I wrote this post last night, but I’m going ahead and posting because I don’t expect to do much today. Kathryn woke up this morning with a tummy bug, so I am staying close (and praying the rest of the family doesn’t get it). She has been soooo excited about tonight’s GA’s racer derby at church, and now it looks like she won’t be able to participate, which is very disappointing. 🙁

On Monday morning, the girls and I searched for verses about love, and we wrote those verses on a garland of hearts we made. Even though this was a little Valentine’s craft, I plan to leave it up a while because it’s not just about a holiday, but about love. Don’t you love how it just happens to go so nicely with the living room decor?

I’m proud of how Kathryn has been doing with writing. Her perfectionist tendencies held her up with this last year, and even a few months ago. I backed off for a while, and things have gone much better since we started back up last month. She chooses whatever Story Starter she wants, then continues that story on her own. She also finally has a pen pal who seems as eager as she is. Kathryn nearly tackled the mail carrier yesterday to see if she had a letter (she did!) and immediately set to writing her new pal back.

Our history readings  this week are Calico Captive for Lindsey, and The Captain’s Dog for Kathryn. Both books are big hits with the girls. I’m still working on getting Lindsey comfortable with the concept of narration. Kathryn doesn’t love it, but she’s done it for years, so it’s not a big deal and she knows what I expect. It’s totally new for Lindsey, but she did well this week — possibly because she loves this book.

We watched when the next door neighbor had a new driveway poured, and I dubbed it a “field trip” in our front yard.

Kathryn had a great life skills lesson when we babysat our little friend Kaley. I didn’t even have to be here; Kathryn kept Kaley wonderfully entertained through reading, having Kaley point to colors and letters and shapes in books, and doing puzzles on the floor. She is going to be a great mommy one day!

In other life skills, Lindsey has been driving a little more often. Still not with me, though, because at this point I am still spazing a little about our teenager manning a two-ton weapon on the roadways. So, Ken’s the driving guy.

Besides all of that, my mind has been occupied with pondering what curriculum we’ll be using next year. It seems a little early to be figuring all of that out, but A) I like to be prepared, B) I like to space out curriculum costs whenever possible, and C) my cousin was kind enough to loan me a year’s worth of Tapestry of Grace plans so I could thoroughly look it over. Right now, it’s looking like I probably will go with that next year, but I’m not entirely decided yet. Thoughts, experience, and opinions welcome!

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 »