A TUESday in the Life: Around the table

If I had to choose a heart of our home, it would definitely be our dining room table. It’s not a great table—$90 from the Ikea as-is room because the veneer was bubbling and actually now has stripped away in places—but it’s much better than the one we had. For one thing, there are no paint stains. And even better, it fits all of us! We even have space for a little bit of company.

Instead of my usual play by play, I thought I would show the progression of our table for the day.

 
7 AM
Much as I would like to wake up earlier, this is usually about when I wander downstairs. Michael is much more of a morning person than I am. Usually when I come downstairs, this is what I find—the paper and a cup of coffee at his space.

 
8:30 AM
Late breakfast today because I made homemade blueberry baked doughnuts for Fat Tuesday. As you see, it was a real hit!

9:30 AM
After breakfast and morning meeting, we all gathered at the table for science. Today we made a density column.

10 AM
Usually we have circle at this point and Nicholas starts on his assignment sheet, which generally begins with handwriting. Today I had laundry, bread, making laundry detergent, making chicken broth, and dishes to take care of, so I skipped circle, which left the younger children unoccupied. Nicholas used this opportunity to escape and Matthew used this opportunity to try his hand at penmanship.

10:30
Snacktime! We had some cookies and cupcakes that we brought home from the church potluck that needed finishing off before Lent begins tomorrow. It was a bit of a working snack, with Michael doing Mango on the computer, Nicholas reading The Boxcar Children, Katie Grace doing spelling, and Daniel playing with a sewing game.

 
11:00 AM
Nicholas’s main lesson. We started off with a brief circle time where we reviewed the multiplication tables and the poem he’s memorizing and then moved on to a game of Math War. The babies and Daniel like to join us at the table, and behind me is a self that I keep stocked with activities for them to do. I think at this point they were coloring. Michael joining us is a rarity. Usually he likes to study on his own up in his bedroom. I love how Daniel wants to jump in and see what his big brother is doing.

We’re out of printer ink this week, which is one reason my laptop is next to me. I wasn’t able to print out assignment sheets or lesson plans this week. But while I usually try to keep my laptop in the kitchen I will admit that Tuesdays often find me with it open, as it’s my paperwork day.

You can see the table is really starting to get crowded!

12:30
Lunchtime! Again, everything was pushed back a bit today because we got a late start, and that included lunch. Katie Grace is studying ancient Rome, so she made cecina. We also had Greek yogurt with honey, fruit, and olives. And then to fill things out, there was cottage cheese and hardboiled eggs.

1:00
After lunch the table was clear and everyone was in the living room for read aloud.

1:30
But not for long! Following read aloud, Daniel and I had some time together. He had a good time decorating paper chain snowmen.

And Matthew had fun playing with dinosaur bones. GROWL!

2:00
Katie Grace and I had our time together next. She does a lot on her own, but even on days where I don’t have a lot of explicit teaching to do, I like to touch base with her. Here we were brainstorming together about a children’s story she’s writing about Rome.

2:30
Michael’s main lesson was next. He’s been having some struggles with math lately, so that’s been our focus. He’s also learning about the judicial branch of government for Civics and is reading a book called You Are the Supreme Court Justice (Great Decisions)’>You Are the Supreme Court Justice. I’ve really enjoyed listening to his take on some of the great court decisions in our nation.

3:00
See that table that’s almost cleared? That’s because we’re on our way out the door for piano lesson, a stop at the park, and a trip to the library. Two libraries, actually, because our books were on hold in a different building.

6:30
Dinner! A little later than usual, but we didn’t mind because we were having our Shrove Tuesday feast.

7:30
And after clearing the table, washing the dishes, and getting haircuts, Nicholas wipes the table clean, ready for another day.