This was supposed to be the week that we would get a lot of work completed because next week is going to be a really busy week with outings and appointments scheduled all but one day.
It didn’t take long to figure out that things weren’t going to run as smoothly as I had in mind. My husband is a contractor and since the boys were really young, he would encourage them to help out on home improvement projects around the house. As they grew, he began to take them to help out on his jobs once in a while. Now they are at the age that they want to work and begin earning money. My husband worked out a deal with them that they could take turns helping him on some of his jobs. He pays them and they make more than they’d likely make at McDonald’s and are learning skills that will serve them well when they have homes of their own.
The problem is that we’ve always been able to do the majority of our work together and now we can’t. I’ve had a hard time adjusting and to be honest, our school days have pretty much been a wreck all week. I could really use some advice on this from mom’s that have already begun to experience this in their own homes.
That’s not all that threw our week off though. My husband had a surprise day off on Monday. Things just don’t get done around here when he’s home but we’d much rather spend it with him anyway. I tried really hard to talk him into taking off the rest of the week and hightailing it to Ohio since I’ve been so homesick but one thing held us back…lack of money. We are in the process of paying off yet one more bill so right now our money is focused for that purpose, but next month we can celebrate because now we have only ONE more payment left!
Tuesday I met with friends to say good-bye to one that has grown very dear to all of us. Since we first arrived in Alabama, there have been four of us that have enjoyed getting together on a regular basis and now one is being called away. We met at Atlanta Bread for snacks and talked, laughed and refused to cry as the time slipped away. We are all going to miss her and her two precious children that we call ‘the little's’ because at 6 and 8 years old they are so much younger than our children. I refused to say goodbye because I just know that we’ll be able to visit her and keep in touch, at least I hope so.
Wednesday we actually had a good school day and I got caught up on laundry with my new-to-me Freecycle washer. Of course we haven’t found a dryer yet but the great outdoors have an amazing way of remedying that problem while leaving our garments smelling amazing!
Thursday we finished a bit of schooling before meeting with a few other homeschooling families for lunch. I only knew two of the moms and enjoyed meeting some new people. While the moms talked math, sports and curriculum, the kids busied themselves with a game of football that seemed to last for hours.
Friday was another off day since my husband had yet another day off work. See, we really should have just taken the week off and sped away to Ohio.
So, exactly what did we accomplish this week? A little bit of this and a little bit of that and other than reading, not much. The kids did read a lot though! My oldest is reading Addicted to God, a small devotional that he’s really learning a lot from, World Changers about William Wilberforce and The Case for Faith and the Bible where he is exploring the New Testament. I’ve really been seeing some positive changes in him as he learns and grows in his faith.
My middle child is reading everything history which at the moment are old Landmark books that we found in a second hand store. This week he finished a book about King Arthur, which he felt was boring and now he’s moving on to Paul Revere and the Minutemen.
My daughter, who I can’t keep up with is upset with me because she wants to read Mean Girls Gone: A Spiritual Guide to Getting Rid of Mean by Hayley DiMarco, but I haven’t previewed it yet. It seems that she’s read about every other book in the house so in desperation she began reading Fast Food Nation. I won’t tell her that was on my list for her to read this year. For two days she’s been telling me really nasty facts that she’s learned about the fast food industry. I think our days of eating out are over!
Well, that’s the lowdown of our week, not a lot to tell but next week will be incredibly busy. I hope I can find the time to blog!
Don’t forget to stop by Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers to see how the week went for other homeschooling families.
You must be living MY life! LOL My husband is in construction too and he does the same thing with our kids. It is also crazy around here when he takes the day off. I know nothing is going to get done.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that I worked out with my son is this: he is free to go help his dad and earn money, however, when he comes home, he has to at least do his math and read a little bit. Then we consider that school, because honestly? He has already done vocational school all day.
In my hometown, vocational is an all day school with no books or such (this is at the public schools)so school is work--auto body, construction, whatever needs to be done.
Just don't worry so much about what your school days are not shaping up to be. If there is a bump in the road, chalk it up that day and start fresh the next day. That way no one is stressed. That is what I have been doing this year, so I hope this little bit of info helps.
((hugs))
Jennifer
I remember when my oldest got to be about the age of your kids. Our days looked a little like your week. Don't worry too much. They will finish it all but it just might take a little longer. I know that my homeschool has had to adjust here and there over the years as their needs and our schedule changes. It all seems to work out in the end.
ReplyDeleteI think it was just last week that you reminded me how valuable real life lessons are and that sometimes the books need to be put on hold :). Don't worry, the work will get done somehow! I can imagine that's harder to accept when the kids are older and there is so much to be accomplished in a school year though... Funny that all of us 'unsocialized homeschoolers' have such trouble finding room for school in our lives because we're too busy living. Good luck. Don't panic. And great job getting the bills paid down. It must feel great!
ReplyDeleteThis is completely off topic---but my Kansas Travel Guide came in the mail! Thank you SO MUCH for the tip. I had driven myself crazy looking for things my family would like to do in Kansas, without a lot of success. Now I'm excited!
ReplyDeleteI'll send some happy Ohio fall thoughts your way ;) Here they come, ready? Yellow leaves, acorns, squirrels, crisp blue skies, corn mazes, road side pumpkin stands, jackets, finding out that last year's gym shoes are too small for children's feet and last year's jeans are too short, apple cider, cinnamon sugar donuts, black walnuts, bold bees, covered pools, dry fountains, garage cleaning, scarecrows and bales of straw, gourds, colds and sniffly noses, brown leaves tracked inside, and later, leaf pile jumping...but we don't have quite enough leaves for that in Cincinnati yet.
As the mom of four grown homeschoolers, I'll leave a piece of information I learned years ago.
ReplyDeleteWhen I felt like the kids were "learning" the least, when I would look back on it six months later, I would realize it was actually the time they learned the most. You have to trust that your children have an innate desire to learn. When you learn to do that, the irregularity of the school week will no longer seem important. To be true learners means to never stop learning.
Unfortunately, our schools today knock that desire to learn right out of our students.
Keep up the good work!