How do you make writing fun for young ones?

One of my longer term goals for this fall was to get R more comfortable with writing.  There's no great rush; I feel no need to drill her or get her handwriting to any certain level.  For me it's all about creating a regular habit of writing at least a little every day.  It's about familiarity and comfort in doing something she'll be doing for the rest of her life.

We've had a hard time with handwriting when I've tried it in the past though.  I think this was because I really just didn't know how to approach it.  I have a lot of handwriting paper with the colored solid and dotted lines, so I think I was a little overanxious about getting her to write all of her letters just so.  But whenever I attempted it with her, it turned into a bit of a battle.  She ended up bored, and I frustrated.  So I gave us a bit of a break this last week.

In planning for this week, I decided to revisit writing and this time I brainstormed a little about ways to make it fun.  (I actually have to keep reminding myself that I have four-year-old and not to expect so much!)  So here were the ideas I came up with, two of which we tried with great success today:

• Make a treasure hunt for Daddy using sticky notes
• Write back and forth to each other instead of talking for fifteen minutes
• Copy words or sentences from books or movies around the house
• Start a Christmas wish list
• Write notes or letters to friends or family members
• Create labels for items around the house
• Make a menu for dinner

I'm sure I could think of more if I took the time; this was just my quick brainstorm list.  The point is that before I can do anything effectively with the girls, they have to really want to do it.  I'm left with the option to either follow their fancies, or inspire them to fancy my goals.  ;)

How do you inspire your child to read the classics?

I have begun to read The Secret Garden aloud to the girls this week.  I have read a few longer books to them before: The Wind in the Willows, Little House in the Big Woods, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, etc.  I feel like this has been good for them on multiple levels.  They learn patience for a long drawn-out story versus the short quick ones they get in picture books.  They gain valuable moral lessons from higher quality literature.  They get exposure to a wider vocabulary.  And probably most important to me right now, they get in the habit of being read to every day.

I don't require their full-attention; I don't expect them to sit still or look at the words with me.  But I do expect them (especially R) to listen.

I make it fun and engaging. I stop and talk a lot, asking questions and making sure R is following the story line or drawing out the most important lessons.

When we last read, we got to the part of the book where (if you're familiar with the story) Martha's mother, a very poor mother of twelve children, out of the sweet goodness of her heart buys Mary a jump-rope with the little money she has.  She doesn't personally know Mary.  Martha is Mary's friend but also her maid, and Mary is the remarkably wealthy and spoiled child who lives with her uncle in a mansion.  But she is orphaned and lonely, and Martha's mother feels compassion for her and her situation.

I was so touched by this part of the story.  Granted, it is just a story.  But the truth is that there are people out there like this, who sacrifice every day for others even though they themselves are in need. What a great lesson in Christlike love.

Did R fully grasp it?  I don't know. Probably not.  But maybe, just maybe, our reading classic books together every day will cultivate a desire within her to read classic books on her own someday which will unlock the door to a wealth of equally wonderful moral lessons to be learned.

Mixing Colors Experiment

R is fascinated with mixing colors lately for some reason.  We've done lots of online games to learn about which colors mix to make other colors, but the other day I finally pulled out the big guns and did some real-life hands-on learning.  We just filled some mugs with water, put a bunch of drops of food coloring into each and then used a dropper to experiment away. She loved it.  :)

Why do you write this blog?

I have worried a little about writing this blog.  It's a place where I get to expound on my beautiful life and bountiful blessings, but I am very aware that not everyone enjoys the same blessings I do.  Some may long to be married or desire to have children but haven't had the opportunity.  Some, as much as they wish to be with their children all day long, are working or going to school and just trying to get by.  Some may be home with their children but are feeling inadequate in their ability to cope with the multitude of responsibilities which are theirs.  The variety of circumstances vary as much as we as women do.

The reason I decided to blog despite this knowledge and the possibility that others may find my writing offensive is best expressed in my experience with Pinterest.

I first became acquainted with Pinterest at a time in my life when I was struggling with post-partum depression and was simply surviving my life as a stay-at-home-mom.  I hated that, because I knew that I was supposed to be experiencing the life I had always dreamed of; I wanted to be thriving, not just surviving.

