It's that time of year again. I'm planning for next year. ;) Until now, I have not required anything more than an occasional "Go play outside." This is starting to not be enough with this child, who would prefer to craft or read a book any day of the week, rather than sweat. She says she doesn't like sports, or sweating, or being hot, or swatting bugs, or doing "most forms of yard work." :001_rolleyes: Truly, she is her father's daughter. :001_rolleyes: Our state has no requirements for "P.E." However, I think it is time that we have them. What should I require? What is a reasonable goal? Our available options are: Treadmill (in garage) -- She seems to enjoy this, actually. Total Gym (in garage) -- She would need more supervision (from Dad) on this than on the treadmill, but she might enjoy it. Free weights Jump rope Bike YMCA -- They offer a free membership for 7th graders, so next year is the year for this. It's about 20 minutes away, and there is no money in the budget for anyone else in the family to join. Also, I would not be leaving her there on her own, so it will have to fit in with a parent being available to wait. Swimming -- Backyard pool, usually mid-May to mid-October. Summer Camp -- One week long; a very active, outdoorsy girls' camp. Family hikes -- Not often enough Should I have her log her active time, and work towards a weekly goal? Log overall hours, and set a yearly goal? I would rather keep the requirements geared to actually moving, instead of reading about fitness, KWIM? She reads enough as it is. Ideas?

We do not supplement CLE Math with anything other than real life.

I'm neither "mathy" nor "sciency," but I do have a perspective on this (from hearing my husband's story). Hubby said that, even though he didn't really love math, he did it because he loved science. Somehow, while in middle school, he became convinced that math was necessary in order to "do science." He took extra math courses (Geometry in summer school, no less!), and ended up maxing out all the courses his high school had to offer by 11th grade. The entire trajectory of his career has been in a science/medical/techy direction, and it started back in middle school when he tackled math to get to science. If I were in your shoes, I would not try to get my son to love math. Instead, I would try to subtly expose my son to outside confirmation that "math is the path" to doing science. Even if your son never loves math, he may still endeavor to succeed in it, simply from the love of science. I'm not saying I wouldn't at least consider another math curriculum besides R & S, but... maybe, in the end, math just never becomes "fun" for some kids? No matter what materials we use? However, a solid competency in mathematics is still the path to science, so if your son can see it as a skill set that he can gain, if he works hard enough, that may be sufficient motivation for him to climb the mountain. HTH.

Not enough at this point! I wish we could outsource a bit more, especially Art. This year (2016-2017), for 4th/4th/6th: Music Piano lessons (my mother) Choir (local children's choir) Next year (2017-2018), for 5th/5th/7th, the plan is: Music Piano lessons (my mother) Choir (local children's choir, if it is still up and running) French TPS French 1 or French 1A for oldest I wish we could: Completely outsource Art (at home, no driving!) Completely outsource Physical Education (at home, no driving!) Partially outsource Science (Chemistry this year, Physics next year) A better option would be to have a better brain all on my own, and know more Grammar, French, Music Theory, Science, and Math, alas. :crying:

I was going to say exactly this, but Ellie said it sooner and better. ;) If I was already feeling stressed, even with two drop-off co-ops, there is NO WAY we would ever sign up for a mom-must-be-on-site co-op (and never would we sign up for CC). Just my two cents. We started homeschooling because we felt, as you do, that we had no other choice. As far as we can tell, this continues to be the case, and at times I admit that I have felt a bit of panic, when I consider how constrained our options seem to be. This sense of dread also creeps up from time to time when I have to face my own limitations in teaching something I'm not really "qualified" to teach. I usually solve that by muscling through it, finding (at-home) resources to help me, and relying on the grace that God gives each day. But, getting back to Ellie's advice, yes, the best decision we have made (and continue to make) in our homeschooling journey has been to "be home." Our routine may seem boring to some, but it is wonderful to give ourselves the gift of uninterrupted time. Sundays = church as a family Mondays = meals, chores, exercise, pets, school work, free time (at home) Tuesdays = meals, chores, exercise, pets, school work, free time (at home) Wednesdays = meals, chores, exercise, pets, school work, free time (at home) + children's Bible club (church) Thursdays = meals, chores, exercise, pets, school work, free time (at home) + children's choir Fridays = meals, chores, exercise, pets, school work, visit with relatives (at home) + Family Movie (or Game) Night Saturdays = outings, errands, recreation, etc. (in community) OR yard work (at home) You don't have to fill up all your child's time with mom-planned, mom-directed stuff. In fact, I think a certain amount of "benevolent neglect" is a good thing -- each of you persuing his or her own interests for a part of the day. Find a way that works for you to accomplish the academic basics that need consistency (e.g., Math, Copywork/Composition, World Language), add in Read Alouds or audiobooks across the subjects (Bible, History, Literature, Science -- and forget teacher-intensive projects or labs), and establish a relaxed, productive daily home routine. Spend time teaching the children how to do self-care, simple cooking, pet care, and simple chores. Neaten a bedroom, make some soup, fold some laundry. Over time, you and your children will "run the house" together. My girls, at 10, 10, and 12, make a meaningful contribution to the work of keeping things going. When we work together, this ends up giving all of us more free time. Spend time establishing routines for your oldest student, for work he can do himself. For example, he could possibly review math facts or spelling words on his own, listen to music or look at art prints, listen to an audiobook while he follows along in print, or memorize poems or Bible verses. Again, over time, children are able to be more independent in some of their work. I will say, you are in the "hard phase" of things, with 3rd, 1st, and toddlers. That seemed to me to be the most teacher-intensive stage of things (so far), but somewhere towards the end of 3rd, 3rd, and 5th for us (twins + an older), my workload really became so much lighter. Yes, I have to "start the girls" on their school day, in a way, but there are so many components that they do independently (and are happy to have it this way!), it's like night and day from only a few years back. Now, 7th grade next year for my oldest may be a different story entirely, but we'll know when we get there! Spend most evenings at home; have family suppers, read alouds, early bedtimes (so you have time to yourself and also with your husband). I finally got to where I stopped looking at what "everyone else" does, all the running around, all the activities (that we can't afford). I mean, if a family likes that pace, fine, I have no problem with them doing it, LOL. But for us, what Ellie said -- "be home" -- has been the key to an enjoyable, pleasant, effective, and "doable" homeschool experience. Also, every now and then, I tell my husband, "You need to take ALL the children and go somewhere, anywhere with them, please." :D He usually takes them to the post office to buy stamps. Or to Midas for an oil change. :rolleyes: HTH.

IMO, your county is trying to "look good" on the website. Their high-sounding jargon is probably just that -- high-sounding jargon. I would not let myself be too impressed by what the webmaster put on the site. It tells you absolutely nothing about what real, on-the-ground students are doing independently (in 5th & 6th grades?), nor what you and your students need to focus on. I get where you're coming from, though, because I've seen it, too -- that "Look at what we're doing in SCIENCE (or STEM or STEAM)!" self-promotion of schools. I think a lot of school systems want their science (or STEM or STEAM) programs to look impressive, to come across as so cutting-edge and advanced. Otherwise, why are they making these videos? ;) From a bird's-eye view, maybe they are impressive. This doesn't mean that, down on the ground, they really are. Maybe the students are so distracted by the activities, they are lost on the concepts. From a website, it would be hard to know. I think the reality of it is more aligned with what Regentrude said -- "it's all about the math." Math, and two other skills: observing and writing. If your student is growing in his observational skills (seeing, describing, drawing, identifying, labelling, measuring, recording, graphing) and his writing skills (writing clear descriptions, succinct summaries, outlines, organizational skills, reference skills, etc.), and he makes steady progression in math, then he'll probably be okay with high school science courses when the time comes. Don't let the county website freak you out! :grouphug:

One more: It helps to listen to Regentrude! ;) No, seriously, I have been comforted in my woeful inadequacy over the years by regentrude's sage advice to (1) keep curiosity alive and (2) create a broad knowledge base informally on the way to high school science courses. I am serious about this, it has helped me to relax more than I would have otherwise. We just started doing occasional demonstrations this year with chemistry, and only when they would add something to the learning. I will say, some of them have been flops and some of them have been so cool, even for me. But we all do seem to prefer learning abstract concepts from a book here, too.

