Plough Monday

I was feeling so guilty about not getting back into a rhythm last week like I wanted to, and then I was reading in All Year Round that today is Plough Monday. The Monday after Epiphany, it's traditionally a day for putting aside the final remnants of Christmas and "putting one's hand to the plough" and getting to work. We had a lovely day, too.

We've changed our dining room into a play/school room (I'm hoping to do pictures eventually) and moved our table to the breakfast nook. It's so nice to eat where we cook. It's just cozier.

Circle Time was fun. We still have our "winter woods" theme, and their favorite is hiding a beanbag for the other to find while chanting, "Grey squirrel, grey squirrel, where did you hide your seed?"

After circle, we had some table time, then snack. We also made a bird feeder and hung it outside the window by the table where we work. We played a guessing game with a button and they helped me clean the mudroom. We also made our Winter Woods nature table and sewed a little grey mousie.

We kept the TV off til mama needed her nap, and Nicholas helped me make a coffee cake for breakfast while his big brother and sister were at basketball practice.

One dilemma I have now is what to do with Katie Grace. With k12, she was doing first grade math and was reading. I feel like I can't really stop all that. I don't think she would stand for it. And yet, there aren't supposed to be main lessons or guided learning in kindergarten. I'm really struggling with what to do. I'd like to do "mini main lessons". Someone suggested Five in a Row, or I might try to do my own thing to go along with Little House in the Big Woods, which we just started reading.

She's so much happier now. She actually said to me today, "Mama, this makes me so much happier about learning!" I have great kids!