3 Blessings on Sickbed Sundays

What do you do when you want to keep the Sabbath yet you have sick kids (or adults) at home?

In our home, we enjoy three blessings:

1.  Online Mass

Whoever is sick (and whoever is staying home to care for the sick one) watches Heart of the Nation's Online Mass.  

Sometimes, the children ask to pause the video so they can go potty, comment on a stained glass window, ask a question or share an idea about a reading or homily.  The latter can lead to wonderful, unexpected exchanges, making "Mass at home" a true blessing on a day when sickness strikes.

2.  Mass in Peace

If neither my husband nor I are sick, one of us goes to early Mass and the other to a later one.  If one of us is sick, but not so sick that a child cannot stay home as "nurse", the non-sick parent just goes to whatever Mass seems most do-able, taking a child or two along.

Either way, being at Mass without all three of our boisterous babes is a blessing.  For while we appreciate when everyone is healthy and able to participate in Mass together, it is definitely restorative at times to be able to focus on Mass without redirecting children.  I admit it.  I like going to Mass alone when my kids are sick.

3.  Service

When one or more people in the house is sick on Sunday, it amazes me how the others step up as "nurse" and "helper".  It is absolutely beautiful to hear the children ask, "Can I get you something?" and to witness them serving one another with love.

Just as special to me are opportunities to cuddle in for movies and read alouds, to lay together listening to audio books, to stroke hair and to lay on a blanket in the yard looking up at the sky together...

How do you approach Sundays when folks in your home are sick and what blessings do you find in them? 

Please feel free to share about them in comment here or on our Training Happy Hearts Facebook page.  If you leave a link to an idea, I will pin it on the Training Happy Hearts: A Call to Faith Formation in Young Children Pinterest board. 

 

What Does At-Home, Self-Directed Learning Look Like?

Often, I get asked how I teach my children at home.

More and more, my answer is, "I don't always.  More often than not, I let them teach themselves."

Take last Sunday morning for example.

Nina woke up after a night of being sick.  She looked up at the ceiling fan that had kept her cool during the night and one of the first things she said was...  

[Spoiler Alert:  If you haven't made a guess about what is pictured above, go ahead and do so now, because I am about to reveal the answer.]

"Mommy, I think I know how to make a fridge."


O-kay. I thought.  I guess my girl is feeling a bit better, and we're in for a messy morning of creative engineering and experimentation.

Thus, our day commenced.

With joy, focus and determination, my seven-year-old directed herself through a self-initiated project which hit perfectly on typical engineering design process steps.

Engineering is Elementary

Step One:  Ask

I have no idea why, but my little girl woke up asking herself how she might make her own fridge using materials we have at home that she may freely access.

Step Two: Imagine

Before sharing anything with me, Nina had already brainstormed ideas in her own mind and chosen the one that she felt was feasible to test.

Nina talks her way through her plan before moving forward.

Step Three:  Plan

Nina dispensed with writing or drawing about her ideas and got right to asking me to help her collect supplies:  a box, a small fan, tape and scissors.

Step Four:  Create


Nina's theory was that she could aim a fan inside a closed box to keep the things inside the box cool.  

In order to get the fan's cooling power into the box, she surmised that she needed a hole in the box.  She tried cutting one, only to discover that her scissors would not go through thickness of the outside layer of the box and the flaps within it.

Studying the first obstacle...

Before I could offer any suggestions, Nina problem-solved on her own.  She simply taped the inner flaps to the inside of the box, cut the outer portion of the box, and then worked on the inner layer.

Obstacle one tackled.

With great delight, she showed me her success!

Happy working the engineering design process...

Obstacle two came when Nina how the cooling air of the fan made it's way into the box.  She discovered that the fan and box did not quite align.

Tackling a second obstacle.

As Nina brainstormed solutions such as finding a new box to cut or finding a way to align the box she already had cut, I noted a pile of books near to where she was working.  Within seconds, she had her problem solved.

Nina's design was almost complete.

Nina asked if she could take some leftovers from the fridge in the kitchen to test her new fridge.  With my blessing, she transferred a small portion of pasta into a container to put inside her creation.

Testing the design...

At this point, she hit a third obstacle.  She was not sure how to keep her fridge closed.  

She proposed using tape or creating a latch.  I suggested that tape would be cumbersome because she'd have to keep re-applying it.  Then, before proceeding with latch design, Nina glanced at the book pile, then got up and fetched something else.

