https://www.darcystruckmeier.com Wed, 12 Jul 2023 17:43:51 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7 https://i0.wp.com/www.darcystruckmeier.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/cropped-1.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 https://www.darcystruckmeier.com 32 32 182952812 The Lesson Planner Collection https://www.darcystruckmeier.com/the-lesson-planner-collection/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-lesson-planner-collection https://www.darcystruckmeier.com/the-lesson-planner-collection/#comments Wed, 12 Jul 2023 17:18:43 +0000 https://www.darcystruckmeier.com/?p=3136 You can purchase this 2023-2024 digital collection of planner pages here. She is all updated, shiny, and ready to be your planning bestie. Let’s take a tour.

Planner Cover and Monthly Title pages

Month overview page

I take this page and mark off our first day, last day, and any holidays we plan to take off during the year. Then I number all of my weeks of school. It is super helpful to have a framework to function within!

Blueprint pages

New this year! Blueprint Pages. Maybe you aren’t the type to want to fill in each lesson for each day of the year. Or maybe you need a quick glance overview. You can use these sheets for any subject. Included is a 12 lesson unit study and a 20 lesson unit study sheet option. These work well for 2 very popular unit study curriculum companies. 🙂 Simply highlight or cross off each lesson as you finish it.

4 or 5 day single or double weekly planning pages

I have always used the 4 day single planning page. I take out the current week and put it on a clipboard! It works great for us!

Monthly planning pages

These are my favorite pages. A month view of all 12 months of the year. You can add field trips, class parties, co op dates, etc. Included is fun quotes at the top and fun National Holidays.

Unit planning sheets

So many unit study companies out there these days. Included in the collection is a couple of options to help plan those unit studies.

Morning Meeting Planning Sheets

There are so many resources that you can use during your morning meeting time. These sheets are left pretty vague on purpose, so you can fill in with the detail you want to include. For me? I just take all my resources and divide it up between the seasons. We change the basket accordingly. I can’t wait to dive into this new book this year!

Additional Misc Sheets

Use these planning sheets, however you see fit! Fill in your field trips, books, or movie days by month. Print dots or lines for monthly evaluations or notes. Tons of options here!

Well, there she is in all her glory. This collection of pages was designed to be flexible and use a small amount of ink! Hopefully, it will be a blessing to you in your homeschool. The first year of homeschool I could not find a planner that I liked, so I created this one. Sixteen years later, with some tweaks and additions, it is still what I use today.

Purchase your planner here.

Happy Planning!

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The Lesson Planner Collection https://www.darcystruckmeier.com/the-2023-planning-collection/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-2023-planning-collection https://www.darcystruckmeier.com/the-2023-planning-collection/#comments Thu, 14 Jul 2022 02:20:54 +0000 http://www.darcystruckmeier.com/?p=3091 After about two years of homeschooling and using every planner on the market, I decided to make my own. Fast forward 13 years and I still use it. The 2022 update is here! Take a peek and go here to purchase.

yearly title sheet
year at a glance… highlight the days you do school!
Double lay out of the months. (August through July.)
Some fun national holidays included & inspiring quotes.
4 or 5 day double planning sheets
4 or 5 day single planning sheets
Unit Study planning sheets
yearly & monthly overview planning sheets

Hope you enjoy as much as I have. Simple and no frills that suck all of your ink up. You can print the sheets you want in the order you want and throw it in a binder, on a clipboard, or have it coiled at your local office store! You can purchase here.

Happy Planning!

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The Record Keeping Collection https://www.darcystruckmeier.com/the-record-keeping-collection-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-record-keeping-collection-2 https://www.darcystruckmeier.com/the-record-keeping-collection-2/#comments Wed, 13 Jul 2022 04:45:11 +0000 http://www.darcystruckmeier.com/?p=3062 Where were these papers when I started? You don’t know what you don’t know! Man, I needed them.

