The Dreaded School Prep

Sometimes I dread prepping school as much as my kids dread doing school. On those days, when I am totally unmotivated, this is what helps me - watching The Pioneer Woman as I work. I also love watching Farmhouse Rules, Southern at Heart, and Heartland Table. Pretty much any country cook get'n down in the kitchen will do the trick. I get to enjoy something I really like while doing something I don't always want to do. It's the little things, right?

You can see The Pioneer Woman on amidst my mess.

I used to try to squeeze in prep on Sunday nights. Those were not happy times. A few months ago I decided to prep on Mondays. We don't do any school on Mondays now. I take the whole day to leisurely prep and get myself together. We have to double up a few things during the rest of our school week, but it is so worth it. A sane mama is good for all involved.

These days I have more than a few things to prep. The boys do Science, Bible, and Art classes together. Science and Bible are daily subjects and the easiest to prep. For Bible class we are going through a devotional book for kids that my neighbor gave me. We have a Bible theme and verse that we go over each day along with stories and discussion topics that match the theme. We're working on intentional character development these days.

Science prep is also easy. Our homeschool program provides us with a science workbook and we work through a couple of lessons each week. I use one of those days for science journaling and we sometimes do a science experiment or project to supplement our work. I also look for science videos online that compliment our lessons for the week.

Art is never a drag to prep. Now you know where my heart is. We do art class once a week. During busy times we have to push it to every other week. None of us like that.

Ezra does a letter of the week curriculum and just started kinder math. Mateo does first grade math and language arts. Teo's language arts work takes the longest to prep. There is a lot of information and options to sift through. I read through a hefty teacher's manual, 3 books, and 2 workbooks, plus a stack of extra spelling worksheets.

Mateo practicing his spelling words.

Mateo's favorite part of his language arts work is reading the stories. He is becoming quite the little reader. It is so encouraging to see the fruit of your teaching labors come to fruition.

Ezra journaling on the ground where he can really spread out. Yes, I have two lefties.

It's a lot of work, this prep stuff. It's a labor of love. Is it worth it? Totally. Is it always fun? Heck no. But I have some country ladies sharing love and fun in the kitchen to keep me company.