So that's where that noise was coming from...

Update on that blame thingie.

I decided to stop spreading my attention so thin, and have split school time between the two kids. The Girl has my undivided attention all morning. The Boy has my undivided attention all afternoon. The afternoon lessons tend to end early and reconvene around 7:30 for reading. In between, The Girl wants me to help her with her crossword puzzles.

So, basically, I'm spending 10 hours a day on homeschool. No playgroup, no science club, limited break for dance class, no trips to the book store. UNTIL. Here's the kicker: if The Boy can do some of his work independently in the morning, the school day will end earlier, and we can go places. Voila.

I expect the push-back to start next week, but it's a short week anyway, which should prolong the misery and extend the "extinction burst" for weeks! Whee!!

So what did I learn today? First, I really enjoyed teaching The Girl without all that screaming going on. It was a delight. We started with her OT and braingym, which set her up beautifully for seat work. We finished early, actually, and I was looking into the science drawer for enough to make it to 11:30. Lovely...

After lunch? Not as good. The whining and screaming started almost immediately. He wanted to do his writing in front of the TV. No. Not on my watch. He claims that I tell him things without listening to him. When the heck did this become a democracy?! Okay, that sort of rigidity was what got me where I was yesterday. "Okay, how long will it take you to write the paragraph? 15 minutes? You may work on this until Dinosaur Train is over in 20 minutes. If you are not finished, you will finish in the kitchen." He agreed, and you KNOW what he got done, right? ;) Yeahhh... He still spent too much time screeching over his math and logic, but I'm hoping that the extra hand-holding will help him stop freaking out. Then I can wean him off of the hand-holding with a promise of time off in the afternoons if he can work it out himself.

The Husband stepped up to the plate, too. He herded resentful children for me. He tried to help The Girl with her crossword puzzle while I was trying to read The Trojan War with The Boy. He's starting to find out that, yeah, it's part my attitude that pisses them off, but man, those kids are kind of a pain in the butt. Oh, and The Girl demands that I help with the puzzles, not him. "Accept no substitutes."

So, good news? We all lived through the day, and no one screamed except my son. But at least we've identified the source of that noise we've been hearing...