My children absolutely LOVE projects.  In fact, many a morning, I am awakened with the words, “Mom! Can we do a project today?”  And, once a project is finished, they are eager for another.

Yesterday, we hit up Wal-mart and loaded up on crayons (only 22 cents), markers, paper, folders, and more.  They carried a box of watercolors around until they had to give them up in order to pay for them, and, once home, they begged to paint.  Please, please, pretty please Mom!

The other day, I purchased the book 365 TV-Free Activities by Steve & Ruth Bennett.  It has some great “projects” inside, most of which provide some sort of educational outcome.

I will shamelessly admit that most of our “projects” lately have bordered on child labor, ha!  As we prepare for our move to Houston, the children have assisted me in painting (which, at times, has been disasterous, but hey, it’s all in the name of learning), sorting, and packing.  I love that my children enjoy helping me.  They’d much rather tag along beside me and help me than play with their own toys.

On the subject of toys, we’ve been able to narrow down their stash significantly and donate it.  I think most toys are a waste of money.  We (as a society) have taught our children to be greedy- hoarding more and more and more toys, even though they don’t play with them.  

When it comes down to it, children will be happier with fewer toys than if they had all the toys in the world.  (And, you’ll be much happier because you will have less to step on, trip over, and beg your children to clean up.)

We started donating the toys by the bundle when I realized most of my children’s toys were crowding the livingroom, playroom, and bedroom floors not because they were being played with, but because they had to toss them out of the bin in order to find the “good stuff”. 

A couple days later, I piled the toys in the livingroom and told the kids, “Okay, we’re going to sift through this stuff and only keep the toys you really like.”  We divided the toys into three bags- dump, donate, and keep.  An hour or so later, we had filtered the toys, and had decided to keep only half of the toys.

About a month later, we went through the process again, and significantly narrowed down the keep pile.  It was a difficult process for me because I realized “good money” was spent on most of these toys. My friends and parents had spent hard earned money on these toys, and I felt guilty about giving them away.  Then it hit me that I should feel more guilty about hoarding toys that weren’t being played with when other children could enjoy them.

Soon after we did all of this, my son had a birthday.  I wanted to invite all his little friends, but I thought, “Man, they are going to want to bring him toys- toys that will probably end up at the bottom of the bin or broken.”  I didn’t want to come across as unthankful or rude, but I decided it would be best to tell our guests that they didn’t need to bring gifts, but if they wanted to, we’d prefer they give books, clothes, or even a movie (our kids love Veggie Tales), instead of a toy.

Most listened.  Of course, my parents gave him toys (it’s required of grandparents, I suppose), but most people did listen to our request.  One of our friends said, “Well, it’s his birthday. Won’t he be upset if he doesn’t get toys? Kids don’t want books! They don’t want clothes! They want toys!”

Well, my children get excited about new clothes and books just as much as, or even more than, toys.  Plus, there’s no better time than when they are young to teach them how wonderful books are!

If the toys are piling up in your household and you ache to ditch them, try this. Have your children help you sort through them just as mine did.  Tell them you are going to donate toys to children who don’t have many.  Explain to them that some children are not as fortunate as you are.  Throw away toys that are broken. 

Later, when your children are gone or in bed, go through the keep pile and set half of it aside.  Put it in another bin and stow it in a closet where the kids can’t see it.  A month later, if they have not asked about the toys and have not desired to play with them- donate all of it.

I know a woman who was able to get rid of six large garbage bags full of toys.  Her children chose to keep five toys each (like a box of matchbox cars, a doll, a box of costumes, etc).

Some people think we are crazy when they find out we don’t buy our children toys.  We don’t even buy them birthday gifts.  First of all, children get so many birthday gifts, I feel that it’s “wasteful” for us to get them something on that day.  I’d much rather save that money and purchase them something later when they’ll really enjoy it and the gift won’t have to compete with a dozen other gifts for attention.

Secondly, since we’re on a tight, limited budget, I find it’s wiser to spend money on an “event”- like a fun, educational trip the whole family can enjoy.

Seriously- gather all the toys around your house and pile them in the middle of the floor….. look at how much your family has accumulated.  Teach your children to give and be good stewards, not hoarders.  And, while you’re at it- look at your own junk that has piled up.  You probably have a lot of stuff you don’t use. 