Chemistry this year, physics and astronomy on the plan for next, so... yes, I "feel woefully inadequate to teach science" all the time. The only solution I have come up with so far has been to plod along, anyway. While perhaps it isn't ideal to have to learn science alongside my students, if I am honest with them, they seem to accept that I'm doing my best. They tell me they are learning, in spite of my limitations. ;) I've told them (only this year), "When it comes to science, I am no longer your 'teacher.' These books and videos and the Internet are the teachers now. What I am is your mother, who loves you dearly, and who is finding and using resources with you, learning with you, and making sure we spend consistent time and earnest effort on learning these skills and concepts." It helps to back up and review our main science work every so often. Slow and steady wins the race. It helps to assign independent review from previous years' work. I keep it simple. Once or twice per week, the student's daily work list will state something like: "Science Study--Insects (10 minutes)" or "Science Study--Solar System (10 minutes)." I don't control what they do, what resources they decide to use, or any of that. It's more of a reminder to review and refresh what we have studied in previous years. My girls all seem to enjoy this. I think it's because repetition is the path to mastery, and they delight in having found it. It helps to occasionally say "Five Minute Science Study!" at the beginning of the science lesson, and then everyone studies their periodic table of the elements (or their element cards, or the structure of the atom, or their science vocabulary cards, or something else) for five minutes. It helps to use a video or two from time to time, when I am tired and really can't seem to muster up my inner "Happy Scientist" to get the science lesson going. I hate to admit that, but there it is. We have had a subscription to The Happy Scientist for several years (and need to renew it!). This is where I go when I need to borrow Rob Krampf's enthusiasm for the day, LOL. He is the best at conveying enthusiasm for science! :) Besides, my kids love the bloopers and adore his pets, who are always getting in the videos to eat his sandwiches. Fun stuff. It helps to use Ellen McHenry's science courses, because she knows how to make science fun to do. Some of our other resources this year are a bit... um, dry (God's Design for Chemistry, I'm looking at you). But that's okay, because once we "get through" those lessons, we move on to The Elements, which the girls thoroughly enjoy. Songs, games, skits, a Periodic Table Fairy Tale, little fingerprint people, and more! Here is where we also admit our geekiness and say -- It helps to have safety goggles and LAB COATS. Seriously, my girls just love lab days, because they get to wear their goggles and lab coats (which are big white shirts from my husband's old job with the company logo on them, so he didn't need them anymore). They love to put pens and a calculator in the pockets and act all nerdy. Not too much of a stretch for them, really. It helps to set up a Science Center. At least, it seems to help me, because there it is -- I am not always having to push them into science learning, sometimes they drift. ;) We have a shelf or two for the nature stuff (collections, guides, books, critter keepers, nets, rocks, etc.). We have a wire stand with bins for all the chemistry lab stuff. We have bookshelves full of science books, organized by subtopic and sub-subtopic. :001_wub: Biology, then Zoology, then Birds. From time to time, I will put a selection of these books in a box in the family room. The girls pick up books from this box and read in their free time. It's nice that they have that interest and all I have to do is provide the access. It helps to admit that this is a weakness. This is argumentum ad misericordiam, "appeal to pity." It works! I've had offers from sympathetic people to help my children learn science. I recommend you try it in your world and see what results you get. :biggrinjester:

We watched the "Families of the World" videos several years ago. On the "Families of Russia" video, there was a scene in which the school teacher had all the children in the class stand up and stretch. Ever since then, we've done the same thing, LOL. I'll just say, "Russian Stretch Break," and the kids jump up and stretch, touch toes, do jumping jacks, run in place, touch the floor, stretch again, and sit down. Two minutes, and they are always laughing at the end. https://www.amazon.com/Families-Russia-World-Mark-Marquisee/dp/B000AOEPR0 We have a treadmill in the garage that my oldest is allowed to use (on a slow speed). At times I assign her "20 minutes on the treadmill." I have three girls, and they all enjoy putting on "fairy costumes," playing music, and dancing in the basement. They do get quite a bit of exercise that way, especially in winter. We might, on a reasonably warm-enough day, go outside for a quick romp or walk in the back yard. Sometimes in the winter, we go to the park for an hour, especially if the day is sunny and not too cold. We can usually handle anything 20 degrees F and above, if we bundle up in layers and it's not super windy. I keep hoping for snow (seriously, I do), so I can send them outside to play for hours in the snow. At the moment, we have had something like 20 straight days of overcast skies and off-and-on rain and wind, but NO SNOW (well, not enough to amount to anything). So this winter has been rather dreary. If we had consistently low temps, we could build a backyard ice rink, but our temps go up and down and up and down. In fact, this winter has been a bit balmy at times, and quite wet. I told them today that if they don't "get moving" tomorrow, I'm making them "do stairs." This means they have to go up the stairs and down the stairs several times, to get exercise. They generally do not like this, LOL, so I'm sure they will come up with their own creative ideas for exercise tomorrow! ;) One of my girls went right downstairs tonight and boxed on the boxing bag with her father. She was taking no chances! :) If the back porch is dry enough, I send them out to jump rope. If the yard is dry enough (or not), I send them out to run laps around the back yard. I figure they will outgrow their muddy clothes, but continue to live in their bodies, so healthy bodies are a higher priority than clean clothes. I may sign them up in early March for a once-a-week swim and exercise class for homeschoolers. That will depend on having the funds, since classes here are so expensive. I might (instead) purchase an exercise bike, which would allow my younger two (twins) to also get some regular exercise in the garage on winter/rainy days. HTH.

