Smrt Lernins

Now, I’m aware that many of you probably get up early, either by choice or by necessity. I can get up early and do perfectly well, generally, but to me, one of the greatest maternal benefits of homeschooling is that I can sleep until at least 8am most days.

STARBASE is making me into zombie mom, with its crazy 6:45 wakeup time! True, the program doesn’t start until 9 and it’s only about 15-20 miles, but I have to get three kids dressed and through Metro Atlanta traffic to get there. Stupid traffic. Stupid STARBASE.

I’ve always had bouts of insomnia, but somehow it seems like the insomnia knows when I have to be up early, because that’s a prime time to not sleep. Of course, Officer Daddyman was back to work this morning, temporarily on day shift (5am wake up), so I was in this horrible light doze of “is everyone’s alarm going to go off?” anyway, plus his work routine on top of it (bathroom light in my eyes through the door crack), plus a middle of the night wakeup from Babypie to pee (which she wouldn’t do once she was up). In between, light and unsatisfying sleep. I feel like a can of poo.

Keep your freaking 6:45 wakeup. I want my 8+am morning back.

Captain Science (or, as he’s known there, call sign Sniper) just got home from his first day of STARBASE at the nearby Air Reserve base. He had a fantastic time! He’s on Team Foxtrot with Maverick, Mallet, Darknight, and one other kid whose call sign he couldn’t remember. He knew one of the other boys there (not on his team) from Math Olympiad, so he had the comfort zone of a familiar face without it being a completely familiar experience. So nice for him to have a whole day out of the house with other children with similar interests! This is the kind of peer environment I can get behind!

After letting the kids spend an hour or so getting acquainted, the STARBASE staff really put them through their paces. They worked on the metric system and exponents through practical application in weight/liquid measurement. They measured various “space” fluids, weighed unknown metals to find ideal materials for building planes, and designed Army rovers in CAD.

Honestly, it was a bit of a relief for me to have the house to just myself and the smalls for a day (9am-2pm). Usually, Captain Science is the center of my school day, but today I was able to really focus on Tank and Babypie. Tank did several mazes and we did a fun activity using this illustration of facial expressions. We talked about what the person might be feeling to cause him to make each face. For the middle face in the next-to-last row, Tank said he thought the person was feeling thinking. I agreed, and told him that the word he might be looking for is “thoughtful.”

Babypie and I read books. Well, we read the same book four times. After we were finished reading, Tank, Babypie, and I all played with Tank’s “Dinosaur, Dragon, and Bug World” toys for a long time, then we went to pick up Captain Science and get his positive report.

I’m looking forward to the next four Mondays, for all our sakes!