Well, we are back in full swing, and it's going quite nicely. Tonight, John asked to read to me - which, of course, melted my heart! The boys are retaining so much and exploring so very much. I can't keep up! This does, however, fall under the "Gee, I wish this was the worst of my problems" category. This, I can deal with.
The critters that keep emerging? Not so much. We bug bombed before we left. Came home to a glorious dearth of crickets (of all kinds), and yet... there are new bugs now. Oy! What have we done?!? Well, it'll give us something to do, right?
We aren't really making any changes as we transition from last year to next year. (Notice we haven't really had a "this year", which may account for some of that...)
* John will move into Alpha. James will move on to Delta. That's it for math.
* We'll keep plugging along with Latin, although we might add in Greek this year, just for fun. We were planning to start it next year (um, next next year...) in earnest, but as well as they like foreign language, I'd hate to waste this time and opportunity.
* History is Story of the World.
* Art will be Drawing With Children - although not until possibly fall, as I need to work through it a bit first, and that's just not happening in the immediate future.
* Science is nature journaling, reading, experiments with Dad and discussions at the dinner table. Maybe a little more reading. (That's just such an effective and enjoyable way to gather information!)
* For religion, we'll continue to read through the Bible, supplement the church studies, and work on the catechism at home.
* Then there's the whole reading/spelling/language arts/grammar/miscellaneous other things category. We tackle that in one shot: we read. It seems such a simple thing, yet it's a powerful way to go. It offers the boys the quality education we aim to offer them. Latin helps take care of grammar specifics, and the rest comes from reading quality literature - discussing quality literature - pulling copywork from quality literature.
* Music - if we can find an upright piano that wants to come live with us and can get along with the house, then we'll add music lessons to the mix.
Well, that was relatively painless. Or, it was once I got over the idea that I can't buy as much as I'd like to buy for school next year. *grin* I'd love to purchase the SOTW supplemental reading books because we can't get our hands on them through the library. I'd love to buy more of the unabridged, unadulterated classic children's literature so we don't have to wade through the junk they have in stock at BAM. I'd love to buy all of the GA Henty titles... just to have them! Ok, ok, my slip is showing, there. I mean, the boys will read them, eventually. But still - y'all know what I mean.
However, I was very, very good this year. We were starting to panic a bit about how to pay for the HVAC upfront when lo and behold, in came extra money. I thought about hiding it in my pocket and bolting to the library (so I could order from Amazon under the radar). I thought about flinging myself on the floor and sobbing about how few books we TRULY have (*snort* like that one would go over!) But I didn't. I showed Zorak and waited for him to offer to let me go on a book buying spree. He didn't, though (I knew he wouldn't, but had to at least hope) - he said, "Hey, shall we buy an air conditioner?" I've never been so conflicted in my life. I mean, I'm a wuss when it comes to summer heat and downright petty about southern humidity... but these are BOOKS, Man! BOOKS, I tell you! Yeah, yeah, whatever. We're getting the HVAC. (I'll be glad for that come August, but for now it's still a little bittersweet.)
Found the math book I'd begun studying last... erm, January. Felt a bit sheepish about not having made it very far. Then I realized, hey, we've been a little busy the past year! So, I forgave myself, and we've decided to start up on that again. Tonight was my first attempt at it. Math still isn't my strong suit, but it is a lot more fun than I used to think it was.
On the forever homefront, I got two acres mowed, we made arrangements to make progress on the HVAC installation (that sounds so much more impressive than, "we still don't have a/c," doesn't it?) More planning and sifting and scheming.
Oh ~ the dumpster people came today and removed the construction dumpster!! Wow, our driveway is HUGE! We'd forgotten. James noticed that the view of the meadow and barn from the picnic table is gorgeous - right after he realized we now have a view from there... :-) Funny kid.
There was no pilfering of paper products today! At this point, I'd just call it a successful day and go find the peanut butter cups. And so, I am off.
Kiss those babies!
~Dy
8 comments:
I like your self-forgiving nature. I think I'll have a look at all our school "stuff" today and see where we are at. (Been an odd year for us, too.)
Look, I love books, but wouldn't you just as well be comfortable while you read them? :)
Ain't no one getting between me and my air conditioner!
Here is a toast of ice cold lemonade from one melting southerner also without AC (and pregnant, I might add) to another. I also am hoping by August we might have cool air blowing.
Amy in Apex
You deserve a pat on the back for being so upright and virtuous about that check! I know it was the only thing you could really do, and I also know (BTDT) the temptation to buy books when a windfall arrives. The last two years of weeks without a/c due to hurricanes, though, have taught me that life without a/c is hardly worth living. Zorak is right, and the a/c will last, God willing, longer than you would have spent reading those books. However, one of the things that worries me about moving and quitting my job (someday) is that the days of boxes of books from Amazon would come to an end. Shudder!
Cordially,
Melora
Uh, yeah. There's no WAY that you would make the book=no air conditioner decision in a month or two! Trust me, you'll look back and be very thankful. You can't check cold air out of the library...
:)
~Jo's Boys
Are you specifically looking for *new* books to buy, or will used ones do? I live in a tiny town in east central Alabama and there are no bookstores of any kind around. The public library is very small, but they have an ongoing book sale in the basement and I check it out every few weeks or so. Last time I went I came home with a dozen Childhood of Famous American biographies, several Landmark history books, a couple of books by the D'Aulaires, and some juvenile fiction and picture books - all hardcover books, many out-of-print, for fifty cents each. Booksalefinder.com probably lists large booksales near you and you can make $20 to $30 go a lot farther than you can at BAM or Borders or Amazon!
I know. It was the right thing to do. I think I was just hoping for a little instant gratification. We haven't done that route in a long time. :-) (Of course, because of that, we now have some truly wonderful things - delayed gratification is good, too.)
Dy
I always enjoy coming to read your posts. Thank you for sharing what your plans are. We've stretched out our spending on books and such instead of buying all at once. We made our budget so that we could buy at least one book or supplement item under $50. Goodwill is an awesome resource, if you shop multiple stores in an area.
I hope you get yourself, I mean, your children at least one Henty book...LOL
I'm going to check out the booksalefinder that Laura was talking about
Jessica
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