homeschool highlights (week 2)

When I said last week that we were really enjoying our weekly poetry readings, I meant it. What I didn't know at the time, however, is that they could get even better. It all started when Miriam wanted to read a poem. Listening to her read Shel Silverstein might be the cutest thing I experienced all week. Inspired by her contribution, Jonah and Caroline chimed in as well. By the end of the tea party, we were all in stitches while Jonah read us cat poems he found online and Caroline and Miriam read us their favorites from our family poetry compilations. I'm seeing more poem collecting in my future if I'm going to keep these kids in poems. 

We all had different favorites of the cat poems, but here are two of my favorites:

 

Sleeping with Cats
The trouble with sleeping with cats

is there isn't room left for parts of me

(as the night grows).

I adjust my body in the bed, comfort
an arm or leg in small stretches of belonging,
or feel for a cool
or warm spot for feet
(depending on the time of year);
but when I come back to a place
it isn't there.

The cat
has melted and flattened, smoothed into
my bed, all the places I have touched
taken over and he owns it all
by midnight.

 

Nudge
Nudge
Nudge nudge nudge
Nudge nudge nudge nudge nudge nudge
Nudge
Your glass just shattered on the floor.

 

                                                       MY BLOG

                                                      by caroline mays

hello today I am in school.  blog is a thing on my list. These are my things

 on my list: finish practice 2A . practices are math  put you practice the things that you learned.

 

 

 

 

 

 
soon I am going to get my own ad! so I am going to
do some extra chores so that is what i have been doing today

 

 

 

 

the mays family school rises again! (week 1)

When we moved to North Carolina, the state homeschool requirements included registering our home school. Josh was dismayed when he found out I'd registered the school under the name Mays Family School without even considering all of the creative and awesome names we could have used instead. (Sorry, kids, for ruining your chances of an Academy of Mischief diploma someday.) 

When we moved to Lincoln county and fell in love with the local elementary school, Mays Family School was closed, the school books packed up, and that was that. 

Until last week.

As I mentioned in the last post, we're homeschooling the girls for the time being, so MFS has risen again, albeit with more students this time (and one part-time student who keeps finishing his virtual school work by 11am).

We didn't take a first day of school picture, but we did have a first day of school. Here are the highlights from our first week and a half:

 -Poetry Slam Fridays: Our favorite tradition from homeschool is going strong. We make fancy treats, pout teacups of hot chocolate (or chocolate milk), and read poetry. Last Friday, we made scones. Today, we're trying our hand at crumpets. Yes, this may be the one and only use for our teacups, but I have refused to get rid of them every time we move or downsize or clean out the cupboards. I have an irrational love for these little brown, ceramic tea cups.

-Reading together: This should come as no surprise, but reading together has been my favorite part. We're currently reading Anne of Green Gables, which is even more delightful than I thought it would be.

-6am school for Jonah: Jonah is an early riser and likes to be ready for all schoolwork well in advance. One definite plus to his intensity is that when the NC education cloud froze and kicked students off all week, Jonah was already logged in or done for the day. There are advantages to starting before breakfast!

-P.E. at the park: They miss their friends, I often run out of constructive things to have them do, and we're all a little tired of the heat. All that said, we've been going to the park and riding bikes and scooters on days when we just need out of the house. 

Our goals for this next week? Get over the math slump with Caroline, find our missing library books so we can go back to the library, take at least one picture, and figure out a spelling list more than 10 minutes in advance.

back to school, 2020 edition

Like most families right now, we're cobbling together an education plan for our children this year. There are so many valid and important considerations and (as I see it) no perfect solution. What we've come up with (for now? forever?) is to send Jonah to his regular middle school, which is starting 100% online. He'll have class from 8-12 online each day and then small group work or independent assignments in the afternoon (if I understood the schedule correctly). For the girls, we were unhappy with all available options given their ages (I really don't want Miriam doing virtual 1st grade, for example, especially given the program our area is utilizing for virtual classes). As such, we've decided to unenroll them and resume homeschooling for the time being. Caroline is especially excited about the prospect because it means she won't have to wear a mask to school.* At least, she was, until we had the following exchange:

Me: So starting tomorrow, so we have time to practice before school starts Wednesday, I need you all to eat breakfast and be in my bed by 7:30 in the morning.

J: It takes me like 3 hours to finish breakfast!

Me: Well, honey, school starts at 8. So I guess you'll need to start breakfast by 5am.**

C: Ugh, that's too early!

Me: I know, but if you were going to school, you'd have to be dressed and out the door by then, so this is still not quite that bad.

C: School is NOT fun anymore.

*Caroline had to wear a mask to a doctor's appointment early in the pandemic and has never forgiven me, the nurse who gave it to her, or COVID in general. She does wear a mask when we leave the house, but we rarely leave the house. When given the option, she never leaves the house so as to avoid the offensive mask.

**Not really. He's just hungry all the time these days, so it does take him a bit longer to eat an actual breakfast than he'd like. He'd really prefer to just drink a glass of juice and wait for dinner...a sentiment I have never once experienced in my life. He definitely gets that from someone else.