It turns out when you stay home and actually spend some time homeschooling, an incredible amount of learning goes on. Hmmm. I’m going to have to ponder this a bit more. I went to the store for a few groceries but otherwise, spent the rest of the day focused on the children and school. Perhaps it is the contrast from yesterday’s busyness that makes today seem so productive. Or maybe it was our utter lack of progress Monday that spurred on our productivity today, whatever the cause I was very pleased with all we accomplished.
Look at these boys, eagerly poring over a computer screen. No doubt they are working on math drills or spelling words. Oh, wait, that’s Snoopy fighting the Red Baron. Oops, not school at all. Not pictured in the background is Tim fighting scoundrels on his Pirates game. Definitely a computer moment for the men folk.
David did his table work (Horizons math, Explode the Code, and Italics) and then sat down for an hour of reading with me (and Sarah). Points for doing school with the little ones. I love the Bible study/devotional book we are going through these days. It’s called My ABC Bible Verses – Hiding God’s Word in my Heart by Susan Hunt. Each letter of the alphabet has a Bible verse and a short story applying the scripture. The discussion section has you recite the verse three times and then go back and review the previous verses. Tonight David and Sarah went over the verses with Tim and were able to remember almost all of them. Definite points for children actually remembering something from school. Double points for scripture memory. We’ll have to keep working on the whole application thing.
Rachel and I checked math lessons. More homeschooling teacher points. Joshua and I caught up (well, tried anyway) on dictation tests. Loss of points since we are very behind and didn’t finish both quizzes. Daniel and I worked on our China log. No points as this should be done every day and we missed yesterday. We read two (long – I know this because the kids tell me, in dismayed voices, how many verses in each chapter) chapters of the Gospel John as well as Chapter 13 of Proverbs. Points for scripture. Double points for extra passages are canceled out by the fact that these are chapters we should have read over the weekend. We read several books on China and pulled out the Ancient China Treasure Chest. Points for hands on activities. Don’t we sound like a model homeschool!
Does anyone else keep score in their head like this?
By the end of it all, Rachel was begging for a break and Daniel had already slipped off to see the end of David and Sarah’s movie. Since they were watching Barbie Fairytopia, you know he was desperate. Ah, it was still good day with lots of homeschooling teacher points.
Too bad it ended with Sarah and Rachel both getting sick.
I don’t know if Sarah felt unwell or if she just sat down to read and Daniel decided to set her up with a cozy little reading nook. Whatever the case, she ended up with this snuggly spot and fell asleep by dinner time. Sleeping in the middle of the day is NEVER normal for my bunch of rowdy, rabble rousers.
Rachel ate a little dinner and rallied thanks to some meds. She came down around 11 pm, asking for a water bottle. She looked flushed and felt feverish so I presume the meds have worn off. I don’t think she’s going to be up for a piano lesson tomorrow morning. Did I mention that we have been incredibly healthy, as a family, for the past six months, maybe year? Tim and I are praying for a quick recovery for the girls and protection for the rest of the family. We’re greedy that way.
Rapid change of topics (hence the ‘rambling’ title).
Joshua and David have this wonderful friendship. I love to watch them together. They wrestle and fly paper airplanes and read books on Big Blue. Lately they have been slipping outside for Swing Ball and storytelling. Joshua is weaving, for David, an elaborate tale of several kings and their exploits. I don’t know the details except for a few names I overheard, Fred and Schmedlap (sp?) and something about a chicken. The stories and game usually come to a halt when I come outside. Obviously I’m the “wrong kind” of audience for Joshua’s stories. So I content myself with looking out the window. I watch them laugh and play together and marvel at the special bond between brothers.
One day he might catch up to you in height, Joshua. Watch out!
Just another piece of our crazy, precious life. As Tim often says, “This is the BEST family in the world.” With no offense intended to the rest of the population, I’m inclined to agree with him.
Kathy
