That last entry was a doozy, wasn't it? Sorry about that!

One of the things I love about Sonlight is the fact that I can pick up the Instructor's Guide and know what to do each day. I also love that I can look back and see what all we have done. It's nice to have that record. DD6 is keeping a notebook of pages from her readers and read-alouds this year. I am thinking of adding a history one, too. She narrarates to me what she remembers of the story and I write it down. Then she draws a picture. What a neat thing to be able to look back on in the years to come!

Television

But, I was thinking, one thing I didn't mention in yesterday's thread was that reading The Well-Trained Mind really convicted me of how much time we all spend in front of a screen. Previously, I had let the girls do whatever after we finished schooling, whether that was watching cartoons, playing computer games, or toys, or whatever.

I had no idea that I could use that time for teaching as well. So this week the TV went off. I watch the news in the morning for weather, and local news (we do not take the local paper anymore). Then off it goes. We eat breakfast, I read the paper, we do school. Then DD4 gets 30 minutes of computer time while DD6 finishes up her work.

We break for lunch, and that is when the tube usually came on. But NO MORE! After lunch the girls go to their rooms for quiet play. The DCKs go down for nap. At 3 everyone gets up and we have snack. After snack they play or read and DD6 has her 30 minutes of computer time, assuming that she has completed her schoolwork.

I turn on PBS Kids at 5 p.m. for the last DCK and my girls to watch while I make dinner. They watch Cyberchase and Arthur.

It was really hard Monday and Tuesday. I had gotten used to the noise of the TV and the quiet of the kids. Now, I like the quiet during rest time. I like seeing the kids using their minds to play. DD6 will read quietly, sometimes reading to the other kids. She plays games, Barbies, dollhouse. DD4 looks at books, plays "house," plays with the other kids. It's amazing.

They were wild Monday and Tuesday. "Can I turn on the TV?" Or, "Can I play on the computer?"

Now, it's like they don't even miss it. Not to mention that with the limiting of their TV watching they haven't been exposed to the over-hyped Christmas toy commercials this year. I haven't been dealing with the constant chorus of "I want...."

In the evening Dh and I are trying to keep the TV off unless there is something on that we know we want to watch. Usually Heroes on Monday, House on Tuesday, Survivor, CSI, and Grey's Anatomy on Thursday and Football all weekend.

I read, play on the computer (but much less than I used to), sew, or whatever...

I can't believe how much time I have gotten back!

A Journal?

Now with the addition of TWTM to my homeschool adventure and the requisite addition of better books, books on tape, etc. I am feeling the need to make notes of what we are doing besides our formal schooling with Sonlight.

I have a simple composition book that I can jot down notes about our daily activities and think that will work.

Does anyone else do this?

Over-Scheduling

One common theme I am seeing over and over is the over-scheduling of children these days. Too many activities, stressed out second graders. I think it's just sad.

I think it followed immediately after "mandatory" preschool around here. I swear, when people would ask me where I was sending my kids to preschool and then found out that I wasn't! They looked at me like I had just sprouted a second head. I got questions like, "How will they ever learn to use scissors?" and "Aren't you afraid they'll be behind in Kindergarten?"

I don't get it. Even if my DD6 had gone to PS K she would have been ahead of the majority of her classmates, even those that went to preschool. When did society become convinced that we need our kids in school by age 4? And now I am hearing rumblings about real mandatory preschool starting at age 3!

Can you imagine putting your 3yo on a bus to school every morning? Yikes!

So I buck the trend. One extra-curricular (gymnastics for us) and church activities ONLY. We do children's choir on Sunday and AWANA on Wednesday. Gymnastics on Saturday. And I feel okay about that. I like having family time in the evenings. I like my family.

Am I weird? Maybe.