Weekly Wrap-Up

This has been a week of many lasts:

• My last week of Monday Fun, our weekly co-op. High schoolers still have 3 weeks left, but Duncan and I are DONE! My friends and I always laugh about how ridiculously excited we are to be finished and yet how much we look forward to the next year. Yes, I am already planning my classes for next year, at least in my head.

• The kids' last week of regular class at their performing arts co-op on Tuesdays. They have three rehearsals next week and then their performance. That means I actually will have a few 4-hour stretches sans chidren next week. What shall I do with myself? (Ha!)

• Our last American Heritage Girls and Cub Scout regular meeting of the year. Both have awards ceremonies in a couple of weeks, but the big part is done. And we're done in more ways that one: this was Randy's last year as Cubmaster, since Duncan will be crossing over to Boy Scouts. He's been Cubmaster for a total of 8 years, so this will be a B-I-G change in his life. And I can't even imagine what it will be like to clear out from our house all the boxes, tubs, and plastic sacks full of Cub Scout supplies! WOW! The other big "done" for us is that we will be moving our meeting location for next year. We've been meeting in our former church for nine years, and it is time to move on. No one who is part of either our AHG troop or our Cub Scout pack belongs to that church any more, and it feels awkward and uncomfortable. I can't even express the joy and freedom I felt knowing that I would only have to return to that building one more time—to pack up 9 years' worth of supplies. Here's to new beginnings!

• Our oldest finished classes for his sophomore year at Belmont University this week and is nearly done with finals. We'll head over to Nashville on Sunday to bring a load of his stuff home, and then he'll come home on Monday after his last final. Summer is really here, for him at least!

Next week I'll add my British Literature class to my list of lasts. Today was our second-to-last class, and we are finishing up Watership Down. As part of our discussion I had them work in groups to come up with a list of 10 qualities a good leader should possess, and also a list of classroom rules they think should be implemented. Both of these are based on events in the book, and I was 1)impressed with their list of leadership qualities and 2) amused at their lists of rules. I told them I am going to compile their lists into one for my American Lit class next year. A lot of them are "normal," like be respectful and no cell phone, but here are a few of the ones that cracked me up.

• Don't dictate the discussion
• No passing notes
• No shouting
• Don't talk unless it's class related
• Must bring food it if is your birthday
• Must bring food if it is not your birthday
• No chewing gum
• No weapons
• No inappropriate jokes
• No gorillas
• Must not have nasty feet
• Must drink Sprite
• No bringing pets to class, real or fake
• Must enjoy Anthony's stories (Anthony is our class storyteller, and he has some doozies)
• No random bursts of song in class or random dancing
• Always wear clothes*

 *Please note: Everyone always wears clothes in my classes; I have no idea why THREE of the groups wrote some version of this on their list of rules!

That's what has been happening around here. The boys are off to Boy Scout camporee this weekend.  I am co-organizing our support group's annual Homeschooling 101 tomorrow morning, but other than that, I'm looking forward to a calm weekend of gardening and enjoying my parents and my girl. We're in the home stretch now—just one month to go until the end of the school year!

And here are a few pretty things brightening our life:

Hope you had a great week!

Linked up at the Weekly Wrap-Up at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers