begins dinner prep
5:30 p.m. Daddy's home!!!
6:00 p.m. Dinner
8:30 p.m. Bed time/Family devotions

I hesitate to assign specific time frames to our day, but I think I can honestly say this is generally how our days go, with lots of wiggle room. When you're nursing a baby, you're at her beck and call 24/7, so other things have to give way. Thankfully, much of our learning is done through reading, so the other kids can just pile around me on the couch while I nurse and I can read aloud to the group or big sis' can read aloud instead.

Our Subjects

I like to try to begin at least every other day with "Circle Time" -- a time to gather all the children together to pray and work on our Calendar, Morning Board, memory verse, sing a song or two, and discuss our virtue/habit. Then, big sis' will begin working in her Daily Learning Notebook independently while I read some picture books to the younger two. If she finishes before we're done, she just joins us on the couch! Once we're done reading, the little ones go off to play and the first grader and I get some time to work alone together.

As far as subjects go (see Our Curriculum here), I took a cue from The Unlikely Homeschool and we are working in TRIOS this year. Meaning, we break our work up into subjects like this:

1. Core (Language Arts or Math -- requires Mom's assistance)
2. Living literature (Reading, Read-Aloud, History -- reading based)
3. Project (Science, Handwriting/Copywork, Handicraft -- hands-on or independent)
BREAK (short, 5-min), Repeat with another TRIO

So far, I'm loving this method as it allows naturally for brain breaks and the work doesn't seem to pile up and overwhelm any of us.

Now, things will be changing up a bit next week as we start integrating more preschool work into the day. I have a stack of ocean books we'll be reading, & we'll begin a little math and pre-reading practice with workbooks and games! I'm a bit nervous for this transition and am praying things go smoothly & that my toddler doesn't begin to feel left out... She is welcome to join us for anything, but it doesn't take much for her to become hard-up for some Mommy time! Hopefully, I can figure out the best way to help her stay involved and close by without boring her, stifling her own creativity & sense of adventure. It will just take more practiced planning on my part, I think!

There you have it! A quick look at these precious days at home. I hope you've enjoyed this journey into our homeschool life. Don't forget to pop by the iHomeschool Network's "Not" Back-to-School Blog Hop to check out what other families are doing this year! It's been a pleasure to be a part of the adventure.

Come back next week when I hope to share more about our workboxes and delve into more of the nitty-gritty of how we do school! And, get this... there might be a YouTube video or two!!

Thanks for joining us this month! Now I'd like to hear how YOU do things. Share in the comments below!

First Day of School, 2014-2015

2014-08-25T05:30:00.000-05:00

We've been back to school now for two whole weeks. I wasn't even 100% ready for the school year to begin, and we've already put in 2 weeks?! Yikes! Time flies.

Like many families, we like to commemorate our first day with a fun photo. And, though bad hair days and pajamas are frequent and even welcome parts of homeschooling, we do try to "class" it up for that first day. (My kids still pick out their own clothes & dress themselves, so matching, trendy outfits are definitely not guaranteed but at least they're not on backwards *today*. And maybe, just maybe my daughter combed her hair... Ok, I'm not that classy peeps! Still keepin' it real.)

At any rate, we pull ourselves together for the day, then Mommy frantically positions the children in various loci around the front yard, trying desperately (and rather unsuccessfully) to avoid the glaring sun and subsequent shadows and sweeten any souring attitudes (and faces... gotta have gorgeous smiles for that "special day!") The results of this race? See for yourself.

My new 1st grader was beaming all morning. Praise the Lord for one who is excited about school!

This guy is starting pre-school this year. (Curious what that means for us? Check out our curriculum this year.) He seems pretty happy about it. :)

Here are the sibs together! Jenna was insistent on getting one with her brother and specifically directed him where to stand, how to smile, etc. Our little bossy-boss. But I'm glad she did.

And, of course, little sis had to get in on the action. She's not in school yet, but as I was scooting everyone inside, she struck a pose and said, "CHEEEEESE!" I couldn't pass that up, now could I? Sadly, her pose lasted only as long as her "cheese," so I missed it. Ah well.

Now our days aren't quite so "put together" as that first day (if you can call that put together), but they are getting more and more enjoyable! Boy, do I love this homeschool thing.

Cheers to a rockin' school year! Whether you're just now starting, have been at it for weeks, or are still kicking up your summer heels. Whether you school at home, co-op, on the go, public, or private. Whether you send them on the bus, carpool, or do all the shuffling yourself. Here's to bright mornings and smiling faces (and even those gloomy days and not-so-smiling faces). Have a great year!

This post is part of week 3 of 4 weeks on iHomeschool Network's "Not" Back-to-School Blog Hop. Don't forget to check out Our Curriculum (week 1) and the Homeschool Room Tour (week 2) too!

Tour Our Homeschool Room! 2014-2015

2014-08-13T14:14:00.001-05:00

We did it! We officially have our first two days of school under our belt. The first day was pretty much a breeze... Daddy was home and it was Homeschool Day at the Iowa State Fair, so FIELD TRIP!!! We had such a great time seeing all the animals and learning about agriculture in our great state. They've done a fantastic job of making exhibits hands-on so there are literally new and different learning opportunities around every corner. Such fun! Our second day was more low-key and "ordinary" as we schooled at home. We tested out a lot of our new curriculum, and I (still) think it's going to be a great year.

The last couple weeks have been a flurry of paper, books, and pencils as I have organized and re-organized our homeschool materials... maybe twenty times. I think I've got everything just about how I want it, so now I can finally get around to sharing our homeschool space with you!

Come on in, please take your shoes off at the door...

Our back door opens up into our dining room, which extends into our homeschool room. Here's what you see as you walk in:

Not a huge space, but it is SO nice to have! I love that it is connected to our dining area (because we used the dining table a LOT last year), and it's literally 5 steps away from the kitchen and living room. (We don't have a large house by many people's standards, and I like it that way! Less to clean = happy mommy.)

I'll take you around the room clockwise, because I'm American and that's how we do things. :)
The first thing you'll see is our chalkboard cabinets and puzzle/game storage. The cabinets we purchased years ago and are just white kitchen cabinets from IKEA (which, if you don't already know, is my favorite place in the world... I could live there, and practically do, as you can tell by my home furnishings!) I painted the door fronts with chalkboard paint & have always loved using them. Now that we're homeschooling, they have a specialized purpose! Below the cabinets is our old TV storage unit (BESTA from IKEA, I believe... See? You're noticing the trend already.) The tube TV we have bowed the top shelf, but it works great for our puzzles and games. It also houses a basket for library books. Above the cabinets I keep my own notebooks & lesson planner, magazine files that store magazines for art collages, homeschool catalogs, and various curriculum and workbooks that we don't use regularly (i.e. past NaturExplorer units & kids' cookbooks).

Inside the cabinets...
On the bottom shelf (L): my daughter's personal notebooks, a 3-hole punch, our cans of pencils, scissors, and dry-erase markers, boxes of markers and crayons, do-a-dot style markers. Middle shelf (L): dry-erase boards and games, a box of basic co-op supplies. Top shelf (L): my kids' VTech games and handhelds, VTech laptop, and Hot Dots cards & pens.
On the bottom shelf (R): library books for assigned reading or read-alouds pertaining to topics we're currently studying, books on DVD set (these are GREAT!!), a letter tray with construction paper and workbooks. Middle shelf (R): box of flashcards, Spanish sticker set, reading & spelling games. Top shelf: math games and manipulatives, jars of magnetic letters.

Next to the cabinets is kind of my "hub" for now. It has a metal rolling cart where I store manipulatives, calendar time supplies, workbox supplies, pocket chart items, our collection of rocks, and a basket of prizes. There is a drop-leaf table from IKEA which I adore (NEW this year for us!) that will eventually serve as our homeschool table so that I am not having to constantly clear off our dining table, but right now it houses our computer and printer since our office is without internet access. (Great planning on our part, huh?) Behind that is our Circle Time board, and to the right is our calendar and workboxes.

Yes, I sit on an exercise ball instead of a chair. I put it out to use while pregnant, but have left it there because I've come to prefer it! And the kids like to play with it, too. :)

Close up of my rolling supply cart.

