New Year's Eve

I'll write now, because tonight there's a game night at the church and we'll all be busy going back and forth to that, deciding who takes the children back home.  I've been trying to decide if I have any resolutions for the coming year, but I'm stuck on what they could be and I'll have to come back to them.  Today we'll do a bit of shopping, I might try and make something to bring tonight, and then we'll nap.

And I feel that sense of decluttering that comes over me at new year; I'm determined to get something done today.  A few months ago I really got on a big organizing and throwing away kick, and I got rid of garbage bags full of toys no one played with, clothes no one wore, ripped books and what have you.  And then I had a baby, so pretty much everything stopped in its tracks.  I'm not sure how it happened, but we have way too much stuff again.  I know that really, we're not a 'stuff filled' family - we don't have an awful lot, it's just that we have 5 people living in a very small house so it looks like a lot.  But...I'm still overwhelmed and I dislike clutter intensely so I want it all gone.  I want clean, smooth lines throughout my home so I feel peace.

But, and here's the problem, I can't bear to get rid of things that somehow I still see as useful.  So that's always a struggle for me.  I like it when a toy breaks because then I'm confident to throw it away!  I have stacks of blankets that we simply don't need, and pillowcases...don't get me started on those.  And jackets, and crayons and cookbooks and...

Sick

I'm sick, and it's an odd experience for me.  I don't get sick very often, really; my whole family doesn't.  The children don't go and see other children often and we tend to cocoon during the winter so...

It's an ear infection, I'm pretty sure.  I've done all the things you can do at home and now I'm just waiting, drinking a lot of fluid, waiting, waiting.

I'd be a lot more patient with all of this if I had a maid to take over from me and the library was open.  Neither is going to happen.

Learning Notes For The End Of The Year

So, we've been home schooling for four months now and it looks totally different than what I thought it would.  We started out with workbooks, lots of nature walks, reading a lot of books aloud and some educational television, plus the occasional craft or activity when I had the energy and time to set it up.  That lasted about, oh, a week.  Pretty quickly I realized I couldn't manage that level of schooling while holding a baby and entertaining a two year old.  The baby cried a lot and the toddler needed constant attention and entertaining while I was attempting to explain a work page or craft to a four year old.  When I left the two year old alone she would destroy things and when I left the four year old alone he would take initiative and try and finish pages he didn't understand - essentially wrecking them.  And they wouldn't work together, so essentially it was impossible.

I knew there would be bumps in the road, and honestly I was okay with this.  We switched 'off' school while we dealt with colic, and tried a more unschooling type approach.  These days we go to the library for storytime once a week, and read together at home, we have our eldest go to a Bible club one night a week, and we also try to attend a weekly playgroup.  Beyond that we don't do outside activities, which I'm okay with because getting everybody out of the house is a disaster waiting to happen.  At home we do activities that require very little prep time, and we still watch educational television and listen to a lot of music and stories.  Nature walks happen, but not as frequently as before mostly due to the weather.  And we look for learning opportunities where we are - talking about stars and machines and bugs...it's been pleasant.

Do I crave structure?  Yes!  I'm a person who simply couldn't unschool for the long haul; I love and believe in structure, but life is full of seasons and this season is one of loose unstructured learning.