Planning 2008-2009: Reality Sinks In
First issue: Hans was resisting the recitation.
Second issue: After an hour and fifteen minutes of one-on-one intensive interaction, I felt done for the day and wanted quiet time to begin before 10am. 10am is not a good time to feel exhausted and ready to call it a day.
Third issue: The done-by-10 mode makes it way too difficult to do the post-lunch reading time, which is something I cannot cut.
Fourth issue: Cultivating housekeeping habits are as important to me right now as cultivating school habits, so I can’t afford to use up all my inner resources by 9:30.
Fifth issue: All of us are running thin with Matt gone during the week; I want to keep up decent minimums, but now isn’t a good time to try to push myself too hard.
So, here’s the revised plan:
MORNING TIME (45 minutes)
Set-up, run outside and get wiggles out, pay for jobs done
Pray, read a portion of Scripture
Bible story, 5m to draw a picture from the story
Reading, copywork (alternate TATRAS & Bob Books)
Send boys to run to the tree and back three times while I shuffle papers
Math (MUS lessons 1 & 2 until mastered)
Science reading (a library book)
Art: drawing or piano
–clean up while they have free art time–
READING TIME (30-45 minutes)
2 pages of Children’s Garden of Verses
2 pages of Mother Goose
1 fairy tale from Tasha Tudor’s Book of Fairy Tales or Lang’s Blue Fairy Book
1 picture book of my choice (a classic)
AFTERNOON OR BEDTIME READING
each boy chooses one story book
My first plan was a pretty good plan, and it all worked well. Probably if I was a good housekeeper to begin with and had only one or two children, or at least had the relief team (Matt) home in the late afternoon, it would have succeeded. But that’s not where I’m at right now.
I have decided to just go with this plan, moving forward in math and reading as Hans progresses and changing out books as we finish (while keeping the poetry/fairy tale theme going) until Thanksgiving. Then we’ll break for holidays, Matt will graduate from academy and return home, and we will adjust to a completely different work schedule. Mid-January we’ll pick back up with adjustments made to suit the new routines of Matt’s new job. I don’t think breaking into terms is necessary for this content, so we’ll pick that idea back up when more prep and time is required of me and more work is required of Hans.
But some good news is that the clipboard system works well — as long as I work — and I have a separate board for school and for housekeeping now. My weekly housekeeping planner sheet is useful and motivating, and I’ve been doing a decent job, considering I decided to just attempt it all whole-hog and not go baby-stepping into it. Baby steps are a good way to go, but I think I am just not the type. I am all-or-nothing. So, as with the above plan, sometimes my “all” just has to be adjusted. :) More on that later.
