Sequencing...Homeschooling...Picking my battles

I have to say we have done a lot school wise this year so far.  So much more than I was able to accomplish last year with balancing my Ladies Bible Study ministry and homeschooling at the same time.

This year it's just been such a priority for me that if it means the laundry gets skipped, or we have leftovers twice, or we have multiple lesson times through out the day then so be it.

Flexibility and flowing with our family needs (especially when the kids are sick) is just too important to me and sometimes my personal time gets pushed aside to focus on schooling rather than reading a novel, or writing, etc.

I'm learning Julia and Mark's learning styles and they are both so different that sometimes it is best to just do Circle Time and reading time together, but Math, and writing and craft time separate.

Julia gets easily distracted by Mark, and Mark loves Julia's attention, so sometimes when Julia wakes up after nap time we do our own school time one on one while Mark is still asleep.

And have I mentioned how Mark stays in his room and could sleep all day if I let him?  It's so funny!  But 4:00 is always my cut off time, because 8:30 ish to 9pm is our set bed time and I want him to have some wake time with us so we can hit the park, or ride our bikes around the block a few times.

Picking my Battles


Julia is my creative genius, and it drives me nuts!  She is the type of student that I considered my "project" in the classroom setting.  She is so bright, with so many questions, and ALWAYS has her own idea of how something should be done.  And this was all discovered at the tender age of 18 months.  She is very determined and persistent.

So...I'm picking my battles.

When we do our sequencing homework each day, I let her use the scissors to cut out the pictures, I let her use the glue stick to paste on the pictures in order.  I read the short story and she puts the pictures in order.

Then when we flip over the page and have to trace the letters and are supposed to color the picture the way the guide tells you to, and Julia says, "No mom, these are the colors I'm using."  And she traces every color in a different marker color and colors the yellow flower purple...I LET it go...the object of the lesson is to work on sequencing, and cutting, and pasting...colors don't matter (even though I'm such a rule follower and it drives me nuts...I'm learning to let her feel like she has a say in the schooling process).

But pray for me, because it isn't always easy, and this was only one example!