10 Questions I'm Asked. Often.

I'm part of a top ten get to know you what questions are you asked  link up today. I've gathered up some of the many questions I'm asked and listed them below and included a link to a post that further answers each question. So it's like a mini-interview today.  And I started with that picture of me again standing in the meadow where life looks strangely calm and yet I know that it's only like that for a minute so I'm smirking instead of really smiling...Grin.

1. Do you sleep? {there's no guilt in rest}
Yes, seriously, I've been asked that question. I happen to be one of those people that can get by on very little sleep - I stay up late and rise early. In fact, for me, it's actually a bit of a challenge to sit still -- which is probably why I write a great deal about grace, and letting go of perfection, and not comparing. I've also been known to sneak in needed naps on weekends.

2. When do you find time to write? {why do you write?}
I tend to write either very late at night or very early in the morning. Often, I'll write the main portion of my post at night and then work hard in the morning to get the links, pictures, and nitty-gritty details added. I do, however, have pieces of scrap paper scattered where I'll write tidbits from my day that inspire my writing. Including, grin, a bit of truth from my recent crazy walk to the park with all of my boys that turned into almost a comedy of errors.

3. Why intentional living and intentional parenting? {10 Days of Intentional Parenting}
My journey with living intentionally was ignited in the years following my husband's cancer diagnosis. While he was going through treatment many things in our life crumbled, including finances, and I began to realize that either I would become bitter or I would live a life of joy that is not dependent upon the circumstances around me. So, I began to focus on living intentionally and recognizing the gift found in the every day little things. I would force myself to find good in the midst of challenge, and after a while this became a habit and a way of life that I want to share.

4. Why do you homeschool? {our groove. 10 facts about how we homeschool}
Honestly? I don't have a great clear convicted answer. We started homeschooling when Hannah was young and in kindergarten, and then we moved for a bit to San Diego so we kept homeschooling because it was the middle of the year. Then when we moved back we thought just one more year and then, well, here we are -- homeschooling is simply a lifestyle for us now. I am grateful for all the years that we've been able to spend together and don't take them for granted.

5. What are your top posts? {dear moms with littles}
My Dear Mom letters are some of the most shared posts that I've written. I believe mothers are looking for encouraging words in a busy and competitive world and that these letters speak to women's hearts. Often, when I'm writing them, I'm writing them from the perspective of what I need to hear during the day or if I was having a conversation in a coffee shop with a friend. Posts dealing with Celiac Disease are a close second. That is truly humbling to me as often it's parents looking for advice on Celiac Disease and how to live gluten free in a gluten full world.

6. How did you know Samuel was sick? {what I learned. how I fought. what I did.}
This one pulls at my mother's heart. Samuel, prior to being diagnosed with Celiac Disease, was sick every 3 weeks on the dot. He was chronically dealing with croup, pneumonia, and strep. On top of all of that he had severe problems with his bowels that wouldn't clear up no matter what we did. Towards the end, right before he ended up in the hospital, he was fading right before our eyes. He could no longer walk around, would sleep most of the day, and wouldn't eat anymore. I knew that something was seriously wrong when my husband told me {about one week before he was hospitalized} that he was afraid that we were losing Samuel. Those were some of the scariest weeks of my life as we knew something was wrong yet we had no diagnosis.

7. What can you tell me about Celiac Disease? {one year. the celiac disease fight}
Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disease where the body cannot process any form of gluten. Gluten is found in wheat, barley, rye, and oats - or as I say - almost all foods found in the grocery store that are in a box. For an individual diagnosed with Celiac Disease they can never cheat and eat gluten as gluten destroys the villi that line that gastro track. These villi absorb nutrients, and when they are damaged or blunted {from gluten}the individual doesn't absorb nutrients and starves. Also, for cases like my Samuel, the immune system as a whole is compromised and therefore they become very prone to infections. Once Samuel went gluten free he began to grow and the chronic infections halted. He still lives with an immunes system that is slightly compromised, and when he gets ill he gets much sicker than everyone else. Today? I am grateful for his diagnosis and health.

