Routine....

With a week break from CC class, you would have thought we would be over-prepared for presentations, but on Tuesday morning when Becca asked right before heading out the door to CC, "What are our presentations supposed to be on today"  I realized I spent too much time designing lapbooks over break.  :)

We threw something together - Becca talking about her baby picture album - a complete full album, all of which takes place in only the first month of life.  The next three kids not only do not have an album from the first month of their life, but they have no albums at all.  Good thing they are boys and don't seem to really care so far.....someday I'll have time for that, right?

Robby's presenation was about rockets....He loves those things, but really, we should have something more prepared.  Next week is going to be awesome - the kids are both "refining" their presentations (Actually Becca is switching to a rocket presentation too.  We have outlined the parts of the rocket and the steps to launch.  At the end of their speaches they will tell their class that we will launch a rocket at lunch time.  Hopefully all goes well since this mama has never launched a rocket, but it sounds like something a cool mom would do, and since I am never in that category, I think I should give it a try.

So excited for life-sized bodies this week that I almost threw myself on the butcher paper and yelled "trace ME!". I restrained myself long enough to trace Robby's spindly legs and cute ears onto the paper.

It is our family's turn for presentations.  I have no idea what we will talk about besides the fact that the kids can destroy anyone's house in 2.5 seconds flat.  That really is our best skill.  Cleaning up, well, that takes a bit longer.... 

Getting into a routine this week, and finally finding a schedule that works better for us.  Completely different than what I had planned at the beginning of the school year, but so far this week, it is working fairly well.  Who knows what next week brings.  If it really seems to work for us, I will try to post it.  It only took us until November to figure out...... :)

I am reading "The Core" by Leigh Bortins, creater of Classical Conversations.  I have avoided this book in the past because I really don't like being marketed to, and of course I assumed that it would be full of that, but after a CC mom said it really gave her a lot of clarity behind the classical model in the younger ages, I was excited to read it.  I am really enjoying it, and haven't been marketed to once!  I am hoping it answers the question "How much is too much? and How much is not enough?" as far as school time and efforts go.

When I was talking to a friend at lunch the other day it hit me: If I spend time educating my kids on something that they don't retain, aren't I really just entertaining them?  i came up with that before I started Leigh's book, and of course she refers to that concept, but ever-so-more eloquently.  She calls it "edutainment".  That is so true.  If we ship our kids off to school and they do crafts and projects and read great books, but cannot tell us one thing they learned a year later, wasn't that pretty much a waste of a year.  And come to think of it, can I recall much of my education as a child?  Do we assume it has to be that way, or is that way because of our age?  What if age has nothing to do with it, but rather technique and practice do?  Such good ponderings!

Headed off to the Extraordinary Women Conference in Rockford tomorrow with a great group of gals!  Praying first of all that God will show up in a mighty way, and that we will all be broken before His magnificent throne, and return restore, refreshed, renewed with a vision for our family in service and full of desire for Him.  Other than that tiny request, I am so excited that Ann Voskamp from A Holy Experience will be there!  Oh, how I have treasured and been encouraged by her words!  May God be with her tomorrow as she shares a message with His daughters!

Here are some pics I thought were great - Baby Gabe as a "thinkin' puppy" takes the cake!  Also love Robby's "tongue in action" when he is cutting out his head (now that just sounds weird...)  Last but not least, trial one of the Rocket speech - sure to be better next week!

Oh yeah, and I caught the kids reading stories to each other - so adorable!

Favorite moment this week so far.......

The whole family cuddled up in an armchair and couch with Daddy reading the last chapter of Farmer Boy - from the "Little House" series......LOVE IT!