The Homeschool Mother's Journal - Here, There, & Everywhere

In my life this week...
It truly felt like we were here, there, and everywhere.  We were definitely on the move!

• Monday - We went to see Winnie-the-Pooh with our CHIL Book Club.  This was a nice treat after reading and discussing A.A. Milne's classic book last week.  The kids were excited to see their friends, and Momma was excited we went on 75 cents day.
• Monday night - Rachel started gymnastics.  She had a wonderful time.  I'm really pleased that there are only 3 kids in her class because it allows her to get a lot of attention and practice.
• Tuesday - We were off to the zoo with the Howell's.  Caleb made a new friend with an elderly gentleman serving as a docent.  The man was a wealth of information and Caleb is ever so inquisitive.  Needless to say, we were at the zoo a lot longer than I originally intended since we had a personal tour guide for each exhibit the last half of the way.
• Tuesday night - I had a Light Will Rise planning meeting.  We are gearing up for our Ethiopian New Year Celebration & Global Partnership Kick-Off, September 11th.  I'm very excited about this event and the ministry opportunities our group is soon to be involved in at our Children's Hope Chest Care Point.
• Wednesday - ahhh!  A day of rest and catch-up on schoolwork.
• Thursday - another fun day at CHIL and our awesome Adoption Support Group at church in the evening.
• Friday - The boys started karate.  They are the very youngest kids in the class and are a little intimidated by the big boys, but they held their own.  It appears that there is definitely going to be a learning curve with this activity, but they are excited nonetheless.  I'm hoping they feel a bit more comfortable at next week's class.
• Saturday - Grocery Shopping with all 3 kids - ACK!!!
• Sunday - Church and lunch with Adam & Val.

In our homeschool this week...
Even with all of our extra-curricular activities and field trips, we actually did accomplish quite a bit.  Rachel is writing her numbers so well now!  Jeremiah completed an Explode the Code book.  Caleb is working on subtraction.  All the kids enjoyed some computer time this week.  Jeremiah & Rachel spent quite a bit of time on Starfall's website and Caleb has been doing lessons at BigIQKids (look for my TOS Review soon).

Helpful homeschooling tips...
Some of the best lessons learned aren't planned.  By far, Caleb gleaned the most information from the gentleman at the zoo this week.  While I was in a rush to get home to complete math assignments, Caleb soaked in all the docent had to say.  He's been repeating the factoids he tucked away to anyone who would listen to him this week.

My favorite thing this week...
Seeing Caleb keep his emotions in check and overcoming fear.  While he was excited to start karate, he was extremely nervous and anxious.  Tears were shed before class started, but he pulled it together and performed well.  He was touch-and-go a few times and looked to the sidelines for Mom's reassurance quite a bit, but he didn't have a meltdown.  This is a huge sign of maturity for my super sensitive boy.  I was very, very proud of him.

Things I'm working on...

• Rachel has a birthday coming up!  Party plans are in the works.
• Plans for our Galloping the Globe Co-op - we're moving into countries now.  The kids will begin studying China on Monday.
• Planning for our Light Will Rise event September 11th.
• A couple presentations for workshops I'm leading at an Orphan Care Alliance seminar September 17th.

What I'm reading...
Adopt Without Debt by Julie Gumm
Before you ask, while adoption is definitely in the plans for our future, it's not on the radar yet.  Well... at least, not on Jon's.  I'm guessing it will be a couple years before we start the process again.  Only God knows the details.  Still... we speak so often about adoption and money is always a major concern to others.  The title of this book is what every adoptive parent longs for, so I thought I could get some pointers to pass on or tuck away for the future.

I'm grateful for...
Labor Day - Jon gets a day off to be home with us!  Hooray!