Snowschooling : Blizzard II Day 2

The day started with blizzard winds and more snow. Ironhide has had enough snow. He wants to go play. Today is too cold for outside play so I tried to keep up the physical activity level. So after a nice warm breakfast and a few chores we proceeded to learn.

Workbox	Wednesday
1	Drumming Practice
2	Handwriting lowercase
3	Painting Birdhouse for Winter
4	Wii Golf -10 minutes
5	Draw and Write Race Cars
6	FIAR-Science Owl Craft Owl Owl Enchanted Learning
7	Jump Around
8	Bible Work
9	Detailed Scavenger Hunt
10	Workbook-HOP
11	Co-Op Homework-Review
12	Knot Tying

Moving Forward with Workboxes

This year we started using Sue Patrick's Workbox System. The homeschool community has been all a buzz about this system all year. I was intrigued by the system but being in the middle of the move it was not time in the spring to start this system. So during the summer I purchased the E-Book and read it in one day. This is a simple easy to institute system that appeals to my organizing nature.

So we started the first day of school with the workbox system and haven't looked back. Ironhide loves this system. He says "This is much better than the way we did school in Texas." It gives us a beginning and end to the day. It helps me keep focused on a theme and not wonder off with "just one more thing".

This is how our system works:

Since we have downsized from 3,000 sq ft to 1800 sq ft we don't have a formal classroom with have a class corner. I rearranged some of Ironhide's bedroom Pottery Barn's Kids Cubby and plastic bins from Target's $1 Spot.

After surfing the web I found great ID tags from Maureen @ Spell Out Loud to create a colorful contrast to engage our energetic student.

Now after explaining this system to Ironhide he embraced it and went right to work. The only glitches were on my side because I didn't make some of the boxes more challenging. Also I had to go back and add some physical activities that are learning again using cards from Maureen @ Spell Out Loud.

This is the results of the end of the day. I was able to pack backpacks during Ironhide's independent work for afternoon two co-ops.

Moving and Homeschooling: The Aftermath

I knew moving across country would be a difficult transitions for the whole family. However my heart breaks at how difficult it has been on Ironhide aka The Student. He said it best four months ago "Mom I have to leave everything I have known my whole life." That feeling has really starting to sink in now that school has started and he has joined his first official co-op with real homework, yet another change. He misses the constant of flow of friends into our home and the sense of security of knowing his environment. Even his parents are changing because Dad has a new job, mom is still dealing with trying to make this house feel like home and learn her way around.

So many changes in so little time for my little guy, new church, new house, new city, new climate, new doctors, new friends and it never stops. Oh and now glasses on top of everything else. Every day it is something new. I try to wrap it in the theme of an adventure but even the best thrill seeker wants to get off the ride. Even I want to say stop sometimes because I just cannot handle one more new thing. Prayer is constant during this time because we know that God is our true home, but he is only six and it is hard.

We have had a couple not so stellar weeks of behavior issues. Most can be attributed to being six and the rest I think are move related. I need prayer because I am stressed and this is just breaking my heart to discipline him almost hourly. I do mean hourly and things I have never known him to do. Last night I spent the night in prayer and reading because I am at a loss. He is a great child who is going to be a wonderfully blessed human being but how do I get him there?

As a mother of an only child I have those moments of "maybe he should go to school to met people." But as I put it in prayer I have not been shown that path. It would not solve problems but just add more confusion to the mix.

I have never shared this much before but I think this may help someone else because this is not an easy path, but it is our path.

Be Blessed