{This and That}

We officially have a week of school under our belts!  It wasn't the smoothest week in our homeschooling history, but I've been taking notes and making tweaks, and I think I have an updated routine that will allow me a bit more wiggle room and a little less time pressure.  I was just stretched a bit too far last week and need some more margin in my day.  On the other hand, the kids had just the right amount of work each, so very little tweaking was required there.  The new books were all received well, Latin and dictation (both new this year) were fast favorites, and we're all looking forward to plunging ahead in our studies.  Today went more smoothly than last Monday, so I think we're on the right track.

~~~

I have had a few requests lately that I wanted to mention:

:: Lots of you have requested my weekly schedule template from last year--I am happy to share it!  I just uploaded it to Google Drive, so you can access it there rather than having to email me.  (Keep in mind that, as I say in the cover page, the formatting may not come through correctly depending on what program you open the document with.  I have it available as an Open Office document if you're having trouble with the .doc version and want to try that instead.)

:: I did want to add that I will be sharing this year's template soon too.  It's very similar to last year's, but I adjusted the formatting a bit to accommodate multiple grade levels (I have two in Y4, one in Y1, and one in kindergarten this year), so those of you also teaching several years at once may find that helpful.  I'm giving it a trial run before uploading it for you, but I will likely post it by the end of the month.

:: After my write-up of our Form I binder, quite a few people asked to see our Form II binder too.  I hope to share that by the end of the month as well.  This is our first year in Form II, so I am definitely giving that a trial first. ;)

~~~

We updated our nature shelf (which morphed into a tray a few months ago) to include items from our latest nature swap and our beach trip.

It sits by the front door and makes me happy whenever I see it. :)

~~~

Now that we've moved from summertime to schooltime, I'm looking back on our goals for this summer and how successful we were at meeting them...

:: Schoolwork. The kids kept up their light independent schoolwork just fine, other than the planned week here and there for outings.  We also did lots of read-alouds and audiobooks, as planned.  We even had a good deal of time for handicrafts, which is always my weakness during the school year.  I was planning to cover our next Italian unit on verbs.  We did work on Italian about three times a week, but I wasn't motivated or prepared to introduce new material--we mostly just reviewed, and we're picking up where we left off now.  Cate made some progress on her reading, which was a particular goal of mine.  I was planning to do a little reading and math with her most days, but it ended up being only a couple days a week.

:: Outdoor time.  The kids got lots and lots of outdoor time.  I did not.  That's always a work in progress!  I'm finding my current toddler to be a real challenge in terms of outings and even just simple backyard time.  But he will only be an mischievous 13-month-old boy for so long. :)

:: Cooking lessons.  These got done regularly and have been a huge help in our home!  As we start this new school year, Gianna has taken over pretty much all breakfast and lunch preparations and is doing a great job.  We're also doing our weekly pasta salad collaboration: last week's was excellent, and we have another one scheduled this evening (tuna macaroni salad).  I'll share the results over on Facebook tomorrow.

:: My personal goals. I did reorganize the bedrooms and office to create some school space, and obviously I finished all the school planning! :)  The Life Lists are almost all updated, and I also caught up on mounting our dried wildflower collection.  I have some purging still to do, but I expect to continue that as I "nest" through the late summer.

:: Our History of Me project.  Um, yeah, delayed again.  A fall project?  Maybe Christmas? ;)

:: More chess.  Happened for the first month, but very little for the other two months, as the kids' interest turned toward card games instead.  Fine by me!

:: Running. I was planning to start running with the kids over our break--I thought my slowing down during pregnancy would be a great opportunity to log some miles with the kids instead.  It turns out, though, that I was able to keep up with my running group through the first and second trimesters.  I am just now starting to slow down, so jogs with the kids will be part of our fall routine--my oldest three are all set with running shoes and ready to go (literally)!

:: I didn't mention this one on that summer post, but another item on my personal to-do list was to personality-type my oldest three kids using Nurture by Nature (which I first saw recommended over at Afterthoughts).  Doing so definitely helped me to feel out my children's personalities better.  For example, one thing that immediately struck me is that my oldest two, who are so different in how they come across to others and in their strengths and weaknesses, are only different by one in four elements.  It is so interesting how one aspect affects all the others (and it really does--these two are opposites in so many ways!).  I also discovered that my six-year-old is different from her oldest brother in pretty much every possible way.  Not exactly surprising, but it definitely confirms certain aspects of their interactions with each other.  I would highly suggest going through this book if you feel a little overwhelmed by all the personalities in your home.

~~~

Reading this month...

Fellow lovers of nature illustration, don't miss Beautiful Data: The Art of Science Field Notes.

I am a sucker for woodcuts and for my native coastline, so California's Wild Edge caught my eye.

The Great Gift of Reading Aloud has made the rounds, but I couldn't help but share it here too.

This is exactly how we handle sharing in our home: How Could You Make Our Baby Happy?

~~~

Tomorrow I'll have this month's Keeping Company link-up active!  So go get your posts ready and I'll meet you back here in the morning. :)