13.11.14

School, Horses, and a Story - Part 1

I have, sadly, let blogging fall by the wayside (again). I am so busy during the day and I just don't want to make my brain keep working, after the kids are in bed. Meh.

Well, there are things that require more words than a Facebook update can accommodate. I finally built up enough of a backlog of those things to warrant a blog post. Now, Renee is on her way over, for our biweekly Walking Dead viewing.

If she shows up before I'm done, this might turn into a two-parter. But for now...

School

The first few months of this school year have been the hardest we've experienced. Ever. Granted, this is only our fifth year of formal schooling, but I foolishly thought that we had things pretty well under control.

Wrong!

The amount of defiance, complaining, disrespect, and drama has been out of control. If I were a less stubborn person, I likely would have given up by now. There's a lovely, 5-day-per-week school, right here inside our neighborhood!

But, I am stubborn and I also happen to feel very strongly that Veritas is where God wants our family. Anyone who knows me, or reads my blog, or follows me on Facebook is well acquainted with the various struggles we've had.

That being the case, I'm going to skip to the good part. We're finally turning a corner! And I can say that, even though this afternoon was a total suck-fest. Here's what's working:

A strict schedule.

I'm more of a routine person than a schedule person. As in, give me a to-do list and let me start at the top and work my way down. Don't bother me with times or deadlines. I don't like being told what to do, after all (even when i'm the one doing the telling).

So, I'm pretty well shocked that this is working so well for all of us! I think the most important difference it has made is that it gives us permission to stop an assignment and walk away from it, even if it's not completed.

Once we start something, I want to keep going until it's done. I have a hard time setting things aside to be completed later, even when emotions are running high and no good is coming from the situation. It's part of my charming, obsessive-compulsive personality type.

The firm end times in our schedule mean that we are done, even if the assignment is not complete. (Does that make any sense?) I have a Study Hall scheduled for the end of each day, and we use that time to finish up work from earlier in the day.

It's been incredibly helpful.

Here's our schedule, if you're interested:

8:25 a.m. – Prepared for School

8:30 a.m. – Bible Time (20 mins)

8:50 a.m. – Kinder Bible (20 mins)  **This is different.

9:10 a.m. – History (35 mins)

9:45 a.m. – Music Appreciation (5 mins)
9:50 a.m. – Break Time (15 mins)

10:05 a.m. – Reading (35 mins)

10:40 a.m. – Spelling (40 mins)

11:20 a.m. – Grammar (20 mins)

11:40 a.m. – Lunch (30 mins)
12:10 p.m. – Rest Time (60 mins)

1:10 p.m. – Writer’s Workshop / Writing with Ease (15 mins)

1:25 p.m. – Handwriting (10 mins)

1:35 p.m. – Memory (15 mins)

1:50 p.m. – Latin (10 mins)

2:00 p.m. – Break Time (15 mins)

2:15 p.m. – Math / ELF (60 mins)

3:15 p.m. – Science (30 mins)

3:45 p.m. – Core Knowledge (10 mins)

3:55 p.m. – Study Hall (20 mins)
4:15 p.m. – School Day Ends

Rest time is about to be moved to the end of the day, however. Apparently, taking an hour-long break in the middle of the day has turned into a bad thing for my children. We'll have a fantastic morning and then after rest time, I've got a couple of jerks on my hands!

This evening, Lila even said it herself - after getting to spend all that time in her room, doing whatever she wants, she finds it very hard to switch back into School Mode.

Fair enough. I'll do whatever results in more respect and less drama!

There have been other changes, as well, but they are more subtle and less exciting.

Also, Renee just showed up. So, I guess this is Part 1. More later...