I have seen a few other people do this on their blogs and I thought it was a good idea. If I post my list of to read/have read books here then I will always know where to look. If I just try to keep track of my scrap of paper. . . .it will be lost in a day or two.
I'm hoping that by keeping this list I will be able to also write in future posts about some of these books as I read them.
*Green indicates that I have read, Red indicates that I have read to the children.
Potok, The Chosen(?)
Bronte, Jane Eyre(?)
Stratton-Porter, Laddie
Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
Austen, Pride and Prejudice
Bastiat, What is Seen and What is Not Seen*
Johnson & Johnson, The One Minute Teacher
Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Dickens, Great Expectations
Frank, Alas Babylon
Gardner, Multiple Intelligences*
Gatto, The 7 Lesson School Teacher*
Harward, A Market-Based Education
Holt, How Children Learn
Kavanaugh, Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers
Lewis, The Abolition of Man
Noebel, Understanding the Times
Hugo, Les Miserables
Shakespeare, five plays
Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin
Strauss and Howe, The Fourth Turning
Thoreau, Walden
Wister, The Virginian(* = articles found in the books Bastiat, Essays on Political Economy & Gatto, Dumbing Us Down)
Ten Boom, The Hiding Place(2007)
Monnett, Awakening to Our Awful Situation
Skousen, The 5000 Year Leap
Campbell, Eve and the Choice Made in Eden(2005)
Wilcox, Fire in the Bones(2006)
Lossing, Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence
Monnett, Revealed Educational Principles and the Public Schools(2007)
Lundstrom, Motherhood, A Partnership with God
DeMille, A Thomas Jefferson Education(2007)
Moody, Shaking the Nickel Bush(2007)
Aldrich, A Lantern in her Hand(2007)
Gaskell, Ruth(2007)
Gaskell, Wives and Daughters
Gaskell, North and South
Marshall, A Man Called Peter(2005?)
Marshall, Christy(2007)
Marshall, Beyond Ourselves(2004?)
Wallace, Ben Hur
L'amour, The Walking Drum(2007-family read aloud)
L'amour, The Lonesome Gods(2007-family read aloud)
L'amour, Bendigo Shafter (2007-family read aloud)
Keller, The Story of My Life(2007)
Van Dyke, The Other Wise Man
Hansen, Running With Angels(2007)
Robinson, Believing Christ(?)
Robinson, Following Christ(?)
Philbrick, Revenge of the Whale(2005)
Mandino, The Christ Commission(?)
Grandma Moses, My Life's History
The American Story
The Romance of North America
Holt, Exiled(2006)
History of the United States
To read with the kids:
Alcott, Little Women(2007)
Alcott, Little Men
Alcott, Jo's Boys
Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare
Rawls, Summer of the Monkeys(2008)
Rawls, Where the Red Fern Grows
Moody,Little Britches(2007)
Moody, Mary Emma and Company(2007)
Rinaldi, The Fifth of March(2008)
Rinaldi, A Break with Charity(2008)
Speare, The Calico Captive(2008)
Hale, The Princess Academy(2008)
Speare, The Witch of Blackbird Pond(2006?)
Wilder, Little House (series)(2007-8)
Wyss, Swiss Family Robinson
Dumas, Count of Monte Cristo
Twain, The Prince and the Pauper
Porter, Pollyanna
Porter, Just David(2008)
Burnett, A Little Princess
Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables(2007)
Speare, The Bronze Bow(2007-8, family read aloud)
Spyri, Heidi
Burnett, The Secret Garden
George, My Side of the Mountain (series)
Stevenson, Treasure Island
Swift, Gulliver's Travels
Forbes, Johnny Tremain
Crane, The Red Badge of Courage
Twain, Tom Sawyer
Twain, Huck Finn
Collodi, Pinnochio
Nordhoff, Mutiny on the Bounty
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Books, Books, Books!
How I love books! I have been a reader of books all my life. It has taken me many years however to come to the point where I want to be much more selective of the books that I read.
Since being introduced to TJEd, the types of books I do read and want to read has changed quite a bit. I stopped reading romance-type novels(trashy) over 15 years ago, trying very hard to read historical novels that weren't smut-filled. They were a pleasant way to pass the time or reward myself when the work was done. Now, I long to read for the purpose of learning new things and opening my mind, expanding my understanding. The list of books I want to read has expanded as well. You know the song,"Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend"? For me, please change Diamonds to Books and it will be much more accurate.