This collection has everything you need to keep all of your important info in one place! You will thank yourself often for being this organized. You will have lots of options to keep all of your curriculum, grades, books read, field trips taken, hours/attendance, and more! You can print off the ones you want to use to create your custom binder. Please make sure and find out what your state laws are at HSLDA.com to help you when deciding which information you want to keep.
All of your papers can be held in any format that works for you. I chose one binder per kiddo with dividers inside (one for each year). This one binder will work for the entire time you homeschool!
It will be worth the effort to put this together now! Upkeep as you go takes very minimal time! Purchase your collection here. Feel free to leave in questions in the comments!
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The Great Reset https://www.darcystruckmeier.com/the-great-reset/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-great-reset https://www.darcystruckmeier.com/the-great-reset/#comments Fri, 19 Feb 2021 17:24:28 +0000 http://www.darcystruckmeier.com/?p=3038 2020 became a bad word somewhere around March. Things haven’t really slowed down since. This is the point where I could make a lot of statements about how people have changed, using phrases like “so many people…” or “it has forced everyone to…” However, I am not going to do that. I can really only speak for myself. I remember this defining moment in March where I felt SO out of control. I looked at my husband and said, “Do you think things will go back to normal in a few weeks?”. I wanted him to say “Absolutely, babe. Do not worry, they will.” While I have a flare for the overdramatic, he has a flare for the cold, hard truth and he said a calm, but very firm, “no”. I didn’t even answer. Down deep, I knew he was right. The events since March have changed everything. They have changed me too.

I think it’s no secret that I have had a time of it since our move from Ca. Cue whatever illustration you choose…the hamster wheel, the merry go ’round of horror that you can never get off of, ground hog day. Whatever fits your definition of “being stuck”. But, hey! Guess what God showed me the other day in His loving way, when He smacks me upside the head super dramatically? (Which, side note, have you ever noticed that the God of the universe literally speaks to us in our own language? Mine is mostly dramatic moments.) So, the thing is, I’ve been saying for years I am stuck and it turns out I wasn’t. There’s this whole sermon where God showed me that. Epic news and a blog post for another day.

And then there’s this other thing He needed to address with me. I’ve got a lot of health issues. It’s been a hot minute now. Somewhere in the blur of 2020 in a real raw moment of desperation, I told my husband I was done. To which He replied “Why don’t you do what you need to do to fix this?”

Now before you go all savage on him for being harsh, it wasn’t that cut and dry of a conversation. I bring you the entire thing boiled down into two sentences. I love that I know that he won’t always say what I want to hear, but he’ll say what I need to hear. It’s one of my most favorite things about him.

After a downward spiral the last few years and several diagnosis later, I think we have discovered all of the issues now. Late 2020, brought me a plan. It’s just a real hard one and I am real tired. I could do this plan if you gave it to me when I was in good health. Doing it from where I am now looks different.

“You can have my YES with no exception. I’m laying down my right to second guess it…. One thing with pain, injury, surgery, and recovery is that you have to be ALL IN. Going half way won’t get change at best and at worst can hurt you bad.

The Father asks us to go ALL IN too.

He wants your “YES!” with no exception. But there are so many things that make you want to hold back.

Mine?? PAIN

The very thing you need to do to create MORE healing is to temporarily cause more pain and though that pain create more flexibility and strength so that you can create HEALING and PROGRESS.

We pull back to avoid pain, discomfort, conflict, or just feeling awkward but to try begin to heal and get STRONGER in that area of our lives we have to PRESS INTO the discomfort. -Dr Haggerton

After several weeks of mulling over my husband’s question,”Why don’t you do what you need to do to fix this?” I read these above statements on line and it put into words my answer. In order to get way better, I have to get temporarily way worse. It all hurts. It is all hard. It is uncomfortable. Not just my sweater itches and I need to change it uncomfortable, but real uncomfortable. Like I feel like I might die in 2 seconds of this uncomfortable. Who walks towards that?

The Father promises to show up and never leave…our job is to trust Him in the process and to PRESS IN.

You got this friend. Look at that big mountain of pain or discomfort, take a breath, smile and take that next step.” -Dr. Haggerton

Look at it. Be honest and call what is in front of you.

Breathe & smile. Prepare yourself, CHOOSE your attitude.

Take the next step. Do something. Forward motion.

Press in. The exact opposite of what you want to do. Do it anyway.

Man, that’ll preach all the day long.

We are creatures who want to protect ourselves. When things get hard or uncomfortable we usually do the exact opposite of what we “should” do. Run away, quit things, take a break, make excuses, find people who will support our excuses, shop, sleep, eat, binge watch tv, porn, drugs, alcohol, overachieve….the list is never ending. We are good at not pressing in. I am not good at pressing in. In fact, I am terrible at it. You know why? Because when you press in you find more crap. And my health journey is the thing God is using to change me from the inside out.

