Semester 2, Week 6

What I’m Reading: Spring Magic by D.E. Stevenson
What a delightful read.  I saw this book mentioned in a book subscription and put it on my TBR.  I ended up getting a copy while I was ordering school books. I found out that D.E. Stevenson is related to Robert Louis Stevenson of Treasure Island.  What a neat connection!

Frances goes to Cairn for her first real holiday.  Her choice isn’t to do anything in particular but because she once saw a picture of Cairn and thought it would be a nice place to visit.  That’s my kind of travel! She goes there at the same time that troops are coming in (WWII) and befriends several of the wives.  She also befriends some locals, but there isn’t very much a focus on them as a particular young gentlemen who is stationed in Cairn.  It’s definitely a love story, but I found that there was so much more depth as she described the places and people.

I was pleasantly surprised at the richness and recommend this book wholeheartedly.  (I read a couple of the Miss Buncle books about a decade ago when one of them was free on kindle.  I enjoyed it very much but have never read anything else by Stevenson thinking they may all be too light.)

What I’m {nature} Journaling: Baby blue birds and irises.  The baby blue birds have hatched in the bird house.  I saw mama bird bringing a worm while papa bird looked on from the fence.  My irises are blooming too.  I thinned them out in the fall, so it’s so nice to see them growing all nice and straight and sans aphids. 

Fourth Grade Highlight

Right now my son is reading about Paul Revere in his independent history reading.  I like hearing him make some connections to other people we’ve discussed. 

I’ve noticed in the past with other assignments that my son’s reading comprehension isn’t always spot on.  I’m not sure if it’s a maturity thing or something we need to focus on a bit.  Narration is helpful for me to hear what he knows, and I try not to ask too many leading questions.  This summer we’re participating in the library reading challenge but I’m also setting up a reward system of my own for the kids.  I’m hoping this will help me better guage where my son is with his independent reading comprehension.

Kindergarten Highlight

I’m having so much fun listening to my daughter learn how to read.  She really likes Bob books and is not going to be left behind in our reading challenge this summer.  We finished one of her nature books this week, so she asked when she can start picking her chapter books like her brother does.  I told her she’ll get to do that more as she learns how to read, but it’s also coming up in the next school year and I bought a few for to choose from this summer.

Mom Highlight
We (mostly I) needed a school reset this week.  We are half way through our semester (not counting exams), but it’s feeling like February.  And technically, we should have been where we currently are by the end of February. We have had quite the school year.  I drastically reduced our school load, but it seems like we haven’t made any headway.  I’m sure by the time I do our evaluation, I’ll feel differently, but I’m in a will we make it through the hump funk.  We have also received some discouraging news about a close family member who has a cancer battle in the upcoming months.  It’s been a lot. 

Thus, a reset in the form of a nature walk.  I realized while we were at our favorite nature preserve that’s been a year since we’ve been.  I can’t believe it.  We enjoyed a slow walk, stopping at every bench to eat snacks.  We saw so many things that we’ve been studying in recent years.  We saw mushrooms, wildflowers, spring blooms, working ants, butterflies, a caterpillar, nesting birds, chirping birds, bees, deer, nuts.  We also brought along a picnic.  The kids always love running around afterward looking for pecans and walnuts.  You know what we didn’t see? Squirrels and chipmunks.  That’s a first.

I felt far better after our morning out.  We still took it easy with school work since I had to be away for a day and we needed a work day to go through all the kids’ clothes.  I’m not sure how my attitude is doing going into the second half. I’m still feeling a little discouraged that we aren’t farther along, but I also don’t feel like we have so much that we can’t make it through.  I’ve been trying to look on the bright side that school going into June at least gives us some routine. I would love to just be done, but I also really think our curriculum is worthy of our time.  I wouldn’t be soul satisfied if we were to leave things undone.  It’s too good to neglect.

