Bubble Bath Celebration
Henry got his cast off today and asked to celebrate with a bubble bath. I thought it was a perfect celebration. Hooray for Henry!
Fairy Gardens
Molly and William used one of our non-rainy days this week (I have to remind myself that sometimes it doesn’t rain.) to make these little fairy gardens. Actually, William’s might be some other sort of dwelling because I know he isn’t a believer in fairies. I’ll have to ask him about it.
Anyway, I love how they turned out.
Craft Party
I threw a little craft party for Molly and her friends today. Only a couple of girls could make it so it was a small group, but they had lots of fun. The girls painted peg dolls, made art journals and folded origami wishing stars. I set the girls up with a craft and then left them to have fun. I sat at my sewing desk working on my own project and had the best time listening to them giggle and visit. When they’d finish up with the craft, I’d show up with supplies for the next one.
I had many intentions of taking pictures but I got carried away and forgot. I did manage to get a snapshot of the rainbow cupcakes in a jar that we had for treats. They were a big hit. It’s fun to have a party without it being connected to a birthday or some big event. We’ll definitely be doing it again sometime.
Henry Tries Soccer
Henry’s been taking a little soccer class for preschoolers once a week. It’s a little class put on by the city’s park & rec program. We wanted to give him something that was just for him and it has been such a success. (Ignore the awful lighting. Ben took these pictures in the gym while I was recovering from surgery. The light was bad.)
Henry loves soccer and runs the entire time he’s there. Truthfully, I think he’d like any class that involves a ball. We caught a few minutes of the basketball class that goes on right before Henry’s soccer and both he and William were pretty interested so maybe we’ll give basketball a shot next.
Henry gets to take the soccer class with his friend Grey which is a definite bonus. (These shots are from Henry’s first class… the only class he had before getting his cast. He gets his cast off next week so he should be able to have his last class cast-free as well.)
Saxon Math
We set up a store today as part of William’s math lesson. I’ve been so happy with Saxon Math. He’s doing the level 1 book this year which seems like a good fit for Kindergarten. I am amazed at how much he is learning.
Our store is made up of empty food boxes, bottles, cans and bags. He organized them into categories and made a sign for our store. William chose to name it The Johnson’s Food.
The book had me label each of the items with prices that ranged from $0.01 to $0.44 so that he could use money to buy things.
We talked about cash registers and receipts and then he got to go shopping. On each trip he had to pick two items to purchase. He’d carefully count out the right amount of money for each item and then fill out his sales receipts.
The purpose of the lesson was to teach adding two-digit numbers using dimes and pennies. He did awesome and had fun in the process.
Molly is using Saxon 54 and while I probably could have stretched her and done then next level, I wanted to do some confidence building. She doesn’t have as many fun activities (as William) with each lesson, but I’ve been impressed with how clearly all the new concepts are explained. She’s doing really well and I’m no longer hearing her say things like, “I’m bad at math.” I can’t tell you how sad I felt the first time she came home from public school and said that. Ouch. No honey, you aren’t bad at math, they are just explaining it really weird. She’s now doing flawless long division and loving it. Thank you Saxon Math, for making sense.
Valentine Fail
I am not talented when it comes to being thoughtful. Simple things like making cards or buying presents don’t cross my mind as frequently as they should. I want to do better and I vow to try and yet some how I still can’t seem to get it right.
Take tonight for example. Ben brought home dinner and flowers and chocolate and I didn’t do anything. It just didn’t occur to me. I made sure to have the kids make eachother cards and I reminded Ben to bring them some chocolate, but I forgot to do anything myself. I felt really crusty.
After the kids went to bed, I made some cards for them and slipped them under their pillows. Hopefully they learn from Ben’s example and not mine.
I’m still not sure how to make it up to Ben.
A Typical Monday
7:00am My alarm goes off and I groggily reach for my phone to make it stop. I lay in bed and read emails on my phone.
7: 30am The kids are up for the day and Adelaide is sick. I get her up and change her diaper and then get myself dressed and strip the sheets off my bed. Monday is clean sheets day! The boys play Legos and Molly runs downstairs to make the cat a birthday present. Ben heads to work and I ask all the kids to strip their beds and get themselves dressed. Molly dresses Adelaide while I make a chocolate/peanut butter/banana smoothie for breakfast. While the kids eat, I clean the kitchen, do the dishes from the night before and start the dishwasher. The big kids brush teeth and I give a breathing treatment to Adelaide.
8:30am I holler at Henry to stop running around naked. He’s the only one not dressed. I snuggle a sick Adelaide on my lap while printing out new copies of our homeschool schedule to fill out this week. I think about what I might make for dinner tonight but can’t come up with any ideas so I decide to think about it later. I start the first load of sheets in the washer and clean the stinky litter box.
9:00am We start school. William complains that school isn’t fun because he’d rather play Legos. I give him a “look” and he gives in. He sets up our wall calendar with the correct date, day and weather and Molly gathers her books for the subjects she wants to start with. Both Molly and William write in their journals and draw pictures to go with their journal entries.
