Combating the Gloomy Days…

 During the summer, I arranged all of our home school books and supplies in our den. I even added a table to serve as a workspace area for Doodlebug. I was proud of the little space and was looking forward to many cozy hours spent there working together on lessons. As the winter progressed and we have had so many gloomy and rainy days, we had to move to the living room in front of the big windows for more light to help wake us up some.  We would spend our mornings on the sofa in the living room reading and completing a few workbook pages. Finally, we have moved to the dining room table for more space and windows.  

This morning Doodles has been fighting with the rain lulling her to sleep so, I pulled out my craft lamp and sat it in a chair above her. I think this helped a bit. The lamp has the same type of bulb that the seasonal disorder lamps have.  Days like today are tough on an outdoorsy kid that loves sunshine. She even did a few pushups and jumping jacks to help wake her up. 

Working more independently is a goal that we are aiming for with her now. She loves me sitting beside her while she works. I have to tell you, I love spending every moment there beside her. I have decided, it is time to clearly go over the directions and walk away and only pop back in when she has a question. I have found too, that setting a timer for her to see how long an assignment is taking her, helps her stay on task. She loves to play beat the clock. I am fine with beat the clock, as long as her work is correct and neat. It gives her a chance to compete against the clock and she is a competitive kid. She also seems to work well under pressure some too. I noticed that in the challenge rounds on her math software, she would always seemed to pay attention closer when she was being timed. I wished I had that quality. I never did well on timed assignments.

I must say though, the sunshine that we have had the last few of days was wonderful. As much as I am not looking forward to the real start of spring with all the mowing and yard work, I am looking forward to more sunshiny days. It is good to see the spunk in Doodles on those days. We are looking forward to longer days of spring and summer so that we can play basketball after dinner without using the flood lights. Last night we played till we just really couldn't see to play anymore.

The Chinese lunar calendar said we would have a mild winter and an early spring and for us, I think it was right. I think spring is about to get underway.

Hope you all are having a blessed week!