8. Why do you write about joy? {so what's the deal with joy}
I write about joy for the same reasons as I try to live intentionally - to me the opposite of joy is bitterness. Society preaches happiness, and happiness is elusive, it's dependent upon circumstances, and while it is wonderful it is not something that can last. Joy to me, is a posture of one's heart.  It's a being willing to feel both the ups and downs and seeking out the beauty in the little moments of life that we are blessed with every single day. I don't want to live life waiting until everything becomes "perfect" because then I would spend my life waiting and miss out on the joy found right in front of me.

9. What vehicle do you drive? {sanity for the vehicle}
We don't have a vehicle that fits our family. We have a suburban and a smaller car and when our family goes anywhere together we simply take two vehicles. I'd love a larger vehicle, but at this point it just hasn't been possible. Chevy or Ford? If you're reading this and would love to bless a larger family with one of your wonderful vehicles just connect with me. :)

10. What other sites do you write for and do you speak? {there is never just a mom}
I am a contributing writer for HipHomeschool Moms and help to manage their social media. I also write for 5 Minutes for Faith. In the next months I will be joining the Home Educating Family Team of writers as well. Do I speak for events? Yes. I love the personal opportunities to share my heart and to meet so many wonderful people. In fact, I will be speaking at the upcoming BEECH Retreat. I'm just blessed to be included in the wonderful line-up of speakers and would love it if some of you could attend. If you're interested in having me speak some of my topics include : intentional motherhood, living awake - a life journey, homeschooling with joy, living a "loving the little things" life, finishing well, and managing a large family.

and of course, why coffee? well, that one is obvious. Coffee is a gift, to me, the very busy mom. As is gardening - it gives me something to start and finish and share with my little knight dressed children.

So that's it. Sharing short answers for some of the top ten questions that I'm asked. I hope they gave you a further glimpse into me, my friends! Stay in touch even more via facebook at finding joy blog or on twitter at finding_joy. And if you haven't subscribed via email and want finding joy in your inbox simply click subscribe. I think this post just might make it to the faq page...any more questions that you have?

Our style. Our groove. 10 facts about how we homeschool.

So many of you know that we homeschool. We've homeschooled for eleven years now. Eleven. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,and 11. One of the questions that I get so often is - what's your homeschool style? your method? your groove? Well, maybe not your groove, but you know, a homeschooling family, or any family, kind of gets into their today I'm going to rest in the grass and think type of groove.

So what's our style? I'd like to name us the Classical Literature Unit Study Unschooling yet Relaxed Learning family that uses Textbooks on occasion and enjoys a great deal of Delight Directed Learning along with Notebooking in the style of Charlotte Mason.

That's us.

But more than that, I've learned to not be a slave to a label. Can you imagine me spitting out that label up there every time someone asked what our style was? Way too long. Complicated. Rather I've learned to embrace our family, our learning style and groove, and to not let a label, a style, or a method define us.

Here's a bit of who we are - and our eclectic style - in ten ways.

1. We schedule knowing that life happens. No matter how I start in the fall - with the perfect program {we loved our year with Geography Matters and Trail Guide to Learning} or the perfect notebooking pages and the schedule mapped out till June - I can guarantee you that there will be something that will cause that schedule to veer off track. Quickly. Instead of getting discouraged with the days that get bumped, I've instead learned to embrace the days where we get double done and not fret on the days where we had to just exist in survival mode. It's a one day at a time philosophy - an embracing of today - and being okay to sit at the table, be family, and play Mancala in the morning before math. Even though we'll get math done later.

2. Kids are different. Not one of my children learns the same way. You'd think that after teaching for so many years that I would get the "system" down. Well, there really isn't a system and a program that fits each of them. There are things that we love and carry over - All About Learning Press/Spelling and Reading, Saxon Math {yep, that's what we use}, and more. Do I use them the same with each of them? No. But, I've learned to adapt our style at the moment to fit the child. Maybe I'll use more narration with one and copywork with another or more hands on versus read aloud to teach a certain topic.

3. Media. My kids have learned to use media. I'm not a parent that moves away from media, but rather I've adopted the idea to teach them to use it responsibly. Hannah started blogging when she 12 years old and through the blogging ended up discovering many of her talents. My husband and I want them to be aware of media, to be wise with media, to set boundaries and time limits with media, and to ultimately learn to use it for the good.

