My husband and I left on the 10th for our trip to Hawaii where he interviewed at BYU Hawaii. We had a wonderful time and feeling pretty good about the idea of moving to Hawaii next year :) We got back on the 15th from a red eye flight, so the rest of that week was pretty shot as far as any organized school work went. The girls did do some reading and math at the homeschool family's house that they were staying at. And once we got back they spent a lot of time over the weekend playing with their snap curcuit set.
Although I was not feeling totally ready and organized after the trip, I started school again on Monday. We started using our new schedule and it worked really well. The older girls worked on their independent work in the mornings while I exercised, showered , etc. and then we did our group school stuff, then after lunch I spent about a half an hour with each girl for their private mommy school time.
1/19
Morning school for big girls
Math
Instruments
Typing
Writing - cursive copywork
Reading on their own - K - Magic Treehouse book, S - Harry Potter bk1
Group school - we are working on a poetry curriculum that I was asked to Beta test.
Mommy school time
Kali - grammar, went over math problems that she had trouble with
Arwen - Math, Phonics/reading
Sierra - grammar, went over math problems that she had trouble with
1/20
Pretty much the same as Monday, print copywork instead of cursive
1/21
Also, like Monday except that we went to a performance at the library at 1:30, so we skipped Mommy school time. I had Arwen do math and read with Sierra and Kali. Freewriting instead of copywork
1/22 - Choir. I still need to get caught back up from being gone, so the girls played in the afternoon while I worked on getting caught up.
1/23
same as M, T, W
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
1/8 - 1/9
1/8
The new schedule worked well today. We are still not at "full school mode." DH and I are leaving to go out of town tomorrow, so I had some packing and stuff to do this week. Sierra did her math and practiced the piano and Kali practiced her piano and violin, did her math and read a chapter in the book she is working on before I was ready for read aloud time. We finished the book we had been reading about John Muir. DH is planning to hike the John Muir Trail this summer, so I couldn't resist pick up this picture book when I saw it on display at the library. Then I had the older girls help me address the thank you note envelopes. It was so nice to be able to teach the girls and do something useful at the same time. It seems so pointless to make the kids do workbook pages for things that they can just do for real...
After lunch Sierra read a chapter from the book she is working on. And I did reading and math with Arwen. We didn't get done until 2:30pm, but I did take a long break before lunch. I came downstairs to change the laundry and ended up on the computer - oops...
1/9
We went to the University's life science museum for a presentation on reptiles. The presentation was OK, but the museum is really cool. We went there for the first time at the beginning of December with my parents. The girls wanted to do one of the museum's scavenger hunts before we left and I just couldn't say no.
Then we had to do some errands to get ready for our trip. A good day overall.
The new schedule worked well today. We are still not at "full school mode." DH and I are leaving to go out of town tomorrow, so I had some packing and stuff to do this week. Sierra did her math and practiced the piano and Kali practiced her piano and violin, did her math and read a chapter in the book she is working on before I was ready for read aloud time. We finished the book we had been reading about John Muir. DH is planning to hike the John Muir Trail this summer, so I couldn't resist pick up this picture book when I saw it on display at the library. Then I had the older girls help me address the thank you note envelopes. It was so nice to be able to teach the girls and do something useful at the same time. It seems so pointless to make the kids do workbook pages for things that they can just do for real...
After lunch Sierra read a chapter from the book she is working on. And I did reading and math with Arwen. We didn't get done until 2:30pm, but I did take a long break before lunch. I came downstairs to change the laundry and ended up on the computer - oops...
1/9
We went to the University's life science museum for a presentation on reptiles. The presentation was OK, but the museum is really cool. We went there for the first time at the beginning of December with my parents. The girls wanted to do one of the museum's scavenger hunts before we left and I just couldn't say no.
Then we had to do some errands to get ready for our trip. A good day overall.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
1/6 - 1/7
1/6
Read Aloud
Writing - Thank You Notes
Math
Practice Instruments
Individual Reading
1/7
A Great Day! I think I have finally come up with a plan to solve our daily schedule problem. Here was the problem: I am not a morning person. Ideally, I'd like to get out of bed at 8am, but that doesn't always happen.. Then I need some checking email/drowsy, waking up time. Then I exercise, shower, eat breakfast and just get ready for the day in general. I'd like to be done with all of this and ready to start school by 10 am, but... During all of this morning stuff my kids are waking up , eating breakfast, watching TV, playing on the computer, and playing with each other. I have been feeling like they should be doing school stuff in the morning, but our routine has always been to do our readalouds and/or group activities first and then move on their individual with me or independent stuff. If we get started late, then we drag into the afternoon with the individual/independent stuff. This causes a problem if we have an afternoon activity to go to and leaves me with out any time in the afternoon to do my own stuff on the other days
So... today we had an afternoon activity, so I asked the older 2 to do their independent stuff this morning starting at 10am. Then when I was ready we would do our read aloud. If they had any problems or questions they could ask me and if I was unavailable (like in the shower) they could move on to something else and I would help them later.
This morning I woke up late ( 9am... I am still reading the last Twilight book before bed and it is hard to put down). At 10am the girls started their work - Math, Independent reading, and Practicing instruments. At 11:15, I was ready for reading aloud. While I read the girls had a late breakfast/early lunch. Then we worked on Thank you notes. At this point it was about 12:15 and I hadn't eaten lunch and I needed to shovel the snow off the car before we could leave for our activity at 1:15, so I asked Sierra and Kali to help with Arwen's school. She read a easy reader to each of them and did a page of math with each of them. It was great. We got school done for the day and were on time for our activity (our Middle ages group, the mom whose turn it was set up a Medeival Fair - fun, fun).
