Happy Thanksgiving!!

I can't believe tomorrow is Thanksgiving already! I love this time of year! There are so many fun things to do.  But there is also a lot of thought and preparation required in order to pull it all off. There is so much to get done today, and yet I agreed to take Tripp back to the dentist today...what was I thinking? LOL  So today my to do list left as of 10:03 am is :

Fold the towels,  finish the little ones laundry, wash Tripp's sheets for my in laws coming into town tonight, vacuum, clean up the bathroom, take Tripp to his appointment, stop at the grocery store to pick up ingredients, bake a pumpkin cheese cake,  I'd love to get in a 20 minute workout,  and there are a few other things I'd like to get done if I get there.

As much as there is to do, I enjoy doing it. I enjoy creating memories and traditions with my kids.  Last night we hung up the Christmas lights.

Yesterday we went to a home school Thanksgiving feast with our friends.

On Monday we spent some time learning about the first Thanksgiving. We read a few books and as we read we talked about what it meant to be thankful and talked about things we are thankful for.  We talked about the differences between the Pilgrims and native Americans. Then we made these fun and simple headbands and talked about the differences in what they wore. It also opened a discussion about patterns and colors.

My favorite Thanksgiving day craft this year are our Turkey hand prints! They turned out really well and I even got Reid to make one!!  This is his first art project!!

Well break time is over,  it's time to get the kids ready and head to the dentist where I can edit and add pictures while we wait!

Thank you all for stopping by!  I really appreciate the love and support! Let me know you we're here by dropping me a comment, I love hearing from you. 😆 God bless and Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃🦃🦃

Hiccup in the Road

So by accident my children broke my lap top. Tripp had placed it on the kicthen chair just in time for Reid to crawl along and grab it's cord. Luckily it missed his head as it slammed onto the kitchen floor but unfortunately it broke pieces off of my computer. Needless to say when I went to turn it on nothing happened!

Luckily Google is amazing and I'm able to blog from my phone, but it is a big adjustment. So bear with me as I learn how to share everything I like to share from my phone. And prayerfully soon I'll have another laptop!

So here we sit in the Dentist office waiting for Tripp and I'm practicing blogging on my phone. Which is extra interesting with a squirmy 8 month old in my lap.  LOL it feels different, but I love the photo editor on my phone so maybe this won't be so bad after all!

What hiccups are you facing right now?  Life is always throwing distractions our way and it can be so easy to get mad and give up.  Part of me is writing this post simply so I don't just give up my blog.  I am truly enjoying sharing about our home school journey,  but I almost didn't even write this because I simply like writing from my lap top better and blogging this way simply feels different.

In that moment though I realized how easy giving up would be. I thought to myself this is what the enemy would want.  For me to just simply give up. He comes to seek , kill and steal our joy. Maybe it is challenging and it feels different at first but in time I will get used to blogging this way. And I'm thankful to have this option! If I just give up I'll never know what could have been!

And it's a good reminder for this time of year. With Thanksgiving just days a way it's good to be able to find things to be grateful for! So as we approach this Holiday I leave you with this:

It's not happy people who are thankful.
It is thankful people who are happy!

Happy Thanksgiving!  🦃🦃🦃
And God Bless!

❤ ,
Heather

Nothing Good Comes Without a Little Sacrifice

Part of being a grown up is understanding that sacrifice is a part of life. You don't question it or fight it you just figure out what can and can not be sacrificed and make it happen.  As a home school mom I have the freedom and responsibility to create our schedule. Knowing when to sacrifice certain activities for the good of education or vice versa is hard to balance.

Sometimes it just feels easier to just stay home in our own bubble and not go anywhere just so we can get our school work and to-do list done. But then the kids get stir crazy and I miss interacting with other people. So I'll go through a season of less formal schooling and focus on field trips and socializing. Its like a see saw.

I have had to learn to find the balance between wanting to be laid back while expecting things to get done.  I wish I was more type A and organized but I'm just not lol!  So i have to work hard to make sure socializing doesnt take over lol. It is hard to say no, its so easy to get distracted.

On my third year of home schooling I've finally found the curriculum that really works for us.  We have been using Heart of Dakota and I love it! It help keeps me organized while also giving me freedom to do things my own way. For example I love the suggested science book. Its amazimg but the curriculum was skipping through it so I decided to do it my way and start at the beginning. If I like the scince suggestion for the day I can still use it. But for science class this year we are going through the text in chronological order.

While it let's me be laid back it also keeps me accountable, let's me know exactly where we are and what we have and have not done.  It reigns me in before I get too far out there!

One way I try to keep the balance is by generally taking one day a week for a field trip or a park day.  Which then gives me 4 days to do school and get housework done.  I like to keep Saturdays open to either go do something or relax in a clean home lol.  And Sundays are for worship and family time.

Home schooling has definitely been challenging for me because the schedule rarely stays the same.  I have really had to learn to go with the flow while remaining focused. Some days the baby naps well others he hadly naps at all.  One Thursday I'll run out of diapers or need wipes and have no choice but go to the store.  Another week my husband will take a Tuesday off ... And when he is home it distracts me the most lol. You just never know... So some weeks we won't have a park day ... Some times we just can't and I have to reluctantly decline an invite to the zoo.  (Twice I've had to do that this year!)

At the end of the day it is my job to educate them and make sure they are where they are supposed to be. Every time we complete a school day I feel accomplished knowing I did what I was supposed to. Their success is my success and there is nothing I enjoy more than watching my children learn,  explore and have fun. And this is what motivates me. It doesn't come without sacrifice from both my husband and I. But God is faithful and whatever it is we may be sacrificing He is giving us more than our share and beyond what we need!

Hope you have a blessed day!

I'd love to hear from you!  Be sure to follow, like and share my blog!  Thanks ! Xoxoxo

Heather

FREE Treasure Hunt Downloadble

Treasure Hunts are fun anytime of year. I especially enjoy sending the kids on one on Halloween. This year it was super simple and their treasure was a bunch of Halloween books (we already had) and candy corn. You can be more creative than that, but this year was not one I planned on. So the real treasure was quality time, when we were done we could sit together read and eat candy corn! :) :) :)  Happy Halloween Home School Style!

The kids really enjoyed it. And they enjoyed their treasure. Because the truth is its not even about the treasure at the end, its about the suspense getting to it. Especially since I made them go hide in a room while I set out the clues. That alone got them excited! They enjoyed finding their books and some candy. And then we enjoyed some quiet time together reading. It was a very enjoyable morning.

This year I also remembered to write down the clues so I wanted to share them with you! Even though it says Halloween you could really do this any time of year and just not include the pumpkin graphics! LOL.  It is quick and simple and gets the kids moving. I needed to run out some of their energy and this did the trick!  I hope you enjoy! Let me know how your treasure hunt goes!

Click here to download and print 

*side note the clue about the horses hooves I placed near some toy horses we have. If you don't have toy horses you could always find or print off a picture. If you don't have a soccer ball you can use any ball!