A Fly On My Homeschool Wall

 On Friday. :) It was the first and only day we could manage this week, but we did it. Lola, Baymax, and I swam; the other 4 kids followed all of the rules and made a wonderful impression on the gym staff as they used the workout equipment. They want to go back every day! I was a synchronized swimmer, lifeguard, swim instructor, and/or pool manager for many years of my youth.  It was the first time I have been in the water for myself in 26 years, and I felt 16 again! Or at least 16-ish. (Lola and Baymax passed the swim test to be able to swim under lifeguard supervision without direct parent supervision!) I'm old and tired and out of shape, so I swam slowly and felt the work in every part of me, but it was all so good. So. Good. We're going back tomorrow. 😄 We had our last two officially scheduled days with Little Mister. I feel simultaneously grieving and free. Free to work on projects that just aren't practical with a toddler around.   Grieving the sweetness of ba...

 The gym is small, but it has a pool. Kids under 13 aren't allowed to use the machines, but they can walk the track and swim with me. It's heavily discounted because it belongs to the local school district, and it's open to the public. Now we have something special to look forward to when it's too hot, too cold, too gross, or too boring. :) But nothing really beats a walk around the neighborhood. We walked twice this week. We started reading The Hobbit . Our Gilgamesh book is quite racy!  I've edited many scenes, and we've been able to have family conversations about what is "virtuous, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy" and why we try to avoid that which is not any of these things.   We've also talked about historical, cultural, and religious norms that are different from ours. The kids liked their research assignment this week--any person ever. Their reports ran the gamut from Shaq to Levi Straus to Taylor Swift and others. Little Princess ...

 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 just want to squoosh and kiss and drown in this beautiful boy. I took Little Mister outside before it was unbearably hot. Lola and Baymax followed us. Sir Walter Scott took the kids to a Royals museum/display/interactive feature near his work. We hit another library branch on  Wednesday.  The kids got to choose their own subjects to write about.  We had Little Mister again that day, so my hands were busy keeping a toddler happy for 2 hours in a library! But I caught one picture at the end . . . he was "helping" Ladybug with her school bin!!  Ladybug's practical First Aid/CPR activity was practicing drag techniques. Baymax was her willing and heavy volunteer. (But he's still less than 100 lbs, so heavy is going to have new meaning for her as she develops her skills!) I think Sir Walter Scott took this picture on the way to the butcher to pick up our pig. Ladybug and I were at Worlds of Fun for her birthday celebration. Little Mister loves to help! (How gratef...

 I forgot to report in my last post that seminary also started up this week.  Little Princess is doing online seminary at home, but Ladybug, Mister Man, and now Brother are all attending in person. This means early mornings for them . . . and for Sir Walter Scott! 😁 This also means that I find teens sleeping in random places at random times. 😂 Everyone but Lola loves having science to do each day. Baymax is the best at knowing that if he just does the work right away, then the rest of the day belongs to him. Lola is happy if it's a drawing assignment. Mister Man did a few simple experiments. This is the density activity. Everyone loves their electives. The week was a little bit rough because of how much more work they have to do, but they're finding their groove. This week we're adding Family School:     *Western Civ     *American History     *Good Books     *Shakespeare     *Golden Book of Natural History (Yes!  We're s...

 Whew!! I ususally sit down with my computer to think back on the previous week on Sundays. But 2 Sundays ago, we had my cutie patootie grandson staying with us while his Mommy and Daddy celebrated their wedding anniversary. (pics posted with Mommy's permission) Could I have written a post while he was visiting? Yes. Did I want to ignore him long enough to write a post while he was visiting? Nope! He's terribly, terribly fun! And then last Sunday, I fell asleep after church and took a seriously deep nap. I didn't write, but I don't regret it! Anyway, we're pretty deep into school. Just a couple more elements to add. The youngest 6 kids are all doing all of their independent work:      Gratitude journal      Wednesday research      Language Arts      Math      Science      Elective(s) Wednesday research is really fun! We already go the library every Wednesday, but now we're staying longer so th...