I can sit on the front porch and hear the grass growing.
We caught a dryish day on Saturday and got it all mowed. It was seriously 14 inches tall.
I love it when my grass is all neatly mowed.
This year Megan is learning to drive the zero turn mower.
I'm finding that she likes to go fast when she drives.
That's a lot scary.
We are so close to the end of the year. Like REALLY close.
I started this post with funny facts in mind but it has morphed into a serious reflection on our year.
What is it about finishing something that is so hard? I have partly finished projects all over my house. The reward of finishing one is so sweet. That said, I like starting projects a lot more than finishing them. Each school year is no different. The end of a school year is a much harder time for me than the beginning.
It takes perseverance to finish something well. It would be so easy to just give up. I want to. I really do. But there is a bigger lesson in this than finishing a school year. Both for me and my students. My children (and yours) are watching us every day battle to do things we don't want to do.
Don't think they aren't watching. They are.
I keep going because I want my kids to be finishers. Not giving up on hard things is a HUGE lesson to learn. I want to be a good example of this and encourage them as they work to finish well.
Daddy science class. Joshua & Megan analyzing how a cows heart works.
Learning can be a lot of fun. And it often is around the Brush household. However the lessons, the grading and the daily dedication is not always fun for the teacher or the student. We are at the end of our books. The final few chapters are left. Every time we finish up a subject there is a mini celebration. The feeling of putting away a book is glorious!
We use those small celebrations as the incentive. Then we spring board that excitement into the next subject to tackle. Once math was finished, we were able to double up on science. When science is done we will be doing LOTS of literature & history reading. It's a snowball effect and if we focus on the momentum and excitement of that then the drudgery of finishing disappears!
I like to whine. It's more fun to have sympathy than to work. I want to wallow in the guilt of not being done already. Blaming myself is easier than buckling down and working.
In past years, we would shoot to finish in mid-May. Since we didn't start school in August as planned and I had a cornea transplant in December that has put us WAY behind. Not to mention the process of getting Elizabeth diagnosed with Celiac disease in December.(when it rains--it pours right?)
It would be easy to just say "oh well we will never finish this year because ____________"
But we can finish. Looking at the plans on the calendar I know it can be done. We just have to work instead of whining about our "situation"
We all want to be out in the sunshine. Playing in the garden, shooting baskets or riding our bikes. Elizabeth is home from college and comes up with great ideas for what would be a fun to do. She's excellent at fun! My answer to her is almost always "Well, maybe after school is done"
Sometimes I just say--let's go. Funny how after we go and have some fun then the distractions are easier to resist and we are more motivated to get back to work and finish the day's to do list.
I've been using the Wunderlist app lately to keep me on track. Notice I said on track--I don't use it to get things done.
I never get my to-do list done. EVER
The kids always have more work they can do. That can feel so overwhelming if I let it.
It wasn't long ago that I couldn't do what I wanted to do(not lifting more than 5 pounds or leaning over) and that was overwhelming. Feeling helpless is just as overwhelming as having a long to do list.
The ability to get up and work on my list is a blessing. That to-do list isn't an evaluation of my day. If it was I'd fail every single time. Instead I think of the list is a guide. Sure I try to check off as many things as possible. But I know that there are TONS of other things I get done that never even make the list.
My kids are the same way. The goal is to do as many lessons a day right now as possible. But if we can't due to some unforeseen event or fun activity we choose? Well then tomorrow's to-do list is already started.
Reading history, LOTS & LOTS of History. He loves this!
The plan. Each week we check off the work on our assignment sheets.
I'm sure there are lots more lessons we've learned along the way. These are the BIG ones for us. We are ready to start the summer and enjoy that time off but we will finish this year well first!
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It has baffled me how we were going to keep up with the weeding at our new house. I did fine on our little garden because all I did was cover our path's with our grass clippings and maybe some newspaper. Could we do that with our new big garden?
Have you tried Deep Mulch aka Ruth Stout method gardening with straw or hay? We are trying it out this year!
As the weather warms up, my brain starts to go in to summer mode. That means a more relaxed and laid back time for the family. That is good after a busy spring of Bible Quizzing events and finishing up school.
We start spending a larger amount of time outside and the activities we enjoy are more active. I've been looking forward to that change for several months. My energy seems to have returned from my cornea transplant in December. Yeah!
We have a tradition in the Brush household. For the last couple of years we have made "bucket lists" of things we want to do before the weather turns cold again. We affectionately call it the Sand Bucket list since it is for Spring & Summer.
Reasons to make a Summer Bucket List
Yesterday I asked the kids to write their lists up so we could start scheduling some of the things that they would like to do this year. I'll share our lists once they get them filled out.
Here is the fun printable I made for them. It's free and made me think of summer time things.
Summer Bucket List(click to download printable)
I'd love to hear what is on your summer bucket list. It's fun to hear what other families are doing together!
Well as of a week ago I'm back on the band wagon for scheduling my days by fuel type(week #1 menu).
Though I haven't lost additional pounds, I'm still maintaining my 2 pound loss from doing this "tweek" of the Trim Healthy Mama plan.
Last week wasn't a complete week for me because Joshua's birthday was Thursday so I might have had a couple of crossovers that night.(wink). The menu below was my plan but hey I chucked the plan Thursday night.
**I drink GGMS & Shrinker off and on all day
(CARBS are SO important to loosing weight. But be sure to choose low-glycemic ones!)
Weekends are crazy around here and I find it easier to just free style and switch it up. Make sure to have AT LEAST one low-glycemic carb meal or snack each day! As you can see I used recipes from the THM book and just basic foods. Nothing crazy or special.
Many of these recipes are on my pinterest boards.
The recipes with page numbers are from the THM book.
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More THM help
