This week was a little tough getting back in the swing of things after a wonderful trip to The Great Homeschool Convention in Greenville, SC.
I'm so thankful my husband's back is improving - he was able to come with us! We had a relaxing change of pace for three days.
I am planning a post for next week to tell you about some very helpful things I learned, but for now I would just like to encourage you to attend a homeschool convention if you get the chance.
Attend it with your spouse if you can. Learning alongside my husband was the best part of the weekend!
Well -- maybe the best part! Truth be told, the Tim Hawkins concert was the best part!
We had such good seats -- and he even sang directly TO ME (jumped on the seat in front of me, in fact) and rubbed my husband's bald head. It was hysterical.
Our favorite skit? Yoga Pants!
It's great to laugh!
We also did a special, unexpected thing for the kids after the concert.
Signs of Spring
The weather has been a bit strange recently.
Monday evening we were caught in a terrible hail storm (the car I was reviewing was all dinged up by the hail) while Anna was at her children's chorus rehearsal.
Tuesday it was a gorgeous, sunny day. During Anna's piano lesson Grant and I took a nice walk and saw signs of spring everywhere. The Bradford Pears are in bloom, and you can tell the Pine Trees are ready to burst with pollen. We identified the Tulip Poplars in bloom (we studied these last year).
Tonight they say we may get snow.
What?
I can't keep up.
Taming the LEGO Beast and the Great Purge
My son really has a lot of LEGO bricks. We needed to get a handle on them this week. Once upon a time they were organized really well, and we needed to get back to that.
His room is VERY small - just enough room for his bed, a dresser, a small bookshelf, and that's about it. I'm thinking of doing some wonderful Pinterest project for a LEGO table underneath his window.
He does have a nifty storage unit for his LEGOS that I really like, but we need a larger building surface.
Or, maybe this storage unit would work?
He also has a 6 cubbie storage bookshelf for all of his books, cars, and LEGO activity books.
We also got rid of a favorite CARS rug and his little boy bedding. He told me he is growing up and now he needs big boy things in his room.
Sniff.
Poetry and Pastels
My dear friend Tricia has written an ebook - A Simple Start in Chalk Pastels.
What I love about this ebook is that it is an entire year of EASY TO FOLLOW chalk pastel tutorials.
Currently Anna is working on a Shakespeare poem, Youth, I Do Adore Thee. We are working through an Evan Mooe poetry book (it's something she requested) and this was the first poem she chose. The book has such beautiful poems, with a nice explanation of each, along with two activity pages. She is doing the pages, copying the poem, and creating artwork for each poem.
The Tree Silhouette chalk pastel tutorial was just perfect for her poetry notebook - she chose the tree because it reminded her of the seasons of life talked about in the Shakespeare poem.
We haven't done a lot of poetry, so I'm looking forward to this with Anna.
Please check out Tricia's Simple Start in Chalk Pastels. You will be so pleased!
And, I have a deal for you!
$5 off (makes it $14.99 for a whole year of tutorials!) with code Hodgepodge
On Thursday I overcame a fear - speaking in public.
I gave a talk to our homeschool group about how I show Jesus through my blog, and also about the wise use of technology for kids. I prayed long and hard about this and did much research. It is an area I feel very passionate about.
My blog is my ministry - but anything can be sinful if it takes us AWAY from our relationship with God. I'm trying to keep this in mind with every word I write, tweet I make, etc...
I never imagined this would be my life at the age of 41, but I'm quite happy with God's path. It's unexpected, difficult, and blessedly wonderful.
Yes, even as I was driving to co-op on Thursday with my van window duct taped up {sigh}, I was thanking God for a van that runs, children that see the humor in things, and the ability to get it fixed right away.
That's our week in a nutshell.
How was YOUR week?
Please join me for Collage Friday!
The rules are simple. Link your post (that incudes photo collages) about your homeschool week. Be sure to grab a Collage Friday button or text link back to this post in some way. Then, be sure to visit the other blogs on the list to offer support and gain ideas. This is a wonderful community and I love reading through your blogs each weekend and seeing how you all encourage each other.
*I will delete any links that don't comply with these guidelines. {not trying to be crabby, just trying to respect the hard work of those who do follow the rules}
