Weekly Wrap-Up: In Which I Post Two Weeks' Worth

I had all the best intentions of posting a wrap-up last weekend, but it was very busy! And as the days of this past week went by with one thing after another for me to attend to, the blog kept getting put to the backburner.  I've neglected the blogs entirely for just over a week, so I have some catching up to do!

Homeschool (Week of Jan 31st):   Monday was a pretty ordinary schoolday for a change.  We learned about volume in Science, followed by a lesson on density on Tuesday.  Tuesday we also worked on Chinese calligraphy and got started on Chinese landscape art.  Thursday was our very big day - the much-anticipated start of co-op!! The first week is always kind of experimental, as we all settle into classes.  This season we are meeting in a new building, so we had the added challenge of finding our way around.  Still, I thought it went very well and the kids were thrilled!  The kids in the Geography and Art class I am co-teaching learned about Egypt and practiced perspective drawing.  They drew the pyramids and used watercolor pencils to color them.  Landon's classes this year are Cooking, Science, and Filmmaking.  Kennady also has Cooking and Science, and she is in my Geography/Art class.

(Week of Feb 7th):  Monday the kids were on their own for school as I was roadtripping with Harrison.  Tuesday we got back to our Science lessons, and learned about buoyancy.  We tried to get back into the routine after all the upheaval of the weekend.  Landon and Kennady kept working on the Chinese landscape paintings, and they were finished on Wednesday.  I think they turned out well, even though the paper we used wasn't the best choice for the watercolor pencils - too absorbent, the paper puckered up wherever they applied water.  I told them it made the paintings look more aged. ;-)   Thursday brought another exciting week of co-op.  The Geography/Art class looked at sub-Saharan Africa and made African tribal masks.

learning about buoyancy

Kennady's Chines landscape in progress

Landon working on a Chinese landscape

Chinese calligraphy by Landon

In Other News (week of Jan 31st):  We had some snow on Tuesday which meant my choir practice was cancelled, but DH and Kennady did get to go to the hockey game in DC.  DH is a longtime Montreal Canadiens fan, and Kennady is named for that team (100% true story), so when the Canadiens visited the Washington Capitals (and we have a friend that plays for the Caps!), of course they wanted to go!  That Friday evening we moved Harrison back home.  On Saturday he had an interview for a job in Virginia, so he and I were gone all day doing that (while DH and Kennady went to a Capitals practice).  The interview went well, but he says he doesn't expect to get the offer.  We enjoyed the drive down and part of the drive back home using a different route.  Unfortunately, I missed an exit and wound up taking a miserable detour through the District to get home.  I honestly cannot think of a time when driving in or around DC, even when I've done it intentionally, has been anything but a harrowing and frustrating experience at best.  On Sunday, of course we watched the SuperBowl with friends!  Enjoyed the game (Harrison is a Packers fan and most of our party were cheering Packers), most of the commercials, and hated the half-time show.  LOL  One of the worst ever, except for the wardrobe malfunction year. 8-/

(week of Feb 7th):   Monday was another roadtrip day for Harrison and me.  He had his final exam first thing in the morning, and from there we drove out to Delaware so he could interview for a part-time weekend position there.  He was immediately offered the job and accepted - the logistics are a bit dodgey because he has to drive out there every weekend!  But he is very excited to have his first on-air job already, and we are very proud of him on that score.  While in Delaware, I finally was able to meet up IRL with a friend that I've known online for years.  I love IRLs!!  (and I tease my DH that of all the online friends I've met IRL, despite his reservations, not one has turned out to be an axe-murderer! ;-) )  Tuesday was not the happiest day ever  though - we finally were able to get the chimney sweep here to clean and assess our chimney, and was shocked to be told that we'd had a chimney fire!!!! So - the chimney is unsafe until the liner is replaced, meaning we cannot have a fire in the woodstove until that's done.  The house has definitely been on the chilly side since! :-(  The repair work will be covered by our homeowners insurance, thankfully, so at least we do not have to pay the whole thing out of pocket at this point!  To finish off the week - or perhaps to start this new week, depending on how we look at it - I went along with Harrison for his first shift at the new job in Delaware.  It was a shorter shift to begin with, and he had never driven that distance or that route by himself, so I went along for the ride and to (hopefully) reassure ourselves that he could do it.  He is a good driver, but it's the route with all the freeway exits/entrances and the traffic that will likely make me a nervous wreck for the next several weekends when he does it completely on his own.  I spent my time while he was at work in napping, reading, and visiting a church in the area.

 

 

Tappahannock, VA

Looks like a bridge to nowhere . . .

On the Bookshelf:

• Quitting Church by Julia Duin


• Miniatures and Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen by Peter Leithart


• Critique of Criminal Reason by Michael Gregorio


• In Search of the Lost Mountains of Noah by Robert Cornuke and David Halbrook


• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

In the past two weeks, I read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (first of the Austen books discussed in the Leithart book), and finished The Scribe by Francine Rivers.

Parting Shot:

Official IRL photo