Homeschooling -Vikings and Learning

I think I know what I want to do with homeschooling. Maybe I don't. Maybe today was just a good day. But. When Hayden kept saying it was the best day ever....I know I am on the right track. 

With being sick, my energy is at zero and my stamina at next to nothing. I'm coughing and scared I am headed back into bronchitis and hopefully not pneumonia. And I took a 3 hour nap. 

But, even with it, I think I found my groove. 

We backed up today. I realized that the gaps in Hayden's schooling are huge. I just need to teach him what I want him to know. If I touch on what he already has studied, it will be a good reminder. 

So for American History, I decided to start at the beginning. Vikings. 

Our day started with study of the Doctrines & Covenants and Joseph Smith History. I realized how much more we got our of scripture study since we had just studied Thomas Jefferson. Joseph Smith was born right after Thomas. Jefferson preached religion freedom and religious tolerance. We talked of our founding fathers and how they opened the doors to the restoration of the gospel. 

We hit math and reading comprehension. I'm not sure if Hayden dislikes it more or if I do. 

Then we started with the Vikings. We watched YouTube videos of the ships, the weaponry, the sailors and how they functioned. We talked of the trade embargo between Christians and Pagans. We then studied. Leif Erickson and his voyages. We played If I were an Explorer.... We made pros/cons lists... Hayden wrote a letter home about the new land he discovered. He drew the weapons, Viking hats, armour and Vikings. He built a Viking ship in Minecraft. 

We made lunch. Hayden did his laundry. He vacuumed. He made his bed and cleaned his room and game room. He fed dogs and played with them. 

This afternoon he came up with a plan for a business to earn money for his mission. And I think it is a fabulous idea. It is a service people need. It is something he could do with his dad in the evenings. It is a relatively small start up costs. And I think he could make money at it and enjoy it. He is currently designing a logo and working on creating his business. I have to admit. I think he is on to something.

I laughed my guts out when he came up to me and said when he gets older he wants to start a company and call it, "the other leading brand" so that no one can use it in commercials. He laughed about walking into a store and seeing a generic, "other leading brand" sitting next to all of the real brands. He designed a logo and oh how we laughed. 

Just now, as he was working on his online Minecraft class,  Hayden problem shot the issues, why the server wasn't working and how the instructor needed to fix it. I am a proud momma. He is learning from his dad.

We may not be perfect. We may not do it all. But I LOVE my time with my son. I LOVE being his mother. I LOVE that I get to see his personality develop and grow. I love watching him learn. And I love all that he teaches me each day. 

This journey may not always go as well as today but the one's that do, I will cherish and love. Hopefully, on the days that do no, I can read this and see that some days, I do get it right. And that, is a good feeling.