2021 - Resolutions, Decluttering, Brazos Bend, and Back to Homeschool

Well it's a new year which means rethinking and reevaluating and resolutions. Here they are!

New Year's Resolutions

finish 2 books a month

keep tables and desks clear

keep clutter from coming in the house

make dinner more, even if late

nighttime routine - all homeschool supplies/papers/plans ready for next day

no tv in bed unless nighttime routine is complete

wake up at 5:30, bed at 9:30

1st and 15th - water house plants and pay bills

More blog/less FB and IG aka less phone

less waste/mostly food waste and plastic

live intentionally at every moment

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Here is our new daily schedule. There is a well thought out reason particular to our family for everything on it. If it seems too structured for a homeschool, rest assured, we have tried everything from radical unschooling to a rigid classical schedule. If we are staying home and I say "we are having a homeschool day tomorrow," this happens. It never happens more than 4 days a week. We take a lot of breaks and get out a lot. So it's okay!!! I promise <insert crazy laughing emoji>.

wake up 7, clean up, dress

breakfast

7:30-8:30 eaden and taven math with headphones - naia reads/lit study - work with lela, independent work for mirek (math and handwriting, dwn) 

8:45- 10:45 morning/circle time (read alouds, history and science). Start morning time with picture books, book club style with notebooks for chapter books, country studies with books, maps, videos, food, etc.. Add in art 1x per week.

11-12 naia math and eaden/taven read/lit study - work with mirek - language arts - lela learning show

12-12:30 lunch

12:30-1:30 - LA (writing and grammar, spelling, ww) - make writing a priority

1:30-2:30 - foreign language/piano/art/geography games 

2:30-3 clean up

3-8 afternoon/evening activities (exercise)

7-8:30 dinner

9-9:30 bedtime routine - separate stories for boys and girls

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Why the schedule?

I am attempting to "cultivate a habit of focused attention." I reread Teaching From Rest often and am always struck by certain ideas. "Never be in a hurry. Do everything quietly and in a calm spirit." When we are learning hard things, after an hour we stop. It doesn't matter if we finished the lesson. I am guilty of being quite rude and short tempered when it comes to math. "However, how we interact with our children while using the material matters far more than whether or not we get through it." Quality over quantity. So you see, the one hour is one hour of quality. Consistent focused attention. 

Consistency over time is key. If we aim for 4 days a week of the above schedule and take our normal breaks for camping trips, farm, beach house, etc., I think in the end, that is enough. It really doesn't matter if we study the same number of days as kids in school. Why should we? "You are where you are... So work hard every day. Value academic work because nurturing the intellect is part of what makes us fully human, but don't elevate it beyond its place. There are relationships to cultivate, books to read, oceans to swim in, forts to build, toilets to scrub, bills to pay, paintings to create, dinners to make. This is why we homeschool - because we want to engage in a full-to-bursting life." -Sarah Mackenzie, Teaching From Rest

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For Eaden's 9th grade year, we have tentatively mapped this out.

Big History Project 

Spanish I Oak Meadow

Brave Writer Help for High School with one Boomerang per month

Environmental Science Oak Meadow

Dance

Foodways/Health Oak Meadow

Algebra I Saxon

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I cleaned out the fridge and went grocery shopping. 

The most simplest of pleasures is slowly cooking a meal while drinking a beer and listening to music. I miss this so much!!! Washing dishes too! I don't know what I would do if I had a working dishwasher. That would suck!! I really don't get to cook as much anymore. During the days, we are trying to get through lessons in time to head out for dance, taekwondo, or baseball. It's every single week night. Dance is also usually on one weekend day and baseball can be all weekend if we have a tournament. So having this Christmas break has really reminded me what it was like before all of that. I have cooked every night and done it without a rush. And to be honest, when you don't rush, it still gets done with plenty of leisure time left over. It's kind of like those drivers that race down the street only to end up stopped at the red light with the rest of us. Speaking of leisure time, cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. can be leisure time if viewed properly. Put on music or a podcast, grab a drink, and there you go! These are the simple things in life that make me so happy... Maybe I can figure something out once the busy season restarts... Meanwhile, this is what my kids often eat when I don't cook lol. Healthy, but a little sad.

Tree cleanup!

I built an imitation Lego set while drinking a beer! It was quite satisfying.

When we got our cat Pepper I had to put all of our house plants outside. Now we keep the cats out of the bedrooms so I was able to get some plants!!! I also bought some thick glass bowls (that are hard for the kids to break) and two candles. My Christmas present to myself!!!

We went to Brazos Bend for some hiking.

I have been attacking clutter, including paper clutter.

These, among others, were keepers!

I have actually decluttered the entire house. Well probably 90%. Our homeschool area still looks a bit cluttered, but we need it all. I have rearranged seating in the house so that there are no fights over couch spots during morning time and everyone has a clear desk/table to work on alone.

A friend gave us this desk and now Mirek has his own space.

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Taven stepped on a fishing lure and we had to go to the hospital. I've been telling him that was going to happen. I picked up 3 single hooks the other day. This was a a treble hook. When the doctor pulled it out, one of the other hooks went into the top of his foot. So he had two puncture wounds!!! The ER visit took maybe an hour so we were still able to go sit around the fire and light sparklers and whatnot. Because of all the excitement beforehand, I did not have my camera.

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I really wanted to go to Big Bend this spring, but I'm afraid it's all booked up. Next choice is Palo Duro Canyon. There is still availability but I'm waiting for Taven's baseball schedule to come out. That's also competition season for dance so I'm not sure it's doable. Maybe late April...