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We're getting back to work today....
But that doesn't mean I'm not gonna let my mind wander a little bit.
for lunch?
this cute little bubble ring.
pulling this off in the hallway.
i think Ian needs one of these.
getting far, far, far away for a private picnic.
of course I could always settle for this or this or this as well.
Nothing like a Monday to bring you right back to reality huh? It's okay. I've got a big smile on my face anyways. To tell you the truth, I've just been feeling so good lately.
It was 45 degrees out when I went to the grocery store today. I celebrated by rolling up my jeans and going without socks. I take big fashion risks you know- wink wink.
The snow melted just enough that I was able to get out and run around the neighborhood Sunday. By myself. I love to stand in this one little corner and look out over the valley- plus my legs were burning and my face was numb so I needed a little stop. Thank goodness for Pandora in the earphones. I just kept going and going. Felt so good.
The girls had such fun with their Grandma and Aunt over the weekend. I'm still hearing about all that they did. This play won their rave reviews.
Navigating life with just one child in tow is completely different. Completely. See that cutie pie in the back seat? He was soaking it up!
Carl and I enjoyed a slower, quieter pace. We remembered what it was like to just have Emma- before there were 2 and then 3 and then 4. I couldn't help feeling a little tug in my heart for all of them; to be able to spend more time with them individually. I wish I was able to give more of me to each of them. Quality over quantity right?
Carl took me for coffee. He bought me a new rug, we looked at pillows and artwork, we ordered spicy Thai food for dinner, we watched a couple of movies, we laughed with friends who were our overnight guests, we ate chocolate chip cookies.
So now I'm taking my re-charged batteries into another week. There's a whole lotta lesson planning/school work/laundry folding/food fixing/mess picking-up ahead of me, and I think Laurel is coming down with a cold. Back at it...
waking up in your favorite pjs.
slurping up the yummiest smoothies known to man (neon green straws make them better).
(note to self: take care of that manicure right away!)
having the time to settle in for a good cereal box read.
getting a brain freeze over and over again, just for fun.
finding all your favorite shirts in the clean pile of laundry.
Sometimes you just know the day is going to be good.
There are some crazy messes around here today, I mean crazy. This week has flown by. I've pretty much just been keeping my head above water. I'm thankful for the people around here who quietly fished a bowl out from under all the dirty dishes and just washed it for themselves this morning.
Carl and I will be down to one kiddo this weekend as the girls have a "girls only" adventure planned with their grandma. Rest assured that we won't be moping around here without them. There are some pretty fun people coming to crash here tomorrow night. I can't wait to hang with them. Guess I'd better go wash some towels or something.
Hope you can feel your good day coming on!
Happy Weekend.
decorative
dramatic
classic
inviting
preppy
vampy
soft
vintage
playful
Navy, I'm a little bit in love with you.
(all taken in the past week! maybe I need to mix it up a bit?)
I'm not sure if it is the mid-winter gray, or the just the ho-hums...but I am having trouble focusing. I've been walking around here for a couple of days now with my head in the clouds. Not getting much done, not being very present, just sort of walking in circles and not paying much attention. Just daydreaming.
Thinking about:
*Traveling back East to see the sights and also to see terribly missed family/friends.
*What to wear to an upcoming family wedding in March?
with these
and these
*Thinking about the summer, and heat, and laying pool side while kids mow the lawn. Maybe this year I'll work up enough sweat (and nerve) to wear a two-piece for the first time over 10 years.
Maybe not.
*Thinking about this Shakespeare quote that I saw stenciled on a sign over the weekend. Perfect for an empty space in my bedroom.
He is half of a blessed man. Left to be finished by such as she; and she a fair divided excellence, whose fullness of perfection lies in him.
*This song is running through my mind.
*What if we just had this for dinner? Oh yum.
*Okay fine, if I am resigned to stay here and shovel the snow from my driveway I'm at least coming in to warm up in this shower:
Nice.
Okay, back to reality.
...that we love homeschooling:
...We declare our own snow days! While all the other kids are stuck in their classrooms, we took charge of the sledding hill. Thanks Carl for being our chauffeur and for sharing snacks with Ian in the car while we played.
Major snowstorm moved through yesterday. I'm looking out the window at even more coming down now. At last measure we were at about 17 inches. Woo hoo. I've got nowhere to be baby! Let it snow.
Have a great weekend!
Okay Mamas. Here is the first post in a little series with regard to how we make homeschooling work for us. Please understand that this is just my way of doing it. There are TONS of great ideas out there on how to plan, organize, gather, execute, and enjoy your homeschooling days. I love seeing how other people pull it all together- so here's a peek into our life.
First, you can read about our decisions to homeschool, try public school (more), and eventually return home for school. It is something that we think and pray about year after year.
In terms of planning to homeschool, I usually begin thinking about the next school year in April/May. I take stock of what we've accomplished during the current school year and evaluate what curriculum has worked and what hasn't. I use The Well Trained Mind, Home Learning Year By Year, When Children Love to Learn, and the local EALRS to determine what we should be learning. I also look at some of our favorite publishers to see what's interesting.
Apologia
Peace Hill Press
Right Start Math
All About Spelling
Winter Promise
Tapestry of Grace
Teaching Textbooks
Montessori for Everyone
Simply Charlotte Mason
I often ask the kids, "Is there anything that you really want to learn about this year?" Most of the time they have some really specific thoughts on what they want to explore. I definitely take that into consideration.
