Mom Remembers

We kept coasting on bare bones this month: read-alouds, composer study, and picture study.  Sometimes I would throw in a game or a math lesson but mostly, I just didn't bother.  There have been more important things to do this month.  Like adore a newborn.  And buy a house. In Kindergarten The Bremen Town Musicians - In spite of the fact that I wasn't doing much for 1st grade and Soren, I was eager to get back into the swing of things with Kindergarten this month.  For my first post-baby unit, I chose the Brothers' Grimm story "The Bremen Town Musicians".  The kids loved  it, maybe more than any other story we have done this year.  They were rolling on the floor with laughter every time I told it.  To accompany it, I shared silly rhymes about animals (like "Hey Diddle Diddle") and taught the kids to sing "With Songs of Praise" (Hymn No. 71).  If you can't tell from my lovely fingerpainting, the artwork above is of the thieves' hou...

Goals for Soren: * keep up with Ambleside Online reading schedule for homeschool * finish the container story for main lessons before moving to Illinois * learn to resolve disputes with Carl Goals for Carl: * no hitting or kicking other kids during Yard Time * obey "The Lego Rules" during Quiet Time * don't keep brothers awake when they want to sleep Goals for Sven: * no shrieking! * Table Time at 8:30 am * stay on the rug during Rug Time Goals for Leif: * be put down for naps awake * eat no more frequently than every 3 hours at night * be delightful Goals for Carolyn: * pray and read the scriptures in the morning * eat breakfast and lunch * drink water, not Coke Goals for Mom: * supervise Carl constantly and enforce rules of polite interaction with other kids * don't say "I don't care" when Soren tattles * stay awake when feeding/soothing Leif at night

One of my greatest worries about having four children was that I would not be able to welcome and love my new baby as well as I had the others.  Now that he is here, I feel that he is perhaps the most welcomed and best loved of all my sons.  More on that in a moment. I struggled to bond with Leif in utero, in part because pregnancy was old hat to me and in part because life was busy with too many other things.  The new miracle  growing inside of me was the most normal thing about my life.  There were a few good moments that helped me prepare mentally: doing guided meditations during Christmas vacation, my blessingway on January 6th, and a really good conversation I had with Scott about my hopes and worries.  But mostly, my mind was elsewhere. And then there was the birth.  I should have known that it would be a totally unique experience and that it would prepare me for this totally unique child. Needless to say, I'm crazy about the little guy. ...

So ... two big changes this month that have rocked our little homeschooling world. Firstly, Carl started going to public preschool. Wild, I know.  I'm as surprised as you are.  Totally flummoxed, actually. Here's what happened: A friend in our ward has a son about two months older than Carl.  In some ways, he is really developmentally delayed but in others, he's a normal 5-year-old boy.  His name is Owen; I used to do daycare for him a few years back so he and Carl are good friends.  Anyways, Owen's mom asked me if I would consider putting Carl in Owen's preschool class.  She said that there were only eight kids in the class and that they didn't really play together well.  Owen was often left out.  She thought that Carl could "fix" the class, seeing as how he was such a team player. Well now, as flattered as I was to have another mom telling me she thought my son could "fix" the class's social problems, I didn't want Carl to g...