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Sleep, Blessed Sleep

Sep11

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Lesson planning, teaching, attending extra curricular activities, preparing meals, and cleaning house, are just a few of the many day-to-day tasks we, as educators, face each week.  My mind begins to go into hyper drive and I find myself waking up at all kinds of early morning hours, not being able to return to that blessed sleep I was enjoying.  Do you have this happen to you? I certainly hope it does not, but if it does, I’d like to offer a bit of encouragement and some ideas that I hope will help. 🙂

Stop watching all electronic devices 30 minutes before you go to bed. Your brain needs time to calm down and stop processing. I have been told that if you get in the routine of resting your brain from electronic devices before bedtime you will be able to fall asleep faster and stay asleep.

Try to stay in bed. This is difficult for me because I just toss and turn. I have found that if I do this breathing technique such as I will describe to you, helps me. With your mouth closed, place your tongue on the roof of your mouth and breathe in quickly.  Hold your breath for 7 seconds and slowly exhale for 8 seconds. Repeat this several times and this should put you to sleep. If, after a few minutes, it isn’t working, repeat. Don’t get caught up in how many seconds you have to hold your breath, exhale, etc. That might keep you awake. lol

Do not turn on your computer. According to Web MD, one study shows “that the bright light of a computer screen may alter the body’s biological clock and suppress the natural production of melatonin that’s critical to the normal sleep-wake cycle.”

Be quiet. If you still find that you are awake, get up and either sit in the dark or turn on a soft glow light; play some instrumental music and spend a few minutes just being quiet. I enjoy the following You Tube musicians: DappyTKeys or Peder Helland. Every time my brain wants to rush off in a different direction, I force myself to just listen to the music and be still. I don’t write lists, think about the day, or anything else because my brain will keep me awake! I find it extremely helpful to pray and thank God for all of my blessings.

Take a power nap. If all else fails, and you were not able to fall back to sleep, take a 15-minute afternoon nap. If you have little ones that take an afternoon nap, set the timer and take a quick nap yourself or at least rest. You can let your older children have quiet time too because they need it as well. Reading a book, completing a puzzle, coloring, drawing, or listening to classical music are some things your children can do while you recharge. My normal routine 4-5 times a week is to take a power nap. This is just enough to give my brain and body a reset and the energy I need to finish my day.

Hopefully, trying some, or all of these things, will help to set your mind at ease, cause you to rest peacefully and wake up refreshed.

Have a great week!

~Lisa

 

 

 

 

Being Overwhelmed

Jul10

It seems that summer should be the time to relax and enjoy a slower paced life. I don’t have to teach, I don’t have to get up as early as during the school year, yet I find myself in this state of busyness. I feel like…

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a hamster on a wheel going nowhere fast. (notice the hair!) Can you relate?

I found that I need to make myself accountable to people to have fun. Doesn’t that sound crazy?! Well, I realized that if don’t initiate doing something with a friend it isn’t going to happen. Everyone else is just as busy as me and instead of waiting for someone to call me, I decided I would reach out to them instead. (Guess which one is me?)

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I have two friends who like to go walking and it is a great time to get caught up on life and have fun while we exercise at the same time. I love doing this, because as lame as it sounds, it also holds me accountable for getting my exercise in too. I have found that time flies when I am exercising, and talking and sharing, as opposed to me just walking by myself. When walking solo, I find I am constantly checking my watch and going shorter distances than when I am doing this with a friend.

I also have a dear friend whose husband owns a bike shop. I can get her to ride bikes with me, which is the only sport that I have invested money in and do regularly. Again, I like to bike with someone rather than go by myself. Can you tell I am an extrovert and love being with people? You’d never guess. lol

This isn’t my bike, but I loved the picture. My bike is more of a thin-tired, get- there, faster kind of bike. I love speeding along and feeling the breeze whip through my hair. I haven’t mastered the art of a leisure bike ride at this point, but give me another 15 years or so, and I maybe I will. 🙂

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Lastly, I am trying to find some spare moments just to meet up with friends to grab a tea or a smoothie and just check in with each other. I try to keep it just an hour so that we can touch base. This doesn’t happen often, but it is a treat when I can do it. After all, I need encouragement the same as everyone else. It looks like in this photo too many sweets have been eaten, but it looks like a picture of contentment.