I had the great opportunity last year to take home boxes of books that came out of my Grandfather's basement. Some of them had been his father's and grandfather's and some my Grandmother's and her mother's. So I have a large selection of books to peruse. Some of the most interesting ones I have found are:
A Progressive Course in Spelling by J.N. Hunt, copyright 1904(wondering if I should use this in homeschool?)
Treasure Island-given to my dad for Christmas in 1954
The History of the United States(my grandmother's text from high school or college), copyright 1924
Business Law for Business Men and Students,(my great grandfather's book-college in Iowa?), copyright 1901
Agriculture for Beginners(my grandfather's book), copyright 1903
A tiny, suedebound, 3x4 copy of Thanatopsis and Other Poems, by William Cullen Bryant, no date, (My great grandmother's)
I have loved looking through these books and seeing my ancestors annotations. My grandma and her mother were especially fond of writing in the margins of their books. It is neat to see what things caught their attention and to read their notes in their own handwriting. My husband abhors writing in books, but I think these books are a treasure. I'm compiling a list of what I'd like to read and including many of these wonderful old books.
Since being introduced to TJEd, the types of books I do read and want to read has changed quite a bit. I stopped reading romance-type novels(trashy) over 15 years ago, trying very hard to read historical novels that weren't smut-filled. They were a pleasant way to pass the time or reward myself when the work was done. Now, I long to read for the purpose of learning new things and opening my mind, expanding my understanding. The list of books I want to read has expanded as well. You know the song,"Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend"? For me, please change Diamonds to Books and it will be much more accurate.
I had the great opportunity last year to take home boxes of books that came out of my Grandfather's basement. Some of them had been his father's and grandfather's and some my Grandmother's and her mother's. So I have a large selection of books to peruse. Some of the most interesting ones I have found are:
A Progressive Course in Spelling by J.N. Hunt, copyright 1904(wondering if I should use this in homeschool?)
Treasure Island-given to my dad for Christmas in 1954
The History of the United States(my grandmother's text from high school or college), copyright 1924
Business Law for Business Men and Students,(my great grandfather's book-college in Iowa?), copyright 1901
Agriculture for Beginners(my grandfather's book), copyright 1903
A tiny, suedebound, 3x4 copy of Thanatopsis and Other Poems, by William Cullen Bryant, no date, (My great grandmother's)
I have loved looking through these books and seeing my ancestors annotations. My grandma and her mother were especially fond of writing in the margins of their books. It is neat to see what things caught their attention and to read their notes in their own handwriting. My husband abhors writing in books, but I think these books are a treasure. I'm compiling a list of what I'd like to read and including many of these wonderful old books.
Monday, January 28, 2008
God Be With You Til We Meet Again
I am so full of mixed emotions right now.So incredibly happy imagining his tender reunion with his sweet little wife. . . .
Sad when I consider that we will not see his cute smile or hear his voice, or smile at his little wisecracks again. Also when I think of his children and grandchildren. . . .
Thankful that he was with us for so long, sharing his wealth of optimism, wisdom and experience. . . .
Hopeful when I think over the men who might possibly be called to be the next prophet. . . .
Blessed to know that Heavenly Father is in charge and these changes will be smoothly made and the work of building His kingdom will go forward without a lurch.
So Blessed.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Feeling Better......
I finally got a notebook out and wrote down all those annoying little thoughts that were buzzing around in my head and making it ache. You know, those little thoughts of things you'd like to do, things you ought to do and things you must do. For me, with all the reading I've been doing and ideas I've been pulling from various sources, all those thoughts were just tumbling around in my empty little skull and the 'noise' was driving me crazy! So I finally put them to paper and no more noise. I don't have to worry about them anymore because I have recorded them somewhere. I read somewhere (haha!) that that was a good thing to do with those little things in your mind that keep taking up too much of your precious thought time. WRITE them down! Amazing!
I was also able to sit down with those various written ideas and see how to implement them into our life and schedule. I made a spreadsheet with our daily/weekly schedule and I can now see how it can all fit. And it does! Instead of worrying each day that I ought to be studying something, I now have a set day for studying a certain area, so on that given day, that's the only area I need to think about studying. It's really very liberating and exciting. For example, today is Wednesday, and instead of worrying about whether to read Shakespeare, or work on some quilting, or a book on education, I know that Wednesday is my day to work on languages. I have chosen to learn Sign Language, so today I pulled out my manual and got in at least an hour's worth of work. I even got N to do it with me. We studied how to do numbers, the manual alphabet and some common conversational signs. Previously, I would have just thought about studying something but never would have made a choice as to what that study would be and nothing would have gotten done. Did I mention how exciting this is to me?