A day has passed since I wrote that.  I received a message from a(nother) friend who is researching Charlotte Mason.  I kept my affirmation brief in reply, but it’s so hard because that’s how much I love CM.  I could talk about all the things we do and the philosophy and the soul feeding we’re doing every day.  My little explosion of how lifegiving our schooling is was enough to encourage me for these upcoming weeks.  Yes, it’s not been a breezy season of school, but school isn’t a burden. If we were to set it aside right now, it would be a break but we would just be seeking these same things to fill our days.  When we miss tea and poetry or art or nature walks or our variety of books and subjects, the kids are sure to be asking when we’re going to do it again.

Semester 2, Week 3

What I’m Reading: Murder at Vicarage and The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie
A few years ago I completed my quest to read all of Agatha Christie’s books.  Now I’m making my way through the Marple mysteries in order.  I was so scattered in my read through of all the other novels that this is giving such good continuity.  I’m able to focus on one mystery solver, get to know a smaller area of the world, and see different characters pop up again. Despite previously reading these books, I didn’t remember the specific murderers as I read.  I did vaguely remember that background characters played more of a role than I expected on the first reading.  I know a lot of people recommend the Poirot books when they’re recommending first reads of Agatha Christie, but I feel like the Marple books capture a lot of Christie’s talent.  (The Tommy and Tuppence books are my very favorites.)  The books develop everyday characters and places well.

Co-op
We had our third day of class.  I really enjoy helping in my son’s storytelling class.  During this class the kids were broken into two groups.  Individually they were given specific topics/things to draw on a little paper.  The group got together to put these into the “pool” to create a beginning, middle, and end.  (This is all from Show Me a Story by Emily Neuburger.)  It was fun mixing up all the elements that the boys and girls created.

Fourth Grade Highlight
We’ve already hit a groove in this semester that I feel like there’s nothing fun to talk about.  My son did finish reading Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare and then we watched the movie.  I also ended up buying my son his own copy of As You Like It to make it easier for him to follow along reading aloud. Oh, and he had engineering with grandpa.  They made a fan of some kind…

Kindergarten Highlight
My daughter is doing well with phonics.  While she doesn’t feel confident in what she’s doing (since it’s a challenge), I think she’s doing really well.  She’s getting quite a variety of the short vowel sounds in her sentences.  She still looks to me a lot for reassurance, but I’m encouraging independence where I can. She is also obsessed with watching Super Why DVDs from the library.

Semester 2, Week 2

What I’m Reading: Howards End by E.M. Forster

I’m reading this to follow along with The Literary Life Podcast.  This isn’t a book I would have chosen on my own.  I didn’t particularly like it, but I didn’t hate it.  I didn’t really like the style of writing jumping from one event to the next and not always understanding the timeline of going fast and slow; it didn’t have a great flow. The really compelling part of the book was the story of the classes and place/home. Forster wrote a clear picture of the middle and lower classes in their social/educational/working life but also the cultural story of where we find refuge or sanctuary and ultimately ourselves.

What I’m {nature} Journaling:  We have had so much rain building a natural pond of our backyard that I got to observe a wonderful bit of nature the morning we finally had sunshine.  I could visibly see the evaporation happening all over our backyard, deck, and neighbor’s yard.  The shear volume of moisture plus the perfect rays of sun made for a magical five to ten minutes of vapor swirling rise.

Co-op

We went on a field trip to a local bread factory.  It was amazing.  We had fun watching the entire process of loaves of bread and buns being made.  By the entire process, I mean everything.  We heard the flour being sifted in the silos, dough being lifted into the final mixer, the mixed dough being dropped and then processed to the pans, the oven, the cooling rack, the slicer, the bagger, and finally the loaves being loaded for delivery. (I’m leaving out steps but only because we saw this on such a giant scale that it’s difficult to remember things in order.)  We also left with a loaf of bread and a bag of donuts.

