Playing catch-up and saying no
I was on one of our local co-op sites early this morning reading about the classes that they’re offering, and some of them sounded interesting. I had a fleeting thought that it would be nice for the kids if we were participating in some outside group classes. Then, the reality check hit me that next year I’ll be teaching 4 different grade levels, and there’s no way I can do a decent job in home studies and have the outside responsibilities of co-op classes, as well. Sometimes, you just have to say “no”‘because no is the right thing to say. We can’t be involved in everything. Maybe if I only had a couple of kids to teach, but I’ve got 4 minds to shape, so I have to be very selective on where we spend our time.
Today, for example, I decided to keep us home for the afternoon and evening and skip extracurriculars. My second son is getting over a stomach thing, and I still needed to work with my oldest on math. It was a gorgeous day outside, but we needed to cover a large amount of academics. Keep in mind that I’m one-on-one with each kid the majority of the time, so even when they are getting a break, I’m not because I’m moving to the next child. I spent all afternoon going from different subjects with each child, and I was constantly moving from room to room or getting back up from just sitting. I finished fractions around 10 o’clock with my second grader, and this was after I was reviewing fact families and number bonds with my first grader.
I still have quite a ways to go in our studies before we can say they’ve completed what they need to know for this school year (according to Calvert). My husband knows I’ve been in serious teaching mode lately, because it’s hard for me to shift gears from homeschooling to anything else. My mind is just constantly going on this, especially when I feel stressed about covering what I want or need to cover. I don’t even think I changed out of my sweatpants all day-that’s lovely. We did watch Looney Tunes after dinner. My girlfriend had sent over a left-over quiche which I was very appreciative of. I love free food, especially if it gets me out of dinner planning!
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Black Friday/Gray Thursday
Exercised this morning with my talented niece and sister. Afterwards, we took the kids to see “Wreck-It Ralph” at the theater. It’s a cute movie, although admittedly I slept through several parts of it.
Tonight, I’m out with my mother, sister, and niece to hit the holiday sales. Drinking caffeine as it appears it will be a long and eventful evening sure to bring some laughs. I do not do well with these scenarios. The madness overwhelms me, and I can’t process good deals from bad ones. I do much better in a small, boutique-type environment, but it’s all about being with family right now. I haven’t even started Christmas shopping. I’ll get serious about it soon and buy presents, but I’d much rather spend money on travel and experiences versus things. My kids, being kids, don’t really grasp that so we’ll see how it goes.
Went to bed at 3:30 a.m. Got up at 7:00 a.m.
No, I didn’t have insomnia. I never do. I was up planning out what we were going to cover for the next couple of days and getting our supplies in place. I think I must be imitating Martha Stewart (minus the jail sentence). I have a vague memory of reading an article that she functions on little sleep and manages to run a successful company (At least, I think it still is?).
Now its 10:00 p.m. I just finished reading a history lesson to the kids and am going to go eat dinner-salmon out of a pouch. Don’t be jealous..
Ivy League Homeschooling 