Around Here Lately {Homeschool Mother's Journal}

in our homeschool this week...
we are approximately one week away from being finished with our 2011-2012 homeschool curriculum! Big Girl will finish 2nd grade + 3rd grade math. {squee!} i haven't ever set a year-end date for our year, but i do keep a goal in mind of how much i'd like for us to accomplish each season. we are very flexible, and i know how much time Big Girl can take off before she loses momentum. so we've taken our time and enjoyed a few breaks from the books every now and then, but we've kept a good pace. as it turns out, our last week of school coincides with our ISD's last week of school! this is great incentive for Big Girl to keep up (or pick up) the pace so she isn't schooling when her school-going friends are out for summer. all that being said, we will continue to do light school work through the summer months, because learning has become a natural part of our every day life. and we like it.


i'm inspired by...

my (brave and willing) friend and i colored our hair pink and went to the gym to workout for a cause. the pink-themed Zumba dance class was a benefit to support Sharon, who has been battling breast cancer for 8 years. Sharon is almost always at the gym when i'm there. she's small but not weak. she's bald but so beautiful. she wears a bright pink shirt that says "Yes, these are fake. My real ones tried to kill me." i pray for Sharon and her family, and i dance with pink hair to bring a smile to her face. 

i'm reading...

Always There: Reflections for Moms on God's Presence, featuring real-life mothering stories and assurance of God's abiding presence by Ann Voskamp, Alexandra Kuykendall, Kathi Lipp, Tracey Bianchi, Kim Hill, Renee Swope, and others. good stuff. it reads like a devotional, like a book of letters written just for me in this season of motherhood. i recommend it for permanent residency on your nightstand.

i am praying for... 

a fun-filled memorable summer, with lots of family time, time with friends, sunshine, and swimming! and Lord, if it's Your will, i'm praying our summer includes a move closer to Daddy's office. 

our favorite thing this week was...
a field trip to Homeschool Day at Legoland! the timing couldn't have been better on this. if you would have asked me to go to Legoland back in March, i would turn down the invitation. up until a few weeks ago, we didn't play with Legos! just recently, we pulled out a big box of real Legos (the small ones!) that we bought but stored in a closet when we baby-proofed the house in 2008. Big Girl and Bubba have played with Legos almost every single day since! and i discovered using Legos to teach tactile learners! the opportunity to go to Homeschool Day at Legoland fell into my lap and YES! sign me up! it was so much fun - we played there for 6 hours! and we already can't wait to go back.

and that is what's been going on around here lately. how was your week?