4K Week 2

Last week, I noted that the homeschool method we are using emphasizes the children’s full attention for every subject. For that reason, each subject is meant to be quite brief (for us, usually about 5 minutes). I have noticed, though, that this requires my full attention as well, and that’s the probable key to its effectiveness so far. A lovely friend and I had a conversation this week about how children aren’t looking for our attention but for connection. That seems true, and that connection often comes through our attention more than theirs. Attention takes time and energy, and as adults, most of us have figured out that those two things are the most priceless elements of our lives. I feel the greatest connection with my family when I’m giving them the most priceless gifts I can give—my time and energy.

Mondays are the days that I catch up on whatever I screwed up on all weekend. I’ve usually abandoned household responsibilities to focus on my husband and his connection with our kids, so the first day of the work week is laundry, dishes, and straightening. This past week, one of my wins was that I didn’t have as much to do on Monday. I’ve been trying to incorporate some tips from A Slob Comes Clean, the podcast. They’ve helped my Monday’s immensely, especially her method of running the dishwasher every night. I identify with how her mom is not a “slob” but she is. I love the way she has come to terms with the fact that neatness does not come naturally for her but she still desires to be tidy.

Another win this week was our “Poetry Teatime.” Once or twice a week, we have an afternoon snack while I read one Psalm and one poem from a book of poems for children. On Monday, we had alphabet cookies from Aldi and spelled our names. The boys’ substitutions for letters made me proud since improvisation is a higher order of thinking. Their favorite activity was counting with beans on my cloth napkins that are stitched like graph paper. I told them to put a bean in each square, and then we counted the beans and talked briefly and casually about how ten 10s makes 100 and so on. They also enjoyed finding tiny details in Bruegel the Elder’s Landscape of the Fall of Icarus with their magnifying glass we got at Reed Christmas last year (I think from Mimi and Pop—thank you!).

In the spirit of realism, I edited my planning document to show what we did, which wasn’t exactly what was planned but stayed surprisingly close. Of course we read plenty of picture books and did puzzles that were not planned here. We missed our nature walks, but of course September is the hottest month of our year here in the south. We are hoping for lattes and bonfires soon.

4K Week 2 Schedule