Weekly Happenings: Freaky Busy But Keepin' On

The autumn leaves have been putting on a glorious show this week. The days are bright and clear, cool in the mornings but warming up in the afternoons. The nights are on the bracing side. What a beautiful time of year!

We've been busy, busy this week getting ready for ANOTHER horse show (thus, more time spent at the barn), doctor appointments, and our usual activities. So I considered this a week of essentials only. Spelling, French, poetry, grammar, copywork were all short-changed. While we spent some time on each of them, none got the full attention during the week that it deserves.

We kept up with our AO readings, math, piano, and Thinking Skills and Latin Roots for Miss Priss. In math, Miss Priss has been reviewing long division. I've been pleased with our choice of Math Mammoth for her; she is not as thrilled, but math is not her favorite subject, either. So I'm not surprised nor chagrined at her less than enthusiastic response. Long division has been challenging from the outset for her because she has trouble remembering all the steps of the algorithm. This week, we wrote out the steps together, and that helped some. As long as she remembered to refer to the steps.

In MEP Year 5, Tiny Girl has been working with time and measurement and plotting and interpreting data, as well as basic computations. I'm getting a bit of noise from her because her sister's math lessons are a bit shorter than hers. Injustice! (I find it interesting how quick they are to point out -- vehemently -- injustices as far as they themselves are concerned.)

We are completing our AO Year 4 readings. This week we finished George Washington's World! And what a great book it is. It's a world history spine in the Year 4 curriculum. All that remains is Abigail Adams:Witness to a Revolution.

We received from Netflix the first DVD in the PBS Liberty! series and watched the first episode one evening. Himself popped the popcorn. A combination of actor monologues, historian commentary, and vague dramatic scenes (you know, wagon wheels splashing through a creek, mist on a mountain, etc.), this documentary does a good job of bringing the era to life and explaining events, policies, and people within context. I especially like that the actor monologues are actual quotations from letters, journals, and the like. The girls, who balked at watching the DVD at first, ended up enjoying it. They often asked us to pause the DVD so they could comment or ask questions. I love it that they are learning so much about this period of history and actually making connections themselves! Caveat: there are some instances of strong language; e.g., Sam Adams says "kiss his ---" in one of his monologues. Best suited for older children.

I'm linking up with The Homeschool Mother's Journal and Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers to share our week.

I've also been invited to join a new link-up:





Stop by all these and have some fun, get some ideas, and find a bit of encouragement from others!

Have a great weekend!

Free Artist Studies from Concordia University

Kudos again to the Homeschool Freebie of the Day website for letting me know (via their weekly email subscription) about this resource.

Concordia University in Chicago has developed FREE monthly artist study lesson plans for grades one through six. Here's a link to the site. I looked over their offerings and selected the plans for grades two, four, and six and dowloaded the Adobe file.

Northern River, by Tom Thomson, featured artist for Lesson 2, Grade 6

Each plan provides a biography of each month's featured artist and background information on the selected artwork. The the plan suggests ways to lead students in "directed observation" of the piece, which consists of several questions and things to consider. The plan wraps up with a Things to Do section for students, offering options for their own artwork or comparisons with other pieces by the same artist.

Since picture/artist study is not my strong suit (read: I need all the help I can get), I'm looking forward to utilizing this resource in our home school.

Weekly Happenings: Finally, A Field Trip!

 The idea of field trips appeal to me, but I have a hard time finding time in our schedule to accommodate any. So it's nice when a homeschooling friend calls and invites us to one. It's especially nice when that field trip educates us on our own town.

Isn't it funny how you often know more about other places than your own?

The girls and I learned a lot about the history of our town by watching a video and listening to a speaker at the visitors center. After a picnic lunch, we hiked through an old part of town, where we saw "the Bricks," apartments built for millworkers prior to the Civil War and some of the oldest apartments in the United States. They are now lovely townhomes. Meandering past the historic sites of the old mills, which were burned during the Civil War, we hiked through woods to the antebellum-era dam and waterfall, which powered the mills.

Along the way, I snapped some photos of wildflowers we saw. The only ones I can identify are the purple morning glories, which are annuals and have to be planted each year. I wonder how these came to be alongside the trail. Birds, perhaps? Or maybe there are actually folks who plant them each spring.

