Time for Spontaneity

 We were going to keep our gentle routine this summer. 

We really were.

And we kind of are.

But I'm also saying yes to other activities when I can, and that means our routine is really something that we're only falling back to when there's nothing else happening.

I'm grateful for the safety of routine.

I'm grateful for the joy of spontaneous outings.

Morning Meeting never goes anywhere--no matter what fun is on the schedule.

We're almost done with the New Testament portion of our Egermeier Bible Stories.  Likewise, we're almost done with memorizing/reviewing The Living Christ.  It looks like we'll be simultaneously starting a new memorizing project along with another set of New Testament stories.

We are still reading at least a few nights a week.  We've made it to the Australian coast in In Search of the Castaways.  One night we spent a long time poring over Google Maps as we found the place names mentioned in the book.  (And to think I worry that we don't do geography!)

We read The House that Lou Built a few times this week, and Drawing Outside the Lines (a biography of Julia Morgan) has captured the kids' attention.  I presented a picturebook history of architecture, From Mud Huts to Skyscrapers, with the hope that the kids will be inspired to read it more in-depth on their own.  They had a billion questions and expressed a lot of interest as I showed pictures and read a few captions.

Which reminds me . . . Lola did not ask to read to me even once this past week.  My hope that the happy reading session we had a week ago would inspire her to more happy reading sessions was in vain.

But hope springs eternal, and as I did not ask her about her reading this week, I'm wondering if I offer to listen to her so that she can put a new sticker on her record will result in a positive answer.

If I don't ask, I won't ever know!

Monday was a day of significant finishing.

This world history study is done!

There is so much basketball played around here!!!

This was the end-of-the-book "test" in Life of Fred: Butterflies.  Without missing a beat, we started Life of Fred: Cats.

And ta-da!!!  She's done with high school biology!

Little Princess worked on cleaning out her room.  She brought down this beautiful handmade doll house that Nature Angel made for her a few years ago.  She didn't know what to do with it because she's done playing with it, but she didn't want to just chuck it in the recycling bin (it's made of cardboard).

After talking it over with Nature Angel, we agreed that the recycling bin was the best place for it to go.

But then the younger kids saw it.

I said it could stay out for the rest of the day . . .

 . . . the dollhouse never made it to the recycling bin.

Instead, it became the most played-with toy of the week.  

Literally, hours a day.

And it inspired further "small world" play and architectural projects to boot!

This was one of those spontaneous yeses that made the week so much better than it would have been otherwise.

We were invited to go swimming on Tuesday morning.  I said yes, and after I was able to find all of the lifejackets, floaties, and sunscreen, 14 kids and I headed to our friend's neighborhood pool.  

I have no pictures.

Because it was me and 14 kids.

We had a glorious time enjoying a privilege that we rarely get, and everyone came home and either read quietly or slept all afternoon.

I signed up for a free virtual summer camp that we tried watching one day this week.

After two sessions, we decided it wasn't worth our time.

On Wednesday morning, we got out water and containers and decided that it would be easier to hang the kids' clothes out to dry on the deck railing than it would be to change into swimsuits.

We had another afternoon of really, really good naps. :)

On Thursday, Sir Walter Scott took Mister Man and Brother on the first of two youth temple trips this week.

He had to work on Friday, but Nature Angel, Little Princess, and Ladybug participated in the second of the two trips.

Also on Friday, I said yes to a spontaneous trip to a park with friends.

It was a new-to-us park, and we loved it!  The kids played happily on the playground for quite a while.

But then, one of the moms called the kids to her and promised to teach them how to play handball--the way she and I played it on our Southern California school playgrounds in our childhoods.

All of my kids learned a new game!

When the fun of handball waned, they played tennis and/or basketball with friends.

Seriously, it was a really good park!

(Too bad the babies didn't nap well afterward!  Why didn't they nap well??)

The Munchkin and Sugar Bear's mama is in the hospital.  I offered to watch the kids as much as needed, and their daddy took me up on the offer on Friday, so they stayed at our house until late.

Knowing that their routine includes evening TV watching, I offered a movie if Lola would let me work on her hair.  

She said yes. :)

It took me 2 1/2 movies spread over Friday and Saturday evenings to get her hair conditioned, twisted, and beaded, so we didn't read aloud either of those nights.  

However, the kids and I had a blast watching Finding Dory and The Incredibles 2 while I worked.

A couple of weeks ago, when Mister Man and Brother went camping with the YM in our ward (church congregation), he caught his first fish.

A friend who was on the camping trip just sent us this picture.

Sir Walter Scott took the boys in Beowulf's class on a nature walk for Thursday night church activities.

That same evening, Lola was able to go swimming with her class, and Little Princess passed her running test in PT at CAP.

Little Princess has been baking quite a bit.  I like it when she bakes.  So does the rest of the family!

I finished listening to A Room with a View on audiobook this week (an old favorite).  Remembering the James Ivory movie version, I invited Nature Angel and Little Princess to watch it with me.  

So. Much. Fun!

Belle is happy in Curaçao.  We spoke at length on Monday afternoon.  She's tired because learning new languages is exhausting, but she loves her companion, loves the people, loves her apartment, loves her pink bike helmet. :)

Pixie was just approved for an Emotional Support Animal.  She's turning in the paperwork everywhere she needs to, and she's #1 on the waitlist for a 3-month-old puppy at a way-out-in-the-country animal shelter.  Pixie is head over heels with the retriever/lab/border collie mix baby girl.  While she waits for news, she's immersing herself in dog-training videos and books.  

I've spent a number of hours sorting through homeschool materials that we've collected over the years.  We're either going to use them or lose them!  

I've also interviewed both Nature Angel and Little Princess about their school goals between now and high school graduation (2 years for Nature Angel, 4 for Little Princess!).   With goals in hand, we'll be able to make informed decisions about what will be worth our time and effort.

For my youngest 6, I know for sure that I'm going to have them work on handwriting.  (Ladybug has beautiful handwriting, but a little copywork never hurt anyone, and maybe she can develop some calligraphy skills.)  I found about a million handwriting workbooks that we can bring out and use this coming school year.

Next week, Nature Angel and Little Princess will be attending FSY.  Two weeks ago, I was home alone with 11 kids 11-and-under.  This time, it will be me and 12 kids 12-and-under (with the maturity level still at 11-and-under).

Wish me well!