Pop the Balloon

Joseph came up to me while I was sitting on the couch, punched me in the stomach and said, "Pop the balloon!"

Don't worry, two year old kids don't punch very hard, and yes, I just cleaned the kitchen and really ought to have worn an apron.

Recent Pictures

Kate made a cake and blew up a balloon inside it to demonstrate volcanoes to the little kids.

My cute kids playing nicely together.

This is how Kate came home from Shakespeare Showdown: fake scar, but real cat shaped sunburn.

Joshua at the homeschool field day

Rachel and Anya standing in line on field day.

Joseph kept cutting in line.

Ruth with a bunch of her homeschool friends on field day. She was glad that I made her go.

This is how Anya put away all of the shoes.

Joshua has learned to smile when he sees a camera.

Isn't he adorable!

Expert on Potty Training: NOT

I am going to answer a question form Tracey Brumlik:

Since your an expert and I'm just starting potty training #1...what should I do or not do?

To be honest, I cannot say there is one good way, nor is there a one size fits all solution to potty training. My experience with potty training has been different with every child!

If I was going to give advice about party training this is what I would say:

1. Potty training is gross!!!!!! It makes changing five poopy diapers a day seem pleasant.
2. Everyone will be ready and willing to tell you the best way to potty train your child. I am guilty of this. (Just ask my sister.)
3. The truth: you know yourself and your child the best.  Trust yourself the most on the matter.

Here are some things to consider before potty training:

1. Do messes make you mad and stressed?
2. What are some things you have had success using to encourage your child to either change a behavior or to do something new? (Examples: candy, time outs, promised gifts, sticker charts, a soft voice).
3. How well does you child communicate his or her needs with you?
4. Does your child care if he or she is messy or not?

This is what I generally do:

1. I have my child try out the toilet to see what he or she will do. If the child knows what to do then great. If not, then I spend a day at home giving the child drinks and sitting by a potty chair until the child figures out what to do. Sometimes this just does not work. It depends on the child.
2. When the child knows what to do, I take off the diaper and put on underwear. This works well if the child cares if he or she is messy, and if I can calmly handle cleaning up poopy pants and pee on everything. (Sometimes I am not ready for the mess when I think I am). If the child doesn't care or if I am finding that every potty mess is making me angry, it does not work.
3. Next, I remind the child to use the bathroom every couple of hours.
4. When the child is staying dry for a few days on reminders, I quit reminding and make the child tell me when he/she has to go.
5. When the child is doing it all on his or her own, I flood him/her with praise over a few days and there after send him/her to timeout for accidents (being cautious about possible UTI"s)

When I can't get the child to go in the toilet, or when I find myself flipping out and yelling over the mess, I put the diaper back on and wait anywhere from 3 to 6 months, only letting the child try the toilet before baths. I remind myself, that it will happen at some point.

Here are a few of my experiences:

1. My first child was young (before age two). It took quite a while to get her to understand what I wanted her to do. Once she understood, she was dry day and night after only a week. But she was so little that I had to help her in the bathroom for the next year and a half.
2. Two of my kids knew exactly what to do, but were pretty stubborn and had daily accidents for about 4 months. I still kept them in underwear and continued potty training.
3. One child was afraid to poop outside of a diaper. He would go five days and then poop his pants in a panic. After about 2 weeks, I took him to the store and said he could buy whatever he wanted, and let him know that he would not get it until he put his poop in the toilet. He chose a Hershey bar. He pooped in the toilet the next day and never had a problem after that.
4. One child hid in her closet to poop and then tried to hide her poop or wipe it up with toys or towels. I could not handle the messes at all. Her diaper went  back on. After 6 months I tried again, leaving her alone to do her stuff. She did it fine and only ever had one more accident.

I hope this helps. But, I have to say, potty training is very, very gross, and very hard. I know people who do pull-ups for a year. Really, I think whatever works best for you and your child.

An Hour in a Day

Yesterday, We drove from our house to Grandma's house for some cousin fun and grilled steak! That takes an hour! But it is worth the hour.

Pride and Accomplishments

I feel proud and very accomplished for having potty trained seven children. Maybe I shouldn't, but in my opinion the two hardest things to do with young children are potty training and teaching them how to read. So far, I only have 4 good readers, but 7 potty trained... that seems like an accomplishment to me.

Thankful for a Good Coach

Johnny likes soccer a lot, but he has my long legs and coordination issues. So he will never be the best on his team. This last season, however, Johnny has blossomed. Last fall, he was shy about going after the ball. This spring Johnny has become an asset to his team and it is all because of a really good coach. I might add, that his coach is 100% volunteer-- just some girl's father.

He has put Johnny is in positions where he has to go after the ball or  his team might loose. Giving Johnny that trust boosts his confidence. And guess what? Johnny is doing really well. His improvement is astonishing!

