Slogging Through The Mire...

I'm trying SO hard to push through the winter doldrums - as everyone else is but man is it hard!!  I always forget this time of year how sluggish we all feel and how quickly we are to become cranky!  I'm doing lots of breath work, yoga, lots of push-ups randomly throughout the day, and doing my best to do something creative every day.  Those are the things that get me through mentally.  By the same token, I'm also realizing how much I LOVE having my children with me all.the.time.  It may seem insane to some but I feel like it's so much so the right fit for everyone.  I couldn't imagine being without them all the time now.

In terms of schooling, we're still in Ancient Greece.  I've relinquished myself to letting our unit studies go longer than a one week time span.  At the beginning of the school year I had it in my head that each unit should take exactly one week giving us lots of topics and lots of weeks of many, many units.  As it turns out, some units/time periods/topics warrant more time and I was resistant to it at the beginning but now I'm letting our units evolve into what they need to be.  Which is freeing in some ways.  I definitely get anxious as time goes on and we're not nearly as far into history as I thought we would be but I'm learning to let go and know that we'll get there when we get there.  

In other news we had a recent trip to Maine which was wonderful and the children have been taking a new science class with homeschool friends.  Last week the children had an introduction to chemistry learning the differences between compounds and mixtures.  This week they studied physics by way of paper airplanes.  They had a GREAT time.  I love the teacher and the other children in the class.  It's in a large space which allows room for Ari to run freely and tire himself out so that he can go down for nap when we get home which allows us to continue our lessons.  K & T also had a great time at STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) Club this week at our library.  They practiced doing egg drop experiments trying to figure out how and how high they could drop an egg without breaking it.  They used different materials bubble paper, foam, cloth, wood shavings, paper, cardboard and other materials to wrap the eggs in before dropping them into a baby pool (to contain the mess) to see what protected the egg and what did not.  They had a great time and I love that they offer such wonderful programs to help add to my children's education. 

fun in Maine!

she's a TERRIBLE traveler and insists on sitting on my or Kendall's lap...it gets old after 3 hours!!

snow shoeing!! 

so.much.snow!

keeping warm inside!!! 

hahahahaha...it's insane...

warming up in the hot tub after playing outside!

who doesn't love a good game of Twister!

Maine sunset

playtime!!

mmmmmmmm...Krista's hot chocolate!

cuties!

more sunsets!

always beautiful...

frozen riverview

gorgeous sky!

the trip home - she needs some anti-anxiety meds to travel!!!  

this is Katie after she gets home - she snuggles down and sleeps for days!

the children find it hysterical (fits of giggles) that the Ancient Greeks performed the Olympic events in the nude...lol....

This is days post Maine - she's still snuggled down.  She's completely commandeered this blanket that I made for Ian for Valentine's Day!

hammer hammer hammer!

love this series...

obsessed with this book!

working on spelling and handwriting at the same time!

reading about Ancient Greek fashions...

creating for Grandpa Cooper's birthday

physics class

Thank you random stranger for paying for my coffee this morning!!  I did the same for the person behind me in line!  #payitforward #kindnessofstrangers

Ari's view of Kendall getting her teeth cleaned!

he did a PHENOMENAL job at the dentist this week!!  

Until next time!