ErinE Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 We started last week after the birth of baby and five rounds of family visiting (seven weeks total). All the books are purchased and the two eldest have their individual planners. Instead of purchasing the planners, I created them this year with book lists, memory items, and a year's worth of weekly schedules. Positives: * Morning Time - I spend 30-60 minutes reading aloud science, math, literature, myths, poetry, etc. The kids draw or write while I talk. They love this time together. * Science - Ds11 is working on his textbook reading skills and doing well. Dd8 is enjoying the living books approach. * Outside activities - signed up for some fun coop classes Need to Improve * Math - dd8 has reached a point where she can't continue in her curriculum without knowing her math facts. One day she knows them; the next she knows nothing. * Art - I have the supplies and like the curriculum. We just need to do it. * Toddler - Spending hours pulling down books, pulling out office supplies, and crying for food, he's a big distraction. Dd8 doesn't want to play with him; ds11 wants to do nothing else. There's a small window of opportunity in the morning for school and the rest of the work gets done during his nap time. To do this week: * Art * Working on my attitude - I want to be patient and understanding, but not succeeding. Math is our challenge right now. Both kids swing between easy and rough days. * Continue the clean up of the homeschool room: Schooling was cut short due to baby and the room is filled with spillover from family visits. We also, for some reason, shelved ALL of our books, not just the school books. Should I need an Access 97 textbook or philosophy books on Camus, they are readily accessible. Unfortunately it means I have no shelf space for school books. It's time to cull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 We had a two week soft start followed by a week in Norway. Touring the fjords, seeing glaciers and visiting the Nobel Peace Prize center did make it an educational week :) But we lost our routine and have to reboot. Highlights: Outsourced Latin begins on Thursday and we are excited for that to begin. He is taking it through the Harvey Center, and so far I have loved the way Beth has set everything up and responded to my questions. (She is a poster here - Beth in Mint Hill, I think). Starting Fellowship of the Ring today for literature. DS is going to do well with Foerster's Algebra, I think. I am grieving a bit over leaving Aops, but I will get over myself lol. Needs work: Our physical space still needs to become better organized. And while writing out assignments and scheduling them on OneNote is great for both of us, it is taking me FOREVER to implement. I am still feeling unsettled with regard to writing. But he has started writing. If we wait until I feel settled about it, we could wait until eternity. Love this thread!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelenNotOfTroy Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Well, after our good start Monday, the attitude problems kicked in. This child fights with me about doing things, but he can do them fine. While I was reading to him today, he just picked up another book! I told him he could read instead of me or he could listen respectfully. Attitude really is as important as academics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Good: DS really kicked up the math speed today. He's always been slow with math. He's good at it and understands, it just takes him a long time to get it done. After many discussions over the years about math speed, today I took the sheet and completed it quickly to show him what I mean about a good speed. He then started working at that speed. Really? Rather than talking about it, all I had to do was actually demonstrate the speed I want? :svengo: Also good: Our biology experiments book came today and DS really enjoyed picking out what he wants to do. Not so good: I think DD is sick because she's still asleep, which is unusual. Also not so good: I really wanted out history study guide today. When I checked the tracking it said they attempted delivery yesterday at a time when I was home, plus they always just leave stuff on the porch anyway. Not sure what's up with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Got through a good morning: Latin, Math, Morning time and some writing. Not so good: I've got one kid who is insisting on carrying his lower lip around. I don't know what he's fussing for, but he's got himself in a real blue mood today. Also not so good: waiting on books. I'm terrible at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cascadia Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Doing well: * I got up and did my morning routine before the kids got up - 2 days in a row, yay me! * We finished school by noon(ish) Needs work: * I need to do a better job of keeping the kids focused. I'm going to try some scheduled play breaks during school tomorrow, and see if that helps to keep them from drifting off into play when I want DD to pay attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Good morning here, still trying to figure out the best schedule, it seems every day it is a bit different but today went well. Dd1 is done for today, ds still has BA and Lit. I went ahead and started ds on Horizons 2 Math and although she had a bit of whining she was feeling confident by the end of the lesson. I kept calm, helpful and persistent and she responded well. I've just got to push her a bit but finding the amount of push for her is challenging. I found it today and hopefully I can keep with it until I get her confidence up. I went ahead and printed up all these sheets for math practice for ds but then realized I printed the 0 facts. Then when trying to print up some review sheets for dd the printer spazzed out but at least I got dd's lesson printed for today, hopefully I can get it up this evening. The program we planned on using, LoE