Our First Full Two Weeks - The Truth

This post covers the last two weeks since Labor Day. 

Mirek working on his Handwriting Without Tears.

Science experiments with air.

Nature study.

Teatime.

The kids wrote in their journals about common things we have around our home that they think a kid 200 years from now might find interesting. We are reading about Noah Blake who kept a similar journal in 1805.

Art.

Gambling with UNO aka math.

Forced family photos at Grandma's house.

Mirek testing out his boat. We received a bath bomb as a gift which is why the water is pink.

Mirek created a journal page for a book I read him.

Lela was helping me bake cookies for teatime, but was not happy when I told the others they could help. Here she is screaming at the top of her lungs.

Part of Mirek's lesson was for me to tell him stories from my past. I got out some old pictures and everyone was immediately interested. Here they are looking at the beach house pier from long ago.

This is them after looking at a picture of my parents, my brother Doug and I sitting at a tiny table in our kitchen. Naia said "oh my God, why do y'all have such a tiny table?" and then Taven said "look at that T.V!" Eaden finished off the commentary with "Geeze! The 80's!"

Mirek watching Usborne quicklinks. He developed a short interest in mummies.

The kids came up with the most amazing game of Geography Twister!

Science experiments with electricity.

Monday was a holiday.

Tuesday was a hot mess. Lots of yelling and groaning, interrupting of other lessons, and a little rushing. I'm pretty sure I didn't feed the kids. I work and have to get ready at 2:30. I told myself I was going to teach from rest but this was not a restful day. It was partly my fault and partly my kids fault. Mirek was dragging asking for a break before we even started. Taven would not wake up despite me screaming at him. Somehow, we got through everything BookShark related. We did not get to Brave Writer or Spanish but did do Bookshark Language Arts. We also decided to keep Spelling Workout and Wordly Wise. It is independent except for one part Naia cries about and they have plenty of independent time. However, I realized I would need to work with Taven separately from the girls on BookShark Language Arts assignments. He is a good writer, but he does not write as fast as they do (which is to be expected seeing that he is 8 and they are nearly 10 and 11). On the way to work, I just kept thinking I need more time. I'm thinking of switching to a 5-9 schedule and every Saturday instead of 3:30-9 and every other Saturday.

Wednesday was better (not near as much yelling), but we did not finish until 5. We started at 9. We had a frozen pizza for breakfast, but I did make spaghetti for lunch (and dinner). The kids got a ton of breaks but I got none. I had to do Science and Language Arts with the girls and Taven separately despite it being the same thing. He did much better though on his own and he is very interested in his work when they are not around to frustrate him. It is just a loooooong process for me. That's what I get for having so many kids huh? Just kidding. I love them! I actually don't mind our work taking this long as long as it is restful and peaceful. Lela pesters me to play Bug Bingo while trying to do lessons and I am able to stop and play with her. If Mirek wants to color his ABC book (which isn't on the schedule) he can because I am in no rush. I actually enjoy it. It is when the kids are complaining or not listening that I get frustrated. They all work better one on one that is for sure. So no more baby making :/ We still didn't get to Brave Writer or Spanish!

On Thursday the older kids did independent work (Spelling Workout, WordlyWise, Cursive, Math, Silent Reading) and Mirek played with Legos. I brushed Naia's hair which took 2-3 hours and then I took her to Girl Scouts. I then took Mirek to his dyslexia testing at the local school. The dyslexia and speech specialists love him...of course :) It went over a bit and I was late for work. However, I was able to get my schedule changed. I now do not go in until 5 on Monday and Tuesday, I do not work on Thursday, I go in from 10-2 on Friday and I work every Saturday. I think this will help me get our Monday-Thursday lessons done but we will need to take Fridays off completely. So our Friday stuff will once again be spread out over Monday-Thursday. We can do it! Mostly on Wednesday :)

Friday was actually pretty good. We wrote in our nature journals, did a little art project, had Tuesday Teatime, played card games, and I brushed Eaden's hair. That's a lot. I planned a piano lesson and had everything printed out, but we didn't make it that far. The boys found it and did it on their own though. Eaden went to a dance class with her cousin Abby. I think it is a good fit. There is a wide range of ages and Eaden gets exercise! And she loves to dance! So I guess we are sticking with it for now. It is actually a team (not just hip hop), but not a super crazy one. They practice on Thursday and Friday evenings...and some Saturdays.

