Reading Week

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Well, last week was our annual reading week.  We took hundreds of books out of the library, read many of them, and also really exercised our right to start a book and then decide it wasn’t for us.  It was a wonderful adventure, one that we look forward to every year.

We would have spent more time reading, but we weren’t caught up in homeschooling, so we all worked on schoolwork in the mornings.  We’re still not caught up, though, and this week promises to get us further behind since we have to go out several times.  It can be discouraging.

For the little ones, getting ‘behind’ does not matter, but for older ones it does.  I have to figure out a way of dealing with that, and one of the most important ones has to do with getting the children to work on time in the morning.  In the fall they all tend to sleep in, so we start schoolwork late.  If the older ones could get going by 8AM each day, we would be much further ahead.  That is my goal for the next while…except after catechism and judo nights which are very late.

I’ve been thinking a lot about reviews, time commitments, and more. My goal is to support my husband, manage my household well, and raise and educate my children to God’s glory.  That takes time and thoughtfulness.  I love blogging and sharing news about great products with others, but I am spending a lot of time doing it. Perhaps too much time.  So there are a myriad of thoughts percolating about in my head, and I’m not sure where and how they will resolve themselves.    

That being said, I finished a major review project, Apologia’s Advanced Chemistry by Jay Wile.  What an amazing textbook that is!  I think Dr. Wile is one of the heroes of modern homeschooling. His textbooks make it possible for parents to give their children a top-notch science education at home even if they don’t know science. 

On the home front, we took the puppies to a new vet.  Our old vet would have us come to his house.  We’d park under the trees, admire his yard, and meet him in front of his garage.  Everything was casual and ‘natural’.  Now that he’s retired, we had to go to a modern vet, with a waiting room, disinfectant, umpteen assistants in uniform, and a very expensive bill.  But the puppies are healthy and ready to be fixed, tomorrow.  We’re planning to leave the house with two puppies, four kids, and a mom…by 6:30 AM. 

Another project was washing the windows before winter arrives.  What a difference that makes!  We just have a few inside windows left to do. We also dusted the outside of the house and got rid of all the cobwebs.

We did very little garden work besides picking the last of the carrots.  This week, we have to cover the strawberries, eat the last Brussels sprouts, freeze arugula and chicory, and pick the last turnips, parsnips, and beets. 

We had another bridge adventure on the Rideau Trail that I’ll post about as soon as I get the photos organized.

I’m so thankful that we’re still healthy, despite all the bugs going around.  We are sleeping a lot, though, and we feel a bit spacey.  That is not a good sign!  I pray we’ll stay healthy.

To see what other families have been up to, visit Canada Girl and Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.