Mom Remembers

December!  It's been a busy month and it's not over yet!  But we have put homeschool away to enjoy our Christmas vacation.  I will probably do a few read-alouds to catch up for the crazy days in October but other than that, we are off the hook!  So I thought I would update early, to record what we did with our fraction of a month of school. This month I started something new with Sven, in an effort to make special time for him, prepare him for school someday, and keep him from interrupting our homeschool time.  I have instituted Circle Time again.  Before he starts Room Time (and I start school), we take five or ten minutes to be together.  I sit on the rocking chair with Sven in my lap.  We start by singing "Happy Family".  Then I tell him a nursery rhyme (preferably one with actions).  After that, he gets a book, which I read to him.  Then we are done and he goes to get his toys for Room Time.  It is very short but sweet and he seems less likely to interrupt scho

Soren is seven!  Whoa! Because his birthday was the day before we left for our long car trip to Illinois, I thought that it was pretty stressful and probably not much fun for him.  But he seemed very pleased to have reached the austere age of seven.  Here is what we did to celebrate: 1.  I offered to take him out for donuts for breakfast but he informed me that he didn't want any sugar, that a normal breakfast would be just fine.  This has been a thing on and off with him for the past couple of months: he refuses the idea of sweets but is usually perfectly happy to eat them when they are actually there.  I took him at his word; we didn't go out for donuts but had leftover cake from Scott's birthday. 2.  Scott stayed back from work for about 1/2 an hour in the morning while we ate, which was more special than donuts anyways.  He gave Soren his birthday present: measuring tools!  There was a balance, a set of beakers, and a tape measure.  Soren was so delighted; he spen

Sunday Number of accidents: 3 Number of successes: 2 Monday Number of accidents: 4 Number of successes: 4 Tuesday Number of accidents: 8 Number of successes: 7 Wednesday Number of accidents: 1 Number of successes: 7 Thursday Number of accidents: 2 Number of successes: 3 Friday Number of accidents: 2 Number of successes: 7 Saturday Number of accidents: 1 Number of successes: 5 I really couldn't be happier about the results of my two-week potty training experiment.  Sven really seems to be getting the hang of this.  Well, at least the peeing part.  Since Tuesday, he has had no pee accidents!   So I think I will keep him in underwear and call this a success.

This month was much  better than last month.  We got right back into the swing of things and I didn't feel behind at all, which is very encouraging.  There is a lot of flexibility to homeschooling and I am grateful that.  The amount of work we get done can ebb and flow according to the energy level in our home.  On high energy weeks for me, we can do extra readings and projects that require more preparation.  On high energy weeks for the boys, they can take charge of their own projects and bug me until I get the bare minimums done. I took on two day care kids (age 2 and 4) this month and the older one has been doing Kindergarten with Carl.  He has also joined us for Morning Exercises , which has made that time more fun.  It's surprisingly easy to incorporate the two extra kids into my routines and hasn't thrown us off at all.  And I'm always glad to get more "socialization" for my boys.  Sometimes the apartment does get noisy, though. In Kindergarten St

Statistics Number of accidents: 0 Times ended on the potty: 0 Times started on the potty: 8 Times self-initiated: 0 Times peed on Mom: 0 Ounces of Tang consumed: 20 Thoughts Today couldn't really have gone any better.  I just went back to normal life, albeit with the added responsibility of taking Sven to the potty every once in a while.  And guess what?   He was dry all day!   Woot! From past experience, I know that this is not the end.  Your first "dry all day" is always a fluke.  But it's still an encouraging fluke.  Today gives me the motivation I needed to keep going next week.

Statistics Number of accidents: 8 Times ended on the potty: 0 Times started on the potty: 6 Times self-initiated: 4! Times peed on Mom: 0 Ounces of Tang consumed: 22 Thoughts Sven is slowly, but surely, "getting it".  I'm feeling hopeful.  Although, I must admit that I was feeling hope less  this morning.  I was totally ready to give up.  That's when Sven, for the first time all week, told me that he wanted to go pee.   And he was right!   When I helped him with his undies, he sat himself down and peed.  Huzzah!

