Homeschool Mother's Journal 26 August 2011

In my life this week…

I have been thinking about my priorities and working on them.  I still need to find some balance with household chores vs homeschool vs personal time, but it is always going to be a balancing act so I should just get used to being part of a circus and enjoy the good times.

In our homeschool this week…

We are having a 2 week rotation this year for school with Science one week and History the other.  So far the first History week has gone well.  I am proud to say that I have not got caught up on doing my plans exactly as set out, yet we are still learning and covering the basics.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
 
I will need to drop a new baby present off to a friend this week.  Trying to plan a visit is difficult at this time of year when the kids are sharing sniffly noses and coughs.

My favorite thing this week was…
 
It is Spring here so we had one school day out in the backyard in the beautiful sunshine.  I was able to get a table and chairs set up out there and just toted out my crate of books.  Lovely, and so much better than the dull light of inside.  I think we will be doing this more often.

What’s working/not working for us…
 
Listening to our Story of the World chapter in the car while I run necessary errands works well.  I have discovered though that not catering to the 3 year old's mood first in my plans does not help my day to run smoothly.  I don't like it when my plans don't work but this is only a season and we will get to cover these topics again as I work on a 4 year rotation for Science and History.

Questions/thoughts I have…
 
How do you make new friendships when it seems everyone around you has so many friends already and doesn't seem interested in forging new ones?  Both my son and I could do with help in this area as we are getting quite lonely and it really hit home when I had only 3 possible people to talk to when I was worried about my health and 2 of those were busy with baby matters and the 3rd is overseas.

Things I’m working on…
 
I am going to the gym again but not as often as at first.  My dh is working on losing weight too at the moment and is doing a program with shakes.  He is losing a lot of weight whereas all I seem to be losing is motivation.  I need to really just get to the gym every day I can.  And even if my work out doesn't seem successful I should remember that just attending can count as a success too.

Best wishes
Jen