Year 8, Weeks 19 and 20: Recordings and Reading

     Week 19 started with Little Toughie and I a bit on edge. We had to get her recordings done for the musical she's in and setting it up was not fun. I had planned on getting it done in the morning since the spot we chose had the best lighting before 1 p.m. The timing was also consistent with her rehearsals.

     She needed something to be able to listen to the recordings and then something else to film her. Plus, she wanted to use her wireless earbuds. She was originally going to use my phone to record herself and use her own phone to listen, but after finally getting the files loaded onto her phone we discovered that it didn't support them. We changed plans and thought we'd use the her laptop (the one I'm still using to write this) for her to listen and use my phone to record but her laptop wouldn't connect with the earbuds. Thankfully, we figured out that her laptop has a camera and recording capabilities and that my phone supported the files. After a few tests (and lunch, and makeup retouching and a couple of restarts) I was able to close the door and let her do her thing. I can't tell how good the video quality turned out but she got it done and I was able to send all of them off finally at 5 p.m., but of course not until after one more glitch with the website not wanting to upload my files. Doh! She and I breathed a sigh of relief when we got confirmation that all files were received. Whew!

     Other than that, I'm in the midst of planning next year's schedule. I normally start researching this time of the year to give myself plenty of time to decide what to purchase once the sales hit. I was planning on doing Sonlight again, but my daughter is a bit bored with it and doesn't feel challenged. Honestly, I would love to change things up now but with our schedule I don't know how I'd do that. I'd be teaching two completely different curricula and there aren't just isn't enough hours in the day. I'll likely stick with what we have but assign books that are a little more challenging.

     One of the many benefits of homeschooling is that there is room for flexibility. It's something I'm continuing to work on for myself, but I think I can say that I'm making progress. In 2020 I had joined a 5x5 Reading Challenge. I had magnificent goals of reading five books from five different categories while getting some TBR (To Be Read) books off of my list.

     Then the pandemic shut everything down, including our beloved libraries. I would normally borrow the physical book or e-book, but what was available in both was limited and I wasn't about to purchase the ones I needed. Plus, with all the uncertainty and panic being portrayed (no thanks to the news and social media) I wasn't in the right mind to take on the more challenging books. As a result, I didn't make it through my list. Normally, I'd make every effort to check off these books, but I'm learning to be flexible and not hold fast to things just to get it done. I'd rather read the books that require more time and effort when I'm ready than speed through them without any bona fide understanding.

     I did, however, read a total of thirty-one books. I don't know if that's the most I've ever read in a year as I just started tracking my books a few years ago. My goal is at least twenty-four books, about two books a month. I'm not sure how I finished thirty-one last year, especially since I also wrote one, but I think it might be an ambitious endeavor to attempt it again this year. Every year is different and I may not even finish twelve books in a year but as long as I'm reading I'm happy.

     Week 20 started uneventfully, but then mid-week I received heartbreaking news of the death of another friend. She had been battling cancer for the past few years and was in a short remission until early last year. In less than a year I've mourned three friends and one family member. Just so you know, only one was due to Covid. Needless to say, I'm sad. There are no other words. All I can do is pray.

Year 8, Weeks 15 -17: Christmas Cheer!

      I don't know about you, but after Thanksgiving things seem to speed up and slow down at the same time! Our homeschool days feel long and even though it's the same work, nothing new or added, it drags on. But then the countdown to Christmas Day gets shorter and I realize that I still have presents to buy and wrap, cookies to bake, fudge and hot cocoa to prepare and I have to figure out what kind of December cake to bake before the New Year arrives! I don't think I've mentioned it but my goal for 2020 was to bake a different cake every month. I chose to do it because Little Toughie was three when we started to eat Paleo and I stopped baking. She missed out on a lot of goodies. While we still eat Paleo-ish, I figured a cake once a month is fine. Plus, we share the larger ones with neighbors, thus giving a treat to our friends while not taking in too much sugar.

     Are you done Christmas shopping yet or are you a last minute shopper? Are you one who likes the adrenaline rush of finding that perfect present right as the clock counts down to 11:59 pm? Well, that's not me. I'm now somewhere in between. I used to be really good at getting my shopping done by the end of August, no later than the end of September. Yeah, I can't do that anymore. For one, I've never been a fan of shopping. The introvert in me doesn't like crowds and if I do shop it's always for something specific, so I don't spend a lot of time "window shopping". Secondly, the stores I would normally shop at have closed! Borders, Toys R Us...what else? I can't even remember, but I've resigned myself to online shopping and gift cards. All of our family live elsewhere anyway, so online shopping just makes even more sense.

