Back to School 2013

 We started school yesterday, and we  I survived.

How did it go?

Well, I had the schedule planned out where

I meet with each school child for 1 hour,

and then there was rotating with who was watching Little Red.

Sounds good in theory.

By lunch time, Little Red 

missed his mama so much

and I just knew it had to be changed

There has to be time for snuggles and hugs and kisses 

and book reading.

OK, so I was dressed and this was more the way I felt today!

It is fun to get up around the time the school bus is coming to pick up the neighbors!

(I wake the kids at 7am)

 We were blessed to have a homeschool kick-off Mass

 out on a fellow homeschool family's farm

It was such a wonderful way to end our day!

 I was following the stragglers...he loved her so much, it was adorable!

There were like 4 or 5 little 1-2 year olds there, just fun to see!!
(go ahead, click on the picture for up close cuteness)

 Jedi--8th grade!

 Rosie--6th grade

 Mary Hannah--3rd grade

 Colette--2nd grade, showing off her map here

 Sweetie Pie--pre school, which we actually started today

Did you think I'd start her out on the same day as the others?

I'm not that crazy.

 Little Red--Focusing on Trouble, with a capital T!

 My tips for any new homeschooling year?

Number 1

Buy these easy pre-made dough cookies, 

you just put them on a cookie sheet and bake!!

I will never have time on the first day to bake homemade cookies

and am not really usually feeling like the 

happy- baker- mommy that day.

(Jedi taking his shift watching littles)

 Number 2 tip:

Buy Play Dough.

Don't make it, buy it.

It's cheap

And it occupies them for at least an hour.

The 2nd day went much better.

I taught the older kids first, 

they actually take less, 

I don't need to read everything to them

and I can do things like, oh, change poopy diapers 

and hold littles while teaching them.

I then did the younger ones later, like right before lunch 

and finished after lunch and during Little Red's nap.

Hey, we were done by 3 pm

How many days til Summer? 

No, I'm kidding (kind of)

I really believe people who homeschool are called to do it

I believe God wants this for our family.

This year, I have a really positive attitude and am promising myself

I am not going to yell, 

"You are all going to public school!!!"

Promise.  

I'm not.

Funny thing is, 

I do not want anything else for my kids,

This is what we choose

and I do love it, I love the positives 

so much more than the negatives.

Seriously, though, 

how many days til next summer? 

Order Please

I, believe it or not, am not a scheduled person.

I think it is because of a few reasons.

I like to go with the flow,

 take things as they come and deal with those things

I think when I have a schedule, then, well, 

I am faced with failure and I don't like that.

I'm kind of a perfectionist

(I know, if you saw my floor and house you would not think so)

Hey, I live with non perfectionists who do not care about the floor 

or if they left their socks all over the house.

I know also, that we need to practice a summer schedule
before school starts, so we can master it!

You'd think a perfectionist would love a schedule, right?

You'd think a perfectionist would be able to follow a schedule perfectly, right?

Well, read this:

 Just as the Demons know our weaknesses, 

God knows our strengths

 Being a Martha, in our busy world can be hard, 

But Jesus calls us Martha's to come and sit by Him,

to put Him first.

(Luke 10:38-42)

Oh, we can still take care of what needs taking care of, 

but we need to balance it by putting Him first.

Have you prayed today?

(that's rhetorical for me)

Do we stop everything and pray?

No computers, TV, I-pads, radios, whatever is 

making it loud for us?

 

Is there quiet in our lives anymore?

Can there be order?

 I interrupt this post for a little cuteness...

"I want a cracker!"

 "Oh, you have the camera?"
See?  This post has interruptions, just like life, scheduled or not!

 (School work will be added in those playtime areas)

I had been praying about a schedule for quite a while,

and finally decided I needed more help.

So, I asked Tom to help me.

It was fun to write it out with him.

We need to tweak it a little when school starts

like the kids will need to get up earlier, 6:30 or 7am
 And
We need to do "bed checks" at 10pm to make sure the big kids
 are actually in bed.

I will have 5 kids in school.

Yes, Sweetie Pie will be in preschool!!!

I need to be orderly in order to run this family.

It's just not working going with the flow!
God has blessed my life with 6 living children and I need
to take this vocation seriously,
to do my best.
Is sleeping in til everyone is up doing my best?
No, although, I love to do that,
I hate how the rest of the day goes,
It's not what God wants or expects of me.
He wants me to be happy and for our kids to be happy.
He wants me to do my best
I believe following a schedule will help me with that

(Breakfasts will stay the same each week, each day,
Lunches I plan with the kiddos and they pick each week, except Wednesday is always pizza)
Oh, and
(there is always fruit and veggies with each meal, I just didn't write it down)

Following a schedule requires a few other things to be orderly, 

like meals need to be planned 

(supper is already planned)

This past week was our first week trying this out 

As I said, it needs some tweaking.

Like, I decided the kids might need to do 

quicker easier breakfasts, you know, 

granola bars. yogurt, or cereal

Baking and preparing each day just takes too long

It's OK in the summer, but when school starts, 

well, how do you do it?

What do your kids eat for breakfast?

Do you cook every morning for them?

Of course it is summer and we need to make allowances, 

that pool keeps calling us...

 I'm trying to not be a slave to the schedule

I'm trying to still be easy going and carefree

but the perfectionist in me, struggles with this, 

because maybe it's not on the schedule.

At the end of the day, 

I still wish there were about 2-4 more hours left to

do what I did not get to do.

I know God has a plan, and that He gave us 24 hours 

in each day for a reason.

No more 

no less.

I know, if I put God first, as He told Martha,

that things will all fall into place.

So I keep trying.

What about you?

Do you schedule your day?

Do you have any tips?