The Homeschool Mother's Journal - 8

In my life this week...
I'd say it was a busy week, but I fear I'm beginning to sound like a broken record. I did juggle a few extra appointments this week.

I'm thankful that Lauren's healthy enough to be back in her therapy. Not only is she making steady progress, but I enjoy having the break where I can sit and catch up on my Bible reading. I'm now officially caught back up on my Bible in 90 Days reading plan, and we've moved into the New Testament. I can already tell that reading these familiar passages will be significantly easier than the past few weeks of trudging through the prophets.

I'm also getting back on track with my running goals. I twisted my ankle rather badly towards the end of February, and I haven't felt strong enough to be back out running. Earlier this week, I found one of my husbands ankle braces, laced it up, and managed to go three miles. This afternoon, I went four. My ankle feels fine when I'm running, I'm just afraid that I'd twist it again if I accidentally stepped on a rock or a buckeye out of one of the trees or perhaps even an invisible obstacle (how I hurt it most recently).


In our homeschool this week...
I think this is one of the hardest times of the year to be a homeschool parent. In the midst of all the excitement of homeschool catalogs arriving, I have to remember to use the materials that I chose for this year. I guess it's a bit of a "grass is greener" situation -- our current materials are mostly working well, we're doing some really cool elective stuff for reviews, and we have plenty of choices on our bookshelves. I guess it's just not as exciting as seeing the new options.


Places we're going and people we're seeing...
I don't exactly know yet. My husband is working night shifts this week (rare and unexpected for us). Our house isn't very conducive to resting when the kids are around so I have a feeling that we'll be taking a few impromptu field trips this week.


My favorite thing this week...
I love seeing my children worship God. This morning I could watch all three of them singing, "How Great is Our God," and it warmed my heart.


What's working/not working for us...
I'm learning to write specific assignments down for the big kids and to go over them in detail so that neither of them can claim that they "forgot" or didn't know what to do. I'm also learning to check certain computer programs to see if they've actually logged into them recently.


Homeschool thoughts/questions I have...
I'm already starting to put together a plan for next year. Some of the decisions are easy, but I still haven't sorted through all our options for other subjects. A funny moment this week was when I got a package from Christian Book Distributors. Somebody mentioned at dinner that it had come earlier, and I told Addison it was for her. She excitedly ripped open the cardboard, but sadly, she wasn't quite so excited when she realized it was next year's science curriculum CD.


A photo to share...
Addison asked me to French braid part of her hair this morning, and she looked so pretty. I didn't get a picture of her before church, but I took this one when we were outside after lunch.