Homeschool, Day 2

I'm fairly certain the above picture clearly demonstrates how our day went.  Things pretty much deteriorated and crashed right after this picture.  And remained that way for the rest of the day.

I had planned a trip to the library and the lake to see the ducks, to go with the book we are reading.  However, due to bad attitudes all around, yes, including mommy, this was cancelled.  We headed home after some errands and we were all sent to our rooms, yes, including mommy.

I had a feeling that the day was going to be difficult.  My kids were very amped up when we sat down to start.  I should have made them run laps first or something.
We did have some good school time, but not what I planned.  And I have a hard time when things don't go as planned.  I need to learn to be more flexible with this and have a 'plan B'.

I sent an exasperated email to a friend and she sent me back some encouragement.  And reminded me it takes time to figure out what works for each kid.  It's good to be reminded I can do this.  And growing pains are going to happen.

The entire day was a difficult one.  And I won't be receiving any Yay Mom awards any time soon.
Tomorrow, I plan to take it a bit easy and ensure we do some fun 'school' things.  I knew I would have some difficult times with homeschooling, I was warned.  I just didn't expect it on day two!

What our first day of Homeschool looked like

People have been asking me why I'm starting early with homeschool.  I have a lot going on the next two months including surgery and a 10 day trip to Mexico.  So I wanted to get started and get some things set.  Not to mention how excited my kids are to get going.  I think I'll take advantage of their excitement while it's there.
I wanted to get going by 9am, with the kids dressed and breakfast in them.  It worked out well considering my girl was up at 5am.  Breakfast was some organic ancient grain pancakes, a favorite of ours.

We started with a series that has come highly recommended.  Five in a Row.  You read one book for the week and it covers Math, Art, Science, Geography and Social Studies.  It's pretty great.  You read the book each day and review one subject.  Today we did math, which consisted of counting a lot of thing in the book.  This week we are doing The Story of Ping.

The kids were excited, but 5 minutes in, they wanted to know when recess and snack time were.  But they seem to really enjoy the story and looking at the pictures to count different things.
Next we did some color recognition and sorting with beads, to help with their fine motor skills.  I then had them string the beads on corresponding pipe cleaners. 

Then we had recess!  I sent the kids outside to play.  I didn't time them.  But they came back in about 20 minutes later wanting more 'school'
My boy sat down to practice number writing and my girl sat down to color.

I would say it was a great first day.  We cleaned up and headed out to the dentist and come home to have cereal.  Yup, that's right, nothing fantastic, just cereal.  They had a great rest of the day.  And in the afternoon they wanted to play volleyball.  Daddy has been teaching them volleyball.  So after dinner it was some volleyball, trampoline time and races.

And yes, my boy is in his underwear, and yes, it's on backwards.  He is fully aware of this.  He likes to see the pictures...so he wears them backwards.  I don't ask anymore.

Menu Plan Monday

Between Camping and the one year anniversary of my brother in laws death; we've had a few busy weeks.
It's time to get back to my menu planning.  We've eaten out more than we should and it's time to tighten the purse strings and get back on track.
We have a lot coming up in the next two months, starting homeschooling for the first time, surgery for me with a 6 week recovery and a 10 day trip to Mexico with my family.
I feel like that's a lot for me.  But my kids are super keen to get going with school so we are starting earlier then most Canadian kids.  I figure I need to take advantage of their excitement and get going.  Who knows, soon enough they may not be so keen and I'll be happy I took advantage of this time.

So back into Menu Planning...

MONDAY
Chicken and Kale Soup
Cut Veggies

TUESDAY
Bourbon Street Chicken
Brown Zucchini Rice
Salad

Source: bigoven.com via Tara on Pinterest

 

Source: pink-parsley.com via Tara on Pinterest

WEDNESDAY
Pizza
Salad

Source: the-lifeofus.blogspot.ca via Tara on Pinterest

THURSDAY
Crockpot Minestrone Soup
Mile High Biscuits

Source: skinnytaste.com via Tara on Pinterest

 

Source: dealstomeals.blogspot.ca via Tara on Pinterest

FRIDAY
Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Salad

Source: recipes.prevention.com via Tara on Pinterest

SATURDAY
I'll be canning dill pickles this day
so left overs

SUNDAY
Egg and Veggie Scramble
Farmer Sausage

For more menu planning ideas be sure to check out
The Organizing Junkie every Monday