Just A Little Lovin'

It is amazing what a little attention can do for a child.  This morning, my three year old son woke up in a great mood.  But by 9:30, he was into EVERYTHING and was harassing his sister while she tried to do school.  So I scolded him, and then I sent him to his room to pick out some books while I finished cleaning the kitchen.  He brought in 6 books.  We spent about 30 minutes reading through and discussing 4 of them.  He then climbed down from my lap, told me thanks, and cheerfully played by himself until lunch.

This scenario is so much better than the one that all too often plays out in my house.  He starts causing trouble, I scold him, he causes a different kind of trouble, I send him to his room to play, he throws a fit at being excluded from everyone (and he knows the difference between when I send him to play in his room so he can have fun, and when I send him there so I can have space).  Finally, one or the other of us completely looses our temper, and I feel like a complete failure as a Mom.

If I can remember to stop and give him attention more often, perhaps his behavior will be better. Not that his behavior will be perfect, but my behavior improves when my children and husband spend time with me and notice all of the things I do.  Why would it be any different for my three year old?  Or my ten year old?  Or my fifty-two year old?  We all just need a little lovin'.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZBUb0ElnNY

Latin?

I am trying to decide whether I should add Latin to our curriculum.  I am switching over to a more classical way of educating as guided by The Well Trained Mind.  They highly recommend learning Latin, but I am hesitant.   My 5th grader wants to start learning Spanish, and I should have access to a free curriculum.  I hate to tell her she can't learn Spanish because we are going to study Latin.  And I hate to pay for a Latin curriculum.  I do think Latin would greatly benefit her vocabulary skills, which are somewhat lacking, in my opinion, though she tests above average.

I need opinions and reasons.  Should we pursue Latin?  Spanish instead?  Both?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Photos That Make Me Happy

We have spys......

and cowboys.

We work.....

and we smile......

and we cuddle.

And that makes me happy.

I'm Still Here

I haven't fallen of the face of the Earth.  I haven't even been close to the edge.  I have just been busy.  Not the maniacally-go-as-fast-as-you-can-as-long-as-you-can kind of busy.  Just the steadily-moving-forward-but-having-fun kind of busy.  Since I last posted I have tilled and planted the vegetable garden, planted and mulched a flower bed, mulched our blueberry bushes and mowed two HUGE yards a few times.  We have had good school weeks and the count down has begun...only four weeks to go.  We spent a night singing over at Uncle Logan's and Aunt Roberta's house.  I spent a day down with a migrane, made it though another night shift, and bought a new printer.

Our biggest news is that we now have a 10 year old in the house.  Ten years ago yesterday, I was blessed to hold my baby girl - a blessing I had decided would never be mine.  She has been a joy to raise.  I love teaching her and learning from her.  I love watching her independence develop, and I love when she needs me.  I delight in watching her care for her little brother.  Mostly, I love being with her.  Our time with her in our home is probably halfway spent, but I am not overly saddened by that thought.  I like who she is as a girl, I am excited to see who she will become as a young lady, and I look forward to the day I can count her as my friend.  Happy Birthday, doodle bug.  I love you.