Last Friday night, I took both of my girls to the annual Mother-Daughter event at our church. It was a ballet performance of a modernized version of the story of Ruth, followed by a dessert reception. The fun of the evening (influenced, I’m sure, by the sugar we’d eaten) made for much laughter on our drive home. These lighthearted moments are becoming more frequent, and I am very thankful.

After many talks and much pondering, it looks as though Lindsey will be homeschooling again next year. She has realized that this will give her much more flexibility, and will get her graduated sooner than if she sticks with the rigidity of public school requirements and schedules.  If she remains in public school, she’s likely looking at three more years, and she’s already 17. I’ve made no promises about this time-frame, but told her if she is extremely diligent and if we start this June, then she may be able to graduate in June 2013. So now I’m in major planning mode because I’ll be trying to fit in nearly two years of schooling into one calendar year; there are a variety of reasons for this, but that’s for another post, another time.

Last Sunday, Kathryn celebrated Purim and dressed as Esther for a costume contest (at her dad’s messianic synagogue). This week, for a bat mitzvah class assignment, she wrote a short report comparing the play at the Purim celebration to the story of Esther in the Bible.

Kathryn has been on a major creative kick lately, and has been knitting up a storm, plus making a few fun and funky projects, like this brightly colored Duct tape purse!

I started our next scheduled literature read-aloud, Kim by Rudyard Kipling, but didn’t even make it through the first chapter before I decided I needed a less cumbersome read-aloud after Oliver Twist. Oddly enough, I can talk a mile a minute, but reading something like that aloud wears me out; weird, huh? So we’re reading another book from our shelf, Freckles by Gene Stratton-Porter. We’re only a few chapters into it, but we are both enjoying it.

Kathryn’s interest in astronomy has grown since finding a few great sites like EarthSky.org and Astronomy Picture of the Day. As we were in the car with my mom the other night, Kathryn was telling her all about Jupiter and Venus, and how they’re in a different place than usual, and other things that make my brain hurt to think about. Yeah, homeschool is cool. 😉 Just a note: the EarthSky site is not at all Creation-minded, but if you stick to the astronomy parts, it’s good stuff. Kathryn has eagerly taken it upon herself to learn all this; I should really look for some good astronomy books, too!

I’m hoping later today to do a little art project. If we do, I’ll be sure to share. Kathryn wants to do the little chicks pastel from Hodgepodge, and next week, I want to try Barb’s peony!

** I’m linking up with Kris’ Weekly Wrap-Up, and Sue’s A Homeschool Mother’s Journal.

–> Don’t miss fun giveaway I’m doing next week for a “My Husband Rocks” t-shirt from Union28! Check back Monday for a post with all the details!!

Jamie

Wife, mom, J-ma. Introvert who enjoys good books, sunshine, and authentic conversation. Often seen with a steaming mug of tea in hand – unless it’s lost yet again in the microwave. Read more »