The Book of Mormon: The Cornerstone of Our Home

We have been trying to get down to basics in our home and this has been a blessing that has helped improve the relationships in our home and bring more peace and the Spirit in our lives, but challenges still come. This is part of life.

Recently, we had some struggles with one of our children feeling angry, sad, and down more often than usual. We really did not know why this was happening, much less what to do about it. We tried to implement different communication tactics, lots of love and patience, and more predictability in our routines. These were all great strategies, but I personally felt something was missing and just couldn't figure it out. We approached the matter with much prayer and fasting.

I had a thought that I acknowledge as a direct impression from Heavenly Father to read the Book of Mormon with the kids every day. I must admit, this seemed like a nearly impossible task seeing that my kids are 7, 5,3, and 1, only one of them can actually read, and they just don't have the attention span that I had considered necessary for daily scripture study from the actual Book of Mormon. We began reading every day. Every morning after our morning routine of breakfast, family work, getting dressed and brushing teeth, we all sat down, each with their own set of scriptures, and we read from the Book of Mormon. I read, or my oldest would read, and the rest of the kids just naturally started repeating what we said! I was amazed at how much they enjoyed "reading" from their own scriptures. Each even kept a post it tag as a book mark in their own book. We read as little as one verse of scripture a day and as much as three of four verses. We stopped and I explained what we were reading and told them the meaning of any new words. We have continued this process for a few months now, reading  from the Bible as well for a week and a half before Easter, with powerful spiritual experiences as well. I know we have felt the Spirit reading the scriptures together. I have never read the Book of Mormon so slowly, and I know I have gained new insights from really pondering each word so carefully.

We have all felt the powerful influence of the Book of Mormon in our home. My child who was having a difficult time, has dramatically improved since the day we started reading. I know that was a direct answer to prayer for this particular struggle. My three year old has even used scripture language in her prayers "And it came to pass, Jesus loves Me!". I had my doubts that anything was actually sinking in with the younger ones, but I know they have felt the Spirit, they are learning more of the Book of Mormon stories straight from the source, and I also recognize they are excited to read and improving their reading skills as well. I have even caught my seven year old, all on his own, reading scriptures, marking them, and copying them in his notebook.

I can say that I have a testimony of the divinity of the Book of Mormon and the power it has to answer prayers, bring the Spirit in our home, help with any problem or struggle, and be a true blessing in the lives of people. I have seen this in our home once again. What a beautiful gift, and a wonderful promise!

3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do. (2 Nephi 32:3)

The Wonderful Power of Listening Material

Sometimes life can get pretty busy, especially with little ones in the home. I am always looking for ideas to make our home a more peaceful place. One of the things that we have decided is to almost eliminate screen time. Most days we don't even turn on the t.v. Instead we have found the amazing power of listening material.  I am all for free learning material and we have discovered a few audio tools that are really fun and helpful in our home. These tools and materials have been a great blessing in our lives recently, not only for helping us learn new concepts, but for bringing the Spirit into our home.

1. Audio books on CD and E audio books

At our library we have the ability to put books on hold and go pick them up when they are ready. We have loved reserving some great books on CD. Our most recent one was The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. We put some of these books on as we work on projects or play. They have also been a HUGE hit at quiet time for my seven year old. We purchased a portable CD player "walkman" style, for him to listen to audio CDs for quiet time. He listened to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in three days!

Our library also has another resource called OverDrive. It's an app you can use to download E audio books onto your device. I love listening to books with the kids, and I am even currently enjoying listening to Little Women as I make and clean up dinner.

2. Podcasts

We downloaded a podcast app and we are really enjoying a podcast called Brains On. It is geared toward kids. The radio show is really entertaining and educational. We all love it! We have also enjoyed a podcast called Story Nory in the past.

3. Mormon Channel app and Gospel Library app

We love listening to Scripture Stories (a program for kids), 24/7 talk, 24/7 music, on the Mormon channel app. On the Gospel Library app I really enjoy listening to the talks suggested as I study and prepare for my lessons at church for Young Women. We have recently also liked listening to The Friend Magazine on the Gospel Library app as we eat breakfast. It makes a great devotional.

