Author: valuesdr

No-TV Family Fun

valuesdr

I remember a young mother with two children under the age of three commenting to me that she was really trying to find things for the whole family to enjoy together (besides incessant games of Candy Land, which of course are of limited fun for the parents, anyway). And in a recent conversation with a friend of mine, she wondered what our family does with all of our “free time,” since we don’t watch TV.

Of course, now that the weather is getting nicer, it’s prime outdoor time. The options for “things to do” as a family are becoming a bit more varied than they were in the cold and snow of Winter. It seems a good time to delve into the topic of “family fun” and talk about some options.

Before enumerating a list of such fun things, it’s important to examine one’s definition of “fun.” I think our definition might be a little different from the average. Frankly, our culture seems consumed with entertainment, and it’s no more than a manifestation of the sinful nature. (What will please “me?” What will make “me” happy?) But Scripture clearly teaches us that we are to put God first, and then to “consider others better than ourselves.”

Another problem we have seen is that work is viewed simply as a necessary evil. We count the hours until the end of the day…plan our next vacation…and often endure as drudgery what should be meaningful and profitable labor. Aren’t we supposed to “work with all our heart, as working for the Lord, not men?”

With those thoughts in mind, let’s consider what we can do for fun as a family! Personally, we have a lot to do around our home. We typically WORK together for FUN! And, honestly, the work is enjoyable, most of the time. Many parents seek to avoid this, saying, “Let kids be kids,” but the truth is that we’re preparing them to be adults, and they will need to know how to work. Not only that, but we do want them to enjoy their work! We’ve found that working together as a family builds camaraderie between all family members and also imparts a wonderful attitude of diligence in the children. As we work, we are training them in valuable skills. But more than that, we sing. We talk. We praise God for His good gifts. What’s not to enjoy?

We have goats and chickens and rabbits, and we enjoy them while we labor to take care of them. We just had some baby rabbits born, and they sure are cute! We brought one in to play with it for a while last night. The kids also have fun collecting and counting the chicken’s eggs, watering the animals (and oftentimes each other!), and running the goats out to their daily pasture.

We are putting in our garden right now, which is cooperative work for the whole family–but a lot of fun!. Very often, we simply enjoy walking around the yard, seeing what’s growing, picking flowers, and just appreciating the blessing of it all.

We are blessed to have a quad that we drive around our property as well–that often adds an element of fun to splitting and stacking wood and general yard clean-up. We also “mow the lawn as a family”–one of my 5 year-old’s frequent requests and a favorite activity, because my husband drives the lawn tractor and the rest of us pile into the trailer. We dodge tree branches, watch forgotten toys get mulched by the mower, pick flowers as they race by, and generally enjoy each other and the beauty of God’s creation. But, yes, our lawn is getting mowed, too!

It’s not always work, though! We have an occasional picnic right in our own back yard, and play outdoor sports like basketball, baseball, swimming, and so on. Dad and the boys do target shooting, often with friends. We have a ravine in our back yard which makes fun hunting for critters like salamanders, snails, and other back yard wildlife. Even though there’s no big fish, the boys love bringing their poles and catching minnows!

Granted, you may not have the “homesteading” atmosphere that we have here. However, you can still explore the great outdoors at a local reserve or state forest. Find a park near your home. Talk walks in your neighborhood. Go to the home of some friends where you are able to “spread out” and enjoy nature, once in a while. Plant a window box garden of herbs or flowers in a sunny window instead of outdoors. Honestly, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you need to do expensive or high-impact things. Just make it a point to enjoy whatever you do as a family.

When it’s cold or rainy, we often do indoor “work projects” that are learning experiences as well: electrical, plumbing, tiling, building of all kinds (large- and small-scale). Even if the younger children can’t “do” anything, they go-fer tools, get tickled at off-moments, and simply enjoy the togetherness. You can see from Isaiah’s lamp project that he even does these “work projects” in his own free time.

