These notes have been in here forever and I just need to get them posted.
Taven needed a mental health day after getting whooped (in football) by Truitt. Shortly after that, he got sick (probably the flu) and lost 10 lbs. He was not happy and I can tell it was at this point when he started to feel differently about school.
He decided to quit. The time spent in school didn't make sense to him. He said he could be just as smart and it would only take two hours a day. And he will be able to workout at the Y and get enough sleep and still have time left over. It all makes too much sense. He has been soooooo happy this first week back home. He sees the school bus when we are going to the Y and says "they have to go to school. Imagine."
School is antithetical to a balanced healthy life. It was obvious from the start. Taven pushed through for a while and did like some aspects of school. He quickly realized that it was not worth his time.
In our first family time with Taven back we were talking about unschooling and mentors. When I asked Taven who his mentors were he gave an inspirational speech (probably from a movie). He said I am, no one is going to love you and care about you as much as yourself, etc., etc.... I asked who said that, Denzel Washington? And he said no, it's from ... (I forget). He's somewhat right though. As much as I try to find mentors for the kids, they have their own lives and their own kids sometimes. I cannot expect them to be fully invested in Taven. The most I can really ask is to pass on some knowledge that will help him and motivate him to continue to grow on his own. Otherwise, he has to do it himself (same for Eaden and Mirek and the rest).
We will be homeschooling with journals - definitely a planner/bullet journal where the kids can make sure they have a routine, they are getting enough rest, exercise, work, and play, and doing some study or following a passion. Other journals could be a reading journal, exercise journal, family time journal, commonplace, study with sections (one for french, one for geography, etc.). No tests or worksheets.
I want my kids to be aware of their bodies, how they are designed to feel, and how they do not feel that way when they are not taken care of. Be very conscious of what you put into their body. We live here full time, do not take it for granted. Healthy eating, sleep, and exercise are necessary building blocks for study and learning. Rest without screens. Water and laughter. Sidenote: Lela's water "went down the wrong pipe" and she asked what that meant. We got out our human body book and she became really interested. We read the whole thing and then she got out our little human body model and played with that for some time.
My routine
5-7 Read/study/write
7-9 Exercise or continue to read/study/write/chores
9-12 Lela and Mirek
12-2 Family Time
2-3 Abby
3-5 dinner/listen to music/clean/drop Eaden
5-6 relax/read
6-9 drive kids around/relax/read
9-5 sleep
Lela
9-12 play, books, study
12-2 family time
2-3 clean/play
3-9 free time
9-11 in room
11-9 sleep
Mirek
8-12 Study/Play/Chores
12-2 family time
2-3 clean/play
3-9 free time/taekwondo
9-11 in room
11-8 sleep
Taven
5-7 wake up, breakfast, morning routine
7-9 exercise
9-12 study/train/chores
12-2 family time
2-3 clean/play
3-9 free time/baseball
9-5 sleep
Naia - needs outdoors and exercise (Y 2x a week) but doesn't want to go to the Y early (me either some days). She does do some workouts in her room.
9-12 study
12-2 family time
2-3 clean/play/chores
3-9 free time/exercise
9-11 in room
11-9 sleep
Eaden
7-9 exercise
9-12 study/chores
12-2 family time
2-3 clean/get ready for dance
4-8ish dance
9-11 in room
10/11-7 sleep
Family nature walk 1x/week (any day in 9-2 time frame). Usually it's just Lela that wants to go. These routines are rough outlines of our day. All of my kids except Lela do their own laundry and make their own breakfast and lunch. I make dinner and sometimes we have leftovers. They are all expected to keep their rooms and the upstairs bathroom clean.
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Okay, here goes a bunch of photos from my phone, not necessarily in order. Like always, my goal is to post more so I do not have as much to go through (that gets overwhelming) and I can edit more easily. For now, not happening. Maybe in 2024!
