Week One Learning Notes

Wrote these notes slowly through the last week and intended to post them up on Saturday, and a Sarcastic Devotional on Sunday, but, you know, didn't. Spent much of Saturday on the couch, except for a brief hour at the park examining other parents and wondering about their motivations and lives, feeling judged by them for not wandering around after my children, and then the whole of Sunday afternoon and evening in bed, where I continue still, imploring by own flesh to Heal, dammit, so I can carry on with life. Canceled my dentist appointment. It just seemed the most reasonable choice. So this was our first week of school. But I hope you'll just skim this and then go read Melanie, who is a true and real homeschooler, doing things in the way I imagine they should be done. Whereas I am a pretender of many years, bumbling along in the half light, falling into small pits and stubbing my toes on various stones and falling prey to the many devouring beasts of envy, laziness and temper.

9/2-9/5 Notes

Monday

Got ready to start school.

Tuesday

First day of school a failure in that it wasn't. We didn't do anything. Well, that's not true, I toddled off to the walk in to be tested for strep and then to wander around Wegmans in a daze, Alouicious took the whole day to clean up the kitchen and Elphine finally got onto the laundry around noon, but no one practiced the piano or read anything. Some lovely man from the Men's Bible Study stopped by with a bag of bright shiny new school supplies while I was out. When I came back found the little girls covered head to toe in marker and was accosted by Romulus waving a new lined notebook. “Oh mommy,” he said condesendingly, “I just wanted to let you know that I'll be adding a new subject this year. It's going to be me writing a story in this notebook. You know, like R does. She has a notebook and she writes stories in it. That's going to be my new subject.” Nodded and whispered to myself, “you betcha you are, buster, it's called Writing and it figures large on your List, four days a week, and if you lose that bright shiny notebook, you're going to be in a world of hurt.”

Did read two chapters of My Side of the Mountain at bed time, and a stupid Harold book, and the weird Cat's Vacation or whatever it's called. At the very end of the day rearranged and cleaned the school room and finally started laminating the children's lists. The lists, there's probably a better name for them, comprise what subjects and chores have to be done which day. Well, maybe I've over stated the chore part. At the top of each day it says 'Chore' because I change their jobs so often. Anyway, feel more ready to start so the delay must have been providence. Also, let the record show that I did make poached eggs and English Muffins for breakfast. This ended up counting as The Fancy First Day of School Breakfast even though we didn't do school.

Wednesday

Slept badly. Grateful for the two week piano lesson break. The teacher usually arrives around 8:40 and leaves around 10. Adding Gladys will push it back to 10:30. It means Wednesday doesn't usually include any morning circle/memory time, and I am always scrambling to get breakfast into Romulus before his lesson. He always has to go first. I don't know why, he just does. Anyway, opted out of making breakfast at all and kicked them out of my bed to get bagels and cereal themselves. Took a shower and inquired of myself why I bother to make Breakfast at all. They can cook eggs, toast bagels, pour cereal, cut apples, cook sausage and bacon…what, O Heavenly Saints Above! am I doing?

Bumbled downstairs at 8:30 to finish laminating the wretched lists. Ate a bowl of yoghurt and, because I am only a hollow shell of myself with this wretched cold/infection, half a dead bagel. At 9:30 I positioned myself on a stool in the school room and took the yearly First Day of School Picture of each child. Then I told them they have to sit at their own desks this year. I don't want any trading and fighting. The desk you have is the desk at which you will sit. No, you can't sit on top of it. No, you can't put your feet on another person's desk. And why was I idiot enough to position Gladys' desk right next to Alouicious. I'm going to have to turn that around when I clean at the weekend.

