Homeschool Mother's Journal: In Which We Appreciate Flexibility

In our homeschool this week... yeah... well...  we just kinda slid by this week, to tell the truth.  Monday was a later start than usual, although at this point I can't remember if there was really a reason for that.  On Tuesday, Spencer had a week off from chemistry class, which I originally thought would mean a more relaxed day.  Not so much.  Because I realized that it was yearbook picture day so we spent the morning doing that, then went straight to gym class.  So instead of getting more schoolwork done than usual, we actually got far less next to nothing done.  Oh well, these things happen.  I thought we'd turn things around on Wednesday, but that didn't go quite as well as I'd hoped.  Surely - surely on Thursday, we could really hit the books hard...  but no, I wasn't feeling well and spent half the day napping.  Friday, thankfully, was a respectable school day.


We weren't complete slackers all week.  We did our composer study, and enjoyed learning about Haydn.  Also did some reading in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.  We let Science and Social Studies go this week though, other than enjoying a couple of meals in celebration of our recent studies of Italy and Greece.  On Wednesday evening, we had an Italian dinner of fettucine alfredo, tuna-stuffed eggs, tomato herb bread, and salad.  Fettucine alfredo is a favorite meal anyway, so that was an easy choice.  Tuna-stuffed eggs weren't a big hit - they are basically devilled eggs, but with tuna added to the yolk filling.  Kennady and I both LOVE devilled eggs, and decided that we prefer them without the tuna.  We also made an Italian dessert which we had to enjoy the next day.  It was a Sicilian cake that is popular during the Christmas season, or so the Holidays of the World Cookbook for Students told us.  It's a poundcake in layers with a cream cheese and  candied fruit filling, and a very buttery mocha chocolate frosting.  That got mixed reviews - the kids aren't fans of candied fruit, so they picked at the filling.



On Saturday evening, we tried a Greek dish - chicken and feta cheese pie.  I wondered how well the feta cheese would go over, but to my surprise this got a thumbs up from everyone! Our only issue was that the celery in the filling wasn't cooked soft enough for our liking.  And I was relieved that working with phyllo dough wasn't difficult either.



I really don't think any of these things look half as appetizing in the pictures as they were on our dinner table!

By the end of the week, I realized that having a flexible schedule for homeschooling certainly worked to our advantage.  The kids were able to work on some things independently, and we did what we could when it suited us in the other subjects, without worrying much about getting behind schedule.

In other news... our snow finally melted! I posted pictures on Just A Second.  On Thursday, we were able to pick up a load of firewood from friends of ours, so we are preparing for the reality of winter.

My missing sunglasses were found last week (woo hoo!!), but they had been stepped on or something and are not quite flexible enough to escape totally undamaged.  So I took them back to the optical place and was able to order replacement frames in the same style but different color, and was so relieved that the lenses did not need to be replaced.

And sometimes we don't appreciate flexibility until we start losing it.  I have had a "bad" knee for awhile now, but this week it really did become worse.  Painful, some swelling, and very stiff.  DH lovingly calls me "Hunchback" when I lurch down the stairs.  LOL   I will be seeing the doctor this coming week and hoping for a solution.

My favorite thing this week was... getting an invitation from a family at church to spend Thanksgiving with them.

Questions/thoughts I have... I will need to do report cards tomorrow, I think!  The first quarter flew by!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share...

Life is tough, but it's tougher if you're stupid. ~John Wayne

We used this website to listen to some of Haydn's music this week, and I really like it:  Classics for Kids

On the Bookshelf...

• Already Compromised by Ken Ham and Greg Hall with Britt Beemer


• Cleopatra: Last of the Egyptian Queens by Joyce Tyldesley


• Sunrise of Avalon by Anna Elliott

Finished and reviewed In the Shadow of the Sun King by Golden Keyes Parsons and The Deception at Lyme by Carrie Bebris

A Parting Shot...



This post is linked to The Homeschool Chick - see how other homeschoolers exercised their flexibility this week!