Amazing how my own confidence as an educator and parent weighs on my mind.
“Bacon!” Shea shouts.
Wynn bounces on my right knee.
Hunter reads, spelling out a name on the endpapers of a Danny book. Shea looks on, a chocolate muffin from Melinda’s New Year’s Eve party crumbling on our green couch.
Hunter sings, now bent to the floor with his Lego(tm) donut truck.
David is silent in the living room Murphy bed. I look over to find him also on his mobile phone. Shea flips through the Danny book independently. Hunter bounces a slinky and makes eye contact. “Mama, Mama, I’ve had this since Halloween.” He recalls getting it during trick or treating and remarks on toys being probably better than candy.
Why is it a spring?
Because springs make for fun toys, probably.
It’s technically a holiday break. A winter break.
David tunes into coffee with Scott Adams while regrouping the boys for a Berenstein Bears read-aloud.
I am determined to sync my desktop login now that I’ve established mobile access to blogging.
I transition to desktop editing. AI assistance is an embedded offering. Basic SEO shows my errors. The meta description is too short; the content length is below the minimum; there are no internal links; there are no external links; the title is too short; I am not using rich media like images or videos; only 17.9 percent of the sentences contain transition words.
Perhaps I should be focusing on the green check marks?
I go wild with the red underlined grammar suggestions, taking a moment to remember simpler word processing days. I shun the pro suggestions feature, unlockable for a price.
I earn a score of 93 for our new post title. Indigestion humor for the win.
Now, let’s get honest with that IHIP (Individualized Home Instruction Plan), shall we?
Here’s what we submitted.
Here’s our First Quarter Report.
More Errors to Note
Transition words stump me, but perhaps they would make it easier for you to read my homeschool ramblings? Then I must try! Think! Transition words… transition words…
Consecutive sentences? The text contains at least 3 consecutive sentences starting with the same word. “Try to mix things up!”
Blogging AI is not helping my anxiety or indigestion.
Books We’re Leaning On
What Your First Grader Needs to Know: Fundamentals of a First Grade Education by E. D. Hirsch, Jr.
What Should Danny Do? Series by Ganit & Adir Levy, illustrated by Mat Sadler
Berenstein Bears Series by Stan and Jan Berenstein
Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Creative and Comprehensive Homeschool Curriculum by Rebecca Rupp (C) 2020 *I thought we lost this book so I’m celebrating that I found it at my brother-in-law’s apartment on Christmas day!*
What’s Working Well
- Imaginative play led by Daddy (jail game in which boys construct jail from old crib walls, take turns managing commissary, cafeteria and escape operations)
- Boardgames (Clue, Battleship)
- Reading
- Math problems built from regular life
- Independent and sibling play, largely centered on train toys and related construction projects, e.g. bridges, or emergency management “I’m slipping! I’m falling! My person is the engineer. You’re being rude. We can both be the engineer. Person, are you ready to drive the train? Chugga chugga woooo wooot.”
Also on my mind…
- Regular peer interaction / peer relationships for my homeschooler
Potential Host-a-Sister meetupPark Events Coordinator for Uptown Family Calendar meeting with Kirsten and key drop- Homemade deliverables accountability chart for IHIP
- Dropping pre-k or staying with current limitations (lousy attendance record)
I began bullet journaling last year and it is creeping into my blog post. Most of these bullets mean nothing to you.
Days 2 and 3
A Friday and Saturday respectively. It’s still winter break for folks on the normal school schedule. These are lazy, family days spent hiding from the New York City winter wind. We’ve chosen to spend them at home for the most part. We venture out to purchase ruffage from the farmer’s market and sandwiches from the deli. David moves the car to make the morning lacrosse departure easier.
We’re preparing to travel on Tuesday by packing. I will review the United Airlines social story with the boys sometime before Tuesday.
Day 4, Sunday
I spend our drive to David’s lacrosse game trying to retrieve a blog draft on “the beginning” of homeschooling, a reflection I wrote in the fall. I fail to retrieve it. Hunter reads a Calvin and Hobbs anthology in the backseat. Shea keeps watch over his sleeping sister. Irish instrumental from 90.7 WFUV provides our background music.
