Our Daily Routine

We are about five weeks into our 2012/2013 school year and are still trying to establish a routine. Mostly because for the last three weeks we have always added something else to our schedule.  The first week included our first co-op meeting. The second week included our first day at CC and the third included the first Cub Scout meeting.

Adding one thing a week may not sound like much, but I have "issues" with change... but that's a whole 'nother post in itself. :)

So before I get to our homeschooling routine, here's a list of what we do outside of the home on a regular basis:

• weekly CC classes
• every other week co-op classes
• two boys in Cub Scouts
• Bible classes
• counseling sessions 1-2 times/month (another post)
• 1-3 field trips/month
• of course errands and grocery day, too... gotta feed these boys!
• adding soon: swim lessons
• starting in October: Nicely Bright classes 1-2/month

Now for our at-home daily routine... which we are still working the kinks out of, mind you. :)

5:45am make Jeff bfast
6:20am boys start waking up

7:30am boys eat bfast
            chores/get dressed
            exercise
            table work (Bible, grammar, spelling, reading lessons, minute math, etc)

10:30am I start making lunch while they finish up
11:00 - 12:15 Lunch Break

12:15pm CC Memory Work / Notebooking
               Math - Witt and Nathan

1:30pm Witt and Nathan rest/nap time
             Will gets 30 mins computer game time

2:00pm Nathan 30 mins computer game time
             Math - Will

2:45pm Witt 30 mins computer game time


4:00pm Afternoon chores (run through the morning chores again)
4:30pm Start making supper

8:00-8:30pm Bedtime


The times are NOT set in stone.  We still have flexibility for things that take more or less time, but it's a pretty good rough estimate. 

How do you help your day run smoothly?

Apparently Disney Needs a New Ride

 Will, age 8, asked me to take a picture of a roller coaster he designed and wants to submit it to Disney. Here is his creation... of course it involves a train. :)

2nd Grade: A Day in the Life

Welcome to a day in the life of homeschooling at my house! Please note upfront that what I am about to write is when things go well and fall into place. ( We've already had a day where everything fell apart and we had to throw in the towel... or should I say grab a towel since we all got wet!)


To begin with, the boys are up at 6:20 AM every morning and ready to hit the floor running! Ugh. I finally started telling them to let me sleep until 7:00 and that has really helped. They get up and play in the toy room nicely until about 6:45 - that's usually about the time I hear the first scream or fight. LOL! A whole 25 minutes of not fighting. Boys!

We have really been lazy with our early mornings so far. I generally check my email and make coffee and breakfast (usually a random combination of fruit, milk, sausage or cereal/granola).

They continue to play or sometimes watch PBS cartoons (Curious George and Dinosaur Train are their favorites). If all goes well, everything finally comes together about 8:30 or 9:00. The tv goes off and I corral all the boys to the dining room table.

We work for about an hour at the table. Generally, Will is doing his handwriting or spelling words while I do the dishes and the other two boys do PreK worksheets. Then Will moves on to his reader and reads it out loud to everyone. After his reading, I'm usually finished in the kitchen and can give them more personal attention. Will and I move on to his Language Arts worksheets that go along with the story he just read.

And right about now, Wittman (age 3) is screaming for "MORE SKOO WORK, PEAS!" :) He's a workbook-aholic. I'll usually give him scissors to start cutting up the page he just work on and he's happy again.

Nathan (age 4 1/2) is pretty content to do whatever. That's just his personality. Sometimes he gets frustrated and gives me a "No moe skoo work - ever ever!" but I'll try to calm him down and tell him that he doesn't need to do anymore, but he does needs to sit at the table with us. Inevitably, he'll sit for about 30 seconds and then pick up what was frustrating him and try again. :)

Once the handwriting and LA portion of the day is done (which is the hardest for Will) and depending on everyone's attitude, we will all take a small break or I'll tell them they can take a play break while I read to them (Bible and/or World History). I've got some big-time kinesthetic learners on my hands. It amazes me how much they comprehend while they are busy doing other things. Personally, my brain would explode - give me paper, pen, and a quiet lecture please. :)

After the "break" we'll do some math and maybe some science. This is where it gets hard though because RightStart Math is really more of a one-on-one kind of curriculum and very teacher intensive. It's not really possible to teach 3 different levels at the same time so usually the two little boys are off playing again. We are wizzing through the math lessons right now, though, since they are mostly review... which is nice!