Statistics Number of accidents: 11 Times ended on the potty: 4 Times started on the potty: 8 Times self-initiated: 0 Times peed on Mom: 0! Ounces of Tang consumed: 28 Thoughts I did a few things differently today, even though I'm pretty sure that changing strategies mid-training is a bad plan.  However, I needed to do something  different or I wasn't going to have the grit to keep going. Firstly, I got out the underwear.  I wanted to teach the importance of keeping dry.  He definitely didn't get it but I don't think that he is confused by it either.  So the underwear are going to stay. Secondly, I stopped picking him up mid-pee and taking him to the potty.  When I saw him having an accident, I told him "No, pee belongs in the potty.  Let's go to the potty," and made him go there himself.  Usually, by the time we got there, he was done peeing and so no longer had anything left to "end on the potty" with.  The upside to this was that

Statistics Number of accidents: 11 Times ended on the potty: 9 Times started on the potty: 3 Times self-initiated: 0 Times peed on Mom: 3 Ounces of Tang consumed: 36 Thoughts It's a good thing today is over because sometime in the last hour I transformed from a rational being focused on a long-term (but achievable) goal into a raging maniac.  I'm frustrated beyond reason; three days of this and Sven appears to be learning the wrong lesson.  (Aka, "If I start to pee, Mom will whisk me off to the toilet and if I save back a few drops, I'll get a gummy bear!")  How many more days of this are yet to come?  I'm tired of being patient and upbeat.  What a change from yesterday! The last straw was when, while jumping and peeing  on the couch, Sven whacked me in the nose with a book and then Soren laughed maniacally about it.  The ungrateful wretches.  Maybe I'll just give up on this mothering thing and let them grow up to be crude, uneducated slobs tha

Statistics Number of accidents: 20 Times ended on the potty: 9 Times started on the potty: 1! Times self-initiated: 0 Times peed on Mom: 2 Ounces of Tang consumed: 42 Thoughts You know what has surprised me the most this time around about potty training? I'm enjoying it.  No joke.  For Soren and Carl, potty training was the worst .  I seriously wondered if I wanted to have any more kids, just knowing that it meant I would have to potty train them.  I thought that it was the most abominable parenting job and I wished to never,  ever  do it again. But this time, I really am enjoying it. I think it's because I've had experience and know what to expect.  So it doesn't frustrate me when Sven has an accident; I know that's part of the process.  It doesn't discourage me that it hasn't "clicked" yet; I know that takes time.  And it doesn't gross me out to deal with all the pee; I know I'll just shower after bedtime.  Everything abou

Statistics Number of accidents: 12 Times ended on the potty: 3 Times started on the potty: 0 Times self-initiated: 0 Times peed on Mom: 2 Ounces of Tang consumed: 20 Thoughts I took the plunge and began potty training today.  My intention is to be really hard core about it for the next two weeks and if it doesn't stick ... well, then I guess we'll be waiting until next year.   So it's now or never.  Hopefully now. This is how my day went: 7:30 am - I'm getting Sven up for the day and, since I'm still not committed to this potty training thing, leaving him in his nighttime diaper. 8:00 am - Breakfast is over and I'm sticking Sven in the tub, then calling my friend for an hour long pep talk. 9:00 am - I'm getting Sven out of the tub and deciding to use the bare butt method, mostly because I don't want to go get my 18 mo underwear from the storage unit. 10:30 am - I'm rejoicing because I have "caught" 2 of Sven's pees mid

