Not Saved by the Bell

Well, I did it again: I made a schedule. I love schedules and lists and charts, and with good intentions, I spend hours before the beginning of a school year working on the perfect schedule that will make this home school run like a well-oiled machine. Problem is, we aren't a machine, so the "oil" is useless. Am I EVER going to get that?

The School Teacher in me is to blame. Well, that coupled with my type A personality. But the fact is, part of the beauty of homeschooling is that the schedule can be thrown out along with the standing in lines that takes up so much of the day at the institution we call "school". There are no bells that interrupt us right in the middle of a learning moment. There are no slow-ticking clocks above the American flag we need to watch when a subject seems to be tediously dragging along. We can spend as long as we need to on a particular subject, or we can move on if something just isn't working. My It's-a-New-School-Year-Schedule tends to force me into a school bell type environment, and it doesn't work. At least I'm getting it this year on the first day instead of wading through days of scheduled time slots before tossing it out the window!

Despite my Master Schedule, we did have moments today that worked. The boys' attitude was really good all day. Maybe they had a change of heart over the summer, or maybe I have just lightened up with the realization that not everyone shares my enthusiasm for all things academic. Thankfully, I can rely on Alex to understand my love of school. I want her to learn how to take notes this year, so I bought her a notebook for just that purpose during History and Science. She was so excited when I told her what it was for (what other kid gets excited about taking notes?!). Unfortunately, I forgot to give it to her when I pulled out Story of the World. She reminded me at the end of the chapter. She said, "Well, I'll just take the notes now." Kind of missing the point on the whole note-taking thing, but it's good for her to recall anyway. She also started Beowulf. Although she requested that I cover up the sinister picture of Grendel on the cover, she didn't bat an eyelash when I introduced her to big names like Hrothgar and Wealhtheow.

Following Beowulf, French, grammar, phonics, spelling, math, history, and geography came the highlight of the day. After school, we had our Back-to-School Party at Carvel where the kids get to help themselves to the self-serve Sprinkles. I'm quite sure the owners of the franchise, once they get to know us, will begin packing up the Sprinkle Buffet when they see us coming. Either that, or they may add Bowl of Sprinkles with Ice Cream Topping to the menu.