When Momma is too Sick to Teach

by Sarah Elizabeth Forbes

Fall of 2011, I had three surgeries in four months... complete with vicodin and a 6-9 month recovery time. Immediately after the first surgery, I was forced to address the issue of “what do you do when you can’t do school?”

My children were engaged in no education time at all. They were spending way too much time viewing Hulu movies... while I slept... or staggered around in my vicodin-induced trance. Ideally, I would have hired a sitter, but that was not financially feasible. And my mother, my usual help, was out of state for an undetermined amount of time to care for my aging grandmother.

I actually wondered if I ought to, for the children's sake, seek other educational options. But then my sweet friend, Nicole Davis, reminded me that they are learning all the time... even when we are not intentionally teaching them. This got me thinking. What I really needed was a way to channel their energies into more productive activities. Even if I wasn’t capable of performing as teacher.

Let me share with you what I tried that worked (I won’t share what didn’t work, but it did take some trial and error!)

1) I gathered books together from around the house... that contained activities they could do without my help... or that they could read without my help. I kept these in a row on the ground beside my desk. That was my where I sat when I wasn’t in bed... I didn’t want to have to wonder if the books were getting lost.

2) I searched the net for educational videos, games and audio books/stories to substitute for the Hulu movies they had been watching. I knew that weaning them off such media would be a challenge... this gave me options other than Batman and Superman cartoons.

3) I made a list of their school subjects, prioritized most important (the 3 Rs) to least important.  Then I listed any possible activity I could think of which was associated with that course. I typed it up in a document and printed a hundred. Two boys times 5 days a week equals 10 sheets per week. My supply would last me 10 weeks.

After the 10 weeks, I could reevaluate my system. Adjust if necessary... or toss the whole thing if I didn’t like it. But I did like it. In fact... I plan to keep using it!

(click to view larger)

The beauty of the schedule is in its flexibility. If I woke up one day and I wasn’t feeling so well, I just circled math and english workbooks. The children would do the work, check it off and bring the sheet to me, in bed, if needed. If I was up to it, I would correct it. If not... well, at least they weren’t finished with Superman episodes and watching Spiderman, right? But on days I was feeling well, we could do lots more. I would choose our classes in the morning... then the children knew what to expect. It was so much easier to get school done if they had an idea of what I actually expected of them!

The best part for me is that the list includes classes I want to do, but usually forget about... such as art and music. This sheet allows me to include them. In fact, today we are not even doing math and english. We are behind on Bible and spelling. So I decided to do those today instead. But I know they are getting enough of the other classes. Because I have saved the schedule sheets to remind myself of the progress we have made!

It’s like a schedule for a free-spirited teacher. Yup, that’s me! I’d really rather go to the beach today, wouldn’t you? I’m sure there is something we can learn there too....!

4) My most recent addition is a Bored Board. It is hung in my livingroom. It has a list of activities they can do. Some require supervision. All require permission. But it gives the children ideas of what do... so I don’t have to hear things like, “Mom, I am so bored my boredom is bored”!

5) On the very worst day (thankfully, they were very few), I let my children crawl in bed and read me stories... sing songs... take a nap.. or just snuggle. It was so sweet to see my children offer to get me pillow to prop up my post-surgery wrist... and get me breakfast... and make sure I was warm enough.

My only regret was that their discipline (especially listening to momma) went way down... still trying to recover from that one. I will let you know when I figure out “How to discipline and train a child when Momma is too sick to get out of bed!”

What about you...do you have a secret formula for when Momma is sick? I would love to hear your ideas. Please pass them along to sarah.beyondallmeasure@gmail.com

Sarah Elizabeth Forbes

Copyright © 2012

sarah.beyondallmeasure@gmail.com

Sarahatbeyondallmeasure.blogspot.com

teacher ID for the homeschool mom

“Identify Yourself as a Teacher”

I have watched this scene, or a variation of it, unfold before.

Would-Be-Super-Homeschool-Mom stands in the checkout line with a stack of school books resembling the leaning tower of Pisa. Really-Intending-To-Be-Supportive-Homeschool-Dadstands behind Would-be-Super. He is already growing pale: not only from the stack of books he also carries, but from the dread of how much this “super homeschool education” is going to cost him. Really-Intending genuinely wants to be supportive; so he keeps his mouth shut. But as they get closer to the register he begins to see visions of his pocket book growing legs and walking right into the register drawer to take a long nap.

Finally it is their turn at the check out counter and Really-Intending watches as the numbers add up on the register. Every time a bar code is scanned, he hears the “cha-ching!” of an old time cash register. He feels dizzy and begins seeing dollar signs instead of stars. He glances around to see if anyone has noticed his compulsion to clutch his dollar-sign-imprinted money bags like Scrooge McDuck. But, thankfully no one has noticed, as he doesn’t really have any dollar-sign imprinted money bags stuffed with cash. It would be nice if he did, because Would-be-Super is just grabbing for his book-tower.

Ah, yes, homeschooling is, or at least can be, very expensive. Beyond the initial book purchases, it is the small items that seem to nickel and dime us. To add insult to injury, we already pay taxes for what the state calls an education. We do not choose to partake in their inferior product, therefore in the end we pay for each child’s education twice! In addition to this, most “professorial” teachers receive their supplies at a discount.