Following along... heading down the same road, with the same questions. :laugh:

:iagree: One (nearly) 12 year old and two just-turned 10 year olds here, and we have come to the same conclusion -- yes, it is hard work. It's a daily decision to climb uphill, a bit at a time. This is so well stated, LMD, thanks for posting it. I think that we are at the season of homeschooling where it is mostly made up of these tiny, daily steps. I mean, there are days when I think, What did we accomplish, really? A bit of math, a bit of grammar, some spelling or vocabulary, a bit of composition, some history or science. Is that enough? The daily grind can start to overshadow the "wow" moments that we think we ought to have... or something like that. But it definitely changes from the younger years. Praying through helps me to let go of what is past and take hold of what is here and now -- because in Christ we have whatever is needed to move forward into the calling God has placed on us. So, if courage is needed, then that is what I ask for. If wisdom, then wisdom. And so on. We can trust God to help us learn to lead and teach. He is with us when we turn around life's corners. Still... I think my kids do remain curious, and having ample free time is a big part of that. We also still have those lovely snuggly read alouds! We're not giving them up, LOL, they are good for the soul. One really good thing about homeschooling these ages is that, if we can make the "daily dose" consistent and efficient, then the kids do seem to have more time to themselves than (I think) they would if they were in school all day. The kids across the street get picked up at 8:20 am (while mine are eating breakfast ;) ), and the bus drops them off at 4:20 pm (while mine are playing outside in the back yard). In between, we've had a (usually) lovely day, working steadily, being together, no homework to choke out free time, snuggly read alouds, time with rabbits, healthy meals, exercise, evenings ahead of us, and not too much pressure all day. Overall, a good life. Hang in there, vaquitita! You can do this!

Sunday Church Rest Monday School work -- Prayer, record-keeping, Bible lesson, Science review, Science lesson (new), Math, Composition, Vocabulary, Roots, Spelling, Choir homework, French, Piano A lovely evening of crafting and girl chatter So far, so good. Today went well for us, no glitches or grumblings like we had last week. I think that last week was meant to smooth us back into a full week of full-on school work. So it was worth the pain, LOL. We will do school tomorrow, however, two of the three are starting braces tomorrow. That ought to be interesting. Of course, this appointment has to be in the middle of the afternoon (because it's more time-consuming than an adjustment), so that cuts into the day. Oh, well, we'll make it up somehow. All is quiet. Kitchen is done, laundry is done, rabbits are munching hay and kale, children are listening to stories in bed, hubby is... where is he? I have no idea! He probably is "stretching his back" on the bed. Which means he fell asleep. Sigh.

I had a thought about this part. I'm not telling you what to do, but what I do when "things change" is pray about them. That is to say, when I sense things are shifting -- in life, in parenting, in our homeschool -- I ask God to show me what's next and what to do about it. I ask him to show me how to move onto the next thing, the next season, the next routine. It is always changing, in a way. But there do seem to be times when it's clearly "this is over, now what?" I think we need to be proactive in seeking out what is best for the times we are actually in, while at the same time reflecting on the seaons that have passed. HTH.

