A Fly On My Homeschool Wall

Another week has rolled by, and I am consumed by thoughts that I am failing at homeschooling this year. Brother is back in the acute care psych hospital; his hospital therapist said to me, "He was doing fine until you got on the phone.  Now he's agitated and won't cooperate." Continued and spreading illness kept us from most of our formal schooling this week. Multiple appointments have kept us running all over the city. I feel intensely what we are not doing each day . . . but here's my best effort to remember what we did get done. *Morning Meeting--5 days *Evening Reading--5 days *Symposium--3 days Language Arts Unit 3 includes charcoal drawing.  Super Star was so amused by her coaly hands that she smeared stripes on her cheeks. *Documentaries-- Animals with Cameras, Kitten Rescuers *Park Day with Dad *Dentist Appointments--2 kids *Consultation with Clinical Psychologist--the diagnosis for Ladybug is Intellectual Disability *Follow up...

As I wrote in depth about Tuesday, I thought it might be kind of pointless to write about the week in general. Especially as I don't have any more pictures to share. But stuff did happen that deserves to be recorded. The teens and I had a book club meeting on Friday about Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin.  It was a challengingly sexual and violent book to read--not one I'd have chosen had I known (and I did a powerful lot of editing as I read aloud).  However, it opened doors for lots of discussion, and the story is so compelling that I'm really glad we've at least been exposed to it. Due to the fact that zero copies were available at the library and the shipping delays in the copy I ordered, we didn't get to start this 263 page book until Wednesday!  So when book club time came, in spite of our best efforts, we still had 59 pages left to read.  We pulled up an online synopsis so we could participate in the general discussion, but we're g...

This post is basically an online photo book.  Not much content--just a bunch of photos taken by other people that I managed to luck into because I had my hands too full to take pictures of my own. (Thank you, friend photographers!) Dance #1:   The Homeschool Winter Family Dance The new venue and our late arrival kept my kids on the sidelines for a while . . . assessing . . . working up the courage to dive in and have fun. Food is always an icebreaker. And precious friends are hard to resist.  This shot melts my heart every time!   These are two of my favorite friends, and they are both taking their families on marvelous international adventures starting this summer.  I'm happy for them, but I'm sad for me.  I'll miss them so much . . . and there's no guarantee they'll come back to this same area when they get done traveling.  One friend is headed to Guatemala for a year (or so) and the other will t...

I apologize in advance for sounding glum and sorry for myself.  There's something off inside me--perhaps I need my meds adjusted, or perhaps I just need my attitude adjusted--that has been making my whole world gray. I am blessed.  I know God loves me.  I know He is actively involved in guiding my family life. Somehow I'm feeling kind of whiny, though, and that has a tendency to come through in my voice when I write. So, I apologize. And I'll try to focus on the blessings that I might rejoice. Monday Rose Red and Pixie returned to seminary after the previous week's spring break.  8 or so weeks left of these early mornings.  Pixie says, "I'm tired of getting up, and I loved not having seminary, but there's something about going that I miss even if I do get to sleep in." I think what she misses is the power of youth gathering in Christ's name. It's worth the early mornings. Little Princess was emotional and off-balance all day, s...