Every morning, at the start of our homeschool (9:00 am?), all school-aged children gather for morning exercises , possibly one of the most valuable parts of our routine.  It serves many functions and in a very short amount of time.   During morning exercises, we:    * gather together and set the tone for our day's work    * listen to, recite, and sing poetry    * play games to review math concepts    * move our bodies! This is how the routine goes.  I used to start by ringing a bell but ... our bell broke.  So, now I sing a song to gather the children to the rug.  One child will light our homeschool candle and say a prayer to open the day.  Then, each child stands up and recites a verse (the same one every day for at least a month), after which I read from A Child's Garden of Verses  (a different poem every day).  On Friday, the kids pick their favorite poem from the week to hear again.   The middle part of morning exercises is more free-form.  We will do

Sometimes, kids say the darnedest things.  And then sometimes, you know exactly where those things come from. We were getting ready to cross a busy road without a stoplight and I was holding the kids back until all the cars passed.  Carl explained my reasoning to the other kids like this: CARL:  Some of those cars are Utah  drivers.  You gotta watch out for those cars.  They are not watching out for you.

I want cheese! Soren was made out of Papa John's pizza with lots of extra marinara sauce. Carl was made out of sushi.  Mostly, the cheap stuff at the grocery store but often enough it was from Shogun, our favorite downtown sushi place. Sven was made out of Kraft macaroni (three cheese, baby!) and homemade jalepeno poppers. This baby should be made out of KFC cheese curds.  Except that KFC is closed right now!  What's a crazy pregnant woman to do?

I knew that there would be bad weeks for homeschooling.  I thought that they would be later.  Like Christmastime, around the baby's birth, or during the February doldrums.  But they hit us this October and now we are already behind on all my beautiful plans.  Some of the behind I plan to catch up on in November and some of it I have just accepted as permanent.  It's been liberating to realize that I am accountable to no one's schedule and that the kids are doing well regardless. In Kindergarten The Fisherman and the Jinni  - For the first unit of the month, Megan told a story from One Thousand and One Nights  that I am not familiar with.  She really enjoys doing ethnic fairy tales and usually ends her units with exotic cooking projects.  I was really grateful that she was responsible for Kindergarten during the most harried weeks of October, allowing the kids to have continuity while I was otherwise occupied. The Teeny Tiny Woman - For the unit that ended with Hallowe

Carl and Sven are playing with play sand at the table.  Soren is writing a novel "in handwriting".  Carl is pushing his sand into a mason jar, which Soren thinks is a bad idea. SOREN: If you smoosh the play sand into the jar then it will be harder to get out. CARL:  Soren, look.  [Carl turns the jar upsidedown and the sand falls easily out.] SOREN: Oops.  My hypothesis was wrong. CARL:  It was falsified.

1. He enjoys fantasy literature.  He and I have been reading lots of great chapter books recently; we are currently halfway through The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for the second time.  Reading together is something we both enjoy a lot. 2. He is verbally affectionate. 3. The verbal affection is related to his eagerness to please adults.  I can usually trust him to follow rules and interact pleasantly with authority figures. 4. He is excited about Soren's schoolwork and copies a lot of it.  He wants me to know that he is always  doing his "best work". 5. He "reads" to Sven, reciting Sven's favorite books from memory. 6. He has lots of energy! 7. But he can also sit still and play with legos for hours. 8. He does not nap but will look at books quietly in his bed for an hour every afternoon.  I was worried what would happen if he stopped napping before he learned to read but it has turned out ok.  I still get my quiet time. 9. He is a great stor

It's back to school and this year, unlike last year, none  of the young children in our neighborhood are going to public school.  They are all homeschooling!  (This is not as weird as it sounds, the truth of the matter is that there are only two other families with young children.  But of the two families that moved out, even one of them  is homeschooling!)  I realize that we are living in a dream world, where homeschool is the norm; we will just enjoy it while it lasts. This is my first year doing two different grades and I am also juggling a very busy toddler so laying down a workable schedule has been my number one priority this month.  This is how it has been working: 7:30 am - The kids get up, begin their housework, have breakfast, finish their housework, and then have as much free time as is left before school starts (which they spend playing with legos). 9:00 am - Sven goes to play in his room and the older boys clean up their toys.  We begin school with Morning E