I read a quote recently by Emma McKay regarding planning:
"The successful mother must plan. If she does not, and arise early to carry that plan out, the meals are late, the dishes drag, the husband is cross, and the woman flustered. If she does not plan a week ahead, the meals are of a sameness and unappetizing. If she doesn't plan three months ahead, the sewing is not done in time for school. There is discontent and perhaps whining. If she does not plan a year ahead, the gardening, the housecleaning and the education of the children are neglected."
This pretty accurately describes our home atmosphere in the last few years, with the exception of the cross husband. (Thank goodness my husband is ever supportive and helpful) I have struggled with planning and I can attest that the longer we go on flying by the seat of our pants, the more flustered, or, my more favorite word, flustrated, I get. I feel as if all I am doing is treading water and going nowhere quick. I'm hoping that, with a newly aquired desire to be more organized and plan things out, and actually CARRY them out, and a vision of what we're wanting to accomplish in our lives and with our children, I will be able to be a calm, peaceful, happy woman and mother.
To keep my sometimes obsessive side in check, I loved this continuation of the above quote by Sis. McKay:
" There is danger, however, in overdoing planning, in overdoing housework, if by so doing the mother neglects the child. The study of the child, and the proper control of him, to my mind, comes first."
I have found myself at times growling to my kids to "pick that up!" or "Get up here and take care of the '____' you dropped on the floor!", thinking that if I was truly organized and had a plan that my house being spotless was part of that. Also at times I find I have committed myself and my family in too many places and times and we are overscheduled. I think the second quote fits nicely into my idea of a TJEd home. Order, a plan, organization, but never at the expense of the education/teaching/training(control) of the child/ren. Allowing for some sponteneity when inspiration strikes, allowing learning to take place in all its glorious messiness and then all working together when the 'learning' is done to put things away for the next time. I've finally figured out that kids=mess. And that kids+homeschool=BIG mess. But it's OK! I can let that part of organization go for the moment, enjoy the moment with my kids, share something, and when we're done the plan (us working together at specified times) puts that organization right back into place.
In homeschool this week, we've talked about a few changes in our schedule and cemented some ideas we had about when to learn what. The girls have worked on their Topic of the Month projects which they will share with us at the end of January. We started a unit study on SNOW yesterday and will continue with that through next week as well. Today we had Co-op and they had a Spanish lesson, Science, History and Geography and a Book discussion. No cries of boredom this week!
I was also able to sit down with those various written ideas and see how to implement them into our life and schedule. I made a spreadsheet with our daily/weekly schedule and I can now see how it can all fit. And it does! Instead of worrying each day that I ought to be studying something, I now have a set day for studying a certain area, so on that given day, that's the only area I need to think about studying. It's really very liberating and exciting. For example, today is Wednesday, and instead of worrying about whether to read Shakespeare, or work on some quilting, or a book on education, I know that Wednesday is my day to work on languages. I have chosen to learn Sign Language, so today I pulled out my manual and got in at least an hour's worth of work. I even got N to do it with me. We studied how to do numbers, the manual alphabet and some common conversational signs. Previously, I would have just thought about studying something but never would have made a choice as to what that study would be and nothing would have gotten done. Did I mention how exciting this is to me?
I read a quote recently by Emma McKay regarding planning:
"The successful mother must plan. If she does not, and arise early to carry that plan out, the meals are late, the dishes drag, the husband is cross, and the woman flustered. If she does not plan a week ahead, the meals are of a sameness and unappetizing. If she doesn't plan three months ahead, the sewing is not done in time for school. There is discontent and perhaps whining. If she does not plan a year ahead, the gardening, the housecleaning and the education of the children are neglected."
This pretty accurately describes our home atmosphere in the last few years, with the exception of the cross husband. (Thank goodness my husband is ever supportive and helpful) I have struggled with planning and I can attest that the longer we go on flying by the seat of our pants, the more flustered, or, my more favorite word, flustrated, I get. I feel as if all I am doing is treading water and going nowhere quick. I'm hoping that, with a newly aquired desire to be more organized and plan things out, and actually CARRY them out, and a vision of what we're wanting to accomplish in our lives and with our children, I will be able to be a calm, peaceful, happy woman and mother.
To keep my sometimes obsessive side in check, I loved this continuation of the above quote by Sis. McKay:
" There is danger, however, in overdoing planning, in overdoing housework, if by so doing the mother neglects the child. The study of the child, and the proper control of him, to my mind, comes first."
