The fine art of parenting.

In spite of the six thousand manuals on child raising in the bookstores, child raising is still a dark continent and no one really knows anything.  You just need a lot of love and luck - and, of course, courage.  ~Bill Cosby, Fatherhood, 1986

 

 Bill Cosby has one thing right in his quote, "child raising is a dark continent." At least sometimes it is.  Today was a dark day.

  If you have children you might recognize the signs.

Spring Fever

 Here is a wonderful thing about home schooling and living on the road. This was a day dedicated to family and exploring.
We went driving from Reno to a hot spring in CA. Stephen and the kids spent time flying a kite after our picnic lunch. This gave them plenty of time to dry out after playing in the hot spring. Many families never see places around them. We vacation by habit at the beach or visit Disney or some other man made local. Spring fever for us is no longer a trip just to a local park. It is a journey to see, experience, and to capture something and somewhere new. I am so glad to be living this life with my fun loving family.

The search for a perfect way to travel.

I have started the let us buy a trailer campaign. Please understand, I think Reno is beautiful and the Texas Hill country was divine. Yet, I think this apartment is yucky.  I know. I know. A trailer will be small. The kitchen might be chintzy.  But I don't like rental furniture and worse rental silverware.  I can't explain it except to say, I am a homemaker. I want my own nest to call home. If it isn't working, I wanna be able to fix it and not wait on busy maintenance people who act like I'm picky cause the drain has backed up for the 10th time.  It is OK and I am practical. So, I will  PAY for it wisely.  Does anybody have any advice about living full time in a rv with your kids.

Math Games and other things on a Snowy Spring School Day

Today, I am not stressing about school.  It is a cold snowy day in Reno.  We will drink cocoa, hang out in our PJ's, and cuddle.  We will dedicate school to exploring the web, reading together, and practicing our new math game.  We will start the Progeny Press study guide for  Uncle Jed's Barbershop by Margaree King Mitchell.  All that involves today is exploring the web for information about sharecroppers and the Great Depression.  I don't know what we will read.  I'll leave that to the kids.  The snow will keep us home from the library, so we will read something on hand.  In fact, I may wait til tonight and let Daddy have that cuddle hour on the couch while reading The Hobbit by Tolkien.  As for the new math game, I am making that up.  I went into town on the bus Saturday and bought eight 10 sided dice, one 100 sided die, one 6 sided die that is colors not numbers, and a felt carrying bag.  I spent $20.  The 100 sided dice was not cheap but the rest of the dice were under $5. The 10 sided dice are in four different colors.  The different colors will represent place value.  The dice are numbered 0 - 9. 

• red dice ----- ones place
• blue dice ---- tens place
• purple dice ---- hundreds place
• white dice ---- thousands place

 Today, we will use the red and blue dice.  First the kids will gather notebook paper and pencils. Then, I will toss one red dice and one blue dice - red:2 blue:1 = 12.  Then, I throw the multicolored dice - black can represent addition.  Then, I throw the last two red and blue dice and get 95.  Then RACE 12 + 95 = ? .  First one with the correct answer wins.

I think the game will make quick response math facts more fun than the usual worksheet or recitation. I want a game board to travel around. I wonder if I could figure out a way to use our chess board without all the chess pieces.  I'll think about it.  Perhaps, you have an idea. I would love to read all about it.

The mystery of stuff.

      I was watching House Hunters on the little idiot box the other night when my 7 year old daughter commented "Why is the closet so important to that lady?" I chuckled because to us a large closet is a handy substitute for a playroom.  Living on the road, I have discovered that as a family we need less stuff and require very little square footage to be happy.  Why two people and 1 little dog need 4000 square ft to live happily is foreign to my babies.  Here are some tricks to packing, storing, and enjoying a big life in a small space:

1. Examine your laundry and closet.  

        I can wear only 1 pair of pants at a time. Why should I own 15 pair?  I own clothes in laundry loads; pants, dark t-shirt fabric, light t-shirt fabric, towels, and delicate. I don't like doing laundry but I REALLY don't like piles of dirty laundry. So, we own what we will really wear in a weeks time and give away the rest.  Also, thanks to a dear friend's recommendation ALL clothes for young children live in my room.  This stops the DIVA changes that bulk up laundry day with clothes I don't remember a child wearing.

2. Know what you use in the kitchen, bath, ect...

         I have a three bedroom house in Texas and love to cook. I like kitchen gadgets and cookbooks but that can't travel every 13 weeks to a new local without a U-Haul. What did I do? I took inventory.  I use the same three skillets at nearly every meal. One of those skillets will double as a casserole and a roaster. Corningware breaks... so, I use cheap microwave safe plastic ware.  I have four Tervis tumblers for my husband and I. They are insulated and can have travel lids. This makes them perfect for hot, cold and in the SUV. The kids have 1 stainless sipper seal water bottles for in the car, 2 cheap plastic cups, and 1 glass juice jar each. I packed silver ware for one meal and bought those new light weight silicone colander, measuring cups, and bakeware.  These things with a cookie sheet, hotpads, my Pampered Chef bamboo spoons, and some other small kitchen stuff (shearers, can opener, ect..) all fit nicely in some old zip coolers and a rubbermaid tub.  My cupboards may be bare of the gadgets but the food isn't hurting. Anything I find I need that doesn't travel, I find a Goodwill, Salvation Army, or some other noble thrift store.

     As for the bathroom, everything fits in 1 small old samsonite suitcase. Their are 4 of us but we don't need 12 lotions, 4 kinds of hairstuff, and 3 million hairbows. I will not share toothbrushes, deodorant, hairbrushes, and razors. Everything else is community property in my bath. 

3. The joys of toys and books.

     My children play together with a small pile of legos, a small box for manipulatives and crafts, and 3 old suitcases with misc dolls, dress up, action figures, cars, playmobile, and Vision Forum delights.  When we started packing we noticed Nathaniel owned 2 five gallon buckets full of matchbox cars.  He now has and cares for a more reasonable 10.   Rachel has 50 or more stuffed animals and dolls at home.  Here she is happy with her Vision Forum doll with outfits, a Bitty baby, and a few small stuffed animals.  The less they have at once the more they appreciate. It works. I promise.

     At home I have and hoard more books than some small town libraries. If you home educate, you probably have this addiction.  Books have weight and weight costs space and gas when living on the road.  So, school fits in 3 backpacks and two 12 x 14 canvas boxes.  This was soooo very hard. But Ben Franklin started public libraries for people like me who love to read. I now will support them all over the country. I also buy new readers from thrift stores and National Parks as we go down the road. We then sell them or give them away when the space is needed.