Table Time/ Morning Basket

Some of my addiction to reading homeschool forums and researching curriculums has paid off recently in a big way.  I found a way to solve our years-long dilema of how to incorporate Arabic and Islamic Studies into our daily lives. 

I collected a variety of books in a large wicker basked I had lying around.  Any vessel that suits you will work.  For me, I easily found a few different levels of I Love Islam books lying around.  We just bought almost $100 worth of them for our enrollment in the local Sunday School which was a short-lived effort.  I also put in the basket this reading primer which we've used successfully in the past, a Quran with English translation next to the Arabic text, and a variety of smaller books from Ad-Duha Institute for any spare reading (mostly the translation of the short sura's that are adorable for younger children).

After deciding to pull my children out of the weekend school, I thought long and hard about what it was I wanted them to learn.  They've tried just about a bit of everything when it comes to this type of thing: private lessons in someone's home, semi-private lessons at the masjid, sunday school, and way back in the early days, they were enrolled full time in private Islamic school.  I decided I was done with outsourcing this subject and would take matters into my own hands (which I had tried before without much success).  This time would be different thanks to this basket.... read on.

I decided to apply what I've learned from homeschooling to this subject.  Daily lessons that were short and continuous would get the job done.  I simply worked backwards from the time we had to leave the house everyday and established a start time.  Everyone has to be at the kitchen table at that time dressed with shoes and jackets on, ready to go.  The deal is that we meet for 10 minutes and then head out to the school bus stop.  I start by reciting one short dua', or supplication, that I'd like them to have memorized and used to reciting with ease.  Then I open that Quran, read one page in Arabic and then read the English translation (this amounts to about 5 verses).  Close that up.  Open this other book I have that is written for approximately KG kids, but it has short stories that teach a valuable core belief with each short lesson.  We go through those and solidfy that little characteristic for the day.  If not that boook, then I open up an upper level I Love Islam book and go through a chapter there.  The end.  We close with an oral recitation of Suratul Asr and then go walk to the bus stop.

We all benefit from starting our day remembering God, glorifying Him, and learning about Him.  My children and I connect for those 10 minutes before scattering.  And I feel good knowing that slowly, but surely, I am giving them and Islamic education.

On weekends we spend a little time doing written work around the table.  This is for Arabic reading and writing, mostly.  All I have to do is remind them that Sunday school took up about 3 1/2 hours of their day if they start to whine about having to open up their Arabic books!  Half an hour around the kitchen table looks like a walk in the park compared to the alternative.

This method can work in your home, too.  Pick a time of day that is consistent in its schedule or routine whethere it is breakfast, after dinner, or before bedtime.  For us I picked the moments before we leave for the bus because that's when everyone is dressed and not in the middle of doing something else.  Collect items you would LIKE to use and keep them in a tub next to your work space.  I keep my wicker basket next to the kitchen table on a shelf.  Do Quran for sure and then mix up the other topics.  The kids have found this very intersting, and I can see them more interested that they ever were before in the subject.  I print out coloring pages for my youngest to color while we all sit around the table.

I've tried homemade cleaners before.  Some work just fine and others don't work so well.  I 've found myself saying there's a reason why cleaners, deoderants, shampoos, and soaps have been commercially produced (and with harsh chemicals).... because they work!

However, I'm willing to try, again, a very basic recipe for an all purpose cleaner I can use to spray my kitchen countertops and bathroom counters, too.  This one I found today is a little bit different than most of the others as it has a teaspoon of borax in it.

I found it on this website and have just mixed it up.  I also made sure to write out the recipe on an adhesive address label and have stuck that to the spray bottle so that I know what is in there for easy reference.

Here is the recipe:
Homemade All Purpose Cleaner Recipe
Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon borax
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 2 cups water
• 30 drops essential oil blend (see below)

Directions

1. Boil the water. Pour it into a large glass measuring cup or pitcher with a spout.
   
   
2. Add the borax and stir until dissolved.
   
3. Add the vinegar.
   
4. Let cool, then pour the mixture into a spray bottle.
   
5. Drop in the essential oils.

Handy Hint: Add the essential oils AFTER you pour the cleaner into the bottle because the essential oil's scent can "stick" to your measuring cup or pitcher.

