Monday, February 28, 2011

Attempting to Break the Mold!

I wish I could find a way to dip my entire house along with all it's contents in bleach!!! It seems like everything in my house is growing mold! Of course, I'm being overly dramatic and not EVERY thing is moldy, but there sure seems to be a lot!

I just cleaned a window sill in my kitchen today. It's the one that our garbage can sits under. Oh, my goodness!! I can't believe we lived with it like that for even a few days!! I guess it's because of where it's situated where it doesn't get much direct sunlight. Also I have a bookshelf right in front of that window which holds my bread maker and some other kitchen stuff. The height of the bread maker plus the shelf blocks the window sill and part of the window. It's just sooo hard to keep ahead of places like that where the condensation from the window sits.

We are also having to do some mold management in our bedroom. A few years ago we did a renovation in our room adding wood laminate floors, repainting and putting up nice wallpaper. I LOVE my country bedroom! Unfortunately, the mold loves the glue on the back of the wallpaper too. We are starting to see areas at the seams where mold is growing. So the wallpaper is going to have to go! We are also going to have to keep a dehumidifier going 24/7. It's such a joy living in Florida!

Not sure if it's a product of living with the mold but I ended up with a very painful ear infection. I spent a couple of sleepless nights due to the pain from it. When I went to the doctors she said there was green gunk inside my ear! She gave me antibiotic ear drops and a pain med so that I could get some sleep. I believe the infection is all cleared up now, thank you LORD!!! Now if we can just get a handle on all this mold maybe I can manage to stay well for a while!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Making Learning Meaningful

Ok, so I haven't blogged in what feels like forever! To tell the truth I got a bit burned out on writing for a bit there! I didn't even think that was possible for me! I needed to write 24 150-200 word articles within a week. My brain was sore at the end of that week but I did it! Now I've got the writing bug again!

I went to a Homeschool Conference this past weekend. One of the speakers, a dear friend of mine, encouraged us to find out what our children's strengths are. We should then use that knowledge in our homeschools to help inspire our children to soar in their strengths while improving in the areas they are weak.

So last night I pulled out the book I'd ordered months ago but hadn't gotten around to actually reading, "How to Discover and Develop Your Child's Strengths" by Jenifer Fox, M.Ed. I'm barely into the first chapter and I'm already being challenged and feeling inspired.

In chapter 1, Ms. Fox says, "True learning is all about making connections between what you learn and how it makes for a better life or a better world. Without these important connections, children are not engaged in learning. When children are not engaged in learning, they stop paying attention. This is where the downward spiral into weakness begins."

I had to stop and think about that for a little bit. Then I felt the Holy Spirit telling me to put the book down and go online to search for a math program that would help my children make those connections. My first thought was, "Ok, after I finish this chapter." But I felt like I needed to do it right away.

I set the book aside and googled "relevant math". That didn't give me very many relevant options. So I googled "meaningful math" instead. That brought me to this site: http://www.cornerstonecurriculum.com/. Now we're getting somewhere! The more I've read on this site the more I'm convinced that this is the program that I want to use with my kids. Dare I even go so far as to say, this is the curriculum God wants me to be using with my kids?

You see, my kids have been struggling with math for far too long now. I hate to admit it but my 7th grader still hasn't mastered his multiplication. It has been very frustrating for me as a mom who also struggles with math and math concepts.

MyHero says that we need to wait to purchase these books after we see how much it is going to cost to repair our only vehicle. It currently refuses drive over 10 mph and is consequently staying the night and possibly more at the dealership. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to getting these books. I may actually learn to enjoy teaching math!