Word for the Year

As the new year rolled in I saw many friends and family members sharing their word for the year.  Each was a sort of mantra or affirmation to remind each person of their goals and desires for the coming year.  Words such as simplify, kindness, gratitude, organize, hope, and love are just a few examples of words my friends have chosen to represent this year.  We had mentioned choosing a family mission statement or word for 2019, but when we had our goal setting Family Home Evening we forgot about it (think creating vision boards with three kids... more on that later).  The idea had stuck with me, though, and for a few days I rolled it around in my head, trying to think of a phrase or word that could represent the things I/we want to accomplish this year.

One of my goals is to complete a 30 day yoga journey via a youtube channel called "Yoga with Adrienne" (it's a free channel and she has many wonderful videos of gentle and customizable yoga practices that anyone can follow along with).  This is a challenge she has done on her channel every January for at least the last 3 years.  I did most of last year's 30 days and really enjoyed it, so I decided to try again this year.  Each day has a focus.  The focus for day 2 was "Foundation" the practice was all about building a strong body foundation for safety and health, and strong foundational breathing.  As I followed along I got to thinking, building a strong foundation is exactly what I am trying to accomplish with many of my goals this year.  Through better eating and exercise I am building a better foundation in my body, through more consistent scripture study and temple attendance I am building a stronger foundation for my faith, by building a business and supporting my husband in his business goals I am building a better financial foundation for my family, and so on.  So there I had it, my word for the year, Foundation.  When I shared it with Lawrence he agreed that it was a great word and asked if we could use it as our word for the year for the whole family, I whole heartily agreed to share.

Word cloud created at WordArt.com

I look forward to this year of focussing on building foundations, personally and as a family by working together for gospel learning, education, family togetherness, health, and business.  I look forward to helping my children and husband strengthen their foundations as they support me in my building also.  Here's to a new year, to new experiences, and to building firmer foundations!

Do you choose a word or mantra for your year?  What are your goals?

Christmas Around the World

One of my favorite parts of homeschooling is the freedom we have to explore every subject in ways that public school just doesn't allow.  We have an amazing group of homeschool friends who we play with and go on field trips with, but we don't do a lot of traditional learning experiences together.  Many homeschoolers have co-ops that meet once a week, have lessons, do reports, and share the teaching load.  I love our informal group and that it takes such little prep work from me.  However, each year we do one fairly formal learning experience that is my favorite.  In December each of us moms chooses a country and a day to host and we learn about how Christmas is celebrated all over the world, usually with a craft and a treat.  It is awesome!  This year we did England, Mexico, Japan, Denmark, and Sweden.

Miss K taught us about England because her Grandma immigrated to the US from England.  We learned about Christmas Crackers and Christingles and we had some wassail.  The kids each got their own cracker to open and they sat in a circle to open them together; they were filled with little treats and my kids thought they were so fun!  Then we learned about the Christingle and each kid made one of their own (followed by quickly gobbling them up).  To make a Christingle each child got an orange to represent the world, they wrapped a red ribbon around it to represent the blood of Christ that was spilt for everyone, they stick a candle in the top to represent the light of Christmas and their own light to share with the world, they put in four toothpicks for the cardinal directions, representing that Christ is for all the world, then put candies on the toothpicks.  I just love how Christ centered this craft was and it has been so fun to have E talk about it all week.

Miss A taught us about Christmas in Mexico, because her husband is from Mexico.  We learned that northern Mexico celebrates more like the US, and the south is very different and celebrates more like other parts of the world.  In southern Mexico they don't open presents until January when the Wise men bring them, while in the North they open them on Christmas.  They are also big on parties and have many throughout the month.  We made paper bag pinatas and tried some tamales.

Miss J taught us about Japan.  Since Japan is only about 1% Christian their christmas is mostly about being with family and loved ones and the presents.  We learned a bit about Japan, their culture, and how they like Santa because he is like Buddha.  We made paper lanterns, folded origami samurai hats, painted paper fans, and had some yummy raman and Christmas cake.

I taught about Denmark.  My lesson materials were stolen by the mischievous Nisse (elfs) who led us on a scavenger hunt to find them.  We learned about Denmark, and where it is located, and some fun facts about the country, then we learned that every person (especially kids) gets their own advent calendar with treats, we made paper heart baskets, sang songs and had a dance party around the Christmas tree, then shared some rice pudding with the naughty nisse to convince them to go back to the attic.

