After Santa reached Panama, The Sun ran upstairs excitedly to report his whereabouts.

“Pop! Santa’s in the Panty Mall!”

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Vocabulary words included peace, soldiers, veteran, World War I, Flanders Field, armistice, moment of silence, and poppies.

Activities:

• read a book  about the history of Veterans Day, brief discussion of WWI

• virtual field trip to Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial

• read poem In Flanders Fields and discussed it line by line, until I was sure the children understood the somber meaning of each stanza

• located countries by continent that participated in WWI

• sent Veterans Day e-card to our most cherished veteran, my husband

• listened to the song Imagine and discussed its meaning and the chances  there would ever be no religions or countries (and we’re pretty cynical regarding the chances that would ever happen)

• made a poppy wreath of cardboard for the base, red foam for the bottom layer of poppies, and red tissue paper for the other layers.  It turned out to be so beautiful! I put a foam ribbon on the top and wrote Lest We Forget on it.

• made a small lapbook of our activities, put the wreath on the front of it

• each child spent time at the VA Kids K-5th website

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Day of the Dead.  It sounds like a scary holiday, but that is a misconception of those who aren’t familiar with its history.  In Mexico, it’s a celebration of the lives of ancestors, and my family has embraced and adopted this custom as our own.

This year, we invited several other homeschooling families to celebrate with us, and I think I can safely say it was a successful event.  I had set up various stations with different activities, with a mom at each one to guide and supervise, and by the end of the afternoon, we had ten kids with four completed crafts, a sugar skull, and a bag of Mexican candies to take home.

We started with the kids gathered near the altar my children and I had set up in honor of deceased loved ones.

I read the story Clatter Bash! which elicited many giggles, then started the story Pablo Remembers.  Thankfully,  Koren took over the reading of this story when The Comet’s disruptive behavior became too much for me, and I had to remove him from the room.

Then the kids all sampled some pan de muerto.  This bread is delicious, and both loaves were quickly devoured.

Then it was time to begin the crafts.  The atmosphere was a happy one of controlled chaos, with four stations to visit.

Susan led the children in making papel cortado, which is a paper cutting craft similar to making paper snowflakes.

Koren supervised the making of the marigolds.

Kathleen presented a brief lesson on the significance of monarch butterflies in relation to Dia de los Muertos, then led the children in an adorable painting craft.

My station had spangles and markers to decorate cavaleras (skulls).

After a bit of playtime, the kids each selected a bag of Mexican candies and a sugar skull.

I absolutely loved the cavaleras this little girl decorated.  I got a kick out of watching her intently glue the spangles in place.  She put a lot of effort into this, and got a great result.

Say Fiesta!

I really enjoyed this day, and I believe our guests did, as well.

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Sharpay Sun

Darth Comet

Sweet Moon

Smiling Sun

Darth Comet Meets His Idol

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As we added the beads (3 at a time per person, and we each had three turns) we talked to Claudia: the first time, we each told her something we love and admire about her; the second turn, we each made a wish for the baby; and the third time around, we each shared something our own mothers had taught us, either by example or omission, that we felt would benefit Claudia as a mother. Let me tell you, there were some tears flowing at that table.

I set out squares of muslin and fabric pens, and everyone decorated several squares to  be displayed during Claudia’s labor.  I’m sewing each of these to another piece of fabric and attaching them to a ribbon; when I’m finished, it will look similar to a Tibetan prayer flag.  Then we each tied a red ribbon around a white candle, and Claudia lit her candle. She lit each of our candles, and we sent out a good wish for a positive birth experience for Claudia and the baby, then blew our candles out. We all agreed to light our candles when Claudia went into labor, and leave them burning until the delivery of her baby.

Then it was time for our dinner (everyone had brought their favorite comfort food), which consisted primarily of desserts, and afterward, we quickly cleaned the kitchen and prepared for the finale. Claudia reclined on a sheet over her couch and we turned down the lights, played soft music, and pampered her by stroking her hair, giving her a facial, and massaging her hands, arms, feet, and legs…all of this at once, while Lisa decorated her belly with henna. It was so loving and special. We slipped out quietly when we finished so Claudia could rest and reflect and spend time in quiet conversation with her mother-in-law.

The following week, Claudia discovered the baby was wedged bottom-down in her pelvis, with his feet up by his ears. Her doctor scheduled her for a c-section. She is so disappointed, and I’m disappointed for her. I was to act as her doula during her labor, but for a section, only one person is allowed in the room with her, so I will just visit later. She’s going to carry the birthing beads with her,  we will all still light our candles, and we’ll still put up her prayer flag in the room.

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I’ve done a lot of soul-searching and faced some things about myself.  So here I go, bullet-style:

• I really do need to take a little time to myself on a regular basis.  I don’t mean staying up until two in the morning to have time alone, either.  For the record, my husband supports this; I am the one who usually just stops doing it, for whatever reason.
• I am a better mom when I get to bed early.  This is something I really need to work on; I’m a night owl by nature.
• I am inconsistent in my parenting methods.  I had a really honest conversation with my husband about this, and together we worked out a plan.  I need to mean what I say, say what I mean, and follow through immediately.
• I am more focused (and a better mom) when I am in an organized, peaceful environment.  So this past week, I did a major house cleansing.  I freecycled so many items from this house, reorganized closet spaces, and really evaluated what I did and did not want, need, or love.  The kids did this, too, and now the house is nearly finished and I am already feeling the calm slip over me.

