A Comfortable Home

Banana Bread working on a collage this week

Since I started running family daycare last September I have been working to find ways to make life more efficient.  I LOVE working from home, but because we are here so much it gets messy. Really quickly.  In the past, I can remember leaving for my day job, dropping the kids at school and returning to an untouched, tidy home at the end of the day... happy sigh...




To give an honest assessment of how the house looks right now:

• George is starting paper mache for his Science poster presentation at the kitchen table. Muffin Mouse if there too working on math.
• Banana Bread is playing (messing things up) quietly in her room.
• The lunch stuff is on the kitchen counters still.
• A half-folded bin of laundry is on the couch in the livingroom.

Science project underway

Over the past year I have found some strategies that work toward my goal of achieving a comfortable home. For me a 'comfortable home' is one that is reasonably clean, tidy (only current projects are out), and well organized.

Oh, and I should mention that I did not replace my housecleaner who came a couple of times per month when she moved. I'm using that money to pay for my horse riding lessons instead... so things are more "comfortable" and less clean than they have been!

• The daycare kids and I tidy the toys and play space three times a day (before outside time, before nap, and before stories at the end of the day.)  This advice came from a long-time family daycare provider and it is so important. It creates an atomsphere of order, but allows for freedom in play (I'm not tempted to tidy as they play.)

• My bi-weekly toy rotation is a big help. I re-create the play space every two weeks (move livingroom furniture, set-up a new dramatic play theme etc.) This routine prompts me to clean under the couches, find lost toys, and dust areas that otherwise go unnoticed in the day-to-day living.

• I pretty much do all the laundry one day a week. If I don't prioritize it on one day it becomes a nasty, drawn-out process for the week (forgetting stuff is in there and rewashing etc.)

• I know I've mentioned it before, but I always come back to it - Flylady is the basic structure I return to when things feel out of hand around the house. Hot darn, it just works.

I've also become a huge believer in home delivery!! 

• Our dog is groomed in a mobile pet grooming van every 2 months for the same price I paid to drop him somewhere in town. This saves me from spending one of my days-off running the dog around town.

•  I have my groceries delivered to my door.  There has been some trial and error with this system, but I now have it fine-tuned.  I have an organic food bin delivered every two weeks from Share Organics. I also have other groceries delivered every two weeks from Thrifty's.  This frees me to spend my time menu planning, and eliminates the couple of hours spent shopping on the weekends.  I do still make a couple of trips to Costco in a month, but I find that more fun than work!

OK. I've got to go put the lunch dishes away before the little ones wake up from nap!

Joyfully comfortable,
Caz.

Finding Our Groove

Banana Bread collecting treasures on our daily walks.

Good heavens, where have I been for most of September? Well, obviously not blogging! It has been a great month - the daycare kids are happily adjusted to their new routines, and my older kids have found their groove with home schooling.  I've developed a nice rhythm to the days - enough to do that things aren't boring, but not so much that they're overwhelming. A lovely balance.

So what to touch bases on first?  I think we'll tackle homeschooling in this post.  I'm so grateful for the planning I did in early August as the start to the year was pretty seamless as far as what to work on. This freed us to focus on fine-tuning our schedule in September - figuring out where we had overcommitted, and where we can reassign some things.

Some highlights this year:

•  Muffin Mouse (Grade 7)
• With Bus Pass in hand Muffin Mouse is out-and-about 4 days a week. She has incorporated a couple of volunteer shifts into her schedule this year, and I managed to shuffle music lessons to a daytime slot to free-up our evenings a little.
• Her Science class is going really well. She is working through the BC science curriculum with this group, meeting weekly for an hour and a half.  We're using her home-school funds to help cover the $235 cost for the year.
• Dance has taken a new path too. Due to a rescheduling of a Highland dance class which didn't work for us we have found a wonderful new dance home at Dance on IT studios.  Muffin Mouse is now doing ballet (Grade 2/3) and Jazz on Thursdays.
• Of course, she'd say the highlight of her year is the inclusion of horse riding lessons.  She is riding twice a week, volunteering at the stables once a week, and taking online equestrian courses this year. Our goal was to mirror the sport institutes that many of the highschools offer now (in hockey, soccer etc) with an equestrian theme.

