Ebb and Flow

So I set a goal at the beginning of this endeavor... one blog post a day except Saturdays. Alas, I have not lived up to my own ambition. But that's life, right? And that's exactly why I'm home schooling. It allows you to ebb and flow with the tides of life.

There was a time when I would have beat myself up over missing those couple of days (about my homework being late or not getting 100% on a test). I would have come back on line apologizing and blubbering and making excuses about being incredibly busy, sick, tired.

I've learned that it does no-one any good to act that way, especially not yourself. I'm a bit wiser now, thank God. Imagine if we went through life with a teenager's depth of wisdom?

Today was an ebb and flow day. I wasn't feeling incredibly well, and Asher had the beginnings of a cold. So a relaxed day seemed in order.

We did things to move toward our Medieval Feast coming up this weekend. We made butter out of cream, by hand! We built and lit a bonfire. The kids were incredibly focused as they used saws to cut up branches to add to the flames. When we had nothing but a pile of coals, we cooked some chicken legs... just like Medieval people might.

The kids ran a little wild for a while, then I pulled Asher into a spiced-roasted-almond-making project. He got them in the oven... then all Hell broke loose! Neither child wanted to do ANYTHING but jump on the trampoline.

I asked them to pick something off of the list. NOPE! I told them that if they had any creative ideas I would honor them. NOPE! When I demanded they sit on the couch, calm down, and listen to me read another of the "Canterbury Tales," Cady listened. Asher freaked!

Oh, wait! One little thing I forgot to mention... after the almonds I let Asher have thirty minutes of free time on the computer!!! What's wrong with me? Where's that wisdom now? I always think, "He'll be able to handle it this time." NOPE! The screaming started when his timer went off. It went in fits and flurries until finally, after he told me to "shut up" and threw a plastic chair outside, I sent him to his room until his father came home. He was in there for an hour.

If you don't know us well, we have been dealing with Asher's mood swings for many years. We've gone from therapy to chiropractic to food elimination to magnesium supplements to more therapy and now to neurofeedback. Time to try good old fashioned stiff discipline? Methinks so. Along with screen detox.

After greeting Dad and updating him, I went up to check on Asher. He was reading his book, and some music was playing. He didn't want to talk, but he knew what he did wrong. He was released from prison, with the consequence of being grounded to the house until Thursday's dance class.

Now, don't think Cady is a princess in all of this. She still refused to finish the Medieval Fable she is writing and illustrating. If it's not done by Wednesday, she won't be going to her much-anticipated scouting group. It's time for tough love. (And time to love mine own selfeth.)

Tonight we are going to sit together and fill out our planners for tomorrow. I don't think I'll be using any more online interactive lessons. Staying away from screen stimulation seems to be a great healer for our family. We'll write letters instead of blogging. (Uh, I mean the kids will.) We'll buy math workbooks and continue to study history through library books, and science through the kitchen!

Now it's time for hot tea, maybe some popcorn, and a little cozy-up time! It's always good to end the day on a loving note.