Foundations D, won't be printed until Oct so I'm trying to plan out her to best review her weak areas, so in the end it will be good as she needs more practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama25angels Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 We did star this week and we've miraculously had two good days. Things that are working well are morning time, taking several small breaks and having outside time after lunch, prayer (we have to pray before beginning the day. We really need this!). iPad education time is something else that I just started doing. When I'm working with one child the other one gets to use our apps. I did forget Latin today, thought about making them come in from the pool to do it, but decided the crying would not be worth it, will do it tomorrow. Things that need work is my Ds and math. This is frustratingly slow for us, and he has a bad attitude about it, usually by the end of the lesson his attitude has improved a lot. My 1st grader is a bit whiny about phonics but again once we get going his attitude improves. I really need to set up memory books in onenote and print for the week instead of every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My3girls Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 This is week 5 for us which I have scheduled as a catch-up week since we had the holiday Monday and a field trip Friday. Morning time is going well, and we get lots done... handwriting, myths, poetry, science, math facts, typing. We need to start earlier, though, I think. The day just gets away from us. Today we started at 10:30 and didn't get done until 3, which is not ideal, and we didn't even get everything done. I'm gonna try starting an hour earlier. Also, math seems to be dragging out. I'm not sure how to get them more focused there. I'm going to have to brainstorm on that one. I wish they found it as fun as they do Spanish! I would have no worries then. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 We've gotten everything done but history. Right now is lunch break, then we leave for music lessons, and we'll do history when we get home. DS just has to read 2 chapters and the book is really fun to read. I'm going to read SotW to DD and if she's not too tired have her do the mapwork. Today has gone smoothly and we're on track to complete our stuff! If it hadn't been music lesson day, we would have been done early. Tonight I need to look through some new books and hang our taxonomy poster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted September 3, 2014 Author Share Posted September 3, 2014 Everyone got math done, including the four year old who insists on doing school with the others. DS 9 and dd6 did handwriting, dd11is supposed to practice typing but others have been using the computer. I introduced ds9 to Timez attack, looks like a good fit for him. ds2 is not feeling well, so he is needier than usual. DD11 has dance this afternoon--a 3.5 hour class at the studio an hour away and it's my turn to drive the carpool. I should go clean the kitchen and come up with something for dinner before we have to leave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 DD11 has dance this afternoon--a 3.5 hour class at the studio an hour away and it's my turn to drive the carpool. That sounds like a pretty serious dance class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted September 3, 2014 Author Share Posted September 3, 2014 That sounds like a pretty serious dance class. Irish dance is her passion, and there's a regional competition coming up; she's never danced at this level before and we're all trying to figure out how to navigate the new expectations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop---so far everything is going smoothly :D The real test will be next week when she adds her online Arabic class... I finished writing the AP Human Geography test! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 First full day ... it's a good thing I don't drink. Too many days like this and I believe alcoholism might be a possibility. This particular child is heavy on non-verbal communication. I have been grunted at so many times today I started to wonder if I was trying to educate a piggy or a human. Lol! I'm only teaching one child and she has me feeling whipped! I'm sitting here :001_smile: because if not I would be :crying: . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop---so far everything is going smoothly :D The real test will be next week when she adds her online Arabic class... I finished writing the AP Human Geography test! Hey! I found your other shoe!!! It dropped over at my house along with a thousand unexpected others! I am not reporting back till Friday. Gotta clean up this mess... :leaving: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 I was thinking of what was asked earlier, what is going well and what needs work. Well- 1) We are getting everything done- I'm getting up early enough and we're keeping to a good routine 2) We've added in some extras- daily walks and current events and are really finding these worthwhile 3) We are working on the skills and content that I want to work on Need Work- 1) Expectations have increased for dd and ds so we're having attitude issues at times with adjusting- I think and hope we are are past the worst but it will take continued work and patience (for all of us) to get where we need to be 2) We are going long with our content, and I need to trim this some, trying to decide how to work on making this more manageable without sacrificing quality- I'm considering just putting a time limit instead of trying to schedule out pages/chapters or perhaps I'm going to have to cut some of our science and history for the year. I need to remember my goals and getting through the most material as possible isn't one of them. 3) I'd like us to have some more time for some other extras; more art, music etc but right now we just don't have time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Bwahahahahahaha! ROFL! Anyone who knows me well here should appreciate the irony of my what's going well and what needs improvement. Wait for it... DS11's math is going well! Everything else needs improvement!! That is rich! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 :grouphug: We are having the "We have to do school all day?! What's up with that?" adjustment here too. Latin is going well. Math isn't going at all. I still don't have my new curriculum, and what's worse, can't find that the purchase went through, although it said it did. May find more out tomorrow, but if not, I'll have to order it this weekend--again--and expedite shipping. I'm so very bad at waiting. Not that I can't find things to do, but I was so hoping for that to be here by now. Sigh. Had to deal with a morass of complaining today out of both boys, enough that I told them tomorrow they would have a jar with a set number of complaining stones in it. Once they exhaust their stones, complaints will be treated with the thankless chore they so richly deserve: baseboard cleaning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snow Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Loving this thread. What's going well: -having a real live checklist. Wow! Talk about life changing. (guess where my ds's exec function issues stem from :D) -science -MBTP and MEP for dd. Loves it. In the "not terrible but definitely needs work category:" free time/alone time while I work 1-1 with the other. This goes for both of them. Definitely needs to change: -math for ds. I just can't figure this out with him. :-( -getting back into history. He listened to sotw 2 twice in the last month before we were supposed to officially start it and it just threw me off. Need to get back into a formalized way of doing it again. On the plus side, I can't even say how thrilled I am that's he's finding some joy and curiosity again. -more material for dd. This girl has stamina. She can do seat work just as long as ds. I think I'm just realizing how capable of accelerating she is and I wasn't ready for it. Just two months ago I bought LOTW thinking, hey she's 3 this will be a nice gentle reinforcement. Uh, no. She made her preferences in this matter quite clear. At least I have the other two (MEP and mbtp) to fall back on but it's still not enough. She's done in 30-60 min and asking for more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted September 4, 2014 Author Share Posted September 4, 2014 Definitely needs to change: -math for ds. I just can't figure this out with him. :-( FWIW, math was a sticky point with both my older kids until something just clicked inside their brains and they could do it without fighting. For dd11, this happened around age 8.5; ds 9 just made the transition and I am jumping for joy. ETA both were academically capable of doing the math before this age, but there was some kind of mental resistance that made the process like pulling teeth. I mostly just didn't push the issue. When DD finally had her breakthrough I started her with second grade math and she tore through three levels in a year. Ds seems to be poised to do the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snow Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 FWIW, math was a sticky point with both my older kids until something just clicked inside their brains and they could do it without fighting. For dd11, this happened around age 8.5; ds 9 just made the transition and I am jumping for joy. ETA both were academically capable of doing the math before this age, but there was some kind of mental resistance that made the process like pulling teeth. I mostly just didn't push the issue. When DD finally had her breakthrough I started her with second grade math and she tore through three levels in a year. Ds seems to be poised to do the same. That's encouraging! Yes, that's exactly how it is here - you described it really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Good: We took our history reading to the beach yesterday, which was fun. DS loves his new history book and the guides finally arrived yesterday. We're doing history Mondays and Wednesdays so I have a few days to look them over. DD worked through her phonics quickly. At this point she's quite ahead of the program but I'm still having her go through it so she doesn't hit a wall later. Needs work: DS was given new music practice to do and it's a lot more challenging for him than what he's had before. We're going to need to devote extra time. Luckily something I was going to do tomorrow has been cancelled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cascadia Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Tomorrow is another day. That about sums it up. School went about as well as could be expected with a whiny, clingy 3-year old. He is now napping, DD is actually complying with working on a chore that I assigned ( :svengo: ), and I am going to do some of my own self-ed reading, accompanied by chocolate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Joining in near the end of the week...it's been that kind of year so far. I am only teaching one child, an eighth grader, and this is my third trip through eighth grade, so I should have this down. However, the past 4 months have been chaotic after my parents were critically injured in a car accident, 6 hours away from us, and I have spent a lot of time since then on their situation\needs. So I am starting the year already WAAAY behind the 8 ball. My father is temporarily living with us so that also affects things...I cannot leave him here alone. Whew. But we did start last week, slowly ramping up. What is good: ds, who has always struggled with math, is well-prepared for algebra (thank you HOE and Lial's Pre-algebra!) and we sailed through the first chapter of Foerster's (which in all fairness is review) in record time. He plunged right into grammar, latin, and chemistry with no issues. History, not so much. I got History Odyssey, Modern Times level 2, and it's proving to be more writing than my