When I discovered Pinterest, it was as if someone had turned on a light in my mind. I discovered that there was a whole world of ideas and that had never occurred to me before.  I felt inspired and motivated to make my life richer by applying the things that I was learning, by being more creative and experimental.  Though I can't say it fixed my depression, it definitely had an impact.  I was surprised when I learned that many women have a hard time with Pinterest because of the unrealistic expectations they feel like it creates.  To me it's all about perspective.  I feel no pressure to do every interesting thing I see, but I can let the ideas wash over me and inspire me to be and do more within my own capacity and circumstances.

That's what I hope for with this blog:  that other moms will read with an understanding that all of our lives our beautiful and rich in different ways, and come away with a greater desire and capacity to beautify and enrich their lives even more.

How do you get your children interested in reading?

Today we made our weekly trip to the library.  We have been going now for about three years to whichever library was closest to wherever we lived.  We always have a huge stash of library books, return about half of them, (the ones that have already been read one too many times,) and then replace them with a pile of books which I had placed on hold the week before.

I love doing holds because we end up with much higher quality books than we do when we just browse and wing it.  Besides, it makes it far less stressful for me; I let the girls sit and look at books and play with toys without any pressure to find so many books before my blood sugar starts giving out on me or C gets lost wandering through the library.

My favorite part of library day usually looks something like this:

It never fails to entirely delight me the way that R can't get enough of all these new books.  She will sit and read for hours the day we restock our library collection.  It's a beautiful thing.  :)

When we first began frequenting the library when R was about one, I began checking out every ABC book they had.  Her attention span was short, but I knew how important it was to read to her every day, so I figured these books were perfect!  She could pay attention to one or two letters per page and be soaking up precious info at the same time.

Little did I know that doing so would result in her knowing all the letter names by the time she was 18 months and all the letter sounds shortly thereafter. She now reads fluently anything she can get her hands on. She is still surprising me though.  Just the other day I discovered that she can read silently and still retain everything!

Needless to say, though I knew there was no guarantee of this miracle working more than once, I decided to give C every chance I gave R, and we have continued checking out all the ABC books.  It turns out that C loves learning her letters too, and knows almost all of them and some of the sounds.  It gives me some degree of confidence that it wasn't just a fluke and that what I am doing matters.

I love reading and knowing that it is foundational to any great education has given me a great deal of motivation to make it a priority in our home.  So we fill our home with books, I read my own books in front of the girls, we let them read or look at books in bed as they fall asleep, we read to them every night, I read classics to them during the day, and we go to the library every week.  ;)

How do you create a learning atmosphere in your home?

Man... I am exhausted!  Some days just take it out of me, and today was definitely one of those days!  We got a lot done though, which always make me feel good.  But I'm afraid all I can ever think about at the end of a day like today is what we didn't do.

We didn't go outside.  It was too rainy.

I didn't get in any solid scripture study.  I slept in.

I didn't do a gospel lesson with the girls.  Again... I slept in.  :P


. . . Okay, that's all the pessimism I'm going to allow myself for the day.


The truth is, it was a great day.  My sweet husband, Mr. C, let me sleep in for which I am quite grateful.  When I did get up, the girls had already been fed and were ready to get going for the day.  So I asked R, "Do you want to do math, reading, or writing?"

"Math!" she exclaimed enthusiastically.  I smile to myself just thinking about it.  This is what I love about homeschool.  No stigmas to learning.  This is what we do all day long everyday, for fun!  :)

So we did one day's worth of math on Easy Peasy (see resources tab above,) and when I asked her what she wanted to do now, she said (and I'm not making this up!) "More math!"  We repeated this cycle several times.  I lost track of how many days worth of math we did, but it was a lot, especially considering that these weren't all the most engaging math games ever.  Granted, there's not a ton to do for each day, and I don't make her do all the writing out of math problems.  But still... she's four.

So maybe you're sitting there saying, "This isn't realistic.  Even if this little girl does feel so excited about school, it's a fluke!  Normal kids don't act like that.  Besides, in few years it will probably wear off anyway."

Maybe... but I don't think so.  And I'll tell you why:  This is all she knows.  Some people might say that I've tricked her into believing that school is fun, but I see it differently.  I have framed a lifestyle and home atmosphere that has allowed her natural curiosities and enthusiasm to flourish instead of being smothered by certain social norms.

