Snow Days

 Do I have pictures of the kids playing in the snow day after day after day?

No.

I stayed indoors cooking, baking, cleaning, reading, playing the piano, writing, and organizing . . . generally creating a safe, warm haven for the kids to return to after being out in the cold and wet.

I wish I'd gone outside.

But . . .

I am glad for all of the things that I did because I am finding my way really happily.

I found something so mind-boggling while I was reading one of the 10 books I've been reading this month that I stopped to think, but I didn't ever think to write it down or mark where I found it.

All I have now, as I write, is a memory of what struck me.

Part of my reaction to trauma has been to numb my brain.

I've been so frustrated with myself about how I always seek some way to be mentally un-present--staring at my phone, eating too many snacks, feeling incapable of connecting . . .

I've been angry with myself.

But then I read a line somewhere that made me realize that what I've been doing is numbing myself.

I don't have to do that anymore!

We are living in peace with kids on stable med regimens.  We are safe.  We are growing.  We are thriving.  I am allowed to feel.

I will have to be courageous enough to feel.

I'm working on it.

I'm putting my phone in another room so that I can't pick it up mindlessly.  

I'm making more eye contact with my kids.

I'm setting goals that I write down and keep track of.

I'm noticing that I have time to do interesting things.

I'm trying to put that time to good use.

Am I a little bit more irritated sometimes?

Yes.

Am I little bit more joyful sometimes?

Also yes!

I didn't play outside with my kids, but I did some serious mental work that will help me make the choice to play outside more often.

And we're finally finding our school groove.

I'm pretty sure that every year from August to December I feel like I'm swimming upstream regarding school.

And then in January, suddenly it all feels good.

We're reading; we're talking; we're writing.

We're also getting math done, but that's not been a problem since we started online math.

This week the teens and I started The Mystery of History vol. 4.  We did the pre-test, the first 4 lessons, and a unit activity.  We're also still reading Huck Finn.

The younger kids and I are still reading Across Five Aprils, and The Story of Science: Newton in the Middle.  We are reading in particular about Isaac Newton at the moment.  We finished Patterns on the Wall; It's not about the Civil War, but it taught us about 1816--the year without a summer in New England.  We also read two picture books about the Civil War--Henry's Freedom Box and The Eternal Soldier. 

Conversations have been deep!

We added Shakespeare Stories to our reading list, and we're quite enjoying Twelfth Night.

I polled the kids about a favorite book that we should re-read, and out of their suggestions I settled on Charlotte's Web, so we're about 4 chapters into that, as well.  And we'll be starting The Adventures of Tom Sawyer this week.

I stopped printing the copywork included with Playful Pioneers 2, and I pulled out the kids' old copybooks from early 2024.  It's working better for improving their handwriting.  Mister Man and Ladybug do have very nice handwriting, so I need to add some independent compositions for them, but I'm confident we'll get there.  The rest of the kids really need the focused practice on letter and word formation.

We've been reviewing the 23 states and capitals we've memorized so far, and we'll add some new ones to the list this coming week.

I just had my order of watercolor paper delivered this weekend, so we'll resume some hands-on art this week, too.

When they haven't been outside, the kids have looked like this:

Oh!  And Baymax has been writing poetry!

Apparently, the gorgeous winter weather outside and the crackling fire inside have inspired him several times in the past week.  He let me read his poems, but he made me promise not to share them. 😞

I must, must, must share how he spelled icicles, though: iceinkles.

😍😍😍😍😍😍

I will never be able to think of them as anything but iceinkles ever again!

Lola made this little giraffe:

We had friends over for sledding because we have several great sledding hills in our yard and neighborhood.

We canceled our first American Rhythm rehearsal because of unsafe road conditions due to weather.

Church activities were canceled for the same reason.

But there's no such excuse predicted for the coming week!  It looks like we're really, truly diving back  into it all!!