the first four weeks.

Hi friends!

The new school year is off to a great start. We added in Classical Conversations this week, and everyone was happy. It’s good to be back. We feel so welcomed at our new campus.

Judah and I were a bit shell-shocked after our first afternoon of Essentials (Grammar, Writing, Math games), but after two days of doing the work at home, we feel a little better, and we’re even learning the lingo. He was excited to show his dad his first ever Key Word Outline.

 

 

 

If you’re looking for school tips, I feel like I owe our smooth start to:

1. Working hard to get everything organized before we began. And I made a very specific daily schedule, which we follow religiously. Everyone has a daily list, including chores, in a page protector to check off.

This is something I developed last year when homeschooling with depression, and it worked out so well that we kept it (tweaking things as necessary). In years past, I tried to be an organic lead-learner, but that wore us all out. The Gentino’s love us some structure. I’ve taken virtually all decisions out of our school day, and it gives every one of us more energy for learning.

Confession: I may have even made a daily schedule for myself. I’m trying a new thing this year: to reserve Saturday as a day of rest for myself. I don’t do laundry, and try not to house-clean. We typically hang out with friends or I just give myself a slower day. Even doing yard work with David is a form of rest for me, because it’s different that my typical chores. Sunday is a work day with church and ministry, so it’s easy to just move chores to that day. [Also, yes: I shower more than twice a week.]

 

 

2. We took morning swim practice out of the equation and it’s changed everything. We now have the hours and energy to get all our work done! Who knew? I loved swimming for my kids. But we’d never again go for practices during morning school hours.

 

 

3. Sitting down at the dining table at 8:00 a.m. for Coffee & Kindergarten with Noah. Because, doesn’t that sound so fun? It is, actually. I slow down to sip my coffee, and we do 30-40 minutes of solid work (which is about the length of his attention span), and then switch to the sofa for three rounds of Rat-A-Tat Cat, his current favorite game. Judah does a Typing lesson in his room, Amie and Gabe play Uno and listen to an audiobook in the boys’ room. Like clockwork, all four days we’re home.

 

 

4. Not just starting organized, but staying organized. There’s a place for every one of our school items, whether textbooks or glue stick or colored pencils, and I keep everything in that place. We clean up as soon as we’re finished. Everyone has their own basket or shelf for school books, that they’re responsible to keep tidy.

I immediately hole-punch and file the kids’ papers as I need to rather than throwing them onto a stack. I sit down to grade math assignments once they’re finished. I have a book basket for our Morning Meeting materials. Everything is right where I need it, when I need it.

After 5 years of homeschooling, I’ve finally learned what a difference all this makes.

 

 

 

5. Keeping my phone in a drawer in my bedroom. Waiting to check it until noon.

 

 

6. David is helping with math! This is something he’s wanted to do for years, and is finally able to make happen. It’s amazing, especially with Judah in fifth grade. Math is decidedly not my thing. Somehow, kids can sense that. They much prefer learning from their father, who is good at math and makes it interesting. He teaches them two lessons Mondays and Fridays, and assigns homework the other days.

 

 

7. Making our space pretty. It’s not a big space. And it has to double as a dining room. But adding plants and a few pretty books and some color is just fun. I spent hours in this space, and enjoying the way it looks helps.

 

 

 

8. Having said that, learning when to quit transforming and improving. Listen to me carefully, because I’ve learned this the hard way: Now that I’ve more or less found what works for us, I do not check Instagram or Pinterest or homeschooling blogs to see what others are doing or what new curriculum they’ve found. I’m not still decorating my dining room.

I love new ideas as much as the next homeschool mom. And yes, I still follow blogs of homeschoolers. But I’m determined to celebrate their fun, creative methods (and swoon-worthy Morning Time routines, vintage book collections, and homeschool rooms), and then refuse to consider any changes or additions for this year.

I choose instead to be content with what I have and who I am, and focus on learning with my children.

 

 

9. I’m working hard to eliminate the phrase “a bad day” or even “a bad morning” from my vocabulary.  This negativity affects everyone, myself most of all. If we have a bad few moments or a rough start, we try to fix them (or just apologize), and move on. I’m learning how often, when David gets home, I lead by telling him the negative things that happened to me today.

Instead, I try to say at least three positive things first, things I’m thankful for. This helps shift my perspective, not just of the homeschool morning, but of my whole day. There’s much redemption and joy in every single day, if we have the eyes to see.

 

 

10. Choosing a year verse for myself. I’m posting it in visible spots and praying it and asking God to let it transform my very being through the things He brings into my life this year. Here it is:

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

– I Thess. 5.16-18

 

 

 

If you’ve prayed for us, especially with adding Noah to the mix, thank you!

I’ve been encouraged by how well he’s done. God has heard the cries of my heart to love him well, and helped us both. Noah soaks up the one-on-one attention from me, and it’s good for our relationship.  He’s smart and thus far is learning his skills quicker than any of the other three did. During the rest of the morning, I look for ways to include him in our learning, and sometimes he runs off to play. The older kids take turns playing games with him.

Doing kindergarten with Noah has helped his siblings respect him more, I can tell. They see what he’s learning and are treating him a little more like a buddy and less like a nuisance (usually). This is a process. We all have our moments with Noah. But I love feeling the change in the air.

 

 

 

I’d go so far as to say, homeschooling four grades is easier than homeschooling three grades and trying to keep the fourth kid out of trouble! Take heart, homeschool parent: it truly does get easier with time.

My hands are indeed very full, and my brain is full, but it’s a good full. I like my life.

Now, I cannot even imagine how people add extra-curriculars to this delicate, finely-tuned balance, but you know what? I don’t have to this semester!