A Fly On My Homeschool Wall

 Isn't that just like life?  As soon as I set a goal and work really hard to reach it, circumstances happen that get in the way of that goal. Last Sunday night, Beowulf had a really bad breakdown.   It was long and destructive. This is just a little peek at some of the damage. No one got to bed before 11 pm, and we still had some serious home repairs to do the next day. So on Monday, I let everyone sleep in, canceled school, and focused on recovery. Sir Walter Scott replaced drywall with 3/4" exterior grade plywood siding.   This will be much harder to break through! Nature Angel was pretty sick on Sunday, and Ladybug wasn't doing too well herself, so the quiet Monday was a really good thing anyway. I felt a tickle in the back of my throat, but I wasn't sure if it was viral or mental/emotional, so I ignored it and took the kids on a good long nature walk on Tuesday. By Tuesday night, I knew I was actually sick, so we stayed home on Wednesday, and I stayed i...

Nature Angel has completed her 9th-grade year.  As with Little Princess, it seemed that she was doing less than she actually did, but she did so. much. good. work! Language Arts:   0.5 credit English 9, The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts High School 1 , 5 out of 10 units completed Math:   0.75 credit Algebra 1 with Geometry, Saxon, 90 out of 120 lessons completed Science:   0.5 credit Biology 1, Apologia Exploring Creation with Biology, 9 out of 16 modules completed History:       Ancient World History--Creation to Christ , custom-created course with literature, 1.0 credit          The Old Testament          The Three Brothers of Ur          Gilgamesh the Hero          Shepherd, Potter, Spy, and the Star Namer          Tirzah          Tales from Ancient Egypt (most of it)     ...

 We had a lovely Father's Day last Sunday, and I never finished my weekly post, so here are some of our adventures in the last two weeks. The first week: Monday For math we made Mobius strips. It was a horrid fail for Baymax (he cried) and Lola (she refused), but the rest of the young ones were amazed and delighted. Later in the afternoon, Ladybug worked on some dinosaur drawings to make her own Book of Dinosaurs. Tuesday We went to the library in the morning and engaged in water play in the afternoon.  I stressed a lot about how we're going to survive the summer, but then the kids had a blast with the hose and our random tubs of water. No pics, because I was inside on my phone searching for inexpensive ways to enjoy summer. The irony is not lost on me. Wednesday We had a small poetry tea party.  I read only 4 animal poems from Eric Carle's Animals Animals , but I figured it's better to start small.  We ate chocolate chip sheet cake and peppermint tea.  We need...

 Our new toddler friend started spending his days at our house this week, and it took about 5 minutes for him to feel like he'd been part of the family forever.   I've decided to call him The Duke here on the blog.   Don't know why . . . it just feels right. He's 20 months old, articulate, sweet, and delightful.  He arrives at 5:30 am M-Th, and gets to spend Fridays with his mom who is expecting a baby girl this summer.  (I might have already recorded that--we're so excited to meet and love on this baby girl!) Lola's early rising  (poor sleeping) habits are now a blessing as she gets up to play with The Duke while the other kids are sleeping, and that gives me a chance to do my usual scripture study and fold some laundry each morning.  He gets so excited when Lola emerges from her room! His mama and daddy are young, young parents, and they are Such. Good. Parents.  I am impressed with their intuitive loving and teaching skills. ...