Everyone was up by seven and greeted me in bed, of course. Joel has a very early morning job and so it's the kids and I from the get go. Downstairs we go for breakfast (where we read some books about Fall) and chores (the kids feed animals, clear dishes, get dressed and "brush teeth (rarely happens-oops)". I unload/load dishwasher, change the laundry out and get baby down for first nap. This part of our morning is often extended by a multitude of things. This morning is was "ICE! THERE IS ICE EVERYWHERE OUTSIDE!!" So, out we go to see the icy grass, the ice on the chicken coop, etc.
By about 9am I called it quits on my chores and we were ready to start lesson time. Jubilee played with blocks (she LOVES those enormous Lego type blocks-thank goodness) and played with the white board/markers while the kids narrated a story back to me called Mr. Who that we read last week. They drew a picture of him and then told the story to me so that I could write it for them in their "main lesson books". I am always amazed by their ability to remember so many details of stories! Then they worked on their "Explode the Code" phonics books. Amelia does 2 pages and is D O N E and goes to play with Jubilee and Sam works for a while longer (he is very into phonics and handwriting, while Amelia is not, to say the least).
We take a break after this as Ollie wakes up, Jubilee needs a diaper change, and everyone needs a snack.
Next up we read Amelia's new Ladybug magazine she got in the mail. We were sitting at the table teaching Jubilee the song "This Little Light of Mine"(which was in the magazine) and having a great conversation with the big kids about what it looks like to shine our light, when I thought, "This is my favorite part of the morning. Love, love, love." Then, things started to fall apart. Haha! Ollie was fussy, I needed to get dinner in the crock pot , we needed to clean up from snack and morning lessons....what to do first? AHHHH! Deep breath, Jenny. Fed Ollie, had Sam play with him, turned on Sparkle Stories while Amelia helped me chop veggies for dinner (patience, Jenny, patience) and Jubilee played with her baby doll. Cranky, cranky, everyone cranky.
Eventually, we work through the crankiness. Dinner is in crock pot, we eat lunch and finish our Sparkle Story (called Little House Day- so lovely:), the big kids go play Legos, Ollie goes down for second nap, Jubilee watches her beloved "cock a loo loo" (Little Bear), and mama takes a deep breath. And here we are! It is 1:45pm! So, yep, our school days are a little part school, a big part family life, and I'm learning to be ok with that! Actually, I'm learning to love that. So much of our learning happens during conversations about books we are reading, nature outings we go on, etc.
Anyway, we have about two hours until we leave for dance. The kids will most like play and rest until then, Amelia will go to dance while we feed geese and ducks at SugarHouse park nearby. After dance I'm planning on running by the Wild Bird Store to get sunflower seeds for our bird friends staying here for the winter. We have been seeing lots of Blue Jays around and Sam noticed this morning that the Doves are still here (do they stay?)...we have been loving The Burgess Bird Book for children.
We'll come home and eat dinner together (yay, even though the majority of children probably won't like it, boo) and then tidy up and run around crazy for a bit and then read stories, "brush teeth" and go to bed! Mama will probably stay up too late (though I'm doing better these days) and then we'll start all over again tomorrow!
I could say so much more. But, that's all I have time for today. Hope you enjoyed a realistic peek into the Hunt home on a normal Monday morning:) Jen
1 comment:
Sounds kinda familar :) PaPa Joel
Post a Comment