We usually eat lunch around 11:00 - 11:30. My boys are not big breakfast eaters, so they get hungry early. There is usually a long break period after lunch where I hop on Facebook or do laundry. Usually Facebook. :)

Nap time for the two little guys is around 1:00. So at about 12:45, I start rounding them all up again and have them all lay down in their beds and listen while I read a chapter or two from Charlotte's Web. Then Will and I leave the room for them to nap.

Will gets a book that he can read quietly by himself. When he finishes a book, he gets a sticker on his reading chart that we started mid-summer. The rewards are: Picnic in the park, Ice Cream, Chuck E. Cheese, Make a Pinata, 1 hour computer time, Make cookies, Visit the Dog Pound, New Train.

After reading, he is allowed to turn the tv on for 30 minutes to watch CyberChase on PBS. From 1:00 - 2:00 is MY quiet time. YAY! I'm usually folding laundry and watching Days of Our Lives, but hey... it's quiet and it's my time. :)

Around 2:00 Will comes in and asks for some computer time on PBSKids.org. He likes the Ruff Ruffman games which are more on his level.

Starting next week, I'll probably incorporate TyperIsland before PBSKids.

Will usually gets a good 30 minutes of computer time before Wittman wakes up and then it's his turn. Then Nathan will wake up and it's his turn.

Then they have free time to do whatever they please. Right now it is way too hot to even go outside, so we are all generally in the house for the day. The boys love leggos and Kid Kinex! Will usually has paper with him at all times writing down his stories and drawing pictures.

Friday the 13th

The day went just like a Friday the 13th should... horribly. Nothing went right. Nothing was easy. One boy wanted his pancakes cut up. One not cut up and no syrup. Another with syrup in between the pacakes and on top. Each boy wanted his fruit sliced or cut in a different way. Each boy was VERY DEMANDING on Friday. It was awful and it was not my most patient of days.

School was slow. Will complained more than usual about writing and eventually broke into tears. "Mama, maybe school is just not for me!" Which led to a conversation about how it's the United States law that children get an education - whether at home or in a school building.

We talked a little bit about how if I'm not doing my job and if he'd learn better with someone else then maybe we should consider going back to school. I try to be open to that possibility and let him know that it's his choice; I don't want to force the issue either way. In the end he calmed down a bit and said he'd rather stay home.

And then there was another upheaval after another upheaval. I don't even remember what happened, but it sent ME to my room behind locked door in tears. :(

Thankfully, my MIL called shortly after that suggesting we go out to the new splash pad before naps. It was dreadfully hot, but we needed to get out of the house and burn off this morning's trials. So we dropped (inside) school for the rest of the morning and went out for some fun (AKA Physical Education)! ;)

November Homeschool Recap

Back in October and most of September, Jeff was away with work. I got into a bit of a different routine with him gone (ie doing laundry and watching a movie after the boys were in bed). I was staying up really late, too, because I don't like going to sleep without him. I just really don't.
This made for a really tired mommy, who was missing her hubby, and getting really close to finding the end of her rope. Somehow, I pulled myself together enough to make the decision to cut out some school for November.

So November was our *Extras* break. I removed our Moving Beyond the Page comprehensive curriculum (we had just finished working on Community, so it was a good stopping place, too.) I kept Bible, Handwriting, Phonics, and Math. That's it.

(Sorry for the lopsided picture.)

Well, there were a few read-alouds about Thanksgiving, Pilgrims, and Indians, too. :) Oh, and I let the boys grind up some dried corn in the mortal & pestle. We also watched Disney's Squanto.

We talked about Nutrition when we discussed what the Pilgrims ate (not only for Thanksgiving, but also while on the Mayflower). The boys also had fun playing a free online nutrition game (which I liked until I saw that they recommended margarine over butter).

I also taught Will how to use a sharp knife and how to cut up the vegetables for our Thanksgiving dinner.

Then we made and sent cards to a few people we were thankful for.

During the month, we got "School House Rocks" from Netflix.

One of the songs talked about nouns. Which led to "Mama, what's a noun?" So I explained there are different parts of speech and we also briefly covered verbs and adjectives. We took turns making up short sentences and dissecting them. He caught on really well.

Will also sold popcorn for the cub-scouts in November. He and one other little boy raised over $300 in two hours! Buying, selling, money exchange, greeting people, and trust me... lots of socializing! :)

We also did a Think! project (although we never "turned it in").

In the early weeks of November when the weather was nice, we played "Red Light Green Light", "Mother May I?", and "Simon Says".

Of course, we also attended our homeschool co-op sessions. They had a show-n-tell day for Indian articles. Will brought his "headdress" that my mom made for the boys. They also had a *Indian* bracelet making session for the girls while the boys went outside to try their hand at shooting a bow! (The pictures are in my old phone - can you believe I forgot my camera that day?! Ack!)

