For the past two weeks we have been using a new checklist system to provide some order to our days. On day two of my system I joked with Sandy that I was going to blog about it immediately, but look how I have prudently waited two weeks to prove the lasting effectiveness of the system.
The truth is, we have had different checklists over the years and I have always found them helpful. My kids have either learned or inherited my love of checking things of the list (I have been been known to add things to my list after completing them, just for fun) and I think it helps them have a good sense of what is expected of them as well as what they have accomplished each day.
My latest list system is aimed at having the girls take a little more responsibility for their independent work in the morning, and has been working. I call it ten by ten, and the deal is that if they finish ten things on their morning list by ten, we can go out or they can play. We have had trips to the zoo and library as well as just headed outside or to the porch to play.
The 10 by 10 list has things that they can do on their own: review songs for Suzuki, Saxon Math fact sheets, math drills, computer maps, unload the dishwasher, get dressed for the day, etc. While they do their 10 by 10 I can take a shower, start a load of laundry, and read books to the baby and Liam.
The second part of their checklist has "with mom" activities: math lesson, spelling lesson, new music pieces, handwriting, and a daily subject like science, history, or latin. We do these during naptime, so that we can focus. Also, they are quiet during naptime, a huge plus for my rotten little napper.
Finally, there is a third "bonus" category that lists a few more chores and activities, including reading silently. They are supposed to do 20 things per day, and if they finish their list for all four of our school days, they get a treat on Friday night.
In my experience, motivational tools like this usually fade away after a few weeks, but they leave some habits behind. I'm sure some aspects of this new system will become irrelevant as we add or subtract activities from our list, but I'm hoping the idea of getting up and doing several things on their own every morning will stick. I also like how this system has helped me to get out of the house with them at 10am, which is supposed to be one of the joys of homeschooling.
So, that's what is working around here!
Another little gem we recently discovered it Times Tales. There is a longer review of it here. Since my kids regularly make up stories about their math facts anyway, I thought it was worth a try. It works. Caera knows her upper multiplication tables, and they have only watched it twice.
We have also been doing lots of Civil War reading. We went ahead and read Rifles for Watie together, and the kids loved it. I did skip over a couple of the more violent parts, and I wouldn't bother with it for kids under 8 or 9. Aine loved Just a Few Words, Mr. Lincoln, and we also enjoyed A Voice of Her Own. I checked out Ulysses S. Grant, Military Leader and President from the library. It is part of a series by Chelsea House Publishers, edited by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., and every title in the series we have read has been excellent. They are short biographies, good independent reading for fourth grade and up. Aine read some of it, and I read other parts aloud.
Since we are almost done with the Civil War, I am thinking about our next read aloud. Next up in history are Industrialization and Colonialism. I just started previewing Counting on Grace, and I'll let you know what I think, but I might skip straight to Colonialism and do The Jungle Book, The Secret Garden and/or A Little Princess. This is also a perfect time to start the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
I think we might need a snowstorm to get us through this reading list!
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