Weekly Reflection - Week Four....

At Home

Fall is here.  A few weeks ago, I noticed a change in the sunrise. This week we've had some really cool mornings and a tremendous amount of starlings hovering in the yard.  The picture doesn't do justice, but take my word for it; there were hundreds!

We had a little bit of a weird week.  Some how, the schedule got way off.  Monday and Tuesday went OK, but then one of my children got a bee in their bonnet on Wednesday  Honestly, all it takes is one to create crazy....not to mention the phone was ringing off the hook with one catastrophe after another.  We were all out of whack!  I thought maybe we could correct on Thursday, but between choir and swapping kids with a friend for an overnight, we not only lost Thursday, but Friday as well.  After ten years of homeschooling, you'd think I'd have it right by now.  However, the longer I'm in this, the more I see some things really are out of my control.  I'm still learning to flex and roll with it.

Today, I'm happy to report, that child has since kicked it in gear and is making an honest attempt to get back on track.  I really love having the three day weekend built in as a correction point for times like these.  And honestly, does it matter if we school Monday through Thursday or Monday, Tuesday, Saturday, Sunday...not in the big picture!

Around the Web

This week, I didn't spend much time online. Yesterday, while working on paperwork, I did manage to listen to Homeschool Snapshots Podcast #35 with Pam Barnhill and Ainsley Arment.  I'm so intrigued by Wild & Free.  I loved what Ainsley said about trusting your instincts and the natural process of learning.  It was just what I needed today after our wild week.

How to Think Like Shakespeare is a must read!  It's a little long, but worth it.  I love this quote....

As Michel de Montaigne put it:

"The bees steal from this flower and that, but afterward turn their pilferings into honey, which is their own. … So the pupil will transform and fuse together the passages that he borrows from others, to make of them something entirely his own; that is to say, his own judgment. His education, his labor, and his study have no other aim but to form this."

The honey metaphor corrects our naïve notion that being creative entails making something from nothing.

By the way, if you missed Tuesday's announcement, click here to read it.  I'm participating with Mystie Winckler and others in a Homeschool Planning Chat.  You can also click here to register.

Commonplace

I've been reading aloud The Golden Bull, A Mesopotamian Adventure by Marjorie Cowley and I was struck this week when I read the following passage...

Sidah paused before answering, "I had just lost Abban when I met your father.  I was moved when he told me how much he would miss your skills and energy after you left the farm."  Sidah's eyes misted.  "He said he would miss your company most of all."

"My father said that?  I didn't know he felt that way about me."

Sidah seemed to struggle with himself before speaking.  "I'm glad I told you," he finally said.  "I made the same mistake with Abban.  I told him how proud I was of his skills, but not that I loved him as a person, as a companion."   The Golden Bull p. 136

RileyAnn stayed overnight at a friend's house this week and I suddenly realized that I missed her company dearly.  It made me stop and think about how quickly these fleeting moments with our children pass.  I know there will come a day when she will fly from this nest, but I was struck by the ache of my loneliness after such a short time.  The whole scene brought perspective to the week.

Socratic Book Club

I'll be kicking off another student book club soon.  This year, I'm including homeschool students in grades 6-8.  We're only reading four novels this time around, but I'm adding a Shakespeare play.  Stay tuned for a future post explaining my plan for the class.