Below our Circle Time board is a large pocket chart that I hope to use some day... Right now it is pretty much blocked off because of the computer/printer set-up. Ah, well.

Our workboxes! More on these later.

Keep roaming about the room and you'll see two small desks under the window. We were gifted these by my best friend. Her grandfather built them years ago for her two children, but they've long outgrown them (her oldest is in our youth group now!) We're so happy to give them a home and know they will get used well. Our kids love them!

In the corner of our room is the only bookcase in our space. *GASP!* How can a homeschooler only have ONE bookcase?! Well, naturally, like most other homeschoolers we do not stay stationary in our learning. We're all over the house, outside in nature, in the van, etc. So are our books! Well, they're not outside, but you'll find books in every single room of our house... and probably the van. These are just mostly curriculum-related books and such, my laminator & laminating sheets, large construction paper, plus our CD player & some CD's. The bottom two shelves are more toddler-friendly and are home to a small assortment of picture books, some coloring books and crayons, magnetic & large dry-erase boards, and a box of busy bags.
Next to that is a hamper full of games (more adult-friendly). A craft paper roll, fine-motor monkey, and play-doh station sit atop the hamper.

Not seen in this picture, but possibly worth mentioning are the large curtained windows along this side of the room. Our brute of a black lab broke through not one, but TWO of these windows since we moved in 2 1/2 years ago. We have replaced some of the glass, but they were still leaking air badly. As new windows are not in our budget, we have redneck-fixed them with insulation and wood plinth. It's not beautiful, but it's doing an efficient job for now. The plan is to buy a large piece of hardboard (or shower board) to place over it. Then we will have a massive white board to use as well!
Below the "mended" windows, is a comfy chair for reading or relaxing and these two IKEA LACK side tables. We've had them for ages too, and they keep getting shuffled around the house. This is where they've landed for now and just serve as extra table space. Underneath are two wooden boxes with toys for toddler (& big kid) play.

We've made it full circle around the room now! Just above as you look into our dining room, you'll see this curtain wire from IKEA. It's where we proudly display things we've been working on. Right now, there are still art and co-op projects from last year up there. We look forward to filling it up with this year's work!

There are a few other storage solutions I'd like to share with you, but I am thinking of doing a video update as I am able to change a few things through the year so I will just include those then! Tune in regularly so you don't miss it!

Thanks for checking out our space! I hope it was useful or at least fun for you. :) To sneak a peek into other homeschoolers' homes for inspiration or encouragement, go on over to the "Not" Back-to-School Blog Hop at iHomeschool Network!

How about you? Do you have a homeschool room or do you prefer to spread out all over? What are some of your favorite tools and spaces for learning? Please share in the comments below!

Futurecast: A Reflection in Mommydom

2014-08-12T16:51:00.000-05:00

I don't know about the rest of you, but here in central Iowa, we have been enjoying unseasonably mild weather. And I'm loving it! Today was no exception, and as I stepped out onto my back porch this afternoon I was happily greeted by a cheery blue sky, delightfully warm sunshine, and a cooling blessed breeze. Since my mother-in-law had already swept my three oldest children away for play and "quiet" time at her house, it was just me and the babe, who was getting restless for her afternoon nap. So we embraced the beautiful day and went for a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood. As we walked, I talked with her about the sights around us and calmed her with sweet sentiments from my mommy heart to her tiny ears. (And I'm sure all you mommies out there know that when I say I talked with her, I really mean I talked at her, though it truly felt as though we were holding a genuine conversation.) In my musings, I mentioned to her how I love these precious days of infancy when she is so perfectly innocent, and I treasure watching her grow and discover and achieve milestone after milestone as her mind and body develop... But I am just SO excited for her to be two like her big sister, when she will become more independent and not so tied to this eat/sleep routine. When we can, as a family, envelop ourselves even more in glorious days like this one -- soaking in the golden rays of sunlight until they fade under a rainbow horizon, together digging our hands into the rich, fertile soil of our garden to work the ground and keep up with the weeds (now overgrown in our present-day garden plots) & harvest the great, nutritious fruits of our labor, climbing fences & trees, hiking forest trails, and picking prairie wildflowers. My soul longs to commune with the creation around me and I desire my children to all know the same longing and seek to satisfy it daily. I was explaining all this as she sweetly listened, never interrupting. "Doesn't that sound lovely?" I said. "And then your sissy will be eight, so she will be such a big help. And your brother will be six, so I'm sure he will be much more helpful as well..." My voice trailed off. Suddenly the realization of my aging little ones started to sting. My bright & shiny forecast for our family's future became overcast and dim.

Have you ever gauged your life by your youngest child? You know what I mean... "When my youngest is finally weaned, my husband and I can start having date nights," or "When my youngest is finally in school, I will finally be able to spend time excercising regularly and get fit." Or in my case in this instance, "When my youngest is two, I will be able to spend more time outdoors and keep up with my garden." It's an easy thing to do, especially when you are in the midst of a season of little ones. I know that I go through this very thought process every time I have a new baby. They just take so much out of you! And when you're having them Every Other Year, it can feel endless. Oh, the things you can do without a tiny baby in tow who is dependent on you for every basic need! But the problem with making plans for when your youngest gets older is that... your older children are also getting older!

When I caught myself daydreaming about the glorious future we will have, the numbers eight, six, and four dropped like an anchor to the bottom of my stomach. Immediately I began backpedaling in my conversation (or soliloquy, as it were). "But you can take your time getting there, my Little Bean. Two does not need to hurry. Let's enjoy this quiet walk on this glorious day, and well get to two when two gets here." Because I'm not ready to give up 1, 3, 5, and 7. Not yet. Not even for more sunshiny days, afternoon walks, or the largest green garden in the world. Not ever.

Our Homeschool Curriculum, 2014-2015

2014-08-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

Photo courtesy of Microsoft Images

Summer's end is rapidly approaching and the new school year is right on its heels. Has it caught you unprepared?

We bade farewell to kindergarten in the spring, which means... First Grade! Perhaps it is the old state laws that required homeschool families to report their students' work and progress at this particular milestone that lit the fire of urgency in my mind, but for some reason "first grade" meant "business" to me. So I really began my planning for this year before we even ended the last school year. And as silly or unfounded as my first grade apprehensions might have been, it was beneficial because it got me thinking and set the ball rolling before our new baby arrived at the beginning of the summer. (Before I continue, can I just throw my hands up & get a "Halleluyer!" for our new state homeschool laws!! NO REPORTING NECESSARY! Praise the Lawd.) So I searched the public library, read books, scoured online blogs and reviews, and asked questions of other homeschooling friends regarding their favorite curriculum and homeschool materials. I was able to take advantage of our homeschool support group's buy/sell/trade used curriculum event and attend our state homeschool convention, which included both a used curriculum sale AND a fairly packed vendor hall FULL of amazing resources and homeschool wisdom. As June (and Baby's due date) closed in, I could almost say that my purchasing for the next school year was complete! Phew.

Enter: Summer. Now I can kick my feet up and relax poolside with an icy, refreshing tea and a great book while my well-sunscreened children splash playfully and... Oh, who am I kidding. I am the mother of four young children! This kind of scenario never. happens. Instead, I find myself in the never-ending balancing act that is motherhood (precious bliss as it is!) -- changing diapers, potty training, cleaning up spills, washing sheets after the *ahem* third accident of the day, wiping faces, fixing meals, and nursing an infant, oh, pretty much constantly. But I digress. :) Truly, this summer has been wonderful and I do enjoy all the habits of mothering (most of the time). But there is definitely no time for idleness! I have found myself multitasking as much as possible to continue laying out the plans for our 2014-15 school year. More blog browsing, Pinterest pinning, review reading, catalog combing, and ledger logging. It sometimes seems never-ending! However, I think I have finally nailed down what curriculum we will be using. Let's here it for this mama! *hooray!*

Not only will we be doing first grade with my oldest daughter, but we will also be doing some preschool work with my son who is now 4-years old. He is a boy (obviously), and at four he has boundless energy. As of yet, he has really shown no interest in school, though he LOVES books like his sister does and is especially enamored with all things bat, whale, squid, and/or invariably every deep sea creature ever discovered. Wait. I said he has no interest in school... So why are we doing preschool? Well, I use the term veeeery loosely, but what I really mean is intentional, focused reading in the areas that interest him (something we always do anyway, but now we'll do more of it), introducing letters & sounds, numbers 1-20, some fine motor practice to prepare him for writing, games, games, games!, and simply allowing him to be a part of what big sis' is doing in her schooling.