More than in years past, I have been feeling very keenly the need to gird up my loins and take courage this Michaelmas.  Starting with the official onset of homeschool, I have been feeling intimidated by my own life choices and uncertain about my abilities.  Or, perhaps more accurately, I have been feeling weary of the work and wary of the knowledge that there is only more to come. It's not just the 18+ years of homeschooling ahead that I need to face with courage.  It is also the impending winter and cabin fever, the rest of this pregnancy, the addition of child #4, and the necessary but uncertain relocation of our family.  And so this season, I have been personally edified more than usual by the stories of courage, endurance, and divine assistance that I tell my children.  They have led me to acknowledge my weariness without abandoning my cause.  They have inspired me to lengthen my stride in preparation for the future.  And they have given me hope that God's grace will car

My first week of homeschooling has been surprisingly draining. Before the big first day, I felt mostly excitement.  My research was done and my choices were made.  My plans were in place and I was confident in them.  My son was eager and ready to learn. I thought that homeschooling would be either a) a blast or b) not that different from normal life. It was both of those things.  But it was neither. That makes no sense and yet it is true.  My first week homeschooling was both fun and terrifying.  And while it was not that different from normal parenting, I felt  different and not in entirely positive ways.  All of a sudden, I felt afraid.  Afraid of falling short, of messing up, of unforeseeable complications and very real impending complications, of missing things, of going too fast or too slow, of getting bored, of being isolated, of everything . And while I have plenty of good coping mechanisms for dealing with these issues, they have still been draining a lot of my mental

I am pregnant with another boy !  I was surprised by how much this surprised me.  My mom only had three boys so, although I always wanted lots of boys, I really expected this one to be a girl. He's not! So, without further ado, here is my list of four reasons why four boys are better than three. 1. There's a sense of balance about four.  Everyone has a buddy!  Plus, the four of them can be a kick-butt team.  Think of all the awesome foursomes: the four Ninja Turtles, the four gospels, the four hobbits, the four horsemen of the apocalypse, the four skillful brothers , the four Hogwarts houses, the three Musketeers (who are actually four), the four Ghostbusters, and the four archangels.  In a great foursome, each person has unique and necessary skills that aid in the accomplishment of the groups goals.  I hope that my four boys can be that kind of team. 2. The symbolic aspect of four suggests completion as it is a representation of all earthly things.  There are four seas

I think that this has been the most anticipated birthday in the history of the Duede family.  Carl has been dreaming and talking and planning for his 5th birthday all summer long.  He was relatively gracious about my many amendments to his grandiose schemes and I think that he had a pretty good day in the end.  I take it as a good sign that he prays almost daily: "Thank you that I am five." This is what we did to celebrate: 1. First thing in the morning, he opened a couple of presents.  There was new chalk from his dad and a new bike from Grandma Berg.  (I was very grateful to finally  get that bike out of my storage unit where it has been hiding for the past two months.)  Carl got up on the bike and whizzed along the driveway.  He told me, "I could ride this bike all day!"  Then I taught him how to use his new bike lock, which has a word combination.  He promptly taught Soren to do it for him and I'm not sure he has unlatched it himself ever since then. 2

SOREN:  I have finally figured out what parents are. SCOTT:  Is this the kind of thing that is going to get you sent to your room? SOREN:  No.  They are what I don't like.  So when I grow up I'm going to have no wife and no kids ... and I will end this madness!

SOREN:  Guess why the Jews lived in Judea?  Because they were Jews . CARL:  Yeah.  Their last name is "- Ew " so they live in J ew dea. SCOTT:  Well, the two things are not unrelated.