4. We read.  Both my husband and I are readers, and I think our love of books has trickled down to our children. We have always made sure to have many books in the home and have encouraged reading. Grin - we start them young.

5. We don't have a room set aside as a classroom. I wrote an entire post about this last year -- where we learn -- that details our home and learning environment . Bottom line? I'd love a room to store all of our homeschool items. The salt dough maps {made with a rice flour blend}, the piles of papers, the 3d models, the science experiments, and more. We just don't have a place in our home that we've chosen to dedicate specifically for that. So we learn everywhere - in the kitchen, on the couch, on the front porch,  on the back deck, and in the car. Learning in our home isn't set to one room. And, lol, it can include Star Wars books...

6. We never EVER have pencils that work. I don't care if I just spent $4.39 at Target. Inevitably one of the little boys will pump out all the lead in the mechanical pencils or all the other pencils will have dull tips. Please tell me I'm not alone....

7. Free to Explore. I am fairly delight directed in my teaching style even though I have a list of goals and topics and basics that I aim to cover each year. I have gotten to the point where I'm comfortable letting them run with a topic even though it's not on the schedule. Just recently Brennan found a science book about Elephants. For two days straight the conversations between the two of us consisted of Mom did you know that elephants can't jump or the african elephant has more wrinkles and is much bigger and that they can live to be really old and the african elephant has bigger ears to keep cool?

8. Coffee. It's our style. It's my style. Thanks to my faithful Keurig or runs to Caribou Coffee I tend to always have a cup of Joe next to me while I'm working. Just don't bump it so it hits my planner. And, sigh, yep, I'm often convinced into giving those littles just a sip.

9. Grace, grace, Grace. You've read my write about that need for grace. I have had littles in my house for my entire homeschooling career and I've learned about the need for grace. I'm going to say it again - just keep trying, keep working at it, but balance it with grace. Homeschooling, being a mother, having a toddler in the house - it all takes grace. I think the Lord gave me a Grace in my life to remind me to rest in grace.

10. Living Alive. Life can race by, the jobs can fill our page, the to-do list can be daunting, so much to do and so much to accomplish and yet, it can be so easy to be asleep and numb to all there is good around you.  It's a balance of learning and pushing the math facts {cause you know we need to know how to multiply} versus stepping back when needed and focusing on the heart. In our homeschool, in our family, and in our lives I want to foster this attitude of gratitude, joy, and respect for each other. And that attitude, that heart for our day in our family, means family matters, that hearts matter, and that we are so thankful for the gift of each day and the opportunity to spend time with each other learning, growing, and sharing life.

That's our homeschool, our life, our groove.

In ten reasons.

linking up with top ten tuesday and ihomeschoolnetwork
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thirty signs of summer

A simple post today with reasons - and pics from last summer - telling me that summer is here. Oh yes, and it goes beyond us wishing to have fresh corn on the cob bought from the farmer in the field almost every night. Which, by the way, at $4 for a dozen ears is absolutely amazing. Plus, I love pulling the car over by the corn field and stepping out and grabbing two bags with a dozen ears of corn.

So here are only thirty signs of summer. Because, you know, I could expand this to one hundred. :)

1. The air conditioner is running full blast before the sun comes out.
2. My hair gets poufy inside with the airconditioner running.
3. We do math in July because it's too hot to go outside and we decide it's more fun to stay cool and catch up on math facts.
4. Watermelon is for lunch.
5. And strawberry shortcake {with a gluten free shortcake} is for dinner.

6. The schoolwork from April is still on the door to the garage.
7. You count down the days until you can go to the lake.
8. Fishing is fun. {this is for those of you who live in Minnesota - besides look at that view.}

9. The house stays clean because everyone decides to play outside.
10. Curriculum catalogs that come in July become reading material at the beach.
11. Looking at pictures of snow makes you a bit nostalgic until you see the shovels hanging in your garage behind the rakes.
12. Your kids love sitting in the front yard watching construction vehicles roll by.