pencil-phobic child is prepared for immediately. So I'm figuring out how to ease into it. Starting the day is no problem, than goodness as this kid has always been an early riser. He gets sidetracked by the computer first thing though. Anyone else know of a way to limit this without being too draconian? I'm going to try a timer first I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitofthewomb Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 The past 2 days have stunk school wise. I did one kids work yesterday & the others today. A myriad of things have gotten in the way. So much needs work that I can't even begin to list it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Well I completely missed this thread and was actually wondering where it was earlier in the week. Silly me. Even though the week is almost over I'll still participate. Phonics and reading are going well for all 3 kids. Math is iffy. I'm trying to figure out how my nephew learns best but he's not very helpful. He just always seems confused and needs LOTS of prodding before getting the answer. When he does get the answer I'm often convinced I subconsciously gave it to him :glare: Its only week 2 and since neither week has been a full week I'm giving myself a lot of grace. We're all getting into the swing of a new routine so I suspect it'll take at least a month for us all to feel good about the flow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Joining in near the end of the week...it's been that kind of year so far. I am only teaching one child, an eighth grader, and this is my third trip through eighth grade, so I should have this down. However, the past 4 months have been chaotic after my parents were critically injured in a car accident, 6 hours away from us, and I have spent a lot of time since then on their situation\needs. So I am starting the year already WAAAY behind the 8 ball. My father is temporarily living with us so that also affects things...I cannot leave him here alone. Whew. Wow, that's a lot to take on. Please be kind to yourself. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 The past 2 days have stunk school wise. I did one kids work yesterday & the others today. A myriad of things have gotten in the way. So much needs work that I can't even begin to list it! Just list a few things if you can. You'll feel better and we can cheer you on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Well I completely missed this thread and was actually wondering where it was earlier in the week. Silly me. Even though the week is almost over I'll still participate. Phonics and reading are going well for all 3 kids. Math is iffy. I'm trying to figure out how my nephew learns best but he's not very helpful. He just always seems confused and needs LOTS of prodding before getting the answer. When he does get the answer I'm often convinced I subconsciously gave it to him :glare: Its only week 2 and since neither week has been a full week I'm giving myself a lot of grace. We're all getting into the swing of a new routine so I suspect it'll take at least a month for us all to feel good about the flow. Sounds like you are new to homeschooling your nephew? Is he coming from a b&m school? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted September 4, 2014 Author Share Posted September 4, 2014 Today is turning into one of those "just muddle through as best we can" days. Ds2's stomach bug is (of course) making it's way through the household. Ds4 and dd11 are both sick, and I'm not feeling well myself. Ds9 got up and did his handwriting and math mammoth work so he could go play Timez attack some more. I can't complain about that. I let dd11 quit after it took her all morning to get through one short page of math--she's really not feeling well (she wasn't working on the math all morning, it just took all morning of me reminding her to actually make it through the page; she's usually pretty diligent but obviously couldn't focus). I may try to do a reading lesson with dd6 at some point, otherwise we're calling school for the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 4 days down so far, and all have gone well. We've gotten everything done, and I even threw in an extra science lesson Tuesday! If tomorrow stays on plan, that will be a record. Lol. Today was a field trip, so not much school, but I planned it that way. Tomorrow will be a full school day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 It's been a reasonably good week here. It felt a little light to me, but we will be on vacation (camping) next week, so I wanted to wrap things up and start new chapters/units when we get back. We also had two Coursera classes ending that I wanted to be sure we finish before vaca, And since we've finished some things faster than I thought . . .this week is ending up light. It's ok. We'll be adding some things when we get back. Morgan is doing great, she's flying through her math, I'm thinking I might need to bump something up - either challenge or number of pages or move to time spent rather than pages completed. She needs the basic facts practice, but she has the concepts down cold. Maybe it's time to pull BA out again, at least a couple of times a week. Everything else is going absolutely swimmingly with her so far! Which makes me think we need to ramp up a bit. Because of course if it's going well, then maybe we aren't doing enough! :tongue_smilie: :rolleyes: ;) Shannon and I have completely rethought our math plans. My what a convoluted path that has been! I'm feeling good about the new plan, and she's doing well. But this week has been full of agonizing and rethinking there. I also realized, as I posted in another thread, that W&R Chreia actually *is* going to be an appropriate challenge for her. The first Chreia essay she wrote completely on her own with no pre-discussion, in a word, stunk. Not her fault, a good lesson for her that it's always a good idea to think first before you sit down to write! And talk about accountability - I have to hold her