I don't believe for one second that math is hard or boring.  I believe that it is fascinating and enjoyable, but we have been fooled into thinking otherwise.  Sometimes this comes as we become adults and find addition problems to be old news, and some of it might come from hearing peers complain about math until we have it fixed in our minds that we should find it difficult too.

However it comes about, one of the best outcomes of homeschooling is the opportunity to put the fun back into learning--or to save it from being destroyed in the first place if you get to start early enough!

So, how do you create this atmosphere?

First, don't be afraid to severely limit your children's media time.  And be selective about what media you do allow.  For us this has meant that media time occurs between three and five in the afternoon, and I encourage them towards the shows that are the most educational or morally uplifting.  The reason for this should be obvious: we all know how attention sucking media is, especially television.  How many kids, when given the option between video games and TV or learning activities are going to pick the latter?  Sadly, even you and I, being adults and knowing the value of learning and the consequences for wasting our time rarely choose to educate ourselves in our spare moments.  Therefore, make the choice easy for your kids.  Media has it's time, but the rest of the time is learning time!

Another key to creating the right atmosphere is your attitude.  Mom sets the tone for the house, and if you are enthusiastic about school, then your kids will be too.  They follow your lead, especially at these young tender ages.  As we create norms and habits in these early years and consistently stick to them, they will become expected and comforting parts of everyday life even as the children grow older.

My last tip is to create the right environment for learning by surrounding your kids with books and educational toys.  I try to turn every toy into a learning toy.  When we play with blocks we do more than just stack them or build creatively:  we count them, we organize them by colors and shapes, we make patterns, and so on.  I'm limited only by my own creativity and imagination.

I hope as you read these ideas you find them inspiring and motivational, not burdensome.  The main point here is to create a learning lifestyle.  Homeschooling for us is not something we do between such and such hours each day, nor did it begin at a certain age for our girls.  We don't take breaks on weekends, or summers, or even sick days really!  Because homeschooling is the way we live.  For me personally, homeschooling is synonymous with parenting... but that's a whole other post.  ;)

How do you plan and prepare for your homeschooling week?

Homeschooling--to do it well--often requires an almost monumental amount of energy, enthusiasm, and creativity.  Sometimes this is easy, especially when you're just getting started and everything is new and exciting anyway. After a few weeks though, summoning all that enthusiasm may require a bit more conscious effort.  To that end, I try to take a little time every weekend to prepare myself for the coming week--both in things practical, such as the specific things I want to accomplish, as well as things more psychological.  I often need to read only a little bit of educationally motivating literature before I start feeling particularly pumped up for another week of homeschool!  :)

As a bit of a preview of what I hope to be posting about in the coming week, I'll tell you what our plans are this week:

• Read at least one chapter of The Secret Garden out loud to R each day
• Do a color mixing experiment using water and food colors
• Learn about seconds, minutes, and hours
• Begin teaching C the sounds of the alphabet
• Practice colors and shapes with C through coloring and drawing
• Encourage R to write something--anything--each day (this might take some really creative thinking...)
• Learn about pilgrims (we have a book from the library)
• Do a fall craft of some kind involving leaves
• Do math using the Easy Peasy first-grade outline (see resources tab above)
• Dance to the silly songs CD that we got from the library
• Do a gospel lesson from the nursery lesson book each morning during breakfast
• Have R read more of her Book of Mormon stories book

To be clear, this list is just me brainstorming about all the things we COULD do this week and a lot of things I HOPE we get to do this week.  It is NOT something I feel obligated to stick to.  Why?  Because what matters more to me than anything else is that R stay interested and excited about what we're doing.  Insofar as I can keep her engaged in these particular activities (many of which are on the list specifically because she has shown some degree of interest) I will stick to my plans.  Everything is fluid and flexible though, and I love it being that way.  My only real goal each day is to get a little bit of reading, writing, and math done regardless of the shape or form that comes in.

So that is my practical planning.  In terms of my psychological preparation, I'm reading one of Charlotte Mason's books.  A lot of what she says is a little outdated or hard to apply in modern life, but she definitely has a lot of great bits of wisdom here and there too.  I'll leave you with one of my most recent favorites:

"One of the secrets of the educator is to present nothing as stale knowledge, but to put himself in the position of the child, and wonder and admire with him."