Week 5 ~ Goodbye August!?

Oy, what a week! This one flew by and I felt a bit out of sorts and tense through much of it. I think it is just that I am nervous about how our schedule will work out once we start back to dance classes next week. The schedule of all out-of-the-home activities being in full swing looks crazy on paper --which means it will be crazier in real life! I think that once we get the schedule down, I will actually have more time for all of my extra part-time jobs ~ eBay, TOS review crew, keeping everyone well fed with inexpensive, homemade, healthy meals. Trust me, keeping Dean (14) fed is a part-time job in itself. You know how anxious anticipation is often harder than reality. That is where I am right now.

Anne had an epiphany this week. She very much wants to concentrate on moving forward faster in math and spelling. I took it real easy on both of my students this August and let them move at their own pace, which was snail paced at times. It worked and Anne feels ready to take on more. She is also showing so much more independence, which is a delight to see. I told her she was getting perfect scores in math and could start skipping some of the review pages. She was delighted. I am so glad the desire to work harder is coming from her instead of me dragging her along. The result is that she finished four lessons of math in one day this week and two lesson tests. Anne also announced that she likes learning the piano. After years of balking about learning any instrument, she LIKES the piano, which my Mother kindly bought us this summer. Once again, she is the one who initiated learning the piano in the first place. She also announced that she likes reading and writing. This is all music to a Mother's ears!

Dean finally got to dye his hair again. He decided on a bright blue this time. We only did his bangs. I never imagined I would be dyeing my boy's hair. He also is picking up the ukulele even faster than the guitar. He loves it. He has a tenor ukulele so it has a richer sound than the more well-known soprano ukulele. With two kids practicing instruments, my home has turned into a very musical place and I love it.

We started science with our new homeschool student friend (I didn't get any action pictures because we were too busy). The whole day went great. She came to our house for chemistry, and then they all went to her house for an art lesson. Everyone agreed that it worked great. I think this will be a good fit. This does mean some adjustments to our schedule. It looks like we will only have time for science, art, CNN Student News and dance on Tuesdays.

I am testing out Fridays being exploration days. We will do about an hour of seat work school and the rest of the day will be field trips, life skills, special projects or sometimes just catch-up. Today is a catch up and life skills day. Anne really wants to work on math for an extended period of time. Who am I to get in the way of progress?

Well, that is about all for me this week.

Blessings, Dawn