Even if you’re not skilled in some of these areas, there are probably little “home improvement” projects that you can experiment with around the house. It can be fun to try, and learn, as a family! Get a do-it-yourself book out of the library and explore a site like DoItYourself.com.

You might also check out some fun (and relatively inexpensive) gadgets and gizmos at a site like American Science and Surplus. I’m sure there are others, but this is one of my favorites. Our oldest also just likes getting “junk” and taking it apart. How about taking apart a clock to see how it works? Think of the possibilities for family fun!

Music is also great fun for the whole family. We are very much NOT musically inclined, but we have a few hymn books with accompanying CDs as well as CDs with praise songs that we enjoy singing during family devotional times or at other times during the day. If you can play instruments, that is awesome family fun! We also play musical games like Ring Around the Rosie, London Bridge, Hokey Pokey, and Pop Goes the Weasel–especially to entertain the little ones.

And what about ministering as a family? For us, that is more than rewarding and something we try to do frequently. We’ve made cookies and cards with Scriptures in them to bring downtown to workers at the local post office and bank. We regularly open our home for dinners, Bible studies, and other events and we work together to neaten up the house, prepare food, and especially pray for the needs of those who will attend.

Even when indoors, we make an effort to “make the most of every opportunity,” doing fun things that are also profitable. We watch educational movies (even Biology 101 from Westfield Studios was a surprise hit–great videography and advanced teaching–but enjoyed by everyone in the family!). We also play board games, although we have only a few that everyone can play, given the disparate ages and stages of our children. Variations of bingo are fun, I Spy (the board game) is good, and then there’s charades, “The Journeys of Paul” from Cactus Games, and Bible trivia. We also enjoy “20 Questions,” and, yes, the occasional game of Candy Land.

And, Dad is a great story teller. He tells funny, challenging, and always engaging tales that of course include many of the children in the plot. The children also take their turns in creative storytelling.

We also read books aloud. We’ve been blessed by reading my grandfather’s biography–his life story of growing up in Oklahoma during the Great Depression, fighting in World War II and then being a prisoner of war of the Japanese for 3-1/2 years. We also read the free Voice of the Martyrs/Kids of Courage magazines every time they come out, and Foxe’s Book of Martyrs as well. There are eternal lessons there, which are of great value–and we simply enjoy spending the time together as we are blessed by those stories. We also try out some of the classics on occasion–whatever seems most interesting at the moment.

I don’t want you to think that you must do these certain things. Everyone’s circumstances are different, of course, and I suppose my description of our “family fun things to do” would look radically different if we were in another locale. However, I would challenge you to look at where you are and what you do there, and to consider all of those things in light of eternity and in light of God’s plan and purpose for your family. I would urge you to “make the most of every opportunity,” both in work and in play. And try to simplify! Find things to do that cost less money, involve less driving, and allow you–as a family–to focus on each other and enjoy God, His creation, His people, and His blessings to you.

Feel free to leave comments about your “family fun” that might give others some additional ideas!

Christian Parental Rights Threatened

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The rights of all fundamentalist Christian parents are being threatened by the current Texas case. Members of a group are being stripped of their children based on simply the “potential” for abuse–not based on actual crimes–all resulting from a court order resulting from what has been proven to be a false report. If you homeschool, spank your children, or ascribe to any other worldview that is at odds with society as a whole, you run the risk of being labeled part of a group that has the “potential” to abuse your children. This is scary stuff for any loving parent who ascribes to a Biblical worldview.

Read this article for details: http://www.blacklistednews.com/iNP/view.asp?ID=6369

Works for me Wednesday: Making the most of BulkFoods.com

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I got a tip about BulkFoods.com from a previous edition of “Works for me Wednesday” (for more tips, visit Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer). I thought it might be helpful to share a bit about my visit there in order to help you optimize yours.

BulkFoods.com specializes in bulk candies, but they also offer many baking staples (spices, herbs, grains), seeds, beans, and various types of nutritional supplements.

