I know I don't blog enough. Shut. Up.

Mixed feelings about today.

Beau did well; we started the new Science book (whoot, whoot!), which was pretty exciting, and kept on with everything else. We might finish the math book some time this century. I kid, of course. It just feels like we have so far left to go and the “official” start of third grade is coming up so soon. I had wanted to be done with this book. I chalk it up to my own suckiness as a homeschooling parent. And we'll finish when we finish. We do two worksheets a day at present, which is a good pace for us. Beau seems challenged but not frustrated, so I'm going to call it success. We'll finish this book when we finish it and (the plan is) to plug through with math even when we're taking breaks from other things so that we finish the next one in plenty of time for fourth grade...and oh, God, fourth grade is looming in the distance. Ew.

Moving on quickly.

Usually Explode the Code is super fun for everyone involved.

Today...well, just blah. There were distractions. Kids were fighting in the background. We compromised and did about half of what we usually do. Both Xander and Bella struggled and there were many buzzing bees to be had.

But I am totally taking it. Daddy is home today...who can concentrate when Daddy is home? Also, it's totally Saturday. And nice outside. And the pool is beckoning.

So we are taking today and calling it a success. Education was had by all.

Now, let's go swimming.

chill out, mom.

i recently bought beau this AWESOME variety of books because the kid was literally begging for new books to read.

so this morning, seeing as how we have completely finished school this week, i thought i might gently nudge him into checking them out.

you guys.  he.  CRIED.

not big waterworks, but there were definitely tears welling in his eyes.

so i put them away.

and now i'm trying to sit here and tell myself that i will NOT make him read any of these books, no matter how good i know they are, no matter how much i know he'll like them once he gets started, no matter how much i am itching for him to discover chapter books and all the wonder therein

BECAUSE

i don't want him to hate reading.

it's like a mantra that i'm chanting over and over again inside my head.  i'm not going to force books on my kids.  i'm not going to force books on my kids.

i will purchase books that i think will be interesting to them, place them strategically around the house, and hope for the best.

all the while trying not to lose my mind.

it's raining.

this might not seem like such a big deal to you.  if it doesn't then you obviously don't live in my particular piece of southern alabama where we haven't seen rain for about TWO MONTHS.

okay, i'm exaggerating.  but it's been dry. 

however.  this past week alone, it's rained FIVE times.  and it.  is.  glorious.  i can't even begin to tell you the happiness. 

that feeling, you can only say what it is in french.

hallelujah, the end is in sight.

we are almost through week two of the summer "semester." 

i wasn't sure we'd make it through the first day. 

because it hasn't been easy.  we've had so much STUFF go down this week it's a miracle we got anything done at all.  so.  how have we done it, you ask? 

by avoiding worksheets like the plague, for one.  condensing the HECK out of lessons, for another.  doing lots of videos and even counting watching "despicable me" as part of our study on the seven wonders of the ancient world (you know, because they stole the pyramid at giza in the very beginning).

i'm also having considerable deja vu because we did the seven wonders last year with beau.  and now we're doing it again, but this time with xander.  the really fun bit is when he remembers pieces of it here and there out of the blue.

deja vu again with bella, since i did part of the kindergarten curriculum i'm using with beau when he was a kindergartener.  didn't use this curriculum for xander, so at least it isn't the third time through, although i know we'll be going through the seven wonders AGAIN next year with bella, so i need to go ahead and prepare myself.

at least i should know all of this stuff pretty well by the time i'm through, right?

did i once say i wanted more kids?

could i handle going through all of this a fourth time?

(oh, and if anyone gets the reference in the title, i'll bake you a cake.  i'm serious.)

stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni.

y'all.  today has been a Day.

that's right, capital D.

but.  we managed to do school...on the computer, at least.  worksheets are on hold for a smidge.  honestly, we could go the rest of the summer without doing another worksheet and that would be fine with me.  we'd be taking a worksheet summer vacation.  i honestly don't care.  we are doing good to be doing "computer" school.

with the kinds of days we've been having.

we've had fevers and birthdays and a child who may or may not have strep throat.  oh yeah.  i said it.  i'm SERIOUSLY hoping that's not the case.  but if he isn't better by tomorrow, we're headed to the doctor (a place dreaded by all).

but victories.  we've had them.

