Settling

Our stuff is all moved, though not yet unpacked. There are many completed projects and more to be done, some empty boxes and many more to be sorted, organized and unpacked. But I am thinking about organizing school. We've had about three weeks now of a very light schedule of school work as I keep trying to bring order to the mess of this very unorganized move. We've been able to do the basics and I'm ready for the fun stuff- digging in deeper to history, getting our hands on some science, getting creative with art and thinking ahead by making homemade gifts as well as getting the kids back on track to handling more responsibility.
I'm thinking of revisiting workboxes, tweaking it a bit as these kids keep getting older! They really are working more independently. I want to foster that; it really builds their confidence. On Thursday, Charles woke early and completed his school before any one else was awake. I was so surprised! I'm trying not to let it bother me too much that his motivator was a computer game. At least he was motivated; now I'm thinking we can build on that to help him learn more internal motivators, like the satisfaction of a job well done.

I'm also thinking of tot school for the busy little man in our lives. He may need his own workboxes and activities to build fine motor skill, beginning critical thinking skills and all the other things his busy mind is learning from watching us and from playing. I won't get ultra-structured in his case, but having activities to pull out when he needs something to do will be so helpful.
Tot School ideas that sound so fun are found here.

Hopefully coming soon: some before and after pics of some completed house projects. There are so many incomplete ones, but it will be good to remember what we've accomplished!

Two weeks

When I start a new routine I want to go after it diligently for two weeks. I guess I'm hoping that being diligent for a set amount of time will deeply ingrain the new routines. I also do so with an eye on my personal characteristic of not being able to stick with something for very long. Although there were many times in the last two weeks that I thought the new routine we are trying was useless, we kept at it. I don't know if it is becoming second nature or not, but the kids are getting used to it. The main difficulty in this system is the one thing that could be most beneficial: my preparedness. Using the workboxes (drawers in our case) means I must have something in the boxes for them to do before we actually start. That is so difficult for me because I thrive on spontaneous, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants, plan as I go kind of planning.
The moments that seemed most frustrating were those that Kaity balked at my assignments or requests. There's something in that girl that wants to challenge everything. And I mean everything. I'm trying to understand how to best relate with her, to find her motivators so we can stop butting heads. Because mine hurts and she seems no worse for the wear! I'm reading How They Learn by Cynthia Tobias. Very insightful, I'm praying for revelation into Kaity's learning style(s). I don't totally have Charlie pegged, but have some ideas.
Next week we mix things up and will do a week of Lapbooking. This was an idea that occurred to me today. Don't know if it is a good idea or not. I'm going to approach the week much more organized about specific lapbooking ideas and have many things prepared ahead of time for the kids. I'll try to incorporate the basic subjects in our week, just in ways that bring a breath of fresh change to our days.

Small Steps

I really did not remember how much a tiny person disrupts plans! The baby is still too little for a regular napping and eating schedule and I know that will come soon enough. But not having some idea of a plan makes me feel like everything is out of control. I feel like I am losing ground in the area of personal diligence if I don't give some thought to planing our days. I am making flexible goals that I will not let myself stress over. These are ways to help me, not hurt me! Some short term goals I am working on are:
*researching the "workboxes" idea to see if it will work for us and to see how we can adapt this idea to help us stay organized and on task during formal schooling days.
* regular time away to collect my thoughts and plans about homeschool. Or to just have some thoughts :-) These will be short, one hour or less.
* longer periods of time to plan ahead and research for homeschool.
* time to work on long term things like an amended school calendar. The pregnancy and birth of Jeremiah kind of blew the last school calendar to shreds! In a good way, of course.
* my most important short term goal of having Bible study every day. I would like to add to this some family worship time at home. That is a little more out of my control because of Gaylen's work schedule. I want us to always take responsibility for the spiritual instruction of our kids. It becomes too easy to say, "oh, we go to church regularly and the kids participate." That is not enough.
* I want to stay current on homeschool news. This can be a source of fear for some, but I want to be informed so I can voice my concerns to representatives and senators for our area.
* reexamine my habits in the area of housekeeping. Am I being diligent to help my home be a place of refuge for my husband and kids? Am I keeping a servant's heart and an attitude of cheerful obedience in this? I know my attitude affects the atmosphere of our home. I know I can get so lazy in this area and blind to clutter that should and could be taken care of. Although there is an infant in the mix now and standards can be more relaxed- I should not take advantage of that and use the baby as an excuse for laziness. This is an area the Lord convicts me of, because I am so good at coming up with excuses for my laziness!

One great site for the nitty gritty details of home and school management is Donna Young. She has great free printable calendars, lists etc. that are so helpful. There are also lesson ideas listed by subject. Anyone reading should feel free to leave comments about sites you find helpful for anything on the above list!

Although its not an exhaustive list, I will be reading that myself in the coming weeks and months as a reminder to myself. I want to add to the list as God gives more direction too.