Weekly wrap-up - August 19

This week marked our first back into full-time lessons. As always there was laughter, tears, anxiety, joy, and relief...I'm sure the kids felt some of these same emotions. Wink, wink.

Getting up earlier and being ready to begin our lessons by 9am has been an adjustment after a summer of very late nights and late mornings. We've made it every morning, though, and are all grateful to get so much in before lunch. I would like to get started a little earlier, as would Reeves, but Embree and Brice are both night owls and really do function better on a more flexible schedule. Besides, starting later allows me to have a cup of coffee with Todd before he leaves for work...a quiet moment for us that we never see later in the day.

Struggles this week: 

• Getting up and on task, for some of us. 
• Getting out of vacation mode and back into work. 
• Reeves did not respond as well as hoped to our chosen, online math curriculum, so we moved him back into a paper-based program (much better for his particular needs). 
• Though I have detailed plans for Brice's preK lessons, I am finding it difficult to spend extended periods of time with him because the big kids still need a great deal of assistance. Of course, I am all for him playing and exploring more than formal lessons, but I know that next year's kindergarten curriculum will pose a challenge if I don't use this year as practice. I am very hand-on in a number of our subjects (Science, Latin, History, Arts) and plan to stay that way. This year's goal will be to help Embree and Reeves discover ways in which they can be self-sufficient in Reading, Grammar, Math, Spelling, and Writing so that Brice can have more of my attention next year.

Milestones this week: 

• We started on time everyday! 
• The kids are completing their own assignment lists in personal agenda books (step one to personal responsibility). 
• Embree really liked the new online math curriculum we chose (Khan Academy) and it works as quickly or slowly as she needs on each concept. 
• We joined friends for a trip to the Frazier History Museum in Louisville on Thursday. Our main reason for visiting was to see a traveling exhibit about Leonardo Da Vinci. The life size replicas of his contraptions and the hand-on version of some of his machines made for a memorable day. 
• Today, we followed up our visit by building a replica of his Cathdral of Florence and a working model of one of his flying machines. A great way to kick off our studies in Engineering this year!

Finally, I thought I'd share our first day of school pictures.

Every moment is a teachable moment!

Have a great week!