We are educators. We are REAL teachers too. How can we tap into some of these available discounts?

First of all you need photo ID. No, I am sorry, your drivers license will not suffice. You need a badge/identification type ID. You know, like the one the nurse was wearing round her neck last week when the ER staff removed the dried kidney beans from Tommy’s nose. That kind. It needs a current picture, your contact information, and your position (i.e. homeschool educator).

This is the method I chose (shown below). The card can be obtained for a nominal fee atpeah.com. The website also offers free card promotions.

So is all this worth the hassle? If Would-be-Super had a card like this could it really relieveReally-Intending’s high blood pressure and ward off impending marriage counseling?

See for yourself the receipt from my most recent purchase at Joann Fabric in Salem.

(This purchase was made with a “40% off 1 item” coupon as well).

In my opinion, this has been a most excellent resource as I have planned and made purchases for the coming school year.

Next, I will discuss where to get ID cards, what stores offer discounts and how to go about getting those discounts. I welcome your ideas for inclusion! Do you know of a homeschool group that offers ID cards to its members? Or a store which offers teacher discounts Please share! We are saving Really-Intending’s sanity, one purchase at a time!

Written by Sarah Elizabeth Forbes, copyright 2011

sarah.beyondallmeasure@gmail.com

www.sarahatbeyondallmeasure.blogspot.com

(origionally an article in PCHE's email newsletter)

Homeschooling should be fun

...for Momma and the children. To help us understand the why and the how of that statement, let us first address the priorities of homeschooling as I believe them to be.

The Why: The Priorities of Homeschooling:
1) To direct our children to God, to instill in them a love for their Creator and an appreciation of all He has given them.
2) To give the a love for learning, and the tools to be self-learners, that will last them their whole life through.

Notice that neither of my priorities specifically involved academics. Academics and test taking is a way the world uses to measure the success of a teacher and a student. I am not concerned about the academic accolades of my children; this is striving for the praise of men. I am not training them for tis world, but for the next. That being said, they do need to be able to survive in this world that we are in but not of. Therefore, academics does play a role in their education, but it is, BY NO MEANS, THE REASON WE EDUCATE. If you are educating to this end, I can guarantee that your schooling is neither God honoring nor encouraging a joy of learning. We are not trying to “beat” the public schools at their game; we are in a completely different league.

The How: Simplify, Refocus, and Play
Simplify:
First of all, THROW AWAY THE TEST BOOKLET. You don’t need it. If you are spending one-on-one time educating your children, you know exactly how well they are doing. Remember that nearly all curriculum was written for, or at least patterned after, the public school way of doing things. This is in opposition to our priorities. Do I think you should throw out the curriculum too? No. Just remember it is it your guide, not your master. Most subjects will repeat ad nauseam. Your children do not need to do all the work in the book, in fact they may not need to do ANY of the work in the book. Introduce an idea and then find ways in your day-to-day life to show it at pertinent to LIFE. This works especially well for math, science and language. Their entire school time should be less than 3 hours. If it is taking longer, re-prioritize.
Refocus:
Our focus should not be so much on educating your children as in discipling them. That means that they should be spending significant parts of their day working along side you on what ever you are doing: laundry, dishes, shopping, ministry, etc. How did the 12 disciples learn from Jesus? They did not have a text book; they worked along side Him for 3 straight years. Keep a mental list (or a real one if you need to) of the topics they are studying at that moment. Discuss those ideas with them, show hem how they are used in your life, how it is important to you.
Play:
God made children to romp and roam and climb trees and scrape their knees. It is our culture which has decided they should be placed behind desks for 8 hours 5 days a week. Children should have about 3 hours of uninterrupted play each day. This does not however mean you let them loose outside and ignore them. Because of a child’s immaturity (and, truly, a teen is still immature) play should be monitored. Remember what the Scripture says about a child left to himself? He brings his mother to shame. This is a prime time for correction. As you are observing (ie eavesdropping!)  your child interacting with his toys or his siblings, his character will be revealed giving you an opportunity to “smooth the rough edges,” if you know what I mean. When ever possible, play with them at what ever THEY want to do. It will make their day: remember how loved it made you feel if Momma took time to play dolls with you when you were little?

coming soon... The Nitty Gritty: Practical Ways to Make Homeschooling Fun

What school looks like at our house some days

Article By Sarah Elizabeth Forbes, copyright 2011

Originally posted at Beyond All Measure on Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Originally posted at Beyond All Measure on Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Our house is 750 sq ft.

In this small space, I homeschool two boys, paint and craft while we are trying to remodel!

I am constantly trying to find new ways to save space. 

This is my latest idea.

My school white board is my frigorator! 

It works like a dream! I did buy dry erase board spray to make it easier to clean.

I keep the writing supplies on top of the fridge.

Here you will see a history lesson for my son. 

It is a drawing of the lineage of Abraham, 

and an explanation of where the two waring groups is Isreal came from: 

the Israelites (from Abraham's son Isaac)

and the Palestinians (from Abrahams other son and a few other of his realitives).

This would even be a good place to take phone notes.

Or leave notes for your beloved--
you know eventually he will end up at the fridge....

Maybe your fridge wants to be written on too!