2009 September

Michaelmas!

September 29, 2009 By Homegrown Mom Filed Under: Creating Family Times, Homeschool

Today, September 29, is celebrated all over the world as Michaelmas, or the feast of St. Michael. I originally read about this holiday in Mrs.Sharp’s Traditions and we tweaked it a little and made our own tradition. According to Wikipedia, It is based on “the legend” of the archangel Michael who banished Satan from heaven. Michaelmas is celebrated differently depending on where you live. If you live in the Mills house, it goes something like this…

First, we read Revelation 12:7-12

Here, we read John’s firsthand account of Michael and his army of angels fighting Satan (the dragon) and his angels. Satan was defeated and hurled down to Earth where he spends his days as the accuser of the believers. (But he was filled with fury because he knows his time is short! verse 12) We then talk a bit about the devil, temptation, and his clever evil ways. This time is pretty laid back, I just go with the flow of what seems to be on their minds.

If you’d like to have some scriptures on hand, here are a few:

James 1:13-15

Genesis 3:1-6

Ephesians 6:12-18

Then, we make a tasty dragon of our own

I use canned cinnamon roll dough (with 8 rolls) for this. We roll out 3 pieces into a dragon-ish shape. Top that with dried fruit and add a top layer of 3 more pieces. I then cut one of the remaining 2 pieces into triangles and we make spikes. The last roll we leave as a head and add a raisin eye. We pop him into the fiery pit ( a 375 oven) and await his demise (for about 20 minutes).

Here’s the poor little guy before we cooked him: (You can see my family time book in the corner of the pic!)

It’s no work of art, but it sure is tasty! While we’re waiting for the dragon to cook, we clean up and one of the girls gets ready for our next step…

Donning a white robe, one of the kids gets to play Michael.

Once the dragon is out of the oven, we pour the provided icing on top. Then whoever is playing Michael gets to slay the dragon with a big knife. Supervised, of course. We do our best angel-soldier looking poses while doing this so I can add our memory to our family time book!

Finally, We Eat the Dragon!

Kids around here prefer their dragons with ice cold milk. Mommy likes coffee. This celebration feels like the start of fall to me, so we usually begin brainstorming fall crafts. It must be the smell. Today, we were going to make rag dolls, but instead we got caught up talking about Coco’s upcoming birthday and spent all our craft time at the table doing that instead. Ah, homeschool. Love it.

You don’t have to wait a year to start your own Michaelmas tradition, it is something just as fun on September 30, or October 1st!

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Too Many Books? Here’s One Solution!

September 25, 2009 By Homegrown Mom Filed Under: Domestically Challenged?, Homeschool

Even before I began homeschooling, we had way too many books around this house. I’ve been buying children’s books since the conception of my first daughter. Book fairs, school book orders, book mail clubs. Actually, I started my collection years before Coco was born. I still have my original Babysitter’s Club books that I saved for my future children. Why wouldn’t I? My fantasy home always had a fully-stocked library complete with plush chairs and wide windows.

Now fast forward twenty or so years. No, no library. Yes, I still have the books. I have drastically simplified our home in the last few years…removing knick knacks and cluttered shelves. The only thing I could not bear to get rid of was our books. I routinely give away novels that I’ve read but I find it impossible to part with my children’s books.

When the girls started sharing a room, there was just not enough room for all their books in one bedroom. Finally, I parted with some chewed up baby board books. Thirteen of them in fact. It felt so good that the next day I boxed up quite a few more and gave them away.

Still, though we had so many! Now that we’re homeschooling, we have even more and I am saving many of Coco’s books for when Soleil gets older. Soleil’s bookshelf was perpetually overflowing and she read the same books over and over. I think too many choices was just overwhelming.

So what did I decide to do with all those books?

In our garage, we have several large filing drawers. Soleil has about 25 books on her bedroom bookshelf at all times. The rest are in the drawers in the garage. (you can easily have used a large storage bin or shelf for this idea.) Every couple of weeks, I will take her “book shopping.”