Now, down to the nitty gritty. THE CURRICULUM. bum-bum-buuuuum! I'm very excited about what we are going to be using this year! Come take a peek. (This post contains affiliate links.)

First Grade

CORE

Language Arts

Reading: Sonlight, Core A
Phonics: The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading - Picking up where Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons left off, so we're jumping in around Lesson 40.
Handwriting: Bible Writer, 2.0 - We almost finished Bible Writer, 1.0 last year and loved it, so we will be finishing it up & then diving in to 2.0.
Spelling: working on sight words as needed

Math:

Math-U-See, Alpha - Again, we will be finishing this out and, depending on her progress, moving on to Beta later in the year.
Life of Fred: Apples, Elementary Math Book, Math As Serious As It Needs to Be (Life of Fred, Volume 1) - I'm excited to supplement our math learning this year with this book! I've only ever heard GREAT things about it and hope it will help add some "spice" to math & encourage a love for it in my children.

BIBLE

We have family Bible time most evenings before bed when we read from a storybook Bible, sing Psalm 23, and pray as a family. However, I like to begin each day in the Word with my kids as well, because God's Word is SO IMPORTANT, and I want them to immerse themselves in it so that they grow to love it. Mornings are important too, because I want them to form the habit of first beginning each day with the Lord. I want them to have a heart like David, who said, "O God, You are my God. Early will I seek You. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water"(Psalm 63:1). To foster this attitude, I will read aloud a chapter in the Bible (Psalms & Proverbs are our favorites) or we will listen to a chapter using the YouVersion Bible app on my iPad.

HABIT TRAINING

We Choose Virtues - We will be using these handy flashcards to reinforce what we learn with Laying Down the Rails. (See Preschool Curriculum.)

SCIENCE

Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology (Young Explorer Series) - This will be our science "spine." The human body is Jenna's area of interest right now. Go figure! Actually, it makes this mama quite proud as it is a passion of mine! We'll see where it leads...
Anatomy Notebooking Journal (Young Explorer Series) (Young Explorer (Apologia Educational Ministries)) - To solidify concepts learned and help with review and memory.
Alongside our "spine," I have acquired several living books on the topic of the human body that we will be reading as regularly as she desires.
Of course, we cannot forget our Nature Studies! Taking a cue from my friend, Diana over at My Humble Kitchen, we are reserving Fridays as "Exploration Days" and will be incorporating the outdoors in our daily life as much as possible. Living books will be incorporated too.

HISTORY/GEOGRAPHY

Sonlight, Core A - This curriculum uses living literature, maps, and timelines to explore and learn history & geography. We love this approach and are looking forward to adding this bit to our schooling!

Preschool

CORE

Language Arts:

Get Ready for the Code - Book A
READ, READ, READ!!!

Math: As I mentioned before, we are simply focusing on very basic math concepts. To count, recognize, and begin writing numbers 1-20. We'll use various workbooks, manipulatives, and fun games as desired to learn and reinforce ideas we discover & discuss in real life.

HABIT TRAINING

Laying Down the Rails - This may be the highlight of our formative learning for me. Charlotte Mason strongly emphasized the importance of forming good habits in children, and I have observed the same in my own parenting experience, especially in my son. We will focus on ONE habit for six weeks before moving on to the next, going back to reinforce habits as needed. This will be a year-long endeavor, not just a school year subject, which means we should have 8 new habits every year! We

will begin this year with Attentiveness. Have I mentioned how pumped I am about this? Woo!

SCIENCE

Living books about the ocean and ocean life.
The Berenstain Bears' Big Book of Science and Nature (Dover Children's Science Books) - For simple experiments and extra fun.

That about sums it up! We will be sprinkling different unit studies & field trips throughout our year as well to keep learning delight-directed and fun. I'll probably share bits of those as they come. Also, we are participating in a homeschool co-op again, which I am very excited about! More on that later too. :)

Happy learning!

Oh, and hop on over to iHomeschool Network's "Not Back-to-School" blog hop to see this post and check out what tons of other homeschoolers are planning this year!

I'd love to hear what your school plans are for the 2014-15 school year. Please leave a comment & share!

The Build Your Bundle Homeschool Edition Sale begins TODAY!

2014-07-21T11:11:00.001-05:00

The homeschool web world has been abuzz for weeks, and now the day of unveiling has arrived... the Build Your Bundle Homeschool Edition Sale starts TODAY!! This sale runs one week only (7/21-7/28), so check out the deals and nab yours today! We are big on Charlotte Mason education in our home so I am highlighting that one here, but check out ALL the bundles to find one that's right for you and your homeschool (links below). You can't beat these prices!

The "Build Your Bundle" - Homeschool Edition sale is going on for one week only (July 21-28)! There are so many wonderful products and amazing deals! We are highlighting the Charlotte Mason Bundle below.

Take a look at the Charlotte Mason Bundle:

~~$377.35~~ ONLY $49.00 Save: 87% Amazing things await you in our Charlotte Mason Bundle! This bundle features a complete curriculum using the Charlotte Mason Methods for language arts, handwriting, and reading, a full geography curriculum, a plethora of resources for studying nature, artists, poetry, and a variety of "extras" just for mom! Learn all about Charlotte Mason and enjoy a special bonus (a $90 value all by itself)—the top 5 best selling G.A. Henty audio books from Jim Hodges Productions. This bundle is jam packed full of amazing resources your family will love!

Buy more & save more! Purchase 2 pre-assembled bundles and get the 3rd one 50% off! See site for details.

Checkout the items in the Charlotte Mason Bundle:

	Write from History - Retail $22.95 With modern writing programs, children's weaknesses often overshadow their strengths, but with the Charlotte Mason Method of teaching your children to write all those frustrations will fly out the window. The Write from History series teaches children to write via the Charlotte Mason Method, children find writing to be easy and even fun. And when they are asked to put the various writing skills together, they do so easily and naturally. Write from History is an easy and effective way to teach writing, supplement history, and reinforce proper handwriting. Click here to learn more!
	Sheldon's NEW Primary Language Lessons - Retail $14.95 Sheldon's New Primary Language Lessons is a beginning grammar workbook for students learning the 8 parts of speech and the fundamentals of sentence and paragraph writing. This language arts curriculum is a gentle introduction to grammar and composition for students in the elementary grades. Writing exercises are in cursive and print. Click here to learn more!
	50 States and Where to Find Them - Retail $30.00 50 States and Where to Find Them teaches children the states and capitals region by region through mapping exercises and quality literature. Children fill out a map of the region as they learn about each state. State lessons include historical information about the state and coloring pages of the state flower, state bird, and state flag. Each region wraps up with a crossword puzzle, a word search, and a bonus lesson pertaining to the region. Click here to learn more!
	The Charlotte Mason Way Explained - Retail $6.99 The Charlotte Mason Way Explained ebook consist of 30 chapters, 53 pages written by a veteran home educating mother of four, who has used the Charlotte Mason way to teach her children from preschool through high school. Practical insights of how to simply implement each of Charlotte Mason methods into today's homeschool, a reader will gain inspiration, clarity and focus on their own homeschooling journey. Click here to learn more!
Recommended for you and found at this price only at the Build Your Bundle - Homeschool Edition Sale in the Premium Products Section: *Not included in the Charlotte Mason Bundle, available for purchase individually at 60% off.
	Handwriting - Webster's Syllabary with Phonics - Retail $15.00 This first book in the Handwriting Lessons Through Literature program teaches cursive handwriting through Webster's syllabary and seventy-five phonograms. Students also learn capital letters and numbers 1-100. Included in this file are both a vertical and a slant cursive workbook, each with its own unique set of writing instructions. Click here to learn more!
	Fine Art Pages Collection 1 - Retail $14.95 This fabulous artist study program that will aid you in studying famous paintings plus information about each work and the artist.In addition to the art pages, you will also receive some practical tips and suggestions about how to utilize the Fine Art Pages and get the most out of them for both you and your students. Click here to learn more!
	Reading Lessons through Literature - Retail $25.00 Reading Lessons through Literature is a pick-up and go Orton phonogram reading program organized around the stories in The Elson Readers. Like other Orton phonogram programs, it focuses on teaching reading through spelling. First children learn the basic phonograms. Then they begin writing their spelling words, analyzing them, and reading them for practice. And finally, they begin to read stories which include the words they've learned. RLTL teaches 75 basic phonograms. Click here to learn more!
	Level 3 Old Testament Overview Part 1 - Retail $28.00 On this trail Bible students will learn about the Creation, the Promises God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and much more. Along the path they will also learn basic Bible geography through mapping exercises. Students will draw the timeline, identify biblical locations on a map, and recite memory verses and important facts from the Bible. Students who take this trail will be able to identify the people and places of the Bible! Click here to learn more!
	Jim Hodges Audio Books - Retail $90.00 Download the top 5 G.A. Henty Audio Books of all time! These exciting, historically accurate, uplifting stories in complete, unabridged recordings by Jim Hodges Productions will have your children begging for more! The titles include: With Lee in Virginia, In Freedom's Cause, Beric the Briton, For the Temple, and Winning His Spurs. Click here to learn more!
	Notebooking Pages: Trees & Plants - Retail $11.90 The Plants & Trees Basic Study contains 49 notebooking pages includes diagrams and pages designed to complement your child's basic study of plants and trees. Also included is Trees of North America, 344+ notebooking pages covers 43 of North America's trees. Wonderful coloring pages, choice of primary or regular lines, and a variety of layouts are included for each tree in this set. Click here to learn more!

