Monday - usually it will be the HE Group with the older two in the Science Group, but that doesn't start until next week, so we did Science at home.
Danny did several experiments with bi-carb and Becky looked at Earth Science and then we all sat and watched How its Made, very interesting watching them make Fish Fingers, even James watched that.
Tuesday - English and Maths - working from their Skills for Life Folder.
Wednesday - Languages - but again, the Spanish session does not start until next week, so Becky brushed up on what she had learnt last term. Then we had our "Not Back To School" Picnic in the park. Very successful, despite the weather, 15 families in all I think, quite a few new faces as well.
Our theme was The Rugby World Cup, looking at the different countries taking part. So we had Wellie Throwing - Scotland Highland Games, Football, Argentina (I know this is English born, but that's all I could find for this country). Rugby - England of course, good to have Mike using his coaching skills and getting them to play tag rugby. France - Art - Monet - using pastels, Japan - Japanese Fans, Russia - Russian Dolls, Ireland - Irish tea cakes, which ended up being scones with jam.
Thursday - managed to do a bit of Geography and History. We had originally planned to go to another picnic, this time on a beach, but I was a bit cagey about the weather. As the journey for us was leaving here at 9, and getting there at 11.45, (in that is a mile walk, hour and a half train changing once, a bus ride and a half mile walk at the end) I really wanted to be sure that it wouldn't be cancelled because of bad weather. So as the weather here was pretty naff, we decided to leave it. Which ended up being for the best as around mid afternoon Becky developed a temperature and James was feeling unwell and slept all afternoon.
So, I digress a little, for History Becky read while she was lying on the sofa, and Danny studied Glaciers from our Earth Geography book. He did start an experiment, which I noticed yesterday was still in the freezer!
Friday - They were feeling a bit better but then I felt ill, so another day running on 25%. Both continued with Countries form the World Cup Project. Becky still studying New York, making a fact file, and also drawing a picture of the State Bird, which is a Blue Bird. Like myself, she struggles a bit artistically, but she searched online for instructions on how to draw a blue bird and I think she did rather well.
Danny was still looking at all things Russian, and decided to look at the work of Russian Artists one being Valentin Serov who was considered to be the greatest portraitist of his time. This gave Danny the opportunity to brush up on his portrait skills, which he hadn't tried before. He wasn't pleased with the results, but I thought it was a good start.
The groups are starting back next week, which takes up a Monday and a Wednesday. Trips on the agenda, usually on a Friday.
Rugby training has started back but not the matches yet, so have a few free Sundays to ourselves before that starts up again. Becky maybe joining a local choir, which will start the week after. We have finished athletics now for the summer, as we give it a miss during the winter, but Drama for Becky may take its place. She is still undecided on what activities she would like to do. So busy times ahead.
Which brings me on to share a post I read recently, on a one of my regular blog haunts:-
Thriving In The Midst of It All
Life can be downright busy, no matter how simple we want it to be. No matter how simple we try to make it, the more people one has in a household, the more pets one has, the more community and obligations one has, the busier it can become.
And you can still love every minute of it and thrive in it.
My life, as many of you who personally know me, can get rather busy. Sometimes it is my life that needs to be de-cluttered, not my things! I fully admit to having a hard time saying no to things at church, or to friends who need something, or to my neighbors. But the older I get, the more I realize how much I love community, how much I enjoy gathering those I love together and connecting those who I think really ought to meet each other for this reason or that. And, the older I get, I get better at setting limits and seeing how things balance out.
It all can’t be perfect. One cannot homeschool well, have the house be spotless, cook every single thing perfectly, have all the errands done, have a social life, have the children do things, and all the other things on the list. It just can’t happen, and I think we could all end up having nervous breakdowns trying to do it all…
So, I try to remind myself about seasons, in both the literal and more symbolic sense. In a very literal way, I tend to have a busier autumn, a calmer winter, and a bit of a step up in activity from winter to spring. I try to keep summer pretty calm in keeping with the sultry heat! This year my oldest daughter will have rhythmic gymnastics through the Winter, and we won’t be stopping, so it may not be as calm as in previous years…I shall see what that will bring!
And some seasons do last for years. The season of small children lasts for years, but really is a short time. We always joke (and are half serious as well) in Waldorf Education that the “pink bubble” of kindergarten only lasts for those early years and then off we go! The seasons of not sleeping through the night, nursing, and all those things only last a bit.
The way we connect to our family, the way we guide our children – well, those things last throughout a lifetime and leave a legacy.
Every family has choices – choices about activities, about how they speak to one another, how they show care and nurturing for each other – no matter how busy things are. We can take the larger picture of life and see that seasons really can balance each other out, whether it is busy and calm seasons of the year or the small dependent child and the older more independent adolescent.
Every child brings surprises in personality, temperament, gifts.
There are moves.
There are changes in career.
We grow and change ourselves. Thank goodness for that!
Keeping that big picture in mind as we dance to find the mid-point,
Carrie
Hope you all have a good week.
Lou x
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