A new year always seems to begin with new plans, renewed hope, and positive changes. I think it's easy to look back on the year and see all the things I (we, as a family) failed to accomplish and to be consumed with the changes that need to be made. We certainly need to do some things better and add in positive changes! I thought, though that I would start with the things that are working well for us.
❧ Our Morning Routine ~ Since September our morning routine has been as follows:
5:00-5:30 me up
5:30-6:30 quiet time for me (prayer, e-mail check, laundry start)
6:30 shower/dressed
7:00 work with Sarah
7:30 finish getting ready/tidy bedroom
8:00 breakfast
9:00 rosary/read aloud
10:00 morning chores for the day
11:00 Alphabet Path with girls & Levi - independent work for older boys
12:00 lunch
after that the afternoon tends to fall apart a bit ~ we need to work on that.
❧ Boys completing math before breakfast ~ Aside from some initial complaining, this has worked well. As we are continuing to move more into the self-teaching mode, Jonah in particular is becoming more confident in his abilities. Jacob continues to struggle a bit with math, mostly because he doesn't really like to be challenged where math is concerned. I have tried several different things with him, all with the same result. I decided that the more he lacks confidence, the more he is going to struggle. I am going to require that he buckle down with one program (Math U See) and just get his work done. Trying to come up with the "perfect" program has become a way for both of us to procrastinate.
❧ Keeping our outside activities to a minimum ~ after a crazy 2009/early 2010, we finally learned our lesson. The kids are involved in TaeKwonDo two nights a week and Leah has speech and occupational therapy once per week. The rest of us have time to get to the library and get books for the week while she is at her appointments. Jonah is currently in need of an activity. He did wrestling for a short bit and as much as we thought it would be his thing, it doesn't seem to be so. Other than that our schedule is wide open. This schedule is working out really well for us right now.
Now we need to focus on trying to tweak what isn't working :)
I am linking up this month at No Ordinary Blog Hop
11 comments:
You know, in some ways, for all the reasons you listed in particular, I look forward to the new year. It is a fresh start...one to clean out the junk and start out with a clean slate. I a big fan of limiting extra activities. Life just falls apart when we have so many in our house. Beside the obvious, I really really enjoy our family dinners. Mabel and Stan will probably be joining Tae Kwon Do this month. They are excited!
I am looking forward to this new year and to officially becoming a "home schooling mom." :)
Pray for us!
Hi Jen!
I use Math U See with my 6 year old daughter and I have mixed feelings about the program, but I know no program is "perfect" either so we are working through this math curriculum. I use Saxon for my 5th grade daughter and Right Start Math with my 3rd grade son and all of the programs have their pros and cons. I am constantly struggling with trying to make my school day run smoother! I hope I can find a good rhythm eventually!
Thanks for linking up to our No Ordinary Blog Hop. It's always a pleasure reading and following your blog!
God bless!
Thanks for the peek in to your day. I struggle with keeping a routine even after all these years of homeschooling- I actually think I have gotten worse. I am so looking forward to getting back in to some sort of routine.
Fresh starts are always great! Undoubtedly, we have accomplished more than we think. Looks like you have a great routine going. Love your clean look and new blog wallpaper. My blog needs serious "cleaning up"! Add it to the long "to do" list;-)
coming over by the homeschool blog hop, we were supose to start bright and early this morning but after a rough night i am letting everyone sleep in
Hi Love your blog -- came from the blog hop at the homeschool chic!!
Looks wonderful! Came by from the Hip Homeschool Hop to say hello.
I agree with what Tiffany said, that we tend to think ugh, what did I accomplish with my children today, and yet, we do do far more than we think and give ourselves credit for. your morning schedule looks tightly organized and like you are using your time and your children's time very well. I always love a fresh start too. clean slates are great.
Thanks for sharing your day with us. I am looking forward to a new year as well. We have some tweaking to do, but I know all will work out the way God wants it to! Thanks for joining in the Hip Homeschool Hop!
Thanks for joining the No ordinary blog hop. I should get up early too to better prepare for the day but I like my sleep too much:) I am trying to tweak our schedule too less outside activity and more school but then some amazing fieldtrip comes up and it ruins my plans:) Good luck with the tweaking
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