Happy Birthday PapaSchnuck, Half a Century!

We have had a very busy week, Papaschnuck turned 50 on Friday.  Schoolwork, while completed and done fro the week definitely took a backseat to party and cooking preparations ( Luckily, its all good as that is the fun of homeschool). Lots of family and friends came to celebrate.  Despite a few hiccups (like losing my wallet the day before the party and the cake order getting mixed up), we had a great time and a lot of fun.  Good news,  3 of the 4 Schnuck  brothers were able to come and Grandpa and Grandma Schnuck arrived as well, add in a few friends and voila, we had a party.  Lots of work and lots of food and lots of fun.  And yes, I finally found my wallet.

So.... How Is It Going?

"Terrific" I say because you know what? It really is. Funny, I thought this process would be one that I find that I endure but am discovering that I am actually enjoying myself. Don't get me wrong: Jenny has quite the whine, and Nate is oh so troublesome, and Ben? doesn't like to get anything wrong ("Its not my fault!!!") as for Matthew- tears and utter despair when confronted with problems he doesn't understand. BUT, overall, we do our work, they vie for attention, they all talk at once, we use our computers, we pile in the car and go shopping or playing, or to a group or a meeting or the library and.... we like it.

The planning is cumbersome but the ease of the tracking software and responsibility they take when they input their work and keep their reading logs up and schedule their days, makes it worth it. Overall, they seem to be getting along better, and are happier (most of the time). It helps that they are getting enough sleep (I rarely wake a sleeping kid for school they just lose out on free time before lessons) they are monitored closely and we solve problems quickly. The umm, negative.. influences of public schools are gone, and they need to rely on each other to help clean, work, play... this helps them bond. In fairness, they get on each other's nerves, (and my own) and bicker frequently. But overall, there has been a lot of laughter in the house.
Mostly, I feel very free (but busy busy busy). I like to be able to move things around when I want, cancel lessons and go fly a kite when the weather is perfect (something we did and it was the best homeschool day thus far- a week or so ago). I wish I did more of that actually, but I find we are going out so much I try to make them have work hard (academically) Mon-Thursday, as we have co-op on Fridays (so no math or Language Arts or grammar on those days- just Phys-Ed, Art, Music, and Science). And on Tuesday and Thursday we go to the gym in the am and so we don't even start lessons until the afternoon, that is tougher for them. Morning is so much better for book work. Mostly the problems I have are my own issues, my failings at teaching, learning the wrong way how to motivate a frustrated child, losing my temper because they are being silly. Mostly, I hope to be more creative with lessons to chow them that sometimes learning is actually fun. I know that I am learning an awful lot (hello prepositions!) and I really am, having fun..

It has been almost a year since I made a decision about this.... much different than I thought it would be, but in a good way. I hope it continues.

Where does the time go?

I have a new appreciation for working mothers.  I always knew that it would be difficult to manage everything and do all that I used to.  The reality is, you can’t. There is no possible way to put more time into the day and so, things get dropped (like housekeeping and my blog).  I had heard that I might need to adjust my expectations but am having a hard time actually doing it. Cleaning has been relegated to the weekends, and with 4 kids that makes life infinitely messier. I don’t like it but have yet to figure out how exactly to deal with it.  We are experimenting with different strategies, all involving various violations of child labor laws. 

As for blogging, I have taken a month off after promising to write more frequently and so I feel rather foolish making  another statement regarding my intentions to do better.  Suffice to say, lets try again, If I make more frequent but shorter posts, which is the goal, I may be able to find more success and not view it as a chore as I have been.  I find that I so enjoy the writing process and often feel the need to be profound that I put off and put off my writing, to try to think of the perfect post and then find the energy to compose it, that I decide it is too much effort and never blog about anything anymore.  It is so much easier to think, “ Ahh, I’m tired now , I’ll do it later.”  So, if I just try to find one thing, every day to comment on (or maybe a few times a week) then perhaps I can find the balance between brevity, interest and ease of posting.  So lets give it another go shall we?

Yes I am still alive

One month in and so much for carefully documenting each and every precious moment of my wonderful homeschooling experience.  I don’t mean to sound too cliché but I am so very very busy.   I feel as though I haven’t had much time at all to get all the things done that I am required to do, much less dither around on a self indulgent blog.  I had so hoped to record every difficulty, every frustration, each and every agonizing argument over school work, alas that has not come to pass.   Truth be told- we have been remarkable drama free.  For the most part, the kids have been on task and motivated, they have undertaken the activities and shuttling around in the van with ease (if not a wee bit too much enthusiasm as they tend to get a bit loud in the van) and for the most part I have managed to be flexible enough to roll with the inevitable changes that have derailed my carefully structured days.  In fact this week, I blew off academics two days in a row.  One was my birthday and one we just were to busy with filed trips, and gym and looking for Halloween costumes.  (We are headed off an a Halloween Camping weekend up at Jellystone Park in PA.  It is always so strange to go and get all the Trick-or-Treating done and then return home and still have weeks to go until everyone else catches up.