I have three children similar in age to yours, though mine are 11 (almost 12), and twins just turned 10. When the girls were younger, if we started off in the morning, we could be done by lunch time (but we eat a bit "late," around 1:30 pm). Now, with 6th, 4th, and 4th graders, we are never, ever done by noon. At night, after the girls are in bed, I type up and print out the Daily Work List (DWL) for the following day. It includes a checklist for their Morning Routine, and breaks the work down into categories -- Group Work, Independent Work, and Tutor Time (work done with me). The DWLs go on each student's school table. In the morning, the girls can come down, see what is on their list, and get started on some part of their Independent Work, and also finish up the Morning Routine. That way, if someone is in the shower, another child is working on her chores, and another might be working on spelling. They work it out amongst themselves, I don't micromanage showers! I just let them work away, checking on them, doing my own set of chores, prepping supper, getting things done, answering questions, moving things along. We meet for Group Work at 11:00 am, which usually lasts until lunch time (around 1:30 pm). Group Work for us includes prayer, hymns, choir homework, Bible memory work, Bible lessons, Literature, Science, History, Geography, Composer/Artist Study, and a few other occasional things (we never do all of these in a day). After lunch, we go over the work they did in the morning, work through our Tutor Time (explicit instruction, one-on-one or one-on-two), and wrap it up sometime around 3:30 or 4:00 pm. My younger two are usually done before my oldest, who has a heavier load with Composition (WWS vs. WWE). They head outside or downstairs to the playroom after that. Or, they might seek out some alone time in their bedrooms, typically crafting and listening to audiobooks. We sometimes go a bit longer on Mondays, but only in the sense that we morph into cooking or crafting, LOL. On Tuesdays, they are ready for some solid free time. On Wednesdays, we try to wrap it up by 3:30, because they need a break before church midweek. On Thursdays, they have to get ready for choir, but they have some free time in the evening once they're back home. On Fridays, the afternoon work typically crashes, with me asking, "Hey, I don't feel like doing History. Who wants to play Battleship?" And that's our school week. ;) That said, I couldn't make that routine work if we had a toddler. We had someone's toddler here for a day, and it was exhausting. :) In the morning, the girls kept saying, "This is so fun! I wish we had a little brother." By the end of the day, they were quietly confiding, "Mommy, I am so glad we don't have to do this every day! We wouldn't get anything else done!"

Saturday -- We went to the library's Paws to Read for my dog-loving children. They certainly don't need the dogs to encourage them to read, LOL, but the girls just love the dogs! While they fawned all over Buttercup, Getta, Smokey, Ruff and a few others, I worked on correcting yesterday's math and grammar. Checked out a ton of new books, came home, put it all away, washed up, had lunch, went over the math and grammar corrections, sent the girls off to play! ;) Laundry, some school prep, some organizing, and not much else got done today. I am relaxing. I'm not lazy, I'm just not going to push today. It's snowing here, we've been busy this week, next week will be even fuller, tomorrow is church, and I am enjoying the down time. I like to watch the huge flakes accumulate on the branches, while I sip my hot tea. Hubby is cooking tonight -- fish, veggies, something else. It sounds serious, with all that pot-clanking and knife-sharpening! Yikes! I'm staying out of his way, and hoping the kitchen is reasonably clean and degreased by, oh, Monday. :001_rolleyes:

:grouphug: It is, sadly, and for children, it is even more so. As for scaling back, not only will it be OK, it will be better, in the long run, for you and for all your children. All of them need you to be Mom first and foremost. Your top priority in a challenging situation is to maintain an emotional reserve to draw from -- so you can nurture your children, intercede for your daughter, make important decisions, navigate a complex system, do self-care, support your husband (he feels this, too), and hang in for "as long as it takes." All of that, in and of itself, is the work you must do, so if whatever you consider "school" has to drop back in order for these non-negotiable things to happen, then school will have to drop back. FWIW, I would do Math (as consistently as possible), Read Alouds (you read to the kids), Assigned and/or Free Reading (they read books that either you or they choose), Audiobooks (if you have them), and leave it at that. Everything else would be (1) keeping up with daily life (meals, chores, laundry, pets, exercise, hygiene, rest, errands, etc.), (2) actively pursuing all feasible solutions for my daughter, and (3) family cohesiveness, including fun activities that everyone can handle. HTH.

We got it all done and had a good week in the end. For some reason, I just don't seem to get on the computer as much as I used to. Overall, this is a good thing, so I'm not complaining. But I'm "slacking" with reporting to the Accountability Threads, that's for sure! Oh, well, at least we're actually getting to the school work. That's what matters most. Have a great weekend, ladies! :)

Bailey looks just like our beloved Clover. I don't think she looks grouchy at all. :001_wub: Our Clover is (supposedly) a dwarf lion mane, but she never had much of a mane. She's very sweet, the sweetest of them all. Another thought is that your Lop might be too passive to make a partnership work. What I mean is that, with Bailey's temperament being One Thing, and Rusty's being Typical Lop (? -- I'm guessing), Bailey may sense that this is not an even match, and try to dominate him all the time. He will be scared and annoyed, but not assertive enough to settle her down. From all I've read and heard, Lops are kind of laid-back, I think? Maybe he'd have to give off a stronger "don't mess with me" vibe a little more? For a Lop, I think that's unlikely. I wouldn't put him through the stress, TBH. I don't know, though. We've had four rabbits so far, and they are all so different from each other!