Fourth Grade Highlight

My dad and son complete an engineering project together once a month.  The previous month my dad left a packet to read along with questions for my son to answer.  He’s slowly been chipping away at it.  It’s a completely different task for him as I have never had him do reading comprehension worksheets before.  This does not fit into a Charlotte Mason education, but I do think it’s a good skill to learn how to research, find pertinent information amongst all the other information.  I don’t know if he’s actually assimilating any information.  I do like that my son is writing out some definitions.  I would prefer that he could see these things on his own and want to put them in his science notebook.  However, he hasn’t quite caught on to the significance of keeping such information.

Kindergarten Highlight

My daughter is finding more moments for independent play and crafting.  We opened up one of her birthday presents of jewel crafting.  After a little help getting her started, she can finally do it on her own.  She also started weaving her first potholder this week.  She’s not completely independent on it yet, but she has caught on quickly.  It’s a matter of practice to make her better.

Mom Highlight

We took the puppies to our vet for the first time.  The kids were very helpful since the puppies aren’t quite ready to be on the leash.  Both pups are growing quickly and getting into everything!  It’s like having the days of a newborn and a toddler mixed into one.  Their cuteness covers over a multitude of teaching moments. 

We also finally made it to our living library as a family.  I accidently checked out the wrong Roosevelt book, but I told my son it was a good opportunity to learn about a different Roosevelt than the one he intended.  My daughter found plenty of princess books and a really good one about dogs that both of the children enjoyed. 

Fourth Grade Curriculum – Second Semester

* Updates * to the beginning of the year

I really like our adjustment to semesters this school year.  We fill so much of our school year with real life experiences that it is incredibly difficult to follow a traditional three 12-week terms in a Charlotte Mason education. 

On track, going well, no changes: Bible, The Chronicles of Narnia, fairytales, engineering with Grandpa, history, geography, grammar, copywork, dictation, Spanish, art lessons, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, piano. 

Daily Riches and Skills

Family Folder

Memory Work: We will continue memorizing the state capitals. I am adding in a few lines from Shakespeare’s As You Like It as this is the play we will be reading this semester. The poem we will memorize is “Daffodils” by William Wordsworth. The three scripture passages we’ll be memorizing are Zephaniah 3:17, Psalm 42:8, and Matthew 6:33-34.

Songs: We will learn five songs over the semester changing to something new after six weeks. The hymns are “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Me” and “Anywhere with Jesus.” The folksongs are “The Mermaid” and  “Shenandoah.”  I’m changing up our Spanish memory work, and we are going to  “Cielito Lindo.”

Math

My son is now is Saxon 5/4.  It’s going well.  He typically does four or five lessons, then we have a day where we do timed math facts and Simply Charlotte Mason Arithmetic. I’m having him do the odd problems on the odd lessons and the even problems on the even lessons.  At the end of the week, we go over the problems he got wrong during the week.  So far this system seems to be going okay. 

Literature

Shakespeare

We will be reading through As You Like It two days a week for 15-20 minutes. We had a great time going through A Midsummer Night’s Dream, so I’m hoping we’ll like reading this play together too.  Even though we’ve read through the Lamb’s version in a previous year, I thought we’d reread through the synopsis.  I use the Folgers version with my son, so sometimes I read the summary notes at the beginning of the scenes to explain what we’re about to read.

Poetry

I decided to buy the Amblesideonline Year 4 poetry anthology since all the collections I checked out from the library had too many poems to sift through.  I had said before that I didn’t really want to ge the anthology again, but I guess sometimes it’s a better way to get what I want.

Free Reads

We’re still using the AmblesideOnline Years 3.5 and 4 free read lists.  I still have a pile of books I want to read with my son.  I also pulled the books out that I had in a different free read tub I had kept to the side for my son to choose from in his free time.  Since he never picks from there, and I do want him to read them, I’ve decided I’m going to alternate him reading one of those on his own in between us reading the other books together.

Weekly Academics

The remainder of our subjects rotate once or twice a week. This is how we fit it all into our Charlotte Mason education.

History and Economics

My husband has asked that we add in reading and watching The Tuttle Twins series and then discuss them.  They have an easy series for my son to read on his own.  I’m having him read half a book and week and then narrate to me.

