Just the facts: Mom’s do Math Everyday

Math is integrated in all areas of life.  Mothers are experts at doing mental math everyday without even thinking about it. In fact, we are quite good at math, but then….I’d wager cleaning your bathroom sinks that you already knew that!

For instance, when I hid four candy bars in my closet and came back the next day ready for a chocolate fix and find three wrappers and half a square of one bar left I use deductive reasoning to conclude that I either a) am a glutton for punishment and candy bars or b) someone thought by leaving a half a square of chocolate that it would satisfy me and alleviate the four spankings that are fairly due.  Another example is… if I leave ten minutes before the orthodontist appointment for my daughter, I should expect to arrive five minutes late.  That equals stress on my part, a dirty look from the receptionist, and ten minutes or more of extra wait time in the lobby plus or equal to the wait I must already have because they are always busy when we get there.   

If I notice my children are not very hungry one afternoon, mathematical reasoning tells me to make fewer sandwiches. Murphy’s Law teaches me that once they start eating they will be hungrier than at first they thought and therefore I must spend extra time pulling the ingredients back out of the cupboard, making more, and cleaning up again.  The next time I notice the children are not very hungry I try to remember the last math lesson I learned and make enough and extra. If they don’t eat it I store it away and then I will have negative time because I have saved it for the next meal or snack.  Negative time equals more time doing what I want---ideally, and therefore a less grumpy mom.

The real fun begins when we start multiplying. My two-year-old, red-headed little boy loves his mother. I could do no wrong in his eyes, so when I get ready to leave the house he always gives me two or more hugs and kisses before I open the door and two or more hugs and kisses when I’ve reached the porch.  When the rest of the children have realized that I’m leaving the house, they beg for one or two to come with (they know that I rarely take all nine children with me) and so now it is time to use their spiritual gift of persuasion.  If this doesn’t work, they move on to the next phase and that is to beg for more than one treat and remind me of all the good things they did that day to earn the treat (they’re learning multiplication and estimation here).   If that is a no-go, they move on to phase three, which is… what else can we get if we can’t come with you.  This looks something like, “Can we watch a movie if we finish all of our chores?” Or “Can we make two bowls of popcorn and listen to Mama Mia…if we finish all of our chores?”  The answers from me vary depending upon mood, or forgiveness of the chores not done, or seeing all their nine innocent faces staring pleadingly up into mine.  They’re good, but I’m better. They learn from the best!

Division is a bit harder.  Lots of pondering must go into division.  Should I cook two chicken breasts and divide them into a stir-fry or a picnic roast and divide it in more generous portions…the answer would depend on the time of day I’m pondering this question or how much work I choose to do standing in the kitchen.

Dividing and conquering cleaning the house can be chaotic and miserable or fun and organized.   Either way, it is a necessary evil math problem.  First, I have to think about who has been lazy lately, who can be counted on, and who should work alone, and who needs a buddy to help them along the way.  Then I have to divide the house into cleaning zones and assign the groups or individuals segments and zones.  This can get complicated very quickly.  The worst is when I see someone goofing off or hiding in the bathroom and I have to remember where they were assigned and to what regiment group.

Each woman has an innate sense of math skills and talent whether she knows it or not.  We are interior designers, which require knowledge of algebra to gain an understanding of formulas and their application to design. For example, determining the amount of paint needed based on surface area divided by the coverage each can of paint provides.  And Geometry is needed for determining spacial relationships in a room as well as measurement. Also, the calculation of angles and area are needed.  She needs these skills in determining how many kids can fit in the bathtub at one time or how many beds and bureaus a 9’x9’ room can hold.

As a mother she is multiplying and replenishing the earth and has to keep track of birth dates, each of her offspring, height, weight, clothing sizes, how many meals she fed them, how many days she grounded him/her, etc.  She divides her time and attention and multiplies her love.  How many times have you used math today?  Does each mother know…she is a genius and Einstein has nothing on her?!

Are We Modern-day Romans?

A Comparative Look at Roman Life to ours

 


I have always been fascinated with history.  Perhaps it’s due to a curious thought that I should have been born in another timeframe.  Not that 60 BC would have been my timeframe of choice, but I do love to read about it.  I’d much rather learn through other people’s mistakes than completely mess up my own life and end up giving up like Cleopatra and letting a poisonous asp bite me because I couldn’t think of another way out of my problems. And vice versa, I love to learn from the successful people who changed the course of history in positive ways.  It’s an example to me that I have the same power to be a positive change in the world.

