From Our Vantage Point

We’ve been seeing a lot of this face lately.  It’s depressing.  Little babies cry, I suppose.

But… finally!  We’re seeing a little more of this face...

… and this one!  Sorry the picture is totally off, but it’s the first picture I could get of an actual SMILE.  Melts my heart!

Homeschooling is Not for Wimps

Recently overheard in the classroom:

While trying to memorize the Joyful Mysteries, we were reciting, “The Annunciation, The Visitation, The Nativity, The Presentation, …” and Joe pipes up, “The Finding-tation!”

We’ve also been working on alphabetizing our spelling words.  Joe’s Math lesson yesterday was putting three digit numbers in order and noted that it was similar to alphabetizing.  “It’s like NUMBERbatizing”

I can’t speak for everyone, just some homeschooling moms I’ve talked to, but you always wonder if you’re doing it right.  Are my kids learning?  Are they on par with their peers in Public Schools?  In Private Schools?  Ideally, they would be ahead.  After all, they essentially have private tutors.  Those private tutors, on the other hand, are not trained educators, so maybe they’ll always be behind?

There are always nagging questions about their progress, but also about your performance as an educator:  Am I challenging them enough?  Do I provide enough variety so that they love learning?  Did I choose the right curriculum?  Do *I* even understand some of the concepts I’m teaching them??  (Yes, even with grade school Math, I have to double check what the author of the book is trying to make the students understand)  I’m always comparing myself to those ‘super mom’ homeschoolers… the ones with the antique school desks, maps all over the school room, creative and fun craft projects, and in-depth science experiments in the kitchen.  I like to be inspired a little, but truly, most of the time, I’m happy to have them finish their workbooks and follow our set lesson in Math and be done.  Nothing new, nothing special, just making it through.

Up until this semester, the boys hardly ever needed my help with things like Phonics and English (for Joe).  I had been letting them do their Handwriting on their own, too, but I began to see some very bad penmanship.  When I actually checked their Handwriting books, I saw some serious slop.  So, we started over.  More supervision by me, more hands-on to fix bad habits.

It’s a constant balance between letting them be (or hoping they will be) independent with their work and giving them lots of guidance.  Of course, being inclined to laziness like I am (as most of us are, admit it!), I would prefer independence for them.  Then, I can get more of my own work done:  dishes, cleaning bathrooms, paying bills, answering e-mails (okay, that’s not really work), writing thank you notes, etc. 

What really threw me this semester was the BABY!  When he needs help, he needs it *immediately*.  Whatever we were working on in school gets set aside.  While I’m attending the baby, I try to see if the boys have some work they can do on their own (like Reading for Joe or a Spelling worksheet for the twins)  The problem with this is that I think I’m making the kids A.D.D.  They can’t focus and finish one lesson at a time.  This is especially hard for Joe who has a hard time getting distracted in general.  The bigger problem is that in my efforts to make everything ‘more efficient’, especially our lessons that we do together (Language, Writing, Religion, Social Studies).  I end up making the boys stop what they’re doing separately before the lesson is done just because I notice that everyone is available (or at the very least, present in the room) at the same time to do the subjects we do together.  I also forget everyone is in their respective lessons when I come back from taking care of the baby.  ADD, I tell you.

Another issue I’ve heard about from other homeschooling moms is how the grandparents perceive their effort.  Of course, most grandparents don’t actually witness the day to day operations, just the end result, and those things can look VERY different.  When my dad was here for a few days when Scott was out of town, he witnesses one of the worst days of chaos in our short homeschool history… Baby screaming all morning, kids fighting, books and papers in dis-array, sleepy (grouchy) mom, potty-training issues with Andrew… pure chaos.  I wonder what he thinks of what I’m trying to do.  Does he wonder if his grandsons will be scarred by our venture?  He’s a pretty generous and forgiving guy, so maybe not.  I just feel bad that he had to see that.  It was humbling.

He’s coming back next week.  Hopefully, we’ll all do better.  I’m still glad we homeschooled this year.  Who knows about next year, but it was right for now.

Those first precious smiles

Peter’s first smile came at 5:30 in the morning on the 13th.  Just a few hours shy of 5 weeks old.  But who’s counting? 

We had had a terrible night, and Scott had to be up early to take Grandpa to the airport to go home. (sniff, sniff!)  I was changing his diaper in the bathroom when his little head bonked the side of the sink.  I felt terrible! Poor baby!  That sound, the dull thud of a head hitting a hard surface, it was awful!  He just wailed.  As I was telling him I was sorry and cuddling and kissing him, he stopped crying pretty quickly and was watching me intently (to make sure I didn’t screw up again, I’m sure!)  Then, it happened.  He gave me the sweetest little one-sided smile.  It just melted my heart. 

As I was considering it later in the day, I kind of got misty.  I was contemplating all of the things in his lifetime that will delight him and make him smile - a good joke, a pretty girl, a joy-filled moment, a happy event - whatever it is, I got to be the first reason. Being a mom is awesome.

Getting a picture of this smile is proving to be tough.  I’ll see what I can do.  In the meantime, here’s a shot of Peter in his Bumbo on the counter watching me make breakfast.  I don’t usually keep the Bumbo there, but he seemed to really want to watch all that was going on.

Visitors!

As noted in the last post, Grammie and Granddad came down to visit and meet their newest grandchild.  That makes nine for them!

How sweet!  And, note the Lego Star Wars sticker on Grammie’s shirt.  So generous of the big boys to share!

Granddad snuggling with the bedtime-ready Peter.

And, the Gerners came to visit!  They were our neighbors when we first moved to Milwaukee and we’ve been friends ever since.  They were able to spend the night and get a taste of our fantastic Texas winter.  I think they may want to move here.  Who wouldn’t!  (I know, I know… wait for summer everyone tells us)

Peter was sleeping and gave grandpa a big sleepy smile when he got smooched.  Grandpa came to stay with us when Scott had to be out of town for a few nights.  I was NOT ready to be alone that long with 5 kids.  Thank goodness we were able to send for re-enforcements!

Well, well, well… Grandpa got caught sleeping on the job!  (note the basket of laundry in the background.  just kidding, we didn’t make him do laundry!)  It was so cute.  Grandpa fell asleep snuggling up to Peter on the floor.  Then Andrew came along and wanted to join the fun.  He covered Peter then himself.  What a thoughtful big brother.

Squishy little face!

Peter and … um, frankly, I’m not sure.  The twins have been looking so much alike lately.  Pictures make it tough to tell.  I just asked Patrick who it was.  At first he said, “Oh, that’s me”  then, “wait, no, that’s Luke…  I think.”  So, yeah, I’m not the only one who can’t tell them apart!!

Peter chillin’ in the Bumbo on the bathroom floor.  He loves the bathroom, especially when someone is taking a bath or shower.  Must be the noise that soothes him.  He looks so small and squishy!