[May K-2 Monthly Chat]

I bought & sold Abeka Phonics. She's struggling so we stopped all phonics. We will pick it up over the summer with All About Reading which I bought on a whim while nursing my baby. We shall see. 

The past two years I've become a curriculum hopper even with the big kids. Before that my kids did the exact same things for years 🤷‍♀️. I think it's because this kid feels so different from my first 4 and also my older kids are getting towards middle school/high school. 

Trying to think about spelling for the future because that's how my brain works. 

 

[Everything has been ordered for 2023/2024]

Sigh. ADHD strikes again. We stopped all lessons for reading for my preschooler because she was getting frustrated. Sold Abeka because it was too religious for us. I was up with the baby so I went down a phonics rabbit hole and ended up buying All About Reading level 1. I haven't seen it in person and I can't seem to find an accurate schedule but what does a week look like? 

[Virtues of hardback vs. paperback books]

I hate hardback books. They never feel right in my hands and I always hate the paper cover. I will wait for a book to go to paperback. 

[Poll: comfortable square feet per person]

We have lived in too small spaces and we are building what will hopefully be a just right amount of space. We have lived with 7 people in 1500 sq ft. We are currently in a 2400sqft home with 8 people(1 baby!). It feels cramped but I believe it's the layout that makes it feel cramped. We are building a 2800sq ft bungalow to allow for the upcoming teenagers in our life and a better layout. My husband also works from home and has for the last 5 years.

In our basement we will have a hobbies room for the kids. Our house hopefully be the right amount of space.We dont have a ton of toys but my kids are crafty and like space to make all of their current hobbies. Lego, sewing, Barbies, YouTube and crocheting are the big things for my oldest 4. My 5yo has more toys than her older siblings had growing up but she mainly plays with Barbies, magnatiles and her dolls so our basement currently feels like a kid zone that has exploded trying to contain all of the various things. That is the hardest part about being a minimalist is making sure my kids are using the things they have and also not taking away something they use. I am only attached to my girls bookcase because it's the only thing I have left from my childhood. 

[It's almost freezer meal prep week!]

Every once in a while I like to make freezer breakfasts. Decided to do an entire week dedicated to putting something extra in the freezer. What are your favourite freezer breakfasts?

Friday: Breakfast Sandwiches(24),

Saturday: 5 dozen Muffins - blueberry(2), apple lentil, PB Banana, strawberry

Sunday: 6 Baked oatmeals(2 blueberry, 3 apple & 1 peach)

Monday: 4x Egg Casserole: Brocc/Spinach

Tuesday: 2x Oatmeal Bars(raisin or Blueberry)

Wednesday: Breakfast burritos(24)

Thursday: Pancakes & French Toast

 

 

 

 

[Our grandbaby girl, baby A, was born last night, stillborn.]

I'm so sorry. How awful. I hope you can be a comfort to them. 

[Hobbies for couples...]

We like going to the movie theatre or stage Theatre. We manage only about 4x a year but we've done it more recently since our kids are older, covid has slowed and we are close to family. 

[I’m the meanest mom because…..]

I wouldnt let my 5 year old get a massive stuffed unicorn today. She also declared it the worst day ever so definitely winning in the Mom department 🤪. 

[Experience with ADD meds]

My kid has only tried concerta. We asked for it based on two adults who had good responses to it and it seems to work and hasn't changed her personality or mood. 

[Favourite summer food & recipes]

Now that it's finally warming up here in Ontario I have started planning our meals around more summer type foods.  Please share your favourite recipes or ideas. 

- Vegetarian cobb salad

- bean burgers(kids & hubby are still iffy on them but I love them!)

- baked beans

- mediterranean Quinoa Salad

 

[Sports/extracurriculars in the early years]

For us we don't start any recreational thing until age 5 except for swimming because that is a safety issue. We also only allowed one activity per kid for a while. This may sound harsh but for us we didn't allow any competitive tracks unless we see that they have a natural talent. Everything has been local/recreational My kids have changed activities a few times. 

My 1st dd was in ballet from 5-10. At almost 13 she now does Equestrian.

