A Fly On My Homeschool Wall

 We were in the middle of the frigid cold and snowstorms that descended upon the country this past week. All of the local schools were closed for the whole week! Which affects us because if the schools are closed then:      *seminary is canceled.      *church activities are canceled.      *Civil Air Patrol is canceled.      *library hours are modified . . . or the library is closed.      *and sometimes our American Rhythms shows are postponed--in this case we had to postpone         because of illness throughout the entire group. And we were part of that sickness. Fevers/Chills Fatigue Dry, hacking coughs Congestion Body aches Headaches Loss of appetite It was rough enough that most of the kids stopped eating (Beowulf skipped cake the first night and then didn't eat for over a day after that.  Lola survived for several days on nothing but water and 3 bites of chicken and rice.)....

 The time change alone might not have knocked us out as badly as it did if we hadn't been so sick the week before. 10 convalescing kids + time change = survival mode These are the seasons that make me question homeschooling . . . even after 20+ years. Monday I adjusted our morning meeting to allow everyone to sleep a little later, and I did history with the teens. We tried to read The Scarlet Letter , but kids' behaviors were too hard, and I spent several hours dealing with those.  I also was caught in several unsatisfying phone calls trying to communicate with the psychiatrist, our case manager, the pharmacy, and our pharmacy insurance. At one point I crossed the kitchen and noticed this sweet party happening. I stopped to appreciate the moment in an otherwise very difficult day. Tuesday Still adjusting to the dark mornings. Last week I gave Mister Man permission to request some books from the library.  His siblings caught wind of what he was up to, and he requested seve...

 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...

We started the week with birthday celebrations at the park. There was a lot of candy . . . but the cousins had a grand time together.  My sister and I brainstormed a way to get together more often (75 miles is farther in reality than it is in theory); we're going to have a monthly Cousins' Book Club next school year.  Between us we have 14 children ages 0-15.  We'll take turns hosting, and the children will take turns choosing the book and planning the activities/food.  I'm already excited. We continued our nature studies by reading/narrating from the BSA nature merit badge handbook.  We also pulled out a current state department of conservation magazine and worked on memorizing the features and habits of the Western Kingbird.  We're hoping to spot one when we go camping next weekend. We're having days of sun interspersed with days of rain, and the little girls are spending untold hours in our little creek catching crawdads and getting muddy....