	Notebooking Pages: Complete Birds Set - Retail $23.80 This is the entire collection of nature study birds notebooking sets! You will be amazed at all of the pages you will get in this bundle! This bundled purchase includes: All About Birds Basic Study Notebooking Pages, Birds of the World Notebooking Pages, North American Birds Notebooking Pages, and Tropical Birds Notebooking Pages. Click here to learn more!
	Notebooking Pages: Wildflowers, Weeds, and Garden Flowers - Retail $12.95 This set was created to compliment a nature study of flowers using the Handbook of Nature Study, by Anna Botsford Comstock. There are 8 designed notebooking pages for each Wildflower, Weed, & Garden Flower named in this study (over 45 plants in all!). Included are both regular-lined and primary-lined so they will work for all ages. Click here to learn more!
	NaturExplorers Fruit & Nuts - Retail $8.95 This unit will not only have you observing and examining fruits and nuts, you will learn to observe insect and animal behavior, watch for the effects of disease or weather on plants and be challenged to create meals, make models, create history reports and so much more! Also included is a slight focus on the Fruits of the Spirit in the Bible section with additional book, music and activity ideas to follow through with Biblical character training. This is a well-rounded unit chock-full of lessons to fit every academic area! Click here to learn more!
	Words With Wings - Retail $39 Introducing Words With Wings, an exciting new poetry curriculum and contest for kids. Each monthly lesson includes the simple explanation of a fun poetry form and poetic devices, a writing prompt, examples from the Words With Wings poets, easy 'how-to' tips, and samples from famous poets. Bible verses are woven through each lesson in a relevant way that inspires a love of language, as well an understanding of the language of His love. Click here to learn more!
	Discipleship: A Character Curriculum Using Scriptures - Retail $14.95 Discipleship: A Character Curriculum Using Scripture is a one, two or three year curriculum geared toward children who are learning to write and all the way to a high school curriculum. Each year curriculum has assignments for a 5 day week, however if you desire to take longer with this curriculum, just turn it into whatever year curriculum works for your own family! Click here to learn more!
	Because I Said So - a Biblical Study of Obedience - Retail $4.99 This is a brand new 26 page Bible study that teaches HOW and WHY we should obey through scripture and study of biblical people who struggled with the issue of obedience. Also included is a bonus hymn study on the beloved hymn, Trust and Obey. The study is perfect for family devotions, quiet time or homeschool Bible class! Click here to learn more!
	When I Survey - a Hymnological Journey to the Cross - Retail $4.99 When I Survey is a 12-day hymnological journey to the cross. Students and families will dig into the Bible and then support their learning with the study of a hymn. This study will empower you to set truth deep into the hearts of your children in a simple and easy way! Click here to learn more!
	Breakfast Stations Pack - Retail $2.99 This pack is just what every busy mom needs. You'll find 60+ days of breakfasts that your kids can make themselves in less than 3 minutes. They are healthy, fast, easy, and best of all...FRUGAL! Click here to learn more!
	How to Build a Strong Christian Home - Retail $4.99 Most of us love our families very much but we struggle in so many different ways, and sometimes we just need a little help and guidance to become the family we know the Lord wants us to become. Our families are a blessing and worth the patience, love, and time to invest in building a strong Christian home for God's glory and we can do this one step at a time. Click here to learn more!

BUY MORE & SAVE MORE!

*Lots of ways to save!

When you purchase ANY 2 pre-assembled bundles you will get the 3rd pre-assembled bundle of equal or lesser value for 50% off!
When you purchase ANY 2 "build your own" bundles you will get the 3rd "build your own" bundle of equal or lesser value for 50% off!
Tell your friends about the "Build Your Bundle" - Homeschool Edition Sale using our referral system that is found on the top of the website! When 10 of your referrals visit our site using your unique link, we will give you a code to save 10% off your total purchase!

*The B2G1 50% off offer applies to pre-assembled or "Build Your Own" Bundles only. Discount taken off the lowes priced bundle. See site for complete details and FAQ.

Prefer to pick and choose what you want?

He Keeps My Eyes Above the Waves

2014-07-08T09:47:00.002-05:00

Rough morning for this one, but when tempers relax and tantrums release these are the sweetest moments. I think this is precisely what we look like when we finally stop fighting and surrender to the Lord's will.

It's a new kind of busy around here as we adjust to having another tiny one in our home. Mornings are lazy, errands are few, and there are many many hours spent playing indoors (kids -- since it's been pretty rainy in Iowa the last several weeks!) and sitting on the couch snuggling & nursing the littlest (mom). It's in this quiet busyness that I am able to reflect on God's goodness and offer my constant gratitude for the helping hands of our wonderful family! (Have I ever mentioned how great it is to have our families living so close to us? Seriously. I have no idea how people do life with little ones without help! God bless you if you do it. 1000x more if you do it well.)

However, in the last few weeks before our precious baby girl arrived, tensions were mounting in even the smallest persons in our household. I think everyone could sense things were about to change... Restlessness ensued, patience wore thin, tempers flared. But God is good. In the midst of tumult, He speaks peace. Calms stirring emotions. Quiets restless hearts. And it is when we look to Him, eyes longing; strain our ears to hear His still, small voice. Then we see Him -- His piercing fixed gaze carefully watching. We hear Him -- His whispers wash over us bringing the deepest peace we'll ever know.

Mark 4:35-41 tells of this same phenomenon in the lives of the twelve disciples. It is a familiar story to most of us, but read it again today as though you've never before seen the words. Let the Holy Spirit breathe fresh life into it.
On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side.' Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"

Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

Be encouraged today that in whatever storm you are facing, you are not alone (Deuteronomy 31:6). Though is seems God is not watching, He is (Psalm 121:5). His clear vision for you cannot be clouded (Jeremiah 29:10-14). His loving words of wisdom can cut through any clamoring noise (Hebrews 4:12). His presence brings peace where there is longing (Philippians 4:6-7).

"My soul will rest in Your embrace." -Oceans, Hillsong United

Glosser Chronicles: May Review

2014-06-06T15:55:00.000-05:00

Ah, May. You came. You went. Is it just me or is time moving faster than ever before? Have there been any scientific studies on earth's rotation around the sun lately? Someone out there must be logging our trek. Perhaps light is moving at a faster rate now, causing the lines of reality as we know it to blur? Surely something, somewhere has changed in the universe to cause this speeding of moments, days, months... Or maybe it's my age. (I am rapidly approaching 30, you know.) But I digress.

