Are you so over me re-posting old posts that I already posted? Me too. But we are back in town now so I can really write new posts again. Glory be!
Yesterday we put up our inside Christmas decorations. And the top 3rd of our pre-lit tree is already in darkness. Lovely. We had school in the "Christmas room" as Sweetheart called it yesterday (formerly known as the living room). We did that for 2 reasons. #1-we can't even set foot in our messy homeschool room and #2--we want to be in the Christmas room.
This happens every year. December rolls around and we just homeschool differently for a month. For one thing, we are halfway through several parts of our curriculum and can afford to take the month off from them. *Patting myself on the back for sticking with it from August-November.* That means a shorter school day, which Mommy needs because of the other thing that happens every year.
I try to hand-make most Christmas presents. That means a lot of crafting and sewing. Which means I need to be at the dining room table instead of off in the separated-from-the-rest-of-the-house homeschool room. We did this last year too, so I could sew and also because of the other thing that happens every year.
Our homeschool room is TRASHED people! The Berenstain Bears call it "messy build-up" and that is exactly what it is! This happened last year too. Three months of not putting things exactly back where they go, stacking instead of dealing with, dropping and not picking up, hanging work all over the walls, playing in there after school hours (which has been banned), art supplies being mixed in with school stuff....and we have ourselves an unusable room.
Don't worry, I'll tackle it. I used to get this in my classroom in public school too. By December, you just need a big 'ol teacher's workday to get re-organized. And that usually meant rearranging furniture too. Don't think I'm not itching to do that in our homeschool room because rearranging is in my blood.
But for now we'll be homeschooling by the Christmas tree, and in the dining room, and anywhere we can find. December is different and I love it!
Oh! Check out the December issue of Heart of the Matter Online magazine. I hear there is a really great article on...say, page 10.
So glad you are back in town!
ReplyDeleteI love December ~ I am almost as bad as a child in regards to just wanting to sit and stare at the Christmas tree and sip on hot chocolate. We love having the decorations up and usually leave them up till after Big Girls birthday in Jan. Don't worry about the school room - maybe you could hang a cute Christmas fabric in front of the doorway and make it a "decoration" for the holidays. : )
That's so funny b/c JulieMom suggested the same thing last year. We already tried shutter doors on that room and they wouldn't work. Wonky old house. I really do need to do something. It's UGLY! :)
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ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your article at HOTM. As a mom of a homeschooled 11yo with TS I can so relate and agree with what you said.
ReplyDeleteYep, December is different alright! And just when we were finally getting into the swing of things this school year... :)
ReplyDeleteAnd, I have NO idea what happened, but all your reposts in the past week did not show up on my google reader! So, I missed them all, this time around anyway. At least I read them last year. :)
Off to read that amazing article at HOTM.... :)
Great article at HOTM. My nephew is autistic and my sister goes through many of the same meetings and things you mentioned. Fortunately all the other kids in his class are autistic too so there is no need for his classmates to be educated about his disability.
ReplyDeleteI love the fact that you pointed out the relaxed atmosphere of home and how helpful that is.
Most of all, I love that your daughter gets to learn in an environment where she is not defined in terms of her disability. She is God's precious creation and is so much more than her disability. None of us would want to be so narrowly defined, yet we do this to our children?
Great piece, Brenda. Bravo!
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI saw your article at Heart of the Matter and thought I would check out your blog. :)
I love the line "Messy Build Up" because that describes my whole house after my three sons get a hold of it.
I am going to pass your site info on to my friend--she is homeschooling her son with TS as well.
Good luck,
Hartley
hartleysboys.blogspot.com
hey just a note we have a really cool christmas light checker! You are welcome to borrow it so your tree wont be 2/3 lit. Let me know
ReplyDeleteObviously, yes I need that. I tried replacing a few bulbs but they didn't come on. Could it be a fuse? The directions say something about changing a fuse on the plug thingy.
ReplyDeleteHey! I'm gonna go read your article too!
ReplyDeleteAnd I DO still think curtains are your solution. Something cute in black and white maybe? Like a toille (or something cheaper if you can find it) perhaps? I am confident you'll figure it out. :0)
Long live December-style schooling!