As I write this, it is now officially Thanksgiving day here in the United States – just past midnight. This Thanksgiving Eve, my 12 yo daughter and I brought a freezer meal to a new mom, had a snack  together, and did the remaining of our Thanksgiving grocery shopping. 

It was a time for her and I, a time to experience the work that she will one day do on her own, but more importantly just a time to hang out and be together.

Later, as all the kids helped unload the groceries, they exclaimed over the items, excited about the cooking that would follow.  A few days ago, they had spent a lunch time meal voting on what they wanted for dinner – each claiming their favorites.

Thanksgiving is different for them than it was for me, as I grew up with a large extended family. When I was a child, my maternal grandmother married my paternal grandfather a few years after they both were widowed, so we only had one “grandparent” house to go to. And all my aunts and uncles from both sides of the family would gather; everyone bringing a dish or two. My grandfather roasting the turkey. 

The kitchen and house would be alive with people, and cooking, and conversation. The center, the hub would be the kitchen, dining room, and around the fireplace. Everyone would talk, sharing in the work and the conversation.

Tonight as I did the prep work for tomorrow’s meal – making a coffee cake with my nearly 6 yo daughter, talking with each child about the dish they are wanting to help make tomorrow - it reminded me of each member of my family.

Right now, as I write, the bread rolls are on their final rise and the oven is warming. Soon they will be ready. Every holiday gathering, my Aunt Kristy brings the rolls. White and fluffy and yummy. 

I make these myself now. I wonder if Kristy knows of how much I learned from her stories of making rolls and how much that tradition carries over now to my children who love to sit and talk with me as I shape the dough.

My 10 yo son can’t wait for the broccoli cheese casserole, while my 12yo is so glad she is not required to eat it .  I too love this dish but only make it on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

My Uncle Pat usually brought this dish, a dish passed down from one of my Great Grandmothers.  Tonight I think of Pat and his family and can see them in my mind around their own table with their girls and grandchildren.

As I prepped the turkey, stuffing it with aromatic vegetables, readying it to just pop into the oven in the morning, I thought of the long conversation I had with mom today. My 18 yo brother is off to a girlfriend’s house for his first Thanksgiving away and my 16 yo brother is spending Thanksgiving with others.

It made me think with fondness of the Thanksgivings I spent away from family when I was a young adult. At 16 in South Africa, I made my host family an American Style Thanksgiving Dinner. Trying to figure out a replacement for Velvetta cheese, that just wasn’t available.  At 20, spending the holiday with a co-worker and her family.

I think of my (not-so-little) brothers,  experiencing how other families celebrate the holiday for the first time, and hope they know how much they are loved and how I’m thinking of them.

In the morning, we will be making our own Thanksgiving memories for our kids as a family. Because we don’t live near family and aren’t able to travel, we have created our own traditions. We all cook together, everyone helping with their favorite dishes from our holiday brunch and dinner menu.

We’ve interweaved our favorite traditions - cooking together, eating, card games, and football – together. And someday I hope our kids will remember the Thanksgiving of their past with fondness.

Today, I am thankful for you, and for my family, and for these memories I have of the people who have been important to my life, who have left their mark on me. Thank you – and Happy Thanksgiving!

A recent conversation with my 10 yo son and my husband has me thinking more about this balance of being a working, homeschooling mom. There are times when I feel overwhelmed, when there’s just so much to do and I don’t always get it all done. So I make choices.

But life is about choices.

Somehow the conversation we were having led us to the topic that I could make a lot more money if I worked outside the home.  My hubby pointed out to my son that I could make more than he does, BUT we’ve made the CHOICE that it was more important for me to work from home and be there for the kids.

It’s a choice, and each day I have to choose between the work and the kids. And sometimes that’s not easy.

I don’t always get to homeschool the way I’d like to or the way the kids were prefer (they are back to begging for lapbooks again). But I am there for the discoveries, the cuts and bruises, for the hugs, and miscellaneous questions and stray thoughts right when they are thinking of them. I can’t possibly replace that or ever regret that.

And, as I have made the choice to return to working outside the home once before – for a 2 year stint when my older children were 4 and 2 - I know what the consequences are – both to me and to our family. And frankly for ME, the price is too high. 

And while, I know that not every one can make that choice, nor should they, I am thankful that I can make the choice and that I did.  I may not be the “perfect” stay-at-home mom, and my house is rarely “visitor” level clean, but I’m there. And that’s what’s important to me.

Last in our series on ensuring your homeschool can survive in a financial crisis, I shared three free literature-based curriculums. But, each of those assume that you have an internet connection available. And sometimes, that just isn’t possible.  So today we’re going to look at two inexpensive homeschool curriculums to have around either as your main curriculum or to use as your backup plan.

Both of these curricula are literature-based curriculum that use mostly public domain works (which are included) for the bulk of the curriculum. Both are on CD. And both use the 3R approach to learning, which means that they focus on Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic (math), with History and Science covered via living books/literature.

The two curricula are Robinson Curriculum and Accelerated Achievement (also known as A²  A-squared).  During my search for a backup curriculum, I looked heavily at both of these. There a lot of similiarities, but there are differences as well. Personally I chose Robinson Curriculum, while a good friend of mine chose A².

 Being that I’ve chosen Robinson, I’m obviously biased about those differences, so I’ll leave it up to you to decide which might work best for your family and budget. 

