In our lives this week…
I feel as though we have been very busy. Once again I’ve discovered that being busy at home (the title of my friend Jenn’s blog) is much more peaceful than being out and about. That is something to keep in mind when planning our school year.
So what did we do? At home we weeded and transplanted (we are almost caught up), swam often (once even before breakfast), did our summer learning, filled out forms for this fall’s volunteering, read books, and kept up with meals and laundry. We also had friends over.
Our van broke down, was fixed, and broke down again. Now it seems to be fine, and I am so thankful! Replacing it would have been a serious difficulty.
Regulations have changed, and while it used to be possible to just show up to volunteer positions and start helping, now there is the exhausting ordeal of multiple phone calls to make and multiple forms to fill out, including police checks for each of the girls. I suppose it is a good experience for all, and the constable accepted our paperwork with a big smile. Seeing kids who want to contribute to the community must be a joy to those who so often have to deal with delinquent kids.
My husband and I went to see A Company of Fools’ production of As You Like It, which is touring Ottawa area parks this summer. It was fun, funny, and tastefully done, and my husband had prepared a delicious picnic to enjoy beforehand.
I made it to Bible study again, but the late night drive home was not safe because I was too tired. I suppose I’ll just have to be diligent about leaving early from now on.
Mr. 19’s boss had no work for him this week, so he has been busy in our yard and woods. He also read parts of Total Truth, explained all our van’s controls to Miss 16, helped us with computer issues, and ran errands. Because mankind has been created to work, our rule is that if he cannot go to his ‘real’ job he will work an 8 hour day, 5 days a week, doing whatever needs doing at home. This has been a blessing to us as well as to him.
In our homeschool …
We’re doing some summer school. It gives structure to our days, and after last year we do definitely need to catch up.
Miss 11 is focusing on music, specifically guitar, and on math (Decimals and Metric Measurement in the Key To… series). She is also reading as many Eric Walters books as I let her and is learning a lot about history. I’ve reviewed a few of his books, but some of the things he wrote are not suitable for her.
Miss 14 has spent the week working on Apologia’s Physical Science and going through The Complete Career, College, and High School Guide for Homeschoolers. I learned a lot from all the assessments she did, and I think she did too. In any case, it is helping us plan her high school years wisely.
Miss 16 will be doing the The Complete Career, College, and High School Guide for Homeschoolers later. For now she says the best preparation she can make for the future is to finish her courses from last year, and that makes sense. She is busy doing chemistry experiments, chemistry reading, and math, and she is also writing essays. Besides that, she is preparing to paint her room and has gone for her very first drive. That is so exciting…but scary too.
In our gluten free kitchen… Porridge, once even with pears and almonds. Yoghurt. Quinoa. Grandma’s potato salad. Eggs. Pancakes. Pizza. Cookies. Cherries and plums and pears. Lots of chicken. My husband and I had a picnic in the park with sausages, antipasto, black cherry juice, carrot sticks, cheese, and fancy chips. Pork roast. Chard from the garden. Radishes. Pork chops. Chocolate mini muffins, made by Miss 11. Pancakes. Pork roast. Nachos. Stir fries. Raw vegetables. And even some rice cakes, topped with luncheon meat, eggs, and tomatoes or nut butters and bananas.
In our garden
We’ve weeded and weeded and weeded, and are almost caught up. We transplanted lettuces and both they and the brassicas we transplanted last week are doing well. In the empty spaces Miss 11 planted snap peas. Although this is the wrong time of year to plant them, we are expecting cooler weather so we decided to try it. Our first broccoli planting is almost ready to enjoy and so are our onions. The beans have flowers, and the cherry tomatoes are covered with little green balls. This is a nice time of year: we can eat garden foods but the busy preserving season has not yet started.
We also discovered tent caterpillars in an apple tree, an infestation of something in a butternut tree, and downy mildew on an enormous grape vine. The latter is my own fault; we did not prune the vines last year.
Some of my favorite things were…
- Having a friend with her adorable kids over.
- Observing my kids learning diligently.
- Seeing the garden get back into shape.
- Seeing how calm our vicious rooster is with Mr. 19. He obviously trusts him.
Questions/thoughts I have… Although our vacation was wonderful, I like being home.
Fitness… I managed about 10,000 steps most days, but that took a lot of determination on the busiest days. Hanging out laundry and gardening kept me active for many hours, and I also did my physiotherapy exercises twice. I really want to be doing them every day, and that is a habit I must develop. I also just saw this article about becoming really fit in 12 minutes a day. Sounds good to me!
Some of the things I’ve been working on…
- Summer schooling, planning for next year, and wrapping up last year.
- Gardening.
- Contributing to The Curriculum Choice’s Five Days of Homeschool Reviews round up.
- Trying to balance my activities and goals for the summer and fall to accomplish what needs doing without becoming tired or stressed.
I’m reading… Romans. I’m also reading Mendeleyev’s Dream, The Slight Edge, Pascal’s Pensees, A Man Called Intrepid (related to the Camp X stories), 52 Weeks of Family French, and The Meaning of Marriage.
We Watched… Funny Face which was silly but much better than the similar but revolting movie Singing in the Rain that had been highly recommended to us by several people.
Reading Aloud… We’re continuing with Ezekiel.
When my husband is home for meals, we read Isaiah.
I’m grateful for …. Family, friends, sunshine, rest.
Quote or link to share…. How to be really fit in 12 minutes a day using the RCAF XBX exercise plan for women (download the XBX booklet at the link).
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This post is linked to Kris’s Weekly Wrap Up .
Sounds like things are going well for you and the family. So glad you are having such a good summer. The swimming sounds like a blast. 🙂
Interesting to read about your week. I agree about being busy at home. I’m hoping to get a kitchen garden started on our verandah. Anything edible gets eaten by visiting wildlife – wallabies & possums generally so the garden is limited to non edibles. The wallabies eat the flowers on my gardenias and any new growth on some other plants also.
Yes, JoAnn, things are going very well! 🙂 Thank you.
Carol, I hope that your verandah garden works out. It is very frustrating when wild-life eats food you meant for your family. We have a dog to frighten wild-life, and he makes a real difference. But planting on your verandah should have a similar effect.