Weekly Wrap Up - Goodbye January!

Every now and then, some non-homeschooler says the dumbest thing to us.  I can typically count on  one of my kids having a witty retort.   This past week we had one of those moments at jiu-jitsu.  Someone made a Forest Gump reference that neither of the girls got, because they've not seen the movie.  The fact that they'd not seen the movie started a slew of guffaws and comments, and one guy, for whatever reason, said "I bet you've never seen Gone With the Wind either" (how those 2 movies connected in HIS mind is beyond me), but without missing a beat Lindsey said "No, but I have read the book and it's wonderful!"   Blink, blink..."The book?  um...oh...ok...I guess that counts."  Yes folks, it was a book before it was a movie.  But please, go on with your superior knowledge base about the various shrimp references in Forest Gump, ahem.

Moving along, the weekend was a hodge podge of activities.   I had a church leaders meeting from 9am-3pm on Saturday morning (shoot me now).  The girls had to miss their morning jiu-jitsu since I wasn't available to take them.  Lindsey ended up babysitting most of the morning here at the house anyway, so I guess it worked out ok.  In the evening, Lindsey had her end of the year John Lewis Society party at the museum.  This was bittersweet for her and the friends she's made, as they have all finished their final year together.   While she was at the party, the rest of the family went out to Taco Bell and then to the pet store to check out the puppies.

Sunday was church, and honestly my overkill from Saturday's meeting was still hanging on and I went with a not good attitude.   I'd be willing to bet I'm not the only person to ever go to church with a bad attitude; although I may be the only one willing to admit it.  I'd put a pork roast in the crock pot before we left (at 8am) and the house was smelling delish when we got home at 1pm.   We had a nice family dinner and then watched Thor:Ragnarock before dropping the kids off at their Sunday night babysitting job.   We went out for coffee and donuts while the girls were working.  Those Christmas gift cards just keep on giving!

We took a midday break from academics on Monday to go to the indoor jump park with friends.  This is always a fun activity.   I love watching the good natured competitiveness on the jousting beam.   Lindsey usually just hopes to survive since she's outweighed by everyone.  Collin (in the jeans) is pretty low key and doesn't really care if he wins or loses.  Olivia and Landen (in the grey shirt/black shorts) are typically the two who end up battling to see who will be the victor for the day.

   

We came home and finished lessons and laundry.  Then things took an unexpected turn when Olivia got a call that she was needed to go take care of the evening feedings and work at the farm, while there was a trip to the ER by the farmers.  We ended up making a second trip over around 9pm to let the dogs out and make sure the chicken door was closed.

Tuesday was pretty standard.  Both girls had a big Spanish unit test that they took a bit too lightly with their studying.  There will be a great deal of effort required to recover their grade from that poor judgment call on both their parts.   Olivia spent a great deal of time outside shooting her recurve bow, and Lindsey worked ahead in some of her subjects in preparation for the next few days.  The evening wrapped up with jiu-jitsu.  Testing for blue and purple belts is coming up soon, so both girls are staying late to help those who are testing to practice.

Wednesday morning Lindsey was out the door early to go to her weekly babysitting gig.  She took some of her work with her to be done during nap time, and the rest she finished when she got home. Olivia started her online driver's education course (requirement for homeschooled kids in VA).  She was  really surprised at the excessive amount of  time they assign for reading each section.  The state requires 36 hours, so each section is timed...so there will be 36 hours of time but not nearly that much content.

Thursday morning when we got up there was a light snow falling.  The girls and I were scheduled to be BETA testers for a new scavenger hunt program that our local Escape Room is working on.  We started at noon and had the best time zipping all over town following clues and getting the final item to end our search.  The falling snow made the downtown area picturesque, and we really enjoyed the time together.  There were 4 teams racing and we came in 2nd place by just a few minutes, but well ahead of teams 3 and 4.  School work was completed in the afternoon, along with some on line driver's education.   2.5 hour of jiu-jitsu rounded out our day.

Friday was pretty standard.  The kids got their schoolwork done while I was grocery shopping.  We worked on laundry and house cleaning in the afternoon.  Olivia went to volleyball in the evening.

BLAST FROM THE PAST 

Homeschooling high school isn't quite as crafty and fun as when the kids were younger.  It may be a bit dull reading about our schedules these days.  So, to alleviate some of that boredom I thought I'd start sharing a blast from the past post each week.  I don't want to assume that you've all been reading along since day 1, or that you remember all of our hands on learning.

We were big on unit studies when the kids were little.  This weeks blast from the past is our Knights and Castles Unit Study from way back in 2012.  We had so much fun making shields, swords and armor.   Be sure to pop over and check it out.

Have a great weekend, enjoy the Super Bowl if you're a sports fan.  If you're not a sports fan at least enjoy the great snack foods that go along with the game!