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Monday of Glimpse into our Homeschool

Monday

Welcome to the first of a series of posts giving you a glimpse into our little homeschool. I’m not a big fan of Mondays but I prefer a Homeschooler’s Monday to the alternative . . . .
8:20 am: Waking up late today. It seems I’m still recuperating from fasting and no sleep. I decided that I would sleep until I woke up and 8:20 am is when I woke up. I start my day with prayer. I go in and wake the kidlets and head on downstairs. The tables were set for school and breakfast last night so all I need to do is pour myself that first cup of coffee and go over the schedule. I take a couple of minutes to toss in a load of laundry and contemplate my devotion from this morning. I felt I had rushed through it and am trying to give it a bit more thought. My thoughts seem rather jumbled this morning.
8:35 am: The kids are finding it hard to get moving this morning too. While they are getting dressed I read Sassafras her history text for today. Maiden and Mr. Conductor wander into the kitchen for breakfast but keep an ear tuned to our reading.
9:10 am: Breakfast is done and cleaned up and we are starting school. Considering the kids got up a half hour later than usual and that it’s Monday- this is good. Maiden starts with a couple of easier subjects, handwriting and Grammar Ace. Sassafras is messing around with getting her school tub out and fiddle-diddling. Mr. Conductor has climbed up in my lap as I sit in the rocker and snuggles in good and tight. This doesn’t happen very often anymore so I take full advantage of it and just hold on. I suggest Sass start out with handwriting so that I can continue snuggling.
9:25 am: Mr. Conductor has announced that he would like to do some school today. I tell him, “No school until you get dressed.” He hops off my lap, grabs his clothes and heads into my office (he has taken to “surprising” me with dressing himself lately). Maiden is plugging away at her math (some beginning geometry). Sass and I start her spelling while I pull out Mr. C’s workbook and crayons.
For the next hour or so, I continue to work on subjects with Sassafras that require my attention (Science, read alouds) while giving direction to Mr. C and checking over Maiden’s work.
11 am: Sassafras is finishing up her math and Mr. C is building Lego contraptions. Maiden has just finished reading her Detective Science and is doing the DNA project from the book. I jot down a list of errands that need doing and a short grocery list.
11:20 am: Sass has been off sitting on the couch reading her reader- I know she is reading through the whole book even though only 10 pages were assigned today. She’s suddenly surged ahead these past few weeks in her reading and the readers in her curriculum are not challenging her. I have her read them anyway and answer questions to help her with her narration. We are supplementing with more challenging chapter books in the afternoons (during quiet time) and it is working for us. Maiden is frustrated that she isn’t further along in her work and knows that we will be leaving soon for errand running. She asks to take her spelling and dictation in the car. I okay it.
11:40 am: Sassafras has finished her book. Maiden is reworking some math problems that she got wrong (we don’t always do this but these were sloppy mistakes and it needs a redo). Mr. C and I are cleaning up some of his clutter.
Noon: I’ve packed a bag with our nature sketch pads and we’re hunting up sharpened colored pencils. It seems we’re in low supply (even though I’m constantly finding a pencil here and there all over the house). I fill the trunk with 4 bags and 2 boxes of clothes and 2 more bags of shoes destined for Goodwill while Sassafras frantically sharpens the pencils she can unearth. Mr. Conductor digs out his trusty baseball cap and helps Maiden water their sprouting seeds and move them to “better sun” as he puts it.
12:15 pm: We are now on the road. We’re getting a later start to our errand running than I wanted but I’ve decided to add a nature hike to our list of things to do- I don’t tell the kids where though. We stop at the bank, drop the trunkload off at Goodwill and a quick stop at the grocery store. Lunch is drive though at McD’s as Sassafras got a gift certificate for her birthday and has been wanting to treat the family for weeks now.

1:30 pm: We’re eating lunch out in the gorgeous sunshine at a wonderful little local park. We quickly polish it off and head off into the woods armed with sketch pads and colored pencils (I purchased a new set of pencils for Mr. C for 88 cents at the store and Sass bought herself a new set too). This is one of the kids favorite nature hike spots (besides their grandparents’ farm). Mr. C has declared that he’s on the hunt for a sneaky snake and Sass goes crashing off into the underbrush after a chipmunk. Maiden quietly moves on ahead to find a good spot to stop and sketch. I take a moment to marvel at the wonder of it all- not nature so much as my children and the wonderful blessing of being able to do this with them. While we hike, we sketch and pick up a few specimens- fat acorn tops, interesting dried leaves, pieces of bark and tiny rocks. We watch 4 buzzards circle lazily overhead and Mr. C contemplates aloud what must have died to interest them. Ah, what goes on in a boy’s mind. After our hike, the kids play at the playground for awhile- pretending the big play thing-a-ma-jig is a pirate ship—Maiden veers off to the pre-school “playscape” and declares it’s the S.S. Minnow, hums the tune and pretends to pursue the big pirate ship. I marvel at how she is young woman and still a child. I laugh and wink at her and she runs off yelling, “Avast Ye Hardies- Prepare to be boarded.” Her brother and sister scream and giggle and take off . . . . . I take a picture with my minds eye and tuck it in my heart.

2:45 pm: We are heading home- laughing and talking of all the fun we had. I remind them that we’ll have quiet time when we get home as they have reading to finish and Mr. C needs a nap. They’ll be going off with the Dad to Gramma and Grampa’s to cut wood tonight.
3 pm: Groceries are put away. And nature treasures are spread out on the table to catch Daddy’s eye when he comes home. The girls head upstairs to wash their dirty tootsies and read good books. Mr. C has his sketch pad and new pencils at the coffee table and is making up a story about shy tractors as he draws them. He has me label them. It doesn’t take much for me to nudge him to the couch for his nap. He asks for a couple of cookies as he thumbs through his Berenstain Bears’ Big Book of Science and Nature.
3:20 pm: I put down the book I’ve just begun to read as I realize I never took the laundry out of the washer. I think guiltily of the paperwork sitting in my office and of the fact that I haven’t been on the computer all day. I decide to put the laundry in the dryer instead of out on the line since it looks like the neighbors are getting ready to burn leaves and I’m also concerned that I’ll forget it on the line too. I push aside my guilt over paperwork as I remember I only just finished a lock-in with the youth group 2 nights ago and deserve a bit of a break. Rationalizing, yes, but it makes such good sense.
It’s later now- the kids went off with their dad to work and I stayed home to work. I remembered to get the clothes out of the dryer and fold them. I updated the school binders and organized some of the school books. I took an hour to myself to sit and read some more. I picked up the bits of daily debris around the house and put away some laundry. I prepped for breakfast and laid out tomorrow’s clothes. I dozed off while I was reading again . . . . I did a bit of paperwork (more like paper shuffling) and got out some needed items for tomorrow.
I wrote this post.
It was a good day.

Untitled Comment

10:26 AM, 2008-Apr-22 .. Posted by marys4littlelambs

I love reading about your day!

I LOVED reading about your day!

11:31 AM, 2008-Apr-22 .. Posted by lancelotacres

Thank you for sharing your day with us :)

Hugs,
Lisa