Last was Sweden by Miss K and Mr. D.  We learned about St. Lucia's day and how the Roman Catholics used that to convert the people to Christianity.  We learned that they don't really have Santa Claus, but instead a goat brings their presents, and we learned that the Sweeds love their food.  We made cute little tomte gnomes and had a Julesborg (lots of food) that put the rest of our treats to shame (dill salmon, cheese and crackers, saffron rolls, cookies, swedish meatballs, shrimp, and lingonberry jam to top it all off)!

It is so much fun to step out of our usual school work and explore something different for a little while.  The kids all played their little hearts out, and us moms were able to get some adult interaction too.  I just love this time of year and the fun learning experiences it can bring!

Including Angels in Christmas

I have often seen newly bereaved parents ask how they can incorporate their angel children into holidays and particularly, Christmas.  Here are just a few ideas

1) We have this poem that belonged to Grandma and Grandad Burt, it sits on our piano at Christmas time:

Christmas in Heaven

I see the countless Christmas trees around the world below.
Please wipe away the tear,
For I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.
I hear the many Christmas songs that people hold so dear,
But the sound of music can’t compare with the Christmas choir up here.
I have no words to tell you the joy their voices bring
For it is beyond description to hear the angels sing.
I know how much you miss me, I see the pain inside your heart,
But I am not so far away we really aren’t apart.
So be happy for me, dear ones, you know how I hold you dear.
And be so glad I’m spending time with Jesus Christ this year.
I sent each of you a memory of my undying love,
After all, love is a gift more precious than pure gold.
It was always most important in the stories Jesus told;
Please love and keep my commandments as my Father said to do,
For I count the blessings of love he has for each one of you.
So have a merry Christmas and wipe away the tear,
Remember I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I love having this as a reminder that Ethne and Thomas are never far and that thy are in the best place they can be at this time of year.  (I can't find an author for this so if anyone knows please tell me).

2) That first Christmas after Ethne died I felt so lost.  This was supposed to be a happy time, but I was so sad and empty.  Mr. E was still so young and, while he was a huge light, it was still so hard.  For my own sanity I decided to say no to all the things, parties, family gatherings, Christmas day visits, I just didn't have it in me.  We needed a way to remember and honor Ethne, while keeping Christmas a happy time for Mr. E, we needed somewhere for the love to go.  So Lawrence suggested that we purchase gifts for her, and donate them.  The first few years we just dropped toys and clothes into donation boxes, but we started adopting a girl, about Ethne's age, off a local angel tree and it feels much more personal.  We try to include grandparents in this, if they are interested, and we also have our living children help with choosing gifts.  It's a small way to help them remember, and to share our extra love with others.  Last year we started including Thomas in this tradition as well.




3) Purchase, hang, or make a tree ornament in memory of your child.  Each year we get ornaments that represent something fun we have done or that represents each member of our family and hang them all on the tree.  It is fun sharing memories each year, and the boys love seeing all their ornaments and hanging them.  We get ornaments for Ethne and Thomas as well.  To remember who each ornament belongs to we mark each one with an initial and the year.

4) Decorate at the cemetery.  Last year I posted on instagram (or facebook, or some other social media) about how we used to get pretty extravagant with decorating Ethne's headstone, and how I was scaling back and keeping it simple.  For some simple works, but or others it is a sincere act of love to go all out decorating a loved-one's headstone or grave for holidays and Christmas in particular.  I say you do you, and don't let anyone tell you that you are wrong.  If a tree with ornaments and lights is right for you, go right ahead, if a simple tinsel garland or nativity does the trick, then leave it at that; and if you find that it changes from one year to the next that's okay too, just do what makes you feel like you have honored your child.

4) Acts of service in their name.  Some people prefer acts of service over gift giving in their child's memory.  Things such as food drives, clothing drives, blood drives, serving meals at a soup kitchen, and so much more are often done in the memory of angels.

5) Monetary donations in a loved one's name are another great way to remember a child.  Donate to a cancer foundation, or a not-for-profit children's hospital, a private school, or a ballet school.  Choose something that was or would have been meaningful to your child and give what you can.

6) Hang a stocking, or other decoration for your child.  My mom made beautiful stockings for each of my children, Ethne and Thomas included, and we hang them every year.

