A Fly On My Homeschool Wall

This week was a lot like last week. We didn't make any progress introducing new subjects, but we got better at what we are already doing. We got better at listening to music--3 times this week!  We don't much like Bach's St. Matthew Passion, but we are quite fond of the Brandenburg Concertos .  (This could be my influence, as I've always preferred a concerto to a cantata.) We got better at reviewing our bulletin boards. (Now I need to get new board information ready!) We finished How to Behave and Why on Monday, and we read this book several times during the week.  Along with our readings, we had discussions about the lessons taught and the values of the culture represented in the story.  I also began to pause in places and turn over the storytelling to the kids. For zoology, we watched a great video about elephants .   And we started this book. We're only 30-ish pages into it, but we're really curious about where it's going. I assigned the kids to resear...

 How are there words to describe what we've been through? August began harmlessly enough.   Brother continued to be difficult to keep safe, and we continued to have to try to keep the family safe from him.   We were able to get his intake appointment for mental health services taken care of earlier by asking to be put on the cancellation list, and we got a call!   But then they gave us a first appointment for September 15th!    6 weeks of waiting for help.   Sir Walter Scott and I worked on rearranging bedrooms so that we can create a safe room.  As we worked, I left some potatoes in the oven too long, and they roasted into hard shells. I threw them all over the lawn, and the kids had a "dinosaur egg" hunt. The apples on our tree are ripe. The best day of the week was the day we got new windows and doors in our living room and kitchen.  This has been a long saving and planning process, and I'm super impressed with the company. We love, love, ...

 This week was mostly about Pixie.   I think you have to be a mom whose kids have left home and then come back for a visit to understand what the week was like.   I know I could imagine but not understand the fun and feelings before it happened to me.    The kids reveled in just being near her.   We had a marshmallow roast that resulted in much hilarity.   One evening after the boys had their baths, they found Pixie on the front porch and took goofy selfies together.   Five of the oldest girls went out to the movies together . . . and took bathroom selfies. 😂 We had a proper family portrait session with a professional photographer (photos to come in a couple of weeks). And we did a lot of sitting around having long conversations.   It was good. She's back at school, and after several mishaps, she's ready for the semester to begin on Monday morning. Through it all, we had therapy and school. Beowulf's head CT came out normal. Coupled with his...