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So, I am encouraging you to take the step of slowing down and reaching out to a friend (or two) to be encouraged and provide encouragement. Take time to these summer days; they are slipping away all too quickly. Take pictures to remember so when school starts and you are back in the thick of things you will remember those great time and plan more.  I realize you may not have much free time to be able to get out of the house, but you can call a friend or send a card if you can’t. I had many days where I just needed to call a friend to hear an adult voice of reason. You can also trade childcare with a friend so that you can each have some time to relax and refuel. Better still, meet at a park and let the kids play while you chat.

I appreciate all your family’s schooling and well-being. You are awesome! Enjoy your day.

~Lisa

Happy Mother’s Day!

May15

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I know this is a day late since I post on Mondays, but I wanted to wish you a Happy Mother’s Day and celebrate you! You don’t get enough recognition by being a homeschool mom, but I realize all the hard work you do and I applaud you! Thank you for all that you do for your husband and your children.

When you began embarking on the homeschool journey I bet you didn’t realize how involved it was going to be; I know I didn’t! You are invaluable to your family. Even though many of you do not bring home a paycheck, you are saving your family so much money. Let me take the time to point out a all of the jobs you do each day when in school and each of these salaries. (These are not random numbers; I looked them up on indeed.com)

Principal: Execute the daily schedule for your school and your student(s). Oversee the behavior of the student body and teachers. (Oh, that’s you! lol) Communicate with the superintendent, oversee daily operation of school Salary: $72,000

Curriculum director: Research, determine educational philosophy; Research, purchase, borrow, swap, trade textbooks, unit studies, videos, online programs and games, and educational apps Salary: $50,000

Teacher: Prepare lessons, teach subjects, encourage and discipline students, grade papers Salary: $50,000

Administrative Assistant: Answer phone calls, organize office Salary: $20,000

Lunchroom Cook and Staff: Plan, prepare, serve meals; clean up lunchroom Salary: $36,000

Nurse: See to the wellbeing of all the student body and staff (If you get sick, there are usually no subs for the day!), health counseling Salary: $37,000

Janitor: Clean and sanitize school, maintain school grounds Salary: $30,000

Guidance Counselor: Help student with course selections, career planning, graduation, assist with college applications, coordinate graduation ceremony Salary: $50,000

Athletic Director and Coach: Schedule games, transport students to and from practices and events, fundraising  Salary: $52,000

Bus Driver: Transport students to and from school (lol) and extra curricular events Salary: $33,000

Grand Total of combined salaries: $415,000! You are worth every penny and if I had it to give you, I would. 🙂 Thank you for working tirelessly and may times without any acknowledgement. You are a tremendous mother and your children are blessed to have you as their mom.

~Lisa

Passing on a Legacy

Jan9

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I was looking on my bookshelf today and found a book that I had given to my mom nearly 20 years ago. It is called Reflections from a Mother’s Heart. It is a journal that has questions for you to answer about your childhood and is broken into months of the year so you can spend a year filling it in without feeling overwhelmed.

I am such a terrible journal writer that I found a duplicate of this book next to the one I had given my mother. It was given to ME from a friend of mine in 1998! I had begun the journal, but then family came along and I obviously never got to return to it. I also totally forgot about it. lol My goal is to finish this by June so it doesn’t sit on my shelf for another 19 years!

So, if you would like to leave a legacy of early childhood memories that your children can read about later and gain some insight into why you act the way you do, 🙂 perhaps consider completing a journal like this one.

I will leave you with a few questions from the journal so you can see what they are like. Of course, if questions do not pertain to you, then just skip them.

Who gave you your name and why?

Where was your childhood home located? Did you enjoy living there?

Did you have a family pet? What was its name? Describe it.

What toys did you like to play with?

Memorable Mondays

Dec26

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I have been deleting photos from my phone and realized how few pictures I take! How about you? I think it might be good to have a day one a week when I just take pictures of family, friends, and events that take place around here. Oh, wait, that is Instagram! lol

Well, I don’t always remember to do that, but I do have my phone handy and it is easier for me just to download my pictures on to the computer. I will share one that I took recently with my husband when we celebrated our anniversary last week. I plan on making Memorable Mondays a regular part of my life.

What about joining me? If Monday is a bad day, pick another day, but remember to pull out your phone or camera and capture those daily moments because they all too quickly are gone. The bonus is that if you do this you will have quite a few pictures to choose when you do your portfolio review! Hey, you can even make a yearbook.

~Lisa