• George (Grade 6)
• George is also toting his new Bus Pass and cell phone as he commutes around town this year. He is pumped about his first job volunteering with Beacon Hill Childrens Farm.  Essentially on poo-patrol he and Muffin Mouse spend a couple of hours a week helping care for the animals. After their shift they also try and catch an IMAX at the BC Royal Museum before heading home.
• We made a switch in music teachers this year. George is continuing with his second year on the Alto Saxophone and has really connected with his new music teacher, Joe Hatherill.  After splurging on some music books by contemporary artists music practice is significantly more motivating - no more watching the clock!
• Hockey continues to be a main focus for George, although he is showing an interest in being a Farrier.  We are fortunate that he can volunteer with his horse stables when the Farrier is visiting to get some hands-on practice in this field.
• We're trying a new French program this year through Rosetta Stone. It seems great - an immersion experience online which is more engaging than the pen & paper approach last year.  We got a discounted rate with our school district for the annual access.

• Banana Bread (Preschool)
• Banana Bread is delightfully motivated in her home-schooling. Most days I don't have a chance to eat my lunch before she sits down to do her work.  Her reading is coming along and she loves to identify the sounds she hears in the words and songs we work on .
• Most of her days follow a typical preschooler pattern: free play, snack, outside time, lunch, home school, quiet time, free play. Add some art activities, a dance class, and swim club and that's her week.

We have scheduled our annual home school retreats (I take each child on an individual weekend retreat) in October and November. These are my chance to develop a clear vision for the year ahead with each child, and together we identify the areas of character development we'll each focus on. We really look forward to this time one-on-one - can't wait!

So, here we are.  I hope this doesn't seem overwhelming (I know I can be a bit scary with my spreadsheet!) But, my intent is to share a snapshot of our week for other home-schoolers. I know it was a burning question for me when we started last year - what will our days look like? And, particularly now the kids are older, what does home schooling look like in the middle and high-school years?

Joyfully scheduled,
Caz.

Here's our current schedule:

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2012/13 School Year
		Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
				George Hockey
06:00 AM				5:30 – 7:35am
				(Caz run)
07:00 AM
08:00 AM
			George Book Club			TRANSIT
09:00 AM			8:30 – 9:30am			9am – 11am
			- Math	- Reading	- Horse Council	George & M. Mouse
10:00 AM			- Writing	- Music Practice	of BC online	Horse Stables
			- Socials Project		- Reading	Volunteer shift
11:00 AM		- Weekly Goals			- Music Practice	11am – noon
		- Math	TRANSIT
12:00 PM		- Personal Planning	Noon – 2pm	TRANSIT		Horse Riding
		- Writing	George & M. Mouse	12:30-2:00
01:00 PM		- Reading	Beacon Farm	M. Mouse Sc. Class	- Math
			Volunteer shift	George – French	- Writing
02:00 PM		TRANSIT	TRANSIT	TRANSIT	- M. Mouse French
		2:30-3:30pm			- George Science
03:00 PM		George & M. Mouse
		Music Lessons	- Music Practice				Sunday
04:00 PM		TRANSIT	- Reading				B. Bread Swim
					B. Bread Swim Club		4:30 – 5:15pm
05:00 PM		5-6pm	5-5:30pm		4:30 – 5:15pm		(Caz run)
		George & M. Mouse	B. Bread Dance		(Caz run)
06:00 PM		Horse Riding		- Writing	4:45 – 6:15
			6:30-8:00pm	- Math	M. Mouse Ballet
07:00 PM			M. Mouse Highland		6:15 – 7:15
		George hockey			M. Mouse Jazz
08:00 PM		7:45 – 9:05pm
		(Caz run)

Back to Daycare

It was our gradual entry morning at daycare today. Our plan for gradual entry was pretty informal this year as we have all returning families.  I just need to adapt my plans for the children's new interests, and modify our sleep and bathroom routines a little from when they were last here in June.

I was painting the daycare walls, and giving the house a good clean yesterday as I set-up the play space. It got me thinking about why I love providing family daycare in my home (as opposed to a purpose built space, such as a basement area):

• In a subtle way it elevates the value I place on children and their right to the best of what I have to offer.  When I ran daycare before it was in a basement suite - it was darker, more enclosed.  Looking back it sent a message that there was prime real estate upstairs which the children couldn't access.

• I love that my child care and homemaking blend so nicely.  I can make someone a late breakfast in the kitchen, or throw some messy play clothes in the laundry while interacting with the kids. In the past I had thought that my home would remain clean and tidy when I ran daycare in the basement. The opposite was true! The space I spend my time in (play space) remains tidy - homemaking when running daycare in a seperate space did not happen:)

• Having the daycare in our living room requires that the daycare environment be home-like, clutter-free, and attractive.  I do 'take-down' the daycare stuff at the end of the week, but we live with it for a considerable amount of time. I don't want to look at broken, plastic, untidy toys - and I'm sure the kids don't either.

Here's our space as we kick-off the new school year.  I changed the Eboo Cards - they are my decorating inspiration.  Last year's were the alphabet ones and this year's are the number ones.

Navy Beans in the sensory table.

A new IKEA tent creates some seclusion.

I moved the reading chair into the living room for a while.

Joyfully surrounded by children,
Caz.

Beautiful Math Moment Reflections

I was re-reading an old post of my sister's on a beautiful math moment and it got me thinking...

It highlights for me the needed balance between exploratory learning and direct instruction.  Without exposing our children to the beauty and rules that govern mathematics they can't apply the principles in their play and feel the excitement and joy that math is!

When I think back on my memorable math moments they combined these two elements. One example that stands out was the summer our family built a barn. I can remember enjoying the process of applying geometry in a meaningful way.  It wasn't simple math - it required considerable thought and written work, plus a sense of urgency that we solve the problem correctly.  But geometry came alive for me that summer.

A great read on learning to liberate your math instruction is Paul Lockhart's A Mathematician's Lament: How School Cheats us of our Most Fascinating and Imaginative Art Form. I read the first couple of chapters to George and Muffin Mouse last year and it made an impression. Lockhark starts by declaring that students think math class is boring and stupid - and they're right!  I'm sure the kids don't think that about my math classes, right!?

Joyfully mathematical,
Caz.

Writing Curriculum

I think I have just about everything prepped for the start of the school year.  We're camping for a couple more weeks in August and I dedicate the final week before school starts to daycare prep - so having the school stuff ready to go early creates peace of mind.

Our school district advances a portion of the 2012/13 budget in the summer to help cover the costs of school supplies and books - such a bonus!

Now, I must admit, I did not put a ton of research into choosing a curriculum provider.  My sister is a dynamite researcher and did a lot of the ground work for me.  She helped me narrow it down to Evan-Moore and then I reviewed the curriculum to find a good fit for our goals this year.  One of the pluses of the Evan-Moore curriculum is that there is continuity in format across the grades which helps when teaching multi-grades. Also, the programs are generally set-up with a "daily M-F" format building in practice.

Banana Bread - PreK

My preschool program during daycare hours is primarily experience and  play-based. My goal is to provide responsive, reciprocal, respectful care.

As she is showing a readiness to learn to read and write I plan to spend about 20 minutes per day (while the older kids are doing independent work & the daycare kids are napping) teaching Banana Bread to read and write.

We will be using the Evan-Moore Everyday Literacy: Reading & Writing.  This program does a great job of presenting letter recognition and phonics in a unified approach.

I've also photocopied reading books for her.  The books are levelled with the Reading Recovery Program - a well-researched reading intervention program for students in early grades.

George & Muffin Mouse - Gr 6 and Gr 7

I'm so excited about the Evan-Moore Daily 6-Trait Writing Program.  It combines all the elements I am looking for: practice, grammar & conventions, editing, and organizing. 

It covers the following lessons:

Ideas
Choosing a Strong Idea; Writing Topic Sentences and Supporting Details; Developing Character, Setting, and Plot Ideas; Elaborating on Ideas and Details; Maintaining Your Focus
Organization
Sequencing; Organizing Information Logically; Organizing Information to Compare and Contrast; Organizing to Persuade; Choosing Which Way to Organize Your Writing
Word Choice
Writing Precise Descriptions; Writing About Action; Using Figurative Language; Choosing the Right Words for Your Audience; Getting the Reader's Attention
Sentence Fluency
Combining Sentences with Conjunctions; Writing Complex Sentences; Parallel Structure Within a Sentence; Beginning Sentences in Different Ways; Writing a Smooth Paragraph
Voice
Identifying Different Writing Voices; Using Different Voices for Different Purposes; Using Voice in Poetry; Writing from Different Points of View; Using Voice in Persuasive Writing.

Each day has the lesson objectives laid-out.

The weekly format builds on a skill and concludes with a writing assignment.  The assignments vary, and include:

• Editorials for a paper
• Book reports
• Short stories
• Descriptive paragraphs
• Letters
• Personal narratives
• Compare and contrast articles
• Speeches
• Formal reports
• Biographies
• Reviews
• Responses
• Poetry
• How-to paragraphs
• Persuasive paragraphs.
  

It would be a lie to say I can't wait to get started - I'm still in holiday mode:) But, I am looking forward to a successful year!

Joyfully prepared,

Caz.

Raising Writers

Yay!  It's one of my favourite times of the year... curriculum planning:) 

I think there is something powerful about having an overarching goal each year - it makes the progress focused and measurable.

We really focused on reading last year and it paid off.  By the end of George's Grade 5 year he assessed at a Grade 7.2 reading level, and Muffin Mouse assessed at Grade 8.8 at the end of her Grade 6 year.  

So my focused goal this year is writing skills - in particular non-fiction writing.

My summer reading on this topic was William Zinsser's On Writing Well.  It is outstanding.  Zinsser is a writer, editor, and teacher - He taught writing at Yale and Columbia universities.  Based on Zinsser's recommendations, my writing curriculum will have the following principles:

• You learn to write by writing. It's a truism, but what makes it a truism is that it's true.  The only way to learn to write is to force yourself to produce a certain number of words on a regular basis. (Zinsser, 2006, p.49)

With this principle in mind we'll write daily.  I don't think it will be hard to get going as we have established daily reading in our routine and seen the benefits - this should be an easy sell.

• Rewriting is the essence of writing well: it's where the game is won or lost. The idea is hard to accept. We all have an emotional equity in our first draft; we can't believe it wasn't born perfect. But the odds are close to 100 percent that it wasn't. (p.83)

 I've chosen a writing curriculum that has a strong foundation in writing conventions and grammar.  These skills will help with the editing process.

• Clutter is the disease of American writing. The secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components. (p.6-7) Few people realize how badly they write. Nobody has shown them how much excess or murkiness has crept into the or style and how it obstructs what they are trying to say. If you give me an eight page article and I tell you to cut it to four pages, you'll howl and say it can't be done. Then you'll go home and do it, and it will be much better. After that comes the hard part: cutting it to three. (p.17)

 Each week we'll include an exercise in editing a piece of writing. We'll also edit each others writing.

• You will never make your mark as a writer unless you develop a respect for words and a curiosity about their shades of meaning that is almost obsessive. (p.32)

This will be interesting - finding a balance between everyday language (such as texting language) and developing a love of the English language. I think we'll focus on reading good work and not allow too much everyday language to creep into our writing - at least to start.

• You are writing for yourself.  Don't try to visualize the great mass audience. There is no such audience - every reader is a different person.  You are writing primarily to please yourself, and if you go about it with enjoyment you will also entertain the readers who are worth writing for. (p.24)

The writing curriculum I chose builds through-out the week. We finish the week with a writing assignment. I think we'll do this assignment in our journals to help reinforce the sense that we are writing for ourselves. 


I'll post later this week with details on each child's curriculum so you can get a sense of how this will look in our day.  I'm also completing the curriculum this year with the kids and will blog my writing assignments - sure to thrill!

Joyfully writing,
Caz.

A life full with grace

Thoughts on cultivating inner calm


I don’t wish for a life of ease and monotony. Well, not most of the time, anyway.

I do wish for a life full of experiences, honesty, challenge, and beauty. But how do I balance this desire for a full life without becoming the frantic, uptight version of myself?

A few years ago I asked two of my friends this exact question. These women embrace a full life with grace. They have demanding jobs, family commitments, volunteer positions, and homes to maintain. Yet, the increasing demands on them are met with joy, humour, efficiency, and a sense of inner calm.

Each of them shared a practical strategy they used to develop this sense of inner harmony. Now, as I consider these ideas, I realize that although their tactics are different, they both nurture self-discipline.

Read more…

Updated Camp Pictures

George's Camp Pictures

It's George's turn at camp.  Looks like he's having a great time:)

Changing Educational Paradigms

I was reminded of a wonderful 11 minute talk by Sir Ken Robinson on Educational Paradigms today - thought I'd share it with you:)

Joyfully divergent,
Caz.

Updated Camp Pictures

Only 3 more nights until we pick Muffin Mouse up from camp. Can't wait to see her and hear about her adventures at camp.

Joyfully anticipating,
Caz.

Summer Camp

Muffin Mouse is at summer camp for the next two weeks - having a great time without me (hard to believe, I know....)

Joyfully independent,
Caz.

Year-End Memory Books

I made a memory book for each of the daycare children this past week. My goal was to create a small photo book with some labels that the child can enjoy during the summer break. 

I know the memory book I have from Muffin Mouse's days in infant care is still special to me and I wanted to be sure to share this with my daycare families too.

It took more time and research than I anticipated so I'll share some things I learned for those of you interested in creating one:

• I used Walmart's online photo site.  I've used Superstore and Costco in the past for other projects, but Walmart came in with the cheapest option for a hard-cover book.  I chose the 4X6 photobook - one picture per page with room for a label at the top and bottom of each page. $12 each and they are ready in one hour to pick-up at your local store (no S&H fees).

• I went with the black cover and black background on each page.  There are a wonderful array of options for colour and format in the more expensive books, but this was simple and met my objective.  

• Each book allows for 20 photos. I organized my top 2 pictures from each month Sept 2011 - June 2012 in a folder on my desktop for each child. I tried to ensure there was a balance of activities, friends, individual, and memory shots.  Each child's first picture was a group daycare shot with labels highlighting the daycare name and year.  Having the photos for each child organized on the desktop saved time when I uploaded them to Walmart's site.

• My labels were generally chronological with quotes such as; "Learning through nature", "Learning through art" etc. as other titles.

Learning through nature.

• The front inside cover is black and I plan to write a personal note to each child in a metallic pen before wrapping it for them.  There is a plastic page between the front cover and the first photo.  The photo books are literally 4X6 photos bound together so there is not much room to personalize within the book itself once it is printed.

It took about an hour per child from start to finish so plan to work on a couple of books per day to allow yourself time to get the project finished before your due date.  It was a satisfying experience looking at all the pictures from the year - seeing how they've grown, and all the fun we've had together.

George at the recent Track & Field meet at UVic.

I also created books for my homeschoolers. These Year Books are a simple way to document their year and highlight some of the major projects and activities completed. I'm not a huge collector of sentimental stuff, but the books are small and having them frees me to recycle all their school work for the year guilt free!

Studying electricity at Science World.

The girls at their May dance recital.

Joyfully reminiscent,
Caz.

Birthday Girl

So this blog is mostly for friends and family :) Here are some pictures of Banana Bread's 4th birthday a couple of weeks ago.

We had a family bike ride down town to see an IMAX show and then dinner with family (mmm, grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit kebabs!) 

The local bike gang!

Birthday girl in the lap of luxury:)

Birthday dinner on the deck.

The unicorn cake George made.

Cake is from Parenting Magazine

Joyfully sunny,
Caz.

Family Photo - Sneak Peek

We had a great family photo shoot at Government House in Victoria a couple of weeks ago. There is a "sneak peek" on the photographer's website. Poppy Photography - scroll down to the second photo on the page.  I can't wait to see the rest!

If you love them, let them go....

We released our butterflies today. It has been the most wonderful experience watching their metamorphosis.  Here's their journey in pictures...

It's funny to look back and see how small and skinny they started out!

Viewing the chrysalis daily to see if there is any change...

After the first butterfly emerges we quickly set-up a flight centre!

Pictured moments after emerging.

Today's trip to the deck to gently go into the world.

Joyfully inspired,
Caz.