Current Happenings

One of those nice things about homeschooling, too, I guess is that you can put it off! We just started regular lessons this week. With the fair, relatives being here, starting into the rest of the school year routine, it all just seems too much in September....and October seemed to have more than we originally planned...so here we are. But things seem to be moving forward.

Chris has a full venue with confirmation work starting to structure the majority of our catechesis and memory work. I'll add a few other memory projects later. Then we've started in on math after a year break, and surprise of surprises, he loves it again. We are focusing in on history - Middle Ages. I'm learning as much if not more than they are. We are in the "Dark Ages" for me personally, because the era between when the Roman Empire collapsed and the middle of the Middle Ages really are unknown to me., but they are fascinating. We're working through the Greek alphabet, and I won't put too much emphasis on much else other than recognizing the alphabet and putting together the sounds for a while. I probably will add Latin in January. Chris has seminary children's choir and piano lessons also. Jeff is going to be working with Chris on geography (which he gets a lot of in history, but the more the better) and art, since that is a phobia of mine.

Chris and Jeff just got back from an overnight Scout camp (it was 34 degrees at night....glad I was nice and cozy). They had fun though. Chris found he liked archery and he learned how to do jousting combat (the theme this year was Middle Ages) and apparently did quite well!

We're taking it easy with Maggie. Mostly play time. She got her Halloween costume yesterday....a princess gown complete with hoopskirt from Walmart. She's been having fun with it. I also set up her easel in the kitchen and got some paint cups that don't awaken my art/mess phobia so she's completely elated. She's learning to put together 3 letter words and is also learning her Ten Commandments 2 down, 8 to go. We sing hymns and other music, too. Then, "Wonderpets" and play time. There are virtues in going slow. She's already well ahead of most 4 year olds.

Knitting has been quite the adventure. I haven't knitted much all summer, but now that there is a chill in the air, my fingers have started to itch again. My first project ever was supposed to turn into a pair of socks in a bold variagated pattern called "Vegas Lights." (I'm a native Vegas girl, so my yarn pusher knitting mentor thought it would be appropriate) I finished the first sock, only to get distracted by a couple of other projects....a scarf for my daughter and a pair of socks for my husband (that were an adventure in themselves). So I took up my socks again. To my dismay, I'd developed so much in my knitting and tension, that my 2nd sock was a full inch tighter than my first, and the first looked sloppy and amateurish. I was determined to be happy with it, but the more I saw how well my 2nd was developing, I even liked how much better the colors combined, I just couldn't do it. So I frogged the whole first sock. Number two is finished, and now I'm finishing number three. I have had to make three socks for every pair I've made so far. I need to find someone with three feet. Along with that, I'm making a scarf for Chris for Winter. I'd bought him red yarn to knit with last year, because he wanted to do it, but was discouraged, so he asked me to do it for him (turn down good yarn??). I will show you when it is finished, since my son can access my blog.

Also, I am embarking on knitting my first piece of REAL clothing. A dress for Maggie, hopefully for Christmas (maybe Epiphany, which if last year is any gauge, she may get it by her birthday in June). I couldn't decide whether I really wanted to do a sweater (the idea of it hangs over me, taunting me) or cables....and then I found this pattern: Rowan has a set of children's books called Miss Bea, and they are cute little readers with a pretty non-existent story line, but the kids are in the most adorable sweaters and such, and then the patterns are at the back (about ten of them...not bad for $10.). And who needs plot when you have patterns? You can make your own plot! I would've spent hours as a kid dreaming about what I'd do if I was wearing those beautiful sweaters...

***note - NOT the dress I'm working on. Mine currently consists of 6 rows of dusty blue garter stitch.

Why couldn't I have discovered these when Maggie was younger??? Instead I sat pondering over Debbie Bliss patterns like they are written in cuneiform. (I still maintain that they are).