Finding a natural rhythm to education

Now that I'm a good 8 weeks into my third year of homeschooling, I'm delighted to find myself mellowing out, being more sure of myself, and trusting that children will actually learn even if they don't follow a drill sergeant's lesson plans.  I'm happy to be shedding the old, traditional, and conventional ideas I had about education and child-raising.  Yes, the two things are connected.  I have learned so much about education and child-rearing in these last 2+ yrs homeschooling because, you know what, the two things are intertwined. You raise your child and you teach him so much. Of course you need to teach him more than just life skills, and that is where algebra and chemistry come in, but in the big picture, real life is a lot more like homeschool than like middle school!



enjoying a lacing book

Thanks to my youngest child who is almost 4 yrs old, I witnessed how a little one could become a toddler, then a preschooler and still stay in their home environment and still learn all the stuff they could be learning in a "school".  Yes!  Colors, shapes, numbers, letters!  Songs, games, skills, and compassion.  It's rewarding to see the leaps and bounds they make in simple things like how to hold a pencil (or crayon or marker), how to coordinate their hands with their body, and how to recognize letters.  Their ability to memorize is freakishly strong.  Fill their heads with words and verses that you want to hear them repeating. 

I know there are so, so many different family dynamics and needs all around the world.  Culture, work, relationships, and other factors all affect the decision that goes into how little ones are cared for.  There is no one right way.   Thankfully I am able to use many resources I've been blessed to have at my disposal.

I'm hoping this 'natural feeling' to our method will help our children feel like they are living their life rather than stressing over the next grade level.  Do you remember being told in 4th grade to just wait and see the work you'll have to do in 5th grade?  Or being prepared by your guidance counselor for Junior High?  And then in junior high being in awe of the high schoolers while being in stress of the tales of academics?  It continues until you're at the end of college typing up a resume wondering what to do next.  I (possibly naively) think that a different grooming up through those years could possibly have a better end result.  That by living life and having a natural childhood (yes, protected from issues that are not age-appropriate) a young person might be more well adjusted and ready to join the real world which, as I said earlier, looks a lot more like homeschool than middle school.

Some Saturday Homework

I've been making bread using the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day for well over a year now, and I'm very happy with the simplicity, versatility, and ease of the whole system.  I absolutely love the taste of homemade bread.  It is so earthy and good, not airy and sticky like store bought breads.  For a long time I wasn't buying bread from the store at all, but I do now since it's easier to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on that type of bread.  This week I've made two batches of the honey whole wheat sandwich bread which comes out to four loaves.  I love it as toast and is soft enough to be used for sandwiches for anyone eating at home since it can be messy!  I saw this dough hook on amazon and think I could really use it to help get the dough mixed up with more ease!

For the end of the day I've pulled out my crockpot and filled it with ground beef that I browned with an onion to which I added a few cans of diced tomatoes, pinto beans, golden hominy, taco seasoning, and a packet of Ranch dressing.  And a cup of water.  This is now filling up the house with a yummy smell and I can continue running errands this afternoon like I did all morning!

I've recruited my kids into the new laundry system and had them begin by washing their sheets this morning.  It went over well!  I also printed out a guide of sorts that I will post in the laundry room.  Instead of messing with laminating them (which I don't have the right tools for) I will slip the sheets into page protectors and keep them posted on my bulletin board in the laundry room.
The details of the list are on this blog page.

 

Laundry Day

I'm crawling out of hibernation (although real hibernation is just now setting in for us here in Seattle) with a renewed spirit for blogging. It sure ebbs and flows, so hopefully I can churn out some useful posts before I decide this just a bunch of hooey.

I'm in the process of giving my laundry system a small tweaking.  Now that we're settled in a new house, and our routines are getting established, I think I can make the entire system more efficient.

