Command Central

2011 has been a tough year. Not just for our family but many who are close to us. Financial strain, losing cars, homes and businesses. Death, miscarriage, illnesses and horrible truths beyond comprehension. It seems like not one person I know has not been touched by tragedy this year.

Our family has had it's share of trials. Things I never thought we would have to face. It is hard during those times to see the positive. It is hard to see the meaning in what we are all going through. I have found myself trying to find God in all of this sadness. Lucky for me God spoke right to my heart on several occasions. Sometimes I think he must feel like Bill Engvall, "here's your sign."

We had so many strangers reach out to us even before we knew we needed it. Friends rallied around me in my times of weakness. We found a new church home that has been amazing for my kids. As many wonderful things have happened as bad, the bad just seem to call more attention.

In all of the stresses of the year I have found myself struggling to manage my time. Seven kids, a homeschool, a home and a farm overwhelmed me into periods where I could not dig myself out. Where I seamlessly managed things in the past I was drowning now.

It was time to get some control. I had watched friends and fellow bloggers try programs, binders, chore charts, etc, but they all seemed like just as much work as they were help and anytime I had tried to implement one in the past I quit because it wasn't a good fit. Or the program was so time consuming I never got around to actually doing the tasks I had organized.

I decided to start with our daily time management. I had actually ordered the Maxwell's books a long time ago with the intention of getting more organized but putting it into action seemed daunting. "Managers Of Their Homes" is a wonderful book. The basic idea is to schedule out the entire day of each person in your family. They provide all the worksheets and the final poster for this. In the end the time it took to make the schedule and the chart was well worth it. I used Velcro to hold the time tabs onto each slot so I could change and rearrange without the tabs falling off all the time. The tabs are color coded which worked well for us because we already have assigned colors for homeschool. The program is a wonderful fit for me because I change things often and with very little effort I can adjust my schedule if I need to. It also makes it very clear when I have to say no to the things that inevitably come up. If you want to learn more about The Maxwell's ministry click here.

Knowing what needed doing was one thing but getting it done was another. I was tired of riding the kids to get anything completed. With so many pre-readers and a son who has difficulty with self control I knew we needed something special. Having just started doing workboxes I knew the tag system worked well for my kids so I decided on a tag system chore chart. Ours are color coded of course and are scheduled morning and evening and weekend. I know there are many versions like these floating around out there but I had to make my own. Living on a farm we have chores like feed turkeys and haul wood that just don't come in the common array.

I have literally hundreds of tags. I found this storage box at Michael's. It divides them up perfect and makes it so easy.

So here is command central in action.

I also post a series of charts from Doorposts. The "Blessings" chart is helpful in recognizing and encouraging Godly behavior in our children. The "If-Then" chart provides consistent Bible based discipline and consequences that are lined out in advance. The "Brother Offended" chart helps the kids remember the steps to resolve conflict. The "Go-To-The-Ant" chart is my personal favorite because it is a character quality chart and let's face it who couldn't use a little help remembering how important character is. We also have a calendar of outside activities and monthly menu.

It might seem overwhelming looking at it all but really a small amount of time and planning has taken all the guesswork out of daily life. There is a real sense of peace in knowing that no matter the unexpected we can count on our days and months having a routine and schedule. Just knowing what is for dinner and that the ingredients are in the cabinet is huge! Knowing if one of the kids lies to me I pull the tab and the consequence is lined out is a big thing. Knowing that I can get it all done because it is there in writing for me to see is liberating. I can let go and let God. That stability makes life's ups and downs more manageable.

Meal Planning and Food Storage

I plan my meals a month in advance. I even put it down on a calendar and post it on the wall. You may be wondering why anyone would do that but the answer is really simple. I hate to cook. I have been told I am a good cook, but I don't like to do it. My menu's used to be simple and full of repeats. Dinner time would come and I would dread the inevitable "MOM, what's for dinner?" Realizing we were out of something or I forgot to defrost the meat. We ended up eating a lot of packaged food or even fast food.

