Quarantine-School: Our Day

My baby is sleeping-in this morning, so I am writing. I’m often jotting down scattered bits and pieces. But, I’m wanting to be more structured about finishing projects. So I’m trying to collect the beginnings of things and create a stack of further-alongs.

I will paint today. Because it gives me life. Today’s project, a simple detail in the living room, on the wall above the piano.

We will do lessons in math & literature in the kitchen after breakfast. The kids are old enough to read and follow instructions, so my role is really just explaining the new concept and helping with questions. Journey works with pattern sheets and tangrams while the older two do their table work.

We will continue reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. We’ll also continue in Psalms.

I’ve started introducing different poems I’ve been touched by in our morning read-aloud time. We’re also starting-in on observing Jacob Lawrence paintings.

In crafting our homeschool day I think about what they need AND what I need. I probably lean more heavily on considering what I need. If I’m miserable, so are they. If I’m uninspired, they may also be. Thinking about my favorite teachers from school, the best were always the ones who were lit up by what they taught. I want to craft a day that allows us all to light up together.

Throughout our week we also bake, sew, mold clay, color, color, paint, paint, and they build and pretend and tell each other stories that have been magic-ed in their minds.

Side Note: We also have our heavy portion of tantrums and tears and time spent mustering the humility to apologize and ask for forgiveness. It’s messy and broken, but every bit of it is my best, favorite life.

Another Side Note: 24 weeks of our school year we participate in Classical Conversations, which offers great material and accountability for a big bulk of our more rigorous academic work. This allows us a great deal of freedom in how we spend the rest of our time.