Saturday I took Naia to a Girl Scout engineering workshop and went to Ladies Night Out with mostly Girl Scout moms.

Sunday we went to Grandma's house to wait for baseball games but they were rained out.

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As far as the curriculum is concerned, everyone likes it. Taven and I especially like the Diary of Noah Blake. Mirek likes his wooden letter blocks and math manipulatives although he rarely uses them for what they are intended. The girls always like writing and reading. I need to find time for Brave Writer. It's not hard because working on stories is independent work most of the time. Eaden wants to reread Wonder and is going to do the Arrow guide that goes with it. I am reading Free Baseball with Taven and Naia has not chosen a book yet. Arrow books are supposed to be read aloud but the girls are doing this on their own. I will help with the guide. The kids are at this stage where I can't group them much. If I do, someone is being too challenged and left behind or someone isn't challenged enough. Although I might be tired, the kids are learning and they are learning a lot. Having everything laid out for me has been nice. If it was me and one kid I would guess Mirek would take 2 hours, Taven and Naia 3, and Eaden 4. However, me helping them all (and Lela) takes 8. You can see why we homeschool year round. With holidays and hair and stuff that just happens, we get 2-3 days worth of work done per week (we use a 4 day a week curriculum).

Changes for next week: Loop schedule for real (Science and History). However, this does not mean you can wake up later and not start until 10. We still start at 9. Brave Writer daily. Maybe first.

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This week was amazing! I've got this! I have read over and over not to let the curriculum drive you, but because I have never really used a planned for me curriculum before, I needed a week to figure this out. I'm good now :) I read this article and this article at work to remind me Tuesday night and Wednesday this week was our best day yet! My new work schedule has been great as well. I have always said just do the next thing and we have never really had first or last days of school. However, with BookShark I started getting in that mindset for some reason. I don't have to! I just keep reminding myself to just do the next thing and not worry about the schedule. I also remind myself to let my kids follow rabbit trails (especially Mirek who is always asking non related questions like how do you make metal? or can you look up big holes in the earth? after learning about rainbows). The key is for me not to get lazy. For me to be fully present with them during the day before I go to work or we go to extracurricular activities.

On Monday we restfully completed all that we had planned. We had a music lesson and we did History/Language Arts. No Science (on purpose). The girls picked an old chapter book they had written and started typing it up on the computer. They LOVE doing this! We are going to take the books through the entire editing process. Taven started a new chapter book and is working on typing it up as well. I need to have them do some of the free keyboard lessons online. They will enjoy that. I worked at night.

On Tuesday we restfully completed work, but did not make it to Science. We had Tuesday Teatime as well. I worked at night.

On Wednesday, we did two days worth of Science and it was fun! We also did some Art. Naia and Eaden are not too excited about the red marks I made on their chapter books.

On Thursday, I brushed Eaden's hair while the older three did independent work. I was able to get to the Language Arts portion of Mirek's work. His dyslexia testing was rescheduled because the school was doing a crisis drill and neither the teacher or I thought he would enjoy taking part in that. Naia had Girl Scouts and Eaden had dance. Ade took Taven to the batting cages which he said was "so fun." Believe it or not, we have never actually taken him to the batting cages so he was trying to hit off of 60mph.

On Friday, I had to work from 10-2. The kids are supposed to do math, silent reading, and play board games while I am gone. Ade dropped Eaden off at her homeschool middle school planning group and I picked her up at 4 to take her to dance. While she was at dance I took Taven to his 2nd private lesson with this guy that used to play MLB. He is great. We are taking Taven every 3 weeks for now. He is very smart and picks things up quickly so he will likely not go for long, but the things he pulls out of Taven are amazing. Taven LOVES baseball and also loves his new team bag, jersey with his name and #1 on it, and Warriors hat that matches all of his friends now. It's the little things.

Saturday I worked all day. Eaden had dance. Ade took her and my sister brought her home.

Sunday was baseball day. It was HOT! We hung out with my mom's cat for a couple of hours (we are babysitting) and then went to the games. His team won both. He played left field, 2nd, pitcher, and short stop. Everyone on his team is good which allows them to play multiple positions. Pretty cool. I went back to feed the cat again.

So we are super busy in this season of our life. My husband is in school, I work and homeschool, my oldest 3 kids all have one activity, and my 6 year old has speech therapy. I hate being this busy with absolutely no down time but I keep telling myself it's only for a season.