We use my ipad and a portable blue tooth speaker. I can take it anywhere we are. I also recommend a portable CD player and headphones for those audio books on CD during quiet time. These free tools have truly been ejoyed by all my little ones and myself. My children are asking questions and their faces light up to hear new fun information. I can see their love of learning grow as we use these resources in our home.

"A house of learning"

As we have been implementing the principles of leadership education in our home, we are making learning more of a lifestyle. Our learning principles are relaxed and resemble unschooling. For us, this looks like meaningful "kid school" pretty much every morning where we learn to work and play together as a family while I guide them, present interesting information, and do what we love together. This could mean writing letters, coloring, listening to good books, discussing gospel topics, practicing for church talks, reading scriptures, singing songs, playing math games, doing experiments and so many other fun things. 

But what about the rest of the day? We study and have quiet time where we all do a quiet activity that interest us, like writing an animal explorers book, or cutting and pasting, or reading a good book, and of course we play, play, play! We learn to cooperate, include others, be patient with little ones, wait our turn, be kind, control our bodies, jump, run, observe nature, catch bugs and toads, dig in the dirt, and be creative. The list could go on. As we focus on these simple aspects of life I see my children grow to be happy, kind, and creative people. As we simplify our home with the things that matter most, the essentials, I see the fruits of our labor. 

It is on days like today where I feel overjoyed to see how my children are learning important values. We had the chance to go out to eat with my husband during a weekday, which is a very rare occurrence. My three kids were playing in the play area with another little boy while my husband and I finished our lunch. The little boy had to leave and his mom came and asked us as she was leaving "Are those your kids in there?" I must admit I was a little afraid of why she was asking! I thought one of my kids had hurt her child or something, but instead she said "They played so nicely with my son. They included him in their game. They were so nice!" Wow! I was so happy to hear that. That is where I see the values we are trying to instill in our children in action. I thank Heavenly Father for His guiding hand in our home and in the education of our children. Education is much more than just a means of learning facts and information to pass a test. It is instilling in our children the values that will help them grow to be good happy people who love and serve others, are curious about the world and develop good attributes of leadership. 

"Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God" Doctrine and Covenants 88:119

This scripture is becoming our motto, and we hope to make our home a house of God as we are guided by Him in our homeschooling. 

Butterfly Metamorphosis

For the last 17 days we have experience the wonder of metamorphosis! It has been so amazing for all of us to see these teeny tiny caterpillars grow and grow, develop chrisalides, and emerge as painted lady butterflies! It has reminded me of the wonder of life and the beauty and blessing we have to be a part of it and to witness it first hand. 

We learned about how we develop and improve as we work hard. We also talked about how some things take hard work and patience to develop, but the final reward is worth it! 

We had a fun experience! 

Kidschool and the Closet

My kids are all in what is called core phase. This is a phase between 0 and around 8 years of age where children are naturally curious and where building a strong foundation in harmony, love, knowing right from wrong, family and values, a love of work, play, and learning are all so very important. Almost every morning we are beginning to implement a time called Kidschool. This is a time where we all spend our time together playing, reading a lot, exploring, and just enjoying each other's company. We focus on a very natural type of learning where we all learn and discover together. If I need to cook, they cook with me. If I need to organize a closet, they are involved. This time is so important for all of us to build bonds and learn the importance of working as a family and enjoying it! To me, it's so very important to involve all my kids. They all need my attention, and this is just what our family needs. 

Recently it's been a bit difficult to have harmony in our home with the adjustment of a fourth new baby that has hit us all pretty hard. We are trying to implement a sense of structure and predictability in our home now that the baby is napping just a little bit more regularly. Maybe it's because it's spring or something, but I have been feeling the desire to simplify, simplify, simplify! For us that meant beginning to implement one of the ingredients of Thomas Jefferson Education, the closet. In the closet there are many things for the kids to explore and play with. They range from puzzles, manipulatives, building toys, coloring pages, nature magazines, games, workbooks and some art and writing supplies. The closet is set up so it can be left open during kidschool and the kids can play with the activities and put them back for as long as they'd like. While they play we either listen to books or music while I sit and play with them, or I read to them from our chapter book at the time. This week we are reading The Tale of Desperaux. 

