Tomorrow we start school! Yes, I am very happy. Not because I won't have to deal with bored kids anymore, but because I will have to school kids and will be back to a "regular" schedule. They are all very excited to get back into the swing of things! :-) Savannah doesn't actually start school until next Monday, so she gets one more week off. Since we're starting school and some of you who read this blog are homeschoolers, I thought you might be interested to know what I'm planning. So, here it is....Ashton, 8th grade
Learning Language Arts Through Literature, Green Book (comprehensive language arts)
Math U See (multiple levels)
Apologia Science, Exploring Creation with General Science
The Story of the World, Volumes 3 & 4
Plus, she's taking enrichment classes on Election, Drama, Drawing, Photography, Logic, and a book study on Anne of Green Gables
Indy, 1st Grade
Sing, Spell, Read, Write
Bob Books
Math U See (Primer and Alpha)
A Reason for Handwriting
Five in a Row, Volume 1
Plus, misc. unit studies and enrichment classes
Levi, 4K
Five in a Row, Volume 1
Misc. unit studies and enrichment classes
Plus, I'm implementing an "activity box" system for Levi, and idea I got from my friend, Lisa.
Some of you who have little ones at home might find this useful. Basically, I got 7 boxes (plastic shoe boxes) and filled them with activities for Levi to do while we're doing schoolwork. Last year I realized that he was really bored and pretty much wreaked havoc while he was not being watched. So I decided that this year, when I scheduled the other kids, I would schedule him as well, giving him rotating things to do. Here's the boxes I came up with:
Rice box- rice, spoon, cup, bowl
Science box- magnifying glasses, bones, a bunny tail we found in the glades, shells, rocks (from gem mining), a couple rocks, a snakeskin, and anything else I can find that looks interesting.
Clothesline box- clothesline, clothespins, some old clothes
Pipe cleaner box- multiple colors of pipe cleaners
Puffball box- misc. sizes of puff balls, tweezers, tongs
Bead box- beads and string
Craft box- foam sheets, foam door hanger shapes (found at dollar store), misc. foam shapes, scissors, glue
Plus, I'm mixing those in with playdough, legos, puzzles, and pegs. Also, I plan to cook with him some, too, maybe once every two weeks. We'll see. I think he really needs the one on one attention from me, so once I get the other kids going, I'm going to do some "school" with him. Also, I have a schedule for him, which includes some computer games time and one video and some reading time with me, etc. Hopefully this will keep him busy enough that (1) he'll stay out of trouble and (2) he'll be pooped by bedtime!! lol
Well, that's it! Tomorrow I begin my first week of my 10 week menu plan rotation. You know, Savannah's school starts at 7:30 every morning. We leave here by 7, usually a little earlier, and get up by 6:15. It's REALLY early for me, especially since I'm a true night owl, but it's great, too. Why? Because while she gets ready for school, I do my quiet time. Also, by the time I get back home, it's about 7:20 or 7:25 and the boys are up and I'm ready to start my day. It really gives me a head start on the day. I love it! But, this week will be a little difficult. We're scheduled to start school by 8:30, but I also want to sleep in a little bit since it's my last week off before I HAVE to get up, ya know? So, I'm planning to set my alarm for 7 or 7:15 (more likely!! lol) and hope to get myself up out of bed. Wish me luck!! lol So, I guess that's really it and I'll see you tomorrow!
5 comments:
Looks like a great year! I hope the activity boxes help keep Levi busy. I know what you mean by the Havoc they can cause while trying to school the other kids.LOL This year, I have two to keep busy.
I'd be excited for school to start if I was homeschooling too. Since that is not the case, it is always a sad time for me.
I like that activity box idea! Where do you keep them and how do you keep him from making a huge mess with everything while still being creative?
I keep them stored on a bookshelf in our "school area" (read: dining room! lol). As far as not making a mess, well, he's just turned 4, so he's not a little kid, but most times you'd think he was a young 3! So, he will make messes, but when I give him glue (for the foam stuff), trust me that I will be right there with him! But, I also think that as long as I can keep an eye on him, he won't completely destroy the boxes by taking them all out at once. I will be the only one taking them out for him. Plus, I can use this opportunity to reinforce about putting one thing away when you're finished before taking out another. Anyway, today was the first time I used them and I just sat him at the dining table, right where we were doing school, and let him play right there. He used the pipecleaners, puffballs, and rice. His favorite was the rice and he actually sat for a long time working on that one. His next favorite was the puffballs, which he also spent a pretty good amount of time on. And, I think he's not quite sure what to do with the pipecleaners yet, but his 6 yo brother sure wanted into those!! lol Also, I had scheduled him for 1 hour on boxes and I realized that is really too long. I think 30 minutes is plenty. Maybe I can give him 2 30 min spots, one for the boxes and one for the toys (legos, playdough, puzzles, pegs). Gotta tweak it! lol Have fun! :-)
Thanks for showing us your plans! What great ideas.
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