Montessori Homeschooling Updates and Blog Recommendation

I've been meaning to post this for some time. It is such an *amazing* resource, I just have to share:

http://chasingcheerios.blogspot.com/

I am hoping on Thursday of next week to start the kids' homeschool. There is so much to do to get ready! We need to rearrange bedrooms because we're converting one bedroom into our classroom. This is a much bigger project than it sounds because one of the bedrooms is still being used for unpacking. We need to finish up that unpacking. I also need to build some shelves I bought at Staples, and I need to get some art supplies for the art shelf. After that, it will be fairly simple for a little bit. I have a lot of lessons we have used in the past that I will be putting back out, but I suspect on Thursday and Friday I will introduce just one or two lessons per day, focus on "grace and courtesy," and likely have a shortened work period. The following week will get crazy, though, because I think the kids will need me to step it up a notch if I am going to keep up with their interests. I will need to work on preparing more lessons, or buying them.

After a couple weeks of settling in, I'd like to get some of the "Montessori throughout the home" straightened out. For example, we have a built-in set of drawers in the dining room that we have been planning to use for place settings. These are accessible to the children, and they can easily begin setting the table for meals. But so far, we haven't gotten that organized.

The other thing on my mind is scheduling. I'd like to have three hours of homeschooling time per day. Because M. does the Montessori Center on Wednesdays in the afternoon, we have been scheduling his therapy appointments in the afternoons, so that we can switch the kids nap schedule to mid-morning. This presents two major challenges. First, it interferes with Sunday School. I am thinking at this point that G. and the kids will attend the other UU church in town because they have an earlier worship option. This was actually our original plan, and in many ways better because they have Spirit Play for young kids (a Montessori model Sunday School), but now G. and the kids have attachments in the church I am serving, so it is hard.

The second big challenge is that I have difficulty waking up in the morning. A LOT of difficulty. But if we are going to maintain this schedule, I will need to begin work at 7am. My trouble with waking up isn't something I can "just get over." I can manage for a couple days at one time, but then it is over. My problem seems to be in relationship with my neurological issues, and I have battled it for many, many years. I've even had to quit a job over it. I kept oversleeping, and I knew I needed to quit while I was ahead because I was falling apart. It is that bad, bad enough that I lost income. If this was something I could cure myself of just by proper planning and determination, I would have done it long ago. So the question is, how can this work? I am not sure yet. I'll keep you posted.