Last week, when the rest of the neighborhood was heading back to school, we were busy having a few more days of summer fun. On Tuesday, Dave took the older kids to Trafalga. Then we went to Pizza Pie Cafe (an all you can eat pizza/pasta/salad buffet) and finally, we finished the day at Seven Peaks. We brought two cars thinking I would need to leave early with Ben and Anne. No such luck for me. Ben slept for two hours and then was happy in my arms for the next two hours so we stayed until closing. Dave and the kids had a fantastic time. On Friday, we spent the afternoon at the pond with our wonderful neighbors. We were there for three hours of fun in the water and sand.
Now, like the rest of the rank and file, we are back in school. I should clarify. We are back to our regular routine. Slade thinks I'm the meanest mom since I make them do schoolwork all through the summer. They do a page of math, twenty minutes of reading on their own. Plus, our history and science co-op continues through the summer. Monday was the day to actually get back to a full school schedule. The week so far has actually gone really well. Our schedule looks something like this:
8:00 Practice Time
9:00 Breakfast
9:30 Chores
10:00-12:00 Math and Language Arts
12:00 Lunch
1:00 History and Science
2:00 Quiet Time (I don't think there has been a day when we've actually had "quiet time" but I still keep it in the schedule because hope springs eternal.)
3:00 Free Time
For the record's sake, this is the curriculum we are using this year.
Math: Math-U-See
Grammar: First Language Lessons (Nathan and Slade), Analytical Grammar (Emma)
Spelling: All About Spelling
Vocabulary: Wordly Wise (Nathan and Slade), Vocabulary from Classical Roots (Emma)
Writing: Writing with Ease
History: Story of the World
Science: Botany from Apologia Science and The Elements
This is our 8th year of homeschooling. It took a few years of trial and error but I feel quite settled in our routine now. I do try to tweak things here and there but we've been doing things this way for about five years now. Adding a new baby into the mix is always a little tricky. On Monday, Ben slept from 10-12. The next day, he had a major diaper blow out during the middle of Math. Today he was fussy and wanting to be held the whole time. When things get tough I just try to remember the great ideas from this essay: The Baby is the Lesson. Our school time definitely does not always go smoothly but somehow we usually manage to get things done.
Happy Learning, everyone. Here's to a great year!
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| 6th grader |
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| 4th grader |
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| 2nd grader |
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| preschooler |
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| cutest two year old |
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| darling daughters |
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| handsome boys |
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| biggest and littlest |
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| all six! |
3 comments:
Doesn't that make you proud?!! It does me and I'm not even the mom.
Anne looks much like I would have imagined you to look in your early years, no?
That was a good article you linked to. Thanks for sharing. And good luck with everything. Let me know if I can help.
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