Weekly Homeschool Wrap-up–January 31, 2010

 

If you want to participate in this meme, please visit Carol at ThreeLittleLadies, and be sure to link your post to her Mr. Linky so that we can all see what life has in store for you.  

 

 

From where I sat this past week,

 

As an individual, I…

am finally feeling as if I’m returning to a point of normalcy.   I often move about in a state of eustress (healthy stress), not distress, over my ever-increasing list of things I want to accomplish.   I am not sure that I know at this point how to relax with nothing on my plate.   For the past two weeks, though, my stress has perhaps not been so healthy.   I think it has everything to do with the sleep that I hadn’t gotten.   For the past several nights, I’ve slept around seven hours each night, which is about what I need to face the day and be effective.   I still have much to do on this week, but I’m feeling much more energetic in approaching it all.

 

As a wife and homemaker, I…

am getting increasingly excited about our 18^th wedding anniversary.  I don’t know that we’ll do anything special, but it’s just a great season of marriage and family for me, and I am relishing it.   Because our anniversary is so close to Valentine’s Day, we don’t generally have two celebrations; cards and a night out (or a special dinner when funds are tight) is what we do most often.   But as I shared previously, in these times when people change mates like they change purses or shoes, to be this happy and whole as a couple is a blessing.   Moreover, I was so blessed after church on yesterday when one of our dear friends approached me and said, out of nowhere, “You inspire me.”    When I asked her to elaborate, she explained that, during a recent Bible study, she was asked to identify people who inspire her in different ways.   Her thoughts were that we inspired her as a family.   She talked about admiring the way that we, all five of us, move and work as a unit.    She spoke of wanting to see that in her own family.   This is not a mask that we wear for the church; it is who we are.   To God be the glory…

 

 

As a mom and homeschooling parent, I…

 

am laughingly thinking that it might be March or April before the kids snap back into the flow of school.   They still milk a bed time for every minute extra they can get, which means that no one is ready to go the next day.  I think that was some of what the girls’ griping over our mock Olympic games was about.    After a few days of great weather (like from my last post), the unusually cold weather is not helping any of us.   Nevertheless, we press and pursue.

 

Our youngest daughter read the classic The Gingerbread Boy that had been put into a play.    Honestly, there are a couple of elements of Bob Jones’ curriculum that I cannot appreciate, but this company has some of the finest early readers that I’ve seen.   This title page was hilarious.   My favorite scene is of the horse painting himself to meet what the part is calling for.

 

 

 

 

   

The reading of this story timed out to be right before our children’s ministry pizza party/ dessert cook-off.   So, guess what was our entry into the dessert cook-off?

  

The kids did a tremendous job on these.   We had the hardest time finding a gingerbread mold—I didn’t realize that these are considered a Christmas treat!   How’d that happen?   Nowhere in the story does it mention Christmas!!   Anyway, we didn’t win any ribbons, but we only brought home two cookies, so that’s saying something!

 

 

While at the cookout, we competed as large teams in a Taboo-like game.   Somehow, the oldest wound up on one side, and the superhero and I wound up on a different team.    I had to describe the word ‘panda,’ but I couldn’t say the following:

 

black and white

China

bamboo

bear

 

 

How else do you describe a panda?   So all I could really come up with was an animal, found in the East, related to a dog.   It took about 15-20 seconds, but our team got it.   It occurred to me much later that I could have just said “movie: Kung Fu _________.”    Right before it was my turn to give word clues, the oldest stood up to do the same for her team.    Several complained, saying it was unfair to put the smartest teenager on the other team, away from her parents.    Her word was ‘raccoon.’   She stood up and said, “An animal that looks like a burglar.”   Three seconds and her team had it.    Well, at least people think she’s smart (smile).   The poor teen on our side got the word ‘multi-vitamin.’   First she didn’t know the word, and then all she could think of was something that you take when you’re sick.    Hmmm…

   

As a business owner, I…

am working feverishly to get a revised version of the elementary series off to the printers and fill several back orders.   Thanks for your patience!   Once I’m finished, I’m preparing to speak for the upcoming Homeschool Refresher conference with A Woman Inspired.  

 

  May the Lord bless your week as well.