Illness...
At least one person in our family has been sick since Christmas. Hubs had it bad in the respiratory system for a while, and he rarely gets sick. I hurt my back months ago and it's finally significantly better. Then, Katie came down with bronchitis and strep throat last Friday. She ever so kindly shared her germs with me, so now I have strep throat and a terrible cold. Emily is a bit congested and coughing, too.
Clutter Control...
Somewhere in the middle of treating, feeding, and cleaning up after everyone (before I got sick), I decided it was time to take control of the household pharmacy. I completely emptied the closet that contains mostly medicines, bath & body products, and towels. As if that wasn't enough, I decided to throw in the bathroom cabinet as well. Why not?
There it all was, sprawled out all over the hallway floors, bathroom counter, and my bed. Oh dear! I wondered how all that stuff fit into such tiny spaces. My plan to have it all cleaned up and organized by the time Hubs got home from work didn't pan out, by a long shot! It took hours to clean up that mess. Hours! But I got it done and feel so good about it.
In the process, I found enought hotel products to fill a pretty good size box, with some overflow in a smaller basket. The small basket now sits on a shelf in the closet, making it easy to quickly grab what's needed and will be refilled until the supply is gone. I truly felt like a hoarder! Determined to use it all, I'm not buying any shampoo or conditioner until this is all gone, unless there is an incredible deal. And I do mean indredible.
Old stuff was tossed out, unwanted stuff went into a donation bag and the rest was neatly organized. Extra items like soap and bandades went into clear boxes that are clearly marked and placed on shelves. I elimated a plastic 3 drawer unit that was 2 feet wide which opened up a perfect spot for a dirty clothes basket. What a job!
Curriculum...
Finally, the two-fold topic of today's post. Battles in the curriculum. We are learning about Ancient Rome... kings, emperors, and gladiator's in the games. Fighting, fighting, fighting. Blood, beheading, persecution... It was such a dark time. For me, it's informative. I'm reading things with the kids in much greater detail than I ever remember reading it before. Maybe it's my age. Maybe I've never read it in that great of detail. Maybe I blocked it out in the same way my kids do at times. Reading about all fighting does give a greater appreciation for the death and reserrection of Jesus Christ and the hope that we have as His followers. But, it sometimes causes my kids to worry and for lack of better explanation, it grosses them out! To hear, day after day, how Christians were (and still are) persecuted for their faith, often dying a violent death, is scary enough for an adult let alone an 8 and 11 year old.
So this brings me to part two of the curriculum battle. This is the one going on in my mind. The thoughts swirling around - Do I continue? Do I stop? Do I skim over and summarize? And what about next year? Do I stick with the same curriculum company? I realize that history is history. Bad things happened. People were killed and brutally beaten, both for power and for game. But at my kids' ages, how much is enough? How much detail do they need right now? These questions all beg for answers. I'm not confident at all in finding answers myself. My confidence lies in the Lord alone to lead me to the answers. To help me through this internal battle. To give me wisdom and discernment. And I will, of course, continue reading homeschool blogs for ideas, inspiration, and encouragement.
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I'm sorry you've been battling sickness! That's definitely not fun. But yay for clutter control!
ReplyDeleteI hear you on the need for wisdom to know what to do with curriculum! My thinking has been changing recently, and I'm not sure all of what that means for next year. You're right though--God will lead us to the answers we need!
I've found that while my kids are younger it's better to concentrate on the cultures of different civilizations than the graphic wars and violence that permeate history. Hope you are able to find something that works for your family.
ReplyDeleteThe sickness has been a battle for everyone this fall and winter. We, like you, have had someone sick in our house almost constantly since the first of November. And others have told me the same. I think it is the lack of a good long hard freeze to kill all the germs the last two years. Plus we have had so much rain that mildew and mold abound. And in January the trees starting budding and flowers started blooming (something we usually see around April) so allergies are thrown in there, too. Wishing everyone good health soon.
ReplyDeleteBefore I forget... I wanted to know the status of the issue we were praying about. I was going to email you but haven't gotten there yet, and I know by the time I leave this comment box I will forget again. ☺
Once or twice a year, I do the same with every closet and drawer and cupboard in our house. It is always a mess before it is organized. Recently we did the linen closet which is one of two storage areas in our entire house shared by ten. It was a disaster. Our bathroom is only 16 square feet, barely room to stand in there. So there is no room to spread out while you work. The closet door is behind the bathroom door so you need to grab a handful of stuff, close the closet, open the bathroom door and dump it in the hallway. And then repeat it a million times. Then clean, organize, toss and do it in reverse. I always love when it is done, though.
As for school... we do history and science to the interest of our children. We do what the children are interested in at the time and expand on that for as long as they are interested. If you push too much in a direction that puts them off, before you know it they will come to hate history. Where as, if they do what they like they will continue to seek it out and expand upon it as their interest grows. And it will grow if they are allowed to explore their own desires. The next time around, they will want to dig deeper into a topic that they just barely noticed this time through. That has been our experience anyway.
Hope that helps!
Kat