Balancing Act

So, two weeks (or thereabouts) and we've been doing pretty darn good with the curriculum. It's easier to create a working two week plan than I'd thought (okay, feared), plus looking forward it's easy to link it all into an overall arch. Nice to see that come November both will be on the Pilgrims. Yeah, I know, how cheesy to want to tie in a holiday with the schoolwork, but what can I say. I think it's a good thing.

The only problem I'm having right now is balancing out their subjects, giving us enough time to cover everything without running into overtime. Of course, as a homeschooler, running into overtime isn't as big an issue. It's not like we have a car line waiting to pick them up, or a boss who's complaining about double pay. But if you've ever sat at a table with kids, trying to do something (you consider, not necessarily the kids think is) constructive? Even with breaks in between, they get so antsy you're waiting to see them stick their hands and feet on the wall and start darting up to the ceiling. With that in mind, I've tried to come up with a schedule where I can cram their little heads with information (not too much, but enough for the day), while making it interesting enough to hold their attention. And, of course, not so long that they want to rip their hair out. Fine, I'll admit it, so that I don't pull my hair out, either.

The first two weeks was a hard line to walk. I kept finding myself falling behind with what I wanted to do, especially with my daughter. While my son has learned that everything doesn't have to be absolutely perfect (but still be correct), my daughter hasn't. Thus a picture that would take anyone else, say, ten minutes to draw, takes her (quite literally) an hour. This made some of my lesson plans stretch into days rather than a few minutes. I kept this in mind while I was making the new lesson plans. Needless to say, I'm giving her a good week to finish any sort of picture book, painting, or Playdough sculpture.

I also tried something different this past Friday. I gave a small oral quiz, going back over everything we'd learned. Guess what? They actually retained knowledge! I was so excited. We had actually accomplished something major in their learning. I'm not as terrible at this as I'd feared! And, hey, my kids actually know stuff. I mean real world stuff and things that are book learned. Did that make sense?

Our adventure continues today. Historical fiction, Leonardo diVinci, Buddha, Hopi Indians...lots of fun stuff. Now if I can just keep them from picking at each other...