A Week, Briefly (12/21/20)

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas!

 

Ours was a week of ups and downs, but really there were more ups than downs.

 

We had zero formal school.

 

We read.

 

Here's the stack of Christmas picture books we read this month:

 

Not all of them are Christmas books, i.e., The Thank You Book, but they were all books that felt like a good idea this season.   The Jan Brett books were odd--they won't make it back on our list for next year, but The Story of Holly & Ivy and Dasher are treasures.  Silent Night, Holy Night made everyone cry.

 

We also finished reading Pippi Longstocking, we read an odd little book called The True Gift of Christmas by Patricia MacLachlan, and we're renewing our efforts to read Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. 

 

We got all the way to the Christmas story chapters in The Jesus Storybook Bible, and we'll finish reading the New Testament chapters of this favorite, favorite book of ours in the coming weeks.  

 

Our Come, Follow Me:  Book of Mormon 2020 curriculum is finished, and we will begin Come, Follow Me:  Doctrine and Covenants 2021 this very week.

 

We're fighting post-travel stuffy noses and coughs a bit.  By Christmas Eve Little Mister Frog was really goopy, and we hope it is only a mild cold.

We had too many presents for Christmas.  I was worried at the excess under our tree at first, but the joy
the kids experienced of giving gifts to one another turned too many presents into the just right amount of presents.  (However, we will be seeking ways to share our plenty with others!!)

 

 

Little Princess finally got some coding tools, and she has taught Artie how to spell her name and draw any number of pictures.  Seeing her blossom in the joy of developing a talent is worth the work we'll do to monitor screen time for my darling 11-year-old.

 

Everyone has reveled in games and crafts and toys.  (We love Catan and Throw, Throw Burrito!) Mostly we engaged with our cameras put away, and I think that was the right decision.  But Nature Angel got this fun picture as she played with Slinkys with the younger kids.

 

Half a dozen Slinkys appeared in Christmas stockings, and I think there is one left that isn't bent or stretched into unusability (maybe).  It wasn't all intentional damage, but it shows that life at our house is still life at our house.  :) 

 

We had good friends stop by for a visit the day after Christmas, and Nature Angel took the daughter and Little Princess up to the field for a late afternoon photo shoot.  They took lots of fun pictures together, and my favorite is this one of our friend "balancing the moon" on her nose. 

 

We've been living with very little routine, and while we've had a pretty good run, all things considered, the signs have appeared letting me know that it is time to settle back down into that which is predictable.

I'm currently working on some adjustments to our homeschool that will hopefully result in greater joy and peace in our routines . . . at least for me . . . I've been happy to see the kids grow and learn, but the pace has been unsustainable for me, and I think it has been less than satisfying for most of the kids.

I feel changes in my bones . . .