Homeschool went well for the most part. We got into a rhythm with Oliver's nap schedule. The girls get up around 7:30 and do their list (they all get dressed, eat, and clear their dishes; Parker sits on the toilet and Ashtyn practices piano and typing). Once their list is done, they get to play or draw until I'm done with my own morning list. If I have time while Oliver is still napping, I do an activity with the girls.
Once Oliver wakes up from his first nap, we all sit on the couch while he nurses and I read to them. I start with a couple picture books, then something out of The Friend magazine, then a chapter from the novel we're reading (right now we're almost finished with Ella Enchanted). Oliver usually finishes nursing while I'm reading out of the novel, so when I finish a chapter, I read a couple board books to Oliver.
Then Oliver goes on the floor for some floor time while I help the girls work on their goals. Ashtyn wants to learn piano, typing, and Esperanto this year. I open up Duolingo on my phone and help her do a lesson and then she goes and gets her flashcards (she practices the first two earlier). Parker wants to learn to read, so she reads an early reader book to me and then we work on phonics on a drawing app on my phone (she gets to draw on it afterwards, so she loves it). Rylee wants to learn her letters, so I let her watch a YouTube video on my phone about letters each day.
I have loved this routine for getting the things done that I most want to. The one thing we have not been doing is any extra activities on top of this. Of the activities I planned to do with them in January (I planned 17), I did five of them and four of those I just got out and they did on their own. I would like to find a way to do activities with them more again, but mornings right now are obviously not working.
I'm going to try doing the activity in the afternoon or after dinner. Some activities work really well while listening to an audiobook, which the girls love to do in the afternoon while Oliver is sleeping and some activities (like science experiments) I think would be fun to do as a family after dinner. If I wait until after dinner, Oliver might be asleep or Ben could help watch him if he's grumpy.
We'll still do cleaning and movie night on Fridays, so I won't plan an activity for then. I want to add science videos (I get them emailed to me each week) for Ashtyn on Friday afternoons. On the weekend (whether we have time Friday afternoon or wait until Saturday to do it), I want to try doing a science experiment with the girls. They love them, but I tend to put them off because of the work involved.
Monday, January 31
Since February's biggest holiday is Valentine's Day, I thought we could get out the colored paper and our cookie cutters and make Valentine's Day paper hearts for decorations. It'll be a simple activity that the girls can mostly do on their own if Oliver needs my attention, but that I can also sit down and do with them for awhile. I thought I could also help them each make a paper heart wreath, which looks cute and easy.
Tuesday, February 1
Today I wanted to play a board game with the kids. We have a ridiculous amount of games for how often we play them. Rylee isn't quite old enough to enjoy games like this yet, but both Parker and Ashtyn always love it.
Wednesday, February 2
For Groundhog Day, we will watch and see if the groundhog sees his shadow or not, watch Homeschool Pop's video about the holiday, and do a simple coloring page.
Thursday, February 3
Today is going to be a playdoh day! The girls love playing with playdoh and it's actually an activity I can really enjoy doing with them as well.
Weekend:
For our science experiment this weekend, I want to make glow in the dark slime with the girls. You use the inside of sharpies to make it glow in black lights.
Monday, February 7
This is Send a Friend a Card Day. Since Valentine's Day is so close, I thought we could make Valentine's Day Cards together. We will keep it simple and just use paper and markers, though I might get out our heart shaped cookie cutters and let the kids trace and cut out hearts for them.
Tuesday, February 8
I've had a game saved that uses chocolate kisses. I thought Valentine's Day would be a good time to play it!
Wednesday, February 9
Today is National Pizza Day! I thought I would cut out some circles and let them "make" paper pizzas. We did something similar last month and they loved it. We can also get out our wooden play food pizza for them to play with. And of course, we'll have pizza for dinner.
Thursday, February 10
For a last Valentine's Day activity before Valentine's Day, I thought we could do a heart hunt. I will hide paper hearts all over the living room and kitchen and let the kids find them.
Weekend:
The experiment this week is called Dinosaur Toothpaste. You use hydrogen peroxide and dish soap with yeast to make it foam up and can add food coloring for fun.
Monday, February 14
This is Valentine's Day! Ashtyn has an activity through our church in the afternoon, so I wanted to do something simple. I thought it would be fun to make heart shaped rice krispie treats! The girls love helping me make treats and also love eating them, of course. We will also do heart shaped pizzas for dinner.
Tuesday, February 15
I want to focus on learning about different countries this year. We didn't do it last year (though we did have beans and rice and watch capoeira videos on YouTube). In February, I want to learn about Chinese culture. I have these printables that we can fill out and I also have this book they can make.
I'm going to look at the library to see what books they have on China. National Geographic Kids has some facts about China online that we can read and we can watch some YouTube videos together (I know Homeschool Pop has one on the Great Wall of China).
For an activity, I thought we could do some Chinese Shadow Puppetry. You place paper figures behind a thin screen with light reflecting so that it makes a shadow. Then you tell a story with the shapes and music. I think the girls will love this and I think I can find a way to do this pretty easily.
For dinner, I thought we could get take out from a local Chinese restaurant. I don't know if the kids will like it, but Ben and I really enjoy it. I considered making a traditional food, but the other activities we're doing today already, I think it's going to be best if I keep dinner simple. I did want to try making a dessert with the kids and I thought this recipe of fried milk didn't look too hard.
Wednesday, February 16
Something that Ben and I want to do is teach our kids how to tell a good story. I thought today we could do a little lesson about how stories have a beginning, middle, and end. Then they can each take a turn telling a story while I type it for them. They love doing this.
Thursday, February 17
Today, I thought we could do a simple and fun spelling/physical activity. This spell-your-name activity is one I found on Pinterest. I think all the kids will have fun with it and it will help reinforce for Rylee (who is currently learning how to spell her name).
Weekend:
For Christmas, Ashtyn got a science kit with lots of different science experiments in it. This weekend, I wanted to let her pick one out of that to do.
Monday, February 21
For President's Day, I found a printable on Pinterest that I thought the kids would find fun.
Tuesday, February 22
Something I've been learning more about recently is Game School, which is helping kids learn through playing games with them. I love this idea! I found a fun math game I can play with the kids called Roll to 100. I found the rules for it here.
Wednesday, February 23
Last month, we all did a drawing tutorial together and had a lot of fun with this. This month, I have one to draw a cute little donut. I think the girls will have fun with it and if I'm feeling ambitious, we could even make donuts to go with it.
Thursday, February 24
For today, I have a game that is also fun exercise. I thought it would be a fun way to get moving with the kids!
Weekend:
We have a book that outlines different science activities that kids can do. The kids are always looking through it, but I'm not the best at actually doing the activities with them. One of the activities is make a flip book, which we have the right materials for. I also thought this would be a good one to do with Ben, since he's an artist and has a lot of experience with animation.
Monday, February 28
It's a little late, but I saw this little book and thought it went perfectly with when we were learning about the creation of the world. I also think Rylee will have a lot of fun with it, because she's recently started to really enjoy coloring.
I'm excited to try this new system for activities! We'll see how it goes!
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