As we approach "new house day," more and more I've been envisioning how the "new life" will be. Of course I don't expect more hours to magically appear in the day or my patience to miraculously be that of a super hero. But I have been working on growing myself, and I have learned some things while "away" that I think have made our family work better together. The inspiration of a new house, plus inspiring and encouraging homeschool-conference speakers, has my head spinning with simple ideas to make this new chapter in our adventure get running smoothly. Indulge me as I let my brain organize through my fingers...
1. Keep it simple (and cheap).
As we enter a two-mortgage phase, cheap is at the forefront of my mind. But quality never leaves my mind. But often we choose simple for simple's sake, nevermind the cheap.
~ Staycation. Heard that term just today. Vacationing at home is the most likely option this year. We'll be enjoying our new pool, visiting the
library, camping in the yard, using our
children's museum family pass,
free bowling, and
free movies. Splurges once the baby arrives (and I am off my diabetic diet) include going out for ice cream and making homemade ice cream and goodies.
~ Traditions. Our children's favorite birthday traditions are getting to cut the cake themselves with a giant knife and getting to sleep in Mama & Daddy's bed on birthday night. Traditions don't have to be extravagant and difficult to maintain.
~ Family Time. Not jumping at every single get-together, picnic, or extra-curricular leads to calmer, more quantity & quality of nuclear family time. When people call to get together, we'll probably offer more to have them come down to our place, instead of packing the whole crew up to run around town.
2. Learning naturally.
As we enter a stage of more organized or structured learning in our homeschool (I think), I am determined not to squelch the love of learning out of my children.
~ In the Kitchen. All our children l-o-v-e helping Mama & Daddy in the kitchen. Just recently I discovered that it is much more enjoyable (for helper and parent, I believe) if there is only one helper at a time in the kitchen. If each day (or most days), one child gets to help make lunch and one gets to help make supper... that adds up to lots of one-on-one attention, lots of little chefs, and probably even some help on the dishes, too (no dishwasher in the new house).
~ Exploring God's Gifts. As the children grow, I absolutely love seeing their God-given talents, abilities, and interests blossom. I am excited to mentor Shelby in art more consistently, especially since she has expressed interest in learning to draw "better." (This was bittersweet to me for quite a while, because I love her spontaneous little-person creativity. Then I realized we will only be building on that, not destroying it.) Sewing with her is also in my sights. I'll be learning right along with her on that one! Cyrus is more advanced than me already in the areas of technical and mechanical. LOL! He amazes me. He is just like his daddy. I am excited to let him explore out in the shop with Steve. Tiny lego kits are also in his future. It will be fun to see him figure things out and then apply them elsewhere. He's so good at that!
~ Can't Stop Learning. This summer I plan to help the children learn to swim. I found a great step-by-step program online. It explains that with one-on-one instruction, most children will be basic swimmers in about two weeks. That sure beats the time and cost of swim lessons elsewhere! We're also planning a garden, so we'll be all over learning about plants, growing, harvesting, canning, freezing, etc. Feels a little intimidating, but I'm ready to learn.
~ Reading. I want to do lots more reading. Having a
library a half mile away will greatly help this goal. I've acquired various "best of" reading lists, and I am thoroughly enjoying the advice of Gladys Hunt in her book,
Honey for a Child's Heart. We need to enjoy more stories together.
3. Important Things Must Come First.
Ignore urgency as much as possible. Important must take priority. I am aiming to be much more disciplined and consistent with my Bible reading and prayer. With the children, learning Godly character is more important than ABC's, 123's, or history (even though it can all intertwine so beautifully). This includes discipline; it's not an inconvenience but an opportunity for instruction. I must remember.
So, I'm sure there are many more things swimming around in my head about beginning our new chapter. But that's enough for now. At least now I can think straight. Thanks for letting me blurb.