100th Day of School!

I have this pair of sock that say "I heart school."  A kid from our youth group made fun of them on Sunday night.  But man, who doesn't love preschool?  Play dough, recess, reading, counting, shapes, patterns!  Teacher stores make me happy.  So, the 100th day of school?  Love it.

 

 

Reflecting upon the first 100 days of school, here are a few of my favorite moments:

- Gracie saying my name for the first time.

- Watching "The Bigs" learn to read.

- Josiah and Susannah fighting about whether our president is named Arock L Bomma or Uncle Bubba.

- And always, the Daily News.

 

Before viewing this round of updates, you must be aware of a few items:

 

1.  There really was a dinosaur exhibit at the zoo.

 

2.  Contrary to Abigail's news, I DO cook supper.  There were extenuating circumstances.  Praise God for the parenting team.

 

3.  The kids get a prize each month for memorizing their scripture verse.  Last month these awesome kids memorized the Lord's Prayer.  The whole thing.

 

4.  I am not sure if Lightsaber is one word, two (light saber), or hyphenated (light-saber).

 

5.  Also unclear on capitalizing fictional weaponry.

 

6.  John = Batman = Optimus = T-Rex (at recess time) = Josiah = HILARIOUS nephew making great face in above picture.

 

 

Until next time remember: kids tell their teachers EVERYTHING!

News Flash

Catching up on the daily news from Sunrise School.  Pre-Christmas news took on the form of confession for one of our students.  Perhaps she was attempting to clear things up with Santa before the big day.

The next week brought exciting dental feats, a beloved yester-word, and a new class member/character.

And our 2013 started off with a bang.  Barbie houses, playing, snowball fights, and slumber parties.  One even looked back upon memories of yesteryear.

7.3.2 Little on the Trashy Side

7 Experiment: based on the book by Jen Hatmaker

3rd Month: Mutiny Against Waste

2nd Post: Little on the Trashy Side

 

Waste was November.  Yes.  I am behind.

 

Some of the months of this experiment can be done alone.  Not this one.  Super Dad, Little Momma, and Fairy Child had to step in to accomplish our four waste reduction goals.

 

 

Goal: One bag of trash per week

 

Grade: A+

We totally did it! One bag of trash per week!  I was highly doubtful as to the attainability of this goal. I mean, I have kids. And not just my kids, but Sunrise School kids, too. Nine kids in and out of my house every week. Some of them still in diapers.

 

How We Did It:

1. Reuse - My cabinets runneth over with yogurt tubs and spaghetti sauce jars.

2. Recycle - Like crazy everything.

3. Intentionally buy things with recyclable containers/packaging.

4. Compost - More on this below

 

Goal: Conserve Energy and Water
 

Grade: A-

I thought we did pretty good with electricity, but I never could make myself give up my full, hot baths and long showers.  Sadly, I was about to give us a B-.  Then our electric bill came in.  Seventy.  Four.  Dollars.  BOOM, baby!  Bumped us back up to an A-.  Am I a hopeless teacher-dork?  I love grading myself!

 

How We Did It:

1. Become electricity Nazis - Not in the room, nothing on.

2. Use power strips behind entertainment units - Easy to flip switch off when not in use for long periods

3. Unplug anything when not in use - chargers, coffee pot, computer

4. A/C up a degree higher

5. Windows open when pleasant outside

6. Heat a degree colder

 

Goal: Compost

Grade: B
We are now members of the Compost Posse.  This one required work in the beginning, but once started has been quite easy.  And I have been surprised at what is compostable.  Had to give us a B because I need to do a better job maintaining our pile.  I hear tales of a composting bin that turns itself.  If I stay neon green, I might have to get one.

How We Did It:
1. Build a bin - Ours is made of zip ties and old pallets
2. Learn what can be composted - the Google machine has lots on this topic
3. Make to be composted container inside - No way we'd go out every time

 

 

Goal: Garden

 

Grade: F

Did not even attempt.  This feels like those standardized tests from elementary school.  I always scored at the top in every subject and failed spelling.  Gardening is my spelling.  I did get three houseplants.  Perhaps if they are still alive in the Spring, I could consider gardening. 

 

How We Did It:

1. Think about it.

2. Talk about it.

3. Stop.

 

Experiment-wise, I think this was a good month.  It made me more mindful of my wastefulness.  The down side?  I can't get the song "I Like My Women Just a Little on the Trashy Side" out of my head.

2012 By the Numbers

In 2012 I confessed to being a "resolution junkie" and laid out my seventeen resolutions.  Let's see how I did.

