A Week, Briefly (#8)
I was sick with a cold. I felt wretched. I took not a single picture. We limped through the week.
Monday:
I2 got to make a "D" out of construction paper diamonds. We also read the story of David and Goliath. Through the week, whenever I'd ask him what David said when he saw Goliath he'd crow, "I trust God!"
H5 and A7 did their book work.
So did the big girls.
It was sunny and warm in the afternoon, so the kids played outside for a long time. I crashed on the couch. That evening Dad read aloud to the kids so I could rest.
Tuesday:
I2 colored pictures of animals whose names start with "D."
H5 and A7 did their book work.
So did the big girls.
That night was poetry night, so everyone recited a poem before going to bed. I didn't make a note about who read to the kids. I can't remember reading aloud or tucking them in that night, but I also didn't note that Dad did it.
Wednesday:
I was feeling human enough to take the kids to science club and then out shopping for pants at the thrift store afterward. At science club we learned about spiders--big kids worked on taxonomy and little kids made webs and talked about spider trapping techniques.
It was our turn to bring snacks.
That was a blessing, because we spent 2 hours searching out pants for everyone (the temps were predicted to drop severely in the next day or so). We found lots for H5--everyone else got 1 new pair. We'll have to shop again.
We were very hungry afterward and ever so glad that we had leftover snacks. We all munched on the way home.
I was exhausted by the time we got home, but then I had to make dinner, see Dad off to work, and take all of the kids to youth activities at the church. All I wanted was to put everyone to bed early and tuck myself into bed with a good book, but the youth activities ran late, and it was well past 9 before they were all settled. Then I was too wound up to rest. I got to read, but it took a couple of hours for me to truly sleep.
Thursday:
The kids were all tired after a busy Wednesday, and all of a sudden I had adoption stuff to handle. We've found a sibling set of 5 that might (if the powers that be will cooperate) become ours. The little guys used all of their stuffed animals to play make-believe in the dining room. I let them because I was on the computer trying to get various social workers to communicate with one another until it was time for lunch and time to leave for dance rehearsals.
(So far the communication has not worked, but I'm still trying. At least the workers on the kids' end are communicating quite well. I'm praying over the one on our end.)
The terrible rain let up just in time for us to drive safely to rehearsals and back. While the kids danced, I worked on mending/tailoring costumes.
We went to bed early that night; some of the kids were having stuffy noses and feeling tired.
Friday:
I2, H5, and A7 sewed their letter "D" quilt blocks.
Everyone did book work.
E14 made a real breakthrough in understanding how to manipulate fractions. We've been feeling as if we were beating our heads against a brick wall for quite some time, but the wall seems to have broken!
It was very cold. We made homemade pizza, saw Dad off to work, read aloud and went to bed early, again.
Saturday:
This is not usually part of our school week, but I received an answer to one of my nagging concerns, so I want it recorded.
We did chores in the morning.
I prepped some freezer meals with J10.
I was exhausted and sat down to read.
The littles were restless.
The sun was shining, so I told them to put on their jackets and play outside. They asked me to come watch them. I sighed and took my book out to the deck to sit in the sunshine.
It was nice.
The older kids all had library books that they were lost in, but these little guys just stayed restless. The sun and breeze refreshed me enough to say, "Meet me at the van in 2 minutes!" I grabbed my wallet and keys and drove the littles and S12 (who needed a reading break) to the park. We only had 40 minutes but we made the most of it.
This is what I learned: Being outside lightened my heart and refreshed me in mind and body. When the older kids were little and wanted to play outside I had to go out with them. Now I send an older sister out to watch the littles. I rarely leave the house except to run errands. Also, in past years, outings were an important part of our homeschool. A hard winter, followed by a spring of morning sickness, which was then followed by summer insects broke us of our outdoorsy habits. In addition, we don't have near neighbors who are kids to draw us out. I need to get outside! I need trees and sunshine and fresh air. So do the kids.
We're off to a pumpkin patch this week. It is not a spend-lots-of-money-and-ride-the-rides sort of patch--it's just a big farm with a barn and a bunch of kittens and lots of room to play outside.