I have had many tender moments this week after months of having days of feeling frustration over not having a very positive spirit in our home. We have felt more peace. We have had less fights and yelling, we have felt the Spirit of the Lord in out home more strongly, and we have truly been feeling the joy of learning. That is my goal! I love it!! Life changes are difficult, and these two ingredients from Thomas Jefferson Education have truly been an answer to prayer this week! 

A Thomas Jefferson Education 7 keys

I have been guided to a wonderful educational philosophy that we are working on implementing in our schooling and life. It is called a Thomas Jefferson Education, Tjed, or leadership education. This philosophy focuses on 7 keys and the idea that there are phases of learning . The goal with Tjed is to raise leaders by providing them with an education to match their potential. This philosophy really resonates with me and the passion I have for my children, their education, and my education as well. 

7 keys

1. Classics, Not Textbooks
2. Mentors, Not Professors
3. Inspire, Not Require
4. Structure Time, Not Content
5. Simplicity, Not Complexity
6. Quality, Not Conformity
7. You, Not Them

My goal this year is to educate myself in Tjed by working on the seven keys certification where I will have the chance to read several books, including classics like Les Miserables and Pride and Prejudice, in order to immerse myself in my education and in turn inspire my children to love learning. My sister and I are excited to work on this exciting new undertaking simultaneously. We are projecting it will take us from 6 to 12 months to complete. It consists of reading several books and recording thoughts, ideas, and plans for ourselves and our family prompted by questions provided by a study guide and essay questions. By the end I hope to be able to more indepthly implement the seven keys that will increase my love of learning and help me raise great leaders. I will be posting some of my thoughts on this blog as I continue on this journey. 

Take a look at Tjed.org to get a closer look. 

Learning Will Happen

Today, my new baby is two weeks old. Today was also the first day I have been left to take care of my four little ones without help. I have been dreading this day and praying everything goes well, and that I can handle the messes, the cooking, the diapers, the nursing, the entertaining, and on top of it all the teaching of my babies. 

I have been blessed with the Lord's tender mercies today. Today has been such a great day despite my three older ones recovering from a stomach flu, it being a cold wet inside day, and having a nursing newborn that needs a lot of attention from me. 

This morning the boys got up and ate a few snacks while I finished nursing the baby. I finally was able to go downstairs and made breakfast. We were eating by 9am. While the kids finished eating I swept and cleaned up. While we ate we listened to scripture stories about Jesus Christs miracles and his apostles and it prompted some discussion about choosing the right. 

Lesson #1 patience, independence

Lesson #2 when we chose the right we are happy

We were gifted some madlibs for Christmas and my 6 year old LOVES them. We did about three today right after breakfast at the kitchen table. 

Lesson #3 nouns, adjectives, verbs, new vocabulary like "filthy" 

After the madlibs I put the baby in her baby wrap for a nap and headed upstairs to brush our teeth. My six year old made his bed and brushed his teeth, got dressed, and came over to tell me he was going to take out the clean laundry and put the wet clothes in the dryer too. He did that and then informed me he wanted to sort the clean laundry and put it away. He initiated this chore all on his own, and was happy to do it!  

Lesson # 4 personal hygiene, family responsibility, cooperation, organization,cleanliness

While upstairs putting laundry away the kids noticed some new books and they wanted me to read to them. By this time the baby needed to nurse. So I nursed the baby while we read four books on math concepts, and community helpers. 

Lesson #5 addition, all about police, paramedics, and fire men 

After our stories we had a snack and some free time. After a while my son came to me again to tell me he wanted to prepare lunch for everyone! So he put together a nice little lunch of an apple, blackberries, chips and salsa, and trail mix. 

Lesson #6 joy in service, putting together a healthy meal

After lunch the little girls napped while we played a dice game where we rolled the dice and wrote out addition problems on the white board. We played for over 30 minutes. The boys didn't want to stop! 

Lesson #7 writing addition problems 

The day wasn't exactly perfect, but it was the kind of day I needed to know that although I have a lot going on, and things may not be ideal always, there is so much to be learned from just living life! I know my Heavenly Father lives and knows me and my needs, desires, and worries. Today was just a confirmation to me that He is present in my life, and the life of my family. 

Learning will happen in our little home with the Lord's guiding hand.