Seriously, May was fast but wonderful. It marked the beginning of spring (even though it technically began in April) and end of our homeschool year. (Finally!! Can I get an "amen", homeschool mamas and teachers everywhere?!)
Spring has officially made its home in Iowa and we experienced the return of frigid, sudden Iowa temperature drops, the ever increasing Iowa heat and humidity, as well as the marvelously refreshing rain & spring storms... Yes, sometimes even in a single 24-hour period. But there are seasons! 4 of them. And for that I will never complain. The transition months of spring and autumn are my favorites, and I'm so thankful we get to witness them firsthand.
Along with the warmer temps comes gardening season. I mentally battled for months with what to do in our own home garden this year. Usually I love it and look forward to planting a variety of nutritious, tasty herbs, fruits, and veggies in our front & back yards; however, last year's fight with pests & pitiful harvest left me a little discouraged, our beds need some intense refreshment and care, and, well, there's this baby due any day now... What to do? What to do? I decided early on to not start anything from seed this year to help ease the burden, and then my dad offered me the seedlings he wasn't going to use so I just went with that. Thanks to him, we now have several varieties of tomatoes and peppers in the ground as well as our previously planted strawberries & blueberries (which hopefully will give us a good showing of produce this year!) I let my herb garden self-seed last summer and it's growing beautifully. In fact, I think I prefer that specific spot in our yard more than any other. It's just gorgeous & so low maintenance! I wish I could set up a chair and little table in there to claim as "mine" to retreat to for tea, a book, and relaxation. Ahh, but I must settle with the mere ideal for now, I suppose.
Most of my kids love being outside, and I enjoy it very much as well as long as my swelling, pregnant ankles can tolerate it. So we are spending as much time outdoors as possible, soaking up the springtime sun and cooler mornings before sweltering summer heat invades.We've dusted off the grill & fired it up for the first of many grill-outs and hang-outs this year. And I am starting (and finishing) a few outdoor projects that need to get done before Baby's arrival!
Our last day of homeschool wrapped up on May 30th, after which I pulled out all of my kindergartener's completed work for the year, sorted it, and ~~gushed over~~ reviewed it. We pulled out the lapbooks we put together and looked them over, reviewing what we learned through the process. It was about that time that Bubbaloo checked out and left me to read some books... I just sat there for a minute thinking of all the hard work we both put in this year and where it has brought us, and all I can say is, "I am so so proud of my 5 year-old!" It's been fun seeing her bud & blossom this year in school. She has learned SO much and has taught me SO much! I'm already fired up for next school year and just planning away, but let's not get too carried away! (No, I never do that.) First thing's first: a nice, relaxing summer with the family. But before I say, "Ready, set, go!" please enjoy some of May's highlights with me.

We like to begin each month with story time at our local library. Then we spend 30-60 minutes picking out our books for the month. The kids look forward to it every time!

We discovered some brand new baby robins in a bush right outside our church! One of the kids found them when they were just eggs about to hatch, and we checked up on them every week to see how they were growing. What a neat thing! God's creation never ceases to amaze me.

We joined the Walking Club at the neighborhood zoo (literally in our neighborhood... we only live about 5 blocks away!) We try to make it once every other week. It's fun to get a peak at the animals before the zoo opens, see the workers getting things ready for the day, and get some fresh air and exercise. We're just not great morning people. :)

I am so proud of my little reader! She finished the school year strong and is loving reading on her own. Even though I've never pushed her in reading, she gladly challenges herself with chapter books on a regular basis.

As if it weren't enough to be called "Mommy" by these 3 precious little ones, they (along with their wonderful Daddy, of course) spoiled me rotten for Mother's Day, taking me to an old favorite restaurant, the Olive Garden, for dinner and sweetening me up with ice cream from Marble Slab for dessert! This mama is completely blessed and extremely happy.

For those who don't know, the majority of our family's birthdays fall in the month of June, making it one HECTIC month! This year, with another baby due *shock* in June, we decided to plan a trip before the ~~accursed~~ busy month to celebrate everyone's birthdays all at once. For Josh's birthday, I wanted to buy him tickets to see his favorite baseball team, the Seattle Mariners, so we checked their schedule, discovered that they play the Minnesota Twins this month, and planned our trip around that. The game we chose happened to fall exactly on Ellie Belly's birthday, so really it couldn't be more perfect, right? We hit up the Mall of America for most of Saturday and did the baseball game on Sunday afternoon before heading back home. This was the kids' first trip to Minnesota and therefore their first visit to the Mega Mall, and they were SO excited! (Can you tell?!)

The mecca for all things Lego: the Lego Store at the Mall of America. Ecstatic is the only word I can think of to describe how the kids reacted to their first visit here. :)

Have you ever seen the Sea Life Aquarium in the Mall of America? It's a little pricey but well worth the experience if you don't have a good aquarium locally. (Plus, there are discounts and coupons available through their website... or you can do what we did & use the coupons that come with kids' meals at the Rainforest Cafe!)
My son is kind of obsessed with ocean animals (especially deep sea creatures) right now so we chose to go mainly for him, but it ended up being a memorable learning experience for all of us! When you live in the Midwest, it can be costly & difficult to visit the ocean with your family. Great aquariums like Sea Life bring a little of the ocean to you! And we'll take it where we can get it. :)

Lastly, you may have caught it already, we went to the Rainforest Cafe for our celebratory birthday dinner. Who can resist charming the little ones with animatronic rainforest animals and live fish, pretend thunderstorms, and the VOOOOLLLCAAAAANNNOOOO!!!

Who says you have to be at home to celebrate with style? We surprised our Ellie Belly on her birthday with a few decorations & presents in our hotel room.

Those are the sticky, syrupy cheeks of a two year-old!

Sunday was game day -- Twins v. Mariners. This was only Josh's second Mariners' game ever AND Felix Hernandez was pitching (If you don't follow baseball don't ask, because I don't either! But it was a big deal.) AND he got to take his kids to something he loves. I don't think we'll be taking them ALL to a pro game again any time soon... let's just say the first half was pretty rough... but we did enjoy ourselves & went home super tired.

A budding baseball fan? Eh, maybe she just likes to clap.

But they're ALL cotton candy fans!

Felix pitching = Felix Day

Ok, just one more birthday shot, I promise. (Yes, technically she got to celebrate THREE times!) But I had to get the classic blowing-out-the-number-candle photo in there, didn't I? Hooray for 2!!!

Last but not least, my darling sister & brother-in-law offered to pay for a date night & watch our kids for an evening so that we could have one last "hoorah" before Baby #4 arrives. I cannot even begin to tell you what a blessing that was! I love my family. :)

Hopefully the next time I post will be with a sweet baby in my arms. Just 5 more days until she's "due"! This mama is ready but I know God's still finishing her up and she won't come until the time is just right. I appreciate your prayers as we wait!

In the meantime, why don't you share how your school year ended? Maybe you have some fun summer events planned? I'd love to hear about them.

Glosser Chronicles: April Review

2014-05-27T21:27:00.003-05:00

April was a flurry of fun events for the Glosser family. We were SO. BUSY. But, as usual, it was all worth it and we had a great time in the midst of it. My husband celebrated his induction into a new decade -- yep, the big 3-0. We had two family weddings to attend -- my brother-in-law and my husband's cousin -- and we had children involved in both! My baby seester had a birthday, we started prenatal classes at the hospital where I'll be delivering, there was a school musical, and, of course (and certainly not the least), Easter. All that on top of the regularly scheduled ~~chaos~~ happenings made for busy & tired; however, they were landmark moments that deserve attention and reflection. I want to share a snapshot with you:

I LOVE our local public library! We try to attend preschool
story time about once a month (sometimes more in the summer),
and the kids & I check out our monthly allotment of books afterward.
Recently, they've made a lot of changes to the children's section
and it's just incredible. I know I'm a little biased, but if you
haven't checked out the South Side Des Moines Public Library
you should!

