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Our First Homeschool Quarter: What's Working, What's Not, and What I'm Changing · Making Everyday Magic: The Podcast

• 0:00
  Somehow we are already 25% of the way done with our school year.
• 0:04
  Welcome back to Making Everyday Magic.
• 0:06
  My name is Shanna and if you are new here we are a homeschooling family of four.
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  We are in our 10th year of homeschooling.
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  It is our first year of high school
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  and our last year of elementary for the 2026 2027 homeschool year.
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  Today we are going to go through my first quarter
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  update.
• 0:28
  Before we go any further, please scroll down, hit the big red subscribe
• 0:31
  button, turn on the bell for notifications and give this video a thumbs up.
• 0:34
  As always, you can find me right on down
• 0:36
  in the comments or over on Instagram at Making Everyday Magic.
• 0:40
  Okay, so where's where to start?
• 0:44
  One I cannot believe that we are this far into the homeschool year already.
• 0:48
  I have no idea how it happened. We've been.
• 0:51
  I keep describing it as white knuckling it.
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  Through this season of life, we've been very busy with extra stuff,
• 0:57
  which has somehow taken the focus off of our school.
• 1:03
  Like we're doing it, we're getting it done, we're checking the boxes, but
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  somehow it has allowed school to just kind of be white noise on the side.
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  We have been really powering through a lot of things
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  that the kids have had going on, and somehow
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  we are eight weeks in or I guess
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  nine weeks in, actually, from the time I'm
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  filming this, because I didn't even realize
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  that we had finished an entire quarter of our homeschool year
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  because we were just blowing and going, keep it moving, staying on track.
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  And again, I don't know how.
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  So let me start with
• 1:40
  let me start with the good or start with the struggles.
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  Big debate.
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  Let me start with the expecting.
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  We'll start with the expected, as expected.
• 1:49
  Math for both ninth grader and fifth grader is going well.
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  I forgot how much of the data
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  level of Matthew C is really just kind of
• 2:02
  enforcing things that are kind of other besides decimals.
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  It's, you know, a lot of Greek and Latin
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  stems as far as milli, things like that.
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  It's a lot of the measurements and the equivalence and things like that.
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  I just I really had forgotten how much of that there is in the curriculum.
• 2:23
  And I think I need to share an update on that soon.
• 2:26
  So let me know if you're interested in that and I'll circle back around.
• 2:29
  Denison is again as expected.
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  She is doing algebra two.
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  In all likelihood, we anticipate that she will do their advanced algebra
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  and next year and then move into dual credit solutions for math. So,
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  blows my mind to think that we're kind
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  of wrapping that up as expected.
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  Let's see
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  what else is going as expected.
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  Skill sharpness for my fifth grader, Myrtle for everybody.
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  Everybody loves it.
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  Little kind of one page a day.
• 3:01
  Logic puzzles with the whodunit, which I talked to you guys about this recently.
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  More Doku.
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  It's like a kind of like a Sudoku, but also like a murder clue thing.
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  Book for myself. I'm loving it.
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  I love little, like, puzzle games to keep you kind of on,
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  on your toes and keep you sharp.
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  Let's see what else is as expected.
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  That might be it.
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  To be completely honest with you, that might be it.
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  Extracurriculars are going well, going as expected.
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  Having a great time getting things done.
• 3:34
  Yeah.
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  I mean, I don't know. We added a couple new things this year.
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  The kids are really embracing where they are and what they are enjoying,
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  and it is going well.
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  Let's talk about
• 3:48
  you know what?
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  As expected, I'm going to I'm going to file under as expected is Michael
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  Clay Thompson the essay voyage for my fifth grader.
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  Now we have not yet made it into essay writing.
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  We are still going through the grammar book,
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  and then we'll pick up with writing once we finish the grammar book.
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  But we should pop that out in the next couple of weeks,
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  and then we will move into writing with the fifth grader like essay writing.
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  So that will probably be a big jump that I have a big update on,
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  and possibly another Michael Thompson share by Christmas,
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  let's say probably, but it is going as expected.
