Half way through already!

I was tossing some bread crumbs out for the birds and enjoying a pretty sunrise with tea in hand this morning. And I started thinking about how lucky I feel to get to stay home with my kids and teach them. There's no rushing off to work, rushing out the door to school, rushing, rushing, rushing in the mornings. I was watching some of my neighbors as they scurried out their doors, jumping into cars, running down the sidewalk to the bus, etc... and I just felt overwhelmingly blessed all of a sudden. It's not a perspective I view often enough. Too often I'm feeling sorry for myself, caught up in the every day mundane of repetitive chores and the feeling that I have to "do everything around here". I often feel overwhelmed by the fact that since my husband works long hard hours, usually six days a week, I'm often raising our four children, seemingly alone. But. But when I step back and see it for what it is. The beauty in all the little moments. Really getting to watch my kids grow and change before my very eyes. The relatively relaxed flow of our lives. Well then I feel a wee bit ashamed of all the feeling sorry for myself that I do in my head sometimes. Because honestly I should be walking around with a dang smile on my face 24/7!

So now, a glimpse into our every day school schedule. :) I was going to take pictures through out one day and write a blog post about it... but I only remembered to pick up the camera a couple times, ha ha! So these pictures are spread out over the course of a week.  History and science we are mostly covering with books, science journals, some science projects and a few craft projects. I wish that I was better at having them do more craft projects for history, but I always think about it after the fact. Maybe I'll be better at that next year.

My mom came down so the kids could show off what they have been learning to her, and she took this sweet picture of us all. :)

Tea while teaching is a must. :) The tag said herbal wisdom in a cup, so fitting for the moment. 

This made me giggle, can you tell what Spike was trying to spell?

Reading! He's really improved a lot this year. Hardly any tears any more. :)

Spike snuck this picture of me teaching, while he was waiting for his turn to read.  See that big binder, curriculum gold right there. :)

Creative writing poems.

Squeezing in some swimming lessons. The boys are going to take turns with these, easier on the pocket book. :) I want to find some other activities for the kids as well to add into our schedule. But they have to be affordable, and I also want to me mindful not to make our schedules too hectic. We are an active family anyways, with hiking, bike riding, exploring the great outdoors, so I'm not too worried about whether they are getting enough physical activity. :)

This is the program Atty is using to learn to read, and he really likes it. I'm amazed by how far he's come!

Time for some math! Notice that piles of book on the table are a regular theme through out the day. :)

Ira's turn. Most of our school work seems to be done at the dinning room table after all. It just works better that way. Then the rest can keep playing in the playroom, and there's less distractions for the ones that are working. Plus I can sometimes sneak some chores in while they are working. Multi tasking as always. 

Little math whiz. :) Jumped into first grade math no problem and is rapidly catching up with Bubu.

Of course we had to fit in some Valentines day craft time...

Atty working on a large floor graph. Part of his math work for the day. Saxon math is pretty hands on and uses a lot of manipulative. My kids seem to respond pretty well to this.
{On a side note, those high heel gray ankle boots are my new favorite. I bought them on a whim, something way out of my usually comfort zone, and I absolutely adore them!} :)

Nice thing about homeschooling, you can read where every you are most comfortable, wearing pj's if you feel like it. 

Reading machine! :)

Food prep in the kitchen. Home economics, a little math, hey it all counts. ;) This particular time they were helping me make fermented cabbage, so good for you! Good for the gut. :) It's sauerkraut the way it's suppose to be made. :)  The kids love helping in the kitchen, they actually bicker over it, which can get a tad annoying. Might need to start a kitchen helper schedule. :)

The boys busy working in some of their workbooks. 

Our current books, the reading changes constantly changes depending on the topics being covered.

So there you have it, a week in the making and I still feel like I missed a bit. But it's down and documented, so I'll stick with that. :) Today we had some nice {as in sun shining, but still cold} weather and I am itching for spring. We cut our school day a bit short and opted for sunshine instead. I think I have a harder time staying indoor and doing schoolwork on a sunny day then the kids do, ha ha! They helped me garden, and we talked about this, that, and the other. Still learning in my book. :)