First, she picks all the books she’d like to exchange from her shelf (usually leaving one or two behind).

Then, she trades those books for books in the garage.

I had the idea to sort the books by season and subject, but I said no to my inner control freak. Soleil can pick whatever books she wants, whether she’s reading about valentines in the summer or not.

Often, I will have a particular idea for a book that goes with something we’re studying. If that’s the case, I’ll just grab it and add it to her pile as a bonus.

Now, her shelves are pretty tidy most of the time and she is reading a variety of books. On a side note, we still use the library frequently. These books are stored in a basket in our living room.

I have to say, book shopping has become a pretty popular activity around here! I plan to keep this in action until my girls grow up and start their own collections.

Unless, of course I move into a house with a library.

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Two Words I Can’t Stop Saying

September 21, 2009 By Homegrown Mom Filed Under: MamaMusings

A couple of years ago, I had an epiphany. Saying hurry up does not in fact make a child move faster. Neither does, quickly please, hurry-hurry, or another favorite…come on! I wouldn’t be surprised if statistics show this actually slows a child down.

As I said, I discovered this two years or more ago. Wow, I thought. This really doesn’t help. In fact, it just annoys the kids and might even raise my blood pressure. I’m going to have to stop saying this all the time. Something like, ‘please be in the car in two minutes’ would be much more effective.

Fortunately, our life has slowed considerably down from our chaotic, over-filled days. Yet, I continue with the ‘hurry hurry’ on a regular basis. Just yesterday, we were leaving for a doctor appointment, and I must have said it nineteen times.

Why do I keep saying this when I know it doesn’t help? Frustration, perhaps. Inability to properly express myself? Lack of sufficient preparation the night before? Maybe it’s just plain old Mommy brain!

I’m reminded of something my step-dad Randy used to say to me when I was a sixteen year old new driver, backing down our long driveway in my little Pinto. “Have fun and be careful!” He would call out. And without fail, I would respond with a wicked grin, “Can’t do both!” Yeah I know what a horrible brat I was. I can still see him shaking his head, hand on forehead, poor guy.

Back to today, or yesterday. The hurry up thing. Maybe I am being paid back for all the grief I gave my parents. Or maybe, (and this sounds a whole lot better) I am just part of a beautiful group of people called parents, who, in spite themselves, just can’t stop saying things they know don’t help.

Things like…Hurry up! Be careful! Drive safe! Am I just being cynical or does anyone actually drive safer because someone told them to? I don’t know, but I still say it to my hubby every morning, just in case.

What pointless things do you find yourself saying? Tell me, really. I need to know I’m not alone.

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What to put in your workboxes

September 19, 2009 By Homegrown Mom Filed Under: Homeschool, Workboxes

I wrote recently about homeschool workboxes and said I would add some ideas on filling them. If you haven’t read about workboxes, Read this post first.

Today, I wrote an article on Squidoo about filling up the fun workboxes. There are ideas for activities, direction cards, and ideas for different subjects. Even if you don’t homeschool, you’ll find some great ideas here for learning activities with your kiddos.

This is my first time writing for Squidoo, so while you’re reading my article, if you like what you read you can “rate” it with 1-5 stars. If you don’t like it, you can just go ahead and skip that little step J Kidding, of course. Either way, let me know what you think!

Read it here: Filling your homeschool workboxes!

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A Cheerful Heart

September 17, 2009 By Homegrown Mom Filed Under: Following Jesus

A cheerful heart is like good medicine.

Proverbs 17:22

The car was packed, traffic was easy, and I hadn’t forgotten sunscreen. We sang along to a worship cd after praying, and I read my Bible during lulls in the conversation. We were on our way to the beach and we were off to a great start.

When we arrived, we pulled out our new wagon and loaded it up, delighting in the ease of it all. Free parking! Love this wagon! Perfect sunny weather!

