Week 21 ~ A Better Week

Thankfully, I can feel our "normal" coming back. Last week was rough, but this week went more smoothly. My To Do List is still long, and some of the things on it are so frustrating, because I have been trying to resolve them for months. However, the day to day flow of our weeks is back on track.

The weekend was consumed with more performances with the adult dancers at our studio. They persevered through rain, wind and cold temps. Thankfully, no  one got really sick. Anne does have the sniffles. Here are a few more shots of the fun.

We got back on track school wise this week. Both kids did math daily. Dean is concentrating on consumer math and word problems. He is experiencing success in math right now, which is a relief. Anne still has several weeks to go for 8th grade credit, but she is ready to start algebra which will count for 9th grade. I may be wrapping up her 8th grade with games and drill sheets. I will be ordering Teaching Textbooks Algebra, as soon as I finish earning the money on eBay (hopefully in two weeks).

We did lots of science this week. We started a compost kit by Nancy B's Science Club. The book has a host of experiments in it and we are enjoying watching the decomposition of a orange peel, banana peel, carrot and potato chip. This kit will help Dean learn more about helping the environment for his earth science credit.

Day 1

Day 5

Day 5

Day 1

The biggest change so far is with the banana peel. It has turned completely brown.

We also watched David Attenborough's show, Madagascar. It was fantastic and had Dean spellbound. He loves anything narrated by David Attenborough.  The show explained more about evolution and how animals and birds came to be on the island. We spent one morning at the greenhouses on the Biltmore Estate. Following our mini study of Madagascar, we loved seeing all of the unusual tropical plants . The warm humidity sure was nice, too.

We had several cancellations because the flu is hitting our area so hard right now. Anne's Cecchetti Ballet Studio was closed all week, because so many students were down with the flu. We decided to cancel our international event with friends because we both had kids who were feeling run down. Art Club and Literature/Movie Club were also canceled due to illness. Hopefully, flu season will slow down soon and we can see more of our friends. 

We rented the video and watched Goodbye, Christopher Robin but were really not that thrilled with it. We enjoyed learning a bit more about A. L. Milne, but the PTSD and war scenes stressed out my kids. I am glad we didn't pay to see it in the theater.

Dean made it to art class this week. He has been doing some lovely portrait sketches lately.

We are flowing along well. Anne is on track to finish both 8th and most of 9th grade this year (but she won't complete her CTE and algebra credits). Dean looks like he will finish all of 9th grade and half of 10th, unless he decides to really push harder. I am going to talk to them about graduating together and allowing Dean to work at the pace that really makes him feel more comfortable. That would mean that Dean would graduate at barely 19 and Anne at 17. I have a feeling that Dean would actually like to finish this chapter in his life with his best friend (sister). 

Blessings, Dawn