Homeschool Mother's Journal 10/16/11

In my life this week…this was a pretty good week. I feel like we are finally getting into a routine and getting a lot accomplished during the day. My goal is to start moving our start time up by 5-10 minutes each week. I'd love to have everything finished before lunch so we can have more time for fun in the afternoon.

In our homeschool this week…We started working on our architecture theme this week by learning that God is the architect of the earth. We'll be learning about landforms for the next couple of weeks. This week and next week we'll be learning about volcanoes and making our very first lapbooks. I'm really excited to see how they turn out.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…Don't feel stuck to your curriculum. You know your children best. If you feel like you need to spend more or less time than the lesson plan calls for, do it. As long as your child is learning and progressing, there is no such thing as being "behind." Listen to your "mom instincts."

I am inspired by…the moms on the homeschool forum who's kids have graduated and are doing well.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…I don't have anywhere special planned to go this week. Something may come up later, but right now I'm looking forward to just a normal routine this week.

My favorite thing this week was…going skating with the local homeschool group. Can't wait to go again. Some of the other activities that they have coming up sound like lots of fun too!

What’s working/not working for us…things are going really well right now. The only thing I would really like to change right now is I wish I had a computer that would support our printer. 10 cents a copy is going to get expensive in a hurry. Plus, it's a pain to try to find time to go sit at the library and search online for all the things I need. It would be so much easier if I could just print things off as I find them. Oh, well. We'll make it work until we get a new computer.

Questions/thoughts I have…Wondering how everyone else works out lunch? Do you all sit down and eat the same thing at the same time together or do you all just grab something and eat when you get time? Last year, we stopped and ate together. Usually, I cooked something or we had sandwiches. This year, we've all been eating at the same time, but it's usually a hodge podge of left-overs, hot pockets, sandwiches...basically, whatever we can find. It's a lot faster this way, but I'm not sure I like it.

Things I’m working on…getting things planned and prepared more ahead of time. What I've been doing is working okay, but it could be better.

I’m reading...I just started reading Facing Your Giants by Max Lucado. I like it okay so far, but not sure if I'll finish it or not.

I’m cooking…nothing tonight. The kids and I went by McDonald's this afternoon for a snack and Daniel's been snacking since he got home so no one's really hungry. We'll probably just have some sandwiches later on if we get hungry.

I’m grateful for…the awesome youth pastors and volunteers at our church. Cheyenne went to play Lazer Tag with the 5th and 6th graders Friday night and Dakota is gone tonight to the David Crowder Band concert. Our church always has fun activities for the kids and my kids love going to church!

I’m praying for…a situation that's been going on lately that is probably going to require me to have an uncomfortable conversation with someone soon.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…gotta love Pinterest, right?

Source: itsanadorablelife.blogspot.com via Tiffany on Pinterest