Then a couple of things happened. First, I found out I was diabetic. I had gestational diabetes with my last pregnancy and although I was no longer insulin dependant my tests were borderline and I needed a controlled diet. Second, the economy hit our house. Suddenly we were not sure if we would have a business or another dollar for anything including food. It was painfully obvious we were not being good stewards of the blessings God had given us. The food I had in my home would last my large family maybe a week or two. The thought of the money I had spent on convenience and that convenience could be costing me my health was humbling.

I started a search on meal planning and eventually on food storage. I was so blessed to stumble on two blogs that changed my way of thinking and cooking forever. "Food Storage Made Easy" is a wonderful site hosted by two friends. They have a e-book about food storage and how to cook with it. You can check them out here. "Everyday Food Storage" is a blog about cooking with food storage. She has step by step videos and great recipes. Check her out here.

I ordered the e-book and really like it.

The binder is a step by step guide to getting your pantry in order. They help you analyze your menu's and assemble a shopping list. From that list you develop a 3 month supply and build from there. They also talk about rotating food and making sure nothing goes bad. The ladies from both of these sites are LDS so they have food storage items available to them that I don't but I was easily able to substitute from my market. They also have a bunch of recipes that utilize the food you store.

This has totally revolutionized the way we cook, eat and live. Everything I cook now is from scratch. Sounds hard but it isn't. That means we eat much healthier, no preservatives or additives. We eat cheaper because the bulk basics are much less expensive than the prepackaged items. I am also getting much healthier. I have lost a lot of weight without much effort and I have no issues with my blood sugar today. The other change is that I am enjoying cooking much more. In the last few months we have added about 20 new recipes and are loving the experiments, even the "gross" ones. Cooking and eating has become a family affair and my kids brag my bean cookies are better than any store brand.

Today I have a full 3 month supply of food and I am working to a 6 month supply. This means if the recession were to become a depression or we had an earthquake or flood I am set to feed my family, our regular diet, for more than 3 months without a trip to the store. The farm is an advantage here because we would also have fresh dairy and meat if we needed it.

I am looking forward to continuing this adventure by learning to tame my poison thumb and grow a garden, learning to can, and grinding my own grain. I think these tools are being forgotten in our society and I am finding joy in myself and in my children while we learn them together.

Fall

Fall, like spring, is a busy time on a farm. Lots of cleaning and shoring up for winter. Building new shelters for animals and feed. Weaning our summer babies and integrating them into the herd. Selecting the new breeding lines and implementing a program. Lots to do and shorter days to get it done.

Fall also brings our much awaited field trip to California's Apple Hill. Apple Hill is a farming community encompassing Camino and Placerville, Ca. There are approximately 50 growers in apple hill that specializes in agrotourism. From you pick orchards to vineyards to petting zoo's there really is something for everyone.



I think it is hysterical that although we live on a farm and have a built in petting zoo, my kids look so forward to this trip. We drive the roads between farms commenting on structures, layouts and what we could dos. Even the 3 year old gets into it.

This year I scheduled the kids a candy making class at one of our favorite farms and the kids were thrilled. The not so thrilling part was that Apple Hill had no apples, there was a late frost. My kids took to calling it appleless hill as the day went on. We refused to be let down and chose to pick our pumpkins out instead. We also pet some animals, talked shop wit a few farmers and toured our old favorite farms. It was a great day despite the appleless situation.



We did notice that a lot of the farms were for sale, even some of the oldest and best. It was a sad thing to see. A mix of age, economy, taxes, regulations and weather have been too much for these small farmers to bare. I am hopefull like minded families will come in and continue the tradition.

A Little Turkey

Everything falls into perspective when you open your classroom door and this is waiting for you.







Gotta love that farm life. Especially when it takes 40 minutes to get them back in the pen where they belong. Those little turkeys!

