Thursday, February 17, 2011
what I am reading...
I am currently reading this book and I am loving many of the suggestions. I am loosing sleep as in the evenings I have been getting so sucked into it and busy taking notes that I am looking track of time and not turning in until late
I also just finished
which I enjoyed. It was a good book....my biggest complaint...it made me want to eat indian food :)
spring is in the air....
spring is in the air (at least today it is) and that makes me want to open up the house and clean everything (still a little too cold for that).
The cleaning is still going to happen (well some of it) as today Grandpa is off from work so CO is loving being his shadow doing 'mans work'. He is so funny as the two of them are out puttering around the yard in their work gloves. The snow is perfect today for shoveling so my little man is happy with that. That is probably his favorite thing to do in the winter. Our decks have been cleared all winter. Some mornings he had a hard time focusing on breakfast as he wanted to get out and shovel.
I have been immersing myself into researching homeschooling. In my heart I feel that this is what God wants for our family. He has been really speaking to my heart about raising my son to be his steward and when I look at how God has blessed me with the job that enables me to be a stay at home mom Monday-Friday, homeschooling really makes sense. I want to not only instill a love of learning into my child, but I want him to learn all about God and his plan for our lives. I want him to learn to serve daily and to live the life God intended for him. I think this all would be difficult to instill in him if he is away from me 8 hours a day and me away from him all weekend.
There is SO much out there by way of homeschooling. I have been looking and analysing what I think would work best for our family and for my little one. I want it to be fun yet highly educational at the same time. I feel like there is so much more I could have learned in school that I didn't. I want him to know good 'literature' and LOVE to read. But at the same time I want him to 'know' God's creations outside. I want him to know names of trees, birds, etc. I want him to experience and be amazed at how things happen in the world of nature. He is naturally curious about these things already. It often amazes me the things he notices already at only 3.
This year we have been homeschooling to some degree. In September I did a lot of activities to go along with stories we were reading. We focused on a lot of fables and nursery rhymes. He LOVED it! He had his favorites for sure. I would get excited over some of them because I knew he would love the story and I was usually right. The first time I read him the three little pigs, he spent the whole day (and the hour after I tucked him in for the night) saying 'and I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll BLOW your house down'. He loves any stories with the 'big bad wolf'' and more recently a 'troll'. The three billy goats gruff...I think I read it over 50 times in a week. He loved the enormous turnip and every version we came up with of it. One of his ALL time favorite is 'the gingerbread man'. These days are filled with 'fe fi fo fum'. Every morning after breakfast we put the next day up on the calendar and we practice talking about the date. I have it set with the numbers being an AB pattern so we read the pattern and we also practice counting the number of days of the month so far. We've been also having a bible verse each week. I don't expect him to memorize it but it is good practice for us and it is the beginings of putting the Bible into his heart. I often print out the verse so he cuts it into strips and tapes it together. He is a cutter extraordinaire and is happy that I let him use tape for this activity. Also the verse helps practice some pronounciation. We sing songs about the days of the week and we also talk about the weather.
So, as a three year old we do some 'school' now. He has some workbooks that I will drag out occasionally and we will work on thim if he is wanting to. He LOVES crafts and especially painting so I try to do crafts weekly. I think I would enjoy this process more if I had a glass table top for my diningroom table (something I am currently saving up for) as cleanup would be easier. When we painted valentines last week we did potato stamping and by the time we were done, the top half of his body was 75% pink (he paints topless still for this very reason).
I think I have settled for JK & SK we are going to do Sonlight as our core. It has a big literature focus which works well for my little boy that LOVES books. I also like that the theme for those years are 'God's World' so that the books we will be reading will be talking about people and places around the world.
The cleaning is still going to happen (well some of it) as today Grandpa is off from work so CO is loving being his shadow doing 'mans work'. He is so funny as the two of them are out puttering around the yard in their work gloves. The snow is perfect today for shoveling so my little man is happy with that. That is probably his favorite thing to do in the winter. Our decks have been cleared all winter. Some mornings he had a hard time focusing on breakfast as he wanted to get out and shovel.
I have been immersing myself into researching homeschooling. In my heart I feel that this is what God wants for our family. He has been really speaking to my heart about raising my son to be his steward and when I look at how God has blessed me with the job that enables me to be a stay at home mom Monday-Friday, homeschooling really makes sense. I want to not only instill a love of learning into my child, but I want him to learn all about God and his plan for our lives. I want him to learn to serve daily and to live the life God intended for him. I think this all would be difficult to instill in him if he is away from me 8 hours a day and me away from him all weekend.