Now that I think about it, maybe we didn't take that much of a break after all?! :) Don't I feel better? Although I have all this down on paper in my planner, I had it in my mind that we had taken a break. Wow. I love homeschooling! :)

Jeff was home for the entire month of November and we also enjoy some much needed family time together. Thankfully, Jeff's job allows him the luxury of enjoying his mornings with us, leaving around 8 - 8:30 each morning.

During November, Will's headaches got worse and we began seeing a chiropractor. Dr. R is great and has answered all of Will's questions. He is learning (and so am I) how the body works together as a single unit. He might not be able to tell you that, but he could tell you that his bones were out of place which gave him a terrible headaches.

So, here we are in December.

I've been unable to see beyond a day at a time this month. With chiropractor appointments, the Christmas parade, more popcorn sales, snow falling, Christmas dinners at church, and just the dailiness of life with three boys (and the laundry), we truly are on an *Extra's break*... and we're even a little behind. Ugh.

Today will be filled with Bible and Math. And packing. Yes, packing!

I leave for a weekend Ladies Retreat to Gatlinburg tomorrow!! A much needed break, wouldn't you agree?

Jeff returns from his final trip to California just in time to meet me at Witt's allergy testing appointment on Tuesday... please continue to pray that his food allergies will be gone. Thanks so much!

Hope y'all have a great weekend... I sure plan to!

First Day of First Grade

I must say today went rather well. I feel like I set just the right amount of work for the day and was right on the mark with where Will's strengths and weaknesses would be. There were, of course, a few last minute changes and additions, but overall it went as I thought it would. I am quite pleased! This will be a long, detailed post, but I wanted to record our first homeschooling day.

Yesterday, Will mentioned that we should raise a flag to let everyone know that it was the first day of school. I told him that I didn't have a flag, but that we could decorate a poster board to make one. He immediately came up with all kinds of ideas, so I knew that would be an impromptu addition to the day's work. :)

The day started with him waking before the other two boys and joined me in bed. He asked if we could read the next chapter in his Wishbone book, so I did. Then he asked about school and I said we could get started right then if we wanted. I suggested we start off with something easy and he agreed. I pulled out his phonics book and did the first three lessons. During the third lesson, he asked if that could be the last one and I said sure... especially since I had only planned the first three for the day. (The lessons are very short and quite easy in the beginning... we will eventually taper off to a single lesson each day.)

The other boys woke up and they all played while I warmed chocolate "milk" on the stove. They played inside and outside together very nicely this morning. They began with a short game of hide and seek and then I found them outside with a wagon hooked up to a tricycle. Very inventive little boys I have! :) They were also quite a bunch of curious little rascals as I put my new all-in-one copy machine together!

Will came inside and asked about breakfast. I told him that while I was cooking the sausage he could practice his handwriting. He was not pleased. He does not like to write. At all. He likes to draw but not write. Nonetheless, I sat down next to him, gave him a worksheet and helped remind him how to start and end the basic handwriting patterns. I only planned this sheet for the day as I know he hates it... sure enough, after just a few tries, he wanted to be DONE! I nudged him on and he finished his sheet, although not to the best of his ability.


There really wasn't a lot of emphasis on forming letters in kindergarten. He starts his l's and i's at the bottom of the page and goes up. He starts and finishes his o's on the "east" side of the letter and goes clockwise. While I suppose this isn't a big deal for manuscript, it will make the transition into cursive a lot harder. He really wants to learn cursive, too, so we're needing to back up a little bit and relearn some of the basics. When he was finished, I had him look back over his work and choose which ones looked the best. We put a star over the top of his choices (he really liked this part!).


After the handwriting sheet, we had our usual breakfast of sausage, dry cheerios, and fruit. While the boys ate on the couch, I read them a story about a country mouse and a city mouse. I asked questions about the differences in the country and the city and made conversation about how we just moved from the city to the country. Will made very good comparisons between the two and said that he would like to live in the country better because there are fewer laws. LOL! (I think he must be referring to the fire ordinance because he wants to build a bonfire and we told him that we are still in the city limits and can't until we move further out in the country. That brain is always going!!!)

After breakfast, he commented, "You mean that in homeschool I can stay in my pajamas while I learn?" A happy revelation for him, although he decided to get dressed sometime later in the day.

