MayDay!!! Mayday!!!

Yes...it means both! And as I type this entry, I have that subtle awful feeling of deja vu...that I have typed it before...hmmmm....but am too lazy to check. It applies anyway. The past month(schoolyear) has that feeling not gone off the way I wanted. I had so many project ideas at the start! But Life and other people's lives got in the way...sigh....

I hope to do those projects in the next year since  the Twirly-Whirly will be really starting schooling this year as she'll finally be that magic number 7, the Biblical number of completion. She'll have completed her true "pre"schooling ala Waldorf. She'll literally be a whole new girl (every 7 years every cell in your body has been replaced by new ones)...we could even say she has regenerated! She would like that as she continues to wait for The Doctor to come get her!

Next year, there will be far fewer outside activities during the weekday school hours. We'll be doing Classical Conversations every Monday morning and have a parkday each Friday afternoon. Twice a month we'll have a Hearth Keepers meeting, and once a month we'll do the Madrona Marsh Homeschool Class. (She will have aged-out of FFMM.)

Ballet classes will be moving to Saturdays after ViP soccer. She'll be starting Beginning 4H as well one Sat a month. We'll return to violin on Sundays too.

That will leave plenty of time during the week for not just academics but artistic and culinary endeavors! Bread machine, dehydrator, pressure cooker...all beckoning as is the sewing machine....fun stuff...


More later....

Ready or not....

Ready or Not...here I blog!

 If I don't do it now, I fear I will end up even more behind. Note to self: next school year I will have to make a specific day for journaling etc!

Here's some of what has gone on since last entry:

The Peter Rabbit Garden is underway nicely. There are already some shoots coming up! The Fairy Garden strawberry plant continues to produce berries too even tho it is almost 4 years old! No more rabbits lately, but we have got raccoons under the house! I can hear them scratching under the bathtub! Twirly finds it rather disconcerting, but then she saw one in the yard and is not so worried now. I saw one staring in at us from the back sliding glass door the other night as well! It was as big as our large cat, Bonnie, who seemed none too keen to chase it off! We had made plans to catch them and release them into Madrona Marsh until today when Ms Cindy told us they eat the baby ducklings! Now not sure what to do.

We were at the marsh today. It's supposed to rain tonight, but that didn't stop the weather from getting harsh at the marsh...Humid!!! and I am sure I got a sunburn. We learned about frogs and wolf spiders in the classroom and even got to see a tadpole and a baby spider who fell off its mother's back. Wolf Spiders carry their babes on top. They are the only spiders who care for their young! Out in the marsh, there were duck young to be seen as well as frogs and more spiders and diving beetles etc. We even witnessed an altercation of sorts when a mom duck wandered into another's territory. The male nipped her butt and came back with some feathers in his mouth. The intruder's male was not around at the time to defend her so she and her babes waddled of asap.

We went to the Circus Gatti at the Shrine Auditorium two weeks ago (I am behind on uploading pics). We had a great time! All the performing was done on a stage instead of in a ring like Circus Vargas, but we could see really well and they even had elephants! The kids had a fun time in the midway too...ate a lot of cotton candy and popcorn. Twirly did almost every ride they had. The Boo-man settled for trampolines and a mini-Ferris wheel. It was all courtesy of The Friendship Circle. At least admission was! It was still a pretty penny but worth it IMO.

We have Awana tonight. Twirly has already completed her book. :) Boo will finish tonight. That's one big thing off the list! We can just cruise to the end of next month!

Twirly is very busy these days. She is not only in the God Kids Choir with all its commitments, but she is signed up for a Violin Concert at a local auditorium via Palos Verdes Strings. This will be her first concert! :)) Added incentive: Talking Princess Celestia! lol...upon completion of course.

I wanted to write more. but there are still uploads of photos and videos to attend to and time is closing to be ready for Awana too. Cross your fingers I'll get more done soon!

March Lions

lol....you know the old saying about March? In like a lion, out like a lamb? well, weather-wise it was more like in like a lamb that mid-month morphed into the lion...good thing leprechauns don't mind the wet! I bet he really enjoyed the nip of whiskey and the shamrock cookies she left out for him. She is already anxious about getting her new shoes on Easter Sunday 3 weeks from now!