13. The garden is in bloom and you can finish that lesson on botany when you harvest the peas that started as seeds.
14. You finally finish the annual clothing {big sigh} switch.
15. The what shoes shall I wear today choice becomes flip flops or sandals?
16. If it's sunny you're outside playing. Or picking weeds. Or looking for raspberries.
17. You take pictures of fireworks.

18. A pony tail is the only hair style of choice versus the every other day choice during school months.
19. You go down to the laundry room to get cool not to just catch up on laundry.
20. You marvel at the amount of towels that one must wash and dry thanks to the constant flow of children that run through the sprinkler.
21. Then again, sprinklers are a family's best go-to friend during those hot summer months.

22. Iced coffee is the only coffee that one considers ordering at the coffee shop.
23. You write blog posts on the deck with birds singing, iced coffee in hand, and the sounds of sprinklers around.
24. You can finally attempt the science experiment of trying to cook an egg on the sidewalk on those extremely hot days. If that doesn't work you can look for ants.
25. You water your annuals twice a day to keep them alive while wishing that you had instead purchased more hardy perennials back at Lowes in May.

26. Garage sale signs are the norm on every street corner.
27. The littles want to play outside at 8am and you tell them it's a great time to go outside and to do more chores later while it's cooler.
28. Sunscreen sits on your counter.
29. Pool Noodles are used as light sabers in the backyard.
30. Oh yes, and in case you forgot point four about watermelon being for dinner, it can actually be for any meal and create great joy in those little one's lives. Watermelon {and summer} hear me roar!

How about for you?
What are your signs that summer is now here?

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This post is part of the ihomeschool network's top ten tuesdays linkup {answers to the why we love homeschooling are in italics} and is also linking up with my friend Angie's Top Ten Tuesdays. I've got thirty - so I think it qualifies!
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ten things moms with littles need

Technically, this post is about the top ten things that I must have as a homeschool mom. Well, I'll tell you that all of these things that  I need as a homeschool mom are also the things that I must have when I have littles around in my home. Which, by the way, I have had for the last {almost} sixteen years so yes, in case you were wondering, I've had a little in my life for many years now. And I've homeschooled for almost just as long. So today, I'm sharing with you my --

Top 10 Things Moms With Littles Need 

1. Patience. Of course, I had to start with this, but it is entirely true. You know that saying don't pray for patience because then you'll be put to the test? Well, I do pray for patience. And I'm put to the test, but honestly, I'd rather pray for strength and patience then try to do this entire parenting journey on my own strength.

2. Excellent Books. Invest in books for those littles. Keep a book basket full, find a curriculum that you can use with them and then do it. Tomorrow ***note*** this will actually be Thursday, May 31. I'll be sharing with you {and giving away a copy} of Elemental Science's Intro to Science's program - I love it because it intentionally focuses me {and reminds me} to pay attention to those younger ones who live in this house with me. They are eager to learn - we as moms just need to make sure to cultivate those moments and to grab the time to sit and read with them.

3. Good DVDs or Netflix. I'm giving you grace, right now, moms to put a dvd in during the day. If you don't do any media, just ignore point three, but I can seriously tell you that there have been many times {like dinner prep time} where I absolutely need those little ones to sit still and not get into almost everything. Some of my favorites? Leap Frog Learning DVDs, Veggie Tales {love the original ones - from, sigh, about sixteen years ago}, and Curious George. It's okay moms if you use media wisely with them - use it as a tool, you control it, and you have set the times.

4. Simple Puzzles. Keep them in a box that you take out now and then. I don't always keep the puzzles out - for one the pieces get lost - but also I love to use them during times when I'm working with an older, or cooking, or cleaning up the kitchen and I need those littles to be safely occupied in my sight. The puzzle pictured below? It's one of our favorites - Elijah and Samuel have spent many hours working on those various puzzles. And fighting, of course, over the orange pieces. But, despite that, I can truly say this puzzle by Melissa and Doug is a favorite.  Here's the link if you're interested: Melissa & Doug Animal Pattern Blocks Set

5. Crayons, Markers, Paints {yes, sometimes}, and other Art Supplies. You probably don't need to many reasons why - but let me just tell you - keeping the supply of crafty stuff for them helps keep them busy. Busy = good. I keep all of the art supplies {minus the markers and paints} on our main floor with the rest of our curriculum and books. The littles have a cabinet shelf full of coloring books and paper - and they are free to draw and create at anytime. This gives them a sense of space and purpose within our very busy days. They're watching Grace paint {part of her Trail Guide to Learning Curriculum by Geography Matters} and she's using the Klutz Watercolor For The Artistically Undiscovered Book Kit- {link}. When she paints she'll teach them what she's learned.

