A day in the life...

Today was a FULL homeschooling day. We had nothing going on to shorten our day and I was determined to do everything I wanted to get done. It's the middle of February and I'm changing things up AGAIN! That seems to be the story of my homeschool life. I think it's the story of most homeschoolers' lives. I've decided to combine Grace and Joe instead of combining Hannah and Grace. There are a few reasons for this. One is that Grace absolutely loves Science and I was planning some fun science lapbooks to do with Joe. It would be almost cruel not to let her participate. The books I'm using are for 1st-3rd grade so it isn't below her level. Once I decided to do that I knew that it would be too much for her to also continue with Exploring Countries and Cultures. To be honest, she wasn't getting as much out of ECC as I would have liked. Mostly because she is not a strong reader. Also, I really want to spend more time with her on the basics (reading, math, and language arts) so I need to cut back in another area. Adding the science and taking out the ECC strikes the perfect balance for her. Joe is pretty happy about having a buddy working with him too. So, today was the first day of our new plan. Here's how it went...
I started with this--I don't always go for the caffeinated coffee but today I felt that it would help get me going and keep me going.
This (see the picture below) is what Joe does pretty much every day at the beginning of our schooling. He is such a smart kid but oh so stubborn. He even told Ollie that he does a good job at school after he pitches a fit. I've finally learned not to get angry and just let him do his little flip out and then he cooperates. Today the flip out was because he didn't want to figure out 6 + 3. Trust me, this is NOT hard for him. The kid is brilliant. Once he had the answer he was upset because his 9 looked like a balloon. I assured him that his 9 was perfect. All 9's look like balloons. After this fit he went on to do a great job on his math and then do his reading lesson. I love the new little desk area I set up for him at the end of the table. A friend of mine (thanks Kris!) told me that kids with sensory issues do better if their back can touch the back of a chair and if their feet can touch the floor. So, I set Joe up with his own little desk and he likes it. After finishing his work it was on to the computer to play Jumpstart World. This is part of his school and is what he does inbetween working with me. It's an awesome learning game and definitely a constructive thing for him to do! While Joe was throwing his fit and then doing his math Grace was working on her math and Hannah was doing her Wordly Wise lesson.

While Joe played Jumpstart Hannah did her math and I worked with Grace. We did her reading lesson (Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading), did some sight word flash cards, First Language Lessons, a page out of a Spelling Puzzles book, and she read to me from an Abeka reader. She is progressing by leaps and bounds with reading and I am soooo happy!!! After finishing all of that she was dismissed for a break to play with Joe. Then I turned my attention to Hannah. We did language arts (First Language Lessons Level 3), the Bible reading and other reading for My Father's World, made a small poster of the numbers 1-10 in Norwegian, a worksheet on the rivers of Europe, her Precepts Bible study that we are slooooowwwwllly making our way through, and she made a "Lapland Felt Square." The small poster and the felt square will be part of our display at the upcoming International Day. After all this I took a break for lunch. Hannah wasn't hungry so she continued working. Grace and Joe ate lunch.

Then after lunch it was time to get back to Grace and Joe. I read to them about the planets, answered a million questions--I really hope I got the answers right--and then got them started on one of the little books for their lapbook. They had to color all the planets and glue them into the book.

And, as it approached 2 pm we finally finished!!! I didn't get to Writing Strands with Hannah but tomorrow is a new day. I've come to terms with the fact that if I really want to homeschool my three kids the way that is important to me then I just have to block out everyday until about 2 pm to get it all done. And, it is going to require me to multi-task and wisely plan so that our time goes smoothly and very little is wasted. There was a time when we could be done by lunchtime but those days are over.