2020, I hear you loud and clear. I dub thee an epic one. You will always be remembered. The year that I learned I was never stuck. The year that reminded me what is at stake. The year that stoked this fire deep in my soul to a raging inferno. The year that there was breath in my lungs again.

I came to a fork in the road. The hard part wasn’t deciding what I want. The hard part was coming to the stark reality of knowing that what I want is on the road that I don’t want to go on. By very definition of the fork in the road, I can’t walk with a foot on each path. I have to choose one.

I have the mind of Christ directing my thoughts and the word of God guiding my steps (Groeschel)

Jesus, you are strong in my weakness.

Let’s roll.

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The Dancer Man https://www.darcystruckmeier.com/the-dancer-man/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-dancer-man https://www.darcystruckmeier.com/the-dancer-man/#comments Sun, 20 Sep 2020 02:48:05 +0000 http://www.darcystruckmeier.com/?p=3020 I really wanted to write this back in Feb, but I felt like I wanted to keep it to myself for a little bit. I was given a little treasure and sometimes treasures need to be put up for safe keeping. Occasionally, I feel like every time I write lately, I’m all….dude my life is so hard. Truth is, it is right now. It could always be harder, but this here and now is hard. I don’t know why that makes me think I should be quiet, but sometimes it does. What needs to ring louder than my pain is Jesus. I truly hope it does.

Even when my strength is lost
I’ll praise you

We were given tickets to a dance production downtown at a fancy place. My life long dream was always to be a dancer. I’m not one, lol. I never really tried. Outside of a starring role in a piece in college at the spring mus-i-cal {please say it like Mrs. Darbus #highschoolmusical, it just sounds way cooler}, I never really did too much else. Well, there was that one time I was a dancing palm tree with Liz, but we won’t go there. Anyway, It was a dramatic piece depicting a horse race. It was complete with onlookers, people placing their bets, a whole track and horses. All parts played by people. I was the staring horse. The one that was favored to win the race. However, the horse got injured and therefore, I interpretive danced my way through a dramatic fall and ultimately, the horse’s death. I. was. a. horse. that. died. I wish I was kidding.

Broadway never came, but I watch every dance thing at every chance I am given. This one was no exception. We met new friends that blessed us with tickets and we met their friends at the venue. Beyond lovely people. We met more people as they were all friends with the cast and directors. The production was amazing. The venue spectacular. The company even better. They all have given their lives to the arts. Living out the creativity and beauty of Jesus by sharing the arts and the love of Jesus with others.

Even when I have no song
I’ll praise you

After the performance, we were standing in the lobby overlooking the entire downtown through a multistory glass wall. There were 7 of us talking. As we were saying our goodbyes and thank you’s, one man who had flown in from the south for the production said, “Can I pray over you?”. Immediately, five sets of hands laid on us. In the lobby of this grand building with hundreds of people scurrying around us, time stood freaking still. This man that we had known for about 4.5 seconds began to pray. He didn’t know much about us, but he prayed- heartfelt, bold, compassionate, and spot on…every word.

I had just prayed a couple days prior for a moment. A “Jesus with skin” on moment like I had with my 4 year old. Jesus never disappoints.

All I could think was, I am standing on Holy Ground. This man was praying for things for my husband and I that he could have never understood were the answers to the cries of my heart. I am pretty sure I stopped breathing. I could have stood there forever. A touch like that from the Lord, in a crowded building, was that amazing. What will heaven be like. I. can’t. even.

Even when it’s hard to find the words
Louder then I’ll sing your praise

All parts of knowing Jesus are a thing, ya know. It isn’t just the head knowledge. The deep down soul touches are so beautiful it really does take my breath away. It hits me in all the feels. I love that God created feelings & emotions. I love that this man followed the promptings of Jesus in his heart.

My heart was so filled up. I wrote down what I remembered of his words and read them often. What a gift to be seen by new friends. What a gift to be loved on so beautifully by our Creator. May I be a person who sees others, sees their needs, and acts upon it. That night changed my life for the better. May I always pass it forward.

