School Days

As hard as it is to imagine now, I know one day I'll look back and not be able to remember what a normal "school" day was like. I didn't get a picture of Griffin doing his preschool workbooks (he loves doing school) but the rest is pretty much how our day goes.

After Griffin, Ty has his sit down school. Here he is working on his Bible Notebook. We start his day with My Father's World 1st grade. We skip the science and history portion and add Saxon for Math. (He does science and history with Madisyn.) First we go through the books of the Bible in order and then review memory verses. Next, we have currently have a page or two of phonics lessons. Then he reads. He has a simplified Bible Reader (put out by MFW) that he reads a Bible story in. Generally, he reads the same story I will have just finished reading. After he reads the reader, he summarizes what he read in a sentence or two. Depending on the day, either Ty or myself will write the sentence in the Bible notebook and then Ty illustrates it. When MFW is finished, he starts his Saxon math lesson.

While Ty does school, Madisyn finishes up piano practice and then begins her independent work. Most days she starts with math. We use Saxon math grade 3. Anything she has a question about she leaves blank and we go over it later. Then she moves on to spelling. We have some spelling books we purchased at an auction and she completes the activities for each lesson set at her own pace. I check these throughout the week and we have a practice test on Wednesday. If she doesn't miss any - spelling is over for the week. The regular test is on Thursday.

After math and spelling, she starts her writing program. Depending on the day, some of it (copywork, etc) can be done independently.

Then Madisyn and Ty do MFW Adventures together. We have another Bible lesson. Right now, they are learning about the different names for Jesus. This past week was about Jesus being the head of the church and how we as members have roles. Adventures also covers basic American History. We have a fact sheet about each state that will be completed by the end of the curriculum.

Science is typically 2-3 days a week with at least one hands-on activity. We have read-alouds built into Adventures but we are usually ahead because once we start the book, it's too hard to read just one chapter a day.

The kids also have "book basket" with Adventures. These are books that tie in with the history or science for the week. The goal is just for the books to be looked at as extras but lately Madisyn has taken to reading most of them. This is another independent activity generally completed while I feed, diaper or put Henry down for a nap.

After Adventures, Madisyn and I do grammar and go over any other subjects that need work (math problems missed, new math concepts, etc.).

What does Henry do during this? After breakfast (which now consists of Cheerios for him!) he hangs out in his jumperoo near the table. About 3 hours after waking, he is ready to nurse and then go down for a nap. Very rarely is Henry asleep when I place him in the crib but he almost never fusses when it's bedtime. His naps are when we get to the deeper studies (Math for Ty, Science and History for both bigs, and Grammar for Madisyn).

Griffin and Ben destroy the playroom until Ty is finished with school. Then if the weather is nice the boys all head outside while Madisyn completes another 30 minutes to an hour of school (she starts later because she practices piano first). The length of school depends completely on the attitudes of the day but most days we finish by lunch.

After lunch the kids can play until 2:00 when it's naptime. Griffin and Ty must stay in their room (they share with Ben and Henry) until Ben is asleep. If Griffin is still up, they can play quietly or play outdoors. Madisyn uses quiet time to read or draw.