we belong to the most wonderful homeschool group imaginable. each person brings their own personality and energy to the group, making for a most interesting whole. the weekly park days are one of the highlights of the girl’s week, and mine also. yet another part of my life to be grateful for.
today, it was rattlesnakes, racoons and rock climbing – never mind the other 3 r’s.
missed the picture of the rattlesnake…….and feeling just fine with that!
a day that just poked about, good music, good company with the husband and the girl, homemade sausage ground and flavored, half the house cleaned and an amazing playtime with the girl. animals and all.
my life has been wrapped in a sweet, warm quilt of the love of my family and friends, end of spring weather and the anticipation of the lazy days of summer. what a nice place to be.
the girl, the dog, the weather – all perfect in their own ways.
sun.....
silliness....
make believe.....
and the dog, well.....
henry found a girlfriend....
while this blog has been neglected, it hasn’t been forgotten. the neglect was partially intentional – when i realized that the writing for this space was becoming more of a chore than a pleasure, that i felt guilty when i didn’t post – well, let’s just say it was a time out for some thinking on what the point is. which led to some work and thinking on other aspects of where this mind was/is going . and now that my head (and heart) are being gently prodded onto new paths, i feel comfortable starting to write again. this time the only rule is that the moment any part of the process doesn’t feel good, out the window it will go.
and then there was also the unintentional part – and that’s the fun stuff! spring sprung, daylight hours became longer and suddenly the sap started moving through my veins. we couldn’t get enough of being outdoors, breathing in the scent of life starting a new season. i love how each season has its own smell. spring smells loamy. leaves and other matter left over from previous seasons get rained upon and release their aromas. new growth bursting into the open, and that has a smell all it’s own. i can’t describe it, but definitely a smell. wildflowers, the first roses, bay trees. it’s a good time to be outdoors. and i think i’m starting to smell summer mixed into the potpourri…….and we got a little taste of it while camping this past week. which is a post of its own, so for now, i’m padding off to knit. leaving this space happy with what i’ve written.
it clicked – the girl read a book!! yes, it was a “bob” book, yes, by the second time through she had it memorized, but nonetheless……she connected sounds with letters, strung the sounds together, and i am just so proud! better yet, SHE is so very delighted with herself. and i was privileged to be able to watch it unfold. i love this homeschooling thing!
“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.”
Rachel Carson
i taped this to the wall to remind me that i AM this person for the girl……not perfect, not always tuned in, but trying oh so hard – and reminders always help.
it’s been a good week – check these out!
1. we’ve been wanting a telescope – but the high cost has put us off a bit - in celebration of the international year of astronomy the international astronomical union has offered this. we think these will do nicely!
2. i may be the last person on this planet to start using the google reader. and i found it to be overwhelming – i was literally reading so much i could no longer remember what i had read. i stumbled on these tips for using the reader and it helped. google reader is addicting.
3. this is just amazing…..and warrants digging deeper to find out more.
4. want to learn about physics? superconductivity? how about fluid mechanics (what???)? international relations? online learning is interesting and free – i’m thinking that taking some of these classes will help hone some of my weaker areas of knowledge, and will be fun to boot!
5. the family over at blue yonder put together the book of days every month. we’ve ordered the last two months and have had a lot of fun with them, and think it’s just neat that a family of homeschoolers put this together.
6. seen at our house last week – a bunch of kids acting out the story of little red retold by lynn roberts. a funny take on little red riding hood, but little red is a boy and there is a giant belch in the story. the kids were hilarious and all wanted to be the wolf (because of the belch). this is a fun thing to do and will definitely encourage more of this.
7. adult reads this week – the age of american unreason by susan jacoby; lies my teacher told me: everything your american history textbook got wrong by james loewen; the philosophy gym by stephen law; better than school by nancy wallace. i’ve finished none of them yet, so can’t really recommend, but they’re all very interesting reads so far.
8. okay – here’s a secret – i’m a yanni fan. and he has a new show & album – yanni voices. featuring new singing talent that wrote lyrics to some of his songs. and this guy, nathan pacheco, he sings. and his voice is gorgeous. goosebump gorgeous. and violinist samvel yervinyan is amazing, as always. if you get a chance to see this on pbs – do it, don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
