Weekly Wrap Up: At Home and Away

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In my life this week…

I visited my parents–all by myself–and spent time with sisters, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, parents-in-law, and a sister-in-law, as well as friends.  I also experienced a Manitoba snowstorm.  It wasn’t quite a blizzard in our area, but it reminded me of the huge difference between Manitoba and Ontario weather.

We visited, puttered about, watched an old, old movie with a few shots of my grandfather, a school principal—that was so special!—and got things set up so my mom can learn to type.  Sending an email is a huge undertaking if you don’t know where the letters are, how to erase them, and what to do with a mouse.    Learning to type is a huge exercise in co-ordination if your fingers have never needed to work independently (as in typing or making music).  My mom is using Type Write from Gentle Shepherd, which I will review on The Curriculum Choice next week.

In our homeschool this week …

The children were on their own.  Mr. 17 marked Miss 12’s work, except for the writing, Miss 15 marked Miss 10’s work, and now I’m marking the older children’s work.  It’s quite something to come home to a whole pile of tests!  The children did remarkably well.  Of course it helped that Daddy was home as much as possible to keep things flying smoothly.

And now I’m busy catching up on Omnibus.  My teens are reading Plato’s Republic and Dante’s Divine Comedy…and there’s no way I’ll be able to catch up, especially since Mr. 17’s transcript is going out next week. Omnibus always leaves me with the uncomfortable feeling that I’m not teaching my teens very well.  Ideally I’d read the books and be able to discuss them.  On the other hand, the textbook and teacher’s manual are excellent…and going through classics with the help of Omnibus is a wonderful thing.  Going through the classics solo is dangerous dynamite; it’s like hanging out with the most persuasive people in the world, many of whom are trying to persuade you of things that really are unbiblical.  I’m so grateful for Omnibus and its wisdom.

Some of my favorite things this week were…

• Being with my parents.
• Coming home to my husband and children.

Questions/thoughts I have…  As I wrote above, “Going through the classics solo is dangerous dynamite; it’s like hanging out with the most persuasive people in the world, many of whom are trying to persuade you of things that really are unbiblical.  I’m so grateful for Omnibus and its wisdom.”

Things I’ve been working on…

• Writing letters home.
• Remembering to walk, eat well, and relax adequately.
• Remaining strictly gluten free in a house full of bread, flour, cake, and more.
• In snatched moments of spare time, setting up a new gluten free blog. The header is the next big project, and we’re learning about GIMP and food photography.
• Marking Omnibus work.
• And today I will start the final stretch of work on Mr. 17’s high school records.

We’re watching… The episode of War Time Farm that we missed.  The men in the family enjoyed an episode of Yes, Minister, another BBC series.

I’m reading… 2 Kings. Currently I’m ignoring 10 Christians Everyone Should Know, since it’s an ebook, as well as Winter Solstice and The Omnivore’s Dilemma. But on the plane I whizzed through most of The Digital Mom Handbook, in preparation for setting our blog on gluten free living, and I started Nancy Pearcy’s Saving Leonardo: A Call to Resist the Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, and Meaning.

Reading Aloud… We’re going through Judges.  Yesterday we almost finished Snow, Stars and Wild Honey by George Morrill. The sadness and emptiness of a life without God haunts the author, but he doesn’t know what it is that’s bothering him.

When my husband is home for meals we’re reading Amos, and with my parents we read up to 2 Thessalonians.

We’re memorizing… Nothing, this week.

I’m grateful for … Airplanes, internet, good long distance plans, gluten free labeling, and, especially, my family who kept the home fires burning so well.

Quote or link to share… Finger knitting sounds like a lovely idea.  It’s on my list of things to do with the kids…after the high school records have been sent off.

This post is linked to Kris’s Weekly Wrap Up and to HomeSchool High.