There is SO much out there by way of homeschooling. I have been looking and analysing what I think would work best for our family and for my little one. I want it to be fun yet highly educational at the same time. I feel like there is so much more I could have learned in school that I didn't. I want him to know good 'literature' and LOVE to read. But at the same time I want him to 'know' God's creations outside. I want him to know names of trees, birds, etc. I want him to experience and be amazed at how things happen in the world of nature. He is naturally curious about these things already. It often amazes me the things he notices already at only 3.
This year we have been homeschooling to some degree. In September I did a lot of activities to go along with stories we were reading. We focused on a lot of fables and nursery rhymes. He LOVED it! He had his favorites for sure. I would get excited over some of them because I knew he would love the story and I was usually right. The first time I read him the three little pigs, he spent the whole day (and the hour after I tucked him in for the night) saying 'and I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll BLOW your house down'. He loves any stories with the 'big bad wolf'' and more recently a 'troll'. The three billy goats gruff...I think I read it over 50 times in a week. He loved the enormous turnip and every version we came up with of it. One of his ALL time favorite is 'the gingerbread man'. These days are filled with 'fe fi fo fum'. Every morning after breakfast we put the next day up on the calendar and we practice talking about the date. I have it set with the numbers being an AB pattern so we read the pattern and we also practice counting the number of days of the month so far. We've been also having a bible verse each week. I don't expect him to memorize it but it is good practice for us and it is the beginings of putting the Bible into his heart. I often print out the verse so he cuts it into strips and tapes it together. He is a cutter extraordinaire and is happy that I let him use tape for this activity. Also the verse helps practice some pronounciation. We sing songs about the days of the week and we also talk about the weather.
So, as a three year old we do some 'school' now. He has some workbooks that I will drag out occasionally and we will work on thim if he is wanting to. He LOVES crafts and especially painting so I try to do crafts weekly. I think I would enjoy this process more if I had a glass table top for my diningroom table (something I am currently saving up for) as cleanup would be easier. When we painted valentines last week we did potato stamping and by the time we were done, the top half of his body was 75% pink (he paints topless still for this very reason).
I think I have settled for JK & SK we are going to do Sonlight as our core. It has a big literature focus which works well for my little boy that LOVES books. I also like that the theme for those years are 'God's World' so that the books we will be reading will be talking about people and places around the world.
Monday, February 14, 2011
The Catcher In The Rye
I just finished reading The Catcher In the Rye. I struggled to get this book done. I think because I questioned the whole time I was reading it 'why was it a classic?' It is a good book in the fact that it isn't dated. It was published in 1945 but it could totally be happening today. I found very little dated it. I think one of the biggest struggles I had was not empathizing with the character but pitying him. Where were his parents and why didn't anyone clue into the fact that most of his problems had something to do with loosing his brother and that he was needing some therapy. and what parents don't know where their kid is for three days...and don't even know that he is missing?
I am glad I read it mostly just because I said that I did. I could have with 99% less cursing.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
once upon a time...
Once upon a time I was good friends with a specific person. But then a bunch of things happened and we weren't. We separated and went our own ways. I asked this person to give me space and to stop contacting me. But she doesn't respect my wishes she bugs and pushes and goes through my family.
I know as a Christian I am supposed to love everyone as Jesus does but seriously I can't...I physically can't be near this person. The thought of it fills me will ill and dread.
I don't speak unkindly of this person. And many people DO choose to have her as a friend. I am just not one of them.
I wish her all the happiness, but I don't want her in my life.
I know that all that I feel is wrong, as a person of my faith and beliefs...but sometimes you feel what you feel...
it really bugs me that she won't stop...that she won't leave me and my family alone...and unfortunately that just makes the healing process take LONGER...
sigh
so feel free to pray for me...
I know as a Christian I am supposed to love everyone as Jesus does but seriously I can't...I physically can't be near this person. The thought of it fills me will ill and dread.
I don't speak unkindly of this person. And many people DO choose to have her as a friend. I am just not one of them.
I wish her all the happiness, but I don't want her in my life.
I know that all that I feel is wrong, as a person of my faith and beliefs...but sometimes you feel what you feel...
it really bugs me that she won't stop...that she won't leave me and my family alone...and unfortunately that just makes the healing process take LONGER...
sigh
so feel free to pray for me...
