I finally taught myself to knit and found it to be quite relaxing.  As the baby gets heavier and more taxing on my body, I feel the need to sit more often so it is a good time for me to learn something that requires much sitting.  When my boy saw me fiddling with knitting needles and yarn, he asked, “Can I have the scarf if you get it right?”  I found his request amusing enough that I decided to let him pick his yarn and knit a scarf for him.

Here’s my boy modeling his newly knitted scarf (in his new pajamas):

Cyberseams.com is a great website with excellent videos that demonstrate clear step by step of different stitches.  For those who are interested in learning how to knit, click here for a list of knitting videos.

I had an amusing chat with my four-year-old the other day.

Me: “Andrew, I like the way you are.  Can you not grow up and stay this way all the time?”

He:  “I can’t!”

Me:  “Why not?”

He:  “Because you keep giving me milk to drink so I keep growing.”

[Note: at one point he was not a great milk drinker, and we told him if we wanted to be big like Daddy, he had to drink his milk.  This evidently stuck in his mind.]

Me:  “Hmmm. . . good point.  Can I stop giving you milk so you can stop growing and stay this way forever?”

He:  “Yes.”

So folks, there you have it.  I’ve divulged the secret to keep your child young and cute forever.  Just stop giving them milk.

Several weeks ago when I was shopping at Costco with my four little ones, a gentleman ran (yes, he ran) to me to ask if all the kids were mine.  After confirming it, he saw my tummy jetting out and with surprise he said, “Wow. . . and you have another one on the way.”  His inquiry didn’t bother me a bit since I’m already used to being asked that question.  But an older lady nearby looked at me with almost an accusing tone for having so many kids.  She told me that her niece is a doctor and is barely supporting her two kids through college.  Which was clearly her not-so-tactful way of saying that I obviously couldn’t possibly rake in enough money to support my FIVE kids through college.  According to her worldview, having so many children and presumably not having the means to pay their way through college is the essence of irresponsible unthinking folly.  In other words, family size should be planned based on the economics of future college education.

How did we get to this point as a culture?  What a sad state, when potential children are primarily viewed as entries in the expense/cost column, rather than blessings given by a God with an unlimited pocketbook!  And when people have so bought into this mentality that they harshly address a stranger who has more than they think is a “responsible” number of children.

As I began to compose this post, my husband asked me, “Are you sure you haven’t written about this topic already?”  I’m going to blame my pregnancy brain for the time being because my husband is indeed right: I already wrote about this topic two years ago when we were expecting child #4.  I find it funny that once again, the college question for large families is such a huge concern for most people.  Instead of rewriting my thoughts on this topic, I’ll just point you to TWO posts I have already written.  My viewpoint on this topic hasn’t changed and I stand by my previously written posts.

“What About College?”

“What About College?” Part 2

Whenever I get asked the college question, it’s usually during a shopping trip which does not lend itself to a thorough answer like a blog post.  So, I asked my husband for a quick and easy answer to offer to folks just so I don’t appear totally clueless.  He told me to say, “Through savvy financial planning and a simple faith in God.”  I thought that was an excellent answer.  That’s what I’m going to say next time someone asks me.

Ever since reading Leonard Sax’s book Why Gender Matters, it impressed upon me to apply some of the principles Dr. Sax outlined in his book, specifically the point about making seating optional in school.  Whether you have a boy or not, most of us concede that boys in general are more active than girls.  The way schools are set up are tailored to girls because they are not as active and can readily sit.  This is the reason why Dr. Sax is a proponent of the same-sex schools where teachers can better serve the students of gender differences.

In our homeschool, it is without question that our firstborn is all boy, and sitting still isn’t a gift he possesses.  Naturally doing school with this particular child is quite challenging.  What is surprising to me is that even our second born boy — who is more mellow and more able to sit still than the first — also struggles with sitting still during school.  These two boys seem to have an inherent opposition to sitting still.  Of course I shouldn’t be surprised but when I’m faced with the difficult task of teaching two active boys, I want to force them to do what I think is best for them.  However, I have to remember that I need to do what is best for them and modify the ways I school them according to their preferences.