Buddy Boy likes all things aquatic right now, so he was way
excited to play with the shark & octopus puppets in the puppet theater!

We just learned that our big girl is old enough to have her own
library card! She was super pumped to take it home with her.

We had a blast once again with our monthly Nature Club
at the Brenton Arboretum in Dallas Center. It's quite a drive for us
but it is so informative and fun! It's been well worth it so far. April
had us checking out the pond there. We found insects, larvae, snails,
small fish, and even some tadpoles!

This girl and her shoes... I think she was meant to be a woodland
creature of some sort. She is definitely most happy when she's outdoors.

My brother-in-law's wedding was a wonderful day. I'm so proud of my two little flower girls & my handsome ring-bearer! (My husband did a pretty outstanding job as a groomsman too... and dang, doesn't he look good all spiffed up?) We are so happy we could be a part of such a special day. (photos courtesy of Austin Day @ Photography by Austin Day)

A fun roadside display put up by our Des Moines Public Works Dept.
downtown for Earth Day. This mom was just a little excited about it...
"It's the Lorax!! Everybody out of the van!"

Catching our first baseball game of the season with the I-Cubs.

Just one of the fun Easter activities the kids got to participate in:
Easter egg hunt at Grandma & Grandpa's.

Here's my big girl with her cousin, the ring bearer, at my cousin-in-law's wedding...
Ok, I can't get over how beautiful & grown up my sweet little Bubbaloo is! I mean, come on. Aren't these just adorbs?
This was her second stint as a flower girl this month, and I truly believe she'd do it every month. She has such a great time! (photo courtesy of Meg Blunk @ Capri Photography by Meg)

Spring! The best look of the season is all of the life sprouting
and blossoming. Ahh, just breathe it in.

Obviously, I'm a tad behind in posting... Just getting April's review up when the end of May is right up ahead? Yikes. I hope to get May up soon (like before June), but we'll see what happens. :)

In case you didn't know, I'm currently 9 months pregnant with our fourth child! Our new little ray of sunshine is due to appear sometime around June 11th, but I feel like she (yep, GIRL) might make her debut a little sooner. Hence, I have been all rush, rush, rush to get prepared. For some odd reason I haven't had the drive to get things done this time around. With only two weeks to go, I literally just packed my hospital bag yesterday. (Well, it's mostly packed anyway.) And we don't even have a car seat yet. (Don't worry! It's on its way & should arrive by Friday... at least that's what I keep telling myself.) Maybe it's because this pregnancy has flown by so quickly? I always feel like I have more time... Well, not always. That feeling is definitely gone now!

I'd appreciate your prayers as we finish getting ready for our little one -- there's still so much to do! Pray for a smooth & safe delivery, a peaceful transition from three munchkins to four, and strength & energy for this mama to pull through those difficult first few weeks of adjusting to a newborn's schedule.

DIY Lego Table {with IKEA LACK}

2014-05-12T16:22:00.000-05:00

You may remember back in my March Review that my hubby & I took a trip to Minnesota over spring break. On that trip we stopped at my shopping mecca: IKEA. We were purchasing some smaller organization items and decor for our kids' "new" rooms... and of course a little more than that. I mean, if you only get one trip a year to shop at your favorite store in the world, you have to make the most of it, right? :)
Along with the rest of creation, our kids are really into Legos right now, but they're not allowed to bring them downstairs (because the dog likes to eat all things toy-related). But, in case you've never tried it, it's really difficult to build on carpet! So we had this great idea to create a Lego table like this one here: Lego Meets Lack, but on a smaller scale to suit our space.
They've not been collecting too long, so we don't have massive quantities of little blocks all over the place, nor are there tons of any one color -- just a few kits here and there -- which actually translates into millions of the tiniest bricks and buttons known to man. (Thanks, Lego, for all those ridiculous teensy squares, circular pieces, & flowers to "decorate" with that are now the bane of my existence.) But we don't need a ton of storage space for Legos... yet.

For our intent & purpose, we decided to go with a smaller, inexpensive LACK side table. We have a couple white ones in our home already and have used them as living room end tables, coloring tables, kids' dining when we have guests over, etc., so we new they'd cut the mustard for this project too. We picked birch effect for the kids' space.

LACK side table, birch effect ($9.99)

After our mini-spree at IKEA, we crossed the road to the Mall of America to visit the infamous Lego store. My husband picked out a small bucket of blocks in specific colors (not sure if these were more for him or the kids...) and I grabbed some baseplates for building. The plates are 10"x10" and four plates fit perfectly on the top of the LACK table, so we chose to get three green and one blue. You know, land and water. :)
NOTE: The building plates are $4.99/each pretty much everywhere, so, if you don't have a Lego store near you, you can still order them online. (I love Amazon for all things shopping online.)

(affiliate links)

Then came the long journey home. I may have been a bit on the tired side for that leg of the trip, and things can get kind of weird when I'm tired... at least right before I crash. I guess I'm kind of like a toddler in that sense. Hmm. Maybe that should disturb me. I think it disturbs my husband... but I digress. After a brazen show of car dancing, karaoke, voracious junk-food snacking to refuel, and ~~crash~~ power nap, we were home! Then came my second favorite part: assembly.

Now, I'm not going to lie and say that I got everything put together straight away. I mean, it was late by the time we finally reached our humble abode and there were three children to consider. So the project may or may not have lain like this in our office-in-progress for a few days...

However, as I have previously shared, I eventually get up the gumption to start and/or finish something, and so, naturally, I began by assembling the table.

Then I whipped out my handy-dandy glue gun & simply hot-glued the four baseplates on like so:

And voila! A completely finished DIY Lego Table all in about one hour, and it only cost about $30.

The kids have LOVED it! It currently resides in my son's room and all three children use it almost every day.

**In full disclosure, I should mention that the hot glue did not hold up more than a month. I'm not sure if the glue was just not hot enough to make a good bond, if it was the surfaces being adhered, or what, but with so much regular use the building plates came off the table top. Thankfully, there is no damage to the table or the baseplates, so I think it can be easily remedied. Maybe I'll try craft spray adhesive (definitely more messy & permanent) or just use 3M mounting putty (less work and temporary/movable). In the meantime, my kids aren't complaining. They just keep building as if nothing is wrong!**

We keep the Legos in one of the larger plastic storage tubs (Brick Box) that we bought the girls' for Christmas. I have all the kit manuals in the smaller Brick Box we got for our son. Both boxes tuck neatly under the table with plenty of room to spare.

I hope you get to try out something similar for your household's Lego play and storage! Let me know what you come up with... there are TONS of great ideas online! Just Google "Lego table" and be amazed at the plethora of DIY options that come up.

Happy building!

Glosser Chronicles: March Review

2014-04-07T18:02:00.000-05:00

March proved to be a very busy month for us. We took a week-long spring break from homeschool and intended to use the time to get our four bedrooms switched around, repainted, and organized in preparation for Baby #4's arrival, but as usual, "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps" (Proverbs 16:9).

In fact, the weekend before our official break we received word that Josh's Grandpa Bill was not doing at all well. He's had many physical & mental struggles over the last several years & has miraculously bounced back each time without too much lasting impairment, but this time was different... more serious, more urgent. They didn't know if he'd make it through the night. Josh was able to go down to Ottumwa with his mom & siblings to see him that same afternoon, and when he returned he confirmed that the outlook seemed to be rather grim. The next morning Grandpa Bill went to be with his Savior & King. That was a hard day. Not how we imagined we'd begin our ambitious plans for the week. It was painful. The next three days were filled with conversations with family members, traveling for the visitation & funeral... and little work at home. Truly, it was a blessing in disguise that we planned for the week to be our spring break from school because Josh already had the majority of the week off work which enabled him to be there for all those important moments in his grandfather's passing. We are thankful for that. The postponed work was just that -- postponed. It was far more pressing for us to be able to be present with the family in grief, to minister as the Lord led, and participate in the sad loss of a dearly loved family member. And though it is a difficult circumstance to endure, we can rejoice in the knowledge that dear, sweet, joyful Grandpa Bill is experiencing the absolute definitions of joy & happiness as he worships at the feet of the Creator of the Universe. He is fully whole. Mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually whole. He is doing what he was created to do. And I guarantee he is loving every. single. minute. Oh, how we long to join alongside him & offer our own praises to the Almighty God!