Sunday, January 9, 2011
movie quote
if the good Lord wanted us to walk, he wouldn't have invented rollerskates
name the above movie quote :)
hint
gene wilder says it :)
name the above movie quote :)
hint
gene wilder says it :)
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
tomorrow is the day!
tomorrow is the day that he starts swimming lessons! He was eligible for swimming lessons (without me) once he turned three but with a busy fall and I know November and December was going to be busy as well I decided to hold off until the new year. He is excited. We've been talking about how once he goes to swimming lessons that his teacher is the boss and he needs to listen and obey her. My son is very strong willed and I know he behaves better for people other than me (except for his grandparents).His sunday school teacher thinks he is an angel!
One of my biggest struggle these days is that he feels a need to climb things in order to reach stuff that is put up high (put up high for his own safety). He takes it as a personal challenge. And more often than not he succeeds. And he knows he isn't supposed to. But he does it anyway on the sly. Which means that his freedom is being reduced! I am tired of the mischief. Which means that there is less time for me to accomplish things around the house, or less time for him to have free play. Either way, he is learning that it is no fun to get into mischief as that means a lot of time in his room. I love my son dearly but days like today I am exhausted!
Also I would like to know WHY he feels a need to shut my fridge off. The stupid temperature adjustment is just inside the door and he knows that if he turns the dial, the motor on the fridge turns off. He likes that power or something. I have found my fridge turned off three times. So now every time I open the fridge, I need to double check the dial to make sure that the temperature is ok.
On a positive side we had fun doing some new math games today, he LOVES doing the calendar each day and filling in the weather chart. His colouring is coming along, he asks to paint almost daily as well as to cut and paste. My boy LOVES to craft! Our bible verse for this week is Proverbs 17:22 and we talk about it each breakfast and lunch.
This morning he woke up VERY excited to see a white wonderland! We've been green and brown for over a week. It has been snowing all day (lightly) and maybe if it keeps up we'll be able to make a snowman. Which he has been asking to do since he saw the first snow flake fall this year :) The little bit of snow we had for Christmas wasn't packing snow. Though it was good for sledding.
For Christmas I gave myself three packages of pull-ups. I've done cloth with him since he came and he has always struggled with not soaking through in the night (I toilet him before going to bed just so he'll be a tiny less wet by morning) I am also finding that he is sleeping later in the morning as he isn't waking up due to being wet. My parents use pull-ups on the weekends (he only needs them when he is sleeping). I am undecided if I will use them beyond these three packages. I LOVE the idea of cloth. I LOVE how much money I have saved with cloth. I also like getting up at 7am rather than 5am. I use cloth mostly with his afternoon nap as most times he wakes up dry anyway....that is just my diaper conundrum.
Today I made a huge pot of beef and barley soup. Unfortunately it wasn't ready at lunch time and I resorted to a can of zoodles (something that was only in my cupboard because it was purchased for the food bank and it was missed when we dropped things in the bin on the way out of the grocery store). I was feeling so guilty for feeding it to him. I have never fed him canned pasta before. He HATED it! :) which makes me happy inside. He know garbage food when he tastes it! I grew eating the stuff but really when I look at it I just don't personally want to be feeding it to my kid.
One of my biggest struggle these days is that he feels a need to climb things in order to reach stuff that is put up high (put up high for his own safety). He takes it as a personal challenge. And more often than not he succeeds. And he knows he isn't supposed to. But he does it anyway on the sly. Which means that his freedom is being reduced! I am tired of the mischief. Which means that there is less time for me to accomplish things around the house, or less time for him to have free play. Either way, he is learning that it is no fun to get into mischief as that means a lot of time in his room. I love my son dearly but days like today I am exhausted!
Also I would like to know WHY he feels a need to shut my fridge off. The stupid temperature adjustment is just inside the door and he knows that if he turns the dial, the motor on the fridge turns off. He likes that power or something. I have found my fridge turned off three times. So now every time I open the fridge, I need to double check the dial to make sure that the temperature is ok.
On a positive side we had fun doing some new math games today, he LOVES doing the calendar each day and filling in the weather chart. His colouring is coming along, he asks to paint almost daily as well as to cut and paste. My boy LOVES to craft! Our bible verse for this week is Proverbs 17:22 and we talk about it each breakfast and lunch.
