Outside my window... It is just after 7 am and the neighborhood is absolutely quiet, except for the crows. There is a little cloud cover, so the sun is partially hidden - which means I can have my front blinds open for a short while, at least. The leaves on the trees are beginning to turn just a bit - and some are even falling! This year has been so weird - several weeks ahead of schedule, all the way through.
I am thinking... how nice it would be to be out walking right now, since it is so quiet and cool.
I am thankful... for today and tomorrow - the 2 out of 4 empty spaces on the calendar for the month.
From the Learning Rooms... On Monday we had Rylan's first Suzuki violin lesson. She learned how to hold the violin at rest and how to hold it when she will play. It is actually much harder than it looks to find that 'sweet spot' where you can hold it with your chin alone. You Tube videos have been helping us, along with the photos I took during the lesson. We went to karate T, W, Th and F - but not yesterday because they were closed for the holiday weekend. We got some work done, but not nearly what I would have hoped. Tuesday was thrown off with a Dr. appt. Normally we would be taking the last week of the month off - which is the ideal time to schedule Dr. appts, but we schooled through it this time, so it couldn't be avoided. Several new items of curriculum arrived this week for math, science, English and writing. The rest of the English and history/geography is scheduled to arrive midweek this coming week. I am looking forward to the next three weeks, where we have nothing scheduled but school and the extracurriculars so we can dig into the new stuff. Another monkey wrench in the schedule is the fact that we passed a milestone this past week: Owen is no longer napping, so our afternoons just got a lot more interesting. And noisy.
In the kitchen... nothing worthy of note, here... although I am more than ready for wet, cold days and steaming crock pots of stew or chili.
I am wearing... pj's.
I am creating... finishing the tweaking rest of the school schedule - throwing out the old and putting in the new stuff - it's getting streamlined!
I am going... nowhere - and I love that!
I am wondering... how much longer Colin will continue to afternoon nap. The days seemed numbered...
I am reading... The Magicians, by Lev Grossman. I've read three pages. Reading time has been scant these days.... It is our bookclub pick for September.
In the garden... Too many cherry tomatoes to count, but only maybe one or two larger tomatoes. This season is going down as one of the worst in history. The corn withered in the latest hotspell of the past couple weeks. I'm curious about what the potatoes are doing. I'm tempted to dig, just to find out. The beets are doing well - I just keep giving them away to my dad. I suppose it is time to think about fall planting and such, but my heart is just not in it. I'll give it a couple of weeks.
I am hoping... That we finish the budget this weekend. It is #1 on our project list. We haven't had a spending guideline since April, and I hate flying financially blind.
I am looking forward to... My second cup of coffee and a bike ride with the kids later today.
I am learning... About space and Mexico. It's what we are starting up next week.
I am hearing... Young Blood, by The Naked and Famous. I love the whistling part.
Around the house... Dean swears that he will have time to frame a doorway to the shop area in the basement this weekend. I told him we HAVE to get the budget done. We'll see who wins.
I am pondering... an American History curriculum for Jordan called Trail Guide to Learning. It has a decidedly Christian slant, but with some tweaking, I think I can secularize it enough. I'm still on the hunt for another option, but this curriculum is pretty hard to pass up.
One of my favorite things... my new iPad. I just wish I could have some quality time with it! At least the kids are making good use of it - and so many of the educational apps out there are so cool!
A few plans for the rest of the week... New this week... ballet/tap combo for Rylan and gymnastics for Owen! Yep - I bit the bullet and signed them up. The great thing is that both classes run concurrently with karate, and are within a few blocks of the dojo, so I have minimal running around to do. I feel like a scheduling superstar!
Here is a picture for thought I am sharing...
To read more entries and visit a variety of other blogs, go here...
I am thinking... how nice it would be to be out walking right now, since it is so quiet and cool.
I am thankful... for today and tomorrow - the 2 out of 4 empty spaces on the calendar for the month.
From the Learning Rooms... On Monday we had Rylan's first Suzuki violin lesson. She learned how to hold the violin at rest and how to hold it when she will play. It is actually much harder than it looks to find that 'sweet spot' where you can hold it with your chin alone. You Tube videos have been helping us, along with the photos I took during the lesson. We went to karate T, W, Th and F - but not yesterday because they were closed for the holiday weekend. We got some work done, but not nearly what I would have hoped. Tuesday was thrown off with a Dr. appt. Normally we would be taking the last week of the month off - which is the ideal time to schedule Dr. appts, but we schooled through it this time, so it couldn't be avoided. Several new items of curriculum arrived this week for math, science, English and writing. The rest of the English and history/geography is scheduled to arrive midweek this coming week. I am looking forward to the next three weeks, where we have nothing scheduled but school and the extracurriculars so we can dig into the new stuff. Another monkey wrench in the schedule is the fact that we passed a milestone this past week: Owen is no longer napping, so our afternoons just got a lot more interesting. And noisy.
In the kitchen... nothing worthy of note, here... although I am more than ready for wet, cold days and steaming crock pots of stew or chili.
I am wearing... pj's.
I am creating... finishing the tweaking rest of the school schedule - throwing out the old and putting in the new stuff - it's getting streamlined!
I am going... nowhere - and I love that!
I am wondering... how much longer Colin will continue to afternoon nap. The days seemed numbered...
I am reading... The Magicians, by Lev Grossman. I've read three pages. Reading time has been scant these days.... It is our bookclub pick for September.
In the garden... Too many cherry tomatoes to count, but only maybe one or two larger tomatoes. This season is going down as one of the worst in history. The corn withered in the latest hotspell of the past couple weeks. I'm curious about what the potatoes are doing. I'm tempted to dig, just to find out. The beets are doing well - I just keep giving them away to my dad. I suppose it is time to think about fall planting and such, but my heart is just not in it. I'll give it a couple of weeks.
I am hoping... That we finish the budget this weekend. It is #1 on our project list. We haven't had a spending guideline since April, and I hate flying financially blind.
I am looking forward to... My second cup of coffee and a bike ride with the kids later today.
I am learning... About space and Mexico. It's what we are starting up next week.
I am hearing... Young Blood, by The Naked and Famous. I love the whistling part.
Around the house... Dean swears that he will have time to frame a doorway to the shop area in the basement this weekend. I told him we HAVE to get the budget done. We'll see who wins.
I am pondering... an American History curriculum for Jordan called Trail Guide to Learning. It has a decidedly Christian slant, but with some tweaking, I think I can secularize it enough. I'm still on the hunt for another option, but this curriculum is pretty hard to pass up.
One of my favorite things... my new iPad. I just wish I could have some quality time with it! At least the kids are making good use of it - and so many of the educational apps out there are so cool!
A few plans for the rest of the week... New this week... ballet/tap combo for Rylan and gymnastics for Owen! Yep - I bit the bullet and signed them up. The great thing is that both classes run concurrently with karate, and are within a few blocks of the dojo, so I have minimal running around to do. I feel like a scheduling superstar!
Here is a picture for thought I am sharing...
To read more entries and visit a variety of other blogs, go here...