If you order there, you need to take advantage of the FREE SHIPPING FOR ORDERS OVER $75. Honestly, spending $75 is not a problem, and with shipping charges being what they are I don’t imagine that BulkFoods.com would be that much of a savings if you order less than $75 and then pay shipping additional on top of what you order. Also, it is important to note that the unit cost of all items is lower as you order larger quantities. I tried to order the maximum of every item, but it does make your shopping cart total add up rather quickly.Personally, I think that helped me to seriously consider what I “needed” to be purchasing. 🙂

My first question was, how does BulkFoods.com compare with my usual shopping at Sam’s Club? I usually do Sam’s once a month. I don’t clip coupons. I don’t shop sales. I just get the bare-bones basics at Sam’s and we make do with what we have. It works for us. Sam’s Club prices are good, and the Click-n-Pull service is just the icing on the cake.

I spent about an hour cross-referencing SamsClub.com with BulkFoods.com, comparing various things that I would normally buy (nuts, raisins, yeast, dry milk–which, by the way, they don’t always have at my local Sam’s and which is cheaper at Aldi anyway).

One thing that I have always wished that they carried at Sam’s is dry beans–and that is one thing that I found to be a pretty decent deal at BulkFoods.com. I LOVE their bean soup mix! I don’t think that the beans are comparatively much cheaper than what you can get at your local grocery store, but since I was shopping anyway (and wanted to take advantage of the free shipping), I added the beans to my cart because I didn’t feel that they were “over-priced.”

Most other standard items (like the ones I listed above) were hands-down cheaper at Sam’s. However, the prices may compare more favorably to standard grocery prices (particularly yeast, which I have always found to be outrageously expensive anywhere but Sam’s Club).

The items I ended up purchasing at BulkFoods.com were the “unique” items that I’ve only seen there and that I can’t purchase locally. On those items, their prices compared favorably to other online sources.

For example, I got some citric acid to make cottage cheese. I also found that it is a great JUICE EXTENDER! I mix a bottle of juice with a bottle of water and add a few tablespoons of citric acid. The kids can barely tell the difference! 🙂 (There is even a recipe for cottage cheese on the Web site, BTW.)

I got some of their powdered chicken soup base, which I prefer to the individual bouillion cubes I get at Sam’s. I also like their cream soup base. Granted, if I wanted to make a cream soup or sauce, I could go by my usual recipe and use standard ingredients, BUT the powdered base has been a real time-saver and worth the price. I’ve used it to make a quick cream of tomato soup, an alfredo sauce for pasta, and a cheddar cheese sauce for broccoli. All you do is whisk 8 T. of soup base (about 1/2 c.) with 2 c. of water, simmer for 15 min. or so, and then add a small can of tomato paste (for soup), 1/2 c. or so of parmesan cheese (for an alfredo-type sauce) or 1/2 c. of cheddar cheese. I’ve also whisked a few tablespoons of the base into chicken broth for use in chicken pot pie.

A friend of mine whose son has various food allergies was thrilled to get some rice flour at BulkFoods.com. She also mentioned that they prefer the flavor of sea salt to regular table salt, and BulkFoods also has sea salt at competitive prices.

So that’s my $ .02 on BulkFoods.com, which (in conjunction with Sam’s Club) has become a once-a-month regular place to stock up. It Works for Me!

Why I Love Dandelions

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Yesterday I got my first dandelions of the season. My beautiful two year-old came to the front door with five dandelion heads squashed in her chubby fist: “Opee da doe [that’s “open the door”], I fowers fo’ YOU, Mom! [“I have flowers for YOU, Mom!”]
I sigh. But not one of those exasperated sighs that my children sometimes hear. No, one of those sighs of sweet memories. She’s the fifth child to bring me one of my most favorite things: dandelions. And not just any dandelions. Beautiful, half-dead-by-the-time-I-get-them dandelion heads. You can see them in the photo on my “keepsake” window sill over the kitchen sink. I have to smile every time I see them. Why? Because of her innocence. Her joy. Her love in bringing me the prettiest thing she could find.
And, yet, looking at these dandelions brings me a twinge of regret, too. Because I know that next year she’ll bring me dandelions that actually have stems. I can put them in water. The Spring after that, she’ll probably realize that dandelions are just weeds. So she’ll bring me some of the daffodils that are just peeking their heads out of the garden beds. The next season, likely she’ll be too big and too busy to bring me any flowers at all. (Sigh).
It just makes me wonder how many precious moments I “don’t” see. How many sweet things my kids do…how they are TODAY, that I don’t fully appreciate. What will I remember in 5 years? What WON’T I remember? Getting dandelions just makes me want to savor every moment of this day with my little ones. Pretty soon, they will be only memories. I’m crying just thinking about it…

