And here we are starting year three.
I have changed in so many ways in my approach to teaching my children at home. I honestly feel like I've almost done a 180 degree turn. And it was a really really good turn to make. :)
Our first year was tough y'all. My inexperience and type-A personality contributed to a stressful first year. The Lord placed friends in my path that taught me so much. And then of course, time and experience are also good teachers.
So, what have I learned to do differently?
Be flexible, be flexible, be flexible.
And relax. Or chillax.
I mean really. As I ever so slowly learned how to do these two things, this schooling thing got a lot easier.
I decided to "document" one of school days and share it here. You know I like to keep it real, so there's no editing of our day. :) I also want to encourage other families out there that just because your day may not happen as you had envisioned, it doesn't mean it wasn't a lovely day in it's own way. There is so much to gain from an imperfect day.
So, here goes…
I love to get up early before the rest of the house and get ready for the day. If I'm lucky, I get time on the couch with my Bible and coffee before I hear little feet coming down the hall.
One of the many changes I've made to our school days is our start time. We basically don't have one. I've found that when I have a "start time", and we are already failing to get to the table at that time, I am already stressed out before our day has really begun. My kids (especially Bella) tend to be late sleepers. Late as in 8:00 or 8:30. So, I let them wake up, we eat breakfast, they mosey back to their rooms to get dressed, I might need to start a load of laundry or feed Finn, and then I'll call them to the table. Some days this happens at 9:00, some days 10:00. But the key is to not become stressed by the time. Everything will get done. Eventually.
This was 9:30 this morning. Two dressed, two not.
I got started at about 9:45 with Jack while Bella finished getting ready for the day.
Max has two bowls… his first breakfast of oatmeal and now, a little over an hour later, a bowl of cereal. Oh, and he's still not dressed.
Jack and I start on his phonics, but due to a bit of whining, he goes to timeout for a few minutes. When he comes back, the bad attitude is gone. And not only does he get his work done, he turns to a page and says, "Can I do this yet?"
"I don't know. Can you?" And then he does.
That's another change I've made. Just because you don't have it written down on your lesson plans doesn't mean you can't do something differently if the situation presents itself.
And here's Finn and me in our spot at the end of the table. He is a great assistant. A very stern assistant.
Bella makes her way to the table, and just as we are about to start on her English lesson, Max does this…
Those are lima beans that he dumped on the floor from the refrigerator. And as you can see, he proceeded to scoop them into a pile. So helpful that boy. :)
After sweeping up the mess, Bella and I head back to the table to {re}start her lesson. We get to a place where she can work independently, and Max joins her at the table to color.
Oh, and he's still not dressed. This is because when I do get him dressed (or tell him to get dressed), he has removed his clothing less than an hour later. So, sometimes we just skip the whole getting dressed step.
Jack is playing quietly in his room…
And Finn is down for a snooze…
Which gives me just enough time to change the laundry…
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| Weirdest selfie I've ever taken |
And then just for a minute… This.
An odd picture I know. But it was my view when I came out of the laundry room. The whole house was quiet, the window was open letting in cool air, and I could smell fresh laundry drying outside. Pretty cheesy I know. But I am learning to not let these moments {and they really are just mere moments} pass me by without acknowledging them. Because they are sweet moments that refresh me. And everyone can use some refreshing mid-morning, yes?
So, I stopped in the middle of the kitchen, closed my eyes, didn't hear any sound, and breathed in deeply. And then headed back to the table. :)
Bella surprised me by doing all of her English pages instead of just half… I told her she could do half today and half tomorrow. But this little planner wanted to knock it all out in one day.
That is one lovely thing about homeschooling. Working harder today can mean less work tomorrow.
I had a couple of other things to do with her, but she decided she wanted me to read to her out of one of her favorite school books. While this was not something I had written down for today, I told her yes… after she completed what I needed her to do.
This is the face I got…
Resulting in a timeout. A small timeout works well with my kids when their attitudes need tweaking. She came back to the table ready with a slightly better disposition. :)
Meanwhile, Max's coloring turned into drawing me a pretty picture on my lesson plans. And the table.
I told you… he's super helpful. :)
Everyone then heads to the living room for some reading on the couch. I start reading aloud (mainly to Bella), and we get this interruption…
Poor thing hit his head playing in the tent (see it in the background?) with Max. We get those tears dried up and start again.
I'm still smiling…
And have nursed a baby somewhere in there as well.
Everything settles down a bit, and I am able to read from 1 Kings helping Bella do a comparison of two stories.
By this time, we have been working on school for about an hour and a half. I get a text from a friend, "Lunch at the park today?"
Now this is one of the biggest changes I've made to our school days. Flexibility.
Do we still have some school left? Yes.
Could we all use time outside with the beautiful weather, sweet friends, and some Chick-fil-a? Ummm, yeeesssss.
So, we head to the park for a much needed break.
We head back home a couple of hours later. Max and Finn take naps, and I do some reading with Jack and some math with Bella. Bella has a musical theater class on Wednesday afternoons, so we need to be back in the car in about an hour and a half. We were not able to finish Jack's math or Bella's world history. But guess what? I'm okay with that. It will be waiting for us tomorrow.
It was a FULL day of success, productivity, discipline, playing, sleeping, whining, laughing, eating, yawning, and lots more.
Was it a perfect day? News flash: that doesn't exist. I am enjoying this year so much because I'm just not taking the interruptions, timeouts, or difficulties too seriously. They ARE going to happen. Sometimes, yes, I get bent out of shape… sometimes I don't. It's not what happens in our day that makes it a failure or success… it's what we do with the things that happen in our day. I pray for a big dose of patience, try to smile often, ask for forgiveness when I lose my cool, and remind myself that we'll get done what we need to and try having fun while doing it.
Our day ended with Bella making pancakes for dinner (yes, she makes them all by herself!) while I rocked Finn to sleep and picked up the house a bit.
And speaking of Finn…
This little guy is reminding me daily to slow down and just BE. Watch my children grow and learn. Talk with my husband. The time is ticking by. I don't want to miss out because I was in too much of a hurry to get stuff done. And I use the word stuff intentionally. Yes, "setting about my work vigorously" is a high calling, but often times I can over-prioritize things when I really just need to stop and go kiss my babies, thank the Lord for a healthy family, and praise Him for a day full of blessings.
Be encouraged friends!
