Whew! What a first homeschool day!

by Jenny (and Jamie weighing in...)

 

 

Monday was our first day back to 'school at the table'...we decided to have a pajama day. I mean, why not? Isn't that one of the perks of homeschooling?! Really, most days are pajama days, but we made this one official. We started off with a special breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast. Then got our coffee and bibles to start our day. Juliet, our almost 17 month old, was really challenging while we sat at the table...I can see that that will be my biggest struggle this year- but we shall overcome. For bible today, we read Deuteronomy 5 & 6 focusing on 6:4-9. We talked about how our school, family, and life can look different if we love the Lord our God with ALL our heart, soul, and strength. Then we all took time to journal. I really just wanted to set a tone for school this year and what our focus will be. Last year we did a bible curriculum but I felt like it just was a 'thing to do' and I really want God's Word to sink in. I think I'd like to really study and focus on the fruits of the spirit and journaling...if anyone's got any (free would be prime) suggestions for a Fruit of the Spirit study, please let me know.

Then we dug into the rest of the morning, with a rotating schedule of one kid playing with Juliet (Juju Duty), one working independently, and one working with me. This worked okay for the rest of the morning, then we broke for lunch. After lunch and with Juju down for a nap, we started our new history curriculum. I've done "Story of the World" for 8 years, gone through several rounds but wanted to simplify my year by doing history with all three of my 'olders' together. We're trying History Revealed: Romans, Reformers, Revolutionaries by Diana Waring. I've heard her speak several times at our yearly homeschool conference and decided to give it a try. Some things that really appeal to me are the fact that it can be taught to multiple ages and that each unit covers multiple learners- she uses the four learning styles, the three learning modalities, and the eight intelligences. I'm really hoping all my kids love it. They are very different learners from one another. After we listened to history from the cd's, I did math with the girls.
By then, six hours had passed, and I was exhausted! They were able to really fit in a lot of independent work while I worked individually. I must've been more tired then they were because my 11 year old pulled out one of her American Girl magazines and decided to make mini pies. She asked if we had pie crust in the fridge and I told her we didn't and she decided to look to Betty Crocker and just see if there was a recipe in there- she whipped out pie crust from scratch with no help! I was amazed! And I proceeded to enjoy her talents from the comfort of my cozy chair!
Also, we created a "Pyramid of Importance" (I'm sure I'll create a post on that soon) and that helped us to stay on tasks that were beneficial. Some of our subjects won't start for a couple more weeks until we meet with a small study group of other students.
What a day! Tiring but fruitful!

Our Curriculum 2013-2014:
Bible, Shurley English, RightStart Math, History Revealed: Romans, Reformers, Revolutionaries, Typing Web (a free online typing class with games!), A Reason for Handwriting & Spelling Workout for my 8 & 11 year old, a combo of Writing with Ease and IEW between home and our study group, The Discovery of Deduction & Apologia General Science for my 13 year old. I have workbooks; Diagramming Sentences and How to Write a Poem, and a plethora of art books, that they weave in and out of their day and regular subjects. They are also taking piano lessons. And if they are in need of an art project and just can't come up with anything, I created a Pinterest board for them "Crafts(Art) for My Kiddos" that they can look up. For science with my 8 & 11 year old this year, I just created a sheet that they look at to guide them on picking library books and then projects to do based on the topic they picked. We needed something less 'formal' and more 'fun' than what we did in the past because we're really needed to simplify and the thought of adding one more 'curriculum' just about did me in...(especially science, since that's definitely not my area...) I feel like I'm forgetting something but this looks like a huge list- so I've impressed (and overwhelmed) myself!

Sounds like you had a much more productive day than I did! I've been so pre occupied with leading the new co op that I wasn't nearly as prepared as I should've been. The kids wandered around the house most of the day asking me what they were supposed to do while I worked on some co op things that needed attending to. I've realized that when I'm not focused or prepared, they are not either! That really stresses me out! So last night I stayed up late and got our daily schedule hammered out and written down. I only made one day's worth, but I feel it will be much better today! I am trying to learn how to balance it all...

As far as bible, I have actually wanted to do a study on the fruits of the spirit for a while too! I had planned on reading through 1Corinthians, and memorizing 1Cor 13:4, but I may want to hop on your band wagon! I've thought about starting with Love, and searching scriptures about love. What is Love...1Cor. 13:4 Love is patient and kind. Or God is Love, etc. and researching and studying scriptures with each word as it comes up as a fruit. Am I making sense? Haha! I think it's awesome when we can do some of the same schooling together even though we are miles apart. It makes me feel like we are homeschooling at the same table!

I guess I will have to blog about balancing my crazy days sooner or later. Jenny, I would love for you to post pictures and details on how you make your kids' weekly to-do charts for school. I need some help in that area! Happy Homeschooling!

Hey! :)  I will post about how we keep track of subjects and stay on task....
 I think it's funny that we are thinking the same thing for bible! Great minds think alike...
Hope your day was productive with school...it's always changing and never dull, isn't it?!