Today is September 3rd. Labor Day has come and gone. Though the temps here in Kansas are still BLAZING, Autumn is coming. (Apparently.) I'm happy to mark four weeks of successful home schooling in our house. We had some WINS and we had some flops, but we're still trucking.
I've joked to Soldier and a few others that we're doing the school work but I wasn't really sure if LEARNING was happening. Then, one day during week three, Monster Boy came to me with an apple. The apple had a wedge in it he had painstakingly carved out with a kid-safe knife. He points to the apple and says "Look, Mom! This apple is like the Earth! It has layers. The skin is like the ground we stand on, then there's the big layer in the middle and the core at the center." No joke, I seriously wanted to jump around on my couch Tom-Cruise-on-Oprah-Style and shout "LEARNING IS HAPPENING!!!!" I did manage to refrain myself because, let's be honest: If I started jumping on the couch, Monster Boy would be the first to pick up that torch!
Since then, I've been so gratified to see other signs that what we are doing is WORKING. It's amazing to see this process unfold. I still think we (I) have a lot to do and a long way to go. I'd like to be MORE hands on for Monster Boy. By nature, I am very routine and methodical. That is not his personality and I need to do better with that. I also feel like we are blowing through the lessons very quickly and that they might be a little easy for him. I've gone back and forth on this: Should we add in more since he seems interested? Or do I ride it out since the beginning of the year usually contains some review from the previous year and hope we get to new/more challenging material sooner? I'm also struggling with a depth vs breadth question. He's fascinated by our history and science books. I could go Pinterest crazy and we could slow our curriculum down and spend DAYS adding in project and extra exploration. Sugar cube pyramids for the Egyptian lessons? Construct a Viking Longboat? A Bazillion Science Experiments? I think he'd love those those and our curriculum includes some. But, do I do more? Even more, MORE? How much is "enough?" My sensible (and lazy/Pinterest-hating) side says to take a chill pill...this is Kindergarten: we're looking for general exposure not in-depth analysis. I also believe that free play, art exploration, and just being a BOY is important and normal. Plus, I really hate Pinterest.
Bunny Girl is an interesting case. She surprised me by her intense desire to learn and do what brother is doing. She started off strong, so I gave her the same work as Monster Boy. She hung in there for about 10 days and sometime during week three, her sweet three-year-old brain became full and she just stopped retaining info. I suspect two problems: I jumped ahead too far for her and we moved too fast. She lacked some foundation skills that Monster Boy has. Her number and letter identification is hit-or-miss, so the Kindergarten Phonics and Numbers we were using was just too much. But, I LOVE her determination for trying. I spent the last two weeks trying to "modify" our lessons for her and make-up activities to supplement, but it just wasn't working. She really LOVES Monster Boys colorful worksheets from Abeka. This probably falls under the category of rookie mistake, but I had purchased an extra set of K workbooks when she showed an interest. We tried to use them over the last two weeks but I just felt like there was no benefit and that I was "wasting" worksheets that should be totally appropriate for her next year. So, I've pulled her stash of the K books from the shelves and ordered (yet another) set of workbooks for her but in the K4 level. This seems to be more number/letter recognition and a teeny bit of beginning phonics and math concepts. I considered the 3yo books for her, but she's almost four and, based on the descriptions, I really thought she'd be bored. (Plus...the description said it included finger paint activities. Strikes fear in my heart.)
DeeDee is still a blessed third child. Mostly content to play by herself while we are schooling or wander in for snuggles. I'm trying to be intentional about giving her some extra one on one time each day for play and snuggles. My reward is seeing her vocabulary blossom. She's cracking us up with all the new words and phrases she's throwing at is. Our newest favorite is to ask "Who is DeeDee?" while looking around the room at everyone. She slaps her hands to herself, puffs out her chest and announces: "ME!!!" in the sweetest, clearest little baby voice. Love it! We recently purchased a toddler bed for her and will be trying it out in the next two weeks or so. Mayhem and mischief are sure to follow.
I feel like we are still "learning" our new routines. Each week, a new activity has started. Monster Boy started Soccer two weeks ago. Both kiddos started a Wednesday afternoon children's ministry at our church that they are loving and we joined a neighborhood Bible study on Wednesday evenings. The kiddos are also doing swim lessons on Monday and Wednesday mornings. This week we start Acrobatics for Monster Boy and Ballet and Tap classes for Bunny Girl. I made it two months here in KS before I opened my darn mouth to volunteer for things. So, I'm co-facilitating a bible study this semester for PWOC and have accepted a board position for the spouses' club here. Our days feel really crazy right now, but I keep telling myself we just need to get into the swing of things. (Or last until November 1, when soccer and swim take a break for the winter!)
I think the hardest part right now, aside from time management, is my physical limitations. I'm getting round and slooooow. Climbing around on the floor during our school time is getting uncomfortable. I've also have some painful leg swelling and vein issues going on. (Translation: I'm only really comfortable when I'm laying on the couch with my feet resting high on a pillow. Guess how often that happens. Right-o.) I'm managing to stay up on laundry which is a minor miracle. House cleaning is hit or miss. Dinners get made (sometimes) but they are seriously boring and uninspired. Soldier is busy with studying for his Army classes and his Master's classes; he's struggling to balance home time, study time and finding some time for the gym. (You know it's bad when there's no gym time for him. CAUTION: Tread lightly!)
So, my goals for September are:
- Get a little messier in school for Monster Boy
- Strike a better balance for Bunny Girl
- Transition DeeDee to a toddler bed
- Try to balance the family schedule/routine
- Try out the very ugly and very thick compression stockings that arrived today. (Yes, I know. The Shame. But, seriously, desperate times call for desperate measures.)
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