A Frank Update and School Plans

So did anyone notice I never did post more of my Spring Cleaning list?  Well, I did, and the guilt has been weighing heavily.  I really think I bit off more than I can chew at this time of year with that huge list.  I need a reality check - spring is not the time for me to be taking on any major tasks.  I am allergic to 3 biggies that flower/seed at this time of year prolifically, Rye, Bahia Grass and Plantain.  Seeing as I live on the edge of cow farmland (plantain is often used as cow pasture) it is not nice when they all decide to spread their seed.

I am now getting to see a pattern and I will be making sure that next spring does not include any big plans for any thing.  I get huge sinus headaches that last for days, I am tired, lethargic and my eyes water and I sneeze a lot.  I get blocked sinuses, ear aches and sometimes sinus infections.  I know others have worse health issues, I am not whining.  I just need to be realistic about my abilities at this time of year.

So now, guilt over!  Moving on!

I have been printing out maths sheets by the batches for the boys' clipboards.  Thank you to Tracey over at Little Men in My Library for her heads up about Math Resource Studio.  I still need to organise more clipboard activities. 

I am working on a rotating theme of extra pages of maths on Monday, art on Tuesday, language arts on Wednesday, mazes on Thursday, science on Friday.  Most of my ideas for maths, language arts and science are coming from a Morning Message book from Scholastic.    The art pages are another tip from Tracey.  The boys get one page each week to work on from the Drawing Practice Sheets.  I have a ton of mazes printed as they are a favourite for big and small here.  I got mine from KrazyDad. 

What are these clipboards for?  Well, some days I have to take my dh to work if I am going to be needing the car later.  I put on the boys' clipboards pages that they can work on independently while I am gone.  It also keeps them quiet for a bit on the days I am at home to give me some time to sort myself out before we get on with school.

In addition to their clipboards I am also creating some individual binders (just slim ones) with pages in them of memory work.  As each child is at different stages I am going to work with each one individually on their binder.  Included will be poetry and scripture memorisation to match their curriculum, map pages (ranging in difficulty from Australian states to continents and major cities and land marks around the world) and times tables.  In our individual time we will work on some handwriting too.  I have tried teaching them all at once for handwriting but I just can't give each child the attention they need in a group situation.

I hate how much prep is needed for school.  I find myself worrying about ink cartridge and paper costs even though I have an ample budget for home school supplies.  It is just one of those things though.  If I want to have a half way reasonable home school experience then I need to put in the time and money now.  It will cost me more than those later on if I don't.

So there you go, I am still here, just foggy, over tired and a little depressed.   I think things will get better now, isn't half the solution recognising the problem?

Best wishes
Jen