A chalk box that Nina had made at Lowe's once became her door closure system.

Just as Nina finished her self-constructed fridge, Grampy called in to check on how she was doing with sickness.  Obviously, engineering design is healing!

Look at how vibrant Nina is while telling Grampy about her creation!

When Nina got off the phone, I asked her how we might test if the fridge really works. 

Nina decided to put some other leftovers just outside her fridge to test which would stay cooler.

Later, when Daddy got home, Nina excitedly told him about her morning's work.  He became her assistant in testing if her design was an effective one.

Nina takes pasta from her fridge and from the container outside of it it give to Daddy.

While Daddy closed his eyes, Nina put the pasta pieces into his hands. 

Daddy had a difficult time determining which pasta was colder.

Step Five:  Improve

Daddy picked the "right" pasta, but noted that there was not a huge difference in the temperature of the pasta in his hands.  Nina proposed that that was because the pasta that she had left outside her fridge had been in our kitchen fridge longer.  (Remember, she put one container of pasta in her fridge before she talked to Grampy and the other outside her fridge after she talked to Grampy.)

She decided she would need to test her fridge again using leftovers placed inside and outside it at the same time.  However, by this time, both of her brothers were up.  So, the pasta got gobbled down, Nina's fridge pushed aside for Lego play and the rest of the morning unfolded in different directions.

My Personal Reflection

As I sat at Mass later in the morning, I thanked God for instilling a bit of his creative genius in all of us and asked Him to continue to guide me in encouraging my children to exercise their imaginations, to experiment with their own self-directed learning and to unwrap personal gifts of passion and purpose.  

Later in the day, I thought about how seasons of unschooling work for my family in so many ways.

Looking back at the morning, I realize that I delighted in observing Nina's engineering design process as much as she did in experiencing it!  I marvel at the creativity of children and the learning that can unfold when time, space, some basic supplies and imagination are put together.

What does self-directed, at-home learning look like in your home?  How might you move from being your child's teacher to being a facilitator, guide, observer or co-learner?  

A Simple Assumption Celebration for the Sick

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Happy Assumption of Mary Day!

Here, it has, indeed, been a happy day.  For, not only is it a feast day, but it has also been a day of recovery, too.

Of Service and Sickness

Before the sickness set in...

Regular readers might have noticed that I've been on an unexpected 10-day hiatus from publishing here.  That break did not begin as an intentional one.  In fact, I planned to write several posts over the past ten days while winding down between babysitting for a friend who was moving, leading the first Parent Support Night for a local Catholic homeschooling group that I volunteer as co-coordinator for and enjoying another week of summer life and learning with the kids.

Plans and reality don't always coincide though.  

Last Saturday night, instead of writing up a weekly Sunday Call to Faith Formation for Young Children post after taking my friend's son and my children to a pond, I found myself nursing Nina, who had gotten suddenly sick.

I thought Nina might be suffering from a bit of swallowed pond water, eating too many snacks in the car and having molars growing in.

Wrong!

As the week unfolded, it became apparent that Nina's sudden Saturday sickness was a belly bug.  A sneaky little belly bug that kept appearing to have passed from our home only to strike again.

By yesterday, it had struck Nina, Jack (twice!), Luke, and, yes, me.  (May Hubby be spared from this lovely bug!)

But, belly bug or not, today was a day of celebration!

A Simple Assumption Day Celebration
 

Someone had an appetite again!

I went to noon day Mass today by myself since it had been 24 hours since I had last gotten sick, but not since my boys have.  (Daddy and Nina stayed home to nurse the boys!)

Knowing that tummy upset might await me at home, I decided we would not enjoy rich fare for our family feast day celebration.  Indeed, there would be no Assumption Day Waffles like the ones we enjoyed last year or in 2012.   

Likewise, I decided it would be fruitless to attempt many of the ideas and activities I'd collected in a couple years ago for a Resource Round for Assumption Day.

Rather, the day called for simplicity:


Decoration

Simple, yet meaningful, decor

To make our outdoor celebration special, we laid a white tablecloth on the table, broke out the "special" glassware and decorated with:

• a Virgin Mary Statue that Luke had received for his First Holy Communion (for obvious reasons)

• a blessed white candle that we received from a friend during a Candlemas celebration (to symbolize Mary's purity) 

• a blue candle (because the color blue is associated with Mary) 

• a bouquet of wildflowers, collected by Nina, who has taken to beautifying our home (and tables!) with flowers (and who would have included herbs, which are traditional on this day, if we had any, which we did  not.)

