I haven't blogged in 2 weeks......

......and my sister pointed it out to me.

I know, I know.

She wanted to know why and I really couldn't tell her.  I think its a mix of a few things.  One, we've been very busy as one of those weeks the kids attended VBS.  Two, my energy level is slowing down now that I'm in the third trimester.  There's so many times I just have nothing left at the end of the day.  And Three, we've just been plugging away.  Same old, same old..........and I forget to blog.  I really want to get back at it though.  In the mean time, here's a few pictures of what we've been up to over the last 2 weeks.

 Just when I think Libby has fully settled in to our family, she seems to get even more comfortable.  Zac and I are happy that it seems she's finally learned to sleep on the kids' beds, instead of ours, and we often find her snuggled up with one of the kids like this.  :)

 For the first time ever, we have hired work done on our house.  It is pretty exciting!  Karl has been building a new front deck for us for weeks, while being very patient with our kids' constant vigilance, and many questions.

 Lots of outdoor Summer play.

 Joshua and the story of Jericho has been on the Bible Table.  Here Kian is having his "Bible Guys" carry the ark of the covenant.  Then I think it turned into a car.  Well, hey, glad to see the story was sticking with him before his imagination took over.  :)

 I started another Waldorf doll, with Felicity's help.  Apparently I didn't think it was crazy enough to be working on four quilts, baby pants, and burp cloths.  Gotta add in a Waldorf doll to round out the crazy.  :)

 Zac saw a picture of an adirondack chair made out of wine barrel staves.  I woke up one Saturday morning (after sleeping in) to find him just winging it.  And it looks beautiful!

And of course, school.  We're still plugging away at our Solar System unit.  Schooling in the Summer has been harder than I thought.  There's been so many opportunities to go to the lake with friends, invitations to play, and of course, a full week of VBS.  But we're sticking to it whenever I have the energy.  So far, the unit study approach is working for us pretty good.  But, a lot of stuff has worked pretty good for the first 5 weeks.  So I'm not sold completely yet.  But I'm loving that its OUR schedule and we're going in OUR direction.  Its fun to plug in whatever we want, whenever we want.  Lissy's enthusiasm for school has mellowed a bit lately, and she gets a bit sleepy at the table.  Today I learned that if she has manipulatives, she perks up. 

Note to self!!! 

 We're ALL constantly learning on this journey.  I read a quote from a long time homeschooling mom that said, "If you CONSTANTLY question your approach, your curriculum, your manner of teaching, and your pace, you're a great homeschooling mom.  A good homeschooling mom will never stop questioning."

Good to know!

Guess I'm on the right track then.  Ha!

Our Bible Table

When I started blogging 2 years ago, my world was suddenly opened up to the wonderful world of Waldorf and Godly play.  As a credential student (before our kids came along), I was always drawn to Montessori.  But Waldorf seemed to take Montessori into the forest, and I was in love!  Though we choose to not use a Waldorf curriculum for school, we use a lot of Waldorf type learning and play in our house.  We choose to use a Christian based curriculum (or our own Christian based path) for school, and that's where "Godly Play" comes in.  Though I've met LOTS of bloggers who embrace Waldorf, I've only met one who embraces Godly Play.  Emily has a wonderful blog and I'll leave it to her to describe Godly Play.  If you want to learn more about it, please check out her blog.  There's a tab at the top titled Godly Play.  But to me, in beginner terms, Godly Play is taking Waldorf type learning techniques and incorporating Biblical principles, lessons, and stories.  I admit I have not read the books Emily suggests.  But I have followed her blog closely for two years and am simply following her example.  I've wanted to make a Bible Table for 2 years........a place where the kids could dive into the Biblical lesson/story we are studying at the time by using simple toys and props to recreate and act out the story.  Finally, here's the beginning of our Bible Table!!!

 It's still a work in progress, but it's very usable!  This is in a little corner of our dinning room, which is where we do school.  I don't love this shelf, but it actually is very practical and fits the bill.  Today we started a study on the tower of Babel.  I read a book to the kids and as I did, I acted the story out with peg people (we call them "Bible men") and props.  The kids were TOTALLY enthralled.  After I was done, they had some time to gather around the table and recreate the story themselves.  And so, they learn God's Word through play.

