Weeks 4 and 5 of our new school year have been both wonderful and challenging. Our science lesson last week was on keeping our bodies safe. We discussed keeping our privates private, what to do if someone tries to touch or see your privates. Basic stranger danger too. It was a subject that I didn’t really know how to go about teaching... But I feel strongly that best way to protect children from this kind of danger is to talk about it. To give them the tools they need to not only protect themselves, but other children as well. I definitely felt the weight of the importance of this lesson as I prayerfully prepared for it. I was out of my comfort zone, but the Lord guided me and it was a great experience for us.
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| Excellent Science curriculum and companion read aloud! |
TGTB Safety Unit = AMAZING!
I so much appreciate all the work that Jenny Phillips and everyone else with The Good and The Beautiful put into this science unit. I ended up buying the recommended read aloud, and am so glad I did. My son loves it! It’s written from a child’s perspective and makes the discussion a little more interesting for kids. The curriculum gave me a guide to follow so I didn’t make things awkward or confusing for my boys. And although we discussed a lot of serious things, we did enjoy it. I think my 6 year old recognized the importance of it all. He wanted to read the book several times, and even taught his cousin a lesson about not accepting bribes lol. I plan on teaching this science unit again in a couple of years when Rhett (my three year old) can understand a little more. We will continue reviewing our “I Said No” book regularly until then.
Homeschool + Pregnant Body = DIFFICULT
This week has been challenging because of my growing body. I’m almost 31 weeks pregnant and rather uncomfortable. We started off this school year doing our lessons on the floor together... But now that I’m in my third trimester my body does NOT like it when I sit on the floor. It protests even more when I try to get up! So the way we’ve been doing things was making me exhausted. I was worried that I’d go into labor too soon because of all the Braxton Hicks contractions I was having. Typical pregnancy anxiety! I was afraid I’d have to back off from school early, and I really didn’t want to do that. Kender, my 6 year old, is on a roll and I’ve been so impressed with his progress. I didn’t want him to have to slow down because of me!
Reorganizing & Adjusting
After some praying and reorganizing, I decided to try some things differently before backing off completely. First, I realized that the way our school stuff was organized this year was just not ideal for me right now. I liked the fact that it was portable and we could grab a box and go work wherever we wanted. But those boxes were pretty heavy! I got rid of the boxes and got everything organized on the bookshelf in our dining room. My doctor agreed that sitting on the floor wasn’t a good idea for me at this point. So I got everything prepared for us to all work together at the kitchen table. I explained to my boys that I can’t be on the floor anymore, and they were happy enough to sit with me at the table. Having one on one time with my six year old is a little trickier with the three year old in the same room, but we’ve managed to make it work so far.
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| Gotta love Google Photos. It made this “panorama” for me in which there exists three Ryans and two Kenders lol. This is us playing tag for FHE ? |
New Routine
I’ve been amazed by how well things have fallen into place this week. I reorganized our schedule into “morning time” and “after lunch” time. In the mornings, we work on all our little daily tasks for each subject. That includes scriptures, handwriting, minibooks, sight words, phonics cards, spelling, and science books (I decided to simplify things until the baby comes by switching from science units to book studies. My boys love using
Epic! to read books). After lunch, we finish up with our LA lesson and finish the day off with math (since math tends to be the most fun).
I’m still not exactly sure why doing things this way works so well, but we’ve actually been able to fit in a lot more learning and it feels like less! I’m so grateful for the guidance of the spirit in our homeschooling, and experiences like this just remind me that this is what the Lord wants us to do right now. I know that as long as I turn to Him when things get hard, He will guide me and give me the help I need. I LOVE homeschooling my boys, and I’m so grateful that I have the ability to do so thanks to my hard working (and super handsome) husband. Doesn't he look great in uniform? I just adore him ❤
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