A Fly On My Homeschool Wall

 We already had our church Fall Festival and Trunk-or-Treat. We're down to 6 kids at home wanting to dress up and celebrate (though my adult kids do dress up and celebrate, too). Ladybug as Princess Tiana was my great triumph of creation this year. I took our curtains down to wash them, and even though I was so careful, the fabric backing came off in places, rendering them useless as curtains. With the help of a set of thrift store curtains (the green) and 13 hours of work on my part, they became Tiana's ballgown!! The little girls at the party asked, "Are you Tiana?" with stars in their eyes. And then they followed Ladybug all night because they thought she was really Tiana come to life. Lola was inspired to share her tiny crocheted frog so that Tiana would have her prince! Mister Man became Jack Skellington with a thrift store jacket and pants and a set of white paint pens. Oh!  And some face paint! Lola's costume came from Amazon, but she found shoes at a thrif...

 We'll keep reading--still working on Gilgamesh and The Hobbit . But we'll put the other stuff away to re-center ourselves and get out in the autumn sunshine. Everyone is making progress--math, language arts, science, their various electives. And the cutest part is how they're developing their ability to express gratitude!  Their gratitude journals are getting so creative (toilets, socks, YouTube videos about speed cube algorithms, etc.), and they're strarting to explain their reasoning more thoroughly.  I think the best part of each day is getting to review their gratitude journals. And my next favorite part is reading their Wednesday Research papers. Last week's compositions were about the Wonders of the World, and this week's were on world religions.  They're getting interesting!  And the kids are learning to write more clearly. But I found Ladybug in tears one day over science. Brother is profoundly struggling with algebra. Mister Man is putting school a...

 We're doing well, but I'm already ready to dump school in favor of hiking or outings or projects. But October is always like that for me because the weather finally cools off enough to think again, and all I want to do is play. We're doing our work. And playing when we can. Sir Walter Scott took the kids to Wichita, Kansas for the temple open house happening there now. They said the temple is a teeny-tiny one.   So tiny that the waiting room (the one for kids/friend without recommends to wait for weddings) is across the parking lot in the distribution center! When asked, every one of my kids said their favorite part was being in the Celestial Room . I sent them off with lunch, snacks, and directions to a couple of really interesting parks in the area. They stopped at the big park by the river to have their lunch, play some baseball, and generally work out their kinks before heading home again.  It turns out there's a local wildlife zoo in this park, and they all cam...

 On Friday. :) It was the first and only day we could manage this week, but we did it. Lola, Baymax, and I swam; the other 4 kids followed all of the rules and made a wonderful impression on the gym staff as they used the workout equipment. They want to go back every day! I was a synchronized swimmer, lifeguard, swim instructor, and/or pool manager for many years of my youth.  It was the first time I have been in the water for myself in 26 years, and I felt 16 again! Or at least 16-ish. (Lola and Baymax passed the swim test to be able to swim under lifeguard supervision without direct parent supervision!) I'm old and tired and out of shape, so I swam slowly and felt the work in every part of me, but it was all so good. So. Good. We're going back tomorrow. 😄 We had our last two officially scheduled days with Little Mister. I feel simultaneously grieving and free. Free to work on projects that just aren't practical with a toddler around.   Grieving the sweetness of ba...