Weekly Wrap-Up: The Skipping Stones Edition
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I have just two words for you: Spring Fever. We have about three weeks left of school and I can already taste the freedom of summer days with no particular place to be and nothing in particular that has to be done. Surely we can make it three more weeks. Right?
It’s been a rather productive week considering that we’re all just biding our time until summer break starts. I noticed today that Megan just finished the last lesson in her math book that contains any new information. Typically, we switch to the next book at that point since the first of the next book is review of the last few weeks of material in the previous book. However, since we’re so close to the end of the school year and she’s ahead of where she needs to be, I’m just going to let her keep working. She has no idea.
I also noticed that we’ve only got a dozen or so lessons left in the 2nd grade Daily Grams/Easy Grammar book. See? We’re so close we can taste it.
The highlight of this week, academically speaking, has been science. We’ve borrowed lots of Shannon’s ideas and incorporated them into the weather unit from Christian Kids Explore Earth and Space. We made this great barometer:
…and we’ve been using a weather chart based on the one Shannon created (since I had trouble getting hers to download on my computer) to track the weather conditions. I hope that Brian will make a wind/weather vane with the kids this weekend.
On Tuesday evening, it occurred to me how snappy we’d all been with each other. The kids were on each other’s nerves and, to be perfectly honest, they were on mine more often than not. I decided that we needed to do something as a family — something that would force us to spend some time together and actively engaged with each other. So, we headed into town to an area that has a beautiful walkway next to a creek and a fairly new playground that we hadn’t yet visited. I brought our nature journal stuff and thought we’d go on a nature walk.
You should have seen the eye-rolling and heard the grumbling! The kids were not about this idea at all. Until we got there. When I pulled up, I noticed a sign pointing to a nature trail that I hadn’t even realized was there. There was still a teeny bit of grumbling until we saw a bunny. The kids hung back and whispered quietly while I tried to get close enough to take a picture:
It’s there. Really. On the right. Then, we walked down a trail toward the back side of the creek we’d planned on walking near:
The kids and I spent a long time skipping stones. Josh and Megan had never skipped stones, so Brianna was showing them how. They weren’t very successful, at first, so they started looking for good skipping stones for Brianna — and she was actively praising their efforts, even saying that the stones they picked skipped better than the ones she’d found.
Then, Josh spotted tadpoles in the shallow water. You probably can’t see them, but I promise they were there and we had such fun watching them.
Megan and Josh were ultimately able to get some stones to skip up to three times. They were so excited! On the walk back, Brianna and Josh walked ahead, talking, and Megan walked with me. She looked up and told me, “I love having Brianna for a sister. We fight sometimes, but I love her.”
Yeah, it was a good day.
I think I’ve mentioned before that we take a long lunch each day. This is usually when the kids play outside for awhile or work on their hideout. Well, yesterday, Josh came and asked me to come look at his room. He’d spent about an hour cleaning his room! And, using all his Star Wars paraphernalia to “redecorate”:
Wow! I was impressed and thought it was a good use of the larger Star Wars toys that are often hard to store. (Oh, and the trophies? They’re his and Megan’s. They don’t share a room, but Megan lets Josh store her trophies with his because she knows he like them.)
On the way back down the hall, I glanced into Megan’s room and noticed what she’d been doing with her free time:
Yeah, cleaning windows! I guess homeschoolers really may be weird, after all. 😉
We were a bit disappointed today. We were supposed to go play miniature golf with our homeschool friends, but it stormed this morning and there are more storms expected this afternoon. While we miss hanging out with our friends, though, no one’s really complaining about a lazy afternoon at home.
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Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.
Whoa! Great job on the room! And cleaning windows? So envious?
I love that when your kids got on each others nerves you did something as a family. Too often “experts” recommend alone time-which is exactly opposite of what we need to learn to work together. What a great day!
{Sigh}, what a great week. Siblings building relationships, approaching those last few lessons in the school books, sounds like just another great reminder of why we do what we do, even if it is a little weird. 🙂
~Erin
Well my goodness! The nature walk makes me want to go.. was that in my neck of the woods? I really enjoyed reading about your week. We, no I have been a bit on the frenzied grumpy side lately..we are all burnt out as well. We have about 5 weeks left.
Awesome job on the cleaning. 🙂
My kids could take lessons from yours. I don’t think the thought ever occured to them that they could clean their rooms “just because.” LOL!
Because my daughter has learning disabilities and actually likes school (that’s weird, too, isn’t it). We do school all year around. BUT, after the required 180 days of instruction are done, we take a more casual approach. I hope to be done in about 3 weeks, but my mom and husband are having procedures done and need a driver and care. UGH!
I love that your kids were cleaning!! What are you teaching them lol, mine need some of that 🙂
I just found your blog through a link on the Charlotte Mason blog carnival. Awesome stuff! I hope you don’t mind if I join in with the weekly wrap-up!
Thanks,
AF Wife99
Kris, I didn’t see any chore chart on your sidebar. Of course, I probably missed it. I have tried a chore chart, and a white board, but my problem is lax enforcement. I don’t really want to do my chores either, so it crosses over to the kids. I am working on whatever you do, do it as to the Lord. Thanks!
LOL I can relate about not really wanting to do your own chores. The chart is under the “popular posts” tab, but you can click here for it.
Most of our week revolved around cleaning, sorting, and getting ready for our yard sale Saturday. Life lessons, right? 😉
You guys get to do it all. I so badly want to homeschool! dh says no.
Well it was just a one time discussion but I don’t think he has changed his mind.
Well done on the room..and cleaning windows! lol