Today has been one of those unusual-super-fantastic-motivated-energetic kind of days. I've been lacking in those a lot lately (for legitimate reason). Today I:
-Read with and to the kids
-Had school with the kids
-Vacuumed
-Mopped
-Scrubbed
-Polished
-Washed Laundry
-Bathed the dog
And it's only 3:27! I even know what we're having for dinner. You should have seen the horror our house was last night. Actually, I wouldn't want anyone to see that. Jim didn't even argue when I said it was the dirtiest our home has EVER been. Bad. Bad. Bad. Now it looks good, good, good, and I gave the kids my undivided attention despite the housework! So I feel like Super Mom today. (It's too bad we probably won't see her again for several months.) Now to decide if I'll use my (much earned) downtime to catch up blogs or start a new book. Hmm...
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Thursday, September 6, 2012
What A Day Looks Like
Every so often I get the urge to share what one of our days looks like, but I've never done it. People often ask me how we do school, and I have a hard time explaining it without sounding too obscure. It is especially difficult to explain since we aren't traditional with textbooks and required work. The best way to explain is to have someone read the introductory TJEd book, but I know most of the time the person is expressing too casual of an interest to delve that deep. This won't explain TJEd (I unsuccessfully tried that in some of my earliest posts.), but rather will show what TJEd looks like in our home right now. Perhaps this will be enlightening. If not, I've been wanting to do this anyway. :)
Our days vary from good to bad depending on how much of my undivided attention I give my kids. I've found that to be the only thing I need to measure to know how well school is going. As a result, school days are generally very peaceful and contenting for us, and that spreads into the rest of our family life. I unfortunately have days where my attention gets set aside for one reason or other, and those are the days that life doesn't feel quite so peaceful.
Anyway, each day is different because we don't follow a routine. I love that flexibility. Certain things happen daily, but not necessarily at the same time or in the same order.
Today was a pretty normal day. We started the day at 8am when the kids woke up. (We don't have a very early bedtime because it allows us to have more family time with Jim in the evenings since he gets home late.) I'd been awake for about 30min. and was working on having an alert brain. The kids ate breakfast while I had some personal scripture/ journal time. Ideally, I would have done this before they woke up, but that doesn't always happen, especially during certain seasons of life. They understand this time is important to assure they have a good mom for the day, so they left me alone. :)
After they were done eating and I was done reading (8:30ish?) they hopped on my bed and we had an impromptu cuddle time. This is one of my favorite things about homeschooling. Because we're rarely in a hurry, we have lots of morning cuddle time. (I often relish the fact that I don't have to rush my kids out the door every morning.) We get to start the day loving each other. This a time that we have some of our best talks, and often it turns into a reading time. I love this chance to look into their eyes and hear whatever is on their minds. Today Annie had me nose to nose and rubbing her back. Then we got to planning what they want to do next week when my brother visits. We don't necessarily do this every day, but it isn't unusual.
I think we decided to get off the bed and get dressed/ cleaned up around 9:30. This is a good example of something that happens every day (unless the kids have permission for a pajama day), but not necessarily at the same time or in a particular order. I wasn't feeling particularly inclined toward housework or laundry today, so we didn't have any family work time. Often we'll do some family work in the morning for a short time.
After everyone was fresh, we sat down to officially have school time. The part that is planned for school time is the time itself, not the content. I generally try to have it for a couple of hours before lunch, and possibly some time after lunch. Depending on life, we sometimes start after lunch, though. We opened with a song and prayer. Then we had some reading time. Logan read to us first from an interesting science book he brought home from the library (that is way over his head in some ways) which prompted their curiosity. So we had some good discussions. Then he read us a story book, and finally he and Annie read a book together.