A couple of years ago my son, who was 9 years old at the time, was interested in washing his own clothes.  I was pleased with his eagerness and showed him the ropes.  One down. Three to go!

The only flaw with that method is that the loads are too small and too far between.  I'd rather combine similar colors and types of clothes into large loads and have everyone pitch in with the laundry.   A lot of variables will affect how your laundry system works; number of little ones, types of activities, your own schedule, and how things flow in your home.  My laundry room is not anywhere close to the bedroom area and we don't have a laundry chute or anything fancy like that!  Thankfully, for now, I don't have any baby clothes or tiny socks to wash and dry.  Also, everyone who wears clothes knows how to put them away, and most of them take an active part in the process.  This is where this overhaul comes in... time to tailor it to work for me instead of me working for it!!

First thing I'm doing is going back to assigning bed sheet/towel day.  It used to be Mondays, but that was before I was homeschooling and Mondays were for major housecleaning.  Boy do Mondays look different these days.  I figured now that my 3 older children can handle it, they should all strip their beds on Saturday mornings and get one extra large load going in the morning.  The sheets can be dried and back in their rooms by lunch.  I will do my bedding on Sundays along with bath towels.

Second course of action I plan on using is something I've been doing for over 2 years now.  This habit formed *after* I began homeschooling thanks to the advice of other homeschooling moms.  I make sure to put a load in the washer first thing in the morning.  This means the basket comes downstairs with me when I go to fetch my first cup of coffee.  That load can be switched to the dryer (by a child) and then folded during our lunch time or just after we're done for the day.  If there is a lot of laundry for some reason, then I can squeeze in 2 or 3 loads by 4:00 if I need to.  This is where I'm trying to figure out how to get the kids more involved.  I might just bring the basket down and have them load the machine and switch them.  Or they can be in charge of certain loads that are already presorted thanks to the laundry baskets I have that have hanging bags to separate loads.

Today I gave the two middle children a little lesson on how to use the machines including how to sort loads, how much soap to use, and how to select the water temperature.  We went through appropriate dryer temperatures and times.  I will reinforce this by typing up (with pictures) a little "Laundry Protocol" chart to put up in the laundry room with information about each type of load and its settings.  (have I lost anyone yet?)  I got the idea for this laundry protocol list from a book called Large Family Logistics which I've been skimming for two days and am really enjoying.  Even if you don't have a "large family", I think the general advice for managing a home is fantastic.

Here's what I have so far for my list:

1.  Clothing gets sorted according to colors:

 Whites (hot water),

Reds/Pinks (warm water),

 Blacks/Dark Blues (cold water),

 Light Colors (warm water),

Multi Colors - stripes, patterns, mixture of bold and light colored clothing (warm water)

2.  Towels get washed by themselves

3.  Rags get washed with kitchen towels in hot water

4.  Look for stains, treat with stain remover, set a timer for 15 minutes, then start the washer

5.  Loosely fill the basket.

6.  If you use bleach in a load, the next load washed should be towels, whites or light colors so possible residue doesn’t ruin the next load’s clothes

7.  Hijabs, abayas, and silky dresses go in cold and delicate cycle. No dryer!

Line dry the following:

* Hijabs and abayas

 * Certain undergarments

 * Exercise clothing with spandex/stretch

 * Thin delicate tops of any kind

 * Jackets/coats/ski pants

 * Snow gloves, hats, scarves

 * Sweaters (ask mom, some of them can go in the dryer on delicate)

* Sports uniforms and cycling clothes

(I got inspiration for this list from this blog)

And finally, on this subject, I am in the process of fairly distributing chores.  I might have a laundry helper for one week and switch the next week.  This would cut down on confusion on whose turn it is or if someone got assigned a light day versus a busy laundry day.  The other person could have floor duty which would be my sweeper in the kitchen, breakfast area, and family room.  Yes, I think that sounds just right. 

Just like any task we undertake in life, it will yield a better result if it is well planned and if the right tools are used.  Looking at household work as 'systems' and setting up their structure in a well thought out way will hopefully make the task get done efficiently and well.