Science

Science will be divided into three parts – nature study, nature observation, and engineering. Our nature study topic is the sky.  I plan for us to make daily moon observations during the day or night.  I’m hoping this will stir up curiosity about other things we might see.

Riches

While I prefer introducing a new handicraft each term/semester, we’re repeating weaving potholders this semester.  We’re having a makers’ market again at the co-op family night.  I still have a lot of loops left from last year’s projects.  Now my daughter is old enough to join in.  I’m going to expand on his knowledge this year by emphasizing colors and design.

Composer

We will be reading Clyde Bulla’s The Ring and the Fire and listening to selections from Wagner.  I’m looking forward to doing something a little different with our composer study.

Artist

We are studying Whistler this semester using the Simply Charlotte Mason resources.

Semester 1, Week 15 a.k.a. the week that took several weeks a.k.a. the time we got two puppies

What I’m Reading: Tex by S.E. Hinton
I was first introduced to S.E. Hinton in eighth grade.  We read The Outsiders and then watched the movie.  The entire experience was great.  I don’t know what took me so long to read more of her books.  The beginning of Tex is even better than The Outsiders and I wondered why this wasn’t the book chosen for us to read.  I got the answer father along in the book.  Tex has a few more scenes that are so relatable that I feel like they might be more influential in real life.  I felt more removed when I read The Outsiders.  Maybe Tex was more realistic since I’m older now.  I guess I’ll just have to go back and reread The Outsiders.  Anyway, I highly recommend Tex. 

What I’m {nature} Journaling:  I made a few notes about our new puppies in my nature journal.  It reminded me of keeping a baby book.

Co-op
Co-op is back in full force.  We started off the semester with our first class day.  My daughter enjoys being with the kids.  My son missed the first day since he was traveling with his dad.  I look forward to hearing his reaction once he’s back in his classes.  I’m helping in his storytelling class and liked to hear the kids retelling about one of their favorite moments.

I went to the mom’s morning out.  It was at a local coffee shop that I’ve been wanting to check out but have never gotten around to.  I had a delicious everything bagel with cream cheese and a honey vanilla cinnamon latte.  If you haven’t had either, go now and get one if not both of these things.

Finally we had our Valentine’s party.  There were several crafts, a few games, and lots of treats.  No card exchange this year.  I liked that it was simple, but I also know how much I enjoyed the card exchange when I was a kid.  I always loved decorating my card box and picking out my valentines.

Fourth Grade and Kindergarten Highlight

This was supposed to be a very quick and easy week.  Of course, every single time management plan immediately got thrown out the moment we decided we were going to get puppies (and we were ready just like you are when you have a child…except a little more because we’ve actually had dogs before). We were completely on track to finish our semester before Valentine’s Day so that I was going to give us a slow start and special few days to gear up for our second semester.  Instead, we were completing the academics during puppy naptime.  The end of the semester is being completely overshadowed by the puppies.

My son has been asking for a puppy for years.  I always said no because our dog was high maintenance.  Since we knew she was reaching the end of her days, we have been saving, planning, and researching for puppies and the best fit for our family.  We decided on two goldendoodles.  We’re in love.  They’re snuggly and playful.

Field Trip or Travel
A perk of homeschool is the flexibility to put school off a few days for last minute travel.  My son accompanied my husband to pick up the first puppy.  They traveled north and I travel west.  The week was chaotic and getting into a new routine even harder.  However, we have faced this bump (is it a bump if it’s joyful) in the road with grace.  I did ask my husband to review geography with my son while they were on the road.  I don’t know if they did, but they did travel through at least one capital, so that’s something!  The trip was definitely a good lesson in responsibility as it was my son’s job to look out for the puppy while my husband was driving.

