I missed an updating this homeschool mother’s journal last week as some sort of sickness had struck and no one was feeling super great – on top of catching up on school we’d gotten behind on from our trip and all.of.the.things that seemed to collide into urgency last week.
This week has been much better – we are back on track, having just completed week 5.
I started dictation this year with the boys, which I need to share more about in a future post, but I have been amazed at its ability to help them with their spelling. It’s as if this act of studying a passage and having a “test” for proper spelling and punctuation has brought about an attentiveness across the board with their spelling and punctuation. It’s been amazing to behold.
My oldest asked a couple of weeks ago if I could increase his reading load for school. He felt like school was too easy. It’s a delicate balance trying to find what is the right fit for each boy – and which areas to push them harder in and which ones to wait until their minds develop a bit further. I considered adding more writing work to his schedule – he doesn’t do much of it, but there is a slow and steady increase and I know too much more would frustrate him which I do not want to do. So in the end I decided to do exactly as he has requested – I have added more books to his weekly assigned readings. Mostly I am thankful that I know my boys so well and get to make the calls on what is best for their learning – but sometimes it is tough being the mom and teacher and having to make those calls.
A commonplace life, we say, and we sigh;
But why should we sigh as we say?
The commonplace sun in the commonplace sky
Makes up the commonplace day.
The moon and the stars are commonplace things,
The flower that blooms, and the bird that sings;
But sad were the world, and dark our lot,
If flowers failed and the sun shone not.
And God, who sees each separate soul,
Out of commonplace lives makes His beautiful whole.
-Susan Coolidge
I have enjoyed this poem since coming across it a few years ago – it’s so easy to get discouraged over the commonplace – but God does make beautiful things out of the ordinary! As a homeschool mother I love the encouragement in this poem!
I have shared a couple of posts this week that might be of interest – first is a video companion to Halliburton’s Book of Marvels. If you’re following Ambleside Online you’ll want to check it out!
Second is a printable of a 2018 calendar – I know it seems SO early but it will be here before we know it!!
Another fun new thing you may be interested in checking out is our newest creative endeavor – The Racing Snail. It is a mystery box of books and you can sign up to be notified when we open for orders! You can poke around and read the About and the How it Works and the FAQ to learn more!
Have a wonderful weekend!
