We pushed hard this summer to move in to the new house before school starts, but it just wasn't possible. We're still working hard on renovations, but school will have to begin before the move. We'll keep working and will hopefully move within the next few weeks.
Usually, we start school on Labor Day each year. We school year round, but we always commemorate our "first day", celebrating that we've finished most of our old books and that we get to crack open the new ones.
Our first day always begins with a scavenger hunt. I love these as much as the kids do. It gets harder and harder to come up with creative ideas for the clues, but I guess that adds to the fun. I get a challenge just like they do. The scavenger hunt always leads to the treasure of a yummy treat for breakfast. We always do some sort of coffee cake or muffin with streusel topping.
After breakfast, we begin our regular routine, though we don't actually accomplish a whole lot. We sit down for our Circle Time, just like always, but for our first day we will discuss things we want to memorize throughout the year rather than work on new pieces. We'll still review old material.
Rather than moving on to math, like we would on a normal day, we'll go through our old notebooks after Circle Time. We'll remove old material and keep some in a binder because I'm a packrat and can't bear to part with anything. We'll set up dividers for the new year's binder and all of the great material that we'll accumulate. I'll go over our lesson plans for the year and show them what is coming.
We'll read and we'll read and we'll read. We'll eat lunch. We'll maybe tackle a little bit of actual work. And then we'll walk away, feeling prepared for the next day which will be our real first day with actual work.
The thing is, I usually spend 2 months preparing all of our books. Every book in the house gets reorganized. I figure out all of our reading material for the next year, matching up literature selections with historical era studied, and I line it up for the whole year. TWO MONTHS. I haven't spent two HOURS prepping yet this year. School Starts Tomorrow. I want to put it off. I want to finish the new house. I want to make pretty lesson plans. But if I keep waiting, I'll never be ready to start.
So we'll wing it. We'll get up and get started. We'll work on it step by step, day by day, and we'll love it. I will invest all of today to at least narrowing down what subjects we will study. I will listen to Circe seminars to get my head in the game. I will find a yummy recipe for zucchini cake. I will make up an awesome scavenger hunt to beat all scavenger hunts. And we'll start.
I'm finding this mindset is fitting for a lot of areas in my life right now. Preparedness is important; it really is. But sometimes you just have to start. Right where you are. Do something. Anything. Start. That is really hard for me, but stretching is good for me. So we start! Hurrah!
Usually, we start school on Labor Day each year. We school year round, but we always commemorate our "first day", celebrating that we've finished most of our old books and that we get to crack open the new ones.
Our first day always begins with a scavenger hunt. I love these as much as the kids do. It gets harder and harder to come up with creative ideas for the clues, but I guess that adds to the fun. I get a challenge just like they do. The scavenger hunt always leads to the treasure of a yummy treat for breakfast. We always do some sort of coffee cake or muffin with streusel topping.
After breakfast, we begin our regular routine, though we don't actually accomplish a whole lot. We sit down for our Circle Time, just like always, but for our first day we will discuss things we want to memorize throughout the year rather than work on new pieces. We'll still review old material.
Rather than moving on to math, like we would on a normal day, we'll go through our old notebooks after Circle Time. We'll remove old material and keep some in a binder because I'm a packrat and can't bear to part with anything. We'll set up dividers for the new year's binder and all of the great material that we'll accumulate. I'll go over our lesson plans for the year and show them what is coming.
We'll read and we'll read and we'll read. We'll eat lunch. We'll maybe tackle a little bit of actual work. And then we'll walk away, feeling prepared for the next day which will be our real first day with actual work.
The thing is, I usually spend 2 months preparing all of our books. Every book in the house gets reorganized. I figure out all of our reading material for the next year, matching up literature selections with historical era studied, and I line it up for the whole year. TWO MONTHS. I haven't spent two HOURS prepping yet this year. School Starts Tomorrow. I want to put it off. I want to finish the new house. I want to make pretty lesson plans. But if I keep waiting, I'll never be ready to start.
So we'll wing it. We'll get up and get started. We'll work on it step by step, day by day, and we'll love it. I will invest all of today to at least narrowing down what subjects we will study. I will listen to Circe seminars to get my head in the game. I will find a yummy recipe for zucchini cake. I will make up an awesome scavenger hunt to beat all scavenger hunts. And we'll start.
I'm finding this mindset is fitting for a lot of areas in my life right now. Preparedness is important; it really is. But sometimes you just have to start. Right where you are. Do something. Anything. Start. That is really hard for me, but stretching is good for me. So we start! Hurrah!
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"Man lives by affirmation even more than by bread." - Victor Hugo