My Anti-bonkers Scheme!

"Do we have to do school today Mum?"

"Can I just play with lego?"

"I'm really tired today"

"This lesson is too hard!"

I'm sure we've all heard these delightful persistent comments as home school mummies at some time or another! 

Or maybe you've heard this? ...

"What do I have to do again?"

"I can't remember what you said to do"

"I was just looking at this picture ... I'm almost finished ... almost"

"What subject am I doing now?"

"Oh, no, I didn't get that quite finished ..."

 I was beginning to hear myself giving too many instructions and reminders time and time again, and I thought to myself ... this has got to stop or I'll go completely bonkers!

I planned and initiated an intense, organisational program, that I completed in one month, to establish order and structure in our home school days ...

... pppffffffttt yeah right!

You know what I use?

A 49c exercise book!

I call it our 'day book' and each child has one ...

... here's what they look like ...

They begin with the day and the date, and then I write out what is required for each child to complete each day.

The circles are their 'check-point' (a.k.a. the silent motivator!) 

My children know that when their check-points are ticked off (and their space tidied up), then they are free for the rest of the day! Obviously, I do require them to show me their completed work, so that I can make sure that they ARE ACTUALLY doing it, and doing it to a high standard! 

Here's the reasons why I love this method ...

#1.    It's so easy

#2.    It's very cheap

#3.    It's easy for the kids to follow and understand

#4.    I know that the kids are on track with their learning each week

#5.    It's great for writing little reminders and encouragements to them

#6.    There's no need to be 'precious' with them, as they cost so little!

#7.    A written record is kept in these books for their reporting

#8.   **My most favourite part** ... the kids motivate themselves!

#9.    I can add as little or as much as each child needs, or according to our days other                       activities.   

I also try and plan a week, sometimes only a few days, ahead ... but that's more for my benefit than the kids (consider it my 'anti-bonkers scheme'!)

There are weeks when I don't use these books for one reason or another, and let me tell you, it's so incredibly noticeable ... not in a good way. There's more distractions, less being achieved, and less productivity in general.  

These small little investments 

have had very big rewards!

When I first brought the exercise books, I wrote some reminders and encouragements to each child in the front of their own book ...

 

      

... and that's it! Our easy peasy way to be productive and stay on track!

(**Disclaimer ... these books are not magic wands and by no means solve issues such as stated in the following examples: sibling rivalry, world hunger, who's unpacking the dishwasher, or who spilt the maple syrup on the kitchen floor**)

Our Little Chef!

Our oldest daughter (13) absolutely loves to cook! 

So much so that she's collecting cooking books, creating her own recipes, and forever asking to be in the kitchen!

As her parents, we obviously are wanting to support her in her interest (that doesn't show any signs of changing!) and give her opportunity for growth and the chance to learn from her sometimes not so edible creations! 

We're so thankful that homeschooling allows these extra opportunities.

But ...

We seemed to be always clashing with when we were both wanting to be in the kitchen!

So my husband and I came up with this plan ...

... We would give our eager little Chef one night per week that is hers for her cooking night. (She can cook as many or as few dishes as she likes; entree, main, dessert, drink, etc.)

Thursday night works best for us all, so Thursday night it is! 

When we shared this with our daughter, she was thrilled to pieces!

There are, of course, some 'non-negotiable' rules that she has to follow ...

#1.  Plan your menu BEFORE mum goes shopping (usually Monday or Tuesday)

#2.  Write out your own list of ingredients needed when shopping 

(I use grocery money that I would normally use for that meal)

#3.  Please keep it budget friendly and healthy

(I can still 'rule-out' any meals too expensive, unhealthy, or difficult etc.)

#4.  Start with a clean kitchen, end with a clean kitchen 

#5.  Read and re-read all methods carefully BEFORE cooking

#6.  Try (as best as possible) to have the meal on the table before 6pm

#7.  Keep going, and never give up

#8.  Have fun!

We've found that this is such an easy way to support her love of cooking! 

It really works well (and I really enjoy the night off too!) 

As an extra addition to her cooking 'education', she keeps her own recipe journal as well (her own idea!) It contains recipes that she's tried and are now favourites, and recipes that she's developed herself over time. I can just see her cooking for her own family from this lovely book full of delicious meals, cakes, biscuits, desserts and everything in between! 

When time permits, I allow her to bake at other times as well, so she's not restricted to only Thursday nights.

And, as you can see ... my younger children have no problem with dressing up for the occasion and being our happy little waiters! They are sooooo cute! 