Tea Time Fare

We set our celebration fare out in the shape of a cross.

Those recovering from sickness need vitamins.  Those at the tail-end belly bugs can use live cultures.  All want to enjoy yumminess and fun during a feast-day celebration.  Thus,I decided on make-your-own yogurt "sundaes".

•  So Delicious Chocolate Cultured Coconut Milk Yogurt represented the earth, where Mary was assume from.

• So Delicious Vanilla and Greek Style Blueberry Cultured Coconut Milk Yogurt represented the heavens Mary was assumed into (even if the blueberry yogurt is more purple than blue) 

• fresh, organic blueberries added to the heavens (and fresh raspberries were added to the table simply to tempt our boy who does not like blueberries)

Drinks were Silk Almond Vanilla Milk (because Silk Milk is a treat here and white, again, symbolizes Mary's purity) and organic white grape juice (our "sick tummy" drink ever since the Easter weekend all three of our children ended up in the hospital due to a belly bug!)


Activities

Nina explains what the Assumption is, dramatizing Mary being assumed into Heaven.

Simple was the key word of our celebration, so activities included:

• discussing what the Assumption is and how our food and decor choices connect to the day's celebration.

• praying together.

• reading the portion of a Holy Heroes: The Triumph of Jesus Coloring Book that relates to the Assumption. 

• reading about Mary in the awesome Dragon Slayers: The Essential Training Guide for Young Dragon Fighters book that Luke got for his First Holy Communion.

 

Jack shows such concentration on spooning "clouds" into his sundae cup.

• and, of course, just having fun making our "sundaes".

I had also had one of my favorite Mary books, Just Like Mary, on hand, but we never got to reading from it before requests for a read-aloud unrelated to the feast day came up.

Luke, apparently, preferred "earth" to "sky" yogurt. (Mama just was happy that he ate something and kept it down!)

 So it was that we feasted despite sickness in honor of Our Lady's Assumption.

How did you celebrate the Assumption today? 

 

Traditional Math Practice for "Us"schooling {A Review}

As a family that currently practices a delight-directed, experiential style of home education, we rarely make time for traditional math studies. So, when I was offered a chance to try out a 12 month subscription for two students to Mathletics from 3P Learning in exchange for an honest review, I decided to go for it. 

My children enjoy online learning endeavors and I like offering them choices that might increase their skills and knowledge. Mathletics, then, seemed a good fit for us for the summer (and the rest of our year, for that matter!) I could introduce it to the children. They could choose to use it as they wished during their online quiet times. And, we could all smile over some online math practice to round out our more experiential learning adventures. 


What is Mathletics? (And Which Parts Appealed Most to My Kids) 


Mathletics is an online math program that offers a wide array of activities to help students at K-12 grade levels practice math skills while having fun. It is designed to be used a supplement to other math programs and aligns to Common Core Math Standards as well as to a number of other state standards, for those who are into that sort of thing. It is also, in our experience, a worthwhile opportunity for online math practice that children will choose to pursue. (And cheer each other on with as they do!)

Within Mathletics, there are a number of features that children can easily access through clicking on buttons on the right side of the student console (which my children enjoyed to greater and lesser degrees according to their preferences): 

• Live Mathletics – where children can compete with others from all over the world. (This is what my son Luke liked most!) 

•  Activities – where children complete lessons to earn gold bars (The earning – or lack of earning – of bars motivated my children at some points and discouraged one of them at others.) 

• Problem Solving – where children can play games that their gold bars unlock (At first, my son did not figure out that doing Activities could earn him bars to unlock more Problem Solving games. When he did, he became more apt to choose Activities.) 

• Concept Search – where children can access an “encyclopedia” of math terms with video explanations (which I taught my son to use when he was unsure of a term in the Activities) 

• Rainforest Maths – where children can enjoy free play with math (although, for some odd reason, my children have not opted for mcuh enjoyment here yet) 

• Times Tables Toons – where children can view music videos to practice multiplication facts (My children are not as into these, but the videos are cute.) 

Our Experience 

Mathletics recommends that children use the program for at least 20 minutes three times a week to see maximum benefit. Being summer, and with me typically setting a 15 minutes-on-the-computer-at-a-time guideline, we were not as consistent about doing this as we could have been. However, my children still benefited from the program.