7) We believe in Eternal families, that we will be reunited with Ethne and Thomas after we die, and we will get a chance to raise them when Christ returns.  In order to receive these blessings there are things we must do, and covenants we must keep, so each year we set goals to help us keep our covenants and draw closer to Jesus Christ, who makes it all possible.  Goals like studying our scriptures more diligently, attending the temple more regularly, or memorizing the Articles of Faith.  We write these goals down and place them in Ethne and Thomas's stockings as symbolic gifts to them.  Even if you don't have these same beliefs you can set goals to live a better life by serving those around you, being more patient, loving yourself better, and more and give these as symbolic gifts to your child(ren).


This list is not exhaustive by any means, but it is a place to start.  Please remember that everyone grieves differently and if nothing feels right to you, keep searching for that something that does and never let anyone tell you that you're doing it wrong.  Be gentle with yourself and allow yourself time and space to grieve in what ever ways work for you.  I hope this can give those seeking ways to honor their loved ones this season some ideas and can help bring some peace.

Language Arts curriculum, second grade

Mr. E is in second(ish) grade this year! I am really loving our LA curriculum, that I mashed together from several sources, so I thought I’d share what we’ve been using. *These are my honest opinions and I am not receiving any kind of compensation for reviewing and/or sharing any of these products, this is just for my records and to be helpful/informative to anyone looking for some great resources.*

I wanted to really try and follow Mr. E’s lead and give him things that would interest him and help him grow.  He has become a pretty strong reader, but I noticed he was struggling with certain phonics concepts, and with comprehension. So I went on a hunt for resources to help with comprehension, with a goal in mind to work extra hard on the phonics concepts he was struggling with.  How excited was I when I stumbled across this set of phonics based reading fluency AND comprehension passages!   I love that I can choose which phonics concept he needs to work on and only print out those specific passages.  The print is large and they are short, sweet, and to the point with LOTS of practice at the focused concept packed into each one. He likes that there’s only a few questions that are usually pretty easy to answer. We try and do one each week, he reads it aloud three times and usually answers one question with each reading.  I can already see a difference in his reading fluency, especially as it pertains to the phonics concepts we’ve been working to improve, and in his comprehension.  He is retelling stories better, understanding what he is reading better, and beginning to make some surprising inferences and conclusions.  Along with reading these passages we read lots of books. I read aloud with the kids in many different ways, they have free-reading time each day, and Mr. E and I have reading time together, in a book that’s he has chosen, sometimes curriculum related, sometimes not. Mr. E enjoys lots of picture books, but is also reading simple chapter books such as the Fly Guy series, the Magic Treehouse series, the Axel and Beast series, and anything else that strikes his fancy. Currently he is mostly interested in fiction, but I’m hoping to find some non-fiction he enjoys soon.

Last year we tried journaling, and while Mr. E seemed to enjoy it, it stressed me out that his sentences weren’t really complete sentences and he seemed to have little grasp or interest in the concept. How lucky that Facebook seemed to read my mind and showed me an ad for these differentiated sentence  building centers.  Each seasonal set has ten pages of three sentences each.  There’s two options for each page— emergent: short sentences with a simple subject and predicate for kids just starting to write, and early fluent: more complex sentences with quotes, proper nouns, adjectives, and more, for kiddos who need more of a challenge— there’s also two writing page options, one with a reading fluency and writing checklist, and one with just the writing checklist. The words for the sentences are on little cards with a picture so it’s easy to tell which words belong together and the pictures also hint at what each sentence is about. This has been a great activity that Mr. E has *mostly* enjoyed and that he can do basically by himself. To shake things up we sometimes tape the word cards onto DUPLO blocks and literally build the sentences into towers. Mr. E is starting to understand how to construct his own complete sentences, which he is using in his journaling.  We do one of these each week and it works out pretty well.

Spelling is by far Mr. E’s least favorite subject. We tried the spelling workout workbook last year and he fought so hard against it that I gave up, it just wasn't worth the tears. This year I bought a set of spelling lists, activities, and test here.  Each list includes flash cards, practice pages, and a test. Some of the lists also have fun activities like word shapes, but not every list. While these are editable I am not computer savvy enough to do that. The list are at the right level, and I like that each focuses on a particular phonics concept such as short vowels, long vowels, digraphs, blends, suffixes, etc.. However, I wish that every list had all the practice activities, not just some of them. E still fights pretty hard against spelling, so we try to make it more fun by playing games like hangman, go fish, tic-tac-toe, apple letters, and this great app (from what I can tell it’s only for apple devices).  We tried tests for several weeks, but I decided that it isn’t worth the tears and frustration for either of us, so we’ve given them up for the time being.  Instead we are focusing on learning the phonics concepts that build the words, practicing them in fun ways, and using words in context by journaling.

