{This and That} :: Summertime

Hi friends! Jumping back in to say hello -- and hopefully to spend a bit more time in this space for the last half of the year.

It has been a wild spring/summer, no? I came out of my postpartum break to go straight back into sheltering-at-home, and here I have been wrangling my littles and working on projects for the CMEC for the past few months!

We have one month left until we start school again, and I feel a bit readier than I have the last few years. Of course, last year I was coming out of a nausea fog and still dealing with a challenging pregnancy, and the year before that I had just given birth. So perhaps that isn't saying all that much. But this year I'll begin with a six month old who is (mostly) sleeping well and just beginning to get into everything but not quite there yet. So that seems promising!

I heard someone say that quarantine is better with a baby. I think it's true.

Emilia is just the sweetest. She is now crawling and talking and beginning to assert her little self into the family mix. She keeps me (all of us, really) very busy but pays back in squeals and smiles and giggles. What could be better?

We have been going out solo for our weekly nature walks, which has been a nice break from being at home. We usually head out nice and early to beat the heat -- so refreshing.

I am trying to do most of my pre-reading for the year during this summer, so I have been reading a LOT. It has been pretty wonderful! So many good books, particularly for my oldest two, who will start high school this fall.

In the meantime, the kids have been staying busy. Lots of papercrafting happening...

And reading, of course! I will share their summer booklists in another post. Our library just finally opened up for curbside pickup, so I placed an order and have been waiting for it to come in. Otherwise, they have just been reading from our own shelves -- in times like these, I'm grateful to have a good library right here at home!

The only "school" we have been doing this summer is a bit of math for my Form 2 kids and reading lessons for Clara. She is just about finished with the Treadwell Reader (which she loves) and enjoys reading to the little boys.

We have celebrated some birthdays...

...with another one coming up later this week (Damien turns three!).

The CMEC has offered me some good opportunities to dig deeper into Charlotte Mason these past few months. Amy and I just taped a five-part planning series of videos for members, and earlier this spring we wrote a guide for kindergarten/Kinderleben that was such a fun project to take on! But I am looking forward to spending the last half of July figuring out our own timetables and logbooks for the year and gettng the house prepped for an early-August start.

Speaking of, later this week, I have a post ready with our Catholic selections for the 2020-2021 School Year. We'll be covering roughly 1400-1650 in our "modern" stream, which is a complicated time in history, but I am so excited looking at our shelves of all the great discussions we will have. I'll also be sharing our religion and Bible resources -- I have three preparing for sacraments this year (two for Confirmation, one for First Holy Communion) and other reading for the liturgical year, saints' lives, and spiritual reading planned. Coming soon!

What have you been up to? And when are you starting your school year?