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Just to update you, I have 4 little ones:

TheOldest, a boy turning 7 in September, and will be starting 2nd grade; TheMiddlest, a boy who turned 5 in April, will be starting Kindergarten, ThePrincess, the only girl – who turned 3 in April and is officially preschooling now; and TheBaby~est, turned one in March and is absolutely determined to thwart any plans for learning that I have.

I can’t tell you the best way to do it. I can’t tell you how everybody else does it. I can only tell you how I’ve managed to do it.

A lot of screaming.

Oh, stop, I’m just kidding.

It actually has a lot to do with timing. And since I’ve embraced the chaos and quit trying to fit a bunch of little unpredictable people into my perfectly planned schedule it goes even better. Plus, it helps that I adjusted my expectations.

A few of the most important points around here:

Bring the baby along for the ride. When our youngest was an infant, I either “wore” him, held him, nursed him, or laid him beside us while we worked.

Accept that seasons change. And you had better too!

Now that the baby is 16 months and climbing onto every surface of the house, we only do “table time” when he goes down for a nap.

I gave up my precious school nook.

I know, let’s all have a collective moment of silence… I tried so hard to save my school room. I even moved it into one of the bedrooms, thinking that maybe I could close the door and keep little hands from destroying everything, but then it just turned into this:

So I gave it up, with the consolation that maybe someday all of my children will be old enough to not destroy everything in sight.

Keep it in reach. We keep all of our pencils, crayons, and other supplies in a moveable basket on the kitchen counter – where the older ones can reach it anytime, but the baby is out of it. All of our current work also on the kitchen counter. However, I keep all of my teacher resource books safe in a closet, blocked by a couch. I wish I were kidding.

Make “learning never stops” your motto. It’s the truth, and with very little “table time”, I better make the most of “real life learning.”

Occupy those little hands. I keep buckets that are themed for my preschooler. I pull out age-appropriate puzzles, magnetic dress-up dolls, blocks, and lace-up cards. I guide her on as many projects as I can manage while also working with the older boys, and then turn her loose to color and write (read: scribble) as much as she wants.

Discover delight-driven learning. Otherwise known as fly by the seat of your pants learning around here! Don’t get me wrong, I do dream of curriculum, of opening a box with new books, and shiny extras just waiting for our eager minds. But, with all the ages, money restrictions, hand-me-downs I’ve been so blessed to acquire, and realizing that my kiddos really are still so young, I’ll be holding off a while longer.

Let go of the fantasy idea of teaching children and embrace the reality. For instance, read-alouds. Oh, my beloved read-alouds. So rarely this:

Much more often if you were a fly on our wall you wouldn’t even recognize it as reading. My girl feels the need to interrupt with constant commentary. Constant. My toddler sees it as the perfect time to run off, do acrobatics off the furniture, attack the dog… My middlest boy is SO not interested in reading. So you can find him, coloring, or more often, doing flips around the room while I attempt to read. And with every interruption, my oldest, who loves to be read to, complains to everyone who is within range that he wants to hear the story. One chapter in Junie B. Jones takes no less than 45 minutes. And that’s after finding the book that one of the younger ones inevitably carries off somewhere.

Which leads me right into my next point: Patience. Oh, elusive patience. Oh, much needed, much lacking patience. All I can say on this one, is practice makes perfect. Learn forgiveness of yourself. And, well, I’m open to all the suggestions/prayers you can give!

Be an opportunist. When everyone is still – jump on it – “Let’s read!” When everyone is climbing the walls – “Project time!” When the baby’s sleepy – “Everybody to the table!”

Include the toddler in the “fun” stuff. Such as when we were studying American History and veered off into a Native American unit. The day we all dressed up as indians, of course the baby had to get in on the no-shirt, lipstick-as-war-paint fun!

The moral to my homeschooling with *2 under 2* story?

Do what works. Until it doesn’t work anymore. And then try something else.

And please tell me how you homeschool with a toddler in the house. I need some more things in my magic bag for when this doesn’t work anymore!

