Category Archives: Management

About doing and coordinating

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Ice Cream

We made ice cream with/for our company last night.

Our current ice cream maker only freezes about a quart at a time, so even though we have two canisters, and our recipe is closer to 1/2 gallon, we still only have an anti-climax when ice cream is ready. Especially with two families of five looking at that little brown tub.

So why do we have such a piddly small producer? Because it was the third ice cream maker we bought in as many years of marriage.

In the first 2 1/2 years we wore out two Rivals. Sure they worked well enough, though loudly, but they were not made for frequent or many uses (like, say, weekly. Forever.).

Inside the motor was a thin plastic washer to keep the metal parts from rubbing against each other and getting hot. This washer did not survive our use-pattern with any grace.

~~~

So we were telling this sob-story to our guests, and the husband’s response was, “You must be doing something right; you’re both so thin!”

I suggested modifying the describing terms to, “Still wear the same clothes,” which I felt was more accurate.

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Yes, honestly, sometimes I do need to write as much as I need sleep.

I find “comments” sections on blogs such great writing prompts. I got this whole post from a comment I wrote this morning.

This year is the second in a row I’ve gotten the girls mylar heart balloons for v-day. I talk about it being a special day to remember that we take care of the people we love and do nice things for them.

I’ve *got* to codify my v-day line by next year. What I’ve written here is a better/more-concise rendition then what they’ve gotten so far. It’s sort-of a reiteration of the two lines I’ve been using all week (*With effect* I must add!!!):

  • “Family means taking care of each other.” (Yes, God did implicitly say you’re your brother/sister’s keeper) and
  • “Don’t cause problems.” i.e., Those things in your control? *Avoid* them.

We have had the most peaceful, loving and nurturing last three days. I’m sure it’s special provision for my run-down state. I’m so thankful for provision.

I’ve still been supervising and refereeing, of course, but is seems to be on a distinctly smaller scale, and much less a big deal.

And Jay’s been out camping in the cold all night (forecast was -5 to -20 F) so I’ve been praying he wasn’t the one who’s sleeping bag got “wet” for this exercise (He has a hard enough time already, keeping warm when he’s not moving. Let the man have his sleeping bag in the snow cave.)

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Charlotte Mason’s Teaching Philosophy

Charlotte Mason: What I’ve pieced together so far:
(All things that appeal to me)

  • Formal schooling doesn’t start until age six*
  • No special textbooks—everything (except math, I suppose) drawn from good writing
  • Word-based
    • reading (good writers, good books, chosen to shape character)*
    • memorization* (giving the child something substantial to meditate on)
    • and narration,* early on a child’s answer to essays or composition, but the beginning of training the mind to formulate and organize the information it is taking in.
  • Lots of reading/reading aloud all through schooling*
  • Short lessons* (“quality over quantity” and working withing the natural human patterns of remembering/attentiveness)
    • The schooling of the day is ideally finished by lunch-time*
  • Pre-school seems to be mostly about observing the world around you and using the every-day.* (This idea was a relief to find.)
    • This in contrast to Montessori or other pre-school programs that utilize all sort of cool little doodads that have no further purpose after preschool
    • And have to be bought and stored.
    • Emphasis on learning from the environment that is, rater than changing the environment to make it “learning-conducive.”
  • Art and foreign language elements as a matter of course.
  • Large emphasis on God/the Bible/Creation-study*
    • (Though, oddly enough, she was one of the many Christians in her era who thought Evolution was compatible with the Bible)
  • Independent creative play encouraged/required**

So much of what I’ve been reading so far feels like an uncanny fit. I’m a little nervous because it seems to emphasize one main learning style, but with so many elements (*) already things that fit my personality/our lifestyle, I’m definitely researching this further.

One interesting element that is very like to the way I think involves avoiding “unit” studies. By the discription I read, “units” present multiple subjects around a connecting theme.

CM’s objection to this practice is that the children may be trained to expect adults to make their connections for them, rather than making connections on their own (and thereby training their brains).

This was interesting for me mainly because I seem to be making random connections all the time, and it’s kind of fun to imagine encouraging that sort of thing.

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Daily Life

Had a very peaceful day today.

All three kids were doing a wonderful job of entertaining themselves constructively. All three impressed me.

The last several weeks have been challenging because the kids seem to be working as a team to keep me short shrift on sleep.

I’ve been very unproductive. Or, less productive than I imagine I’d be with more rest.

Everything I’m doing is productive in it’s own way (like researching homeschooling methods–I’ll have to choose something eventually), but the volume of what I’m doing is not large enough to prevent a backlog.

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Applicable Bible Verses

I mentioned in another post the first verses we taught our girls and how they responded.

We’ve begun a new round (and type) of memorization recently.

After a hiatus (where we did no verses at all), Natasha began responding very well to working on her Sunday School verse at bedtime. I like that verse very much, but I was beginning to think about how we explain verses to little kids.

Then I started wondering about the application bit of it. That led me to look for verses that have immediate applicability at the age they are now.

When Natasha made the connection between her song (“Lift up Your Countenance”) and what she saw (a fussy sister), that was her first instance of extracting application (or at least, relation) from words she’d memorized.

