St. Francis Academy

Something for the little ones

I don't remember how I came across this blog, but the mom has some nice inspiring ideas for working with your little ones at home.  She describes Tot School as "nothing more than intentionally providing your tot with age appropriate activities that are fun and engaging." 

There's a part of me that wishes I could go back and do things over with our first few kids, who didn't have the benefit of this lifestyle of learning that we are now immersed in since first beginning homeschooling when Connor was a baby.  Many folks call homeschooling "enhanced parenting," but I ashamedly admit that those things that 'good' parents do with their kids, fun and engaging activities, didn't really come naturally to me when our oldest three were little.  And while I sometimes feel like the younger group here--the ones who have been exposed to homeschooling since birth--miss out on more structured time with me, they are still light-years ahead of where the oldest three were when they were little as far as having engaging things to do.

What really appeals to me about the Tot School idea is the intentional part.  It's simple, yet the learning, the fun learning, isn't completely accidental.  I'm inspired to be more engaged, more intentional with my two littles ones.

Another website for more intentional, engaged activities with the littlest ones is Brightly Beaming Resources.  The author has a variety of levels with free 'curriculum' ideas, even ones for intentionally interacting with your babies and toddlers!  Now, before you fall out of your seat with loud guffaws about how ridiculous it is to 'schedule' time to interact with your little ones, please consider that some of us just don't come to these things naturally with the first few kids.  Thus, these suggestions are handy and valuable.

"I don't know how you do it..."

This is a phrase I hear a lot as a response to our family size and home education.  I've even heard my mother mutter it from time to time.  Lest you think I am some saintly model of virtue, let me say up front that I am a weak human, prone to cave in to my fallen nature, and, thus, have my moments of ranting, raving, and general lunacy which seem to ebb and flow with my hormones.  Not that this gives me an excuse to misbehave, but at least answers my own question "Why did I just do that???" and humbly shows me just how much refining I need.  That said, here is a list of how we get by:

1. Giving up perfection: I am a recovering perfectionist, something I didn't realize until we had about 3 kids.  What that means is that there was a time in my life when many things would bother me because they weren't a certain way, including my kids.  If a child came down with a cold, I absurdly thought this was a reflection on my mothering skills, that I was failing miserably in being the perfect mom.  I know, silly, isn't it?  I've learned to get over myself, and that has made being a mom of a large family much easier.

2. Lowering my standards: This is similar to #1 in that I don't strive for anyone's idea of "perfect."  In many cases, the process is more important than the end result.  This is especially true of enlisting the kids' help in caring for the home.  It doesn't have to be "perfect" (excellent is nice), but it does have to get done.

3. Cleaning is a process: I don't know where I got the idea that once you clean something it should stay clean...forever.  That just isn't practical in a house with eight other people.  So, that's something else I learned to let go. 

4. Laundry happens: just get over it.  See below for details.

5. Scheduling: Now, I'm not talking Managers of Their Homes (MOTH)...I tried that, and there was just too much micro-management for my taste, though I accept that it is a great resource for many people.  I'm not even talking Flylady, though I am certainly indebted to her system.  Nope, I'm a big-time tweaker, so it's hard to follow anyone else's plan here on earth.  I needed something more organic, something that fit our house, our lifestyle, our family.  I borrowed ideas from Motivated Moms and Large Family Logistics, then developed my own weekly routine taking into consideration our family schedule and my own peculiar quirks (e.g. I can't relax in the evenings if the living room floor is cluttered).  Essentially, cleaning gets scheduled (see this post for ideas).  To "get over" the laundry dilemma, I decided it should have its own schedule to save my sanity.  Thus, each day is assigned to certain groups of people, towels, sheets, gentle cycle, and I use Saturday as a "catch up" day if need be.  There are usually 2 loads done each day, on average.  The nice part about it all is that I no longer let a job nag me (except that cluttered floor), since I know I'll be getting to it in the near future.  I did have it down in a binder at one time, but before #7 arrived, I took the time to transfer my assignments into my Pocket PC that sits on my desk.  The beauty of it is I still get to check off my boxes, and that if I don't get to a task on a given day, it carries over to the following day(s) until I check it off.  Beautiful!

6. We are relaxed homeschoolers: Yes, I make plans, but they are not detailed plans of what/how to teach for every day of the school year.  They are basic guides for me so I know when to get certain books from the library or order them from an online seller. For many subjects, it is pretty much just "do the next thing", so I don't do any pre-planning there.  This would be for those workbook subjects like math, spelling/vocabulary, handwriting/copywork, latin...you get the idea.  History, Science, Art, and Music are all done as a group, but there are reading assignments for each learning level.  I've detailed multi-level learning before, so I won't go into it here.  Basically the three oldest work together at the table in the morning, working from their weekly assignment check-off sheets, then listening in to whatever read-aloud I've chosen.  I'd like to do a similar work period for the three younger kids, but right now it's kind of a "when I can get to it" chaos.  The 7yo gets individual instruction for reading and phonics, but the rest is all pretty much child-led/unschooled.  Despite that (or because of?), the 5yo can read, they both do math fairly well, they can write their letters, and the 4yo knows her letters and numbers.  They all enjoy nature. 

