Wildfires, Emotions and Nutcracker Prep

It has been a rough week around here. The more than 30 wildfires that are all around us are really making it hard to breathe. Our oldest son must stay inside all of the time because he has asthma. Many people are having lung issues and the local hospital is very busy with sufferers. We desperately need rain.



On the homefront, this has been a week when relationships and health took precedence over school. We are working hard to keep everyone physically and emotionally healthy. It is an uphill battle for some.

We are in full force with rehearsals for The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The kids are at the dance studio six days a week. This year Dean is a street sweeper, a guard, a party guest and a Spanish doll. Anne is a street sweeper, a guard, a cat and an elastic doll. Anne has wanted to be an elastic doll since she was a little girl so this is a dream come true.

What we did for school ~

• 15+ hours of dance classes and rehearsals for both kids
• Learned a new hamstring stretch program for Dean (flexibility is a real struggle because of his cerebral palsy)
• Made red cabbage indicator strips for our chemistry class
• Did two chapters in chemistry
• Completed three math lessons for each child
• Read daily
• Read aloud two chapters in our family read-aloud, Hitty: Her First Hundred Years
• Completed two more lessons from Cover Story for English
• Anne hand sewed a flower pillow.
• Dean is working on a Shrinky Dink of a Celtic knot that he drew himself.
• Wrote in their journals daily.
• Watched several documentaries to understand more about how firefighters fight wildfires
• Practiced three hours of piano (Anne) and for ukulele (Dean).
• Wrote a 250 word report on Benjamin Franklin
• Watched CNN Student News daily

We also went to the opening of the movie, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. We loved it. I hope everyone has a lovely Thanksgiving. We are planning a very quiet and light Thanksgiving this year. 

Blessings, Dawn