raising rileys

Ever have those mornings where there's a general aura of grumpiness going around? Maybe not in your home, but it occasionally happens in our home. I think it usually relates to one sort of stress or another when it comes from me or my husband, and when it comes from one of the kids, I can oftentimes correlate it to not enough sleep or some sort of little sickness (a cold or something) making it's way through our home. Either way, the reality is that sometimes grumpiness takes a bit of a hold on us.

exhausted yet fulfilled

By about 1:30 today I was feeling pretty exhausted. As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been working on a lot of things trying to get caught up and doing my best to put my full energy and heart into our homeschool (along with all the other regular life stuff). I think we're doing pretty well, but boy, it's no small effort! That's why at around 1:30 I was scooting the boys out the door so they could play a while and run around in the backyard while I could sit down and take a break for a few minutes!

beginnings

We just finished our first week of school! This year is different from last year because I've added purchased curriculum to our day. Last year Matthew was 4, and we did a lot of child-led learning, reading, and exploring which was a wonderful, beautiful experience. It was a year I will treasure always. This year I felt it was time to increase some structured learning while still maintaining the outdoor time and reading, creative time and child-led approach. I think figuring out curriculum and planning is a balancing act that looks a little different for each family, and maybe even different from year-to-year and from child-to-child. So far I'm very happy with what we're doing. Still working out the kinks, still trying to figure out how to do things better (I'm sure we'll always be trying to do that).

HomeschoolElizabeth RileySeptember 20, 2016homeschool, homeschooling, homeschoollife Comments

on humility & time management

It’s Monday, and the school year is fast approaching. I am excited for it! Last school year when Matthew was four, I viewed it as my ‘preparation year’ for homeschooling. The year I’d take to develop the self-discipline to homeschool and to figure out how to weave it into our family’s busy life and to try out some different teaching techniques. It was a wonderful year and agreat learning experience for me. I feel so drawn to homeschool for our children, for our family—but along with many other moms, I’ve asked myself, “but how?? How can I find the time in my already busy life to do this?” Here are a couple of things that are helping me. I hope that maybe they are helpful you too.

mothers, listen with your heart

The other morning Matthew rushed into me with a sweet smile and twinkling eyes. I was working on something at the kitchen table. "I have a secret for you," he said. "But you'll have to listen with your heart." I stopped what I was doing and turned sideways in the chair to face him. He'd never said that before, and the profoundness of the last part struck me. "Okay, I'd love to hear your secret."

MotherhoodElizabeth RileyMarch 29, 2016homeschool, family, faith, listenwithyourheart Comments

eating whole: breakfast time

I like our family to eat as many whole and unrefined foods as possible. I believe the more whole foods children eat when they are young, their palates will develop to appreciate whole foods and they'll have less of a craving or taste for more refined foods (which I believe leads to healthier habits). With that said, we still do occasionally eat some sugary cold cereals and some other refined things, but I try to keep it to a minimum. We try to have them as treats rather than meals.

Nourish & CreateElizabeth RileyMarch 12, 2016family, homeschool, cooking with children, eating wholeComment