Every time we move, I find so much junk that is just being stored, not used.  Get rid of it.  You’ll probably feel better for doing so.

How do you keep the toys from piling up in your home?  Do you have a game plan?

BTW…… I’m adding new blogs to my blogroll! Please, check them out!

I bought two bunches of bananas.  The first bunch as just barely ripe.  The second bunch was slightly green.  Since my children are a bunch of banana-eating monkeys (see what I did there?), I figured the second bunch would be just perfect by the time the first bunch was consumed.

I separated the first bunch into “singles”, but forgot to separate the second bunch.  This morning, I realized the second bunch was already spotted, while the ones I had separated were a perfect shade of yellow.

So, even though the first batch was more ripened when I purchased them, because I separated them, the process slowed down.  The ones that stayed in a bunch ripened faster.

I have now proved the theory that if you separate your bananas from the bunch, they will last longer.

I think I’m more excited about this accidental experiment than my children, but I’m sure, once they realize this means this will keep our bananas from going bad before they are eaten, they’ll be just as excited too.

(Also, you can use your mushy, super-ripe bananas for banana bread.  I usually have good intentions to do this, but… well, let’s just say it happens now and then, but not as often as it should.  There have been many a banana who has found it’s way into the trashcan.)

My children really have no concept of what “school” really is.  In truth, the only school they understand is that little class they go to on Sunday morning.  In fact, when my daughter was asked where she goes to school, she usually replies with, “I go to Sunday School!” 

We’ve been talking about school lately, especially now that most of my daughter’s friends are now attending school.  I have explained that we are teaching our children at home, so they are “homeschooled”, while the majority of her friends are going to a building called a “school”.

Fortunately, two of her closest friends are also homeschooled, so she is not totally alone in this.

Merikalyn and Nolyn are getting to the stage where they want to do school work.  They ask me to help them write words and sentences.  My daughter is currently flipping through her workbook and pretending to teach students (which are invisible to me).  She’s teaching them about “Asleep in the Booty”.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, read this short entry from my regular blog: “Asleep in the What?”.  You’ll also get a good laugh!

School is fun to them.  They learned their colors while taking walks with me and pointing out “red cars” and “yellow flowers”, instead of bending over a book and pointing at blocks of hues.  This is how most of our learning is done- by having wonderful conversations in which we talk about what we’re doing and what we see.

My munchkins are so young now, but it will be interesting, in several years, to hear what they think about their education and method of schooling.

The McGoobie chefs voted to make jambalaya (with andouille sausage).  I love it because it doesn’t require too many dishes (less clean up) and makes a great one-pot meal (because it includes meat, vegetables, and grains)!

The Mohawked McGoobie was in charge of placing the andouille in the pan.  Merika McGoobie cut up vegetables (bellpeppers and onions) with my assistance before we dumped in sliced okra and minced garlic along with a can of organic diced tomatoes (optional). Meanwhile, a pot of rice bubbled to tender perfection.

The Head Chef (that’s me) gathered bowls from the cupboard.  Keagan and I set the table while the pot of jambalaya simmered.  (Okay, I set the table. He slobbered on my spoon.)

By the way, a good way to de-slime okra is to cook it (by itself) with a little vinegar, then rinse it after a couple minutes. If you don’t have vinegar, like juice will do just fine.  Rinsing with water, then continuing to cook it for a bit longer, will wash away the tart taste.

The Jambalaya at the McGoobie Kitchen was rated 2 thumbs and 2 big toes up.  It’s a favorite around here!  Just load up your bowl with rice and spoon the jambalaya over it.  We keep the rice and “soup” part of it separate so the rice doesn’t get too mushy if we happen to have leftovers to set aside.  We usually serve it with saltine crackers, which are a staple in our household!

Baby Keagan will likely grow up to be an essential part of the McGoobie kitchen, as he often has front row seating when it comes to our cooking productions.

See…

If you wear your baby while cooking, please be extremely careful.  Make sure you aren’t cooking anything that splatters (like bacon).  Also, pay attention to what your baby is doing.  You don’t want him sticking his hands or feet into any pots or pans or pulling them off of the burners!  You could also wrap your child on your back, which is much safer.

