a Wednesday field trip

9.30a    - worksheets; vocabulary,
      perimeters (addition and subtraction (perimeter with unknowns))
10:15     - spelling words / copywork handwriting
             - using the weather.com website to look at the day schedule
             - White Bear fairy tale (Blue Fairy book) - listening quietly while I told it, recounting facts
10:45      - piano - at her request!  Review and a few new ideas.

11.30a     - break
--get ready to go to town, pack snack, grab purse, dress appropriately etc etc.

12:00p     - library, building towers and squares with blocks
               - counting and vocabulary building while we were building blocks
-----(structural integrity, 'failure' pertaining to building, balanced, unbalanced, 'accomplished' etc.)
               - music store visit (field trip), id'ing instruments
1:15 p - lunch

1:30 p - play park P.E. and throwing/catching football
2:30 p - photography, printing photos (read and learned to use menus on machine)
--- navigating store in lead ('map' navigation)

3:30 p - counting out money for purchases at drug store
-- she even impressed me by counting it out so easily, she had 3.00 in her hand for her purchase, and when told what the tax would be she picked it out quickly.

4:30 p - home

We got several books at the library - the one that I want her to read with me tonight is the original Winnie the Pooh. I read a bit of it to her at the park while she ate her lunch ( we had agreed she would not get up and play until she ate all of her lunch).  She kept asking when the school day was 'over'.. but I told her that on some days we break things up here and there, and that counts, too.  So, she would have to read some with me later, but she does that sometimes, anyway so...   Two LARGE boxes came in the mail today and we have put them aside until she goes to bed and we can wrap them up for her birthday.  I still need to find a good cake recipe as well.

Update : So, it has been since October the 6th? that we signed the paper to do homeschooling.  Mark and I were talking together again and agree it was a very good move for Esme.  We are both very tired - and get little rest when she is home - BUT we are less stressed about what she is learning that she shouldn't be, advertent and inadvertent lessons in anxiety, crowd-control, 'coping' mechanisms as they had said at the meeting etc etc... and we can see real progress in the areas she was learning 'hardly anything' in - her reading, spelling and math - as well as many other subjects that were ignored in school or 'not yet'... 

Instead we see the bright curious girl who sometimes giggles too much or argues too much, or 'drama llamas' about not getting her way etc... but we also get to show her the real world and field good constructive questions and directions for her learning.  A lot of the disturbing anxiety behaviors she was doing from the school have continued to fade - we noted that together, as we trade on and off for my days at home so she gets variety in teaching styles.  She has some great ideas - and even when we aren't doing 'actual school' she immerses herself in activity - physical, educational, imaginational... her excess of energy is being used to good activities and learning opportunities instead of being suppressed and discouraged just for the sake of 'calm and order' in a classroom setting.

Also, doing homeschool, she can have breaks at the end of 45 minutes, or the end of her immersion in a subject (which could be three hours at times, or 15 minutes, depending).. if she has put forth a good effort she can see that - if she needs help, we can offer it constructively... if she just wants to 'play' and 'drama llama', we can address that, too.  And she does get to go to real places, use money, make plans, watch the time, weather and obligations etc etc... and build stuff.  She really, really likes to build stuff :)  Another point - in between and after school (since she has more time overall now not being on such a long bus ride) she gets to see US do more things, talk together, cook, drive, read, write, check the calendar/weather/timer for planning, play a game, do math, clean house, shop, bank, post office, yard work, sewing, animal care.. and ask questions, offer ideas, plan with us for the future etc etc..