Week 4- Busy!

Monday was another great day at CC. I'm trying to find more ways to work it into our week. I ask them questions like, "Which presentation was your favorite? Why?" and "What was the most interesting memory work? Why?", etc. Anything that they happen to show extra interest in, we talk about or I pull up more information. I downloaded the app & the Timeline song; it's so dang catchy, the girls beg to listen to it (they also randomly sing lines from it throughout the week!) I also pre-ordered this book: 

"Is this what the other kids are doing in 4th grade? Well luckily I have my mom as a teacher."-Audrey, doing math. She is getting to the point where she needs lots of support, mostly in multiplying 3 digits by 2 digits. It takes awhile to go through the lessons because there are a lot of problems to work out. I like that we can spend as long as we want on it. We can also shelve it, move on, and come back to it later. I get to decide! I definitely think it's valuable for her to learn and master 2 and 3 digit by 1-digit multiplication. But any larger than that- unnecessary.

One of my biggest reasons for doing home school was to teach them things that had meaning and practical application to their everyday lives. I cannot tell you the last time I had to multiply huge numbers like that. And if I did, I definitely pulled out the damn calculator app. She told Chris that she loves that she doesn't have to wait "an hour" for a teacher to help her- she just has to yell, "Mooooommmmm!!!" Ha! 

I'm finding that the girls need a nice long break after finishing their T4L Math and L.A. Somehow I need to fit in science, social studies, writing, handwriting, & spelling- not all in one day, but I'm still trying to figure that out. Maybe we'll do one a day in-depth. Apparently this is a work in progress :)

A friend reminded me about REACH, and OMG! It is a plethora of field trips, activities, clubs, & gatherings. I signed us up for a "Lunch & Learning" at CiCi's this week and a field trip to Belvedere on Halloween. There were some clubs that looked awesome, like sewing (Audrey!), photography, and newspaper, but I think we've got plenty of activities on our plate for now.


New this week-

~I started pulling pages from the workbooks to take with us in the afternoons and evenings. We took them to the doctor appointments, too.

~Anne is starting to "do home school" this week! I'm following her teacher's lead and we're working on whatever letters, numbers, and concepts they're learning about in class. We're also reading a lot of books and playing games. Abby & Audrey (and Dad!) were amazed when Annie read to her!

~The big girls had their pediatrician appointments on Wednesday, so we didn't start school until we got home around 11:30. It was the first beautiful day we've had in over a week, so I actually had them play outside first ;)

 

~Abigail started cheer again. She LOVED seeing her friends, plus some new friends from GES who just joined this session. I loved having time with my mom friends at dinner :) Luckily my dance mom friends kept eyes on Audrey and Annie while they stayed at dance. It definitely takes a village!

We ended our week at SkyZone. We have season passes, so we'll be frequenting this place on the regular!

Notable-

~The big girls don't use their electronics during the week. At all. Results? More playing and creating. More reading. More outside time. Less moodiness. The only exception is if they're using the iPad to film the "episodes" they create with their stuffed animals and dolls :) We do allow Annie to use the iPad, but she's definitely using it less and wanting to play with her sisters more!

~Needless to say, the girls are spending a ton more time together. As soon as we finish school for the day, Audrey and Abby run off to play. They are bonding SO much! Since our evenings are busy with activities, they ask to stay up later to play. And since they're able to sleep in each day, I totally don't mind! I do mind when they wake me up to tuck them in, LOL. But I guess at 7 and 9 years old, I'm thankful that they still want me to do that!

~Anytime the girls spend an extended time in one place, it becomes a disaster zone. I'm not even kidding. Lately they've been making clothes for their AG dolls, so there's fabric pieces everywhere, scissors strewn on the floor, boxes are cut up for "furniture", tape and paper just all over the place...complete disaster. I thought that we'd have a much cleaner house now that we're home more- not so much!

~"When is Annie going to school? It's been like the longest morning on earth!"- Audrey, on Friday. We have so much time in the mornings! Even though the girls sleep as late as they want, they're usually up around 7:30. Since we don't leave the house until 9, the mornings are long. I should really make better use of this time to work out and do things around the house since after we take Annie to school we are busy with school, too!

~I took Audrey to a birthday party on Sunday evening at the Field House. After dropping her off, I drove around the corner to see if her old dance studio was still there. It's not :( I have the fondest memories of taking her -at 18 months old- to her first dance classes. Then having Abigail, and taking her. Then having Annie and bringing her in the car seat carrier to watch her sisters. It was our Saturday morning routine for FOREVER until we moved almost 3 years ago. Time just flies and I felt extremely grateful in that moment to be taking this time with the girls.