Luke and Nina chose Mathletics for online time on their own at times and with a leading suggestion by me at others. When they did so, they were able to use the program with relative independence to enjoy online math practice and learning. (I say “relative” because sometimes they called me over to help them figure out some things and often they guided one another.) 

Nina tended to use the Activities section of the site as well as Live Mathletics. As she used the latter, she smiled and made comments about how she was not really competing, just seeing how she could do. (I love that even in a competitive arena she finds her own comfort zone!) 

As a developing reader, Nina also took advantage of the audio feature of the program that reads questions aloud. I so appreciated this feature as it helped Nina practice math without being impeded by developing fluency in reading. 



I also liked that the program is adaptive and presents children with questions of increasing difficulty. For, Nina is a child that gets discouraged easily and the way the program seemed to intuitively adapt to her abilities seemed to keep frustration levels at bay! 

Luke, unlike his sister, is all about the competition! He sometimes worked on Activities and Problem Solving, but for the mot part, stuck to Live Mathletics. This thrilled me since Luke does not usually choose repetitive practice of anything but can certainly use some as far as facts go. Having the opportunity to compete against other children online all over the world and to earn credits to play round with his Mathletics avatar worked the “magic” it is meant to for Luke. It got my boy to choose relatively rote learning and practice. In fact, when I told Luke I was ready to write my review and asked him what he thought about Mathletics, he commented that he liked “Live Mathletics because I can go up against other people and see how good I am... I like that if I get enough points I earn things.” Enough said! 

Obviously, there are features of Mathletics that we have yet to take full advantage of – such as Rainforest Maths – and some I have yet to use at all, such as printable workbooks. 

Even without delving into these fully yet, though, we found Mathletics a “win” for our family. 

In addition to what I have already mentioned that I like about the program, I appreciated: 

• the wide spectrum of mathematical skills children can practice within the program

• the opportunity for the children to seek questions that are easier or more challenging with the click of a button

• the fact that the program is used by over 3.5 million children worldwide, meaning that there is always someone to compete with in Live Mathletics, 24/7.

• the ability for me to make changes to the grade level/standards the questions my children will be asked using the parent controls 

• the fact that the program fits well as a cross-over between our family’s current delight-directed approach to learning (with my children choosing to use it!) and my own personal desire to occasionally unobtrusively assess where my children’s abilities are at (which is easy with the parent report feature) 

In short, so far, Mathletics has been for us exactly what I had hoped it would be when I signed up to review it – a good fit for adding a bit of traditional learning to our not-so-traditional approach to home education. The children have found Mathletics to provide an engaging, fun online experience while I have appreciated that the program fosters independent math practice and learning! We will definitely continue to use the program. 

Learn More 

• See screenshots and photos from 70+ other families who have been using Mathletics and read about how they weave it into their homeschool approach by clicking through links at School House Review Crew.

• Sign up for a free trial and learn more about Mathletics by 3P Learning, which is competitively priced at $59 per student, per 12 month period, by visiting the Mathletics website.

• Look for Mathletics can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

 If you tend toward the delight-directed, "unschooly" approach, too, what are your favorite resources for offering Mathematical learning and practice your children might choose?

 

Gift the Gift You've Been Given

 

This morning, before my oldest was even awake, my mom called.  

"Do we have someone serving at Mass today?" she asked.  

I confirmed that Luke was on the schedule for his third "training" as an altar server.  

A few hours later, my folks sat behind Mike, Nina, Jack and me at the front of the church.

It was a beautiful Mass as each person involved with it offered individual gifts.  

Our pastor's homily was both funny and spot-on.  He connected the day's gospel reading to stories of his own experience and, ultimately, drove home a message that the Church is more than a priest, a bishop, a cardinal or a pope.  In fact, the Church is all of the people within it.  Each person called to offer whatever he or she can -- great or small -- to keep the Church strong and vibrant.

What happened on the altar and in the pew behind me later only worked to strengthen the homily's impact on me.  

On the altar, the kind, patient young man who had "come out of altar server retirement" to train my boy did a commendable job directing Luke.  Luke himself served with care.  

Next to me, Nina was intent to pay attention, excited that her brother was serving on the altar and that she, herself, would soon have an opportunity to serve our church through joining the children's choir.  Thinking about all this, her eyes moved from Luke, to the priest's hands, to the cantor.

