Pros/Cons of having no kids around...

Pros and Cons of having the kids gone for a week or two...


Pros:

You can sleep as late as you want or until the dog’s whining to go out wakes you or hubby thinks it is time for you to get up, even though it is the weekend and is raining therefore your plans for the day are cancelled.

You don’t have to do dishes every day (or twice a day).

You don’t have to do laundry every day.

No yelling or fighting …at least not among the kids!.

You can watch whatever you want and not worry about little ears hearing or little eyes seeing inappropriate things.

You can sit around all day and no one will bug you, unless hubby is home.

You can walk around naked or in your underwear and as long as your blinds are closed only you and the dog will know-not that I did this. LOL

You can go shopping and spend hours in the book section without kids screaming that they are bored. I did do this and it was absolute bliss!



Cons:

It is just you... by yourself... all day.

It is just you and unromantic hubby all weekend. (What am I going to do when the kids move out?!)

I am bored. (And no I do not want to clean.)

First week of the 2010-2011 school year...

So we have one more day to complete our first week of homeschooling for the 2010-11 school year….I have to say it has gone pretty good. We did not start slowly- we started with all subjects, just as we will through-out the year. My schedule, which may change later but seems to be working now, requires us to get up around 8am. Chores and breakfast have to be done by 9am when school starts. We have a calendar on the wall with the lesson plans so the kids know what they are to do. The first subject is Spelling, which we do together. K is older and can do some subjects on his own. But we also do science, our last subject of the school day, together - which is usually around lunch time or right after. I know I am going to tweak a few things around. Next week K will not be doing the same spelling as the younger boys and will require a different time. I have already switched K’s history and math times so that I can instruct J in history and then K in history. The math K usually can do mainly on his own. But the structure should remain the same.


Our first day went relativity good. I jokingly told family that we had a great day- J only said he hated school twice! :-) In reality he basically had ½ meltdowns that I was able to corral before they became full meltdowns. But we still were able to get through the work and lunch by about 1pm.

The second day went better for J but not for K, the oldest. He became very frustrated with his mistakes and started saying he was “stupid”. After a break he was better. On a side note J did not want to get up this am. He was very grumpy during our chore time, but eventually got over it. I guess I wore him out on the first day of school!! :-)

The third day (today) we all slept in a little. I didn’t hear the alarm go off at 8am. K woke up around 9am, woke me up, and started his chores. J was definitely in a better mood since I “let” him sleep in! He did, though, have issues with staying on target today.

So every day is a different challenge, and requires different solutions. I am still excited about the school year and think that as long as we can stay on schedule (and get up on time! LOL) we will continue to have a great year