Beautiful Day...and If-Then Chart plans

We have had small fires every morning -- mainly for 'fun' but they do take the chill off the house early. The day temps have barely nudged the 70 mark so it's been absolutely gorgeous out.

We are drying just a bit here. Still a lot of mud around, but the sun and light breezes are doing some good. Too wet to attempt mowing yet, so it's taking longer to dry off here. The farmers have decided it's time to bite the bullet and try to salvage at least some of their moldy soybeans and wheat. What a loss this year! Late rains kept everyone backed upon planting, then all the early fall rains/floods kept them from harvesting :o( Most around here have lost a good 45% of their harvests. They are tearing up the fields getting machinery stuck trying to harvest something. We don't even have the last hays in and baled yet around most of these farms. What a mess.

We haveour wood stacked here at the house, and I'd like to get the porch area closed for winter this weekend, but we'll be gone all day Saturday cutting wood in Tennessee, so that project will probably wait another weekend. The weather isn't bad, but it does cut down on the drafts in here, and keeps the porch cleaner, having it wrapped. LOL...and the cats appreciate it, too!

We have gone back to No Mercy around here. Things have slacked off -- my own fault, I know -- so it's time to regain our momentum and get back on top ofthe daily routine. I know -- I'm just a broken record with that. It's a well-worn path this jumping the track and slowing down business.

But, we're back on the If-Then Chart, tweaking it a bit to suit our most common issues. There's no mercy granted -- the corrections are going to be instant around here. We tried using some 'natural consequences' for a while but that just wasn't going to work. Some things children just don't care about, kwim? Didn't get the laundry out? Have to stay in pj's all day ot wear something terribly wrinkled or even dirty? Whoop-dee-do. My brood doesn't even bat an eye. Mainly because we homeschool...with a capital HOME. We aren't out and about being seen, so pj's don't bother them, wrinkled isn't offensive...the natural consequences stuff just wasn't changing a blessed thing.

However, spending 10 minutes standing at the wall with your hand over your mouth for arguing/being rude to another? They don't like that.

Having to do some of the military stuff we gleaned from Debi...like standing for 5 or 10 mins with your arms straight out shoulder height, opening and closing your palms because you hit/fought with another? That's like chinese water torture here and makes a lasting impression on them. They are not as likely to repeat the offense too soon.

Laundry, well, we're still on that one. The dryer does not see a lot of use. Now, September it was used practically non-stop thanks to the daily rains. Now, however, you'd best make hay (or laundry, as the casemay be) while the sun shines because you'll be drying it with a hair dryer otherwise. And they don't like that, either. It's more work. And around here, "more work" makes an impression.

Not completing a school task in a timely manner? You will have extra to do...same with graoning/complaining over an assignment. The extra comes out of your free time, not out of chore time (which is what was tried by some of them...).

And yes, I assign Bible verses to write as well. Not so much as punishment, though they view the copywork as such sometimes, but in writing out several verses that relate to the offense itself, they get extra memory work and learn the verses that should be directing their lives. Cements it all a bit more.

But, it's just another list unless I implement it every day, every offense, instantly, without failure on my part. So...we'll see how the No Mercy learning curve goes around here :o). I'm hopeful it will be a decent success. But honestly, I think that coming out of the gate all the time, and that's even when I know full well that it is dependent on my own actions moreso than on theirs.

We'll see.