health

Homeschooling On The Down Days {Homeschooling} {Epilepsy Awareness}

April 19, 2017 by Dana

5 Days of Homeschooling With Epilepsy and Other Issues:
Homeschooling On The Down Days

Some days we wake up and lead a normal life. We do normal things like eat breakfast together, read books, watch a movie. We feel like a normal family.

Some days we wake up and our life is far from normal. We are accosted by migraines. Children don’t feel like eating breakfast. We need a little more sleep before we get out of bed. Cuddles are a must. We are far from normal.

These are the down days. The days when it feels like life is barely holding it together. The days when the Seizure Monsters strikes before we’re even functioning good. The days when snuggles are a must and extra sleep is needed to fight a monster we cannot see. The down days happen more often than any of us like.

On these days, homeschooling is hard. There’s no time to think through what’s on a schedule. There’s no plan because you simply cannot plan on the days when life is in full chaos.

Over time, we’ve developed our own way of life and doing things, since Epilepsy and Involuntary Breath Holding Spells, ADHD and Sensory Issues leave us incapacitated and unable to complete even the simplest tasks. Still learning must happen and life much continue as needed.

Every day when I awake, I check on each of my children. I evaluate who needs what done. Does my daughter with Epilepsy need just a bit more sleep? Does my oldest need to take his allergy med or need a few minutes to figure out his plan for the day? Does my older daughter need a few minutes to wake up before she dives into her daily schedule? Does the baby need a little cuddle time before he has breakfast? The list goes on and is different for each child.

Sometimes cuddling tops the list of things to do. Sometimes a seizure happens and I must rush to the ER and leave the bigger kids to care for the littlest one. Sometimes there’s just a seizure lurking which can be fought by resting and cuddling and napping with one another.

After we get through our first hour after waking, I usually know how my day will go. If it’s a down day, we will relax, watch educational movies, read quiet books, draw, color and do minimal activity. And this is okay because what’s important is getting better and getting back to what’s normal.

Some down days allow for a little more activity. We can play, do small activities, and learn but still be ready if we just need a break. It’s a lot of watching and having patience for all of us.

Some of our favorite activities when we are down are:
Movies, Reading, Math games, Playing, playdoh, baking together, listening to audio stories, chalk drawing, and just being together relaxing.

All of these allow us to learn while not overdoing it and we can break as we need to.

Each day I go through the same evaluations and make decisions based on what our morning holds. This is how we’ve been able to homeschool from the beginning with multiple special needs children. This is why we homeschool year round, so we can have more days to fit learning in even when we are down.

Homeschooling when you have down days is feasible if you make it work for you. Having a relaxed homeschooling day or sometimes even week is never a bad thing. Learning is inevitable if you provide the materials for your child to do so and can happen even on the worst day. It’s also okay to just stop and take the day off from learning all together. You must do what’s best for you and your family.

God bless,
Dana Lambert-Hodge

This post is part of the 5 Days Of Homeschooling… Blog Hop from
the Homeschool Review Crew!

5 Days of Homeschool Annual Blog Hop - 2017

To Read more…

I Joined The Gym… {Thoughts From Me}

February 24, 2014 by Dana

Last Friday, I joined the gym. It feels good and just a bit scary to say that. I joined the YMCA last year but failed miserably with it, mostly because the Y is only open during the day and our hours did match with that for fitness. The new gym is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

I didn’t waste time getting started. Saturday night was our first workout and I chose to take it easy. I have a year to workout and I don’t want to strain any muscles, after all I am a busy Momma and Momma’s don’t get days off. Sunday, I felt a little muscle soreness but not too bad so I’m overall satisfied with easing into the workouts.

I must admit that I did overdo it on the ab machine and I’m seriously paying for that. After 4 c-sections, the muscles in that region are pretty damaged. I need to ease in slowly to their repair and I’m not rushing at all. I feel like any little bit to reach that goal of a flatter stomach is good.