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7.5 Months Late https://www.darcystruckmeier.com/7-5-months-late/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=7-5-months-late https://www.darcystruckmeier.com/7-5-months-late/#comments Wed, 16 Sep 2020 04:10:34 +0000 http://www.darcystruckmeier.com/?p=3002 Jan. 31st, it was a Wednesday, I’m hangin’ with the Missouri bestie. She teaches a piano lesson and I planned to spend 30 minutes chillin’ while the kids play. Thirty whole minutes to myself and I lay my head on a pillow to soak up every second. The phone rudely interrupts my plans. I had just been in for a check up with my dr. because despite everything, I still felt A W F U L. I told him a list of symptoms longer than the Christmas list of my wildest dreams. I wasn’t expecting the dr. to find anything. I was doing elimination diets and figured food issues were causing my symptoms. My thyroid was now supposedly under control, so what else could it be?

“Your blood sugars are 436. That is consistent with type 2 Diabetes.” #resttimeover

“I’m sorry, what now?” I believe were my exact words.

I could have dropped the phone {cue dramatic music} and gasped and turned this into any scene of any dramatic movie you wanted. You know the one where the leading character received horrid and unexpected news and stood mouth gaping open while they went to commercial break. I didn’t hear much else of what she had to say, except that I had another apt at 7:30 the next morning.

the view from there

It’s no secret if you’ve read any of my blogs that I have a long history of issues with food, yo yo dieting, eating disorders and the like. I’ve made some fabulous mental progress in the recent years, but after an incredibly stressful 2013, my weight gain during 2014 has been a monster that I can not seem to kill. It has been soul sucking on every single level and then some more. This was a big blow to me. Huge.

I had ZERO knowledge of anything about Diabetes except it seemed that every single contestant on the Biggest Looser gets it and it’s really bad. I immediately sunk & went numb. How can I care/work so hard on my health, but be here? No criticism to anyone on the Biggest Loser, but for real… I was so lost. I picture every season opener I’ve ever seen, where these poor hurting people were experiencing their rock bottom. They were morbidly obese and now they had diabetes also? Now I was one of them? I would hear their stories of the astronomical amounts of food they consumed and I just don’t do that. No one in my family is diabetic….and holy crap, 436 for blood sugars is pretty high as it turns out. What is going on? I literally wondered if I get up and eat in my sleep or something.

early fall snow storm 2019. confusing.

I’ve been spending quite a bit of time researching and going to dr. apts, both Functional and Endocrinology. I have devoured 3 books from Dr. Fung, taken an intensive course on the autoimmune protocol, stuck my fingers multiple times a day for months, and continued to pray and ask God to guide me. I understand what Diabetes is and what you do to fix it. I understand that some drs. think it’s a chronic progressive disease and some drs. think it’s a reversible condition.

Where am I now? I am on medication. I am working to get off of medication. I am working a plan to get healthy. I am down 40lbs from my highest weight and well on my way to a healthy weight. I have learned a ton. My blood sugars are well within normal range and have been for months. I have hope and a list of random thoughts.

family vacation to Colorado this summer. I triumphantly hiked 4 miles at 12,000 feet

First, not all the “experts” are right. I am not saying that they are trying to lead you astray, nor am I trying to belittle them with my quotes. Prior to Jan, I was attacking my health from multiple angles. Boy, was I given some advice that would have been catastrophic, had I had followed it. C A T A S T R O P H I C. You’ve got to be present in your healing journey. It’s imperative. You know you better than anyone else. Do not let people dismiss you or belittle you or lead you to believe it’s all in your head. Just don’t. OK?

Second, I have hit many dead ends. It’s true what they say about getting back up again. If I hadn’t, I’d still be laying in my bestie’s house while the world’s longest commercial break was going on, in that dramatic movie I so brazenly cast myself in.

my son deployed here a couple weeks before my diagnosis.

Third, food sensitivities/allergies, stress, carb consumption (yes, even healthy carbs) all play a big role in blood sugars and insulin resistance. At diagnosis, my specialist looked me in the eye and said, “you will never lose weight like this”. We’ve got to fix this. Validating. Because I knew that to be true. I was doing everything I knew to be right and NOTHING was happening in the weight loss department. Boy did that mess with my head. I wasn’t eating 6 breakfast sandwiches, 3 large pizzas, gallons of ice cream and so on and so forth every day. I don’t even like ice cream. Why wasn’t the scale moving? I’ve had people tell me I was eating like that. Boy does THAT mess with your head. I’ve also had experts tell me to increase my carbs and that would make me lose weight. I am glad I didn’t listen.

aren’t they happy?

