Making it Pretty, Nocturnal Animals & Faking Frogs

In my life this week...

Painting!!! I've been painting an old bookcase we had at the parsonage. We were hoping to get something different for the schoolroom at the new house, but decided last week to try to use what we have for now...

so since Wednesday I have been putting on a layer a day of white paint on a previously green bookcase. It's been a test of patience and perseverance. But after Sunday's coat, I think it's finished and can get placed in the schoolroom soon;)

And I really think it will be nice having it white! It's been a chore to make it pretty... but I know we need bookcases and it's was cheap to repaint it since we used paint that we already had;) Can't beat that!!

The Olympics:) We've had the TV on since the opening ceremonies... when the signals are good;) LOL!! NOt sure how much we'll watch during the days the next few weeks?

And we've been attempting to establish a chore routine around here. Our home is larger and requires a little more help from the kiddos! So we're spending our "home days" before school starts trying to teach and train on chores. I"ve definitely noticed a difference in the cleanliness of the house. But it's not been an easy road.... at lot of it has to with Momma's diligence :/

In our schooling this week...
umm, yikes. We've almost totally have taken a whole month off school... we all are ready to get back... almost:) We have still kept our afternoon reading and library visits. And the girls are occasionally on xtramath.org:)

Of course when we do take a break we never really stop learning or working together.

This has been a pseudo-Science week;)
We were able to participate in a library program with guests from a state Aquarium. We've been to the program in years passed, but this year the presenter's teaching style was just soo fun and really grabbed our attention! We really enjoyed the program and learned a lot about nocturnal animals.

We also had some animal learning adventures around the house;)

We borrowed a library book about spiders. The pictures were amazing and gave us a very close up view of spiders, their parts and how some of them eat. It's one of those books, you cringe when you read it.... LOL. We'll, I did.... Chris loved it!

Lydia enjoyed a visit with a friendly little dragonfly;)

 Later we found a frog hanging out at the cat's food bowls. As we approached the little frog he closed his eyes and acted like a rock;)

LOL!! Too funny!!

Earlier in the month I shared that we had been playing a LOT of Crazy 8's! Well we upgraded the kids to UNO this week.... we've played a LOT of Uno!! The kids love it and ask to play Uno more than they ask to eat... LOL!!

I'm inspired this week...
the simple beauty of flowers. We have found a couple of flowers on clearance these last two weeks! And it's soo nice to add some color to our yard;) Making it pretty slowly... a little at a time;)

I was also inspired by a friend who called to say she couldn't come. I was in the midst of a project that looked like it was going horribly wrong:( She encouraged me to "press on"... exactly what I needed to hear, at the right moment;)

Places we're going & People we're seeing...
Besides the library and Walmart :/ we haven't been out that much this week. But we were very glad to have Grammie and Uncle Eric visit Thursday. They came to help with some house projects... and we got some done;) But they also cut a path to the water to a fishing hole;)

What We're Reading...
Together we're reading a book called Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright. I've heard good things about this book and look forward to finishing it with the kids this week:)

Anna is still working her way through The American Girls and Boxcar Children books. Lydia is reading everything in sight... or at least trying!! I can really see an improvement in her reading this summer as she has tried to read more on her own! It's like when the "reading bug" bites, they really take off in their reading skills... more than they get from reading lessons alone. It's very exciting to see!!!

What am I Praying for...
the hearts of my children. That they would understand the love of Christ and desire Him fully... in spite of my lack of demonstrating Christ's love for them on some days:/ And that I would be mindful of that task each moment. Loved a post about love, patience and thankfulness!

Questions/Thoughts this Week...
Question is what to do with Anna's Grammar/writing this year. I used First Language Lessons 3 for her last year. She did it, liked it... but a lot of it just seemed like review or busy work for her. I'm not against diagramming sentences... she did plenty of it:) I just know I really struggled with being a decent writer in middle/high school and would love to give her a solid, but fun start;)

SO I'm on the hunt for a fun beginning writing "program" that could be used with all three older kids grades 1-4th. I think I know what I want to use. Would love some input:)

Picture to Share...

Just an afternoon on the swing:)




Linking up to Moments to Remember, Homeschool Mother's Journal and Weekly Wrap-Up.