Things I’ve Learned…
from the first three weeks of school:
Letting the kiddos sleep in until they wake up is a bad idea.
Getting them up and dressed before breakfast is a great idea.
The attention span of a three year old is surprisingly long when they have scissors and glue in their hands.
Routine prevents meltdowns.
2.5 hours of seatwork is our maximum at one time.
Uniforms are wonderful.
The binders are also a great idea.
Snacks mid-morning are a must.
Crayons have the ability to disappear into thin air.
A one year old can run an electric pencil sharpener with quite amazing precision.
Boys are unable to keep the original box for any art product intact.
Repeating something every morning is a good way to commit it to memory.
The phone rings more before lunch than it does the rest of the day.
Once we leave the house, it is impossible to get back into seatwork when we return.
I’m sure there are more things, but these are off the top of my head this morning. I will say that things have gone more smoothly than ever before. We are enjoyig our work and I’ve heard relatively little complaining. The honeymoon days of “I Love School!” were short-lived, but as long as everyone is basically agreeable, I don’t expect high praise for seatwork. We’re still getting into our science and history full swing, but the 3 Rs are established.
We will have next week off, but I’ve already told the boys that even if we are on a break, we will still do math and copywork right after breakfast. They were not thrilled, but accepted that fairly well.
We haven’t included any extra-curriculuars aside from 2x a month gymnastics, so it will be interesting to see how those integrate into our system. I’m holding out that things will continue on this path and I see that the key is for me to get up and get things moving in the mornings instead of relishing the fact that no one is holding us to a timed schedule anywhere.
5 Comments to Things I’ve Learned…
Karen – I’m learning so much watching you go work through these first few weeks. Thanks for sharing the plusesand challenges.
Also, I’ve been thinking that’s the one of the downsides to blogging – when I want to ask someone out for coffee or something to pick their brain, chat, learn more about them, then I remember *smacks forehead* they’re on the computer miles away! LOL
JackieAugust 17, 2007
Karen, I’m learning so many similar things! I don’t know why..but it has taken until the beginning of my 4th year homeschooling to figures some of these things out. I am also doing so much better with a routine, and getting everyone up and ready to start our day. Loosely scheduling our day has helped so much too! Snacks…. what a great idea!
yep..those are the first pagein the homeschool rulebook… :)
I’m trying to catch up on my blog reading. Sounds like you are finding your little groove.
I loved the “ultrasound” picture on the belly – too funny and quite imaginative.
These are excellent. Especially number three.
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August 17, 2007