Monday, October 12, 2015

Our Days

Having 4 kids six and under is challenging. Some days challenging is an understatement, others I feel like I actually might have things together. One of those days happened recently. The baby slept, I was able to get out my camera and document some of this...I felt renewed.

We have been having some really nice days in Arkansas lately. It's still warm enough to enjoy being outside but not totally hot. One afternoon we decided to take school outside on a blanket in the back yard. 







Jackson works so much better when he's not being forced to sit down. If he can stand, hop, lay down, basically anything to keep from sitting completely still, he is much better off. 

We had a major victory this week. Jackson read for the first time! At the advice of a friend we ordered a set of Bob books. These are a set of 12 easy readers. They start off with a couple of book containing only 3 letters. We've been working on letter sounds for several weeks and I really wanted to see if he could apply that in a practical way. He did great! He read two of the books. It was slow but he was so proud of himself. I got to watch that light bulb come in inside of him. He gained a lot of confidence in himself too. 

It is the coolest thing to be able to watch your kid, especially one that has struggled, get something.

It gave me a renewed sense of purpose when it comes to homeschooling. It's amazing how God does things like that. I think it was the day before that I had a mini breakdown to Jordan about being a horrible parent/ teacher, our kids aren't going to learn anything kind of deal. Those are hard moments, especially when you know God has called you to do this but you totally feel inadequate. 
I also think it's God's way to get me to depend on him. He brings me to situations where I know I can't continue on without Him. It's pretty cool to sit back and watch how it has unfolded now that I'm on the other side of it.



6 comments:

  1. All 4 of my kiddos were ages 7 and under at one point, and I remember those days well. Four years later, I can say it gets much, much easier. Looks like you had a fun day outside. What a great idea!

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    1. Thanks! Anytime we can get outside it seems to lighten the mood a bit.

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  2. Great pictures! Beautiful Quilt! Yay for Jackson! Don't feel bad! I think we ALL have those breakdowns!!!!!

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    1. Thanks. It was a quilt my great grandmother made. Perfect for moving school work outside.

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  3. This is so amazing Amanda! I remember when Sam's reading took off and it was so great to see whole new worlds open up for him. And you are an awesome mom. We all have those days where we feel like we're failing so let me be here to cheer you on.

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    1. Thanks! It is so fun to see them "get" something!

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