It's Monday, David has been on his adventure for over a week now, and we are going to attempt to get back into a routine.
What is a routine? In our world, that means getting school done in the morning, and unschooling the rest of the time. Even though I love the idea of unschooling, the OCD part of me thinks that they should have some work that involves actual sit-down time to learn things that are hard to learn while unschooling.
Meg learns very well by unschooling things that involve grammar and spelling. I don't teach her spelling, but she just "knows" how to spell. I rarely catch her spelling something incorrectly. Sami has a ways to go in this area, but she was a late reader. I'm just tickled that she's reading and enjoying it!
The sit down part today will involve:
-Math. I'm going to start pushing them a little more in this area. I've been letting them coast because Meg protests so much and it's just too hard to fight her some days, and Sami takes forever by constantly erasing and rewriting her numbers to look "perfect." Dog-gone OCD. Today I took my big-girl pill today and I am going to find a way that will help Meg enjoy math and help Sami relax her standards. They are both good at it, but I am tired of it being so exhausting!
-Grammar. I think proper grammar is important, so we have been using worksheets I found online. Capitalization is the latest topic.
-Logic. A broad area! That's what makes it fun. I use all sorts of worksheets and puzzles that make them THINK. We've been using pattern pages where they have to finish the patterns presented.
-Science. I'm not that happy with what I'm using right now, but it's what we're trying out. It's a public-school book about the body and health. It's just plain old boring. What we've been doing is reading a couple of pages, then going through a "fun" book about the body to supplement. They would rather learn fun and gross things about the body instead of memorizing facts.
-History. We're going to wrap up learning about Thomas Edison. We love living history books.
-Reading. I encourage reading as much as possible. I let them read whatever they want for XX amount of time. Sometimes I have to make Megan pick something besides the instruction booklets for video games, but they love to read. When I tell them it's time to read, they go running for the books and they read past their prescribed time. I love to catch them reading for pleasure throughout the day! I'm also reading the "39 Clues" series to them, the "Sir Gadabout" series, and the "How to Train Your Dragon series" (again).
After school today, I want to head to the parents' house and paint their window frames and deck. Remind me to take some Tylenol before I start for my aching body!
Yesterday was their day off, but it wasn't mine. I did the obligatory dishes, laundry and house cleaning. I also cleaned the garage, mowed the lawn, sprayed weed killer over what felt like a square mile, finished the parents' taxes, and made home-made biscuits and gravy for dinner. It was a busy but satisfying day. Dave's parents came over after their mini trip to visit Pat's sister. They bought the girls an outfit each (Sami actually liked it!) and I got a pretty blouse. Thank God for great in-laws!
The busier we stay, the less we fret over Dave being gone. We miss him, but I'm keeping us busy so we don't dwell on it. I keep my chin up for the girls, and when they (especially Sami) get clingy, we ramp it up and get to playing and get distracted again.
By they way, the MY TAXES ARE DONE!!!!! What a nightmare.
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