Travel

Last week my husband and I decided to take advantage of one of the perks of Homeschooling and go on a mini vacation.  We discussed it the week before and headed up to Mammoth the following Monday.  The boys were so excited and we had a great time playing games, enjoying the jacuzzi and (my personal favorite) reading in front of the fire :)

The best part was, we didn't even skip a beat with their school work.  I brought their phonics and math worksheets along as well as some read-alouds and we would set up a space in front of the fire place each morning.  We all enjoyed the change of scenery!

Updates for the New Year

Last year I shared how I had the boys make a list of things they wanted to accomplish in 2013.  They really enjoyed having the visual of things we had done and still wanted to do by the end of the year so the first week after our Christmas and New Years break I had them make these and I think they turned out pretty cute :)

Since Josh started addition, and especially since he started double digit addition, I've slowly introduced him to Touch Math.  His worksheets encourage using the number line but I also want him to be able to stray from the number line since he won't always have one at his disposal.  Since I wasn't going to purchase a full curriculum with this method, I did a search for free printables on pinterest and found this blog with these adorable pages:

Over Christmas break Craig and I discussed having the boys do more chores around the house.  I wanted them to have a visual so I, once again, did a search on pinterest to get ideas and found this printable.  For every approved chore (in other words, they aren't going to get a sticker for EVERYTHING they do) they complete around the house they get a sticker, each sticker is worth 5 cents.  So far this has proven to be very affective :)

I also found a free character reading chart for the boys to fill up as they practice reading.  When I was in elementary school my grandma started a chart with me and once I filled it up she would take me to the Hello Kitty store to choose something.  Since Josh is improving so much with his reading, I really wanted to encourage him to practice more.  I sat him down and showed him the chart and asked him what he would like as an incentive for filling it up, he said he'd love more Legos :)  I had initially just printed one for Josh but only about a week later Nathan started reading more and more of the Bob books himself and requested a chart.

So far I'm loving this new year, hope yours is going just as well!

Support

A mentor friend of mine gave me a lot of wonderful advice while we were discussing the decision to Homeschool last year but one thing in particular was that I have a supportive husband.

Since Craig was the one who told me he'd be behind me all the way when we made the final decision, I knew I had the support I was going to need.  

At the time I didn't know how vital he would be in this road we are traveling.  He is my backbone.  Not a day goes by that he doesn't encourage what I'm doing with the boys.  He doesn't even get upset or frustrated when I tell him I think we need to switch a bit of our curriculum!  (Do I have a keeper or what?!?!) 

He will come home on random days during the week and tell me I have the night off to do what I want/need to do.

I have spent half of my life with this man and I wouldn't know what to do without him!  The Lord has blessed me with him and I will be eternally grateful for the husband he is to me and the father he is to our boys.   

One Word

Trust

There it is, the word I'm going to apply to my life in the coming year.  I've seen and heard a lot of people talking about doing this and I thought it would be good for me to write this down because it's something I've struggled with recently.  Even though God has always provided for me and my family, I have had some anxiety lately over what ifs.  So many things have gone through my mind including economic failures and natural disasters.  

The weekly Bible study that the boys and I attend has been wonderful since we've been studying the book of Isaiah.  Even though we may face struggles in this life we have evidence that God is faithful and has always fulfilled his promises.  He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  

Every time I start to get a nervous about something that might happen I try to remember this verse: 

Philippians 4:6

New International Version (NIV)

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

My New Years resolution also includes being more of a yes Mom for the boys.  I'm going to try to stop saying, "maybe later" all the time.  Because, let's face it, unless we do it when they ask we all forget and it never gets done.  The laundry and dirty dishes will be there when I get to them.

I also need to start dating my husband again.  This might sound strange but I really do need to make more of an attempt to spend more quality time with my husband, including intentionally getting a baby sitter and going out once in awhile.

Finally, I'm going to carve out time in my day to read.  I LOVE reading and was able to do a lot of it over this Christmas break.  It's something that I can never seem to find the time to do now except when I lie in bed at night, but when I do that I don't get very far before falling asleep.  So, I have added D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read) time to our schedule.  It will most likely be while David is napping and it might not be for very long but the boys and I are going to have a bit of our own quiet time in the afternoon with our books.

So there you have it.  My New Years resolutions.  What are some of yours?