The Words of Eleanor Roosevelt

“Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway.”

“A mature person is one who does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and in all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably with the circumstances of life, knowing that in this world no one is all knowing and therefore all of us need both love and charity.”

Good teaching ...

"Good teaching and true education consist simply of series of teachable moments. " 
Dr. Howard Hendricks

Don't spoil what you have...

I read these wise words on  The Frugal Girl' site one day.  What a timely reminder  it was for me:

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” -Epicurus

Lassen Volcanic Trip - Day 3

Previous Posts:
Lassen Volcanic Trip - Day 1
Lassen Volcanic Trip - Day 2

This is our last day at Lassen. We had breakfast and start packing up:

The kids were busy watching something

 

Mother Theresa's Words of Wisdom

I just read a quote by Mother Theresa in a book I am currently reading. So I looked up more of her words of wisdom online, which turned out to be a lot. I copied and pasted some of her words below. May it be a blessing to your soul as it does to mine.

“Peace begins with a smile..”

“The person who gives with a smile is the best giver because God loves a cheerful giver.” 

“Without patience, we will learn less in life. We will see less. We will feel less. We will hear less. Ironically, rush and more usually mean less.”

“The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.”

“What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.”

“Smile at each other. Smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other- it doesn't matter who it is- and that will help to grow up in greater love for each other.” 

Give a man a fish...

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." ~ Chinese Proverb

"Don't just give your children fish. Teach them how to fish, and you'll be on your way to raising life long learners." Joy@FiveJs

 

Intelligence + Character

“Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.” 

- Martin Luther King Jr. 

"Life is too short, be present where you are." Renee Tougas @ FIMBY

The Golden Rule for Spring Cleaning

Our kitchen renovation has forced us to clean, purge, and organize. This quote from William Morris has become my guideline when I need to decide whether I should keep, donate, or get rid certain items

"Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful" William Morris

Babies don't keep, they really don't

 I had an argument with a guest speaker at our church a few months ago. The conversation went like this:

Me: So you have two college age boys?

Him: Yes, and these are your boys, how old are they?

Me: Four and Two

Him: Keep in mind that they grow so fast

Me: Yeah... I know

Him: O... No you don't

Me: I know

Him: No you don't 

Me: I know

Him: Trust me, you don't

Months passed.... I think he is right. I won't realize how fast they grow until they are grown but this I know: babies don't keep

Max @ 1 month old

"It matter to your kids. When you makes a mistake, own it." ~ unknown

Summer Reading List

 

"If you have an hour set apart to read, try reading the first half-hour and use the second half-hour to reflect on what you read. Watch the difference it makes. You are reading too much if you reflect on it too little."  Dr. Howard Hendricks on Teaching to Change Lives

Confession: I am guilty of too much reading without reflecting so I am posting the list of books that I am reading this summer and will post the summary of what I read on this blog.

Attack Your Day!: Before It Attacks You

Life Management for Busy Women

Teaching to Change Lives

Forgotten God

The Money Smart Family System: 

Teaching Financial Independence to Children of Every Age

Homeschooling Methods: Seasoned Advise on Learning Styles

 

What are you reading this summer?

Mothering Lessons from Ruth Graham

The first Christian book I read was written by Ruth Graham. Her writing made me laugh, cry, and wanting to grow closer in my relationship with God and dig deeper in His Words. A little while ago I found this interview and was very blessed by it.

"A true mother is not merely a provider, housekeeper, comforter, or companion, a true mother is primarily and essentially a trainer." Ruth Bell Graham

Teaching kids to do things themselves

One big lesson I learned from The Montessori's Way is to encourage independence by teaching kids to do things themselves. 

Maria Montessori wrote, "Don't do for your child what he can do himself. We habitually serve children; and this is not only an act of service toward them, but it is dangerous, since it tends to suffocate their useful, spontaneous activity. It requires much more time and patience to teach a child how to eat, wash, and clothe himself than it does to feed, bathe, and clothe him."

I learned that I need to take the time to show and teach them on how to do certain tasks and organize their stuffs {clothes, toy, learning materials, and eating utensils} in places where they can reach them without our help.  Below are some things that we encourage our kids {age 4 and almost 2} to do on their own:

Pick up their toys. Great article from Money Saving Mom: Instead of yelling, try helping.

