A need for change!

One of my favorite things about homeschooling the boys is I can change what we are doing at the drop of a hat.  Of course I only want to change things if what we are doing is not working. 
I am here to tell you that what we were doing was not working.  Not the curriculum, but the way I was structuring our day. 
There was an extreme need for change!!!  Why you ask? 
Four words for you.........I am teaching BOYS!!!!! Boys that feed off one another constantly.
My "classroom/sit at the table" approach is not working.  Now don't get me wrong here.....there is a time for sitting at the table to get some things done, but not for as long as I was trying to make it work.
Boys do not sit still for very long.  And they need to be doing something with their hands.  And not sitting still for very long.  And moving, talking, shouting, running, digging, chasing airplanes, running up in a fort to watch a crane garbage truck pick-up bulk trash, chasing the dog, exploring, pretending, playing baseball, riding a scooter, riding a bike, running and moving some more, etc. And not sitting still for very long. I think you get my point.
So yesterday and today I did things a little different.  No one got in trouble today.  Oh sure I had to make them settle down a few times, but for the most part it went much smoother.  And no one was sent to the principal for a paddling. 

A few things I have added to our curriculum:
-History through literature(we are reading some of these thanks to my gracious SIL who let us borrow them.  The boys LOVE these books!)
-Math puzzles-(these I learned about from a friend.  Thanks Danielle!)
-BOB readers(they both can read the first few readers.  Matthew better than Ryan(he does not want to sit still for very long.)
-Educational games
-a timer

I have added a timer to help the boys understand the importance of finishing their work on time.  This is only used for table time when they are working on workbook pages.  If they are not finished when the timer goes off 15 minutes is taken from their outside play time in the evenings. When I told them about this they FREAKED out!  These boys are always outside and especially love playing outside after dinner with their daddy.  It truly is the highlight of their day.  So to take time away from that would be awful, but a girl has to do what a girl has to do.  And this girl has to do something to see if it will work.
Everything I added is done away from the table.  On the floor, in the LR, outside, etc.  Anywhere but the table.  Breaking it up and changing the scene is helpful for them.
Restructuring our day proved to help today.  Instead of coming straight to the table to begin school we met in the LR.  While the boys ate their breakfast I started reading Pocahontas.  And actually finished it.  They love history through literature! And always want me to read to the very end!
After breakfast we moved to the DR table.  They were still hungry so I let them bring their plates with them.  As they ate together we worked on two worksheets.  Table time is our enemy, but we made it through.
I also decided it was time to double up on the lessons.  This week will be the last week to do one lesson. 
I added worksheets to a few days this week just to see if it would work. It is completely doable.  Tomorrow they will actually be doing Friday's work.  So our week will end early and make Friday a free day/auto schooling(field trip)day.

I am so anxious to see if all this works for my BOYS.  I have to keep that five and half year old mind constantly engaged.  And if that means changing things up often.....I'll do it!