Fourth, when your blood sugars are 436, you feel like walking death, in case you’re wondering. My blood sugars are running between 100-120 now and I can’t tell you how much better I am feeling. I still have a lot of work to do to heal from this mess, but I have actual answers. I am seeing progress. I have great drs. and I am getting the help I need. I literally can not remember a time where I woke up and thought, “I feel good”. I used to take my health for granted. I know better now.

Fifth, I know that 7.5 months late for a blog post title, sounds like a pregnancy announcement, not a “hey, I have Diabetes announcement.” Witty isn’t great if you have to explain it. I realize this. But it’s taken me 7.5 months to come to terms with this situation, so I’m going with it. I mean I wrote a big blog post about my autoimmune disease. I tied it up with a nice pretty bow. I had no idea about this impending plot twist. This blog post is a blurt it out, first pass, it is what it is post.

Missouri pink skies are the best

Sixth, I have no idea what the future holds. I’m holding it much looser than I was seven years ago when all of this started.

Maybe, just maybe, that is the point.

to be continued…

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Curriculum 2020-2021 https://www.darcystruckmeier.com/curriculum-2020-2021/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=curriculum-2020-2021 https://www.darcystruckmeier.com/curriculum-2020-2021/#comments Fri, 11 Sep 2020 01:30:43 +0000 http://www.darcystruckmeier.com/?p=2997 We are one week into our 12th year of homeschooling. It’s so hard to believe how fast time flies. My oldest has begun his fourth year in the Air Force and doing well. My daughter is a junior at college pursuing a vocal performance major. My youngest two are at home entering 4th & 10th grade. We are excited about our curriculum choices and looking forward to a great year!

Greyson 4th grade

Masterbooks- More Than Words 2

Masterbooks- Math Lessons for a Living Education 4

Five In A Row

Supplement- Download ‘n Go & Steph Hathaway Designs

Emma 10th grade

Algebra & Biology at Co op

Bible Daily Grace Co.

Sonlight CompuScholar

Notgrass World Geography

Winston grammar

Writeshop 2

Monarch Nursing

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Pink Laundry https://www.darcystruckmeier.com/pink-laundry/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pink-laundry https://www.darcystruckmeier.com/pink-laundry/#comments Sun, 10 Nov 2019 04:56:23 +0000 http://www.darcystruckmeier.com/?p=2957 It was 11:30 pm on a Saturday night, about a month ago. The house was quiet except for the Christmas hallmark movie that was playing. Here I was AGAIN. I had mapped something out and I didn’t do it correctly. My failure speech was blaring in my head and I couldn’t decide how to handle it.

You see, in early summer, I had made my own plans about how my healing journey was going to play out, again. This was probably the 156th plan I had made, give or take. I consulted only myself, made my plans, and to solidify that they would actually happen…I signed up for a 5k in October and a 10k in December. I used to run….before my 2014 year and this seemed like a logical thing to do at the time. I was going to get better, beat my dysfunctional thyroid into submission, and lose weight. I had a fool proof plan…again. It didn’t work…again. So, I was in fits, quite literally….again. What now?

I didn’t want to NOT go and be THAT person in my head. More failure. However, I didn’t want to go alone and W A L K on top of it. No one could come with me because the race was on a Sunday. All of my people were serving at church. Could I really go alone? An overweight middle aged woman, alone, at a 5k that I had to W A L K? I imagined everyone there would be with friends and family, in perfect shape, dressed in all the fun pink tutus etc. They would be running. I was sure of it and I was setting myself up to be silently criticized by everyone there, if they even noticed me. I knew this wasn’t true. This wasn’t my first 5k, but it’s amazing what you can talk yourself into when you are spiraling.

I have been reading Atomic Habits. Awesome book. He talks about “stacking the deck” toward the person you want to be. Every action will support the person you are becoming or it will not. I knew that skipping the run wouldn’t put me on the path I wanted to be on, but I also didn’t want to subject myself to what I was going to have to do if I went. It felt like a lose-lose. I just couldn’t decide.

