Here we are, the week of the big performance. Everything else has fallen by the wayside while Stephen works in the cotton fields as a silhouette slave…
…and David dances the nights away as a southern plantation “party guest.”
As a glimpse of what it might have been like escaping on the Underground Railroad in 1851, this play has brought tears to my eyes a number of times, even in its roughest form. Powerful.
We’ve managed to read a few selections over the past week(s) although we’ve “fallen behind” on most everything else. (How do you “fall behind” when you homeschool, anyway?)
As part of his independent reading, Stephen finally finished up the Minute Boys of Bunker Hill. Pictured next to it is The Minute Boys of Lexington, which he read earlier this school year. Both are great historical adventures with underlying virtuous themes of bravery, determination, and loyalty.
David’s independent reading included Revolutionary War on Wednesday, and his read-aloud-to-Mom book was Thomas Jefferson’s Feast. Although we enjoyed Mr. Revere and I last week, we can’t say the same about Ben and Me, which is surprising since Ben and Me is the more popular of the two. I just couldn’t tolerate the silly mouse taking credit for all of Franklin’s work and making him seem like a buffoon. Call me immature, but it was killing me! (I preferred the snooty British horse.)
Our FAVORITE book this week was Where Was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? which motivated David so much that he immediately stood up and mimicked Patrick Henry’s famous speech. I lack the photo of this spontaneous moment, but just picture him shouting “Give me liberty or give me death!” as he plunges an imaginary letter opener into his heart. {It motivated me to fight for the cause of liberty, too!} Speaking of liberty, we were also hoping to watch a few Liberty’s Kids episodes this week but didn’t get around to it. {Liberty’s Kids – The Complete Series is currently $5 on Amazon.}
Totally unrelated to U.S. geography (but a welcome review of world geography), we played 10 Days in Europe about 10 times this week. I love this game because it has helped me so much with European geography, and it takes less than 30 minutes to play.
Concluding our American Revolution Study, we played the games Liberty at Last and Battle Blitz! Both gave us a chance to review several weeks of memory work. The Liberty at Last gameboard features a timeline of the American Revolution, and Battle Blitz! focuses on the order and location of battles fought in the war.
Reality Check!
- We’re halfway through Gary’s time away in Brazil. My eyebrow started twitching on Sunday. Let’s just say I miss him a lot.
- These past couple of weeks, when we come home from play practice (around 2pm or so), we do not tackle our regular schoolwork. Being in this play constitutes as school work in my book – and it really is exhausting! Plus, we’re listening to Adventures in Odyssey and memory work in the car (sometimes), and we’re reading some stories together in the evenings. That counts as a school day, doesn’t it?
- This means that I’ve combined Essentials writing assignments. Stephen loves the fact that he only has to write two papers instead of three or four this month. He’d rather do laundry than write a paper. (I’d rather write a paper than do laundry. He wants us to simply exchange responsibilities, which can be tempting at times, like right now. See #8.)
- I’m considering skipping a week or two of our reading plan so that we can read those books during Christmas break. {I liked it when that accidentally happened during my first trimester lethargy with Isaac last year. It ended up being a great way for us to revisit memory work later in the year.} We are “behind schedule” on many things like music appreciation… and science.
- Yes, I could kick myself really hard right now. I’ve not gathered enough energy or motivation to conduct even the simplest of science experiments with the boys. And science is even a family favorite. It is the ONE THING I said I wanted to be more intentional about this year. *sigh*
- I’m getting better at meal planning. Well, maybe not the “planning” part of meal planning. At least we’re not having cereal for supper every night. We’ve exchanged cereal for peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches and the occasional Stouffer’s frozen family meal. That’s better, right? (If not, please don’t tell me. I feel very domestic and successful right now.)
- Our house is a MESS. If you drop by to visit, please say that you’re coming to see us and not our house.
- Laundry is piled sky high on top of the dryer. See #7.
- While the boys possess many good qualities, they struggle with laziness and selfishness and arguing and other nonsense (just like me).
- Lately, every time David says a prayer, it includes “…and help MomMom to be more patient…” Levi has caught on and is now praying the same thing. I keep reminding them that they also need to pray “…and help us to be more obedient.”
It’s certainly not picture-perfect around here, but at least I have my coffee to keep me awake (sort of) and the occasional coke-a-day-to-keep-the-psychiatrist-away. I promise I’ll eventually get rid of these really bad habits… eventually… right after I finish eating all the chocolate in our house… and as soon as Isaac starts sleeping through the night.