New Year Resolutions

       Do you make resolutions? I think they're great if you're able to make small attainable goals and focus on progress instead of perfection. I stopped doing resolutions years ago. I'm not sure when, but I'm guessing it was probably when I was pregnant with Little Toughie. I knew there was no way I could commit to anything just a few months away from giving birth.

     When I think about resolutions for myself I try to think of something that's a little out of my comfort zone. I've made exercise and eating healthy (as much as I can...see below) part of my lifestyle since I enjoy both. I can't resolve to read more (I read 43 books last year...how much more can I read?) I declutter and clean on a regular basis (I have donation boxes sitting in my hallway).

     So, I try to do something different and creative. In 2020, since Little Toughie missed out on all the baking I used to do, I decided to bake a cake once a month. That became slightly challenging when everyone started stocking up on flour (I hope you're all expert bread bakers now)! Despite the empty shelves I was able to bake twelve cakes that year.

     Last year, I was going to do a Filipino dish every month, but if access to flour was troublesome in 2020, access to Filipino ingredients coupled with a shut down here and a shut down there made it practically impossible. Perhaps this year I'll try to post on the blog every couple of weeks. Or I'll actually edit one of the books I wrote for NaNoWrimo. Maybe I'll take an idea out of my Year of Prompts book once a week and let the creative writing juices flow. 

     I haven't decided on anything like that for this year but I can tell you that we've started 2022 diving into the New Testament as a family. Normally, I would purchase a devotional for each of us to start in the New Year but there was a disconnect that didn't sit well with me. If we're all reading different devotionals it makes it hard to discuss, share and dig deeper. We're starting with the NT because it always seems to fall by the wayside toward the end of the year once the holidays approach. I know mine and my family's weaknesses and our focus starts to slowly dwindle as soon as Thanksgiving dinner has been consumed.

     We're using the Bible Recap as our guide. We love it! Everyone does their reading on their own time, usually in the morning. We then make a point to listen to the corresponding podcast together either during or immediately after dinner. We're all enjoying it and The Principal and I love the commentary from the podcast. Very insightful!

     It's not too late to start. It never is. I once heard someone say that there a lot of Christians who are Biblically illiterate. They've either never read their Bible or they've only read bits and pieces. Or they've relied solely on their pastor, minister or priest to tell them what's in it and what it's about. As followers of Christ we need to understand His word in order to respond properly. We can't do that if we don't even read it! We won't know if what we're being taught is Biblical truth or someone pushing an agenda under the guise of God's word. Everyone wants their way, not God's way. If you read your Bible you'd know that God's ways are much, MUCH better.

So, start reading it. Especially now, when there is so much divisiveness...everywhere and in everything. Strive for progress, not perfection.

Kindergarten, Week 24

      This week in our Sonlight curriculum I saw a little note letting us know that we only have 12 more weeks of school.  Wow!  I just know those weeks will come and go quickly.  I'm already in the midst of planning the curriculum for next school year.  I'm sure we'll use Sonlight again with just a few adjustments.  I'm looking into a different Language Arts and a different Math program because the ones we have progress too slowly for my daughter.  Perhaps that's actually a good thing as it gives it time to sink in.  I just don't want her to get bored.  With Math, I have to limit the amount of pages she completes in her workbook because she wants to finish all of it in one sitting.  I have to supplement with worksheets from Mama's Learning Corner (Sign up like I did and you get member exclusive printables, but her freebies great freebies too!)

     Week 24 took us into the first books of the New Testament.  My daughter was excited to know that we were going to read about the birth of our Savior, His humble beginnings and the work He did in such a short time.  It brought up conversations about heaven and who would be there and who wouldn't be there.  She said she would ask Mary, "Were you surprised to be the mother of Jesus?" and she'd ask the angel Gabriel, "How hard is it to fight Satan?"  She said she would also like to ask Jesus how it felt to rule the world with His love.  Yes, these are the kinds of conversations that come up every day when we read our Bible.

     This week I decided to start having the kids read their bibles (or devotional) independently every morning.  Though we read the Bible together daily, I liked the idea of them starting their morning with God before taking on the day; I wanted them to have their own quiet time with Him.  I probably should have started this sooner, but I wanted to get a feel for our school year and how much time we'd have in the morning before we had to bring A380 to school.  Plus, my daughter wasn't reading independently yet.  She is now though, yay!  Both she and her big brother plant themselves on the couch every morning after they're done clearing their breakfast dishes and getting themselves ready.  While they're doing that I'm either getting the morning chores done or spending my own time with our Father.  By the time they're done we discuss what they've read for a few minutes and then head out the door.  We take the time to pray together in the car on the way to my son's school before we part ways.

     My Little Toughie is so excited that she's able to read on her own that she created a bookmark by tracing her hand:

     Cute, right?  I like that her nails are colored.  There's an actual arm inside the book too, colored purple.  You can do this to get your kids excited about reading on their own.  When my daughter told me what she was making I gave her a sheet of cardstock to make it sturdier.  Works like a charm!  Or you can go ahead and use paper but cut it out and either stick it onto a piece of a cereal box (or some sort of thin cardboard) and then trim that out.

     That's all for now.  Have a wonderful week!

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