Nina's eyes were not the only one's on the cantor, it seems.  For after the closing song of the Mass, my parents clapped and made a point of going over to the gal who had so beautifully offered her gift of song to our Mass celebration.  They had moved by the music.

In fact, the Mass experience as a whole had apparently moved my parents.

At one point, as Luke did his duties on the altar, my father's face went red, he took in a deep breath and let out tears.  At another moment, my mother's eyes leaked as a smile played on her lips.  At both of these moments, I recalled my own cathartic cry several weeks ago when Luke had first served as an altar boy and quietly thanked God for the way He moves us.

It is amazing to me how the simple choices we each make can affect one another.  

My son chooses to be an altar boy.  My parents choose to come celebrate a Mass at which he serves.  A young man chooses to share his mentorship.  A gal chooses to share her voice.  A priest chooses to share his stories and thoughts.  The people of a parish choose to share an hour together on a Sunday morning.  Many choose to let the Spirit move in them and through them...

This morning's Mass served as a microcosm for me of how awesome things can be when each of us chooses to share forward the gifts we have been given.  

Time.  Talent.  Thoughts.  Service.  Prayer.  Community.  No person is too young to offer something to the Church -- even if it is just presence and a well-timed baby-cry (as happened with a tiny child at our church today, who cried out at just the perfect moment to add an element of laughter and joy to the service.)

What gift of yours can you gift forward today?

 

Please feel free to share about them in comment here or on our Training Happy Hearts Facebook page.  If you leave a link to an idea, I will pin it on the Training Happy Hearts: A Call to Faith Formation in Young Children Pinterest board. 
 

Join the Journey Toward Beautifying Your Home One Small Baby Step at a Time

 

Yesterday, I shared my first baby step towards a renewed journey to beautify our home.

Today, I'd like to invite you to journey along your own similar path, sharing as you go.

You see, a week or so ago, when a friend posted on her Facebook page, "I don't have a single beautiful space in my house. I don't have an 'eye' or any clue how to make the space look nice," I realized that I could echo her sentiment. 

I also thought, But there are folks I know in person and through Facebook who DO have that "eye". 

Then, I thought, Connections! Might there be interest in an online idea and help group on Facebook where we might post a picture of a space in our home and ask others for ideas about it?  Might those who join it who live close to one another connect in person to offer help to one another?

With these thoughts in mind, I spontaneously began the Facebook group Baby Steps to Beautiful Spaces for Busy Families as an experiment to see if we might encourage one another in beautifying our homes one baby step at a time so that our homes can best reflect the beauty that dwells within, which if course, is the people!

So far, the group has had little action.  That is okay.  

It served a purpose of encouraging a friend on a given day and has subsequently given me a place to be accountable for my own periodic baby steps - or at least a first baby step so far.  

If you seek an online space for encouragement and accountability in creating your own more beautiful physical space, please feel free to join us!  For my journey to creating more beautiful spaces within my home has begun anew and if you are ready to begin - or continue on - a similar journey, I'd love to share.  

Where do you find inspiration and accountability for creating more beautiful spaces?

One Simple Step to Beautify Your Home

 

My husband gifted me with a couple hours at home by myself the yesterday to clean and organize.  

One of my first areas of attack was our kitchen table, which had become a clutter magnet for papers, art projects and more, all pushed to one end so we could eat on the other.

As soon as I had the table cleared, I thought, Pause, Martianne.  Clear is not enough.  What tiny step might you take to beautify this space?

Answering my own question, I stepped outside and cut a few blooms to make a bouquet, which I placed on the table.  Doing this took all of five minutes, if that, yet inspired so much more time spent in delight.

When my daughter came home, she noticed the bouquet right away and asked with a huge smile, "How did those flowers get there?"  I told her I had picked them.  She then gathered crayons and paper, plunked herself down right next to the flowers and began to draw and color with a huge smile on her face.

Then, this morning, the first thing my daughter did was go outside and pick a tiny bouquet of her own to add to the table.

Her younger brother followed suit.

Now, instead of one piece of clutter left on the table attracting more clutter and creating a space that is anything but beautiful, one small effort seems to be multiplying smiles!

The simple baby step that I took of clearing the table and putting a small bouquet on it has been magnified by my children's delight and purposeful activity.

I have oft heard it said that "a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."  My journey toward truly making the spaces of my home more beautiful has commenced.  How about yours?

What baby step might you make today to beautifying your home?