Well today has been a good day so far. It’s been very busy with everything that comes along with running a household, homeschooling six kiddos, managing the social media for a couple of clubs, and just keeping up with stuff.
My four year old has been begging for something to cut and glue while the five year old is preparing plans for a time travel trip and questioning about what foods would be best to take along and how many clothes he should pack…lol.
My younger girls are always coming up with ideas for new games and often put their younger brothers up to mischievous shenanigans… while my fourteen year old special needs son is pretty much just into any number of things at any moment. He really loves building things with Legos and drawing on paper. This morning I found the spelling packet that I had searched all last week for in his cubby… he had ‘found’ it on the bookshelf and drew all over it.
Big sister is finishing up her high school year and trying to focus on different paths she wants to pursue after she finished her schooling.
The kids are down for quiet time at the moment and I am writing this as I submit some scholarship reimbursements… we are so thankful to have this Step Up For Students Scholarship that allows me to homeschool my special needs son and provide him with a very unique educational experience that is tailored to his specific needs.
We did our regular chores as well as our weekly chores like washing sheets and washing whites… one load of which is still in the dryer… did I set the timer? Hmmm…. well anyways I’ll check on those in a bit. My mind goes in so many directions at any given time it can be a bit scary. That is part of the reason I cling to my routines as much as I do, otherwise I’d have a half a dozen half started/half finished projects going all the time.
For school we are still using Easy Peasy All in One Homeschool for the majority of our studies. The younger boys finished up the Getting Ready 1 & 2 last year and are currently working on the McGuffey Primer section. My special needs son also works alongside the younger ones and I do give him a few other activities to work on and reinforce new skills.
The little boys crave knowledge right now so they are also using the Discovery K12 site as well for the Kindergarten and 1st grade levels. They really enjoy the videos and crafts. It is amazing the amount of information that they actually retain and can repeat back to me. Today they did a cutting craft to go along with the 12345 Once I Caught A Fish Alive song. This seemed to satisfy everyone’s artistic cravings and gave them plenty of fine motor skills practice.
The girls are also using Easy Peasy All in One Homeschool for the third and fourth grade levels. Both of the girls are doing the third grade math as the older one didn’t seem to be grasping all the concepts when we moved to the fourth grade level this year. Most of their other studies are pretty similar so I have been combining some activities like writing poems and such together. We also use the spelling lists and activities found here.
We are using Easy Peasy All in One Homeschool Year 3 – Level L for our group studies like History, Science, PE, and Music. I have started doing these studies on Fridays. Right now the kids are really enjoying our ‘travels’ and we will be visiting Greece this week. We are enjoying the ‘Top Secret’ magazines by Highlights to go along with these travels. I just purchased these passports, stickers, and stamps as well and I am really excited to use them.
As far as group activities we have began our Morning/Circle Time routine again. We do this as a group and it includes a variety of activities like the Pledge of Allegiance, Morning Prayer, and art studies. Right now we are learning about ‘The Maids of Honor’ painted by Diego Velasquez. This is from a Fine Arts Bundle I purchased a few years ago. It is surprising how easily you can expose your children to this information and they will learn it on their own. The laminated picture along with some facts is posted at eye level on a bulletin board above the toy storage.
We are also using Our Daily Bread for Kids as our Bible study right now. It has a daily section to read with a bible verse, fun fact, and short passage to read. We also have the coloring book to go along with it but honestly I am not sure where it is at the moment.
The kids are also learning some Shakespeare. We really enjoy ‘How To Teach Your Children Shakespeare‘ by Ken Ludwig. Even the four year old is able to recite it back to me!
I have been using ‘Manners Matter‘ as a guideline for teaching some manners and things that I feel need to be taught. A Word A Day is also in our Morning Basket and helps introduce the kids to new words as well as Brain Quest cards for the littlest ones. These help them develop logical skills and some problem solving too.
Sometimes I wonder if what we do is enough or is it too much… Are they getting enough information? Are they getting enough variety? Will they look back on this time and have happy memories? Will they even remember any of the lessons I am trying so hard to teach them?
Well, amidst my pondering, computer work, and blogging I have had one telemarketer call, a visitor, and a nice chat with a dear friend who is still dealing with hurricane aftermath. She also, unknowingly, let me know that God has been working and that he has answered one of my prayers that has been on my heart for the past few days.
Now quiet time is about over and the clothes are still in the dryer… I also need to get my Crockpot Tortellini Soup in the crockpot… one thing at a time and it’ll all get done.
My friend also reminded me that the best way to teach children is by example. They will learn what they need to learn. I don’t need to stress over what we got done or didn’t get done. Just worry about today and what is in front of you right now. Give your worries to God and he will take care of it and provide you with what you need when you need it.
I hope you all have a blessed day!
Note: I did go with a pink outfit yesterday, as pictured, because after getting a reminder from someone else and checking my calendar I saw that we had planned to wear pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness… and everyone looked so pretty in pink!
