A Day in the Life ~ Real Life Homeschool {Tuesday}

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I wake and grab my yogurt, vitamins and supplements ~ raw thyroid (for thyroid health), methylfolate (bioavailable folate that boosts energy levels and well being), FCLO, and a shot of Ningxia Red (loaded with nutrients and antioxidants). Then, I oil up with Gentle Baby - a new favorite oil that is great for calming, balancing, uplifting, relaxing and soothing stress - just wonderful stuff to keep mom and kids happy, and I apply Progesterone cream (great for balancing hormones and its calming effect). This homeschool mama needs to take care of herself so she can fulfill all of her roles as a wife, mom and teacher! :) 

Take boys to school.

Make breakfast.

Eggs cooked in Kerry Gold butter. 

Eating grapefruit with a teaspoon. (I really need to buy more silverware, lol!)

Telling Eliana about a "surprise" coming up. She's very excited. 

Helped Jordan with college math until 11, then started lunch and school with Elli.

Quick salad with olive oil, red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper. 

Brussel sprouts drizzled with olive oil and salt and pepper, then roasted in the oven until tender (I really stocked up on veggies last time I was at Costco and now I have to eat them, lol). 

Lunch plate of gluten free crackers,  light Laughing Cow, Havarti cheese, and uncured deli turkey. 

We munched while we did school since we were starting so late! (Elli lost one of her wraps at soccer last night, so we watched a video on how to apply them and put a new one on later that day). 

We did Day 3 and 4 for History, which was just reading and narrating, so knowing we had a busy week, I went ahead and wrapped up History for the week by completing the Notebooking activity for Day 5 today. 

Bigger is really gentle compared to what we've been doing, so some days it is easy to double (or triple) up in some subjects. But most days, one day is just perfect because there are also lots of hands-on and notebooking activities. 

Writing facts about Pocahontas using the letters in her name. 

Geography Activity from Day 2: Directions on a globe.

And mapping out the continents with crackers. 

Yesterday we read the poem, but I wanted to read the poem again to give her time to think about what to draw, since this poem is allegorical.

We doubled up on Science yesterday, so this is the Science Exploration activity from Day 3. She is learning how scientists group animals. 

I had Malachi give Eliana her spelling test and now can't remember what I was doing - something outside like feeding and watering the chickens maybe. I may have taken them some veggie scraps and noticed they needed attention. (Bo is playing chess - he's actually quite good for his age and it's fun to play with him! Malachi and Dylan participated in Chess club at the Y this year and Malachi took 1st in his division. Chess has always been pretty popular around here in the spring.)

Eliana's Spelling and Dictation. Malachi edited the errors he found, but missed one.

Organizing everything to put away. 

Our read-aloud for Storytime ~ to read tonight. We finished our Biography in one week, so I added in another. Marco Polo was mentioned our first week as his writings inspired Columbus to find a route to China by sea, so it was a fun read-aloud.


Then, Bo told me he was going to run away forever and ever... unless I don't be mean to him. While he was playing chess on the computer he was distracting Eliana during her spelling test so I closed the computer and had him to go play, and he was not happy about that at all. I just really wanted to get spelling done!

After I snuggled him and oiled him up with Peace & Calming, I did school with him. I always ask to oil up my kids, and he said yes, but said it wasn't going to work, lol. I asked him how he felt right away and he said he felt "mean." In another minute, I asked again and he said he felt "a little bad." After less than 5 minutes, I asked how he felt and he said he felt "good." :) Ah, I love essential oils. 

Letter W in All About Reading and listening to the Alphabet Phonics song on ABC123TV on YouTube. He's snuggling in my sweater - it's chilly in here today!


We moved to the couch to snuggle and read. I read Poems and Prayers for the Very Young to Bo and when I got to "A Kite," I asked Bo if he wished to be a kite up in the sky. The poem goes like this:

I often sit and wish that I
Could be a kite up in the sky, 
And ride upon the breeze and go
Whichever way I chance to blow. 

