A Fly On My Homeschool Wall

Thinking Aloud Item #8: I want to set aside one afternoon each week for service.  We might pick up trash at a park, visit someone in need of company, write letters, make cookies for neighbors, or . . . I don't know . . . seek inspiration as it comes. I don't serve much beyond the walls of my own home.  I know that serving my family is truly good work.  But I think my kids need the opportunity to see me reach further, so that they can reach further, too. Back to #6: I'm really thinking hard about the "mom-school" idea in conjunction with the new homeschool group. One idea is to use Mathematicians Are People, Too --one story and a hands-on math "play" session to follow. Another idea is to use Magic Tree House books as a guide for classes. Another is a bread-making class. Could I really do this? How hard would it be?  Too hard?  Just hard enough? Thinking Aloud Item #9: I'm making chore charts/schedules/lists for the new house.  We...

It is 5:30 am the morning after Christmas. We are (mostly)  moved in to our new house. The holiday hoopla is (mostly--we still have to celebrate J9 becoming J10 and do something for the New Year) over. We've had a month or more of no school, and the littles have missed doing preschool with mommy for months now. I mentioned yesterday to the kids that it was time for them to start thinking about school and work routines again.  E13 said, "YES!!!!  I am so ready!!!" Kind of took me by surprise. My brain, the same brain that has been utterly stagnant regarding school thoughts, is awake and working again.  That's why I'm up; I'm thinking too much to sleep. Thinking Aloud Item #1: I read a great post one morning recently (I'm so sorry I didn't take note of it to give the author credit and provide a link) about how to schedule for sanity.  She said to imagine the worst scenario possible for each item on your schedule and budget enough time for it...

We moved into our new house just over a week ago.  We didn't have internet service for a full week. We spend nearly half our time up at the old house finishing up the work that is needed to make a small house that used to hold a large family look good to the general public.  The other half of our time is spent driving to and from the old house . . . and sleeping.  And no one is getting enough sleep these days.  Soon, soon, we'll be able to find a rhythm to a life desirable. Right now we're in survival mode. Internet service was installed a few days ago.  Then we found out our computer is NOT wi-fi compatible.   So we ran errands and found the part that would allow our computer to pick up the signal that is now filling our house. Then we hooked it up. Daddy did it. And when Daddy plays on the computer you can bet there are either sports updates or maps on the screen.  On this first day of internet access there were maps.  A6, H...