We’ve all heard the names of Julius Caesar, Marc Antony, Cleopatra, and Augustus Caesar.  Some lesser known names are Cato (a Roman Senator), Crassus (military general and politician), Pompey (military and political leader), and Sulla (a military leader and later a political leader).  Cicero was a famous lawyer, orator, philosopher, statesman, constitutionalist, and great writer of those times.  I find it fascinating to read about all of their lives.  There could be a TV mini-series or soap opera worthy of hearing about their lives, choices, their mistakes, and triumphs.
The sun keeps rising each day and each night the sun sets again.  For thousands of years the world has continued to go on.  Our world is the same world as it was thousands of years ago, with some modern day exceptions.  “There’s nothing new under the sun.” (See Ecclesiastes 1:9)

My chariot is a black Suburban, affectionately dubbed the big, Black Angus.  Most of us women are spoiled, though we may not care to admit it, and live in a similar fashion to Cleopatra.  We have closets full of clothes and many luxuries that we enjoy daily.  We even have servants, aside from our kids, and they are known as the Dishwasher, the Washing Machine, the Clothes Dryer, the Butler also known as the answering machine on the telephone, and the list goes on.  We are spoiled in that we don’t often think of what we have until the refrigerator stops running and then there’s panic. 

We are not slaving away all day to prepare food and daily living so our bodies need a little more working out.  My husband often speaks of these “modern-day”, “new to us” workouts where men pick up logs and boulders to throw them as a way to work the muscles.  Thank goodness for the modern day gym because there is no nudity allowed.  I wouldn’t be caught dead naked in a gym anyway, but then women weren’t allowed in the gymnasium in Roman times.  Look how far we’ve come, Cleopatra?

Let us, step back from this closer view and look at the larger picture.  The Roman aristocracy kept their people busy with distractions known as “Bread and Circuses” while they were destroying the Roman constitution--and the Republic itself.   Our country is filled with large distractions such as organized sports and free government food and handouts.  The government of the Roman’s was always dealing with corruption, selfishness, and greed.  People were more than willing to stab their best friend in the back if it served them and helped to progress them to a higher, more powerful position or rank.  Do we see like archetypes in the “aristocracy” of our day? 

The coliseum was filled with entertainment that often bothered the people but they frequented it anyway.  Sometimes, their entertaining actors (like Hollywood?) the gladiators revolted their places and Spartacus and his followers rebelled.  While the Roman’s enjoyed the gladiator fights, they were so afraid of them that they made them live and train far away from the city of Rome.
Are we making positive changes in our day, using our power and influence for good?  These thoughts I’ve been pondering as I finished reading about the Romans.  The Roman’s lives and their influence are now written down in the pages of history.  The sun has risen and set and many moons have now passed.  It’s our turn now. How are we living our lives?  Are we living as positive examples for our descendants?  What will be said of our generation?

Do You Have An Education?

No, I’m not speaking about a degree or initials attached to the end of your name. I’m speaking of a true education. The following two quotes define an education very well:

“The only purpose of education is to teach a student how to live his life-by developing his mind and equipping him to deal with reality. The training he needs is theoretical, i.e., conceptual. He has to be taught to think, to understand, to integrate, to prove. He has to be taught the essentials of the knowledge discovered in the past-and he has to be equipped to acquire further knowledge by his own effort.” ~Ayn Rand

“The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think—rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with the thoughts of other men.” ~Bill Beattie

Do you know about the past, the TRUE past, not just watered down facts from a history book? What about the past President’s and their wives? What about the lives and writings of great people such as Pope, Byron, Cervantes, Sir Walter Scott, etc.? Half a century ago everyone knew these people and all were familiar with their writings and many could even quote them.

One sign of an education is that one becomes less interest in trivial and mind-wasting topics such as what drama the latest star has gotten involved in or who broke up with whom in Hollywood. Those who value their education and by extension their minds are choosy about what they watch on television and how much they watch. They also are watch guards over how and what their children watch. The educated know that just like food feeds the body and either strengthens or tears down one’s health, the same applies to what one feeds the mind as in media: books, TV, music and internet.

Scientists have proven that those who are actively using their brains to learn new things tend not to acquire diseases such as Alzheimer’s later in life. The educated are always striving to improve their knowledge and enjoy learning deep, spiritual and thought provoking ideas.

The saying, “Great minds talk about ideas, average minds talk about events and small minds talk about other people” is true. Think of the conversations lately in your home, especially among the adults. What category do you fall in? Being conscious of what we are doing and saying is important in improving oneself. Once you become aware of what category you are in, hold yourself more accountable and if you should need to do some changing, make that change today.

Take a person off the street today and ask them what makes a person great. Many will answer things like: fame, fortune, influence (we’ll define as worldly influence), position, or status. Society has become ignorant to the fact that they are ignorant. Just because someone has power- like a president or king, or money, or worldly fame and influence does not make him great.

So what does make a person great? The answer includes but is not limited to: morals, religious conviction and belief, personal ethics code, and education. Years ago I read a book about one hundred key great and important people throughout the ages. They all had their own struggles and trials, but each great man and woman had one main thing in common-a true classically based education, most had a self taught classical education. Their education was acquired through the reading of classic books. Through the classics they learned to think deeply, attain self-mastery, and to discover and live their mission in life.