I texted my 20 year old son, the only other night owl in my family. I briefly explained my situation and then I said, “What do you think?” He said, with no hesitation, “Do it. You have no reason to not do it, other than fear.” So, I responded, “crap, you’re right. I’ll do it.” ….and I set my alarm and went to sleep.

Bright and early I arrived to the run. I picked up my bib and waited, fighting back tears. I refused to add crying on top of the list of self loathing things I was already fighting through. I just couldn’t wait for the thing to start. I wanted to be here with friends, fit, and feeling great. I love running. Standing there accepting my reality, definitely wasn’t my favorite.

waiting…

Levi Lusko preached a sermon one time and the quote “Don’t hate humble beginnings” has never left me. I feel like I have humble beginnings quite often, lol. B U T that quote is comforting. For a recovering all or nothing achiever girl, it gives me permission to be at and even embraces the bottom rung.

I never saw their faces…

My next fear was making sure that I came in before the race people were packing up and closing things down around me. So, I saw these people in front of me. They were walking. I was so happy. They shattered my imagined scenario of everyone being a runner. I put my eyes on their backs and made sure I never was too far behind them. If we finished as they were packing up, then at least I wouldn’t be alone. Before I got too close to the finish line, I snapped a pic for remembrance. As I crossed, the announcer congratulated me by name, thanks to somewhat creepy technology. I was grateful. It was validating.

This 5k turned out to be nothing about running, walking, tutus, or groups of friends in reality. It became about me doing something very imperfectly. Very messy and living through it. This isn’t to say that I think I haven’t ever done anything in my life imperfectly before, or that I think I have all my crap together all the time. This is more to say, that usually I don’t participate if I can’t at least do it to a mildly acceptable level. A very large lesson for me on the fact that this is what I have been doing in many areas of my life for the past several years. Every time I see this medal hanging in my closet, may these glorious girly chandeliers, dragonflies, heels, and diamonds will remind me.

cutest finishing medal of all time

So, I crossed that finish line. I was given my medal and I kept the pace walking straight to my car. I untied my key from my shoe laces and sunk into safety. All the while painfully aware that this felt strangely reminiscent of high school lunch time in the quad. A place of terror for four years after my first week as a freshman, a seagull crapped on my shirt during lunch hour. I hated the quad. It felt bad. This run didn’t feel good either. Couldn’t be happier that it was over.

As I sat there and mentally recovered, lots of people were getting in their cars. I wondered, as I often do in crowds, what their stories were. How many others were going through silent battles. How many were experiencing their own beginnings or even their own celebration of goals reached. I wish I could know.

I need to remember that I am going to have to feel this way many times over if I am actually going to make progress healing or even move forward in life. Change and growth just plain sucks sometimes. It can be scary and hard and feels….well, bad. I want it though. I’ll get it. Who knew so much could come out of a little Sunday morning run. Please Lord, help me keep my eyes open to always see it.

I heard a podcast recently where she said you have to sign up for the journey, not just the result. #mindblown I’m considering this run evidence of that decision. Excited to see where it takes me.

Next up, the 10k.

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The Work Box Collection https://www.darcystruckmeier.com/the-work-box-collection/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-work-box-collection https://www.darcystruckmeier.com/the-work-box-collection/#comments Thu, 05 Sep 2019 20:21:25 +0000 http://www.darcystruckmeier.com/?p=2940 What are workboxes?

Workboxes are simply the 10 drawer rolling filing carts that you can buy in many different craft or office supply stores. You will need one for each child. All 10 boxes will get filled by you, each night or early morning, before school. Your child will work through each of the 10 boxes, in order, each day. They are NOT allowed to look ahead! Each of their assignments will be placed, one assignment in each box. All components necessary to complete the assignment get placed inside the box {including books, materials, etc.}. You will likely have a couple of boxes left over. You can add fun activities to these boxes, free play, chores, or whatever you wish. You can, and I recommend that you do, include fun prizes or snacks every so often in a box to surprise your child!

Why workboxes?

By taking 5-10 minutes ahead of time and filling your boxes, you can save yourself SO much time during the school day. You don’t have to stop and gather things, all the while completely losing your kid’s attention. Do you know how much damage can be done by your sweet little students while you gather supplies to grow your own crystals? By doing it all in advance, everything is already there at your fingertips.

