Vrajich Family: January 2016

An answer to prayer...

8:03 PM

This right here is clarity (and a sunset at Morro Bay, one of my beaches)

I have been thinking and talking about how I really feel called to "help people gain clarity and come closer to Him through this tool." I was telling one of my current clients that and this is what she said (it is worth reading to the end!) If you have been thinking about whether or not to make an Ideal LifeVision, reading this might help you to know if you want to.

"... That is exactly what has happened for me. I could have told you in great detail what my strengths and weakness were before this, but now I have so much more clarity about the root of many of my weakness and how to overcome them. I also feel so much closer to my Heavenly Father, and I thought I was at a point in my life where I was doing pretty well in that area. This process didn't change the Gospel in any way, but it tweaked some little sub-conscience misconceptions I had that were holding me back from becoming who I was created to be. I was then able to more fully embrace my Heavenly Father's love for me and more fully access the blessings inherent in the gospel. I love that it helped me clarify exactly what changes I need to make at this time and made clear why I needed to make those changes. Sometimes we know we need to attend the Temple more, but we haven't internalized the why--though we could recite the reasons we have been taught. It hasn't become a part of us yet. I love that this has brought me closer to my Heavenly Father. I feel his love for me more clearly and suddenly going to the temple and family prayer/scripture study has become so much easier! Going to the temple on a regular basis has been something I intended to do ever since I moved to St.George 2 1/2 years ago, but I never seemed to find the time. Now, suddenly, I have gone 4 times in the last 3 weeks, and I have felt the Spirit so much more throughout the week. I don't understand why I didn't do this before? Nothing has changed in my schedule to give me more time, only a change in thinking. We are taught by church leaders to plan and make goals on a regular basis and to keep journals, but I think many of us don't really understand the best way to go about those things. This has been a great tool for helping me do those things in a very effective way.

I think sometimes self-help stuff can bring you away from God, depending on its nature. ... This experience has helped me, however, to live my religion more fully--not replace it. I love that this tool brought me closer to God and helped me see more clearly what I want out of my spiritual life. It also helped me understand how development in all the other areas relates to God also. I now understand better how He can even be involved in my financial life. Which I should have understood as much as we talk about tithing, staying out of debt, etc. in the Church--but somehow I hadn't really internalized and worked through my understanding of this.
I know that this was an answer to prayer, 100%! I was specifically praying for help with my confidence when I received your e-mail. Normally, I would have thought "I don't know her;" "I don't have time;" "Someone else needs this more;" "She'll never pick me;" etc. Actually, I did think all those things, but I was inspired to respond any way. I am so glad I did, because I am not the same person I was 2 months ago. ... I have already decided that I would refer anyone to you without any reservation. Half of the package is the LifeVision system, and the other half is what you bring to the table!" - Christine

This tool isn't just about making a list of "to-do's" that are meant to stress you out every day. It is really about line upon line BECOMING who you were meant to be. It is glorious and wonderful. It does take a significant effort up front but it is worth it! And we can do it!

If you have been praying for help with something, and this feels like it could be an answer to that prayer, please sign up for a time to chat HERE.

If you already know how to make one but haven't gotten on it, now is the time! DO IT!

And, if you have thought about wanting help writing an ideal life vision I have 3 different options. I have a 1 day workshop, a 6 week group coaching call or a 6 month personal mentoring program. Please schedule a time here: https://www.timetrade.com/book/9TBJ2 and we can talk about what you are looking for and which of these options would work best for you.

Love, Katie

What do you do about math?

12:13 PM

Reading with Daddy

The philosophy of education that we mainly subscribe to is called Thomas Jefferson Education and it rely's mainly on Classics and Mentors to teach.

When people hear that their first question is usually: What do you do about math?

Before I answer that I have a question for you. What is the purpose of education? Everyone on the planet would likely have a slightly different answer, some would say that it is to prepare for a job, to learn the basics to be able to be an adult, to refine character. For me, the purpose of education is to prepare a person to fulfill their God-given mission in life and then to return to live with God. In order for that to happen a few key points need to be made.

They need to know:

1. about God, and their Savior

2. that He has given them a mission

3. that they have greatness inside of them, with unique talents, gifts and obstacles that will help them to prepare for and then fulfill that mission

4. that they are capable of figuring out anything that they need to in order to be able to do what God asks.

