However, I can say with all sincerity that I am ready to have things back on a schedule. Everything runs a little smoother when we're on a tighter schedule. So I've made my flowchart. Basically it shows me what subject I'm teaching who and in what order. It also allows the girls to see how much open time they have to work on something else before I'm going to need to work with them. It is much more flexible than a schedule and it works perfectly for our family.
I also made a separate page of #1 and #2's work that is going to be independent work. The independent work this year is the majority of what they're doing, especially for #1. Since this is our ultimate goal for the educational part of homeschooling, to get them where they can learn anything they want/need to on their own, I'm very excited that after just one year of having #1 and #2 work on their own that it is going so well. Always nice to see the fruits of your labor so clearly!
I'm also putting the finishing touches on our new chore chart. #3 is so lucky this year. She is being promoted to having many more responsibilities. I'm also going to allow #1 and #2 to be responsible for teaching her the new duties, with covert supervision from me. Learning how to teach someone how to do something in a clear and concise manner without being rude or condescending is a learned skill. One that I myself still struggle with. So I'm going to let #1 and #2 try it out on #3 and I'll be there to step in should it not go well! #4 also has more duties. She is excited about this as only a 4 year old can be.
The delineation of chores are going to be a little different this time around as well. I gave #1 less "every day" chores, like sweeping after meals, and more "once a week" chores, like doing a load of towels and cleaning the bird cage. We're also going to try to have her make one dinner a week. I'm wanting to ease her into more adult-like duties. Not fun by any means, and still a lot of work. I think giving her that kind of responsibility will actually make her happy. She wants so much to be perceived as "older". I think this will give her that sense.
Our first day of school won't be until Monday, but we did have a back to school meeting this morning. We went over our new chore chart as well as all of our subjects for the coming year and what I expect of their independent work. This way no time is wasted on Monday and we can get right into the swing of things. Who knows, I might even take a first day of school picture for the first time ever. We'll all probably still be in our PJs though. Can't let everyone think we're too perfect!
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