7. My husband shops: That is a HUGE contribution, believe me! Yes, I do little grocery trips here and there, but he does the big shopping.  He's much better at it than I am.  Even though I make the lists, he has adapted to shopping for a large family.  I write down "lemonade" and buy one container, he buys two so we don't have to go back in a week when we're out...that sort of thing.  He also tries to run the kids to the bulk of their practices when he can, unless we're double-booked (thankfully not this current season, yay!)

8. I will not go to every activity: We have all come to the acceptance, in the best interest of all family members, that I will not attend every activity that each child is involved in.  First of all, there are times, usually during baseball or football season, that we are sometimes double- or triple-booked, so it just isn't possible (thank goodness for willing grandparents, friends, and teammates during those times).  Next, each child needs to realize that while they are each precious and special, the world does not revolve only around them.  Lastly, it's not fair to the littlest ones in the family to always be out and about, so sometimes I intentionally skip an activity so the little ones have the luxury of being on their own time.

9. It gets easier as they get older: When we meet someone and they learn about our family size, the usual response is "Seven kids?  I can't even imagine."  Usually it's someone who has a smaller family, perhaps with kids under the age of 8.  They imagine what they have, multiplied by 2, 3, or 4 and the mere thought of that is overwhelming.  But we don't have seven kids under 8...only four of them are under 8, and it's really just the two who are under 5 who are "work."  And by work I mean, helping to dress, going through food challenges, buckling into carseats, etc.  We also have three who are 10 and older, so they're able to lend a hand when necessary.  No, they aren't put completely in charge of their younger siblings, because...well, because they're kids, not parents.  I know I probably part ways here with many parents of large families, who often pair up siblings with the older one helping the younger.  Now, I do think it's nice to have extra sets of eyes and pairs of hands, especially when going on outings without my husband, but the children are ultimately the responsibility of me and my husband.  Are they still learning how to be responsible for someone besides themselves?  Certainly, but they are not required to do so.  I do rely on our oldest (14) at times to watch some of the younger kids when I need to run out and it's easier to just leave a few of the kids behind at home--usually the ones who can take care of themselves anyway--but I don't require her to babysit...she always has the option to say, "no, I'd rather not."  And then usually we'll all make the trip together.  That's a pretty rare event, though.

10. Perverance: As I said before, I am weak and prone to my fallen nature.  There are days when I want to pull out my hair in frustration, scream, cry, beat my fists into the floor...you name it...in short, I just want to give up.  Tomorrow, though, is another day.  "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God." (Psalms 42:11)

Look Who's Walking!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much does a video score??? :-)

Medieval Architecture Field Trips

 This post is about two weeks in the making, since we went to two separate field trips to enhance our study of medieval architecture.  Our first stop was Chateau LeRoche in Loveland, OH.  The castle is usually closed to the public during the month of October, but they opened up just for our local homeschool group.  Sadly, I forgot to bring the digital camera with me, so I had to resort to snapping pics on my cell phone.  That explains the poor quality of this photo that I took into the sun.

Anyway, our tour guide was dressed in a pirate costume since it was Halloween day and did a good job of informing us about the castle.  We had been to tour the castle once before, during the early years of our homeschooling journey, so we knew that it had been built by one man, Harry Andrews.  What we didn't know was that this castle is a fairly authentic model of a Norman castle that a baron would've lived in.

We also learned that many features of the castle which seemed odd to us were constructed for the purpose of protection.  For instance, the heavy front door was built in pieces, in a sort of patchwork design, and had hundreds of nails driven into it.  This was apparently to keep the door from being split down the middle by a battle axe when the castle was under attack (this is in theory, of couse).  It also opened in several different ways, as it was constructed as a dutch door, and had a smaller door through which one could enter and exit once the larger door had been bolted shut.

 The narrow spiral staircases built out of stone had steps of varying heights to make it more difficult for an attacker to quickly access the higher floors (should said attacker use a battering ram to knock down the front door).  Our pirate guide made it all very exciting and interesting.  We skipped out about ten minutes into the "ghost" stories as the little kids were getting fussy and we were all kind of hungry.

 

Our second stop was today, when we went to visit  St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, KY.  The exterior facade in the front of the cathedral is based on Notre Dame de Paris.  I wasn't able to get my own photo, as I would've had to cross the street, something I didn't think was worth doing with seven kids in tow.  If you check out both websites, you will see the similarities.  Features of the exterior that I pointed out to the kids that they learned about were flying buttresses and gargoyles. 

Julia was responsible for taking photos, since I'm not able to be very still while holding the baby.  She also tends to have a better eye for interesting photos, so below is some of her work.

    

Flying buttresses as seen from the north parking lot. 

 

Gargoyles flank the two towers to the west, which are at the front of the cathedral.

The interior of the cathedral was modeled after the Abbey Church of St. Denis.  Both St. Denis and Notre Dame were constructed during the time period of Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine (who later married Henry II of England and was the mother of Richard the Lionheart).  It all fit in nicely with the unit we're studying in history right now: Henry II, Eleanor and sons.  Here are some more photos from the interior:

 

The Rose Window

 

One of the largest stained glass windows in the world.