Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Snapshots from the Day

Tuesdays and Thursdays, we homeschool. We're all here all day. It can get a little hairy. Chaotic. Last week was rough, school-wise. Sometimes it's hard to figure out why, and sometimes you just can't. There are bad days, you know?

I thought and prayed through some of the badness of last week and the Lord gave me a few practical ideas to try this week. We tried some of those today, and they were helpful!

There are other contributing factors, of course, that made last week rough,such as mama being in an allergy-induced fog. Even without meds, winter allergies have always caused fatigue for me and that thick-headed feeling...hard to think clearly. This year, I'm able to take allergy medicine, and I don't know whether or not that's adding to my fatigue and fog-head. I will say it's helping with the other symptoms, though, and for that I'm most thankful!

Anyway, sometimes I am struck by the kids' different activities and busy-ness and today I recorded some of their moments...


 H is obsessed with measuring spoons and other junk from one of my kitchen drawers. Hey, whatever works. He carries around spoons and such, putting them in and taking them out of various containers. Love his glowing fluff of hair. And the smock - that's for his rather ungentlemanly habit of drooling, of course.

CJ isn't obsessed with anything. She's very restless, very busy. Short attention span. This is one of many things she did today, sitting near me at my desk - her uppercase letter stencil, with a red pen, taped to the floor to keep it still.

CA needs a boost in her reading skills, so I'm trying to take the same approach I did with one of the older girls - a mandatory chunk of reading everyday, from the Bible, which is above her reading level. We chose Esther. It's slow going right now, but will be fruitful before long.

 LC working on her math. We rearranged some things today to allow for me to work with her more on math in particular. It was a long, but helpful work session. I find it so hard sometimes to understand the best ways to divide my time on a homeschool day!

MK helping me out with some grading. She made lunch today for all of us without my asking her to. Awesome. Later, she asked to make cookies. Snickerdoodles. They were fabulous!
She also spent some time with CJ, playing computer games together.

EG plugging away. Such a hard worker! She also helped out today by playing with CJ outside for half an hour. Both of them had a great time. EG's my high-energy kid, so outdoor play with sister made them both happy in the middle of a long schoolday!

 AH is a master of efficiency. She was done and had packed up her schoolday before I got a picture of her. But here's her backpack and her pleasure reading of the day. She (and the other girls!) are total bookworms. AH just finished a huge Sherlock Holmes compilation book. Today, she helped out by playing with CJ in CJ's room. Apparently, they played a Lord of the Rings boardgame, which they both seem to have enjoyed.

 LC's turn at spending a little time with CJ today: crafting. She helped little sister get out the paints and have fun painting. I had to show this photo in color, too. What a neat idea LC had for CJ's handprint!
And yes, CJ's in a swim suit - I think that was outfit #3 today. And...yes...that's a Hello Kitty tattoo on her forehead...and there are several on her legs. Sigh.


1 comment:

  1. wow, what a balancing act. Can you imagine being a fulltime homeschooler?! But some people do it!
    (and that smock - awwww, that warmed my heart to see that. I had a big drooler too and a spitter - my babies were always wet down the front)

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