Sending You Elsewhere . . .

I have a busy weekend ahead of me- spring cleaning, the big recital, my mom's birthday . . .  so I'm going to focus there and be back in this space on Monday.

So instead of reading about my busy-ness, would you like some links for the weekend?

:: Read what Sarah found about self-directed education. I spent much of the last few evenings reading though those links and it definitely gave me some new insight into our homeschool and also confirmed some long-held beliefs.

:: To get back into some sewing I'm making shorts for Ender and next week I'm planning to get back into some quilting with the blocks I've been drooling over on Sew, Mama, Sew.

:: I'm keeping an eye on these Montessori sandpaper letters and waiting until I have a little bit of school money to put toward these letters for Ezra.

:: Have you checked out the Kind Conversation community yet?

A Sunny Daybook

Outside my window…

It is bright and cheerful already at 8 a.m. We're looking forward to another warm day- we're supposed to hit 80 F again. Our pollen count has been very high these last few days and I've been really feeling the effects. I think Ender has been too.

  

I am thinking…

about the recital this Sunday. Everything is as ready as it can be as of today. I'll be printing programs on Saturday, then it comes down to setting everything up on the day of the event. I'm looking forward to this event, but maybe looking forward a little more to it being over!

I am thankful for…

My mom who understands that this week is stressful . . . so she came over and did my dishes and a bit of laundry to help me keep up at home.

Always Learning…

This week has been interesting for us! We've been invited to be part of the local homeschooling association and also talked to a friend about getting together once a week for nature study. Ender signed up for teeball this summer and we need to pick weeks for swimming lessons. I feel like we've gone from zero outside activities to suddenly several. We are praying for discernment as to which opportunities we should take advantage of, and which would mean too much on our schedule.

From the kitchen…

This week has been a week of treats- cookies for another family, brownies, and plans for more cookies.

There has also been a LOT of picnic making!

I am wearing…

a green skirt, white shirt, and a cardigan. The mornings are a bit on the cool side this week, but by 2 p.m. I'll be too warm for the cardigan.

I am creating…

A February baby sweater for my neice.

new Pajamas for my boys that grow like CRAZY.

Shorts for Ender.

Spring cleaning plans due to start next  Monday!

  

I am going …

to take the space I need this week. I usually spend Supeman's class evenings working on the things that need done around here, but this week I'm knitting, and occasionally just sitting and gathering my thoughts.

I am reading…

Lemony Snicket books (which are incredibly short, I found out!) and The Queen's Governess by Karen Harper- another set in the Tudor household while Anne Boleyn is around.

I am hoping…

for great weather next week so we can work in the yard while I have a free week. The boys are very excited to help me plant flowers this year! (It's all Ender has talked about for almost 2 weeks now!

I am hearing…

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for the first time in ages. Our t.v. broke several weeks back so any episodes that have been watched have been me and Superman watching on the computer. My brother-in-law B. works for a moving company, and a client was leaving a t.v. behind and offered it to him for free! He picked it up and passed it on to us. We do watch some t.v. around here, but we've been so in the habit of not watching that we've only used it a few times since getting the new one.

Around the house…

I'm keeping up with the dailies for this week, but Monday starts the deep spring clean. I'm looking particularly at my laundry room/pantry that somehow became a "catch all" room in the last few months. I tackled the boys' rooms over the weekend and also started on the linen closet. My goal is to have the whole house done by May 1st.

One of my favorite things…

This February sweater gull pattern. The 4 rows are easy to memorize and I have not gotten tired of it, even though this is my second February sweater in a row.

A few plans for the rest of the week . . .

A trip to the library, knitting a lot (as stress relief!), and the big performance this weekend!

Compliments

I was paid a great compliment a few days back.

A friend we haven't seen in awhile came for a visit and the boys brought item after item to her to show her things they had made, things I'd made for them, and projects still in the works. She asked politely after each thing and ooh-ed and aah-ed appropriately. After the boys got over their "show off every cool thing" mode and settled in to play, she said the very best thing:

Your kids seem to really appreciate handmade things.

I hope so. I really do.

I make their clothes, their toys, their blankies . . . my own things too. I hope they understand that the time and love poured into a project is far greater than the actual finished product. I hope their matching pajamas and little handknit toys for a long time- not because of what they are but because someone who loves them tremendously made it for them.

It isn't even about me and the things I personally make for them. It's about supporting the people you know and love in their creative ventures and knowing that that is just as important as the usual things we support each other in.

From the Weekend

I spent my weekend doing approximately 29,000 loads of laundry and spring cleaning in my boys' bedrooms.

You?

It was really a re-organizing of their rooms. I emptied everything out, dusted and cleaned, then put it all back in minus outgrown clothes, winter clothes, and an assortment of toys that were broken, outgrown or just plain needed to be put up for awhile. We just have to do that kind of thing every once in awhile. Plus, the studio has it's annual recital next week and I'm a little stressed over this event (as I am every year). My answer to stress is to clean. Something about re-organizing the space helps me organize my mind.

Over the weekend I also started reading Preschool Pathways to Science and I *love* what I have read so far! In one of the first sections it has a list of methods this book might remind you of, and Reggio Emilia and Montessori were included. That sounds like a match for me! I'll share more once I'm through the book.