Semester 1, Week 13

What I’m Reading: Dracula by Bram Stoker
Over Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the new year, my husband and I listened to Dracula and the accompanying podcasts by The Literary Life Podcast.  This is most definitely a book I would NOT have read of my own choosing.  Sometime last year, we (my husband and I) had a lengthy discussion about his reading/education of Frankenstein in high school versus my recent reading/education of the book.  Wow, what a difference.  This sparked interest in Dracula as we repeated this conversation.  We both decided to set aside our perception of the book to read it together.  We were changed by this tale of the dragon, the princess, and the hero. We had lively discussions and praiseworthy revelation. You should read the book, but you should also listen to the podcast.

What I’m {nature} Journaling:  Friends, it’s cold outside.  We did walk in the cold, but I didn’t write a single thing down about it my nature journal! I felt like we had neglected our insect portion of our journals this semester, so I had the kids find an insect from a book to copy into their books. I was excited that my son read through a lot of the insect book as he chose what to draw; usually he’s rushing through his nature journal assignment.  I had plans to do the same, but again, I didn’t write in my journal.  I guess I need to pick up my resolve.

Travel: We do not have co-op this month (minus a mom meeting), so we are filling our time with travel and appointments (and another illness…).  We have traveled around the southern states.  It’s been cold.  It’s been beautiful.  It’s been great getting home to snuggle in the warmth. We especially liked our extended stay in North Carolina as we visited the mountains.  The kids enjoyed the toy stores.  I enjoyed the Battery Book Exchange in Asheville and bought some lovely editions of Penrod by Booth Tarkington, The Dean’s Watch by Elizabeth Goudge, and The Santa Fe Trail by Samuel Hopkins Adams (we just finished up one of his other Landmark books, The Erie Canal).  I was happy to find all three.  I have an original of Penrod and Sam that was my husband’s grandfather’s book.  Finding a hardback edition of Penrod was a special find for me even though it wasn’t a first edition (I’m only into collecting for reading’s sake). I bought the Elizabeth Goudge book since I have a new interest in her.  I read checked out The Rosemary Tree from the library a couple years ago after several podcasts mentioned it.  I was so moved by the book that I ended up buying one on my Kindle so that I could take my time reading it.  Her writing is so perfect as a before bed read.  I’m trying to shift over to more physical copies of books this year that this was my favorite find of the day.  I waivered in buying The Santa Fe Trail.  Now that we have access to all the Landmark books through our living library, I’ve been holding off on some of my book buying.  I have already read The Tree in the Trail with my son.  It’s such a great book for explaining the Santa Fe Trail that we don’t need to read anything else.  However, I was thinking I may read the book for myself when it’s time for me to read The Tree in the Trail with her in a couple of years.  Even though the Landmark books are written for older children to teens, I find that many of the stories are captivating, far less dry than history books written for adults, and tell very compelling stories.  I was more convinced to buy this edition since it was in perfect condition, had a dust jacket, and was a good price. 

Fourth Grade Highlight

We finished The Erie Canal by Samuel Hopkins Adams. His grandfather helped build part of the canal, so he had firsthand access to stories and letters and did other research to write the book.  Parts of the book were rather dry.  I read the highlights of the book aloud to my son so that he would get a general overview of who, what, why, and how.  We read this because my history plan of choosing Discovery biographies from our living library was thwarted during an extended illness.  We’ll go back to my original plan during the next semester as we will have full access to the library again. I do have a small pile of TBR Landmark books in my son’s TBR, so we may still pick one of those up before the end of the school year.

We finished reading Hans Brinker by Mary Mapes Dodge and then watched the movie.  I always have my son draw a picture of his free reads for his notebook.  He mixed in a little Star Wars delivering the silver skates as the prize.  Definitely not a true rendering.

We’ve started The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis.  It is so good so far.  I read this book in college, but I don’t remember anything about it.  I do think it’s one that took me a long time to read the first time because I didn’t find it interesting.  Total opposite this time!

Kindergarten Highlight

We finished reading the first Betsy-Tacy book. I’m enjoying this series.  It’s fun having a chapter book series to read with my daughter.  When my son was this age, we read the robot in the wilderness series and the Ralph mouse series.

