A Week, Briefly (5/7/18)

The main event of the week was finding out that Rose Red is NOT the reason for Pixie's heartache.  It's a long and complicated story--in simplest outline, Rose Red did interfere in Pixie's sweetly developing romance, but it was with (reasonably) loving intent, and any damage she caused was accidental and incidental.  The actual hurt has been (reasonably) easy for Pixie to accept as part of growing up now that she knows her sister wasn't the reason.

That has cleared the air.

Mostly.

Hanging still is the knowledge that Rose Red has been malicious in the past and could be again.  Just because she wasn't this time doesn't mean she won't next time.

At any rate, an uneasy truce is better than no truce at all.

These three worry about and miss their oldest sister, but they are a delightful unit nonetheless.

Spring only visited for about a week around here and then fled the scene.  We're having summer weather and we're figuring out a summer schedule.  The most important change is the bringing back of Quiet Time.  Hours of unstructured outdoor play are wonderful, but they wear the kids out, and focused quiet play is a welcome treat every afternoon.

I'm also reading a story a day at lunch.  We're calling it Summer Storytime.  I don't ask for narrations; I don't ask for thoughts; I don't ask for educational connections.  I just read.  If the kids have something to say, they can say it, but it's just time to enjoy some of our favorite childhood stories.

This week:
Monday--Noisy Poems (a collection of poems I picked up at a thrift shop some 17 years ago.  It's a family favorite, and I have most of the book memorized!)
Tuesday--The Secret Garden--we're almost done with this Audible recording that we listened to in the car on the way to and from co-op.
Wednesday--The Story About Ping
Thursday--One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
Friday--no story because we never came in for lunch--instead I served snacks outside all day.

We're also having water play every afternoon for now.  I still supervise even shallow water play--can't quite let go of my old lifeguard training/experience--so I pull up a chair and a book and sit quietly.  The kids are loud and splashy and sometimes bicker over who's bothering who, but for the most part I'm outside of the activity, and my heart and mind slow to stillness.

This week I've watched the 3-year olds mix and pour--experimenting with every fiber of their being.  I've watched Brother throw cups of water into the air and shout with glee at the formations the water droplets make as they come down.  I've watched Nature Angel and Little Princess lead the littles into games.  The funniest game of the week is sticking full cups of water into their swimshirts, leaning over so that the cups are upside down, but the shirts hold the water in, and then touching the shirts at the openings of the cups so that the tension is broken and the water comes out.  "I'm a cow!" they cry.  "I'm milking!"

Yes, it's odd.

But it's joyful and oh-so-funny to watch.

It's hard to walk out of the house, leaving chores undone while I watch the kids during their water play.  But I'm noticing that the rest is good for me.  I'm less tense than I've been in months, and that's a blessing to the whole family.

I made a chart for Rose Red to show how close she is to graduation--hoping to motivate her to do some work.  It's set up in 15 minute increments.  Just color in a box for every 15 minutes spent on reading, watching, discussing, or writing about something educational.  We filled in all of the time she's completed since January (not much, and this week we actually got a few hours of work done!  I have to fight her for every single minute, but I think she needs this--I feel in my gut that she needs this--that somehow she wants to be fought for.

Rose Red's educational resources this week have included:

Hole's Anatomy and Physiology
The Duchess (film drama based on a real historical figure--we also looked her up online after the movie to find out what was real and what wasn't.  The movie was surprisingly accurate.)
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois

She only worked on school for under 3 hours for the whole week (mostly because she disappeared for 2 full days--the less said about that, the better), but I'm counting every 15 minute increment, and someday that girl will have a diploma!

Super Star came safely home from Texas after a busy and fulfilling weekend helping our friend at the convention.  Then she had an audition for a part in a musical.  Call backs are next week, and we won't know if she is called back until late this weekend, but she had a wonderful audition experience.  The directors told her that she has a lovely voice, a face that "will look good on camera," and a good speaking voice.  I'm really happy for her to get positive feedback because it is inspiring her to develop her talents and realize that she has gifts to offer the world.

Nature Angel spent the week reading Harry Potter books 4 and 5 and writing/illustrating a many-paged report on the gods of ancient Egypt.

Super Star has had a driver's permit for 9-ish months, but only a couple of driving lessons.  I took her out this week, realizing that we can't ignore her training in this area any longer!  Based on the recommendation of one of Sir Walter Scott's co-workers, we headed out to a cemetery to practice.  Genius!  Miles of roads with no speed expectations, tons of twists and turns, and no one on them!

And we finished Symposium!

My teens earned a full history credit, a full Spanish I credit, and an as-yet-undetermined amount of language arts.

They still need to work on various individual subjects, but my only daily school-as-a-group responsibility is Morning Meeting.

Now it time to get ready for summer camps, camping, and family reunions.

Oh!  And I finally watched The Greatest Showman . . . I liked it, but I don't get the hype.


(linking here)