And just like that, the whole country became home school families!

Does anyone else feel like a month has passed since last Wednesday? Our “cancelling school” announcement came on a Thursday night, and that was the day the world felt like it began to unravel. Then we all sort of went underground.

Now you know this all feels extremely ironic to me. I said I would never home school again. It was not for me. Honestly, I was a bit scared of this task. I tried it before. for two years, gave myself v-tach repeatedly, and then they boys returned to school. V-tach is a dangerous heart arrhythmia that is rare, and most of you do not need to worry about it. I have much to learn in the way I handle stress, so I take heart pills now. Really I should probably return to full on anxiety pills too, but that is a topic for another day.

I have good news.

So far the second act of home-schooling our four boys has gone drastically more smoothly than our first try. Still, I won’t count our chickens before they hatch. I am sure this could all still go horribly wrong. In the meantime, when I start to feel like the room is too chaotic for me, I make them all chant that mom is in charge several times, threaten to take away all video games, and then things calm down.

In fact, I did take away video games from two unfortunate ruffians today who forgot Mom was in charge, and that is THE KEY to maintaining order: making good on any threats/promises. Consequences are obnoxiously important.

The hardest thing about home school for me has always been the chaos. I like things to be quiet and somewhat peaceful, which is hilarious because I have four children. In an attempt to control my environment, I make schedules and lists like this, and it helps a great deal:

My motto is that the times themselves are not important. They are a loose guide to remind me to give recess and lunch and not forget anything I had planned to do. As they say in the Army, “The plan is nothing, but planning is everything.” Well, I think they say that in the Army. Someone says it. If they don’t say it, then they should.

So many questions

This week brought up so many questions for us. Did it for you too? I texted my sister-in-law and my mother-in-law because they both taught middle school for years. I do not know the first thing about teaching middle school. Elementary school is where my experience lies, but my eighth grader has informed me that my activities are “for five-year-olds.” This is an exaggeration, of course. I am not teaching anyone how to read or count. But at the same time, he’s right. My stuff is elementary, so I have been frantically digging for how to level things up.

People have sent me questions too.

Ah, feeling useful felt good. Thank you for asking me questions. The questions I was asked were about home schooling school-aged children when you have a toddler underfoot. This is what I told her, just off the top of my head. It isn’t much, since this was all via text message. We are being good citizens and staying socially distant.

Ideas/advice for someone trying to homeschool older siblings when there’s a toddler at home:

-Pray on your face and cry. (hahaha I really wish I were kidding.)

-First, the older siblings have to know that mom is in charge, and they cannot say “no” to any of her directions. They do not say “no” to their teachers, so they must treat you with that same respect.

-Mom can provide choices, but the stress of dealing with disobedience is mind-blowing. (I was having to deal with it at the moment I texted about this, so the feelings of frustration were still raw.)

-My best tip is to start the day with a toddler activity.

-If you need to work with one sibling, put the other sibling in charge of the toddler.

-Do some group reading where Mom reads out loud to all the kids. You can also watch educational YouTube or National Geographic videos together while the toddler plays with a game or toy they don’t always have access to.

-Older siblings can also read to the toddler.

-Find work the older siblings can do online alone, like Brain Pop or whatever sites your school system recommended. One of my kids is learning a language using Duolingo. He likes it, and I am not even involved. We actually use the app version. I think he has learned more from the app than he was learning in his French classroom at school, but the traditional classroom is not his favorite way to learn.

I could talk about home-schooling all day because I am currently overseeing the education of four boys, and it consumes much of my day. Ah yes! Another excuse to spend less time cleaning!

Click here for more of my articles on home-schooling, written back when I spent two years fully engaged in teaching our boys.

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for my new book, Tour Israel in Pictures and Stories. It ends at midnight Thursday night/Friday morning. I was so excited tonight to discover that it is currently the #2 best seller in Israel travel guides on Amazon. Wahoo! Thanks for your support, everyone!

Send me any great activities you know for middle schoolers who hate school work, and send any questions you have too. Best of luck you all! No stressing. It isn’t worth giving yourself heart problems. Keep calm and home school on.

The post Life in the Underground Day 2: The Great Return to Home School appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Only three weeks of summer are left.

Three measly weeks. I’m ready and excited about this because this enters a new phase of life for me. I’ve never had ALL FOUR kids in school before.

That’s right. The baby is going to kindergarten.

People keep asking me what I’m going to do with my new free time.

The answer: Whatever I want!! haha! Sort of… I have several different ideas.

Am I sad? Only a little, and really only when I can’t get a single one of our children to come sit in my lap. Having a baby in my lap has been a great joy that I will miss!!! I do adore a chubby little bubby to cuddle with.

But I’m also ready for this. At least, I think I am. Only time will tell.

Will I run out and get a full-time job?

Eh…I don’t know, you guys. Do you know how long it has been since I left the work force? 13 years!!! 13.

