Sneaking in under the wire
We are supposed to start school this week, which is why I spent all morning and early afternoon finishing up the details of the school planning. I have never left it until so late, and this was cutting a bit close even for my taste. I need to make a mental note that next year I just need to do it in late July whether I feel like it or not and just get it over with.
I have left much less wiggle room in the schedule this year just because there was so much I wanted to include. This also makes me a little nervous because I know how frequently life can undo a nicely planned schedule. I can always cut some things out if I find that they aren't going to fit.
So what was I doing today? It was all those little odds and ends which get left for later. Some of the books I had placed on hold didn't come in until Thursday, so after looking at them, I had to figure out where they were going to go. This changed the original flow of the schedule, so the biggest thing was to reassign which activity/reading was going to go on each day. There were some other things I had left to figure out, and needed to make some decisions about certain books and activities. Finally, I dislike having to think about things too hard in the middle of the school year, so I had to make the all-important list of all the books I would need to order from the library, all the documentaries I would need to order from Netflix, and all the craft supplies I would need to acquire and when I would need them. Then I went through I figured out the dates I had to actually do these things so that I had what I needed when I needed it. I have found that this one organizational activity is one that saves me a huge amount of headache when we're in the middle of things.
I now have nicely stacked piles of books on the school-book-in-use shelf, I have another huge pile of books which need to be returned to the library, and I have my notebook with all of my school planning ready and waiting. With the youngest starting fifth grade this year, we are going to be a little more academically focused than in the past; there will be a significantly more writing this year, not only because we will be doing a writing focus once a week, but because I want to try to incorporate some written narration practice after the things we read for ancient Egypt and marine science. We'll see how that goes. I expect that it will be a rather steep learning curve at first. I should remember to lay in more chocolate. (For me.)
Either tomorrow or Monday, we'll do our last journal entry for Scotland, our last country on our 'round the world trip and we'll get our stamp in our passports so we can return home in time to start school again for the new school year.
I'm impressed if you have made it to the end of this post. It is hardly my most scintillating, but it's what's in my head, so it's what you get. Don't worry, school will get going and I'll have more brain space to think about other things.
I have left much less wiggle room in the schedule this year just because there was so much I wanted to include. This also makes me a little nervous because I know how frequently life can undo a nicely planned schedule. I can always cut some things out if I find that they aren't going to fit.
So what was I doing today? It was all those little odds and ends which get left for later. Some of the books I had placed on hold didn't come in until Thursday, so after looking at them, I had to figure out where they were going to go. This changed the original flow of the schedule, so the biggest thing was to reassign which activity/reading was going to go on each day. There were some other things I had left to figure out, and needed to make some decisions about certain books and activities. Finally, I dislike having to think about things too hard in the middle of the school year, so I had to make the all-important list of all the books I would need to order from the library, all the documentaries I would need to order from Netflix, and all the craft supplies I would need to acquire and when I would need them. Then I went through I figured out the dates I had to actually do these things so that I had what I needed when I needed it. I have found that this one organizational activity is one that saves me a huge amount of headache when we're in the middle of things.
I now have nicely stacked piles of books on the school-book-in-use shelf, I have another huge pile of books which need to be returned to the library, and I have my notebook with all of my school planning ready and waiting. With the youngest starting fifth grade this year, we are going to be a little more academically focused than in the past; there will be a significantly more writing this year, not only because we will be doing a writing focus once a week, but because I want to try to incorporate some written narration practice after the things we read for ancient Egypt and marine science. We'll see how that goes. I expect that it will be a rather steep learning curve at first. I should remember to lay in more chocolate. (For me.)
Either tomorrow or Monday, we'll do our last journal entry for Scotland, our last country on our 'round the world trip and we'll get our stamp in our passports so we can return home in time to start school again for the new school year.
I'm impressed if you have made it to the end of this post. It is hardly my most scintillating, but it's what's in my head, so it's what you get. Don't worry, school will get going and I'll have more brain space to think about other things.
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