Day 21. All That Glitters.

As if this morning's disaster in language lessons wasn't enough, I had planned on doing a double day today. Two lessons of school work in one day. I was hoping that I could pull this off every so often, when needed. The kids had chill time in their room while Emma napped and around 3, we started into our first double day. It did work. We accomplished two days of school in one. It wasn't easy, but we did it.

The girls wore new shirts today that they got for winter. They have glitter....and now so does the rest of my house. It is everywhere. Love shirts like that. Gotta admit though, they are so stinkin' cute, it might be worth the clean up. Sparkly things are fun.

I really felt like the kids needed some one on one time. So, I took each one of them in the classroom while the other two stayed out and played. This worked really well and I am sure to do this often throughout the year. Much more time for me, but much better quality for them. When there are no distractions and I can really focus on each child, dare I say I actually enjoy the schoolwork. The sense of patriotism that wells up when you read the Declaration of Independence, the amazement in the way that God created all the animals, and the accomplishment when you find out that you diagrammed that darn sentence correctly, is a bit exhilarating. I don't care if it is elementary school work and I am 38. It's kinda nice to exercise this part of my brain.

Tomorrow we will wake up and do lesson 22. It was a long day, but what day isn't?! Now there is just 149 school days left until summer.

Yankee Candles.

I find it necessary to say that I think Yankee Candles smell delicious. Spiced Pumpkin is my all time favorite. Now that the weather is no longer in the hundreds, it is both fabulous and necessary that I bust out my Yankee Candle. It's in the classroom this year. Right on my desk. Makes me feel all warm and snuggly.

Day 20. And There Were Tears.

Today I crossed the line on having my first "inadequate teacher" moment. Not bad mom moment, but an actual lame teacher moment. I know this isn't rocket science, but the amount of information that I am trying to cram into my head in a matter of days is overwhelming at times. I feel like I need a year to learn how to do school, before I can even pretend to actually teach the concepts of three different grade levels to these kids. In a way, it reminds me of when the blessed doctors shut my epidural off, seconds before the pushing phase of delivery with Cameron. No easing into the pain. Just BAM...there it was. All of a sudden I have 3 kids staring at me with 3 curriculums and the options and opinions are endless. Not to mention there sits my stacks of teacher guides, text books, quiz books, test books, lesson plan books, etc. taunting me from the shelves. There are times that I want to throw them into my recently purchased 75% off fire pit from Target and make s'mores over them. Yum.

I didn't go to bed to almost morning last night, so when I woke up this morning, I sleep walked (is that a word?) my way to the classroom to begin school by 9. After about 40 minutes, the kids were finishing a language lesson and then copying their spelling words, Emma was safely tucked in on the couch watching an alphabet dvd. I thought it doable to sneak upstairs for a quick shower. I came back downstairs to a couple of crying kids and it wasn't even Emma. We stopped school and took a break. After a while, we sat down and talked about it. The bottom line is, I need to teach them more thoroughly. They were frustrated and not understanding their work. "Why didn't you ask me for help" was my first question? They didn't have a good answer and neither did I. Is that their responsibility to tell me, or my needed skill set to know? I think they both got confused on the particular lesson and started arguing. However, to add to the drama, I think I need a refresher course in nouns, verbs, and diagramming sentences. There is an exception to every rule, and an exception to the exception. It IS confusing I think!

We talked about the adjustment of school and the difference in learning. They seemed to feel better. The tears stopped anyway. We ate lunch together and now there is just 150 school days until summer.

The Project Box.

I have been going organizationally insane since my nine boxes of curriculum arrived. There are so many odd shape supplements in the form of flash cards, charts, and concept cards, and.... omg do I really need all this stuff? I have a tiny little friend who has a secret love for office supply stores like I do. While away in Reno, getting ready for the retreat this past weekend, we went to Office Max. Kinda pathetic, I know. However, it takes one to know one and we were thrilled.

I found this black and white wonder box complete with aqua folders on our shopping spree. Thirty minutes of bonding time with my label maker and....I have a pretty project box. Everything in the way of "teaching support" that was sent to me, is all in one place. I even can put a lid on it. I will sleep better tonight. I am sure of it.

I even discovered the answer to my homeschool planner saga...stay tuned on that one.....God bless Office Max.

Day 19. Are We There Yet?

I left Thursday after school, for our churches annual women's retreat. Day 19 of school was assigned on Th at noon and required to be done by Monday morning at 8:30. This is the second week that we tried this. The kids got it all done without an issue. Emma even learned to ride her bike without training wheels while I was gone!

When I was in high school, my youth pastor constantly talked about making memories. It kinda stuck with me.... My job at our church is Director of Events. It is about much more than that to me. It's about creating moments where people can connect with each other and connect with their Savior. Creating an environment where life change can happen. Our women's retreat is an amazing time of watching this take place. Memories that will last a lifetime were made. I love being a part of that.

The theme of this year's retreat was Are We There Yet? Ironic because I arrived home a full 24 hours after I was supposed to. After a long and rewarding three days away, we had finally packed up and were heading home. Four of us, were the last to leave the hotel. It was just a couple of hours after the rest of the ladies. Ten minutes into our trip, we were met with 27 degree weather and heavy snow. It was dark, late, and there was road construction. We were clearly about to be stranded in Truckee. Heading back to the hotel, we were given our rooms back at no extra charge. While the snow continued to fall outside, the four of us sat by the fire in our jammies, eating peanut buster parfaits from Dairy Queen and drinking big gulps from 7-11. We laughed until we hurt. It was magical. I will never forget it. I have worked with these ladies for three years on retreats and they are as amazing as it gets. I cherish them.

All too often, I think people tend to underestimate the value of the simple things. I am so thankful for that snowstorm. So thankful for those three amazing women. So thankful for the much needed, grown up, girl bonding. It refreshed me, energized me, and left me ready to come home and hit the books again. Now there is just 151 school days until summer.

Art.

I am finding that this a perfect way to display the kid's art projects in the classroom. Its 12 feet wide, so there is plenty of room. I purchased at Ikea for $19.99.

Day 18. One, two, buckle my shoe.

Seriously, time flies. You hear it all the time, but I can't believe how true it is. It seems like just yesterday my boy was entering K-4 at Shadow Mountain Baptist in Morgan Hill. Today, he is just weeks away from his 11th birthday and my 3rd child is in K-4. She is using the same curriculum so we have some matching school work. Emma was so very excited. She's a big girl and my baby boy is almost a teenager. WHAT?

The highlight of the day today was teaching Emma the poem 1, 2, buckle my shoe...Cameron learned this same poem in his k-4 year. They both have a little art project that shows pictures and numbers to help them recite this poem correctly. Emma has her own version, which is Shocking. She definately marches to the beat of her own drum. She is convinced it should say 9, 10 a big fat chicKEN. "It still rhymes, mom" she says...um, she's right...

Just 152 school days left until summer.