I’m nearing the end of my pregnancy and sitting permanently in a chair seems to be my gift for the time being.  Moving about is quite challenging at this stage so I’m pretty much permanently parked in front of my computer.  Instead of doing school with the kids at the school table, I have the kids, one at a time, come to where I am so I can teach each one from my desk. I have the boys stand, not sit, next to me and I teach the lesson for the day.  They’re allowed to move about, but not move away from me during school time.  I have found this method to be quite suitable for both the boys and me.  I wish I could say that school time is all fine and dandy now, but this isn’t the truth.  From time to time I’d much prefer that they sit and do their work as I had hoped.  I think I’ll save this wish for my girls.  Despite letting go of my personal preference, I am glad I can accommodate my two active boys and that they are not hampered by a requirement to be seated for learning.

As much as I agree with Dr. Sax’s suggestion of making seating optional, I believe there should be a balance.  There are times where sitting should be required as sitting still is a good practice for self-control as well as participating in events that require sitting still, i.e., church, weddings, meetings, funerals, etc.  I trained the children early on to sit still so we could worship together as a family during church.  Even though they are not perfect and still need reminders from time to time, they are doing quite well sitting still and quiet during church services and Bible studies.

Next to my husband, Jim Weiss of Greathall Productions is our favorite storyteller and we’ve been enjoying many of his audio stories for some time now.  His audio stories are very entertaining as he uses different voices for different characters in the stories, and he even sings in some of the stories.  Many audio books or stories are dramatized in the format of a radio theater.  We have come to appreciate simple storytelling without all the bells and whistles.  We have also discovered that dramatized audios are often too scary for the children because with the background music and different sounds to create the mood, the stories become more heightened that the children can’t handle the drama.  For this reason we truly enjoy Jim Weiss’ audios.  Greathall’s primary focus is classical literature, history, and science presented in a clear, exciting way that encourages children to read the originals for themselves.

We don’t have a TV in the house, so for entertainment we opt for audio books.  Sometimes when I need to busy myself with cooking or do other things around the house, I put Jim Weiss on for the kids to listen in the next room or in the kitchen with me.  In addition to listening to stories at home, we also listen in the car to Weiss’ readings of Susan Wise Bauer’s four-volume Story of the World, a history curriculum from ancient time to the modern era.  Whenever we go out, our oldest asks to listen to Story of the World.

I heartily recommend Jim Weiss’ audios.  The price per CD is reasonable, but it can certainly be expensive once you purchase several CDs.  The good news is that many of Jim Weiss’ CDs are available at the library for your listening pleasure.  Go now and check them out!

In the past year, I’ve discovered that there are many stores that offer teacher’s discounts, but I need an ID card to show that I am indeed a teacher.  I was quite happy when I found this website that offers FREE do-it-yourself teacher and/or student ID.  All you need to do is enter your personal information and upload a picture of yourself.  Then you’ll be sent a PDF document for you to print and laminate.

When I told my husband that I needed a picture of me for a teacher’s ID, and he saw the “boring” (his word) design on the free website, he decided that he would make me one that was more customized and snazzy.  He did such an excellent job designing the ID card that I thought I’d share it with y’all.  So, here it is, our very own customized IDs:

He also made cards for each of the kids.  And just for fun, he made a couple for the boys’ teddy bears:

My boy is always cracking me up with his antics.  Either he says something really adult like or does something so funny or creative, he never fails to make me laugh.  When I woke up from my nap this afternoon, this is what I found on my computer monitor:

In case you can’t read the five Post-It notes on my screen, here’s the text:

• Mom I finished in 11 m: 13 s
• And I got.
• 22 x 22 100%
  24 x 24 100%
• 30 + 30 100%
  30 – 30 100%
• are you proud of me?

What my boy is referring to in these notes is the scores he got on his FlashMaster, an electronic flash card device for practicing math tables.  When the rest of the family takes a nap in the afternoon, Matthew works on his flashmaster where he does four different math tables.  Then he is to record his scores on a spreadsheet I developed for him.  He decided to surprise me with his amazing scores of 100% for all four math tables by posting them on my computer screen.  I was very proud indeed and he knew it!  I had a good chuckle after seeing these stickie notes.  He knows his mama who likes to put post-it notes on the computer screen to remind herself of different things.