I had wonderful intentions this week. Not only were we going to explore the journey of Lewis and Clark, we were going to finally get a grasp on dividing those pesky mixed numbers, and we were going to start making our telescope. In my spare time I would of course finally unpack those six boxes still in my upstairs hallway after a month in this new house. This week my house would naturally stay in pristine condition with extremely little effort. My children would be happy, clean , well-fed, and play beautifully together. Last, but not least, I would finally get five minutes peace to myself, not ever an easy task.

Monday 10/30- Monday was a field trip day. Our field trip to Hunter Farms in Union with our homeschool group was wonderful. We all had a great time. We were to meet at !:00, leaving plenty of time in the morning to get in some school time. We just barely made it out the door in time. School time? I was just thrilled that we were dressed, reasonably clean, and that the children had finally stopped hurling insults at each other.

Tuesday 10/31- Okay, so we didn’t get everything done on Monday. Well it was early in the week. Twice a month we volunteer at a food bank in Kingston. Tuesday was our day. Then of course it was Halloween. Need I say more? Lewis and Clark would have to wait.

Wednesday 11/1- Now this was the day. I had nowhere to go. We could finally get something done. The house had unfortunately missed the family meeting where it was supposed to have learned to stay in pristine condition. Well, we would clean in the morning, search for our telescope pieces in the afternoon, and maybe start on it in the evening. Who knows, we might even get in some math. Well, don’t you just hate it when the books make it seem like you can pick up all you need for a project at your local five and dime, and you can’t find them anywhere! I spent most of the day tracking down a lens for this telescope. I’m starting to question this unit on Astronomy.

Thursday 11/2- Thursday didn’t quite turn out in the way I had expected. We did make pumpkin pies. Of course we were supposed have made them on Monday evening after our field trip. I had even briefly toyed with the idea of baking the real pumpkins. Okay, so we used the canned pumpkin and it did take us three days to accomplish, but we did get it done. Remember how I said the children would get along beautifully? Well, do the words pre-adolescence mean anything to anyone? If you have any ideas on how to cope please give me a call.

Friday 11/3- Friday was probably our most “schoolish” day. We continued our westward expansion unit, played with math manipulatives, worked on writing and letter sounds, and considered cleaning the house. The operative words here are considered. We never made it past the planning stage.

Saturday 11/4- Marilea Gray and I led a workshop on unit studies. This was the second time we have done this workshop and it continues to be as much a benefit to me as it is to anyone attending. It is so much fun to interact and share information with people who are doing the same thing you’re doing. Homeschooling can be a very lonely undertaking sometimes. (In case anyone is interested, the house is a total disaster.)

Sunday 11/5- Sunday is traditionally a day of contemplation for me. That is if the week wasn’t too ugly to contemplate. Based on what I had planned for the week, it was a disappointment. Based on what the children accomplished this week it was not. Each child had designed tasks for themselves I would never have dreamed up for them. Among other things, Rebecca started her own newsletter as well as a novel that incorporates some of her favorite characters. Caroline continues to explore the written word and has started to write on her own. They both either read or are read to constantly. They have both participated in a worthwhile manner in their community. They have also been allowed time to just be children. While we have done some “school” what they have done on their own is far more valuable to them.
I do have another week planned that will include scholarly endeavors, fascinating experiments, but no house cleaning. I lost that war a long time ago. It’s time to declare a surrender.(The six boxes are still in the upstairs hallway. Maybe this week?)

More E.K.H.O. Articles

A Week in the Life, by Rebecca May

Page created by Wolfsong