In my life these two weeks…
After coming home from visiting my parents, life has been a whirlwind. We had a bit of a storm, but now we’re enjoying a major thaw. We visited doctors and a political meeting. We hung out with people, read books, puzzled, and watched movies. And, through it all, I tried to catch up on homeschooling work.
As well, we’re fighting some warts. A visit to the doctor and the standard acid method lead to tears…so I went online to see if there was a gentler method. There is, and it is—get this—banana peels! It seems to be working quite well after just a week. So now a standard question around here is, “Have you done your banana peels this morning?”
In our homeschool …
There’s something I have learned about homeschooling: With little ones, the actual learning is very hands on and takes a lot of time. With older ones, the marking, record keeping, curriculum research, and planning take up my time.
I’ve spent a lot of time lately preparing the detailed explanation of
our courses and marks for Mr. 17’s university application. That is now at the admissions office of the one university he applied to, so all I have to do is call to verify that things are moving smoothly.
The other thing that has been keeping me busy: catching up on my teens’ Omnibus work, which includes reading (only overviews at this stage, not the actual work), correcting written work, having discussions, and assigning marks. Taking a week off to visit my parents and then spending the next week finalizing that university application put me way behind.
And of course there’s the usual French, Dutch, math, science, and so on with all four of the children.
Last night I encountered some math (Mr. 17’s Life of Fred PreCalculus) that I could not remember or figure out how to do. Wolfram Alpha, an excellent math site, had a suggestion, but I just could not understand it. When my husband came home, I asked him, and he didn’t bat an eye but immediately told me the correct method. It turned out that Wolfram Alpha had a typo! In the meantime I relearned a few helpful concepts—including that no resource, except the Bible, is perfect.
Some of my favorite things this week were…
- Hanging out with friends and family.
- Getting that university application sent off.
- Managing to do most of the things that needed to be done.
- Learning more about political action in Canada. See the We Need A Law website that is working toward legislation to regulate abortions in Canada.
- Watching The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies about monarch butterflies. While it did not refer directly to our Creator God, the beauty of the video was not marred with evolution’s ideas either.
Questions/thoughts I have… While it is a lot of work and responsibility, this homeschooling lifestyle is a real blessing in so many ways. I am very grateful to God for the beautiful family he has given me.
Things I’ve been working on…
- Mr. 17’s high school records.
- Homeschooling diligently, including catching after being away.
- Beta testing a part-time business course. This is turning out to be a whole lot of fun.
- Remembering to walk, eat well, and relax adequately.
- Getting well after being exposed to gluten. At least that’s the only explanation I have for the major crash I experienced early this week.
- Starting Callanetics, an old exercise program I used to do, with Miss 15.
- Getting our teeth cleaned and eyes checked.
- Whittling down my list of things to do in March.
We’re watching… The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies.
I’m reading… 1 Chronicles. I find the genealogies fascinating because so many of the names are familiar. And even if they aren’t familiar to you, careful attention will show some interesting information and family relationships, in chapter 2 especially. I also read two lovely little horse stories for children, Clothed with Thunder and Tender Mercies while at the dentist’s and the optometrist’s, but very little else except for Ready or Not by Chautona Havig, a funny heartwarming book about a young college graduate who ‘inherits’ her sister’s 8 lively children. I’m still ignoring 10 Christians Everyone Should Know, since it’s an ebook, as well as Winter Solstice and The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
Reading Aloud… We’re reading 1 Samuel and This was John Calvin by Thea B. Van Halsema. The little Misses and I finished KijkBijbel, a lovely Dutch story Bible with illustrations by Kees de Kort. Some of his Bible stories are available in English in separate volumes, and they have been translated into many, many languages. Now we’re rereading The Illustrated Family Bible which I reviewed here.
When my husband is home for meals we’re reading Jonah.
We’re memorizing… Nothing, this week. We’re still concentrating on review.
I’m grateful for … Food, health, warmth, safety, and plenty to do.
Quote or link to share…. See one of Kees de Kort’s beautiful Bible illustrations here. If you speak Dutch, French, Indonesian, Frisian, or German, do buy the book containing all the stories. We’ve enjoyed the Dutch version for almost 15 years. Unfortunately, it’s not yet available in English.
This post is linked to Kris’s Weekly Wrap Up and to HomeSchool High.
I noticed that too about schooling older children compared to younger ones. Glad that overall you’ve had a good week. I hope you continue to feel better.
You are brilliant! I have thought the same thing about paper work and planning, but did not connect it to the younger years. I need to work on our course descriptions soon. I imagine I will be doing those this summer. Bananas are good for warts? Wow!
Thanks, JoAnn.
Jenn, you make me blush with your praise. And, yes, bananas are great for warts! After less than two weeks a huge one on her toe is almost gone, painlessly, and a smaller one is definitely ready to go. Little bump-warts on here knee have flattened, but you can still see their outlines. But my plantar warts, being much older, are more stubborn, although they, too, seem to be improving. I’ll probably write a post on it next week.