Weekly Wrap-Up

Here is what homeschooling looked like in our own SmallWorld this week:

Monday: Co-op all day. 8-4 for Laurel, 9:30-4 for Duncan and me. Came home and went our separate ways until supper. Had beef stew simmering in the crockpot all day. Duncan went to bed early with a sore throat and utter exhaustion.

Tuesday: Laurel's friend got dropped off at 7:30 a.m., as her parents were heading out of state until late Wed. night. The girls did homework for a few hours. Duncan slept in until about 10:30. When he awoke, we read some of our biography of Hitler, and he read some of his Robotics book for Boy Scouts.  At 12:30 we left home. I took Duncan to rehearsal for our performing arts co-op (1-5 p.m.) and dropped the girls off at a coffee shop. (The girls didn't have to rehearse, as this was Act 2 only.) I had great intentions to get lesson plans done during my few hours sans kids; instead, I did odds and ends and then visited my parents and ran a couple of errands. Picked the girls up from the library, where they had walked, and then picked Duncan up at Bezalel at 5 p.m. After dinner the girls had government class, which normally meets from 5:30-7 but was meeting at night to watch election results. The girls were home finally by 9:45 p.m.

Wednesday: The kids all slept in late. The girls spend the morning basically getting ready for an all-day rehearsal. I read a few chapters of our novel for literature circle, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, to Duncan. The kids had dress rehearsal from 12:30-6 p.m. I had lunch with a friend and then came home and again, didn't do lesson plans. Picked the kids up, at dinner at Pizza Hut, and headed to youth group/small group at church. We got home at 8:45 p.m. and collapsed.

Our troop packed 30 boxes for Operation Christmas Child!

Thursday: Duncan woke up early and then fell asleep on the couch, foiling my determination to do math with him. But I can't wake up an exhausted child with a mild sore throat. He finally awoke, chipper and well rested, at 12:30. Seriously. Took Laurel to geometry at 1:30. Picked her up at 2:45 and headed to our Operation Christmas Child shoebox packing party from 3-5 p.m. Returned home and opted not to go to our support group's Moms' Night Out. I mean, really.

Friday: Left the house at 9:30 a.m. to go to Knoxville and march in the Veterans Day Parade. Home by 2:15 p.m. Left again at 2:25 to take Laurel to her student council meeting, and then took Duncan to fencing from 4-5 p.m. Got home around 6 p.m. We all just about fell into our plates at dinner. And this is what I thought: "I have been gone from 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m., and I feel like death. Some people do this every single day. Thank you, Lord, for giving me this is a rare day, and not an every day!"

You may notice a nearly complete lack of academics this week. You would be right. Laurel, a sophomore, continued on with all of her regular studies as much as possible; but Duncan got a little literature and a little history. With 9 hours plus driving time devoted to their performance, several hours extra sleep time to ward off sickness, and another 6-7 hours devoted to community service, this week was just not conducive to spelling, grammar, math, and science. I am happy to have gotten a little history and literature squeezed in.

The good news is: performances only happen twice each year. Parades and service projects of this nature are occasional events. It just so happened that everything fell on this week.

Next week: we are going to revel in getting back into a routine.

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