I had fun Tuesday and Wednesday doing this sweet little project with my sweet little girls. They spend a lot of time trying to keep up with the big kids and it was nice to have a project just for them. I try not to think of all the fun little crafty things I did with my 2 oldest when they were little because it just leaves me with a lot of guilt over all the things I DON'T do with the littler people. BUT there are advantages to being in the younger set, right? They never have a problem finding someone to help with their shoes, read them a story, play a game with them...okay, I feel better now. If you want to try the project, here's the website (although it's so simple I don't know that you need it)- artprojectsforkids.org.
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10 1/2 weeks.
That's the amount of time I have before my due date. All of my babies were late except for Charlotte who decided to come 3 weeks early and totally mess up my "routine." I was thrilled to have her early, but also shocked and not exactly prepared. In fact, I had to send a dear friend to Target with a list while I was still in the hospital because I didn't even have some of the necessities yet. So, I have 10 1/2 weeks, more or less, to be ready for this blessed event. I am so excited to meet my tiny little man. I am so excited to dress him in the cute little orange and blue things I've been collecting and the things I've been knitting for him. I am so excited that I get to experience having a baby BOY again after all these years of girl babies. I am so excited to wear him in my sleepy wrap and keep him to myself. But in the midst of all of that excitement, I'm feeling a bit of stress too. I have 10 1/2 weeks to complete 9 1/2 weeks of our Tapestry of Grace curriculum. I REALLY want to finish it before baby comes so I can feel right taking a true BREAK from teaching. The kids will still have work to do each day that they can mostly do without my help, but our bulky, wonderful, intense school days will be done. But in that time our house will be ready (2-3 weeks from now) so we'll have to take some time off from school to move. I want to be NESTING.... not UN-NESTING!! Inspired by one of my favorite blogs, I decided to join in their "Day in the Life" series. So here it is, Wednesday, January 30th- 5:25 Kate wakes me up because her ear hurts and she wants some Tylenol. I take care of her and go back to bed. 5:45 am I hear Pete's alarm and since I can't sleep and he's making the coffee I decide to just get up. I spend some with coffee and the Word- always the best start to a day! 6:30 I get bread dough going and make the granola bars I've been promising the kids- since I told them I'm not buying them anymore. 6:50 Finish my coffee, eat some of my favorite black cherry greek yogurt (wondering if I really should because I think it may be dairy that irritates my system??), and enjoy the calm before the storm. 7am a parade of girls emerges from their room, excited about eating the granola bars, but first a cuddle on the couch. I read the littles a story (not my favorite book, but they do love it) and encourage Kate to start the laundry- it's her day to do the girls' clothes. 7:30 I find Teshome doing his independent school work before our school day even "officially" begins. He wants to be done so he can play. 7:40 The kids eat breakfast and I go take my shower. 8:10 I have my second breakfast 8:40 I leave the four oldest home alone (for the first time!!) to run a few quick errands. While I'm gone they do their "rotations." This is when they spend 30 minutes on each of 4 different things- piano, devotions, chores, and xtramath / typing. 9:45 Home from errands, I put the bread in the oven and spend some time doing reading and phonics with Ella and Charlotte. 10:30 The kids have a snack, I take the bread out of the oven and make a batch of my FAVORITE salsa. 10:45 The 4 youngest listen to our monthly memory work playlist (math, geography, history, catechism set to music) while they color. I have a snack- chips and salsa, of course! Peter and Kate do their independent work. 11am Meeting with Maddie and Teshome- this is when we do spelling, grammar, writing (since it's Wednesday), their Tapestry of Grace map of the week, and anything else I need to help them with. Peter and Kate do independent work, Ella and Charlotte play. 11:40 Peter and Kate make lunch for the kids so I can keep working with Maddie and Teshome. 12:10 Kids eat lunch. I tackle the dishes that have piled up so far today 12:20 I help Teshome with a story he had trouble with in his Beyond the Code book (he ate REALLY fast today!) 12:30 I eat lunch, work on the dishes again and call a friend. 1:15 Meeting with Peter and Kate. This is when we do grammar, writing (since it's Wednesday), their Tapestry of Grace map of the week, history/ literature discussion (depending on the day of the week), and just basically check in on all of their assignments. Ella and Charlotte do xtramath and the other 2 play. A certain someone always needs help in the bathroom during this time- and there are sometimes squabbles to settle, but overall it's time to focus on my 2 oldest. 2:30 I finish with Peter and Kate and gather everyone around the table to color while they listen to me read aloud from some of this week's history assignment. 3pm Snack time for the kids. 3:15 Rest time for all of us. The kids go to their rooms to read quietly for an hour and my brain gets a much needed break from answering questions. It's a LOVELY hour! I knit, have a cup of tea and some chocolate. 4:15 I decide to keep knitting. I don't have to make supper tonight because we're heading to church in an hour for a youth group fundraiser supper. 7:15 We're home from the soup supper. Pete leaves to do a piano move with a cousin (we gave the cousin ours and we are taking Pete's parents') while I send the kids to get ready for bed and finish the dishes I had left to soak. 7:30 I read to the littles while the other 4 play then I knit (yes, when I have a project going I can be a bit obsessed.) 8:15 I put the kids to bed and call my mom to chat for a bit 9pm I hit the couch to chill with some Haagen Dazs and some yarn and some conversation with my husband. 10pm (ish) I hit the hay. It's been a good day- and by good, I mean exhausting. Whether you homeschool or not, you just HAVE to know about xtramath.org! It is free, it is simple, and it is very effective math fact practice. My kids think anything they can do on the computer is fun and I now have all six of them doing xtramath. I seriously do not have time to do flashcards for 6 kids in any kind of organized way. This website does it for me! It keeps track of the kids progress and emails reports to me regularly so I can be aware of how they're doing. When they don't know the answer in time, a shadow of the answer shows up and they still have to type it in. This is a great feature because it means that Ella (5) and Charlotte (4), whom I have not yet done any formal math with, can just type the answer when it appears. Then the next time they see that problem, they often remember the answer. These littles have only been doing xtramath for about 2 weeks and Ella is already flying through the plus 1's and plus 2's- which will make my life WAY easier when I start the two of them in Saxon 1 pretty soon!
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December 2017
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