Monday, May 23, 2016

Mondays: Why Always So Hard?

Mondays.

Oh, Mondays.

It doesn't seem to matter how much I prepare us for Mondays, complete my lesson plans ahead of time, and make sure we are rested, Mondays are just hard.

(There is no inspiration offered in this post.)



This Monday started, as probably too many of them do, with me informing my husband that THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE.  Every morning in my prayer journal, I read, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Phil. 4:13) and I know intellectually the Bible is true, but I still don't see how Jesus could have meant that it's actually possible to care for home and educate the children all at once. "All things except homeschooling . . . "

Here was my Monday school load, totally typical . . . and I'm still teaching only the younger years. No real writing assignments, no algebra, no science, no real foreign language . . . .

MONDAY--typical of every school day

Morning Basket with All Children

·         Faith
o    Saint of the day
o    Baltimore Catechism
o    “Under Angel Wings”
·         Science
o    “Animals in the Bible”—reading about horses
·         Literature/Poetry
o    Reading “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” plus memorizing excerpts



Subject
Margaret (Pre-K)
Mary (1st)
John (3rd)
Math
Kumon “Are You Ready for Kindergarten?”
Right Start #18

Read Life of Fred Chp. 2
Right Start #83

Xtra Math 10 mins.

Read Life of Fred Chp. 12
Science


Continue discussing Galileo with Mama
Reading/Spelling
AAR #27
AAS #11
AAS #19
Literature

Read Chapter of Narnia, complete Memoria Press chapter study guide
Read Chapter of Narnia, complete Memoria Press chapter study guide
Penmanship
One page
One page
P. 17
English/Grammar

Grammar pp. 183-184
BJU English pp. 127-128

Read “Elements of Grammar” pp. 8-9
History

Read “St. Stanislaus Kostka”
Read “St. Stanislaus Kostka”
Latin


Read lesson 7
Music
Piano practice

Music theory worksheets
Piano practice

Violin practice

Read Schumann biography Chp. 4
Piano practice

Read Schumann biography Chp. 3


In addition to teaching all of the above by noon--while monitoring a baby (who ended up napping on my back) and a wild three-year-old--there was laundry, three meals, chores of the day (bathrooms), exercise, completing my spiritual journal assignment at morning and at night (attempting to preserve my peace of heart, right?), and so many long-term tasks, it daunts me to consider them.

When will I have time to watch all the IEW DVDs to learn its writing program before the fall? When will I have time to return those three purchases, make new piano binders for 2016-17 season, de-clutter all our rooms, closets, and garage (today I donated two big bags of ten-year-old clothing I'm never going to fit into again!), file our monthly receipts, lose all this baby weight, complete that packet of paperwork required by the doctor, research which new math curriculum to buy, figure out what to do with the battery acid that got on an heirloom baby blanket, open Margaret's bank account (only three months since we promised her), set up the Kindle we were gifted for school use (only a month behind on that task I've promised daily to do), plan the week's meals, plan something for Father's Day upcoming, and on and on and on and on . . . . I feel like doing any one of those tasks with five children swirling at my feet is impossible, let alone doing all of those tasks while I keep going every minute of the day without rest, always with five children needing me--and be sure always to remain peaceful, calm, and self-possessed or you're a bad mom who is damaging the children!

I don't have any inspiring or hopeful note to end on. Mondays are just incredibly hard.

I will be back with my regularly scheduled inspirational posts by Friday, but never on a Monday.





2 comments:

  1. Aw, do what you can do today and don't worry about the rest of it! You will accomplish what God wills for you. It's no consolation to tell you that you are definitely in the worst of it now with 5 children, and you will muddle through for the next couple of years. Then John and Mary will be even more independent...those upper grades are really more self-taught...and foreign languages on audio...You'll make it. Just take care of today. :-)

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  2. This was the first year we've used Teaching Textbooks math and I love it (as well as my 2 oldest, grades 3 and 6). It is even self checking, so I don't even have to check their answers (they not only type them into the computer to see if they are right or not, but if wrong, they can see how to properly complete the problem). I don't think I'll ever go back to teaching math!

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