5. how to receive revelation, listen and obey

but mostly

6. that they are a child of God.

These are all of my most important priorities! (and you will have your own) I went on that little tangent because sometimes we see education as a checklist of facts and skills that we need to pour into our children's heads before they reach 18 and go off to college and "the real world." I used to think the same thing without really realizing it! That idea is just false (and I believe a counterfeit for the truth from the ultimate liar, because if he can't get us to be terrible, he can at least distract us from what is most important.)

It is really important to put first things first, and see everything else for what it is. The 3 R's are good basic skills that are important for life, and will definitely be learned by any normal, curious child with a little effort. BUT THEY AREN'T THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. The majority of the day, or the highest priority should NOT be placed on those, especially in core phase.

With that said, in order to be able to navigate through life there are just some basics that you need to know. Reading, writing and arithmetic are essential to be able to even survive as an adult.

So, what do I do about math?

First I have another question for you… Do you use math as an adult? How? Do your children see you?

We use math ALL DAY LONG. For most of us it is so normal that we don’t even realize we are using it! I have just gotten in the habit of pointing out math to my kids. When I’m adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, etc. I show them and even ask them to do it sometimes. Here are a few ways we have done that in the last week:

“how many forks do we need to set the table?”
“how much time do we have left until we get to go to the park?”
“how much money do we need to bring to the store for that toy?”
“how old will Sasha be when Peja is 18?”
“Do you want your sandwich cut in ½ or in ¼?”
“If we have 12 candies, and 4 people to split them evenly with, how many do each of us get?”

I used to HATE the endless spreadsheets of boring-ness, it all felt so arbitrary. It is really cool that a homeschooler doesn’t need word problems and worksheets because math is just part of life. It is like real life, relevant word problems. There is nothing arbitrary about figuring out how many candies each person should get if it is to be fair. It is very important to them!

And that, friends, is the trick. We learn when something is important to us. That is just the nature of our brains. When we are tuned in, when we are curious or when we really NEED the answer - that is when we learn!

We might memorize, study and "learn" in order to get the grade we want, pass a test, or please our teachers/parents/etc. But we likely won't really LEARN much unless we are ready for the information.

My husband always says that anyone in business school should have to start a business first. Then the information that you are learning becomes SO much infinitely more important because you actually need it. You see the real life application and you really wish you had paid more attention! But our brains don’t pay attention just because someone says we should listen. They pay attention because they are seeking an answer. That is where learning happens. When someone is SEEKING.

This is the secret! We have to inspire children to seek answers.

Whether kids are schooled at home or at a schoolhouse this is still true.

So, how do I do math? I LIVE LIFE. Life is our school. And it is plenty right now!

These boys are ready for anything life throws at them. LOL

*******************************************

P.S. Here are some fun resources for early math:

Math Classics for kids (we have Life of Fred and LOVE it, but haven’t read the rest. I do trust the Demilles for book recommendations though.)

http://www.tjed.org/resources/classics/math-classics-kids/

Math Classics for Adults (I have not read any of these as I’ve still been working on my own Core Phase, but I will be venturing into them soon!)

http://www.tjed.org/resources/classics/adult-math-classics/

We love this game: everyone gets 2 dice. You draw 11 boxes on your paper and number them from 2-12. Then everyone rolls their dice, adds up the sum and then crosses off the number they found. The first one to cross of all numbers wins! They can learn to do this super early, and it is really fun!

And here are some more ideas I will probably use soon: http://www.k5chalkbox.com/math-games-using-dice.html

There are also a ton of ideas with playing cards also:

http://www.k5chalkbox.com/math-card-games.html

As we progress in math there are a TON of resources here (I will soon be diving into several of these as I work on my own re-education): http://www.tjed.org/2015/04/major-revolution-teaching-math/

Why It Isn't Impressive That I Homeschool

4:01 PM

I have had three different people in just the last week tell me that they are amazed that I can home school, and it is kind of a popular sentiment. I feel like I need to dispel some common misconceptions. If you knew how I home school, and what my day looks like you wouldn’t be so impressed!!

