Playful Parenting

I borrowed this book from the library after reading wonderful reviews about it on Amazon. It has helped us to laugh more, wrestle, problem solve, and discipline in a lighthearted matter. When I ask the boys what they did at school, they will often say, "Nothing." But when I use a favorite toy to ask them, they gladly open up. When we play with them, they are happy to play by themselves soon after.

We sing, dance, talk in funny voices, make nonsense rules and reverse roles.  I am enjoying our time together so much more now instead of feeling exhausted, repeating things over and over, and resenting myself for groaning at Candyland for the 50th time. I highly recommend this book. It tells you things you probably already know but it's good to be reminded of how much children get out of playing with their favorite playmate... you.

Playing With Your Food

Snack time is more fun when we get to play with our food! Marshmallows, fruit strips, butterscotch chips, pretzel sticks and wheat thins became the building materials to make snowmen, houses and slides.

Excited About Homeschooling

An emailed arrived a few weeks ago saying that the kids would not be going to their local school Elsie Roy due to overcrowding. We moved last year just so we could be in the catchment. The school is two blocks away. We moved in time to register at the district office which was a pain to get to (we got lost for a while), and we were required to fill out forms ahead of time just to go there and wait, wait, wait around to be processed. 
We discussed options. Private school would be too expensive. Catholic School is less so but we are not Catholic. The kids who didn't get into Elsie Roy would be sent to Lord Roberts which is an older and much larger school. I decided to read some articles about homeschooling and boy did I get inspired.
I've decided to give homeschooling  try for at least a year. Instead of having 6 hours a day of free time to myself, I want to invest this time and energy in my children. I want them to love learning. I want them to find who they are and what interests them. I want them to learn and grow in their own time without being hurried by the ringing of bells, the pressure of exams and grades, and need to conform to their peers. I want them to use their senses and experiments to absorb information instead of getting it from a text book. I want us to be able to take vacations off season and go to Hawaii several times a year to spend time with family. I want to adapt to changes in my husband's job schedule and location. I want to spend the best part of the day with my kids instead of the mornings when we're rushed and the evenings when we're too tired. I want to have time and money for fun kids extra curricular activities without feeling overwhelmed.
The school year is not even over yet and we have played more, learned more, and gotten along better than ever before. I will be posting activities we've done, pictures from places we've been and books I've read on parenting and homeschooling. We are at the beginning of a great adventure. Life should be an adventure.