A Bunch of Burts

Since we have begun homeschooling, our days are cruising by, often leaving me feeling as though I do not have time to do anything well anymore.

Fitting in the errands I used to accomplish while the kids were at school is now much more difficult, as I am sure any homeschooling mom can attest to.

For a couple of weeks now, Ema has been complaining that her eyes have been bothering her. Last year, at the vision screening at Grace, we received a notice that she needed to see an eye doctor. We went, but were told her vision did not need glasses and to check back in a few months.

After a couple of weeks of Ema asking to go, we carved some time out and she and I went back to the same eye doctor for a re-check. Except he really didn’t check her. She read a couple of line on an eye chart and he did a tracking test, and told us again the same thing. She can see, she doesn’t need glasses.

She and I both left frustrated. She is clearly having problems and is squinting and rubbing her eyes, alot.

We decided to head back to Grace and meet with the nurse for a possible suggestion for a different eye doctor, and perhaps a written request for a thorough eye exam. When we arrived, we discovered that it was vision testing time again at Grace. They were nearly finished for the day and so we were able to slip Ema in for a screening.

Grace had an actual eye doctor doing the screening, complete with portable equipment. After hearing our plight, he did a very thorough exam and recommended Ema to get reading glasses. She has three small problems, that add up to enough of a problem to correct. He even wrote us a prescription, so now we just need to check out some frames.

We certainly were not expecting that when we decided to go see the nurse! Praise God for his timing and for bringing this eye doctor to Grace to serve the kids and their families! His provision is certainly greater than my need, and He loves to take care of His kids!

Ema is ready to go check out frames now, so maybe by next week we will have some pics of her new look.

One of the side ‘benefits’ of the kids and Greg being involved in sports, is the accumulation of stinky gym clothes.
Ick.

Since we are still in the thick of rainy season, it can be a day or two before the items hung out to dry actually are.

Since Zachary is on swim team, Ema and I take advantage of the required time at the pool to do our own swimming and so that is 3 towels each day, on top of the ones used for showers. With the high humidity, it takes no time at all for them to smell musty and gross.

Do I even need to mention the gym shirts. Children in and approaching those teen-aged years create a challenge for even the most fresh-smelling laundry soap!

After repeated washing, and still finding the gym clothes stinky I tried adding a bit of bleach.

Just a small bit, probably somewhere around a teaspoons worth. So that we do not have any spots on the clothes, I let the washer fill up first and swish the bleach and detergent around some before adding the clothes.

Fresh smelling every time! That is until they are on the rack and a storm rolls in and we left the rack out in the open dousing the clothes with rain water and making them smell not so fresh again. Oh well.

A bit of bleach in the wash for smelly clothes works for me!

Will you share what works for you? Or just check out the wisdom of others at Shannon’s

While we are still living in Chiang Mai, we had hoped to allow the kids to participate in the PE program at Grace International.

Who was I kidding? As if I thought I could schedule in time to run the three kids to school and back 2-3 days a week for each of thier different PE classes all at different time and on different days.

So what to do? Hooray for afterschool sports!

Last year Zach participated in swim team and did such a great job that I was shocked that he did not want to do it again. Thankfully, with the support of the principal, (wink, wink) it was unanimously decided that he must swim. Zach at home all day with no mid-day soccer game at recess and twice weekly PE class to burn off some of his energy is not a recipe for homeschooling success. I am pleased to report that between swim team and basketball, we are keeping him sufficiently worn out.

Even Ema joined the basketball team this year, and Greg is able to be their coach. Go Cavaliers!

Leah tried out for volleyball again this year, and we were so pleased when she made the team. There were many more girls interested in playing this year, a good many of them older than her. She practiced over the summer with a friend, (thanks Jane!) and made a good showing at try-outs. She has her first game this Thursday.

We are so thankful the kids all have the chance to be part of these teams. It is making the transition out of school and eventually out of Chiang Mai easier. Just one of the many things we have been thanking God for!

After a summer-long hiatus from WFMW, I am soooo glad to see that my re-entry is a backwards edition. My current state of mind is What Does Not Work for Me. (Can you tell we began our homeschool adventure last week? ) I have a whole list of things that are currently NOT working.

I may be breaking/tweaking the rules a bit, but I have two bits I would love some bloggy advice for.

First one is easy. I have been looking for a good, a really good oatmeal raisin cookie recipe. The ones I have are not it.
In fact, I recently tossed a good portion of my recipe box and currently have no recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies at all.
Bring on the recipes, I am ready to mix up some cookies!

Second one, not so straight forward.
We are now in our second week of homeschooling. This will be the first year we are truly homeschooling. (Not to say we have not done something that could be called homeschooling, but previous years were sort of like those “Magic Eye” pictures. Squint your eyes and look cross-eyed long enough and any picture will appear, even adequately educated children.)
So even though sending kids to school really does work for me, it is not where we are right now. Since the kids are now too old to let any school years slide by, we need some help.

I am looking for some really good paper organizational ideas. How do you keep track of the work each child does and how to prep it a week in advance for them to access without me having to hand them each sheet of paper each day.
What do you decide to keep and what do you toss? How long do you keep it?

Also, what are some ways you motivate your kids to do more than ‘just enough’. Motivation that does not involve candy or trips to places that do not exist in Thailand, like a dollar store.
(kids are 8th, 6th, and 5th grades)

How about filler activities, when one has to wait while I am working with the other, perhaps for as long as 30 minutes?

Glad to be back and eager to check out what you are asking. Thanks to Shannon for hosting WFMW each week, see you there.