We had some mind-blowing weather this past week...the little pot of wildflowers the Twirly planted at a FFMM got pelted by hail last Saturday (St Pat's day), as did the latest pot of daffies also destined for the fairy garden. I am hopeful they will be okay. We'll be planting them soon. Already planted some new tomato and pumpkin plants and we're preparing for the Peter Rabbit Garden in the front yard (pics soon). 

Speaking of the Rabbit, tonight is Ostara eve! Twirly is happy that they'll be hunting eggs in the front yard tomorrow, instead of like last year when it was storming so the hunt was held in the parlor! We tried out the herb egg decoration 'recipe' from our Earthschooling curriculum. Came out very nice! Made with shaved crayons and herbs and flower petals....now to figure out how to get the wax off the spoon! and note to self: next time do not mix the shavings together.

And speaking of lions: we just finished family bedtime storytime reading of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. The Twirly-Whirly loved it and can't wait to have more adventures with Aslan and the children. It was so exciting as she actually anticipated events in the plot! And she totally got that Aslan was just like Jesus...she's 6. The first time I read the series (thank you again, former bro-in-law for the awesome boxed set for an Xmas so long ago now) I was in my early 20's, a new Xian, and I missed it completely! Just thought it was a great series! D'oh! Head too full of grown-up stuff, I imagine. That's why we need to come to Him like children, I guess. They see some things so much more clearly. 

and also speaking of lions and the Lion of Judah...her choir is preparing to do a June show, the theme of which is God's creation etc (to put it briefly cus it's late and I'm wearing out now), and tonight she auditioned for the part of one of the 2 lions, with some roars and fierceness and all! Really cute! (pics and a vid taken).

Well, more fun tomorrow (after the Boo-man's doctor appt)...heading off to the park to play with friends...will be taking along her violin so she can practice with her friend, A, who is also in the violin class. That is also my plan for Friday (if it doesn't rain again) as some of our fellow Friday park friends are also in the violin class.

Ending this entry now..it's almost 11pm...if I don't get to bed soon that Rabbit may pass us by and I'll have a lot of 'splainin' to do!

Time for Tea cus I am Toast! :-

Missed Friday Fun at Madrona Marsh today owing to an overlong trip to the dentist for The Teenager...oy...missed getting breakfast at home and the Twirly ate half of the snack I took to the dentist so I got a headache that going to the chiro helped with some. Between dropping Gamer off at school and hitting the chiro, I managed to swing by Kids Double Time and get The Boo-man another pair of shorts plus Perry the Platypus swim trunks and two swimsuits for Twirly-Whirly...score! Later tonight we have ballet dress rehearsal at 530 and actual show at 7. First time on a big stage! The same stage she saw Sleeping Beauty danced by the South Bay Ballet!! Lessons planned will have to be re-ordered for next week (where's the whiteout???) I'm toast right now and she's also been invited to a b'day party tomorrow from 11-3: Tutus, tiaras, and tea! no boys allowed....wondering what to do with the Boo that long....

A Month of Unschooling

That's how I have to look at February 2012 or I feel disgruntled. I didn't get done what I had hoped for: a return to rhythm and so-called normality. Instead there were dental appointments galore and a run to the emergency room and Acadec taxi rides. This blog/journal etc both online and printed out and pasted into our memory book is *supposed* to chronicle the Twirly Whirly's days, but since she is my only girl but not my only offspring I guess there's bound to be this sort of chaos. My sons need my time too.

But I am hopeful for March. Named for the Roman god of War, it's a month promising action. Even tho there are still med/dent appts looming and more AcaDec taxiing (I am so proud he is competing and going to State!!) these 'interruptions' are now on the calendar so we'll school around them. 

March sees Twirly's first on-stage recital! At the actual James Armstrong Theatre no less! They sold tix and everything. In fact, I must remember to get a snap of the marquee announcing the show before they change it. We will also be relaunching Hearth Keepers, our Keepers at Home club, with a family from our church. :)

Twirly had another homeschool class at Madrona Marsh last Tuesday. This time the moms could come in. I ran an errand then joined them. Pics have been uploaded to our FB page..one day i may caption them! Lol! (So pressed for time some days that just getting them up in a timely fashion is a gift.) One of my tasks this morning will be to carve out more margin in our lives. Ballet class will soon be back on Thursdays and that will help immensely. Next school year it looks like she'll have busy Saturdays...we may have to finally give in to them. She is aging out of the weekday morning classes. How to deal with soccer and ballet on same day will be an issue, I fear. 