Whispered the scripture for the year, Isaiah 55, basically Canticle 10, and the hymn, 517, How Lovely is thy Dwelling Place. Everyone but Gladys prayed, though Baby Elspeth rambling on about ice cream seems a dubious kind of prayer. Marigold thanked God, as she always does, “for dying on the cross so we don't have to'. Gave everyone their lists. Did a spelling test. Then the doorbell rang and Mimi's Fun Box of Awesome was found on the stoop. Total chaos for 45 minutes. Sat back and happily rested my voice. When the spoil had been divided got Aloucious signed into his math, Elphine into Literature. She's going to do A Cricket in Time's Square with a Logos guide. Romulus is finishing his geography from last year and Gladys is starting the first Classical Writing Primer. Turns out she can still read, despite telling every single person in church for the whole summer that she can't. I mean, she's been telling them, not me, I've been going around after her saying, 'Yes, she can read.' She read The Crab and his Mother or whatever it's called. It's three paragraphs. Took half an hour because of all the interruptions and chaos. After which she drew very neat pictures of the story and did the copy work. So Opposite from her brother last year who would have taken All The Livelong Day and it would have looked a mess.

Did Alphabet and Number pages with the two little girls until lunch time.

After lunch Alouicious and Elphine reread all the stuff we'd started earlier in July–science, history, geography. Elphine did math. Alouicious picked The Shadow of the Bull to read. They all wrote a paragraph–well, the three oldest did–Gladys made a car out of the box and the little girls colored piles and piles of paper within an inch of their lives. I crawled onto the couch around 2 and read a gross dinosaur book to Marigold. It's her favorite book and every page has blood and guts everywhere. I don't know, if I had more energy I'd worry about her as a person.

Skipped grammar because it's the first day. Everything will take longer tomorrow. No way we'll be done by 3, but still, better than I imagined.

And we are ordering Chinese food, because every inch of me aches and I coughed so much I threw up, and I just can't face anything but lying here.

Thursday

Gung-ho in the morning, petered out in the afternoon. Well, gung-ho might be too strong. Managed to get some kind of breakfast slopped out by no later than 9am. This in itself is a big failure because I always think we start the school day at nine even though we don't. Anyway, did start at 9:30. Reading slowly through the King James Bible on two or three days a week. It's good to read the bible and it's good to read the King James, I think, because, well, because. It's a small way of hoping they'll all be brilliant with language. Recited the Canticle and sang the hymn and did spelling, grammar and French. And then, everyone went to work as best they could. Elphine got through everything but Alouicious ended the day lacking writing and literature and not having done the kitchen. So frustrated with him. Read half a life of fred book to Gladys and did three letter pages with the little girls. Marigold is coming down with a cold. At noon I crawled back on the couch and wished again for death. Took a lot of cold and pain pills. At three o'clock, seeing that everyone had done everything they could possibly be expected to do, hobbled to church and did odd jobs in the atrium. Mediation Two for Solemn Communion at 6:30. It went pretty well, as well as it ever does.

Unable to read anything to the kids at night because of voice, nor sing. Praying for a voice or something.

Friday

Came down to find school room trashed. Shouted drill sergeant style to get it cleaned. Go go go! Run don't walk! Faster faster! Got the whole house picked up in fifteen minutes. Spent ten minutes explaining how it's on them to come back and do unfinished work. Just because it's time to go to church for drawing doesn't mean that I meant you don't have to come back and clean up when drawing is over. When I speak, it's not so that you can do half the job. I spoke because I expected you to do the whole job, even if there was a legitimate interruption.

Prayer and Memory Work. Spelling test that everyone failed. Practiced all the words again. Elphine, though, is finally getting the point that the test is to help in actual writing. If you memorize the word, it's so that you can write it in the world, not just for an A on a test. Felt somehow that some kind of real wall had been broken through. Also, her handwriting is really good. Relieved over all.

After spelling, slowly read aloud Maria Montessori's The God Who Has No Hands. Really good discussion about creation and physical laws and obedience. Surprised by learning, as it were.

Then French. Reached a new low and taught them how to say “you are ugly”. Felt the depths of failure that I didn't start soon enough because Elphine cannot hear the 'u' sound in 'tu'. Oh well, the first child is for mistakes anyway, the little ones can hear it. Long argument about the translation of 'Jaques' as 'John' and not as 'Jack'. Reached another low and pulled out classical music for dummies. Waiting for true friends to come teach my children about music. Strangely, Romulus loved the Dvorak recording on the dummies cd, whatever it is, and listened to it twice. Will try to look it up.

Made lunch. Cleaned up the school room. Sent everyone away to play. Week One Done.

Scenes from the Week