I bundle up the work from the previous week, staple it into one packet for each kid and file it away in my school work box. Henry plays quietly on the floor and Adelaide goes through the markers asking me about all the colors. Today she thinks everything is orange.
9:20am I remember that we haven’t said a morning prayer yet so we do so. We recite the Pledge of Allegiance as a class (I try to do it once a week because I want them to know it) and I sing the days of week and months of the year songs with the younger kids. William and Henry recite their address and phone number and Molly starts her spelling. Henry and Adelaide make valentines and I start math with William. Today his lesson is on line segments. Molly moves onto her Classic Worktext book (she’s on Gulliver’s Travels) and then earns a mini lecture for rolling her eyes at me. She decides to take her punctuation and writing to another room to work on so she doesn’t have to be near me. Henry moves on to making geometric patterns with the Mandala board and Adelaide plays in the playroom and then decides to sort the puff balls.
10:00am William has finished his math lesson and flash cards and begins his math test. The math test is his favorite part of the day. Molly begins her grammar and I switch the sheets to the dryer and start the next load. By the time I get back (5 minutes tops) Addy and Henry are fighting over puff balls and William is having a sword fight with an invisible being in the playroom. I’m not surprised and he doesn’t get into trouble because his test is done and he got 100%. I start him on his math worksheets and I grade all the work that Molly has completed so far this morning. Molly heads upstairs to do french (Rosetta Stone). After math, I work on spelling with William while snuggling Addy on my lap.
10:30am William makes some valentines and I work on reading with Henry. We go over his sight word flash cards and he does awesome.
Addy brings me a pizza with candles and says “Happy New Year!” (she won’t say happy birthday) and then makes me eat every slice.
I have Henry count to 100 and he does so all by himself without any mistakes. (Sometimes he misses a few.) Addy reads books to herself.
11:00 am I switch the second load of sheets to the dryer and put a load of clothes in the washer. I bring Adelaide her clean blankets still warm from the dryer and she snuggles on my lap. Molly makes valentines and I go over the sight word flash cards with William and then have him read three new BOB books.
11:30am I do First Language Lessons with William and then help Molly with her critical thinking puzzles. We do her timed test for math and she only misses one. She’s so much faster than when we started in September. Ben calls and tells me he can make dinner while I’m at horseback riding with the kids… except I still have no idea what we’re having. Henry builds a castle out of blocks for his army men.
12:00pm Lunch! Addy and William have PB&J on rice bread, Henry has yogurt and Molly has a bean and cheese burrito. I have black beans, an avocado and some left over brown rice.
Everyone has apples, cucumbers, pistachios and a big marshmallow. Addy takes two bites and melts down so I put her down for a nap. I read a chapter from our history book aloud while the other kids eat. Today we read about the Medes and the Persians and King Cyrus. The kids love history. We go over the discussion questions and Henry even chimes in with a right answer.
12:45pm I send the kids off to play and I sit down at the computer for a break. I sip Diet Coke and browse Pinterest, read a few blogs and play a game on my iPad.
1:00pm I make copies of the map worksheet and coloring pages from our history lesson… and then spend another 30 minutes doing nothing of value on the computer.
1:30pm I switch the laundry to the dryer and put in the last load of clothes. I scoop the cat box again and decide that cat poop is the stinkiest substance on earth. The boys clean the playroom, Molly works on her embroidery project and I clean, dust and vaccuum the school/family room. The boys wrestle like crazed monkeys. I start the kids on their map and coloring page so I can vacuum the hall and playroom.
2:00pm The lady from horseback riding calls and says the lesson is cancelled due to a sick horse. Secretly I am happy because this gives me more time to figure out dinner and I don’t have sit in the cold with a sick baby. The kids are sad, especially since they only have two lessons left before the ranch closes for good. However they’ll be fine because t-ball and soccer start soon. I clean my craft desk and Molly starts her math lesson warm-up. I teach Molly her new math concept (similar and congruent figures) and then leave her to do her math problems on her own. I clean the downstairs bathroom and the stairs and the move on to the upstairs living room while the boys build another castle out of blocks.
2:30pm Adelaide is up from her nap and it’s too soon but she’s too sick to sleep. I give her another puff on her inhaler and change her diaper. She tells me she needs to go potty and runs off to the toilet and pees on the floor. I clean it up and run downstairs to check on Molly. Addy pees on the floor again and cleans it up herself. I know she’s ready to potty train, but I’m not. Back on goes the diaper. I put the clean sheets on Molly’s bed and she comes upstairs when she’s done with math and puts the 900 stuffed animals back on her bed. I put the sheets on the boys beds and Molly volunteers to wrangle their stuffed animals too earning everyone gummy bears. (Good deeds of kindness earn gummy bears in our house.) I start cleaning my own room with Addy under foot.
3:00pm I print out some coloring pages for the boys (pirates) and they head downstairs for the art supplies. I set up Molly to post on her blog. Blogging has been so good for her typing. I was struggling to keep her motivated with Mavis Beacon, but things are so much better now. She blogs, comments on her friend’s blogs and writes emails and it has doubled her typing speed. We still use Mavis Beacon once a week for drills and as an evaluation tool. While she blogs I finish my bedroom and spot mop the floor in the hall/living room and kitchen as well as pick up three separate messes from Adelaide.