Meanwhile it looks like some near future Sats will be for swim lessons! Still held at Redondo Union but not in the format that my boys did them...on weekdays during the summer...I had hoped to do it that way while Boo-man was in summer school, but this way I can recruit the Dad to help and they both can swim. And we'll get to use summer more freely for summer lessons and play days at maybe Seaside Lagoon??? Hmmm....

Anyway, that's it for now. Gotta keep a promise to take them to McDs PlayPlace. again...sigh..at least I can read/study etc there....lol....

How to Catch a Bunny

For the second time this week there was a bunny on our lawn today! The first time was back last Monday I think when the dad stepped out to go to work and announced there was a bunny on the front lawn! We chased it around for half an hour when a man in a van pulled up and we asked if he was looking for a bunny. Yup. He and I and Twirly continued the chase as the dad finally left for work. It took another half and hour. Even a calm friendly bunny can elude capture rather easily it would seem! 

What does this have to do with our homeschooling? Is there a metaphor? Does there have to be? It could stand on its own as a funny bunny story and possible pre-rabbit ownership lesson in why to always make sure your doors and gates are closed properly. 

But I suppose there is a lesson in it for homeschoolers too. Like even when plans go south and time slips by (like it sorta did during the holidays and the month after), if you stay calm and don't give up, you can get things back to normal. On that note, no pun intended, Twirly and I returned to violin class today now that it is back at the regular location. (We waited out the month they spent at a temporary site just a bit too far to drive to.)

We are definitely going to have to be disciplined in our weekly practices to get back in the swing. One of Twirly's good friends has also joined the class now so we may be adding violin practice to the park time on Tuesdays. Learning together is so much more fun than learning on your own.

Now if I could only learn where to find additional pages for our scrapbook...that's one problem of buying interesting vintage ones from eBay...they can come with unusual page connectors. The one I bought for this year (and which I really love) does *not* have posts...it is connected through plastic straps! How am I supposed to find more of those? I don't even know the proper name for it! 


I got a surprise at the Twirly-Whirly's ballet class last week. Turns out all the classes are now run through RKDC dance school even tho they are held through the Parks and Rec. So that amounts to no more wee little recitals on the last day of class. It now turns out that they do them on stage at a separate location in the evening. For instance, March 9 at the local college auditorium at 7pm. They require all in attendance to purchase tickets too! (excepting the actual dancer and any moms who wish to serve as backstage help since we would not be able to watch the performance.)


This, I am told by another mom, is quite a racket. It explains why the cost went up for the class despite no other changes. She told me that you are not allowed to tape your child's performance as the dance company sells dvds at $35 a pop! This dvd is the entire show! I really don't want to buy a dvd of a bunch of other kids when my own dd's performance will probably not last longer than 10 minutes!


The good thing is that we can tape the rehearsals. I think I will settle for that. Past filmings have often feature my dd making angry faces at me (for filming) and her just standing there pouting. Should make for an interesting show this time! Lol!




 

Young Pups, New Tricks

We tried something new yesterday. Ms Cindy of Friday Fun at Madrona Marsh has, after many moms asking, started a nature study group for homeschooled kids ages 6-8! :)) We've been doing nature study with her since the Twirly-whirly was 3 and we went all the way to South Coast Botanical Gardens in Palos Verdes to do it.

This new program allows no sibs unless they too are 6-8 and it allows no moms in the room either, both of which the kids just loved. Ms Cindy was surprised, esp by the latter, but I'm not. I bet they all felt really quite grown-up not having to have parental supervision! ;) The topic was Wiggly Worms which was the same as one of the FFMM's just the other week or so ago, but the material is expanded, and the kids got to use the dissecting microscopes (look that up). They all mastered the techniques in just minutes too!

I was a bit sad not to be able to witness her firsthand but did get off a few pics (will add later), and everyone went on the excursion into the marsh. It would seem that the rest of the families waiting outside the lab and such were noisy (what else with so many young kids) so Ms Cindy will be making the group into a drop-off program for the first hour of classroom/lab. I have known them all so long now I have no probs with that. My only challenge is where to find a convenient cup of coffee. ;)