They were ready to move onto something else at that point so we moved to the kitchen table for some math. I was feeling nice, so math involved candy today (Nerds Logan received for his birthday). The candy definitely isn't regular (especially before lunch!), but it's a good example of how we manipulate things to learn. We don't use textbooks at this point, and probably won't ever use workbooks. We've been learning math from every day life to this point. (This is one subject I will likely use a textbook for in the future, though.) For example, Logan accidentally learned to multiply because his sister couldn't count high enough to complete her chores. She would earn a chore to pick up 30 items, but since she couldn't count that high yet, I would tell her to pick up three 10's. He picked up on the concept of multiplication as a result (and she learned to count as well). He learned to add multiple digits because he wanted to pay his tithing, etc. They bring a notebook to the store sometimes, and add up the cost of our groceries.
Today we used the Nerds to practice addition, subtraction, and multiplication.
Alex always includes himself in what we're doing which is wonderful (and challenging at times). When he can't be in the middle of what we're doing, I often allow him to choose something from the school closet to occupy himself. (I have an explanation of the school closet at the very bottom of this post.) Today he attempted to sort his Nerds like they were doing before he decided to simply eat them. He wasn't at all in the way today.
It was past noon when they were done with their math, so we started making lunch. While I was preparing it Logan says, "Math was awesome! Easy peasy!" He feels good when he solves problems.
After lunch, we had an important errand to run, so we skipped the time I normally read aloud to the kids. We are constantly listening to CD books in the car, so they had some listening time while we were running our errand. It's always hard to stop the car when we arrive at our destination or home because we're so interested in the book we are listening to. :) Reading aloud to the kids is a huge part of what I do almost every day. That's when we explore anything interesting and the kids make connections in their minds. This time will often prompt a project for the next day. This was skipped today, but yesterday we spent that time reading about science marvels and mysteries (which prompted Logan's reading about it this morning).
Upon arriving home (2:30?), I needed to attend to adult business, so the kids had time to do whatever they wanted. I took this picture yesterday, but it's a good example of what I find them doing in their down time. Logan was reading picture scriptures to his brother and sister yesterday. Today they were huddled together drawing and writing. Logan was writing a book about some birds he drew, Annie was writing random numbers and letters, and Alex was scribbling. They moved on to drawing flowers, and I now have a dozen gifted pictures sitting next to me. Just now Logan brought me the seed of a grape and asked if we could plant it. He'd moved onto a snack, and became curious.
Our evening hasn't happened yet, but I'll describe our evenings a little bit because they play into our home education. During afternoon downtime, Alex usually takes a nap, while Annie and Logan play outside, downstairs, or occupy themselves quietly on the main floor. I'm convinced they do a lot of their learning during this time since they love to role play, build, and look at books. Often I let them use the school closet during this time.
Shortly before dinner we usually have some family work time. This is when the kids and I straighten the house if it needs it. They've become really good helpers because we've been consistent with their responsibilities in this area recently.
Dinner time happens roughly when Jim arrives home (6 or 6:30) and then we hold tight to our family time as many evenings a week as possible. This time often involves reading aloud as a family, not story books, but long books of interest to us all. When we aren't reading, we're usually just being together doing nothing in particular, or working on individual projects in the same room. We talk, the kids play and talk, and sometimes family work happens in the evenings as needed. Since we don't have a tv, and we average watching a movie anywhere from once a week to once a month, this isn't a distraction most evenings. I can't deny that the computer is a distraction more often than it should be for Jim and I, but we do try to minimize that because we want to have good family time.
Bedtime happens anywhere between 8:30 and 9:30, hence we don't wake extremely early, but it's worth it for the extra family time we have.
So that's a day in the life of this TJEd family. I don't know if this was worth reading, but I wanted it on our record anyhow.
Since I mentioned it above, here's an explanation of our school closet. It really is a great thing for our family. The closet contains lots of art supplies, some kid games, puzzles, clay, educational materials, and other miscellaneous 'fun but messy' or educational/ special toys/ supplies. The shelves are arranged such that paints, scissors, glue, and anything else that needs adult supervision is on the very top, with the bottom being the most toddler friendly items. The closet is off limits 100% of the time without permission. I actually have it tied closed, so that Alex cannot open it, and the other two are reminded to ask if they want to open it. This is advantageous for several reasons. 1. They can't make a mess with certain items, or at least they are WAY less tempted too. 'Out of sight, out of mind' really works! We have yet for the kids to get into the top shelf items without permission. 2. Everything in the closet is viewed as 'special'. 3. When I need inspiration or ideas for school time, I can open the closet and find a good idea. 4. When I need something special to occupy them (i.e. when they have a babysitter, or I'm not feeling good) it's there and ready. 5. They view all of our 'educational' materials/ toys as extra desirable so they are thrilled to use them.
