homeschool: calendars & noodles

We try to start out every day with a review of the calendar.

I bought a large dry erase board that allows me to recite the months of the year with the children, and all the days of the week. Each day, I write in the month that we are in, and point out any important holidays and/or birthdays and/or upcoming events.

Since I usually have to re-write this calendar once a day - since small children love to wipe off whatever I have recorded - the level of detail I include on any given day may vary.

(As may my penmanship.)

Next week we are flying back to South Carolina for my 20-year highschool reunion. But more importantly, we are flying back to South Carolina next week to see my mother and Jim, Aunt Grace and Uncle Bill, and cousins Margaret, Lisa, George, Bill and Karen.

We are so excited.

To help the children grasp the concept of time and the days remaining until our trip, once we go through the calendar, we will count how many days until we get on the plane (which will take off and land without issue and fly safely through the sky), with the use of pasta noodles.

You can do a lot more with penne than just toss it with marinara.

Since we have eight days remaining until our trip, today the children counted out eight noodles, which they then strung up. (Yes. William is in fact wearing a velvet Christmas skirt in size 2T. Just in case you were wondering, we're very casual here at home school.)

Tomorrow, we'll take one noodle off the string, leaving seven. Although we could also count out seven new noodles. Then take the eight noodles off our string and subtract seven from eight.

Either way you calculate it, we'll be one day closer to leaving.

And thus, one day closer to my next panic attack.