Distractions

Distractions come in many forms...my two biggest distractors today were this laptop and my mind....

At the homeschool convention, we attended a session by Carol Barnier entitled, Help! How do I teach this highly distractible child?  Well, after today I realize I should have looked for a session called Help!  How does this highly distracted mother teach her equally distractible children?

Well, they didn't offer that class, but perhaps someday (after I've figured it out and published a book on the topic) I will offer that class at future conventions!

But in effort to make sense of my notes and document a few things I learned from Mrs. Barnier, I will share what she had to say about keeping our children focused.

Notes from Help! How do I teach this highly distractible child?

First, it is very, very difficult to limit distractions when you teach at home.  The phone will ring, you have to load the dishwasher, the dog will want out, and lets not mention that the kids toys are within eyesight! Mrs Barnier suggested using a  three section display board to create a sort of "study corral" for your child in order to limit visual distractions.  Auditory distractions can be limited by using headphones....with our without music.  Studies have shown that music with a steady, methodical 4 count beat aids in concentration and learning.

She also touched on the parents responsibility to finding what will work if our child is having difficulty learning.  She described this in terms of KEYS.  We have to find the key that works.  Instead of getting irritated and impatient with our kids when they just don't get it, try a different key (a different way of teaching whatever concept it may be.)  BUT it is the child's responsibility to tell us when the key we are using is not working!  When using this approach, our children will be less likely to think "well, I'm just not good at math or reading"  instead that child will look for another way to learn and understand math or reading.  Barnier said, "A failure to learn means there was a failure to teach."  Ouch!

Going back to the distracted child....
Many times through our homeschooling day, I say "sit still!" I also tell my kids to look me in the eyes.  For distracted kids, eye contact and stillness do not always mean they are listening and paying attention.  Sometimes movement helps kids process information!  Barnier suggested giving the kids a dust cloth while you are reading the history lesson!  Whatever the movement is it needs to be mindless and repetitive.  Examples:  squishing silly putty, building with Legos what you are studying or reading about,  braiding, mopping, drawing the topic you are studying.

And of course, we all have those days when the kids just need to burn some energy.  On those days, play Mother May I with math problems, go to the park and spell words while swinging, Hop on It (write the answers to questions on note cards, lay them on the floor, ask questions and the kids hop to the answers!), toss it, and make their lessons life like (if you are studying the circulatory system, use masking tape to create a diagram on the floor, then have the kids travel through it!)  All very great ideas!

I'm Not the Only One!

"I'm not the only one!"  This is what kept resounding through my mind at the Mid South Homeschool Convention.  Charles and I spent 2 days surrounded by other dads and moms who, like us, spend their energy, time, and resources to home educate their children.  It was so encouraging!  I'm sure I screamed "newbie" as I walked the vendor aisles wide eyed and entered every session prepared with notebook and pen in an effort to absorb and remember every bit of homeschooling advice I could!  I took notes like crazy because I knew the moment I returned to the real world of unmotivated kids, sleep deprived mom and fussy baby, I would need to be reminded of the words offered by these veterans of homeschooling.

Day 1 of Homeschooling A.C. (after convention)

Mid morning, during math, I noticed myself shifting into panic, lets get through these books, hurry up mode and remembered a few words Todd Wilson shared in his session Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe....."math doesn't matter, reading doesn't matter, the perfect curriculum doesn't matter.....what MATTERS is the relationship with your kids. If we are spending our days in turmoil over math, our relationships with our kids suffer."    This really hit home for me.  How many days do my kids end up in tears?  How often am I frustrated with them because of a silly writing lesson?  Too many. Too many.

My toes were stepped on but my heart was changed and I was challenged to be the mom/teacher God has designed me to be--through His strength and despite my weaknesses.  I took many notes on several great sessions and I want to post all of them.  I will try to detail one a day, but today I will continue with my notes from Todd Wilson's Lies Homeschooling Mom's Believe:

Lies we believe:
1.  Everyones house is cleaner than ours---moms, if you turn into a mean drill instructor before company     comes over you probably believe this lie
2.  Everyone cooks healthier meals than I do--who cares if you fix cereal for dinner?!
3. Everyone is a Proverbs 31 woman and you are the Wicked Witch of the West
4.  Everyones Marriage is better
5.  Your the only one falling apart and loosing it

Lies.....all Lies!  And we believe the lies because we are in the fog and can't see the shore.
How do we know these are lies? Lies feel heavy.  They weigh us down.  Jesus said His burden is light.

How do we combat the lies?
1.  Be real--be yourself, authentic, transparent.  Don't play the "I've got it all together" game
2.  Allow other mom's to be real with you
3.  Remember, God gave your kids exactly the mother they need
4.  Realize, your kids will become exactly what God created them to be
       * a corn seed doesn't produce a cucumber plant.  Our kids are seeds....good/bad reader.....good with
          numbers......poor speller.....they are God's design.
5.  Relationships matter, it's not the education, it's the training.

True is true....even on the bad days.  Even when the fog is too thick to see through to the shore.

why sidewalk moments?

Why sidewalk moments? Because right now it is in the dead of winter.  Because I'm thinking about warm summer sun and hot pavement and sidewalk chalk.  Because sidewalk chalk is not permanent or lasting.  Because there has to be a place to record all the wonderful, inspiring, horrible, amazing, creative, hilarious, solemn, unorganized, blessed moments of my day.  Life with my family is a book waiting to be written and unfortunately my brain only has the capacity to hold ummm....well, I've already forgot what I ate for dinner, so here it goes....my first attempt at blogging.  Warning:  I have no idea what I'm doing, so I will apologize in advance to you the reader.  This is simply a place to store all the wonderful things my husband does for me because he loves me, all the inspiring moments when my kids are shining for Jesus, all the horrible terrible no good very bad days, all the ways my amazing Lord gets me through those days, all the creative gadgets, drawings, stories, songs, dances, etc.... my kids come up with, all the hilarious times when I laugh so hard I almost pee, all the solemn times when my heart is quiet, still and searching, all the unorganized homeschooling that goes on around here, and mostly a place to remember all the ways God has blessed me with more than I deserve.