Eat on their own. Starting when they are able to pick up food with their fingers then moving on to using spoon or fork. It's messy in the beginning {even 'till now} but I have no regret on letting them eat on their own as early as possible:

Grab their eating utensils and drink. I placed their eating utensils, glass, and water container at the lower drawer or shelf, where they can reach on their own.

 

Wash their hands. Good safety tip from our pediatrician: turn down the water temperature on the water tank that way when the kids accidentally turn on hot water their hand won't get burn.

Throw trash in the garbage bin:

Put on their clothes without our help

Play on their own. 

It's true that we need to sing, read, snuggle, and give them our undivided attention but I don't think we need to entertain them all the time.  Kids are wired with creativity and curiosity and are able to entertain themselves with almost anything. Safety note: make sure to baby proof the room and keep sharp and dangerous things away from their reach. When in doubt, keep them away from the kid - lesson I learned the hard way

Clean up: vacuum dirt {with a lightweight hand vacuum}

 mop the floor,or wipe the furniture

Be involved and "help" us:

Peel daicon or carrot

Help unloading the dishwasher:

and the grocery
 

Do the number No. 2 on the potty once they can sit unsupported. I shared on how we do it in detail here

Help with simple chores such as watering the plants:

Put their clean clothes in the dresser

or taking the garbage bin out:

What other thing that you encourage your kids to do it themselves?

What I learned lately

{if you're wondering what're those things under our feet; those are heat pads I made to warm our feet during cold night.}

1. Six Things Every Christian Blogger Need to Know by Ann Voskamp. It helps me focus on writing to One audience.

2. "I can't fill everybody's cup. I can only pour my cup." Andy Stanley
I listen to Andy Stanley interview yesterday and the above sentence stuck in my head. Often, I hesitate to write, share, or do something because I kept thinking: I don't have all the information, knowledge, experience and so on. What he said reminded me that I can only share and do what I know and have. I don't have to know everything and fill everybody's need or expectation.

Max's Preschool Learning Plan

{The map on the left is leap frog world map and the one on the right is a world map puzzle}

Earlier this year as I began planning Max's preschool learning plan I was confused as where should I start. Chris and I prayed, attended homeschooling conferences, read books, talked with other homeschoolers but I still felt inadequate and overwhelmed. Then God reminded me why we want to homeschool and I came across FiveJs' website that gave practical ideas on homeschooling the early years. 

As I started gathering the learning materials {mostly from what we already have at home and the library}, I feel excited, humbled, fear, and nervous at the same time. I love teaching from the very young to the college ages so I am very grateful for opportunity and privilege to teach my own kids. We take schooling one year at a time. We'll continue to pray and evaluate how it works for us and the kids year by year. As for now, Max will continue to attend Chinese School 2 times a week and learn at home the other days.

Thankfully, I read FiveJs post about Scope and Sequence prior to planning my own. The Scope and Sequence below is only used as flexible guidance. I want my children to love learning, learn at their own pace, follow their interests, and learn important life skills.

Resources Books for us {the parents/ teachers}:

        

Max's Preschool Learning Plan:

Bible: Bible reading using: The Story For Little One and Wee Sing Bible Songs 

Math: Counting 1-20, learn about hour, simple addition and subtraction

Reading: Teaching Reading and lots of reading aloud {mostly from the library}. Some good books list

Chinese: exposure and daily conversation

Practical Life - daily chores, learning life skills
Writing: penmanship, drawing, cutting, art & craft ( lots of ideas from pinterest)

Play. Never underestimate the power of play! 

The numbers chart was from Three R's book and I made the subjects lesson plan on Microsoft Words with images from google. I then laminated them that way Max can mark it with erasable marker and wipe it off when we start a new day.

Name: _______________

Date:_________________

Today I did:

	Bible
	Practical Life
	Reading
	Math
	Chinese
	Writing
	Play

"Good parents give their children Roots and Wings. 

Roots to know where home is, 

Wings to fly away and exercise what's been taught them." Dr. Jonas Salk

A sweet friend shared this above quote. Prayerfully, we can be that parents who give our kids strong roots as their foundation and wings to fly.

Note: Some links in this post are my referral links