But we are doing surprisingly well.  I have been saying that I am actually having fun.  It seems I am repeating my experiences with parenting.  Something I figured I would have to endure and (to my delight)I find out how fun and rewarding it is.  Don't’ get me wrong, I have my moments, and evening is still tough but we are all getting along well and I think the kids are actually enjoying themselves as well.  There is less fighting and moodiness and they seem more relaxed and happier.  The honeymoon is waning and they do complain a bit more about the work but I continue to work on my flexibility and thy to remember that its OK if we change plans, drop an assignment or take a divergent path- that is why we decided to homeschool and we might as well enjoy the path we’ve chosen.  Last week a neighbor was taking down a tree so we went out on the driveway, set up chairs, and proceeded to eat lunch outside and discuss the wonders of pulleys and hydraulics, chainsaws and weight of limbs, back cuts and safety harnesses.  After the tree was all down we went over and counted rings and looked a the insect infestation.  I scrapped my other science lesson and we were all the better for it.

Stick a Fork in Me!

So, things are going well but I find that by the end of the day, certainly after dinner has been put away and cleaned up I am DONE! Absolutely finished with the patience and love and kindness I try my best to be (hold on let me yell ay my daughter for coming in to ask me a question “ Be quiet I am busy now, can’t I do anything without interruption? grrrrr”) Ok I am back . Where was I??? Darn it keeping a thought in my head is harder than keeping snacks in the pantry. Patience has never been my strong suit but I am doing my best to try to exude calm and patience all day but by the end of the day I am tired and want to just gather my thoughts and have some quiet , ‘me’ time. It is complicated because Tuesday-Thursday Perry ( OH, I forgot to ‘out’ him on my last post huh? well you got me, PapaSchnuck’s Christian name is: Perry) coaches the boys in soccer and Monday and Friday are scout meetings. That means I have Nate and Jenny all the time and after a rushed and scrambled dinner off a few go and here I am and, because I am human, I get weary of it. Fall has always been challenging but I guess I am thankful that the ‘get off the bus, hurry do your homework and open your mouth as I shove food down your throat to get practice at tonight ‘ is not happening anymore, the rush just seems to start at breakfast now…

Activities complicate a well oiled machine

Well, let me be more precise, they make it slightly harder to do all the things that are suppose to get done, without more juggling.  But we are managing.  I am really and truly amazed at how easily this seems to be flowing.  Who’d a thought that they would not only accept their assignments but also embrace them.  Schnuckie 7 and 9 are both pretty much managing their own time and coordinating with me for the teaching part of the lessons.  Then I try to juggle Schnuckie 3 and 5 into the mix, trying to pay more attention to 5 in order to provide her the required teaching but not park 3 in front of the TV too much.  Wait,

OK OK STOP-  This is to hard, I just can’t be expected to think in code, I keep having to go back and cover their names and now I am numbering them.  ENOUGH! Ben is my 9 yr old; Matt is 7; Jenny (Jenny-pie) is 5 and Nate (Nater-tater tot) is 3.  There, it’s out there, for all the world to see.  I am sorry PapaSchnuck but I can’t do it anymore. Now I won’t get mixed up and can not worry about ant anymore.

SO.. where was I?  we have added in activities and have found that  this seems to make the coordination of academics a bit more challenging, but we are figuring it out.  It is so much nicer to go to the playground than tackle Math, or hit the Ma and Pa hiking Trail than try to memorize prepositions.  We are adding in Art club for all, gymnastics for 2, and a few other fun things and its miraculous how the hours melt away during the day.  So far we are doing OK.  On we go…

Three Day Weekends Rock ! (especially after your first week of Homeschooling)

Well, we made it.  Actually, I think we did excellent.  We leapt into work as the kids seemed to settle into the schedule rather easily.  Schnuckie7 did 4 weeks of Math in his workbook in 4 days. (I guess that does not surprise me.  I started him on grade level and told him to “have at it” and let me know when he gets stuck then we can actually begin lessons).  Nate has been challenging but we are getting things done (OK, OK, you caught me, I admit it, I have used the TV as a babysitter, hey what are you going to do?, I needed him out of my hair, and in my defense he watched no more than an hour a day).  Overall, though it was much smoother than I expected, really only a minimum of moaning and groaning would accompany the assignments.  For the most part the kids are logging on the computer, getting their assignments and scheduling their day out.  The younger ones need a bit more direction with this than the eldest but for the most part they only need to work me into the lesson planning (for when I need to teach- I can’t do more than one at any given time. I must say I am really proud of them, and Schnuckie5 whom I had anticipated having the most issue with has taken to ‘school time’ with gusto and really seems to enjoy it.   Dare I say, last week was fun??? But exhausting.

By Friday, I was whipped.  I mean I really was worn out.  Luckily Papaschnuck had the foresight to arrange for a day out for me.  Of course it wasn’t at the day spa (which would have been fabulous!!).  But it was at a Women on Target Rifle Course at an area Gun Club.  My goodness what fun it was, though the noise did result in a headache.

I learned all about gun safety, gun parts and had the opportunity to shoot a variety of different rifles, including a 1860’s Springfield Muzzleloader and a 50 caliber rifle.  Again, lots of fun and very enjoyable but the start of a busy 2 days of BBQ’s, friends, and fun.  Luckily on Labor day, I was able to relax, do some planning (take a 2 hour nap) and get myself ready for this week. And on we go…..