Figuring out how to make paper parasols
In our life this week…
Time seemed to whiz by. We ran out of firewood over the weekend and needed to use our oil furnace. I’m so thankful that we got a huge load of wood Tuesday morning! My husband loves chopping wood, and we have a cozy living room again.
I had a lot more free time than usual because Miss 16 was not feeling well, so I spent much of it working on my history of modern physics project. At times it was completely overwhelming, and at other times I talked about it too much. In fact, one day when we discussed what we were thankful for at supper, Miss 11 said she was thankful it was time to pray and I could no longer tell stories about the brilliant and quirky physicist Feynman.
Because it is March, I also started spring cleaning, one small task per day. There are so many small jobs that need to be done, but doing one a day will make a difference, and on Saturdays we’ll all do some major jobs. This way, when spring does finally come, we can be outside rather than inside.
Miss 11 has been wildly creative this week. She began by making fans for her sick sister, and ended up designing and making the lovely blue paper parasol pictured above.
Miss 11 has been invited to learn bee-keeping, and when a child takes up an adult activity, Mom always ends up involved. So, guess who’s going to be learning about bee-keeping? The trouble is that I’m a bit afraid of bees….
In our homeschool …
Miss 16 is not feeling well, so our regular homeschool pattern fell by the wayside. Even so, she progressed well in her reading of Dante’s Divine Comedy, and on the good days she did a fair bit of artwork. Her result on the CEMC Fermat math competition was stellar, but she’s taking a break from math and science until she feels better.
Miss 13 is progressing well in her schoolwork. We really enjoy Grammar of Poetry, and she has rediscovered her joy in math. But the winter is dragging on, and the schoolwork was too, for a while….
Miss 11 has done her regular schoolwork and finally seems to have mastered fractions, but her focus was definitely on cross-country skiing and crafting this week.
We watched the first 4 sessions of The History of Western Art, a Kultur dvd. The cinematography is not very good but the girls did learn about art. I was pleased to see how much they already knew from their Ambleside Online picture study.
We’ve begun to emphasize public speaking of various sorts. Today the girls read poetry at lunch, standing up, making eye contact. Miss 16 read Bilbo’s poem, “I Sit Beside the Fire and Think”, Miss 13 chose “The Destruction of Sennacherib” by Byron from Grammar of Poetry, and Miss 11 was assigned “Woodman, Spare that Tree” by George Pope Morris from Intermediate Language Lessons.
In our gluten free kitchen… Potato-leek soup. Pinwheel shortbread cookies. Oatmeal raisin cookies. Roast. Ginger beef. Salads, stir-fry, veggie sticks. Stampot. Banana bread. Liver and bacon. Chocolate pudding and raspberries. Raspberry cobbler. Turkey and stuffing. Sausages. Scrambled eggs.
Some of my favorite things were…
- Sitting on the couch in the sun
- Having firewood—and a warm fire—again
- A visit from Miss 21
- The smell of banana bread
Questions/thoughts I have… The way to teach and to learn is to do a little bit every day, no matter what.
Fitness… Although I had planned to walk 2 miles a day, that wasn’t possible. But I am increasing my steps and doing my physio exercises fairly regularly again. In my quest to lose 10 lbs, I’m avoiding my husband’s chips and my children’s baking…and it is hard.
Just this week we realized that 5 years ago I weighed 25 pounds less than now, and even now people consider me slender. I had forgotten how terribly ill I had been! But the final 10 pounds I gained are not necessary and must go.
Some of the things I’ve been working on…
- Homeschooling
- Studying the history of modern physics
- Exercising
- Spring cleaning and reorganizing the house
- Trying to be balanced in how I spend my time and energy
We’re watching… The History of Western Art.
I’m reading… Haggai. I finished Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman. Currently I’m reading The Faith of Scientists, Ten Days Without, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode, A House for My Name, and The 40 Most Influential Christians. I’m also reading portions of many books about modern physics.
Reading Aloud… We’re reading Isaiah, Volume 5 of In de Zoete Suikerbol, Young People’s History of the Church, and Henry Hudson.
When my husband is home for meals we read 1 Timothy.
I’m grateful for …. Firewood. Good food. Family.
Quote or link to share…. The last two lines of Byron’s poem “The Destruction of Sennacherib”
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!
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This post is linked to Kris’s Weekly Wrap Up .
Sorry about your daughter being sick, but it sounds like overall it was a good week. Glad you are doing so physically.