     As for our homeschooling I have to admit, we're bored. The kids and I are bored. As their teacher, I am bored. We've spent the past four years reading plenty of books based on the time period in History which we were studying, all the way from Ancient History to Modern. What we're reading now is indeed review. We're condensing those four years into two, studying World History over this year and next in preparation for high school. But the books that Sonlight recommends as their spine, or main history text, is underwhelming. It's supposed to be geared toward 12-14 year olds but compared to what we've used the past three years, this is feels like it's best for 9-11 year olds.

     Perhaps it's for the best that it's that way, for now. Little Toughie is taking that writing class via Circe (she actually said she's going to miss it now that they're on a break) and it's a lot of work. So, maybe it's okay that it's humdrum reading. Maybe. Or maybe this mom is just ready for some time off from homeschooling!

     We're approaching our Christmas break and as I finish writing this there are cookies in the oven, cookies on trays ready to be put in and cookies on cooling racks. Later, they'll be drenched in chocolate and topped with crushed candy canes. My little helpers (my kids and hubby) are ready and willing. Anything for my holiday cookies! We'll be off for three weeks total, with two of those weeks focused on things we missed in November because of NaNoWriMo. Mostly the science experiments! Then we take one week completely off. This is where I start planning the next school year since curriculum starts to go on sale late January and I want to take advantage of it.

     I'll attempt to catch up on some reading as well. I've tried to start a tradition where I wrap a new book for everyone to start reading on Christmas Eve. It's the one present they get to open. I did it twice and then forgot. If you need a reading list to either start the tradition or just to snuggle up and read while sipping some hot cocoa, This Reading Mama has two great lists:

Image by This Reading Mama

Image by This Reading Mama

     I can tell you what traditions have stuck...the ones that have to do with food! Do you have a meal that you only have on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? Or how about New Year's Eve and New Year's Day? It started out with just cinnamon rolls Christmas morning and something with black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. Then somehow, with the help of the kids, we now have several different standard meals on those days. If I even try to make those meals mid-year I get a resounding, "NO!"

     With that said, I leave you with a very Merry Christmas and a picture of the cookies before they were packaged and passed out for a door-to-door cookie exchange. I also leave you with this, the reason for the season:

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

Kindergarten, Week 24

      This week in our Sonlight curriculum I saw a little note letting us know that we only have 12 more weeks of school.  Wow!  I just know those weeks will come and go quickly.  I'm already in the midst of planning the curriculum for next school year.  I'm sure we'll use Sonlight again with just a few adjustments.  I'm looking into a different Language Arts and a different Math program because the ones we have progress too slowly for my daughter.  Perhaps that's actually a good thing as it gives it time to sink in.  I just don't want her to get bored.  With Math, I have to limit the amount of pages she completes in her workbook because she wants to finish all of it in one sitting.  I have to supplement with worksheets from Mama's Learning Corner (Sign up like I did and you get member exclusive printables, but her freebies great freebies too!)

     Week 24 took us into the first books of the New Testament.  My daughter was excited to know that we were going to read about the birth of our Savior, His humble beginnings and the work He did in such a short time.  It brought up conversations about heaven and who would be there and who wouldn't be there.  She said she would ask Mary, "Were you surprised to be the mother of Jesus?" and she'd ask the angel Gabriel, "How hard is it to fight Satan?"  She said she would also like to ask Jesus how it felt to rule the world with His love.  Yes, these are the kinds of conversations that come up every day when we read our Bible.

     This week I decided to start having the kids read their bibles (or devotional) independently every morning.  Though we read the Bible together daily, I liked the idea of them starting their morning with God before taking on the day; I wanted them to have their own quiet time with Him.  I probably should have started this sooner, but I wanted to get a feel for our school year and how much time we'd have in the morning before we had to bring A380 to school.  Plus, my daughter wasn't reading independently yet.  She is now though, yay!  Both she and her big brother plant themselves on the couch every morning after they're done clearing their breakfast dishes and getting themselves ready.  While they're doing that I'm either getting the morning chores done or spending my own time with our Father.  By the time they're done we discuss what they've read for a few minutes and then head out the door.  We take the time to pray together in the car on the way to my son's school before we part ways.

     My Little Toughie is so excited that she's able to read on her own that she created a bookmark by tracing her hand:

     Cute, right?  I like that her nails are colored.  There's an actual arm inside the book too, colored purple.  You can do this to get your kids excited about reading on their own.  When my daughter told me what she was making I gave her a sheet of cardstock to make it sturdier.  Works like a charm!  Or you can go ahead and use paper but cut it out and either stick it onto a piece of a cereal box (or some sort of thin cardboard) and then trim that out.

     That's all for now.  Have a wonderful week!

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