I am pretty sure most people picture what they did in public school: sit down at a desk and do worksheets and projects all day long. They think that I do that! I DO NOT DO WORKSHEETS. EVER. My kids hate them. If they loved them and begged me for some then I’m sure I would get them some. But there are FAR better ways of learning than worksheets.

P(8) is teaching S(5) to read from our Scriptures.

Several years ago, when I was deciding where to send my 5 year old to school, my crazy homeschooling sister (at the time I thought she was crazy for homeschooling) told me to read a book. It was Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning by the Demilles. The principles in that book rang true to my mama heart and I couldn’t deny that I felt prompted to do something about it. So, we started to home school!

One of the things that really stood out as very different was the phases of learning: here they are spelled out super simply. The more that I have watched my kids, the more that I agree with these phases. Kids learn differently at different ages and learning when their brain is developmentally ready is REALLY important. (Especially for boys this is a big deal in schools right now. I read Boys Adrift by Leonard Sax and frankly I was scared for boys growing up in this time!)

My kids are all in Core Phase still so our house is all working on the same thing. Here is a useful article on Core Phase. But basically from the ages 0-8 we are working to learn all the things that will make up the CORE of who we are. So, think of the most important lessons that you want your kids to know and that is what we are learning! Right/wrong, good/bad, true/false, personal identity, spiritual identity, family identity. We learn these things through work and play. (Mostly we play...a LOT! It is a sad, terrible thing that play is becoming less and less these days. Kids NEED unstructured play!)

From a psychology perspective I know that there is a certain amount of time that a child’s brain is totally open to information. That is the time that they absorb the truths that will largely determine how they function in the world. They accept everything as truth! At some point (I believe it is around 8) a filter is created and they are able to reject information that doesn’t agree with the “truth” that is constructed in their subconscious. I know that I cannot be perfect at setting up this truth, but I know that if I rely on inspiration and a lot of prayer I can definitely do better than public school. And SO many hours of their life would be spent there! What is most important during this time is establishing a great core. No amount of the 3 R’s could be more important than that in my opinion. (And in fact, I really believe that sometimes too many accolades for doing well at the 3 R’s too early can give kids a false sense of where self-worth comes from. )

I made this FROM MY OWN BRAIN mom!

So, basically our home looks like any other home before kids go off to school with chores, lots of playing and imagination and reading and as much reading as we can. Some days it feels like all we do is eat and clean up, eat and clean up and then eat and clean up again. But while we eat and clean up we talk about all kinds of fun things!

Sometimes I feel inspired to do a fun science project, often the kids help cook, regularly we take field trips or explore in nature and sometimes all we do is laundry all day! We sometimes work on memorizing things (which looks like me memorizing something and them helping me, but they all memorize it anyway and it is super sneaky!)

But the thing is that the kids are learning ALL THE TIME.

Think about a toddler, do you have to sit down and walk them through step-by-step of how to roll over, or walk, or talk? NO! They observe and copy. So, my kids watch my husband and I, act it out with their Lego guys or their stuffed animals and then start trying to do what we do.

It follows then that it is REALLY important that we have good habits: spiritual habits, physical habits, education habits.

Finally, we go to commonwealth (a family school of about 30 homeschooling families) every Wednesday where the kids go to some classes taught by different moms and then every other week I go to a class also! I do memorization, essays, and read books and articles. I am doing the work of learning and stretching so that they will want to copy me.

Without sitting to do worksheets my kids have learned their ABC’s, numbers, simple arithmetic (add, subtract, multiply and divide), beginning fractions, beginning reading, beginning writing, memorization of almost all of the Articles of Faith, and Louisa May Alcott’s A Tiny Kingdom. We have dabbled in astronomy (have you seen this AWESOME experiment? Do it for real, it is SO COOL!), chemistry, physics, art, and engineering. In the last year we have read 8 chapter books together, and hundreds of picture books. We have read the scriptures, discussed the gospel, talked about their mission in life and made friends with each other.

We all really love homeschooling. It isn’t perfect, but I know that by small and simple means are great things brought to pass and it all happens while we eat and clean up, eat and clean up, eat and clean up. It is the rhythm of life after all, and learning happens through it all.

An answer to prayer...

What do you do about math?

Why It Isn't Impressive That I Homeschool

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