I have found myself at times growling to my kids to "pick that up!" or "Get up here and take care of the '____' you dropped on the floor!", thinking that if I was truly organized and had a plan that my house being spotless was part of that. Also at times I find I have committed myself and my family in too many places and times and we are overscheduled. I think the second quote fits nicely into my idea of a TJEd home. Order, a plan, organization, but never at the expense of the education/teaching/training(control) of the child/ren. Allowing for some sponteneity when inspiration strikes, allowing learning to take place in all its glorious messiness and then all working together when the 'learning' is done to put things away for the next time. I've finally figured out that kids=mess. And that kids+homeschool=BIG mess. But it's OK! I can let that part of organization go for the moment, enjoy the moment with my kids, share something, and when we're done the plan (us working together at specified times) puts that organization right back into place.
In homeschool this week, we've talked about a few changes in our schedule and cemented some ideas we had about when to learn what. The girls have worked on their Topic of the Month projects which they will share with us at the end of January. We started a unit study on SNOW yesterday and will continue with that through next week as well. Today we had Co-op and they had a Spanish lesson, Science, History and Geography and a Book discussion. No cries of boredom this week!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Time.....
I've been thinking about it alot lately.
How there's never enough of it in a day.
And yet, sometimes there's way too much of it.(waiting for a dr. appt, anyone)
I have always had a problem making the best use of it. I tend to fritter it away and wonder why I never get anything done. Or overschedule myself and wonder why I'm so frazzled.
For the last couple of weeks, I've been trying to revamp my daily schedule. Over the Christmas break we all got in a really BAD habit of staying up really late and sleeping in really late. It's been hard to get back to the normal schedule. Thankfully, the boys who have to be up and out of the house at a certain time are doing well getting themselves up and going and if it's our turn to drive, one of the licensed drivers in this house drags him or herself out of bed and drives. But if there's nowhere we have to be. . . . . .yah, you guessed it, we stagger out to the living room for morning prayer and stagger back to bed for a few more winks. If C or I are feeling particularly energetic we might head down to the treadmill for a rousing walk/run staring into the corner.
This just has thrown off our whole daily home/school schedule.
MUST
CHANGE
IT!!
I've been reading a couple of different books/articles written by some homeschooling mothers, trying to glean from them the things that I think would work in our home and family. It's exhausting! There are so many good ideas out there and I'm willing to try many of them, but is anyone else in this house?????? Not very happily. I think they're happy with the status quo.
Won't it be a surprise to them when I post the new schedule?
How there's never enough of it in a day.
And yet, sometimes there's way too much of it.(waiting for a dr. appt, anyone)
I have always had a problem making the best use of it. I tend to fritter it away and wonder why I never get anything done. Or overschedule myself and wonder why I'm so frazzled.
For the last couple of weeks, I've been trying to revamp my daily schedule. Over the Christmas break we all got in a really BAD habit of staying up really late and sleeping in really late. It's been hard to get back to the normal schedule. Thankfully, the boys who have to be up and out of the house at a certain time are doing well getting themselves up and going and if it's our turn to drive, one of the licensed drivers in this house drags him or herself out of bed and drives. But if there's nowhere we have to be. . . . . .yah, you guessed it, we stagger out to the living room for morning prayer and stagger back to bed for a few more winks. If C or I are feeling particularly energetic we might head down to the treadmill for a rousing walk/run staring into the corner.
This just has thrown off our whole daily home/school schedule.
MUST
CHANGE
IT!!
I've been reading a couple of different books/articles written by some homeschooling mothers, trying to glean from them the things that I think would work in our home and family. It's exhausting! There are so many good ideas out there and I'm willing to try many of them, but is anyone else in this house?????? Not very happily. I think they're happy with the status quo.
Won't it be a surprise to them when I post the new schedule?
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
It was a good day!
We had such a good day today! Can I please have another? Please!!??
The only problem was all the fighting over who got to play the piano. I should have gotten this book a long time ago! We may have to make a sign up sheet for the piano. Who would have thunk?
I ran for the 2nd day in a row! Can you believe it? I even ran an entire mile today besides the one that I walked, and can I feel it. Why I let myself get 20 lbs overweight I don't know. I hate myself every time I get to this point and wonder why I keep eating. Oh, well, I'll just have to keep plugging along on my trusty, new treadmill. Love that thing. Love that I can read while I'm doing my warm-up walking. I read two chapters in John Bunyan's A Pilgrim's Progress today.