Keep a Journal:
Help your children make a journal. You can either buy a journal, or make one using a variety of materials.  For example, you can staple loose leaf papers (lined, unlined, or construction paper) into a manila file folder.  Have the children decorate the front. You may want to put a picture of your child on the cover.

Have them write in this journal on a daily or weekly basis.  Include pictures of what they did throughout the week if possible.  Younger children will have a lot of doodles and scribbles, but that’s okay.  You may want to ask them what is going on in their pictures or scribbles, and make note of it at the bottom of the page.  If your children like to write a lot, you could make a journal for each month.  Making one out of a file folder is a great idea because they don’t take up much space and you can save them for a long time.  You could punch holes in these folders and keep them all in a binder to remain organized.

You can also make themed journals.  My children’s favorite journal (they flip through it on a weekly basis) is one about things they enjoy, titled “About Me“.  With my help, they cut pictures out of magazines and pasted them into their journal book.  It’s made out of different colors of construction paper. 

Texture Time!
This is a fun activity, but can be messy as well.  Get out finger paints and squirt them on a plate or tray. (You could line a cookie sheet with foil for easy clean-up.)  Wad up a grocery bag for the kids to dip in the paint and “stamp” on their paper.  You could keep it wadded up by wrapping it with a rubber band.  Also, have leaves and other items (like lace) they could dip in the paint and stamp on their sheets.  If you have a couple little cars (Hot Wheels), show them how to run the wheels through the paint and roll them on the paper.  Talk about the textures and colors you are using.  Look around your house (inside and out) for different textures you can use to paint.  For example, you could use the eraser end of a pencil to stamp perfect polka dots!  Lids from water or soda bottles have ridges on the side that can be “rolled” on the paper to reveal a neat texture.  Let your children help pick out the textures you will use. Don’t forget, they have wonderful textures at their fingertips…. literally! Show them how their hands have special, unique grooves!

Dance-Dance
Put on goofy clothes and turn on music with a good beat.  Start out by dancing “freestyle” around the house.  Then have one person make up a dance move and the rest of the people copy it. Take turns making up moves.  If you are able, video tape part of it and play it back at the end of the session.  It’s a great way to get in some exercise and have fun doing it (especially for parents).

Working Together
Use a scarf or rope to tie together your children’s legs (three-legged-race style).  Ask them to do something, and watch while they struggle to work together to complete the task.  Once they have mastered that, tie them back to back or hand to hand.  My children absolutely LOVE this game.  They giggle through it!  Parents can try this together to show them how it works! It’s quite hilarious! 

For goodness sakes, let them be bored!

We live in a society that looks at boredom like it’s a disease.  Sometimes we need time just to be still. Sit. Still. Quiet.

Give them many opportunities to go outdoors.  Travel with them.  Take them places, even if it means dragging out your errands and allowing more time.

Let your children be children.  Don’t pressure them to learn things at a fast rate so you can have the most intelligent child in your group of friends.  Learning shouldn’t be made into a competition.

Let your children be children.  Let them play silly games.  Spend time pretending with them.  Let them follow you around, let them ask you a million and one questions.  Allow them to cry.  Allow them to laugh.  Allow them to talk to you. 

Don’t ever tell your children, “Big boys don’t cry.”  Big boys do cry. And little boys cry too.

Cuddle them when they are hurt.  Everyone, even adults, need a little babying now and then.

Let your children be children.  Remember, they will break your favorite dish.  They will draw on your favorite book.  They will spill a large cup of grape juice on your freshly steamed carpets.

But they are children.  And children will make mistakes.  YOU will make mistakes.  And mistakes are part of learning.

Allow your children to be children.  Set boundaries, yes.  Correct them with kindness and love.  Give them plenty of hugs and kisses.  Sing them to sleep.  Read loads of their favorite books.  Play hide-and-go-seek.

Make time for your children.  Make time for your children NOW so they will make time for YOU later.

C

M

T

What are your favorite personal homeschooling ABCs?

You can read the entire article HERE.

No, it’s not an antibiotic, it’s
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.
That’s a lot of zeros.
And folks, that’s a lot of love.

(Btw, where do they learn these things, and is that how much money Oprah has?)