Guitars are blazing!

Kassy is learning guitar, and (if I say so myself) is doing really well.  I've tried to keep up with her, but she's already faster on those chords than I am.  She plays a mean twinkle twinkle little star.

Cheers for our creative outlets!

http://misteredie1.wordpress.com/2012/03/15/creativity/

Sick Days

Keith was sick this weekend. That always makes for a fun time with the family! But the funny thing was – on Friday he was adamant about going to school. He couldn’t hardly keep his eyes open, but he wanted to go to school. And when I told him no, that he was too sick and couldn’t go, he started crying.


At least he was crying about wanting to do something good, and not about the newest LEGO toy or something! So I took ten minutes talking to him about it, and what he can do at home, and how I’d bring him his work and all of those things. I don’t think he was 100% convinced, but at least he wasn’t as upset.

All in a days work!

http://wp.me/pKRIJ-59

Home School Public School

I have a wonderfully unique situation where I have been fortunate enough to teach my own kids for the last 6 years, while at the same time they were allowed a semi "normal" public school experience too.  This has left me with a knowledge and confidence in where my children's education is at, and where it's going, that most parents don't have the luxury of.

It's because of this that I understand the importance of parental education.  I think public school is a great thing, and I also trust and respect the choice to eduate your children at home if you so choose.  But I really think it's important to have MULTIPLE points of education in your child's life.

The kids who aren't home schooled still need to be SCHOOLED at HOME when they come back at the end of the day.  Those are some of the best times to educate, just by talking to them about the world and explaining WHY or WHO or WHAT or WHEN.

Home school is great for that, but don't underestimate the importance of other people in your kids' lives.  Since I know I still have a lot to learn from other people, I can't expect that I alone will be able to fill the entirety of my children's knowledge.

So, as if you didn't have enough to do already, make sure you Talk to your kids, and give them experiences with different people.  It'll be worth it in the long run.

http://www.misteredie1.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/Education-is-important

Change the Brain

My kids must be my wife's.  People say they look like me, but their personalities are all from her I swear.  Especially when they are doing something I don't like. :)

I think kids are a blessing in that they force us to see things from different angles.  When we get married, we often butt heads (unless you married a clone of yourself) on certain things, because we are so different.  Cleaning the kitchen is a good example.  I feel you shouldn't do it.  She feels we should.  And so we butt heads.

But as the kids get older, and I see that they are on her side on some things, I see that people are just created different.  She's not just thinking wrong.  It's that they (and her) are thinking DIFFERENTLY from me.  Not right, not wrong.  Different.

And different can be very good.

http://misteredie1.wordpress.com/02/09/2012/we-all-don't-think-the-same/

They're getting so big

Wait a second?  When did my kids get old enough to get ready in the morning by themselves?
When did they stop needing me every second of the day?
When did they start going farther down the hill
away from the house
without looking back?

When did they get so big?
And strong?
And smart?

These kids are magicians I tell you!

In the house day - don't go cra-zay

I had the supreme honor of being alone in the house with the boys all day this weekend.  The girls were all gone, and it was just us guys.  Only one problem - raining downpour kept us inside for most of the time.  So what do you do when you can't send them outside, and they're too young to play by themselves downstairs?

They played in their room for awhile, but that only goes so far.  Then you suddenly have drag races up and down the kitchen floor, or sledding on a blanket down the stairs.  That can only go so far until you have visions in your head of bloody noses and cracked skulls.  So what do you do?  Get them engaged in an activity of course!

Cookies are always great, because the batter isn't as messy as cupcakes, and they are ALWAYS interested in the prospect of a sugary snack (we do oatmeal to make me feel better - the fiber takes away the calories).

That took up a good 30 to 45 minutes.  Then we played in a make-shift fort of blankets and chairs.  That took us another half an hour.  But I needed to get some work done too, so I shifted gears and tried to get them into a game WITHOUT me.

I tried three things, and only one worked.  If you have any other rainy day suggestions, let me know!  Here was my scientific observations.

1 - Drawing was okay for awhile, but then they wanted help making things they didn't know how to make.  A good learning experience for them - but I didn't get any free time.

2- The Harry Potter diorama was a failure to launch.  My own fault I'm sure.

3- The hide and go seek scavenger hunt was a winner.  Hide a bunch of stuff around the house, and set them to find it.  They lose points if they ask me for help.  Bought me a good 30 minutes.  And who could ask for more than that? :)

Top 4 ways to get the kids ready in the morning

I know my kids are the only ones who are slow movers in the morning, but maybe a few people will get a little info out of this. :)

When my kids get up, I've got a whiner, a slugger, a sneaker, and a mover. 

1 - The whiner complains about everything.  "Do we HAVE to take a shower again?"  - like the answer is going to be different this time, when it's been "yes" every time for the last 4 years.  My way to motivate them is to give them EXTRA activites whenever they whine about it.  This has proven effective 50% of the time, most of the time.

2 - The slugger moves at a snails pace (ala a slug).  When one is already dressed, ate, and ready to go, they've barely started wiping the sleep from their eyes.  The strategy for them is simple - leave them one day.  If they're not ready for school, leave without them (of course, mom is still home.  And mom has to give them LOTS of chores on that day).  This was pretty effective.  Repeat about every few months.

3- The Sneaker tries to get away with things.  They'll try and slink off and hide somewhere and lay down, or cut corners by not taking a shower when they should.  I give praise and extra sugar on the cereal to the others, who are still visible, when this happens.  Surefire way for them to stick around more next time, just waiting for the praise.  And the sugar.

4 - The mover is great.  They move all around, getting ready and not complaining, and always doing what they're supposed to.  The funny thing is - not every kid keeps the same role each day.  Sometimes one is the mover, sometimes they're the sneaker.  It's a revolving door.  So with the mover, I just tell them they're doing a great job.  This always makes them smile.  And gives them a reason to try to stay "the mover" the next day as well.

Here's to mornings!

go to http://www.mredie.com/ for teaching tips and tricks, and follow @misteredie on twitter