We have recently changed things up a bit in our school. This change came about mostly because Doug and I sensed that too much was falling on me, and I needed a bit of relief. We needed the kids to take more responsibility and work more independently. So when I saw a friend of mine selling her copy of the Robinson curriculum, I grabbed it and we started in earnest. So here is a blow by blow of what school typically looks like now.

9:00 am Most of us are eating breakfast, Daddy cooking lots of eggs.

9:30 am Naomi has begun work at her table. She begins with 100 simple math problems to warm up her brain. Today she is doing subtraction. Sadie spent the last half hour at starfall.com. She spends most of her school time on the computer right now. That’s just where we are at with her at the moment. Elisha is running through the house chasing innocent bystanders. Daddy, Gramma, and Noah are still leisurely chatting at the table, well, Noah isn’t really chatting lol. Isaac is just emerging from bed.

9:53 am Helping Naomi correct a couple math problems from yesterday. Correction is not always happily received. grin But I am pleased to see that her error was not a problem with math, she just got a bit sloppy reading the problem. Now she is moving on to her next lesson in Saxon 54. She reads the lesson and works the problems by herself. If she gets stuck, I direct her back to the explanations to study them again. I don’t have to teach her, because the lessons give her all the info, and she is successfully working through them with only an error occasionally. I love this system! 🙂

10:00 am I switched the laundry. Thankfully, even without switching the torn gasket, if I load carefully, I can use the washing machine without getting a puddle all over the floor. Isaac is making flashcards for his 5 times tables on index cards, then he will do 100 problems. We print all our math worksheets from math-drills.com.

10:06 am Elisha is “reading” a book to his brother.

10:30 am I successfully thawed the filter in the fridge. Now we have water in the door again! Holly is reviewing her multiplication tables through 6, but finds it much more interesting to do contortions in her chair. Isaac has moved on to his worksheet. Sadie is being a bit stubborn on her reading practice. She doesn’t want to verbalize the sounds as she hears them. But, she seems to do much better when Elisha is a captive audience!

10:34 am Naomi just finished her Saxon lesson, and moved on to writing. She is copying out of a storybook.

10:43 am I am tidying up as I make rounds between kids to see how they are doing on their work.

10:56 am Naomi reviewed her vocabulary words with me. She learns five new ones each day. First she copies each word and the definition. Then she uses them in a sentence. She likes to make a story that uses them all. Today she is learning words like plead and quell.

11:02 am Isaac is very pleased to show me his completed math worksheet. He is making very good time today, compared to last week when he was working until 7 pm. He is now beginning his Bible copywork. Right now, he is expected to copy two pages each day from a beginning reader Bible.

11:03 am I showed Holly a finger trick to remember multiplication problems with the number nine. She thinks it’s pretty cool.

11:04 am Sadie, Elisha, and Noah just went downstairs with Daddy to play while he works out. Since everyone is happily working for the moment, I am going to run and switch the laundry.

11:10 am Naomi is reading ‘The Life of George Washington’ on my kindle.

11:18 am Naomi is astounded when one of her vocabulary words appears in her reading. (Little does she know that the list was pulled from her book. lol)

11:25 am I’m wishing I had more than a muffin for breakfast, so I am grabbing another muffin.

11:32 am I am showing Holly how to keep her flashcards organized. She was trying to sneak on to the next subject without finishing the last few math problems. Sorry, Charlie, mom’s a bit quicker than that.

11:36 am Holly is now using the computer to type up her writing assignment. She is also copying from a simple Bible, and will be copying about Joseph today.

11:45 am Naomi made very good time today and just finished her work.

12:26 pm I just loaded the oven with various chicken nuggets I found in the back of the freezer. Holly and Isaac are still working on their writing.

12:48 pm Lunch is a great time to practice our signing skills. Noah finally remembers how to sign please, and Elisha is getting quite good at signing water.

1:03 pm The chicken nuggets along with some homemade fries make a nice lunch. I am also having another muffin. After lunch, Holly and Isaac will still have some schoolwork to do.

1:15 pm Rest time, Elisha and Sadie are on the couch looking at books. Noah is down for a nap. Naomi is doing some fun reading snuggled in bed. And Holly and Isaac are working on reading and writing.

1:20 pm Holly read her copywork to me. She struggles a little with dyslexia and often sounds out words in the wrong order, but with some gentle pushing, she is doing so much better. She is actually reading many of the words, rather than sounding out every single one. Right now, she is taking her turn on starfall.com. She and Isaac should both be ready to start the Robinson booklist shortly, which begins with the first two McGuffey Readers.

2:00 pm Holly is all done with her work and enjoying some art time. Isaac just read me his copywork and is taking his turn at starfall.com.

2:40 pm The school day is officially over and since it is such a beautiful fall day, we are enjoying a leisurely walk to the mailbox. Elisha is very excited about the mushrooms he found.

Well, this is a look at one of our schooldays lately. This routine and using the Robinson Curriculum is working well for us. How is your school year going so far?