Rubber boot homeschool week #4

We had a shorter week to allow time for Feast of Trumpets.
It was a week of learning to be flexible and a week of learning to be strict.
I learned to be flexible in science class. We moved to the couch so everyone could cuddle and see the pictures. I also decided to rearrange the order of science books planned for this year. I'm still using the same books, just changing the order.
I also indulged in a little spontaneity. We studied Egypt in history this week, so I printed off some clipart and we made Egyptian pop up pictures.
Math, on the other hand, required more strictness. Isaac had begged to not be timed in math, so we decided to only time him once a week. However, this led to math worksheets being completed at 9:00 at night. So, we had to draw the line and return to timing. I was pleased that their timed efforts were really good. Naomi got 100% and Holly showed great improvement over her previous scores. Just goes to show that if you give them an inch, they take a mile! I tend to be too easy on them, so I have been learning how to expect more and hold my children to certain requirements.

Part of this week was also spent getting ready for Feast of Trumpets. I'll do another post on our celebration. Here are some pics of the kids helping me get all the food ready.

We made:

• 36 dinner rolls, twisted to look like shofars.
• 30 cinnamon rolls
• 3 doz ginger snaps
• 3 doz chocolate no-bake cookies
• 2 doz devilled eggs
• double batch of garlic dip

On prep days, I have started posting a to-do list on the fridge. There are certain incentives that don't happen until the list is finished. In times past it has been easy to let the last few things go undone. I have been working on finishing what I start, which is also good training for the kids. As a bonus, it has really increased our productivity, in school and around the house.

What I learned this week

• B doesn't happen until A is completed.
• Lists are a good thing.
• Constantly having two little boys on my lap can be a bit tiring.
• Homemade cinnamon rolls are really good!
• Men blessing their children is a beautiful thing.

Shabbat Shalom to everyone!

How to rejoice when the car gets fixed

I thought everyone would like to know that my van is fixed! I now have power steering again. The really exciting part is that I fixed it myself. I am not in the habit of fixing cars, or even checking fluid and changing tires. But I do hand over wrenches quite nicely, so I felt confident I could tackle this project with a little help from Doug.

The part that I needed to replace is a hose having to do with the power steering. When I sound a little vague in this story, it's because I hope you won't notice my ignorance. :) I didn't know where this hose was, so I pulled out the new one and started looking around until I found a hose that looked like it. As you can see in the pic above, this can be a challenge. I am very proud to say that I got black grease up to my elbows in the process.

So I finally located the part and Doug gave me the wrench. What a switch! I loosened the top end of the hose, only to discover that the bottom end would require me getting under the van. (I have a full size van.)

Doug prepared to jack up the van, but realized that he needed the handle for the jack. He couldn't reach it so he asked me to get it. I leaned over him to reach it, but found out too late that I couldn't reach it either. My hand slid down the side of the wet van and I somehow dove over Doug and landed in a heap on the other side. (Hey! I didn't even touch him! I wouldn't want to hurt him.) I managed to get myself out of the pretzel which involved a leg twisted under the rototiller. I will confess that this took me a few minutes. But I overcame and got on the little wheely cart and slid under the van. Shortly thereafter, I had the hose disconnected. (Woohoo!) It was easy to ascertain the problem. A faulty o-ring. Isn't it always a faulty o-ring? Even Apollo 13 had problems with a faulty o-ring!

So now I was ready to put in the new hose. Doug gave me a lecture on keeping everything clean so as to get a good seal. (I'm covered in mud, grit, and grease, but I'm supposed to keep everything clean.) Okay, bottom end secured. Top end will not align with the hole. Remove bottom end. Align top end. Resecure bottom end. Discover that to bleed the line, bottom end must be disconnected. Egats! Disconnect bottom line. Read manual! Discover that bleeding can be done without disconnecting bottom line. Resecure bottom line. By the way, we were still very calm at this point, and even enjoying ourselves. (Yeahh!)

Note to self: Pin hair back before working on a car. When I tried to wheely cart myself out from under the car for hopefully the last time, my hair got wound around the wheel. The more I tried to get out, the tighter it got. Doug had to pull me out with the cart hanging from my head, and pull my hair out of the wheel. That's when I had Gramma braid my hair.

