When I have days where I think I'm so totally screwing up, when I think my kids are brats who can't learn and I'm a mother who can't teach, I need to think back on this day.
The theme for the day: flexibility. I awoke this morning feeling like I didn't really want to do much of anything. I've been feeling that way for the whole weekend. Oh wait. Today's Tuesday. Okay, so I've been feeling that way all weekend and all week. I wasn't sure I'd get very far today, either.
I had a driving job for an Amish woman down the road. Maybe that just put me in a good mood--I don't know. I always enjoy driving for this woman. The conversation is meaningful and her attitude is always warm and encouraging. She and her daughter were taking her grandchildren to a medical appointment, so I took a jaunt down to a local Amish bakery to see if they had any of their killer croutons, the kind that are deep fried and coated with italian herbs and cheese, and I got a brainstorm. Since we were planning to begin using Five in a Row again, and since that's a relaxed, enjoyable approach to learning, we would kick off with a tea time.
So I brought home cakes and cookies, and the children got out the tablecloth, tea sets and cake pedastals. Sweetheart set out the goodies while Monet made the tea. I made it clear that teatime is a time to speak only pleasantries. No unpleasant conversation or behavior at the tea table! This was about the most inflexible rule I made today.
While they were enjoying their teatime, I straightened up our reading area--cleaned off the couch, swept and straightened rugs, set out the beanbag chairs and rocking chairs and fluffed up the pillows. When they were finished with their tea, they gathered around and we began reading They Were Strong and Good by Robert Lawson.
After the book had been read, we discussed the Civil War, occupations, beekeeping, relatives and war terminology. Sweetheart and The Baby strayed from the reading area a little bit to play with the wooden treehouse set, but they played quietly for the most part and absorbed our conversation, or at least bits of it.
When we were finished with our discussion, I encouraged the kids to choose a book from the Five in a Row box that I would either read aloud or they could read independently. The boys chose to have me read aloud from a book on bees and beekeeping while Bard chose to read a book on her own, albeit a picture book. When she finished that, she went on to do the rest of her schoolwork.
Houdin commented on the Civil War which prompted a discussion on other wars, including the revolutionary war. He had watched part of Gettysburg and pointed out that there was a general who shared our last name. We looked up a bit more information on The Battle at Bunker Hill and ordered Gettysburg from Netflix.
Most of the day was used discussing bees and other insects. Monet asked me to read another book from the Five in a Row box, so I let him choose. He chose a book on mealworms which I read aloud. Since we have a chameleon, I keep live mealworms. The book included several experiments with mealworms that we plan to do tomorrow. I looked on Netflix and through our library for a DVD about bees, but I couldn't find one. Any suggestions? I was pretty surprised. We do plan to visit a friend's hives, and we may start a hive of our own. There's a naturealm not far from us that has a hive observatory, so we may take a trip to see that as well.
The younger kids helped me take my winter decorations down from the kitchen and put up my springtime decorations while Bard read and Houdin took a walk.
Aha. But I've been away too long. The kids have concocted a house-rules game of soccer with a huge blue ball and they're starting to bicker. All in all, though, it's been a good day. After I break up the soccer-game fiasco, we're heading to the library, and then home for more reading aloud.
Note to the future me: balance planning with flexibility, and everyone's happier.
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