We were supposed to feed the missionaries tonight, but we had a mixup on time and they weren't at home when C went to pick them up. I'm sorry they missed dinner, and hope they got something to eat, although I know it couldn't be nearly as good as the Navajo Tacos we had! YUM!! I hope when J gets out on his mission soon, the people will be good to him and feed him. He's so skinny now, I worry about him not eating enough in the mission field.
Took Soren to the Dr. yesterday. He's growing fine, another boy with a long, skinny body and a big head. Dr. Berry asked me if anyone else in our family had a big head and I just smiled and said yes. Celebrated Soren's 2nd birthday on Sunday. He was mostly interested in blowing out the candles on his cake. We had to keep relighting the candles. After he was done, we weren't sure we wanted any cake, he has a funny way of blowing out the candles and spit was involved. EW!! He is such a joy! So glad we didn't miss out on him.
Well, it's way past my bedtime and I've got a busy day ahead of me. Ta ta!
The only problem was all the fighting over who got to play the piano. I should have gotten this book a long time ago! We may have to make a sign up sheet for the piano. Who would have thunk?
I ran for the 2nd day in a row! Can you believe it? I even ran an entire mile today besides the one that I walked, and can I feel it. Why I let myself get 20 lbs overweight I don't know. I hate myself every time I get to this point and wonder why I keep eating. Oh, well, I'll just have to keep plugging along on my trusty, new treadmill. Love that thing. Love that I can read while I'm doing my warm-up walking. I read two chapters in John Bunyan's A Pilgrim's Progress today.
We were supposed to feed the missionaries tonight, but we had a mixup on time and they weren't at home when C went to pick them up. I'm sorry they missed dinner, and hope they got something to eat, although I know it couldn't be nearly as good as the Navajo Tacos we had! YUM!! I hope when J gets out on his mission soon, the people will be good to him and feed him. He's so skinny now, I worry about him not eating enough in the mission field.
Took Soren to the Dr. yesterday. He's growing fine, another boy with a long, skinny body and a big head. Dr. Berry asked me if anyone else in our family had a big head and I just smiled and said yes. Celebrated Soren's 2nd birthday on Sunday. He was mostly interested in blowing out the candles on his cake. We had to keep relighting the candles. After he was done, we weren't sure we wanted any cake, he has a funny way of blowing out the candles and spit was involved. EW!! He is such a joy! So glad we didn't miss out on him.
Well, it's way past my bedtime and I've got a busy day ahead of me. Ta ta!
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Help Me! I'm Buried....
Under piles of stuff I'm trying to go through and decide if it's something I need to keep and if I do need it, where in the world do I put it.
What is it about the New Year that makes us start going nutso trying to get organized? I started out with all the stuff that had piled up on and around my night-table and then in the process of trying to find a place to put some of it, I emptied part of my bookcase...so I have books, papers, magazines, homeschool stuff, etc. in piles all over my bedroom floor.
And it feels like I have piles in my brain too, because C and I were (dis)cussing the layout of the new kitchen AGAIN! and trying to figure out what lighting and cabinets we will need and what goes where and so I have thoughts of that, thoughts of the junk in my bedroom and thoughts of "I should be working on my Primary stuff" floating around in there and I'm starting to get a BIG headache from it all.
Oh yeah, buried under the 3-4 inches of heavy, wet, white stuff that came floating down this morning in clumps. Seriously, not lovely individual flakes here, but clumps. It's loverly out there and I've got too much to do to go out in it, thank goodness. Ok, back to the piles.
What is it about the New Year that makes us start going nutso trying to get organized? I started out with all the stuff that had piled up on and around my night-table and then in the process of trying to find a place to put some of it, I emptied part of my bookcase...so I have books, papers, magazines, homeschool stuff, etc. in piles all over my bedroom floor.
And it feels like I have piles in my brain too, because C and I were (dis)cussing the layout of the new kitchen AGAIN! and trying to figure out what lighting and cabinets we will need and what goes where and so I have thoughts of that, thoughts of the junk in my bedroom and thoughts of "I should be working on my Primary stuff" floating around in there and I'm starting to get a BIG headache from it all.
