Roses and Thorns Weekly Wrap Up - blog or not!!!

[FriedClams]

I'm super behind, so no blog post for me yet....

 

But how did your week go? Roses (good)? Thorns (bad)? Any breakthroughs, lessons learned or cool trips? SHARE!!! :-)

[happypamama]

LOVE the title of this post!

 

Thorns: My older children complain.  Okay, let's try that again, because they have a valid point, and "complain" puts a negative spin on it, which prejudices me against considering their point.  My older children assert that they have to wait too long to get their slot with me.  My second child, in particular, says he really needs to start math with me earlier, or he just gets tired, and then it's no fun, not to mention tedious.  This child loves math and gets it quickly, but he IS very susceptible to being tired/hungry/etc.  However, I have the 3 and 5yo's, and while they don't need portfolios to be filled this year, they do need and want some focused attention from me, but if I don't put it first thing in the morning after breakfast, while the big kids are working independently, it won't happen.  I need three of me for that first block of time. :)

 

Roses: First co-op session was a success (for the children, as well as for the part I'm teaching).  

Kindergartener has made some reading leaps lately.

We discussed the force of gravity as it relates to other planets by weighing our 3yo and calculating how much he'd weigh on other planets.  Kids all thought that was pretty funny!  (And Kindergartener gave Daddy an adorable recounting of the project; I was impressed that he understood it so well.)

The other night at dinner, I asked DS1 (4th grade) to tell DH what he learned about in history.  "China and the Opium War."  That led to a discussion about illegal drugs and how they're made and exactly why they are a problem.  That was both interesting and cool to see a health rabbit trail appear.

 

Big rose: We've decided to rotate the first three blocks of time (approx. 45 minutes each, with a 15 minute break between each) around so that one day the 3yo and 5yo get me first, DS1 gets me second, and DD gets me third.  The next day, DS1 gets me first, DD second, and the small boys third, and the next day, DD gets me first, the small boys second, and DS1 third.  We tried it a couple of days, and it did seem to help; it still means that DS1 has to wait until later on some days, but that means he can complete more of his reading and history before working with me, rather than starting them and needing to stop when his was the second block.  We'll try the rotating for a few weeks and see if it works out well overall.

 

ETA: another rose: I inquired here a couple of weeks ago about doing Singapore but skipping the workbook, and we've been doing just that for the past couple of weeks.  It is working very well.  I feel like we have time to dig into the HIG "try this" activities more, and DS1 feels like I'm not piling too much work on him.

[Kidlit]

I just finished this week's Odds & Ends post.  

[kirstenhill]

Nice...I like the thread title too!  This was actually our first week...due to DH's work schedule the only time we could take a "summer" getaway as a family this year was the first week in September, so rather than start and then stop again, we waited to start until after our trip. 

 

Roses: 

 

DD actually asked for help with Math when she was struggling, and let me explain problems to her!!! Sounds like a small thing, but last year she decided she was done listening to me talk about math and no matter what I said to her about a math concept, she would cry and tell me that what I was saying didn't make sense.  DH had to explain things to her or she had to just muddle through and figure it out.  Not really a great situation.  Total turn around this year.  It also looks like we did just enough math over the summer for her to not forget much over the summer.  Overall DD seems more agreeable during school time so far this year. 

 

We love Treasured Conversations

 

Kindergarten work with DS5 is super fun and he is an eager learner. 

 

First co-op went pretty well, and I think I am pleased with how things are going to go with the class I am teaching

 

We really enjoyed the Institute for Cultural Communicators conference last night.  We are excited to join an ICC chapter this year.

 

 

Thorns:

 

DS2.5 (really, almost three) is causing major issues during school time.  Last year he was pretty content just to play during school time.  Over the summer he played with both his brothers constantly, and now DS2.5 seems really upset that, for much of the morning, no one is available to play.  I am trying just a bit to rotate the kids playing with him...but their attention span to individually play directly "with him" (as opposed to just playing and he follows along) is pretty short.   I've been getting out some special toys and art supplies for him and allowing some screen time...but it feels like it is taking a lot of energy to keep him entertained.  When he is not happy, he is actively making it difficult for us to work (trying to close the books or iPad, screaming at us, etc).  His brothers at this age either played alone or just wanted to join us (listen on the couch, sit at the table and color, etc)...but DS2.5 has little interest in this at the moment.  Still trying to figure out how to best work this out.

 

DS7 is kind of a "complainer"/glass-half-empty type of person by nature.  If he can't remember if he likes something or has any idea that he might not enjoy something he has a lot of negative things to say about it.   As we get back to school work, he has a lot of negative things to say about everything.  It improved a bit as the week went on and realized that everything about school was not as bad as he thought it might be.  ;-)  Hoping that by next week we'll have a bit less negativity.

 

Not sure I am going to love Science in the Ancient World as much as I thought I might.  Jury is still out on that though.  We did the first three lessons, so not enough to really give it a fair judgment yet. 

