Homeschooling

A couple nights ago I got the school room all ready for its first students this year.  We're having to do things a little differently.  The older children are pretty much self led at this point.  They are using an online school this year that does all the grading and record keeping for me.  Sydney is finishing up some odds and ends and will be graduating sooner than later.  This leaves me with 9th, 8th, and 6th for the Bigs.  They are using Monarch for history,  science, grammar, bible, and Spanish and health for Hannah.  We are using writeathome.com for writing and Teaching Textbooks for math. 

Since the Bigs are all able to do their own thing I'm  left with what to do with the Littles?  I mean, some of them have to learn, right?  ;)  I am currently teaching 2nd grade to both Luke and Joslyn, and kindergarten to James Michael.  This leaves me with a pre-schooler, a toddler, and a newborn to do who knows what with during school hours.

I knew I would need a plan.  I've never had so many Littles while trying to school before.  I needed some way to contain the potential disaster of not having my eyes on them EVERY.SINGLE.SECOND.  But how?  We've always just done school at the dining room table.  That way, I can cook and clean and be centrally located but, let's face it.....With a kindergartner and a struggling learner there's no way I'm going to have the chance to multi-task this year.  Add in a nursing baby.............Yeah, you're starting to get it, aren't you?

So, here's what I've done..........

I chose to have a school room right next to the Little Boys' room.  There's a TV in there (with educational videos, don't have a heart attack) and the toys are limited so the mess is rather containable.  I installed a baby gate from the wall to the banister to keep the Littles in this corner of the house.  Now, while I'm teaching, I know Liberty and Israel are limited to the safety of space I have chosen.  Truth be told, they both sat with us at the table in the school room today anyway.  But, ya know, if they ever WANT to escape....they can't!  BWAHAHAHA!

I used a piece of quilt batting to make a flannel graph board outside the bedroom door.  Right now, all I have are these dinosaurs but I plan to steal permanently borrow some bible characters from some of our outdated Sunday school materials at church.  Don't tell the head of the program....oh, wait.....that's me.

Right outside the boys' and school room door there's a computer station with an old desk top so they can play educational games if they finish their work and have "free time".

Here's looking in the door at our shelves and table.  See how nicely organized they are?  Yeah, give it a week! LOL  On the other side of those shelves is my quilting area.  I won't take a picture of that.  It's scary!

Looking to the left of the door you can see Luke and Joslyn's shelves of materials.  Games with lots of pieces and puzzles are kept up high so a certain little nephew of mine who just ADORES dumping everything out at his Auntie's can not reach them!  See those blue boxes?  Took me three hours to sort the cards after his last visit! LOL  (I wasn't laughing then!  I was watching Law and Order Criminal Intent. I wonder if there's a correlation?)

To the right of the door are James Michael's school books, children's picture and board books, and mom approved art supplies.  Read between the lines:  No glitter or beads!

The view, just to make you drool.

The shelves that separate the school room from the quilting room.  The less mom approved art supplies are kept here along with bigger kid games, science kits, chapter books, and easy readers.  Remember that scene in the Wizard of Oz where Toto pulls back the curtain and the old man is back there pretending to be the wizard and saying "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain"?  Yes?  Good.  Pay no attention to the mess in the left of the picture! ;)

We started off our first day of school with cupcakes.  I had to get them in the room somehow, right?  Liberty sleeps 'till 11-12 or so, so she missed out.

I read to them and we discussed fantasy and realism and how authors often combine the two to make a story more interesting.  We also predicted story outcomes by using cues from the illustrations. Even Israel was happy to "help" with this part!

James Michael practices the letter "Cc"!

Liberty wakes up and after having toast and a banana comes to join the party!

Luke and Joslyn both write out this week's memory verses to keep in their rooms.  They also wrote alliterations today.  Luke's was:  Mack Mouse makes macaroni.

Joslyn, of course, took school VERY seriously!

And, with that, I'm going to bed!  Hope you all enjoyed a peek into our day!  'Night!