This coach has taught Johnny things that John and I don't think to teach to our children. One time, Johnny was telling his coach something and his coach stopped him and kindly said, "Look me in the eyes when you are talking to me." (Johnny tends to look at his feet.) What a great thing to teach my kid! He has reminded me to look in my kids' eyes when I speak to them.

I am very thankful for this amazing soccer coach that has has helped my son shine in ways he would never have!

Oh, and by the way, Johnny's team is the star team! I shouldn't be surprised with such a great coach.

Getting Ready for HomeSchool

I feel a lot more prepared this year as I get curriculum ready for the upcoming homeschool year. Last year, I was terrified of curriculum. There were so many choices and everything was so different and so expensive. Having done this one year. I feel a lot more prepared and even excited as I begin to get things ready.

Here are the things that I found I was good at and the things that I found that I was bad at.

1. I am a good math teacher. Kate, Johnny, Adam, and Rachel have all excelled with their math this year. I especially loved teaching Algebra. 
2. I am good and consistent at teaching grammar, reading, and writing.
3. If I have a good book, I am both consistent with assigning history, talking about history, assigning fiction reading books in the given historical period, and writing and giving tests. Without a good book, we do no history.
4. I am terrible at teaching science and doing science experiments. We have done terribly with science this year. I think we have had a dabbling at best.
5. I am terrible with music lessons and practice. We haven't done any music for a while.
6. Once I got pregnant, physical activity all but ended until we got the trampoline.
7. I was bad at being consistent with teaching foreign languages.

So now I know what I need to fix. This is what we have planned.

Here is our chosen curriculum thus far:
Johnny

• Science: 8th grade BYU independent study funded through MyTech High
• History: Early US History up until World War I. He will use America the Last Best Hope: Vol I. I will give him a study sheet for each chapter. He will have chapter tests. He will also be required to write 2 history research papers, and read at least 4 fiction books based on this time in history. 
• Japanese: Rosetta Stone through MyTech High.
• Algebra1b through Geometry 1a. I will teach this. We have a great Algebra book and are looking for a great Geometry book. He will have daily homework assignments and chapter tests. He will also be required to take the state math exam.
• Johnny needs to work on his writing a lot, so I will give him a daily writing assignment with weekly vocab and spelling words.
• Flash game development: an  online course through MyTech High.
• I will sign Johnny up for 3 5K  races that he will be required to prepare for and run, plus he will  have soccer in the fall and again in the spring.

 Kate

• Science: BYU independent study biology. We will pay for both semester courses.
• History: Mid to Modern U.S. History using America the Last Best Hope vol 2 and 3. I will read those books this summer and write study sheets and tests for each chapter. This will be for Ruth and Kate. They will be required to  write a weekly article on a current event and 2 research papers, one for mid U.S. History, and one for modern. They will also be required to read 4 historical fiction novels that go with the time period they are reading.
• Geometry: Kate will do a full course of geometry and I will be her teacher. There will be daily homework assignments, chapter tests, a midterm and a final and she will be required to take the state math competition test.
• Japanese: We will purchase the first Japanese Rosetta stone course for Kate.
• English: I am planning to buy a grammar workbook at an 8th grade level. I have not gotten to that yet. I hope I can find a good book. Then I will have her read 5 classic novels and write a report of some sort for each. 
• Art: Kate will be required to do 4 finished works of art of her own choice on her own time.
• I will sign Kate up for 2 5K races and 1 10K. She will have to train for them.

Ruth

• Science: BYU independent study Biology funded through MyTech High.
• History: Mid to Modern U.S. History using America the Last Best Hope vol 2 and 3. I will read those books this summer and write study sheets and tests for each chapter. This will be for Ruth and Kate. They will be required to  write a weekly article on a current event and 2 research papers, one for mid U.S. History, and one for modern. They will also be required to read 4 historical fiction novels that go with the time period they are reading.
• Algebra 2 and Trigonometry: we've got a great aglebra 2 trig combo book with the teachers manual tests all included that we bought for $1.50 at a used book store. I will give her a daily math lesson and she will have daily math homework, chapter tests, a midterm, final and will be required to take the state math competition test.
•  Spanish: BYU independent study Spanish II  funded through MyTech High.
• English: For the fall she will do the nanowrimo competition where she will write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. In the winter she will do a  BYU Independent study creative writing course. I will purchase the same grammar workbook for Ruth as I am for Kate.
• Photo finishing tech course through MyTech High.
• Piano: BYU independent study course winter semester.
• I will sign Ruth up for the same races as Kate and hopefully me too.

Adam

• He will be going to second grade in the neighborhood school. I will have the afternoon available to help him with his reading and homework. 
• He will do fall and spring soccer.

Rachel

• She will go to the first grade in the neighborhood school. I will have the afternoon available to help her with his reading and homework.
• She will probably continue dance if we can afford it.

Anya and Joseph

• I am trying to arrange a 2 day a week pre-school where I will teach the alphabet, handwriting, numbers, and a few site words, nature, and feelings. 
• Anya will probably continue dance lessons too.