6. A Good Friend. There have been many times where the day is overwhelming {see my posts dear overwhelmed mom and dear overworked mom} and I just need a friend to tell me that it will be okay.  And just so you know, it will be okay. Those days with littles can be long and draining and defeating {after all didn't you just put all those blocks in the box?} and exhausting. Your long day is not a reflection of you as a mother - it's just life - and no matter how hard and tiring the day you are still accomplishing a great deal and raising a new generation. So find that friend. And be that friend.

7. Some type of PlayDough item. We can't use playdough since it's made with wheat flour - I either make my own {using a rice flour blend} or have purchased some gluten free dough. There are many options online though they are a bit pricey. Playdough is like point five - creativity items - these are the things that you need when you are working with olders and need five minutes of stillness.

8. Laminator. I love mine. My kids joke? Watch out mom has the laminator fired up -- guard your papers and things! I might like laminating just a bit. I use my laminator to laminate file folder games, simple projects, and more for them. It's worth the investment. And of course here's the link to my favorite laminator ever Scotch Thermal Laminator  {it should be a staple in a mother's home}.  Beyond the stuff for littles {I'll laminate book pages or make stories with them or letter projects} I use it for chore charts, bookmarks, labels, and whatever else I can get my hands on to laminate. ;)

9. Coffee or tea or whatever you need during those days. You know I love my coffee. And that's okay. Busy moms, homeschooling moms, moms need our treat during the day. Maybe it isn't one of those, but have something set aside for you that's a calming go-to when the milk spills on the floor at 9am. I love to have my warm mug of coffee {or a latte from Starbucks or Caribou} with me in the morning. I'll read my Bible Study, or give spelling words, or look at the pile of laundry that was just dumped out by the four year old that used to be folded, and I'll smell that coffee and exhale.

10. Grace. And finally, you truly must have grace during these days. Patience with yourself, with your children, with your spouse, and with well, the needs of life. When they are little you are almost always in a state of catching up. So even though you've got your schedule made, and your olders working, those little ones can quickly tear apart everything that you patiently put together. Expect it. Embrace the moments of calm and clean houses and everyone getting their work done and then don't be surprised when chaos ensues ten minutes later. That's grace. It's the ability to sit, to be still, to be grateful, and joyful and loving in the midst of busy. {to read posts dedicated to grace hop over to grace it's needed and giving yourself grace}

And a note to the homeschool mom - I have learned beyond all things to devote intentional time to those littles every single day. Set aside some minutes in the morning, have them help you after lunch, and then later in the day. The more they are involved in what you're doing the better. And I incorporate lessons so that they can do activities - coloring, working through science, doing their school as they love to call it. There will come a day when you'll be teaching without the littles underfoot, and as I've written before, you'll probably miss them. Just a bit.

Ten things, moms, that can make those hanging on, with the preschooler hiding in the bushes along the side of the deck, days at home with the littles just a bit easier.

To read my letter to you, the mom with the littles, simply click dear moms with littles.

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This Top Ten post if linked with Top Ten Tuesday at Many Little Blessings. It is also a part of the iHomeschool Network's Ten Weeks of Top Ten Tuesdays.

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ten things we love about paths of settlement

This year our family has been beyond blessed to review Geography Matter's Trail Guide to Learning Paths of Settlement. And when I say beyond blessed I truly mean beyond blessed. This year has proven to be one of the most enjoyable and fruitful homeschooling years that I have had in my ten plus years of home educating. So today, for Top Ten Tuesday, I thought I'd share with you ten things we love about Paths of Settlement.