So in an effort to replicate that type of experience, I made a “set” of verses, distinguished by color, and printed out several pages and hung them around the house:

Hebrews 12:11

No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Psalm 139:14

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

 

Ephesians 4:29

No rotten talk should come from your mouth, but only what is good for the building up of someone in need, in order to give grace to those who hear.

I love the attitude of Psalm 139:14. I also like the concrete elements of Hebrews 12:11 and Ephesians 4:29.

Tonight Jay came in as we were practicing “the pink one,” and joined in. Immediately the tenor of the whole exercise changed. We did the verse as a family, several times, and then Natasha volunteered (for the first time) to say it on her own. There was much giggling, fun and encouragement as Natasha worked her way from beginning to end.

We gave her a word when she got stuck, and encouraged Melody to prompt from her few memorized phrases. It was the family-ist recitation time I can remember. Melody took a shot at it too.

And, if you’ve never heard a 2-year-old say things like “enjoyable,” “Later on, however,” and, “peace and righteousness,” you’ve really got to try and coax those out of her sometime. It was pretty great. The girls were so jazzed by their success they requested (and we practiced) the other two for a while also.

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Current Goals

So, here they are. I have a detailed version of this on my fridge as a reminder. (I also have this on my fridge.) I included the details under #1 to explain why my list from yesterday was so encouraging to me.

  1. Short-term: Create more structure to the children’s and my day.
  • More planned activities in the home (e.g. crafts w/ Mama)
  • More including of the children in housework.
  • Reading at non-sleep times.
  • Music practice as a matter of daily-life
  • Memory verse rehearsal
    • Medium-term: Get Novel presentable.

    • Long-term: Work in habits to make them automatic and make life easier.


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So Proud of Myself

If I get around to posting the goals I drew-up last night, you’ll understand better why these were so significant to me. Either way I enjoy going back over my morning and creating a “done” list:
Today (and it’s just naptime) I

  • Did an involved (messy, new) craft with the girls
  • Had an extended reading time

Both while Elisha was still awake. (Both firsts.)
I also

  • directed (and enforced/followed-through) cleaning up after breakfast and each activity as it was finished, resulting in a slightly tidier house at naptime than at waking this morning.
  • had some instrument practice-time
  • helped Melody use the Baby Taylor
  • Took pictures
    • Elisha pulled up to his knees today. Is working at getting his feet under him.
    • The girls working on their art projects
    • Natasha mugging for the camera (These are going to have to be in the next batch we put on-line. They were amazing.) and washing the table.

Now everyone is down and I’ll be able to do a bit of reading before I clean up the front room some more. The bedrooms are still cluttered, but I expect we’ll get them some more after nap.

I figure part of the success is me shifting my whole focus to these things (I think lists are good for me sometimes), and part of it is Elisha reaching some magical age where he (his personality, whatever) clicks into the gears of what’s going on in our family, and he fits the workings. I am very encouraged.

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Praying for my kids.

I’ve prayed for my children since before they were born. But I don’t think I’ve ever been as impressed with the complete need of it until tonight, as I worked on massaging their names into a passage of scripture where Paul is describing his prayer for the church at Colosse.

Natasha’s version (I have all three children integrated with this passage):

Dear Father God,

I lift Natasha Joy before your throne and ask that you would fill her with the knowledge of your will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

I pray this in order that she may live a life worthy of you and may please you in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to your glorious might so that she may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully give thanks to You, who have qualified her to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

I pray you would rescue her from the dominion of darkness and bring her into the kingdom of the Son you love, in whom she has, waiting, redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Before I re-wrote that last paragraph, I don’t think I saw so clearly the spiritual position of my children. And while I believe in that whole age-of-accountability thing (another discussion, sometime, I’m sure), this is the position I must labor and pray from.

When Betsy told me the story of her 4-year-old accepting Christ, I sensed the relief in her voice, and I rejoiced with her at the event. Reflecting on it now, I think more of the relief. Here is one child translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. One piece of my heart safely transplanted to the garden of my eternal home.

I begin to understand the fervency of my grandmother’s prayers for her sons, that she would see them come to Christ.

I pray you would rescue her from the dominion of darkness…

That image is so stark and clear. I feel I want to keep it before me, that I would be ever focused and purposeful in my guiding my children toward the truth.

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Taking Medicine

Thank God for yummy medicine!

Elisha’s been teething and is now having pressure in his ears. But he’s taking his “symptom managers” without a blink and they’re doing their jobs (Aw man– has it been 6-hours already???).

He’s so good at it I can give him the “children’s” strength instead of the infants’ drops. He has to take a larger volume* to get his full dose, but since he’s so good at it, it doesn’t matter. This way I only have to have one bottle, and it’s the less-expensive stuff too.

Nice

* Infant drops are the most concentrated formula, since the purpose is to have the smallest most effective dose.