So.  The majority of the bickering and sass has ceased; I really had to stop worrying over every little nuance of every little thing, and just do what I need to do to make sure this family functions smoothly.

So the homeschooling continues.

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More later; I’m trying to plan a blessingway, refinance our house, and complete a few other projects, and time is limited, limited, limited.

I miss the blogosphere.  Kisses!

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So here goes:

This isn’t really a homeschooling issue. This is a behavior and lifestyle issue, and there are several forces at play that complicate things further. First, it’s that perpetual problem moms have…no time for ourselves, no time to unwind and take a break and do something just for ourselves, just for fun, just to destress. The times I do manage this are extremely inconsistent…I’m talking less than once a month. Being a stay-at-home mom and homeschooling to boot…that’s a full-time job. We don’t get the break of driving to and from work alone in the car; we don’t get the conversations around the water cooler with other adults throughout the day; we don’t get the fifteen minutes away from our desks to grab some water or a quick snack or use the restroom without interruption. So even those few minutes a day of time away from other people might seem like a luxury to us. I’ve been through this before; I’ve been jealous of my husband for being able to have alone time driving to and from work. I always resolve to begin consistently making time for myself, and I might even follow through with a trip to the bookstore or the library one evening a week for a couple of weeks, but somehow that just…stops.

So there’s ingredient number one: not enough time alone.

Ingredient number two: I’m quiet and introspective by nature, and although my eldest child (who is ten) is very much like that, too, I have two other children (ages 7 and 8 ) who most definitely are not. The Sun is the attention-seeker, the drama queen, the “OMG I can’t wait until I’m a teenager and get breasts” child who begs to go to the hospital for a torn cuticle. Then there is The Comet, who burst from the womb making a lot of noise and chatter and hasn’t stopped since.

Let me give you a little example of The Comet during his science lesson today. Bear in mind he speaks very rapidly and I’m sure the woman two houses down could hear him if the windows were open. He is working on the seasons. “Look, Mama, I’m supposed to draw a flag on a windy day. I drew the United States flag. Look how straight it is! HAHAHA, the wind is really blowing! Once I was outside and the wind was blowing really hard and I went “waaaaaaah!!!!!” and fell down, hahahahaha! It would have been really funny if I fell in a pile of leaves. Leaves fall off the trees in autumn. Look, this picture shows autumn. Those birds are flying south. Florida is south! It’s warm in Florida. Not cold! Winter is really WEIRD there. They don’t have snow like we have snow. They have fake snow sometimes, though. That’s why I like to go to the pool in autumn and winter there, because it isn’t very cold. Unless (name of person) is being grumpy, then that’s not very fun. But that fake snow is funny! Look at the squirrel with the nuts, hahahahaha! He’s trying to put them in his mouth to carry them away. I wonder where he’s hiding them. Where do you think, Mama? (doesn’t wait for an answer) I think he’s going to sneak and eat some of them before winter. Look at those leaves! Some of them are probably red. Red is my favorite color. That’s why I like my red shirt so much. Hahaha, what if the squirrel could wear a red shirt to keep him warm in the winter? hahahahahaha!”

Dear God, it’s like his stream of consciousness is housed in his mouth, not his mind.

And it might sound funny to read about it, but trust me, when it’s constant, it’s not so funny.

So, ingredients so far are lack of alone time, and loud children. I’m trying to think of a way to say ‘loud children’ without it seeming so negative, but in this case, I’m all about the inside voices, and truth is truth, right?

Ingredient three is what someone suggested in the comments to the last post: age. Hit me up the side of the head, because I do think these are age-related behaviors in many ways. The reason it seems so shocking is because The Moon (10) was an angelic child who didn’t go through the phases and exhibit the behaviors the other two are.

Oh, by the way: the suggestion of touring them through a public school is a good one. So is enrolling them for a short while so they can see what it’s about. The problem is this: my husband wants me to pick one scenario and stick with it. If I go the public school route, that’s final…no bringing them home. He wants me to be totally committed to whichever decision we reach. So really, the threat of public school is pretty much an empty one.

So I’ll just let all that stew around in the crock pot for awhile and come back to it later.

© scrappitydoodah for *Scrappitydoodah*, 2007. | Permalink | 9 comments

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I think this mother has a valid point. My eldest daughter attended public school for two years, and I rarely have difficulties with her. It is the other two who balk and try to negotiate and argue.

There are days I just don’t feel I can take it anymore.

My children are on notice: if things are not better by the winter holidays, come January, they will find themselves enrolled in public school. This is not the route I want to take, but my unhappiness with this situation is approaching misery.

The sibling rivalry is unlike any I’ve seen elsewhere.

In one year, my son has changed from a happy, sweet, loving little boy into a disrespectful, mocking gremlin. My second daughter is full of sass and vinegar. Each day is becoming a battle.

I’m feeling utterly discouraged. My life is completely wrapped up in homeschooling, and I don’t enjoy it anymore.

© scrappitydoodah for *Scrappitydoodah*, 2007. | Permalink | 7 comments

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