Weekly Wrap-Up

Actually, this is more like monthly wrap-up. I just can't seem to get on the ball about wrapping up our weeks.

I love our schedule this year—just having two full days at home is blissful. We are now 5 weeks into this year, and I am thrilled with the smooth flow of our days. My kids are, for the most part, wonderfully cooperative. Every now and then I have to threaten additional schoolwork for whining, and that always works like a charm.

We finished The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Of course, it was as wonderful as it has always been in the 35 years I've been reading it. We watched a documentary (Chronicling Narnia) about C.S. Lewis which the kids deemed very boring. I thought it was interesting. We did of course watch the movie after reading the book, and I loved it all over again. We all did notice more "wrongs" this time since the book is fresh on our minds, but I still think it's a great movie.

I have two main books that I'm using as we go through the Narnia series. Further Up and Further In seems to be the one everyone has heard of, but I'm finding Heather and David Kopp's Roar: A Christian Family Guide to the Chronicles of Narnia to be much, much better. The discussion questions and Biblical parallels are fantastic in this book, and the authors sprinkle in facts in small, colorful tidbits. I totally recommend this for anyone reading through Narnia.

So I decided to be completely rebellious in our reading order. We started with LWW because I think one must enter Narnia for the first time through the wardrobe. (Granted, this isn't my kids' first introduction to Narnia anyway, but whatever.) But I've decided to read The Magician's Nephew second rather than waiting for its traditional spot much later on. I like them to be able to make those immediate connections between these two books. We're only three chapters into The Magician's Nephew, but I can tell already that it was the right thing to do.

In other areas, I'm really happy with Teaching Textbooks. Laurel is doing pre-algebra, and while I won't claim that she loves it, I will say that math is a much happier place for both of us this year. I decided to skip a whole year of math for Duncan because Saxon 54 and 65 looked pretty much exactly the same. That was a good decision. He's flying through 65. I'm always amazed at how much the kids grow over the summer. That's what always boggles me about the current trend toward year-round schools with the premise that "kids lose so much over the summer." I don't get that. My kids have always made a huge jump from the end of one school year to the beginning of the next. I think the time off is essential.

Cub Scouts and American Heritage Girls started back in full swing, as did our co-op classes.


I'm teaching/co-teaching three classes at co-op this year: Readers' Theatre for 3rd-5th grade, and then Creative Writing and Literature Circle for 6th-8th graders. It's all so much fun. I do look forward to teaching high-school level literature again next year when Laurel enters 9th grade.

We've also had lots of time for fun. One day we drove a couple of hours away to deliver 40 pairs of shoes for the 10,000 Pairs of Shoes Project. Another day my parents took us to Dollywood, which was blissfully uncrowded.

A boy in our co-op has a leading role in one of the shows, and we were excited to finally get to see him in that.

Our college boy came home for about 24 hours, and of course I soaked in every moment of him. He absolutely loves his classes and pretty much everything about being in college. He was meant for a life of learning.

Laurel went to her first dance last weekend.

Yes, we have an awesome support group with things like dances, bonfires, and even a prom. She had a fantastic time, and I look forward to many more teen events this year.

Linked up at the Weekly Wrap-Up