Schoolhouse Review Crew: 7-Minute Life Daily Planner

It has been a running theme on the blog that I need to get organized and get my time in order. I had the chance to try out The 7 Minute Life Daily Planner for a review and get to put my thoughts here. This 266-page planner is published by published by The 7 Minute Life, and offers access to additional online tools and printables as well.  Let's dive right in, shall we? One of the things this book does at the beginning is to walk the user through a series of exercises designed to clear the mind of clutter, prioritize life goals/plans and desires, and create workable steps to achieve them. I wrote my feelings at the time on a blank page in the beginning of the book so that over time I would have a measure of my journey using this program. It starts out, "I feel frustrated at my own inability/unwillingness to get it all together. I am excited by and proud of a few things ... but my own failings with respect to keeping the rules set, keeping my papers and things organized and the examples I show my kids are pretty bad and very frustrating." I then listed out things that I feel pressured by, and went to work on the steps outlined in the book. 

Meditation Monday: What Drives You?

The kids were watching a Veggie Tales movie yesterday and I remembered - vaguely - seeing an interview done with the creator some time back. So I looked up the interview, out of curiosity, and found some things in the interview that resonated with me with regard to my business and the way I run things. It also resonates with how I live my life, and why we do things in our home the way we do.

These quotes come from the linked article if you want to read the whole thing.

... the question I ignored was, "How did God wire me?" Because He didn't necessarily call me to see how big an organization I could build.

Monday Morning Meditation - On Knitting

I guess it's the Mom in me, but every time I look at my kids - particularly when they are sleeping and very still - the verse about being "Knit in the mother's womb" runs through me. And just like with the counting of hairs last week, I am in awe. It is written as a Hymn, a song - Psalm 139 - 

1You have searched me, Lord,

and you know me.

2You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

Meditation Monday: Counting the Hairs

I have some random meditation going on lately...

This morning I looked at the baby sleeping and while he was still decided to count - or try to - the number of eyelashes he had on one eye. I got to around 75 but likely missed a bunch. There were all different lengths and sizes and thicknesses. 

29"Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30"But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31"So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

Matthew 10:29-31

I don't have much to say on this except Wow. I know that the number of hairs on my head are a lot, so to think that He knows how many each person has (or doesn't!) is mind-blowing to me.  

A Christmas School Story - by Chef

I was cleaning off my dresser this morning, and am not sure how this gem stayed folded there for so long. But I enjoyed it so am sharing with you (along with some other summer-homeschool moments!)

The Lesson in the Nest

Several years ago, the kids received a DVD about hummingbirds as a gift from their Nana. It turned into a week-long theme study and a blog post. Yesterday, Mr. Magoo found a complete bird's nest on the ground, lying off to one side and it brought back memories of that week. 

Bruiser put it back in the tree

Schoolhouse Review Crew: A Life in Balance

I was recently given the chance to read and review the book A Life in Balance by Frank Belgau and his son, Eric Belgau, and distributed by the Learning Breakthrough Program. As a homeschooling mom, I can't help but keep watch over my children and asking: what have they missed; how could I be doing this subject better; is there something about his learning style that doesn't fit what I'm doing? And in truth, it can be a bit of an emotional roller coaster ride.

Here's the thing - our oldest learned to read with about the "normal" struggles and challenges. Our second and third took much longer to get into reading, and one still struggles a bit with longer words and books. And their spelling in the beginning was poor enough that even they can't tell what they were trying to write. And it was frustrating for them. I considered vision and tracking problems, ADD, ADHD, and so much more. What I discovered, well after they had worked out for themselves how to get around their difficulties, is that they both have pretty serious dyslexia.