Warning: really boring post - just a journal for me
Here is how the calendar looked the second half of the summer:
After our cruise, we came home to slowly get back to real life, for two weeks, that is. I missed Kara after being gone for so long, but we got back into school very nicely. I was glad that after 3 weeks off from school, she did so well. Then we left for Deep Creek Lake, where she spent her time with the whole family, and not me very much at all. No problem, we do these family trips so everyone can spend time with her. Then we went straight to see Michael's family. Then we came home.
When we started school up again when we got home, we were NOT in the groove, like usual. School with Kara and I is usually so much fun. Yes, she groans when I tell her it's time to diagram sentences, but generally it's fun and sweet and we cuddle and laugh and learn a LOT. Not this day! Not this WEEK! She didn't want to do school, she had a bad attitude, and she cried a bit. Nothing was super hard, nothing was different, we just had spent so much time apart over the last month that our dynamic was off.
So, what to do? I knew we needed to get back in the mommy-daughter groove we usually have. So, I spent Saturday bonding a bit with her and giggling and having fun. I also decided to change up the way we do school a little bit. For the last year or so, we have been doing a week's worth of one subject in one day. So, all the English for the week was done on Tuesday. All the history for the week was done on Monday. And so on. She liked diving into one subject and asking questions and looking things up. It was a richer experience than bouncing around all day. Well, I decided to switch back to doing several subjects in one day, so we could do less of each again.
This was just what we needed. As soon as I told her we didn't have a week's worth of grammar to do, she was IN. We had to do it every day now, but she's fine with that. We may go back to the old way when this way gets boring, but I am fine with that.
Lesson learned: our homeschool dynamic is wonderful. If something isn't working, it's not my fault, it's not her fault. It is just time to change things up a bit. Get outside. Do things in a different order. Do school at a different time of day or in a different room. Keep it fresh. I know it's not for everyone, but homeschool has been such a huge blessing for us and our entire family, really. Thank you, Lord, for this extraordinary life. Even when it doesn't work for a week here and there. :-)
After our cruise, we came home to slowly get back to real life, for two weeks, that is. I missed Kara after being gone for so long, but we got back into school very nicely. I was glad that after 3 weeks off from school, she did so well. Then we left for Deep Creek Lake, where she spent her time with the whole family, and not me very much at all. No problem, we do these family trips so everyone can spend time with her. Then we went straight to see Michael's family. Then we came home.
When we started school up again when we got home, we were NOT in the groove, like usual. School with Kara and I is usually so much fun. Yes, she groans when I tell her it's time to diagram sentences, but generally it's fun and sweet and we cuddle and laugh and learn a LOT. Not this day! Not this WEEK! She didn't want to do school, she had a bad attitude, and she cried a bit. Nothing was super hard, nothing was different, we just had spent so much time apart over the last month that our dynamic was off.
So, what to do? I knew we needed to get back in the mommy-daughter groove we usually have. So, I spent Saturday bonding a bit with her and giggling and having fun. I also decided to change up the way we do school a little bit. For the last year or so, we have been doing a week's worth of one subject in one day. So, all the English for the week was done on Tuesday. All the history for the week was done on Monday. And so on. She liked diving into one subject and asking questions and looking things up. It was a richer experience than bouncing around all day. Well, I decided to switch back to doing several subjects in one day, so we could do less of each again.
This was just what we needed. As soon as I told her we didn't have a week's worth of grammar to do, she was IN. We had to do it every day now, but she's fine with that. We may go back to the old way when this way gets boring, but I am fine with that.
Lesson learned: our homeschool dynamic is wonderful. If something isn't working, it's not my fault, it's not her fault. It is just time to change things up a bit. Get outside. Do things in a different order. Do school at a different time of day or in a different room. Keep it fresh. I know it's not for everyone, but homeschool has been such a huge blessing for us and our entire family, really. Thank you, Lord, for this extraordinary life. Even when it doesn't work for a week here and there. :-)
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