One Week In

I'm not going to spend all of my days talking about homeschooling.  In fact, I kind of hope to keep under the radar with all of this for the most part (after this).  But, just for my memory, I have to document the first day.  We started off with a few pictures!

As soon as we got inside to start the routine, Genevieve woke up (she's usually up by 6:30), so we were already a bit off for the day when she decided to sleep until 7:45.  So, we set her up with some breakfast, and I began with a Bible story.  About 35 seconds in, the boys shouted, "A flamingo!" and ran out the back door.  Needless to say it was a crane (but a big one) who had decided to perch on the side of the water tank in full view out of the dining room window.  Less than one minute in, distraction!

We regrouped and got through days 1-4 of creation and a decade of the rosary when Sophie woke up and wanted in on the pictures.

In case you're wondering, proper shoe placement will be on the list of things to learn for a few of these kids!

Carter then wanted to take some photos.

We got the screaming/teething Genevieve back down, went and got the chicken eggs (dropped one), and went back in for lessons.

I got Peter, JP and Sophie set up in the playroom with their school boxes, and then I went to the dining room with Carter.

In less than five minutes, I hear a blood-curling scream, and it turns out JP had, in fact, drawn blood while biting Peter's finger (and we've never had a biting problem).  We had a few other incidents to add a bit of flavor to the day as well (another bite, a flying golf club, and I think one particular child acting like the teacher in the other room), but we made it through.

And, we enjoyed a few mid-morning-school-is-out-for-the-day cupcakes, too!

By the end of the week, Carter was seven lessons ahead in math, memorized his poem on day two, and was loving his art!  The following days were much better than the first, and we've also discovered a class clown already (if you can imagine that)!  After every Bible story, the next day the kids are asked to illustrate what was read the day before).  Well, so far John Paul's two drawings have been described as this:

Days of Creation 1-4: "God said, let there be LIGHT.  And, then he made a moon of the light. THEN, he made a man on the moon who had a BIG stick!"

Days of Creation 5-7: "God made a giant whale in the sea, and I drew it red because he found a tiny fishy and bit him, and there was blood EVERYWHERE!"

They're loving their uniforms (that I bought mainly for my own sake of laundry and how cute I think they are), their designated "school time," the extra reading aloud, and the toys they only get to play with during my time with Carter.

We're learning and knowing that each week will hold it's ups and downs, but so far, so good!