Checking In

(This is an edited version of a previously published post.)

Hi!  We are mid way through our fourth week of the 2017-2018 school year today.  So far, things are going well, and this week we finally settled into a good routine.

One thing I changed this week: we actually did most of our school in the mornings this week.  In the Spring, the boys were doing better when we did school in the afternoon, so we had switched to doing our table time in the afternoons.  Sometime in the intervening months though, their optimal time for learning seems to have changed to morning, or at best, immediately after lunch.  If I wait too long after lunch, things don’t go as well.

Another thing I added/changed this week: I started letting the boys have “Tablet Time” one day a week.  Normally, when I am working with one boy, the other is working on his tray.  I decided to let them play some educational games/apps on their new tablet one day a week instead of doing the tray activities.  They loved it!  The tablet is still new to them, and it stays put away the majority of the time.  They love getting it to themselves for 15 – 30 minutes while I am working with the other brother.

And the last change I have made is splitting up Table Time.  My kindergartner’s work load is getting just a touch too big to tackle everything in one sitting anymore.  So, my new plan is Morning Basket and Round One of Table Time before lunch, and then another shorter session in the afternoon along with our read aloud time.

Not much of an update, but I wanted to keep a record for myself of what worked and what didn’t, so I could look back later!