The kids earn stars by doing something extra special, like being selfless and showing love to their siblings (something truly selfless and loving), or by using three "helpful" cards which they get by being helpful outside of their regular chores. Their chores are feeding animals, making beds, helping Benaiah make his bed, etc. Benaiah's chores are "let JB help you make your bed" (this is a challenge for him to "let" siblings do things for him) and a very general "help Mommy".
Since the kids did their homeschooling really well and quick with a good attitude on Thursday, I gave them an extra treat and we got lunch at Braums before going to Walmart. It was a good morning and early afternoon. The rocky part was picking up Benaiah who was still asleep from his nap when I went to pick him up. I didn't know how asleep he was because I couldn't see his face. Gloria went over to him and tried to lift him up by his arm...big mistake. This caused him to wake up on the WRONG side of the nap mat. I had to carry him out of the church and plop him into a seat that wasn't "his" seat because it was easier than buckling him in the front than in the back. He was still crying and I urged him to use words, but he just kept crying. It wasn't until we got home and he had been screaming the whole way home that he said "I wanted to sit in the back!". I'm not sure if that would've made a difference in the ride home, probably not. I carried him in a football hold to his bed and struggled to take off his shoes and lay him in his bed. He hit me, which doesn't happen very often, which brought on a very swift punishment. After letting him cry in his bed for a while, he calmed down and just rested. After about an hour of resting in his own bed, he was back to his Benny cheerful self. Sometimes waking up a three-year-old in the middle of a deep sleep is like trying to take a fresh kill away from a lion!
Benaiah is not normally like that, although he is strong-willed and opinionated. He's very passionate, intense, and likes having some sort of control (don't we all). When he's in a good mood, he is very lovable and cute. He brings many challenges, but also much joy. Why do I always have stories about Benaiah? Does this mean I'm neglecting the other kids?
JB has non-conventional ways of doing school work, as you can see in the above picture. Many times the "preparation" gets to the point of totally distracting him from actually doing his school work. Once I cut off the pillow pile-ing to the point where he is not falling of the pillows every 2 minutes, he usually gets to reading, with many reminders from Mommy to "keep reading". His reading is really improving, especially since the program we are using has him read to himself before he reads out-loud to me.
Gloria is blossoming too. She's doing all the same stuff as JB in terms of subjects, only her's is at a first grade level rather than a second grade level. She's a very hard worker. Her struggle is attitude sometimes and getting distracted when Benaiah is here with wanting to play with him, which is actually sometimes helpful so that I can get things done with JB or do household stuff. Gloria loves horses. I think horses are more of an attraction lately than being a princess, although she does still do her girly princess stuff. I'm not sure what got into me, but I let her get "kid make-up" with her five stars, which I was afraid was going to mean that she looked like a painted girl all the time, but the kid make-up is actually very subtle and not able to be put on heavily (thank you makers of kid makeup!!!). Mostly she likes getting "all dolled up" when I'm getting dressed up for something. I take advantage of that by "grooming" her and doing her hair, which sometimes starts looking pretty disheveled.
Now that I have let go of the "have to stick to a particular schedule" mindset this year (which is totally opposite from last year), I think God is helping me to find a balance, and we are all enjoying homeschooling a lot better now.
The main point of homeschooling, amidst the struggles, tantrums, distractions, and chaos, of which I constantly have to remind myself, is to be with my kids and have an influence on them that directs them toward God. Academics are important, but more important is that they can make a Godly difference with their treasures being eternal rather than of this world. That's still a struggle to keep that perspective homeschooling, but I'm learning that the more time I spend in God's presence, especially waking early in the morning before the kids get up, (and spending time with Max before he goes off to work) the more I can relax and enjoy schooling and not stress about "schedule" and "should do this or that". God is guiding me, this I know.