Sometimes The Best Things In Homeschool Are Free

Today was a tough one! I have a cold. It was a long weekend. My behaviorally challenged child, who I thought was finally "getting it," took his behavior issues to a whole new level. I was feeling less than supported about homeschool among other things. But we went out to class anyway! I refuse to let life get the best of my kids education. We did our circle time and sat down to work through our drawers. Both of my Kindergarten kids just couldn't get it. The writing portion of the worksheets are not working for them. I was already just at my whits end. I felt totally ill equipped to teach them. I felt like a total failure. It was definitely one of those " I am sending these kids to school" kind of days. I quit, came back, then quit again in my head. The kids moved on to the next box frustrated and looking sad. Erica's new printing worksheets were in there and I was thinking "NOOOOOO". But Something amazing happened. The way she had designed the sheets just spoke to my kids. They both understood in seconds what three weeks of our curriculum had failed to make clear.

At this point I need to tell you that Ava was so proud of herself, so happy, that she was wiggle dancing in her chair. I watched her and it was clear that these moments define homeschool. In a classroom a teacher would be responsible for 30 kids and probably not even notice the kids frustration. A teacher certainly would not be able to get a individualized curriculum for each struggling child. A teacher would miss that cute little dance that sent my heart flying. Teaching your own kids is not always easy and sometimes even the best scheduled plans and the most researched curriculum might need adjustment, but isn't that the best part? As homeschoolers we can do exactly what is best for our children. And sometimes the best things in homeschool are FREE!

Check out Erica's new printables here: http://confessionsofahomeschooler.blogspot.com/2010/09/1-20-writing-practice.html

Tales and Misadventures of Black Eyed Pea

The kids were playing a fun filled game of "chase me" through the living room when I heard the telltale scream. Ava had tripped and crashed into Owen who then fell into Emma sending Emma flying head first into the coffee table. I christen thee Black Eyed Pea.

Emma's Sensory Boxes

My sensory boxes are finally taking shape. I have decided to make my boxes with single color themes and a few season/holiday boxes as well.

I started the boxes by selecting a base product and color for each box. Pasta, rice, split peas and beans are a few awesome base products. The nice thing about using pasta and rice is that you can dye it any color. I used cous cous for the brown and it took the dye perfectly and ended up as our favorite base because it feels like sand or dirt and looks great in the box.



For my pink box I used a mix of white and brown rice because I thought the two varieties would pick up the dye differently and and visual interest.



I started by mixing food coloring to rubbing alcohol. I tried using vinegar, but it made the pasta sticky.



The process was to add the base product to a gallon ziplock then pour the food coloring and rubbing alcohol mixture and shake. I let it all sit in the baggie for about 30 minutes flipping it over every 10 minutes or so to make sure the pasta got an even coat.

Then you pour it out onto a cookie sheet to dry like you see with the orange pasta below. While the pasta is on the cookie sheet you can add essential oils or candle scent to make your base product smell good too!





I used Orange essential oil for the orange pasta, mint for the green split peas, pumpkin pie spice for the brown, Grape for the purple, lemon for the yellow, and apple spice for the red.

The next stage was the hardest! Finding interesting trinkets that encourage the use of all of your child's senses can be trying! I added a lot of textures by adding pom pom's, curled ribbon, buttons, a bowl and some type of scoop, painted letters and shapes, toys and trinkets to each box. As we go through them I will add something that Emma can taste to each box.


I prepped our fall box to go the extra mile by finding some apples, Thanksgiving and Halloween trinkets to add and remove as the holidays come and go. One of the activities will be to identify the new items and the missing items!

I am putting the finishing touches on the boxes and then they will go into the storage closet and come out one at a time. Emma, Ava and Owen got a hold of the "pink" box tonight as I was working on assembling all the boxes. They immediately instigated a 2 hour exploring session and a lot of begging for school to have a Sunday school day added to our week!