The Homeschool Mother’s Journal 2011-2012 — Week 7

In my life this week… the wheels came off. I’m behind on grading. My cell phone decided to quit working at the worst possible time. It still works when it feels like it, but not when I would like it to. We’re running pretty close to the bone on the budget this week as we wait for me to get paid at the end of the week. We’re in the throws of planning Katie’s 3rd birthday party. Sam has an ear infection (another one, sigh). Ben has been even more challenging than usual.

In our homeschool this week… We released the butterflies after studying them for a few days. We expected Ben to be the one to do it, but he freaked out and refused, so Katie marched up to the pavilion and unzipped it herself. It was really an impressive display (see photo below). Ben had Zoo School — they studied bats and went to the bat exhibit, which he thought totally rocked. Ben also started homeschool gymnastics this week. We put him in for two days a week, but I think we’re going to switch to one day a week to make our lives a little easier. There’s nothing for Katie to do and she gets very frustrated with that. We did a lot of reading, but not a lot of the other school stuff that we usually do. We don’t have a useful, practical schedule for all of us, so that’s something to work on if I ever catch up with my grading.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share… When you write a schedule in August, you have to be prepared for the fact that it won’t be working by October. It seems like it works for a bit and then it just falls off the rails.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing… We did Zoo school and homeschool gymnastics, as I mentioned above. Katie had parent observation day in her dance class and we were told that she wants to move Katie up to level 2 in November. Now we have to figure out how to change the schedule to accommodate a dance class at a time that doesn’t really have a time for Ben to do things. Ben finished out this year’s swimming lessons with Miss T. They were not  his two best lessons, but at the end of the second one we could all see that he just needs a bit of polish and he’ll be able to pass the swim test next Spring. Woohoo, Ben!

My favorite thing this week was… Snuggling with Katie. She’s been very emotional for the last couple of weeks. On Friday, she stood in the middle of her bedroom sobbing uncontrollably and wouldn’t let P anywhere near her. I went in with her and within a couple of minutes, we were on the big bed together, snuggling, while she continued with those hiccupy sobs. Never did figure out why she was so upset, but upset she certainly was.

What’s working/not working for us… It’s not fair for me to say nothing, but very little is working right now. I’m finding that the two classes I’m teaching could easily absorb every single hour of my day. I have to work on this and set limits for that and find a way to make the homeschool also fit in here. I’m feeling overwhelmed right now, but I’m sure that I’m going to get there. This week has some time where I can plan and I am going to take advantage of that time.

Things I’m working on… grading is the main thing. I need to also work on the number shirts. My nephew’s birthday is coming quickly, so this has to get done. HAS. TO.

I’m reading… How Learning Works by Susan Ambrose et al, still. It’s not the fastest read in the world but it is interesting. I just got Boyer’s Scholarship Reconsidered in the mail and hope to start reading it this week. I’m also still working on One Bite at a Time.

I’m cooking… I made dinner one night this week. I know, I was shocked too. I made Marlboro Man’s Favorite Sandwich and it was a huge hit. P was doubtful when he saw me slicing cubed steak, but he LOVED it when he ate it. We used Northwood’s seasoning from Penzey’s Spices rather than seasoned salt, but we think it made the sandwiches even better.

I’m grateful for…
An incredibly patient husband. This has been an incredibly difficult week for me, and a hard one for him, but he’s managed to hold it together for both of us while we’re making sure that we figure out where we’re actually trying to go. We feel like we’re on hold until November 1. Once we have some answers, we’re hoping that we’ll be better able to plan for the future.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

Books referenced in this post:

To find out what’s happening in other homeschools, check out The Homeschool Chick’s post and link list!

*Links to books are ALWAYS Amazon affiliate links.I make virtually nothing for linking there, but maybe someday I can buy one of my books that way :).