Epiphany, Back to School, and Reading Aloud!

Epiphany

We celebrated Epiphany on Sunday, three days late, and had a sweet time.

Breakfast of Dutch babies (one pumpkin pie spice, one blueberry), sausage, bacon, and strawberries with whipped cream) . . . 

Thomas, now sporting two lost teeth, had requested this turtle shirt for Epiphany and has been wearing it every time it is not in the hamper since then.

Back to School

Getting back to a school routine after three weeks off for the holidays can be tough regardless, but I was also anticipating running everything myself without any longer having Thomas's CAP/C worker to help. I had had help since Thomas got home from the hospital nearly a year ago. However, my last employee gave her notice and, having gone through numerous employees now, and then advertising with no responses, we decided to have me try it alone for a while. 

It went better than hoped!

School assignments were completed, meals were cooked, the house was basically kept neat and orderly, and we even fit in one of Thomas's specialty doctor's appointments without throwing everything into a tizzy.

The top 4 kids headed back to Regina Caeli Academy two days weekly.

A key change is that I moved the younger three kids downstairs to the kitchen table for homeschooling. There are phases in a mother's life when she can manage all the children sequestered in a handsome school room, and there are phases when she has to anchor herself to the kitchen (the heart of the home). This helps me meet Thomas's eating needs without bringing school to a halt so often . . . and it even helps me take care of the puppy!

Nicky sleeping in my lap while I teach first grade

I bought one of those nifty rolling carts to store school books in the eating area of my kitchen.

I reflected peacefully that our children are far more blessed than they can know right now to get to school with their parents in the home and to have a beautiful environment. It's a profound gift and privilege that I should never forget.

This new arrangement keeps the 9th grader and 7th grader in their separate rooms, working independently, and leaves the 5th grader--who desperately craves silence--working alone in the school room upstairs.

Work desk and art station for the fifth grader

Reading Aloud Returns

This past week, I successfully resuscitated reading aloud to the family!

One must know that I read aloud to our children multiple times daily from the youngest of ages. We had Morning Basket time in which we read from a half dozen books daily. I read aloud often at lunch. We had a standing rule never to turn on the television after dinner, and I read aloud a long, classic novel to the family then.

Then, 13 years into our family, cancer happened. A 132-hospital stay happened. My returning a new parent of a child with special needs happened.

The best I've been limping along with for the past year is reading short, little kid books (without chapters) to the 4- and 6-year-olds at bedtime. That was it, and it made me sad.

Over Christmas break, I set about thinking how to bring back reading aloud. The very culture in our home has changed and several of the kids are no longer accustomed to listening to me read, or even don't want to listen. I have had so little extra energy, truly being in survival mode, where my accomplishments are measured as successfully being able to cook all our own meals again instead of relying on our community, who fed us dinners for more than six months.

I bought a book I had never heard of, but seemed darling: The Adventures of Geraldine Woolkins, a book about a mouse with a Christian theme woven into the background of their mousey lives. This book has turned out to be delightful and charming, plus instills wholesome values. (For my read-aloud friends, you might appreciate that what sealed the deal for my purchasing this book was this negative customer review on Amazon, written by a public school librarian, which revealed to me everything I wanted in a book: click here.)

Prior to this, I never understood when I would read alone or hear friends talk about being unable to read aloud, their kids wouldn't stand for it, or they were nervous, or it just "wasn't done" in their home. Well, God allows me now to understand all of those fears and circumstances. 

I decided just to go for it and announce at breakfast one day that I was going to start reading a new book out loud. There was mixed reaction and I intentionally set aside my wounded ego. But let me tell you, after one chapter, I had hooked, not all, but numerous of my "fish." Certain of the children are now begging me at most meals to read to them, and they run to get all their coloring books, just like they used to, and they color silently while they listen. Stopping at one chapter raises protests for "one more!"

After not having read aloud for almost a year and a half, this brings my heart incredible joy.

Children coloring while I read aloud, and Nicky the puppy joining us

I also began a chapter book at night for the 4- and 6-year-olds, with the intent purpose of roping in the newly turned 9-year-old, which it has done successfully: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! Our 9-year-old had really separated himself from bedtime routine, but now he is racing to join us because he gets to hear this book.