They all went to play outside again while I cleaned up the breakfast dishes and started a load in the dishwasher. Sometime later, Will popped his head back inside and I asked him if he wanted to get started on his "first day of school flag". He was interested, so I brought out the new markers, crayons, and colored pencils along with a white poster board (and more paper for the other boys to draw on). We talked a little about what we wanted before we got started and I helped with the lettering of "Boys' School". He wanted to make the letters of "school" like WordWorld. So we made the "S" into a slide, added a bell to the "h", turned the "l" into a pencil flying a flag, etc. We took several breaks and he continued to come back to the flag to add more through the day. He added a train (of course) for the children to be picked up in. Then came the Christmas tree, snowflakes, and icicles. LOL! He wanted to hang it outside on the fence, but when I explained that the markers would run in the rain, he agreed to his window instead.


Before lunch we sat down and talked about community (unit study from Moving Beyond the Page). We discussed all the different buildings in a community, who works in them and why they are important. There were two worksheets that went with this. He was supposed to fill in the blanks next to the buildings on the paper: "The ________ is important because _____________." I knew he wouldn't be interested in filling in the blanks and had already planned on this being an oral exercise, but he filled in the word "school" and the word "church" before he decided that he had had enough with that pencil. Once he put the pencil down, we had a really good conversation about the buildings. I especially like his answer about the fire department: "The fire department is important because they put out fires and because they seem to be able to do just about ANYTHING!" So true... when in doubt, call the fire department!

Lunch crept up on us and Will had requested spaghetti for his first day's lunch. We ate together and then I had each of the boys pick out a book that they wanted me to read. After the three books, I pulled out a "Dick and Jane" book and had Will read a chapter aloud. Reading is another thing he is not really confident with, but it will come with practice. I have already seen improvement over the summer without any formal teaching.

Before his nap, he saw a treasure box that I had purchased and wanted to know what was inside. I told him he would find out after his nap. He whined about, so I gave him a 3 second glance into the box of wooden blocks and spindles. I think that just made his curiosity worse! :) Anyway, we all laid down for a nap. I'm not really sure if Will slept or not, but he at least stayed in bed for about 30 minutes or so.

He got up wanting to get out the treasure box, but I suggested math first while his brothers were still asleep. I knew he'd fly through this. Math is his thing, although I don't think he knows that yet. We went through two lessons in no time at all. It was mostly review, but I wanted to make sure I was accurate in my assessment of where he was mathematically. We used (new) mini dinosaurs to count and group. After our lessons, he played happily with the dinos and then moved on to building with the wooden blocks and spindles.

After all the boys were up from their naps, I let them turn on a DVD as it was now really too hot to play outside. Grandmother came over for a visit and Will showed off his flag. We talked about how we still had a Bible lesson on Joseph to do before our school day was over. Today I was just planning to do an intro to the story and some labeling of a map. I asked him what he knew about Joseph, which was quite a good bit; however, I did stump him when I asked him what Joseph's father's name was. :) So, we had part of our Bible lesson while Gran was here!

After she left, we all did our own thing for about an hour and then I had to start planning supper (pancakes, bacon, and fruit). I got the bacon and fruit going for an "appetizer" to hold the boys until I could get to the pancakes since I was busy pulling out my new laminator! More curiosity from the boys on why I would want to melt plastic onto paper. :)

Before I got to the pancakes, I pulled out the map that we needed to label with the Mediteranian Sea, the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee, and Cannan. I had a correctly labeled map and a blank map side by side with freshly laminated labels. Will compared the maps, found and labeled everything correctly. If he needed help, I would tell him which direction to look from the previous label, ie the Jordan River is north of the Dead Sea. So we also got some good mapping skills in during Bible study, too. :)

Then we ate some chocolate chip pancakes to round off supper and I decided that he really needed a "first day of school" picture... Mr. Goof gave me this chocolatey grin:


Then there were baths and pjs for the boys, followed by family prayer and in bed by 8:05 pm.

It was a great day! The only thing I didn't do that I wanted to do was read the actual bible story from the Bible, but Will pretty much already knew it, so we'll dive a little deeper tomorrow as we continue the lesson.

At some point tomorrow, I need to do laundry, too. I have three baskets full of clean clothes that need to be folded and put away... not to mention all the boxes of stuff that need to find a home from the move. It will all come together in it's own time, I'm sure. I'm trying to be content with where I am and enjoy the moments that I've been given with these boys. Today was the best day I have had with them in a really long time. I know I didn't mention the other two boys a whole lot in this post, but they were here and definitely not neglected. :) I hope to incorporate something with them, too, but first I want to make sure I'm getting Will off to a good start.

My favorite comment from Will today was, "You know what, mama? Homeschool was a good idea! Taking Fridays off is even better!"

Love it!