 But I do recommend checking out both curriculums as low-cost (cheap) homeschool alternative that will still give your children a wonderful education.

Have experience with either Robinson Curriculum or A^2? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

A couple years ago, I saw this idea for making a Candy Wreath from left over Halloween candy, and have wanted to make one ever since. Now that Halloween is over and bags of candy are on sale, it’s the time to stock up and give it a try. 

Here’s a 5 minute video from Jill Cooper at LivingonaDime.com that walks you through how to make one of a candy wreath either by yourself or with your kids. 

Personally, this looks a great opportunity to sit down at the table, start working on it, and let the kids come drift in and out to help, and just sit and talk at the same time. Maybe we’ll put on a pot of hot cocoa…

Enjoy!

…Shannon

P.S. For more ideas of gifts kids can make, click here to see some of the other things we’ve made in the past.

 You may remember homeschooling mom Karri Fieglein from her 26 Tips for Overcoming Homeschool Burnout guest post. When Karri shares her insights I’m always amazed at what I learn. Today, Karri has agreed to allow me to share with you her latest encouragement and insight.  Enjoy! …Shannon  P.S. (Thanks Karri!)

We’re Not Alone

By  Karri Fieglein

We are more like doctors as home school parents than most would usually think. Each day we are called to diagnose the problems and figure out a solution and then offer preventative care as well so we do not have to deal with the situation/ behavior/ heart issue again.  We often have to do this many times a day and with each child plus the variables are constantly changing. 

Parenting in itself is so hard but then add all the home school work and being with them so much and it makes it even more difficult. I doubt anyone has ever looked at any of us and said “Wow, you have life so easy with this added task that you have decided to take.” 

The beauty in that is that nothing worth having ever comes easy. Twenty years from now when we are further down the road we’ll all look back with wonder and how we pulled through it all and made it. We’ll see how great our kids are doing and be happy we made the choice to take the hard less traveled road. 

But ya, the here and now aren’t always so easy and sometimes I think all of us feel like we are ready for a break or to even throw in the towel completely.  Hopefully just being reminded that we aren’t alone in our pursuits helps.

As homeschool parents, we have to diagnose problems that  can constantly change even with the same patient, including:

 1.       Bad attitude

2.       Tired

3.       Lazy

4.       Lack of drive and desire

5.       Comprehension problem

6.       Content of the work is too difficult

7.       Work too easy

8.       Trying to get attention

9.       Feeling sad or upset by a situation

10.   Feeling mad at the parent for some reason

11.   Lack of positive role model

12.   Have been exposed to bad role model

13.   Want to play games and goof off

14.   No incentives

15.   Think it’s not fair

16.   Feel over burdened

17.   Feel bored

18.   Frustration with the same day to day schedule and routine

19.   Too busy arguing with siblings

20.   Not enough time with the Lord

And the list goes on

Often too we have the many of the same issues and often we have some of the following in addition to that:

 1.       We compare with others

2.       We sign up for too many things

3.       We set ourselves up for failure as we try to do too much

4.       We don’t say no

5.       We don’t set up enough limitations for the family

6.       We don’t cut ourselves or our kids enough slack (lack of grace)

7.       We don’t say we love them enough

8.       We feel like failures if we think our kid should be somewhere in their education that they aren’t

9.       We rush around trying to be everything to everyone and forget ourselves and become burned out

10.   We don’t have enough fun

11.   We forget to enjoy the journey

12.   We forget that homeschooling is a marathon, not a quick little sprint

13.   Lack of patience

14.   Unrealistic expectations

And the list goes on.

There is hope though. 

All of these can be taken care of easily if we just get out of the way and let God do his work and trust him to not only meet our kids needs but ours too.  If we will ask him where we need help and what we should do each and every day, he’ll show us. 

Oh I need to read this as much as I write it.  But I know it’s true. God has shown me over and over that if we take all the little things to him he will be faithful to help us. Nothing is too big or small to seek him on.

A couple weeks ago I felt like I wanted more help from the hubby, accountability for the kids, the schedule needed to be tweaked, and it all felt a bit over whelming with #6’s new arrival.  God gave me inspiration, great book recommendations from friends, support and encouragement and some neat ideas to help with things.  All I did was ask and he provided abundantly. 

Now don’t get me wrong we have new problems this morning and we’ll have new ones tomorrow too I’m sure. But I know that the reason for all of this is so that I can lean and depend on God and so that he can have a very real and true relationship with me and mine.

I think that sometimes we get over whelmed by the kid or the situation or whatever and we forget in the moment just how big of a God we serve and how much he loves our kids even more than we do. 

If we trust him completely with them then that means we have to let go and hold an open hand.  We used to attend Second Baptist and Dr. Young always said that unless you open your tight fist and grip on things you can’t receive the blessing either.
Today, as I write this, I am reminding myself what a great and awesome God we serve and how I need to loosen my grip on his children and my control over my life, because really it shouldn’t be my will but it should be his will; it shouldn’t be my plans but it should be his plans; it shouldn’t be my day, but it should be his day.

Today is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Blessing to you my friends

Much Love

-Karri

Karri Fieglein is a homeschooling mom of six  and the Foundations Director of Katy, TX for Classical Conversations, a Classical Christian Community. For more information on Classical Conversations, visit www.ClassicalConversations.com