looking forward

I am happy to announce that we are almost 2 and half weeks out from the end of this school yr. Yay!! I already have almost everything I need to get us started with next yr.'s work in our 4 week summer school session. Wow. I am a little excited and a bit sad too though, because my daughter will prob. be spending most of her summer in Puerto Rico with her b/f. I'm so excited for her to go on a trip like this and make lots of awesome memories, but I am going to be sad not to have her here. :( I guess this will be a small taste of what it's like when she leaves home.

Anyway, back to school stuff. We went to our very first, ( and prob. last) homeschool convention. It was pretty good but there were only a couple sessions that I really, really, liked. However, I went to the Creation Ministries booth and found that instead of Francis going right into Biology this yr., ( which I'm not sure he was ready for), that he will instead do some lighter and more interesting reading on several Science/Math topics,( general study of earth, the history of Math and Medicine, and books on Biology, Chem. and Physics). The books are a set and are much more practical, and interesting than going straight for the heavy stuff,( memorizing scientific laws, learning equations, etc.). It will give him an intro. and a way to lay some ground work for the rest of the course. I hope this will help him to learn in such a way as to not be overly stressed and overwhelmed by too much info. and tests that he's not able to retain for. That's not what I want for him. I want to set him up for success and real learning.

As for other school related things...I always find areas that we aren't doing our best in. Writing is always one. I think I will get Victoria the course from IEW on how to write essays. I think both kids will benefit from this. Vocabulary and Spelling are always areas that need beefing up and we have laid off of math fact practice too, which is prob. not the best. So, I will hopefully find ways to keep trying to strengthen these truly important skills.

Now, changing gears and out to the garden. I did seedlings for the first time this yr. I haven't put any of them outside yet but I am getting antsy. Today I will transfer some of them to pots where they will stay. Others just need more room for roots so that they don't die in waiting. I will hopefully accomplish a whole list of things today, including planting some squash, cucs, and beans. I hope I plant everything in the right place and care for them in the right way. There's soooo much to learn about how each thing is supposed to be grown. It's still very overwhelming, but as long as this yr.'s crop is better than last yr.'s, then I guess I will feel relieved.

I am looking to be more of a good steward too and this is something that has been taking place for awhile. I haven't done much and not as consistent as I should but it's getting there. I've tried to always keep lights off, but now I even unplug things that aren't in use. I've tried to fill buckets with the drips from leaks and not waste the water. I've been thinking about how to take the liquids from pots and pans that have been soaking to loosen stuck food, and not have to pour that water down the drain. I would like to fill a bucket with that murky, mucky water and use it in the garden. I also set out some tupperware containers to catch the rain and now I will use that too in the garden. I'm even hanging my clothes on an indoor laundry line in the garage. I have to set a floor fan out to keep the clothes from drying with wrinkles, but surely it saves electricity not using the dryer. I am looking for ingredients to make my own detergent/cleaning supplies to save money and not use as many chem. products. Vinegar is just as good for windows as Windex.

So, I guess a lot of things have been going on. It might not seem like a lot of very significant stuff, but don't all the little things have big impact after awhile? :)