We Made It Through The Week

I wasn't sure we would! There's nothing like coming down with a cold the day you start a new block. It's a yucky one too, with painful ears and a really sore throat, which I just hate. J-Baby came down with the cold 7/23 and was still coughing today, and T is still snotty more than a week after developing symptoms, so it definitely hangs on.

To top it off, I finally started my cycle, and although it isn't much of anything I am jittery and easily frustrated. Typical PMS symptoms. I may find myself rethinking my decision to take my body off hormones, but really, I think the benefits of being hormone-free outweigh the evenness they provide. In the end, though, if I can't control my endometriosis and extremely heavy bleeding with diet and supplementation I will have to reconsider hormones or opt for a hysterectomy.

Still we accomplished a lot this week. We did 4 morning main lessons, and the boys already seem to have a solid grasp on subtraction (but they weren't starting from nothing). Practice time went well, with T finally making it all the way through Hop on Pop, and both boys taking initiative with their handwriting practice. T loves practicing sight words and word families.

The funny thing is, "practice" has taken over a lot of our time throughout the day and evening, and also on the weekends. Once you have an emergent reader you practice a lot, and pretty much whenever they want to. T is thrilled every time he learns a new sight word and can add it to his ring.

Circle has been hit or miss, but mostly a hit. Today we lost J-Baby during our number quality verses, but he's been off for a few days, not feeling well. I can't figure out exactly what he had, but suspect some hidden gluten or casein. He also has this darn cold.

We didn't do as many projects as I had hoped for, but we did do wet-on-wet watercolor painting, which was a big plus.

We had our "settling-in" time every evening, with some recorder practice (until my throat was too sore). I read to them each evening during this time. We are reading the original 101 Dalmations by Dodie Smith, and as they haven't seen the movies or been over-exposed to the Disney version they are really enjoying it. I loved the novel as a young girl; I bought it for 10 cents at a yard sale, minus the cover. That was an old mass paperback version; now we are reading a snazzy hardcover Barnes and Noble edition, picked up at a used bookstore.

Most of all, I have happy, inquisitive children. They love the rhythm, they love learning, they have plenty of time to play and have fun. I've even been making more of an attempt to involve them in meaningful work, and they vacuumed the front of the house for me Thursday. T has taken an interest in folding laundry, and they have always loved to help me cook and bake.

Next week will be a chance to try again, to see if the dance steps come more easily now that I am feeling just a bit better.