A Week, Briefly(8/31/20)

It's been a hard week.  (Oh, no!  Not this again!)

But it has also been a beautiful week.

We are still adjusting, failing, tweaking, and evaluating.

I wonder when we'll find our groove . . . probably right before Christmas, and then we'll lose it! :)

Good things include:

Little Princess' photography class.  This week's theme was a study of her family in pictures.  She took photos of odd, quirky, typical, exciting, boring, and posed moments in our days.  

(And yes, Sir Walter Scott and the older teens are oddly missing from this file while Lola is especially prominent.)

In defense of this blurry picture, we never did replace the camera lens, so Little Princess is working with an only semi-functional lens.  I just like how she caught Nature Angel working in her bedroom under her desk.

3 boys caught NOT doing their chores!!!

Anything outdoors--morning walks, hikes, picnics, and parks.  

Through our morning walks we completed Hike #27 of 52.  

57.15 miles + 2.2 = 59.35 miles.

Then on Friday, because we had an ABA assessment session in the morning,  we had a simple park day and hike on the little loop.

  

Hike #28 of 52:  Penguin Park

59.35 miles + 1 = 60.35 miles.

Remember the caterpillars we babysat this summer?  

First they rewarded us by turning into butterflies, and then they rewarded us again by laying their eggs on our carrots (which turned out to be too bitter for us to eat, so we're happy to share), and now we have a new generation of caterpillars eating their way to maturity in our garden!

We're gonna need to invest in a butterfly enclosure soon!

Picking up trash.  With the loss of American Rhythm for the year, we needed a new service opportunity, so we fill a plastic grocery sack with trash every time we walk.  We bring it home and put it out with our family trash.  At 4 bags a week, we're going to make quite a difference.

And it costs us nothing but an extra hand-washing.

Colloquium.  I really like reading and talking with kids who are ready to think and evaluate, and these two are.  We're watching a lot of videos about science and history.  The girls are just the right age to be fascinated by what we're studying, and they want to dig deeper every. single. time.  They're full of questions and ponderings.  After a morning of battling unfocused, recalcitrant young ones, Colloquium is a breath of fresh air.

Check off sheets.  Mister Man and Ladybug each have a daily check off sheet--a basic outline inserted in a page protector--and a dry erase pen.  The act of filling all of the boxes satisfied them, and keeps them working better on their own than they would otherwise.  It's also less overwhelming than a planner.

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We have a few Legos!

It was Pixie's last week working at the daycare, and the week for her was all about grieving what she's leaving behind.  She's having goodbye lunches and picnics with various friends this weekend, and then I hope next week will be about anticipating what's waiting ahead.

Meds have filled us with questions this week.  Right doses?  Side effects?  Bad reactions?  We're watching, trying to cope, and hoping for the best.

Nature Angel helped  Baymax make a super-shield!

Twin Mommies

Everyone is making progress in math, reading, language arts, literature, science, history, and geography.

Our Academy will be spending an extra week or so on China because we aren't able to do as much each day as I'd hoped, but that's okay.  We have plenty of time. 

The kids are internalizing their Spanish lessons.  We're still working on basic greetings, but my funny little crew is not shy about hollering "¡Buenos días!" across a park at a family that looks even slightly Hispanic and speaks in a language other than English.  This means that some Middle Eastern families are a little bit confused, but mostly, their enthusiastic efforts are rewarded with smiles and encouragement.

Sir Walter Scott reads to kids who are done with their chores before breakfast.

I'm tired and discouraged.  These homeschool days are really, really long.  I'm constantly considering what I can drop in order to open up some breathing room for me, but then I realize that I'm going hard 4 days a week, and then I get to really enjoy our Friday outings.

Saturdays are full of their own kind of work from dawn to dark, and then I do try to make Sundays as restful as possible.

Maybe it will just take a few more weeks for this to be a comfortable routine.