(The view from our front window)
I also consider their ages and what we can study all together. For example, in a 4 year repetitive history cycle we really should have been studying Early Modern Times. But, I wanted Laurel (kindergarten) to be one year older before we took that on. So, we took this year to study Children Around the World. Emma also wanted to study chemistry this year, but I wanted to be able to teach her and Hannah together for science, so we'll wait another year or two. The more subjects that we can combine across the different ages the better.
Next I plan their extra curricular classes. This year we've had an amazing opportunity to take a fun Spanish class. Emma and Hannah have been taking piano, Laurel the violin. Emma has also taken some community-based art classes (watercolor, drawing, block printing, etc). If these weren't available, I would've planned a more rigorous art/music/foreign language curriculum for the year.
(Laurel and her violin)
Once I've got my curriculum in hand and can see how it's layed out and how to move through it on a day-to-day basis, and once I have our activities out of the house planned, I can then start to work on a schedule.
The curriculum also usually determines the number of weeks that I plan to "do school". Sometimes there are 36 weeks worth of lessons, sometimes 40. We usually ease back into school the last week of August, picking up subjects as we go along (ie, we don't start all subjects on day one- disaster!) I find it helpful to plan one family field trip in October to break up the Fall. We have a short week before Thanksgiving, and take 2 weeks at Christmas. Again, in February we try to plan something fun as a family. February can be brutal in the world of homeschooling. Can you say blah? I like to take Spring Break the 3rd week in March because it coincides with Emma and Laurel's birthdays. We aim to be done with the majority of our core subjects by the end of May. The weather becomes so nice that we tend to just focus on nature study, writing, and finishing up piano/violin/etc. We are participating in an ALE this year so I am accountable to turn in weekly progress reports until the public schools let out the second week of June.
I personally really need a daily schedule lined out for me. I used to just think this was so type-A and did more harm than good, but we really do need some sort of parameter to keep us on track. I am not married to the times. If we really get rolling on a great read-aloud or a science investigation...then, by all means, we keep at. For the most part, this just serves as an outline. I plan out everyone's day side by side. This helps me to divide my time amongst those that need it.
(nothing fancy here, just google docs)
Then, I make an individual schedule for each student. Here's Hannah's (3rd grade)
On the back of the schedule I print their assignment sheet so they can reference what lessons/pages they are supposed to be doing in each subject.
Download Hannah's assignment sheet
These little assignment sheets are the backbone of our days. We would be lost without them. I need them for writing progress reports (keeping track of lessons completed). I keep them filed in a giant binder. The kids need them to stay on track and it gives them autonomy. They don't have to always come to me and ask, "What should I do now Mom?" We have a little meeting each morning to go over their assignments. I give demonstrations, directions, and answer questions at that time. If I see them off task sometime during the day, I direct them back to their assignment sheet. This has just really worked well for us.
I fill the assignment sheets out on Friday afternoons. This works best for me because the week is still fresh in my mind and it also gives me the weekend to gather any supplies that we might need for the following week. Planning on Sunday night is not fun. I've been there.
Okay, I think that does it for this post. I'm working on:
Our School Room
What do you do with your Toddler/baby?
Avoiding burnout and making time for yourself?
Hit me with your questions!
Here's what I've been wearing. Lumber Jack Chic. Flannel shirts, down vests, courdory, wool sock stuffed into sorrels.
I know that we have a long way to go...but I'm really ready to be wearing this intead:
We have found a happy little rhythm already this year.
We had a skiff of snow last week. It was fun to have an excuse to spend some extra time outside. The fresh air really is wonderful medicine. Even if I have to make myself bundle up, I'm always refreshed and invigorated. Speaking of medicine, our family has been remarkably healthy this year. After our stint in public school last year (Hannah was ill with one cold/flu/ear infection after another from November through March), I was wondering how we would fare with less germy exposure this season. Much better. Much, much better. Thankfully.
For the last few holiday seasons I have planted paperwhites. I am never, ever sorry. They are so lovely and perk up the grayest days of winter. I'll be sad to say goodbye to them. I wonder what other bulbs are easy to grow indoors? I'd like to just keep some permently on display.
True to form, our Christmas tree was down by 9:30 am on December 26th- along with all the other decorations. Ahhh, a clean slate. It didn't take me much longer go through the cupboards and toss out all the junk. I'm feeling so much better without all the sugar! The kids too have made good efforts to take more responsibility in feeding themselves healthy foods. Lately, oranges are all the rage. These beauties were found at Costco of all places and I'll be going back in a day or two to replace the huge bag that we have already devoured.
Hooray for weekend babies. I've sort of gotten back in the game at the birth center. I really have missed it (driving there white knuckled, through freezing rain, in the middle of the night, and not getting to bed until 4 am and all.) I just don't think that I will ever stop awing over the miracle of new life emerging, and the process by which we welcome these new little creatures. Amazing.
I'm working on the homeschooling FAQs page and hope to have that up soon.
I've updated my reading list and added a link to my pinterest page. Oh man, there is so much to see. I have to limit myself otherwise I could just chase pinterest rabbit trails all day!
Hope you are settling in too.
