A Day in the Life of a Relaxed Homeschooler, Part II

by Andrea Hermitt | More from this Blogger

14 Dec 2006 03:29 PM

It is now 4pm, and we are home again with the kids settled into math practice. Even on days like this when we do not necessarily do our usual curriculum, I still insist on math practice because it keeps their minds sharp. My son is doing work left by the tutor (equations) and my daughter is doing funbrain.com challenges for converting decimals to fractions and back.

Since my last post, our day went as follows:

We drove to the photographer's studio, which was on the other side of Downtown Atlanta by the airport, and did the photo shoot. Having done one with him a few months ago, myself, I knew what to expect and was able to give her some tips ahead of time. I think she found him easier to work with than I did. I think he is a lot more forgiving of children, and adults just blink too much. That took until 1:30 when his next appointment arrived. My son spent that time reading.

The book my son is reading is called The Chocolate War. It is a recommended book for seventh graders, according the curriculum we are using this year. You can read reviews about it on Amazon.com. He got to chapter 10 (in just those few hours) and already we are discussing it. My son feels there is too much profanity for his tastes, and is frankly offended. I insisted he read the book anyway as he knows that those words are unacceptable. I also encouraged him to think about why these words were, or were not necessary to get the authors point across. In addition to the writing exercises and essays that accompany the reading of this book, I will be reading it along with him, and we will be sure to discuss it for months.

After the photo shoot, it was clear that my son needed some attention, so we went to his favorite Chinese Restaurant. We had a long leisurely lunch of almost 2 hours. He ate everything from won-ton soup to Buddha's Delight Vegetable and enjoyed it thoroughly. This time my daughter read. She loves historical fiction because it makes her feel like she lived during the time that is being studied. This year we (as in their homeschool history/arts program) are studying the 19th century. Therefore, she has read books on the Titanic, Civil Rights, and the Great depression.

I never got to shop for myself as planned, but that is OK, as I found out my taping was postponed until after the holidays. (Too many people are dropping balls this time of year.) I did, however, manage to buy my share of snacks for tonight's holiday chorus recital. Now I need to steam her dress, find a missing shoe (she needs her highest stacked heel shoe as the choir performance dress is too long), heat the conqueso dip, and get some rest for this evening. I also need to check the Camcorder batteries so my son can do his favorite thing, which is record the show and edit it to his liking. In addition, I want to give her some hot chocolate before we leave at 6pm.... I doubt I will actually get that rest.

Learn more about Andrea Hermitt

Andrea Hermitt is a native New Yorker currently residing in GA. She has been married for over 16 years and has two teenage children.

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