From June to July

 We had a lovely Father's Day last Sunday, and I never finished my weekly post, so here are some of our adventures in the last two weeks.

The first week:

Monday
For math we made Mobius strips. It was a horrid fail for Baymax (he cried) and Lola (she refused), but the rest of the young ones were amazed and delighted.

Later in the afternoon, Ladybug worked on some dinosaur drawings to make her own Book of Dinosaurs.

Tuesday
We went to the library in the morning and engaged in water play in the afternoon.  I stressed a lot about how we're going to survive the summer, but then the kids had a blast with the hose and our random tubs of water.

No pics, because I was inside on my phone searching for inexpensive ways to enjoy summer.

The irony is not lost on me.

Wednesday
We had a small poetry tea party.  I read only 4 animal poems from Eric Carle's Animals Animals, but I figured it's better to start small.  We ate chocolate chip sheet cake and peppermint tea.  We need to leave off the frosting next time--It was all too sweet!

I love the stack of dirty oatmeal bowls, the baby powder, an apple with a bite out of it, and other signs of regular life in our house juxtaposed with the shining clean teacups.  (Photo by Nature Angel)

We had a 2-minute music appreciation session listening to Mozart's Allegro in D-major.  Like the poetry tea, I wanted to start small and leave room for building up.  

Baymax hated it.  I invited him to leave, but he stayed and suffered.

Ladybug said it felt like going on a trip.

Mister Man said he noticed it was played on a piano.

Brother's insight, "At first it was boring, but as I listened, I liked it more and more."

I love that Brother could be changed in a 2-minute experience.

That evening, the boys had an activity at the church--making "baby rockets."  The activity allowed for lots of creativity and problem solving because they didn't work very well as originally designed.  The boys ended up having to add weight and adjust the angles of their launches in order to get their rockets to fly.  My boys loved it.

The youth leadership at church sent a link to a summer bingo activity chart.  If they get a simple bingo, they get a candy bar.  If they manage a black-out, they get to slime the leaders at a big party at the end of the summer.  My 3 daughters who are in the youth program worked together to make dinner for the family--and got to cross off a bingo square.

Thursday
We went to the park in the morning.  

Then we had a quiet afternoon.

Little Princess did another MEL science experiment.  She said it wasn't really photo-worthy, so she just got a picture or two of her set up as she heated chemicals and waited for reactions.

Friday
We had a quiet day . . . the only picture I have is of the mini-cake Little Princess decorated (she'd baked it a week or two earlier).

But in Nature Angel's photo storage I found a bunch of pictures she took some time during the week.  I remember her showing them to me and exclaiming, "These are UNEDITED, Mom!"

Saturday

Mister Man and Brother went to their gardening apprenticeship in the morning.

In the evening, we attended my niece's homeschool graduation.  It was simple and small and completely personal.  My favorite part was watching cousins talk and play after the ceremony.

They're having important Pokemon conversations.

The second week

We had fewer babies because The Munchkin and Sugar Bear were in Florida on a family vacation, and Li'l K and Stretch's dad is mostly off school, so he had them at home as much as he could.  He's the IT guy at a private school, and they got a new shipment of computers, so his vacation month has been turned back into a working month--at least part-time.

We maintained our basic structure, but we also let a lot of things just slide into long, slow summer days. 

We did not have a Math Monday because Sir Walter Scott had a colonoscopy (all is well), and I just let the activities I had planned fall by the wayside as the kids watched the "worker men" fill the mended part of our street with asphalt, and I finally worked on staining and putting polyurethane on the wood for the vanity we're building for the kids' bathroom.  (We've been without a sink in there for months!)

Watching the work never gets old for my crew.

We did go to the library on Tuesday.

At some point in the week, we did another 2-minute music moment.  Baymax was just as difficult as last week, and I told him he was free to leave the room several times, but he persisted in staying.  We listened to part of a Mozart piano concerto--I forgot to write down which one--and most of the kids said they're ready for me to extend their listening time next week.  

Mister Man and Brother did their gardening apprenticeship, and all of the younger kids took turns helping Sir Walter Scott mow our yard.

That's Beowulf having a turn.

Kids spent their days riding bikes, skating, and doing quiet activities in the house.

Beowulf crocheted for a few minutes one day.

Nature Angel watched her favorite home improvement show while she pieced together her crocheted lap blanket.  She's made a great deal of progress since this picture--I think she's almost done crocheting the border trim now.

Lola borrowed an origami book from the library.  One afternoon she spent hours trying to follow the patterns.  She asked me for help, and I had to turn to YouTube videos.  Once those were on, a crowd of kids came to watch videos and do origami.

Giant leaf--it's not just the perspective!

We finished The Bronze Bow and started A Young Macedonian in the Army of Alexander the Great.  It was hard to get into for the first several days, and we almost gave up, but we persevered, and now we're all interested in what's going to happen next.

Amid tears and laughter, we finished Despereaux.  

It never gets old.

We read a little picture book called We Were Tired of Living in a House.  So cute!

And now we're reading a sweet story called Bright April by Marguerite de Angeli.  So far it's been a description of a happy family in Germantown Pennsylvania in 1946.  The family is black, so there are quiet references to racism, and I'm curious about what the climax and resolution will be for little April and her family.

On Friday I took Nature Angel and Little Princess to a huge antique store downtown.  We wandered and looked and laughed until we were exhausted, then we stopped at a park to eat a picnic lunch.

Vintage hats were our favorite!

Sir Walter Scott took the younger kids out to get slushies, and he fixed bikes that needed fixing so that more kids can ride at one time.

In the evening, the older kids watched the younger while Sir Walter Scott and I used his Father's Day gift and went out to see Top Gun Maverick.  It was fun, and definitely a see-in-the-theater movie because of the amazing flying scenes.

Belle took Nature Angel to the art museum on Saturday.  They spent 4 hours there as Nature Angel sketched until her hands were tired, and Belle patiently wandered about on her own to allow Nature Angel that precious time.  She came home sparkling because of the experience and because of several compliments she got from museum staff and patrons who peeked over her shoulder at her work.

Afterward, they went out to lunch.

We have zero plans for celebrating our nation's birthday, but Sir Walter Scott is off work, and that means we might do something fun at the last minute.

I do find myself thinking often of the state of our nation, and I wonder if I have the courage to defend our liberty the way my ancestors did.