School Update -- Rough day. This time, it was their turn to flake out and my turn to be annoyed about it. I was on-track. Sugar Lump was lost in her room for two hours, has no idea what she did there (meanwhile, I was doing my work and believed she was doing hers). Squeaky was diligently doing all the things -- her rabbit, her chores, her meal job, her shower & hair, her bedroom, putting laundry away, and getting started on Independent Work. Squishy (who I thought was upstairs in the shower) was actually downstairs in the basement, playing with LEGOS. Which is fine, but not on a school day, in the morning, when she is supposed to be doing A, B, and C. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better. ... I could vent a bit, tonight, but maybe it's best to just wait. I'm feeling something along the lines of "lack of confidence" (what am I doing? how can this be accomplished? who am I fooling? how can I teach what I don't know?) to "how much is this going to cost me personally?" (and is it going to need to shift more to the student?). Sigh. That kind of day. Sorry.

No, only that sometimes it doesn't seem to work, actually. FWIW, we've never tried it. Our bunnies are all in the same space, but in separate pens. Well, we did try with Lilly (RIP) and Clover when they were littls (sisters; litter-mates), but once they hit puberty, they were not having it. So separate pens. I will say, though, that they all remain very much aware of each other and are company for each other in that sense. It's more than, "Hey, she got kale! Where's my kale?" They are a community of rabbits, each in his or her own pen. But they know when it's their turn to get out into the exercise area, get played with, and so on. Rabbits impress me. I never would have thought they were like this, until we had them in our home. When Lilly was sick last year (and died), the other rabbits were definitely impacted by both her illness and her death. I believe that Clover and Speckles (her brother; different litter) both grieved. I realize that would be hard to explain to non-bunny people, but I know you will get it. Let's just say that we all felt the emptiness. When Blossom came along, that tiny white bunny really filled up a room! :) I do think that rabbits like company, just maybe not sharing the same pen, if that makes sense. Is there a place where you can set up both rabbits near each other, but not in anyone's bedroom? You need your sleep, too, Jean! My only other suggestion would be to run a fan or HEPA in a bedroom, to block the noises. HTH.

:banghead: I was thinking about this very thing this week, how I do get snatches of "free time" -- for about 10 minutes at a time. And I end up asking myself, "What can I do in ten minutes?" Sure, I can switch out the laundry, LOL, in my "free time," but that's not what I'm thinking about as truly "free." :glare: It boils down to that time consolidation, I think. All the things on my list were things that would take half a day, minimum. It has been far too long since I really had (or made?) the time to "get lost" in something. I wonder, though, with middle schoolers, do we have that luxury of leisure? Do they? I really don't know, I'm just musing. I think that "doing school" is where we invest the consolidation of our time; for us, it is what we are focusing on right now. So, other things will have to fit in around the edges, I suppose. But other folks might approach it differently.

:grouphug: :grouphug:

I had a hard time staying on track this week. It wasn't the kids, it was me. :blushing: Christmas break was so nice, and.... sigh. On Monday, we did what we planned, but were a bit derailed by me starting a discussion about intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation. I asked the girls to make a list of "How I would spend my time if Mommy didn't make us do school." The results for each child were what I thought they would be (i.e., consistent with how they already spend their free time). What surprised me was my own list -- that I came up with so many pent-up ideas and projects just itching to be done. It sort of loosened a spring, and then on Tuesday, the whole clockwork blew up, LOL. It started off innocently enough. We had our Daily Work Lists (DWLs) all printed out and ready to work from. We were so totally on-track in the morning! Then I naively said, "Let's just go down and vacuum the basement for 10 minutes," and the girls looked at each other with that knowing look. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: I think I came up from the basement around 8 pm? The girls brought down food and water for me. They came up and made their own lunches. I worked, no doubt about it, and that basement is so clean now. Not much school work done (not that we planned to do more than a half-day, anyway). But that basement is super-organized, everything nice and neat. My craft section is organized down to the pins and needles, ladies. I set up my sewing machine again. There is room to workout on the other side, in the play room, which the girls worked on nearly all day. We put away the Christmas stuff, got out the January stuff (snowflakes, snowmen), organized the back part (storage), organized the laundry section, etc., etc. Oh, and we vacuumed it all, too, LOL. My husband had fixed the washing machine over the weekend, too, so we could get caught up on laundry -- seven loads, I think? We also had done our Cooking Class in the morning (hambone-lentil soup), and cleaned upstairs. So it was a productive day, just not a school day. Yesterday, to make up for my ADD-affected Tuesday, we stuck without deviation to the DWL. In the evening, the girls went to their church midweek ministry with hubby, while I stayed home and sewed. :D