It worked out so well that I told the kids that we would be doing this from now on. At 10 am every morning they will start their independent stuff and then when I am ready we will do our read alouds. My kids are not morning people (especially Sierra), so a 10 am start time gives them time to lounge around and wake up and do their morning chores and be ready to face their school work. I still want to add in grammar and spelling for Kali and Sierra. I will continue to work with Arwen on her reading and math even though it was lovely to have Sierra and Kali help with Arwen today. I still need to work out the fine details of this new schedule, but I really think this will help us to get school done in a timely manner and for it not to drag on into the afternoon.
Read Aloud
Writing - Thank You Notes
Math
Practice Instruments
Individual Reading
1/7
A Great Day! I think I have finally come up with a plan to solve our daily schedule problem. Here was the problem: I am not a morning person. Ideally, I'd like to get out of bed at 8am, but that doesn't always happen.. Then I need some checking email/drowsy, waking up time. Then I exercise, shower, eat breakfast and just get ready for the day in general. I'd like to be done with all of this and ready to start school by 10 am, but... During all of this morning stuff my kids are waking up , eating breakfast, watching TV, playing on the computer, and playing with each other. I have been feeling like they should be doing school stuff in the morning, but our routine has always been to do our readalouds and/or group activities first and then move on their individual with me or independent stuff. If we get started late, then we drag into the afternoon with the individual/independent stuff. This causes a problem if we have an afternoon activity to go to and leaves me with out any time in the afternoon to do my own stuff on the other days
So... today we had an afternoon activity, so I asked the older 2 to do their independent stuff this morning starting at 10am. Then when I was ready we would do our read aloud. If they had any problems or questions they could ask me and if I was unavailable (like in the shower) they could move on to something else and I would help them later.
This morning I woke up late ( 9am... I am still reading the last Twilight book before bed and it is hard to put down). At 10am the girls started their work - Math, Independent reading, and Practicing instruments. At 11:15, I was ready for reading aloud. While I read the girls had a late breakfast/early lunch. Then we worked on Thank you notes. At this point it was about 12:15 and I hadn't eaten lunch and I needed to shovel the snow off the car before we could leave for our activity at 1:15, so I asked Sierra and Kali to help with Arwen's school. She read a easy reader to each of them and did a page of math with each of them. It was great. We got school done for the day and were on time for our activity (our Middle ages group, the mom whose turn it was set up a Medeival Fair - fun, fun).
It worked out so well that I told the kids that we would be doing this from now on. At 10 am every morning they will start their independent stuff and then when I am ready we will do our read alouds. My kids are not morning people (especially Sierra), so a 10 am start time gives them time to lounge around and wake up and do their morning chores and be ready to face their school work. I still want to add in grammar and spelling for Kali and Sierra. I will continue to work with Arwen on her reading and math even though it was lovely to have Sierra and Kali help with Arwen today. I still need to work out the fine details of this new schedule, but I really think this will help us to get school done in a timely manner and for it not to drag on into the afternoon.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Back to School
Christmas Break just flew by. I feel like I should have bunches of learning moments to share, but I can't think of them right now. Hum, let me rack my brain (and check my calender...). Sierra and Kali and I (Arwen was sick) went to a Birds of Prey presentation at a local museum on December 30th. We got a bunch of educational toys for Christmas. A frog habitat (need to figure out when to order the tadpole), a star theater (we've played around with it, but need to figure out how it really works), paper dolls from around the world (a big hit), various games (clue, frog juice, quiddler, sequence, Yahtzee, Penguin Match, Chomp). Sierra got a new fairy book that has her writing bunches of stuff in her new notebook (another gift). Mostly the girls played while I tried to get a bunch of sutff done that I never have time to do when we are in doing school mode. I got some done, but not as much as I would have liked...
OK, today
Read Aloud - a random picture book that Arwen got from the library. I never get around to reading just to her, so I included it today. And a chapter from Family under the Bridge.
Writing - Thank you notes
Reading - Sierra and Kali both started Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Kali doesn't seem to be following it... Arwen - ugh! She is giving me such a hard time. I am starting to wonder if she has vision issues or ADD... I am partly kidding and partly not. She just won't sit still and when she does she holds the book at a weird angle and can't seem to focus. I am thinking of starting over in 100 lessons and just going through it quickly. And letting her reread the first level of Bob books to give her confidence and so she can relearn some of the letter sounds that she can't seem to remember.
Math
Practice instruments
Typing
Kali's violin lesson
OK, today
Read Aloud - a random picture book that Arwen got from the library. I never get around to reading just to her, so I included it today. And a chapter from Family under the Bridge.
Writing - Thank you notes
Reading - Sierra and Kali both started Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Kali doesn't seem to be following it... Arwen - ugh! She is giving me such a hard time. I am starting to wonder if she has vision issues or ADD... I am partly kidding and partly not. She just won't sit still and when she does she holds the book at a weird angle and can't seem to focus. I am thinking of starting over in 100 lessons and just going through it quickly. And letting her reread the first level of Bob books to give her confidence and so she can relearn some of the letter sounds that she can't seem to remember.
Math
Practice instruments
Typing
Kali's violin lesson
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