I am dealing with a head cold, which has resulted in laryngitis, which is why it is amazing that you can all hear me telling about what I’m grateful for this week. ;)
It’s very difficult to parent your children when you can’t really talk to them. Even just giving them a small command like “Come eat” is difficult…much less trying to offer them advice or break up a squabble. I’m thankful that my voice is starting to come back. I’ll be singing and reading and loudly breaking up arguments in no time, right?!
One big problem with not being about to talk is the fact that I generally read aloud to my kids a lot during each school day. Matt has happily stepped in and done all the reading today, but here is what I recognized:
I had full permission and some very real excuses to take the day off and go hide and read and be by myself all day while Dad took over school time. The very idea sounded lovely and appealing and I fully intended to do it.
But then I realized that I didn’t want to miss out on what was being read. If Matt and the boys did all the reading without me, I would have missed all the chapters read today and the transcontinental railroad had almost made it all the way from New York to California. HOW could I possibly miss the part where the railroad finally came together?!
So Matt read to all of us today…even the Mama, who has finally, now that she is all grown up, decided that she loves history lessons. I know I’ve said it before at various times, but I was reminded again today about how much I enjoy homeschooling our kids and how much I want to be a part of their education. Learning has become such a joy, and while I love watching my kids learn, I just LOVE what I’m learning too!!! History never made sense to me as all the reading I had to do as a student seemed so dry. I only read it so that I could get a good grade on the test, never with the intent to actually learn (if that makes any sense at all).
I have gained a much bigger appreciation for the people of our past now that I am seeing how history played out in the big picture. Through books like Susan Wise Bauer’s Story of the World series and Joy Hakim’s History of US…I finally feel like I get it now.
I’m grateful to be able to share that History Lessons are really, really cool. Now, if I could just get my full voice back so I can get back to reading out loud. :)
What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!
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Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!
I think Gratituesday is a wonderful idea. Thanks for offering this!
I love learning about history. Thanks for sharing and for hosting this weekly meme. I appreciate it!
Your such a good mama and role model! My kids attend traditional public school but I too love learning with them the things I did not enjoy being taught in my youth. Thank you for all of your encouraging words.
I am so thankful for the two week vacation to visit my in-laws. They are very special people, dear to my heart. After living in the deep south for a year, it was nice to go back up north to be with people I knew and a climate I understood ( can I say I got to see a snow storm?? Something unheard of in the deep south). My in-laws are also refreshing spiritually. There is almost always some sort of spiritual conversation going on, or I catch my Father-in-law reading his Bible. My two week vacation with them and My Beloved (and the kids) could not have come at a better time… Oh how my heart rings with thanfullness!
Get better! Here is a tip for laryngitis: 1 cup water, juice from 1 fresh lemon, and honey to taste. Mix well and heat in the microwave. Works like a charm.
Get well soon!!
Hope you get your voice back soon!
I love your Gratituesday posts. Thanks for letting us be a part of it!
Today I am thankful for the people who express that they like my baby-to-be’s name. I’m tired of people saying mean things and appreciate the nicer people. :-)
so the name would be what? boy or girl? now you got me curious.
Me, too! :) I’m sure it’s a wonderful, thoughtful name.
Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!
Oh I so completely agree with you about reading and learning just to pass. Haha, I barely remember most of the stuff I learned as a kid if I don’t use it all the time. Plus it is a fact that schools teach in order to pass tests, that is their marker for funding. I wish I had the patience to homeschool my children.
I love history too. Thankfully, I didn’t have to grow up to really appreciate it, I liked it when I was being homeschooled too. My favs are Renassaince/Medevil Times, Joan of Arc was always well liked, and as I fell in love with Spanish, I also did so with the history of Mexico and I studied the Aztecs. Now to date, my hubby is from Mexico (told you I fell in love with Spanish :-) and we are Aztec dancers, funny how things turn out. I just got home from Mexico where I finally got to enjoy a bit more of the country, including the pyramids (wow!! what amazing history) and xochimilco (more aztec history!) and got to see my first Mexican beach (los cabos) after going to Mexico 4 times before that. Here I go on and on….Next time I go, I would like to hit up some of the museums and maybe the pyramids again (its like disney, too much to see for just one day).
