In my life this week…
Life has seemed relentlessly busy, although I’m not sure why. Hopefully there will be some downtime this weekend to mull it over.
In our homeschool this week…
The children moved ahead hugely. Since Miss 8 now reads comfortably, my homeschool workload is considerably reduced. Independence is a good thing. Miss 10 is toying with the idea of finishing the school year early by working ahead. There’s something so motivating about being ahead, and she spends a lot of time making sure she stays ahead.
Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
We were planning to go to the IMAX and the art gallery this week, but that did not work out. We did not walk the Rideau Trail this week, either. That would have been just the last busy straw, even though I love the walking itself. Nor did I do groceries this week, although it would have saved two ‘emergency’ trips, because my lists for other people are never complete.
My favorite thing this week was…
reading The Little Duke or Richard the Fearless by Charlotte Yonge about one of the ancestors of William the Conqueror. This lively old story of life in Normandy highlights the conflict between old Norse and Christian values. We’ve read it out loud before, and I highly recommend it. (Note that it does include violence.)
I also enjoyed the children’s talents, creativity, and uniqueness as they prepared speeches.
What’s working/not working for us…
Skunks do not work for us. The “puppies” don’t like them anymore, either.
Homeschool questions/thoughts I have…
As I mentioned here, I have a question about grade 11, grade 12, and AP courses. At what point in an AP text is ‘normal’ university entrance grade 12 work finished? It turns out that the answers can be radically different depending on where you live, and I plan to research this a bit more and post about it soon.
A photo, video, link, or quote to share…
In Mega Cooking, cheerful no-nonsense Jill Bond wrote, “Those who have met me understand when I say that I think people like Martha Stewart are proof that there are aliens among us.” That cracked me up, but I understood Jill after reading the rest of the paragraph: “For all those people who don’t believe in conspiracies, I challenge them to watch any of those “Suzy Homemaker” shows. They will soon see that it is a plot to make the rest of us feel inferior….” Some of us thrive on such creativity and perfection, but some of us, including me, don’t. I, personally, am satisfied if my home is clean and neat.
I am interested to learn what you learn about AP courses. Where I live they push these courses on kids at an early age and put them in AP tracks. While I see the super smart kids do very well the average student has to work so hard and for the most part is not enjoying the experience. I only did AP with my oldest..he is the kid who loves math, loves science, loves any kind of learning.
Skunks and puppies! Now there is a story to hear about. I bet the pups learned their lesson.
I stopped watching the homemaker shows long ago…neat and clean is good…or as it stands now cluttered and clean!
Yes, there can be a lot of stress associated with them. And going the AP route even has issues of its own. There’s so much to think about!
One pup still smells skunky! Yuk!!
Annie Kate
LOL at what I’m sure is an understatement about skunks not working for your family!