I’m Thankful :)

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They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here’s a picture from yesterday…it’s of Marc and all but one of the kids (the six month-old) outside working in the rabbit pen:


What does this picture say? Well, to me, lots of things. And they all have to do with thankfulness.

I am thankful that we can (on relatively short notice) take a Friday “off” and enjoy it together as a family.

I am thankful for the beautiful Spring weather that we’ve been enjoying lately.

I am thankful for my children.Their photo just reminds me why each one is special. What would I do without any ONE of them?

I am thankful for my husband, who is such a wonderful father and would rather WORK with his children on his day off than do just about anything else (at least, he is kind enough to say so).

And, I am thankful to the Lord for graciously giving us all good things to enjoy.

Works for me Wednesday: It’s all about Perspective

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I haven’t done a “Works for me Wednesday” in a while–though I’m sure Shannon hasn’t noticed ;). Honestly, I don’t have time for a long post right now, since my wee ones will be waking up from afternoon naps soon AND I have some cookies to make for a “play date” tomorrow AND I still don’t even know WHAT I’m making for supper! Not only that, but we’ve been busy with various things, including Cindy Rushton’s ULTIMATE HOMESCHOOL EXPO! (Can you tell we’re excited about it? If you homeschool and you haven’t checked it out, you really should–it’s an amazing VIRTUAL conference with tons of awesome workshops and lots of FREEBIES–my favorite!)
…ANYWAY…
I did have something on my heart that I wanted to write about–something that WORKS FOR ME today! It’s all about perspective.
If you’re anything like me, sometimes you get focused on the wrong stuff. Life gets busy and you just need to get the laundry done. Just want the kids to “behave.” Have to DO all the stuff on your to-do list…BUT it often seems like the harder you try, the more stumbling blocks you find in your path. Why? Personally, that happens to me when I am focused on what *I* want, think, or feel. Difficulties and challenges are often just gentle reminders that GOD may have other plans.
Or, it may be that I just need a new perspective. It’s not that those “things” don’t NEED to get done. Or that God doesn’t want me to do them. But He wants me to do what needs doing, with the right HEART ATTITUDE. And sometimes I don’t have that. I get going on a project or start off moving in a certain direction and I get tunnel vision…sort of like a hound dog with his nose to the ground following a trail. He’d probably bump his head into a brick wall because he failed to look up. And sometimes, I fail to look “up,” too! Do you?
What has really been working for me lately is to try to keep the proper perspective on things. It can be tough to do in the busyness of life, but it’s a necessary effort. I’m continually reminding myself that it’s not so much about what we’re doing as about how we’re doing it. And I got a nice reminder on that this morning from my boys, so I wanted to share it.

Yesterday, the boys had gone outside with the assignment of cleaning the yard. (If your kids are anything like mine, they have lots of outdoor toys, do projects, and just leave stuff laying around until we let them know that it’s just not acceptable). Anyway, they started off working pretty hard but it was SO nice. And there was this tree house project that they had been working on, which they could return to, if only their work was done. So in the end, I think the effort was pretty half-hearted. Certainly not the diligent work that I’d have liked to see. It became painfully obvious to me only after looking out over the yard from my bedroom window this morning–and I could see many, many things still littering the lawn. But, they didn’t have the benefit of my perspective. We have a big yard, and they are relatively little people. They got tired of traipsing all over the place. And, yes, they did want to play. Mostly, though, I just don’t think they could “see” everything that I saw from my vantage point at the window.
So this morning, I sent them upstairs to look out of my window. I wanted them to see where all the “stuff” was, and then go out and take care of it. They did a MUCH better job. And it was all about perspective, they agreed.