Erin GymboCraze.weebly.com
Thanks for hosting!
I did not enjoy school in the least and can not wait to relearn everything with my children in a way that makes it exciting and wonderful. Thanks!
I loved learning with my children as I home schooled them. I love history. It truly is HisStory!
Hope you get your voice back soon. God Bless
If you get a second could you list the titles of each of the 11 volumes please. Thanks much.
So sorry you aren’t feeling well, but glad that your hubby is so nice to step in and take the load off of teaching for you. Feel better, Laura!
I hope you feel better soon, being sick is no fun!!
I love reading what everyone is thankful for. Even though mine is a bit “unconventional”, I felt like I needed to express it.
I LOVE history! I even took extra classes in college JUST FOR FUN! While I will probably not homeschool my daughter (as I work full time currently), I will enjoy teaching her extra history lessons as I am still interested in learning more for myself!
I’m thankful for our first ever Azure Standard order. It came in yesterday!! Yay for apples!! I think this blog is great!
So sorry you are sick!! What a blessing to have Matt home to read to the kids (and you)!!
DITTO – – including the laryngitis!!! Although my husband had to leave the house for work today, so he couldn’t read to us. We are getting lots of snow here in Michigan and we may just get snowed in.
So sweet! I love this!
Thanks for hosting, Laura! I love this weekly opportunity to publicly express my gratitude!
I am grateful for our family outing yesterday…and coincidentally, we went to the Golden Spike National Monument where the transcontinental railroad finally joined together :) We have a newborn and we took advantage of the free admission to national parks yesterday to take our 2.5 year old out to do something fun – he love trains so we had a great afternoon!
I am so thankful that I am also able to homeschool my children. History is my favorite subject as a homeschooling mom and disliked it in school and college. My kids also love History, so I know it is not just an adult thing, I think it is truly History textbooks are BORING!
I have so many things to be thankful for, but many slip by me without any actual thanksgiving. This is a great idea because I think it causes us to take a moment and actually thank the Lord for his blessings, big and small. I am thankful for, of all things, cloth diapers this week.
It’s funny, just yesterday I was wondering what type of curriculum you use for your kiddos for school! Then you posted today about just that thing! We homeschool, too, and have been loving our read-aloud times for history as well. I find myself just as into the books and stories as my kids! I hope you start feeling better and can get your voice back quickly!
This is not related to Gratituesday really, but I had a question: What are your go-to sick food for stomach illnesses? (You mentioned being ill, and I am in the throws of stomach junk at our house – but what do I feed them to get past Sprite and jello?
I now try to avoid sprite and jello because of the sugar, and instead stick with water, ice chips, bread, rice, applesauce and bananas. SO sorry you all are sick. Stomach junk is NO fun!!! :(
What a bummer you are sick! So glad Matt could be home for you & the kids. I think that History is the favorite subject around our homeschool for many of the same reasons you have. Everyone loves to read/be read to here!
Priscilla Carol. No one likes it. Lol
I’m chuckling because I feel the same way. When my husband helps with school occasionally, I feel like I don’t want to miss any of the history or reading. I love having the opportunity to learn everything again.
I love history too. I also enjoy homeschooling my boys and you are not the only one I have set up and listened to the older ones read or my hubby when I was sick and recovering from some surgeries. I did not want to miss anything and be left behind.I also teach a Story of the World Co Op on Fridays. Love Gratituesday after all as Pollyanna would say we all have something to be Glad about.
Congrats ladies. Again, thank you for the info on the clips. Now that I know I didn’t win I still want to try them out so I’ll be ordering one for my DD. Thanks for all the wonderful info you provide on your site!
I lost my voice a few weeks ago and my kiddos laughed at me. Good thing they are cute. ;)
I am also really enjoying history with my kids. We just finished reading about Davy Crockett and I think I was more into it than the kids. I can’t wait to go to the library and get some books about the Alamo. The reading is fun for me and the lapbooks are fun for the kids… so it all works out. :)
I have been away from blogging for quite some time, but am so grateful to be back with Gratituesday! Praying you feel better soon!