Act in love first, not anger. 
Still needs work.  1/2 point

Speak to my children with a kind tone of voice when I am frustrated.
Much related to #1.  1/2 point

Read my Bible more.
Found out in 2012 the only way for my to do this is wake up earlier.  1 point

Call my grandmother more. 
Better than 2011, but if you know my Gran, you know I could never call her enough.  1/2 point

Pray more. 
Still need more.  Especially in reference to resolutions #1 & #2.  1/2 point

Get home earlier on Tuesday nights.
Nope.  0 points

Use lotion on my poor dry hands.
Just checked hands.  Sandpaper.  But medium grit, no longer coarse.  1/2 point

Shave my legs more. (Not more of my leg, but more times.)
Maybe negative points?  I'll be generous and say  0 points

Do the projects I pin on Pinterest. 
I've done several of them, thank you very much.  1 point

Cook different meals.
Fish sticks and chicken nuggets grace our dinner table much less these days.  1 point

Cut back on my chocolate intake. (I eat a truly alarming amount of it in any given day.)
What was I thinking?  Seriously?!?  0 points

Pluck my eyebrows more frequently.
Eh.  1/2 point

Clean my house more. 
In-home preschool insures this happens.  1 point

Not let the bushes take over the sidewalk.
Sidewalk visible.  1 point

Plant some herbs. 
Didn't even attempt.  0 points

Try eating the veggies I make my kids eat.
Now this, I have done.  At times the portions were insanely small, but I ate what I made my girls eat.  As a proclaimed meatatarian, I think I am most proud about this one.  1 point

Work out. (Last on my list for many reasons.) 
Worse than any on the list.  Should have stopped at lucky 16.  0 points

My goal was fifty percent of the resolutions kept.  And, thanks to the beauty of half credit, 2012 was a year of fifty-three percent success!  Congratulations, mediocre self.  Perhaps 2013 will hold even less dashed good intentions.

Stay tuned for 2013 resolutions.

Nativity Creativity

Free toys make me happy.  Open-ended toys make me even happier.  Hence, we have a box of scrap wood in the backyard.

 

These pieces of junk wood have been many things: ramps for hot wheels, forts, guns for battling aliens, swords for slaying bad guys.  Creativity blossoms when toys come without instructions or "right" ways to play with them.

 

This holiday season my girls proudly brought me outside to see their latest artwork.  One glance and I ran back inside to get the camera.

 

Here we have a Nativity scene complete with parents, shepherds, and three wise guys.  I ooed and awed.  The girls beamed.

 

But there was more.  Over by the swings were three crosses.  They told me this was the reason that Jesus was born.

 

The three year old imparting wisdom.  Stories of truth from the lips of the five year old.

 

Words from God's Word swirl in my head "...do not forget the thing your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live.  Teach them to your children and to their children after them."

 

And at the foot of the slide were these.  Their two great-grandmothers, Mammaw and Nana, in Heaven with God.  These ladies whose names are part of our girls.  Estelle.  Marie.

 

I was a bit teary until they showed me God on top of the slide - a giant teapot with two balls inside.  Man, I love these kids.

 

News Update to follow.

 

Messy and Blessed

I have come to find that no matter how much I love my job, there are still those days.  You know, the ones that make you want to rip off all your clothes and run down the street screaming?

 

When I worked outside our home, those days reached dizzying proportions.  Now that I am home, they are honestly very few and far between.  But, I must admit, every so often they do occur.

 

Instead of going stark raving mad, I choose to remember these moments. 

 

 

Children writing notes to missionaries.  My girls, their cousins, and their friends learning about loving and serving and being like Jesus, not Justin Beiber.

 

Living by no certain schedule. Or scope. Or sequence. One that allows us to go outside to feel the sun on our skin as we learn about the heat that it generates.



 

Being the one that knows what my children have going on in their lives.  Knowing what is newsworthy to them.

 

 

This was not always my life.  I thought I never wanted to be a stay-at-home mom.  In fact, I used to snobbishly look down on those women - as if they had somehow sold themselves short.

 

But it slowly dawned on me that deep in my bones, this is the life I wanted.  This life of loving and raising my children.  Seeing them wake up.  Teaching them to read.  Showing them how to love God and others.  Putting them to bed at night without regrets about missing their childhood.

 

Is my life perfect now?  By no means.  It is hard and fun.  Frustrating and delightful.

 

It is beautiful.  It is blessed. 

 

It is beautiful, because I choose to acknowledge that it is blessed.

 

All praises be to my God who deeply loves this messy girl's messy life.

Sunrise School Thanksgiving 2012

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  Here at Sunrise School we have been having a blast learning poems, making costumes, watching Charlie Brown specials, and being THANKFUL.

 

In the spirit of tradition, here is Sunrise School's second annual Thanksgiving video.  (The first year's is here.)  If you are wanting to see high quality cinematography, you will be sorely disappointed.  Lower your expectations considerably and you will be pleasantly surprised at the wit and ways of preschoolers.

If that didn't make you smile, check out the Daily News board.  Many outstanding events are happening in these kids lives.

Still not smiling?  Then I can't help you.  Sorry.