"Work while you work...."

Man, the past couple of days have been pretty eye opening for me. The need to stick to the SAME schedule is crucial.
We decided to ride with Greg over to Dallas Theological to take some books back to the library on Thursday. I am glad that we went because once we got over there -we stumbled upon a display of recovered artifacts from Mesopotamia that included some of Hammurabi's Code, a written account in hieroglyphics of Sumerian history & a replica of a box that was found in Caiphias' tomb. Now, that was a great suprise because we are studying this...and I actually stopped to look at it and then discovered that it was significant for the kiddos to see. However, we really didn't "accomplish" much. By the time we got home it was close to noon and everyone was hungry. So, after feeding the crew, and getting the little ones to sleep...it was 1:00. That's when we started history. Now, we finished EVERYTHING by 3:45...but it was horribly laborious. I was telling them the myth of Gilgamesh and I was getting questions like, "Can eagles hurt you?"...which is fine...but this myth has nothing to do with eagles. Then another question in relation to the "age when she will be able to date". So, that's concerning...because she's 7.
The Moral of the Story: If I stick to the same schedule everyday than I don't think that her mind will "float" as easily. I noticed that over the over the past couple of days that I had let her dictate the schedule, by saying things like, "Can I do my Math now instead of my History?" or "I don't really want to finish coloring this so I'll just finish it later tonight." That is a "no-go" from here on out. I mean, kids are kids and they just don't need those choices. I KNOW that that sounds like a small thing...but she wouldn't have that choice in a different setting and I want her to be able to succeed in either.
I am reading a book right now called, Recovering The Lost Tools of Learning by Douglas Wilson. My sister-in-law gave to me. It is a good read thus far. At this point, it is strictly stating facts concerning public education. I would like to read something concerning private education pros and cons also.

"In a comparison of 24,000 thirteen-year-olds from the United States, Ireland, Spain, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and four Canadian provinces, the United States placed last in mathematics and almost last in science. Korean students were first in math and tied for first in science with Canadian students in British Columbia. In one aspect of math, however, the Americans did just fine . "Despite their poor overall performance, however, two-thirds of U.S. thirteen-year-olds felt that 'they were good at mathematics'; only 23% of their Korean counterparts shared that attitude." When it comes to maintaining a high self-image, we can take on the world." (-Recovering The Lost Tools of Learning, pg. 15, second paragraph. stats taken from, Physics Today, 4-89/ Chemical Engineering Progress 12-89/Time Magazine 2-90)