Handwriting is another beast in and of itself. It gets used so often that I can’t fathom how my son’s handwriting is still so poor! I tried to combat this by making copywork for him, but he hates this almost as much as spelling tests, so we do it sparingly. For the curious, I was having him copy the 13 Articles of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (found in the Pearl of Great Price). Instead I have revived the journal that we used last year.  This set is great because there’s lots of ways to use the prompts for every level of writer. There’s prompted pages for beginners, unprompted with suggested words, and free-writing pages. Each month is themed, and there is options for dashed lines and non-dashed lines. These also incorporate art as there is drawing space on each page for the kids to illustrate their writing. Last year I guided this heavily by using the promoted pages and walking E through this sentences word-for-word. This wasn’t helping him learn to compose his own sentences, and I had to sit by him the entire time. Now I’m letting him write his “first draft” completely unaided, then I help him edit for complete sentences, grammar, and spelling using the incorporated checklist. Doing it this way allows him to work independently, he is able to sound out words and employ the skills we are working on with spelling, and he can see how proper sentences are built, all while practicing his handwriting. After we edit he rewrites his journal and draws a picture.  Most of his journals are only one or two sentences, but thats enough for some beginning practice, and i don't have to fight him on it.  I'm sure that, as we do it more, he will start to write more.

Last, but certainly not least is this nifty little tool that we discovered last year, the learning palette.  This little learning tool is disguised as a game and Mr. E loves to play it.  It is a board with colored discs that we call cookies and doughnuts.  You place a question card on the board then place the corresponding disc to each question in the answer slot.  The best part, it's self-correcting, so he can do it completely by himself!  We also use the learning wrap-ups for some vocabulary fun with synonyms, antonyms, compound words, and homonyms.  These are key shaped cards with words down each side and a piece of string attached.  He reads the words and matches them to the word across with the string, for example in compound words he matches base to ball, snow to man, etc..  These also self correct.  I love learning tools that he can do independently, and its even better when he thinks they're a game!





LA is definitely the area I struggle with Mr. E the most.  In the beginning he was never super interested in letters, more with numbers and shapes.  My hope is that, by incorporating engaging and accessible activities, I can strengthen this area and even make it fun and interesting for Mr. E.  He is definitely discovering a love for reading by being allowed to read books that he finds fun and interesting.  Hopefully this can also help some of you sort through the millions of options out there for teaching LA to your kiddos.

Today I am Thankful

I am thankful for my husband and partner in all things. He works so hard so that I can be able to be at home with our children, he put me and our family first, always.
I am thankful for my busy and encourage-able children who keep me on my toes and make me get out of bed every day.
I am thankful for my mom who has become my best friend, rare is the day that we don’t at least communicate by text.
I am thankful for my dad who taught me what a man should be and spoils me, because I’m his princess.
I am thankful for my brothers, the examples they are to me and my kids.
I am thankful for my amazing in-laws who treat me like one of their own and remind me often that I am their favorite daughter-in-law.
I am thankful for my sisters-in-law, they are everything I had hoped having sisters would be.
I am thankful for my nieces and nephews, they are some of my kids’ best friends, no matter how far apart we’ve been.
I am thankful for our dogs they provide love unconditionally and provide my kiddos with lots of entertainment.
I am thankful for school choice, and homeschooling.  I LOVE getting to see the light bulb moments for my children when they understand something hard, I love watching them learn and grow in every way.  We have our hard moments and days, but the good always outweighs the difficult and makes it all so very worth it.
I am thankful for my musical talents, they uplift me, amuse me, and allow me to make a small income to help provide for our family.
I am thankful for this beautiful earth.
I am thankful for this nation where I can worship how I choose, live where I choose, work (or not) if I choose, and so much more.
I am thankful for books, they teach, they amuse, they uplift; reading is my favorite hobby.
I am thankful for our home, cars, and other possessions.
I am thankful for temples and the eternal covenants I have made in them, because of them I am able to be with the people I love through eternity.
I am thankful for Ethne and the memories I have of her; her contagious giggle, her amazing hugs, her sassy attitude, her friendliness, her silly dances, and most of all her love.
I am thankful for the time I was able to carry Thomas, he is so valiant that he only needed a body, and I was able to provide that.
I am thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ.  He gave everything for me.  He knows my sorrows, my frustrations, my physical pains, and my joys.  Because of him I will get to hold Ethne and Thomas again.

There is so much I am thankful for, this doesn't even begin to cover it.  So today, and every day, I am thankful.