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  My kids, you know, they they retain that grammar
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  because we've circled back to it so many times.
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  So they remember direct object and direct object, all those things.
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  And then we just go a little deeper, which I think is really nice.
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  As expected, as expected, let me say.
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  Positive surprise.
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  Okay.
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  I'm going to move into like positives, things that are going really well so far.
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  Biology. Biology is going very well.
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  My kids are loving it.
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  They are doing it daily.
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  They are really, really enjoying next books.
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  And I've got to tell you, if you haven't looked into it.
• 5:02
  Please look into next books.
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  It covers all kinds of different things.
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  We are using it for biology.
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  Something that my kids are enjoying
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  is the Glitter Bombers subscription, which I will link down below.
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  I have links for probably everything that I'm talking about,
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  but just pairing some of those kind of art projects
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  with the other things that they're doing has been a real highlight.
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  They're very into art phase right now, which I think is really great, going
• 5:27
  very well
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  utilizing our homeschool grade book, and I've got like three videos on that now.
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  So if you want to look at the student planners and how that's going
• 5:33
  and what all they're doing, feel free to take a look at that.
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  Going very, very, very well.
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  And a shameless self plug here.
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  You guys know that I created vocabulary resources
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  to go along with seizures English two and word within the word two.
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  So I created self grading Google quizzes
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  and practice CSV
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  for import for flashcards into their homeschool grade book and word
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  searches and crosswords and, scrambles and term definition matches.
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  And I do have those available on my website.
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  If you are interested, I will go ahead and link those right up here.
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  Then since then my kids are acing their vocabulary,
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  so I feel like it's just helped
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  make it a little bit more manageable, especially that word within the word.
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  We are doing great on that one, and I am so, so happy
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  to report that it's also very easy.
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  The kids, you know, email them the link to the Google form and they send it back.
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  I printed everything else
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  and I just handed them out at the beginning of the week,
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  and then they can work it right through that.
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  And that is going very, very, very, very well.
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  So I'm really happy to report that
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  because I invested a lot of time and energy into that.
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  So I am really glad, really happy to report that that is paying off big kids.
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  Michael Thompson so she has now completed her first of four
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  point papers, and this one
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  she chose it was I think the prompt was like Shakespeare or a work of poetry.
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  And she did extensive study this summer in one of her programs on Romeo and Juliet.
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  So she chose to focus on Romeo and Juliet, the progression of our papers.
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  And I'll probably hit this hard
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  when I circle back to share about this level of Michael again.
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  Our last paper last year did a great job of proving the point.
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  Didn't do the best job of using the
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  and quotes from books to argue the point.
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  Great job of proving the point.
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  This paper is a great use of quotes and citations.
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  Not as solid as an argument.
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  So if we can get these two things going together, we're going to be great.
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  We're going to be so good.
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  So it's almost like we swung too far the other way.
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  So I'm very excited
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  to see what the next paper covers and the next paper is going to be.
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  And it's actually I don't know what she's choosing yet,
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  but it's going to be a compare and contrast of two things.
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  And so I'm trying to give her
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  I try really hard to give them topics that they're interested in.
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  So I've made a lot of suggestions comparing different types
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  of choreography, comparing, you know, classic theater to modern theater.
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  You know, something like Chicago or Cabaret
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  to back to the future of the musical.
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  I don't know why we're doing it. I don't know, I don't love it.
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  It's very weird. But here we are.
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  Or maybe even like a menken to like Aranda, like something like that.
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  So trying to make sure it's relevant and interesting to her.
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  Compare to a BA. Like maybe
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  that's something where in a place that we could look at right now.
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  But I will I will keep you posted.
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  My goal is to get again
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  the good sites with the good, solid argument and get this together.
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  And I think we'll be in really good shape.
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  And I just try to keep reminding her, like, we're doing this for you.
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  If we can nail down how to do this.
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  Well, now,
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  when it comes to college applications, when it comes to everything you do later,
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  it's going to be so much easier if we can get you where you feel good,
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  solid, confident and have your formula for how to do it now,
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  it'll be much better later.