It was just one more reminder to me that I need to have the right perspective on all of my “doings.” It’s not about me, it’s about God. It’s not about my plans, but His. And we may be in agreement about what needs to be done, but He also wants it done with the right heart-attitude. Outlook is everything.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9, NIV)

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”
“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:33-36, NIV)

Outward Chaos, Inner Peace

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Maybe you don’t suffer from the same perfectionist tendencies that I do. But I can’t count the number of times that my husband has laughed at me for being unable to walk by the end table and NOT straighten up the stack of books. Or leave the forgotten (name the toy) in the middle of the living room floor–even when more pressing things are going on. So as you can imagine, I would normally be perturbed (to a great degree, in fact) about the condition of my home yesterday afternoon:

However, I found myself rather at peace inwardly, in spite of the disorder on the outside. Why? I don’t know. Honestly, it was a bit unusual. But instead of being in a rush to DO all the “stuff,” I was praising God for a BEAUTIFUL Spring afternoon. Glad that my kids could FINALLY be playing outside…and wanting to be outside to enjoy it with them! So I was in and out, doing a little of this and a little of that in the house (because, as you can see, there was a great deal to do!) AND hanging out enjoying my kids and the beautiful weather.

I was also trying not to focus on the immense amount of work that our Sam’s Club trip & other errands were (even given that we used Click ‘n Pull, which–IMHO–is a God-send!). Instead, I was just SOOOO thankful for NEW FOOD!! The last week of March was a stretch, as our grocery budget isn’t going as far as it used to.

And, at 4:15–when I realized that if I kept up my current pace the house would continue in this downward-spiraling direction and we wouldn’t eat dinner until 6:30–I called the kids in from outside for an Emergency Clean-up. One boy put away clean dishes and washed a few more. Another did “clutter control” and put away a bunch of the things that were laying around. The girls put their laundry away and set the table for supper. I finished putting *most* of the groceries away and had one of the boys drag the cart outside. (Praise God for the cart!!) A concerted half-hour effort actually normalized things amazingly well.

The wood pile (or, rather, where the wood pile WAS) is still in need of cleaning. And today I DEFINITELY have to attack that huge laundry pile. But in spite of the chaos, yesterday was a great day.

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)

Preparatory Work

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Our children are pretty well-trained to help out around the house. They have scheduled chores that they do on a daily basis, but I can also ask them to give me a hand with odds and ends that are needed throughout the day.


However, sometimes they need help in order to be so helpful to me.  For example: as my little ones napped this afternoon, I thought ahead to what job they would be doing when they got up…dishes! Now, one can wash and the other can rinse, but they aren’t yet proficient at putting in “just enough” dish liquid or getting the water temperature just right. For that matter, they get a bit frustrated by things that are too heavy for their little hands, or pans that are too tough for them to scrub. So my job—before they did their job—was to wash a couple of pots and pans, then make sure the sink was just full enough of warm water and bubbles. As I blog, my three and five year-old daughters are now busily washing and rinsing

the remaining dishes! They are not even aware of the work that I did beforehand.


How does this relate to family and ministry? Well, sometimes (given the number of young children we have), I wonder if we’re “doing” enough. We want our children to have a heart for the lost and to be “ministry minded”—but if actual, hands-on opportunities get to be few and far between, how do we facilitate this process?

It helps me to remember that in ministry (just as in this example with my girls) there is the work that we immediately associate with a given task. But there is also preparatory (and often unseen) work as well.