accountable for doing careful, well-thought out work. She will be lazy with writing if I let her. She can write well and easily, and so it's easy for her to just sit down and scribble something out that looks good at first, but when I read it closely I realize it's vague, and general, and glib. Anyway, we sat down and tore apart her essay this afternoon, discussed the assignment thoroughly, and she's going to rewrite it tomorrow. And from now on, we will discuss first, then write. I'm glad we had this realization now, and I'm glad that she'll get something meaningful from using this writing book. Next week, we're accountable only to the beach, the river, and our kayaks. Yay!!!! :cool: :001_tt2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guilfordlake Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Well, yesterday and today turned out to be a bust, much as I thought they would be, but tomorrow is another day so there is hope :) Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Sounds like you are new to homeschooling your nephew? Is he coming from a b&m school? Yes, I'm new to it as of last monday and he did come from b&m school. But he also has some delays due to a brain injury at birth. His brain now functions appropriately but I'd say he is about a year behind developmentally. He's in 3rd grade. So I've got to deal with the transition from b&m where he wasn't expected to talk or think critically much. But I also have to figure out how much is due to being in b & m as opposed to his brain injury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Well, our week is mostly finished, the only thing left on the schedule is one math lesson for ds ( a dear friend called who I rarely get to talk to so our day got pushed back- no regrets- we will have time tomorrow), however I'm going to go ahead and do math with dd tomorrow to split up a longer lesson with a test. Dd is really taken to Horizons Math and I'm feeling rather optimistic that we've finally found a good long term fit. I believe I'm currently caught up with planning and am looking forward to finishing next week and taking one off and getting caught up around the house and working on scheduling. I believe I'm going to schedule us some fun extras during our off week to keep a bit of a routine going, on the days we will be home anyway, we are going camping a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 We got everything done today except for our literature reading. I had saved today's reading slot for the readings DS needs to complete for his online reading discussion class. It turned out the password wouldn't work and the problem wasn't fixed until late in the afternoon so we decided he'll do the readings over the weekend. Our microscope slides arrived today and the kids had a blast looking at butterfly wings, bee legs, etc. I need to buy some immersion oil now that I have some well-made slides (rather than my homemade) that won't have a slide cover moving all over the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto4inSoCal Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 New to this thread (this site really) but it's really comforting to hear other people have ups and downs like we do. Some days I feel like I'm failing at this (3 weeks into our second year) and other days I feel like we are doing amazing and on the right path. Our good: Switched my 3rd grader to Math Mammoth this week since saxon was taking her about 5 min a day and she is doing so good. She loves it and is asking if she can accelerate through it to get to the 4th grade level. I feel like we are finally getting back into the school groove. The not so good.... While my 3rd grader is doing amazing at math my 4th grader is doing horrible with MIF. We are thinking of switching her to saxon. She's dragging her feet and not getting anything. By the end of the lesson she's pretty much crying and I feel like crying with her. Praying saxon will be a fit because I do not want to be switching math since it builds. I'm also not doing spelling daily like I should be. I'm really not into AAS but I'm sticking with it. I did not do my busy boxes for my 2yo twins this week either so they watch more cartoons than I would like. I am filling them up friday night so I don't get busy and forget again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 New to this thread (this site really) but it's really comforting to hear other people have ups and downs like we do. Some days I feel like I'm failing at this (3 weeks into our second year) and other days I feel like we are doing amazing and on the right path. Our good: Switched my 3rd grader to Math Mammoth this week since saxon was taking her about 5 min a day and she is doing so good. She loves it and is asking if she can accelerate through it to get to the 4th grade level. I feel like we are finally getting back into the school groove. The not so good.... While my 3rd grader is doing amazing at math my 4th grader is doing horrible with MIF. We are thinking of switching her to saxon. She's dragging her feet and not getting anything. By the end of the lesson she's pretty much crying and I feel like crying with her. Praying saxon will be a fit because I do not want to be switching math since it builds. I'm also not doing spelling daily like I should be. I'm really not into AAS but I'm sticking with it. I did not do my busy boxes for my 2yo twins this week either so they watch more cartoons than I would like. I am filling them up friday night so I don't get busy and forget again. Welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 wonky post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Our microscope slides arrived today and the kids had a blast looking at butterfly wings, bee legs, etc. I need to buy some immersion oil now that I have some well-made slides (rather than my homemade) that won't have a slide cover moving all over the place. OH, I need to get some of these, where did you buy yours from? New to this thread (this site really) but it's really comforting to hear other people have ups and downs like we do. Some days I feel like I'm failing at this (3 weeks into our second year) and other days I feel like we are doing amazing and on the right path. Welcome! Yes, we all have good and bad times, sometimes within the same week, day and hour! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 We're taking today off, except for music practice. We're spending time visiting friends and their new baby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 We completed a full week, including everything on the schedule and a few extras! :party: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 We did 5 good days of school, there are a couple of things to finish tomorrow, but that was because Shannon spent a bunch of time today re-thinking and re-writing an essay, not because of slacking. I'm fine with that! We have a new math plan. I revised our lit plan for the year. I exercised 5 out of the last 6 days. Yay me! And I decided that I really like To The Lighthouse - listening to the audiobook. I think I'm finally going to be able to cross this one off my list. (I've tried to read it about 3 times, but always fall asleep after a few pages.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cascadia Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 The "doing well" part is that we got everything completed today, while the "needs work" part was that it all took so long that we didn't really have time to do anything else fun. On to the weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 I'll admit it. I am whipped by the time 3pm rolls around. What I learned: We need to do school in the living room and dining room. Switching back and forth between the table and couch keeps 12yo moving and awake. We've always schooled on my bed. I miss it. 12yo needs frequent breaks. She is the queen of avoidance and zoning out. Before moving on to another subject, I had dd do an errand or chore which helped her stay more alert. It has made a positive difference the past two days. What we need to work on: Starting school an hour earlier (8am instead of 9am) Composition. It's always the first thing I drop when the schedule is crammed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 So remember how I bit my tongue when dd scheduled out her work on Monday? I thought she scheduled Friday's English on the heavy side. Well, at 4pm today she packed her poetry book and notebook in her ballet bag, saying she'd just have to finish writing the poem during her break tomorrow. "Everyone in company brings homework, Mom." :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiegirl Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 This was our first week and with all first weeks there was some good and some bad. The good: Morning Time went very well. It fit like an old but comfortable glove. MT is always the best part of my day. We were talking about virtues this week so we all made virtue trees. Everyone had a choice of the medium they would use but everyone chose to draw them with marker and oil pastels. I am making a conscious effort this year to be more hands on--this is hard for me. But in seeing everyone's delight in making the tree (even the boy and the 15 yr. old,) this will be a regular part of our week. The not-so-good: teaching a 13 year old boy. The first two days went very well and then the last three were just plain long. I need to re-think some things in regards to him - latin being the main subject to re-think. Also, my oldest has been sick since Tues. so she didn't get much school done. I am now hoping that the rest of it doesn't get sick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathie in VA Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 Well .. Got thru the week. On the good side: ds finished his first week of co-op high school homework. Although they gave him two weeks due to the holiday and he took both weeks to get the one week of work done. He already learned that he needs to read the assignments closer as he lost 1 pt for not emailing in an assignment by Tuesday and when they offered an extension till Friday he didn't notice till 1pm that it needed to be in by noon. Ug I have been focusing dd on her math facts for the past two weeks and I am really pleased to see progress! A 50 problem chart took her 15 min in the beginning but took her 2 1/2 minutes today!! We have also finally finished her test on the last unit she did in math...it took some review to get this done but she did it and got 18/20. Now we can move on to the last unit in SM 3a. We are also making progress with our joint read aloud: The Magicians Nephew. I did hope for my 3 yr old to listen in but this is too much for her. Oh well, maybe the next one. Instead I try to read better stories to her and avoid some of the kiddie twaddle. On the needs work side: Well ds needs to read his assignments better. :} I need to work on a schedule to include dd's spelling and writing And I still need to prep / print Lively Latin Need to work out a schedule for the 3 1/2 year old. She likes to get loud to get attention. The maze book was too easy...it's already done. Wish there was more educational shows on tv for her but it's mostly trash. Really need to work on maintaining my attitude. Dh is getting laid off. So next Friday is his last day. I know God will provide but ... Not sure how or where or if I should find a part time job or switch back to full time (been out n doing this for 12 years!). Lots of possibilities for his employment but no offers yet. Ug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 Highlight of the week: boys passed their Latin recitation with flying colors and earned the coveted "Latin Lizards". Low point: I'm beyond beat. Maybe I need some vitamins or something. Although as I look around the house I can tell that someone has really, really been working around here and I don't think it is a House Elf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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