Suzanne is wife to one and mama to four. The little ones are 2 boys ages 6 and 5, a girl who’s 3, and a baby boy who’s not knee-high to a grasshopper yet. She eclecticly unschools with lapbooks the Charlotte Mason way. In other words, she doesn’t have the slightest clue what she’s doing, but does it anyway. She lives in a world where there are few absolutes. The dishes don’t stay cleaned, the laundry doesn’t stay put away, the children don’t remember what she told them yesterday. But in their chaotic lives they have found joy. And they’d love to share that with you. So, come on over, kick a path through the toys, have a seat on the couch and grab a cup of strong coffee. Just be ready to hone your skills of “interrupted conversation”! And be sure to stop by her personal blog at The Joyful Chaos.

The schedule for the theme of the homeschool meme is located in the right column under “Blog With Us”. Please check it out to view upcoming themes.
]]> http://hotmtest.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/1/feed/ 3 Amy Bayliss http://hotmtest.wordpress.com/2008/08/27/celebrating-the-life-of-little-christian-dozer-drews/ http://hotmtest.wordpress.com/2008/08/27/celebrating-the-life-of-little-christian-dozer-drews/#comments Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:19:00 +0000 AmyS http://hotmtest.wordpress.com/2008/08/27/celebrating-the-life-of-little-christian-dozer-drews/ ]]> A Sweet Little Man of God!

Let’s face it – Marsha and David have some handsome little boys and Dozer is no exception. That bright eyed “Korean with blonde hair” sure knew how to make his mama’s heart melt whether he was talking about his “two foreheads” or outgrowing his lost blanky. Marsha is such a good mama and boy did she ever dote over this little one. And who could blame her? The little cutie was so musically inclined that he could play a guitar AND an egg slicer. I guarantee that he is making some sweet music up in heaven tonight!

Yes, Jesus has one more sweet little angel to bounce on his knee. Christian, whom Marsha lovingly referred to as Dozer, passed away on Tuesday evening. He was a three year old boy wonder who was so excited to begin school in the coming weeks. He had only been a spectator to his brother’s lessons so far but he was a quick learner…

“one, two, fwee, foh, fiiive, sixteen, benineteen, fowteen, nineteen. I count fo you mommy!!!“

I know his mama, daddy, and his two brothers miss him deeply. They know he is in God’s loving arms but that doesn’t stop the pain they are feeling. I ask that you please, please pray for our friends. Marsha and David are amazing people and my heart is simply broken because this happened to them. Your prayers are coveted.

Cards or Correspondence can be mailed to:
David and Marsha Drews
c/o Rachel Harris
12830 N. Cypress Lane
Tomball, TX 77377

She will be sure to get them all to Marsha and David.

Father,
I pray that you would bless my dear sweet friend and comfort her and her husband and those little boys as they go through what is certainly the worst time of their lives. God I ask that you would keep your eyes fixed on them and your arms around them. I ask that you send thousands of angels to be there with them in their grief and comfort them. God, give them peace, the kind that surpasses all understanding. Give them joy. I know that only you know why these things happen but it just feels so unfair. Still we trust you. Please help us when we fail. And Father, give Christian a big hug and a kiss from each and every one of us. Thank you, Father. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Marsha and David we love you and will be here praying with you through this. We can’t even begin to fathom your thoughts or emotions right now but please know that we are here, whatever you may need. We love you.

Dozer, we’ll see you soon, sweetheart!

NOTE: It is Marsha’s request that in lieu of flowers or other monetary gifts, that we donate to her church’s missions ministries. As soon as that is set up we will let everyone know how to proceed. Christian’s wake/viewing will be held on Friday and the burial will be on Saturday. Please keep them in your prayers. In the meantime, if you have written a post to celebrate Christian’s life and you would like to share it then yes, you may link it here:

Please note that all entries on Mr. Linky that do not link to a post or tribute for the Drews family will be deleted.

Sprittibee also has links up at her site. SisterLisa wrote a great post about how to help a friend cope with the loss of a child.

Thank you all for supporting Marsha and her family. She is an amazing woman who loves her boys immensely. She needs our prayers and love right now.