A Fly On My Homeschool Wall

 I'm not doing well. I have built habits and routines that are keeping us up and running, though. Morning Meeting and morning meds Cleaning/Meal Prep  High School literature/geography Snack Elementary/Middle school subjects Lunch Independent schoolwork Cleaning/Correcting independent schoolwork Meal Prep Dinner/Scripture reading/Family Prayer Showers/Bedtime reading or Evening activities/get ready for bed Evening meds If anything interrupts us, I flail about, lost. Several times in the past few weeks, Sir Walter Scott has found me standing in the living room unable to move or think clearly.   Then I remember where I am, and I do what I can. I've taken kids to keep medical/psych appointments. In the pulmonary function lab I've kept everyone fed. We've gone to dance performances and practices. In the circle before our show, our little friend loved on Mister Man--one of her favorite humans. They've attended church activities. This activity was interrupted by tornado wa...

 And I'm a grandma to this beautiful little boy! In other news, we had a reasonable school week . . . not fabulous, but reasonable. The kids and I finished both The Turning and The Diamond in the Window .  We have yet to start new books, but we will! Beowulf started a  Spectrum math workbook to keep his math skills current (and to fill in some gaps)  because I've decided to move the kids out of Teaching Textbooks as they finish their current math levels.  TT has been a wonderful program for us to overcome some of our math fears and struggles, but I have kids who aren't safe online (even with supervision/parental controls), and TT does seem to have holes that never quite get filled. I do NOT look forward to correcting so much math, though! :) The teens had a great time at their Tahitian dance rehearsal last Sunday.  (Photos courtesy of a dance mom kind enough to share) I love my kids getting to know a culture new to them. We had another show with our ow...

 The kids' meeting for Island Fest didn't get me the information I wanted that day, but it did get us into the GroupMe chat, so now we know what's going on.  The kids will be learning a variety of songs/dances in Tahitian, and they will be taught what the songs mean, as well, so they can perform with intent.   I volunteered to be on the sewing committee . . . because that's what I know how to do. After the meeting, we had dinner and our family Valentine's Day treasure hunt/valentine exchange. Most of the cards have too much identifying information to include here, but here are a few fairly anonymous photos: The absolute hit of the evening was Ladybug's inclusion on each person's card--a hilarious pick-up line. I laughed until my sides hurt over the various lines she included because she pegged each family member so well.  For example, Sir Walter Scott had to pay a number of ticket fines in 2025, and Ladybug's line for him was, "Are you a parking tic...

That's Belle in line with friends to listen to a devotional by President Dallin H. Oaks at BYU-Provo I hate to whine too much. I count my blessings every single day. I do! It has been a rough few weeks, though. For me. Nothing huge has happened. But I feel defeated anyway. And I don't think I should pretend otherwise. I'm old enough and experienced enough to know that seasons like this will pass.  I will feel light shining through me again, and I will see more clearly the good that I am doing. Acknowledging the hard will, perhaps, make the joy all the sweeter. Our habits and routines keep us grounded. Morning Meeting continues to be our daily anchor.  We're reading, discussing, singing, and memorizing our way through scripture. High School Studies have been simpler lately because between post-surgical healing and a cold, I haven't been up to putting notes up on the white board for history/geography.  We've focused instead on reading and narrating.  We finished...