days and weeks

As I have thought about writing this particular post, I have realized that we don't necessarily have an hour by hour schedule that we follow. We seem to have adopted more of an ordered flow to our days instead.  Does that make sense?  I find that when I lock myself into following a rigid schedule I am usually setting myself up for discouragement when (notice I said when not if) we are unable to keep up.

   

Keep in mind that we are definitely not locked into anything per say. Occasionally we drop what we are doing because I get called to a birth.  Our schedule is easily adaptable and we do our best to remain flexible.  I think this is one of the things that I love best about homeschooling.  I have the ability to respond more freely to the needs of my family.  We don't have to cram ourselves into someone else's time frames.

 

(mulligan doesn't really try to fit into anyone else's preferences either...he basically just sprawls out on our school table anytime he pleases.) 

So, our week typically looks like this: 

Monday: Schoolwork in the morning, play/chores in afternoon. 

Tuesday: Errands and outings in the morning, schoolwork in the afternoon while Laurel naps.

Wednesday: Schoolwork in the morning, play/tea time in the afternoon.

Thursday: BSF for Laurel and me, extra curricular classes for the girls at a cooperative school in the morning, schoolwork in afternoon while Laurel naps.

Friday: Catch up, exams, review in morning.  Nature study/park play in afternoon.

I have tried to vary the time when we do schoolwork simply for Laurel's benefit.  Understandably, she enjoys getting outside to play and taking trips to the library more than she enjoys the times when we are doing lessons. She is 3!  So, two days a week we go out in the mornings instead of doing schoolwork.  In the afternoon when she sleeps we are able to catch up. 

So a typical day (if we are doing schoolwork in the morning) progresses like this:

 *I wake up early.  Like 5:30am early.  I spend some time reading my bible. I get some coffee, check email, maybe sneak in a blog post.  I just committed to doing a mini-triathlon (more on that to come) so I am also getting out for some exercise.

*The kids usually roll out of bed between 7-8am.  I don't usually wake them up, however, 8am is the cut-off and Hannah is usually on the later end of morning.  She typically needs a little prodding :)

*The girls have a morning routine that we came up with together so they begin working through that.

*We eat breakfast and have a little devotional time.

*Next, we spend some time tidying up the house- maybe 30 minutes max (none of learn well when it is a mess)

*Around 9am schoolwork begins.  We don't do our subjects in the same order every day.  I usually go with what the girls want to do first.  Their enthusiasm provokes diligent work.  It all gets done, so I don't fuss over what we do first.

*We usually break for a snack at some point, and go back to work until about 11:30am.

*Before we eat lunch we head outside.  Maybe a quick walk to the mailbox,  a bike ride around the block, or some digging in the garden.  It helps the girls to eat better and really "sit down" to lunch if they get some fresh air first.

*After lunch, I read to Laurel and then she takes a nap.  The girls and I finish up school work for another hour or so.

 

(okay sometimes Laurel doesn't nap.  a few days ago I convinced her to take a rest in the backpack)

*Around 2pm I institute 30-60 minutes of quiet time.  Laurel is still sleeping and I ask the girls to find a place where they can quietly color or read or rest or just generally be on their own.  During this time I find myself doing any number of things depending on the day.  Reading, returning emails and phone calls, exercise, cleaning up around the house, or if I've been up all night at a birth- napping!

*We have another tidy-up session around 3pm.  I get the chore jars out and let them pick from chores that I have pre-selected (based upon what needs to be done).  We usually work for about 45min.

*At 4pm the sweet neighbor kids come home from school and my kids head outside to play with them.  We have a fenced back-yard so they pretty much have free reign.  I spend this time preparing dinner.

*At some point, usually around 6pm, my husband gets home and we have dinner.  One night per week I head out to teach my classes, but other than that- we always sit down together.

*From there it is just hanging out together, reading the newspaper, more laundry, preparing for the next day's lessons, baths, teeth brushing- you know...normal stuff.

*My kids generally go to bed sometime between 8-9pm.  Carl and I usually go to bed around 11pm.

That's it!  A typical day. Not glamorous. I am pretty much a Haus Frau...but that is what I feel called to do at this point. More coming soon!

Resurrection Sunday

  

(our little Passover celebration)

"I am among you as one who serves." Luke 22:27

"No servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him." John 13:16

 

(unleavened bread)

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." 1John 3:16

"Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:6-8

 

(easter garden. inspiration here and here.  bigger picture of ours here)     

"On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus." Luke 24:1-3

"Why do you look for the living among the dead.  He is not here; he has risen!" Luke 24:5

"We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." Romans 6:4

"In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." Romans 6:11 

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20

** We were off to outdoor sunrise service at 6am this morning!  Lots of lounging happening how. Dinner with friends/family later. Happy Easter to all of you dear friends! I'll be back tomorrow with more homeschooling talk.