Charlotte Mason Arithmetic is going slowly and I’m not sure how well but still on track as we haven’t given up. Phonics has picked up a little as my daughter is recognizing certain words as we’re driving and from a book she checked out at the library this week. She also received some kindergarten workbooks for Christmas to keep her busy when she’s asking for school but I’m working with her brother.  The scissor skills book is especially nice as she colors, cuts and then creates new art work with the glitter glue and stapler she also received.

Mom Highlight

We’re almost there, folks. I can almost see the end of our semester.  I’m about to plan out our exam questions and need to print out our second semester family folder.  If we take zero breaks we’ll finish school before Memorial Day.  I know that won’t happen, so I’m feeling more positive (as in happy and in full knowledge) that our completion in June won’t be so bad afterall.

Winter Rhythms and Mental Health

Our autumn season was punctuated by coziness. Now we’re hunkering down for winter.  I am actively pursuing positive mental health to keep my family and myself not only afloat but buoyant in our winter rhythm.

Several years ago I read a few books that had underlying themes of enjoying the cold or dreary seasons. I’ve since taken the advice to heart and sought out joy or wonder in ordinary, forgotten, or neglected portions of life.

Last spring as we were wrapping up our school year, I focused heavily on creating different seasonal rhythms within our school and home.  Those same rhythms have continued to pull on my heart through autumn and now that it’s winter.  Much of our Christmas break is carrying over into our new year.  While I typically strive to wake up early to get started on our day in a timely manner, I’ve set that aside for this season. I’ve turned off my alarm, and I’ve been letting the kids watch a little extra tv – Tuttle Twins and The Creators for the win! I’m more willing to cook up a warm breakfast or lunch for the children and myself.  I linger over my cup of coffee and time in the Bible.  I brew copious amounts of tea. And I run the space heater.

Routine for Mental Health

We’ve thrown out a rigid routine for this season, but we haven’t thrown out our routine altogether.  We all benefit from a routine and challenging ourselves with hard things.  This is not a season of rest. Routine gives us sense of purpose and place.  We are still going to maintain making beds, brushing teeth, getting dressed, and devoting ourselves to school. But maybe we’ll stay in our pajamas if it’s a rainy day.  Maybe we’ll watch an extra movie or documentary so that we can spend a little extra time snuggling under warm blankets.

Movement for Mental Health

I absolutely have to go out of my way to make it a point for us to get outside.  I’m NOT a fan of the cold, but I know how beneficial it is for us to get outside.  A brisk walk or nature observation is incredibly good for our mental health.  I also have to prioritize indoor exercise.  That is also not my favorite.  When I’m outside exercising, I don’t view it as work, but I sure do when I’m inside.  I open all the blinds to help motivate me, but it’s not quite the same.  I’m also becoming very aware of the types of body movements I’m making.  I’m someone who is often lost in my thoughts and find myself clasping my arms as if to protect myself and my soul.  I’ve been trying to do the opposite – making big movements – big strides, outstretched arms, lifted hands.

Reading for Mental Health

I’m taking more classes through The House of Humane Letters again this year, have a list of books to read along with The Literary Life Podcast, and another long list of books to read for learning and for fun.  I have found that I’ve recently been reading several non-fiction or very heavy fictional books.  I want to have a little more balance, so I’ve thrown in a mystery to help.  I’ve even changed around a few of the books I’m reading with the kids. 

Every year our church spends three days reading the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.  People in the congregation sign up for 20 minute blocks to read where the last person left off.  There is something very powerful in reading Scripture out loud. 

I’m also reading my Scripture cards out loud in the morning and evening.  I have stored up anxiety (hello, living in your mind) that I am actively using ALL my senses to release and heal by storing up new memories and stories.  I also actively pursue at least two if not more daily activities that I know contribute to this new story – movement, cooking, art, knitting, tea drinking.

