Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Homeschooling Day 1

Today we are supposed to start homeschooling. It is now 9 am. Only one of the boys has had breakfast.  No one's bed is made. the books are still in the cabinet. Two boys are fighting, one is crying, the other is smirking because he made his brother cry, and one boy is hiding in his bedroom as far from the other two as possible just in case some of the blame for the bad behavior should spill over one him.  Great start.

Today's plan was to start slow. List what everyone, including mom, hopes to study this year.  Look over all the new books.  Do a little math, a little writing, and work on a daily school schedule. I am having a few problems figuring out how to school 3 kids at 3 different grades all at once.  I expect we will work it out eventually. When I home schooled Alonzo year before last it took about two months to settle into a  schedule that worked.  Hopefully it will go faster this time.  

In addition to the academic basics of reading, writing, math, science, and history, I really want to teach life skills like simple cooking and the basics of sewing and most importantly MANNERS. What  skills, academic or otherwise, do you think are essential for kids to learn?

They finally quit fighting and are checking out their new math manipulatives. Things are looking up, fingers crossed. 

I set out all their books on a blanket for then to look at but they just grabbed the math stuff and took it to the table to play with.

Monday, July 30, 2012

And She's Gone

After a month long visit we took Dave's sister Teri to the airport this morning.  SOB!  It is time to get back to reality. I haven't blogged much at all for the last month because I have been having too much fun hanging out with the coolest sister-in-law ever.

I promise I will try to post some of the fun we have had, later though, not right now.  Now I am supposed to be getting ready to start homeschooling all three boys tomorrow.  GULP!  Obviously I am stalling by playing on the computer so here a few last pictures of her leaving Malawi before I get myself in gear.

Brother and sister

And the rest of the group

There she goes....

One last last wave and she's gone.