This schooling thing.....and some homemaking!

Oh my friends, I can't believe I didn't post anything yesterday.  I know you forgive me though, after all, we have just started school again and it's taking a little bit to get everyone back on a routine.

It's always like this, you have your 3 months of summer and then school comes around and no one is used to it, so it is like a shock to the system.

Let's just say that this year, all 4 kids will have a very heavy work curriculum with no time to spare or mess around.  Long gone are the days where the boys would be able to get all their schooling done in 2 hours and then get to play for the rest of the day.

Nowadays, they are working consistently for hours on end, and sometimes, even at night.

I think though it is just an adjustment, they are going from 5th Grade to 6th and are no longer little ones, so they are finding it a bit hard to adjust to harder work and longer hours.  We will conquer it though.

Nicholas is still doing really well on his own, he enjoys being in his room in the quiet working.  The other 3 are doing ok as well, though they do tend to get a little distracted at times, so I spend a lot of my time going "sshhhhhhh" and "come on guys, concentrate".  But again, I think it is just these first few days while they get back into school routine mode.

I am often asked why I do this, why don't I just send them to public school.  I have answered that question so many times.  I don't like public schools, my kids don't do well in that environment and if I am able to be a part of their daily learning and see how they do, then THAT is what I will be doing.

I wouldn't trade homeschooling for nothing in this world, and neither would the kids.

They have all been in public school, and they are well aware of what that environment is like compared to being at home.  Every single one of them has reiterated over and over how much they prefer learning at their own pace and not being forced to go at the same pace as everyone else.

So there may be hard days, there may be days where my head is not in it, or the kids are not feeling it, but that is normal.  We deal with it, we take it one day at a time and we come back the next day refreshed and ready to go again.

Do you know how cool it is to be able to say that I know exactly what they are doing?

That I know what their strengths and weaknesses are?  That I know who is a visual learner and who is not, who can soak up the information just by reading and who needs to take notes?

It is a feeling like no other, to be able to be that involved in their education.  I absolutely love it.

Now, on the homemaking front,nothing major has been going on.  I'm kind of trying to find my place right  now too.  I have noticed that as I get back into this homeschooling routine, I am having to find ways of getting my housework done when I can.

Remember the laundry that I was so proud of not having on Monday?   Well it's back and with a vengeance, so I have to tackle that today.

I haven't had a chance to sit and knit or crochet either, but I do miss it so much.  I try to do it at night but it's not even worth trying because I nod off to sleep.

Last night I was watching The Great British Bake Off with Jasmine, and within 30 minutes I was asleep on the couch, so I just gave up.  Frustrating!

I am hoping and yearning for the next few weeks where I'll be able to get into some sort of rhythm and be able to juggle the school stuff and the homemaking stuff.  It's always quite the juggling act at first, but I do admit that after a while I am able to do both and not let my house suffer.

I will try my best not to let my blog suffer either, I've been so good about posting every single day and when I didn't yesterday it felt like I was missing something.  I can't have that, no sirree, something will be done about it.

Alrighty, so here is what is happening the rest of the day.........

Not sure what I'm having for lunch.  My husband son had some French Bread Pepperoni Pizzas but I don't feel like those.  I might just stick with a sandwich.  For dinner, I have chicken wings marinating with some Korean Spare Rib Sauce.  I have to get groceries tomorrow and didn't have anything I needed to make my wings, so I am using what I have on hand.  We'll see how they turn out.

I have started the Vikings, we'll see how I like that series.

I just finished The Borgias and really enjoyed those and I also have Rome to watch.  If you know of others along these lines, let me know.  Oh and Game of Thrones, I only watched Season 1 so I guess I could catch up on that one.

I'll also be watching The Great British Bake Off tonight with Jasmine.

Laundry
Clean bathrooms
Homeschooling
Menu planning and grocery list
Budget and paying bills