Testing the Waters

After window shopping and comparing for over a year, I finally ordered Gracie's first grade curriculum. I settled on a combination of two very similar curricula: Alpha Omega Publication's Lifepacs and Christian Light Publications. I combined them because using CLP is much cheaper, but I didn't like their LA or Math, so I got Lifepacs for those. AOP is an offshoot of CLP, and the scope and sequence is identical. Both programs include 5 core subjects (Bible, Math, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies), and both divide the lessons into 10 small workbooks, one for each month. So you just teach from the teacher's guide, and the student uses their workbook. No separate textbooks and test books and listening CD's. It seemed really simple, straightforward, efficient.

When it arrived in the mail. I tore open the boxes, eager to see what adventures awaited Gracie and me this upcoming year. Language Arts, Lesson One: Short "a" sound. Math: Count to 9. Uh-oh, they must have sent me kindergarten instead. I look at the covers. It's first grade. Well it must be review, it will get more challenging throughout the year. I look ahead several months...not really. I'm not sure what to do. Should I send them back? Use them and supplement where Gracie needs it? My goal, philosophy if you will, was to cover the basics gently, yet thoroughly, spending a small amount of the day on bookwork and the rest of the day involved with hands-on stuff: chores to develop real-life skills, baking, reading about interests,small science projects, nature journaling, and lots of outdoor play. I debate for several days, and decide to keep the books. I'd rather things be too simple than too advanced.

From there I start working out a schedule. I want to have order and routine, but still be flexible. I sit down with the books and lesson planner and schedule everything in for September, including vacation, playdates, roller skating day, and a once a month class at the Wetlands institute. It looks awesome. The only thing is I don't really know how long schoolwork will take each day. I decide to do a trial run on Friday, sort of an "orientation" day like schools have, and then over the weekend I can sit down with my planner and tweak things.

So Friday arrives. This is how the day should go:
6am-  get up,devotions, exercise, shower, make breakfast
7:30-Gracie gets up
8-Gracie eats breakfast, then does chores while I feed Luke
9-  Bible
9:30- Math
10- Language and reading
11- outdoor play
12-lunch

After lunch Gracie has free time while I get Caleb and Luke down for naps, then
2-2:30 Social studies or science(they are twice a week subjects)

This is how the day really goes:
2:30 am- Caleb sleepwalks into our room babbling stuff. Put him back to bed.
3 am- Luke is screaming. I change, feed, rock him. He is wide awake.
4:30- finally get Luke back to sleep
5 am- Jeremiah's alarm wakes me up, I go back to sleep
6am- Jeremiah wakes me up to say goodbye
(at some point during all this sleep-interrupting, I unconsciously turn my alarm off)
8:54 am-Gracie wakes me up out of a dead sleep. I get up and Caleb is in the kitchen with his rainboots on, which he only puts on to go outside. Looks like Gracie got me up just in time... I cannot believe I slept that late. I make breakfast, get everyone dressed, etc, and by the time I'm ready to start it's 10 am (Freddy jinxed me-he was teasing me that's when we would start) BUT, everything goes awesome. We do Bible, Math, and Language, and they all take longer than I expect, which is good. We play outside, have some lunch, and when the boys go to sleep I set up a short "a" scavenger hunt outside. Great day. I can't wait to do it again Monday.

We have a really full weekend. Lots of fun, but busy. Before I know it, next week's schedule gets jam-packed too. Probably the busiest week all summer.

Monday we have a playdate at 11, so my goal is to do Bible and Math before we leave, and the rest when we come home. This is one of the advantages of homeschooling, right? Flexibility to do things, yet still learn. But Gracie drags her feet getting up. She doesn't do her chores on time. She keeps daydreaming. She take 40 minutes to eat breakfast. No work gets done, but we have a great playdate. And I figure we're still ahead of the game because we did work on Friday. When we get home we are greeted by a ninety degree house. The AC compressor finally died. We knew it was coming but WHHYYyyy......

Tuesday my parents are coming over. We finish Bible and Math before they come, but Gracie is spaced out the whole time. We are all too hot. Gracie says her arms are tired (her go-to excuse for anything she doesn't want to do) When my parents arrive at 10 I let Gracie play with them. They leave around 2:30 and I get Caleb in for a nap. Almost 3. We are planning on finishing up, but Luke has rolled on his stomach and is crying. When I pick him up, there is blood in the corner of his eye! He's been scratching his face and now he's gotten his eye too. So I make an appointment with the doctor,spend the next 20 minutes getting ready to leave, and don't get home from there till 5 pm. Thankfully, his eye isn't scratched, but so much for the rest of the lessons.

That brings us to today. Today was a little better. We completed our lessons, but with the AC broken we are all pretty miserable. Everyone is sweaty. Luke is cranky, and his fat little neck is getting rashy. There were lots of interruptions. Lots of phone calls. Lots of Luke screaming. Caleb smooshing his hands in the triple paste jar. The rest of the week looks worse. Two doctors appointments and a playdate tomorrow, and Comcast will be here most of Friday. Not to mention what my house looks like. It's sloppier than my schedule. What was I thinking? Why did I start now? I thought I could fit it all in, but I was wrong, wrong, wrong!

It's too soon for us to try to schedule schoolwork around everything else. Maybe after we've got our routine down, we can do that, but the past few days have been all over the place, and no one is really enjoying it. That's a horrible way to get started! My parents wanted to come over again next week, and I told them no. I think I need a good solid week for us to get the hang of things before we start throwing stuff in the mix. Maybe longer. I hate being a stickler, and saying no to fun activities, but I'm gonna have to for a while. I feel like people aren't taking me seriously. This is work. It's like I picked up a part time job, and I've already called in sick a bunch of times!

So the plan is to keep the schedule clear next week. Get caught up on the housework this weekend, and start fresh on Monday morning, with the day and the week wide open. Hopefully we will have smooth sailing next week. Well, smoother.