We are in the full swing of things now. And I couldn't be happier.
In my life this week ... I would call this the first week of normal for me. I have a schedule in place, loads to do, but excitement to do it all. I thrive on "normal" and routine, so am happy to be where I am.
In our homeschool this week… Our full schedule starts, with the exception of a couple of extra-curricular activities that start in the next couple of weeks..
Places we’re going and people we’re seeing… We'll mostly be home, getting used to our new schedule. On Friday, Brynne and I will go hang out with our friends for a while. We saw them a lot this summer and have been too busy to hang out lately.
My favorite thing this week was… watching Dawson take his first IEW assignment seriously, and then producing a beautiful poem about America!
What’s working/not working for us me… Having my laptop sitting on my desk in the kitchen. It is entirely too easy for me to "check" my e-mail or Dashboard for blog updates. Then I end up getting hooked in and am only partially there for our lessons, housework gets behind, and I find myself "checking out" of my real life. It's distracting and not fair to my kids or my husband (when he gets home and I'm doing the same thing.) Starting today, the computer is in my office at the front of the house. I have scheduled computer time in the mornings before everybody gets up. I won't touch it again until lunch time. Then I won't touch it again until 3:00 when school is over. Then it's off-limits once Rick gets home in the evenings.
Questions/thoughts I have… Have I planned too much for Brynne this year in the areas of history and science? I think what we are going to do is going to teach her so much, and be fun. But would she enjoy it more if we were doing Five in a Row instead? If/when we bring Eli home for school, I plan to do Five in a Row. Should I have just gone ahead and started that with Brynne this year?? Obviously it's too early to tell. But that's just something I am keeping tucked into the back of my mind.
Things I’m working on… Just fitting everything in every day in a smooth and fluid way, and not over-doing it so much that I am a zombie in the evenings when Rick and the other two kids come home.
Books I’m reading… Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner, Blood on the River by Elisa Carbone (Dawson's read-a-loud) More Faith in My Day by Emilie Barnes (my daily devotional).
A photo, video, link, or quote to share…
Visit other homeschool mothers at The Homeschool Chick. 
I looked out on the back porch on one of our cooler days a week or so ago, and found Crusoe just relaxing on the patio furniture with the wind blowing on his face. He had let himself out the back door and was enjoying the day.
Oh, I'm the same way with the laptop! My plan is NO LAPTOP during school hours - the kids can use the desktop for research IF needed and I won't use it because it's frustratingly slow - and use it only in the evenings after the kids have gone to bed and my husband is writing. Those 10 minutes of "checking" always turn into 2 hours for me!
ReplyDeleteJust recently I've also made the decision to limit my screen time. It's made a great impact on our family (and our home .... things are so tidy now) :o)
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful 1st full week.