Mt. Hope Academy 2011 ~ Week 11

Arrrrgh! The formating on this post is all wonky and it won't shape up. I'm tired of working on it. Maybe I'll try to fix it again later. It's been another interesting week of life at Mt. Hope. Sure is a good thing it's spring break. Lola's had a rough sick-week with three of her worst nights EVER. Bad cold, throwing-up, major diaper issues, and last night (all night) during which she let me know in no uncertain terms that she was NOT happy I had eaten split-pea soup. I need an extra week of sleep. The boys have been consumed with archery. Handmade bows, cardboard box targets, and old arrows from Grandpa. It's all good. Leif has still been spending a huge amount of time on his new bike riding skills. We spent an evening at Chuck E. Cheese's for my father-in-law's birthday (the boys were thrilled!!). Then an evening at my parents' house for a joint birthday party for the sisterhood (all three of us were born in March). Our friends just got two baby quail to raise, and we went to see them. They are so tiny and sweet! I followed and read up on a theological/scientific/homeschooling controversy until I thought my brain would explode. Missed several more hours of sleep. And then our fabulous pastor's sermon was perfect for the occasion, and I missed it due to having not slept last night. Guess I'll be listening to it online this week. It looks as if I'll be lucky to read a book a month this year. Lola won't nurse if I'm holding a book. It's a good thing I'm in a book club, or I wouldn't even read one a month! So far I've read The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, The Five Thousand Year Leap: 28 Great Ideas That Changed the World by W. Cleon Skousen, and this week I finished One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. All books that stretched me and made me think and feel deeply. Good stuff. Many hours were spent researching, planning, and organizing the next few weeks and months of school. There are changes ahead as CC ends in two weeks. Russ also accepted a job which will start in a couple weeks (making a significant impact on our routine) and we hope to take school on the road and get away for a bit before he begins. Oh, and some learning, thinking, reading, and watching woven through our days. That's life, folks. CC memory work review Fine Arts: IEW Poetry memory Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists: Winslow Homer by Mike Venezia (Levi: Morisot lapbook page for CC) The Music Box: The Story of Cristofori by Suzanne Guy and Donna Lacy Adventures in Architecture: Joe and the Skyscraper by Prestel 13 Buildings Children Should Know by Prestel Gargoyles, Girders & Glass Houses: Magnificent Master Builders by Bo Zaunders What's Inside: Fascinating Structures Around the World by Giles Laroche Math: Singapore workbooks daily Science: Bill Nye: Light and Color (DVD) Bill Nye: Light Optics (DVD) Safety Smart Science with Bill Nye: Fire (DVD) History: Great Americans for Children: Abraham Lincoln (DVD) The American Presidents: The 12th-25th Presidents (DVD) Levi's Assigned Reading: A Piece of the Mountain: The Story of Blaise Pascal by Joyce McPherson Literature: Winnie the Pooh (audio CD) House at Pooh Corner (audio CD) Levi's Free Reading: The Secret School by Avi Redwall: The Sable Quean by Brian Jacques The Traditional Bowyer's Bible (Volume Four) Malu's Wolf by Ruth Craig Misc: Luke piano practice and lesson Prepared presentations (poetry recitation) for CC Week 22

It is while you are patiently toiling at the little tasks of life that the meaning and shape of the great whole of life dawn on you.

~Phillips Brooks