Back to work

handwriting1

It was so hard to get back to the business of learning after being on vacation for a week then taking 2 extra days off to get my act together. (I’m still not sure my act is together).

We had a few incidents from the younger crew. They tend to forget what they are supposed to do if they are allowed to roam free for too long. Which is exactly why we don’t take extended breaks. That and I like to be able to take off more when things are not so crowded with the summer folks (no offense if you are part of the summer folk).

I was just thinking the other day, what if school went year round, or what if everyone homeschooled and everyone was self-employed. There would be no rush hour, no long lines in the summer, no back to school rush in Walmart. Or, maybe there would be. Maybe other self-imposed rush hours would occur. It’s hard to imagine a life any other way than organized around work and school. Though, I know this is a relatively new concept in the history of the world.

I suppose, if we were to go back in time, we could organize our life around grand balls, plagues and persecuting other religions.

taught

We started Financial Peace University at our church and had our first meeting Sunday afternoon. I have some thoughts on that I hope to put together and share tomorrow.

I tried to get back to our loose schedule of school, quiet reading, chores, play time, etc today, and I realized once again, how much more difficult it is to keep a tidy house when you are teaching your children at home. House cleaning is just hard to fit in. I turn around and suddenly it’s 5 o’clock, time to make supper, and I wonder where the day went.

A few weeks ago, I was somewhere, I forget, and I was talking to someone who I reminded that I homeschool and she commented on how exhausting that must be. And, then pointed out how tired I looked, especially my eyes. I fully expected commentary on my age and weight to come next, just to make sure she covered all the bases.

Well, I was tired, but it probably had more to do with me staying up entirely too late watching all the season finales than me working too hard teaching my kids. That, and the fact that I only have about 3 eyelashes to my name and I had forgotten to wear mascara that day, which makes a difference even on three eyelashes.

soup

I’m doing something different with the older girls right now.They are reading Little House on the Prairie. They each have a book and I am giving them quizzes each day on the chapters, dictation from each chapter and vocabulary. We are also managing to work in some geography and history. I’m enjoying it and it’s a nice change. They are happy because they are off the hook for English for a few months.

If you homeschool year round, do you change things up for the summer?

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  • elizabeth

    I don't homeschool, and if I did I don't know for sure if we'd do it year round, but I am pretty sure that we'd do it a lot like you do. Loose schedule, lots of reading, writing, and outings. And, I know lots of homeschooling moms who are worn out and exhausted. Their eyes show it. But I also know lots of other moms whose kids go to school every day who are just as worn out and exhausted (me!). I think moms are just tired. We have a hard job, and we work hard at it. Of course we're tired. Still, I wish people would quit telling us how much we show it.

  • mamaduso

    We usually take summer off, but I am (or the kids are) behind, so we need to keep up with a modified school schedule. I just noticed Milo's grip…does he do that with a pencil too? You might want to encourage more of a pincer grip and use a rubber grip on his pencil. It might become a habit hard to break if you let it go on, and his penmanship might suffer if that grip continues. And if you are all over that and didn't need me butting in, feel free to tell me to shut my mouth. (I only mention it because my youngest has had a struggle with her grip and it has negatively effected her ability to write)

  • http://hikingtowardhome.blogspot.com/ Sharon

    I keep wanting to take us to a year round schedule. I just might next year. I am looking forward to hearing about your financial peace university. Which of his books do you recommend reading? I was looking a them in the bookstore and there are several.
    And the housetending while homeschooling? UGH!! I have lived in the southern Philippines and had a helper for the last 6 years. Now we are back in the states and I am really struggling to do it ALL. meals, grocery shopping, housecleaning, laundry -it gets washed but it is a struggle to get it all folded and put away! and YES I am exhausted!! I need my summer break this year just to get myself used to keeping house!

  • http://www.othersuchhappenings.com marsha@othersuchhappenings

    We go year-round. We have been doing rather light school for the past 2 months– only math, language arts, spelling, guitar, and critical thinking (no history, no science).

    Austin is done until July 5th and Noah has one more test and then he's off as well. I plan on (hopefully) getting this house in order before we hit the books again. I have so much I want to incorporate into our new year, but I also want to take a few weeks to just do IEW. Not sure how that's going to work out. Oh well, we'll see when we get there.

  • http://www.eclecticwhatnot.com Eclectic Whatnot

    What? She actually said you looked tired? And something about your eyes? How wude!

    I think you look fabulous.

  • http://www.edwardsnewsupdates.blogspot.com Www Foureds606

    I'd love to homeschool year round but with most of the neighborhood kids being in PS, it's really difficult to keep mine on task when they come knocking at the door so…..we usually take the summer's off (which is nice too). I do try to get them to read a few books over the summer just to relieve my conscience.

  • 40winkzzz

    are you having your girls do illustrations from the little house books, too? i used to love to have my kids do that. l.i.w.'s writing is so descriptive and there are opportunities in every chapter (or nearly so)to say, “draw the whatever using the description on page xx.” reading words and interpreting them into pictures? DEFinitely “language arts”!

    i don't consider us year-round homeschoolers, but we usually do a little “summer school” on a very relaxed basis– always math, sometimes history, occasionally something else– so their brains don't rot and/or so we can keep going with whatever we're doing. right now it's math & power-pointing/computer-scrapbooking our may vacation. very little of the latter, sadly, bc appointments & gardening keep getting in the way. i am so ready to just close up the math books for the summer, though. too hard with may vacation having thrown us full-swing into summer mode!

    (oh– speaking of which– i blogged about our smoky mts trip and how it was “school”. you know, pics of the caverns under “earth science”, cades cove under “history”, racoon on porch under “animal behavioral science”…)

  • http://www.partofthemiracles.blogspot.com/ Beth

    You know our schooling situation, but I do school with the kids in the summer. It's crazy how much they'd lose in the three long months of summer. By the way, my husband is a huge proponent of year-round school.

  • http://www.ourhomeschoolhome.com/ RobynOHSH

    Year rounders. I love to say it's so Little Buddy doesn't forget, but truth be told – I'm worried I might, too. :D

    Just tell *her* that Photoshop can fix that.