The rest of the week was a blur as we attempted to cram as much house work in as possible. Our kids were troopers! Surely, they felt brief twinges of neglect as Mommy & Daddy painted room after room after room. Two weeks later, our house is still out of sorts! Although the majority of the work is complete, we have been making slow progress almost every day as new things find their homes & well-loved things are repurposed or rearranged. We're getting there!

Of course, spring break was not the ONLY thing that happened this month, so...

National Pancake Day at IHOP is March 4th.
Naturally, we had to celebrate!

Chocolate milk is a rare luxury for this chick.
And she loves it.

Sort of a last minute field trip...
to the Science Center of Iowa!

Josiah shooting off his paper rocket.

Future crane operator?

Fun wall with air tubes, mazes, and plastic balls.

Which tennis ball will finish first?

Our local TV station has a weather center in the Science
Center where they shoot live at noon on the weekdays. It's
always fun to see yourself on TV!

We are early morning pirates sailing the river for crocodiles.

Hope to do a post on the outcome of this little project soon!

"I ready," she says... in the front seat.

Night time froyo is always a welcome treat...

Especially when it's to celebrate Starshine's
completion of her reading curriculum.
She's a super reader!

Chocolate is all that matters to this dude.

My big girl surprised me one morning by getting everyone's
breakfast ready for us! Oatmeal with Craisins & cinnamon/sugar.

Sometimes we stay in our pajamas until noon. That's how we roll.
And yep, the belly is getting bigger. No feet!

Spring has sprung! Well, kind of. But in Iowa we take every
advantage of the nice days while we can.

Bare feet in the sand. Always.

The older two & I attended a performance from the
Applause Series at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines,
"We're Going on a Bear Hunt." Such fun!

Starling Migration means SPRING!! Watch and listen with us HERE.

Glosser Chronicles: February Review

2014-03-11T16:49:00.001-05:00

A goal I have with this blog is to use it as a connection to friends and family we don't get to see very often -- so they can get a glimpse of what our day-to-day looks like and keep up with what we've been up to. (Because, let's face it, my scattered brain is never able to conjure a good reply to the famous question, "What's new with you?") So maybe you're reading this & you're neither friend nor family, or maybe you see us all the time. Feel free to ignore all of these monthly review postings, but I hope that you won't. Perhaps it will help you gain insight to who we are, what we do, and why we do it! Here's hoping...

Home Life

The beginning of the month greeted us in the cruelest of ways... with illness. A virus led our Little Bug to an ear infection and to the brink of pneumonia. Thankfully, with lots of prayer and helpful home remedies, she recovered from all of it in just over a week.

Little Bug is back to her happy, rambunctious self. Praise the Lord!

We had a family movie night with Despicable Me 2, and this is what we get... purple minions.

My Starshine and my husband, the love of my life. So glad we got to celebrate Valentine's Day together! (I think the flash caught them both off guard a bit. haha)

A night of worship with Rend Collective Experiment.

I can't imagine a better way to spend Valentine's Day.

Homeschool

Working on sorting animals native to Iowa by habitat (land, air, water).

Taking advantage of our freak Iowa winter weather (dubbed a "thundersnow storm"). We collected sleet from outside and experimented by adding salt and/or water to see which cup of ice would melt faster.

Aaaaand, some of us just ate the ice.

Cheeseballs

We made a very cool DIY geoboard to use along with our math study of shapes. I'll probably do a post about this soon! Thanks, Pinterest!

Driven Distraction

2014-02-20T15:49:00.002-06:00

This post was written a few weeks ago, but I didn't get around to publishing it until now. A testament of its content for sure...

In a culture where distractions lurk around every corner, desktop, handbag, and back pocket, I find myself searching for sanctuary.

Maybe I'm doomed. You see, I am a naturally distracted person. I find it difficult to focus on any given task or idea for a long period of time or to focus on more than one thing at a time. I'm that type-A person who needs lists, schedules, and alarms because if that structure isn't there it doesn't happen!

You could say I'm a very organized procrastinator. I require order in my environment to function well, but, since I'm also given to distraction, if I am not motivated enough to stay on my mission I will put it off. Add it to tomorrow's list. Reschedule it. Then before you know it, my to-do list is 12 pages long, and I eventually implode or explode (thankfully not physically, because that would be one monster mess to add to my list!) because of the sheer magnitude of all that needs to be done.

Some people call it "mommy brain," some might call it ADD, I'll call it driven distraction. Why driven? Well, sometimes an idea or task presses SO heavy on my mind or to-do list that I am power-driven like a V8 engine to carry it out & accomplish it. For instance, today I was baking bread (not one of my favorite past times, but one I try to do on a regular basis for my family none-the-less) and while it was in it's final rise, 20 weeks of pregnancy hit me like a Mac truck and I was suddenly exhausted -- I mean flat-on-my-back, can't-keep-my-eyes-open, slurring-words-like-a-drunk tired. I HAD to lie down and close my eyes for a minute. And why not? The kids were playing wonderfully together in their rooms, our delicious, wholesome bread still had 10-15 minutes to go before baking, and the dog (a.k.a. God's handmade foot warmer) was already at my feet ready for an afternoon snooze. Perfect scenario. So I laid down on the couch for a quick siesta. Aaaand I fell asleep. Not long, mind you, but long enough to miss the peak rising time for that aforementioned bread! I jumped up upon the realization that my perfect sandwich loaves would now probably come out looking like a very large rectangular brownie & tended to them promptly, only to confirm 45 minutes later that they did, indeed, look like a very large rectangular brownie. My V8 ran out of gas. Disappointment galore.

"But that's understandable," you say. "You're pregnant. You have 3 young children. No doubt you're tired!" Why, thank you for your gracious concern, but this is not the only example from today. After pulling my sad, browned bricks from the oven, I "re-revved", started a load of laundry, swept the basement floor (where a certain toddler had dumped detergent earlier that morning), carted 2 baskets of clean clothes upstairs to be folded... and as I was returning the broom & dust pan to their rightful post, why not sweep the dining room & kitchen while I'm at it? Then I met with the dish pile that was by now looming very large in the kitchen sink. It was at this time that I began to think how very distracted my afternoon had been. "I should write a blog post about this," I thought. And here I sit. I literally left the sink, full of sudsy bubbles, because I know that if I do not begin writing out these thoughts immediately, they will be forever lost to the black hole in my mind -- that dark and mysterious place where high school math lessons, what I ate for dinner last night, and the loci of my cell phone and car keys go. So I had to deviate, right?

What can I do? I'm constantly being bombarded by chores & tasks, requests from little ones, and my own desire for "me time." Don't even get me started on social media, email, texting, and the lure of all the other propaganda the world throws in your face at every check-out stand or in TV shows, movies, and advertising of all kinds. It leaves my mind spinning! No wonder I'm so distracted.

I have a dear friend who is not like me. She is focused, driven, a "doer." She sees a task to be done, & she handles it swiftly with skill and force. I love this about her! It's everything I wish I could be! But it's not my nature. I'm not her. And she gave me some wonderful & much needed encouragement today. She told me I'm a good mom. Me?! Really? But I'm so harried & scatterbrained! However, what she said she observes in me is that I can anticipate the needs of others (namely my children) and see to them effectively with patience, tenderness, & loving kindness even in the midst of busyness. I'm not here to brag. Her words today both humbled me and blessed me tremendously. You see, I want to be her, but it seems God has gifted me in a different way.

But here's the crux of the matter: No matter where I am in my walk and no matter how many distractions capture my attention, it is my fervent prayer that my life will be a portrait of obedience to James 3:21-25,
"So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it." (NLT)

This I must cling tightly to & never deviate from! Because when it comes to obeying God's Word, there are no excuses. My personality, tendencies, short-comings, strengths won't hold an ounce of water when I finally come face-to-face with my God and King on that glorious day to be judged for the things I've done (or haven't). He created me. He knows me (Psalm 139). And yet He's still called me to obey His Word. I'm incredibly grateful that I am more than a conqueror in Christ (Romans 8:37) and that nothing can separate me from the love of God (vs. 39), but perhaps the most wonderful & necessary gift for me in all my diversions and preoccupations is the awesome power of the Holy Spirit, who, as I surrender to Him, is transforming me day-by-day me into the glorious image of my Lord and Savior (2 Corinthians 3:17-18; Romans 12:2). All praise be to God!

