Last minute "summering"...
A few more get-togethers...
Canning, canning, canning...
School room cleaning and organization...
First day of book work preparations...
For those not as familiar with the homeschool mindset, school started July 1st here and many days have been logged already, but spending every day in the school room doing book work is slated to start this Monday.
I was reflecting on some of the hard things about last year and the noise level was definitely something that I struggled with. It reached a level we'd never experienced.
With four Blossoms learning, interacting and growing, plus three who practice multiple instruments. Plus, working on the Blossom4's reading skills, plus later bed times for the older Blossoms, I found that I didn't have those essential times of quiet that I was used to. Through much trial and error, we did learn a few things to help keep things peaceful and manageable for all of us.
~ We bought a keyboard, because sometimes, piano practice just needs to be quieter for the good of the whole family. This tip came from a trusted mama friend in a musical family.
~ We bought headphones for during song or video use on the computers. I am also researching higher quality headphones, so that this even less of a problem.
~ We learned to relocate some activities. If a girlie was practicing piano, another girlie was on the keyboard and I was working on something with Blossom3 or Blossom4 that required better concentration, I moved to the living room, which is on the other side of the house. 'Twas a good decision in almost every case!
~ We reinstated our hard fast rule that rest time is QUIET time for reading and resting. Nothing else. No "quiet" play with each other. This helped some of our introverts to recharge better. This also helped mama to get a few minutes to collect her thoughts.
From year to year, not every problem is perfectly "solved," but we keep working toward solutions. It IS beautiful and pleasant when we dwell together in unity!
And now, back to the organization and preparation for me,
Dominique
