Yes, Sarah, you are a terrible mother. Whatever. You know I let my kids watch television when I need a break! And yes, that school work looks a little intimidating. Are you sure you didn't buy the first grade stuff? Tommy wasn't writing full sentences till like halfway through the year. And he learned to read just fine by the end of the year. That's crazy. I don't think there is any way Jason could do work like that three weeks from now.
But anyways, I don't know how you do school with him when the kids are awake. I would.go.crazy. I need full concentration when working with a kindergartner, otherwise I feel totally stressed out. Did they take naps for you? I hope so. Love ya, Me

And what does don't not mean? Does that mean Do not not, or what? ha, ha, ha... just teasing.

I am a mother of five...7th, 5th and 1st graders, a four-year-old and one-year-old. Our days are hectic, but good. Don't feel the slightest bit of guilt for letting them watch a video - I would only worry if it was several hours a week. You have taken on a huge task in mothering/homeschooling and your kids gets A LOT of you. It won't damage them forever if they get to turn their brain off occasionally.
As to the schoolwork. I would really go with your gut. I have some kids that like writing/bookwork/papers and one in particular who DOES NOT! I let them do work orally when they get tired of writing ... or just space out the lessons if they're too long. Remember that you have a lot of years to get the info in his head - you will review, review, review and review some more.
When my kids were in kindergarten I concentrated on ONE thing: READING. If they are good readers then they can go on and do anything else in school over the next several years, plus they are able to work independently at a much earlier age. This will be important as you start the other ones in schooling.
My daughter who is in 1st grade this year reads at a third grade level. I don't say that to brag -- I really don't. She has done very little math and very little writing...she only does History and Science when she wants to join her older brothers...and I've been terribly inconsistent in her piano lessons. I didn't worry about it, though because I knew I wanted her to read so if we got nothing else done everyday we worked on reading. Same thing with my first two children in Kindergarten. I plan to do the same with the two that are still coming up.
This year I'm stepping up the work for my 1st grader, but for other reasons. One, she likes and wants more school and two, she does need to work on finishing a project she starts..but that's character training...I'm just going to use academics to train. We've already been working on that with her chores, but she needs more practice. :-) Because my goal is perserverance, though, the academic plan I've laid out for her isn't complicated or over the top...it's just challenging enough to teach the lesson.
Well, this became a mini-book and I didn't mean for it to. I just don't want you to get discouraged so quickly into the year. Cut the work in half, take out pages that repeat a concept he already knows, don't make him physically write too much, and do a lot of oral work. It's fun, and you can fold laundry while it's happening. :-)
Keep us posted on how it goes!

Tori

I refuse to jump on the all TV is bad bandwagon. I don't think all TV is bad. I do think we should know what our children watch and not just give them free reign of a tv. But if I need a break to make me a better mother and wife, you bet I'll put in a video. As homeschoolers we are with our children 24/7 with very few breaks. In fact my children's activities are not really even for them, they are for ME so that I can talk to other mothers! LOL We all know what's best for our own families. No mom should feel like they need to apologize for something they do with or for their children. JMHO LOL! (sometimes my humble opinions don't sound so humble. :) )