We walked about half a mile to The Perfect Spot, complete with a lifeguard and an area nearby for surfing. Eric walked back to the car to get his surfboard and found a parking spot right by where we set up camp. A shorter walk back to the car when we’re ready to go home!

Eric and I took turns staying close to the shore with our little one while the other played in the deeper waves with Coco or went surfing. I spent the majority of the day in my favorite place, the water, coming out only to reapply sunscreen on everyone. No getting burned this time!

We enjoyed some healthy snacks I had packed sitting on our chairs under the umbrellas we’d also wisely packed and then went back into the ocean for more fun. See? A family outing is no excuse to eat junk food! What a good, healthy mom!

Soon, the sun began its long downward slope, and we began packing up our things to go home. Suddenly, Soleil was whiny –I don’t want to put on my shoes!—Coco was moping and complaining about sand, and Eric…well Eric was just plain grumpy. Me? I responded by muttering under my breath and rolling my eyes. I know, OK?

That treasured parking spot? Well it came with three flights of stairs that were not wagon-accessible. Our over-loaded wagon (thanks to the two umbrellas, four chairs, ice chest now nearly empty of healthy snacks, towels, and more) now had to be unloaded and walked up the stairs in three trips.

This wagon is ridiculous! It shouldn’t hold so much! Free parking stinks!

We started the trips up and down the stairs on slippery, sandy flip flops, our bodies still invaded by sand, with the sun beating down on our sunburned shoulders (How?? I reapplied, for goodness’ sake!). Now, the wind was whipping our hair—and yes, more sand—into our faces.

We finally got the whole load upstairs and took turns rinsing off with a jug of water. Free beaches equal no showers. The healthy snacks I’d chosen turned out to be not-so-filling and the kids were starving. I thrust a couple bags of quickly-browning (but organic) apple slices in the backseat and shut the door. Argh! It had been no less than an hour and a half since we’d began packing up. We should have been home by now! I was tired, hungry, sore, and frustrated with everyone else’s complaining!

Seconds after the kids were finally settled in their seats and Eric was strapping the surfboard to our van’s roof, I realized I’d forgotten my own change of clothes. Which meant I got to make the long trip home in a wet, sandy suit. I told Eric the news, and after rolling my eyes at his irritated response, I went and looked out over the ocean.

Well, God, I tried. I prayed this morning, started the day in your Word. We sang, talked about you and read some more of your word on the way here. It doesn’t matter how hard I try, everyone ends up grumpy and rude. And I’m sick of it! Why bother!?!

At that moment, a verse I had read before but didn’t remember quite where popped into my head. A cheerful heart is good medicine.

Ugh. I tried being cheerful, Lord, but as you can see it just doesn’t work.

Oh, fine.

I got in the car, plopped into my seat and plastered a silly grin on my face. While we were waiting for Eric to finish up, I took silly pictures of the girls in the back seat. When he got in, I smiled as big as I could at him. He looked at me like I was crazy and set off. Soon, I was laughing at my own goofy grin and Eric and the kids started murmuring…Something’s wrong with mom!

I had cheered myself up just by being goofy and in doing so, got the whole family laughing at what a dork I was. Soon, all our bad moods had vanished and we were laughing and talking again. Our ride home wasn’t perfect. We ran into traffic and ended up stuck in the car for three hours. We missed our night church service and stopped and ate forbidden fast food for dinner. Soleil and I began to turn redder and redder as the night went on, our sunburn coming into full effect.

But I’m thankful for what didn’t happen. We didn’t grumble and complain or end up arguing the whole way…or worse, retreat into a mutual irritated silence. We laughed, talked, listened to some music and I even restrained my eye rolling when Eric turned on one of his old bands.

When we got home that night, we looked at our pictures of the day and smiled over our memories. The bad moods were long forgotten, and all the blessings of the day remained. Good medicine, indeed!