Taking a day off

So the boys don't know it yet; they are still sleeping (well, the youngest is up and watching Go Diego!). But, I decided that we are taking off the rest of this week. We've been going at it since sometime in the summer (early July I think) 4-5 days a week and I need a break. I am sure they could use one too. We will still go to PE today. We will go to the aquarium tomorrow. And I still plan on reading to them and having them read to me. But, math, spelling, penmenship, writing ... all off the table until Monday morning. I need a couple mornings of TV for them. I need a couple mornings where they can just run and play and I don't have to wrangle them to the table to get going on our work. We need mental health days. :) Monday, we'll be refreshed and ready to go again. (Hopefully we won't have any struggle getting back into routine - that is my one hesitancy whenever we take time off - especially with Nomar, my oldest.) 

Having made that decision, I suddenly feel so much more peaceful this morning. We can take it easy. They can watch PBS Kids and relax. We can get ready for PE and spend some time at the park with friends. History can wait a week - it's been waiting about 900 years for us anyway, what's a few more days? 

Mondays ... maybe we need to just jump right to Tuesdays ;)

Today seemed to start well; I was able to be up alone for about 30 minutes before someone joined me. Once Nomar woke, he and I sat on the couch with Luke Skywalker and read a couple library books. Then, we read a couple sections from Our Island Story. I'm not sure quite what happened between then and Nomar's long exile in his bedroom, but I'm blaming it on Mondays. He suddenly decided he wasn't going to cooperate and instead thought grunting at me was going to be the appropriate response. Actually, ever since fall baseball began, he's been much shorter on the fuse - his tantrums have increased quite a bit. I'm wondering if as much as he loves playing baseball and really likes his coach, he's feeling a bit overwhelmed with the whole thing. He's the youngest on the team and the coach does have high expectations - not in terms of ability, but in terms of putting all one's effort into learning; I actually really like his coach, and don't want to pull Nomar out, but I do think we need to figure out how to be a bit more proactive about the whole thing with him. With Vlad being so obviously sensitive to everything (physical, emotional, spiritual), and Nomar's evolving maturity, I forget how sensitive he can be also. At least we made up and had a better afternoon.

On a positive side, the boys are loving Monkey Match memory with the Song School Latin cards. We are working on the vocabulary from Chapter Two this week - quid est tuum praenomen? and meum praenomen est ..., so we were able to add two more sets to our memory game. 

Vlad has his first "big" book to read today for Hooked on Phonics - he started the Orange workbook in level 1, and the books are longer and more "book" like than the beginning readers in the Kindergarden level (which are more like BOB books). I was thinking of splitting the book into two sessions, but I think we'll take it as it comes. 

A very busy week almost done

There is definitely a benefit to being busy, especially with three boys who like to do things all. the. time. It's probably also beneficial, even if it doesn't make sense, to be busy when you aren't feeling to well since it means we are out of the house more (and less likely to deal with behavior issues stemming from being "bored"). So, this week was a blessing. 

We have been to the dentist, the library, the park, PE class, the park again, grocery shopping, and Fed-Ex Office to laminate ID cards so far this week. Tonight there's baseball practice. I think tomorrow is free of anything scheduled outside the home. Even so, we have had a some-what productive week (it started out less than productive as I was not feeling well). Today was probably the best day thus far. I swear, making sure I am up well before anyone else wakes and getting ready is a huge factor for determining how our days go. 

We started our morning with "Monkey Match" - we played memory with the vocabulary cards from Song School Latin. Though we have only technically done chapter 1 in SSL, we have a bit more vocabulary under our belts from Minimus, so we were able to play with about 10-12 pairs of cards. The boys had a blast (except Vlad when Nomar kept getting all the pairs first). Even Luke Skywalker (3 y.o.) is learning a fair amount of Latin. We also sung our songs (I'm skipping the alphabet song - young Luke is still learning his English alphabet and I don't need to confuse him with missing W's and such). We'll start chapter 2 in both Song School Latin and Minimus on Monday.

I also pulled out our Explode the Code books that were sitting on the shelf - level 3 for Nomar and level 2 for Vlad. Wednesdays are short mornings due to PE, so we don't get spelling done. I figured spelling 3x a week and then ETC 2x a week would be good practice for them, and with the novelty of the ETC workbooks, they are loving it. ;)

Weekly Wrap-Up

This was a lazy week, if I were to pick one word to describe it. I'm blaming it all on Monday being Labor Day. We did some things that I was hoping to accomplish - read some history, learned some Latin, had our first art co-op this morning. And yet looking back, I feel like we did not do half of what I was hoping to do. I guess that is the beauty of homeschooling; we can go at our pace, knowing that in the end (in the long run) it'll all work out just fine. All three of them will know how to read. All three of them will know their math. All three of them will be able to write. They'll know Latin. They'll have a good foundation on the story of our (collective "our") history. And they'll probably have some good experiences with art, science, music, and sports under their belts. 


I am working on learning the balance between having a big picture plan (which I sat down and worked on this week) and being flexible to go with the flow of life. This week, life happened and not as much sit-down academics happened. Tuesday we needed to get to the post office before lunch. And we spent a beautiful afternoon at the nature center. Wednesday was PE day, and instead of getting through our core subjects in the morning before leaving, the boys had a great time unfolding most of the maps we have (our city & surrounding areas, our state, and the US) and trying to find places on them. Today we had a great time at our friend's house for our first art co-op. We had some art time and then the kids all played together. We may not have done as many math problems as we normally do, or may not have had much in terms of spelling or reading practice. But, despite its "lacking" in those departments, there is no arguing that this week, overall, was a good week. And so, that is how I want to remember it; not as a week full of wholes on my weekly "planning grid" (I actually don't write anything down until *after* we do it), but a week full of memories and enriching interactions with meaningful people in our lives.

