n he was a baby (he came to spell us off numerous times when Luke was colicky), and I can't remember it being that bad!! I'm glad he tells me this, because I do forget how much he cried. And how much James cried, and sometimes I even forget how much Elise cries...well...not today, but occasionally!But, in trying to count my blessings, I was able to read a book this weekend while holding my sweet little feverish girl who wouldn't let me put her down. It was called "The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook" by Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore. The motto is "a creative and stress-free approach to homeschooling". I like that. The book reassured me over and over that teaching our children at home is the best option for children, especially Christian children. Back when Luke was a baby, I planned to send him to school, but through the years I've seen that there are so many other non-mainstream options available that promote character above academics, parent instilled values above peer influence, self-worth instead of self-esteem, strong work ethic, etc. When he was also a baby, our friends C & G in AZ told us their experiences with public school, and how they found that their girls were not the light in the world that they had hoped, but instead were lambs among wolves. They needed much more guidance in the home to become those lights. (thanks, G!) That was the start of my path to research what would produce happy healthy children who get lots of exercise, room to explore, room for their own creativity, lots of reassuring love and hugs all day long, sending them out when they are ready rather than when the state says I have to. This book told over and over that the home is the best place for a child to learn, and that any parent who loves their child is qualified to teach. The Moore's are the grandparents to the homeschool movement, and base their research on over 8000 published studies. They have been around for years, and have many other books, the only one that I read being "Home Grown Kids", which also is worth reading.
The funny of the day
yesterday: the boys were playing trains and Luke tipped one over. James said "Dead!" Luke of course, "Trains don't die" James, "Dead!" Luke, "Trains are made of metal, they don't die." But James still insisted that the train was dead. He's been using the word dead/die alot since we were reading Richard Scarry's best Christmas ever when a grouchy Mr. Gronkle fell through the ice in one of the stories and yelled, "Don't leave me here to die!" Everytime we'd read the story he'd yell, "Die, Die!" when we'd get to that page.And today, he wanted some "snow" on his pannukakku. (icing sugar) He's been coming up with a ton of new words lately, but if he doesn't know the word, he just substitutes the closest one he can think of. Which happened to be snow today!
The other cute thing was the boys having to "make" their own breakfast and lunch
when they were hungry and I was unable to get up due to sleeping baby on lap. They made "Yogurt and granola" for breakfast, and "Peanut Butter and Jam on crackers" for lunch. They did amazingly well without much mess, which got me thinking I should probably be letting them do more things like that. I just hate mess, so it's easier not too let them. They were so proud that they could make me lunch, and those smiles were worth much more than the mess.