flash cards are still a win!  xander recognized two, count 'em, TWO new letters today: Q and A.  i'm super proud.  and he's still kickin' rear and taking names with sight words.  bella, too.  it's like they can't be stopped.  it's freaking me out a little.

anyway.  that's pretty much the extent of it.  today we learned that thomas jefferson was a pretty radical guy.  he invented macaroni AND brought vanilla ice cream to the united states.  can i send him a christmas card?  we also learned that no human has ever been attacked by a healthy wolf in north america.  EVER, people.  that seriously (no irony here) eases my mind.  i feel safer walking by myself down the driveway (a practice i really should pick back up, since i have this new peace of mind).

also, we registered for everest again for next year.  funny how i don't legally have to register xander until next year, since he just turned six yesterday.  

anyway.   summary.  sight words = good.  worksheets = bad.  grade books = i have no idea what you're talking about.  driveway = safe.  everest = registered.  sanity = questionable.

the first week of summer semester...

...is officially over.

that is all.

ugh.

you know how when things go wrong, they really go wrong?

this week, doing school has been like pulling teeth.

wait, that's not a good analogy, since xander lost his first tooth this week without much ado. 

doing school has been like...forcing a five-year-old -- who really doesn't want to do flash cards -- to do flash cards.

it's friday.  usually we are on day four or day five of our planned lessons.  2/3 of us are on day three and 1/3 is on day two (xander took a sick day earlier this week).

it's just...been difficult this week.  i knew i should have been wary when everything last week went so smoothly, despite having to take a day off because i was babysitting for my sister and there was no way we were going to get to do school that day.  we still got everything done, with smiles on our faces and even *gasp!* time to spare.

but THINGS have happened this week.  we've been somewhere every single day this week.  we've had company.  we've had a library outing.  we had a visit from the tooth fairy.  everything that could have interfered with school, did.  tempers have flared (mostly mine).  worksheets have laid undone.  parts of lessons have been scrapped just because a kid didn't feel like doing them that day, and by golly, at this point, i am all for sprinting for the end of this week like there's no tomorrow.

i am NOT a big fan of early american history, and not because it isn't awesome and important and full of these great stories, but mostly because i'm not a big fan of history, and early american has always been my least favorite.  no explanation.  it just is.  maybe it was the clothes they wore.  i can't take you seriously when you're wearing a white wig, mr. president.  (note:  i'm kidding.  kind of.)  



and in science, we're learning about big cats.  which is interesting and all, but i'm just bouncing in my seat until we get to planets. 

i hate when we get bogged down in weeks when the subject matter isn't that exciting.  when this starts to happen, we generally start to skim.  and that's what i've been doing with john adams this week.  skimming the surface.  if beau cares about it enough, he'll ask for more, but for now, knowing john adams existed and that he did some pretty cool stuff for america is enough.  it isn't important how many children he had and what their names were.

in other news, sight words are WIN.  i've been working with both bella and xander with a few flash cards, and thanks to their cute little brain-sponges, it's really sinking in.  it's crazy.  i never taught beau sight words.  i never worked with him on phonics.  so all of this is new to me.  it's fun seeing bella remember that this card says, "away" and that one says, "and."  and even though xander is fighting me tooth and nail, he can't help but remember them, too, because his brain is conspiring against him (and is totally on my side, MUAHAHAHAHAHA) and he's remembering them anyway.

we are coming across a bit of a road block with letters.  ugh, letters.  the bane of my existence.  xander should know his letters by now.  if you want to be all boring and technical.  as it stands, he knows about six of the capital letters.  i don't know whether i should feel crappy as a parent or crappy as a teacher or just plain crappy.  he's getting them, though.  we're working on that.  he HATES it, but we're doing it. 

there is a part of me that really really hates making him do things he doesn't want to do.  it's a pretty big part.  because i started this thing with an unschooling mindset.  but the question is, do i stop doing it because it upsets him, or do i keep plugging away because...just because?  because i'm the mom and i should "make" him do school?  the same way i hate doing a gradebook but i do it because it's the "right" thing to do and it makes my husband feel better?  because i'm sure if i didn't at least attempt to teach xander his letters then hubby would be pretty upset.

ahh.  enough with the heavy.  things are looking up.  i hereby give us permission to skim the rest of the week's lessons and/or condense the final two/three days into one day tomorrow with no pressure or worries that we're missing something.  if it isn't interesting, it isn't interesting.  the end.