Where we are at:

I sat down this morning with my teacher book and calendar to evaluate where we are at or how far behind we are and found this:

With 42 weeks scheduled out in our 2007-2008 School Year we are currently in week 11 which is 11 weeks behind where we are scheduled to be on January 9. I know... 11 weeks, I am not even sure how we fell so far behind. A day here, a day there, a week over there, a month here... sigh. Here is my plan:

By January 29 we will be ending week 19 which will have us caught up to 9 weeks leaving us only 2 weeks behind. If we are diligent and catch up to week 20 by the 29 and then stay on course till the end we will finish up by Jun 27 but that is with NO breaks and honestly I don't see that happening because of Easter break which we always travel. We could double up that week before we leave so that we can stay on course. I will have to think about that. June 27 is a okay date to finish up though I would prefer earlier because that only gives us 1 month off before we begin the next year.

Here is what our next 3 weeks look like in each subject:

Bible Truths: We are going to do 1 of 2 things, either just continue as we are in it combining some of the easier lessons together until the end of the year with out stressing it out, just enjoying God’s word where we are or we will substitute this with a more causal bible study and wait until next year to start this again. It was actually a little above Superman’s grade level.
FLL: Simply combining 3 lessons each day until the 25 of Jan and then continue as usual a lesson a day until June 27.

Spelling Workout: We are actually not behind in our spelling lessons but we will be combining so that we will finish them by the 27th because on my schedule I had us finishing 9 weeks after… ? So we will double up on each lesson until the 12 of May where we will then be able to just do 1 lesson a week.

Horizons: In order to catch up in our math we will be doubling x 2 for 2 weeks and then doubling for 1 week and then by the 28 of Jan we will be exactly where we should be. We have already begun to to do this and it is working just fine, he enjoys math and is very quick at it.
SOTW: Read 3 chapters a week with good discussion and lots of books from library until the 4th of February and then we will be caught up.

Science: We are just having fun with space right now, we are not on any schedule. Where ever we are lead until the 27 of June!

Nature Walks: resume as usual

Amazingly we will be able to do this with a lot of prayer and diligence! May God walk with us through the next 6 months of our homeschool year!

Homeschooling with distractions

With homeschooling it is easy for others to casually think that we can take off at any time since we are home and all. The idea is that we can simply put school on hold for a few hours or even a few days to comply with new plans and this is acceptable in some cases but not always. I have taken school on the road before and in Walmart but when the whole day is going to be sabotaged what do you do? We live out of town and so I want to try and allow both visitors and school to co-exist. Trying to compile all of our subjects into a very small amount of time can be to stressful on all of us and can take away from the in "depth" learning of each subject when we have to do this but it is do-able. I sometimes wish we had our own building that we could run out to and that way we are not "home". This would help with a lot of things such as daily distractions such as phone, cleaning, computers, toys, and cooking and it would take away the casual idea of school because you must actually "go" to school which gives the illusion somehow that it is more important and can't be interrupted. Maybe not but it seems like that is the way it would work.
When considering the daily distractions I am realizing these things:

1. That I need to commit a designated amount s of time strictly to homeschooling. During that time if the phone rings then it will just have to ring, it is not vital that I answer every call in case of an emergency. There is such thing as a message that I can check just for that reason.

2. Cleaning must take a back row seat in our classroom even though the classroom is it's domain. In order to help relieve the temptation of picking up the broom or vacuum I must have a cleaning routine that allows me to have a clean house before we begin school. And then if I allow it to slip and not follow it then I must be disciplined in putting homeschooling as an absolute first.

3. Cooking again needs to have a specific time of its own so that it does not call me away from my priority of teaching my children.

4. The computer and tv. These 2 distractions need to be highly supervised and restricted during any and all school hours. The computer can become a major distraction for me personally and the tv can play a big hindrance in the obtaining of and enjoyment of learning. I hope to give myself an open pass to "play" on the computer or blog at a specific time in the morning only with absolutely no exceptions can my time run over, a bodyguard would be nice to escort me out if I do decide to resist. The tv is restricted until Friday in which they are given 2 hours of time to watch either individual cartoons or 1 select movie.

5. Always start directly on time otherwise the clock can cause havoc.

6. Self can really get in the way to if she is aloud to rein the emotional pool. Let's face it we don't always "feel" like enforcing school on our children because it drains a lot from us and causes us to pour all of the energy that we have out just to get through it all. She is always with you and she is hard to silence sometimes but there is another that is gently guiding you… But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16

Homeschooling is a major responsibility that we have taken on, the education of our children is in our hands and we will be held accountable for what they know and what they do not know. I don’t know about you but I need to take this a little more seriously and be more disciplined at times, there is NO room for a any relaxed learning.