We are in and out of the closet a lot during school time most days, and Annie and Logan often have permission to use the lower shelves during Alex's nap. The closet is where I turn when I need to occupy Alex during school time, and then he feels like he's having his own special school time.
Our days vary from good to bad depending on how much of my undivided attention I give my kids. I've found that to be the only thing I need to measure to know how well school is going. As a result, school days are generally very peaceful and contenting for us, and that spreads into the rest of our family life. I unfortunately have days where my attention gets set aside for one reason or other, and those are the days that life doesn't feel quite so peaceful.
Anyway, each day is different because we don't follow a routine. I love that flexibility. Certain things happen daily, but not necessarily at the same time or in the same order.
Today was a pretty normal day. We started the day at 8am when the kids woke up. (We don't have a very early bedtime because it allows us to have more family time with Jim in the evenings since he gets home late.) I'd been awake for about 30min. and was working on having an alert brain. The kids ate breakfast while I had some personal scripture/ journal time. Ideally, I would have done this before they woke up, but that doesn't always happen, especially during certain seasons of life. They understand this time is important to assure they have a good mom for the day, so they left me alone. :)
After they were done eating and I was done reading (8:30ish?) they hopped on my bed and we had an impromptu cuddle time. This is one of my favorite things about homeschooling. Because we're rarely in a hurry, we have lots of morning cuddle time. (I often relish the fact that I don't have to rush my kids out the door every morning.) We get to start the day loving each other. This a time that we have some of our best talks, and often it turns into a reading time. I love this chance to look into their eyes and hear whatever is on their minds. Today Annie had me nose to nose and rubbing her back. Then we got to planning what they want to do next week when my brother visits. We don't necessarily do this every day, but it isn't unusual.
I think we decided to get off the bed and get dressed/ cleaned up around 9:30. This is a good example of something that happens every day (unless the kids have permission for a pajama day), but not necessarily at the same time or in a particular order. I wasn't feeling particularly inclined toward housework or laundry today, so we didn't have any family work time. Often we'll do some family work in the morning for a short time.
After everyone was fresh, we sat down to officially have school time. The part that is planned for school time is the time itself, not the content. I generally try to have it for a couple of hours before lunch, and possibly some time after lunch. Depending on life, we sometimes start after lunch, though. We opened with a song and prayer. Then we had some reading time. Logan read to us first from an interesting science book he brought home from the library (that is way over his head in some ways) which prompted their curiosity. So we had some good discussions. Then he read us a story book, and finally he and Annie read a book together.
They were ready to move onto something else at that point so we moved to the kitchen table for some math. I was feeling nice, so math involved candy today (Nerds Logan received for his birthday). The candy definitely isn't regular (especially before lunch!), but it's a good example of how we manipulate things to learn. We don't use textbooks at this point, and probably won't ever use workbooks. We've been learning math from every day life to this point. (This is one subject I will likely use a textbook for in the future, though.) For example, Logan accidentally learned to multiply because his sister couldn't count high enough to complete her chores. She would earn a chore to pick up 30 items, but since she couldn't count that high yet, I would tell her to pick up three 10's. He picked up on the concept of multiplication as a result (and she learned to count as well). He learned to add multiple digits because he wanted to pay his tithing, etc. They bring a notebook to the store sometimes, and add up the cost of our groceries.
Today we used the Nerds to practice addition, subtraction, and multiplication.
