A Fly On My Homeschool Wall

  Belle (3rd from the left) was so happy to spend time with all of the sister missionaries at a recent meeting on Aruba. We're doing our best. It isn't a lot. But it's something. We're still reading The Phantom Tollbooth . We're still doing math most days. Ladybug is almost done with her Grade 3 review, and I think she'll be starting Grade 4 math before Thanksgiving. We're still doing Morning Meeting. We're still working through grammar and The Mystery of History vol. 3 with the teens. We're still doing "bin school" most days (language arts workbooks). We're really working hard on American Rhythm--so much dancing and sewing and organizing! We're really working hard on communicating and creating peace in the face of conflict. Brother was just mad one morning when it was time for him to take his meds.  I'd waited and watched for a good time to catch him, but it was still a time that annoyed him beyond all reason.  His feeling of

 After our usual morning routine and school with the high schoolers, I gathered up the kids for a walk and some forest bathing . However, my phone rang with Belle's weekly call, and I dropped all plans so that I could talk with her. The kids and I walked along the people trail until they found a deer trail leading to the river. And they were off! Belle and I finished our conversation just about the time the kids got hungry and thirsty enough to head back to the van where the playground and snacks were located. Of course, we stopped to observe a caterpillar crossing the path. Later in the day, I was trying for a bit of positive self-talk, "It's okay that we didn't do our planned activity.  The exercise, the time in nature, and the freedom to explore were all beneficial," when Lola and Beowulf exploded through the door to show me their roasted walnuts. These roasted walnuts were harvested, opened, and roasted by the kids themselves. It turns out that because Sir Wal

As I write this, I'm sitting by the fire pit, watching my kids toss a football and make"torches" so they can burn leaves and "write" in the air.   My camera is charging, so I'm not getting any pictures (but, yes, I am on the computer *sigh*).   (I just asked Little Princess to take pictures, so maybe next week I'll remember to include some in my weekly post.)  We did school on Monday. Then Sir Walter Scott was off work T-Th, and he offered to clean out the garage! I've been asking him to work on this for years now, and the stars--weather, schedule, energy--all aligned to allow it to happen. So we ditched school--although not for the high schoolers.  We finished Much Ado About Nothing , continued grammar, and started Mystery of History volume 3.   We still need to watch our favorite movie version of the play, but I won't let the younger kids watch it yet, so we need to find a time when they're not around.  Waiting until after they're in b

 We hid from the heat all summer. My kids forgot how to play outside. I've tried sending them out.  It's mildly effective, but mostly, they check in to see how soon they can come back inside. So, it's time for a refresher course, led by Mom. We attempted to have a couple of normal school days at the start of the week, but they were yucky. They just felt all wrong (part of it was due to Brother's uptick in violent outbursts). While we listened to a Haydn symphony, these two got into the preschool play bin. When Brother works, I am so charmed by his focus. I love this colander-and-pipe-cleaner sculpture. We watched a few more Crash Course Anatomy and Physiology videos. And then I decided to lead by example. We don't need any strollers when we walk anymore. This tree turns bright red just a few leaves at a time.  In person, the contrast between the scarlet and green was breathtaking. Leaf lips! Beowulf wanted me to take a picture of this osage orange.  I'm not sur