Flexibility in the "Classroom"

A big benefit of homeschooling is the ability to form our own schedule. The main goal of our homeschool this year has been to develop a good schedule and pattern to our day. I wanted to make sure that when we get more intensive for Kindergarten, the girls could handle sitting still for just a bit longer.  I also wanted to make sure I got to know their learning styles. I would say we've essentially met those goals. Because of that I have learned the importance of being flexible in the "classroom."  (Imagine those quotations as air quotations. Our classroom is actually a set of desks in our living room. I look forward to the day that this is not the case.)

When we first started out this year,  I broke the day up into two sessions. I would have the kids do a morning session and an afternoon session of school. It worked OK but wasn't great, so I changed it up to just an afternoon session. I liked doing everything all at once so that I had time for other things, like laundry, chores, working out, and just playing with my kids. But still, it wasn't quite right. The little one was in full meltdown mode by the end of school, and it wasn't pleasant for any of us. So finally, I hit the right combination. I changed our schedule yet again, and this time it works!

We now have our school time in the morning, and we have never been so productive. Here is a basic description of our day:

Wake up and snuggle. The girls wake up at about 7 am and come right in to snuggle with us. We feel this is an important way to start the day because it gives the girls a time to connect with their Daddy, who works long hours at two jobs during the day. We do this for about 15 min, and then Daddy has to get moving to go to job #1. 

After we say good-bye to Daddy, we sit down to breakfast. It's usually something simple because I am not really awake enough to cook a big breakfast. Toast with nut butter and fruit, or wholegrain cereal with milk and fruit are our go-to meals. During breakfast we start our school day.  I read from the Family Time Bible that comes with our Sonlight Curriculum. I read at least one story, but usually the kids ask for more and we'll end up reading 3 or 4. 

After we eat we clear the table, and get ready for the day. The kids use the potty, dress, brush teeth and hair, and make sure they have clean faces.  We tidy our beds and make sure pajamas have gone into the laundry hamper. Then we go to our desks for school.

At our desks we sing the days of the week song. It's sung to the tune of Oh my darlin' Clementine:
There are seven days, there are seven days, there are seven days in a week.
There are seven days, there are seven days, there are seven days in a week.

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday,
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday,

Today is _(insert day of the week here)    , Today is _(insert day of the week here)    
Today is _(insert day of the week here)      all day.
Today is _(insert day of the week here)   , Today is _(insert day of the week here)    ,
Today is _(insert day of the week here)     all day.

We do this holding our fingers up, and each day has it's own finger. Simple, but effective, and the kids like it.

Next, we read our Read-Aloud story for the day, and discuss it. Then I go straight into worksheets.  The oldest gets two; one math, one reading/handwriting. The youngest gets one page with various subjects; right now we're working on colors. She already knows her alphabet and her numbers one through ten. 

After we're done with the worksheets we do whatever activity I have planned to go along with our read aloud. We recall what our story was about and continue to refer to it throughout the activity. Often this activity is something that requires the kids to get up and moving around. They're still little, so they need little breaks from sitting at their desks. After their activity, we'll usually go back to our desks and do a craft or art project. Once that is done, we are finished with their school for the day. 

One thing I should mention, is that our read-alouds cover the various subjects, so they are not missing out on science and social studies. Thursdays are Science days, and Fridays are Social Studies days.  This really is all the schooling they need at this age. After all, to quote Piaget, "play is the child's work" and I wouldn't want to rob them of that.

Throughout the rest of the day, the girls do learn life skills with me. They help with laundry, cleaning, and they get to help in the kitchen. The other day they got to make mini personal pizza's (whole grain of course) for their lunch. 

They have music time and physical education through play during the day as well.  They really are getting what they need according to their own little personalities and needs, and I am thankful they are thriving because of  it.

What do your schedule's look like? What have you learned through homeschooling your children?

Yeah, buddy!

Just a quick pop-in to say that I have lost 20 pounds.  All that hard work is starting to pay off. :)

I'm not going to bother with this week's menu, because the week is almost over. But I will generalize it for you.   Basically, we had rolled oatmeal for breakfast the first two days, and the rest of the week is cereal and milk. It's mostly cheerios, to be honest.  Snacks are apple slices and almonds. The kids get an extra snack, and they have nutrigrain bars this week. The kids are not on a diet, so I do not restrict their calorie intakes. For the most part, kids are very good about stopping when they are satisfied, so as long as I am giving them healthy food options and they remain as active as they usually are, I don't need to worry about it much.

Anyway, lunches for the kids are various sandwiches on whole wheat bread. They love peanut butter and jelly, but the like other nut and seed butters as well. hey like the reduced sugar options available at Whole Foods. They also get a fruit/veg choice, and maybe a special dessert like one cookie. Grown-ups had various lunches this week. Mostly salad with a protein. The first couple of days this week I had romaine salad with 1 c spicy organic chicken chili on top with a serving of shredded cheese. This was good for me because I had done an hour long workout mid-morning, and I was starving for protein.  DH gets salad AND soup because he gets really really hungry during the day. I think stress contributes to it, but whatever the case I have to feed the man. :)  The rest of the week will be similar lunches.

I have green tea every afternoon at snack time, alongside my apple and almonds. It carries me through so I am not tempted to sample the ingredients while cooking dinner.  Dinners this week have been meatloaf and baked potato with veggies, blueberry buckwheat pancakes (in honor of national pancake day), and tonight's meal is baked chicken breast, Texmati wild rice blend, and stirfry veggies topped with braggs aminos. The rest of the week includes meals like falafel and veggies in an 8 grain pita and Sweet potato fries (I don't eat those because I have lost my taste for french fries of all kinds, but the family likes them), scrambled organic eggs (which taste so much better than regular eggs) ezekiel toast with fruit spread, and fruit.

So there you are. That's pretty much how I am losing weight. I eat well, and I am exercising  a lot, and it's starting to show. Hooray!