No, it's not a good thing to be distracted & it can certainly be detrimental to myself & others at times, but if I faithfully give my attention over to the Lord I have to trust that He will work that out in me over time. His time. And right now, I sure am thankful for how He's grown me so far because apparently my kids are benefiting from it, and, prayerfully, so are my husband and others around me.

Where do your attentions lie? Do you live a life of motivated movements, driven distraction, or rapacious roaming? Please share. I'd love to pray for you as we strive to be more One-minded together!

Homeschool: Where Do I Begin?, Part 1

2014-01-24T17:44:00.004-06:00

(Image courtesy of Phaitoon / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

I have been incredibly blessed to be a part of the upward moving trend of homeschooling the last few years. For 3 years now, I have been homeschooling my oldest child. Granted, the first two years were "preschool" and this year is kindergarten, so you might say my experience is not really credible. However, I will say that it has been a wonderful, worthwhile, but trying experience. We may be in the primary years, but they have certainly not been without their challenges! Ah, such is parenting. That being said, I hope I can offer some of you who are just starting out or maybe questioning whether homeschooling is right for your family a few words of wisdom and give you a place to start. (This is my first blog post series, so please bear with me!)

Here is my number one tip to get you started on your journey:

Pray

If you're thinking about homeschooling, if it's even on your radar, the most important advice I can give you is pray, pray, PRAY! And then, when you think you've reached your decision, pray some more. I don't say this to scare you, but in all seriousness & sincerity homeschooling is a BIG decision -- one that will affect you, your spouse, your children (both schooled & unschooled), your family, and virtually everyone else your life touches. Please do not take it lightly! Many people have worked arduously to obtain the homeschool freedoms, resources, and community that are now available to us, so let's do them a solid and treat this field with the respect it deserves.
Not only that, but guess what? Homeschooling is not for everyone! *gasp* What? You mean it's not every mother's duty to stay home with her kids and teach them Pre-K through 12th grade, insuring graduations with honors, biomedical engineering degrees, and lifelong success (financial & social) for each and every child? Blasphemy! Seriously though, I know there are some moms out there who feel this pressure, as ridiculous as it sounds. The reasons for these feelings are many, but let me put your mind at ease... Maybe homeschooling is not for you! And that's okay. Here's why...
Homeschooling is a calling. That's right, it's a God-given calling to train your children in all areas of life -- academically, financially, physically, socially, and spiritually. Now, don't get me wrong, every parent should be involved in the education of their children, whether homeschooled or not. Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." The word "train" doesn't have any stipulations attached. You're not off the hook in any given area because of any certain circumstances, abilities, traits, or other *ahem* excuses. It's commanded that parents are to train up their children. Period. End of story. However, this will look different for every family, every parent, every child. This why it is so crucial as parents to seek The Lord when it comes to our children's education. We're commanded to train. Part of training is educating. So does that mean we should do what everybody else is doing because you don't know any better, or it's the easiest, or you've been guilted into it? Absolutely not! Just the opposite. We should carefully handle this decision with focused intentionality, diligent thought, humble discussion, and fervent prayer. I promise that if you are faithful to lay it before the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16), God will hear you and answer you.

I'm praying for you as you begin your journey! My next post will look at a couple more tips to get you started, but you're not allowed to read it until you've prayed over your children's education first! :)

For more on prayer, check out this fantastic sermon by Charles Spurgeon.

Where are you at with homeschooling? Are you a seasoned vet with advice to dole or a newbie just looking for some answers?

Check, Check. 1-2, 1-2

2013-11-25T15:18:00.001-06:00

Well, it's been a long time coming. A blog. Not that I have anything outstandingly new or important to say, but I do want to use the voice God has given me to reach the neediest people in the farthest places. The web seems just the place to do this. I am thankful for the opportunities online He's given me already to share bits and pieces of my life and what He's teaching me. I want to share more!
I pray that The Lord will fill me with His Holy Spirit and use my written words in this new venue to reach the lost, teach the searching, encourage the downtrodden, and uplift brothers and sisters in the faith. And you'll learn a little bit about me and my family along the way. :) I pray that this will be a useful & beneficial tool to connect us -- both my family across the country and God's family across the globe.
To God be the glory, great things He has done!

Good Things

A Restful Christmas: How Our Family Celebrates Advent and a Book List!

Family Devotions

Light the Candles

There are four or five candles that are lit, one at a time, on each Sunday during Advent. They can be colored (purple, pink, and white), or not depending on your tradition. We typically do the colors because we like to talk about the symbolism.

First Sunday Candle of Hope (purple)

Second Sunday Candle of Love (purple) Third Sunday Candle of Joy (pink) Fourth Sunday Candle of Peace (purple) Christmas Day/Eve Christ Candle (white)

Homeschool: Advent Term

Unschooling

Morning Time

Nature Walks

Book List

Community Outreach

A Personality By Any Other Name Wouldn’t Be As Sweet

Glosser Chronicles: Summertime Review

What did you do this summer? Have you taken a moment to thank the Lord for the Good Things He's given you?

Get Organized! Using Workboxes for your Homeschool

Breaking Dawn: A Mommy's Midnight Musing

Our Typical Homeschool Day, 2014-2015

"Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire."

Our Schedule

Our Subjects

First Day of School, 2014-2015

Tour Our Homeschool Room! 2014-2015

Futurecast: A Reflection in Mommydom

Our Homeschool Curriculum, 2014-2015

First Grade

CORE

BIBLE

HABIT TRAINING

SCIENCE

HISTORY/GEOGRAPHY

Preschool

CORE

HABIT TRAINING

SCIENCE

The Build Your Bundle Homeschool Edition Sale begins TODAY!

Checkout the items in the Charlotte Mason Bundle:

Write from History - Retail $22.95

Sheldon's NEW Primary Language Lessons - Retail $14.95

50 States and Where to Find Them - Retail $30.00

The Charlotte Mason Way Explained - Retail $6.99

Handwriting - Webster's Syllabary with Phonics - Retail $15.00

Fine Art Pages Collection 1 - Retail $14.95

Reading Lessons through Literature - Retail $25.00

Level 3 Old Testament Overview Part 1 - Retail $28.00

Jim Hodges Audio Books - Retail $90.00

Notebooking Pages: Trees & Plants - Retail $11.90

Notebooking Pages: Complete Birds Set - Retail $23.80

Notebooking Pages: Wildflowers, Weeds, and Garden Flowers - Retail $12.95

NaturExplorers Fruit & Nuts - Retail $8.95

Words With Wings - Retail $39

Discipleship: A Character Curriculum Using Scriptures - Retail $14.95

Because I Said So - a Biblical Study of Obedience - Retail $4.99

When I Survey - a Hymnological Journey to the Cross - Retail $4.99

Breakfast Stations Pack - Retail $2.99

How to Build a Strong Christian Home - Retail $4.99

*Lots of ways to save!

He Keeps My Eyes Above the Waves

Glosser Chronicles: May Review

Glosser Chronicles: April Review

DIY Lego Table {with IKEA LACK}

Glosser Chronicles: March Review

Glosser Chronicles: February Review

Home Life

Homeschool

Driven Distraction

Where do your attentions lie? Do you live a life of motivated movements, driven distraction, or rapacious roaming? Please share. I'd love to pray for you as we strive to be more One-minded together!

Homeschool: Where Do I Begin?, Part 1

(Image courtesy of Phaitoon / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

Pray

Where are you at with homeschooling? Are you a seasoned vet with advice to dole or a newbie just looking for some answers?

Check, Check. 1-2, 1-2

First Sunday

Candle of Hope (purple)

Second Sunday
Candle of Love (purple)

Third Sunday
Candle of Joy (pink)

Fourth Sunday
Candle of Peace (purple)

Christmas Day/Eve
Christ Candle (white)