So slow and steady wins the race. I aim to lose about 30 lbs. I currently weigh 151lbs and am 5’5 in height so I have room to lose. My first goal is to gain fitness to strengthen my muscles and my next goal will be to make it to a number in the 120’s weight wise. Little steps will get me there.

It will be interesting to see how this all turns out.

Wish us luck!!

Just an update – April 20,2011

April 20, 2011 by Dana

First I have to say, that my growing son is going to eat me out of house and home. Seriously where did this kid develop his sudden hunger? And his little sisters are not far behind him. Growth spurts contribute to much of it. They are growing and growing requires more food to fill up their small systems. Fuel. Fuel to run their sweet bodies and charge their overflowing minds. But it is CRAZY how much food they can eat! Wow!!

In my first steps to a more balanced life, I have been putting up inspirational quotes in both obvious and less obvious places throughout the house. The ones I have placed are written in print for the kids to be able to read, though they are more for me at this time than for them. My next step will be to create some simple quotes, both biblical and inspiring, to place around for the kids to read. I think inspiration is important for us all.

One thing I’ve noticed is that my inspiration for redesigning my house has hit a “blah-pffff” moment, as if all the air has been deflated from my enjoyment of life and home. In combatants, I have been watching HGTV, Food Network, reading blogs and magazines for ideas. Is it helping? No not really, at this time, but maybe something will click eventually! LOL

In my reading, I have found some great books. I’m not revealing which ones as of yet, but I will reveal that they have one common thread. Just Do Something! That’s right, just get up and DO something! Do it with God in mind, showing your love for Him and the Life He’s blessed us with, for the beautiful children He’s gifted to us. Just Do It! (Sounding like the Nike commercial now.)

And have I been “just doing it”? Well yea, I have. I have started with cleaning out our outside building. (Huge building that is seriously bigger than some of the first American homesteads.) There is so much room in there but in it’s continuous disorganization you couldn’t tell it. My goal is to get it organized enough to sort through over the summer and also find some storage to put some of the extra “junk” still in the house out there for now, until I can chunk it or find it’s “home” inside (or in the building, as I see fit!).

This brings me to another realization, which I have known for a while. I’m a spoiled, lazy American girl! There are days when I sit back and wonder: If I had to live 100 years ago, would I have survived? My answer: only if I was rich! I’m too spoiled to modern day conveniences, like dishwashers, washing machines, computers and the internet. There are many days when I have trouble just getting up and doing anything. I find I have been trained that my “wants” are most important and should come before the “needs” of housekeeping and care-taking of home and life. I find a lot of American’s have this same problem today, which is why you can now find a million how-to, cleaning and organization websites online.

As you can see, I’ve been pretty busy lately mostly with re-organizing my brain and learning more about myself and about homekeeping. There’s still much more to come but for now I think this is about as good a start as any. God bless all!

Thankful For My Kids {30 Days of Thankfulness – Days 7-8}

November 9, 2010 by Dana

Today I’m covering two days of Thankfulness because well I missed yesterday! I am thankful that each day I am able to raise myself out of my bed and love on my children. I am thankful for their sweet little souls that God has entrusted to me. I’m thankful to be able to recieve and give sweet kisses to my babies everyday. They are truly gifts from the Lord above.

I’m also thankful that I am able to stay at home with them every day and have them home with me. I often see other Mothers send their children off to stay with someone else, stating that they want their children to enjoy being with so-in-so or that they “need a break”. Yes, we all need a break sometimes but God gave these children to us, as parents to raise, not to the community. I’m thankful that I have the opportunity to raise the children God has entrusted me with, to raise them up in His name and His glory. I pray one day when they are grown they will do the same with their children. I know this is God’s plan for me. I bask in the glory of His love when I take up this cross of childrearing and do my best to succeed. These days that they are young, I know I cannot get back and I will not give away these moments and memories to anyone else. They are mine, and my children’s to hold in our hearts forever, just as God cherishes each moment with us. I’m thankful that He has blessed me so.