A Good Sign

Today I didn't direct my kids schedules much. They got up after sleeping in relatively late. They had minor chores and a little music practice. But other than that, how they spent their time was up to them. Guess what? They were bored. They had read all their library books, skimmed the newspaper, checked their blogs, and were wandering around the house getting on each others nerves. They know better than to verbally speak the word "bored" around here. Never the less it was communicated. I decided not to direct them in any way...let them wallow in their sluggish end of summer malaise...because SCHOOL STARTS IN 3 MORE DAYS! And beginning Monday, they won't be bored for months.

My Favorite School Supply

My favorite purchase for school this fall is my Mr.Sketch Scented Markers. My teachers always had these in my elementary classes and I loved them. The red marker smells like cherries. The green marker smells minty. My favorite is black. That licorice smell takes me right back to the 3rd grade. I would borrow them from my teacher and before applying the ink to my paper, I'd take a deep sniff and usually end up with a marker dot on my nose.

I am not exactly sure what we are going to use these markers for but they will be sitting next to my teacher planner on Monday. My children can experience Mr. Sketch Markers for themselves this year. "They" say that people learn best when all their senses are engaged. We are going to engage the nose. And if they dry up or run out of ink, I had the foresight to order several more boxes which are stashed in my closet.

Last Minute Shopping List

Counting down...only 5 days until we begin our school year. I am feeling relatively prepared but I do have a few last minute items to purchase:

1. Post-It Notes (the big huge package from Costco).
2. Headphones (to use with computer spelling program and math instruction CD).
3. Batteries for the camera to document our 1st day of school.
4. M&Ms (incentive for kids).
5. Pretty Bouquet of Flowers for the 1st day of school (For me!)

I can't think of anything else. Could I really be this prepared?

Nan, Ethan, and Levi...prepare to be educated!

School Night Evenings

Generally, we accomplish the most when we have our days scheduled out. I resist too many set plans though, because it can feel oppressive to have every moment of time committed. BUT...this year we are starting off pretty scheduled. As of this moment, our evenings are committed this way:

Monday - Todd teaches night class at Western. The kids and I go to BSF Bible Study and on special nights to Applebees with friends afterwards for half price appetizers.

Tuesday - Todd has elders meeting every other Tuesday. The kids take a Fencing Class 5:30-6:30. This is going to be our Theology Night. After dinner and after Pajamas are on, we will sit in the living room with a page to color or craft to work on, and listen to a sermon by Mark Driscoll, John Piper, or Art Azudia. We will start with a series by Driscoll where he preaches through different Christian Doctrines. All these guys are masterful preachers and easy to listen to because of their passion and preaching style. I will probably throw in popcorn and special drinks, or ice cream to make this something to look forward to Tuesdays.

Wednesday - Church Night. Nan and Ethan have Youth Group. Levi has AWANAs. And it has yet to be determined what Todd and I will be doing.

Thursday - Normal Family Evening. We will probably try to keep this clear.

Friday - Movie and Pizza night.

Saturday - We will be going to a handful of OSU football games so this will take up about a third of our weekends. Other ones we will try to have people over for dinner or do things like go to the Pumpkin Patch, hike in the Gorge, etc. We are trying to find a 5K Road Run that the kids and Todd can do nearby this fall and we'll probably try to recruit some friends to join us.

Sunday - Church. Todd will probably be preaching at least half the Sundays this fall at Hinson. We have small group in the evening every other week. We tend to need the evenings to regroup.

Of course, I have a whole list of other things I have to fit between these activities... like grocery shopping, lesson plan writing, yard work, laundry, a 4-H club I am beginning for the kids, piano lessons, guitar lessons (I am in search of a new teacher for this now.) Whew. Sounds like we are going to hit the ground running. But my time is short. These kids are growing up so fast and I want to be purposeful with the time I have. Look at the photo above. It seems just like yesterday.

Last but not least, Challenge #3

Challenge #2 of my School Year

Challenge #1 of Home Schooling

Last Week of Summer

How do we fill the last week of summer?
Sunday - Church, small group picnic, Olympics closing ceremonies.
Monday - Go to Eugene to see Grandma and Grandpa.
Tuesday - Celebrate Grandpa's 69th birthday, drive home, go to Western Faculty Dinner.
Wednesday - Youth Group
Thursday - Piano Lessons, Dad and boys watch OSU opener, Mom and Nan go to concert in the park.
Friday - Western Golf Scramble and new student orientation.
Saturday - Last day of doing "nothing" - maybe the boys will stain the deck.
Sunday - Church, get a good night's sleep. SCHOOL BEGINS MONDAY!

Miles Family Film Club AKA Movie and Pizza Night

For this school year, we have designated Friday night as a movie and a pizza night. This will be a nice end to a long week of studying. And in my mind, I am hoping it will be a little bit of a continuation of our studies. We have already selected our list of movies from Netflicks. For the most part they are classics and definitely no new releases. I hope it will improve our understanding and appreciation of film while also sharpening our critical thinking skills. I got the idea from a book I read this summer called "Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire" by Rafe Esquith.

Some of the movies on our list are:

The African Queen

Casablanca

Charade

High Noon

Inherit the Wind

It's a Wonderful Life

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

On the Waterfront

The Sting

Twelve Angry Men

You get the idea. We also decided to extend an open invitation to any of our friends who want to come over on a Friday night to join us. See you at the movies.

Extracurricular Class

I have just registered all three kids for a Fencing Class called "An Introduction to Foil".

The course description is as follows:

Experience the art of swordsmanship with a dynamic sport teaching safety, self-discipline, coordination, agility, stamina, speed and grade. Tactics, techniques, footwork and blade work build strength, balance,and quick reactions and a mastery of strategy and a life-long recreational activity.

It meets on Tuesdays from 5:30-6:30. Now the kids can look graceful swinging the sticks around our backyard.

Can we do it?

Natalie and Ethan are going to work through a very rigorous curriculum called Omnibus I which covers history, literature, and theology. The reading for it is daunting. Here is the reading list for this year:


Genesis, Exodus, Epic of Gilgamesh, Code of Hammurabi, First and Second Samuel, First and Second Kings, The Odyssey, Plutarch's Lives, The Early History of Rome, Orestia, The Theban Trilogy, The Last Days of Socrates, Histories, Luke, Acts, The Aeneid, The Twelve Caesars, Julius Caesar, Revelation, Chosen by God, Till We Have Faces, The Magician's Nephew, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Minor Prophets, The Silver Chair, The Last Battle, The Best Things in Life, The UnAborted Socrates, Galatians, Romans, James, The Eagle of the Ninth, The Screwtape Letters, The Holiness of God.


Whew! My goal it to get through the first week... and then the second week...and then... This is the most ambitious work load we have attempted. We'll see how it goes.

Countdown...

12 Days until school begins....

Beginning of This Blog

The purpose of this blog is to keep our family up to date on our schooling experiences this year.

We will begin with a countdown.

13 DAYS UNTIL SCHOOL BEGINS.

School begins on Monday, September 1, aptly called "Labor Day". I plan to put the "labor" back in Labor Day. Watch out kids. Your mom is highly motivated to move you forward on your educational journey.