On Homschooling...Part 2

When I started out this year, I wasn't sure if homeschooling would be the long-term plan for us. We just committed to 1 year.  There was always the possibility that my children would return to the classical christian school that they attended last year.  I chose most of my curriculum (same curriculum that the school used) with that possibility in mind.  If my kids did go back to school, I wanted them to be right in step with their peers.  Now that we have decided to stay at home next year too...some of my choices may change.  I absolutely love the Charlotte Mason "method" of homeschooling.  I am currently trying to find better ways of incorporating more of her ideas into what we do around here.  So with that said, here is what we have been using so far:

Math: Saxon Math (year 1 for kindergartner, year 3 for second grader)

So it is not the most colorful or "fun" stuff out there, but in my opinion it definitely gets the job done.  Math is not my subject!  I was super concerned about being able to convey concepts that I struggled with myself.  But get this, the teacher's manual has a script!  It is so comprehensive, there is very little planning for me.  Hannah is a very visual learner and Saxon has really catered to her in this way.  I intend to continue with this text next year.

English Grammar: Shurley English (year 2 for second grader)

Emma loves Shurley Grammar.  Again, there is a script and a very helpful teachers manual.  This program has little chants that help her remember how the parts of speech work.  These little songs are catchy and come in handy when she is labeling sentences.  I do feel however, that there is a bit of busywork involved in this program.  Several weeks of the program are just review with no new concepts introduced.  It felt like a waste of time.  I am not sure if we will continue with this next year for Emma, but I plan to use the little songs with Hannah when she is ready.

Spelling/Reading/Handwriting: Spell to Write and Read and Wise Guide to Spelling 

I am not in love with the aesthetic qualities of this program.  It is very visually dry- something that Hannah and I struggle with (she is a "bells and whistles" kind of girl). It also requires quite a bit of training for the teacher (me!) in the beginning. That said, this program teaches phonics.  Yes, I am in that camp.  I have seen both of my girls learn to read, write, and spell at rapid rates well above their grade levels with this program.  Emma is currently spelling at a 5th grade level. Hannah is getting really great at sounding out unknown words.  I love this because, she can read independently- which is the goal right? This program did not come with readers, and I wish it would have.  We have used both Bob Books and the Brand New Readers series. I have not been overjoyed with these books.  Charlotte Mason would have considered them "twaddle".  But Hannah loves them and the little reward system that they come with.  I have just gone along with them so as to not discourage her enthusiasm. Hannah will continue with STW&R next year to beef up her reading skills and also for cursive instruction, but I am not sure about Emma.  Instead, I like the idea of taking the misspelled words from all of her written work and compiling our own lists- seems less redundant.

History: Story of the World- Volume 1 Ancient Times

Though the girls seem to like the "story format" of this book, I have never felt like it delved deep enough into each time period.  All year I have sort of felt like we were glazing over large chunks of history.  I originally chose it because there are so many ideas included in the teacher's manual for hands on projects. I appreciated someone planning all those out for me. What I am finding however, is that we don't usually get to many of them.  After doing a narration with a picture, coloring a map, and adding an entry into our Book of Centuries...there isn't usually time left in the week to do much else.  We tried some of the books onthe list over at Ambleside, but my kids were bored stiff!  Still investigating history options.

Science: Apologia- Astronomy

I can't put my finger on why, but we just really don't like this curriculum.  We have sort of limped along through the book.  My girls love to do hands on experiments and activities, and there doesn't seem to be much of that in this text.  I also feel as thought this book may be geared towards children a couple of years older than mine.  I definitely don't want to use Apologia next year.  Nature study (one aspect of a Charlotte Mason education) has been something that my girls have fallen in love with.  We head outside and take on some sort of exploration and observation.  We have been keeping nature journals which are lovely.  The whole garden planning idea would fall under nature study.  Currently we are tracking the process of vegetable seedlings.  We also did a bit of study on insects and birds.  This will definitely be a part of the plan for next year.

 

(we take this little box with us to the park and on little hikes.  it has sketch books, pastels and pencils)

Bible Study: Bible Study Fellowship Home Training Lessons

I attend a BSF class each week.  It is a 7 year program that basically covers the entire bible.  I love it because it is very academic and it really provides expositional style teaching.  What's better, is that it not only helps me to learn more...but they also provide home training lessons.  I have used this along with Old Testament Days as we have studied the life of Moses this year.  Laurel loves "Baby Moses" and frequently reenacts the whole basket floating down the river thing.  They have really enjoyed it. (also really love this!) 

Okay, whew!  That was a lot!  I'd love to hear about what is working for you.  Be back soon with how we fit all this into a week and what a typical day looks like.