Week in Review #3

Monday (Labor Day) - Hannah hasn't quite grasped the concept of weekends and holidays, which is perfectly okay with me considering how little time it takes us to do school.  So while everyone else had the day off we "labored" away. Har har.  Like any seasoned homeschooler will say, your kids are always learning and you need to take advantage of teachable moments through the most mundane tasks. 

Tuesday - I had to run some errands so Ryan did a couple of subjects with Hannah while I was gone.  I can never say enough how important it is that the other parent, or even another relative, steps in once in a while because it's just refreshing because no two people will teach a subject exactly the same. It's great when Ryan does geography with Hannah because he's had some much training with maps and direction through the Army, so he is able to get more creative.  Ryan and the girls also got down and dirty with finger painting so much so that he had to give them both a bath.  When I came home there was at least 10 pictures taped to the door.

Wednesday - I developed another nasty headache.  I'm not one to get headaches very often but over the past week I've had 3 which make me just want to crawl into bed in a dark and silent room.  It's pretty awful.  At first I thought it was from too much caffeine so I'm trying to cut back.  I had one cup of coffee this morning and then 45 minutes later the pain just crept up on me.  Ryan was so fantastic and insisted I take a nap while he got the girls lunch.  I slept for 2 hours. Wow. When I got up he and Hannah were just finishing the rest of her school work.  I had hoped to make it to the library today but no such luck.  I did, praise the Lord, make it to church.  Just what I needed.  Something I must always remember...whenever I don't feel like going to church that is probably when I need it the most.  The kids had fun in their respective classes and I received great encouragement at the homeschool support group.  I will most likely end up going to the doctor regarding this headache thing...stay tuned...

Thursday - It used to be after the kids go to bed, my night would then be filled with relaxation--surfing the internet, watching TV, but not this week.  I find myself spending that time preparing for school! I made chore charts for both girls one evening, I created (very simple) chore charts for both girls which age-appropriate tasks and they receive a sticker after completion.  I love that stickers are still a good incentive with Hannah...just like when she was potty training. :) Last night I created some (again, very simple) lesson plan sheets to keep track of the schoolwork, but to also write in little extra things we do throughout the day.  There are plenty of learning moments that are unplanned so I decided to start keeping track--an idea I got from the homeschool group at church. I even made a set for Autumn, even though she's not officially homeschooling yet.  I want to see on paper the different things we do which help in her development.  There are some days when I feel like we have accomplished nothing, so this will really help.

We finally made it to the library and spent almost 2 hours there playing and picking out books.  While I check out books Hannah likes to put change in the large donation bin the library keeps by the front door.  It makes me wonder how much we've actually donated with all the change put together. :)

Friday - We woke up to rain and thunder which we declared a "stay at home day".  Ryan was off work, so I could not think of a more fantastic idea.  We got a bit behind in reading but caught up quickly.  I wrote out lesson plans for next week.  I love seeing on paper all that we are going to do in the coming days. Addition seemed to really be clicking with Hannah today.  We use Horizons for math and the pace is great.  The first several lessons have been review of numbers and then the slows down as addition comes to play.  The Inchimals really help since Hannah enjoys playing with them and figuring out which animal is what number. 

Another great week here at Caulfield Academy. ;D