In which I ramble...

It's August. It's August and I can feel summer slipping away from beneath my fingers. The orange pink fabric of summer is so fine that I can barely feel it as it pulls away. I think that what I appreciate most about summer is that the rest of the world is on the same sort of schedule that the girls and I are on all year. Homeschooling gives us time for sleep and friends, for lazy novel reading and an obsession with gorillas. This summer has felt like a gift, a breath in the midst of waiting and wondering.

This awareness of summer's inevitable passing also has me scrambling to get some projects done which I have been ignoring in favor of loafing. Top of the list are dealing with my yard (mulching, weeding, mowing) and repainting the bricks on my driveway. Some of my newer readers may not know that I suffer from a mental illness which compels me to paint things which no sane person would.

Exhibit A: The Driveway



See those bricks? I painted those on the blacktop of my never ending driveway and now the paint has faded and must be redone. Today I bought the paint so that must mean I am serious. Before I paint the bricks I must clean the fence. After I clean the fence I need to pull the weeds and clean the driveway. After I clean the fence, pull the weeds and clean the driveway, I need to fill in the cracks. Once those things are done I can begin to paint. Yay me.

There is one serious downside to summer. Maggots. I know, so many of my posts feature maggots, but I need some support here. Now look, I know I am kind of a lazy chick. I am prone to cutting corners, especially tedious ones. One corner which I cut involves the trash. When I take out the kitchen trash to put into the barrel outside, I close up the bag and tie it, but I don't double bag, or reinforce or do whatever the hell I am supposed to do to ensure that flies do not get into the bag and start families. The flies, quite simply, adore my trash. It is apparently the perfect place to raise a family. I know this because when I took out some trash tonight I nearly lost my dinner when I saw the maggots crawling along the sides of the trash barrel.  How do grown-ups prevent maggots in their trash? I have no idea. I am essentially a ten year old with a mortgage.

Would you like a child update while I am here blogging and everything? The kids rock. No seriously, they do. I feel this especially strongly because they are at camp all week and I am allowed the luxury of enjoying them from a distance for six hours a day. We have been continuing our school work throughout the summer. Rebecca is no longer crying over fractions and Lily has discovered home much fun rhyming poems are to write.

David and I are enjoying him being home. Two months is far too long for us to be apart. We are really not that sort of couple.

So there you are: Paint, maggots, loafing, fractions and true love. You?

Friday junking!

Remember back in the olden days when I still sent my children to school and I had so many beautiful hours in the day to tidy and cook and tend to things? Those were magical days in their own quiet way, in the same way that my days with my children home full time are magical noisy days.

Back then I used to treat myself to a weekly junk trip on Fridays. I would drop the children off at school, hop in my car and be the very first to arrive at Urban Renewals. Fridays mornings are an excellent time to junk. The hipsters are either still sleeping or in class studying the meaning of Lady Gaga in the context of the economic development of the tupperware industry. Just me and my fellow junkers enjoying a quiet morning.

I miss having my weekly junk ritual, but I have found that I am able to slip away for some junking on Friday afternoons.  Today I junked a bit with Amy and found some treasures.

This sweet little vintage suitcase was just the right size to carry home some of my treasures. Inside are an oilcloth totebag and blue painted mirror which needed to come home with me.

These cushions are the perfect size and color for the wicker chairs on my porch.

You know, when I started this post about two hours ago, I was awake and perky, but now I am very tired.

Instead of a proper concluding sentence I will give you dog pictures.

Good night.

Don't hate me because we sleep late.

Today was a sleep late sort of day. How late did we sleep? Until 9:30!

I like to give all sorts of selfless reasons for homeschooling, but I'd be a dirty liar if I didn't acknowledge that sleeping in is one of the top three reasons I do it. The other two reasons? Not having to deal with homework and visiting museums and zoos off-hours.

After we were done sleeping until 9:30 (did I mention about the sleeping until 9:30?) we went to the library where we wandered around filling our book bags until we had forty-five books to check out. Forty-five books! The librarian was the right sort of librarian and she praised our selections very nicely. I could tell that she wanted to come home with us and lose herself in a quiet of afternoon of reading.

We took out a whole bunch of books about primates in general, one about Jane Goodall specifically, some Babymouse, The Double Daring Book for Girls, some mysteries and a whole bunch of Warrior Kitty books. We took them home, camped out in front of the fire and read quietly four about four hours. It was complete heaven.

This meant that the laundry and tidying in general were neglected, though it's not like they are going to walk away from neglect.

Homeschool thoughts, updates and miscellaneous whatnot...

Before I get too far into my incoherent ramblings post I want to share a fun activity with my homeschooling and traditional schooling friends. Eryn from Hearth2heart is running a wonderful Valentine Exchange. If you are interested in participating just head on over to her site and fill out the survey.  This is a great way for your family to enjoy making and receiving lots of Valentines!

I really love Valentines Day. It's fun and romantic and involves lots of chocolate! This weekend I am going to stock up on Valentine craft supplies so that the girlies and I can get busy making cards. I also love to check out kid friendly magazines and websites for Valentine craft ideas. I got my copy of Family Fun which has some really cute ideas for making Valentine's at home. Where do you go for new holiday craft ideas?

In other homeschooling news, I have been following #homeschool on Twitter. This is an extraordinary way to find other homeschoolers and find out about what they are doing and how they are doing it. It was from someone on Twitter that I learned about homeschooling from January to December instead of September to June. I'm thinking of giving this schedule a try because it would allow us to stretch out our studies better and allot more time to projects and field trips. Do any of my homeschool readers employ this method? I'd love to hear from you!

Speaking of hearing from readers, today is Delurking Day! I have to tell you that I love to hear from you in the comments, on Facebook, Twitter or email. It is a lovely feeling to put words out into the world and know that someone has enjoyed them. I try to respond to people when they leave comments, but I can only do that if you include your email address. Another thought I have is to start replying to folks directly in the comments. Would readers think to go back and check for a response there?

Finally, I am putting some items from my scary basement treasure stash together for a giveaway which I will post some time this weekend. I also have some new junk treasures to share with you this weekend!

For now, please leave a comment! Tell me who you are and a little bit about yourself and I will respond, I swear on my best box of chocolate!

Tiger Math!

We began school again this week, after what felt like a months long hiatus. Actually, it was a months long hiatus. Somehow between our Arizona trip, David's 40th birthday and the holidays we never really got back into a good school groove. That all changed this week when I sat the children down at the table and cracked the whip.

We began a review of fractions for my big girl who hates math. I understand hating math. I hate math too, so I bring a lot of sympathy to the table.

When Rebecca was moaning about fractions, I reminded her of her dream of working with big cats someday.

"Honey, the day will come when you will need to know how much medicine to give a tiger. You will need to be able to add and subtract these fractions so that he can be given the life saving dosage of antibiotics or heart medicine. The tigers are counting on you!" I said.

Apparently, this was all the motivation she needed.

She likes visual aids so she fetched a few tiger stuffed animals and approached each problem as an opportunity to save a feline life.

"This kitty needs tapeworm medicine!" she declared.

 

This is one of the reasons I love to homeschool. We are able to take an abstract concept and make it relevant and worthwhile.  Homeschool readers, how do you make difficult subject matter go more smoothly?