Classic Hilton's

First, let me clarify. I genuinely enjoy homeschooling. The planning and organization can, yes, be a tad overwhelming. Nevertheless, they fall in the sweet spot of my wheelhouse.  I look ahead. It's what I do. In March 2014, I was already planning our whole 2015-2016 academic year.  It is January now, we are about half way through the year and my brain can't help but skip ahead to July and August when my little school will house a 5th grader, KINDERGARTNER, and a 4 year old. It's what I do.  Before you write me off as crazy, I would like to point out that I don't hash out every detail. The farther away I am from an event, the broader my brush strokes. At the start of the year I catch the flavor, figure out our direction. In March-April-May I start making decisions and buying curriculum. By the time our academic year starts in July I have a pretty good birds eye view of what we're going to cover.  Since this is our second year of preschool (and next year will be ou...

He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young. Isaiah 40:11 (NIV)  I can't help but chuckle over the tender ways God deals with me.  It is not easy to describe what has been going on in my heart and head, but I suppose the best way is to say that so many of my dreams have come true or changed that I don't quite know what to dream about anymore. I know that sounds ridiculously hopeless which is not at all how I mean it because I know I have so much life to look forward to. I guess it's just in the vein of personal development...soul nourishment...what is my place outside of wife and mother?  I could go into a lot more detail here, but for now I think I'll leave it and just say that I have questions and I've been seeking the Lord about them. So then there is Grayson. Sweet, tenacious, four year old, control-freak Grayson. All of my children like plans, but Grayso...

As a child January always felt bleak - cold and barren compared to the warmth and bustle of the Christmas season. Now as an adult, a mom, and a teacher it feels like the perfect fresh start. Phase One of the restoration promised with the redemption of Advent. Perfect time to take stock, evaluate growth, and set goals. Personally I am working through a bit of a "who am I?" crisis of the soul, but that is not the topic of this blog.  I started this academic year with much excitement, lots of very detailed plans, and (I think) pretty realistic expectations. As I examine our Fall and Holiday terms, I find myself over the moon pleased with how things have gone. I think maybe the Lord (who has very much been the leader of this little endeavor!) allowed things to progress smoothly. Maybe he knew I would need validation or maybe he's giving me some good memories to hold on to when things get difficult down the road. Or maybe it's true that peace is a natural byproduct of or...

October 24, 2015 We have officially completed our Fall Term* of the 2015-2016 Academic Year! (Loud cheers and confetti!) *Explanation: During my planning at the beginning of the year I broke the academic year (July 1-June30) into six terms. They are all approximately six weeks with breaks falling when we need them to and around holidays, etc. I use this as a very flexible guide to keep me on track, mostly for those days when I just don't "feel" like doing school. I know we have some wiggle room available, and the idea of doing school in June (yuck!) is usually enough motivation to persevere.  To date we have logged 73 of our required 180 days. I saw a discussion recently on what "counts" as a school day, especially when such a big part of our educational goals has to do with character and life skills. Do I count the hour my nine year old learned how to do laundry as school? What about the random discussion we had about Bhutan after church? Geography? Check...

I see lots of posts and blogs and hear from other moms about how overwhelming homeschooling is. I have had moments, sure, but my over all experience has been so good. I even posted an update recently about how smooth things are going and wondering what am I doing wrong? It's too easy! But the truth has caught up to me at last. As it turns out, I am very much an overwhelmed homeschool mom, just not about the homeschool part.  Let me 'splain. I genuinely enjoy planning, preping, teaching, and even grading. Once I dug into planning and figured out how it was going to work (thank you - Amongst Lovely Things spiral notebooks !) I just loved it. I know it will get harder and more frustrating, but whatever. Right now it's my happy place. What overwhelms me - what has always overwhelmed me - is keeping up with the rest of the house. Dishes...laundry...clutter... shopping...cooking...again...again! ARGH! While I have made huge strides in my housekeeping skills over the last ten ye...

Crazy. Sometimes life is just crazy.  For example, yesterday Madi and Grayson came downstairs where I was making lunch to inform me that they had beans up their noses.  See, we have a sensory bin. It's a large, flat tub that I keep filled with things like dried beans, corn, or rice. We pull it out when we need a little extra fun and the kids can dig around and play. It's obnoxious to clean up, but otherwise a great activity. We have had it in our home for the last two years and have NEVER had an issue with it. I guess we were due.  So Grayson plugged up his nostril and blew his bean out, no problem. However, Madi, who is only three, did not quite understand the concept of "blow" being different from "suck". Even so, it almost came out, but then she sucked it back up into her nose. We called the doctor, packed up Brooklyn's school work and headed out. (I very nearly left the house with the stove on and my grilled cheese sandwich cooking, but remembe...

Things are going so well on the homeschool front, I can't help but think...am I doing something wrong? Not enough? Too much? I actually spent about 45 minutes today agonizing over a spelling program that is working fine but doesn't feel as cool as this other one I was considering. Ultimately I remembered that the program she is doing is perfectly respectable and not adding any stress to our work day so let's go ahead and keep it and maybe next year go in the different direction if I still want to. But seriously...45 minutes!  Is there not enough real drama in life to keep me busy that I must over analyze the program we have just started working through? Sheesh! We have been in school for about 65 days. We started co-op and Discovery Clubs at church. Brooklyn is in ballet, and most recently started rehearsals for a Christmas show and one of the local venues. We have a good routine going and have exercised our flexibility options without everything flying off the rails. A...