1. He is generally cheerful and is generous with his good cheer. 2. He talks candidly about his anger, sorrow, and frustration. 3. He loves to read.  His favorite books are manga but I can occasionally catch him caught up in a good chapter book. 4. He has a wild and wonderful imagination. 5. He is excited about homeschooling and first grade. 6. He bonds readily to other adult authorities.  He loves his primary teachers and his swim teacher. 7. He has a beautiful, innocent faith in God's love. 8. He stands up for himself in increasingly positive ways. 9. He is enthusiastic about life and learning. 10. He helps me a lot.  (That is, when I can grab enough of his attention to make a request.) 11. When we go grocery shopping, he can fetch items from the next aisle over. 12. He can also fetch Sven when he toddles down the driveway. 13. He can assemble the ingredients when I am trying a new recipe. 14. He can execute all the different stages of the laundry chore: putting in

CARL:  Dear Heavenly Father, We're so grateful for this day.  Please bless our breakfast.  And please bless Mommy that she will remember to come and get these dinner leftovers off the table.

Sven can do a somersault. He's very proud of himself.  Up until tonight, he has needed someone to help him get his legs over his head.  But now he does it all by himself.  His obvious delight is pretty cute. I think it is also pretty amazing.  Maybe this kind of gross-motor development is normal but it seems really advanced to me.   Then again, he does nothing but practice.  All day long, he climbs on everything in sight.  Using his body in new ways is his only delight.  Toys don't entertain him at all; only challenging new spaces can capture his attention.  And failure doesn't bother him.  When he falls, he picks himself right back up with a laugh.   As a result, Sven can do all kinds of things that surprise me:   * He gets himself in and out of the bathtub (sometimes fully dressed). * He goes up the stairs while holding onto the railing. * He climbs the ladder to our neighbor's bunk bed. * He sits on top of the child-sized table. * He uses the

CARL:  Cat food tastes a lot worse than I thought.

As Midsummer approached this year, I found myself thinking a lot about change.  The kind of change that John the Baptist advocated when he preached: " Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand ."  The summer solstice, which fell on Midsummer's Day this year, is a turning point in the Earth's seasonal dance.  And I wanted to make it a turning point in my life.  A time to make a change that would help me "prepare ... the way of the Lord" and "make his paths straight". I prayed a lot in the days leading up to our Midsummer camping trip, hoping that I would have the change of heart I needed to make a change of habits .  I had a list of character defects and bad habits I felt particularly discouraged about and hoped that God would grant me the strength to be better.  He did just that but not in the way I was expecting. I didn't really feel like I was receiving an answer to my prayers.  I didn't feel confident about going out into the

1. I love his smile in the morning. 2. I love how friendly he is. 3. I love the way he climbs into my lap and snuggles me. 4. I love it when he brings me books to read. 5. I love that he doesn't fight me about diaper changes. 6. I love it when he gets measuring cups and pretends (messily) to measure the rice in the pantry. 7. I love that he understands lots of simple requests. 8. I love that he is experimenting with lots of words. 9. I love the way he giggles and smiles in anticipation of impending rough-housing. 10. I love that he cleans up his own toys. 11. I love that he takes two naps a day! 12. I love the way he looks at me when he wants me to chase him. 13. I love how confidently he walks. 14. I love it when he brings me shoes; it's a way of asking me to take him outside. 15. I love to carry him in my baby backpack. 16. I love to kiss his chunky baby cheeks. 17. I love it when he tries to comb his hair or brush his teeth. 18. I love to watch him play w

School's out for the summer! We finished the Kindergarten year strong with two really awesome units and a pretty consistent schedule.  That feels really good.  I also spent a lot of time this month thinking about what I will do next year!  I am planning to keep with the Waldorf-y stuff for Carl but I think that Soren (who will be in first grade) would benefit from a more rigorous and varied curriculum.  So I've been exploring our options, which is daunting as well as exciting. Soren is so ready for first grade.  He is bored with the many repetitions inherent to our Kindergarten structure.  He is also excited about formal math instruction, getting his own library card, reading Grimms' fairy tales, and possibly learning to play the piano.  He has asked me several times in the last month to start first grade early.  I am glad that he's excited about it and glad that I have three months to get it exciting for him. Carl, on the other hand, has loved every minute of Kin