So we bled the system, which involved me watching the fluid burp and bubble up, while Doug turned the steering wheel back and forth. Finally the bubbles stopped and we declared success! Then Doug got the great idea of showing me where some of the other fluids are located and discovered that I was very low on oil, so we took care of that, too.

I fixed my van, acquired black under my finger nails, grease up my arms, a few bruises on my leg, and a very satisfying sense of accomplishment! Praise YHVH!

Rubber boot homeschool week #3

It was nice to get back to a relatively normal school routine this week. Last week, I felt like I was up to my ears in hot dogs and jerky. Nearly 50 lbs later, the butchering is all done.

Toddler Highlight

The little people in our house get to be part of the fun, too. Elisha has taken his education into his own hands of late. Did you ever get frustrated when your toddler repeats everything you say? Why are they doing that? Well, they are trying to coerce you to teach them. They want you to repeat them so they know if they are saying it right. For example:
Elisha: wauuuu
Mommy: water
Elisha: wauuu
Mommy: water
Elisha: wauur
Mommy: water mayim (mayim=water in hebrew)
Elisha: miauuu
Mommy: That's right Elisha. Water. Mayim.

We have been playing this game all week with every word from nose to dog. His vocabulary is really skyrocketing. I wouldn't say his pronunciation is perfect yet, but he is producing words on his own now. He also is developing quite the personality. He is completely taken with this hat (love the flower) and acts so silly when he has it on. It's like he knows how cute he is!


Babylon
It just so happens that we studied Babylon this week in history and in Hebrew Life and Times.

We talked about the Tower of Babel, and how it was essentially a high place for pagan worship. I never thought about it like that before. I also began writing easy to read summaries of our history lessons for Naomi. I want to give her reading practice wherever I can, with varied content. She read through it with just a little help. Babylon kept throwing her. She thought it should say baby-lon. She then wrote a sentence about Babylon all by herself. I then helped her correct any mistakes. This is the beginnings of real writing for her. I'm excited to see how well she is doing.

We also did some map work. They have done alot of copywork and labeling in the past. Normally, I write down the words on a scrap of paper and they copy it. This time I orally gave them one letter at a time. They did very well.

Quotes from the week

• Naomi: "A burger without pickles is like a girl without a skirt."  
• Holly: "I want to see the world! Maybe when I'm ten, I can go places all by myself." 

What I learned this week

• Sourdough needs to be fed every day, or there are consequences.
• Some of our children need more help than others.
• We must equip our children for life in this world, rather than shield them from it. See this article   
• Good communication can solve many of the little problems in life.

It's been a good week! Have a wonderful Shabbat! 

 

Shabbat Q & A

Question from a reader: How do I avoid the little jobs on Shabbat?

Answer: It takes planning to truly be able to rest on Shabbat. If you don't plan, things will creep up and need handling on Shabbat. Here is a list of tips that I have learned in the last few years as I try to set Shabbat apart. Some may work for you, and some may not. Take what works for you. :)

• Use paper plates for Friday night and Saturday. Leave those plates at the table and use them for each meal. Then you don't have to keep clearing and setting the table.
• Begin preparation day on Thursday. I really need the extra day to get everything done.
• Keep a simple menu on Shabbat. We eat roughly the same thing every week, to save thinking of something new.
• Do the laundry on Friday. This particularly holds true for diapers. I wash the diapers on Friday, no matter what. I don't want to risk running out and having to wash in an emergency.
• Start Shabbat with a clean kitchen and a clean house, as much as possible. Then if you need to sweep up the crumbs from Saturday breakfast real quick, it's not that big a deal.
• Use the crock pot. We have crockpot lasagna every Friday night. It goes in before lunch and I know dinner is taken care of. Then I can focus on cleaning, etc. (Our lasagna is vegetarian with broccoli and chickpeas, yum!)
• If you are eating veggies and dip on Shabbat, cut the veggies up on Thursday and put them in baggies. All you have to do on Shabbat is dump them on a tray.
• Teach the children to not make a mess on Shabbat. (still working on this one :)
• Assemble a "treasure chest" for Shabbat. Fill it with quiet, non messy activities for the kids, such as: coloring books, Bible dvds, simple games, music for dancing, ideas for scavenger hunts, Bible themed toys, felt sets, colored pencils, origami, puzzles etc. It only comes out on Shabbat and then gets stored during the week. Rotate the contents periodically.
• Keep yourself occupied with reading material, new teachings, an idea for a Bible study, music to listen to or dance with the kids. Go for a walk outdoors to enjoy creation.
• Keep things tidy during Shabbat by picking up the one item on the floor. If it gets to ten items on the floor, I think it's starting to look like work.
• Enjoy your day off. Really! You don't have to work! I love that no one can ask me to do anything, and I have Scripture to back me up. It's not selfishness or laziness. It's enjoying the gift that YHVH gave me.

