Lots of Dots

Recently, we read The Dot again. Love this book! I think I first read about it over at ArtProjectsForKids.org, and decided to take it out of the library a few weeks ago. What I really love about this book is that it shows the kids that all you have to do is start with ANYTHING, even a small dot, and you can have art. It makes it so simple to do art with reluctant or perfectionistic children. Not that my kids are reluctant when it comes to art!! But I do have a boy that leans towards perfectionism. So we've read the book a few times, just before an art project.

Today, we painted dots! Big dots, little dots, and all different colors and thicknesses. To make it interesting and easy, I pulled out toilet paper tubes, marker caps, plastic cups and empty yogurt containers and a few straws. I demonstrated the general idea to the boys, who were a little puzzled by the lack of brushes, and they were off! :)

Clean up was pretty easy as well, as the paint had been poured out onto styrofoam plates, and pretty much everything could be thrown out when we were done. The only caveat, if you decide to try this sometime, was that the toilet paper tubes roll, if not stood on end, and could easily make their way to the floor. Fortunately, ours didn't quite make it to the floor, but it was definitely on its way when I caught it!

Spiritual Awakening

January 19, 2011, my oldest son sat at the breakfast table with me, while his little brother slept. I thought to wake the little guy, but was enjoying the one on one time with my firstborn. As we talked, the conversation turned to spiritual things, and we began to talk about what the Bible says about God and Heaven. We talked about how everyone has a decision to make, and how we can choose to live for God, accept Jesus' death on the cross and receive forgiveness for our sin. I asked him if he had ever done that. "Nope." I asked him if he'd like to do it. "Not right now," he said. So I told him if he ever decided he wanted to, he could come to me and I would help him. I went into the kitchen to make some coffee and a few minutes later he was calling to me to tell me that he had prayed!

Now, I'm one who is, by nature, skeptical of everything. And not having been raised in the church, I am skeptical of children that make professions of faith, but I also know that very often these little ones are the ones who really have that childlike faith to trust God... As I talked with my son afterward, I questioned him briefly, but I also noted that the Spirit of God within me seemed to be rejoicing, and so I found that encouraging. Also, Ian soon after started expressing a concern about when his little brother would make that decision as well, which was kind of cool.

So the question that's really been pressing on me lately is where do we go from here? How do you properly disciple a 7 year old? Yes, we are involved in church, and he also attends AWANA at another church, and of course we have devotions in the morning and before bed. Is that enough? Is it the right kind of thing to be doing? Are we missing something?

In my search, I came across this page, which expresses a few things beautifully and gives me a few things to look into: CharlotteMasonHelp.com

The Plans of Man

One of the things that I struggle with in general is being organized. Although I don't really like the constraints of a rigid schedule, I do like to know what's coming up so I can plan and be prepared. I used to just keep things in my head or make lists of things to do. But ever since I became a mom, I've HAD to rely on those lists. This works pretty good for my "Things to do" list, but not so good for the homeschool stuff. So I thought I'd share something I've found that have really helped me.

First, I have to tell you about the Well Planned Day Yearly Planner. I LOVE this planner! It includes monthly calendars, a weekly meal planning section, sections for field trips, attendance, inspirational quotes, and pages for writing out your children's assignments for each day of the week, subject by subject. (They say that you can record assignments for up to 3 children. At this point, I'm only using it for one, and there seems to be enough room for me to record my second child, when I get to that point, but I don't know that I could squeeze in enough info for 4 kids... I suppose I'd come up with abbreviations if I had to.)

What I really like is that I can sit down on the weekend and plan out the coming week, meals and assignments, and even priorities and weekend activities... AND it's all right there on a two-page spread right before me. AND the Well PLanned Day Yearly Planner for the coming year is on sale till the end of February. So if you're in the market for a planner, this may be the time to check it out!