We are using CLE LA (grammar portion only) at the rate of half a level per year, like so: 4th Grade -- 501-505 5th Grade -- 506-510 6th Grade -- 601-605 7th Grade -- 606-610 We're not up to 7th grade yet, but when we finish with 610, we plan to be done with our formal study of grammar. ;) HTH.

We're alive and well. We took a nice, long break from school, and I took a bit of a break from the AT. Hope all is well with all of you! Sunday 1/8 Church as a family Sunday Family Dinner Visit from grandparents Monday 1/9 (easing back into our full school routine) Regular chores, meals, laundry, exercise, pets, hygiene, and running the ship School work -- Science, History, Math, Assigned Independent Reading with written work Free time Tuesday 1/10 Regular chores, meals, laundry, exercise, pets, hygiene, and running the ship School work -- Choir Homework, Science, History, Math, Assigned Independent Reading with written work Free time Wednesday 1/11 Regular chores, meals, laundry, exercise, pets, hygiene, and running the ship School work -- Reports, Science, Math, Composition, Vocabulary, Spelling, French, Piano Church Midweek Thursday 1/12 Regular chores, meals, etc., etc. School work -- History, Science, Math, Composition, Grammar, Junior Bible Quiz, French, Music Choir Practice Friday 1/13 Regular chores, meals, etc. School work -- History, Science, Math, Reading, Grammar, Spelling, French, Piano Free time -- Family Hike? I don't know, we're in the 20s (or below) all week. I think more snow is coming, too, so maybe we'll have another Family Game Night here at home. Roasty-toasty. We missed the worst of the last snowstorm -- it hit north of us and south of us, but really only gave us a dusting. It's a wintery world out there! Saturday 1/14 Chores & errands Rabbit chores Winter yard work? -- I miss being out in Nature. Sigh. I want to wear layers on Saturday, and spend some time OUTSIDE. I just need it, KWIM? The girls are welcome, no whining allowed. I actually hope we DO get snow, lots and lots of good sledding snow. They all got new boots, sweatshirts, sweatpants, and wool socks for Christmas. Oldest got new snowpants. They all have big toboggans and we have a decent hill not anywhere near water or a road. Come, Snow, come! My husband was telling the girls the other day that he never played in the snow as a child (grew up in SoCal). He was 23 before he ever played in the snow (once). So sad! :crying: Some of my best memories are from time spent out in the snow. I love snow! Snow! Snow! Sledding, skating, snowball fights, snowmen, snowwomen, snow FAMILIES, snow angels, making igloos (yes, we did!), going out at night to see the snow turn blue in the moonlight, catching huge snowflakes on black paper and examining them with a magnifying glass. Awesome. We always saved some snow in the freezer, and brought it out in August. :rolleyes: When I was a kid, my sister and I made an igloo with rooms. It had a sheltered entrance that curved. Inside, we had her room and my room, with a little window of ice in between. The walls had small shelves, and we put in tiny candles (which sort of melted our walls, but whatever -- more snow outside)! :laugh: We brought out old rugs and made that place so cozy and warm. We made a "sofa" out of snow, and covered it with rugs. We brought out our lunch. We sipped our hot cocoa from my father's Thermos. Hours and hours in the snow.... One year, I built a skating rink in the low part of the back yard. Note to self: Mow the grass very low at the end of autumn. Then, build your ice in layers over time. I never had a hockey stick, just a stick with a curve at the bottom. No puck, just a flat rock. That was a fun winter, one in which I imagined I was a famous Canadian female ice hockey player with no missing teeth. :D Lots of maple syrup on my pancakes that year.