Oh yeah, buried under the 3-4 inches of heavy, wet, white stuff that came floating down this morning in clumps. Seriously, not lovely individual flakes here, but clumps. It's loverly out there and I've got too much to do to go out in it, thank goodness. Ok, back to the piles.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
A Mother's Educational Course
Just thought of another thing I'm doing this year. As you may know I'm interested in gaining a better education for myself. I ran across a link to this website last year and did a half-hearted attempt at following it. This year I'm going to give it a better go! I think it dove-tails nicely into the TJEd Principle of You, not them. And I love the fact that we are reading A Thomas Jefferson Education as one of our education books for the year. If you've been wanting to expand your knowledge and mind a little bit, this is a great way to do that, so join in. Come on, you know you want to!
Here We Go!
Jump in, buckle up and hang on! 2008 is off and running.
As I get older I can't believe how quickly time goes by. There are so many things I want to do/see/read/experience and it feels like there just isn't time to do it all. So I'm really looking forward to 2008 to see what it brings to me and my family. I have a few 'resolutions/goals' that I'd like to work on. Most of them are just continuations of last year, but I feel very strongly that they are still important and that I need to continue to work on them. I'm trying to find ways to incorporate them into our homeschooling venture.
Speaking of homeschooling, I attended a co-op meeting and a parent support meeting last night. There are about 6 families in this co-op and it looks to be fun and interesting if not a bit hectic. I think we may have bigger plans than we have time allotted for, but we will see how it goes. I will be leading two book discussion groups, one with 10 yo and under and one with 11 yo and up. Yikes, I'm a bit nervous about that, but at least I'm not doing the science class and dissecting things.
At the second meeting got to hear some more from Donna Goff about TJEd and her experiences with it. She has been doing it with her children for nearly 14 years and has much to share. I have learned so much from reading her posts on MOO and her newsletter, Epiphanal Living, and from speaking with her personally. She is so willing to share and listen.
The boys went back to school today. I'm not sure they were ready, I know I wasn't. I remember when I used to think the Christmas vacation was way too long and now it's way too short. I find the shift in my thinking so amazing. I used to have that attitude that the world/society pushes on us; that having the kids around was a hassle and a burden and inconvenient. Since I made the decision to homeschool and have been doing it, I LOVE having my kids around and if I had my way they'd all just stay home and we'd just be together. I know they need the interaction with other people, (hence the co-op), but in my mind's eye, that would be my ideal.
J went down to Monticello two days ago to get his dental check up for his mission paperwork. I can't believe we are really at this point in his life. . . . . in my life! Again, time is just going by way too fast. He has a dr. appt on Monday and then we should be able to get it all submitted and wait for the call!
Good News of the Day: We got our Durango back! It's been in the shop for almost 2 months. It had to have a new transmission. That was a hefty bill, but it's nice to have it in working order again.
As I get older I can't believe how quickly time goes by. There are so many things I want to do/see/read/experience and it feels like there just isn't time to do it all. So I'm really looking forward to 2008 to see what it brings to me and my family. I have a few 'resolutions/goals' that I'd like to work on. Most of them are just continuations of last year, but I feel very strongly that they are still important and that I need to continue to work on them. I'm trying to find ways to incorporate them into our homeschooling venture.
Speaking of homeschooling, I attended a co-op meeting and a parent support meeting last night. There are about 6 families in this co-op and it looks to be fun and interesting if not a bit hectic. I think we may have bigger plans than we have time allotted for, but we will see how it goes. I will be leading two book discussion groups, one with 10 yo and under and one with 11 yo and up. Yikes, I'm a bit nervous about that, but at least I'm not doing the science class and dissecting things.
At the second meeting got to hear some more from Donna Goff about TJEd and her experiences with it. She has been doing it with her children for nearly 14 years and has much to share. I have learned so much from reading her posts on MOO and her newsletter, Epiphanal Living, and from speaking with her personally. She is so willing to share and listen.
The boys went back to school today. I'm not sure they were ready, I know I wasn't. I remember when I used to think the Christmas vacation was way too long and now it's way too short. I find the shift in my thinking so amazing. I used to have that attitude that the world/society pushes on us; that having the kids around was a hassle and a burden and inconvenient. Since I made the decision to homeschool and have been doing it, I LOVE having my kids around and if I had my way they'd all just stay home and we'd just be together. I know they need the interaction with other people, (hence the co-op), but in my mind's eye, that would be my ideal.
J went down to Monticello two days ago to get his dental check up for his mission paperwork. I can't believe we are really at this point in his life. . . . . in my life! Again, time is just going by way too fast. He has a dr. appt on Monday and then we should be able to get it all submitted and wait for the call!
Good News of the Day: We got our Durango back! It's been in the shop for almost 2 months. It had to have a new transmission. That was a hefty bill, but it's nice to have it in working order again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)