My original plan was to start school Monday. But Big Daddy just wasn’t havin’ it – we can’t school on the 4th of July!! Even though we are under a burn ban, he had to work, & we had NO plans. I wasn’t quite ready anyway, so I postponed our start date a day.
Let me just say for all “real life” or “keepin’ it real” purposes – this week has left me exhausted.
We have had great days together & are totally enjoying ALL of our curriculum, & we are getting A LOT done, but our days have been
VERY L-O-N-G!
The first two days we didn’t finish until nearly 5:30pm. Today we finished around 4pm (which is actually 30 minutes earlier than our schedule). Easing our way back into school would have been ideal, but considering all the bad habits that we had to break from Truman being sick, bedrest, & then a 2 month summer break – I know me & my kids – starting all or nothing, cold turkey, gettin’ ‘er done was the best way to let go of the old & start again. Not to mention: I’m havin’ a baby (GIRL!!!) in about 10 weeks!
So the main “problem” (if you will) is the timing. And honestly, I don’t know why I’m sweatin’ it. We have had a great time together. The kids aren’t complaining – they are excited about each activity & are ready for what’s next. They haven’t dreaded one single subject! I don’t know why I’m worried about time. Isn’t that what this is all about – TIME with my kids?
Although our days seem long, we take breaks & I’m still getting my daily chores done. In fact, Tuesday was “Kitchen Day” & I made or prepped all the meals for the rest of the week (which made the past 2 days fabulous). Wednesday was “Laundry Day” & I got 7 loads of laundry washed, folded, & separated out. Not to mention 3 of those loads were hung dried & I stripped, washed, & remade the sheets on all our beds. Today is “Desk Day.” The day where the rest of the week is all down hill. Typically today would be our last day of school for the week. So all-in-all it hasn’t been that bad. Just a lot of time.
I think what is standing out in my mind is the nagging idea of what others think. Last year we had friends from public school over almost every.day. If we weren’t done with school by the time they were I felt like such a failure. I constantly feel like I’m racing the clock to “beat” them. I HOMESCHOOL for crying out loud. Why do I feel the need to be done by 3? Why suddenly is this an issue for me? I take it so personal if someone calls or comes over & we are “still schooling” passed 3pm.
As far as our schedule – We went with Plan B. The first part of the day goes incredibly well & we stick to the time pretty darn good. The kids have been doing their chores while I make breakfast (quick & simple on the days Big Daddy works & good ol’ home cookin’ when he is off), the timing on this has been almost perfect!
Spanish is their favorite, so it is the perfect motivation to get them going in the mornings. They are so excited (I’ll be posting a “what we learned this week” post over the weekend, but they are totally rockin’ Spanish!!) to begin their Spanish lessons it is almost a race to get to the schoolbarn.
Next is science. Apologia only schedules it twice a week, but I’m thinking we will be doing it daily (4 days). We are going to read one day, notebook & projects the next, & continue that pattern the next 2 days. At least on the weeks there seems to be a heavy workload or we are running behind schedule.
History follows science & may actually take a bit longer some days than I anticipated (that or I’m just trying to do too much – imagine that!) We’ve really enjoyed our start into American History & have already made some cool projects.
The last part of our morning is character. This is the time I read the books from the Against the Tide curriculum. Let me say, in just 3 days, some wonderful conversations & bonding with my boys (especially Tyler) have come from this time. I start with the younger 2 while Tyler is finishing his independent history work. Then him & I spend a little time together. We are reading Boyhood & Beyond. I absolutely LOVE it & think he is the perfect age & maturity for this book! I am gaining as much from it as he is. I’ll definitely be sharing more on it soon.
For the most part the boys have gotten at least a 30 minute break before lunch. Lunch has been on time most days. Then things seem to slow down or speed up. Our afternoon routine is definitely in need of a little tweaking. I have quiet time scheduled for an hour. In the perfect world this time would be so nice to unwind, read a book, & separate the boys for a bit. BUT reality doesn’t seem to be proving this idea so logical. After a morning full of school I’m thinking my boys need to RUN, PLAY, & even fight a little (maybe then it will cut down on the fighting during the next few school hours – hey a mama can hope!) We could all really use a break from Truman at this point too (more on our days with him soon!! – let me just say WOW!!!!! right now though. WOW!!!!) but he is diligently trying to give up nap time. I realize there is no set “must” or “have to”. I will probably just play this time of the day by ear. If quiet time seems fitting – we will have quiet time. If outside time is necessary then GET OUT! If we are running behind or need to finish early. We may just get back to work.
The one thing we did NOT do this week was our read aloud. This was on purpose. I’d like to start one soon, but we do a lot of reading & I’d like to work the kinks out of our routine before adding this in. I’m not sure when we will start a read aloud time. Maybe next week, maybe not for a couple of weeks.
Our language arts time is the first thing we do after lunch. It is began with spelling. *We are all LOVING All About Spelling!!!* The first 2 days they all started out on the same lesson & have each quickly set their own different paces. I’m starting with Tucker first now. He needs the most help. While he is with me the other 2 begin handwriting then get a workbox or work on unfinished or independent work. Then they switch. It seems to be working so far & really isn’t that time consuming rotating the 3 through it.
Tyler still needs help with his grammar here & there. He is diagraming sentences & it can be kinda tough so the mustangs usually play together at a center or work on a workbox. Right now I’m letting them choose, eventually I may direct them to specific centers or workboxes. Tyler began IEW this week & LOVE LOVE LOVES it!! He actually wrote his first paragraph without help from me, no tears, & was excited & proud of his work. I’ll save the details for later since this post is forever long already. Language & writing are not new for the mustangs & they do well.
Thank goodness they are all good at math because it is last & by that time of the day I’m a lil’ bit grouchy & my patience is running short.
Our workload & curriculum seems to be moving wonderfully smooth, just longer than I was expecting.
Whew! Any suggests or obvious tweaks are welcome!! Especially since I’m begging for punishment & volunteered to teach pre-k/k VBS at our church next week. LOL Yes, we will school all day. Then I will shove some food at my family & rush them off to church to corral & love on 20 something 3-6 year olds. Did I mention it is over 100 degrees here & I’m 7 months pregnant?
