Homeschool Week Two: Rolling Along

Saturday morning I did our school preparations for the next week. Then I was out the door for grocery shopping. I made it home around 9:30am. Saturday was part of tax-free weekend in Ohio. We really didn't need school supplies but a couple of the kids needed new tennis shoes. I happened to have a 20% off coupon and when we got to Payless Shoes all the red tag sale items were also on special for the day and were only $10, no matter what price the tag said. We were able to find most of the shoes with red tags, only Joseph, who is wearing men's sizes now, had more to pay. In the end we got 4 pairs for $48. Not bad at all.

Right before lunch Makayla went to get a haircut. She hadn't been in so long that the salon had sent her a postcard for a free cut and she was ready to use it. Then it was off to the church where Makayla played the piano for a baptismal service.

The afternoon was family time. We played games, laughed, and cooked. I had done the school prep for the next week in the morning. That took about 15 minutes - just long enough to adjust kids assignment sheets with the new week's assignments.

Sunday our big activity is church from 10am-1pm. The morning is spent getting the 11 of us awake, dressed, fed, and out the door. Don't worry, it's pretty easy at this stage of the game. Everyone knows the routine so I really only help very little people get ready. Church was great, as always!

Monday was the return of the school week. Tobias has been waking up early lately, between 5:30am-6:30am. Today was 6:10am so that is when my morning began. The early morning was a mix of waking children, breakfasts, and some people doing their chores. The kids can do chores any time before 1pm. If not done by then they stop what they are doing and get their chore room done.

Being Monday there were new math lessons to go around. Subtracting 0 or 1, multiplying by 0 or 1, fractions, double negatives, and manipulating rational expressions. There were All About Reading lessons for Oliver (level 3 lesson1), Caleb (level 1 lesson 22), and Mason (level 1 lesson 1). Kids had copywork or Fix-It Grammar. They continued their writing projects.

Grandma stopped in for a short visit before and during lunch. The kids love seeing grandma any time but when it puts school work on hold for a bit they love it even more. ;)

After lunch Makayla and I focused on chemistry. It was a good lesson on basics: working on accurate measurements and converting measurments. For example we worked on converting something that was in cubic meters to liters involves converting cubic meters to cubic centimeters, which are equal to milliliters. Then you convert the amount in milliliters to liters.

After chemistry she and I dove into Latin Alive 1 for our first day. I'll be honest, I was a little disappointed that they do not have a daily work schedule in the book for you. Instead they present an entire chapter (in the student book, teacher's manual, and on dvd, depending on your preference). A chapter should take approximately a week to finish the book in one year. We worked together (using books, no dvd today) and just picked a stopping point when our brains needed a break. We will review that material tomorrow with the dvd before moving forward. This first chapter is packed full on basic Latin information on pronunciation, syllabication, and where to accent the words, so we want to stretch it out over 2 weeks to be sure we really master it before moving forward. For those who are curious, I did 3 years of Latin in high school, 2 years of Spanish in high school and a year in college, and I'm familiar with ASL because we used it a lot with one child from age 2-5. I love Latin and can't wait to dive back in and rediscover it with my daughter!

Later in the afternoon while Tobias was still napping Jason and I went to the attic. I love that our attic is a great storage space. I hate that it has become a mess. We're starting to tackle organizing and decluttering the attic in sections when we get cooler weather days. We did a lot of the clothing storage a couple weeks ago. Today was going through the toy storage. With 9 children we have a decent amount of toys but we don't keep everything out. Kids do so much better picking up after themselves when they have a limited set of toys out at any one time. We rotate toys in and out of the attic every month or so. Today we decluttered toys that we have found the kids simply don't play with when they are out, had the kids go through their stuffed animals, and loaded the items we removed into Jason's car to donate.

Tuesday was a bit chaotic in the morning. Kids were doing school everywhere except we really don't have a huge house to spread out in (really - maybe 1500sq ft including the not finished basement and attic) so when one or two kids are chatty or goofing off they tend to distract kids who are trying to work. In the end the main instigator was sent to play and told he would spend the afternoon doing the rest of his school work instead. Everyone settled in to work or play depending on age.

This is my view as I pick up Makayla at the vet office. 

I know she is inside somewhere learning and 

having a great time.

Midmorning found me taking Makayla to her regular Tuesday shadowing activity at a veterinary practice. Then it was back home to make lunch for everyone else. Later that afternoon I picked Makayla up and then she did Algebra 2 while dinner was cooking. After dinner everyone put away laundry because we somehow had 3 loads washed today.

Wednesday had the nice quiet at home morning I love. I caught this picture of most of the kids working away at the table at once. The only ones missing are Makayla, who was upstairs doing her writing, and Oliver, who was behind me reading a book. Our assignment sheets keep us from missing anything (aka. pregnant mommy brain doesn't have to remember what needs done each day because it is already written down).

The afternoon was filled with phone calls as I scheduled eye checkups and dental cleanings, among other things. We have 28 medical appointments (including physical therapy for Mason) in the next 6 weeks and expect at least 2 more. Life is never dull!

Thursday I saw a pattern happening. If Samuel is around when Mason sits at the table to do school he wants to do it too. I've had some kids do this before (insist on tagging along with an older sibling) so I'm just rolling with it. He gets a turn with anything we have out that day if he asks. He has also been enjoying puzzles this week. We pulled a few out of the attic that he had not seen before and so he is doing them every day happily.

Chemistry with Makayla

The day's school work was uneventful. We read a book about what it is like to be an astronaut and the effects the lack of gravity have. We're further along in Tuesdays at the Castle, our book club title. Chemistry is going well for Makayla. Here is a quick picture from her work on accurate measurements and using volume and mass to calculate density.

Friday started early. I think my kids have a sixth sense about the fact that it is Friday and the earlier they get their school work done the earlier they are free for the weekend. They are quick to wake up, eat, and get to work. It's great! The only one not early out of bed today was my teen. No surprise there. She's soaking up what sleep she can get before early morning seminary begins.

I grabbed this cute picture of Tobias reading to himself on the couch this morning. I love that he sees this modeled by his siblings and follows along. He's enjoying Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?

It is evening as I edit the last notes for this post and we're watching Hidden Figures (aff) as a family. The conversations that come up around movies like this are so interesting! It seems like a different child has a question or thought to share each time. Dessert just came out of the oven and that is my cue to hit publish on this post. Have a great week!

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