The saying “All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten” shows just how low our society has come. Sure it is meant to be humorous, but is it really? Really what we should be saying (and most importantly-living) is “All I really need to know I learned from the scriptures and classic books.”

Sadly, few today understand the classics. Walk in any Barnes and Noble or Borders books and you will see shelves full of cliff notes and other books with (someone else’s) interpretations of classic works. These books completely defeat the purpose of the true unabridged classic book. We cease to learn and grow when we are looking for someone else’s take on a classic book. The purpose of the classics is to inspire and teach your very core, the person that you truly are. They remind us through other’s experiences and lives whether ill or well lived. We don’t have a long enough life to experience everything so learn from other’s examples, especially the examples of truly great people. This is what happens to those who strive to get a true classical education. One cannot help but become a better thinker and most importantly a truly great person.

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Shiloah Baker is a mom of seven, pregnant with #8, married to the man she's madly in love with. Exercise is her vice. She runs a The Homemaking Cottage and homeschools. In her spare time she sews, crafts, writes and reads. Join us at The Homemaking Cottage Deluxe Edition for 1057 ways to improve your home and family! http://www.homemaking-cottage.com/

And don’t forget to join our ezine for more free ideas. Free Homemaking Newsletter

Galley Book Shelves Made of Rain Gutters

Children learn through their senses: smell, touch, taste, see, and hear. When it comes to books, children love the bright colors, smelling them, looking them over and over again, many times tasting them depending on the age, and listening to them read to them over and over again.

A recent problem we discovered in our home was how we were storing the books for our little children. We have many bookshelves full of books in our home and one large one for all the little kid books. Fortunately our children love to read. Unfortunately, they pull the books out of the shelves all day long. This isn’t because they are choosing to be little stinkers- it’s because they want to read and it’s not fun when you’re a kid picking out a book from the spine! Little kids want to see the front- or like my little tot- the back to see what books in the collection we still need to buy.

When I discovered galley shelves made of inexpensive vinyl gutters, I was thrilled! It was the perfect solution for the problem! The children could have shelves that look nice in the house (not ghetto) and best of all; they can see their books from the front or back depending on how they put them on the shelves. They are always accessible and the shelves encourage reading with the books flashing their bright colors and pretty pictures.

To make these shelves in your home here are the directions:

Vinyl Gutters (Price ranges about $6 a gutter)
Circular saw or hacksaw.
2 hangers per shelf- 3 if you plan to make them long
Long wall screws
Left and right end caps
Glue
Sandpaper
Washcloth
Tape measure


Directions:

Decide how many shelves you want and how long each one should be. Mark it on the vinyl gutter and cut with either a hand saw or circular saw. Sand the edges if you wish. With a wet washcloth wipe down the debris left from cutting.

Decide where you want the shelves. Some good ideas are in family areas of the home and next to beds with enough space to safely roll under them.

Slide on the gutter hooks; use two for smaller shelves and three for long shelves. Slide each hook/hanger to the end of each side. Screw the hooks into the wall. Add end caps, gluing into place if you want them more permanent.

Allow the kids to line up the books on the shelves and you will find more reading going on than ever before.

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Shiloah Baker is a mom of seven, pregnant with #8, married to the man she's madly in love with. Exercise is her vice. She runs a The Homemaking Cottage and homeschools. In her spare time she sews, crafts, writes and reads. Join us at The Homemaking Cottage Deluxe Edition for 1057 ways to improve your home and family! http://www.homemaking-cottage.com/

And don’t forget to join our ezine for more free ideas. Free Homemaking Newsletter

How the Environment in the Home Affects Children

By Shiloah Baker

“Children are affected from the beginning by what they see and hear within the walls of their home. Their environment creates their taste.” –Arthur Henry King 

From the first day I learned that I was going to be a mother, I began collecting books, toys and things that I knew would benefit my child. I read every resource manual I could get my hands on. Like most women, I want the best for my child. I quickly learned that in addition to providing shelter, clothes, food and love, that the environment in the home is an important key to raising a well adjusted child.

Creating an Environment for Learning

Years later when I decided to homeschool my children I was introduced to the Thomas Jefferson Education or a Leadership Education. One of the suggestions was to build a library of classic books. I had maybe a small bookshelf full at that time and not surprisingly my kids weren’t big readers. I took the advice to heart and over the next four years I gathered and built a large “brain” storage of books for our home. We have over eight bookshelves now spilling over with fun, classic and educational books. More importantly, my children have caught on to this passion for reading good, wholesome literature-literature that educates. Not a day goes by that I don’t see the children pouring through books, rifling through the bookshelves or reading in a corner. We have a large bookshelf outside of my bedroom door which is at the end of a long hallway. When a child is waiting to speak with me, she naturally chooses a book, sits by my door and takes a little adventure with words on the pages. What joy it brings me to see the difference having a library of books in your home can make.