The dam and waterfall, which powered the mills more than 150 years ago 

Besides our field trip, we've enjoyed other activities, too. Last weekend, we attended a UKC dog show in another state. In the photo below, breeder extraordinaire, Leslie Reed, and the girls are showing the three amigos (and siblings) in the puppy match. Charity, the pup on the far right, won! That's our precious Georgette in the middle, and Tony's on the left.

This weekend, Tiny Girl competed in horse shows both Saturday and Sunday. Himself was Super Special Show Dad on Saturday, as I was attended Girl Scout training all day at a facility about 1 1/2 hours away from home. On Sunday, I took over equestrian pursuits, while Himself and Miss Priss attended both church services for Music Dedication Sunday. Miss Priss's middle school choir sang.

Tiny Girl and Tappy

Educational highlights:

Inspired by the name cards exchange in Little Town on the Prairie, the girls made their own out of colored cardstock.

Miss Priss is making great strides with the Math Mammoth curriculum, new for us this year. It's really boosted her math confidence, which had been lacking.

"Poplicola" from Plutarch's Lives and Gods and Heroes continue to be favorite readings. Miss Priss also cheers when it's time for Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution. Tiny Girl's response is a tad less enthusiastic, but at least she doesn't gag. Right?

Here's a quote that caught my eye in the book Im reading, A Little House Sampler, by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane. The quote comes from one of Laura's Missouri Ruralist columns, from 1919:

"Why should we need extra time to in which to enjoy ourselves? If we expect to enjoy our life we will have to learn to be joyful in all of it, not just at slated intervals, when we can get tijme, or when we have nothing else to do."

I need to remember this every day. Now here are two who enjoy life every day!

Jasper and Georgette, taking a break from rough-housing at the dog show.

I'm linking up with The Homeschool Mother's Journal. Pop over and read some blogs! And have a fabulous week!

Keeping the Sabbath

Last week, I started a new Bible study called Brave, by Angela Thomas. It's my neighborhood study, which I've attended for years. Whatever Carol, the teacher (and one of my dearest friends) chooses as the curriculum is fine by me. Who wouldn't want to be brave, right?

So I was surprised when I delved into the first week's work and found that the topic was weariness. Actually, I wasn't surprised as much as I was struck. I've been weary for a while now, not just in body but in spirit, too. It really couldn't be a coincidence. Could it?

Well, in a word, no. There are no coincidences with God.

But just so you know, I am not one of those women who can say with confidence, "God told me to... (fill in the blank)." God doesn't really tell me anything. I sort of baby-step along, and if a red flag pops up or I feel miserable about something, then I pretty much know that's a NO from God. It's all very What About Bob? in my life. (Aside: What About Bob? is a funny movie if you haven't seen it. Very quotable, which in my house, makes it a good thing. Bob baby-steps a lot.)

Back to Brave. And weariness.

One of many excellent points Angela makes in this study is the importance of a Sabbath rest: "The Sabbath rest is God's gift to us" (p. 23). She goes on to say, "To observe the Sabbath we should worship the Lord and rest from our work. . . . On the Sabbath I rest from my work and all the words and studying. To make dinner for my family is a joy for me. It restores me. I believe I have permission from God to enjoy what feels like rest for me" (ibid.).

In years past, I've had more of a Sabbath attitude than I do now. Saturdays were usually errand and work days, and I left Sundays for reading or crocheting while Himself watched sports on TV or (yes!) even napping. All after church, of course.

But things have changed. My Saturdays are often busy with my children's activities, which leaves Sundays for school planning, errands, work around the house, etc. This is clearly not working for me. Why have I ignored God's gift to me?

Caught up in the busy-ness of our lives, I have viewed the day of rest as another day in which to get things done. And instead of feeling a sense of accomplishment, I've felt exhausted.

I need to get back into a Sabbath mindset. But what does that look like in my life? After a bit of thought, I believe it means a day of no planning, no schoolwork, no computer. I'd also like for it to be a day of low cooking and housekeeping responsibilities.

What about you? Do you need to establish a Sabbath practice in your life? Or, if you already do, what are your thoughts? Care to share?