[Kidlit]

Nice...I like the thread title too! This was actually our first week...due to DH's work schedule the only time we could take a "summer" getaway as a family this year was the first week in September, so rather than start and then stop again, we waited to start until after our trip.

 

Roses:

 

DD actually asked for help with Math when she was struggling, and let me explain problems to her!!! Sounds like a small thing, but last year she decided she was done listening to me talk about math and no matter what I said to her about a math concept, she would cry and tell me that what I was saying didn't make sense. DH had to explain things to her or she had to just muddle through and figure it out. Not really a great situation. Total turn around this year. It also looks like we did just enough math over the summer for her to not forget much over the summer. Overall DD seems more agreeable during school time so far this year.

 

We love Treasured Conversations

 

Kindergarten work with DS5 is super fun and he is an eager learner.

 

First co-op went pretty well, and I think I am pleased with how things are going to go with the class I am teaching

 

We really enjoyed the Institute for Cultural Communicators conference last night. We are excited to join an ICC chapter this year.

 

 

Thorns:

 

DS2.5 (really, almost three) is causing major issues during school time. Last year he was pretty content just to play during school time. Over the summer he played with both his brothers constantly, and now DS2.5 seems really upset that, for much of the morning, no one is available to play. I am trying just a bit to rotate the kids playing with him...but their attention span to individually play directly "with him" (as opposed to just playing and he follows along) is pretty short. I've been getting out some special toys and art supplies for him and allowing some screen time...but it feels like it is taking a lot of energy to keep him entertained. When he is not happy, he is actively making it difficult for us to work (trying to close the books or iPad, screaming at us, etc). His brothers at this age either played alone or just wanted to join us (listen on the couch, sit at the table and color, etc)...but DS2.5 has little interest in this at the moment. Still trying to figure out how to best work this out.

 

DS7 is kind of a "complainer"/glass-half-empty type of person by nature. If he can't remember if he likes something or has any idea that he might not enjoy something he has a lot of negative things to say about it. As we get back to school work, he has a lot of negative things to say about everything. It improved a bit as the week went on and realized that everything about school was not as bad as he thought it might be. ;-) Hoping that by next week we'll have a bit less negativity.

 

Not sure I am going to love Science in the Ancient World as much as I thought I might. Jury is still out on that though. We did the first three lessons, so not enough to really give it a fair judgment yet.

I can feel your pain, Kirsten, with the little disrupter. My 4 yo is very attention hungry and it just about drives me bonkers sometimes.

[PachiSusan]

I was having a heck of a time finding this because I forgot what you called it! LOL Here's mine: 

 

Week 4 

 

^^^ Hee hee - I know how to do that now!! 

[FloridaLisa]

Okay, going to be brutally honest.   :tongue_smilie: This will be cathartic. I'll post here b/c I don't track this on my blog. 

 

 

Roses:

• Routine: After over a week of being completely off-track with my mother-in-law going into hospice care, her rapid health deterioration, her death and her memorial service, we were able to re-establish a routine.  That felt great! 
• Math: Ds 10's math is going swimmingly.  We're doing Saxon and I'm realizing again how math intuitive he is. I'm going to add in more hands-on challenges this week.
• More Math: Ds 15's math is also going swimmingly.  I'm trading off with a friend who is teaching and it is so freeing! Woop!  I'm teaching writing and it's going well so far. 

Thorns:

• Bible: I handed out copies of the Precept study on Daniel to my oldest. They were to do it every weekday and then we'd meet back together once a week. Saw once again that I must inspect what I expect.  They must have thought it was a good suggestion.   :glare:  Ds10 is doing his younger version very well. Hoping to get everyone on track with that this week. 
• Ds 10's writing: I really, really, really need to fold this into our routine.  We're supposed to start Aesop.
• Ds 10's history. I really, really, really need to get this set up on another computer. He's doing the VP Self-paced Middle Ages, but I need my computer and I just haven't taken the time to get him set up on the other. ETA: DONE! 

 

And a disapointment:

 

We had to pull out of chess club before we really got started.  I've been hoping to join this group for several years, one moved right into my area, the coach is a retired teacher, serious about his chess who volunteers his time. You couldn't ask for a better chess situation. BUT, it became crystal clear that we didn't have time for it. Technically, we did have that afternoon free, but it would take away margin and add homework and probably result in less peace, not more. So, I made one of the those hard decisions to not do something even thought it's good. ::double sigh:: but I'm satisfied with my decision. 

 

Lisa

 

[PeacefulChaos]

We've been out all week - Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown Settlement.  Last week we were at the beach the end of the week.  So we haven't had school for nearly two weeks - and I'm thinking about not having it tomorrow. :P  Mainly because I'd like to be on track with our days - we did 2 days last week, so part of me wants to start this week on Wednesday so it's even.  

Is that weird?  :lol:

 

I do have a blog post, though, about what we've been up to with school so far this year.  :)  If anyone's interested.