So even though, as a family with lots of “littles,” I’m not (ever) out there witnessing in the streets, I try to think of what we can do to help out before, during, or after others (like my husband) do the actual work of the ministry. At one time, I helped out by making lists of visitation possibilities for evangelistic outreach. I also followed up with phone calls after the visits. When we know of someone who is doing the work of evangelism, we pray for them and for those with whom they come into contact. Prayer is an important, unseen work in the process of sharing the gospel!

We can also encourage others in their ministry, whatever it might be, by sending cards or making occasional phone calls. Letting people know that we are praying for them or that their work is appreciated is never a wasted effort. Such encouragements often provide a boost to someone who may be weary in serving, and can be an impetus for them to press on in whatever God has called them to do.

As parents, we are constantly engaged in “preparatory work” when we make the effort that is needed to disciple our children: training, instructing, encouraging, and disciplining them. We help our children to grow in Christlike character as we live a life of example, teach from God’s Word, encourage proper behaviors, and correct misbehavior—always with their heart and their relationship with the Lord in mind. So when we do get an opportunity to engage in more active (or “obvious”) ministry as a family, we are all prepared to be a true witness for Christ, glorifying Him in the way that we behave.

So if you, like me, are a home mom, don’t be discouraged because you are not “doing” any ministry. Think about how you, and your children along with you, can continually participate in others’ efforts—even (and especially) in unseen ways. And remember that very moment of every day, you are on the front lines, preparing your children for a lifetime of serving the Lord.

Newest Members of the Carrier Family

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We are excited to have gotten our new goats! The brown and white one is named Cassie, and the white one is Pixie. Cassie is already milking, and Pixie is supposed to kid sometime in April.

Of course, there is a bit of a learning curve on the goat thing for us. We’ve never milked a goat but have enjoyed learning about it (a good article, with pictures, on wikiHow), and we have some very informative resources like “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” and “Barnyard in Your Backyard,” in particular.

Oh, and I had a great chat the other day about “Integrating Little Ones into Your Homeschool” on Cindy Rushton‘s Talk-a-Latte program–ramping up for her Ultimate Homeschool Expo–can’t wait for that!! If you aren’t able to go to your local homeschool convention, definitely attend this one; it’s ALL online! Anyway, during the chat I mentioned the new goats, and someone asked me for good Web links to research the topic. I didn’t remember any off-hand. I asked her to email me…and she didn’t, but maybe she’ll visit our blog–or the link will help someone else. 🙂 There is a forum with some “101”-type information at http://www.dairygoatinfo.com/. Another good starting point is http://www.goatwisdom.com/. Finally, try http://fiascofarm.com/goats/index.htm or http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/ (this is a great forum with information on raising all kinds of animals!). Too much information?! Yeah, right now we’re a bit overloaded…but it’s been fun.

One of the things we were concerned about was that we’d invest a lot in goats, fencing, supplies, and so on…and we wouldn’t like the milk. But, we’re happy to report that it tastes much like cow’s milk and everybody loves it! Of course, we’re probably getting less than we should, given that we’re novices at the whole milking thing…and the bucket is getting stepped in and tipped over until she gets used to us and we get used to her. But, so far so good. We’re pressing on. 🙂

Homeschooling with Little Ones on wikiHow

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How to Homeschool With Infants, Toddlers, or Preschoolers

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Maybe you have been successfully homeschooling older children. You have developed your academic goals for them and have chosen a curriculum or method and materials that work well for you. But what happens when you add infants, toddlers, or preschoolers into the mix? How do you adequately nurture the little ones without compromising the educational needs of your older children, neglecting your home management responsibilities, or missing out on the joy of day-to-day life as a family? Following these steps can help!