1. It's produced by Geography Matters. I love geography. You are talking to the gal who entered geography bees when she was younger. This company produces excellent geography curriculums, but goes way beyond that with their Trail Guide programs - it is all-inclusive and amazing - literature based, thorough, and highly engaging. All I needed to add was math.

2. Ruth Beechick. When I first started homeshooling one of the first books that I read were the simple readers by Ruth Beechick. Her philosophy of learning includes a great deal of hands on learning and reading real books. Not just textbooks, but real, living books. Geography Matters includes quotes, examples, and encouragement from her throughout their books.

3. Mapping. Think back to point one -- about my love of geography -- and you'll get why I love this. Mapwork is an integral part of this history program. Grace, my fifth grader, is working on map work for each of the fifty states. She's also done various overlay map work showing different boundaries -- The Line of Proclamation, the Treaty of Paris boundary and so forth. Doing this mapwork furthers her understanding of the history that she's learning.

4. It includes science. Here's what I love -- the science is incorporated with the history studies. When we read about George Washington we learned about hurricanes, and blizzards, and weather. This year it's been earth science studies and how they've impacted each phase in settlement. We've studied water, and the water cycle, and even brought that to molecules, atoms and the Periodic Table. Every topic we've studied in science has an example of why we need to learn it in our history lesson. Brilliant, really - this allows the science to have examples and relatability.

5. Hands on. See the picture below? That's an early picture of one of our science lessons where we made a salt dough {yes, I made gluten free salt dough} map of the eastern coast of the United States and then {eventually} the continental shelf and ocean floor. I love that in addition to the books, reading, and paper work that there are active and engaging hands on activities.

6. Lapbooks. Yes, I wrote an entire post about Geography Matter's lapbooks {called Lapbooks Saved the Day} and how much I love them. Well, once again, I want to impress upon you how brilliant lapbooking can be for a student. It provides a portfolio, breaks up the day, and reinforces learning. We love looking through Gracie's lapbooks. This is one we did earlier in the year -- it's Unit 2 -- and you can see how history, science, and mapping are integrated.

7. Copywork. Copywork is amazing. Everyday Grace has a time of copywork. She's copied passages from her readers, from the Declaration of Independence, from the Constitution, from the Star Spangled Banner and more. Copywork teaches grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and sentence flow without tediousness. The more you copy, the more you learn. We can also do these exercises as narration which furthers the learning.

8. Quality of the Readers. Every unit there are several readers and then one read aloud. Our entire family listens as I read aloud. These books are amazing {I highly recommend reading them} -- I have learned a great deal about our country, about our Founding Fathers, and about integrity and courage as I've read them. The George Washington one is now on my must read list for all homeschoolers.

9. Planned out. It's all there. From copywork, to reading, to read-alouds, to grammar, to editing, to writing, to science, to history, to mapping, to cooking, and more. It's all there in Geography Matter's Trail Guide program. The main books are beautiful hardcover books that will last for years {and many students} to come. I love the convenience and the ease to my day -- I simply can open the book, print off the lessons, and off I go. Plus they include numerous charts which helps me keep track of where we've been and where we're going.

10. Great company, great friendships. I've been very blessed working along with those at Geography Matters. They have only been gracious to me {after my shoulder surgery and during some sick months} and have truly let me explore their curriculum so that my review is organic, authentic and not rushed. My words are written after using their curriculum for six months. To all of you at Geography Matters, those of you who have become friends, thank you. And thank you also for blessing our family with an incredibly dynamic and engaging year of learning.

So that's it. Ten things I love about Paths to Settlement. And just so you know, Paths of Settlement is the second in the Trail Guide to Learning Series. Paths of Settlement traces exactly that - the settlement paths that our country went through and the struggles for freedom and nation building throughout our history. Please take a moment and like the Paths of Settlements facebook page so that you stay up to date on products, reviews, and giveaways. And, if you have any questions regarding this curriculum, or how I use it across different levels of learning, about their Bible supplement {that's my next post}, or more, please don't hesitate to ask.

linking with Angie's Top Ten Tuesday

disclosure: I was given the Paths of Settlement program to review in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts and photographs are my own. No other compensation was given.