Gearing up...

for school. We've only got 19 days left. Wow! where did summer go?

I'm actually fairly excited, and have been doing some experimenting and "review" with Aidan in the mornings for the last few weeks. I am trying to accomplish a few things by doing this.

1. It will help establish a typical morning/school routine for both boys.
2. It allows Aidan to get into the mindset of "school time" and what is expected of him.
3. It lets me experiment and get some kinks worked out with Asher (hopefully) before I actually try to teach Aidan with Asher's many interruptions.

So far Asher does great sitting at the table with us for the first 20-30 minutes. Then he starts fussing, and if I am not needed to be directly involved with what Aidan is doing I can typically squeeze a few more minutes of cooperation out of Asher. Once I let him down from his chair he'll occasionally go to the playroom and entertain himself for another 20 or so minutes, which leaves us with the final 20-30 minutes which can be, ahem... not so much fun. At this point we typically break, and during the school year this is the time we'll be heading to the gym. We'll return, eat lunch, put Asher down for his nap and then Aidan and I will finish English and History/Social Studies while Asher is sleeping. Then Aidan will take a rest and I will most likely pass out on the couch??? Nah... I have unending amounts of energy-HA!

I plan to do Rosetta Stone with Aidan in the evenings after Asher goes to bed. It'll be something educational and fun we can do together, we'll both have the opportunity to learn it, and it will give us someone to practice with. Not to mention it will, I think, help Aidan not feel as though he is doing school all day long with the day being spread out like I am planning... of course I also know that with all the planning in the world the kids could totally rearrange what I am thinking... so I know there will be some degree of flexibility... but ya know... can't blame me for trying.


Aidan doing his flash cards. He made it through half the stack, and the ones he doesn't know from memory or just thinking about he has to do with his "pasta bag"

Asher making Mmmmmmm noises with his blocks, I THINK he was eating an ice cream in the first picture, and the second was a moment of cuteness after a horrible outburst of boogerdom.