The Bins

Each child in our family has a plastic bin.  This bin is either in their closet or under their bed.  These bins when used properly can be the answer to decluttering a bedroom and home!

My kids collect stuff and stuff just seems to find them.  A trip to the dentist will bring in array of novelties like spinning tops, parachute men, stickers, and more.  A birthday party hat or noisemaker might be just too much fun to throw away.  The mail brings circulars with pictures of doughnuts, ice cream, and other treats that should but cut out and gazed upon every few days.  Yes, my son carried around an advertisement for doughnuts for over a year!

So how can we find a home for all these amusements?  The bins have been the solution for our family.  Each child has their own plastic bin.  It is soley their property to place all the gadgets, papers, and important stuff that is not ready to be thrown away.  If it fits in the bin then it can be saved.  We have one simple rule:  no food or beverage is allowed to enter the bins.

About every six weeks we have a review time so the kids can go through the bins on their own and part with those items that have lost their fancy and make room for new items.  I will admit that on the days when everyone is reviewing the contents of their bins some trading does occur.  The spinning top may have lost its appeal to the 9 year old, but is now a wonder of revolution to the 5 year old.

Why the Kids Like the Bins

They don't have to throw away that special craft or trinket until they are ready.

It holds all the treasures that are individually special to them.

They know exactly where to find that special something that brings them a little enjoyment.

Why Mom Likes the Bins

It reduces the amount of clutter I see around the house.

I don't feel like a meanie making them get rid of something that is meaningless to me, but meaningful to them.

I have a place to direct them to put there stuff away when they find new treasures to behold.

Social Graces Should Surround Us

In the daily life of homeschooling it can be easy to forget some key points.  Yes, assignments need to get done.  Yes, appointments have to be kept.  Yes, household duties need to be completed.  The list goes on...

As parents we are privileged to be able to spend our days with our children.  Teaching them academics, but also the social graces needed for a fruitful life.  All the academics are great, but will only turn out a knowledgeable adult without the common sense on how to use that knowledge for a greater good.

So how can we teach these social graces?  Definitely not from a book.  You can get ideas and inspirations from books but the ultimate lesson is in modeling those characteristics.  Characteristics that are so important that they will make a lasting impression on our children.  We can also encourage them to follow our example and look for ways to grow in social graces. 

5 Great Ways to Get Started

1.  How often there are events or social gatherings where someone new is present.  No one really knows the new girl and she might sit off to the side or by herself.  Do we look around the room to see an opportunity to introduce ourselves and make them feel welcomed?

 2.  A familiar scene is when a group of women are chatting and a person comes up that knows one of the women in the group and chats only with them.  Does the woman coming up make a point to say hello to the others and meet them?  Does her friend make a point to tell everyone, "This is my friend ____." and a little bit about her to initiate conversation. 

 3.  It is easy to remind our children to say please and thank you.  Do we use these words with our children as well?  Or just shoot out commands?  Do we tell our friends please and thank you?  Spouses like to hear it too. 

 4.  Opportunities to serve a family or individual in need are constant.  Bringing a meal, mowing a lawn, running errands, taking care of children or the sick and elderly are all beautiful gifts that are deeply appreciated by the recipients.  It shows love in action.  Involving our kids to help us with these tasks makes them all the sweeter.  We get to spend time with our children bringing love to others.

 5.  Teaching your children to pray for others is invaluable.  It not only teaches them where true trust lies as we put our humble requests at God's throne, but it shows compassion for others in an outspoken way.  The children hear our prayers for a special intention and can create their own because they have heard real life examples. 

 In reality living social graces is living as a Christian.  Including others so they don't feel left out, taking into consideration another's thoughts and feelings about a situation, saying we are sorry when we have done wrong, forgiving those that have hurt us, looking for opportunities to bring joy to others, these are just some of the daily lessons that really make the homeschool education more than just a set of academic requirements.

Do you ever just go up to your kids and give them a hug?  I'm talking about a hug that is totally unexpected and unrelated to their behavior or an event.  A hug that says I'm glad you're in my life and I love you!  It makes everyone feel good and lets your kids know how special they are to you.  It shows them the total unconditional love you have for them just being who they are!

I try to remember to do this from time to time- a hug just out of the blue.  I always get a huge smile from the person I am hugging.  If you're not sure if you are doing enough hugging, here is a quick easy test.  After you give a hug if the recipient asks, "What was that for?" then you need to do it more often!

For advanced hugging, don't be the first to let go.  You'll be surprised at just how long your kids can hug you.  Try it, just give a hug and don't let go right away.  Enjoy it.  Allow them to let go first when they are ready.  You might be surprised that they hold on for longer than you expected. 

Don't forget to share your hugs with all your loved ones! 

The other day we solved the mystery of the missing clothes. Every few days, one of the boys would say he was out of clothes. We couldn't understand it, but okay, I put a load to wash. Next day, the same thing. Okay, put another load to wash. Again, nothing to wear someone would proclaim. I thought, how can they be out of clothes? It just got washed, yesterday???

Well I've been busy with other stuff and just didn't have time to investigate. Honestly, it was easier just to do another load of laundry than to find out where the clothes were going. So, I decided to finally go into the boys' room and solve the mystery. Well we have 3 boys sharing a small closet that keeps all their summer and winter clothes. We live in a warm climate and you can never really put away your short sleeve stuff. We can have one day of 44 degree weather and the next day can be 74 degrees! Another topic completely.

I started pulling out clothes and found out that my oldest son's clothes were falling off the hangers in the back of the closet. They were accumulating into a nice pile of clean laundry. My second son's clothes were being shifted to the opposite side of the closet and getiing mixed up with his brothers'. Of course his brothers never mentioned or paid attention to that fact. He later said that he was wondering why every washing of his clothes resulted in less clothes.

The boys of course never bothered to really search their closet, it was much easier to announce being out of clothes. For me it was easier to just throw in another load than to search the closet. We were all shirking a job, hoping that someone else would get it figured out.  In the end, I'm not much different than my boys or should I say that they are not much different than their mom? Do you find that true for yourself?

This mystery reminded me about how I'm being an example to our kids even during the daily life stuff-when I don't even realize it.  It's a big task to be a good example to our kids, but it's an even bigger task to remember we're being an example all the time!  I have a lot of room for improvement, thankfully goofing up and making mistakes are great teachable moments.