This morning he woke up VERY excited to see a white wonderland! We've been green and brown for over a week. It has been snowing all day (lightly) and maybe if it keeps up we'll be able to make a snowman. Which he has been asking to do since he saw the first snow flake fall this year :) The little bit of snow we had for Christmas wasn't packing snow. Though it was good for sledding.
For Christmas I gave myself three packages of pull-ups. I've done cloth with him since he came and he has always struggled with not soaking through in the night (I toilet him before going to bed just so he'll be a tiny less wet by morning) I am also finding that he is sleeping later in the morning as he isn't waking up due to being wet. My parents use pull-ups on the weekends (he only needs them when he is sleeping). I am undecided if I will use them beyond these three packages. I LOVE the idea of cloth. I LOVE how much money I have saved with cloth. I also like getting up at 7am rather than 5am. I use cloth mostly with his afternoon nap as most times he wakes up dry anyway....that is just my diaper conundrum.
Today I made a huge pot of beef and barley soup. Unfortunately it wasn't ready at lunch time and I resorted to a can of zoodles (something that was only in my cupboard because it was purchased for the food bank and it was missed when we dropped things in the bin on the way out of the grocery store). I was feeling so guilty for feeding it to him. I have never fed him canned pasta before. He HATED it! :) which makes me happy inside. He know garbage food when he tastes it! I grew eating the stuff but really when I look at it I just don't personally want to be feeding it to my kid.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
January 1, 2011 01/01/11
I am at work :) it has been a low key day...other than the craziness but that is just usual stuff around here.
I don't do resolutions due to the new year...never really have. Actually I am not one that really does anything for New Years. In China we prayed in the new year the one time. Once I think I had a couple of friends over to watch movies (I fell asleep). I am more of a night owl in the last year that I ever have been. Not sure why. Maybe because I need to stay awake friday nights so I don't fall asleep and not go to work. That is a big worry of mine. So on the most part I try to stay awake to 11 every night to keep my body on a similar clock. Starting in a couple of weeks my shift is moving by 30 minutes so I will not be starting until 1130. Which I guess really isn't that much of a change to my clock.
I finished off 2010 with 29 books complete (I have atleast 5 on my bedside table started). I enjoy keeping track of what I read and how many books I read a year. This year I've given myself some challenges in what I read this year. Should be interesting.
I don't do resolutions due to the new year...never really have. Actually I am not one that really does anything for New Years. In China we prayed in the new year the one time. Once I think I had a couple of friends over to watch movies (I fell asleep). I am more of a night owl in the last year that I ever have been. Not sure why. Maybe because I need to stay awake friday nights so I don't fall asleep and not go to work. That is a big worry of mine. So on the most part I try to stay awake to 11 every night to keep my body on a similar clock. Starting in a couple of weeks my shift is moving by 30 minutes so I will not be starting until 1130. Which I guess really isn't that much of a change to my clock.
I finished off 2010 with 29 books complete (I have atleast 5 on my bedside table started). I enjoy keeping track of what I read and how many books I read a year. This year I've given myself some challenges in what I read this year. Should be interesting.
books I read in 2010
(#1 being the last I read)
- Unlocked ~ Karen Kingsbury
- Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons ~ Lorna Landvik
- I Miss Mummy ~ Cathy Glass
- Safe Haven ~ Nicholas Sparks
- Magdalene ~ Angela Hunt
- Unchartered ~ Angela Hunt
- Take Four ~ Karen Kingsbury
- Beluga Cafe ~ Jim Nollman
- I Will Carry You ~ Angie Smith
- Quiet Strength ~ Rosa Parks
- Sanctuary ~ David & Beverly Lewis
- bfg ~ Roald Dahl
- The Sound of Us ~ Sarah Willis
- Oliver ~ Charles Dickens
- Not Without My Sister ~ Kristina Jones
- Reunited in the Desert ~ Helle Amin
- The Girl in the Mirror ~ Cathy Glass
- Balancing Acts ~ Zoe Fishman
- A Soft Place to Land ~ Susan Rebecca White
- The Little Ones ~ M.D. Meyer
- The Wife's Tale ~ Lori Lansen
- Damaged ~ Cathy Glass
- Cut ~ Cathy Glass
- The Saddest Girl In The World ~ Cathy Glass
- Hidden ~ Cathy Glass
- Surprised by Children ~ Harold Myra
- Handle With Care ~ Jodi Picoult
- Elsie's Motherhood ~ Martha Finley
- Elsie's Womanhood ~ Martha Finley
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