“Every single item is of relevance to our education and to the education of our children.”–Arthur Henry King

How many times have you noticed your baby would rather play with empty boxes or magazines than her own baby toys? Children always want to help mommy bake cookies and can’t wait to learn how to make their first peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Children have a natural curiosity and we should allow them to explore and learn within the safety of our home.

Children learn naturally through their own environment. Why should a small child fill out a worksheet on how to match socks, when they can learn that same skill only using all their senses: the smell of the laundry detergent used, the visual senses of colors and patterns, touching the various textures of socks and occasionally tasting the texture of socks. I have many fond memories of sock folding growing up and trying the over-sized ones on my hands and sliding around the bare floors with them on my feet. The natural learning experiences within the home are powerful.

I’ve made it a mission to keep the majority of commercialized toys out of our home. They do not foster learning like a set of plain building blocks or a life-like baby doll with clothes and cloth diapers. Even though they wanted them and got them for birthdays, my children have never treasured commercialized toys (such as Barbie dolls, Bratz, etc.). After the initial excitement wears off, I find those toys lying around unused with little to no interest. We have never had that happen with puzzles, wooden beads, blocks, or art supplies- the basics for foundational and explorative learning.


Organization and Structure

I used to cringe when I heard those words, but now as a mother of many I feel excited and inspired when I see them. After being a mother for nearly fourteen years I have learned that children, some more so than others, thrive when there is structure and organization in the home. We have seven children, two children with autism and two others with various disabilities. When things become chaotic in our home, not only do our family pets react (i.e. birds chirp frantically) but the children react to it too. Every family has a rhythm whether they realize it or not. The question is- is it conducive to teaching and does it promote family time?

I love reading Steven and Teri Maxwell who have written a couple of books on this subject. They successfully homeschooled and raised eight children and now write about how they did it- it involved scheduling, structure and organization. “God has given us a powerful example and analogy of scheduling in the natural world. Everything that He has created, from atoms to the universe, has a periodic cycle. There is a timetable God has applied to each part of His creation. This is easily seen in the weather. Year by year, each season comes at its ‘scheduled’ time bringing with it predictable changes.” (1) If God uses scheduling, I believe it is an example to us that using a family schedule is something we should do too.
While it is unnecessary and too constricting to schedule all of your time, coming up with a family schedule/rhythm for each day gives the home an organized environment while giving peace to each family member so they each can know what to expect in their daily routine. This is especially important if you have children or adults in the home with disabilities. Eliminate the disordered feeling and house clutter by prayerfully creating your own unique family rhythm complete with chore time.

Keeping a Morally Clean Environment in the Home is Imperative

"Parents now are concerned about the moral and spiritual diseases. These can have terrible complications when standards and values are abandoned. We must all take protective measures.” -Boyd K. Packer

Memories from books and the pictures in the books teach, mold and shape a person. Just as we should fill our homes with uplifting and wholesome books, we should be equally as careful about not bringing anything contrary to that in the home. I heard it once said that if a young boy were to view pornography in his own home he will be a customer for life. Is it worth it to allow anything pornographic in your home? Never. Aside from the fact that it is morally wrong, the risk is too great.

Regarding music-while I am fairly careful about lyrics to the new music, it is easy for things to slip by our notice from time to time. I find that I feel inspiration often to continually sift through the music my family and I listen to. We are all aware of the powerful effects of music on our moods. Music teaches and depending on the words and the beat it can teach negative or positive things. By my vigilantly reviewing music, talking with the kids about their feelings on the songs and reading the lyrics online my family is learning to do the same. Even though you may not always listen to the lyrics, your subconscious mind does and then records it. I think I would rather know what my subconscious mind is recording by paying close attention to what I or my children listen to.

Television needs a filter like the computer. We don’t watch regular TV because the morals portrayed on everyday television, especially the commercials, are not in line with ours. Instead we rent Netflix and buy the movies we enjoy the most. We carefully screen the reviews and ratings before watching and buying movies.

Raising children is anything but easy; but it is so worth it. Each child comes to our home with his/her own unique personalities. I find it fascinating to see how for the most part, children naturally pick up many qualities of their parents, whether it be the habits they pick up, facial expressions or one or a combination of both parent’s temperaments. I have three sisters and while we don’t look exactly alike anyone can tell we are sisters when they listen to us talk or see our mannerisms. It is an art to take into consideration all the differences of personalities in the family and apply the perfect mix of teaching, religion, and love. Children can’t help but to be influenced by the home environment especially when the parents care so much about making it a positive one.



Works Cited
1. Maxwell, Steven and Teri. Managers of Their Homes. s.l. : Communications Concepts, Inc., 1998.