Thursdays

For almost as long as I've been out of college, I think Thursdays have been my favorite days. Fridays seem like a good choice as it is the end of the work week. But I am usually so tired by Friday that I just want to go to bed early. Saturdays are good days too - usually we do something as a family, whether that be working outside in the yard or bike riding or running errands. Sundays are going to become very busy for us as the boys (Nomar and Vlad ;) ) start the fall baseball program. Mondays, well, I'm not sure there's much to love about Mondays. ;) (Well, the return of Castle on Monday nights is something to love.) Tuesdays and Wednesdays are just regular ol' days, though Wednesdays are kind of nice in that we go to PE and hang out with friends. (I feel like I could be writing a remix of a sappy Cure song.) 

But Thursdays, those are my favorite. On Thursday, I usually still have energy enough to not feel utterly exhausted. On Thursday, I know the weekend is right around the corner. On Thursday, I know that I only have one more day of the work week before my husband is home for the weekend. On Thursday, I know my DVR will be recording Grey's Anatomy. And on Thursday, at least a couple out of each month, I get to go meet my two best friends for coffee or tea and chat - all by ourselves without any of our combined 15 children interrupting us. It's the best kind of therapy. We've known each other for almost as long as my oldest, Nomar, is old. We have shared some tough times together. We love each other and trust each other. And I am so glad we have our time together, even if it is only once or twice a month. Thursdays are my favorite day of the week.

A very non-school "first" day of school ;)

So, for some reason, we just did not get our act together this morning. The boys were all up by 8:30, but I think because my youngest was up not long after me, I was slow in doing what I normally like to do in the morning when they are all sleeping (play on-line on my favorite bulletin boards, read up on Facebook, and eventually making it to the couch to read a real book), that I didn't get going with them when they were first getting up. I don't know ... maybe the stars were just not aligned quite right. I was hoping to have my oldest (I so need nicknames for them all ... I think I'll name them after baseball players or Star Wars characters!) actually get through all his core subjects before PE (minus spelling - we don't do spelling on Wednesdays as we just don't have the time before we have to leave). As it is, no one got much of anything done. 

On a positive note, we did read through Minimus chapter 1 again this morning. The boys want to just keep reading the book, but I'm trying to go slowly just because I need to learn the vocabulary as we read. We also listened to the Salve/Vale song from Song School Latin on the way to PE. I had them "help" me remember all the Latin words I know so far (great way to actually see how much they remember without them feeling "tested") and we realized that combined, "I" know about 15 words in Latin so far. 

PE went well. I chatted a bit with a couple other moms I know; one will be involved with our once a month art coop and one have only met through PE. But, afterwards, I realized I need to help my boys navigate "free play" with the other kids - otherwise it turns a bit into Lord of the Flies out there. I think that maybe as hs'ing parents, we think our kids are able to figure out how to play in a fun, yet nice and safe way, without a lot of intervention. But, I learned today that I need to teach mine the difference between play "fighting" and actual fighting - that it crosses the line when stick "swords" actually make contact with another body and pinecone "bombs" actually injure someone. I also realized mine did not yet really know how to handle older kids who are playing too rough (apparently my oldest threw a pinecone at an older boy who was playing harshly with them all ... we talked about what to do in that situation that does not involve bodily harm). 

So, I can't say we didn't learn anything today. We just didn't get done much of what I wanted to get done. This evening/tonight I plan on having the older two practice their reading - it's been too many days and they get very rusty. I also hope to read some more from the Burgess Bird Book and What Makes a Bird. We might throw in there a little of Our Island Story. As for the rest, there's always tomorrow. ;)  

Edited to add their new nicknames. :) My oldest is Nomar (he loves Nomar Garciaparra, formerly of the Dodgers and now with the A's). My middle son is Vlad (he loves Vladimir Guerrero of the Angels), and the youngest decided he wanted to be Luke Skywalker. :) 

School Days

Today is back to school for the kids in our school district. I remember most of my thirteen back to school days (K-12). Despite not enjoying school all that much, I did enjoy the first week or so. There's something about newness that makes things more bearable - the new crayons, new backpacks & lunch boxes, and new clothes. Because we all went to our neighborhood school, I didn't have the anticipation of seeing all my friends again; we had seen each other non-stop all summer long. But the newness of the year was exciting. (The newness wore off after a week or so - usually by the time the first tips of the crayons began to dull.) It is probably the one thing I wonder if my boys will ever miss, though having never experienced it, I cannot be sure that it would be missed. Can you miss something you never had? 

I think to mark the day, we'll take school pictures so I can make them their own school ID cards (they are only helpful for when we do things like visit the Natural History Museum, and their IDs get them in for reduced price, and for the coolness factor for the boys). Other than that, our day is not too much different from any other Wednesday; we are off to PE (though we won't stay long as our good friends won't be there today), I hope to start Song School Latin, and plan on having my oldest make it all the way through his core subjects today (yesterday's attention span was a bit lacking, shall we say).