Alex always includes himself in what we're doing which is wonderful (and challenging at times). When he can't be in the middle of what we're doing, I often allow him to choose something from the school closet to occupy himself. (I have an explanation of the school closet at the very bottom of this post.) Today he attempted to sort his Nerds like they were doing before he decided to simply eat them. He wasn't at all in the way today.
It was past noon when they were done with their math, so we started making lunch. While I was preparing it Logan says, "Math was awesome! Easy peasy!" He feels good when he solves problems.
After lunch, we had an important errand to run, so we skipped the time I normally read aloud to the kids. We are constantly listening to CD books in the car, so they had some listening time while we were running our errand. It's always hard to stop the car when we arrive at our destination or home because we're so interested in the book we are listening to. :) Reading aloud to the kids is a huge part of what I do almost every day. That's when we explore anything interesting and the kids make connections in their minds. This time will often prompt a project for the next day. This was skipped today, but yesterday we spent that time reading about science marvels and mysteries (which prompted Logan's reading about it this morning).
Upon arriving home (2:30?), I needed to attend to adult business, so the kids had time to do whatever they wanted. I took this picture yesterday, but it's a good example of what I find them doing in their down time. Logan was reading picture scriptures to his brother and sister yesterday. Today they were huddled together drawing and writing. Logan was writing a book about some birds he drew, Annie was writing random numbers and letters, and Alex was scribbling. They moved on to drawing flowers, and I now have a dozen gifted pictures sitting next to me. Just now Logan brought me the seed of a grape and asked if we could plant it. He'd moved onto a snack, and became curious.
Our evening hasn't happened yet, but I'll describe our evenings a little bit because they play into our home education. During afternoon downtime, Alex usually takes a nap, while Annie and Logan play outside, downstairs, or occupy themselves quietly on the main floor. I'm convinced they do a lot of their learning during this time since they love to role play, build, and look at books. Often I let them use the school closet during this time.
Shortly before dinner we usually have some family work time. This is when the kids and I straighten the house if it needs it. They've become really good helpers because we've been consistent with their responsibilities in this area recently.
Dinner time happens roughly when Jim arrives home (6 or 6:30) and then we hold tight to our family time as many evenings a week as possible. This time often involves reading aloud as a family, not story books, but long books of interest to us all. When we aren't reading, we're usually just being together doing nothing in particular, or working on individual projects in the same room. We talk, the kids play and talk, and sometimes family work happens in the evenings as needed. Since we don't have a tv, and we average watching a movie anywhere from once a week to once a month, this isn't a distraction most evenings. I can't deny that the computer is a distraction more often than it should be for Jim and I, but we do try to minimize that because we want to have good family time.
Bedtime happens anywhere between 8:30 and 9:30, hence we don't wake extremely early, but it's worth it for the extra family time we have.
So that's a day in the life of this TJEd family. I don't know if this was worth reading, but I wanted it on our record anyhow.
Since I mentioned it above, here's an explanation of our school closet. It really is a great thing for our family. The closet contains lots of art supplies, some kid games, puzzles, clay, educational materials, and other miscellaneous 'fun but messy' or educational/ special toys/ supplies. The shelves are arranged such that paints, scissors, glue, and anything else that needs adult supervision is on the very top, with the bottom being the most toddler friendly items. The closet is off limits 100% of the time without permission. I actually have it tied closed, so that Alex cannot open it, and the other two are reminded to ask if they want to open it. This is advantageous for several reasons. 1. They can't make a mess with certain items, or at least they are WAY less tempted too. 'Out of sight, out of mind' really works! We have yet for the kids to get into the top shelf items without permission. 2. Everything in the closet is viewed as 'special'. 3. When I need inspiration or ideas for school time, I can open the closet and find a good idea. 4. When I need something special to occupy them (i.e. when they have a babysitter, or I'm not feeling good) it's there and ready. 5. They view all of our 'educational' materials/ toys as extra desirable so they are thrilled to use them.
We are in and out of the closet a lot during school time most days, and Annie and Logan often have permission to use the lower shelves during Alex's nap. The closet is where I turn when I need to occupy Alex during school time, and then he feels like he's having his own special school time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)