He said with a very, very sad face, "No, I do not want to be a kite. I want to stay here with you." So all feelings of wanting to run away have been forgotten. :)

So happy, Bo, because I always want to be close to you. (Must row Runaway Bunny with him soon! )

Snack (Can't remember what!)

Work on blog post.

This is when my camera battery started flashing - it isn't charging and I can't find my back up. I thought about doing a video for tomorrow, but I don't have a lot of storage on my phone. At this point, I considered pulling out of the blog hop and keeping my life easy, lol.

Dinner was "Fall Out" - what ever falls out of the fridge, aka Leftovers. Luke had Academy soccer tonight, so it was a late night for him. (Those nights are always hard on me because he helps me so much).

Real Life Homeschooling confessions for today:
  • Elli has not been good about brushing her hair (I'm sure that's obvious) and I don't always make her comb it. I used to be in the habit, but I haven't lately. In fact, I used to keep a brush in my pencil caddy so I could comb her hair before school. She is ready for a hair cut to keep it easier to manage. 
  • Each one of us has our own hair brush plus one for the school room, and only two brushes can be found in the entire house. (Maybe they are with the silverware).
  • I'm kind of tempted to move school to the new coffee table so I can sit on the couch to read! However being at the table, it is easier for me to get up when I need to. (There's something about sitting on the couch that makes me not want to get up and I don't get as much done). 
  • Because I blog, I often move where we do school depending on which room has the best light for taking pictures. So thankful for spring mornings because the light is great in the dining room, until the tree outside our window is filled with leaves. 
  • I took pictures of our school projects before blogging, but not this many. I often think about not blogging just so I won't take as many pictures... because then I am compelled to put them all in my Project Life album. I'm a little obsessed with using them all, but can't, so that's why they go on my blog. 
  • I like to clean up so that we have a peaceful learning environment, but when I first started cleaning up before school, it was so my house wouldn't be messy in pictures! 
  • With the beautiful weather we are having this week, I am back to diffusing Peace & Calming to help the kids stay focused and me relaxed. 
  • I don't share every nitty gritty detail of our lives as I don't feel that is prudent or necessary. When you look at someone else's life, there will always be details you don't know in real life or on the internet, even with close friends. That's just real life! My blog (and my Project Life) is a reflection of what I want to remember and what I am willing to share. 

5 comments

  1. So glad I'm not the only one with girls who don't love hair brushes. We're actually getting ready to do a donation to Locks of Love for one of my girls. Love her expression about the "surprise", I'm sure you feel the same way she does about it. :)

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    1. Hehe, Abby! I had her wash her hair today and I finally got it combed with conditioner in her hair - then I braided it! And yes! :) :) :)

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  2. I have a question for you about All About Reading Pre Level that you are doing with Bo. I am planning to start this with my (will be) 4 yr old daughter at the new school year! I am wondering how long it takes to complete the lessons. Do you complete one lesson per day/per week?

    About this time last year I asked you about AAR Level 1 that I was planning to start with my daughter this year. You were so helpful to me. Thank you. We started by doing one lesson in about 3-4 days. Now we can do 1 lesson in about 2ish days! We are loving AAR and I am looking forward to being able to go through the Pre Level with my 4yo!

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    1. Hi Elaine, I average about one per week, but we sometimes do two or three in one week, and sometimes only one, but not every week. I'm much better now that we are in a routine and we did two lessons this week. They don't take long at all - we sing the alphabet song pointing to the letters on a poster (or iPad), read the short little poem from the book, do a letter activity (hands on or lately on the iPad), and then I read aloud to Bo for 20 minutes. So maybe 10-20 minutes for the lesson, and 20 minutes reading (sometimes I do that at bedtime). Really loving it not only for the letters and sounds, but the phonemic awareness, listening to syllables, and learning to rhyme - lots of pre-reading skills! And you're welcome! So happy you are loving AAR and working at your daughter's pace! :)

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  3. They're all so grown up! How are our kids growing so fast. I've always followed your blog knowing my oldest is right behing Eliana. Goodness time is flying.

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