(Look at that tie and those braces, and those gloves and pearls! They melt my heart!)

The last meal that our daughter cooked, she asked if she could create her own menu too (we said yes), so that was designed and printed from Word, and placed on the table at each setting. We've also said that she can have fun with the decorating of the table, and again, the younger kids enjoy helping with this as well! 

Tonight her meal (as in pictures above) was an Asian Mince, with mashed potato (we 'judge' her meals, like she's asked us to, and all said that veggies would have been nice in it too, but it was sooo yummy!) and then mini apple pies (that she made from scratch!) with custard for dessert, delicious!

This is fast becoming a fun family night together and we're so very proud of our little Chef!

I think this quote says things quite perfectly ...

Have a truly blessed week!

A Weekend at Home

I love those weekends that you have where you've got very little on by way of events to leave home for. A weekend with no time constraints, no agendas or to-do lists; just to be and enjoy (rare, I know). This weekend was one of those for myself and my family. 

I spent a leisurely Saturday morning in town birthday present shopping for my youngest daughter (didn't have to be done, but I thought, why not!) and enjoying some fantastic op-shopping. We played board games, sketched together, mowed the grass, cleaned windows, scrubbed old bottles that we dug out like buried treasure from out in one of our paddocks, printed out beautiful inspirational illustrations for a little journal book that I made (another post on that one), cleaned and shined op-shop finds, re-positioned furniture to make way for a beautiful cabinet that belonged to my Great Grand-parents, and just had a lovely time being together and being home.

It was a few weeks ago that we dug out the above mentioned bottles, and I've only just had the time to really try and get them scrubbed and as clean as possible. It took around 6 hours (in two separate time frames) to actually finish this ... felt like mission impossible at times! They went from looking like this ...

To this ...

To finally (and I mean finally) this ...

I think it adds a nice bit of old-fashioned charm to the kitchen. They still aren't spotlessly clean, but if soaking them for one week, putting them through the dishwasher, then filling them with rice (for abrasion), vinegar and bi-carb and attacking them with wire bottle brushes in hot soapy water can't get all of it off ... then who knows what will? I think I'll just be happy with them like this! 

This year I intend to sketch a lot more than I have in the previous couple of years. It's one of my personal goals in my new bullet journal. I find it very relaxing to sit after doing chores or preparing dinner or whatever it may be, to sit and create with pencil in hand. 

This gorgeous fox is a copy from another artist, it is not my original work (only for personal use). I really enjoyed creating the different texture in this piece with the fur of the fox and the grain in the wood. 

This is my original piece that I sketched from a photograph that I took of our lovely little rag doll kitten 'Aslan' ... I just can't resist him and had to capture him in a drawing as well.

Another copied sketch (personal use only) that I just loved. It's actually from a piece titled 'Little House on the Prairie' and I really like how it speaks of such simple, beautiful, wholesome times. 

I hope to be able to carve out more snippets of time here and there to sketch more lovely images, I'd like to have my journal full of them by the end of the year.

My great grandparents were such an amazing Godly influence in my life. I have many fond memories of them and I believe that their character and example is what has helped me form my own in some ways. They're very special to me and so having this piece of furniture (even with the timber veneer strips chipping off) in my home is very important to me (I hope to replace the veneer soon).

While at the op-shop I purchased a beautiful set of four 'Peter Pan' series plates in perfect condition for only $4.00 each, and a gorgeous cat and bunny rabbit one for the same price, along with a lovely butterfly one for only $2.00. I couldn't believe it. I also found a lovely little deer ornament that was only 50c ... it's pretty cute!

Here's my beautiful display cabinet that belonged to my Great-Grandparents ...

Well, I think that's about it. I'm going to tuck myself snuggly into bed giving thanks to my God who I love for all the blessings He gives. 

Life's never perfect, but it's still beautiful.

Good night friends xo

Bullet Journal and New Typewriter!

There's a section in my bullet journal titled 'Personal Goals'. I normally approach writing these things out in intricate detail, but then I find that this stifles my creativity and I actually end up feeling restricted in achieving these goals throughout the year. 

This year I took it from a different angle and briefly wrote out what it is I would like to accomplish or develop for 2016. By going about it this way, I think that it broadens my opportunity to steer the goal in whichever direction I think it should go when it comes time to work on that goal. Make sense? I hope it will work. I think it will work. I'll just have to see I guess! 

