A Week, Briefly (In Which We Get a Larger Wading Pool)

The amazing thunder storms of last night are on pause right now, but they're due back this afternoon, so we've sent kids outside to run off some energy . . .

Oops, I spoke too soon.

The rain is back, and the kids came pouring in.

We have no problem with playing outside in the rain, but this rain has major lightning with it, and that's cause to hide indoors.

It's been a low key week.

We started the older girls on their summer morning schedule, and that has slowed all of us down.  I still make breakfast for everyone 10 and under at 7:30 or so in the morning, but the kitchen remains open to the older girls until 9:00 am, at which time we gather for Morning Meeting.

Everyone small wanted to sit with me--as close as possible.  Lola and Baymax are both sulking because they are having to share my lap.  Across the room are several more small people who were also sulking because they couldn't find space next to me.  I think the appropriate reaction is to be glad I'm loved.

We've had school for littles 2 or 3 times this week.  I am seeing a clear decline in retention for Ladybug and Brother in having less consistent school work.  As their school is only 20-ish minutes each, I'm considering keeping it up over the summer.

Little Princess finished The Good and the Beautiful grade 2.  She's kept up her personal Chinese studies, though, and proudly showed off how she's memorized the pronunciations of the words on the first 4 pages of the Usborne book she's enjoying.

Rose Red finished her final Economics essay, so she's down to just math and American Literature each day, and those are likely to stick around all summer--barring vacations and camps.

Random photo of my littlest boys playing with sticker books together.

Pixie should have been done with her English final essay, but she's officially started working, and she's been lax in her daily work.  She's been so faithful through the year that it is hard for me to get on her now, but we will need to have a little conference about this final project.

Nature Angel has been doing 2-3 math lessons a day--voluntarily!  I offered to let her just stop, but she said, "There's something about finishing a book that I just really like."  (I must admit that I understand.)  At this rate she'll be done with math next week or early the week after.  She's also still working daily on a review product, and she's liking so much all that she's learning about George Washington Carver.  It will take her deep into summer to finish all of the elements of this study, so we're debating whether to keep working on it or to put it away when our review obligation is complete and pick it back up in the new school year.  She quite likes the work, so odds are that she'll work on it rather than put it away. :)

Nature Angel and Little Princess spent time identifying some birds and bird calls.  We're pretty sure we saw a Bell's Vireo this week, and a pair of House Finches have been at our feeder lately.

As a family we finished Egermeier's Bible Storybook on Friday!  I think we'll do a bit of church history reading before diving back into Bible stories again.

We had another breakfast at the park, and at this one we spent some time observing the small flock of Canada Geese that found our picnic interesting.

They'd just been laughing like crazy, but when the picture finally took, they had these funny, suspicious faces. :)

The kids still really enjoy Whistlefritz Spanish, and we're daily watching an DVD episode while completing one lesson each week.  This week's lesson was about counting.

Wednesday night I got to go with Nature Angel to a mother/daughter fashion show for Activity Days.  First we had a lesson about dressing modestly, then all the girls and moms headed into the gym where paper, scissors, and tape were ready and waiting.  Each girl designed a paper dress for her mom, and when they were finished, the moms walked a lighted runway as the girls read short presentations about their creations.  It was crazy fun--even if I am so inhibited that I blushed and cringed while I was on the runway instead of vamping like the other moms.  

We brought accessories, so I've got an apron, bows, a necklace, and a flowered wreath to go with my puff sleeves and long gown with a train.

Girls' Camp for the older girls is in the very near future, and Little Princess and Nature Angel have lots of fabulous "summer camp at home" plans for the littles.  Crafts, stories, games, treats--all are outlined in delightful lesson plans handcrafted by these two darling girls.  While the big girls are away the little kids will play!

Everyone seems to constantly have his/her nose in a library book of late, and the heat has arrived, so we've been playing with water often.

Otherwise we're kind of losing ourselves in individual passions, and nothing makes me happier than to tuck into bed children who are physically tired and content after a full day of outdoor play.


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