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Kristie 4
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| Posted: Oct 15 2008 at 12:10pm | IP Logged
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The cold weather has hit, the mornings are late and slow. I am the see-saw homeschooler- yes I want my kids to snuggle in bed late and get a good sleep, yes I want to have nice read alouds, yes I want to have heaps of free unstructured time, yes I want math and reading of good books and music and writing done each day not to mention our morning prayer....BUT HOW?? (redundant question as it is!!)
I have been at this now 9 years and it is funny that this year I have felt burnt out from the gates in some ways 
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Kristie in Canada
Mom to 3 boys and one spunky princess!!
A Walk in the Woods
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Oct 15 2008 at 12:14pm | IP Logged
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how about getting up but bringing the blankets and doing your prayer and reading time snuggled up in blankets in the living room? that way you have the snuggle in blankets time and are still getting things done.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Oct 15 2008 at 1:49pm | IP Logged
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See saw homeschooler. Hmmm...that sounds like me!LOL! Let me know when you get it figured out, okay?
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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Kristie 4
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| Posted: Oct 17 2008 at 10:30am | IP Logged
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Yes, I should be old and grey by then!! 
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Kristie in Canada
Mom to 3 boys and one spunky princess!!
A Walk in the Woods
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Kristie 4
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| Posted: Oct 17 2008 at 10:32am | IP Logged
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Can I vent...it is 10:30, kids have been up since 8:30 and we are still getting ready and doing a minimum of chores. Every year it seems like we get less accomplished and it takes more time...it is driving me CRAZY!! It seems like the list is looming and I don't want to just leave it- we had a long summer break (4 months) and I am not into doing it again...I need some sanity !!!
Thanks for the vent 
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Kristie in Canada
Mom to 3 boys and one spunky princess!!
A Walk in the Woods
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Kristie 4
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| Posted: Oct 17 2008 at 1:44pm | IP Logged
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Sanity came. I sat down, grabbed a quilt and a stack of books, a box of knex, quilting stuff for dd and we had a great morning of books and stuff to keep little hands busy. Now the older two are doing some math and writing...no latin but hey, it has been a great turn around. 
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Kristie in Canada
Mom to 3 boys and one spunky princess!!
A Walk in the Woods
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Oct 17 2008 at 5:03pm | IP Logged
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That sounds wonderful! The venting must have helped, right?
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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Kristie 4
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| Posted: Oct 17 2008 at 8:43pm | IP Logged
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Yes I think it might have...the kids will vouch for that.
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Kristie in Canada
Mom to 3 boys and one spunky princess!!
A Walk in the Woods
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hereinantwerp
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| Posted: Oct 24 2008 at 7:23pm | IP Logged
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Slow mornings---I am having this same problem too.
I had scheduled to do "chores" first thing after breakfast, but I find that household stuff can drag out until---11 or 12 even!!
And then once I'm ready, my kids have been playing so well together that I delay starting even more.
So on a few days when I've felt really behind, I decided we'd just sit down and do school first. Even if nobody is dressed, or etc.
But in general, I am finding it good to "go with the flow" more than ever before, and when I journal what we did at the end of the week, (in my teacher's plan book, which is more often used "after the fact" than before!!) I'm surprised how much learning we actually did.
It's good also to decide in your mind which things are NOT flexible. For my son I've decided he needs to do "paper and pencil" math practice at least 3x/week, and I try to have him write something EVERY day. This writing is very flexible. Sometimes I find he's written something before I assigned anything, and we count that. Or I have him write in his journal about something we did and he is excited about. We also have a read-aloud list I am pretty much finishing each week. But exactly what we read when has become very flexible indeed!
It probably depends a lot on personalities of mom and kids and what works best. The one I'm schooling now is an unschooler at heart so we are tending more that way.
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Angela Nelson
Mother to Simon (13), Calvin (9), and Lyddie Rose (3)
my blog: live and learn
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: Oct 25 2008 at 3:48pm | IP Logged
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Our family has had many different morning routines/expectations over the years. Our current routine is one of my favorites because we are all gung ho to get some minimum requirements done quickly in the morning in order to free up the rest of our day.
We all get up at different times, based on sleep needs, age, and other factors. During this early time we work independently (each child has a list to follow of formal work studies and chores, I tend to do laundry and other home stuff as well as work with 13yo on math.) At 8:30 I meet with 13yo and 9yo at table for journaling. At 9:00 16yo and 3yo join us at table for prayers and breakfast. We read daily missal, eat, discuss day, do 15 min. T-Tapp on Tues and Thurs. and clean up by 10:00.
This morning routine is a joy! It has enough structure to meet a variety of needs and enough flexibility to help us all feel satisfied. The key for us is to hit our 9:00 am peg (I use an alarm on my Palm Pilot,) from there everything else flows. So let's say I'm on the phone with my dh at 9:00, the children know to come to the table and start the table routine (prayers, prepare food, set table, etc.) without me. In the past, everyone would wait for *me* to start and this would backlog our day and cause us to feel sluggish. Now, the rule is, it only takes 2 people to hit our pegs and move our routine along. (Currently our pegs are 9:00 am, 1:00 pm, 6:00 pm, 9:00 pm.) I'm very grateful that my older children (9+) take their role in our routine seriously and that they can see benefits for themselves and the family as a whole. It is a relief to me to know that no matter what else happens in a day, we prayed, talked, ate, and did math and writing  .
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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Topic: Long, slow mornings....arghhhh
