4 weeks and counting......

Last week we completed our fourth week of homeschooling!!! We all survived, and are having fun learning together! To be honest, some days seem like a chore, other days are a delight. We are learning to see each kind of day as a blessing together. The boys are doing great. They are both perfectionist, so we are trying to focus on learning to LOVE learning and not getting so bogged down. Reading together is, as always their favorite part of school, but they seem to enjoy the other tasks as well, especially handwriting.



Since it is summer time, we take advantage of a little sunscreen learning. One of the boys' favorite games is for me to "write" letters and numbers on their backs with sunscreen and then they guess what I wrote. The last two weeks Luke and Ben took swim lessons. They both did wonderful. We wish we had access to a pool all the time so they could get more practice!

Math seems to be a struggle for both boys, so we try to add some fun instead of all workbooks.

Here Luke and Ben are learning about measuring height.



Here the boys are tracing shapes with twizzlers! :)



The boys especially loved when I was at work last Monday. Daddy let them skip naps to have a lesson on woodworking! :)


One area I am a work in progress is being too efficient. I don't ever want my "to-do" list to come before my relationships. One area this comes into play is teaching the boys to be more independent. For the sake of time management it is SOOO much easier to just do things myself then teach the boys how to do it. This is an area we worked on a lot this month. I have been trying to slow down and teach, rather than rush and do.

On that note, I am working hard to teach the boys some new skills and chores and increase their responsibilities. This month the boys learned how to sequence and complete all the steps to make grilled cheese (minus the actual cooking) and pb&j.




Another area we have been experimenting with is allowing the boys to have some responsibility in the mornings. Remember our "PLAN"? Well, it was not working so well recently because Luke especially is an EARLY bird riser! Since the bathroom is joined to Gracie's bedroom, she was waking up at 6 AM with Luke in a terribly grumpy mood! So, we had to adjust the plan. Now the boys change clothes, come downstairs to go potty, and then they have an activity laid out for them to do. I use cookie sheets with an initial magnet so each boy has their own "work" to do that morning. If they finish their activity they get books and sit on the couch and read until Mommy comes downstairs (usually around 7 ish with Jacob). Some days they have puzzles, coloring or dot-to-dot books, pattern shape puzzles, or lacing cards to work on, it is always a surprise. So far, this is working out well and Gracie can sleep in until 7:30, which makes for a much happier toddler!!!



Coming soon......ideas of how to keep a busy toddler entertained while we home school! :)