3:45pm I set Addy at the piano which occupies her attention for 2 minutes. She “helps” me fold laundry instead. I fold and fold and fold and answer a dozen spelling questions for Molly. (Choosing to fold laundry means that I’ll have no time to clean the upstairs bathroom. Maybe tomorrow.)
4:00pm Snack time! Everyone chooses a piece of fruit or some yogurt, except William who plays with Legos. I switch the last load of laundry to the dryer and continue to fold, fold, fold. I think about dinner but still don’t have any ideas. Molly gets a little computer free time (supervised) which she spends reading her friend’s blogs and playing a game at the American Girl Doll site.
4:30pm I am finally done folding laundry! I kick Molly off the computer and the kids help me put all the laundry away. This is Adelaide’s favorite chore and I have to run to keep up with her, even though she’s sick. I sit on my butt and do nothing until Addy’s poopy diaper rouses me into action.
4:45pm I decide to make an Asian veggie soup. I throw in mushrooms, onions, celery, carrots, bok choy, bell peppers and eggs.
5:15pm With the soup cooking, we sing happy birthday to the cat. (He’s two!) He is alarmed that we’ve set his cat food on fire, but we sing anyway.
Once the fire is gone, he decides to give his “cake” a try. Henry tells me he wants cake too even though I explain that it’s cat food. The kids try to convince me to make a real cake too. It doesn’t work.
5:30pm Ben comes home and we eat dinner and it is delicious. The gluten-free crowd gets rice in their soup and the rest of us have it with Somen noodles.
6:00pm The kids change into pajamas and we have a brief family home evening lesson on prayer. For our activity, the kids give their homemade birthday presents to the cat.
6:30pm The kids brush teeth. We read scriptures and pray together as a family. Addy gets Tylenol for her fever and Ben heads out the door for a movie date with Uncle Matt. (I know he’ll hate that I called it a date. Ha ha.) Molly helps me read bedtime stories (Henry and William each want to pick one.)
7:00pm All the little ones are sent off to bed and Molly spends her time reading and making a few more last minute valentines. We argue about piano, but I win and she practices. (Her piano teacher has been out of town for two weeks and Molly is sick of practicing the same old stuff.) I read a part of a chapter from Little Women to her and then she too is off to bed.
8:30pm I’m finally off the clock. All the kids are in bed, Ben is gone and I’m blogging. I love this time of night. I like it better when Ben is home, but even so I have lots I can do. I may knit, or read, or sew or just sit. It’s wonderful.
Not every day is like this one, though this is a very typical Monday for us. Each day of the week has it’s own rhythm. Mondays we clean. Tuesdays we spend a good chunk of the day at piano and voice lessons and then we do science. Wednesdays are more laid back and on Thursdays Henry has a soccer class and we do an art project together. As the week moves on I have a little more time to sew or work on things I want and by Friday we are done with school. Sometimes we do a few lessons, especially if we didn’t get to something earlier in the week, but mostly I try to leave the day free for running errands and playing. The down-time does us all good and helps me to have some time to check some things off my own to-do list.
Before I started homeschooling, I always wondered what my days would be like. I couldn’t imagine what we’d do with all our “free” time. Then I started homeschooling and found I had ZERO free time. Now that we are a few months into the year, I feel like we’ve settled into a good groove with enough time for everything. I may not have the cleanest house but it is clean enough. I may not make all our food, but I make most of it. I may not have as much time for errands, but that’s what online shopping is for. I still have time to pursue things that keep me sane like sewing and knitting and reading and such. Most importantly, I love what I do. I love homeschooling.
Saw this and Liked it
Write about your own experience. By that experience someone else may be a bit richer some day. Read widely of others’ experiences in thought and action – stretch to others even thought it hurts and strains and would be more comfortable to snuggle back into the comforting cotton-wool of blissful ignorance. Hurl yourself at goals above your head and bear the lacerations that come when you slip and make a fool of yourself. Try always as long as you have breath in your body to take the hard way, the Spartan way – and work, work, work to build yourself into a rich continually evolving entity.
- Sylvia Plath
Cast #2
A couple of days ago Henry dipped his cast in the bath. It was just a little bit and it felt dry by morning so I let it go. Last night he dipped it in the bath again and this time it was pretty wet. I took him into the doctor this afternoon and since it was just a week from his scheduled appointment, I hoped they would remove the cast and call it good.
When they took off the cast there was still quite a bit of swelling and bruising so they recast it. He chose light blue for his second cast (well fourth if you count the two he had to have for his broken arm.) He also gets to keep it on a week longer than originally planned. Sorry little man!
I’m glad I brought him in because although the cast wasn’t too wet it was pretty damp and his skin was already showing some irritation. There were also a bunch of pine needles inside which I can only imagine came from digging in the dirt under the tree in our back yard.
