busy holidays

Well, I just got a job night stocking at a toy store for the holiday season. I haven't started yet, and I'm a little nervous how this will all work out. Though I am thankful to have found a job quickly. And I do like toys. Jomo and I are going to have to get pretty creative to get all the things done that are important to us, though I suspect that we'll lighten up our time spent on school, or just stop a little earlier than planned for the holidays. I'm also interested to see how plausible a part-time night job would be for me longer term. We'll find out soon I guess.

We have some cute Halloween photos, or rather "Harvest Party" photos of the kids, but I didn't have time to upload them today. So, coming soon. It was a good experience going to a party rather than trick-or-treating I thought. We don't have nearly as much candy (which is good for me since in the past I've eaten plenty of the kids' loot), and the experience was a bit more interesting what with the games and mazes and such. I have to say though, I was pretty stressed out trying to keep track of the three kids in the unfamiliar, slightly darkened church. And we were both there!

I've been really enjoying our Ambleside Online curriculum. It's surprisingly well-rounded when you actually include all the subjects. Right now we're studying some Raphael Sanzio paintings, learning a folk song called "The Jam on Gerry's Rock" (which makes me think of Michigan!), learning our second hymn, listening to some selections by composer Hamauzu (our own substitution), as well as all our literature, geography, history, and natural science readings which Z "narrates" or tells back to me in her own words. We are really enjoying this Charlotte Mason style of learning. One of our highlights is the book, "Understood Betsy," which started out a bit dull for Z I think, but last week she spontaneously wanted to write a letter to one of the characters in the book in response. I don't make her do things like that, but she was just so wrapped up in the story and wanted to give Aunt Harriet a piece of her mind. The other thing I'm enjoying is how Z is learning to compose using the styles of the different authors. In her narrations, she often includes a phrasing that she picked up from the reading that she wouldn't normally use. So I'm very encouraged with her progress and her enthusiasm.

L is plodding along. Some days he seems to really enjoy school, and other days not so much. His reading is getting stronger, and his math seems off the charts (though that's a biased opinion). I'm trying to figure out how to make the practice in math fun for him, rather than just boring repetition. But also there's probably a balance where we just need to move on to more challenging work.

That's all to report for now. Back to picking out library books!