Music and Art for Mental Health

I cannot quote the book word by word since I don’t have it in my possession, but I read quite a few good things in the book Rewire Your Anxious Brain by Catherine Pittman.  While I already knew that singing was good for you, there is science behind why it’s good for you.  I’m making it a point in this season to sing… a lot… out loud… and often.  Did you know there’s also science behind artist study within the Charlotte Mason method? It’s good for your mind’s attention and for your soul’s rest.  The attention you are giving with your eye movements are triggering rest in your brain.  Again, I don’t have the exact study or brain names, so you’re welcome to link in the comments to some such things if you so desire.

Education for Mental Health

During 2023 my husband was pursuing the phrase “out with the old, in with the new.”  Our spring/summer was ruled by “rhythms” and our autumn by “cozy.”  I planned to be quite a bit further along in school this year.  How are we only at week 13 when we’ve been doing school since August?  As I reflected on what we have and haven’t done, I saw just how much we HAVE done.  We’ve traveled every month; we’ve had sickness every month; we’ve followed our rhythm every month.  Now that I see that our school year is going to linger into June (far later than I planned), I’ve come to the conclusion that we need a goal or mantra to keep us going.  We’re going to use the philosophy of Charlotte Mason and remind ourselves that education is a life. We will keep filling our days with academics but mostly with what is feeding our souls in this moment and for our future. 

Whatever season you are in, I hope you will take full advantage of your winter.

Semester 1, Week 12

What I’m Reading: The Living Year by Richard Headstrom

I spent a day or two of each month in 2023 reading a chapter from this book.  I looked forward to reading it each month and imagining myself out in nature.  I also became more aware of what to look for myself as we went on our daily walks.  Such a good read, and I’m still in a bit of disbelief that I’m enjoying nature so much. 

Co-op

Half of week 12 happened in December and the other half in January.  The kids wrapped up the first half of co-op with a Christmas party.  They had an ice cream party and made Christmas ornaments.  My children are basically self-sufficient now at parties, so I was helping out at the hot glue station.  I did have to step away for a little while to get my daughter settled, but otherwise, I was giving myself glue blisters.

Fourth Grade Highlight

We finished reading The Christmas Compass and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  I ended up adding in Hans Brinker in hopes that we would finish it before our Christmas break giving us time to watch the movie.  My hope didn’t become a reality, so now we’ll be finishing up the book next week and hoping to still have the movie in our possession (we checked it out from the library).  We had a Chronicles of Narnia movie marathon with all the versions.  Super fun way to wrap up 2023.  My husband also bought us a special box of Turkish delight as a Christmas gift.

Needs Improvement

Now that I know how far we got (or didn’t get, rather), I’m able to gauge where we’ll end our school year.  So that it’s not going way into the summer, I condensed our week 16 exam week into 2-3 days.  I also completely removed week 16 of the second semester.  I also removed history for the last two weeks of this semester (this provides margin and lines up better with when we can visit our living library again).

I have some final plans that need to be made (or printed) for next semester.  I’ve also pulled up all the books I have for first and fifth grades to start planning next year.  Its hard to find a balance between high expectations and the reality of wanting to fill our days with experiences, people, and real life hands on fun and work.

Kindergarten Highlight

Once again I’m seeing a lot of interest from my daughter in learning but also that growth in her brain where she has to decide if she’s okay with stretching in harder things. She made some connections in phonics over Christmas but had some dread in doing her lesson when we sat down for school after the new year.  She received the next several books in the Betsy Tacy series, so I like to hear her excitement in listening to a chapter book.  She’s also building in excitement in performing piano and ballet.

Needs Improvement

Splitting up the school week was good on one hand because it let us ease back into a routine with what was leftover needing to be done.  On the other hand, I feel like my thoughts in the wrap up are far more scattered, and I know I’m forgetting things I wanted to mull over.  I think I’m mostly wondering how we’re only on week 12 and have 18-19 weeks left.  I do remain hopeful that we can finish this semester by the end of January.  Can we do it without cutting back on all the things?