New Homeschool Year!!!

 The first week of Torchlight with Lela and Mirek was great! However, I did not have the older kids to get to so we could take our time a bit more. I LOVE taking my time and worry about losing that. Also, Mirek is supposed to start at 7 and we started at 8 twice because I woke up late and need my morning coffee and quiet time for a bit. I am strongly considering Taven doing mostly online work in his room (maybe Khan Academy). The day would be so smooth without him present. It's sad and I have tried over and over to accommodate him but I cannot make it work without a lot of added stress. On top of that, he might like doing work online. We are going to look at options this weekend and talk with him about it. -Update: he has been okay (just okay) with Naia, letting him join us for now.

Here is a brief recap of last week.

Monday

I woke up at 5:45 for coffee and Pinterest. I didn't feel like reading. I know I will be sleepy later in the day because I didn't get enough sleep last night. However, if I don't have some time to myself in the A.M. I will not wake up my kids when needed. I am testing out Torchlight with Taven and Naia this week. It is Taven's trial run to see if he will remain with us or be ostracized from our homeschool (being dramatic)...We have to leave at 1:45 today though so I am going to be sure I do not become anxious or frustrated if we do not finish. Stay calm and teach from rest.

We finished all Torchlight around 12:50. Taven was okay although he did try to be a comedian. I have to ban everyone to the upstairs while they work. Way too many distractions. So I had one hour with Mirek from 7-8, then one hour with Lela from 8-9. I finished most of Mirek and Lela's TL before moving to Naia and Taven. We finished with enough time so I called the littles back to complete theirs. Eaden added in Spanish and a little bit more reading. I will need to add in a writing block and find time to check on/help Eaden. Right now we are reading our BW book but not completing the packet. I have not bought it. I'm thinking of just using free resources and having them write responses. Or I can add 15-20 minutes of BW to the end of Torchlight. Writing will need to be before Taven and Naia's TL though so that Eaden can get ready. I will need to be done by 2 to get Lela ready. I will add in WriteShop next week and see how long it takes and then decide. Weekend help for Eaden?

Tuesday

I woke up at 6. I am determined to eat healthy (and less) today, drink more water, and get to the gym. I feel blah and do not like it. All TL was finished at 12:15. Taven was annoying and was grounded by his father. I don't know how to explain what he does. It's like a million little obnoxious and disruptive things that he knows he is doing and he does on purpose even after being told to stop. I got to the gym and drank a ton of water so that was good.

Wednesday

I woke up late at 7:15. At least today is a day I do not get Abby so we can leave about 30 minutes later. My goal for today is to continue eating healthy, to read, and to drink a lot of water. Despite starting late, we finished at 12:15. Some days TL takes longer than others...After a while, I can probably gauge how long a lesson will take by looking at it and maybe schedule writing on those days. Still not sure...

Thursday

Started with Mirek at 7:30. I had his IEP meeting or ARD whatever it's called on Zoom. The lady that does the paperwork was new and it was her first time to do a homeschooled student that was declining to enroll and accepting a service plan so it took a while. Not to mention the Zoom part of it and signing the documents on the screen took forever. Anyway, it was over an hour and I did not finish Naia and Taven's lessons. We did about half though and should be able to finish Friday (and Friday's lessons) since it is our longer day at home. I talked with Eaden. She added in Spanish to her day this week. Next week we are adding writing (her only class as a group with Naia and Taven) and will alternate days between History and Science to get a feel for it. After Labor Day, her schedule will be full. I think I will still suggest she alternate History and Science but for longer time periods (maybe History MWF for 2 hours and Science TTh for 2.5 hours). I'm not sure though as History has a lot of reading and I do not know how long it will take. I would like her reading days for ELAR to be shorter on History days but the science days are the longer ones. I will think more about this later...I need better History for Naia and Taven. TL is supposed to use CC but it's not out yet so what they have is minimal and random. I think we will finish Oh Freedom.

Friday

Today was very productive. We finished everything and I made a big lunch (which now takes place of dinner since we are never home). I have been accomplishing this most days but to do it today and finish Naia and Taven's lessons which were quite long along with everything else deserves a pat on the back. Nothing was rushed either! I think a lot of the time we look at our long to do list and stress and rush and do things half ass. However, if we focus on one thing and tackle that and do it well, then move on, it's surprising how much we still accomplish. I liken it to drivers speeding only to get stopped at the same light as me although I drove at a normal speed. Anyway, we still have more to add in so playing catch up on TL will be impossible once that happens. We were able to do it Friday, but I need to remember to just let it go in the future. We don't have to finish the curriculum for one and we can go into the summer if needed as well. Oh I forgot to say, I didn't love TL Science and the History (without CC) is almost nonexistent although our read aloud is pretty cool. I'm looking into other science options (not buying a curriculum).

We only did one day of Torchlight this week. Monday we went to a friend's house to visit, Tuesday Taven had a haircut, Wednesday we went to the science museum, Thursday we did lessons, and today is Friday and we are getting ready for the beach house. The kids do their math and reading and other independent work on those days. Just not Torchlight with me.