Many times as homeschool moms it is hard to juggle everything on our plate. I used to find myself hurrying to check things off sometimes and end up skipping all the fun things. These boxes allow me a way to throw in that extra fall color sheet, art project, cooking project, game, etc. I’m all for the fun.

I also used to deal regularly with the nagging question “how much school do we have today?” or “are we almost done?”. The workboxes give kids a visual as to what the expectation is for them. Ten boxes, then they are done. I have found that the visual allows them to relax and enjoy the school day.

The boxes are also useful in helping deal with teaching multiple kids at the same time. You can arrange assignments into the boxes in a strategic way. You can stagger the assignments so that you are available to help each child. For example, if you need to be available to help each child with math, you can stagger the math assignments in their boxes. You can put Beth’s math in box 1, Will’s math in box 5, and Eva’s math in box 10. If you prefer for everyone to do math at the same time you can put all the math in box 1 for each child. It’s completely up to you.

As your child works through their boxes, they will move the number from the left side to the right side of that box. This gives you an excellent visual to see quickly where they are at in their school work for the day.

My children respond beautifully to these boxes. Each one is like a surprise gift for them.

In this Workbox collection, you will receive instructions, labels, cards, and a planning sheet. You will also need the following items: 1 rolling cart per child, 20 sets of velcro dots or squares per child, and printer paper (I recommend card stock). Additional items that are helpful are a small hand held timer per child and access to a laminator!

Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

You can purchase your workbox collection here for instant download!

Happy Workboxing!


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My Autoimmune Story https://www.darcystruckmeier.com/my-autoimmune-story/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=my-autoimmune-story https://www.darcystruckmeier.com/my-autoimmune-story/#comments Tue, 27 Aug 2019 06:31:23 +0000 http://www.darcystruckmeier.com/?p=2910 It was New Years Eve of 2013. We were in Utah “celebrating” at a hotel. Despite executing the 1,876,398 details of our cross country move in the previous weeks, I had somehow managed to stop by the dollar store for some noise makers, plates, and a cute tablecloth. I had also grabbed our favorite sides from our favorite Tex Mex and some bottles of sparkling cider. We were not going to miss out on one of our favorite holidays. What I did not anticipate was no one being in a party mood. We had 2 sick kids and everyone had some level of a broken heart after saying goodbye to friends and family. I thought the worst was behind us and was genuinely excited deep in my soul for all that was to come. The previous year had been near impossible and surely the hard times were over. I had no idea the struggles that would lie before me.

New Years Eve 2013.

You see, from that day forward, I never really found my footing and it was shocking. Life became a daily struggle. A literal struggle to get through each day. After years of yo yo dieting battling 20-30 lbs up and down my weight skyrocketed like never before. I longed to be even close to one of my before photos. It seemed I was powerless to stop it. A growing list of nagging physical ailments began. I wasn’t sleeping and could barely muster the strength through a day. I thought it was all because of the weight gain. I felt like I was sliding down into a very large hole . I spent each day feeling like I was stuck in quick sand. The level of tiredness made pregnancy fatigue seem like a walk in the park. I found enjoyment in very little and it was such an effort to talk to people. All of these things were not me. No where close. I felt like I had checked myself at the CA border. I was trying to make a new life for my family and I. But instead, I spent most nights crying myself to sleep. The whole thing was not in the least bit ideal. To be honest, I was mad about it. I felt like God called us here. We willingly obeyed and this was what I “got”?

My “before” pic. Trying to get in front of the camera more. fall 2013.

I was confident I would figure it out. I really thought I could make it work. I would just try harder. I would. I was desperate to understand what was happening. I had never felt like this before and I would not give up. On top of the list of losses I had experienced that year, I was also losing myself. I barely had the strength to acknowledge it. All I knew in my head and heart was that I was failing miserably at everything and it wrecked me. I felt sidelined. I felt invisible. No one in my new city knew the real me at all because… I couldn’t find her.

Greyson’s Missouri bestie.

