I’ve crossed another line. I’m making laundry soap. I’ve been in a very anti-chemical, anti-sugar mood lately. Don’t ask. I created enough dry ingredients today to make like 40 gallons. I prefer to make the liquid part in smaller batches (around 1 gallon at a time). I’m using the Duggars recipe. Almost couldn’t admit that.
]]>Our week starts off with a bang since we have CC and marathon Tae Kwon Do on Mondays. In a non-interrupted week, we work hard Tuesday and Wednesday, try to fit in something PE-like on Thursday to blow off some steam and have a relaxed project-oriented day Friday.
Here’s what this Thursday looked like. Times are when the picture was taken not necessarily when we started that section of our day.
8:00AM
Breakfast. We don’t enforce a wake up time if we don’t have any where to be. No one can be up before 7AM. Ty and Mia are usually up first. The big kids usually follow between 7:30 and 8:30. Breakfast choices are usually waffles, bagels, or cereal.
8:57AM
After breakfast, we catch up on some chores, and then gather for Bible listening, prayer, CNN Student News, and any other PC2TV viewing I have planned. This is my favorite time of the day. It’s so peaceful and usually gets us off to a great start.
Command Central
This is our main computer and my desk. I’ve been writing everyone’s assignments up on the whiteboard each day for quick reference.
9:32AM
We almost always start the day with math. I get everyone started with an assignment and then spend about 10 minutes with Ty drilling sounds, going over the calendar for the day, and getting him started on an activity. Then I sit at the dining room table fielding questions and focusing on anyone who needs extra help. We go through this cycle roughly every hour starting with a new focus or subject each time.
9:58AM
PJ is the most independent of all the kids and usually works in his room at his clever, closet desk. He loves listening to audio books while he works.
The best part of homeschooling is that you can do it in your pajamas any where in the house. Since we don’t have a dedicated school room, we are creative with space sometimes. This is Grace reviewing time flashcards in our front hallway (her location of choice).
Everyone but Ty does XtraMath (an online, customized drilling program) every day. It’s an activity they can do unassisted if they hit a snag in their assignment, and I am not available to help. It also creates a report to see everyone’s progress. Two of our Ethiopian kids have poor number sense, so this daily drilling is hopefully creating a better foundation.
10:35
Our CC Tri Board keeps our weekly memory work accessible at all times. Mia uses it to complete her memory work lapbook/notebook. Additionally, if anyone hits a wall and needs help when I’m not available, she can hang out at the memory board and review memory work. I try to let them be responsible for their memory work every week. We test on Fridays for tickets.
10:45
Thursday is the day we write CC presentations. We rehearse on Fridays. This is Ty and I researching his favorite animals–panther and saber tooth tiger–for his presentation.
12:26PM
Tummies start grumbling around noon.
1:42PM
Our gym has fantastic programming for homeschoolers on Tuesday and Thursday, but it’s in the morning. Schooling is tough when you start after lunch, but I do love my kid-free time. This week, we didn’t get our work-heavy Tuesday in so I didn’t want to kill Thursday morning as well. I decided to do a big push Thursday morning with the promise of some pool time after lunch if they worked hard.
When we got back from swimming, PJ had some writing to wrap up, and I did spelling with Mia, John, and Kayla together. Then everyone was released for screen time around 4PM. This is when I plan, work, clean, make dinner, and generally decompress.
And that was our Thursday!
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