On My Other Blog...

I posted about ways to survive the summer with your kids.  Tried and true advice from someone who is with their children every day and lives to tell about it...  Read it here.

Weekly Wrap Up: Kidshine, and Spring Show, and Swimming, Oh My!

This was our first official break week, but it was not exactly restful.

Kathryne, Charles, and Ashlyne did Kidshine drama camp this week.  This was our 6th Kidshine experience and my second year as the camp coordinator.  We love their drama camps.  We are very blessed that our homeschool group is used as their training camp each spring.  We get a discounted tuition, and they get to get use us as their guinea pigs.  The week always culminates in a performance on Friday nights.  The performance this year was called Traveling Light and was about the fact that this earth is not our home, and we are traveling to heaven.  The kids prepared me that one of my favorite songs- Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)- was being sung by two very cute little siblings.  So, I knew I was going to cry.  But, they failed to mention that another of my favorites- Where I Belong- was at the very end, right before I had to get up and talk.  Needless to say, my closing words were said with quite a bit of sniffing.  Oh well.

Rachel was not sure what to do with herself while the other three kids were gone.  She spent some time with both sets of grandparents, which helped to occupy her.  But, on Monday, we met some friends at a local play place.  Rachel climbed the climbing wall all the way to the top, a first for her!

Besides the Kidshine program all week, Rachel continued to have Swim Team this week in the evenings.  Her first meets are next week.  She has really learned quite a bit in a short time this summer.  She missed some nights this week with all the other things we had going on, but she has some a long way.  Ashlyne also had her gymnastics Spring Program three nights this week.  This was her last week as a specialty team member.  When she goes back after a break next week, she will be on the girls' competitive team!

All of this didn't make for a very restful week off.  Next week will feel more like a vacation week, I hope.  The outdoor pools and water park are open, so swimming is pretty high on our agenda.

For more weekly wrap ups, visit Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Check Out This Freebie

Okay, I LOVE planning and planners and notebooks.  I know, I'm crazy.  After trying out all the free (and not free) online planners I've found.  And, after purchasing I don't know how many planners (We won't go there.), I finally have a system I like (sort of) using documents I created on Google Docs.

But, if you are still looking for that perfect planner, I've seen this floating around all week:

Free Planner Pages

Maybe it's time for another revamp on the planning system?

Weekly Wrap Up: Nos sunt complevit.

We have finished up our official school year.  Yesterday, Kathryne and Charles completed their last math tests and Latin lessons, and we are officially through!  Next week will be Kidshine Drama Camp, and then we have a week's break before we will start our summer unit study.

I made a Smilebox yearbook to chronicle our year:

This free digital slideshow personalized with Smilebox

For more Weekly Wrap Ups, visit, Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Homeschool Mother's Journal (Or I'm Trying Something Different)

• In my life this week…  I'm feeling quite rushed.  This seems to be typical of this time of year.  All the springy things are finishing up, and the summer looms ahead as a great blank (or not so blank) calendar waiting to be filled.  I'm hoping not to fill it quite so full.
• In our homeschool this week…  We had two actual days of work.  The other days we were traveling and visiting Great Wolf Lodge in Concord.  We did actually accomplish school on Monday and Friday.  Because we have been dropping subjects as we finish them, we don't have too much left.  Charles finished up literature this week.  Everyone but Rachel still has math to finish.  But, the end is in sight!
• Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…  Flexible is good.  We left school to be at home.  Don't try to replicate school at home.  If your child is struggling in an area, they are not behind.  Because they aren't mixed in with everyone else, they don't have anyone to be behind!  Be flexible. Adapt to your child's needs.  And don't just try to replicate the school idea at home!  (Okay, climbing off the soapbox now.)
• I am inspired by… Voddie Baucham's Family Driven Faith.  I finished reading it this week at Great Wolf.  It gave me much to think about in terms of parenting and educating my children and passing on God's multi generational vision to them.
• Places we’re going and people we’re seeing… We saw friends at Great Wolf Lodge.  Hooray!  Today my kids went to a Nerf dart war with friends from church.  Then we celebrated my great nephews birthday and saw my side of the family tonight.
• My favorite thing this week was… Watching the kids play at Great Wolf!
• What’s working/not working for us… Um, our really busy schedule is not working.  Unfortunately it has been not working for months, and we still haven't fixed it.  So, that either means we have adapted to it or we're just crazy.  Or both.
• Questions/thoughts I have… What is the summer's schedule going to look like?  We usually try to do a "light school" schedule just to keep us on track.  When do I need to order next year's curriculum?  And when am I going to have time to pull it all together?
• Things I’m working on… Summer/fall planning.  Yes, I love to plan.  Implementing said plan is a little harder.
• I’m reading… Well, I finished Family Driven Faith at Great Wolf, as well as two twaddle books I got as free Kindle reads- both romance/drama/suspense.                                                                              
• I’m cooking… Ha.  It is amusing that I am even answering this prompt.  It is clear that this one was not developed with moms like me in mind.  Actually I do cook (for those who may have stumbled newly upon my humble blog).  But, I didn't cook much this week.  I bought tortilla chips and salsa for the cookout tonight.  Can that count?
• I’m grateful for… For my wonderful husband.  I told someone today that he was perfect.  I'm sure he's not perfect, at least not all the time.  But, he sure is great; and we do have a wonderful relationship.  So, I'm very thankful.
• I’m praying for…Constant wisdom to balance school, extra curricular activity, family time, and friendships.  Balancing and prioritizing is hard work!
• A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

I'm linking to Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers, and The Homeschool Mother's Journal.

Weekly Wrap Up: The End Is In Sight

I can see the end of the quarter coming.  It is not technically the end of our school year because we do a summer "quarter" in June and July.  But that will be a fun and more laid back unit study and less "book work."  I am always glad at this time of the year to put away subjects we've finished and look forward to organizing my shelves and buying new curriculum.

This week we finished our last Apologia General Science module.  We have enjoyed Apologia this year- at least I have, and Kathryne and Charles have mostly.  Next year we'll be doing Physical Science.

Kathryne has finished her literature unit, reading the last chapter of Anne of Green Gables and doing the activities today.

Ashlyne is through with spelling for the year and Rachel through with math, so both of them have less independent work now.

We are also all finished with AWANA.  This past Sunday was our last Sunday.  So, the kids don't have AWANA to study anymore.  All of the kids finished books this year, and Kathryne and Charles will receive their Timothy Awards at Sunday night's awards program.

Kathryne and Charles also finished history essays this week about one topic from the Modern Age.  We haven't done too much formal writing before this, and I was very pleased with the quality of their work.  It is really true that when you always do narration through the Charlotte Mason method, you are preparing for all kinds of writing and thinking.

This coming week we will only do school two days because we are headed to Great Wolf Lodge for three days.  I think we all need the break for a last burst of energy to finish up our subjects.

For more weekly wrap ups, visit Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.