Fast forward to 2018 and I finally decided to go to the doctor. I had avoided the doctor like the plague. I was sure I would get the you are overweight lecture and I just couldn’t bear the thought. After a couple of weeks, a couple of doctors, and several vials of blood, my doctor met with me to let me know my results. I had very low vitamin D, adrenal fatigue, very dysfunctional thyroid levels, and indeed the autoimmune condition, Hashimotos. He told me that it could be a year or more until I felt better. He told me all of the ways I had been feeling were due to this condition. He also told me that I would likely not lose any weight until my thyroid levels were under control and possibly even several months after that. Buckle up.

USAF graduation 2017. Feeling miserable and trying to embrace it all.

It took some time for all of this to sink in. All I could think was I had literally been beating myself up for 4 years and no matter how hard I tried this was all out of my control. There was not a darn thing I could do about it.

the fourth. I love their smiles.

It has been 17 months since I was initially diagnosed. I still find it a very odd thing. It is an invisible condition and incredibly common. Like with most things, it is really hard to understand until you have been there. The timing of our move and the onset of this, brought a very large extra layer of challenges in this whole chapter for me. I’ve received great help and information and not so great help and information along the way. Everything has taught me something.

halloween. we’ve lived a lot of life in Missouri.

July 1 of this year, I started on the AIP diet. There is a lot of information online, if you just google. It seemed so difficult when I first heard of it that I dismissed it pretty quickly. After a year of research, elimination diets, medication, and little improvement, I re evaluated. Somehow it no longer seemed so impossible. Funny how that happens, right? After just 12 days, I saw almost miraculous results. Brain Fog, joint pain, fatigue, severe digestion issues, itchy skin… the list goes on, all G O N E. And for the first time in a very long time the scale was moving in the right direction. W H A T ? As I started to feel better, I couldn’t believe how bad I had been feeling.

big shovel. little boy.

I have hit some new roadblocks emotionally and am working through those. I have been immersing myself in books and sermons. When I finish one, it’s like God is all “here is the next one I want you to dive into”. It’s been pretty amazing. A ton of learning.

I love my munchkins, fiercely.

I have my Missouri bestie who cooks me meals when I just can’t stand the thought of being in the kitchen for another second. She has cleaned my house and listened to me whine more than anyone else on the planet. She met me at my worst and truly has shown me unconditional love and expects nothing from me in return. I’m not sure where I’d be without her, for reals. Then my family… they have put up with all of me and this long road and that is a massive feat in and of itself. They are currently doing a whole 30 along side me. They are the best.

eclipse. costco parking lot. the path of totality. new album dropped summer 2017.

Ya’ll I guarantee I will read this a million times and overanalyze every word. Not really too sure I want to hit publish, to be honest. My head is already screaming all the things…people have it so much worse than I. Who am I to complain. There are so many people with autoimmune. Stop being over dramatic and handle it. This really is no big deal, etc. etc. etc. BUT GOD, is working on me in a massive way. I am on a road to healing. A journey that I can only say I will always show up to and I will continue to each and every day. There is something in my heart that I just feel like I need to put this out there into the interwebs. Maybe it’ll help someone. Maybe it’s a vulnerability thing. Maybe a declaration of change. Maybe just a praise to God in the waiting…maybe a little bit of each.

new beaches for vacation.

I have walked around in a daze for the last 4 years and coming out of that is absolutely brilliant. I had a moment the other day that I felt like myself and I ugly cried. Then I panicked and cried again because it’s also equally terrifying. Everything feels raw and scary. God is truly re building me from the dirt up. So if you see me, I am currently living in a body I do not recognize, clothed in a black maxi dress from Amazon. I wear it nearly daily. I maybe own more than one. I do not wear it for religious reasons, or because I am involved in some sort of a dare. It is comfortable and I guess its my own little cocoon for now. I am no longer dazed, but I am still stumbling. I in no way have the power or discipline without God to continue this path of healing. I am excited to watch Him do His thing. I’m at the end of myself. I want to be healthy, happy, and whole. I want to see what God has for me in this next chapter and serve Him well. I want to be an awesome wife and mama and friend. I want to close the chapter on this part of my story and declare His healing power, both then and now. I also can’t wait to wear cute clothes again.

I am grateful.

In many ways I wish I could re move. A big giant do over. But honestly, I wouldn’t even if I could. This has been the biggest growth period of my life to date and I could not and would not trade that for anything. Life is so messy. My God is so good. Beauty for ashes…God’s grand exchange.

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