A Day In The Life...

My morning schedule has changed so much this year.  At one point I got up at 4:30 am and headed off to the gym.  After a week of that I realized I couldn't stay up to 9 and be a nice person.  I needed a nap, and that's not doable on most any days.  Nowadays I basically decide nightly on what time I will get up; it depends on what time I get to bed.  I need 8 hours of sleep to be kind to everyone.  I wake up praying, and starting my day talking and praising God.  Then I see what I had written down the night before to remember what is most pressing in the morning.  Sometimes its emails, making a big breakfast, packing lunches for our field trip or Co Op, laundry, etc.  I also read my bible and get ready for the day.

Here is a rundown of what a Wednesday in March of 2017 looked like for us:

This dark picture is of JellyBean.  If I get up at 6, so does she, if I get up at 7, so does she.  She has this sense of when I get up, so there is no getting up before my kids totally...she is a morning person though, shes an all day person, always happy.  We read her bible together and then she gets 25 min of screen time.

I am so ready for spring break I can hardly stand it...and then I decide I really want to study Space with the kids and started planning the 6 weeks after we get back from 10 days off of school.  I have a sick mind.....PS this video did not make the cut.  Some people's voices and the super dramatic acting, will not make it at Gray Academy.

Little Man wakes up at all different times.  Between 7 and 8 are ideal.  Its best if I have my coffee and his juice ready and we sit and cuddle while waking up to one of his favorite shows. He loves pancakes and cereal and muffins.  

Her screen time, either a show or Minecraft.

2 days a week this guy gets to spend 1/1 time with his Grandma's.  My mom and Hubby's mom are retired and he is their last grandbaby.  Spoiled?  Yes.

Couldn't resist.

I write down what we are doing every day on the whiteboard.  Peanut likes to know in advance  what we are doing, and so does JellyBean really.  But with kids, someone always gets sick or lately my health isn't great, so as far as planned trips or activities I have learned to keep on the down low or prep them, this may not happen because.....and then the disappointment isn't as heavy and dramatic.

My girls have 2 murphy desks my stepdad made and they love them.  they have their own space, and shelves for their needs.  We move to the kitchen table when we all learn together.  These desks are great for their independent time.

She loves looking out the window, she's got an artist eye and heart for creativity.  She is working on Math U See Delta or her handwriting book from Christian Light Education. (copywork and practicing cursive, takes 5 minutes a day)  Most days she is done with basics by 9 am.  (Basics for us are: reading, math, spelling, and handwriting.  We alternate taking one away every week for a break, this week no spelling)

Jellybean loves crowding her desk and piling stuff on top of other papers, books, etc.  She is by far the messiest child we have, but she is so happy.  It couldn't bother her one bit, and I have to really watch how I react to her messes.  Its a true struggle. We are using Rod and Staff Handwriting, she is learning slant and cursive now.

We have used Hooked on Phonics and Christian Light Education for reading programs, Hooked on phonics was great for Kindergarten, I do wish I would have moved up in the same program, but went with a workbook approach that in the end took 1.5 hours everyday if we could do it.  It was just too much writing, reading, spelling, grammar for 6 years of age.  We just eventually started reading BOB books, and I read a lot to her.  We then drew pictures on sight cards for her to memorize the words she would sound out 144 times in one story, and one day it clicked.  Now she just picks a book from our stash, and we cuddle on the couch together and she reads to me.  Peanut reads independently in her room, she rotates between Pioneer Books and the Series of Unfortunate Event books.

We love Mystery of History, while I read they draw. We sometimes do the activities she suggests, or they are always game for dramatic flare.  They dress up and reenact what we learned.  I also now know, both girls learn better by re-telling the story, so when Hubby gets home I say "Hey, girls, tell Dad who {what} we learned about today..." and sometimes they fight on WHO gets to talk, so sometimes picking one is better...

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Peanuts artwork.

We alternate between doing chores first thing in the morning or as soon as school is over and then we all have freetime.  Our kids get paid for these chores, chores to live in our home and eat our food include doing own laundry, keeping room picked up, and helping with dishes everyday at every meal.

Lunch

Jellybean getting her wiggles out.  This trampoline has been a great investment so far.

Peanut watching her sister.

They felt like a fashion show was needed in the afternoon.  Why not?

Those glasses......

I hurt my back so I am heating, stretching, and using Hubby's traction table. I am helping Peanuts Volleyball Coach out because the times and days changed on her and she has a prior commitment.  So Mondays we have Ballet for Jellybean, and Monday and Wednesday we have Volleyball.  Hubby works for the Power Company so he can work late or get called out at anytime really.  I have learned to not even worry about cooking a decent meal until I see the whites of his eyes.  I had everything thawed from the night before (and since he was called out till 2 am) and he grilled while we went to practice.

Once we got home and sat down to eat it was 7:45, way later than we EVER eat and Little Man decides he wants candy so he wants to go sit on the potty.  Who wants to eat their dinner warm anyway....  Here he is, after a successful trip he decides to go outside and watch his sisters jump on the tramp.  Remember how late it is?  And my dinner is getting cold, so I care little about his naked-ness in our back yard.  Its fenced with trees.

Girls getting their last jumps in....

JellyBean waiting for me to read to her and tuck her in.  The Hubby and I alternate between putting Little Man to bed and both girls.  With Peanut we read or just talk, I like having this one on one time with the kids.

Little Man trying to find someone to give him one more vitamin.  The kid is a Honest brand and Flinstone brand vitamin addict.

After kids are in bed we stay up late and play cards.....Yeah, right.  IF we don't fall asleep with our kids, we make it to our own beds and pass out.

The End.