Do It Anyway

WEEKLY REPORT UPDATED

no bells, no whistles, but hopefully, readability!

 

1*

Gotta have art. You just do. Our kids get it at Co-op, taught by my sweet friends, Jannell, Ana and myself. Then on Tuesdays, Ana does it again at Tutoring Center. And Flower has her clay class with Mz. Z. Plus they draw on their own. We have plenty of drawing missives around to inspire and amend. Along with poseable figures.

*2*

A beautiful analysis from the Circe Institute: Don’t Follow Your Heart: Anti-Revolutionary Lessons from Pride and Prejudice (one of my fav's). Jane rocks.

"Jane Austen’s message is just as timely today as it was two hundred years ago. How do we respond to a world gone mad? Have a good marriage, be a good neighbor, invest in your community, take your responsibilities seriously. Don’t follow your heart. Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. On these hangs the only hope to restore sanity to our world.

. - Angelina

*3*

Speaking of Revolution I am going to try to whisk away some of my older kids this week-end and go see Lincoln. Maybe I'll luck out and get Dr. Dh to go. The last movie we went to was For Greater Glory, a heartbreaking, beautiful recount of those willing to die for their faith and the freedom to practice it. I cried through the whole thing.
The movie we went to before that was Passion of the Christ. I was too traumatized to cry.
Oy vey. Where are the lighthearted chick flicks?
HGF has a free iPad app available for the Lincoln Movie- check it out.

*4*

We had a great week of school. Here's the deal. When I faithfully fill out a scheduling sheet for each kid, we rock the homeschool world in terms of getting stuff done, getting along and tackling challenging stuff. When I don't, we take the prize for lammoability. A big part of it is that the kids know what's expected, get to cross off what they've done as they go and I'm not in the back-ground going, "hey, you forgot to do this..."
The reality is that you don't get what you want, you get what you plan- (well, sometimes).
Donna Young.org to the rescue. Of course.

*5*

What did we get done, you askGC Physics- more episodes watched- it's a non-math physics course, and focuses on everyday stuff. Cub and Feeche are watching together since they are both taking physics- Cub, pre-physics at TC and Feeche Apologia.
Flower is reading through Biology by Tiner and thrilled to share with everyone!
Math. We were gifted with Saxon 6/5, just in time as MME was making too big of jumps for Flower. She's loving it, though she keeps wanting to know why there is a 6/5 on the cover. Cub continues to do great with Alg 1/2 and Feeche is finally hitting a groove. We switched from Foerster's pre-calc to Glencoe and he is back to getting it, scoring well on tests and moving on.
Spelling- we are back at it, though it's time consuming. Sequential Spelling. Love that program.
Horatius at the Bridge- Cub at verse 20, Flower slowing down but hanging in there at week 18. A rough week for Flower. She was struggling with feeling deeply sad about some things and school took the hit. We took things slow, spent time snuggling and talking and praying and today she was back in a groove.
Plus we're doing the study guide, complete with pictures and maps and comprehension questions. Excellent stuff.
Feeche is on Cantos 24 in The Divine Comedy. Great discussions and we are having a blast discussing it together. MP study guides- simple, effective, straightforward. LOVE them!!
Writing- always around here. How to teach it? Check here.

*6*

Have I mentioned Lego League lately? Whomever can is meeting an extra 4 hours a week to focus on programming. Qualifiers are coming up faster than the speed of sound and we have a ton of work to get done. The good news is that our little band of merry boys and girls are a riot, good natured and good friends. They are also good students, quick learners and love the program. Good times. Sometimes too good but the term

 

gracious professionalism

has taken root and the kids quote it to each other. Instant attitude change. STEM and interpersonal skill building
- a winning combo!

*7*

I have been reading Girls on the Edge by Leonard Sax. Frightening stuff. Makes me glad I've homeschooled. Because the bottom line is that our kids are growito no sense of self.

Along with that I was in a discussion this week about what to say to naysayers who criticize homeschooling. My response is this: Is God calling you to homeschool? Then do it. If He calling you to something else? Then do that. Whatever you do, do it with your whole heart. And here's the deal. If you do something that threatens the status quo, or the enemy of your soul, or the ancient one who would rather that your child was dead, expect to be criticized. Expect to be put down and questioned and told that you aren't or can't or won't do a good job.

And along with that, don't expect outcomes. Because the reality is that your child will grow up, have a mind of their own, succumb to temptations, or just not understand or care about the sacrifices that went in to allowing them to have a sense of self, a childhood that was innocent and full of privacy and time to think and be and wonder.

When you do something extraordinary with the ordinary you can expect flack. There are no guarantees- it's a risk.

It's just that simple.

But, as Mother Teresa say, "Do it anyway.