It's quiet time here.  It's imperative that we have quiet time here in this family...or else things happen.  Like little cute two-year-olds start taking the keys off of laptops... It's not pretty when quiet time doesn't go well!

Things are settling down a good bit since our traveling has ended for a little while, and I thought I'd share what's working for us when it comes to homeschooling.  I hesitated to share this at first but decided that everything that I've pulled from to create our own system was something someone shared.  I've never been one to enjoy a schedule that's attached to the clock.  Routines...not schedules...have always worked for me. 

However, things change.  A new season has come, and my crew has had almost a month of successful schooling with this new schedule in place.  It is attached to a clock.  Something that I've certainly had to get used to.  Ethan has a hard time with independent work during quiet time, but it's improving, slowly but surely. 

We started our year with a far different schedule that was NOT working.  We were...ummm...not happy at the end of the day.  I stopped everything and worked and changed and tweaked something that would work better for us.  And it has.  I know this is small, but my Excel trial edition expired, and I haven't converted to the full version yet. 

I've continued to adapt this but I haven't changed anything except the following:

Breakfast takes much longer than 15 minutes.  Chores and day of the week chores take much longer, too. We don't start any school until 9:00 or 9:30.  Other than that, it's pretty much on the money.  That and the fact that I feel like I'm running in circles when it comes to clutter and toys with the girls.  They are right there for most of everything!  (I've decided to invest in cabinet locks after picking up the contents of our plastics cabinet for the fourth time yesterday.  Deron concurs.  I used to always like using that cabinet to train.  Well, it ain't workin'.)  Oh-- and personal projects usually turn into chores that didn't get done that morning.  Traveling hasn't helped.  I get so far behind every time we go out of town.  I anticipate some fun/necessary projects coming up this fall!

The enthusiasm between the boys is hilarious.  They're polar opposites when it comes to schooling.  Daniel came to me in tears last year because he wanted to learn how to read, and Ethan is still on a quest to find a job  that doesn't require much reading.  For the most part, things are going well, and I'm very thankful for that.

Sausage and bean soup is on the stove and cornbread is ready for the oven.  It's feelin' like fall around here!