Homeschool Mother's Journal -- September 11, 2011

In our homeschool this week... Addison's online science class starts. That's the last big last piece in the scheduling puzzle for this year, and I hope that we can start to see all the rest of our school things settle into some sort of a final routine soon.

I am inspired by... Brennan's popcorn selling attitude. I'm proud of the way he put on his Cub Scout uniform and keeps knocking on doors, even when he knocks on a lot of doors where nobody answers and even when he hears more Nos than Yeses.

My favorite thing this week was... read-aloud time, especially the early mornings when I snuggled up on a couch with Lauren to read (me half-asleep, her wide-awake).

What's working for us... this week I started filling part of Lauren's workboxes with activities that she can do independently so that I will have more time to spend with my other two students.

Questions/thoughts I have...
I've been doing better at organization during the day, but I'm doing poor job of managing time in the evenings. All too often I wait until it's late before I start refilling workboxes for the next day, and then I end up staying up later than I had planned.

Things I'm working on... organizing our digital photos and finding more activities that Lauren can do independently during our school days.

I'm reading.... The Bible (should be in the New Testament by the end of the week), Eats with Sinners, How Do We Know the Bible Is True?, Raising Real Men by Hal and Melanie Young, and Miles to Go. I posted about what I'm reading to the kids a few days ago.

I'm cooking... meal plans from e-mealz this week. My family is usually good about trying new meals, but I'm not sure what they'll think of something new every night this week.

I'm praying for... our country on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share...

From Richard Paul Evan's Miles to Go:
  "What's unbelievable to me is how you've managed to remain so positive. I've been with your for more than a week, and you haven't complained once."
  "She smiled. "I heard someone say, 'There's no problem so big that whining won't make it worse.'"
  I laughed.
  "The way I see it," she said, "everyone has problems. It's how you choose to deal with them. Some people choose to be whiners, some choose to be winners. Some choose to be victims, some choose to be victors."
  I put my hand on her shoulder. "You're the type who thinks of the glass as being half full instead of half empty."
  "No," she said, "I'm just grateful for the glass."