Unschooling

I love structure, lists, and measurable results.  But a lot of learning also takes place when I let the kids do their own thing.  Hyrum drew helicopters and got excited about online subtraction speed drills this morning.  He raced the clock a lot longer than I would have scheduled him to practice.  He totally enjoyed it and improved by cutting his time in half.  Then he found a pretzel recipe in the Friend magazine.  Now he is reading and following the recipe.  We will see how it goes.  Maybe I should try this more often.  Of course, facilitating these activities takes a lot of work and patience too.  I'm grateful Heavenly Father lets me try new things and choose so much of what and how I learn.  I should extend that blessing to my children more often.

Cookies and Family Home Evening

Usually I try to make something healthy for a family home evening treat. But today Hyrum (6), Ella (5), Tank (2), and I made chocolate chip cookies. They added and stirred, ate the dough, watched them bake, tested the cookies right out of the oven, and dunked more in milk for family home evening. Total sugar load! But great fun! I hope we made a happy memory! I did cut out half the butter and used whole wheat flour and oats. But I put them to bed almost an hour and a half ago and they are still bouncing off the walls. Sugar high! Tomorrow it is nothing but green shake! Just joking!

I love my kids! I'm so grateful I can spend time with them! Heavenly Father has given me so very much! Iknow it will be a happy memory for me!

Ready for Bed

We have had a great day! And I'm ready for bed. It's only 8:30, but I'm lucky enough to be on my way to bed.

We went shopping for humanitarian baby kits, worked on homework, made chili, and then went on a walk up the canyon. The big kids ran down the riverside trail. The little kids and I walked up a ways then down. It was beautiful, breezy, and the perfect temperature! That was the perfect ending to the day.

Now I'm going to neglect the dishes, laundry, cooking, and housework and climb into bed. Tomorrow morning I will have more energy and work much faster than I would now. The big kids are going to bed too. Then they can finish their homework when they are fresh in the morning. I believe in early to bed and early to rise. It helps our attitudes and our bodies. It helps us accomplish more even if we have to leave loose ends when we go to bed. I'm so grateful Heavenly Father has given us this counsel. Well, good night!