That Week That We Got Back on Track {week 17}

Here we go again.

Monday  We of course went to CC on Monday.  I really want to like CC.  The kids (and I) learn great stuff in a great method.  But it's just a beating for me to be there.  I don't feel like I belong, the kids haven't made friends with really anyone, and I've found that I just don't like other people's kids.  I hate to admit that.  But when you're around a bunch of kids in one day for hours at a time, you really realize how different everyone parents and how expectations are different in each house.

Don't get me wrong.  CC is an excellent program.  And the campus we are at is friendly and welcoming.  I just haven't clicked with anyone and neither have my kids.  And I'm sure the kids at our campus aren't any better or worse (behavior-wise) than kids at other campuses.

Here is claire (with her back to the camera) in her class doing a science experiment with her classmates.

Tuesday  Tuesday started off with a bang.  Well not really.  But it makes Tuesday sound more interesting than it actually was.

We started on time (!) and I felt just about back to normal mood-wise.  I didn't immediately feel like a failure and that I can't do this one more day.  So SUCCESS!  When I dip down mood-wise, it seems to only last 2-4 days and then I'm back to feeling normal.  I'm thankful for my bad days.  Because without them, I wouldn't realize how good I feel the rest of the time!

Jack, reading:

This is how Claire feels about completing her math pages:

Cade and I actually started our Essentials work (instead of skipping it like we normally do).  And that felt good to get started.

Wednesday  We started a little late but got caught up quickly.  After being confined to her bedroom the previous afternoon and evening, Claire was giddily excited to be out and about among people again.  The kids had a few skirmishes, but things smoothed out and we got our work done.

And this qualifies as engineering and math time, right?

Thursday  Thursday started off well.  We got started on time (!) and pushed through our work.  Everyone was pretty focused and on task, which was just shy of a miracle.


Friday  We got bizzzzay (busy) Friday morning and got quite a bit done.  Unfortunately, math dragged on and on (and on and on) because kids were playing around.  Thankfully I didn't have to stick around for all of that... it was up to the kids to complete their work so that they could get to play games and play outside.

We have decided to institute a no-video games/no-TV/no-electronics rule during the week (monday through friday afternoon).  This was the first week, and I do have to say, it was AWESOME. 

General Thoughts  We are still working on good attitudes.  And what it means to be courteous of others (ie: not making extraneous noises while others are concentrating on work).

It's the time of year that we need to start thinking about plans for next year.  Registration for CC is coming up around the corner and we need to decide 1) if we are going to homeschool next year, and if we are, 2) is we are going to do CC next year. 

Homeschooling is difficult and exhausting for me (and just about everyone else).  That in and of itself doesn't mean I should stop doing it.  But if I would be a much better mom to my kids if I didn't homeschool, then I probably should stop.  And therein lies the key: would I be a much better mom if I didn't homeschool?  Am I so wasted by the end of the day/week that I'm hurting rather than nurturing my children?

I need to pray and reflect on those questions.  My gut tells me that, no, I am not so wasted at the end of the day or week that I am hurting rather than nurturing my kids.  Yes, I have my bad days where I have to apologize to my kids for my behavior.  But doesn't every mom, whether or not they homeschool?

If we do continue to homeschool, we need to make a few changes.  I'm thinking of going to workboxes to give my kids a little more autonomy over their days.   Right now, I'm juggling what 3 kids are doing, directing them to which subject (and what pages/books etc) to do at that moment.  And it's kind of hectic, and the kids have no ownership of the day.  I've tried giving them a list of daily subjects along with page numbers, etc, but they had no clue what to do with that and didn't like it.  Then I just tried giving them a simple list of subjects for each day, but then they still needed me to tell them what pages to work on.  Workboxes could simplify and solve this problem.  Or they could just be a lot of extra work for me.  Who knows.