I have to learn to go outside again.
Monday:
I2 got to make a "D" out of construction paper diamonds. We also read the story of David and Goliath. Through the week, whenever I'd ask him what David said when he saw Goliath he'd crow, "I trust God!"
H5 and A7 did their book work.
So did the big girls.
It was sunny and warm in the afternoon, so the kids played outside for a long time. I crashed on the couch. That evening Dad read aloud to the kids so I could rest.
Tuesday:
I2 colored pictures of animals whose names start with "D."
H5 and A7 did their book work.
So did the big girls.
That night was poetry night, so everyone recited a poem before going to bed. I didn't make a note about who read to the kids. I can't remember reading aloud or tucking them in that night, but I also didn't note that Dad did it.
Wednesday:
I was feeling human enough to take the kids to science club and then out shopping for pants at the thrift store afterward. At science club we learned about spiders--big kids worked on taxonomy and little kids made webs and talked about spider trapping techniques.
It was our turn to bring snacks.
That was a blessing, because we spent 2 hours searching out pants for everyone (the temps were predicted to drop severely in the next day or so). We found lots for H5--everyone else got 1 new pair. We'll have to shop again.
We were very hungry afterward and ever so glad that we had leftover snacks. We all munched on the way home.
I was exhausted by the time we got home, but then I had to make dinner, see Dad off to work, and take all of the kids to youth activities at the church. All I wanted was to put everyone to bed early and tuck myself into bed with a good book, but the youth activities ran late, and it was well past 9 before they were all settled. Then I was too wound up to rest. I got to read, but it took a couple of hours for me to truly sleep.
Thursday:
The kids were all tired after a busy Wednesday, and all of a sudden I had adoption stuff to handle. We've found a sibling set of 5 that might (if the powers that be will cooperate) become ours. The little guys used all of their stuffed animals to play make-believe in the dining room. I let them because I was on the computer trying to get various social workers to communicate with one another until it was time for lunch and time to leave for dance rehearsals.
(So far the communication has not worked, but I'm still trying. At least the workers on the kids' end are communicating quite well. I'm praying over the one on our end.)
The terrible rain let up just in time for us to drive safely to rehearsals and back. While the kids danced, I worked on mending/tailoring costumes.
We went to bed early that night; some of the kids were having stuffy noses and feeling tired.
Friday:
I2, H5, and A7 sewed their letter "D" quilt blocks.
Everyone did book work.
E14 made a real breakthrough in understanding how to manipulate fractions. We've been feeling as if we were beating our heads against a brick wall for quite some time, but the wall seems to have broken!
It was very cold. We made homemade pizza, saw Dad off to work, read aloud and went to bed early, again.
Saturday:
This is not usually part of our school week, but I received an answer to one of my nagging concerns, so I want it recorded.
We did chores in the morning.
I prepped some freezer meals with J10.
I was exhausted and sat down to read.
The littles were restless.
The sun was shining, so I told them to put on their jackets and play outside. They asked me to come watch them. I sighed and took my book out to the deck to sit in the sunshine.
It was nice.
The older kids all had library books that they were lost in, but these little guys just stayed restless. The sun and breeze refreshed me enough to say, "Meet me at the van in 2 minutes!" I grabbed my wallet and keys and drove the littles and S12 (who needed a reading break) to the park. We only had 40 minutes but we made the most of it.
This is what I learned: Being outside lightened my heart and refreshed me in mind and body. When the older kids were little and wanted to play outside I had to go out with them. Now I send an older sister out to watch the littles. I rarely leave the house except to run errands. Also, in past years, outings were an important part of our homeschool. A hard winter, followed by a spring of morning sickness, which was then followed by summer insects broke us of our outdoorsy habits. In addition, we don't have near neighbors who are kids to draw us out. I need to get outside! I need trees and sunshine and fresh air. So do the kids.
We're off to a pumpkin patch this week. It is not a spend-lots-of-money-and-ride-the-rides sort of patch--it's just a big farm with a barn and a bunch of kittens and lots of room to play outside.
I have to learn to go outside again.
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