Pacing Myself

Goodness knows I wouldn't want to push myself to actually get anything done. I sat down and did lesson plans for the next three weeks. All of our extras will have started and there are a couple of, um, extra extras that I added to the schedule. Those aren't things that we participate in on a regular basis. Those are extra things in case we sit too long and get bored. Wouldn't that be interesting? Our extras fall at weird times this year. With some of them it seems like they cut our day in half. I gotta figure something out with that.

Before we get too much further with our history, we are going to do a 17th century lapbook. That bad boy is huge. It's a big 3 folder lapbook. I have a different one, but it's also a unit study that's over 200 pages. Not sure I could keep the kids attention for that thing. As it is, it'll take us three weeks to finish it. All of our books have been requested from the library and are on their way. Can you hear the boy cheering? Yeah, I can't either. That's one of the reasons I requested a book about the gross and disgusting side of colonial America. I figured it would keep his interest. I'm kind of looking forward to it myself. Then we start expanding westward. The kids have become fascinated by the Donner party. Great.

We still haven't done any of our experiments. I'm actually ok with that. We have watched alot of How It's Made and Discovery channel and Animal Planet. That's just going to have to do it for now. I'll get it worked in. Sometime. See why I plan in pencil? I'm actually looking forward to science. We haven't done many experiments in the past and it's something the kids want to do. I'll get to it, I'll get to it.

Just like I'll get to cleaning my house. Have you seen my bathroom. Ugh! That is on my agenda for today. Yesterday before we started school, we had to clean the house. Not all of it, just the parts that we use everyday, like the living room. Laundry piled as high as it could go. It all got folded and most of it put away. I was going to wipe down the kitchen, but that's today. If I didn't know me, I wouldn't eat anything that came out of my kitchen. Ok, it's not that bad, but it's bad enough. Then we had to run errands. We schooled when we got home. As much as the kids drag their feet in the afternoon, we actually got done in record time. We'll see how today goes.

And because we have so much free time, I'm working on field trips. There are a couple of interesting local museums. Don't go to the antique car museum, though. Kids aren't allowed. They might touch the cars. Really? I marked that one off the list. I think that's just crazy. Apparently, they don't want anyone coming in that is under 60. You have to love field trips, though. Get me out of the house and away from the books.

I am re-evaluating the big girl's math. I'm not sure it's everything she needs. I'm not sure that there's enough practice involved. That is something you won't hear from me often. I am the "show me you mastered it in 10 problems, we'll skip the rest" kind of gal. But after her quiz yesterday, I'm having doubts. Not about her. I'll give it a couple more weeks, then make a decision. She's done well with this curriculum in the past, but this is kind of a crucial year. I don't want her to start geometry next year and have no clue. I looked at an algebra book at the book store the other day that I may use instead. This is the part I don't like, the second guessing. Currently, her math is on computer, but it would be easier to take it with us if it were a book and not on my laptop. It looks like I've already made my decision. I'll take her to the bookstore so we can peruse. If I'm buying new math, I want to make sure this one fits her style and she can learn from it.

I have bored you enough with the glories of homeschooling and messy houses. Guess I better get started on both of those things. Oh wait, I'm pacing myself.

Have a great day.