Steps

  1. Prioritize. Make sure to put first things first. Priorities will be different for each family, and different tasks have to be juggled on different days, with varying levels of importance–so this is a very fluid process. Our priorities: faith, family relationships, discipleship of our children, academic learning, and home management. Not everything needs to be done perfectly every day. The idea is that in the long-haul all your goals will be met. Remember that when you homeschool, it’s 24/7/365, not from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday, 180 days a year. Some days it seems that we have to emphasize character-building issues and it may be a temporary frustration not to do so much “schooling,” but we catch up quite easily on other days. It’s a balance–so set your priorities and keep them in some kind of order, day by day.
  2. Develop a good routine. “Schedule,” maybe–if it works and doesn’t become a hard task-master for you. Routine, DEFINITELY. Everything goes much smoother if everyone knows what to “generally” expect in the course of each day. Make time for Bible reading and prayer if this is a priority for you. Fit in chores, school time, free time for the children, some family time, extra-curricular activities (well-considered), and whatever else is on your priority list.
  3. Integrate life and school. As much as possible, consider how multiple objectives can be met concurrently. Some of the things that need “doing”: taking care of the baby, keeping the young ones occupied during school time, schooling the older kids, character training, home management and perhaps ministry or service within the community. And of course, it’s important to always enjoy just being a family! Some examples of integration: let one of your older children spend some time rocking the baby while they listen to a teaching tape or watch an educational video. Have a daily 30-minute chore time (or two, 30-minute chore times) during which everyone helps in some aspect of home management or food preparation. At the same time, do math drills out loud, Mom can read aloud to the kids while they work, or verbally review what the children have learned in their lessons during the morning or the day before. Let the little ones use the math manipulatives that the older kids are using or scribble on paper while the big kids do their writing. It may be a bit distracting, but it keeps the family unified and lets the little ones feel included–thus, they are often less disruptive.
  4. Integrate multiple subject areas. Think about how you can kill many birds with one stone in academic learning by doing a Unit Study on a topic of interest. Use your science or history textbook as a springboard for theme-related ideas that you can flesh out with different activities. A quick search online will usually result in many great ideas, no matter what topic you want to cover. One example: One science topic on our list of objectives was to study the human body systems. We read a library book on body systems (SCIENCE), then (for LANGUAGE ARTS), we reviewed how to use a dictionary. The younger children used a simple kids’ dictionary and the older used a standard dictionary. Each child looked up different words related to the topic. (For example, the first grader looked up things like “brain,” “stomach,” and “lungs,” while the third grader defined things like “system,” “organ,” and so on.) They wrote words and definitions, then a short summary of what we had read. To integrate MATH, we compared the interrelated body systems to the interrelation of different mathematical operations (i.e., addition as the opposite of subtraction, and multiplication and division as inverse operations). Integrating social studies in this case was a bit challenging so we simply did some book work at a later time. Integration is great, but it doesn’t have to be all-or-none. You can purchase many unit study materials, but a little creativity and an Internet connection sometimes suffices just as well. Also consider how the arts and different subject areas can be integrated just through journaling and “living books,” as in the Charlotte Mason approach.
  5. Expect and train your younger children (toddlers and preschoolers) to occupy themselves with a single activity for at least 20-30 minutes during school time. Activities in a bag or box are good for this (many ideas online, free or for purchase). Help them enjoy reading by giving them quality picture books and simple stories for an independent “reading time.”
  6. Meet the unique needs of your little ones. Balance quiet times with more physical activities. Keep them well-hydrated and offer small,healthy, mid-morning snacks. Fill them up with some “Mommy time” before their more independent play period. Finally, don’t expect them to tend to a task or activity for much more than 20-30 minutes.

Tips

  • Always supervise your little ones visually, even if they are expected to be doing something independently.
  • Be willing to invest time in training your children–this makes the process of academic learning much smoother, when it happens.
  • Don’t forget, you are a family first–so no matter what you are “doing,” make it a priority to love and enjoy one another.

Warnings

  • Again, always adequately supervise your little ones. With multiple ages of chilren, it’s easy for little ones to grab little things that are potential choking hazards, or for them to wander off and find trouble while mom is addressing a schooling issue with one of the other children!

Sources and Citations

  • The original content for this how-to was developed from “The Growing Homeschool: Integrating Babies and Toddlers into Your Already Busy Schedule” by Cynthia Carrier. [1].

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