Here is another day, like any other day, we are not bound to the schedule I set out the day prior, but I do try to keep a routine for the kid’s and my sake. It helps them know what they need to do and stay focused. Typically we do “school” in the morning and the rest like art and reading in the afternoon.
Today I planned on going to our local story time at "Balfour Beauty" on Fort Bliss at 10 a.m so I told the kids that we had to hurry so we could have time for morning chores.
7:00 am Wakeup
7:10 Chore Cards
7:30 Breakfast (Today we had oatmeal with fruit) I didn’t take pictures because I hadn’t had my coffee :)
8:00 Fix Amanda, Sarah, and myself because the older ones already did that with the chore cards.
8:30 Elijah starts his school
To us, it is very important that we show respect to our country.
What I like about Abeka is that in the classes, Mrs. Bear (his k5 teacher) reminds them about God, His word, praise songs, and that they even have an entire class on the Bible.
9:00 Sleep Sarah
How I love this swing! .Fisher-Price Soothing Motions Glider - Butter Bunny
9:10 Time for toddler school for Mandis. Today was computer, sounds, and stickers (for fine motor skills).
I put stickers on the keys so she will know where to press.
She also knows that you only press the keys with the stickers.
Sesame Street: Sounds Around Town
This helps her learn to recognize the sounds around her, such as t
he animals, ice cream man, the mail man, etc. It’s a fun game.
Ok, so after 10 very educational minutes, she got bored.
On to the next one, since I knew that was going to happen,
I already had something else prepared for her…Math stickers!
Giant Sticker Activity First Words
What I love about this book is that, it’s not just entertaining, and if you
buy one that you can reuse it’s economic, but that it also
helps develop the fine motor skills to facilitate learning to write!
Did I mention Coordination?
9:50 Story Time
He wasn’t able to finish his phonics class, so
we had to bring Mrs. Bear with us.
We were in luck, Mr. Police-dog visited us! You don’t
need school to receive special visits…the libraries and
community centers also offer these types of activities. I
f not, you can call these places to find out when and
where they are visiting so you can plan to attend.
Elijah was sooo focused on what the policeman was saying.
At the end of the presentation, they gave hugs…even Amanda went!
Who says young “homeschoolers” are timid?!
11:00 am Alright...time to read books!
Mandis is starting to get more comfortable at story time, she went with Elijah this time.
11:50 We get home and time for lunch! Hurry cause Mandis is hungry!
It’s Elijah’s turn to prepare the food. I help him on the stove,
but he does the majority of the process.
When kids cook they are learning:
1. Coordination
2. Distress
3. Following step-by-step directions
4. Not everything has to be boring when we are learning!
MMMMM!! So good Elijah! Thank you! 
Add the yogurt, and we have a VERY delicious lunch!
12:30 Clean and Prepare for "quiet time”.
1:30-3:00 pm Quiet Time (and Mommy time. =) Blogging, Clean the house
3:00 pm Studying on the computer (Today on “Brain Pop”: Subway System)
Even Charis is learning!
A little side note on BrainPop. I try to put on for 10 minutes a day, so that every day they learn something new in:
1. Science
2. Social Science
3. Math
4. Health
5. Technology
6. Art and Music
7. English and Spanish
4:00 pm Addiel gets home (Daddy) and the “education” ends so they can spend time together. However, this doesn’t mean that we stop “learning”.
Addiel reads them books when he gets home from work.
There are days that it gets out of control, so I try to adjust and still enjoy the day with my kids.
For those who think this is just for the ones who know what they are doing, let me tell you, there are days where I blow up at the kids, I give up for a brief day, I feel like I just want to send them to school instead, I sometimes feel like just taking them to a fast food restaurant, I feel like I just want to let them do what ever they want and suffer the consequences later, I feel like I am not getting anywhere or I don’t know how to do this the “right” way, and more. But I then recuperate and get back to my senses and remember what this is all for. THAT is what counts and that is what keeps me from really calling it quits.
I thank God for my life and the opportunity that he has given me to be able to do this, I must do the most with this opportunity. I hope this entry has helped. If you would like more over this blog, please comment and I will respond. :)
May God bless you and keep you driving on towards a better future!
Zaida (The Bilingual Christian Home School Mom)
Don’t forget to read my blog: A Typical Day: Monday in Spanish for right now.
