Monday, August 13, 2012

So far




Today we are starting our second full week of homeschooling. Today is day 8. Last week was a success, despite my absolute exhaustion at the end of each day. I'm not kidding. It's like starting a new job. Everything on me is tired at the end of the day; my brain, my emotions, my body. It's pretty intense. 

And watch out for Estelle! Turn your back for a minute and she climbing the furniture!
 Literally.
.



The boys, though, are really learning stuff! I can't believe it! (O.k., I kind-of can, but it still amazes me.)
We have had some days, however, where there is a lot of hemming and hawing. I'm pretty sure they push me much harder than they would push a teacher that they didn't know.
So,
I ended up coming up with a behavior chart that is working pretty well. They get all their points at the beginning of the day. They can keep them if they are good. Twenty points earns a sticker, and three stickers earns a coupon.



The boys (Kaleb even wants to have a chance to earn these - his chart is on the back of the little boys chart) really, really love these coupons. Some examples are pictured below. There are also coupons for an extra dessert, picking a TV show- no matter who's watching TV, and playing X-box or Playstation on a school day for 30 minutes (which we never do - those are usually reserved for weekends.) You can see why they would be excited.


All in all, I am so glad I decided to do this. My heart is so full when I see them blossom and witness their minds grasping ideas. They love being with me too - which is such a blessing that won't last forever (not that they won't love being with me forever, but they won't be with me forever.) I'm so glad I'm jumping on this chance to really be present in their formative years.
Pray for me that I'll still feel that way after this week! :D

6 comments:

A said...

You're such an amazing woman Amanda, you never fail to amaze me.

p/s: You probably hear this a lot, but Estelle is soooo cute!!!

Laurie said...

It makes my heart happy to know you are loving this!!!
That picture of Estelle is too much!!! She is a doll.

Courtney said...

Love that everything is going so well! I can only imagine how exhausting it must be. And I think I'm going to steal your behavior chart/coupon ideas. I love that it operates expecting positive, rather than negative behaviors.

Amanda Conley said...

Thanks everyone!

Sarah Altemus said...

This is SO encouraging!!!! I love what you said about being present..that is exactly how I feel with our kids and homeschooling.
May you continue to be blessed on this journey and may God give you extra energy and strength!!!!

Shyla said...

I was going to say whtaCourtney said, I LOVE the behaviour chart. I'm definitely going to have to do something along those lines. Rewarding positive behaviour is so much more motivating and I have such a hard time with it sometimes. I'd be curious to hear how many points they lose for various things.

So glad it's going well, it's a huge transition, I'm sure.