My 2nd dd was in Girl Guides we moved to Ontario in 2019 and she now does Equestrian with her sister. 

One of my boys has done karate since he was 5. His twin changes activities every 2 years. He has done Archery, karate, gymnastics.

My 5th kid just turned 5 at the end of March and has started Girl Guides. She started her swimming lessons late thanks to covid and only started them this past October. 

[Another cup thread…what is in your personal water bottle collection]

Yeti mug for hot beverages and a yeti tumbler for water. My kids all have yeti jrs for water. Each kid has their own tea/hot chocolate cup. Water glasses and coffee mugs are reserved for guests. I think we have a total of 6 water glasses and 6 coffee cups? 

[If you have siblings that live at least two hours away]

I am the youngest of 3. My sister lives about 3.5 hours from me. My brother lives about 1.5 hours away. We only see each other when we are at my parents or brothers house since there houses are in between ours distance-wise. We only get together for my kids or nieces birthdays and holidays. We may text a picture or two occasionally if our kids did something exciting like win an award. 

[More things I never thought I’d say before becoming a parent]

1 hour ago, NorthernBeth said:

Do NOT stick your finger in the pencil sharpener... said to children at multiple grade levels, including as old as grade 5.

Definitely said this to each and every one of my kids at one point too

[More things I never thought I’d say before becoming a parent]

What is with the licking and kids?? Shoes, people's bodies, clothing, tires, floors, other people's toothbrushes, carseats, tables, balls. All of these things are things I've had to tell my kids not to lick. 

[April K-2nd Grade Chat]

I just bought Abeka phonics and math. My 5yo was hating Phonics Pathways because of how boring it was. She is an easy eager learner so I wanted her to continue her progression. For math, she seems to be a natural too finishing multiple pages of JUMP math that I decided to try Abeka Math too. We have been Reading Usborne books as she shows an interest. 

[Job hopping young adults]

From what I've seen with friends, it's not unusual to hop from job to job. Employers dont care to give benefits, work their employees to the bone and expect loyalty. People hop jobs hoping that they will be respected but unfortunately it's never going to happen. In my husbands industry it's expected to hop from job to job which means most of the time from company to company. It's the current way of the world. 

[Everything has been ordered for 2023/2024]

Just bought Abeka phonics used on a whim. I guess I will add it into the mix for my preschooler if it doesnt look too religious. I liked all the color in it. 

[What are you serving for Easter?]

We are doing brunch with the extended family. 2 kinds of egg casserole, fruit salad, ham and cheese rollups, cinnamon buns, waffles, blueberry coffee cake, orange juice, apple juice

[How old are you?]

I am 36.

[If you've built your house...]

Also, we have found that if you pick the big things right away(floors, windows, doors, exteriors) right away by the time you need them they should be there so we haven't had to wait for much or even change our plans because everything was ordered up front.

[If you've built your house...]

We found land, chose a local builder that built custom homes, planned the house with an architect and the builder, signed off after the plans were completely done and are building the house with a construction loan. We are selling our house this summer for an expected move in date around November 1st. We don't have to sell our house yet but wanted to take advantage of the summer market.  

[Changing the biggest meal to lunch?]

Our evenings are bananas due to activities. My husband suggested this since we can all still sit down to a meal at that time because we are all home. I think I just have to wrap my brain around getting dinner started in the morning. I would have to switch some things around in our homeschool schedule so that I could start at 11am but it would allow us all to sit down at a meal. Does anyone do this? Do you feel like eating a full meal at noon or is your appetite smaller? 

[Cleaning Season hit hard today]

I am cleaning and purging. Then, May 1st or so we will be renovating a few things so that we can put our house up for sale June 1st. 

[Weepy tween girl]

We are going through this now with our oldest two. We did a similar thing as @Jann in TX . We have a comfort food box high enough that they can get it but the 5yo can't. We have chocolate, tea, hot chocolate, their favourite snacks, face masks, nail polish, candles, advil. I wish I had done this sooner for myself because I get crazy during my luteal phase and finally realized I have PMDD and it's just helpful if I don't have to run out to the store when my luteal phase hits 🤪