Here are a few resources that you might find helpful in your home on Shabbat. They have found a happy home in our family.

• Shalom Sesame
• The Bedtime Sh'ma book and The Bedtime Sh'ma CD
• As Long as I Breathe by Zemar Levav
• Doorposts - A Day of Delight (translate ideas to Saturday rather than Sunday)

What do you do to make Shabbat go a little smoother? How do you avoid little jobs on Shabbat, and keep the day special for your family? Please share by leaving a comment.

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How to rejoice when the car breaks down

When the unexpected happens, it is hard to rejoice. It is hard to be happy when you pull into a parking lot and discover that you have no steering. That is what happened to me today. But, Praise Yah, He helped me to rejoice in the middle of it.

This morning, Doug had the great idea that I go to town and pick out a new kitchen faucet. Our is dripping so badly that it can fill a 16 qt stockpot overnight. My mother in law was very sweet to offer to buy me a new one. So I found myself in a rare position. I went to town with my mil and only Elisha and Noah. Wow! We pulled into the Home Depot parking lot and suddenly I could not steer! I wrestled with the steering wheel and managed to get into a parking spot. What now?

1. The first step in a crisis is to not think too far ahead. If you begin entertaining what ifs? and whys? you will not be able to rejoice because you have just entered a panic zone. Stay out of the panic zone and take things as they come.       

"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.  (Mat 6:34)


I chose to not borrow trouble and walked right into Home Depot and picked out a faucet. It's a gooseneck faucet, by the way! Doug and I are going to install it tomorrow hopefully.

2. Make people want to help you. If you give in to the flesh and start ranting, raving, complaining, and otherwise spewing your emotions on innocent bystanders, no one is going to stay around to help. Put your chin up and smile.

 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.  (Pro 18:24)


We chose to engage in cheerful conversation on our long hike across two parking lots to the auto parts store. We smiled as we went in, and I calmly explained the situation to find out what needed to be done. To my delight, the salesman offered to walk back to my car and take a look! He then walked back to the store and sold me some steering fluid. He hiked back and poured it in, and hiked back again when it didn't work. I never even asked.

3. Find something to be thankful for. It can be a little thing, but find something and bring it to the front of your thoughts. Thankfulness is an enemy of negative thinking.

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of YHVH in Yahshua the Messiah concerning you.  (1Th 5:18)


We chose to be thankful that we went to Home Depot first. If we had stopped at Walmart first, the hike would have been very difficult. We were thankful we had only brought two kids instead of six. We were thankful for the lone orange we found way out in the parking lot. We joked that we may need it if it takes a while to get home. Looking for the little positive things helped us to rejoice.

4. Be on guard. Satan likes to poke his head into our affairs whenever he can. He wants to see you stumble and fall. He can make a mockery of you through your conduct. 

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:  (1Pe 5:8)
 
Whoopsie! I forgot this one! I got a bit upset with my husband because I felt he wasn't compassionate enough about our situation. Next time I must be more on guard.

5. Be ready to overcome. Sometimes we still have to take the mountain, because YHVH chooses not to move it out of our way.

Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.  (Jos 1:7)
 
I had to be very brave. The hose was busted. The fluid simply poured out on the ground. I had everything arranged for my dad to come fix it, only to find out that the part would have to be ordered. So I chose to have courage and walk back to my car and drive it home. Turns out, it's really not so bad once you get the hang of it. Surprisingly, a moving car steers much easier than a parked car. And isn't that true in any scary situation. Once you start moving, each step is easier than the last.     

So, Praise YHVH, I lost my steering today, but I still had plenty of reasons to rejoice.

What about you? How do you keep your chin up on bad days? How do you rejoice under pressure?