Maybe not the mommy award today
It may not have been my best work today..
We had a long day of academics where I seemed to have spent more time with my second and sixth graders than my first and third graders. When I finally sat down to work with my daughter on reading and phonics, she gave me quite the attitude. When she reads aloud, she speaks very quietly or puts her hand over her mouth or pretends like she’s tired, etc. I also get the phrase, “I can’t” on many occasions. I found myself feeling angry towards her, because I knew she could easily read the story. It’s more of her wanting to be lazy which doesn’t work for me. I even brought her to tears when I corrected her behavior. I’m not sure she thought that I hung the moon during her lesson, but the fact is that reading is a challenging skill to learn. It takes lots of practice which is what I’m forcing her to do, like it or not.
Another mommy note-I corrected my first grader for not finishing his math drill worksheet. Come to find out he was running a fever-ugh. Yes, not one of my more stellar days teaching.
I’m seeing double now from fatigue as I type, so I must sleep.
Exposure and energy
I let my kids watch a bit of the news today, off and on, to follow the developments in the Boston story. My oldest son was really fired up about the hunt for justice and said he wanted to be one of those guys who does that kind of a job. Oh, great, just what every mom wants to hear. Watching the news prompted some good discussions such as the validity of the news reports and what drives a person to commit a terrorist act. We spent most of the day in academics followed by our FLL meeting and a birthday party. I’m so fortunate to be around a group of moms at our club meeting who work tirelessly to see that their children’s education takes a high priority. So inspiring..
Spring is here, and I have a laundry list of activities that I want to do with my kids. Will blog that later. I also have business ideas running through my brain. For now, it’s in the wee hours of the morning, and I need to regroup for tomorrow and converse with my husband.
A side note-check out the math site, IXL. They have lots of tutorials and games for free that are really good. Calvert incorporates many of their videos with the Math in Focus books. Don’t sign up for IXL’s program as it’s not worth spending the money.
More tomorrow..
Gun class
My father, who’s a hunter and fisherman, lectured the kids on gun safety today and then showed them several types of rifles and pistols while discussing the history of each one.
We later had the opportunity to fire his 22 at various targets such as milk jugs and plastic ducks. The kids really enjoyed the experience, and I admit so did I. We are hoping to practice shooting again tomorrow to improve our skills. There are a few more days of vacation before we get back into academics so I’m trying to maximize our exposure to new things.
Shutting the park down with an academic itch
We spent the entire day at Six Flags celebrating a birthday. Lots of good people-watching to be done there.
We’ve been on an academic break for about a month now. I needed the break probably more than the kids did, but I think I’m about ready to get back to teaching academics even though we are only halfway into the summer. I’ll likely do a little formal/informal studies with them over the next few weeks so that it won’t be such a big transition when the fall weather rolls around.
There’s quite a discussion going on about schools having longer days and even shorter summer breaks. Something to follow and debate.
It’s certainly easier for homeschoolers to alter their schedules versus the public or private schools.
Ivy League Homeschooling 