A Fly On My Homeschool Wall

 We read Freak the Mighty .   I think it left its mark on all of our souls. And Ladybug had to choose a person for a biography assignment.  She couldn't find any of our Harriet Tubman biographies (?!!?), but she did find Ain't I a Woman by Sojourner Truth.   I think it's going to leave another mark on her soul. I know it did mine. And the kids' Wednesday research writings are getting better as they get better at finding good book sources. That is a Pokemon book Lola is reading. I had to redirect her back to her research topic. (But maybe I'll make Pokemon next week's assignment!) The library we visited this week had an outdoor patio open, and I took Little Mister outside for some play and then a nap while the big kids read and wrote.  (His mama just let us know that she's starting a new job as a home health nurse, and she'll only be working Saturdays when his daddy is home, so we only have two more weeks of including Little Mister in our homeschool da...

I finally got to talk to my girl about her experiences in Colorado, Utah, and Idaho, and she absolutely loved her trip. She fell in love with USAFA and hopes so badly to attend that school and serve our country. She loved seeing the stars in so much more glory that we can see them from our home area. She had so much fun interacting with extended family. And she loved, loved, loved spending time with Pixie (who loved, loved, loved having her little sister stay with her). Out to dinner with extended family At the Idaho Falls temple Hanging out in Pixie's apartment . . . just before they set up the camera and film themselves playing a game in which they spit water on one another while giggling maniacally Little Princess flew home alone, and she was a champion traveler.  She asked for help when she needed it and handled difficulties with panache. She spent the next day sleeping, waking to attend dance practice, and then sleeping again.  But she's recovered now, and I've enjoyed...

 Well, Sir Walter Scott is finally home after over 40 hours of interrupted travel. Little Princess is still on the trip because even though Part 1 was with Sir Walter Scott, part 2 is with Pixie in Idaho. But Sir Walter Scott had to deal with a dead alternator on the way home!   It's over, though, and we were very, very blessed by Sir Walter Scott's brother and by one of his childhood church leaders who still loves him as a son and came to the rescue. We've done not a lot of school with Little Princess gone; we've done math, grammar, reading, copywork, and a little bit of anatomy, but we let most of the other subjects slide in favor of living slowly with Dad and a sister gone. Before they left, we did do 2 days of reading A Girl of the Limberlost and notes about North Korea.  We had our end-of-the-month interviews with the high-schoolers, and I took an entire page of notes about hopes, helps, accomplishments, and worries for each of them. The church activity for the...