That's the great things with bullet journals, I can customise them to suite my needs and my brain; that may look completely different to your bullet journal, but that just it, it's supposed to be individual. I'm hooked. I was driving into town to go to Aldi yesterday and I had this instant compulsion to buy washi tape. I know you've had that before too, so I'm not sharing with people who will see me as being crazy! The urge won, and I found myself somehow parked outside my local scrap booking shop, scavenging through a basket of washi tape in delighted school-girl bliss. I found four perfect for my bullet journal, one with the days of the week on it. 

This is what my 'personal goals' page looks like now ... 

This was a much more relaxed approach for me and I really like that I can look at it from a glance and see that I'm already doing some of the things that are written here! It's nice not having a rigid check-list for these things. 

Also, yesterday before the washi tape expedition, I purchased second hand a new little object that I'm so excited to share with you all! ... 

It's a vintage 'Tippa' typewriter! Apparently the colour is 'Canary' ... beautiful!

I am so ridiculously excited to be using this!!

The photos above and below are just of some random writing that I did to practise using my new little love. I may use them in a story, I may not. It was very enjoyable to be so unrestricted in my writing though, without the distraction of a bright screen and electronics. Besides, anything vintage is just perfect in my books!

I really look forward to using my typewriter and bullet journal throughout the year! I've actually shared with my oldest daughter the tab section of my journal, and she is in the process of setting up a journal for herself too! We are both very excited! 

I hope you're having a beautiful week friends!

P.S. I ended up naming my new room, 'My Cozy Place' ... just in case you were wondering, thanks everyone for your name suggestions!

2016 New Bullet Journal

The concept of using a bullet journal is new to me. I know that it's probably been something that's been used for years now, but, as usual, I am late to jump on the band waggon. I actually stumbled across this method by accident when looking up vintage things on pinterest the other day.  It's basically a notebook that you customise to suit your needs and include lists, quotes, to-do-lists, event planning and all sorts of other fun and essential things that is part of your life.  If you would like to see some examples of bullet journals, then click here!

Seeing as I made this accidental discovery only two days before the new year, I thought why not give it a go and see if it works? So I dug out a perfect sized, tightly bound notebook given to me as a gift a few years ago, and I knew it would be perfect.

I scratched out a rough draft of topics that I wanted to include and set to work putting it all together. I'm really happy with how it turned out, and I'm finding it really easy and straight forward to use already. I'm not sure if I've done mine as an 'authentic' bullet journal, but that doesn't matter as it works for me. I think that's one thing that I like about it the most; its versatility. You really can include any thing you like in it!

The topics I've included are ...

• books read
• books to read
• movies/board games to buy
• school holiday activities
• birthday gifts
• waiting for ...
• books lent out
• birthday party planning
• op-shop bargains (I couldn't leave this one out!)
• blog post ideas
• story ideas
• quotes I love
• bible verses
• personal goals
• Christmas planning
• family books read
• monthly memories

As it's just the first day of 2016, I still have a lot to fill out! But, I'm really looking forward to having everything I need all in the one place for the whole year. It fits in my handbag too, which is so helpful when going out. I've tried a calendar on my iPhone, and I just can't help myself! I MUST write things in a notebook! I think it may be an illness.

I really like how I can write out what I need to get done for each day in its months section too, using the key to check things off as I go (See second image left side page for key).

Washi tape has to be included ... along with freehand drawings and designs.

For the pictures of my family on their birthdays, I printed out (just on normal computer paper) these cute little photographs. They're personal, cute and beautiful!

I created little tabs along the side of the pages just by folding washi tape over the edges, making a durable and cute little plastic tape tag to easily and quickly find the sections (these are also colour coded in the second picture).

It still has a long way to go, but obviously, that's the idea. Using it throughout the whole year to keep things organised.  I'm excited by the life God has blessed us with and I really want to live it to the full! I'm so thankful to Him for His many many graces and mercies to us, these I will record on the pages as I go (I am also beginning a new gratitude journal for the year).

I think once this journal is stuffed to the brim with bits and pieces of our lives, I'll tuck it away safely in our family memories box to savour over the coming years. 

Happy New Year to you all and I really look forward to getting to know you all so much more this year! I hope your year is blessed and over-flowing with precious moments that you take the time to enjoy and that your relationship with the Lord deepens.

Oh ...

... one more thing ...

... my amazing husband may have let me buy this little cutie three days before Christmas.

Meet 'Aslan' our ten week old pure rag doll kitten ... 

Isn't he just scrumptious! I am completely smitten!