First Day Back

Well, the first day of school didn't go as well as I had hoped, but it didn't go too badly either. I am a high expectations kind of girl which means I have to suck it up a lot because the kids are never going to meet those, at least not 100% of the time. My complaints for the day are that Isaac is continuing to be a stinker and has abandoned his laid back obedience I once loved. He was louder than usual during Mass and had trouble following directions during transition times throughout the day. Genna had the sillies during Science and had trouble following directions during Art. Hannah did very well overall, but she had trouble sitting still during Science with her silly sister leading the way. Hannah does not like down time either, which means that she complains or pesters me if she is finished with something and I don't drop whatever I am doing with Genna to give her the next thing to do. But enough of my complaining, let's talk about what worked and what needs to be tweaked.

First, the schedule...Math took longer than the 30 minutes I had allotted, but Isaac's Five in a Row lessons (which everyone wanted to join in on) and the girls' handwriting, spelling, and grammar were quick enough that we were caught up by 10:30am. That is when Science/History is supposed to start so that was all good. We finished Science early, in part because they were just not focused anymore and in part because I didn't estimate the amount we could talk about in that time slot. This worked out well since Monday was a feast day and I had bookmarks of the Blessed Virgin Mary for them to color. They worked on those and I cleaned up and made lunch. Nap/Rest began on time, and I woke up from my nap at 3pm and somehow got myself downstairs with the kids and taught an art lesson. We went over our 30 minutes of art, but mostly because they did not want to stop which is fine and we just missed a tiny bit of outside play time. So, my conclusion is that even though during Math I was thinking, "Oh no, this schedule is never going to work!" it all balanced out in the end. Now add in a baby...we'll have to see about that, I guess.

As for keeping the preschooler busy and out of our hair or including him, that worked most of the time as well. He had his rest time beautifully, although I had to run up two flights of stairs twice during it, once to help him in the bathroom and once to kiss a boo boo. The girls needed my help for just a few more minutes and so he drew a picture while waiting for me. Then we had his learning time. We sang three songs, read his Five in a Row book (A Story About Ping,) talked about what a "classic" is, and looked at where China and the Yangtze river is on the new wall map. That was it for his formal learning and it was a perfect amount of time for him to focus and behave. The girls joined in at the story time and were just as enthralled as he was about poor Ping who lost his family. I was very happy with how the girls picked up on the moral of the story without me having to lead into it.

While the girls and I did Grammar and Science, Isaac picked a bin from his shelves. I was right, and he picked the rice sensory bucket. He was completely immersed in it and played for the whole time I needed him to. However, it was a giant mess! I think next time I will be opening our basement door to the backyard and letting him sit out there and do it. So as long as I can keep interesting bins that he can do without help on there, that system may actually work.

My biggest problem is when everybody needs me at the same time for different things. During Handwriting, for example, the girls both need me to watch or instruct at different levels. On top of that, Isaac wanted to write his name on his picture and wanted me to help him position his pencil, then help with that pesky "S." I just don't have enough hours in the day to do everyone, completely one at a time. I will have to think this one through and find a solution that works for us.

Other than that, the only other note-worthy events were that Hannah needed more review in Math than I anticipated. Genna read to me in the car to and from Mass and periodically throughout the morning when we had a free second. She is good enough at reading now where I only have to listen. I do not have to sit with her and watch every word.

Next up, my curriculum choices for this year!