Gearing up for Homeschool!

Dear Kiddos, 

We've had the pleasure of having Auntie Momo come over and stay with us for a week! Our days consisted of morning hikes or bike rides, art class (where we actually learned about the process of creating a story), catching Pokemon, chinese lessons, martial arts, board games, epic games of hide and go seek, and lots of yummy food. Repeat that 5 times and that is our week. 

 Our last week of Arree Summer Creative Camp. Story writing was this week's topic. 

Hailey wanted to (or you were strongly suggested to do so by your older siblings) dress up like Pokemon. While you all played upstairs, I think trying to catch you was a thing. 

The cloudy mornings were cool enough (80's) for us to get outside for a hike. We took Auntie Momo around the different trails in our neighborhood. 

Hailey, you had your last chinese storytime session this week. Don't worry, I signed you up for another session because I know you love it so much! Also any exposure to other people speaking mandarin is a good thing. 

Some days you are pretty stubborn. You are in a phase where you don't want to do anything yourself now. Rewind last month, you wanted to do everything yourself, but suddenly you have started to play the helpless card and will ask for help to do everything. Everything. 

Our pool closed at the beginning of the week but on Saturday morning it opened back up and we were one of the first (and only) people back. The pool has been the savior to my sanity. It really helps break up the week, having to be cooped up at home all the time can get pretty rough. 

Then Saturday afternoon, I drove Auntie Momo back to Dallas and then drove right back home. The 10 hours apart from you guys was such a weird feeling. I guess when I'm at home with you guys I'm on duty all the time. Subconsciously, I'm always making sure you are safe, always listening for the wiggles that mean someone's bladder is full, you know, things like that, but for those few hours, it was a good refreshing break, just what I needed. 

First Day of Homeschool. 

I've been gathering random objects for a treasure chest and after going over how you guys can eventually earn prizes from the treasure chest, you asked if we could start school right then and there. I thought about it and figured why not? 

So today we started it and here's generally how it went. 

8:30 Circle time. We talked about today's weather, the date, read a devotion, a bible story, and then a chinese children's story. 

9:00 - 9:30 We had recess. It was too hot outside, so we decided to play Michael Jackson dance on the Wii. 

9:30 - 9:50 We all sat at the table. Nathan and Hannah you guys worked on math. Hailey, you got some time on ABC mouse. 

9:50 - 10:30 We collected rocks outside and sorted them based on appearances. I briefly introduced what igneous rocks are and showed you guys a few examples. 

10:30-10:45 Snack 

10:45 - 11:15 I worked with Nathan on language arts while Hannah and Hailey you played upstairs. 

11:15-11:45 I worked with Hannah on language arts while Nathan and Hailey played. Nathan caused Hailey to cry at some point, so I had to pause what I was doing with Hannah to work out the situation. Eventually, Hailey joined us downstairs and played with puzzles while we finished up the lesson. 

12:00-12:45 lunch. 

12:45 - 1:00 we cleaned up the house

1:00 - 1:45 we did art. 

1:45 - 2:00 I read stories to Hailey before nap while you guys worked in your handwriting books. 

2:15-2:50 you guys had screen time and I went outside for a walk. 

3:30 Hannah had zoom martial arts while Nathan played 

4:30 Nathan had a zoom martial arts class and Hannah played/help make dinner. 

And that's pretty much our schedule. I know when the school year officially starts, we will have to add in chinese lessons and maybe incorporate more writing, but today was a trial run and I didn't want to have an overly intense start to homeschool. 

Well, that's about it for now. 

Until next  week, 

Love, 

Mommy