The only thing on the table other than the props, is the book, so the kids can sit and look over it when they want to.

The books are all kept in the top left drawer.  I'm basing our Bible lessons right now off the Alice in Bibleland series.  We really like these books.  I like how they rhyme, and how they sum up the lesson learned at the end of the book.  The pictures are good too.  I'd eventually like to follow a yearly Biblical calendar like Emily does, but I am not educated in such an organized plan so in the meantime, we are diving in with this series.  In this drawer I also have a sweet devotional we like that revolves around animals, a childrens' Bible, and other random Bible related story books.

 In the top right drawer, is everything the kids will need to recreate these Bible stories.  Noah's ark, some city blocks for building temples (or today, the tower of Babel), some wooden trees, and other homemade props.  The box on the floor is for me only.  Its a file folder box full of craft and lesson ideas sorted by theme or Bible story.  On top of the box sits the kids' basket of "Bible men", ready for play.

 I only have one handmade prop so far....Jonah's whale.  Jonah looks a bit too happy.  :)  On the list to create is a double sided play mat with a desert scene on one side, and a lush valley scene on the other, similar to one Emily made for her boys.  I'll also need to add props such as a cross of course.  Play silks would finish off the prop needs as they could be turned into oceans, rivers, mountains, etc.

 The bottom two drawers hold our crafting supplies.

The craft supplies come in handy for making related art to display on the screen above the table.  Here's Logan's tower of Babel.  I also envision our verse of the week displayed on this screen and maybe Biblical maps, etc.

I hope you don't mind this lengthy tour of our new little nook.  Its been in my head for 2 years so its really fun to see it come to life and see the kids enjoy this little space within our school day.  Again, if you are interested in this interactive, simple play to reinforce Biblical principles, I REALLY encourage you to meet Emily on her blog.  You won't regret it.

Honesty And Mercy

The Biblical meaning of my name is Gentle Spirit, which I am.....
but I yell at my kids.

 I love to teach my kids through nature...
but I get sucked into blog searching. 

I long for a better relationship with my Heavenly Father....
but I'm always falling short. 

I love being a stay-at-home Mama and wife....
but there's not enough hours in the day to get it all done. 

Thank you God that your mercy is new every morning!

From My Archives

August 9, 2005




Logan,

You are the culmination of all my dreams. You have made me the person I’ve wanted to be since I was a child; a mother. On the day you were born, you opened my eyes to God’s grace and blessings He bestows on His people. The day you were born, a covering was lifted from my eyes, and for the first time, I could see just how great, how loving, how selfless, and how mighty God’s sacrifice to us is - His son. For as I held you in my arms, so new to the world, I understood how much God had to give up, not to mention to such brutality. I cry out to God on nights when I have fearful thoughts of outliving you, or of something horrible happening to you. I will protect you with every fiber that is in my body, partly out of love, and partly out of the shame of the knowledge that I....and you...all our blood...so brutally took the life of God’s perfect son, Jesus. I live with a buried fear of something bad happening to you. But God, He lived with the knowledge that something horrible would befall His perfect son’s life. Every day of His life, God looked down on Jesus, His only son, with that horrible knowledge - the knowledge His son would have to die for us, sinners. I did not understand the enormity of His sacrifice, the raw emotion of it, until I had you, my son. You have opened my eyes to the purest form of God’s love I’ve ever received. Out of fear and reverence to my Great Father Lord, I pray you will see His love so purely one day too. Be devoted to God, for as much as I love you, I could never come close to loving you as mightily, and selflessly as your Lord loves you. For I would never be able to sacrifice you, my son, for another - but the Lord your God already has sacrificed His son for you.

I love you,

Mommy



**** written 3 months after becoming a Mommy ****

Post It Reminder

Today, at my mom's, I found my youth Bible.  It made me smile seeing the verses I'd underlined years ago.  On the inside of the back cover I saw something blue sticking out.  It was a post it note that simply said;

Believe - used 272 times in Bible

Pray - used 371      "      "     "

Love - used 714    "       "      "

Give - used 2162   "       "     "



OK, I'm feeling convicted!