Our first school days

We've finished our first week of school. It went really well and my kids are still rather psyched about the whole thing so I guess that means I must have made it pretty fun.

The biggest question in my mind going into the week was how "school" would fit into our day. Having four little ones under six years of age keeps me busy in and of itself. To say I was a little apprehensive about adding school to the mix would be an understatement.

I guess I needn't have been nervous because it all came together rather easily and seamlessly. I didn't even have a very concrete idea about how I was going to structure our days so Tuesday morning I decided to just plunge in after I had breakfast cleaned up and Aubrey nursed. It worked great.

We've started each morning around 8:30 or 9am. By this time, I've showered, dressed, and done my hair. The kids are dressed and fed, beds are made, diapers are out on the line, and Daniel is out the door. First we've done math, which takes all of 15 minutes or so (we are talking about a kindergarten and preschooler here). Then some phonics/reading, which takes about another 10-15 minutes. After that, I've done some basic social studies: reading from a textbook one day, having them making "family portraits" the next, walking around the town and pointing out different community buildings/business the day after that, etc.

Then, whenever Aubrey needs to nurse again, I've done our read-aloud time. The kids love this. Right after we finish a chapter from a book, I've done 3-5 minutes of science-related reading: a textbook excerpt or a short illustrated book that helps reinforce the lesson. (Can you tell science is a great love of mine??? )

And that's it for our "official" school time.

Gabriel and Bronwyn do most everything together: Bronwyn works in a $ store workbook or practices writing numbers while Gabriel does math, and they both do phonics and social studies together. Most days, Jackson has colored while they do their work, though one day he opted to play with Aubrey during that time. All the kids participate in read-aloud and science.

The cool thing with our morning school time is that I feel like I'm finally starting my day with my focus on the kids like I always want to but often fail to because I'm so caught up in my To Do lists. The kids seem to really benefit from the first-thing attention because when 10 or 11am rolls around and I'm sending them off to play for a while so I can do other work, they're much happier to be on their own.