The preschool mom phase has lasted for 12 1/2 years for me. We had four babies in 7 years. At one point, there were actually 3 preschoolers. I can honestly tell you the hardest parts (for me) were going from 1 to 2 and going from 3 to 4. Having both a 2-year-old and a baby was always quite the juggling act.

It was hard, but I loved it.

Us, 10 years ago

Us, 4 years ago

I see moms doing what I used to do, out pushing strollers, wearing a baby, looking all sleep deprived and carrying a diaper bag, and I just think, “How did I ever do that? I did it, but how???”

Young moms, do NOT be offended when people comment with offers of help or, “Oh, you have your hands full!” They aren’t annoyed by you, at least most of them. Most people have been there too, and they are just sympathizing with you, I promise. They are recognizing that you deserve a medal. Choose to see it that way!

Even though the babies brought me so much joy, life lessons, pure hard work, and adventure, I’m at peace with moving on to the next phase.

But a full-time job? You know we move like every two years, right? That doesn’t make me the most desirable employee. Also, there’s summer. Sure, I have no kids for 9 months from 8-3, but where do I find childcare for 3 children that would be covered by the cost of whatever returning-to-work-after-a-decade level of pay I would make?

No, it’s not quite time for that. I’ll keep working the blog. Maybe I’ll take the time to pick up some other online writing, do a little freelancing. I did that once before.

Instead, I’m excited about the possibility of quiet! And I have ideas! So many ideas, which of course, I must share with you below.

My Bucket List for this New Phase of Life:

#1. Ballet Lessons

I looked into it. They offer adult dance classes, even for beginners, not too far from my house! This is something I wanted to do when I was a kid and never go to, so why not now?

Quit laughing. 😉  It might be fun!

#2. Get a library card and gradually return to checking out books.

We’re ready now. The library problems of the past are behind us, I promise.

#3. Fix up Pinterest pins for my best blog posts.

While I was on a blogging break, Pinterest exploded my traffic for the posts I wrote about homeschooling. The better looking the pin, the more traffic I got. I want to comb through and fix up the images for my other posts that are still relevant.

#4. Keep a more organized house.

I won’t lie. It’s hard to get excited about that. Bleh. Housework.

Last year I did do a far better job of keeping house though, while John David went to preschool. Therefore, my high hopes in this area are not unfounded.

#5. Decorate the playroom better.

Basically, my only plan is to add curtains and tidy it up more. Oh, and finally run that corner full of junk to the Goodwill.

#6. Go to downtown Washington, D.C. and just walk around, exploring.

This is so fun to me! It’s a beautiful city.

#7. Clip coupons and go to the store ALONE

Finally! I will have the brain space at the store to open my purse and dig out coupons. Also, in Virginia, they actually drop the coupons off in my driveway, no newspaper subscription required. Pretty awesome.

#8. Catch up on all my doctor and dentist appointments I’ve been skipping all summer.

I have to do another cardiac MRI. Fun, fun, fun. And I will not admit to you how long it’s been since I visited the dentist. Don’t even ask. I refuse to say.

#9. Print the 50 billion photos I’ve taken over the last 4 years into photo albums.

#10. Play my Jeopardy app. Oh yeah, I love that thing.

#11. Study the Bible BETTER.

I keep buying these excellent books of archaeology Bible stuff, but I rush through my Bible time. Now I can slow down and let it sink in.

#12. Walk MORE

I’m passionate about getting my walks in already, but now I can take longer ones!!

#13. Sign up for some regular volunteering activity.

When you’re new in town, this takes a while to figure out where you fit to volunteer, but it makes you feel SOOOO much more fulfilled and connected.

It took me at least 6 months after the last move to find a place to plug in, but then I found several. I enjoyed teaching a girls’ Sunday school class, shelving books at the library, and serving on the MOPS leadership team.

#14. Meet Alan for lunch some time.

After all, Alan, everything I read says that workers work better when they leave their work building for lunch.

#15. Just keep blogging. Just keep blogging. That’s what we do. We blog, blog, blog.

#16. Buy a houseplant and keep it alive.

There are some houseplants that even clean the air in your house. I’d like to have a plant that a.) we remember to water and b.) prevent my husband and children from OVER watering.

These are decent goals, right?

I do realize that being a stay-at-home mom is an amazing privilege, one that many women never get to experience. My mission is to cherish the year, make the most of every opportunity, continue to shine my light and encourage the boys to shine their lights as well.

I’m a person who LOVES space and quiet. I thrive on it. Sometimes, when I allow myself too much alone time, I actually become reluctant to make contact with other humans….There’s this hermit side of me. But then I’m also a person who needs regular social interaction too. I need both! In order for this work-at-home plan to work out, I’m going to still need to see friends often!

We have plans for new things we’re going to do WITH the kids too. It’s going to be a fun year. There is no doubt we will all learn many new things, hop over countless hurdles, fall a few times, and that’s okay. We’ll get back up again. Bring on the new school year!

What are your goals for this school year? Did you ever send all your kids to school and do the stay-at-home mom thing? I’d love to hear about it.

The post The Back to School Bucket List for My New Phase of Life appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.