From April to May

 *sigh*

The problem with missing a week of writing is that it becomes so easy to miss another week.

But I am here now, and I am determined to think of something to post.

1.  We had our final show.

2.  We traveled to Utah for Sir Walter Scott's sister's memorial.

3.  I called an end to our school year.

The show was energetic, joyful, and just plain fun.  The kids threw themselves into the last performance, and the audience responded.  We concluded with refreshments and social time, but my family and I were hurrying to pack up and get out of there ASAP because, by the end of the show, we had less than 22 hours to get to Utah.

We did it!

Sir Walter Scott drove the whole way, and we even arrived in time for him to get an hour of sleep before the rest of the family and friends arrived.

The cousins (a few are missing)

We celebrated her life with everything we had in us.  

Then we collapsed with exhaustion.

And then we hiked to the "Y" again.  (We tried for another trail, but most of them were still closed for the season.)

After a final visit with Grammie (during which Little Princess sustained a soft tissue injury to her right ankle--she'll be on crutches for the next 6 weeks--we headed home.

It was so hard to say goodbye to Pixie!!  

Within 15 minutes of our arrival on Wednesday morning, 2 babies were dropped off.  

(I swear I told the parents we were not available until Thursday!)

Everybody went to bed except for me because I felt that if I didn't communicate clearly, it was my job to deal with the consequences.  (The babies were so sweet that I didn't mind at all.)  We had a lovely quiet morning together, and slowly the family woke up and joined us.

The tension regarding school has been building in my heart and mind for some weeks now.  I've been slogging determinedly forward each day, and I've been watching Nature Angel and Little Princess sag under the responsibilities they carry.

We have certainly completed our state requirements for a school year, and I decided that leaving town on April 30th made for a terrific last day of school.

So at our Thursday Morning Meeting, I told the kids.

And I showed them our summer plan.

1.  Morning Meeting every day, as usual

2.  Daily responsibilities

         Monday--Math

         Tuesday--Library visit and/or Language Arts

         Wednesday--Park day and/or Science activity

         Thursday--Art and/or Music

         Friday--Mom's choice

3.  Lunchtime reading

4.  Evening reading

The older girls are free to work on subjects that are hanging over their heads, or they are free to take breaks.  I've reminded them that they are not on a traditional schedule, so they do not have to finish a science book or math book right away.  They finish when they finish, and they get the credit when they get the credit.

It's the first time I've been this determined to honor the ebb and flow of homeschooling older kids, but it's also the first time that my older kids have worked at home the way these older kids do.

We dove into our first art project a couple of hours after breakfast--using ArtHub for Kids to draw a Japanese beetle.  We also watched a couple of informative videos about these beetles, and I had the kids write a sentence (or three--depending on ability) about what they learned.

It was a happy school morning.

The next morning was less happy because Mom's Choice was to clean up the boys' room before it became another 7-hour project.  There were tears and tantrums, but it really only took 30-40 minutes to finish, and then we shifted to helping Dad clean out the garage . . . which really meant that Dad gave the kids a bunch of scrap lumber and PVC piping, and the kids built stuff for the rest of the day.

With both my birthday and Mother's day this month, I've told the family that the best gift they can give me is to clean something out and create space to breathe.  We're making some marvelous progress!

Belle takes her College Algebra final this week.

We've talked about tentative graduation plans.

We've also begun some mission preparation plans because Belle is deferring her college admission until after she serves a full-time church mission.

I will be writing a great many end-of-school- year assessments in the coming week or two . . . so I'm done writing for now!