The first week – Whew! We survived. 
I’d rather report that things went perfectly, the kids were angels, they loved all their schoolwork and I was the relaxed, smiling and enjoyed every minute. The reality is that it was a bit rough. We had some really bright spots, but we also had some real challenges.  

One highlight was when my daughter who is delayed in reading and spelling decided to write a story.  She’s in 4th grade and the content of he story was fantastic. I was totally impressed. The spelling, however, was horrible. Horrible as in almost every word was misspelled. But, she discovered spell check and was so excited. Now she can write and just needs a bit of help editing. She also loved her learn to type program. I was surprised she enjoyed it so much. I scheduled it just two days and she decided to work on it everyday. Victory!  (Affiliate Link)

I’m also excited that my 10th grader enjoyed all of his subjects. He said all of his books were interesting. Another Victory! I say this because I agonized over his selections. The first half of last year was not enjoyable for him and we both struggled. So it’s a real joy and relief to know we are off to a good start. 

One of my main challenges was getting the children to cooperate. My 4th grader and 1st grader had a hard time switching gears and getting going in the mornings. So, our days ran long. The children were also loud, loud, loud so the baby had a hard time sleeping. And that in turn made it difficult for read alouds and one on one work.  

In general, I struggle with school and my 1st grader because he’s learned to read on his own and does 3rd grade math. He’s definitely gifted in those areas and in some ways I feel lead to just let him do his thing. Obviously, he hasn’t needed me so far! At this point math is what he’s interested in and does several lessons at a time.  
My little ones thoroughly enjoyed one on one time with me. It was a delight to read with them. They also loved Ziggy, the puppet that comes with AAR Pre Reading. The kids insisted that Ziggy join us for bible time and read aloud too. I even had a chance to pull out the paints and my 4 year old said that was his favorite part of the week.  The biggest challenge was keeping them quiet while the others worked. They both talk very loudly.  

Our other major challenge was food! We are gluten free, mostly dairy free and I’m egg free. This makes breakfast frustratingly difficult. Convenience foods are not an option for us and cooking in the morning takes time away from school time. I’m hoping to put together a better game plan for next week.  

I think the favorite part of my week was our Geography time. I’ve been waiting for years to do Beautiful Feet’s Geography. I purchased the maps that go with the program forever ago and I finally got to hang the first one on the wall. I am matching up the Beautiful Feet Geography with Simply Charlotte Mason’s Modern Geography and I think we will all enjoy it. My daughter labeled our first few rivers and I must admit it killed me not to be the one doing the writing. I’m a bit of a perfectionist.   

I pray your school week went well!  I’d love to hear about your week so comment and let me know!  

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