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  So that is what we are working on.
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  So that's a great, wonderful, pleasant surprise.
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  Struggles.
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  Let's talk about our struggles.
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  Our struggles have been
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  no professor world history, which I recently talked about.
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  It is a great program.
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  It really, really is.
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  It is so much in volume,
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  so much in volume that it feels hard.
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  But I have decided that right now we are enjoying what we're doing right now.
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  Nobody feels like we are struggling or fussing or fighting about it right now.
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  So we're just going to keep going.
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  Okay?
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  That's it.
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  I'm just gonna keep riding the wave.
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  It's working and we're going to that's what we're going to do.
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  It's good and that's what we're going to do.
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  I'm going to quit
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  stressing about how to fit it all in, and just let us see where it takes us.
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  Right now. Nobody's complaining. Nobody is fighting it.
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  They are enjoying it.
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  So this is a win.
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  I have decided that this is a win.
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  And until it's not a win, this is how it's going to stay.
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  Something else that we need to be doing better at is French.
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  We have gotten we got a little busy and we got out of the habit of doing it
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  together, which I really feel like helps keep us accountable, but also makes it
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  tangible is maybe
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  not the best word that makes it real. Okay.
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  And so we need to get back into the habit of doing that together.
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  That my big kid has gotten very distracted and needs to get into the better habit
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  of reading her books.
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  Currently,
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  To Kill a mockingbird is what she has chosen for her book, one of the year,
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  and we need to do a better job of keeping on that.
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  We're doing a pretty good job
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  with reading with our younger one, but a read aloud, I feel like it's easier.
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  And so that is where we are with that.
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  As far as personal schedules, I feel like
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  we just recently dropped off one extra thing.
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  You know, that one more thing that always seems like a great opportunity.
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  It doesn't seem like that much work.
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  It's always the thing that pushes me over the edge that has fallen off.
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  And so we are definitely getting back into the routine, back into our schedule,
• 11:00
  and back into figuring out what works, our daily efforts and all of those things.
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  We're back on our meal plan, chores are getting done, so we're doing good.
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  We're just kind of getting back into it.
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  So I am happy to report at the end of our first eight weeks,
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  the end of our first quarter. This is where we are.
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  Let me know, is there something you want to know more about?
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  I've probably I've shared.
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  I know for a fact everything I've talked about,
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  I have shared about, but I am going to start circling back
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  through with actual usage, like because everything's great in theory, right?
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  But has it really going?
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  It's a very different conversation.
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  And I am curious now that I'm filming this halfway through October,
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  how is your year started?
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  I know that a couple years ago I just, I everything felt weird and this year
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  kind of
• 11:45
  doesn't, but does.
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  I feel like right now we're in a stage where
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  we are just feels normal, if that makes sense.
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  Abnormal is the normal, and I think that's
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  wild.
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  I don't know how else to describe that.
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  It just it is what it is.
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  But that's definitely how I feel.
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  So I'm hoping we're supposed to have a cool front this week.
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  So I'm hoping that life just literally cools off a little and goes
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  well and things are happening, and I hope that it's going well for you.
• 12:15
  So let me know if there's anything else you would like to see.
• 12:17
  I hope that you found any of this helpful entertainer.
• 12:19
  Informative. If you did, please scroll down.
• 12:20
  Hit that big red subscribe button,
• 12:22
  turn on the bell for notifications and give this video a thumbs up.
• 12:25
  As always, you can find me right on down in the comments or over an Instagram app.
• 12:28
  Making everyday magic I am intending to film very soon.
• 12:31
  Maybe a Q and A, so let me know either down in the comments or you can go.
• 12:35
  I'll put a post up on Instagram.
• 12:37
  You can go drop your
• 12:38
  your questions over there, but let me know if there's anything, literally
• 12:41
  anything you have a question about and I'll be happy to to answer that.
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  So I think that's it guys.
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  Congratulations.
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  You've made it at least some portion into your school year as of I.
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  And so good job us together.
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  Let's keep making every day magic.