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Mom’s of Faith Blog is having Tuesday’s Mommy Tip each week. Click here to see the tip for this week over at the MOF Blog: http://momsoffaith.com/blog/2008/09/23/tuesdays-mommy-tip-removing-stubborn-microwave-stains/ I hope that you will join in with this. It is lots of fun and sharing is a great way to learn new things!

Now, for my tip for this week.

Take time for yourself!!!!!

As a mom with Rheumatoid Arthritis, my poor rheumatologist has had the HARDEST time getting this one through my head… lol. My energy level runs low fast, especially on those days I am trying to do everything. Although many of you do not have RA, the advice still applies.

When you are rested and have taken the time you need to de-stress from the things that are stressful in your life, you are better able to function…. this is true at home, school, work, wherever you are during the week. It is especially true when you are interacting with your children. On the days that I am doing too much, I forget to rest and take time to do the things that I would like to do, I tend to let the little things the kids do during the day get to me. I tend to get upset faster and am short and impatient with my children. That is not the mom I want to be. So, I MUST take time to rest and do things I like to do… sometimes without the children right there with me. Thankfully my husband is ery good about this. There are times he has gotten home from work and “sent me to my room” (lol) so that I could do something alone. Sometimes it is reading, sometimes it is laying down listening to music, sometimes it is a hot bath, sometimes it is visiting MOF and my other favorite online places. These times are very important, especially since they are not an every day thing.

I suggest that all moms need this time. So, try to find a way that you can have some “Mommy Time.” Even if it is only for a few minutes a day, it will be well worth it, so that you can be the mommy that you desire to be!

Fall is my favorite time of year! I LOVE the cooler weather and watching the leaves as they change colors. The kids and I did a project today in celebration of the beginning of fall and hung them on our front door. Here is what they looked like.

Happy Fall!

PS: Sorry for the reflection of the neighbors’ houses… lol.

When I think of how our homeschooling should go, I envision children learning freely… moving around as needed… without having to sit at a table… maybe even sprawled out on the floor with their favorite book. Children NOT having to raise their hands to speak or use the restroom. That is what I WANT for our homeschool day.

However, reality with my children is MUCH different. I am not sure if it is because they have experienced school before we started homeschooling or not. If I let them sit on the floor or lay down, they interpret that as playtime. So, we work at the kitchen table. At the beginning of this schoolyear, I was not making them raise hands to speak or get up if they needed something, but it seems they have taken advantage of that privilege, so now I had to take that away. Yesterday, it took them OVER 8 hours to complete their work. I was exhausted and I know that they were also.

So, today, hands were required to be raised and children were not allowed to get up whenever they please. They had to have permission first. Well, we are on our lunch-break now ( just 30 minutes so as to not lose our momentum) and this is where we stand:
1st grader: all her work is complete
3rd grader: half way done on his last subject for the day
4th grader (her work load is slightly heavier): 3 out of 5 of her subjects are complete and she is part of the way through one of those that is left

Although this does feel like a “classrom atmosphere,” it is what seems to be working for us today. It seems that when the amount of times they move away from the table is limited, they are able to better concentrate and get their assignments completed in a reasonable amount of time.

This is what works for my children, though, and I know that each homeschoolig family is different. If you would like to share, I would love to hear what works for your family.

Arts is NOT my strongest area… lol. I try, but those stick figures keep mocking me!

Anyway, I found an article that was very encouraging, especially as I want my children to develop their art skills as we homeschool.

I hope you find it encouraging too.

http://yesyoucanpublications.com/blog/?p=31

I found this article very interesting! It gives great information about how to steady your shot when taking photographs.

http://blissfullydomestic.com/photo-bliss/ways-to-make-a-tripod-when-you-dont-have-one-draft/

Hello everyone

I added some new widgets down the right hand side of this blog’s sidebar. Check them out if you get a chance, They looked very interesting, so here they are!

God Bless!