Today was our first official day off of school. Mondays are always off, so that wasn't anything new. Today brought the first taste of real freedom. My kiddos were quite happy with a walk to the park and playing with cousins! I was quite happy with naptime following this adventure!!! =) We are still continuing writing, as Dude seems to be having a bit of trouble with his dictation, and that needs to be remedied before we try to move on to the next level in that subject. Thankfully, that means less than 20 minutes a day! Am I the only crazy one that goes a little nuts when summer comes around? All of the sudden, I've jumped on about 5 projects that I've been plotting to do. Quilting has suddenly come alive again in my household, after a roughly 8 month dormancy. Yesterday brought new bookshelves and storage boxes to the kids' room to replace the small set of shelves that was in there. The shelves were bought, assembled, and filled all within the span of the afternoon and evening! Today I started filling a couple of those boxes to help clear out their closet. This summer brings lots of changes in preparation for next school year as well as a new baby! Here's a couple of shots of the project - one showing the old and new bookshelves side-by-side, and the other showing the bookshelves all nicely filled and organized! This change in furniture is only the bare beginning of the preparatory work for moving around the other two extra rooms of the house - the study and nursery, soon to swap places. First up, the kids' room had to be cleaned up and organized, and I needed to see how much was moving out of the current study and how much will move into the new study. I also have to prepare their closet for a third child's clothes to be stored in there. Scoot's already been sleeping in the big kids' room, but I haven't yet moved her clothes out of the nursery. It's time! Ironically, the quilting is also part of the moving process!!! I've had projects piling up that I want to do, with fabric that I want to use for them... and I'm about to have a good bit less space. Time to use it up! Monkey is getting a "big girl bed" quilt that I should have made a couple of years ago. The last of that fabric got cut this evening. I"m also working on a surprise for a friend, which will alleviate an entire large bin's worth when done. Along with this is also a project started last summer, with the intent of a Christmas present for Monkey. Time to finish that up and get it out! Or put away for this coming Christmas or birthday. =) I also have a few quilts for our bed that have been waiting in the wings, so they've come up front and center. Even the Principal has a surprise buried in this mountain of stuff... keep an eye on my other blog for updates on my projects! =) Here's a sneak peak at one of my projects going on: Besides all of this, I finally feel like I'm beginning to get a bit of a handle on the kitchen and laundry, too! Maybe by the time we start back up in July I'll have a good system down, and a much better organization system in place along with that new schoolroom/study!
So, tell me, am I the only one that goes a bit crazy when school is out and lessons no longer are taking up many of the hours of the day? What do you do when school comes to a close?
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5/12/2014 0 Comments Last week of homeschooling one.While finishing up our last week this week, the tension and excitement are mounting as I look ahead to our next year of homeschooling.... this time with TWO in formal lessons! Granted, one will be in kindergarten. This will still be a mostly easy-going year for her. We'll be headed into third grade with my oldest. How are we already at third grade!? It doesn't seem possible that my baby boy will be heading into the third year of formal lessons. Yes, you read that right - with him, we never really did a formal kindergarten. With Monkey, she's wanting more school to be like big brother, so I'm actually having to gather things together and piecemeal a kindergarten curriculum to guide our year coming up.
I'm not a big believer in pushing (or even encouraging) children to do too much too early. We did "pretty school" with Monkey this year at her request - she wanted school, too! Dude learned what he needed for a first grade level just by asking questions and haphazardly working through simple workbooks to learn his letters and numbers. Really, there was no planning in it! It was fully by his request. It wasn't until I started looking into Kindergarten curriculum for him at 5 that I realized I'd "accidentally" already prepared him for a first grade level! With Monkey, I've tried to divert her a little. She's followed and listened, and likely could have done a kindergarten level this year, but this mama wasn't on board with a first grader at 4, so I tried to focus on letters and shapes and patterns and colors instead this year, leaving the letters and beginning of reading for next year. =) With our school year wrapping up, the Principal is on pins and needles, just chomping at the bit as he awaits my signals that I'm ready for our big change-around of rooms. He's ready for the new study and school room to be in place! I, on the other hand, am just not ready yet! I have had to request peace in the moving and changing department until AFTER the end of the school year, for my sanity. The countdown has begun! =) What about you? Are you already done for the year, or drawing things to a close? Or are you still a good bit off from the end? |
Mother of Dude, Monkey, and Scoot... and a new one on the way!I think that about sums it up! :) Before shopping online, be sure to sign up for ebates and earn money back at many, many online stores!
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