Usually, this weather is July's problem, but this afternoon in Wisconsin hit a sweltering 92 degrees. Thankfully, the humidity is manageable, making it possible to leave the windows open and hear the birds sing and the local traffic pass by. I'm usually sensitive to the heat, but I'm in no rush to put on the AC this year.
Because it's so hot, I chose some lighter schoolwork with the boys this morning. We homeschool year-round to prevent the dreaded summer slide where everyone (including me) forgets what we learned over the regular school year. To begin our day, I chose a Bible sticker book and let Watson select the page he wanted to complete. It was a small lesson on David and Goliath. It was an easy crossword puzzle containing only 10 words from the story, but it would be more complex than I thought. Even though Watson picked the page a few seconds into the lesson, I knew it would be rough. After placing the stickers on the worksheet, he shut down once he realized I would make him spell. The assignment wasn't enjoyable for us, and I felt nothing was accomplished in that 30 minutes.
Although I was eager to dive right into sight word flashcards, we both needed a break. We have to take many breaks here as our son's attention span and age (entering first grade) forces us to do so. I'd love to knock out our school work in the first few hours of the day, but we just aren't there yet. I sat on the couch for a few minutes before being approached with a mad lib book that we did as a family the evening before. We bought this book for an RV trip to Banff several years prior, and Dad decided to bring it out again for family fun. Watson found the sentence "If you encounter a bear in the wild, climb a toilet!" hilarious, so he asked me to read the mad lib to him again before doing a new one. Considering that both of our boys have a limited vocabulary centered around bathroom-related activities, I jumped on the opportunity to expand my six-year-old boy's word bank while teaching a few parts of speech. Watson naturally wanted to use toilet and diaper for every noun and pooping for every verb ending in ING. Uhhh! This language is so disappointing and annoying. I'm sure it's just a phase, but come on!
After reading the story, we did another page where I didn't allow him to use any restroom talk, and although he was challenged, he didn't seem to find it as fun. However, I consider this a win.
As I write, I'm waiting for the boys to pick up the living room before we do a science experiment in the kitchen. They don't seem to have the motivation as I'm still staring at the floor blanketed with astronaut costumes, random toys, sombreros, and pirate hats. The box full of experiments "exploded" on the kitchen table and spilled into the hallway. Parenting is messy, like raising chickens in your home.
Despite all the frustrations homeschooling can bring, I'm thankful that I can watch my boys free range all over the house. I look forward to more mad libs, RV trips, and other summer fun.
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